A common misconception about alternative music is that people buy into it because they want to be different. More specifically, they want to be seen to be different. Music charts because it is ‘better’- by what objective measure I don’t know- and consequently, those who revel in non-chart music must be making an effort to do so. This is why it’s very easy to bash people who don’t like Lady Gaga, have an allergy to Adele or recoil at Rihanna.
I don’t believe in an objective standard of music, and certainly not once I met people who got a kick out of mad atonal music or twenty minutes of screaming. The reality is that we get turned on by different things. Music is after all an emotional experience, and the way you might be hooked is unique to you. It's a mystery in some ways. Sometimes it’s even simply a memory that ties a certain band or genre up with nostalgia that draws you in. For me, I don’t hear the ultra-simple ‘Tell Me Why’ by The Beatles and think ‘my god, this sounds like a nursery rhyme’. I think ‘I’m in the early 90s again. And I can smell the year. And I can see the old wallpaper on the living room walls.’ Had The Gladiators’ reggae sermon ‘Chatty Chatty Mouth’ been played to me when I was a kid like one of my good friends, no doubt its tune would be resonating deep in my belly instead. (So if you're one of these people who wants your kids to have a good music taste- firstly, god help you- and secondly, play them shit).
A second misconception is that non-chart music is ‘weird’. Some people I know are reluctant to listen to new things even though they love what they like and even that they heard everything for the first time once, so why not try something else? It’s silly to say 'if it's good, I've already heard it', notwithstanding the fact that even chart music is constantly changing week by week.
A music buff’s feeling is usually the opposite: there is so much more out there that you want to actively seek it out. It’s far more empowering and positive approach. Just as with the above misconception, the internet has made it clear that just because you haven’t seen an advert for it on the tube, doesn’t mean it will be ultra-left field. Not only does the above point apply here regarding one’s individual idiosyncratic and unpredictable taste, but if you are only concerned with commercial success as a measure of interest, every successful chart artist went through a period of anonymity at some stage. If you think that those without many likes on their facebook page aren’t worth your time therefore, remember that it is very often because they haven't yet been discovered. One day you might hear them on Radio 1. In my experience, people are reluctant to hear an apparently soppy band called Bon Iver when he’s an unknown quantity, or ‘this great new Brooklyn band called Friends’ when they’re small, but once word-of-mouth and radio play accelerates, it’s like you’re recommending a different band altogether. People are wary of the pub, the support act and the boutique festival, as harbingers of inaccessible music. But sooner or later if you're recommending things people will enjoy, they will be pleased to know you told them.
This has already been a very long post, but I want to move on to my featured artist who I think illustrates wonderfully the above ideas. Not many people have heard of James Carr. He’s almost a nobody, even though he had a couple of charting singles in the late 60s. However among southern blues and soul enthusiasts his album A Man Needs a Woman is considered a timeless great. He’s up there with Marvin and Aretha. He is considered one of the greatest soul artists of all time.
When I went into the record store Intoxica in London to buy this (yes, I am only in my early 20s but I still buy records), I learnt it was re-released in 2003 on Kent Soul, part of Ace Records, which has had artists as disparate as The Impressions (Curtis Mayfield’s original band), Joan Baez and speed metal giants Motorhead on its label-roster. A Carr record arriving at the counter woke the assistant.
A Man Needs A Woman is pretty much back-to-back gospel-inspired soul and longing, romantic lyrics. Carr has a raw, commanding voice, not dissimilar to Otis’. On ‘Life Turned Her That Way’ he sings in a typically personal style about a reason for a woman’s bitterness and on ‘A Losing Game’ he swoons over a shit-hot blues riff. It’s ballsy and passionate; he grabs your attention. Taken together, the full 14 tracks are an example of music that is a) considered a niche concern; b) very very underpublicised; and c) simply a straight awesome pop record, no different from any well known Motown or Stax artist, but possibly ‘better’ if you like that sort of thing. The original label Goldwax label remains the preserve of those who know.....or, those open to finding out.
See below to stream from youtube. I hope you enjoy- and please remember kids that if you don’t listen to it, you’ll never know what you might be missing.
3. More Love
4. You Didn't Know It But You Had Me
5. A Woman Is A Man's Best Friend
8. I'm Gonna Send You Back To Georgia
10. I Sowed Love And Reaped A Heartache
11. You've Got My Mind Messed Up
12. A Losing Game
14. Let It Happen
