2012 is an important year for popular music. It is 50 years since The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones started performing and releasing music; it is essential that their ongoing existence be acknowledged. The Beach Boys are presently touring the world, performing their hits, and The Rolling Stones are recording some new tracks with the view to embarking on a global tour in 2013.
Life is all about leveraging off a great idea until it has been exploited to within an inch of its self. The music press has revealed plans for an Eagles’ 40th anniversary tour [better be quick guys, 2012 is almost done!!], and we have seen numerous world tours of lesser-known artists for their 30th or 20th anniversaries. Many of these artists haven’t been actively performing for at least a decade; is there a qualifying period for active service in order to meet the requirements for an official anniversary tour?
In recent years, we have seen many artists touring a “classic album” [i.e. performing their best-known album in its entirety]. I’m not sure as to when this concept commenced [was it Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”], however this trend is beginning to wear thin. The Smashing Pumpkins have recently been touring 1993’s “Siamese Dream” AND making the cover The Rolling Stone magazine. Surely this is a step too far…
Is it a case that today’s popular artists are unable to “hold” an audience in live performance, or is the general public’s demand for a “tried and tested” format simply overpowering the development of new and original artists?
Saturday, October 13, 2012
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