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Blogger Takeover CIV

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It is the day before the first Friday of a new month, and I may not be online on Friday, so – please gather round, hang up your wet coats and hats, help yourself to a cup of something warming and tell us all – what have you been listening to / watching / reading this month, and is there anything coming up we should know about ?

2

Comments

  1. Probably the best LP I heard this month was Wendell Harrison – An Evening With The Devil, a spiritual jazz album from 1973.

    Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds were wonderful at Room 2 in Glasgow. Life-affirmingly vibrant, including a couple of Cramps songs, a couple of Gun Club songs, and a whole bunch of his new songs. Great band, wonderful drummer, and while some old hands wanted more Cramps stuff, I loved the new explorations, as did most of the crowd. Forty years before this gig, the Primevals supported the Gun Club at Strathclyde Uni – the singer and the drummer from that line up were with me at this one, too. It’s a mighty long way down rock and roll, and I am very glad that I dragged myself out on a school night to the gig.

    I thought the Rugby World Cup had some great moments – the semi finals were wonderful, in particular – but there were quite a few grim matches. I hope that in 4 years time, they wait until much nearer the event to finalise the seedings.

    I have taken part in Inktober for five years, and it is very clear that doing an artistic thing every day, no excuses, helps you to get better at it. Yes, it is just like your piano teacher said – 10 minutes every day is much better than one hour the day before your next lesson. One of the many advantages of doing it is that I now have loads of cover art for my bandcamp releases, like this one (a standing stone on Arran) – https://tomrafferty1.bandcamp.com/album/onwards-volume-2

    I really enjoyed watching a PBS documentary on Elmore Leonard. His dialogue, in particular, is wonderful. His rules for writing (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/24/elmore-leonard-rules-for-writers) included “When you are editing, if it sounds like writing, rewrite it”. His plot development consisted of “what would happen if I put these two interesting characters together? What would they say to each other?”. That lead to me re-reading a great collection of short stories, When The Women Came Out to Dance”.

  2. Can’t believe that 2023 is nearly done! Another month flies by!

    SEEN
    3 Gigs in October which were all very good. First up was PJ Harvey at Albert Hall, Manchester. This is only my 2nd time seeing Ms. Harvey & I wish it was more. She is a great performer & although her latest album is a bit patchy, it really worked live. We also got the bonus of Johnny Marr joining her on stage for 3 tracks, including the sublime Desperate Kingdom Of Love.
    Next we had Baxter Dury at New Century Hall, Manchester. This is fast becoming my favourite venue & he seemed really up for it & put on a very energetic performance. It was the first time I have seen him headline and although I was disappointed he didn’t play a few of his tracks I really like (notably Say Nothing), he was someone I will see again.
    Last Saturday we went to see the best live band in the UK today for my money. Young Fathers at Academy, Manchester were as excellent as ever & the addition of the 2 female singers to the live band has really worked. I have seen them 3 times & each one is probably in my top 10 gigs of all time. They are such an intense & powerful live act & the crowd really appreciated it, with near on ovations after each track. I can only imagine that seeing the Specials (circa 1979) would have been similar. A phenomenal live band

    HEARD
    I didn’t think that Underworld would be releasing a track as good as Denver Luna this year. I think this is just wonderful & have had it on constant repeat this month.

    I am a bit underwhelmed with the new version of 1989 by Taylor Swift. I think the original was a case of capturing lightning in a bottle & this new version seems to lack a bit of something. My partner rightly pointed out that she is singing the songs rather than feeling them. The songs certainly hold up, but the original captured them much better in my opinion.
    I am quite taken with the new album Yard by Slow Pulp. This is very lo-fi & brings to mind some of my favourite Sub Pop releases of years ago.
    I am getting through a huge amount of podcasts at the moment & was delighted to see Young Again with Kirsty Young as a new offering from BBC. One of the best interviewers there is this series has started off brilliantly & great to hear her again.
    I am also impressed with the Media Confidential one which is a weekly one on current affairs & media presented by Lionel Barber & Alan Rusbridger. It is fantastic

    READ
    Just 2 books this month, I have really slowed down on my reading recently so need to pick this up for the rest of the year. The pile of books on the bedside table is in danger of toppling!
    First up was T.V. by Peter Kay. I’m well aware I’m hitting a bit of a northern stereotype here…. This is Peter Kays latest book & covers his TV work following previous ones about his childhood & stand up career. I am not his biggest fan if I am honest, but i do find his career a bit intriguing & I was looking forward to reading about his TV career, an area he has been incredibly successful in.
    Unfortunately it’s not the greatest of reads. His last few have a lot of humour in, whereas this one felt like he was settling a few old scores with a few ‘funny’ anecdotes thrown in. With the exception of one chapter about Ronnie Barker which was very lovely, i wish i’d spent my time reading something else.

    The other one I did was the opposite end of the spectrum. A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib is a fantastic collection of essays celebrating the historical, pop cultural, and personal dimensions of Black performance in America. He covers figures such as Aretha, Beyonce, Whitney, Mike Tyson & Dave Chappelle, but for me the more interesting essays concern lesser known performers such as the dancer William Lane, magician Ellen Armstrong. (The chapters on Merry Claytons & Joe Tex are also excellent & very AW friendly). He also interwines his personal life & experiences brilliantly (for example, the Bey essay is entitled ‘Beyonce Performs at the Super Bowl and I think about all the jobs I’ve Hated’).
    I found the writing style really hard for the first third of the book, it wast tricky to get into the flow of it and if it was not for great subject matters, it would have been a slog. However, once it clicked I really loved his style & reread the first part of the book again to appreciate some bits I had missed & I now want to read everything he has ever written. The book itself is beautiful & although it is very USA focused, it still had me gripped. I would recommend this to everyone & have already had copies delivered to friends who I know would appreciate it.

    • Beautiful writing and I am extremely jealous (in an honorific form) of the live performances you saw – loved PJ Harvey live in Leeds many years ago, and the YT clips of Baxter Dury in Paris and Young Fathers at Glastonbury make me think they would have been exceptional in their measured confidence.

  3. Ramping slowly my gig going, with the return of False Lights and with Long Ryders continuing their Indian summer. False Lights, aka Jim Moray’s folk rock band, are near dormant, so it was good to chance on them, and so near to home. @peanuts-molloy was there too, if incognito. Anyone bothered about my review can see it over on a late addition to the Night Out with False Lights I did before the great death, as me and Peanuts compared notes on that distant page. Long Ryders were great, at a new to me Brum venue, at South Birmingham college, in Digbeth. Talking of new to me, also visited the Sunflower Lounge, a titchy basement bar by New Street. Great show by rising country songstrel, Kassi Valazza, all 25 of the audience in full agreement.
    Telly highlight has been s4 of Breeders, the wonderful Martin Freeman/Daisy Hegarty dramady, which mingles ever more truthful and poignant observations with laugh out loud horror. Best yet and brilliant. Keeping s2 of Jimmy McGovern’s Time until a few are available, the whole archaism of waiting a week for the next episode beyond my wife’s patience.
    Still ain’t read nowt. I’ve decided I probably won’t, until I retire, again, in 147 days time. (Yes, of course I have a countdown on my phone…) Have asked for a kindle for Xmas, in anticipation.
    AOB: off to that they’re Sweden on Sunday. Miles away from the Stockholm posse, so no mingle, but at least I’ll get to eat at Malmö’s newcomer resto of the year, Marvin. I’ve known the chef/proprietor for years and have followed his career. (Also known as Juniorpath!)

  4. HEARD: Enjoying getting round to listening to Tender, the latest by Lady Maisery, and was whistling their version of Bjork’s Hyperballad on the way to work today, which must have confused the commuters. Just disappointed to find that it came out last year, so can’t contend for the end of year poll, not least ‘cause I am just not getting excited by the rock releases that I referred to last month.

    SEEN: October is Breton dance festival time in Todmorden, which is always a delight, and always soundtracked by outstanding amateurs in our close knit world, and I play my own small part in that.
    Last weekend, we had Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow up at a lovely local venue. I’ve seen Kit a few times before, mainly with the John Martyn Project and he’s a fine guitarist, but not seen him in this partnership before. It was a great display of duetting, two musicians bouncing off each other, and had me hooked from the start, though it would be fair to say that away from the live performance, it is the tune sets where they are most convincing.

    READ: Trawling through books retrieved from emptying my parents’ house, including things that I bought for my father that he probably never read! This month this includes Tim Marshall’s The Power of Geography. I see the world in maps, so this is obvious catnip for me; I devoured Prisoners of Geography when that came out. It’s pitched right for me; matter of fact; doesn’t feel like it’s preaching or has an axe to grind; and, of course, has quickly become a historic document being pre-Ukraine invasion, let alone the last month in Israel and Palestine.

  5. Listened To: (long list)

    Dave O’Higgins & Rob Luft – “Pluto” (2022). Their 2nd album together. Good stuff. Looking forward to seeing them live with sensational Hammond organist Ross Stanley in January at The Elephant.
    Rüdiger Krause – “A Guitar Named Carla” (2015). Guitarist plays a fine selection of Carla Bley compositions. Good.
    A Certain Ratio – “Loco Remezclada” (2021) and “1982” (2023). Thought I’d give this lot another try as I hadn’t knowingly heard them since the early ’80s. Disappointingly stuck in the ’90s, to my ears. Not BAD, but not for me.
    Gong – “London Marquee Club 1975”, “Hyde Park 1974”, “Flying Teapot (1973)”, “Angel’s Egg (1973)”. An ongoing Gong binge. Very enjoyable.
    Josh Kemp – “Tone Poetry” (2013). Tenor saxophonist who guested at an Elephant Inn jazz session on the 15th. Good post-bop stuff. Lovely tone reminiscent of Stan Getz at times.
    Miles Davis – “E.S.P.” (1965). Revisited one I’d not heard for a good while. Lovely.
    Fire! Orchestra – “Actions” (2020), “Exit!” (2013), “Enter” (2014), “Echoes” (2023). A large very experimental Scandinavian outfit I took a punt on and liked about 2 years ago. Been following them, on and off, ever since. Always a good listening experience.
    June Tyson – “Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra” (2019). A compilation of her Best Bits as Sun Ra’s vocalist. Great album.
    Soil & “Pimp” Sessions – “The Essence of Soil” (2021). A fine Japanese jazz outfit worthy of further exploration.
    Georgia Cécile & Fraser Urquhart – “Sure of You” (2023). Fine Scottish jazz/folk vocalist and pianist partner’s duo album. Beautiful.
    The Calum Gourlay Quartet – “New Ears” (2019). Scottish jazz bassist’s pianoless quartet album (sax, trombone, bass, drums). Very nice combination.
    The RH Factor – “Hard Groove” (2003). The late trumpet master Roy Hargrove’s jazz-funk explorations. The title is self-explanatory.
    Booker Ervin – “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen” (2016 compilation). Conclusion of my delve into this fairly prolific short-lived saxophonist’s albums. A great tenor player. Died from kidney disease at 39.
    Sun Ra and his Outer Space Arkestra – “A Fireside Chat with Lucifer” (1983). Love Sun Ra’s crazy music. Good stuff.
    The Primevals – “Burnin’ & Smokin’ – Live at the Hope And Anchor” (2023). Very nicely-recorded live release. I was there!
    Carla Bley – “4×4” (2000). I have a good few of Carla’s albums (and some unofficial recordings) but this one was new to me. Up to the usual high standard.
    Neil Ardley – “Kaleidoscopes and Rainbows” (2022). A 2-CD set accompanying the Ardley biography of the same title. Disc one is a live concert from 1968 with the Danish Radio Big Band and disc two is some of his later synthesizer & electronic music experiments. It’s all really good. The electronic stuff is particularly interesting.
    Graham Collier – “Charles River Fragments” (1996), “Luminosity-The Last Suites” (2014), “Bread and Circuses” (2001). Another neglected British jazz composer worth exploring. Three good albums.
    Aaron Diehl & The Knights – “Zodiac Suite” (2023). The Aaron Diehl trio (piano, bass, drums) plus guest brass and reed players. A suite of 12 pieces, one for each sign. Enjoyable.
    Corinne Bailey Rae – “Black Rainbows” (2023). A harder edge to this album in comparison to her older stuff. It’s good.
    Don Cherry – “Home Boy (Sister Out)” (1985). A more straightforward jazz-funk outing from The Don. Nice.
    Craig Taborn – “Junk Magic” (2004). Interesting combination of saxophone, viola, keyboard/electronics and percussion. I’d call it chamber jazz, for want of a different term.
    John Etheridge, Arild Andersen, John Marshall – “In House” (2007). Good lineup, good live album.
    Graham Haynes – “Full Circle” (2007). American jazz cornettist sounding more Euro/Scandi than American here in a quintet formation (cornet/electronics, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums) plus some female vocals. Spaced-out ambient jazz. Very nice late-night stuff.
    Tim Hagans – “Animation . Imagination” (1999). Free jazz trumeter’s funk > drum & bass > electronica experimentation. Reminiscent of what Miles Davis might have got into if he hadn’t burned out (temporarily) in the mid-’70s.
    Eric Dolphy – “Iron Man” and “Conversations” (both 1963). Conversations was later re-released as “The Eric Dolphy Memorial Album”. Contains a lovely version of Jitterbug Waltz featuring flute, trumpet and vibraphone. Much more accessible than 1964’s “Out To Lunch”. Bassist Richard Davis’s participation brought these two to my attention. Fine albums.
    Flying Lotus – “You’re Dead!” (2014). Jazz hip-hop fusion with occasional veering into jazz-rock/prog territory. Participation of Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg & Herbie Hancock. Not especially my thing but it definitely has it’s moments.
    Jason Moran, Marcus Gilmore, BlankFor.ms – “Refract” (2023). Jazz/Electronica/Ambient. Played this about 3 weeks ago and can’t remember it at all, which is not very promising.
    Kurt Rosenwinkel – “Heartcore” (2003). Multitracked solo effort by Germany-based American guitarist. Guitar, keyboards, drums, programming etc. Disappointingly stiff and clunky. He’s a great guitar player but not a very good drummer.
    Caroline Davis – “Alula” (2019). Been checking out female jazz instrumentalists that have been below my radar lately. Caroline is a Singapore-born saxophonist now based in the USA. This is the Fourth of her six albums to date. A clattery alto sax/voice, synthesizers, drums trio. Needs a second play to decide whether I like it.
    Brad Mehldau – “Finding Gabriel” (2019). A superb pianist I have a lot of time for. He’s outside his usual zone here, with wordless choral vocals, synths trumpets, flutes, reeds and electronic effects, this is very interesting and rewarding stuff. Evening or late night material.
    Elvin Jones & Richard Davis – “Heavy Sounds” (1968). Nice funky, bluesy jazz quartet with tenor sax and piano. Great album.
    Yussef Dayes – “Black Classical Music” (2023). Drummer-led Afro/Cuban/Latin spiritual jazz. Good production detail.
    Matthew Halsall – “An Ever Changing View” (2023). If you’re a fan of Matthew Halsall’s mellow spiritual jazz oeuvre then this is another one in the same vein. Beautifully-played but a bit indistinguishable from previous releases.
    Lack Of Afro – “Square One” (2023). White British multi-instrumentalist producer, remixer and DJ Adam Gibbons. Unimpressive rapped-over (by various guest MCs) pretty mainstream”R&B”. I was intrigued by the guy’s work name but shouldn’t have bothered. Nothing much to see here.
    Irreversible Entanglements – “Protect Your Light” (2023). Sounds like a poor mans R&B-flavoured Sun Ra Arkestra to me. Unimpressed.
    Various Artists – “More Jazzvisits 1997-99” (2001). 15 tracks by guest jazz artists from 12 different countries, playing with various local ensembles. Recorded in Denmark during about 7 months of activities. A nice varied selection, all top quality.
    Alabaster DePlume – “Come With Fierce Grace” (2023). An excellent charismatic live performer, he still doesn’t quite show his full potential on record. His best effort yet, though.
    Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow, Billy Drummond – “The Lost Chords” (2004). Superb jazz quartet. Two excellent three-part suite compositions, with a few standalone compositions inbetween. Outstanding.
    Carla Bley – “Live!” (1982). A compilation of various small band and big band composition recordings. Quality.
    Kassa Overall – “Animals” (2023). Interesting classy jazz/hip-hop/R&B/electronica/pop mixup. Very listenable.

    Read: “Neil Ardley – Kaleidoscopes And Rainbows” by Vivien Ardley with John Coles and Dave Gelly.
    Not especially well-written biography, but packed with photos, newspaper clippings and information about the subject.
    “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” by Michael Chabon. A re-read. (bought and originally read in 2007) A whodunnit (also who is the victim and why was he killed). Alternative history scenario where the foundation of the state of Israel failed in 1948 and diaspora jews were given a 60-year lease on an unwanted section of Alaska by the USA. The lease is about to expire with not much likelihood of it being renewed and everyone is scrambling to either get continued residence or find somewhere else to go. A depressed alcoholic detective, whose ex-wife has just been appointed his new boss, tries to solve a murder mystery that nobody else seems to care about. Until he gets deep into it when things get very dangerous. It’s also a vivid exploration of the peculiarities of jewish culture in extremis. Quite an interesting read in the current circumstances.
    Currently reading “Journey To A Destination Unknown” by Barbara Thompson MBE. Her autobiography. An extremely successful and talented pioneer female jazz/classical/film/TV composer and instrumentalist, now fairly-recently deceased. Widow of jazz/rock drummer Jon Hiseman. Again not an especially well-written account but full of detail.

    TV:
    Nothing of great note apart from a Little Richard doco late on Sunday 15th and Summer Of Soul on the evening of the 16th. Both on UK Channel 4.

    Movies:
    Nothing.

    Out And About:
    Twisted Roots at The Elephant Inn in North Finchley on October 1st. Their singer was unavailable on the night so they played an instrumental set with a guest saxophonist. Jazz, R&B, Blues to a high standard.
    Tenor saxophonist Josh Kemp in a quintet with alto/soprano sax, piano, bass and drums, also at The Elephant on the 15th. A very good session. Both saxophonists had a good night, as did the pianist. Josh’s tone was rich and reminiscent of Stan Getz at times, fiery at other times. On one particular tune the tenor was getting down almost into baritone register and the alto in a lovely low register too.
    Tomorrow’s Warriors “I Am Warrior” showcase gig was on at Camden’s Jazz Café on the 27th. Talented student musicians on stage with various TW alumni and instructors guesting. A tall skinny young black trombonist, a short brunette girl on alto sax, a little chinese-looking girl on piano, a young black bassist, a young black guy on tenor sax, a young white guy on trumpet, a young black girl on guitar, young black drummer, a skinny asian girl on flute and a tall skinny black girl vocalising. Binker Golding was down in fron conducting throughout.For the first number the bassist was replaced by Daniel Casimir. For the second the pianist was replaced by Joe Armon-Jones. For the third the two saxophonists were replaced by Maddy Coombs (tenor) and Donovan Haffner (alto). For the fourth the drummer was replaced by Rod Youngs. The fifth was all student musicians. Standouts among the students were the alto saxophonist, the pianist, the trumpet player, the drummer, the guitarist and the flautist. Sound was a little unbalanced at first but soon sorted and was good from then on. After a break there was a good but rather short jam session on a couple of tunes. Very impressive playing both in ensemble and soloing. Off to the right of the stage, as usual at their gigs, Dora The Drawer was making paintings of what was happening on stage. A strict venue curfew meant there was a bit of a rush to close up at 10:00.
    A gruelling trek across London to The Half Moon in Putney for guitarists Clive Carroll and Dariush Kanani, performing their John Renbourn tribute show on the 29th. Absolutely stunning playing and perfect clear sound. Fantastic. A seated gig, which my poor old back appreciated.

    Other Business:
    My car was playing up a bit in the first half of the month. Naturally, as soon as I’d booked it into the garage to be looked at, it behaved itself impeccably for the rest of the month.
    A fairly busy month for gigs is ahead, including two on the same day in the middle of four gig days on the trot. I can take it.

  6. WATCHED

    Killers of the Flower Moon – the new Martin Scorsese film. MUCH better than The Irishman, I’m pleased to report. It’s a compelling and sad story. De Niro and DiCaprio are both brilliant, as is the lead actress Lily Gladstone. The only problem is is just doesn’t feel like a cinema film: it’s just too long. I can’t quite believe I’m saying that as I usually love long films (Lawrence of Arabia, Mulholland Drive, Apocalypse Now Redux… bring ’em on…). But maybe this is just too small in scope, not cinematic enough. I’d recommend watching it on streaming in chunks over three or four nights.

    Bodies – A new Netflix drama. The premise intrigued me (the same murder victim happening in separate time periods). It’s not really a spoiler to say there is some time travel involved. Now, my go-to cliche about my personal tastes is that “I love time travel stories”… but actually that’s not quite true. I love the IDEA of a time travel story DONE WELL (Back to the Future, 12 Monkeys, Primer) but time travel not done well irritates me.
    I’m sorry to report that, while a lot of Bodies is really well done and quite exciting, in the end it doesn’t really quite work. It peaks too early, gets tangled up in its own premise, and (THE cardinal sin) breaks its own time travel rules that it sets for itself. A shame, because there is much that is good in it, and each of the separate plots/ murder investigations are done quite well.
    I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers.

    LISTENED

    Comfort listening this month, all the old favourites. Musical highlight of the month was getting the new surround sound edition of that old album, Dark Side of the something by Pink somebody. It’s really good. I’m surprised this band aren’t well known, I feel as if we should be talking about them more on here.

    And that’s it I think. My reading has just been taken up by comfort reading just like my listening, so just dipping into old favourites rather than pushing on with anything new. I’ve been playing a lot of guitar and other instruments this month (okay, “noodling”) so that’s probably taken up most of my spare alone time.

    • I watched Mark Kermode’s review of Killers of the Flower Moon earlier today. One thing that interested me about his review was the revelation that we’ve all been pronouncing Martin Scorsese’s name wrongly all these years, according to Thelma Schoonmaker.

      3.05:

    • @Arthur Cowslip Primer is about the only film I have ever watched in a cinema and had to concede two thirds in, “I don’t have a clue what is happening anymore” Have since rewatched on DVD with slightly better results but it is not an easy watch by any means.

  7. Heard

    Das Koolies “DK.01” was recommended on here last month, an album by ex members of Super Furry Animals, and despite not being my usual sort of thing, very good it is too. If you liked SFA you’ll find much to enjoy here, it’s a kind of danceable indie but with occasional proggy keyboard touches which, to my surprise I thought quite sumptuously embellished the overall sound really well.

    John Douglas’ self-titled album is a lovely, quiet and thoughtful collection from the Trashcan Sinatras guitarist. Classy, touching and autumnal in its feel.

    The Rolling Stones “Hackney Diamonds” is a spritely and surprisingly enjoyable effort from the plucky minnows from North Kent. If this is a last album it’s a decent attempt but let’s face it none of these songs are going to linger that long in the memory.

    Seen

    Still ploughing through Amazon’s “The Man In The High Castle” which is a bit silly in places (my bad, I’m just not over enamoured with the “portal to a parallel world” bits) but it has it’s thoughtful and intriguing moments.

    Read

    Robert Elms’ “Live-Why We Go Out” is a look at some of the author’s favourite live gig moments. It’s an enjoyable read, and anyone who grew up in London (Elms is renowned for being somewhat London-centric to say the least) during the seventies may well have their early gig going memories stirred once again. However, if you’ve read any of Elms’ previous books, he is starting to repeat a few of his stories.

    Daniel Rachel “Too Much Too Young-The 2 Tone Records Story” is a fab, very thorough, run through of the whole ska revival of the late seventies and eighties. It’s a well known story but Rachel gives some interesting previously unknown insights, and somewhat oddly I found the later, less successful years just as fascinating as the 79-81 hits era. If, like me, you were one of those teenagers who wore badges on your Harrington, had a pair of tassel shoes from the market and was reluctant to admit the glory days of 2-Tone were coming to an end, then this is the book for you, but there’s more than enough for general pop historians to enjoy.

    AOB

    Mental health. Two months in on the Sertraline now (100mg) and things are feeling much more settled, thank goodness. A weekly online counselling session has been really helpful too. The work issues that caused the anxiety and depression are still very much there but I am getting more wherewithal to cope with the daily nonsense. I do feel a bit like an old WW2 Lancaster Bomber…quite a few bullet holes but patched up and sort of ready for another flight. In short, I’m getting there-hopefully. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time previously to put a very kind supportive word on here. This is a lovely place.

  8. HEARD
    Nothing interesting. I can’t really hear music properly anymore. Not new music, anyway. If it’s something I’m familiar with, I can just about make it out.

    READ
    Nothing interesting. Am having a bit of a glut. Still haven’t finished Sebastian Barry’s Old God’s Time and it seems like a bit of a slog to go back to it. I’m not enjoying it, but don’t want to give up on it in case it gets good (as Days Without End was my favourite read of last year).

    SEEN
    Nothing interesting. I watched the series Guilt, which was ok, quite funny in places, annoying in others. It’s a pet hate of mine when writers use completely out-of-the-blue non-sequitury type statements to open a conversation. No one really talks like that. They did that a lot in Guilt.
    But Ian Bonner is great, with a hilariously put-upon look about him. His eyes always seem to be screaming “oh, for fuck’s sake”. And Kenny was very likeable character/actor.

    I also watched the documentary Beckham and ended up liking DB more than I expected to. He even made me chuckle a couple of times with his humour.

    AOB
    Despite my youthful beauty, my doctor ordered me to have a check up before he would give me the obligatory medical certificate I need in order to start back at the pool/gym, the cheeky fucker. The cardiologist asked me if I’ve always done sport. When I replied in the affermative he said “it shows”. Ha! I loved that! “It shows”. Go me! I’ll probably outlive you all.

    • My cousin was involved in Guilt, so I have a vested interest! But I wasn’t massively impressed by it on the whole (I haven’t told her that….). Agreed Ian Bonner is just wonderful, but overall I felt it was a bit style over substance. (And I haven’t even tried the second series).

  9. We saw Bodies too. I thought it was a great start, really impressive, then there was too much to do with ideas. Characters disappeared somewhat. It became a bit Stranger Things, a bit Dr Who and James Bond. As often happens you feel you’ve been here before, there are familiar tropes. It pulled it back towards the end I thought. Apparently it’s a DC comic from 2014. Ultimately it’s entertaining all the way through.

    What else? East New York on HBO. This harks back to comforting cop series from the past. The investigation is wrapped up in one episode. Vaguely liberal values are championed. People are kind and helpful. We are most likely better off with this kind of thing than darker tales. It’s not real but it’s very watchable and well put together. There is corruption, there is violence but it doesn’t prevail.

    Finished Demon Copperhead. Was relieved to get it done. Felt like it was an exhausting trawl through misery although there was humour and hope. A bit long, with more of the same but great writing, vivid characters. Ultimately worth it.

    Am listening to records that are probably the best of what I have heard this year:
    – Romy – Mid Air. Electronic, dancey pop with a touch of melancholy. A recipe that often works for me.
    – Stones Hackney Diamonds. I’ve come round to this now. Not just played once. I think it’s very enjoyable. Some faster rockers, some slower bluesy numbers. It doesn’t sound like classic Stones, it’s something new. Something that reminds me of shiny, poppy new wave rock in parts.
    – Lana Del Rey – There’s a tunnel… Still working for me. Sounds like the same artist but going in a new direction in places.
    – Steven Wilson – Harmony Codex. It’s a great sounding record. Reveals itself gradually but there’s a lot to like. Some tunes are more in his classic style, others are a little more experimental but interesting.

    Bending Hectic is a single by The Smile, the Radiohead spin off. Very good it is too. Drifts along gently then bursts into a more rocking finish, like in the old days.

    AOB

    They played Thinking Of A Place by War On Drugs at the gym during our cool down after Circle gym. Worked very well, I recommend it.

  10. I’ve not done one of these for a while, so I am taking the opportunity to share some highlights from the past few months.

    Saw
    Macbeth at The Globe.
    London’s Southbank on a sunny, Sunday afternoon. A pub lunch and then off to the Globe for some of the old Shakespeare. I am not a huge fan of the theatre, but I really enjoyed this. Atmospheric, fleet footed and with some grisly imagery.

    The Meg 2
    A film that starts at 11 and then just ratchets up the mayhem. It feels as though the plot has been dreamt up by a sugar fuelled 10-year-old. Wildly entertaining fun.

    The Creator
    In an alternate timeline, robot assistants and AI have been with us since the 1950s. Fast forward to 2065 and America has declared war on AI, whilst “New Asia” lives in peaceful coexistence with it. There is some gorgeous world building, stunning set pieces and judicious needle drops (foremost amongst them an airborne raid soundtracked to Radiohead’s spooky ‘Everything in its Right Place’). There are lots of subtle (and really on the nose) references to Bladerunner, Apocalypse Now, Star Wars and the sci-fi works of James Cameron. But amongst all of this, the film also raises the impact of AI on our understanding of mortality / spirituality. I’m not sure it quite hits the mark in terms of the emotional impact it strives for in the final act, but regardless I found it thoughtful and mightily impressive.

    Halloween
    I haven’t watched the 1978 original in decades and was interested to see if it still held up. I think what surprised me is how measured it is; the camera glides slowly or sits still, dispassionately observing the proceedings. It remains a chilly treat of a movie.

    Candyman
    This sort of sequel isn’t particularly scary, and I missed the gothic dread of the original.

    Host
    Short, sharp, and nasty little film about a bunch of friends conducting an online séance. Some properly unnerving moments and nervy jump scares.

    Read
    The Wolfen by Whitley Streiber
    Two detectives investigating the murder of two beat cops, soon realise that the perpetrators are not human. Nicely judged mash up of police procedural and horror story.

    Just after Sunset by Stephen King
    King’s short stories can be hit and miss, but this collection seemed crammed with misses.

    Less by Andrew Sean Greer
    An amiable, if undistinguished, writer takes refuse in a series of overseas invitations to avoid the wedding of his ex-lover. Nothing especially new in this examination of mid-life ennui, but it’s nicely written, and I came to warm to Arthur Less.

    A visit from the goon squad by Jennifer Egan
    A series of interlocking stories coalesce to reveal meditations on life, mortality, friendship, and the inexorable passage of time. Surprisingly, it’s not as intolerable as that sounds.

    Heard
    Audio books have dropped onto Spotify, and I listened to the “Satsuma Complex” by Bob Mortimer. Bob’s always an agreeable presence but this is quite a plodder of a book. Now listening to Martin Freeman narrate “So long, and thanks for all the fish”. This has always been my favourite of the Hitchhiker’s saga, and I am enjoying Tim out of The Office reading it.

  11. Busy month, but not really done or achieved anything.
    Describe October? Work , work, work, change the clocks, work
    (I have slept and ate, but not done too much else this month)

    Heard:
    This may be the first month ever where I have not bought or heard anything new (not even on the radio).
    Caveat: Heard bits of the new Rolling Stones album, and the new Beatles track (which was actually in November), which begs the question (As the cartoon on that-there Facebook said) “Just how far back did the clocks go?”

    Seen:
    The Reckoning – tough watch, but Steve Coogan must be up for a mention at Awards time
    Crime – Series 2, and as good as the first (with a slight undercurrent of darkness as one would expect with Irvine Welsh)
    The Long Shadow – dramatisation of the Yorkshire Ripper story, and the relative luck in capturing him. The big question that comes out of it was just how inept were the Yorkshire Police at the time? No doubt it was a tough job with the emotion and public fear, but there were some fundamental flaws at play on their part too.

    Read: nothing. Despite the “must read that” pile getting higher, I’ve started none of them

  12. On balance, October was not a good month.

    Heard: toward the end of the month, I was listening mostly to Beethoven – the Eroica symphony, Klemperer’s recording with the Philharmonia; and various string quartets, mostly the Tokyo Quartet recordings from around 1989.

    Read: Does an audiobook count as reading or listening? Anyway, Rory Stewart’s Politics on The Edge, read by the author. Fascinating book, he doesn’t pull any punches in giving his view of how the recent/current government operated behind the scenes. Bedtime listening, so it nearly lasted the full month.

    Watched: can’t remember – not much.

    AOB: had severe pain starting on the 1st. Improved a bit by the following weekend, but then noticed I was turning yellow. Admitted to the local hospital with severe jaundice, started on i/v antibiotics, MRCP scan on the Monday showed that I had a gallstone blocking my bile duct. Plane to Liverpool on Thursday, ERCP procedure on Friday 13th (!) to remove the blockage (can’t do it on the island, apparently). Kept in over the weekend to make sure that all was well, and to continue with i/v abx. Flew home on the Monday with another five days of antibiotic tablets. Unrelated surgical clinic appointment at the end of the week, but including a discussion about having my gallbladder out in due course – more LFT and Hb tests as apparently I’m still a bit yellow (I can’t see it anymore, but other people can).
    At least I can still make my “feeling a bit off-colour” joke!

  13. Read:

    Strange reading month, lots of re-reads and light reads, after one novel annoyed me so much that I needed to be calmed by comfort reading.

    But first, I read the latest by Norwegian author Vigdis Hjorth, a coming of age story about a fifteen year old girl who discovers the hypocracies and lies that the adults in her life hide behind, and she tries to rebel against it. It was OK, but I didn’t totally enjoy the way it was written, so didn’t fully connect with it.

    For my commute I read the autobiography of Swedish drummer Nike Markelius, mostly known for the band Tant Strul. Interesting, well written, but parts of it very painful to read (because of what happened to her) and some parts annoying (because she’s very hippy/Earth Mother/mystic, which gets a bit much at times). But she’s very cool in lots of ways, and after reading it I admire her strength and individuality a lot, despite some of it not being my cup of tea.

    After that one I made the mistake of picking up the Günter Grass novel The Flounder, which turned out to be the dumbest anti-feminist crap I’ve read in a long while…and especially annoying as he presents it as a “defence of women” but reading it it’s clear that it’s just non-stop misogynistic horse manure. “Women are wonderful”, is his message, “if they keep to the feminine arts of cooking and fucking (and especially if they have three breasts…)”
    To make matters worse he adds “poetry” in most chapters, awful pointless poetry. I refused to finish it, of course.

    But it had already damaged my reading month, as I ended up only re-reading old easy reads for a few weeks after this experience. And then I was unlucky when I finally picked up a new book, as it turned out to be the only “book” (short essay) by my favourite Annie Ernaux that I didn’t enjoy at all (well, second, if you count her diary volume), Le jeunne homme.

    I also finished a short story collection on my e-reader that I’d been dipping in and out of for at least a year (I don’t enjoy using it), by H G Wells. Didn’t like it much while I was reading it, don’t remember much about the stories afterwards.

    Ended the month on a slightly higher note when I read the latest by Johan Theorin (“Ristmärken”), the sixth in the series of stories set on Öland with the old former skipper Gerlof and his niece solving mysteries rooted in older times. This time treachery during WW2 is the root of the problem that needs solving today, and the two timelines are told in parallel, reaching their solutions towards the end. Well written, interesting, but not enough Gerlof this time around. Also slightly illogical at the very end, but aren’t all thrillers/crime novels? Criminals getting away with murder for decades suddenly make really stupid mistakes for no other reason than to tell the readers the how and why of the mystery…oh well, despite that it was quite good.

    Heard:

    Bought a bunch of albums but they only arrived in the final week of October, so haven’t had much time to form opinions.

    Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is great, of course. But if you didn’t like it the first time around, it’s not going to change your mind.

    Swedish singer Sarah Klang has a new album out called Mercedes, which on first listen is good, but I’m not totally gripped by it. A tiny bit dull so far, but I’ve only heard it twice yet.

    Sami superstar Mari Boine get together with Norwegian jazz pianist Bugge Wesseltoft on the album Amame and create very beautiful music – especially the track “Alit Alihastá Aliha”, which is hauntingly melancholy and absolutely gorgeous. The whole album is, but can get a bit too depressive if listened to in one go, I find.

    The latest by Tonbruket (“Light Wood, Dark Strings”) is a bit hit and miss for me, so far (again; all of these albums have only been listened to a couple of times). First track, “Buckaroo”, is a delight, but other tracks are a bit *shrug*.

    Same with Swedish/Norwegian jazzers RYMDEN on their new album Valleys & Mountains, some delightful pieces and then some quite dull ones. But with some more intense listens they can both grow, I hope. Not really background music, jazz needs some active listening to find its place a lot of the time.

    I’ve enjoyed Cherry Glazerr on earlier albums, but the new one, I Don’t Want You Anymore, is a bit too slow and anonymous on first listen. Hopefully a grower.

    I thought I should give Dylan LeBlanc a new chance, after losing track of him after his debut, so I picked up latest album Coyote. It’s fine, but a bit dull and “generic” IMO, nothing really gripping me much. Tasteful and grown-up in a background music kind of way. Which is why I lost track of him in the years in between those two albums…also he’s a bit too nasal for my taste.

    As an old fan of OMD I fell for the temptation to buy the new album Bauhaus Staircase, but I can’t say that the first listen made me jump for joy. A few tracks are quite nice, but on a first listen it was mostly disappointing.

    I’m in need of happy or angry, but uplifting music at the moment, which is why most of October was a steady diet of disco, funk, punk rock and Taylor Swift. I’m so tired of tastefully melancholy music!

    • That Mari Boine is beautiful.

      You’re wrong on Bauhaus Staircase, which has more head nods to other acts than I can remember in a long time, but I can forgive your error for the recommendation 🙂

      • I do hope I’m wrong, Si – still too early to give a proper verdict, just my first impression!

        I completely forgot to mention Wilco!!! Thought I talked about it last month, but I had only just received the album then so didn’t give my thoughts in that month’s Blogger Takeover.
        Well: I adore it. Brilliant from start to finish and I’ve been listening to it a LOT all month. Loved it so much that I started suspecting that I’d given the previous album an unfair deal – perhaps I wasn’t in the right mood for it then, or my expectations were too high after my long wait for a CD version and hearing everybody praising it so much…so I tried again last week. Still don’t like it, in fact, I think I disliked it even more now, after listening to Cousin!

        Also forgot to mention that I’m in the middle of reading Arturo’s Island by Elsa Morante, but can’t quite decide if I like it or not – feels like it could go either way.

        • The OMD track Kleptocracy, with its rather jarring “Khashoggi’s body got dissected” line, was released the same day it was announced that Saudia Arabia would be the only bidder to host the 2034 World Cup..

  14. Retired at the end of the month so that sort of overshadowed everything else.

    Kindle reading on the way to work, the Inspector Logan series by J D Kirk. Plenty of laugh out load moments at the banter – and only on book 10 so loads still to read.

    Music – I discovered Dropkick and from then onto Andrew Taylor solo stuff and The Boys with the Perpetual Nervousness – all jangletastic.

    Live – Josh Ritter – superb as usual, but slightly stymied by the gig been seated which I personally don’t like.
    TV – Cobra and Boiling Point. The latter been much preferred.

  15. As my first contribution to the Blogger Takeover, I hope I’m allowed a bit of latitude and have gone back a little bit further than the first of October.

    SEEN
    Back at the end of September, it was down to The Brook in Southampton to see Graham Parker; this time with his Goldtops. I do like the Brook as a venue, but it does tend to be mostly tribute bands these days, so this was my first visit for quite a while. I’ve seen Graham Parker many times over the years, dating back to my student days in the late seventies, and this was probably the most relaxed, jovial and chatty that I’ve ever seen him. Quite a lot of songs from the latest album, which I need to check out, and a fair sprinkling of ‘classics’ as well. Martin Belmont still with him on guitar, but looking quite frail – when he stood up to take a solo, we wondered if he was going to make it! And a bonus appearance at the end by Brinsley Schwartz, so a great night out.
    The following week, I had two visits to the Turner Sims Hall on the University of Southampton campus. It’s a really good venue, though it tends to be monopolised by classical, jazz and world concerts, which are less my sort of thing. First up was Gavin Bryars with his ensemble. I only really knew ‘Jesus’ Blood’, which I find a fascinating piece in all it’s different versions, and it didn’t disappoint this time either, with that looped vocal weaving around the instruments, and just building and building. The other highlight was the ‘Sinking of the Titanic’ – very appropriate for Southampton, and that too was very lovely, as were all the pieces. A real change from my usual concerts.
    Following that was Cara Dillon, previewing her next album, due out in February, themed around the home, family, and where you belong. As well as a lovely voice, she is a natural storyteller, and was backed by an excellent band, including husband, Sam Lakeman.

    WATCHED
    Following the death of Robbie Robertson, I enjoyed the documentary ‘Once were Brothers’ – though with the caveat that it did seem a bit one sided in the treatment of the conflicts between the members of The Band, so it might have been nice to get some other views.
    TV watching was dominated by The Reckoning and The Long Shadow – both brilliantly done, but both quite uncomfortable viewing. The Long Shadow really captured the period detail, as well as the shocking sexism and misogyny of the era. I was in Yorkshire at the time of the Ripper murders, and I can still remember the step change in the way that the case was treated on the local news when one of the victims was not a sex worker. I was amazed at the performance of Steve Coogan in The Reckoning – he captured all the movements, gestures and posture of Saville as well as the accent and vocal mannerisms. And again the period detail seemed spot on.

    HEARD
    The latest offerings from the Handsome Family, Wreckless Eric and the Rolling Stones have all been played a lot and all enjoyed. Also Kristen Hersch’s Clear Pond Road.
    As above with Robbie Robertson, I realised that, although I had the DVD of The Last Waltz, I was missing out by not having the box set of the CD version, so that has been remedied!

    READ
    Not very much reading just lately – I’ve been having some eye problems – but Simon Sebag Montefiore’s history of the Romanovs is interesting, as I don’t know much about Russian history, but I am finding it a bit of a slog, getting to grips with all the names, relationships and (literal!) back-stabbing.
    On the Kindle, I enjoyed a collection of Peter Guralnick’s writings, Looking to Get Lost, with good pieces on Howling Wolf, Johnny Cash and many others. Simon Jenkins’ A Little History of London breezed through several hundred years of history and became more of a polemic about the failures of urban planning and building in the city – although a lot of what he said, I agreed with.

    AOB
    The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has a new exhibition on Victorian colour which is very good – paintings, drawings, fashion and design all included. Including some very nice Whistler paintings.

    I think that’s it!

  16. This month I have mostly been listening to Maggie Rogers and reading Dopamine Nation, as I said I would be in the last Blogger Takeover, so I suppose that’s consistent. The book is very good, not least for the acronym:
    DOPAMINE: data, objectives, problems, abstinence, mindfulness, insight, next steps, and experiment

    We are all hooked on dopamine in some form. Just have to work out how to manage it. For me it means fewer short online video clips – I feel I’ve watched all the best bits of all the James Bond films over the last few weeks as they crop up on FB. So easy to get distracted…

  17. As often I don’t really remember specific books or TV programmes from the month so I’ll just refer to my calendar for shows.

    Seen

    2 of the shows this month were Romesh Ranganathan, whom I mentioned in the September write up as I saw him on Sunday 1st October, and Thea Gilmore whom I treated with the respect she deserves by giving her a separate Nights Out piece.

    That leaves Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House, which was great fun without being a particularly outstanding production. Much of the action consisted of the cast standing on the apron of the orchestra pit while declaiming, and the orchestra itself felt slightly flat. South African soprano Pretty Yende deserves all the plaudits for her performance as Gilda.

    Towards of the end of the month and closer to home we went to see Terry Reid at Chelmsford Social Club. If Terry had accepted Jimmy Page’s offer to form The New Yardbirds, or Ritchie Blackmore’s to join Deep Purple, or even the chance to replace Stevie Winwood in the Spencer Davis Group I doubt he would be taking his excellent young band around venues like this, but I’m thrilled to have seen and heard him anyway.

  18. Short One
    Seen – Lloyd Cole – Olympia Dublin
    I’ll admit I wasn’t in the best of humours but I was just a little let down by this. My first visit to the Olympia in many years to see a performer I hadn’t seen since the ‘Easy Pieces’ tour (’88?) Lloyd was excellent as was new drummer / percussionist Signy Jakobsdottir but there were two Commotions on stage, Blair Cowan and Neil Clark and I felt they were a little unsure. No bass in the first half of the show – Blair was apparently playing bass pedals but maybe they weren’t plugged in – but when LC played bass guitar for most of the second half, the sound filled out a bit and improved. The audience annoyed the fuck out of me. Even though the bar was closed while performers were on stage, that didn’t stop a constant stream of people leaving their seats for bathroom breaks or whatever. Can they not sit for 40-45 minutes until the interval? And you would think that some would check out LCs work since the late eighties, but no, constant calls for Forest Fire. “Here’s another one you don’t know” was Lloyd’s refrain from the stage.
    Following week on a family visit to Dublin we took in two art exhibitions. Andy Warhol in the Hugh Lane Gallery and Sir John Lavery in the National Gallery. We all know something about Andy, whether through Bowie or Reed or one of the other many performers influenced by him, and the exhibition was interesting in that regard, but I left with the feeling that Andy was a bit of a charlatan tbh. Lavery I knew nothing about apart from his missus was on the old Irish currency notes. The exhibition was very well laid out and told the story of his life. We were very impressed and bought a big book.
    Finished reading the very enjoyable ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ but haven’t started anything else to date. I should learn some lines for a small role in ‘The Cripple Of Inishmann’ for our local drama group but haven’t yet.
    Loved the first two episodes of Time – especially Bella Ramsey. I didn’t see GoT or The Last of Us so she is brand new to me – fantasic. Liking The Fall Of The House Of Usher – it’s bananas. The usual Mike Flanagan rotating cast give it socks and ‘newbie’ Bruce Greenwood is quietly excellent as the Usher patriarch. Here’s his ‘lemons’ monologue…

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