Brit Music Scene

Moby Dismisses British Music As Provincial & Laddish

Posted: 24 Jun 2009 04:48 PM PDT

It probably comes as little surprise that we here at Brit Music Scene love British music. It is, without a doubt, the best music in the world, with more important artists to have emerged from the UK than any other country. Which, considering the size of this little island, is pretty damn amazing. But not everyone holds the British music scene in such high regard.

Moby has recently come out and dismissed the British music scene in no uncertain terms. Moby is releasing his new album, Wait for Me, but I’m sure that has nothing to do with these headline-chasing comments. In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Moby claims to have been heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, and Rod Stewart in his younger days but now isn’t a fan of the UK’s output.

He moaned:

“UK music has become very provincial and pub orientated. It’s hard to get too excited about pub rock.”

“The band look like they’re hanging out at the pub and they sound like they are playing in a pub and the subject matter is very provincial and pub orientated - laddish.”

“It’s not sexy or exciting and it’s not very personal either. It’s pleasant music, but pleasant music doesn’t make me want to run out and change the world with my records.”

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I do wonder how a man with as little integrity as Moby can make these kinds of sweeping statements. Moby is famous for selling each and every song on Play for use on commercials, which has made the album impossible to listen to with an open mind now. If you try, it isn’t long before a brand or product works its way into your unconscious.

Has Moby got a point? There is certainly an element of the British music scene which can be described as being provincial and laddish, but it’s a small element rather than one that overpowers every other genre. And the band who do inhabit this space - Oasis, The Enemy, Arctic Monkeys, and Kasabian - aren’t exactly a bad line-up now are they.

Maybe Moby should stick to writing dance tunes which owe most of their success to the use of old and forgotten samples. And then selling them to anyone who’s willing to pay the asking price.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene