It’s like post-punk never 'appened

If I ever became a pop star – quite a big if – I suspect it would be because I enjoyed playing the music, jamming with my mates, generally having a good time. Making a living from it would be nice and winning awards would be gravy. But I could very well do without the Brits. I’d happily turn up to be given my gong and maybe enjoy a decent meal, but I would pay good money not to be serenaded by Paul Weller.

Paul has never sounded like he’s enjoying what he does. Of course, songs like 'Going Underground' and 'Down in a Tube Station' aren’t meant to sound like they’re being enjoyed, and the sheer force of the singer's anger makes them timeless. But that was then and then was a long time ago – Thatcher at her height and a lot to be angry about. There was a point to Paul back then. Why exactly does he continue to be famous? I quote a Brits organiser on the BBC News site: "Paul Weller is an artist who scores on every measure and typifies the range and quality of British music at its best." Range?? He doesn’t have a range!! You can tell a Weller song at 50 paces. That inexplicable sudden urge to slash your wrists or hang yourself is always the giveaway.

Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that mini rant. Let’s get cheerful. Listening to the band-of-the-moment Kaiser Chiefs on the way in to work, it occurred to me that apart from none of them having even been out of nappies at the time, there is very little to distinguish them from the post-punk bands of the late 70s, which was about when I started to enjoy music that wasn’t classical or Abba. (I was a late developer.) It's like everything in between had never happened. Given that this means cutting out the Stock Aitken Waterman music factory and the glut of boy and girl bands that happened since, this is no bad thing.