Stumbled on Muse's Cover of Nirvana-Lithium

Previous entries might give the very false idea that I am set on my opinions. So with this one, I would like to clear the air. I have some doubts about this entry, maybe my claims are false and I do hope they are actually so please point them out!

The question I have been asking myself is what makes a music artist original and more precisely, do we care about originality in a solitary sense or as an addition to a genre? Should we judge an artist for themselves or compared to their surroundings?

This has greatly disturbed me since first listening to Nirvana. They made grunge the centre of the 90’s, the next step in rock music, even a fashion statement! You can’t help but love that imperfect, crude voice of Kurt, or his mop-like hair, or his intermediate guitar skills. And then there’s Dave Grohl, drumming like the pro he is, aggressively yet fun, a real artist, an unstoppable machine of musical genius (fangirl moment, I apologise). Finally, simple lyrics from a pessimistic pot-head (among other things) that gave adolescence a matching soundtrack.

But Kurt shot his foot and died (this is my personal favourite theory and I’m sticking to it). The band no longer is. So what is their legacy? While a legacy is present for sure, this is where my doubts arise; for their legacy partly is grungy, indistinguishable, dull alternative rock bands. Suddenly, two chords sufficed! Minimal skill was required. Pot remained a strong component but now accompanying whining, boring clichés. All bands may site them as an influence but the influential ones surely don’t site them as the main one, not even top five. They made things easy, maybe too easy. It is my personal belief, for example, that if Simple Plan suddenly disappeared and their songs were performed by Good Charlotte, no one would even notice. And these are popular rock bands and sometimes fun but definitely a drag on originality. So what is the verdict? Are Nirvana to blame?

Having honoured the past, let’s now talk about the present. This is very personal; it is my all-time favourite band, Muse, as I can explain things better with my extensive (exteeeensive) knowledge on the band. Muse were first criticised as unoriginal, as Radiohead copycats, mostly because of Bellamy’s voice. Later on, we dedicated fans, Muse can also have some of the credit, convinced the world of their unique sound, their perfectionism in melody, their excellence in riffs and live energy. They combine so many different things, they sound like no one else and they are talented musicians, extravagant performers and such particular artists (again, apologies). Now that my personal admiration is out there, I have to ask; so what?

Could they be too particular? Or too extravagant? It feels like if anyone was inspired by Muse and developed the sound any further they would sound silly. They do not define a generation; they are dorky in a hipster-less sense, non-scandalous and lacking stardom. Not to mention their flirtations with pop music, leaning away from their Muse-ical characteristics (pun intended). They lack a legacy. They are not an old band, so the fact that they are not a leading inspiration yet is not definitive but maybe just a tad alarming.

Personally, it’s quite easy to keep on loving Muse and forget all these doubts but still debate over Nirvana’s damage but in all honesty, music is a continuum; no one likes just one band!... Apart from me! Fuck all, Muse rule!!

Stumbled upon a 9gag post

http://9gag.com/gag/a5KBb3y?ref=fb.s.mw

So the cherry on top of my nerd-cv is of course the endless hours I spend on 9gag. It is not uncommon that the posts there reflect other areas of interest so I am not going to bother you with pretences that what I came across was something unexpected. Quite the opposite.

 I always knew that I could not be the only one! I always knew there were others like me… I am talking, of course, about the prospect of a Harry Potter prequel as you might have guessed.

Personally my favourite chapters throughout the series were the ones about the four animagi, the girl and the ugly git with the abnormally large nose. So, Prisoner of Azkaban Ch. 18, Order of Phoenix Ch. 28 and of course, The Deathly Hallows Ch. 33 (I am tearing up just writing the last one down). You can imagine how furious I was with the movies in the first two cases, when these beautiful scenarios were rushed and blurry and not given the justice they deserve! Forget about Peeves, you can’t explain all of Remus’s misfortune and Sirius’s dedication to James in under a minute while having them run around a table chasing a bloody mouse!

This goes out to those agreeing that not only more should have been done in the movies, but more could be said by books, new books that is (the old ones are obviously flawless). There’s just so much material! They were Hogwarts’ biggest mischievous foursome; this could at least make one book all about our three handsome boys and their slimy parasite. The story could revolve around a central love triangle possibly and sidelines could include Remus’s  secret, their struggle to become animagi, Petegrew’s questionable character etc. And Rowling, like no one else, can so subtly yet effectively show the transition through adolescence. Who better than her to transform that egotistical narcissist, James, to the dream boy of every girl’s fantasy.

Rowling has demonstrated a preference for a character focused narration, so I would suppose that would be the case. It could be from James, in order to keep ‘Potter’ in the title, and leave Snape’s side of the events kind of appearing but our main character not realising it. We would know the truth, it would be a running joke (not a joke per say). Just think about it:

‘James was walking down the Great Hall when he overheard Snape saying something about hazel eyes. James wondered whether their potions class was getting just a tad too demanding. He made a mental note to let Lily know she might be in danger in the unlikely event that Snivellus notices her eye colour.’

Admittedly not the best piece of writing ever but you get the idea.

Or it could be someone more distant like Lupin, which would greatly satisfy me as I am endlessly in love with him. It could offer a third person perspective to the whole thing. And it seems as if he would be a likeable character throughout, calm and sound. Or it could be Snape and we could all be reaching for handkerchiefs in every single page.

Bottom line is, a prequel of some form would work. People love the characters from the Harry Potter series like they love their friends, I know this from experience. If Harry, Ron and Hermione have reached their peak, James, Sirius, Remus, Lily and Snape are the safest bet. They are already loved and probably have a hell of a story to share.  All I can do is wish and daydream and I invite you to do the same. But remember, ‘it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live’! That’s easy for a wizard living at Hogwarts to say though.