What is 'Love'?

WHAT IS LOVE? (BABY DON'T HURT ME)

So it is that most divisive of days on the calendar…

ST VALENTINES DAY!

Regardless of your position on the validity of such a day, lets talk about love.

Don’t worry this isn’t going to be some mushy monologue about romance and whatnot.

Instead, lets talk about music and the love of it.

I have been in love with music since I was probably about 14 years old when I bought ‘Smash’ by the Offspring and it blew my mind, it was so different to what I had grown up with, or heard on the radio…It spoke to my teen angst in a way that I believe changed me significantly.

MANY YEARS LATER: Whilst my tastes have changed, music remains a driving force in my life, playing a massive part in my personal and professional life…as a music fan, musician and Label owner.

But why do we do it? Why do we spend so much of our money on a collection of structured sound waves, either collecting them or making them?

As any musician will tell you, its not to get rich…that is a 1 in a million shot.

Is it for fame?

I don’t think so; there are easier ways to get famous and certainly cheaper/easier ones.

Why does that kid sit in his room practicing guitar licks for 4 hours a day? Why does that 30 something guy keep getting in that van and playing shitty pub gigs to 20 people? Why does that couple spend every penny they earn to follow their favourite artist around the country on their tour?

I wish I could tell you but I am as bamboozled as to the significance of music as anyone, but I will say one thing…I am glad I have it in my life!

I would love to hear about your stories and your relationship with music, so please comment and let me know!!!

For those of you that are fans of valentines and are looking to spend the evening with your special one, here is the awesome track ‘A Spark In The Air’ by MiXE1:



For those that would rather the whole thing just went away and shut up, here is ‘Parasite’ by Defeat:


PS. Message to the Missus, happy valentine’s day Kathy ;)

HMV – Too big to fail?

HMV – Too big to fail?

With the news that HMV has finally entered the drain it has been circling, there are a lot of cries for sympathy, shoe gazing and sadness that the High Street will be largely music free now.

With HMV dropping out, this leaves the digital big boys like Amazon and Itunes standing tall at the top of the music buying pyramid…and in some ways this is a big improvement…they have vastly bigger ranges of music, a well established interface and a better range of pricing.

However, what does this mean for the CD? The Vinyl? These items may truly be a niche medium very soon, which will be a shame.

The next 12 months will be very interesting with regards to how the big Record labels react, having been left with just the Supermarkets as a physical presence in many places, perhaps they will write off the CD now and fully embrace a digital approach?

Interesting times...