The Afterword

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Their most famous album isn’t their best

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Looked at from a distance, a recording artist’s output is distinguished by the most well-known songs, the albums which are seen as pivotal in musical history, or as archetypes of a certain genre. (Best albums of all time, etc).

As you get closer to the discography, it becomes a bit more complicated. LPs that got (over) praised on their release might have novelty on their side, but don’t stand up to repeated listening as the internal coherence of the tracks is not so evident as on other less prominent releases.

In the pinned article, Darran Anderson articulates something possibly heretical that I have long thought. Primal Scream’s best album is Vanishing Point.

Screamadelica is like Sergeant Pepper – groundbreaking, but not better than the sum of its parts. Vanishing Point is a far more satisfying and coherent album, particularly with Echo Dek as a coda, as the author suggests. Don’t get me wrong. I love listening to individual songs from Screamadelica – there isn’t a bad song on there – some are my favourite of all time. But they are just so different from each other that their effect is negated by the proximity. I’m listening to Vanishing Point right » Continue Reading.

We are family

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Bear with me. i have a heavy load to cack out.

Family. This is a word that has been clanging like a church bell in my hintergrund for some months.

Do I mean family? No. I think I mean familiarization.

What does it mean to become familiar with things? How do we learn to connect?

You all know Tigger’s six listens. It is such a powerful trope, that it has become entwined in the epigenetics of this site. You have to listen at least six times to a song, a track, an album, before you can ‘get it’.

What we do when we repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat the playing of those sounds is we embed the sonic experience in our heads. We hear the same song, but not the same song, because each time what we hear is different. The first time it might be familiar or completely new. What makes it familiar? It is similar in some way to what we have heard before. Not exactly the same, but there are resonances, echoes, repeated phrases, steals.

But it is in some way new. Or it is not.

And then the next repeat. That connection » Continue Reading.

Paint My Name In Black And Gold / Waiting For Another War

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Author:Mark Andrews / Trevor Ristrow

I came late to the Sisters of Mercy – just after their second lineup split following a concert in the Royal Albert Hall in June 1985 and the release earlier in the year of their first album – First and Last and Always. With no product for another 2 years (Floodland) or live appearance until Wembley Arena in 1990, all that there was to absorb from the band was the first album, previous singles, eps, bootleg live albums, one video from the RAH (Wake) and collections of old music press stories and reviews.

These two books are biographies of the band in those first 5 years from 1980, coincidentally both published last year. Although my quest for TSOM product has long been sated, and the story of Eldritch and co was quite familiar – Ely>Cambridge>Leeds>multiple gigs/groupies/alcohol/speed/monomaniacal powercraziness>band collapse I was intrigued by how the two authors would flesh out the story.

Both start well by choosing as Book titles song quotes the fans would know (Heartland/Valentine), and there’s a fair amount of reference in both books to the literary/linguistic wordplay that Eldritch liked and that drew me to the band.

Although covering the same time » Continue Reading.

Desert Island Discs, the Afterword remix

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Something for everybody, 8 songs, 1 book, 1 luxury – rules are:

1. Songs/tracks should be: (i) from early childhood (ii) first favourite of pre-teen youth (iii) favourite of teenage years (iv) best experienced live (v) best from when you fell in love (vi) best coz it’s really meaningful (vii) best you like now you never would have liked when younger (viii) the one you keep when the waves wash all the others away

2. A sentence or more to explain your book and luxury choice

3. Don’t think too long about it. You won’t be held to account in years to come when someone does a similar thread and your choices have changed

4. Don’t do it at all if you don’t want to. It’s just a bit of fun.

5. Oh, and ignore all the above rules if you want to do it differently, including the song choices

6. Finally, ignore rule number 5.

Confused? I know I am

Ey up – Bratford’s City of Culture

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Something to celebrate – the home of New Model Army, the 1 in 12 club, NMPFT, School of Peace Studies, Saltaire, etc has been made 2025 UK City of Culture – the gateway to the Dales and the Calder Valley where it rains every day and the cobbled streets are paved with glass, but the curries are magnificent, and the beer – I miss it so.

That was my experience 30 years ago. Any more recent markers for the jewel in the West Riding?

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/31/bradford-named-as-the-uk-city-of-culture-2025

New Order love-in

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Every now and then I just get tired of listening to new stuff and think let’s go back to my old favourites. And one of those most definitely has to be New Order. Sod all the Barney vs. Hooky shenanigans, all the dull post-Factory albums – switch my generic player to random and deep dive into their beats and synths and flakey lyrics and vocals, but above all the polyphony of synths and beats. And that sublime Hooky bass – an aural massage if ever there was one – Just bliss. They knew what they were doing.

There have been so many versions and remixes and extended dubs etc, that something unexpected will rise up among all the classics. Here’s a podcast that I downloaded many years ago with a variety of new versions that weren’t familiar to me, but make me very happy to listen to. Track listing below.

In tune with the rapturous responses to music recently here, I just felt like (over)sharing. But do put your favourite New Order or other reliable source of musical sustenance below, if you feel like it.

Run 2 (Extended Version) Vanishing Point (Instrumental Making Out Mix) Subculture (Sarm West Mix) Best » Continue Reading.

THe joy of bad keyboard skils

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Are you like me……. One of thise people who never really learned how tio type properyl?

one day, evrtyhnig will be voice-activated and there’ll be o need to hunt and peck thei correct letter or go back over the text F7-ing all the erors.

THis ihs a post o celebrate mispelling

heres Wierd al – simnging about grammer -which is noit what tghis post is about – #No pednats heer plese! jus sillyt speling

View post on imgur.com

Ukrainian music and culture

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On the basis that this is a site on the fringes of culture, one way to uphold the people of Ukraine may be to explore and celebrate the music and culture of the country. Here’s the Eurovision Song Contest winner from 2016 with a song that just seems poignant, yet defiant. I’m sure there are far more examples from a country with a long history, if anyone wants to post.

Afterwordle

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Whether or not NYT keeps Wordle free, I suggest a cultural byway version the Afterwordle.

!, Use ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ to offer a puzzle in a comment (5 is a suggestion – your choice of AW-appropriate texts – nouns, names, acronyms) 2. Offer answers in replies to comment 3. Mark replies in ‘replies to replies’ (Edit – cannot get green or yellow boxes to appear. I suggest green=G, yellow=Y, Blank=⬜)

Let’s see if this runs or fades…

So, how’s 2021 been for you?

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How has life been for you and yours over the last 12 months?

Use this space as you want – maybe a chance for the AW community to reflect and share in the quieter, shorter days at the end of December.

This is a service Hannah used to provide each year – it was good to learn about what everybody had been up to. I hope I’m not treading on her toes in posting this. I look forward to reading anything and everything you want to post. I might even find the time to remember and write up what I did this year.

What is the most beautiful music video ever?

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In 1894, sheet music publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern hired electrician George Thomas and various artists to promote sales of their song “The Little Lost Child”. Using a magic lantern, Thomas projected a series of still images on a screen simultaneous to live performances. In 1981, “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video played on MTV.

So, either 117 or 40 years of music videos.

But what’s the cream of the crop – the artistic peak – the perfect melange of sound and vision? Which one do you like most and why? Which is the most beautiful creation?

Whatever you think of the music on this one, the visuals are amaaazing!

I know how we all love clip-heavy threads, with nothing but copy and pasted links to YouTube, but maybe be sparing and select only your finest flicks, dew-picked and flown from Iraq, cradled in the finest quality description, lightly posted, and sealed in a succulent, Swiss, quintuple-smooth, treble-adjective envelope, and lovingly frosted with superlatives.

I look forward to watching and appreciating every one!

RIP – Richard H. Kirk

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Sad news about the one remaining active member of Cabaret Voltaire. I first heard them when I bought 2×45 in 1986. I was intrigued by the plain black cover, being deep into my goth phase at the time, and judging records by their covers, this was too cool not to buy, for its sheer beauty. The music inside was like nothing I’d heard before, but there were definite dark elements to it, and a wonderful rhythm to all the tracks. I guess Cabaret Voltaire were more influential than popular, and their music wasn’t easy listening. But give it a few spins and there’s as much beauty to discover in the music as in the packaging it comes in.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/21/cabaret-voltaire-richard-h-kirk-dies-aged-65

Blue or Blur?

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To save Black Celebration from having to do all the heavy lifting on the whimsical posting front, here’s me doing something exceptionally lazy and asking you to post mistaken identities, based on a comment in one of his many recent posts. E.G. I wanted to see Kate Nash, but it turned out to be Kate Bush. I was keen to hear the tuneful jazz rap stylings of OUi3, but ended up with stadium OAPs, U2. And I was so happy to have tickets to watch Dr and The Medics and Dr Hook, but was confronted with a double bill of the Saw Doctors and the Spin Doctors.

Speaking of whom, how long can we ‘spin’ this out for, eh readers?

https://theafterword.co.uk/throw-off-your-mental-chains-hoo-hoo-hoo/#comment-493834

In praise of Cyndi Lauper – she bops time after time

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Sparked to attention by Bingo’s provocation on the guilty pleasures thread with his “Surely amongst the least Afterword-friendly artists imaginable, and yet… responsible for some amazing tunes”, I thought, surely not Cyndi? She’s so great (as well as unusual) and has trailed her own career path right into her 60s. Her quirky associations with WWF and her long and strong support for LGTB are just two indicators of her willingness to go her own way, and that openness floods out in many of her songs, which is why I think they connect to so many people.

A quick check and it turns out there is AW support for La Lauper. Twang reviewed her last album (of country songs), signing off with “But who doesn’t like Cyndi Lauper?” Of course there was a dissenting voice, but also a fair few assenting ones too.

Her hit singles always stand up fresh to replaying, taking me back to the time when I first heard them. But they are well known, so I’ll put below a few less frequently played songs from through her career to start off the lovefest, (in case anyone wants to join in).

More Colombians (Jessie Reyez)

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Captain 2020 Hindsight here again – this time hoovering up musics from a throwaway link from @Kaisfatdad in his one hit wonders thread – 35 best Colombian albums from 2020.

For now, Jessie Reyez (no.11 in the list) has found that sweet spot between my ears that Dua Lipa was the last to claim. As I often do when finding a new artist, a quick [artist theafterword] Google shows if anyone’s shared their enthusiasms on the forum already. In this case, it’s the estimable @Bingo-Little who put the case for Jessie – loving her phlegmy vocals. Happy to follow in your trail once more, Bingo.

This track is perfect for me – distinctively clear, beautifully harmonious vocals that soar and growl, coo and hum, tickle and breathe and even do that ickle girl sound Morwenna Banks copywrote. All set off against a wonderful confident dynamic musical backdrop of rhythm guitar, oozing bass sound tinctured with drops of Bollywood violin.

And the lyrics are thoughtful and heartfelt, whose boldness and startling intimacy is well expressed in the video.

As the poll says, “Jessie ha sabido hacer de su voz una experiencia trascendental, » Continue Reading.

Let’s talk about sex

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Time has passed since the news earlier this month about the Ofsted report* into sexual harassment in schools. Indeed, this may seem like a remote topic, apart from those AWers in the teaching profession, or with children of secondary school age, for most of us it’s many years (decades) since we experienced teenage years and puberty.

But I wonder if it is not a good topic to discuss in any case. Can the cause(s) for such harassment be identified? What could change the culture or prevent it? Is it different from/better than/worse than it was ‘in my day’? Is it just a boy thing?

I try to look at it from my perspective and experience, growing up in the English culture of embarrassment and squeamishness and jokiness about sex. As I’ve got older, I look back at how I learned about sex and relationships. The sex education I recall was mechanical, precautionary and limited. Relationship education didn’t come into it. Going to a secondary school single-sex from the age of 13-16, the arrival in the 6th form of girls was like encountering a whole new species – and as strange for them – entering an environment where they were » Continue Reading.

My top 10 one hit wonders from the 2020 AW album poll

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I am a late adopter. So, the annual albums of the year poll is not something I can meaningfully contribute to in the compilation phase. But I like discovering new (to me) music. Consequently it is a mine of potential new joys for me each year. I decided to listen to (at least a minute or two of) all 560+ albums submitted to the 2020 poll. You guys like a lot of jazz (54), and US folk/country (59), and even piano (23) by my reckoning. I put some of my favourite new discoveries in KFD’s thread. This post is an extension of KFD’s challenge – one hit wonders – albums nominated by just one person.

I have listed below ten albums that only one person nominated, and in the comments below I will say something about why I liked them. They may not be the ‘best’ albums in the chart, even for my own idiosyncratic tastes. There were many other albums that were a revelation – that had greater instant appeal, but nominated by at least 2 people. But these all made me happy in different ways, often accompanying me on my daily home-based virtual commute to the global » Continue Reading.

Afterword limericks

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On I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, One of the rounds that they do Is make up limerick verse, And if you’re not averse, It’s something I’d like to offer to you

I thought that maybe we might Take it in turns each line to write. One line max per stanza – And here’s the bonanza – Write the fifth, and the next one’s yours to ignite.