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Post by chezza on Aug 14, 2008 15:08:17 GMT
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Post by chezza on Aug 14, 2008 15:09:31 GMT
And for those who have stupid proxy settings at work
Liam Fray: One Man, One Student Loan and guitar
"For me, the next step after securing a rather cracking set of A-levels - an A, an A and another A - was not so much one of academic quest, as a sort of inevitable follow-up. I had a great desire to continue what, since the tender age of 16, I had already got a taste for - doing open-mic nights in Manchester. So, in order to be close to the beating heart of the British music scene, I opted for a creative writing degree at Salford University, a mere 10 minutes' walk from Manchester city centre.
A lot of my fellow learners were reluctant to walk those few hundred yards out of Salford and into the most exciting city in Europe. Their inability to get off their arses aggravated me greatly. They were happy to hang out in the student bar all day.
My own forays into the centre were peppered with impromptu solo gigs, whenever the chance arose, which was pretty much every night. We'd then go on and find the next watering hole until they kicked us out, and then we'd find a party. I'd been going out in Manchester since I was 16, so I had a three-year headstart over some of my classmates from Tunbridge Wells and Morecambe.
For me, student status afforded me an enticing loan, a legitimate avoidance of the "real" world and plenty of time to play guitar. My "learning curve" was a wide arc. It encompassed far more than the critical appreciation of poetic techniques; I learned how to sample eight types of real ale in the Marble Arch and remain deceptively upright.
I stayed at Salford for a year, but I realised a couple of crucial things: first that the term "creative" when following a curriculum is a sort of suffocating misnomer; you are only free to create within another's set parameters. Second, that the assessment of what I produced was, by nature of the course, totally subjective. I didn't find either of those realisations inspiring, so I left.
Was all the effort to get a glimpse inside the hallowed halls worth it, even though my first year was my only year? Absolutely! I even analysed a poem or two and considered how to bandy about cliched metaphors. But now I am trying to give shape to a creativity that would not neatly fit the assessment criteria."
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Post by Fergal on Aug 14, 2008 16:34:26 GMT
Fair good read that
Anyone who goes on about Fray conforming to the stereotypical 'Northern Monkey Boy Luddite' should read that (as well as purchase the album and a selection of the earlier demos because I argue some are better, but thats another story)
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Post by g on Aug 15, 2008 13:34:50 GMT
i think liam's considered, well written and intelligent retort to their album review may have made the guardian re-think their stance somewhat....
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Post by burnleynotbarcelona on Aug 15, 2008 20:19:45 GMT
"Most exciting city in Europe" Has that lad never been to Barcelona?
Best city in England ? Probably give him that one.
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Post by fastfuse on Aug 18, 2008 14:49:15 GMT
It wasn't written by that silly little cow (name escapes me) if she had written the piece she would have accused him of glorifying drinking real ale and wasting his student loan on guitar strings....
They'll all see soon enough, just let everyone else catch up with us....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2008 16:05:20 GMT
Fair good read that Anyone who goes on about Fray conforming to the stereotypical 'Northern Monkey Boy Luddite' should read that (as well as purchase the album and a selection of the earlier demos because I argue some are better, but thats another story) i agree, the demos are far superior to the album and to anything produced by other stereotypical northern indie bands. |
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Post by antoine010891 on Aug 19, 2008 16:36:19 GMT
I don't bother with shite like the guardian, as far as they are concerned if it is a band made up of northeners then they just serve up utter tripe, which has been proved wrong. Yet I'm really suprised that Liam has written for them after the review they got.
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Post by Fergal on Aug 19, 2008 17:21:00 GMT
I don't bother with shite like the guardian, as far as they are concerned if it is a band made up of northeners then they just serve up utter tripe, which has been proved wrong. Yet I'm really suprised that Liam has written for them after the review they got. True but It'd be a pointless grudge to have. As I realised with the NME situation, newspapers and magazines are made up of many many writers and one review/article/sentance isnt a represenative on the whole of what the newspaper thinks on a certain band, I'm confident there are many other people working within the Guardian who dislike the Courteeners and many others who do like them, no point holding a grudge for the sake of the fwe who do dislike them |
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Post by antoine010891 on Aug 19, 2008 17:58:03 GMT
suppose you're right fergal, but when I read that review I really got up my arse and I still haven't recovered, but we all have our opinions including the dilusional critics, lets just be thankful that the majority of the reviews were positive.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2008 18:19:26 GMT
tbh, you'd think that the guardian of all papers would actually prop up a band like the courteeners and support them, being the formerley socialist Manchester Guardian.
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Post by dontask on Aug 25, 2008 16:57:27 GMT
very nice read, particularly as i intend to do english language with creative writing at Uni. I agree that it can be very hard to be fully creative when you have to do so inside one examiners good or bad judgement.
like i said though; brilliant read.
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Post by joanna on Aug 25, 2008 20:31:25 GMT
Ah the Marble Arch.......know it well.........
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