by Philip on 28 Dec 2006 11:03
Hi, I will say, what as a free man I can say, whereas Giovanni, as a professional, has to hold another discourse. I engage myself and tell you what I feel about this music business, so you will know who I really am, if one day you ask me to build something for you.
When I listened to the 1986 remake of dododo dadada (only 1 year ago), it was a revelation for me : that the police was a band like any other band. Yes, they are exceptional musicians. But to reach the place they get at the end, they had to do be “marketed”. And for this reason, I often feel not much in common with other fans of the band, because they like them for others reasons.
This commercial attitude on their work is still going on nowadays. Someone would ask you to buy some DTS or other super-quality recordings because there is this never realised track on it. But there is absolutely no interest in listening it in fantastic quality.
Well, the people who really know more on the subject, like Henry for instance, would say it’s to intellectual and pretentious to speak about other people. But I assume this critique and give, this personal analyse, only as a creator, fascinated by true artists:
I think Sting and Andy and Stewart wanted to reach the top be proving, some how, that working technique was relevant. In a sense, they dedicated their life to music and to be worth it, it had to be something respectful for the audience. They wanted to work very hard to reach their goal. In an interview, Sting says at the beginning he was producing and producing, without having ever counted how much money he had accumulated on his bank account. Regarding his general behaviour, I think this is true. I think it’s very possible, because I have a similar example among my near relations in another domain [toute proportion gardée].
Stewart was, perhaps, from the beginning, a little bit more surfing of the opportunity given by the new young musicians being in vogue in the late ‘70’s in England. It was him who gave the real impulse. And including the other Copelands, they had less credulous knowledge of how a band could succeed.
Then, they became big. In very short time. When one read ‘1 train later’, it’s obvious that thinks went out of control. It had turned into this big industry, and as a paradox, instead of being the leading managers, they where more the product it-self, or even, the commercial agents of the product: the product being the records to sell.
It’s good that sites like this one, are run by +/- free people. Thanks Stewart for allowing it. Of course you are totally free to do what you want now. And you could go on and on and on... on a commercial exploitation of the nostalgia of the Police. But, you know it’s in a way what killed it. So you are careful and concentrate on other new thinks.
I have the biggest respect for this attitude and wish some French products/singers would also disappear at the right time, instead of being always served as re-heated : Johnny Halliday, Lara Fabian, Helène Segara, Dick Rivers, etc… call them what you want, but artists.