Tag: Opinion

Trouble for TRNSMT?

After strangely successful 2 years, TRNSMT seems to have disappointed with this years’ acts with a general outcry of “I’m not going!!” on social media. Honestly, I don’t think the 2019 line up is that bad…

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. An obvious drawback for 2019’s festival is Jess Glynne as a main act. I honestly don’t think she’s as bad as what Twitter keyboard gangsters make her out to be (she’s a great performer!), but it was a real lapse in the organisers’ judgement. It’s common knowledge that any line-up including her wouldn’t be well received.

Jess Glynne via Wikimedia

Another thing – why are all the headliners the same ones from 2017? Who is honestly that desperate to see Catfish and the Bottlemen or Stormzy these days and, for the love of God, can we stop pretending Gerry Cinnamon is anything but a neddy version of Ed Sheeran? I also don’t understand why acts like Circa Waves and Example are being relegated to the King Tuts Stage.

The days themselves could have been organised so much better. There’s no clear genre divide and tbh there are so many acts who would have been suited to different days (EG Jess Glynne on the Friday, Gerry Cinnamon on the Saturday/Sunday).

However, the acts themselves are mostly pretty good for a small festival like TRNSMT. Sundara Karma, Bastille, Sigrid, Arkells, the Wombats and Example to name but a few are all great acts that will definitely put on a cracking show. Years & Years, Amine and Mabel add some diversity to the festival, which it’s been sorely lacking in.

The problem doesn’t lie within the actual acts (mostly), for me the problem is the organisation and the repetition. I still intend to go and know I’ll have a great time, I just wish they arranged the acts in a way that made more sense.

James Bay live at TRNSMT 2018

Let me know what you think – is it trash, do you love it and most of all, do you still think you’ll go?

Love always, Fiona X

Why I don’t care for the GRAMMY’s anymore

February means one thing – awards season. The Recording Academy pick which artists released the best music in the past 12 months and reward them with the prestigious gold GRAMMY award.

I don’t think these awards mean anything at all anymore and I think others are starting to agree. For me, they tend to celebrate commercial success as opposed to actual talent. I know the two do often go hand in hand, however in recent years it’s felt like the Academy can’t be bothered anymore and are just picking names out of a hat.

For example, take the alternative/rock categories. Why were Arctic Monkeys nominated for anything off their last album when it received such low ratings and a lukewarm response at best? James Bay, George Ezra and Tonight Alive were but a few artists who would fit in these categories that released brilliant albums last year. Also, in 2018 Paramore’s critically acclaimed After Laughter and Kings of Leon’s Walls were completely snubbed.

That’s another thing. Of course, art is completely subjective, but every year these ceremonies cause drama. Example: when Cardi B didn’t win anything last year, it was a massive snub. This year when she won best rap album over the late Mac Miller, the internet basically imploded on itself in rage.

Image result for cardi b
Cardi B via Wikimedia

All great artists deserve to be recognised and commended for their outstanding work, however are the GRAMMYs really as reputable as they were in the past? In the age of streaming, I feel like the opinions of the Academy are no longer held in as high regard because it’s so much easier to access all sorts of music.

At the end of the day, it’s all down to personal taste – if an album/artist you love gets ignored by the GRAMMYs doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad, the same way recognition doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good.

Let me know what you think – do you take the GRAMMYs seriously, do you go along with it for a bit of fun or do you ignore them all together?

Love always, Fiona X