Mr. Scruff’s ‘Trouser Jazz’ is Pants

By Caitlyn Hallman

As anyone who has read the main page of KIU will know, I have just recently started my M.A. in popular music studies at The University of Liverpool.  One thing our tutors continue to stress to us is the necessity for us to expand our listening range.  In an attempt to get into the spirit of things, on Tuesday, September 24, 2002, I went along to a live performance of dj, Mr. Scruff.

To be honest I had never heard of Mr. Scruff before, let alone realize that he is a dj.  I came to the show with an open mind.  I was expecting the worst, but genuinely hoping the best.  The results were actually rather middling.

The sound Mr. Scruff makes is pleasant and mellow with a slight dance beat.  The music he played, inspired by his album ‘Trouser Jazz’ reminded me of something that might be suitably played at Starbucks – energetic but inoffensive when played in the background.   I quite happily bounced to his tunes for an hour or two.

But therein lies the problem.  The show did not last a couple of hours.  It lasted five, and honestly once you heard about five minutes of Mr. Scruff you heard his whole repertoire.  It’s jazzy.  It’s a bit funky.  It’s laidback, and that’s it.  It never really built to a climax.  There was never a moment when you wanted to stop bouncing and swaying to really get dancing.  Actually, it never elicited any great emotion or response from the audience. 

Perhaps I just can’t appreciate dance music.  I don’t see what the point is in watching a bald white man spin records.  If I wanted to do that I could have just stayed in Pottstown and gone to the Elks Club.  When I go to a live show I want to see someone actually play and/or sing something, and when I want to dance I want some proper music, not this random ‘sampling’ stuff.  In my opinion and experience nothing gets a crowd out on the dance floor more than a bit of ‘Backstreet’s Back’ or some classic ABBA.  Just try to resist the opening strains of ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (a man after midnight).’  Okay maybe my taste in music is not exactly hip.  However, speaking to a classmate of mine who was at the concert and who has really hip taste in music (he’s a Coldplay fan), I learned that he thought it was a tad boring as well.  We were forced to agree that Mr. Scruff is a bit pants.

In a bright spot, a part of the profits from the show went to the Big Issue, so at least I have the knowledge that I helped my fellow man.