As a massive music fan (especially rock & roll), I cannot quite comprehend what gimmick the British band 'The 1975' is up to. During the recent Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia, the band's frontman Matt Healy dissed the Malaysian government's stance on the LGBTQ+ community and went on to make out with his band member before getting stopped.
No doubt, history in music has witnessed many prominent rock stars and their super outrageous stage antics. For example, 'The Who's' drummer Keith Moon once planted explosives into his drum kit while Black Sabbath's frontman Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a live bat during a live stage performance. Nevertheless, those impromptu mindless shenanigans on stage eventually landed the two rock icons in deep trouble. The former drums exploded and gave him hearing problems later on, while the latter was rushed to hospital and instantly treated for rabies.
I honestly think ‘The 1975’ Matt Healy is 'trying too hard' to relive all those crazy rockstars moments, like his much-more famous predecessors before him. But instead of being glorified and worshipped, his foolish and illogical stunt backfired beyond redemption. Not only he and the rest of his band members were banned for good by the Malaysian government, but he also received plenty of flak from the public here. Of the latest news, there might even be a class action lawsuit filed against the band.
Despite growing up listening to bands like The Strokes, The Artic Monkeys, and Kings Of Leon as a youth, I found it weird that I have never heard of 'The 1975' band until now. According to Google, this pop-rock band won an NME award for worst band in 2014. Well, this is not surprising since I tried listening to several of their tracks on Youtube and concluded that it was mediocre and 'nothing-to-shout-about'. First of all, their songs don't have the winner-ingredient of a superb, catchy melody in them. I once recalled watching a popular American talent show where famed R&B singer and judge Brandy Norwood commented that a good song must be accompanied by a good 'melody' to a contestant. If you compare 'The 1975' songs to The Strokes' epic 'Room On Fire' album, it would be like pitting Heaven versus Hell. Back in 2005, my housemate Xiao Pei who is neither a music-lover nor a fan of The Strokes praised the rock band's iconic guitar riffs when I first played the catchy 2003 hit song ‘Reptilia’ via cassette on the stereo.
As a professional musician, Matt Healy of 'The 1975' was skating beyond thin ice. Fan videos of GVF have also shown that the artiste disgustingly smoked and spat on stage, was allegedly drunk, and crushed a drone before he became a star attraction in the world headlines for the wrong reason. Even though the singer might be more self-deluded than Kanye West and thinks he is a world-class rock star with his 'so-called' superstar acts, he is merely making a pure mockery out of himself and good old-fashioned rock music. After all, the saying 'When In Rome, Do As The Romans Do' is true. This band is not only bringing a bad reputation for their appalling behaviour-, but also to other Western imported bands who aim to stage a performance here in the future.
But my two cents of honest advice to 'The 1975' band, if you really want to make it big in life, you just have no choice but to get rid of that nasty crap cum sh*tty attitude of yours. Besides Keith Moon and Ozzy Osbourne, the history of rock and roll have also shown that those who went too far with their filthy tongue would also perish along with it. Here, the Malays used to say," Kerana Mulut, Badan Binasa" to those who do not watch their tongue when they speak. After all, who could forget what the late John Lennon once notoriously said when the worldwide success of Beatlemania went out of control? He bluntly remarked, "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ'. Well, the dude can say it to himself in the afterlife since Lennon was fatally assassinated by a crazed gunman at his New York residence doorstep on 8 December 1980.
Lim Su Yee is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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