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You are here: Live Your Life E-zine > Hostel Newsletters - 2009 > August E-Zine > Music Mashup

Music Mashup

The sun is shining and the weather is sweet. Well it was, until the thunder and rain came along and chased away the notion of a sunny summer. Oh well. This month I’ve seen Madonna, fell in love with La Roux and been to my first Prom!

Pop and a Touch of Class

I have a bit of a complaint to start with ‐ I recently listened to Kiss 100 Fm and was severely surprised at what I heard. It was pure poptastic drivel for over an hour, coming from what used to be one of the best London pirate radio stations around. Even after they legalised it still used to play the best around in urban sounds. Now it sounds like a crapper version of Capital radio, which at least is honest about playing rubbish! In fact I lament the current state of pop music! Where have all the good tunes gone? The Ting Tings, The Saturdays, Lily sodding Allen and many others churn out songs that only prepubescent idiots with no musical taste would like, and don’t get me started on the likes of Florence and the Machine, Cascada, Little Boots and Lady Gaga. Ladies and gentlemen, please return to the recording studio and start again. Please! Ok rant over ‐ let’s turn to the Grandmother of Pop ‐ Madonna!

Madonna at the O2

Madonna ‐ what image does this name invoke for you? The lace and big hair of the 80s, the hip chick of the early 90s or the muscle bound legend that gyrated around the O2 in 2009? Probably all of these strike a chord and that’s because Madonna is a doyenne at changing her image and keeping up in both the style, and the body stakes. Her latest album ‐ Hard Candy is mostly produced by Pharrell Williams and Timbaland, with vocal appearances from Kanye West and Justin Timberlake. This suggests Madonna is being savvy and following the pop ‐ R n B anthem route, a la Britney and Gwen Stefani. However the album has been criticised for letting these producers monopolise the album ‐ producing similar and low quality tracks. Hmm.

But to the show ‐ oh how Madonna knows how to put on a show! She danced, writhed, gyrated and pumped her body throughout the show ‐ taking us from old favourite La Isla Bonita, all the way through to 4 Minutes. My only complaint is that she substituted the original backings for thumping house beats, which only really worked during Give It To Me. The costumes, lighting and holographic screens added greatly to the theatrics of the show but the acoustics could have been better, given the price of the tickets! But there is only one Madonna and whilst she isn’t in the same league as the recently departed Michael Jackson, it is incredible that she’s still producing good quality pop music after 26 years!

The Proms ‐ Holst, The Planets

I was recently treated to a loggia (box) for one night at the Proms ‐ at the Royal Albert Hall, by a very kind friend. The Proms and classical music have had no fascination for me, despite loving music and having a soft spot for Tchaikovsky (the music of my childhood favourite ‐ The Nutcracker). Personally I like my music with a base line and beat I can dance to. However it was an interesting experience seeing music being created before my very eyes and to witness the skill of the musicians playing and the organisation of the orchestra into first and second violins, violas and cellos ‐ all to create the ethereal sound that we often associate with classical music, with the double bass and brass for depth, and volume.

The Planets was an easy piece to follow if you could remember the order of the planets and the attributes given to the Roman Mythological gods and goddesses. Luckily I love astrology and could remember the old school acronym for the order of the planets. Also part of Jupiter has been used by the Rugby Union … listen and see! So I was reminded that to enjoy music, we need to understand the meaning and context behind it and I fear that classical music suffers from being elitist and this is something that must be challenged. I would recommend the Proms to anyone that loves music and wishes to have a totally new experience.

The Single of the Moment

I can’t stop listening to Skream’s ravey mix of La Roux’s In for the Kill. It’s a poignant, belting vocal with a dark baseline that builds up to an explosion of drum and bass beats. Sadly it also ends too soon but check it out. It’s possibly one of the best tunes this year!

‐ DJ Michelle