Will Irish Eurovision entry survive Russian anti-gay laws?

February 26, 2018March 25, 2019
by The Accidental Lyricist

Could video of “Together” lead to a broadcast ban in Russia?

Despite a very brief flurry of excitement that Johnny “Rotten” Lydon could have possibly represented Ireland at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, singer Ryan O’Shaughnessy was eventually chosen for the song “Together”. In many ways, it’s a strong contender. It’s an elegantly-written contemporary mid-tempo with a nice sentiment. It also comes with a neat video of a couple walking through Dublin streets by night before breaking out into some spontaneous contemporary dance.

But here’s the thing.

The couple are gay. So? So Russia introduced very stringent laws concerning what they call “gay propaganda” some years back. If the Eurovision decides to broadcast the video, the Russian channels will be obliged to re-transmit it. Broadcasters cannot pick and choose which parts of the live broadcast they want to show.

gadgets

The Academic create the ultimate loop on Facebook

February 12, 2018April 6, 2021
by The Accidental Lyricist

Irish Band uses live delay to create layered version of song

There are Facebook Live transmissions, then there is this. Young Irish band The Academic used Facebook Live to create an amazing looped version of their single “Bear Claw”. They played on the fact that there is always a short gap between what is being filmed and its arrival on Facebook. So they arranged each instrument on “Bear Claws” to fit Facebook Live’s delay, with each loop getting more complex, adding instruments, rhythms and melodies. Additionally, by projecting the video live from a soundstage they created an infinite tunnel consisting of all the previously recorded loops. The result is incredibly clever – and works as a song.

I can only guess how long this took to work out. Hit the play button and give it time to get going. Then hang around to get the full version of the song.

The Academic, power pop from Mullingar

The Academic were formed in Mullingar, Ireland in 2011. The teens play a latter-day power pop that has earned a good reputation live. The band is made up of Craig Fitzgerald on lead vocals/guitar, Dean Gavin (drums) and brothers Stephen (bass) and Matt Murtagh (lead guitar). Their debut album “Tales From the Backseat” reached number 1 in the Irish album charts in January 2018, and the band is currently touring a lot.

Curiously, the band does not have a website as such. But you can find them on Facebook and Twitter.

news

Brexit: the John Lennon connection

June 24, 2017February 26, 2019
by The Accidental Lyricist

Iconic song “Imagine” gets quoted twice in the same day

I was amused to see the exchange between the EU president Donald Tusk and the Belgian prime minister the other day concerning Brexit. Tusk was – perhaps wistfully – hoping that Britain would review its decision to leave the EU before it was too late, quoting John Lennon. The Belgian prime minister followed retorted with a quote from the same song.

Earlier, EU President Donald Tusk had channelled John Lennon’s “Imagine” as he said he hoped Brexit could be reversed — though others immediately poured cold water on the idea.
“Who knows? You may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one,” the former Polish premier said with a broad smile, quoting Lennon’s iconic song.
But Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel — who has strongly argued for EU unity on Brexit — said Tusk should let it be.
“I am not a dreamer and I am not the only one,” Michel told reporters, saying he thought it was “British humour” by Tusk.

Get the full story on France24.

news

Dana Winner lyrics to “If You Want to Know…

April 20, 2017June 24, 2017
by The Accidental Lyricist

I’ve been going over lyrics I’ve done over the past years and noticed the lyrics to Dana Winner’s “If You Want to Know Me” weren’t available. There’s a bit of a story behind it, as it was originally written by the French hit songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman and then… Oh, go straight to the page and find out for yourself 😉

Check it here.

plagiarism

RIP: Prince Buster

September 9, 2016February 5, 2019
by The Accidental Lyricist

Prince Buster - Madness par LianeCarlton

Prince buster: Madness, genius and business

For many people about my age, Prince Buster was little more than a name connected to ska. But the death of Cecil Bustamente Campbell on September 8, 2016 marks the passing of one of reggae’s most important figures. He created literally hundreds of tracks as both producer, writer and performer. These include worldwide hits such as “One Step Beyond”, “Al Capone” and “Oh Carolina” (now best known for the brilliant cover by Shaggy). The hit “Madness” was later used as the British ska band’s signature tune.

Buster first started working in the music business in sound systems, rapidly setting up his own, called Voice of the People. Spotting an opportunity, he started producing singles. He proved to be an inspired producer and writer, and created numerous hits from the very start of his career in the early sixties.

After totally dominating the ska scene, Prince Buster continued to push out hits in the rocksteady reggae style. His “Judge Dread” series of parody hits would be used as a stage name by the British artist Alexander Hughes.

The British ska revival of the seventies dipped generously into Buster’s legacy. Madness’ first hit (on the 2-Tone label) was called, significantly, “The Prince”.

Campbell died in Miami, Florida after suffering a number of strokes.

politics

Queen asks Trump to stop using their music –…

July 20, 2016February 26, 2019
by The Accidental Lyricist

“We are the Champions” is not an endorsement of Trump

Queen have again expressed their frustration that Donald Trump is using their 1977 single ‘We Are The Champions’ at his rallies. The song was heard when he appeared at the party’s National Convention in Cleveland on Monday July 18, 2016.

In a statement, Queen said they are “frustrated” at Trump’s “repeated unauthorised use of the song”. Already a month ago guitarist Brian May said that permission for Trump to use ‘We Are The Champions’ “was neither sought nor given”.

In a politely-worded statement, the group said,”Queen do not want their music associated with any mainstream or political debate in any country. Nor do Queen want ‘We Are The Champions’ to be used as an endorsement of Mr. Trump and the political views of the Republican Party. We trust, hope and expect that Mr. Trump and his campaign will respect these wishes moving forward.”

Comments of this nature are very frequent in US politics in particular. No matter how many times candidates are pulled up for unauthorised use of music, the organisers of political rallies never seem to get the message.
Read more on NME. Read more about music & politics.

UPDATE: In an exchange on Twitter, Ray Slijngaard of the band 2 Unlimited revealed that the group has also seen its music used by Trump without their permission.

We aint allowing shit and ofcourse we try to stop this, but legally we can do nothing about it so dont judge us ? https://t.co/EuZpr4ldv9
— #Ray (@RaySlijngaard2U) July 6, 2016

Lyric news