A MEDIA EDUCATION

Upon sitting down with Miles Hughes is becomes very apparent that, despite his success, he’s not quite at ease with the music business. “I find it frustrating.” Miles claims from this sofa in his sister’s living room (the place he affectionately refers to as his home and where he spend the majority of his time whilst not on tour). “Not the music or the people or anything like that. It’s just the behavior of some people.”

 

Egotism, drama and controversy are hardly separate entities from music and everything that revolves around it, but, in this instance, what Hughes finds so frustrating is not ego or obnoxious, fame-induced behavior.

“Scientifically, music is just sound. Sound is just waves. Waves are a painfully simple transfer of energy. Socially, music is so much more.”

And the indie singer-songwriter isn’t wrong. Music has the power to pull even the weakest man to his feet. The bravery to induce pride in a country. The flair to make you smile and ruthlessness to reduce you to tears. The audacity to break a heart, and the catalyst to mend one; or, as Hughes puts it “Music is the only medium across the world to release our humanity and reinstate community within our technology, power and pride stricken heads.”

So why has music become a means of turning man into monster and mouse?

 

“Music is a diverse and unique talking point that we have somehow mutated into a method of bullying; every different fandom or genre turning on each other, all believing they are at the top of the musically educated, experienced and esteemed hierarchy.” Hughes laughs to himself.  “The metaphorical King in a crowd of peasants who are simply too beneath you to understand.” I can’t help but agree. Sanctimony is at the heart of culture at the moment. With cries of egalitarianism heard in every element of culture from music, to film to the fashion industry it is hard to differentiate between who or what is actually talking sense and who is just trying to be controversial.

 

But what really bothers Hughes? “It’s the snobbery. You get it in film and literature and everything else but because the music industry is more accessible everyone feels they have the right to declare what is good and what is bad.”

The highlighted and frightfully common controversy of music snobbery is when we take it upon ourselves to make others feel as though their idolized waves-of-energy-transfer are wrong. As Dara O’Briain eloquently put, “Oh, you like that music? Oh no! That’s the wrong music! You should like this music…IT’S JUST SOUND FOR JESUS’ SAKE.”

 

“What’s even more laughable about that situation is how the victim just rolls over and accepts it. Knowing full well that once you get home you will scour YouTube and Spotify for every note uttered by that band, artist or whole genre in the misguided hope it will gain you the respect of the person who lost all respect in you the second your backbone crumbled and you silently agreed they were correct.” *Deep breath*

Music’s simultaneous anonymity and individualism should unite us. Like us mere humans, every song is entirely unique. It may come in a similar packaging, have the same ancestry or a twinned vocal but when you strip it back, these specific noises are quintessentially different from everything else. Whether it’s through measure, melody or metaphor, no song will ever match the majesty of another. So why do we even bother to challenge others on what they personally enjoy?

 

“I don’t know how the music industry even works anymore. It’s so obvious that the people signed to the top mainstream record companies are not who they started off as. I hate how these people, who put so much on the line buying trying their hand in the industry, are so easily manipulated. I don’t blame them, early on in my career I would have done anything to get into their position [Hughes is older than he looks], it’s only recently I realized I don’t actually care about all that pedestal comes with.”

 

Long gone are the days of desired individualism, this is well understood, especially nowadays where being hipster places you effortlessly within the status quo. Surely as a species we could have the strength to admit to loving something instead of claiming it to be your ‘Guilty Pleasure’, which, plainly put, is an insult to yourself, music and guilt.

 

“When I talk to people about this I always get the ‘You can talk, you’ve got a Grammy’ speech. And that’s exactly right. I did win a Grammy, it’s something that I am very proud of but not something I’m necessarily happy about.” Upon his win at last year’s awards, Hughes quickly became the subject of a ‘Who actually deserved it?’ debate where the winner didn’t come out on top. “The music industry is difficult enough without people not having the courtesy to respect the nominees, winners etc. of any award they have definitely worked unbelievably hard for. The same happened at the Oscars this year. As much as I agree with the recognition of racism in the entertainment industry, the #OscarsSoWhite campaign was hardly complimentary of the nominated individuals who rightfully deserved their nominations. I’m not saying I have it hard, my fans were amazing through that whole fiasco, but no one should have to feel punished for winning an award.”

 

So how do we solve this problem? The music industry is hardly split into two categories of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ music. “That’s the thing. Music is so personal and any response to music is equally as personal. In that sense no music can be bad or good or otherwise. People just need to get a grip. There are more important things to be worrying about like terrorism or pollution or Kylie Jenner’s latest haircut or, Christ, Donald Trump’s haircut. So what if you like One Direction, Daughtry or Klaxons? Who wants to know the pleasure you find in Miley Cyrus, Tom Odell or Paolo Nutini?   Who cares if you prefer classical symphonies, mainstream pop or bloody indie rock? Why should anyone care?”

 

It is clear Hughes has got an intelligent head on his shoulders and is far from ignorant on the way the mass media works or “manipulates” as Hughes corrects.

“The answer is simple. We shouldn’t just accept all music as brilliance because - quite frankly - it’s not. What we should do is remember what we love and why we love it. Reviews should be taken as what they are, personal opinions and not as the musical equivalent of the bible. We shouldn’t get caught up in how much the person-who-plays-six-instruments-and-goes-to-gigs-every-night believes that the synthesizer is unacceptable or the base line is weak. We should love music for what it is: a painfully simple transfer of energy. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

 

Once again, Hughes is undoubtedly correct and about many things. Whilst there is an issue within the way music is treated, it is not of ‘International Incident’ level importance. Rather, it is pathetic. “There is a problem in how we all treat each other. We are quintessentially selfish and whilst we claim to care about nihilism, poverty and the state of health care, we do actually care more about the Kardashians, and that should hurt regardless of whether it is true or just a coping strategy. We are fools: music loving fools, but fools none the less.”