Guitars being mass produced 

As many people know I am a big fan of music. I love to talk and mingle with fans of music as we have an appreciation of each other's love of fine music.

But I have most of my adult life heard the term "music was better years ago" from many people.

OK I do agree bands back in the day were very good and also incredibly talented and individual. But why come out with such a bold statement that pretty much wipes any music made after a certain point as being inferior?

Take a popular band like the Beatles, a hugely influential and praised band. To compare them with a band today and say they are way better is just ignorant and factually wrong. Much of the time people say that with no evidence or even any real understanding of music.

After the introduction of the Fender and Gibson guitars to the world, modern music changed and done it very fast. Everyone could then buy a mass produced guitar and learn to play via books and professional lessons. The 78 rpm record was a huge hit and enabled people to hear more music than ever before. No longer limited to the radio people could now experiment and evolve modern music in a really fast way.

Bands in the 50s and 60s were making music that had never been made due to the introduction of personal amplifiers and also when playing gigs the artist could use a PA to fill the room with music. No longer just a noise in the corner of a pub but a full on experience.

Music has and always will evolve it is up to the individual to listen and get it. Nothing wrong with disliking something but don't say that it is not as good as years ago if you never listen to new music.

Bands have been getting better and this is due to many things. One is as stated the mass manufacture of instruments. Made cheap and in high quality in places like Korea and China people can now buy an acoustic guitar for £30. Before the factories it was made by a skilled craftsman and you were charged a premium for this. Same as drums and even onto the components that make up the band like amps, PA and microphones.

Also the ease people can learn the music; I have done the old trick of playing an LP and slowing it down with your finger so you can hear better what is being played. To learn is made easier with books, magazines and the internet.

Again to get new music is so easy now, you don't have to trail record shops to buy expensive imports. The internet has it all, cheap and fast and also free. My Space has bands hosted with a live stream of the recorded music (So no chance of saying you can't hear new music). Cd and cassette tapes are easily copied and exchanged with bands demos and compilation albums favorite by many to spread the new bands and artists.

Live shows are now a normal thing to attend and more so new band nights. In the 50s and 60s bands did not have the chance to play a tour like you can now due to a lack of music venues and problems with logistics. It is so easy to see bands now and it is common place to do this with other bands on the line up so get in early as you may see the next big thing playing a 20 min set with no sound check. Fuck you even get a free CD at many gigs these days.

Recording techniques have changed as well, albums in the 70s were made on two or four track recording studios. Now it is pretty much as many as you want. Stereo was the big thing and it was great and still is but bands now have to record the music to go out on different formats and in digital where the band really has to sound good as mistakes can be heard very easily (As are mixing mistakes). Back in the day recording was so easy, play as a band and isolate one player for recording. Some albums were recorded and mixed in a few days. Now it is a big task, technology does make it harder due to more complex equipment and set up. Studio time for an album can be months for many artists.

Music was good years ago but it does get better and more experimental. I would never listen to new music if it was just all the same all the time.  

On Earth, the dumb keep getting dumber

If a zombie can learn...

Something I find hard to understand is people who just can't seem to learn anything new. I mean we live in a society where every child has the chance to attend school for up to twelve years and in that time you will constantly learn and develop new skills and improve on others.

I constantly get people asking stupid questions where they could have easily answered themselves with a little bit of research. Well I say research how about a Google search for a start. Nothing wrong with asking a question but don't ask something that is so easy or is very obvious that you clearly show that you have no knowledge or understanding due to being lazy and not reading or even thinking.

I work with many skilled people most have many years of learning in university. But after the 4 years or more of uni I get such stupid questions. I was once asked why the sound on the computer does not work. No speakers on the computer is the answer. Can you photocopy this black and white picture into colour? Sake!

People seem to take school and college/uni and after all that just shut down the learning area of the brain. Why? Lazy? Or just stupid, in reality many people are very stupid but can be good at school work. I really never found school that great for me. I did like some subjects but most were just so badly taught. I like history, computers and music all three are not what is really taught in school as an important subject. Maths, English and Sciences are the main ones and the ones the jobs market want.

A great film out in the 80's Day of the Dead by George A Romero tells the story of a post-apocalyptic earth where people are outnumbered by zombies and the plot is around a US military base that is in an old WW2 bunker. The mission is to assist in the research of curing the zombies. But the scientist that is present is looking into changing the zombie behaviour. He is looking into stopping the zombies from wanting to eat humans. He has to learn what makes the zombies tick and after working with them finds a zombie Bub who learns how to do certain things. If a zombie can learn does that mean much of the world is beneath a zombie?

I may just be getting old but everything is getting simpler, computers are a great example. I remember the old commodores where you had to learn a computer language to programme it. Or even use the machine for basic things. Now it is so simple, point and click, people still can't do that.

Flat pack furniture is a great example; many people struggle to use this. It has a great wee leaflet with it that shows you in pictures and simple text what to do. Take screw A (with a picture of screw a) and place in plank of wood C (Plank C has a letter 'C' on it). Fuck sake kids' stuff.

The Sun and all tabloid newspapers are guilty of dumbing down to a point they are used in schools in Africa to teach 6 and 7 year olds English. Yes if you read the Sun you have the same reading ability of an African seven year old. Ok the Sun has nice pictures and page three but I don't need a picture of a car on fire to show me what a car looks like when it is on fire. I remember the fire on the channel tunnel years ago when the sun reported it they had a graphic that shows France and England and a wee tunnel with a fire symbol in the middle. That took up a page with a small caption at the bottom on the story.

It is an old one but the exams in schools are getting easy, I have seen some of them and I am shocked. But it is not just schools. I went back to college a few years ago and done a computer aided design course. I was looking into the electronics course I done ten years previous. To my shock it was now only 14 hours a week course. Not the 36 hours I done just ten years ago, I did ask and was told it was due to money. But I really think it is due to people failing the course as I was the only person in three years to pass it in 2000.

Why is ignorance celebrated? As a former manager I was in the position of hiring (and firing) people to work in my lab. All I seemed to get was people who went out of their way to be stupid. And even to the point I could not train them in anything. Most of the work in the lab is very simple but you can go on and learn a lot, it is a technical job and requires a quick sense of problem solving. So it is no way a boring job but they just don't want to learn. I found most of the people who wanted to learn would do so and also enjoy it. The ones that don't want to learn would just stay in the same area of the lab and do the same thing. And they are happy to do so, why? I will never know. I bumped into a former workmate a few weeks ago and found he is still in the same job ten years later and doing the same task. He has not learned a thing. The job is near impossible to not learn anything, time alone would teach you something but not with this guy. But he seems happy to be daft and never learn.

I always remember a Bill Hicks show where he tells the story of a waffle waitress asking him "why do you read?" and I see this happening more and more. OK I am not a huge reader but I do read far more than most and again it is now how much you read but the quality of the text. I well written book can teach you things and without you knowing it as well. But people constantly buy the book about some idiot on Big Brother or a footballers autobiography.

Television is guilty of dumbing down as well, it is now at a point that much of what is on is a soap opera or some lame quiz show. Even back in the day looking up on the TV guide and picking out a show to watch and then going to the TV at the time it is on has been lost. Not much of a skill but it did use the power of buying a TV guide and reading it, telling the time and not missing the show. TV on demand means people can miss things due to being so fucking stupid that they can catch up on the brain numbing shows later.

I wonder if people are just turning into drummers all over the country. Great test, give people a card with P.T.O. in the corner on both sides and see what they do.

To Inform, Educate and Entertain?

The last few years have seen a huge backlash against the BBC and I really feel it is not in our best interest to dilute or remove the BBC.

The Charter was set in 2007 to show that the corporation exists to serve the public interest and to promote its public purposes. All other TV stations or TV channels in the UK are here only to make as much money as they can.

Sky, ITV and Channel 4 exist as a money making TV channel and will show adverts when and where they can to make as much money for themselves. For many years this has been done with no problems but the downturn has hit them really bad.

Back in the 80's Channel 4 was set up to give the people of this country a fourth and alternative channel for people of an age group of about 18-35. They done this very well and never seemed to get too greedy in doing so. But now with the advent of Freeview and even Sky and Cable TV they were forced to switch the way the company runs or face going bust.

Now ITV has been forced to change the way it funds the TV shows. More adverts and more repeats is the way forward for them. Also constant competitions to win money or a holiday after answering a simple question like "what channel is this" to gain entry.

The other big broadcaster is SKY TV, who exists mainly as a channel that shows Football. Also the only other company that charges for its content but unlike the BBC they are showing adverts at every possible time. Why pay for a TV service that shows adverts?

Sky generates three times as much money as the BBC but never seem to make much new TV. With far more channels they can if they wanted put the BBC out of business. They have the films, sport and the cash to get whatever star they want to front the channel. The reason why they don't is the owner. Murdock uses the channel as a money making company and will use any means to have the cash flood in. No money is spent on talent, new shows, radio or even on making new films. All they have is football and they charge a premium for this. The rest of the tv schedule is taken up with smaller channels who at times only make a few new shows themselves.

The BBC runs on a third of the budget of Sky but have 8 TV channels that all show new content. Many radio channels with no adverts and also the internet page, BBC Worldwide, Interactive, BBC Films and much more.

Every effort is made to make money in the BBC as well by selling shows to other companies. Dr Who was made in Wales once sold pays for itself. And with DVD and other tie-ins makes a profit, this goes back into the BBC. And is why the licence fee is a fraction of the cost of Sky.

 

To Inform

This is done by the BBC 24 and BBC 4 and the many documentaries and affiliation with the Open University. This does not make money and is made to a very tight budget. But for many it gives great value on the licence fee. Many TV shows would never exist without the BBC like Coast, Mapman, Battlefield Britain and all give the public a chance to learn in a way that is entertaining and factual.

The news in the UK is pretty much done by ITN (Rupert Murdock). So the News on the BBC is not against Sky or ITN but just it is an alternative and only reports news that is confirmed as factually right. The BBC has the biggest reach of any news broadcaster in the world with BBC World News having correspondents in more than 200 countries.

To Educate

BBC has two channels for children and has always had programing for kids on the corporation. One area that is important to keep adverts away from kids is on children's TV. As the adverts can pretty much brain wash a kid into wanting a product.

Commercial TV has for years been a great area to make money in the children's area as the game manufacturers will pay well to get the latest toy on the screen between the cartoons. But cartoons are not a great source of information for or teaching for kids. Cheap cartoons are not the best children's TV and the BBC again tries to make as many real shows as they can. Blue Peter is one that has survived the years and is a great way to show how none commercial children's TV can teach and inform kids of all ages. Out with the BBC it was for years a free for all with a cartoon and adverts showing just about anything that will appeal to kids. America has a better system in the commercial set up with the Children's Television Workshop a Worldwide American non-profit organization that works to make the best shows for kids. Sesame Street rings a bell?

Entertain

The one area all other channels should be able to do well in is Entertainment shows. Much like the Saturday night live shows ITV was once the best at this. But now they have a Saturday night much like the BBC was 15 years ago. Saturday Night Takeaway is just Noels House Party and when Parkinson was on ITV again a show stolen from the BBC. Again the BBC gets abuse over the shows years ago and it is now staple viewing on the other channel.

 

The BBC take the stance if it IS popular and does well in the ratings they will keep a show and have done with shows like Strictly Come Dancing. Other channels like Channel 4 have used the Fly on the Wall type of show to fill in, like Big Brother. But at the end of the day we all like to watch telly that is for us all from time to time.

The BBC is funded by us and we have a big say in the shows that are on the channels. Many people complain and something does happen. At times it is just a bit over the top. Like the Jonathan Ross incident. If it was on another channel no one would have bothered and if they did the penalties would have been nothing to what the BBC done. Again they feel they have to act on the public opinion.

Sky has a turnover of£ 5,359m for only television. The BBC total operating amount is £3237 (For TV, Radio, Internet, BBC Worldwide etc.) and a TV only spending of £1443m

So for £1443m you get the 8 channels on the BBC for £5359 with Sky you get Football and films.

The advertising is something I hate; I struggle to watch TV on commercial channels due to the number of adverts, in one hour you can now show six sections of adverts of three minutes. And each show has a sponsor and now product placement is introduced expect the writers of shows to include a story about something that uses a brand name. This is where the BBC comes into its own and leaves the rest behind. A debate about using adverts on the BBC has existed for years and rightfully the corporation refuses to let them on. The adverts just have way to much an influence on what is on TV.

Now don't get me wrong the BBC does do things wrong and I do feel many of the people working at the company get paid too much. But in all the negatives we have outweigh too much of the positives. The company is run to make shows for us in the UK and they do it with the best in the business. Many people choose to stay at the Beeb as it is a good company to work for and feel the can be more creative in doing so.

The company has over the years been at the forefront of technology, wide screen to internet. Much of what you see in TV has been invented by the BBC or they have mastered it. Even the way the shows are made can be so different, look at the Apprentice for a great well shot reality show. It is done so well it feels like a story. The interactive side is so good and it again is all included in the one price.

Many people around the world look at the BBC and wish they have it in their own country. The BBC logo is synonymous with quality and the news side is recognised as balanced and factual. Something no other production company has.

Every year a questionnaire as put out to the public and the say that they don't want to pay for the BBC. But also they say that they like the BBC and statistically it is watched by more people than the others and also people comment on the shows they want to keep.  You can't have a service like this and not pay! People of the UK are so dumb and do not know that they have it so good. 

At one point the BBC will not get the fee it deserves and when it does it is ready. They own parts of many channels around the world. Dave in the UK is 50% owned by them as an experiment on the future of the company (Will repeats on commercial TV make money?). Also many other avenues are being looked into. The BBC will exist when the government scraps the fee but it will be more on a PPV level. And I hope it will never have adverts when this happens. 

For now 8 TV channels, radio, news, interactive, online and everything else for 35p a day. Not bad.

 

I have still to try Sangria

As my title may suggest I have never been to Spain ever in my life. But I booked up a weekend in Barcelona with a mate and headed over for a holiday.

Many people I know in Scotland have been to Spain and some people I know will only travel to the same resort every year for a holiday. The UK has a great TV show called Benidorm. It is a sit com set in and around a holiday resort in Benidorm. For me the show is at times very truthful in its portrayal of the UK holiday maker going abroad for sun. Basically many British when going abroad don’t research where they are going, so when they get to the resort they want it to be like the UK. Benidorm is full of McDonald's and chip shops as the majority of the travelers are from the UK. This is something I always hated about a holiday to a resort and I have never done it and never will. The stigma of the Benidorm package holiday has lasted my whole life and even goes out with Spain, Greece, Portugal, Egypt and many more countries I have had a mental block on going to due to the British holiday maker demanding UK food and customs.

I as many people know love to travel and when I do I want to get away from anything I have when at home. That includes computers (much of my working time is at a PC), TV, eating much of the UK diet and the most important one the BRITISH PEOPLE.

I have went to Barcelona mainly as the architecture is so well documented and as an Cad Tech(Computer Aided Designer) I have a big interest in architecture. My first visual occurrence was the airport itself, a big grey building with electric doors. That is the same here but a 75 minute bus ride and I am right in the centre of Barcelona, just out of the bus station is the Arc de triomphe a stunning piece of architecture that gives your eyes a real great start to the trip. Walking about the streets trying to find our hostel was a bit tricky due to the map only detailing one street out of four but the sights of the old Gothic Quarter are stunning. I am carrying a very heavy bag containing my belongings for the weekend and the sun is very hot but I find myself walking around the gothic structures in a circle as they are so stunning.

We make it to the hostel and the two people who own and run the place greet us. I sent an e mail to the place a few days previous about the ash cloud possibly delaying or even stopping the trip. The person who serves us Catalina is very helpful and provides us with a great map and then goes on to give us hints and tips on where to go and how to get to the sights. She leads us to our room and shows the hostels facilities. We have a shower room and a balcony in this hostel, a real bonus and something I have never had. The place is a bit noisy at night but I was expecting that as we are seconds away from La Ramblas. The street is the only let down of the trip as it is nothing but a tourist market with beggars and people offering drugs, sex and well just about anything you want. We quickly nip to a pub and decide to stay away from the street and head out to more pubs frequented by more locals. We do this and find the locals very friendly and polite, few more beers and we head back to an Irish bar near the hostel to end the night with a few pints.

Next morning we get up and first thing we need is food, hostel recommends the place at the end of the road as they are quick and cheap and they are showing the Rugby for me to get a quick update. We plan to head up to the Nou Camp via the train. A ten trip ticket is only 9 Euros and excellent value, even more so after we use the service. The metro service is so clean and tidy, very little graffiti and quick service. The station has no timetable as the run every five minutes 24 hour a day. The train is clean and safe to use, plenty of cameras and also well lit. As the transport is so good the city seems to have more room for people to walk; now it does have many cars but it just feels like many few than I am used to.

Why in Glasgow we can't open up all the old underground tunnels and extend the Underground service is beyond me. It would give Glasgow so much more in the future and I am sure people would love it.

We get off at the appropriate station to see the football stadium and make our way up to it on foot. Temperature is over 30 degrees but we make it and pay the money to get in. I have no huge desire to see the stadium but Madman is really into seeing it so I go along with it. But standing on the pitch side right behind the goal is a fun experience as is sitting in the commentary booths. The area we are in has not got much to see more a living space for people so we head back to the hostel for a rest.

Out for some food and a nice we place that does tapas is our destination. I ask for more seafood tapas as we are right on the coast. We are served some nice food and a few beers before we check out a couple of bars, again mixing with more Spanish to avoid the bulldog crew

Madman is adamant about watching the football, I really couldn't care less. A pointless tournament that is only about money and nothing else, I decide to go along with it and try and enjoy myself. Again in an Irish bar but the place is packed with German women, who do look very good, so at least a small change from pubs in Glasgow where they are frequented by men. Two hours later the game is over and we head out of the pub.

I then start talking to some American guy in a bar, he speaks Spanish due to his family coming from Mexico so is known in the bar well. He asks why I am not in an Irish bar, I say due to them not having any Irish in them. He does seem kind of confused by my reply so I invite him to the one we were in last night. He instantly gets what we mean as the place is crammed with stag and hen nights and men in football tops shouting and being very drunken. Madman wanders off as he hates Americans (Much like he hates everyone else). We finish the night by smoking a joint on the La Ramblas and chatting to some local students about music.

Sunday is more a day for me and I have decided to do what I want to do today. As I have said I love architecture and I will devote almost all of the day to his. First up is the Sagrada Família‎ as you come out of the train station it is right there in front of you and on first look is not that amazing. But as you walk around it the detail and craftsmanship is amazing. Many people believe the church is still built on the plans made by Gaudí but that is not true, many of the plans and drawings are lost and even what was built was damaged during the civil war. You can see a patchwork style of building in the project. Also as a Cadtech I can see the areas designed with computers, computer designed buildings do look unique and it does seem to blend in. Gaudí was far more ahead than he will ever know.

More walking about and then to Park Güell again designed by Gaudí, it is a hard task to reach the park up a very steep hill in the sun but I make my target and so much worthwhile. The view is stunning and really takes your breath away. The park is a real surprise to me design wise as it has a feel of Britain about its design, and much like many parks in the UK it follows a similar set up. But I read the park was going to be a development site for houses but was scrapped due to lack of interest by purchasers. This is something really good as the park is so much better than some buildings and homes only the rich could buy. You get a great park for use and see the city with for free. I really do recommend the view over Barcelona, a sight that tells you every building has a story.

Now time for a quick read of me book to rest my feet and then onto the gig. Jason and the Scorchers are playing the last date of the European tour tonight. I had booked the holiday and paid for everything but when checking the bands website noticed a few extra dates. He last one was in Spain, and yes it ties in when I am over and why not go to see em again three weeks after seeing them in Glasgow. No ticket may be a problem but I will pop down and see what I can do. I get to the venue where I am told that it has sold out. Fuck. I was looking forward to the gig big style as the band really are amazing and they may not tour or make a new album for 14 years again. I explain that I am Scottish (Hey it has worked before) and travelled over for the gig. Ok a wee lie but it works she says 22 Euros and I happily pay, I am given a ticket that looks more like a jacket ticket stub. I hand it to the door man who looks says something in Spanish. The woman at the counter shouts over at him and he then shakes his head and lets me in. Great I am in, I am now up for a drink. I notice no people are really drinking at the gig only a few people have a glass. I order a beer and am given what I would say is under half a pint of beer for 7 Euros. Fuckin heck! Right I see why nobody is drinking, I only have one more during the show. The sound is fucking great in here and very loud as well. In the UK the sound levels have to be under a certain amount to curb people damaging their hearing. It is a load of bollocks as a few hours a week won't do anything to your hearing. The band play a stormer and I leave to meet Madman for a few beers before going to bed.

I was really taken back by my trip as I did expect the whole tourist city aspect to have been more so. But once you get out the main streets and into the little pubs with the locals they are very friendly and welcoming. A great few days away and I would have happily have stayed longer but due to low wages and much less sleep than is healthy for you I come home. I would happily go to Spain again but never to a resort with the tourists.

Up the Irons

 

A band that has changed the music industry more than many is Iron Maiden. A personal favourite of mine and a band who have such an understanding of the music industry they were years ahead of the record companies.

Everyone has seen the band on telly and heard the music but what you hear has nothing to do with the record industry. This isn't AOR made up by an executive in a suite at EMI or Capitol. Steve Harris the band leader and the mind behind the band made so many decisions before the band were signed in 1979 that it took four years for a record label to in fact sign them.

For a start the band were about during the punk era and many labels were signing anything that looked different. Iron Maiden was very different in looks but in music what they played was truly metal. Steve Harris turned down contract after contract to maintain the band's sound and distinct musical identity. Even now in 2010 I have yet to hear a band that sounds like them so he must have been right to do so. Many punk bands were taking the big money and making the chart friendly music that at times was very good, but where are they now?

One big change in the industry that Iron Maiden and also EMI done was to bring a picture cover to the 7" market. Many bands and artists did not release a single with a picture cover to help save money. But also the bands did not have an identity, when you see an Iron Maiden album you say to yourself "now that is an Iron Maiden Album". Instantly recognisable as a metal album/single and as an Iron Maiden release. This was a very good promotional tool and one that costs very little in comparison to paying for advertising that may not really work or show the band the way they want.

The big thing they have is the 'Eddie' character. He is on much of the bands covers and is more a comic book character than anything else. He has been painted by Derek Riggs from 1979 and was an idea he took from a hanging on the side of a burned out Japanese tank at the Matanikau River during the Battle for Henderson Field.

Derek Riggs made a portfolio of work and showed it to the bands manager, in the middle of all his work was the band's first album cover. It was not quite like what the band wanted but a few changes and the painting was done. This idea was then used for the band's first album; the album was a critical and commercial success. The artwork on two singles leading up to the album was very well thought out. The first single has someone running into an ally with Eddie waiting and the second was the banned single sleeve that showed Eddie standing over Lady Thatcher holding a knife. Due to the graphic nature of the sleeve many shops would not sell it with the sleeve but it was still a chart hit and helped to give the album some publicity. Again this was all planned for the first album release where Eddie would be seen properly for the first time.

No other band at the time had a 'mascot' like what Iron Maiden had. It was used to promote the band but mostly to give the band an identity on the shelf of the music store. More singles and albums followed with the Eddie character and the band went on to have huge success not only here but in America as well. Again with the band having a very distinctive look they seem to get over around the world with very little air play and practically no promotion.

Just about every metal band for ten years has copied Iron Maiden artwork but not one has captured the originality of the bands identity.

The band knows without airplay they would be missing vital money to play live gigs. This is where the band set up a fan club and also made a very good decision to sell their own merchandising. This has been done by many bands but they kept control of the entire Iron Maiden concept. Only products the band liked were sold, this helped to make sure the fans were not buying cheap crappy products. Also it stops the management getting money so that more money was available to tour on the next album. Iron Maiden merchandising is so unique that it still sells tons today. Everything from T Shirts to coffee mugs can be bought direct from the band.

Musically the band is as individual as you can get but another factor the band hated was the idea of a single being 3 minutes long. Most metal bands were not releasing singles at all. They again went out to release singles from every album and the hard work paid off in 1990 with a number one single. Another thing was they would fill each album as much as they can with new material. A 12" LP can hold about 45 minutes and they engineered the music and the songs to make the most of the record. So you pay the same money and get more than most other bands. This was a trend that still exists in metal to this day and they were the first to start doing it back in 1982. Number of the Beast 44:46, Piece of Mind 45:50, Powerslave 50:57, Somewhere Back in Time 51:24 and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 43:50. Even when CD was outselling the 12" they would fill the CD up as much as they could (Around 70minutes in 1992).

The band were invited on Top of the Pops in 1980 and refused to play due to the TV show wanting them to mime. This was a big thing as no one would play live on the show back then. The band refused to lip-synch and got their way to be the first band to play live since the Who in 1972. Many bands followed to the point that bands were asked if they would like to play live. I remember Top of the Pops showing some great rock and metal bands and they always stood out due to the live sound they would get on the show. It makes you want to see em live if you know what I mean.

The record industry was changing at the time Maiden started due to MTV, ok the band never invented the music video but did in a sales kind of way. The first concert to be filmed for a video release as Iron Maiden at the Rainbow. Again in 1980 when video recorders were still very expensive and so few could buy them. But the band knows what the industry would become and were years ahead of the rest. 

Iron Maiden was the first to play behind the Iron Curtain, (and did it while running about the stage with a union jack). They showed the rest of the world that you can play anywhere, playing in Poland was a real big thing back in the 80's as no band would go near. Much of the reason was due to cost as paying off the officials and the gangs were risky. And to this day they still play new places that other bands will not play. Take a look at the documentary Flight 666 where the band with the singer Bruce Dickinson as the pilot go around the globe and play to the countries that they are told they can't play due to money.

The band had a four album firm commitment deal from EMI. This is unheard of in the music industry and I have never heard of it myself. Even Oasis and all the huge bands would never have been given this deal. Most are three albums no matter what and you will get paid if it goes well. Once again the band could show that they can deliver on the deal. They had the first two albums ready to record and present the artwork to the record company for future releases. Full creative control over music, artwork and touring was handed to the band. All this and a four album fixed deal.  EMI are a conglomerate company and for this to be offered to a metal band… Wow. Just as well the band was successful. 

In a poll done in the 90s people were asked to name the most British thing they know. This was a question asked to people out with the UK to see what people recognise first of all to be British and to utter surprise the result was Eddie and Iron Maiden.

 

29x the Fun/Pain

I have been asked a good few times what my internet nickname means. Well it is more a homage to one of my most favourite songs in the world. The classic 29x the Pain by The Wildhearts. The song was written and recorded as a quick B Side to the Suckerpunch single in 1994 and released to help promote the band headline the second stage of Donington.

A very simple song and easy to play is certainly not a technical highlight by the band but it does have one great thing and that is lyrics. It was written by a man who is a huge music fan and loves many diverse and exiting bands. Nearly all of the lines have one or more references to another band or artist. The song name in its self is derived from Hüsker Dü's song "59 Times the Pain".

The 29 part is a funny one but it has been explained by the song writer Ginger as the 29^th Wildhearts song and he wrote it when he was 29.

The song was only ever put out on a B Side and is pretty much the most popular song the band play live. A re-recording was made in 1996 with a guitar into added and a reference to Richie Edwards replacing Kurt Cobain.

The single made it to 38 in the UK charts a then fell out of the uk top 100 the next week but it will always be a great song and one that many people love.

The song has a rather odd outro in the form of a mini rap called the "Duck Song". To this day when the band play the song live the audience finish the rest of the tune by singing the "Duck Song".

 

Be kind to your web-footed friends

'cause that duck might be somebody's mommy

They live in the rivers and swamps

Where the weather is always damp

Well you may think that this is the end

Well it is

 

29 has also been a bit of a lucky number for me as one time when I was a student I was down to my last £10. I was in the casino and placed it on 29 Black and won.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HfIQnDDL8o

 

29 x the Pain

 

Here, sitting in my room,

With the Replacements and Husker Du

Like a rebel without a clue

And the Beatles and the Stones

Get to hang out with Ramones

And the Pistols shot in fame

As they sing the old refrain

Like they always will again

Like 29 times the pain

 

I see Starz

And the moon is Big and Black

It's a full sheer heart attack

And the Cheapest Trick of all

Is when I here that London Call

I need something and I need it fast

I need Jason scorching past

I need to know they feel the same

Cos when they almost know my name

It's like 29 times the pain

Times the pain

And it all ends up the same

 

Kiss my Heart

Never felt that from the start

Come on make me feel like me

SLF and BOC

Give me old, give me new,

Let me know you feel it too

To the sound of Twisted Girls

There's a brave new world oh

How, how can I get down?

When I've got all my friends around

I want to be here once again

I'm gonna miss Kurt Cobain

Like 29 times the Pain

Porn for Gadgets

As we all know the porn industry is huge. And with the many ways you can get porn it can generate around $3,000,000 an hour.

That means many people are buying porn every day and over multiple formats.

Something many people who have porn will say 'it is not mine'. That is technically true as much of it is stolen or copied and sold by men in long raincoats.

Back when porn was only seen in a special cinema that was out of bounds for kids men paid like a normal night at the flicks, to walk about a cinema with sticky carpets. This was big business on its own and evidence has shown that the earliest film recording known is a pornographic film. Just think the camera was invented and someone decides instead of using it to film his birthday or a holiday they opt to make a porn film. Why? To make money.

New technology has been invented and then taken over by the porn industry. At times technology has fallen by the waste side due to it not being taken by the porn market. As people don't like to buy it legally and also due to it being banned in many countries. People would choose a certain product over another. Some of the big gadgets you have in your house were on the market with many other similar items.

Remember the VHS and Betamax war? Back in the 70s and 80s both formats bring recording into the home. And both done it well, VHS was the invention of JVC and the Betamax was the Sony machine. We all have owned a VHS, but why? The format won in the late 80's due to a great advertisement campaign by JVC and Sony claiming the film companies would not release on the Betamax format. But in truth many men opted to buy a VHS recorder as porn was easily available in rental shops and more importantly from the black market as copies. Yes two VHS recorders and a Scart cable and you can copy as many videos as you like. No real reason has come to light for the VHS victory but as we now know it was due to porn.

Amiga Vs Atari from the late 80's was a battle to outdo any. With Atari people jumping ship to Commodore and Amiga guys jumping to Atari. Did you know an employee of Amiga invented the Atari ST? And an employee of Atari invented the Amiga? No well there ya go, that is how intense the rivalry was with each company stealing manpower trying to get one over the other. Atari were doing very well outselling Amiga then for some reason Commodore came right back into it. On the black market most games were bought and sold for cut price on both machines but as the Amiga was more advanced it seem to have better graphics and it was able to do FMV (Full Motion Video). Again many people were buying the disks and copying them, at one point the table was turned and Amiga started to sell very well and won at the end of the day. This is not just due to porn but it had a deciding factor. Also the Amiga was Internet capable and again another area the porn industry would use. Subsequently Commodore and Atari would both go bust and end making any computers. This was the first time porn was seen on a home computer and started something that will never be stopped. 

The internet was a great invention and was invented so scientists could talk to each other. But it started very slowly and grew bigger over years. From 1979 till about 1993 it was used by very few people and until about the mid 90's most people could never use it. But a big reason it took off so big then was that porn was easily available on the web. Type the word 'porn' into any search and many results came up on screen. By the end of the 90's 75% of the net was porn and much of the rest was online retailers trying to get a foot in the web. Remember the dot com demise? This happened as many people really used the internet for few things. Porn being a big use and again something most would never admit to. Pizza Hut had the first online commercial website in the early 90's but they were nearly ten years away from using it to make any real money. But the porn industry got way bigger and many companies to full use of the web. People signed up with credit cards and got a monthly dose of porn with no embarrassing trips to the top shelf in the newsagents. The internet may not have had a direct rival but at the time of the internet boom many cable tv companies were going under. People had to phone the company and ask for porn and then pay for it. Internet was so much more elusive.

Next up was the digital war. DVD or Digital Video Disk. Unlike the VHS war both were technically similar with the format only being decided by the manufacturer of the disk. You have DVD - (Minus) and DVD + (Plus). Both the same but one is cheaper to make and made by the big companies at a higher yield. The DVD came into the living room with a near HD resolution and made movies look far better than VHS. It was the same a laser disk but far cheaper. At first the DVD sales were low but in the video shops the rental of porn was high for DVD. And when the recording and copying of DVDs began in around 1999 the DVD took off big time and then DVD+ was killed off due to the price of blank disks being half the price of the minus ones. Much of the DVD sales on the black market were for porn. Many other things were released on DVD like games and films but the porn sales were very high and more expensive. 

And right up to now we have the Hi Def format the HD DVD and the Blu Ray format. Again much like the VHS format Blu Ray is the technically inferior of the two but won the war due to many factors. Toshiba invented the HD DVD and had the format finalized and on the market before Blu Ray. But film companies were reluctant to use HD DVD due to the decision that Sony was building it into the new Playstation machine. But many films came out on HD DVD and many more were out on the format than Blu Ray. At one point the HD DVD was doing better than its rival. But the porn industry went to the Blu Ray market and released the first Blu Ray disk. Yup it was not a film or a tv show but a porn disk making the format debut.