In The Dock: Paul Weller

(If you're wondering what this is all about, click here.)

This week's subject: Paul Weller

The case for the prosecution (Del)

Angry, politically engaged and ambitiously intelligent. Challenging the future; popular, relevant and radical.

Dull, lifeless and uninspiring. Obsessed with the past, and hence unoriginal and conservative.

Paul Weller is both. And the question that we need to ask isn't so much "how?" as "when?" From 1977 to 1981, The Jam released a parade of sharp singles that summed up the mood of the nation as much as anything by the Sex Pistols or The Clash. But whereas Lydon and Strummer took turns away from the limelight, into relative obscurity, it was Weller that went on to directly inspire the next generation of musicians. And this, my friends, is where the trouble starts.

Mod. Mod mod mod. "All mod is a con" wrote a Vox reviewer many moons ago. Oh yes. Mod. Or, to be more accurate, the Mod Revival of the late 70s. Uh-oh. Yes. Revival. Revival is never a good word. Revival almost always means recreating something exciting and spontaneous in a contrived manner than isn't nearly as exciting. It's conservative by definition, wanting to keep things as they once were. It's cannibalistic, the same, always the same. Authenticity and tradition are praised, change and originality are frowned upon. Initially, The Jam cleverly exploited Mod as a way in, something to pin their message to. A means to an end. And as such they were devastatingly effective.

But the trouble is, once the message fades, all that is left is the style over the content. The law of diminishing returns kicks in as the same old ground is trodden. The revival turns to nostalgia, and the anger dissipates to a longing for a golden age, which never really existed (not even between 1960 and 1969. Honestly.). And the next generation hold it up as gospel. And so here we are. Mod as a con. A fake world constructed from 'Quadrophenia' quotes and Who record sleeves. It didn't exist, and it's bullshit, and Paul Weller has not only lived off it for the past two decades, but been deified as its highest being: The Modfather.

Enough is enough.

Let us start with the sins. We can perhaps forgive the many blatant rip-offs that litter The Jam's repertoire ('Start' steals from The Beatles' 'Taxman', 'A Town Called Malice' bears a striking resemblance to The Supremes' 'You Can't Hurry Love'). But this is hardly what you'd expect of the musical genius that some would lead us to believe he is.

It's easy to mock The Style Council. And fun, too. But credit where it's due, Weller disbanded a hugely popular group to take a risk. Sadly the risk failed, as The Style Council were just a soul revival group without a point. They added nothing. Follow with embarrassing acid house covers and fade to obscurity.

Until of course, the next Mod Revival kicks in (although most people just call it Britpop). Ironically, it's my fave band Blur that opened the door, rocking the Mod look and iconography for Modern Life Is Rubbish. But, like The Jam beforehand, behind the retro stylings was The Message. Sadly, Weller had long since voted Tory and left the politics behind. So it was the content-lite Oasis who really brought him back to the party.

And so we had 'The Changingman'. Which is actually an absolutely ace tune. The riff is mesmerising and utterly original. At least it was when the Electric Light Orchestra first played it on '10538 Overture'. In 1973. But the kids don't know that, do they? Another artful con.

Weller was the godhead of possibly the dullest musical genre in history: Dadrock. All style circa 1967, no originality whatsoever. So out went the social commentary, and in came the nostalgia kick. Populism without the awkward politics. Kula Shaker. Smaller. Shack. Ocean. Colour. Scene. Please kill me now.

Now, whilst you can argue that while many influential artists simply cannot be blamed for the crimes committed in their name, long after their creative peak, Weller was practically orchestrating the whole scene. Ocean Colour Scene were his backing band. Oasis became duller with every second they spent in his company. Many other awful bands gained column inches simply through his endorsement. The angry outsider was now the cosy uncle delighted to see the kids bringing his dream of a 60s wonderland to life in authentic faded sepia. Every bit of excitement sacrificed for authenticity and insipid monochrome.

Dull, lifeless and uninspiring. Obsessed with the past, and hence unoriginal and conservative.

Guilty guilty guilty guilty.

The case for the defence (Pete)

Defending Paul Weller seems a strange thing to do. Only in that he hasn't, in my mind, been the culprit behind any major musical crimes. Some might say he's been responsible for the odd "boring" album (oh no); Heavy Soul wasn't a corker by any standards. And yes, providing encouragement to Ocean Colour Scene is a debatable highlight, but the topics of Britpop and Birmingham’s musical legacy have already been covered in previous cases so I'll ignore that argument.

Seriously though, the man is a legend. You might not like him, or his music, but he does deserve just a little bit of begrudging admiration. He's the frickin' Modfather after all!

I'll start with The Jam. As part of this trio, he came up with some of the finest songs around, that still manage to sound relatively timeless, ‘Going Underground’, ‘Eton Rifles’, ‘Start’ or the classic Motown style of ‘A Town Called Malice’ anyone? For the latter alone, I can’t see why the man should be In The Dock.

Nevertheless, unlike a lot of bands who keep stumbling along without a change in musical direction for too long, Weller was bright enough to realise that The Jam had run its natural course and moved on. Admittedly, this was to The Style Council, but even they are only possible ironic perpetrators of fashion crimes at most (white jeans!). So perhaps, the songs now at times seem a little self-indulgent with a little too much soul-pop noodling going on for my liking, but it was the 80s, what do you expect? In any case, most bands would love give their eye teeth to come up with a song as good as 'Shout To The Top'.

Thankfully, he got the white jeans period out of his system, had a break and moved onto his well-documented solo material in time to accompany the emergence of Britpop with his so-called “DadRock” phase. I’ve always thought that a pretty unjust label. He’s been inventive enough so far in his life; so what if he found a niche (at the age of 40) and remained in it? In any case, 2002’s ‘It's Written In The Stars’ showed a willingness not to rely solely on his trusty Rickenbacker to bang out a good song.

Fair play to him also for not selling out like so many other artists by repeatedly refusing to take part in a reunion of The Jam, no matter how financially rewarding it might be.

One final thing; apparently, at a recent gig at the Royal Albert Hall Weller he saw a picture of Sting's performance at the same venue from 2000 and decided to "deliver his own style of music criticism". According to the NME, Weller "marched straight up to it [the photo], coughed-up as much phlegm as he could muster and planted it plum in the middle of The Police frontman's head... as he walked away, remarking, 'fucking twat'". So if you’re still ambivalent about Weller, but can’t stand Sting, then follow the old adage of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend” and vote for the defence.

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Thanks to Del and Pete for their contributions. Now it's over to you. Guilty or innocent - YOU decide. The comments box is open and awaiting your comments - you've got until Friday to make up your mind...