A new site: Passion Ain’t A Fashion

THERE’S A NEW site for your delectation, called Passion Ain’t A Fashion

https://passionaintafashion.wordpress.com/

This is the blurb …

THIS IS ‘PASSION AIN’T A FASHION’

It’s about how music should be. We cut the crap and slash the pap.

To paraphrase a slogan by a pioneering punk(ish) label: If it ain’t giving me a stiffie, it ain’t worth a floppy BJ.

Passion is everything in music, without it, the records, downloads, CDs etc we strum our ears to would be empty. Today’s music scene is how I envisage life would be in North Korea. Except that sex has replaced images of the Dear Murdering Leader. Good god what a thought.

Music should be more than just a commodity, it’s an outlet for our frustrations, anger and desires; it’s a way of reaching out to other like-minded people, and it can be a way of life.

Remember ..

How, in 1977, punk was an outpouring of anger and angst;

In the 50s, Bill Haley and the Comets signified the rise of the teen

Public Enemy ripped up the rule book

Kraftwerk used pocket calculators

The Redskins wanted a real revolution

The Beatles and The Stones made music culturally critical

And so on

Passion does not come in a bottle with a label in all languages; it can’t be quantified. But, you know it when you experience it.

Contributions are always welcome, ideas can be emailed at the address above, or you might even have an article at hand. I can only offer you my respect and love.

This blog remains at the bottle stage, except more changes and articles are being written at this very instant.

 

 

 

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Richard Thompson: The King of Folk

 
RICHARD THOMPSON IS ONE OF those artists for whom it is hard to track all the albums he has done.
Apparently it is 16 studio albums but it seems far more, and of course there’s the work with Fairport Convention and a number of collaborations, notably his ex-wife Linda.
Remaining relevant in a crowded market – in all genres, nevermind just folk/ roots – takes something a little special. 
Luckily, Thompson has a distinctive, marketable voice that is easy on the ear. It has clarity and authority.
I caught some of Thompson at WOMAD in New Plymouth in March, alas after six tracks Public Service Broadcasting were due to kick off on another stage. I was impressed by how he kept a very diverse audience in his hand. At one side of me were young bogan stoners, the other middle class, middle aged liberals and then there’s Porky, who is well, a pig. Who likes post-punk, indie and Cuban salsa.
Curiously, Thompson has admitted that the latest album Still (Proper records) isn’t a move forward, though he quantifies it by saying, in the same sentence, it isn’t “playing the same old stuff”.

He is spot on. There’s the typical swing of moving to moveless on Still; uplifting to mundane. It’s a cycle that is tantalising; while you know the routine, you’re never quite sure of which order it will come in, or how it will be delivered.

Patty Don’t You Put Me Down is the kind of edgy ditty that could open a gig to warm up the crowd, while No Peace No End is a relentless charge through Main Road, lots of guitars and quickly-rattled off verses.

Elsewhere, there’s ballads and blues stompers; Still has the distinctive stamp of Thompson, and even the hiring of Jeff Tweedy from Wilco on production duties can’t offset that heritage.

 

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