Where did the spontaneity in music disappear to?

Can it be said that certain things in life have lost their spontaneity? Some things (by which I mean of the music kind specifically) have become so in demand that to stand any chance of getting that lucrative ticket you have to set alarms and be poised at your PC/iPad/mobile/other device to hit refresh on repeat at 9am months before said event takes place. Who likes to plan that far ahead these days? In truth no one but it seems to be the norm now.

To be honest, I’ve only recently witnessed this myself as a couple of weeks ago I happened to overhear that the Stone Roses were doing three shows next year with tickets going on sale that Friday morning. Knowing competition was going to be ridiculous, particularly as I read that the last time Stone Roses tickets went on sale they got sold in a speedy 10 seconds flat! Therefore, on that Friday morning my husband and I had all our devices at the ready and by some miracle, we got tickets! I’ve now adopted this as the norm, even for what I perceive to be less in demand gigs, I’m still at my PC for 9am frantically refreshing the page until I am successful.

I have never to been to Glastonbury Festival and I am unlikely ever to,

1. Because it’s so expensive

2. while I don’t dislike camping, that kind of place would leave me too anxious to sleep or even be comfortable sitting at my tent, and that’s not even taking into consideration the enormous crowds.

But some years ago when I was in my mid-teens, it was somewhere I always thought I would go.

According to my husband, buying tickets for the main summer festivals back then was as simple as working out what you wanted to see a month or maybe even a few weeks so in advance, and then going down to your local HMV to purchase tickets. Now it’s pre-registration and that whole 9am, multiple devices and teams of friends and family kind of scenario, with the many thousands of tickets available selling out in mere minutes; it’s just too crazy for words.

Sum 41 and music spontaneity

God love disposable cameras back in the day! Here is a photo I took of Deryck Whibley/Sum 41 back in February 2003!

With this lack of spontaneity in life now, aside from having to be totally on it to stand any chance of going to these events, it’s also the added pressure to enjoy yourself when you get there. Once upon a time when I lived at home in Plymouth, I went to see most of the bands that came down to the Pavilions to perform because it was affordable and I was one of those people that took the opportunity to see multiple bands, even if I wasn’t a huge fan or that familiar with them.

Sophie Ellis-Bexter, Sum 41, The Flaming Lips, Chris De Burgh, Lemar, Blondie, Stereophonics, Athlete, Travis, and Keane to name just a few of my favourites.

Music for teenagers is such an important thing and for me, it’s how I identified myself and so often what I clung to; ages ago I wrote about my love for Avril Lavigne as she particularly was someone I strongly gravitated to, and in many ways I still do. But with such a competitive edge for tickets now, how can teenagers, or anyone really, have that freedom to find themselves in music outside of the confines of ITunes and Spotify?

I worry for my future children because I wonder if they will be able to enjoy that live gig experience I grew up with, and the pressure as a parent to get your children to see their favourite artists and bands –I mean we’ve all seen the videos on YouTube of teens going into meltdown on Christmas Day when they find Justin Bieber tickets in their stocking, ha!

What do you guys think? Has music lost its spontaneity?

Until next time x

Avril Lavigne & I – A Relationship that’s Anything but Complicated

Hey Sweeties,

Avril Lavigne & I – A Relationship that’s Anything but Complicated

Complicated – 2002

When I was introduced to Avril Lavigne in 2002, it was complicated but she crashed into my life at a time when I needed some guidance, mostly with finding my own style, my own voice and something to hone my rebellious streak to. I was beginning to notice myself changing, I started being conscious of boys and how I appeared to others, I wanted to be different and exist on my own terms which at school was a struggle when they wanted you all uniformed and the same. It was this time that I discovered body piercings and black eyeliner…my school Loved me (not!); Avril Lavigne sang songs about adolescence and female empowerment, I was hooked!

Under my Skin – 2004

A year or two later, I was entering a dark place getting darker… I didn’t know why, but I was sad and felt that no one understood me. This is a common teenage feeling I know but this was darker, this was the D-word and it came and went for several years following. In 2004 Lavigne moved into a more gothic phase and style of fashion which I followed her into. Listening to Under My Skin in the car, Mum turned to me and commented that “this (Who Knows) was a good song” as tomorrow really is a brand new day. By writing an album anchoring her lyrics to a theme of a deep and personal kind, Avril Lavigne had reached out to me. For the first time song lyrics really spoke to me and I was gripped with every word of every song for hours; I loved that album!

“Who knows what could happen,  Do what you do just keep on laughing, one thing’s true,  there’s always a brand new day.  I’m gonna live today like it’s my last day”

The Best Damn Thing – 2007

Seeing Avril Lavigne perform for the first time (June 4th 2008) really was The Best Damn Thing! I was living in London now, in the big wide world on my own, still tipping on the scales between ok and not ok. I was growing up, learning who I was and trying desperately to shake away my feelings of insecurity and depression at the same time. The Best Damn Thing was a fun, care free album, perfect for what I needed. Watching her at the o2 squashed in a sea of fans, Avril asked us who had been with her from the start? I screamed “ME”! All those silly teeny boppers around me screamed too… Little liars! Avril was amazing, I wanted to be her. 

Goodbye Lullaby – 2011

At least once in our lives, we lose a great love. Avril’s marriage to Deryck (Whibley) ended and my relationship of 4 years broke around the same time too. Goodbye Lullaby, Avril’s 4th record released in 2011, was a mixture of mourning and moving on… I was just over my last relationship and ready, finally to welcome in a new one. What the Hell was about letting go of single independence and becoming part of something else, something new, something mature.

 

2013 and Beyond

So where am I now? It’s approaching the end of 2013 and I have become really proud of who I am and confident in my journey so far and where it is leading me… I haven’t been struck down with the D-word for a couple of years and everything is moving forward, if I was a singer, I think I too at this time would have a self titled album so it’s only right that Avril Lavigne does too, she’s earned it.

We’ve come a long way, her and I.

Don’t let me go, Avril.

%d bloggers like this: