Bring back real music.

As this blog brilliantly sums up... "24 Hour Party People. A funny, prankishly metatextual biopic about the Manchester music scene (Joy Division, The Happy Mondays, etc.) and Tony Wilson, the TV presenter/hustler (played brilliantly by Steve Coogan) who kept startup record label Factory going with fast talk and smoke and mirrors, 24 Hour Party People is a fun, satirical slice of little-known Britpop arcana.

The Problem: Sure, some of the music was rave-friendly, but the main thrust of the film is less (as in none) a portrait of pierced-tongued, morally-flexible party bunnies than it is a seriocomic biopic of the humorously-weaselly, in-over-his-head, middle-aged Wilson. Sure, there’s some drugs, and Wilson gets an hilariously-furtive hummer in the back of a van (and through a hole in his boxers), but those things are not the hedonistic, slap-happy craziness the cover seems to promise. Nice tongue, though." (http://videoportjones.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/the-most-deceptive-dvd-box-art/)

I just watched this and despite the odd narrative/style that doesn't quite work, the duration of the film and the lack of craziness it's awesome. This is a film that lets history do the talking and the history of the British music industry until 1990 is absolutely incredible, maybe even until 1993. With the legends of Ian Curtis, Shaun Ryder, John Peel and Morrissey (neither of whom feature in the film but whatever). I just feel that if they could hear what dominates the airwaves they would kill themselves... something needs to change. Music needs to come back to the people.

You could argue that dub is the new frontier but it isn't. Not in my opinion anyway. I like it and everything but it doesn't quite have the lyrical power of homemade music, autochthonic qualities of Joy division or Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Bring back real music.