So, T in the Park came and went, and going by what I watched on telly it was just like Glastonbury with kilts on. The same acts, the same sets, the same presenters, the same mud, the same audience. The same pish if you ask me. Wean’s World.
It’s hard to come up with any highlights from T, but if there was one it would be the faux pas the singer from Arcade Fire (Wim Butler) made. Telling the crowd that the band had stayed in Glasgow the night before their slot he went on to say, “What the fuck was that parade all about? It was awesome. You guys really know how to play a snare drum.” Cue much booing and many “Get tae’s!” from the soggy masses. It turns out Mr Butler and co had just witnessed their first orange walk. What a walk to witness as well. Given the date at the weekend, it would have been the big one.
The phenomenon of the orange walk may be unfamiliar to some of you so I shall try and briefly explain. In Ireland and in the West of Scotland there is a strong anti-Catholic organisation called the Orange Order. Yes, it’s not just Muslims that get it from us. Anyway, this lot like to remember the Battle of the Boyne which took place over 300 years ago(!) in July 1690, when King William of Orange (King Billy) defeated King James’ and his attempts to regain the thrones in Scotland and England as well as Ireland. Do some googling and you can find out all you need to know. These days, the Orange Order and their associated walks on and around the 12th of July are used by Rangers FC shirt wearing thickos to shout, swear and sing obscenities about Roman Catholics and should really have no place in 21st Century society. That’s why the Arcade Fire were booed. Nice to see the kids of today rubbishing the orange walk. With any luck, these parades will eventually die out, just like my failed attempts here at a bit of political writing.
And now for the music bit. Here’s 4 tenuously-linked tracks related to the 12th of july and it’s associated rubbish…..
Kicking things off, two Libertines tracks. First, from their much bootlegged Legs 11 demo sessions, ‘Hooray For The 21st Century‘. Secondly, ‘Boys In The Band‘ from an XFM session 2002 (exact date unknown).
Next. The Arctic Monkeys got famous on myspace etc and everyone knew the words to all their songs before they were even released. File sharing? Great, eh? Hooray for the 21st century! Here’s their first demo of ‘Scummy Man‘.
Finally, the fantastic Fall. Taken from the Complete Peel Sessions Box Set, which you really should own by now, is their ‘Kurious Oranj‘ from the 31st of October, Nineteen Eighty-eight-ah. Trumpets, giant hamburgers and ballet dancing. No-one does it or says it like Mark E Smith.
Pained and intense, man
They were inquiring.
They were Kurious Oranj…
They rode over peasants like you, they rode over peasants like you,
And their horses loved them too, and their horses loved them too.
They Were Kurious Oranj. They Were Kurious Oranj.
They built the world as we know it, all the systems you traverse.
Rode slipshod over all dumbshits.
They were Kurious Oranj…
Plain Or Pan 
music site?? you want to start talking about the kind of music that you think you know something about because you obviously dont know the first thing about marching bands or their music! there are more vasty talented musicians in the ulster loyalist marching bands scene than there are on the charts every week!
stick your fenian retrick and ignorance up your hole! along with your baised comments you cunt!!
surley if this person was praising someone elses playing ability you as the writer on this site should be saying something positive regardless of the fact it was a snare drum or whatever, leave the politics to the elected people in the big hose my friend as you have just shown yourself up to be a narrow minded bigot who has no consideration as to the workings or the practise time and effort that gos in to running an orange band
Hello to all you morons from the Ulster Bands forum.
Yes, I’m sure there are more ‘vasty’ talented musicians out there. Frank Black is quite vast. So too was Brian Wilson for a while in the 60s. ‘Fenian retrick’ (nice spelling) and the use of the ‘c’ word, ‘baised comments’, elected people in the ‘big hose’. You obviously stuck in at school.
Please drop by again for that hard-to-find Pogues demo I have. Great snare drumming on that one. God bless you all.
Rubbish to the comments 1 & 2 above! I, for one, give kudos to your attempt at political writing. May you do more in the future.
I was at T and I can say that the whole ‘booing and ‘get tae’s’ is a fallacy. This looks like one of those’tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth’ moments.
Unbiased writing is what I would prefer – nevermind getting into the politics.