June 1, 2006 by A.S. Van Dorston

I usually do a pretty good job in keeping my mouth shut about music I hate. I don’t like to spoil other people’s enjoyment of tripe. We all have our guilty pleasures, and I’m no snob. But sometimes an artist is so overly ubiquitous, that I can’t escape it, and I reach boiling point

I fucking hate James Blunt. His songs are scientifically calibrated to be devoid of any signs of passion, fun, wit, or intellect. It’s music for people who don’t like music. I am shocked and dismayed at how Back To Bedlam sold over seven million copies. Which means everyone who don’t normally buy albums bought it. These people are sick and they need help.

At least one radio station had mercy and banned James Blunt from its playlist. At the Ivor Norvello songwriting awards ceremony last week, Blunt said: “To all those bastards who don’t like my music – you’re all adults, you can switch your radio off.”

Now a radio station has gone one better by banishing him from the airwaves. Essex FM is responding to listeners who say they are sick of hearing Blunt’s hits “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover” everywhere they go. “Quite often there will be popular artists that people are starting to grow weary of. This time, the number of specific comments about James Blunt were more than we have ever seen for one particular artist,” Chris Cotton, the programme controller, said.

“It was quite staggering. People said, ‘Can you get rid of him?’ ‘Can you ban him?’ Even people who say they are fans of his songs go on to express that they’re sick of it.”

“We don’t have anything against James Blunt and we’re pleased he has been so successful, but we really need a break,” said program controller Chris Cotton.

Asked if he ever got sick of his music, the former Household Cavalry officer said: “I don’t have to listen to it. I’m the one who sings it. And it’s continued to get me laid.”

“While his songs have been very popular, there is a tremendous amount of industry pressure to play certain artists frequently. Often this can be out of step with the audience’s tastes, which results in songs being overplayed.

“We’re happy to stand up to this pressure and follow the strong message listeners have given us. We encourage other radio stations to take the same step.”

I really hope this becomes a trend. Give us a break from James Blunt, for the love of god! And I have nothing against sensitive male singer-songwriters, if they’re good. I like Rufus Wainwright, Patrick Wolf, Andrew Bird, Richard Hawley, Antony, Joseph Arthur, Andrew Morgan, Sam Prekop, Joe Henry, Benjamin Biolay and Nicolai Dunger. Maybe radio could kick Blunt and Daniel Powter to the curb for a bit and give these blokes a chance at fame.

By far my two favorites are Hawksley Workman and Ed Harcourt. They’ve shat turds with more talent and depth than James Blunt. Both are prolific, having released about ten albums between them since 2000. The Canadian Workman started out the strongest with his flambouyant debut,For Him And The Girls, showing varied influences like glam and Harry Nilsson.(Last Night We Were The) Delicious Wolves expanded his sound and strengths. While he’s quite popular in Europe, Workman has been unable to get a grip on the U.S. His last two albums show him striving for mainstream success, and are not as strong as his first two. But any song randomly picked from his weaker albums would be far, far better than “You’re Beautiful.”

English songwriter Ed Harcourt just keeps getting better on every album. At 23 he already had a backlog of 300 songs. As he matures, his music only gets deeper and richer. Harcourt’s new album, The Beautiful Lie, comes out on Monday in the UK. On first listen it might be his best yet.

Posted in: Rants, Reviews