Musings on the byways of popular culture
Hugely versatile and apparently ego-free UK director (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorilllas in the Mist, The World is not enough) whose most.enduring legacy is the Up series he was part of since it began with 1964’s 7 Up.
As most of the participants said they only continued their involvement in it because of MA, wonder if there will be 70 Up later this year as scheduled.
Neil playing to a packed hose of delighted Archives II fans at the theatre in his home town in Canada
Starting tonigh and all through the holidays the Archives site will also be showing Hometown, NY’s 2017 concert film from the same theatre
Apologies for the link not being clickable – tried twice but with same results
http://neilyoungarchives.com/movie-night/movietone/
You know the drill, something fictional, something factual, something you’ve only just discovered or dug out again.
Not going to award points and collate a list so feel free to fill your boots and nominate as many (or as few titles as you’d like).
BEST PROGRAM OF 2020
Once Upon a Time in Iraq (BBC) – A jaw dropping series in every sense and conclusive proof why we should all continue happily stumping up for the licence pay
FICTIONAL
Watchmen (Sky) – A gazzilion times better than the frame-by-frame mess that was Zak Snyder’s big screen adapt of a few years back
The Boys (Amazon Prime) – Very, very funny and violent satire about how (super)heroes almost always have super-sized feet of clay
Honourable mentions – The always dependable Inside No 9 and Succession, plus the newer and continuing series mentioned in the earlier foreign language shows thread
FACTUAL
Honourable mentions
The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty (BBC) – Another example of public-funded broadcasting at its best and Des (ITV) – David Tennant in absolutely chilling form as Dennis Nielssen
REDISCOVERIES
Rectify (DVD) – Read about this US-made wrongly accused man released from prison drama in a below-the-article comment in » Continue Reading.
Something fictional, something factual, something you’ve only just discovered or dug out again.
Not going to award points and collate a list so feel free to fill your boots and nominate as many (or as few titles as you’d like).
FICTIONAL:
Lottie Moggach – Brixton Hill
Outstanding psychological thriller about a woman who tries to con a convict about to get released on parole. Contains as many insights about being in chokey as any celeb pentinents’ prison diaries.
Honourable mentions – Don Winslow Broken, Sabine Durrant Finders Keepers, Alan Marks’ Bobby March,
FACTUAL
Craig Brown – One, Two, Three, Four
Is there anything left to say about the Beatles? Chasing up minor happenings (the Apple Xmas party) and half-remembered characters (the supporting cast on the Beatles’ Ed Sullivan show, Craig Brown showed there was. And did so very entertainingly
Honourable mentions – Ralph Steadman, A Life in Ink, Andy Neil, Ready, Steady, Go
(RE)DISCOVERIES
The wonderful Jim Thompson – Very probably the hardest hard-boiled writer of them all.
As now spend around 70% of my screen time watching Walter Presents or the foreign language section of Netflix, been thinking about doing such a post for ages. The start of the Spiral/Engrenages thread finally gave me the kick up the arse I needed
Off the top of my head my current faves are:
Germany – Deutschland 83 and 86, Babylon Berlin, The Dark, The Same Sky
Italy – Gomorrah, My Brilliant Friend, Suburra
Holland – Undercover, The Swingers
South America – El Marginal (Argentina) Senor Videla (Mexico)
Lots more I am interested in seeing including Call my Agent and The Bureau (Both France) and the final series of Deutschland trilogy (D89)
Sure there must be some fellow ‘dickheads’ here.
Reason why I’m posting this is that Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is currently a 99p last minute deal on Amazon UK (link attached).
While I prefer the five volumes of PKD’s collected short stories over his novels, Androids is one of his more accessible longer works and was the basis for Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.
If you’ve never read any Biggus Dickus, this might just be the kick up the arse your bookshelf needs during these dark, dystopian times (and times don’t get much darker or more dystopian than they do in Androids).
On the subject of Kindle Deals, anyone know if mousey is OK as he’s not posted his regular monthly update yet.
Two I can think of off the top of my head…
Nick Lowe – almost 10 years since At My Age and seven years since his Xmas album, Quality Street
James McMurtry – a kick in the pants away from six years since Complicated Game (there was supposed to be an album this year so the signs are good)
Wonderful A3-sized prints of musical greats from top snappers like Adrian Boot, Derek RIdgers for £95 each.
All proceeds to the roadcrew and backstage staff who’ve been laid off because of the COVID pandemic
https://printsformusic.com/products/mick-jagger-by-derek-ridgers https://printsformusic.com
A remake that really shouldn’t work but their re-interpretation of the song is actually rather wonderful. A truly inspiring tune for these troubled times
https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/willie-nelson-karen-o-under-pressure/
Was inspired to post these when reading about the appalling Dee Anthony in an article about Peter Frampton’s autobiography in this morning’s Guardian.
As bad as he was, DA surely wasn’t nearly as awful as Stan Polley who swindled Badfinger out of all their money and – arguably – caused the suicide of Pete Ham in ’75 and Tom Evans eight years later. Surely the unluckiest band ever, Badfinger and their story are worthy of a post on its own – assuming, of course, no one’s done one yet. Running up the rear are the likes of Morris Levy, Allen (De)Klein and just about any other manager of a black act in the early 60s.
Aside from Brian Epstein (“he changed the world without hurting anyone”) very few genuinely good guy(s) I can think of. Obvious one would be Shep “Ubernensch” Gordon – been Alice Cooper’s manager for over 40 years based on nothing more than a handshake and also helped bring – among others – The Duellists and Koyaanisqatsi to the screen. There’s also U2’s Paul McGuinness (whose own foray into movies/TV was Sky’s excerable Riviera).
Leaders of the “Bad but apparently not-all-bad” camp are Don Arden (Kenney » Continue Reading.
One of the most unpleasant and elusive of the many figures who defined the 60s.
Given that not even Craig Brown seems to have been able to track him down, I’m amazed he’s still alive
28-minute collection of songs from his recent fireside concerts – ten of your English pounds, please.
As one wag puts it in the Amazon review, more a case of Rush After the Gold than After the Gold Rush
Given that it’s unlikely that any of us are likely to be seeing anything other than a bastardised socially distanced form of live music any time soon, what are the past gigs you went to that you’d most like to see again?
Please also feel free to include details of your first – and worst – concerts, too if you feel the need.
Seriously, there really is an artist who goes by that name!
Could go in the streaming or RT/LT Threads but as series has gone uncommented upon, think this is worth its own thread.
While the first one has gone, the good news is there are two more coming up –
First on Sun 27/9 is mainly Fairport-era stuff
Second on Sun 11/10 is an all request show
US$20 each or US$30 for the two
https://boxoffice.mandolin.com/collections/richard-thompson/products/richard-thompson-stream-2-september-27th-fairport-theme-full-house
https://boxoffice.mandolin.com/collections/richard-thompson/products/richard-thompson-stream-3-october-11th-total-requests
https://www.richardthompson-music.com https://boxoffice.mandolin.com/collections/richard-thompson
The first thing that hits you is the book’s sheer size – just a tad bigger on each side than the albums that superseded the singles the show famously celebrated so exuberantly. As you’d expect from such a large format title, the pictures – and there are scores and scores of them spread across its generous 272 pages – are stunning.
The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Otis, Marvin are all here in their 60s pomp and prime. As, of course, is the alluring Cathy McGowan (and the rather less delectable Keith Fordyce). Coupled with the supporting insights of many of the stars who appeared in the show’s three-and-a -half-year, 179-episode run, Neil’s writing does a terrific job of conjuring up a time when pop and we ourselves were far more innocent.
Like all great books on music, Neill’s title makes you want to rush out and see the show again for yourself. Sadly, having bought the surviving footage sometime in the 1980s, Dave Clark (of the DC5 fame) only ever released a couple of VHS tapes before selling everything on to BMG in 2018. Until they decide to do the sensible thing and snare the rapidly shrinking audience that » Continue Reading.
Was thinking about doing a thread like this a couple of days back before Mrbellows neglected singer-songwriters thread beat me to the punch and pushed me into it.
Reason why I was considering such a thread was that after years of never having given the band a second thought I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to hear Be Bop Deluxe doing Panic in the World and Life in the Air Age.
Remember my 20-year old self being well impressed when I saw them live (certainly enthused enough to buy Live in The Air Age anyway). Unfortunately for Mr Nelson and his bandmates, they were one of those acts who never really seemed to transform critical kudos into any kind of real commercial traction. Same seems to have applied to Bill Nelson’s subsequent post-BBD career in first Red Noise and then solo.
A two CD best-of being the most affordable option on discogs, I finally scratched my Bill Nelson itch and found about eight killer tracks out of the approx 40 spread over the two discs.
Seems to be a lot of talk in the UK press about not playing these songs during this year’s audience-free Last Night of The Proms.
Assuming it’s not just Phil Space packing his paper’s pages with rubbish during the traditional summer silly season, I think doing so would be the thin end of a very thick “woke” edge.
Anyone else here have strong feelings either way?
Aside from giving everyone a much-needed smile, don’t imagine it will do much good in penetrating the thick skulls of those who’ll vote for Trump this November come hell or high water.
A few months back I caught Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 movie Outback (the best Aussie movie ever! If you’ve not seen it, drop everything and go and watch it!), and have been reading a fair amount of Aussie outback thrillers ever since.
Having loved both Jane Harper’s The Dry and Chris Sumner’s Scrublands, I couldn’t resist taking a punt when I saw Gabriel Bergmoser’s The Hunted for 99p on Amazon. Well worth it the book was, too!
The story concerns Maggie, a young Aussie woman desperate to learn what became of her mother following her disappearance several years before. Along the way she meets and befriends, Simon, a wimpy backpacker in search of “The Real Australia”. Persuading her gullible new friend to venture off the beaten track, the pair eventually chance upon a community of feral scavengers with a taste for what Royston Vaizey butcher, Hilary Briss, used to call his “special stuff”.
With Simon offed and her literally having bitten off more than she can chew, our badly injured anti-hero flees and is taken in by the owner of a petrol station in the middle of nowhere. Equal parts The Hills Have Eyes and Straw Dogs, the siege that » Continue Reading.
If you had to cast a movie/TV series of the books, who would you cast as Jackson Lamb?
Am currently halfway through reading Joe Country and I was racking my brains to try and think of who’d be the ideal actor. The only candidate I could come up with was Michael Gambon (well MG as he was about 30 years ago….)
How about you?
Obvious culprit would be Van Morrison who’s only released one – admittedly very, very good – 2CD set of outtakes (Philosopher’s Stone Vol 1) in the late 90s and a 3CD collection of the shows from the same tour as the mesmerising Too Late To Stop Now. He did start a huge reissue program a few years back but seemed to have lost interest.
Any one here think of any other examples?
As played by toffs (and pseudo-toffs) for toffs and pseudo-toffs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIekZvhyrsk
Author:Joseph Knox
Alan Parks…Malcolm…McKay…Stay Shevez, Some first rate UK crime writers coming through these last few years.
Joseph Knox whose Aidan Waits series started appearing in 2017 is one of the most promising of th lot. There’s also lots of musically themed chapter titles to keep ATM massive readers happy.
Condemned to endlessly prowl Manchester’s late night streets by the demonic superintendent Parrs, Waits graveyard shift life is a never-ending spiral of booze, broads and class A drugs with the odd quirky case thrown in.
Published in mid-last year, The Sleepwalker, sees Knox ratchet up the tension with the tale of the horrific immolation of a child killer (think Ian Brady) and two of Waits’ colleagues. Well-written and pacey, Knox’ work stands comparison with the likes of Aidan McKInty’s Sean Doyle series set in early ’70s Norn’ Ireland. Let’s hope that Knox isn’t hamstrung by the poor sales that condemned McKinty to knock Doyle on the head and start writing more mainstream fare for the mass market.
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Ian Rankin, Alan Parks, Malcolm, McKay, Frank Lean or any first rate UK Police procedural writer
One thing you’ve learned
Down » Continue Reading.
While can understand bands starting out or who ain’t very successful using their better known songs to feather their pension nest, it always grates when you hear fairly successful acts/writers lining up with their hands out.
Recently heard snatches of Crimso’s 21st Century Schizoid Man in some perfume commercial on UK TV. It had apparently earlier featured on an ad for XBOX which at least seems a bit more relevant.
Worst one I can think of at the moment is the rerecording of Gold for Bold fabric conditioner – all together now “BOLD! Always believe in your goal, you’ve even got time to stroll”. Gary Kemp must be cringing with embarrassment as he starts licking his fingers and counting his ill-gotten gains.
Anyone here think of any equally atrocious crimes against good taste?
