Music

I really shouldve written this last week - but seeing a million free postcards with "MTV Europe Music Awards" on them today reminded me to have a rant.

You see the music you hear around you in Europe is crap. Plainly and simply. I dont think I wouldve known that Robbie Williams had a new album out if I was in Oz. But Im here and Ive heard his new single about 6 times a day since Ive been here. MTV Europe has to be the worst music video channel invented. There is no alternative radio station here. People seem to have to find their own music meaning the mix gets very bizarre - e.g. the music out of the office next door to mine which ranges from Rammstein-like German hardcore to Portuguese pop and classical music.......

And then we come to the awards - which were in Lisbon last Thursday night. The Black Eyed Peas - two albums ago the new thing in hip hop were nominated for Best Pop. Everyone was talking about what a great year Green Day had had. Chris Martin from Coldplay couldnt sing in tune. But apparently it was the event of the year. Borat hosting it couldnt make it entertaining. It was funny for someone who's tried to learn Portuguese to hear a lot of "stars" try to connect with a local audience by learning the word for thank you ie Obrigado. That was it. Hey I speak fluently compared to these guys.

Doing a language course with the usual "I like...." reminded of how commercial my tastes have become. Outside of Australian alternative I like Coldplay, Gorillaz, the Killers, Jack Johnson, Interpol (phew one with some credibility!). That was the weird thing about the awards - seeing Gorillaz "performing" - well as an animated performance anyway. We've grown so used to anime that we can tolerate this level of "non-live performace". But it seemed a little more real than some other performance too - and certainly involved a lot more creativity.