It’s not about good or bad stadium, or even acceptable and unnacceptable, or even stadium it’s o.k. to like and stadium it’s not o.k. to like. It’s about are you in or out?
I’m so fuckin’ in it’s unreal…I just love the ridiculously high production values (oh my GOD they are amazing!), the huge inflated egos, the preposterous concept albums. I can listen to and have as much an emotional charge from the new U2, say, as I can from anything further down the rung (where I, I imagine, dwell way below the bottom) I think Depeche Mode are equal to the Aphex Twin, I adore Metallica’ ‘St Anger’ and I even think the last Smashing Pumpkins album was their best yet, not just that, I think all the Richard Ashcfoft albums are stunning and I’ve even seen Sting live (not to mention the Coldplay albums lining my shelf). I dig age, age improves things, the lines on the face look like hard earned wisdom, I love those ‘grainy’ black and white photos default with any stadium album. Yes there are gods+ goddesses of stadium, Prince say and Beyonce (perhaps the greatest stadium act ever). There seems to be a myth that music loses its relevance and edginess the bigger it becomes. But size is peripheral and largely irrelevant when all music is about is hitting the record button and singing into a microphone. Even if the man at the controls is Brian Eno (who lets face it is to stadium what Thurston Moore is to noise).
So that’s how I feel. Now back to that absolutely stunning Kings of Leon record…
