Wednesday 3 May 2017

The power of pop

Just a quickie today, but had one of those moments yesterday hearing something on the car radio and I'm sure you'll know the kind I mean:  Mr SDS was driving and we were nattering away, but when the intro to this song started up I had to tell him to "Shhh!"   "It's almost a bit like power pop!" I said, "...'78/'79 jangly power pop! I need to know who it is..."

Tuning myself in, what I heard was actually sweet, shameless, modern pop.  The kind that just makes you want to smile because it's simply pure and real and catchy.

We then got stuck behind a maintenance lorry at some roadworks  'cause Anglian Water were digging up the pavement and I was so pleased because it meant I could hear the rest of the song without it having to battle against the engine noise (the joy of a start-stop system!) It will now forever be associated in my mind with that little section of the A131.

Anyway.... it was Declan McKenna with 'Brazil'.  He was just 16 when he wrote and recorded this. He looks so young in this original video, aww!  (It's since been updated - I much prefer this earlier one posted below).   But reading up about him reveals a maturity beyond his years; he self-released this as his first single in August 2015 and, in spite of his lightness of touch musically, his lyrical content is darker and political - a criticism of FIFA awarding the World Cup to Brazil in 2014 without addressing the effect of the huge degree of poverty on its people.

He's touring this month and has an album out in July.  At the risk of sounding like an old fart, he helps restore my faith in....oh dear, do I really have to say it like this?!.... the 'youth of today'...


Declan McKenna: Brazil

16 comments:

  1. You are right C, a mature piece of song-writing from one so young. He looks just so adorable in the video though - his mum must have been dead proud.

    Through DD, we have spent lots of time over the last few years with the "youth of today" - Both she and her close friends are astounding in what they are capable of and have achieved great things in their young lives to date. I feel positively embarrassed when I go for my computer training on a Saturday as here I am with the job and the fancy-pants machine whereas the young people who teach me, who are all affable, super-qualified and can do absolutely anything with technology, can only find part-time work in a shop.

    I'm guessing you don't watch the big football tournaments but I do (a hangover from having watched them with my dad as a kid) and that Brazil one was troubling for many reasons - Clever of him to have picked up on it and written this song.

    A lot of excitement in our little corner of the blogosphere at the moment and I'm starting to think I may have "over-shared" as never expected to ever meet anyone in the "real-world" but it seems it does occasionally happen!! One day even we may drop our cloaks of anonymity.

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  2. Forgot to mention, he is standing in front of the David Bowie mural in Brixton that I visited recently - Now of course it is covered in messages from fans but back then he was still alive, so no need.

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  3. Haha, I agree about him in this video - I know I've reached a certain age when I look at a talented young lad like this and think, "ah, I'd love to have him as a son"! Shockingly I realise he could just about be my grandson too, but let's not go there!

    That's lovely, what you say about your DD and her friends and 'youth of today' generally. I think they get a bit of a raw deal - there are plenty of bad examples out there that are given publicity but indeed so many with so many qualities just quietly trying their best in a complex and contradictory society which must be an absolute minefield to navigate at times.

    You're right, I'm not up with football but I have a friend whose wife is Brazilian and they go out there every year as her large family are still there; I heard a lot about the other side of things from them and it certainly was a huge issue and created a lot of anger. And I do think that the best way to put across a political point in music is really to make that music very listenable and likely to get radio airplay. There is some irony in the fact that all the angry political anarcho-punk that I knew through the Thatcher years was so uncommercial, because it limited its own chances of being heard and liked by people who didn't already think along the same lines.

    Yes, I feel excited for our fellow bloggers, and can't wait to hear all about it! I also feel similarly about "oversharing" - this blog is a bit of a refuge at times, I am naturally shy and so I get quite uninhibited on here and I really appreciate that freedom! There are things I've written about and revealed on this blog which many of my real-life acquaintances and relatives don't even know - those memories, experiences, opinions and even dreams selected and encompassed in posts here are often not the stuff of everyday conversations!

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    1. Just a little example of why I admire the "youth of today" so much - DD had to head down to Edinburgh for a professional exam yesterday but had to be back on the 4.30pm train as she had a charity fundraiser event organised, sponsored by her workplace, where the CEO was coming up from London to attend. Her boyfriend needed a bigger space to study in (drawing boards etc) so he built himself a studio at the back of his flat with windows, doors, wood etc all salvaged from various places so did it for next to nothing, and it looked great - He has also fitted in a full-time job flexibly around his degree course this year. Their friends are also similarly motivated so although some young people deserve their reputation, the majority are working very hard for what will be a much more challenging future than we ever had - Love them all to bits.

      No I can't imagine that you are a shy person at all but like you I do share a lot in my blog that I may not necessarily share with my real life friends. Maybe its a female thing - Fortunately for most of the bloggers who are meeting up this weekend they keep their topics more musically inclined. Can't help myself though so will no doubt continue over-sharing until there is absolutely nothing left to share!

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    2. This is really heartwarming, Alyson, thanks. Your DD, her boyfriend and friends are brilliant examples and give us some faith in the future! It's so easy for the media, etc. to only report the bad stuff - but I guess that's human nature, whatever the subject, and our own experiences can prove that's not the norm.

      I think you're spot on about the anonymity etc. with blogs - yes, if you share personal stuff, as we do, then it puts a different slant on things. My real-life feelings of shyness and self-consciousness don't come into play when I'm writing, I'm far more comfortable! Even then I sometimes worry about what I say (and in my comments on other blogs, as I remember you also mentioned, so I understand!)

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    3. Oh yes, the curse of the comments box - Just as I over-share in my blog I think I probably over-populate the comments boxes with stuff I regret saying the minute I press publish, but too late! Think I'll just have to live with it though as can't seem to stop myself.

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  4. I often wonder where is this generation's Bob Dylan or Mozart? Margo Price's debut album suprised me in a good way last year, and the song you shared is promising.

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    1. Good question! I do believe they're out there but the context has changed so much... people stand out now for other reasons, things that were once different are now the same, etc. I'll check out Margo Price, thank you!

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  5. Worthy of further investigation. Let's hope he doesn't go the way of Jake Bugg...

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    1. I hope the same - I didn't like the last thing I heard by Jake and it seemed he'd lost his edge. I always get that strange creeping 'protective' feeling when I come across someone like this - I don't want them to be 'spoiled' or manipulated or to lose that certain something and become just another pop star/celebrity that is so often the price of success. I should know by now - it's out of my hands!

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  6. What was it my Nan used to say about footballers and policemen looking progressively younger as she got older? We'd better add pop singers to that particular group! One to watch for sure.

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    1. How true is that?! The last policeman I saw on the street looked like he'd just bunked off school.
      Yes, will be watching out for Declan, who at least, presumably, has now left school!

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  7. Highly poptastic for sure. Talent.

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  8. Nice spot ! Made me think of the Pleasers (or even Kris Needs for those who used to read ZigZag) with a smidgeon of Libertines - but with a fresh eye and not just an ear for the beatley hooks that made most powerpop just a little irritating! On the other hand those youth of today are still at it, it's just that most of them make garage/dubstep/hip hop and all power to them!

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    1. Always good to hear mention of ZigZag!
      Yes, know what you mean about the Pleasers and Libertines, and there are others whom I can't quite put my finger on but having recently heard The Records' Starry Eyes and Flamin Groovies' Shake Some Action I've been sort of tuned in to that power pop sound (even though this is not really like those, but you know what I mean I'm sure.)
      Let's hear it for the 'youth of today''s protest songs, but catchy ones that get played on Radio 1!!!

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