How great are Busted?

[Polka Dots and Strip]

Every time i hear one of their silly, cheery singles i cant help but feel that Busted are one of the greatest bands this country has produced for a decade :D

Long may they reign!

[Koolaid]

Mccfly are a superior band to busted...EXCUSE ME....None of these are sorry excuses for bands they are a money making tool for fat capitalists who couldn't care less about music...I am surprised I am even taking the time to reply to such a silly statement...I am thinking it was probably meant in jest.....

Busted a good band...well whatever next!!

[Sax_Machine]

How great are Busted? In two words: "not very"

Sorry but three young upstarts bouncing up and down with guitars in their hand does not constitute a band. Who's playing the drums for a start? Who's writing all the songs? It's a nonsense. It's actually less credible than seeing a boy band of singers with a backing track - something about the human mind in that it's easier to believe a big lie like an old fat woman playing a young slim girl in an opera than a little lie like a young fat girl playing a young slim girl.

Personally I think that a token effort to make them look like they're all self sufficient as musicians is insulting. What it is, is not long ago the punk revolution started (when I say not long I mean 20-30 years) and the record producers were frightened by it as people were producing new unpredictable forms of music that made it difficult for producers to manipulate the market. So they reacted by bringing out boy bands and stuff to keep things under control. Of course these days the producers are more skilled at mass-producing scheidt and can even make it look like a genuine rock band- and so you get the likes of Busted.

Now I'm not rock fan - I can see the point of it, but I don't get excited by it myself - but even I can see that Busted is a cheap commercial immitation. And if there's one thing I hate in music of any kind it's commercial cheap'n'nasty versions giving the real genre a bad name. Every genre has it.

Classical has Charlotte Church

Irish traditional has Enya

Jazz has Glenn Miller, Gershwin, Kenny G, etc.

Hip-hop has bloody gangster rappers like Puff Daddy - who've dragged the name of hip-hop and rap into so much muck that people have forgotten what Hip-hop is supposed to be and forgotten that Rap is just a small part of it.

Rock has the likes of Busted

House/Trance has all that stupid Hard-house stuff like Scooter

Garage has songs like that Daniel Bedingfield track "Gotta Get Through This"

This is all the stuff that you hear on the radio all the time - the stuff you can't avoid. If you want to hear the good stuff in any kind of music you've got take an active interest and look for it yourself - it's the stuff that doesn't get distributed in blanket form all over the place because it's not written for the 10 year olds who listen to the radio and are more interested in pretty faces on posters than any real musical ability. If you really want to get into a genre of music, whatever it is, you've got to talk to someone who knows a lot about it and take recommendations from them - because commercial stuff that you hear all the tiem on the radio is not simply just scratching the surface, but in fact it gives the whole genre a bad name as it's just doesn't display the full prowess of the genre. In all forms of music there are the simple forms and the intellectual stuff as well. Some people just don't care, they just want a 'choon' to dance to, and that's fine, but if that's your bag, then don't forget that there's a lot more to music than that, so don't get in other people's way advocating for or against a type of music just because of what you heard on the radio.

[John221]

glenn miller was a great trumpeter, and did some excellent arragements, and gerschwinn was a fantatic composer. Technically neither is 'jazz' but they're both very close.
Sorry to be pedantic, but Glenn Miller was actually a trombonist.

Appart from that, I think Busted are bullshit. They don't even fake it very well; they once "played" at my old school just after I'd left (one of the kids won a competition), I wish I'd been there at the time because something went wrong with the sound system and they were left stood on stage miming to nothing.

How much I would have pointed and laughed, had I the chance to have been there. I don't think I'm all that brilliant a musician, but I promise you if you ever come and see me play on stage, what you'll hear is what I'm playing there and then!

On a final note, I decided (just for a laugh) to check out a Busted songbook I saw in a music shop the other day. The guitar part for every song was something like the same 3 power chords played over and over to the same dull on-the-beat 4 crotchet rhythm...very creative.

[Sax_Machine]

What REALLY bothers me about Busted is a completely non-musical issue in fact.

It's their name. It's so bloody american! They're a load of upper/middle class ponces from Uppingham or some school like that trying to play chirpy american teen-rock with an American name and all the rest of it. England has produced some great bands of all sort. There've been some great American bands too, but these days the English identy is disappearing very quickly in modern commercial music - it's as if there's only one way of doing things these days which is a shame.

Actually I'm probably being a bit harsh on Busted. The young lads probably know what they're doing isn't musically sound - and they're just having a laugh and making a bit of cash, and wouldn't you make the money for soem half-hearted musical waffle given the chance? My sister's boyfriend plays in a band and he's met them either on tour on at a festival or something and he talked to them and says they're sound lads who are under no illusions of grandeur but just do what they do and enjoy it as much as they can. Fair play to them I suppose, but you won't catch me listening to them.

The other thing about a lot of modern poppy scheidt - is that while the faces you associate with the music have very little musical influence - even their performance is masterminded by the wizards behind protools with editing skills and autotune and all the rest of it, the producers and recording engineers are extremely talented people indeed. So I suppose there is a lot of talent and hard work that goes into this stuff - it's just that it's not musical talent, it's of a different sort altogether.

[John221]

I think everything Sax Machine said is totally true.
A hell of a lot of pop artists now are young people who don't have a clue about music, but who make kids happy and get lots of money for it.

It's all very well I guess; still, I think I'll stick with my Donovans and my Pink Floyds, if it's all the same with everyone else.

[John221]

Oops, nearly posted that one twice.

[ZePpeLinA]

Not that great. my mate who plays for a well known band used to go to a recording studio in London Bridge and saw the guys from busted there. It's actually session musicians who played in their album, not them. well, i'm sure they "can" play, their songs are not much of a challenge, but yeah, i've got witnesses!!

I can't stand them personally. I dont see anything attractive in their "music" and I dont see the appeal of three morons jumping and bouncing up and down the stage as if they were so "rock 'n' roll!!!"...I think they're a waste of space to be honest. not good.

[Sax_Machine]

You summed it up pretty well, I think! :)

[Man_In_A_Shed]

"Hip-hop has bloody gangster rappers like Puff Daddy - who've dragged the name of hip-hop and rap into so much muck that people have forgotten what Hip-hop is supposed to be and forgotten that Rap is just a small part of it."



i know this is off topic, but this is a very true statement. Good to see there are other people out there who can see passed the phony cover on most hip-hop nowadays. Its an incredabely deep and wide genre with hundreds of great artists who don't get the time of day because it won't sell to the mass market.

[Sax_Machine]

Indeed - look at the Black-Eye Peas. Did some amazing stuff on their first
album(s) then they released Where Is The Love, which is a pile of scheidt, and yet THAT is what brings them success, while no-one even cares about their more creative hip-hop that they've been producing for fcuking ages!

[Polka Dots and Strip]

Perhaps i missed the point of music, i just like stuff that sounds nice rather than worrying about how it fits in with the capitalist system. Busted sound nice and therefore are good!

[Man_In_A_Shed]

Perhaps i missed the point of music, i just like stuff that sounds nice rather than worrying about how it fits in with the capitalist system. Busted sound nice and therefore are good!

no you didn't. It just fucking annoys me that there are some really talented musicians out there, struggling to get by and without a record deal. And then you have these three talentless guys getting paid a shitload to jump about like morons.

[Polka Dots and Strip]

I'd hardley call them talentless, they can play instruments and string songs together, that is an achievement, but its true that lots of better bands are kept out in the cold.

[Sax_Machine]

Perhaps i missed the point of music, i just like stuff that sounds nice rather than worrying about how it fits in with the capitalist system. Busted sound nice and therefore are good!If you like the sound of the music attributed to Busted, then that's all very well, but have a think about what you're listening to. Are you listening to three talented young men, are are you listening to the work of marketing geniuses and puppeteers who know how to sell records and make money? Those three lads whose faces and names you associate with the music have a very small role to play in it all. Same is true with a lot of commercial scheidt. It's just not very honest.

How do you KNOW they can play instruments and write songs? I presume as a fan of Busted you've bought their album (if they ever released one). Have a look at the writing credits for the songs, and the performance credits on the inlay card. You'll see a lot of names on there, not just three.

[rory]

Actually I'm probably being a bit harsh on Busted. The young lads probably know what they're doing isn't musically sound - and they're just having a laugh and making a bit of cash.
This is the scary fucking thing mate, I think these guys have now got caught up in their own hype that they now genuinely believe that they have a modicum of talent!!

Same as these pop idol pricks who whilst being ok kareoke singers should not be selling millions of albums to these poor misled teeny boppers.

To those who INSIST of encouraging these people by buying there music, i would say, 'fair enough, listen to their music (preferably quietly and away from others) but don't lay claim that they are a 'great' band cos that simply isn't true and is an insult to any muscian, whether they have worldwide acclaim or play in a local 'pub band'.

It is a concern that quality new music is a rarity nowadays and this sort of opinion is all too typical of up and coming music listeners.

My only hope is that there are still a lot of young people are still being influenced by their parents generation as i was so they can listen to music as it should be!

[Larry MC]

Look, i think Polkadots and Stripes has got the right idea, Music isnt about weather they're marketed or not, about apperances or money or political stances. Music is about music, if you think that it sounds good, then to you, its good. I like Busted, i think the music that they make is good, it doesnt matter if little 12 year old girls worship them like gods and are making shit loadsa money, good on em i say.

[Hippie_Girl]

Oh dear! :D

(need to use up space to post this message :p )

[Sax_Machine]

Well, ok, you've brought us back to the original question? Are Busted any good? If you actually listen to the music you'll hear that it's a load of Americanised teen-drivel. Ok, they're catchy tunes, but really if that's all you want to know about in music then you don't qualify in my book as a music connoisseur. Next you'll be telling me that Busted are more musically talented than J.S. Bach, just because YOU don't have the nous to understand exactly what makes him so great!


There is PLENTY of good new music out there, but you won't hear it by listening to the radio - in any genre, as I said earlier in this thread if you want to really get to know the best that the genre has to offer you've got to go and look for it, it's not good sitting around with the radio on waiting to hear a good tune, because it just doesn't work like that - it's only the cheap and nasty commercial stuff that gets well known through radio play and marketing and THAT is why Marketing and Hype is a problem.

[Larry MC]

Actually i think you'll find that i very much appreciate the music of JS Bach (described by my Paino teacher as the pianists Kama Sutra :p ), indeed, i find great enjoyment in playing his music, infact i am a great fan of Baroque Music. Just because i happen to like Busted does not mean that i am only confined to the spaces of the genre of Americanised teeny-bopping music, im am something that is called Open Minded (perhaps a forign concept to you), i have a wide range of tastes in music, for example, my personall CD collection ranges from Rachmaninovs Second Piano Concherto, to Muse, to The Divine Comedy, to Dizzy Rascal and my playing instrumentaly repotior ranges from 14th Century Music to modern Heavy Metal.

I agree with you that there is emmince undiscovered talent out there, although talent isnt everything, i mean, look at the Beatles, Ringo Starr wasnt exactly the best Drummer in the word. Its also about the frame of mind, Busted wanted and tried constantly to be found, if Busted hadnt been discoved by now and they had no screaming girl fanbase they would probably come under your catergory of "Undiscovered Music"

[Sax_Machine]

As far as i'm aware, there is very little 14th century instrumental music in existence! Renaissance music didn't really get going until the 1400s and in the 14th century it was all medieval gregorian chants and maybe a bit of plainsong as well.

I have to disagree about busted, you can hear in all of "their" music a huge amount of production, tweaking, manipulation and simplistic arrangements and musicianship. That is not something that 3 schoolboys would have put together on their own - and if you watch them on saturday morning childrens TV (for target audiences of about 6-13, where they do MOST of their promotion, which says a great deal IMHO) - you don't even see them really performing - they're just bopping up and down holding a guitar each. Have a listen to all the sounds in their recording - maybe your ears aren't trained well enough for it - but you can hear all sorts of auto-tune artefacts, synth effects and heavily quantised rhythms. It rather defeats the whole object of rock music, as I understand it - and yet they are trying to sell themselves as a rock band. And the name "busted" for fuck's sake - couldn't they have picked something a bit more english? But then i suppose they sing with american accents about american things and the style of music which they are ripping off is also american. And yet these are three boys straight out of Uppingham school.

[Larry MC]

Ah ha! The sax machines problem is not his musical ignorance, instead it is his rabid anti americanism, what is wrong with Busted sounding American? Would a better name have been 'Broken' Is that suitably English?

What this really boils down to is a snobbish view of music that excludes anything that is popular with under 15's on the assumtion that it has no musical quality, I would not deny that Busted's (Brokens!) music is heavily produced, edited and enhanced, however what difference does this make. The Beatles Sg Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band was so heavily edited that the initial idea was that it could not be played live due to the mass of effects, and remains one of the greatest albums of all time.

And finally a trace of elitism 'boys streight out of Uppingham' again so what? what effect does this actually have on their music Until you can find something wrong with the actual music and not the fact it is massed produced teeny bopping stuff that you disagree with on princiapal all your arguements are for naught.

Howewver i will admit to getting the dates of the rennaisance music wrong, i am terribly sorry and this clearly marks me as a mental inferior :P

[Sax_Machine]

No, my point is that they're not american, but they're taking on an american identity purely because their producers have planned it all out for them in accordance with what will sell well, despite the fact that the rock genre has an excellent english pedigree - but English rock has either died or gone the way of either the Darkness, Radiohead or Muse and that doesn't really sell well with the little kiddies.
Actually, in American they don't really mean 'broken' by the term. They mean caught as in nicked, not necessarily by the police, but also possibly by school teachers, military superior or other figures of authority. the word busted doesn't actually exist in the english language. Something "goes bust" it does not "get busted" if you're talking about being broken or ruined.


Mate, I can find a LOT wrong with the music of Busted. What's right with it? There's really nothing to it. It doesn't really embody any real emotions, it doesn't portray any instrumental or vocal technique of note, it doesn't have anything that no band has ever done before - it's positively ordinary! I'lll admit it's like that for a reason. I'm sure you'll agree that Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto is a far superior work, but no 12 year old is going to listen to that because they probably won't even comprehend it. Ok, maybe they can get their heads around Rachmaninov - but give them Shostakovich or Bartok and then they'll really struggle.

Now I'll also admit that the producers behind Busted are good at what they do. The production on the tracks is good - modern pop recordings are all about looking for a superior degree of perfection with the audio quality, the mixing and the editing and all the rest of it. There is skill involved, but it is not on the part of the 3 faces you associated with the name Busted, and it is not musical.

Oh and as for the elitist thing - well I went to an independent school myself, and so I have been on the end of what we now call inverse snobbery, from people who went to state schools. And you have to admit they've got a point. Elitism is all about giving too much credit to those well off. A lot of popular music has come out of the poor ends of society, hip-hop today, and rock as well, before that you had early jazz and blues, before that it was folk music - so when some upper-middle class upstarts try to cash in on the whole thing, don't you think it seems a bit pretentious?

[Larry MC]

but no 12 year old is going to listen to that

Why is no 12 yr old going to listen to it? I did, and (gasp) i comprehended it! and by the age of 13 i could play it!

so when some upper-middle class upstarts try to cash in on the whole thing, don't you think it seems a bit pretentious?

Why?? If they can do it, they should be allowed to do it, if your working class it doesnt neccisacerely mean that you should be entitled to fame and fortune more than those in the Middle-Class, if you have the abilitly exploit it.

So do you only listen to music that is exceptional, does no 'normal' or 'average' music exist in your collection? Does everything have to be in some way deep an meaningful? How stereotypically teenage! Enjoy music for the sounds it makes, not for the way it is made!

[Sax_Machine]

you're overcomplicating things. I'm trying to explain to you why it sounds bad. It sounds bad because it doesn't sound good. There, is that easier to understand?

[Larry MC]

I think that this is the core of the debate, Busted sound good because their music is well produced/played/force fed to baboons and when the songs are played you find yourself listening to them, therefore they are good.

However its quite easy to dislike their sound because you find that particular genre to be disagreeable for whatever reason. However disliking music because of its source is less acceptable, would you like busted if they were a non mainstream act that wasnt marketed at children?

[Sax_Machine]

if they were not marketed in such a way they would sound completely different, believe me - there is very little organic sound in a busted track.

[Larry MC]

if they were not marketed in such a way they would sound completely different, believe me - there is very little organic sound in a busted track.

That wasnt the question, that was just complicating the issue :)
Assuming that Busted sounded the same as their current recording but were no mainstream, would you like their music?

[Sax_Machine]

that's like saying assuming God created the world but didn't exist, would you believe in him?

It makes no sense. Busted's sound is a mainstream manufactured sound- you can hear it in the recordings - you can hear the production on it and you can hear what does and doesn't come from those three lads. I'm doing a course at university which among other things teaches me EXACTLY how to turn a group of musical non-entities into a band that sounds like that.

You seem to be under the impression that production of recordings, management of the band, nature of the publicity and target audience has no bearing whatsoever on the musical side of things, and you could not be more wrong.

[mellow_hendrix]

i say we put busted in a concert list including band like deicide, slayer, metallica, dead kennedys, cannibal corpse, black flag, nofx etc.... without any bouncers for just there show and watch the little fags get mutilated by some psycho punk/metal/death fans :)

mcfly actually have some musical talent its just a shame they chose that genre of music

[hiddendoor]

anyone old enough to remember Rock School (BBC2 ?) , they'd have done great on that

[Sax_Machine]

If I'm old enough, I missed it.

Busted would belong more on Pop Idol though if you think about it.


Shame they don't have a Pop Idol for actual instrumentalists. Well apart from BBC Young Musician of the Year - which is always dominated by the NYO clique. It'd be good to have contests who could write and produce their own pop tracks, and just get professional engineers in to do the recording and mixing, they could then peform the solo line on whatever instrument or vocals they want. Make it a requirement that the contestant must be the sole composer of the music. It'd be a contest for the complete musician. If of course you're a 10 year old fan of Busted/Will Young/Britney Spears/S Bloody Club 7/6/Juniors/8 or whatever, then you believe that that is in fact what they do.

If course it'd never happen that way, it doesn't need to. The market is working well enough in the eyes of the people that run it. it benefits them and it benefits the peformers. Meanwhile any serious musical connoisseurs STILL have the option of searching for and finding real musicians if they can be arsed. And if you give a shit about music, then you will be arsed, surely!

The only downside is all these idiots who think that music begins and ends with what they see on Top of the Pops.

[hiddendoor]

very early 80's it was on
might have even been on at tail end of 70's if I remember right

[Sax_Machine]

Ah, far too young then, I was probably only just born!

[showmet]

I agree totally with both sides of this one!:) On one hand Busted are a symptom of a rotten and dying music industry - manufactured through auditions, simply a pretty-boy front for records recorded and produced by session musicians and money men aimed solely at mopping up the disposable tweenage dollar.

BUT...

If we're going to have ubiquitous cheap manufactured pop on our Saturday morning TV screens, I'd far rather it was Busted than Westlife. At least the people who produce Busted are writing catchy little pop songs in the vein of Green Day and the like. At least their fans know what guitars look like! They make guitars look cool. A fan of Busted is much more likely to grow up and go on to discover some genuine guitar bands than a fan of Westlife is. And as throwaway pop songs go, I'd rather have Busted's three-chord adrenaline punk-lite ripoffs than a stultifyingly bland lurve-ballad rip-off! You can feel the MOR banality dripping off a Westlife single. At least Busted have some energy.

[Sax_Machine]

Isn't that like saying let's have George Bush in charge of America because at least he's not Adolf Hitler?

Don't be so pessimistic- you can hope for a lot better than that!

[showmet]

If you offered me a choice of either George Bush or Adolf Hitler, I'd go for Bush. Wouldn't you?

There needs to be a place for throwaway pop songs. All I'm saying is that we should firebomb the houses of the people who produce the likes of Westlife BEFORE we firebomb the houses of those behind Busted. Where's the problem with that?

[Sax_Machine]

YES, but you're NOT offered the choice of George Bush or Adolf Hitler - you're in fact offered the choice of pretty much anyone you bloody well like, so you don't have to choose EITHER.

[showmet]

Fair enough, you can decide to totally avoid them altogether if you wish, just don't watch any television or listen to any radio ever (or be very selective)... but as I said there's a place for the trashy throwaway pop song, surely? It's an art form in itself, and the form is dominated by manufactured-type bands. Of these there are terrible slit-wrists bands like Westlife and there are bearable ripoffs like Busted...

[Sax_Machine]

about trashy manufactured pop scheidt being an artform. Well yes it is, for the engineers and producers. But it's not as if they're the ones credited for it by the masses.

[Larry MC]

They dont care if they get the credit or not, its the money that they want, which they get.

[Sax_Machine]

yes, you are correct, they are fine with it, and in fact they do get some credit with people who actually count, ie their peers in the audio industry. However there is PLENTY of credit given to the faces involved in the bands and those people have fuck all to do with the music. Busted are treated like great musicians by the large number of people out there who don't have a clue. Something's not quite right about that.

[showmet]

Busted are treated like great musicians by the large number of people out there who don't have a clue. Something's not quite right about that.
Are you sure? The tweenagers who like them couldn't give a shit about who makes the music - they're just a pretty boy band. Anyone else who puts any thought into it at all knows it's faked by the band and manufactured by producers. Who on earth regards them as "great musicians"?!

[matthew]

Every time i hear one of their silly, cheery singles i cant help but feel that Busted are one of the greatest bands this country has produced for a decade :D

Long may they reign!
I think sax machine has prety much covered why both bands should dissapear down a well .

thanks for saving me a little time :p

I used to like Take that many years ago...in my defence it was only because the girls i hung around with liked them...any bloody tactic to get them to be more than friends i guess :p

[Sax_Machine]

There is no tactic for that as I've found. You've just got to fucking mistreat them mess with their heads and basically hypnotise them into fancying the pants of you, in essence be a complete c***. And no I couldn't get THAT to work for me either :(

[sweetasasugarstick]

Absolutely. Had i not been delayed in replying i would have...as close as is possible...truly mirrored what has been said about busted by sax machine and co. And as for Pink floyd....glad to see theres another fan my age out there. Can't get enough of them.

[matthew]

There is no tactic for that as I've found. You've just got to fucking mistreat them mess with their heads and basically hypnotise them into fancying the pants of you, in essence be a complete c***. And no I couldn't get THAT to work for me either :(
Thats so true..the friends that had the personality of a snail and acted like twits got all girls .. nice boys like myself got naff all (not exciting enough i guess) thankfully my love life improved with age ... phew. I can still see all that kinda behaviour now , and it still PMOff .I can't be that way i am too darn soppy.:&

[Sax_Machine]

Well I've not got too close to a lady for a while, however my football team will always be there. They may underperform at times but I can always go back next game.

[Jennyflower]

anyway, i think busted, mcfly, vs- they all seem to blend into one. theres nothing really individual about their music except 4 that wierd jump thing they do. i have to admit, when i hear their songs i do get up on the dance floor. but, im still waiting for another bohemian rhapsody to come out. why are all modern manufactured songs the same? i know they have different tunes but its all verse chorus verse chorus instrumental key change and then fade out. or along those lines anyway! id like to see em play live, it would b very interesting! x

[Sax_Machine]

why are all modern manufactured songs the same? i know they have different tunes but its all verse chorus verse chorus instrumental key change and then fade out. or along those lines anyway! x
I can think of two reasons.

1) the producers and businessmen behind these manufactured outfits have developed a formula that works. Their agenda is first of all to manipulate the market and make it predictable for them so they can decide what will sell best, and so once they've found something that works they stick to it. They've got a bit cleverer these days. it used to be just boy bands and girl bands. Now they've managed to make immitations of rock bands and even of trance/house producers, whilst remaining entirely in control yet fooling the public into thinking they're getting some genuine material produced by the performers themselves.

2) It helps club DJs who play cheese'n'party sets to put their mixes together as all songs have a form and a structure that follow a small number of generic patterns.

[matthew]

we as consumers .. generaly are fickle , or is that what modern consumerism demands a quick fix and move on.

These two bands will last another few years at best and then the kids that buy it will grow up and move on . we all move on from certain bands and never think were they end up (butlins or cruise ships i guess :p ) ..... 'we' get bored real easy. Its 'our' fault for wanting new and fresh all the time. So because the music industry has to cater for the whims of the general public PPoor 'bands' make some noise cash in and them disapear..maybe thats why we knock 'stars' when they last more than five minutes..we may not like it but thats the way it is.

Come on , not everyone can like all the so called 'real' musicians . I don't realy like bob marley , i find his music painful to listen too...but i would not stop others listening to him (if they must).

I am being a bit of a devils advocate here...i still despise busted and mcfly ...maybe more because of the people involved rather than the actual music they make.

[showmet]

why are all modern manufactured songs the same? i know they have different tunes but its all verse chorus verse chorus instrumental key change and then fade out. or along those lines anyway! To borrow a quote from John Peel, it's like selling cornflakes... people know what cornflakes are like, they like them the way they are, and they don't want to turn up at the supermarket to discover that the cornflakes they know and love have changed and are a totally different flavour and texture.

The music industry is a business, interested in selling as many units as they can - just like cornflake manufacturers. The majority of the buying public know what they like, and are reluctant to accept change, innovation and newness, or at least will only accept gradual change.

There's been plenty of great innovative new stuff since Bohemian Rhapsody... but with the increasing tendency of the music industry to focus on shifting units instead of encouraging talent and diversity, you just have to look harder and harder for it. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer outlets for genuinely different, innovative music. Nationally, only BBC Radio does it - late night Radio 1 and Radio 3. Unfortunately there's little or nothing on television at all - Jools Holland perhaps being the closest. BBC4 is sometimes good for new music but not everyone can get that. I used to watch something called 120 Minutes on MTV many years ago but can't get it now, so I don't know if they still have anything similar.

You can't even trust the NME to tell you about great new stuff anymore, though that's a good start.

[matthew]

Unfortunately there's little or nothing on television at all - Jools Holland perhaps being the closest

Jools holland rides on the coat tail of others...

[showmet]

Jools holland rides on the coat tail of others...
Quite apart from his annoying tendency to play honky-tonk piano along with anyone he has on!

[matthew]

ha ha ha ha thats true...okay he has some good musicians on his show. But him ..yuck .

[Power_13]

I enjoy "Later With Joolls Holland". I just wish it was on a bit earlier, with a different presenter...

:p

[Power_13]

To borrow a quote from John Peel, it's like selling cornflakes... people know what cornflakes are like, they like them the way they are, and they don't want to turn up at the supermarket to discover that the cornflakes they know and love have changed and are a totally different flavour and texture.
Why is that, whenever somebody mentions something that John Peel said, I can hear John Peel's voice in my head talking as I read the quote?

Is it his distinctive, deep yet smooth voice, or am I just a nutter?

[hiddendoor]

Every time i hear one of their silly, cheery singles i cant help but feel that Busted are one of the greatest bands this country has produced for a decade :D

Long may they reign!Nice one LOL

[Summertime]

I'm going to start by saying that in no way, shape or form, am I a Busted or McFly fan. However, despite the fact their music is not that creative or difficult to play, I still think that there is a place for them in the music industry. Most children don't want intellectual, meaningful music, they want fun. Nursery rhymes are not considered good music but most children enjoy them. Listening to simple, cheery music doesn't leave kids with bad musical taste, either. I grew up listening to the Spice Girls, Boyzone, Take That etc. but by the age of 12 or so had realised that there were other sorts of music around. Aged 6 or 7 I didn't care what the songs meant or whether the band played instruments or had a backing track etc, they were just fun to sing and dance to. I didn't start to like my current favourite bands until I was 15 or so. After all, a 7 year old who likes Bob Dylan must be slightly pretentious, surely? ;) I didn't like Dylan, or Floyd or Janis or anyone when I was younger because the lyrics or soul or emotion didn't mean anything to me. Kids' music is about fun and that's what Busted and all the other teeny- bopper groups are about. I don't think their lyrics are appropriate for kids, but that's a different issue. At least they make us appreciate how good the "proper" bands really are! :)

Summer. xx.

("Good" is also highly subjective!)

[Jennyflower]

yeah i totally agree, the only problem being is that all my friends absolutely adore busted and they are perfectley intelligent people of my age and older, i just cant seem to see the facination that they get with that type of band. i guess everyone's mind works in different ways! x

[miabubble]

LOL! you people are too fucking SERIOUS! they are a piss take, and what makes then all the more funny is people like you discussing it in all seriousness! It makes me laugh.

[Polka Dots and Strip]

Its so cool

When spaceships fly out the pool

You know youd be a fool to be a bad guy!



Genuis. no other way to describe it, entertaining, nice sound, what more do you want from music?

[rory]

I'm going to start by saying that in no way, shape or form, am I a Busted or McFly fan. However, despite the fact their music is not that creative or difficult to play, I still think that there is a place for them in the music industry. Most children don't want intellectual, meaningful music, they want fun. Nursery rhymes are not considered good music but most children enjoy them. Listening to simple, cheery music doesn't leave kids with bad musical taste, either. I grew up listening to the Spice Girls, Boyzone, Take That etc. but by the age of 12 or so had realised that there were other sorts of music around. Aged 6 or 7 I didn't care what the songs meant or whether the band played instruments or had a backing track etc, they were just fun to sing and dance to. I didn't start to like my current favourite bands until I was 15 or so. After all, a 7 year old who likes Bob Dylan must be slightly pretentious, surely? ;) I didn't like Dylan, or Floyd or Janis or anyone when I was younger because the lyrics or soul or emotion didn't mean anything to me. Kids' music is about fun and that's what Busted and all the other teeny- bopper groups are about. I don't think their lyrics are appropriate for kids, but that's a different issue. At least they make us appreciate how good the "proper" bands really are! :)

Summer. xx.

("Good" is also highly subjective!)
Yea but these guys that are posting aren't kids which is the scary thing, don't blame the band members making a quick buck, blame the 'adults' who buy the shit

[Spyder]

about as great as having my eyes gouged out whilst mcfly sing me a busted song

[allthatglitters]

I like any music that has a good tune to it and makes me want to dance. I know how terrible this is, I realise that it embodies all the evils in the world and I am going to hell. I know that really you should only listen to highly meaningful songs written and performed entiely by the artist and never listen to music for musics sake but I find it really hard to be that anal.

And all the variations on the 'you don't like what I say because you don't understand it' argument are so pathetic it's untrue. yeah yeah we get it you know the names of classical music and are therefore so superior we should shut up and have no opinion of our own.

[darlene]

busted suck...sorry

[ronald Macdonald]

what an excellent thread I thought I would revive it as the optimism of the original poster is amazing ! I never in all my life thought I wouyld hear the words busted and mcfly in thge same sentence as "busted and mcfly are great bands"
wow ! cool ! oh BTW I have my doubts as to whether they actually play trhose instruments or mime !

[mbworkrelated]

Wow this thread is old :) - anyhoo.

I think Busted were shite everything that was said derogatory about them is true.
This was because they were young and full of erm joy.
Sure they prob' did not sing live - play there instruments that well ?
Did Hanson ?
Both grew into fair dickum players singers ''pop artists'' .
lets not forget - none of them set out to alter music or re-invent the wheel.
When Busted broke up I said ''Thank the lord" - Sorry - when Busted broke up - all the lads did there own thing. I think one of them did reasonably well but the one all the ladies wanted to drop there knickers too - did really well.
He does his own thing - plays his instrument adequately - writes his own tunes.
|http://www.fightstar.org/index1.htm Good luck too him

Mcfly !!! well I'm sure the same story is true of them .

Not that they have broken up - not that we can tell wich one if any will become more than the some of the original bands parts -



I think Busted and Mcfly are great bands - if you consider the other 101 cookie cutter ''boy bands'' that have come and gone - over the last few 5 4 years.
Whatever we say in a negative way - Mcfly [for e.g] have outlived a lot of them and they are still together today. They must be doing something right.

[~InTheSky~]

It's the american accent thing that does it for me.. whhhhyyyyyy sing in an american accent if you are not american!!!??
Doesn't that put out a bad message to young people, making them not be themselves.. I swear, there are so many young british kids doing these fake american accents like they think it makes them look cool.

[mbworkrelated]

It's the american accent thing that does it for me.. whhhhyyyyyy sing in an american accent if you are not american!!!??
Doesn't that put out a bad message to young people, making them not be themselves.. I swear, there are so many young british kids doing these fake american accents like they think it makes them look cool.

Yeah a lot do - I know what you mean BUT how true it is [or was] of these two bands ? I'm not sure. I think ''Fightstar'' most def' wish they were a hot american band - that is for sure. It sells - that is the fiscal imperitive - it sells.
I think a few of their songs have that twang - not all of them though [to be fair] .

What about a lot of american ''punk'' bands that sound like or wish they sounded like the sex pistols - it works both ways imho.

Is it good or bad ? upto you i guess.

[ronald Macdonald]

do mcfly take themselves seriously? I think its great their name is taken from the Back to the future film because really George Mcfly has a wikkid haircut and he does turn out to be cool after all

[fountains of nay]

I died a little inside when I read the title of this thread...

[FreeWind]

I am not a fan of busted