Merthyr Tydfil

Well it's taken a while but I've got to 50 posts on here, including a rather lengthy break in postings. Hooray! You can't see this but I'm sat here with a party hat and about to pull a party popper... on way own. It's a sad sight...

Anyway...

I thought I'd dedicate this 50th entry to my home town of Merthyr Tydfil. For a small town in South Wales, the town has a large reputation, and it's not a good one. Through some media outlets (stand up sky news) the town has been vilified as one of the worst places in the country.

The town has problems don't get me wrong, stats don't lie and it somehow has managed to earn the titles of such things as teenage pregnancy capital of the UK (lost that one now), benefits capital of the UK. But it's not quite the hellhole of disrpute some people would have you think. First up, news companies love stereotypes, so typically if Merthyr is to be shown on TV, or people used for any purpose, they are portrayed in the image that already exists.

If you believe the many news articles you'd think nobody here works, nobody knows how to get to Cardiff, everyone lives in a council house and commits petty crime to fund various habits and support their 6 kids. While areas could conform roughly to some of that, there are many more that don't, nice areas. One thing you'd notice that even in the 'less desirable' places, which lets face it every town or city has, there's usually strong senses of community even here. Meaning they may not be so bad anyway.

I'm not denying there are gulfs between areas locally, I like to think I live in one of the nicer ones, but within a mile or two you'd find potentially the least desirable area of all.

Don't me wrong there are plenty of workshy gobshites round happy to pick up whatever they can get and not work. But equally there are people who go out and work hard. There are people, such as myself, who spend time on the disaster area of a train system or bus system commuting to Cardiff to work. Please don't tar the whole town with the sky-news-desperate-need-for-a-story brush.

I have no doubt the town will continue to have it's flaws blazed over the TV at every convinient opportunity for years to come. Yes unemployment is high, we lost factories by the bucketload. Those workers can't magic up new jobs. Many of them lost industries which has been all they've ever known.

Nobody speaks about the reneavations to the town centre, the decent leisure centre and facilities, the extensions and improvements to the hospital, but a borded up house on the gurnos has 6 cameras camped outside while some smug Londoner stands outside reporting every time new unemployment stats are released.

Maybe that's a part of the problem. Organisations such as sky news need somewhere to make an example of, but the people in many parts of England wouldn't stand for it being them. So they need somewhere out of the way... somewhere in Wales, somewhere with some bad stats going on. Bingo!

Merthyr may be many things, and a shithole may be one, by it's also home.

Am I getting old or is music getting crap?

Or possibly both...

One thing is for certain, I am getting older. By no means am I old and I don't think I'm majorly close minded about new music, films etc, infact some of my favourite films have been of the last few years, but of late I can't help but think music is shite.

As I'm typing this I'm also nosing through the top 40 UK singles chart, yes I know that's a gauge of popularity not quality, but people must believe in the quality to buy is surely. All I seem to be seeing contained within said charts is a combination of reality TV stars, rappers talking about 'da club' some rude things they'd like to do to a possibly uninterested female, and celebrities with questionable musical/vocal talents that 12 year olds seem to like/want to be.

It's not all hell, the script are bearable and the manics make an appearance in the top 30,, but even they seem to be trying too hard to sound like what they think people want. Lads, I have Everything Must Go (and what an album!), if I want to listen to that I will, do something else!

I heard recently about what will be, for all intents, the death of Red Dragon FM in Cardiff, can't say I was even vaguely disappointed. The dull radio station with its 5 track playlist will not be a loss to me. I seem to these days not even be able to listen to radio 1, as they play the same repetitive style of music, then the ego fuelled DJs rave on about how great they/it is. Don't even get me started on Moyles rant (newsarse didn't use my story, but a slightly better one, I'll post my effortlater) ! Thank god for little stations such Nation Wales for keeping the rock alive, and I even find myself listening to Radio 2 to seek out decent songs.

Fair enough the 'bangin tunez' is a legitimate genre, people obviously like it, so it deserves a place on the airwaves, but why does it dominate so? It makes me think of request shows where people ring in and request songs off the playlist the station has played 12 times already that day. Do they like it cos it's good, or do they like it cos it's all they know?

Next week sees the release of Lonely Avenue by Ben Folds, an unusual collaboration between him (one of my favourite musicians) and one of my favourite authors Nick Hornby. It should be an absolute treat, but I can tell you now there will be 0 airplay for him and not many more sales. I encourage everyone to check him out, he's on iTunes, spotify etc no doubt.

At least I know I'll be able to get the album without risk of it selling out.. (yes that means an actual CD)

Later!