The Famous John Meagher article from the Indo re: Irish Musicians. By request.

SimonMaher

We're constantly told this is a golden age in Irish music - but forget the hype ...there's practically nothing to get excited about, says rock critic John Meagher

I met an English musician some time ago who gave serious thought to moving to Dublin. He was under the impression that it was a great city in which to be a singer-songwriter. We Irish were a kind bunch who liked nothing better than sitting in a smokeless pub, sipping our Guinness while listening to some bloke pick at an acoustic guitar and tunelessly singing about losing his girlfriend. London audiences, he suggested, aren't quite as forgiving.

Too right, mate. The problem with the Irish is that we're not a nation of complainers. Many of us will listen to just about any old guff and buy the albums while we're at it. It might explain how the hideous racket served up by Declan O'Rourke has charted so highly and why Paddy Casey's Junior Cert lyrics have found such a large audience. It's Irish so it must be good, right? Wrong.

The common perception - pushed by the record industry and a subservient media - is that we're experiencing a golden era in Irish music. And if you're particularly naive you'll have bought the line that the Hard Working Class Heroes festival - happening in Dublin this weekend - will be a glorious showcase for musical talent in this country. The intentions of the organisers can't be faulted, but it's likely to be all chaff and no wheat. The aforementioned Casey is one of the 'big names' playing at the event, for heaven's sake.

U2 may be making millions and playing to millions on their marathon world tour, but things have rarely been so glum on the domestic music front. And it's not just the awful raggle-taggle of singer-songwriters who are delivering such insipid and uninteresting music. Rock bands - the lifeblood of any music scene - are doling out fare that veers from bland to wretched.

I'm tired of going to see bands with nothing to say and who seem to be embarrassed about being on stage. Nearly all of them feel they have to dole out monologues to us a la Glen Hansard of The Frames, a man who most local critics agree is a pain in the posterior. And would somebody tell Ollie Cole of Turn to return to the day job?

I often wonder what I've done to deserve this life when I find myself at Dublin's Sugar Club on Friday nights. It's a lovely venue, but with any band able to hire the place to put on their show, you can be privy to some dreadful rubbish. A few weeks back I ventured there with a friend to catch a three-piece called Stoat. It was terrible sub-Electric Six stuff with nonsense lyrics and erratic musicianship. When I pointed this out on a radio station the next day, one of the guys in the band took offence. He seemed to be under the mistaken impression that local journalists should give local acts an easy ride. Not this one, Cormac.

As music critic with this paper, I'm exposed to a lot of local music. Very little makes it to my iPod. The best Irish album of the year so far? Hal's eponymous debut. It's a sweet, melodious work. In truth, though, it's very hard to be passionate about a band who write songs with titles like What A Lovely Dance and I Sat Down.

I also enjoyed albums by Joe Chester, Emmett Tinley, Cane 141, Jimmy Behan and the soon-to-be released albums by former A House frontman Dave Couse and Pugwash. They're all good albums, but are any of them good enough to be nominated for the Mercury Music Prize? Not one of them. None has that spark of brilliance that puts it alongside nominees such as Antony and the Johnsons or The Magic Numbers.

Every week, I receive at least 10 demos from Irish acts. I'd be lying if I said I've listened to all of them, but I can count on the fingers of one hand the demos that made me sit up and take notice. I'm the first to slag off record company A&R personnel but I sure as hell don't envy their job. And I'd really love it if Hugh from Monaghan would stop ringing me every Friday about his Kraftwerk-meets-Iron Maiden outfit. Go and bug some other journalist, please.

Then there are the new acts that have a bit of live experience under their belts but whose work to date remains patchy at best. Jove, Delorentos, Tadhg Cooke and Larry Beau are promising, but still seem to be struggling to find their feet. Porn Trauma are too much in thrall to Kings of Leon while Ham Sandwich should really change their name.

And what about female musicians. Is anybody likely to follow in the footsteps of the overrated Gemma Hayes? The UK-based Dubliner Cathy Davey is very talented - far more so than Hayes - but she failed to find an audience for her fine debut Something Ilk. It's hard to see the likes of Jenny Lindfors or Grainne Brookfield making much impression. As for all-girl rock band Fair Verona, they look better than they sound.

Yes, it's been an annus horribilis for Irish music and there are precious few releases before year-end to look forward to. I like The Chalets' live show and they have an album out next month which I have yet to hear. I worry that they are a triumph of style over substance, though.

And Bell X1, who have promised so much in recent years, release their third album in October. They remain the band most likely to do a Snow Patrol but they have made some catastrophic decisions in the past about what songs to release as singles.. They need to learn from those mistakes, otherwise Island Records may wonder if it's worth keeping them on the roster.

Perhaps we get the music we deserve. After all, more than half a million of us tuned into the dreadful Celebrity You're A Star - to hear a bunch of jumped-up nonentities sing badly.

Maybe Hard Working Class Heroes will unearth Ireland's answer to The Arcade Fire - the Canadian band who have released 2005's finest album - and I will have to eat my words. I doubt it, somehow.

Hard Working Class Heroes runs from tomorrow until Sunday, with 100 acts performing in six Dublin venues.

www.hwch.net

Are we really lost in music?

Angela Dorgan, organiser
Hard Working Class Heroes festival
"I don't think it's fair to say that Irish bands don't box well even in their own weight category. It is too subjective to say there are no good bands from Ireland. Iain Archer puts goosebumps on my arm, the Frank and Walters make me dance for three hours in a row, Delorentos make me think I'm 17 again and 8 Ball could be the backing track for a BBQ anywhere in the world. The indie industry has never been healthier, the opportunities here are in the hands of the artist more than any other industry. Per capita, we have more successes. That's something to be celebrated and not dismissed."

Ian O'Doherty
Irish Independent columnist
"A golden era for Irish music? What a joke. The success of The Frames and Paddy Casey is a triumph of persistence and mediocrity over pure talent and inspiration. With the exception of a few honourable exceptions, the self-congratulatory nature of the scene is grotesque. Just look at the party line spouted every fortnight by Hot Press with its insistence that we're a great little country with great musicians. We're going through a very lean time and anybody who uses their two ears properly will acknowledge that."

Stevo Berube
Music industry publicist
"There is a lot of talent out there but many acts don't get a chance to develop because the bar is not set high enough in Ireland. There's enormous competition in the UK and that pushes the standard up. Here, everything seems to rise to the top - good and bad. As it's a small country there is a limited live circuit so bands don't get to play live often enough to hone their sound or to make enough money to be full-time musicians. It's interesting that some of the best Irish acts of recent times have worked on their craft in the UK first. And the lot of local outfits are not helped by the fact that the press and media here tend to be conservative and unwilling to take chances with emerging local acts."

copyright independent newspapers

SimonMaher

Reproduced above is the article from the Indo this week where John Meagher questions the state of Irish music etc. Lot of Phantom types who missed it during the week asked for it to be published here. Interested to hear your opinions on it.

Personally I dont think its the most well written article or indeed the most intelligently thought out piece of writing Ive ever seen. In fact, I think some of the generalisations and cases he uses are a bit weak to be honest. That being said, he's not totally wrong, just argues his case very badly. And he made that worse by really not giving a good account of himself on The Last Word the other night.

On the overall point of the article though, I find myself agreeing with the quote from Stevo Berube. He says:

"There is a lot of talent out there but many acts don't get a chance to develop because the bar is not set high enough in Ireland. There's enormous competition in the UK and that pushes the standard up. Here, everything seems to rise to the top - good and bad. As it's a small country there is a limited live circuit so bands don't get to play live often enough to hone their sound or to make enough money to be full-time musicians. It's interesting that some of the best Irish acts of recent times have worked on their craft in the UK first. And the lot of local outfits are not helped by the fact that the press and media here tend to be conservative and unwilling to take chances with emerging local acts."

<Phantom Hat On> Yes there is some real ****e which can rise to the top and some quality stuff that doesn't get the exposure it deserves. Hopefully when we eventually get Phantom FM on the air, we will in some small way be able to bring some of the better stuff to the surface. John or many others may not agree with the musical choices that we will make, but its a start.</Phantom Hat Off>

Regards,

Pete Reed
reed@phantomfm.com
www.phantomfm.com

Howard the Duck

i enjoyed that and agreed with most of what he said.

<Phantom Hat On> Yes there is some real ****e which can rise to the top and some quality stuff that doesn't get the exposure it deserves. Hopefully when we eventually get Phantom FM on the air, we will in some small way be able to bring some of the better stuff to the surface. John or many others may not agree with the musical choices that we will make, but its a start.</Phantom Hat Off>

I didn't know there were hats aswell as t-shirts.

Smurfpiss

The problem with the Irish is that we're not a nation of complainers.

So he must be the exception to the rule and must also have never seen that Guinness ad either!

To be honest it reminds me exactly of an article Jim "Mr grumpy" Carroll wrote in the ticket last year about HWCH. (Those with the privilege of ireland.com membership may see for themselves)
Part of me does not see the point of these foaming at the mouth articles. they start of bemoaning the misconception that we are a talent isle, then quickly rise into a rant about any artist that’s comes into their crosshairs. Then, at the very end, they have the wee promo about HWCH.
Now unless HWCH promoters sent them the line-up wrapped in a smelly dog turd I don't see why they are so bitter.

I do agree that there is a lot of crap out there. And some of Mr Meagher's comments (While a bit sensational) do ring true. The Chalets are without question style over substance, Glen Hansard does have an ego the size of France, but The Frames still play a great gig.
I don't see what he's got against Turn, they were one of the best bands at oxegen this year, and if you can make that impression in half and hour you must be doing well.
Gemma Hayes is overrated? I wouldn't say that, but she might help her case if she releases a new album soon.

Regardless of whether he's right or wrong it's his attitude that really bugs me.
He acts as if he is the be-all and end-all of musical critique. he even is surprised that one of the members of stoat is angry that he called their music " terrible sub-Electric Six stuff with nonsense lyrics and erratic musicianship."
I think the general public can make their own minds up on what bands to like.
I'm not saying we don't need music critics, but such an authoritarian view simply isn't necessary.

So while there is a sea of bad musicians out there (as in any scene) the audience can decide for themselves. They can do this by reading objective reviews, by attending gigs and seeing if they're worth recommending, and by requesting songs on radio.
Phantom helps make this scene possible and has provided more support to the Irish music scene than any jaded journalist or mediocre fortnightly magazine with a socialist agenda. And while they play some music I simply cannot stand (Damien Dempsy for one) I have since learned that I can at least respect that the artists in question have a fan base and should not be dismissed so easily.

I guess I'll finish off by saying what decent Irish bands phantom has introduced me to:
Future Kings of Spain
66e
Gemma Hayes
Autamata
Babelfish
Diclan O'Rourke
Hal
The Jimmy Cake
Mic Christopher
Turn
Simple Kid
Snow Patrol
Therapy
Whipping boy

There are a tonne more, that’s just a sample. Then there are the artists that I'd already know before I tuned into phantom, the artists from abroad who have made it big in Ireland first (Josh Ritter, Rodrigo y Gabriela) and then the amount of major acts that come to play here year round. The Irish music scene is no way dead or stagnant or whatever hyperbole Mr Meagher chooses to use.
Is mise,
Smurfpiss

Laine

John Meagher's article has all the trimmings of a jaded journalist, who still remembers 'the good aul days'. The man seems to have been around since the beginning of time and has written some stellar pieces, I will give him that. But, what exactly is to be gained from berating local acts in such a way? It sounds like he's tired of his job; if so John... move over and give some other enthuasiastic music writer the chance!!!!

As for his specific comments, with regards Cathy Davey, what exactly is his point? That she is brilliant but failed to make a name for herself. Surely he is defeating himself with this argument? Even mentioning 'doing a Snow Patrol' he convientiently forgets to acknowledge their success?

Also I'd like to point out that the 'English/foreign' bands that are so talented and inspiring have all risen to the top of their game, with huge label signings and major promotion behind them. I am sure that there are equally as many 'talentless musos' in their scene fighting for survival as in ours.

And even if, in his opinion, there is alot of style over substance in the Irish scene it is being appreciated for what it is. I didnt realise that every band/artist had to have something really important to say. But hopefully when they do John, you'll be there to support them and not pointlessly berate them.

Salvador Dali

Junior cert journalism! I see his point though. Too much mutual back slapping, journos being nice to bands cause they don't want any bad blood. If Bell X1 or Blink recorded a concept album involving sauce pan lids and lolly pop sticks, they would still get a positive review from a certain rock journalist in the RTE guide. It would be nice to have someone review a gig or album 'from the heart'. It might be good to upset some of these so called artists, give them something to write about. Isn't Bell X1's 'take your heart' just a rewritten version of Chris De Burgh's 'Spanish train?' No wonder Damien Rice decided that he could do something better on his own. There, I've said it! :mad:

DerekD Goldfish

Ireland has produced a signifigant number of good band the current crop arnt as great but there are some goods acts nonetheless such as Cathy Davey,Polar,Pony Club, GIAA,The Last Post (will there ever be another album)

but compared to some of the fantastic acts we produced in the late 80's early 90's this isnt that impressive and im not looking back at my teenage years with rose tinted glasses I only discoved a number of these great acts in the last few years.

but this is not alone in Irish music around the world has peaks and troughs and most of the time there is a lot of crap in every country you have to wade through to get to the good stuff


I have no idea how it took me so long to say so little but in summary I half agree