Extreme Listening Mode!

Ah, Friday, Friday here again in tidy attire, to paraphrase Blur. The weekend starts here good buddies - or will at home time - and through all the rock’n'roll excess which I’m sure you will engage in let’s reconnect with our spiritual sides. Or get drunk and start crying, one of the two.

Anyway, this weeks Friday 5 takes in scenes. Is there anything the music press like more than a scene? Groups of talented young people, hailing from the same area with a new sound that the kids go crazy for. Mostly, these are false dawns created by an angle-hungry press, but occasionally it simply is an explosion of creativity. Here are a few of the better ones……..

Seattle

The early 90’s really was a boom time for this rainy US city. On top of the alliterative rom-com which bore its name, it was also the setting for that finest of sit-coms, Frasier. And of course, we are all grateful for Starbucks….

But mention it to any music fan and they’ll think of only one thing; Grunge. Yes, as the 80’s became the 90’s, gangs of young kids would get together, play a music influenced by punk, metal and hardcore and take drugs. It was a rich source of talent in the early days, with acts such as Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Tad,  Screaming Trees and of course Nirvana all living there and recording for local label Sub Pop.

It was the last of these acts who turned a local scene into a worldwide phenomenon with their seminal ‘Nevermind’ album, which every vaguely alternative teen on the planet owned in 1992. The music was loud, trebly and simple. the lyrics were nihilistic and self-loathing. With ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ as their anthem, Generation X began here.

Suddenly plaid shirts were haute couture, greasy straggly hair and bad skin was the look and no-one professed to care about anything any more. The music grew corporate as every major label wanted ‘their’ Seattle band and the drug issue in the scene got worse, with Kurt Cobain not the only tragic death brought on, directly or indirectly, by heroin addiction. In the end, it petered out with very few people escaping unscathed.

Manchester

So much to answer for, as The Smiths sung. And doesn’t it just? The home of the Buzzcocks, The Fall, Magazine, Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths and Oasis, among others, it’s most celebrated scene was the ‘89 Summer of Love. Personified by the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses, it was all about baggy flares, floppy fringes and groovetastic guitar music. Oh, and, and being off your tits on ecstasy.

It started organically and grew. Both bands had been dicking about unsuccessfully for years, but exploded as the Hacienda started filling up with goggle eyed loons on some new wonder drug from Ibiza. Seeing a bit of a unified scene, Tony Wilson commissioned two t-shirts, one bearing the slogan ‘Madchester’ and the other ‘I’m Nigel Madsell from the isle of Mad’ and asked Shaun Ryder which he preferred. Tragically, he plumped for the first.

Both bands imploded, leaving also-rans like the Charlatans and the Inspiral Carpets as the flag-bearers. the dealers moved into the clubs and it all turned nasty. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

Glasgow

Speaking of floppy hair and fringes, the early ’80’s saw some wan, 60’s obsessed boys twang guitars and wear checked shirts. The magnificent Postcard label signed them, and gave the world Orange Juice, Aztec Camera and Altered Images. Still, as the Loaf said, two out of three ain’t bad.

Magnificently geeky, they were simply a shambolic bunch of boys with talent for rickety DIT guitar pop that lay in the gutter while looking at the stars.

Montreal

So many great bands have come out of here recently, most obviously the Arcade Fire. Montreal is a very artist-friendly place, and in the communal atmosphere, several incestuous music and art projects have flowed. They’ve given us Feist, Stars and the Broken Social Scene. Still not peaked, either.

Minneapolis

A small, freezing cold city who in the mid-80’s have gave us the Replacements, the Minutemen and Húsker Dú. Since then, Craig Finn of the Hold Steady.

I am going to visit that place someday!

Well, that’s a wrap for this week. Remember if you are in Glasgow tonight to check out FRAM at Nice N Sleazys with ELM DJing. And apart from that, have a great weekend!