McBusted: Truth Time

Hello friends.

So this has been something that's been brewing in my mind for quite some time now. I have a lot of opinions on this, and I've seen that many many others do too. So... McBusted.

I love McFly. I love Busted. As a girl who grew up in the Noughties, it was inevitable that I'd fall in love with these bands. Their catchy songs, their (in hindsight, god-awful image but) dashing good looks, everything about them was, and still is brilliant. I was devastated when Busted split up, but at least we still had McFly to carry us through the years.

I never forgot about Busted, don't get me wrong. I still have their albums on my iTunes, and I still listen to them from time to time. But I listen to them nostalgically. I listen to Crashed The Wedding and I think about school discos and boys sliding on their knees whilst the girls argued over which member of Busted they were going to marry. I listen to Year 3000 and remember my absolute horror when discovering The Jonas Brothers (our music fan base enemy) had covered it. Busted and their music remind me of so much of my childhood.

And then we have McFly. The band who stayed with us right up until we were adults. We watched them grow up whilst they provided the soundtrack to us growing up. We saw them progress as artists, changing their sound as they grew. Alright, we can all agree that Above The Noise was a bit of a hiccup, but then they brought out this book that admitted it wasn't their best, and filled us with hope of the valiant return of McFly, and promised us a ton of new music. Us as fans were damn excited! We had our boys - now men - dressed in smart suits with a more mature, yet still fun-loving sound and the Galaxy Defenders loved it.

And then it happened.

Now, I was there for one of the dates James Bourne supported McFly on their tour. It was great, because everybody in that arena was absolutely bursting with nostalgia. Arguably, this should have been the end of the Busted revival. But obviously, this is where the McBusted idea was born, and were then included in McFly's 10 year anniversary shows. This could also be argued as the place McBusted should have stopped. It was nostalgic, it was fun... it was enough.

Okay, okay. Give them a tour. They were obviously enjoying themselves. I went to the Cardiff date of the McBusted tour (I was very ill, but I went anyway) and I'll admit - it was a damn good show and I had a really good time. Again, it was extremely nostaglic and everybody was there to remember, and relive.

There's no argument to it. This is where McBusted should have ended.

Here's my argument. Busted were a very successful band in their day. But today isn't their day. They ended all those years ago for a reason. Busted was a threesome, and should always remain one. I know they're friends, and I know they were invited, but it just doesn't seem fair for two members to latch on to a band who are still doing incredibly well for themselves, who have god knows how many fans waiting on their new material. Not McBusted, but McFly.

It was revealed at some point that McFly have two whole recorded albums, just sitting on a shelf doing nothing. The fans are dying to hear this music, and now we don't even know if we ever will. And it's frustrating. It's like dangling something you've wanted for ages in front of your face then pulling it away and replacing it with something old you used to have 10 years ago.

I know I sound harsh and bitter, but the truth of it is, it's what a large majority of fans are thinking. However, there is another side to the story, and something we have to consider.

All our lives, we've had mentors and people we look up to tell us, "Chase your own dreams. Never be pressured into doing something you don't want to do. Do what makes you happy." That's what McBusted are doing. They are a group of friends taking charge of their own careers and altering them slightly to do something they're evidently having the time of their lives doing. Yes, they have an audience to entertain... but do we as an audience hold the right to tell them not to do what they're loving doing?  Do we really hold the right to spam their instagrams and twitters with "wee hate McBusted" and so on?

We all have the right to our opinions. But they also have the right to work on whatever projects they like. If we don't like it, we don't have to consume it. If you're sick of it, just stop buying the music. Don't go to the concerts. But don't just sit behind a screen and throw abuse at them. They know that what they're doing won't please everyone, and that's a decision they've obviously made. It's a disappointment to a lot of people, but that's life. They're having a whale of a time, and it's been long enough for me to become indifferent to it.

In short, I suppose this post is here to say if you don't like it, you're not alone because neither do I. But we don't have the right to dictate their careers. Just find another band to listen to if it bothers you that much.

Do let me know if you agree, or maybe if you think I've been too harsh. I've stated my opinions, but I wouldn't say they were hateful. It's all interpretation, I suppose.

That's it, I think. Yeah.

Until next time, muchachos

xoxo

Valentines Day: Forever Alone?

Hello friends!

So another Valentines Day is upon us. Another single Valentines Day in my case. But guess what? I really do not care. I can't be the only one who has noticed this, but this year more than ever has seen an all time low number of people complaining about being single on this dreadful 'holiday'. Finally, people are starting to realise that it's the least important thing ever. The fact that this is a day some people see as a reason to hate themselves for being alone is a horrible thought. So you didn't get a £1 rose and a card - ho hum! It's really not the end of the world. I'm rubbish at receiving gifts, and even worse at buying them so the whole concept is a horrible thought for me anyway. 

This is just a short post to express my gratitude for the shrinking importance of Valentines Day to the single community. It's also an opportunity to voice my slight disgust at every other post on all social media sites being a sickly picture of a bunch of flowers and a poorly constructed declaration of love, followed by a few emojis. But I'll leave them to it - I suppose it's slightly heart-warming.... deep down. Ish.

Also, if you don't have plans for tonight, much like myself, here are a few suggestions as to what you could do instead!

1. Pamper yourself.

Why not? Have a nice long bath, or a shower if you'd prefer. Slap on a face mask, paint your nails. Moisturise! Do girly things. 

2. Eat. 

Think about it. Go to the shops and buy a box of chocolates on Valentines Day. Nobody will suspect that you're about to take them home and indulge in an entire Milk Tray in one go, will they? 

3. Drink.

One bottle of wine, minus one Valentine = more for you. Have a giggle! Or if you don't drink, make yourself a monster hot chocolate. You do you.

4. Filmathon.
Two options here, either stay in with a pile of your favourite DVDs (or your laptop... not that I condone piracy, children....) and view in the comfort of your own home, or go to the cinema. It's always amusing and/or uncomfortable to watch the endless PDA Valentines Day promotes!

5. Laugh at Valentines memes. 
Really. They are brilliant, and if you haven't seen any yet, I'm pretty sure you're living in a cave. Here are a few favourites!

Happy Valentines Day, loners and lovers! xo

The Internet Sucks!

Okay, so maybe the title of this post is a little far-fetched. The internet is, in fact, an absolutely incredible thing. I would not function in the way I do today without the internet. But recently, I'm becoming more and more aware of how bad this space can be when in the wrong hands. And here's what has brought this on...

Did anybody else see the whole Liam Payne/Tyler Oakley saga on twitter last week? If you have no interest in pop culture or social media, I doubt you did. But put basically, Liam of One Direction tweeted a guy from Duck Dynasty who is infamously homophobic and other such adjectives. In this tweet, he praised the guy's 'family values' which, in any functioning brain, would give an implication of agreeing with his beliefs on homosexuality. Tyler Oakley picked up on this and despite being a fan of One Direction, called him out in a way that was neither rude nor disrespectful. And yet the backlash of him doing this was disastrous. Not only was he scrutinised by One Direction fans to the point of receiving death threats, but he was also called out by Liam himself indirectly, who claimed he was not a 'real/true' fan. And this, my friend, is a shining example of why the internet sucks.

In no circumstance should anybody EVER send death threats or messages that encourage suicide, or any form of self harm for that matter. But unfortunately, the internet has made doing this so very easy by giving everybody a sense of anonymity. You could say anything you want to whoever you want, no matter how cruel or immoral that comment may be. And unless you're in an extraordinary social position, 9.999 times out of 10, there will be no real repercussions for your actions. That's what I hate. I hate how easy it is to become a monster online.

Another example is Justin Bieber's fans. I'm not talking 'people who like his music'. I'm talking the die-hard Beliebers. The way they have been brainwashed to defend Justin regardless of how outrageous his actions are is honestly quite frightening. And all that has happened and is communicated over the internet. But thoughts on Mr Bieber and his whole surrounding area is  a whole other blog post for a different day.

But on a far more positive note, and back to the matter in hand, Tyler Oakley's repsonse to the whole affair has been nothing less than admirable. He took a break from the internet for a few days to allow all the hate to fly over his head, and turned the situation around to make a very positive video for his channel, stating loud and clear that he encouraged nobody to send hate on his behalf or their own. That positivity easily overbears hate. For this, I'm actually thankful for. This video restored my faith in the internet just a little bit.

So, long story short? The internet is awesome when people are nice. When people are hateful and misuse the anonymity, it's a ball of suck.

And that's how I see it. How about you?

(PS. I just hit 300 blog views which, by most standards, is absolutely not a big deal. But I'm grateful, and actually quite surprised, that anyone would take the time to read my thoughts. So thanks, 300 visitors, you made me smile.)