chaplin

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Must we throw this filth at our pop grandmothers?


I quite like noisy beat music. I've spent a lot of my life listening to it. However even I never forced my mother to listen to it. Had she lived to be eighty-five I think I would have objected if somebody had suggested that she be forced outside on a chilly evening in spring to be exposed to the full blown audio-visual assault of the 21st century rock experience as delivered by a load of people she'd never heard of and had even less interest in. And this at the point in the evening when, as every Peter Kay fan knows, all any grandmother wants is to be at home "getting settled".

Obviously constitutional monarchs spend their lives looking at things they have no interest in. That's part of their job. But most of the things that they are called upon to watch are brief demonstrations, not strength-sapping marathons. An open air rock concert, even one as lite and well-organised as last night's, is a test of endurance more than anything else during which 75% of the audience, if they're honest with themselves, are praying for the end. It's bad enough inflicting it on those who've cheerfully volunteered for it without forcing it on those who never asked for it.

3 comments:

  1. Well, it had Chazza's fingerprints all over it? In fact it's a lineup Diana would have chosen if anybody had asked her. Sir Tom Jones, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Annie Lennox...the only ones missing were Sir Phil Collins and Sir Eric Clapton. Or did I miss them? I only lasted ten minutes before switching off. I suspect Phil's bladder infection was strategic...I was wondering how it would have been with the Unthanks (with Brighouse and Rastrick, naturally), Lisa Hannigan, Kate Rusby, Neil Hannon...

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  2. Why didn't they just ask her who she'd like to hear... I doubt Jessie J, Will-i-can't and numerous others wouldn't have been on the list at all...

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  3. People were perhaps praying for the end. Maybe also they were there so they could say "I was there". Whether that's a good thing, well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. :-)

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