Clone Zone.
- Tom Monks
- Jan 9
- 2 min read
I'm still baffled by how many people love Clone Zone. The song I mean, track 2 on the album. People introducing themselves with "CLONE ZONE!" is madder. But strangers singing it back to me at places like Charing Cross station... I REALLY struggle to process that.
It's my take on 'indie' drifting from creative liberation into... cosplay. My generation was the first to have the entire history of music at our fingertips, yet in my formative years, I was surrounded by "indie" bands more derivative than ever, and of the exact same bands - not just musically, but in attitude, attire, even bloody accents! Say you're born in Dartford and talk Yorkshire... are the Stones not enough heritage?
Look, imitation is natural when you're finding yourself. Every musician has the one that ignites their spark, who they want to be. Go to any gig, you'll certainly meet someone trying to be Amy Winehouse, literally warts and all (drawn with mascara), but they're often young kids figuring it out.
I'll happily hold my hand up, my formative inspirations will ALWAYS be in my blood. I have a moptop. I modelled my vocal distortion on Freddie Mercury's. I love the occasional blatant homage too; just look at Another Guy and Colin's Car!
And I do love Oasis and some pre-hairspray Arctics. But when you see grown adults caricaturising not just their music exclusively, but entire personalities - the catchphrases, the walks, even bloody VICES like substances and (attempted) womanising - it's cringe!! Some even unilaterally allocate other bands as their 'Blur', hijacking shows and instigating rivalries with even the keenest allies just to complete the fantasy!
So I wrote a song about it. If you wanna put jack on the rocks and call it a cocktail, that's your prerogative... just don't go around smashing other people's glasses.
Music written in 2019, recorded spring 2020, lyrics written and recorded late 2021 - bizarrely arriving in Wimborne Minster of all places! Reece Bailey did the brilliant artwork too, give him a pistachio if you see him.
If you dig it, grab a 'Loading...' CD while you can. There are GENUINELY only a handful left:
"Like Jools on the piano" - Noel Gallagher about ME, January 2024 x
