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Blogger Takeover CXII

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Come away in, please leave your wet boots on the newspapers there, take off your oilskins and hang them on the drying rack, then help yourself to a cup of soup and sit by the fire to tell us – where the hell has summer gone ? And, what have you been listening to, watching, reading, or otherwise distracting yourself with since we last caught up?

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  1. Bump

    I saw some TV and listened to some music.

    Watching 1st series of The Wire again which I’m not sure has stood the test of time. Been mostly listening to early Steve Earle.

    Summer refuses to properly arrive in The Languedoc which for a boy frae Aiberdeen is no bad thing.

            • He leaned heavily on early material with much coming from his first decade or so as a recording artist. There was a moving tribute to his son, he may still be coming to terms with that, not that you ever really can. However I have seen him quite a few times and not sure I need to again. Saw him getting on his tour bus after the show, thought about heading over to thank him for all his great music over a long career, but decided to leave him in peace.

              I confess I haven’t bought any of his albums in the last 2 decades or so *

              * I have one which I saw half price on vinyl, I really should crack the seal and give it a go

              • I don’t think I’ve bought any of his albums since the turn of the century, but must have seen him half a dozen times since then (and bought two of his books).

                He’s another of those “but how many of their albums do I really need?” artists for me (see also: VTM, NY, etc).

                  • He’s certainly lost his way band wise, since the death of Kelly Looney. They’d been together almost since the beginning. His last couple of cds have been tributes to Jerry Jeff Walker and his son Justin. He’s touring his latest cd at the moment. It’s called ‘Alone Again Live’ and has 15 songs on it. At first glance, almost all are from the last century, much like what dai describes above. I have all his cds and will continue to buy them. His new one is out tomorrow, but I don’t know how to buy the physical cd as it’s not on amazon. Strange.

                    • The album’s not officially out ’til the 12th. You can pre-save on all of the usual streaming services now via his website https://www.steveearle.com/

                      Presumably physical copies will follow shortly. He is his own label now, isn’t he?
                      CDs aren’t much of a priority for some artists these days, the market for them being what it is. And vinyl can be subject to production delays.

  2. Gracias El Hombre

    Not an awful lot to be honest.

    Saw: Villagers in Trinity College last week – not great, but I think Conor is better suited to an indoor environment. Granted, my wife and daughter were with me so we stayed at the back where there was unfortunately a lot of talking and not much attention paid to what was onstage. My family wanted to leave early so we could walk over to where my daughter shares a house almost in the shadow of the Aviva. I’m sorry to say I reluctantly capitulated and off we went to catch the last few songs from Ms. Swift. There was a lovely atmosphere outside the stadium and it was great to hear so many kids having so much fun. Fair play to TS.

    Heard: Some new stuff from Crowded House, Bonny Light Horseman, T-Bone Burnett. Good

    Watched: The new season of The Bear continues to be inventive. Very good episode 7. The dialogue is so quick – and they are almost always talking over each other – that I’m sometimes tempted to put on the subtitles, but so far I’ve managed without.
    Finally caught up with All The Light We Cannot See. A great book and I enjoyed the series a lot even though there are a lot of characters missing and some major plot changes. I liked the young actors who played Marie and Werner. Hugh Laurie is pretty good as well. The Nazi villians are quite the pantomime. I was surprised it got such negative views on release last year.

    That’s all really…

  3. I didn’t listen to as much music as I normally do as the time was filled with getting ready for some Primevals gigs, and then getting out and playing. All the gigs went well, and we are blessed to still be able to get in the van, to kick out the jams, and to have fun doing do.

    Here’s a tune from the gig in Northampton : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hwMKVWVpSM

    In Preston, the bar staff were dancing, which is always a good sign. In Northampton, when we took it down during Prairie Chain, the fans dancing at the front dropped low and danced down low until we kicked it back up again. At The Lexington in London, the staff at the venue were dancing down at the front, as was Stewart Lee, who introduced us with some very kind words, about being a fan from when he first heard us as a teenager, and also with the observation that he realised the easiest way to fit seeing the Primevals in to his busy schedule was to invite us to play and make himself the support act, so he didn’t have a clashing gig, as had happened many times. He had invited us to play in London as part of 3 nights he organised. His opening set was a mix of new material and Greatest Hits. As sharp, funny, and thought-provoking as always.

    In London, I was driving the van, on my own, after dropping the gear and the band at the venue, off to the parking space we had booked. You can no longer just park a van in London. The Satnav took me on a route which required me to turn right on to the heavily congested Pentonville Road. After 5 minutes of watching traffic, waiting, I was thinking “I might be here some time”. Then, a kind lady stopped to let me out, and waved to indicate that the lane I was going to turn in to was clear. I waved to say thanks, and then once I was crossing over, blew her a kiss. Fortunately, she smiled.

    Michael and I were doing the merch after the gig at the Lexington, and Stewart Lee was one of the customers. I was delighted to share with him that Michael and I got to know each other at his stall, Primitive Records in Candleriggs in 1982, where I bought records and eventually worked – and here we are, 42 years on, still selling records together, and he’s part of that connection now.

    I read David Belcher’s book – The Newspaper Man. Funny, as you would expect, but not just funny for the sake of being funny (not that there is anything wrong with that!). His characters show who they are by what they joke about and how they joke about it. A warm tale, well-told.

    I also read Amanda Palmer’s – The Art of Asking. She writes from the heart, and shares her deep, hard-earned wisdom on being an artist, being a performer, how to make your way in a world that does not value art, and how to ask for help.

    It is a very moving book, but sometimes she is infuriating – especially when she does not ask her husband for the help she needs to recover from illness and trauma. I understand her desire for financial independence from Neil Gaiman, and her desire to build her own success, but ASK!!! SAY WHAT YOU NEED AND ASK FOR IT!!

    There is a lot of wisdom in here for creators, performers, and people who love and support art.

    At times she reminds me of the great line about Nick Drake – “One skin too few”. Life is raw for her. She has a deep and real connection with thousands and thousands of fans and supporters worldwide and has charted new waters in how to build and crowd-fund her art.

  4. Buckle up – June was a busy month… 🙂

    Read:

    Lauren Groff – The Vaster Wilds was very good in a lot of ways – beautiful language, an interesting and likeable narrator, great pace, key scenes of the back story revealed late in the narrative to great effect and without feeling like forced and clunky exposition, to name but a few of the many positives. My only negative is one I can’t explain: as much as I enjoyed reading this novel I just never reached that moment when I fall in love with a book. I’d still very much recommend it.

    I finally got around to reading Free by Lea Ypi, which I’ve had on my shelf forever. Autobiographical about growing up in Albania during the last years of the Enver Hoxha regime and then experiencing the shift into the chaotic first stab at democracy, and finding out hidden family truths in the process. Interesting and entertaining, but again I didn’t love it as much as I’d expected to. Maybe I was just numb at this point in time, just before starting my vacation? Or perhaps it was more educational than loveable…still; I’d absolutely recommend it, and it is written with a sense of humour about the absurdities of life during these times.

    I also read a book by a Swedish author, all about dragons in myths and legends all over the world, from a historical point of view and speculating about how these creatures have “come to life” and why, etc. Interesting subject, but I’ve never been so frustrated by a book before when it came to the editing/proof reading side of things. On every other page I felt compelled to get my pencil out to underline/comment/correct/add questionmarks in confusing parts of the text, and rant to myself about penny-pinching publishers. Almost completely spoiled my enjoyment (also the author occasionally uses a sort of click-bait style of writing that gets annoying).

    Of course I also read a couple of novels in my ongoing P C Jersild project, which is nearing its end now, so I’m slowing down to make it last a little longer…one was new to me, one a reread, both interesting but slightly flawed.

    Heard:

    As I wrote in some other thread, the new album from Amanda Bergman; Your Hand Forever Checking On My Fever, is absolutely brilliant. Even better than her first solo album (quite a few years ago now), and have been on repeat in the warm summer nights. Her voice is so gorgeous and unique, and these songs are pure balm for the soul.

    One of my favourites all the way from the start of his career is John Moreland, and by all evidence I should love the new album Visitor as much as I’ve loved his previous ones, but for some reason I’ve been having problems getting into it. I don’t know if it sounds too much like some of his old, just not quite as good, or if it’s just me not being in this mood at the moment. I only know that it leaves me a bit bored, as gorgeous as it is. For me, definitely not his best, but certainly not bad. It could use a few tracks of a faster pace, it could use a less depressing vibe I guess…

    Despite having bought a ticket for their upcoming gig in Stockholm this autumn, I confess I haven’t listened much to the new album by Bonny Light Horseman yet. Only twice, so far – it’s long, that’s my excuse…I’ve liked most of what I’ve heard (mostly in the background while cooking) in a distracted sort of way.

    Another old favourite is Mdou Moctar, and if you’ve enjoyed the previous albums, Funeral For Justice is a harder, angrier version of them. Less prominent handclaps, more and louder guitars. But you’ll definitely recognise the vibes and enjoy them.

    I was a bit disappointed in the new album by Goran Kajfes & Tropiques; Tell Us. Three long tracks, of which I only really got on with one (the first). But jazz enthusiasts with more patience for repetition and slow bits than me might get more out of it! For me, it just made me feel anxious, sadly. I’ve really liked many of his previous projects, but for whatever reason this didn’t quite click with me.

    Aussie psych band Pond has a new album out called Stung! and I’ve really enjoyed it so far, it fits my current mood and I like its energy. But still early days – I haven’t had much time to listen to music since returning to work.

    Seen:

    I watched a documentary about Amanda Bergman where they followed her and her partner/bandmate/producer and their kids during a year on their farm, juggling music and farming and her father’s illness. Slow paced, but interesting. Most dramatic moment? Amanda accidentally running over a chicken and the other chickens running over to peck on their still breathing friend. More cock’n’fowl than rock’n’roll…

    Also watched the three part documentary They All Came Out To Montreux, which had a bit too many voices talking about the founder and too few musical performances, considering how many there are to choose from. But still interesting and many of the clips shown were ace.

    Rewatched Guys and Dolls, which is just joy from start to finish.

    AOB:

    My vacation was partly disrupted by my dodgy knee acting up again, but since it mostly led to me having to be even lazier than I had planned to, it didn’t bother me too much!
    What’s worse is that it keeps hurting and hindering me daily now that I’m back at work…but it’s intense now when many coworkers are away on vacation, so I don’t have time to do anything about it yet. All part of getting older, no doubt…

    My sister’s skin cancer was removed and they found no evidence that it had spread, so that was a huge relief! We were all impressed with how quickly everything happened, from getting the diagnosis to getting another call the next day saying that she could have the operation six days later – and this all while a huge strike was going on. Hooray for a still functioning health service (despite everything)!
    It was just beneath her eye, so she now looks like she’s been in a bad pub brawl (and lost), but that’s a small price to pay, and a termporary one.

  5. Read:
    I don’t think I’ve read any books this month, which is an oddity. Instead, I have been using my Apple+ subscription and reading a lot of magazines – science, and a lot of the music ones. I feel that the passion and enthusiasm in things like Prog and Metal Hammer is much more ‘alive’ than in the old-school Uncut and Mojo… and then there’s the various guitar magazines. Since learning to read music notation, a whole other world has opened up. An honourable mention to the gadget mag ‘Stuff’. It’s packed with music gags and bad puns.

    Heard:
    Another mention for Mdou Moctar. This album rocks! You can tell that they all faced each other in the studio and locked eyes, and went for a take. It burns with energy and anger.

    Is it the Clouds? by Omar Rodriguez Lopez. I am a fan, and this is something like his 58th solo album (for real). This one has some of the most peculiar lyrics I’ve heard, I wonder if this is based on translations of his late mother’s diaries..?

    It Leads to This by the Pineapple Thief. I like them a lot, but I have to keep checking if I heard these songs on the previous couple of albums already.

    Otis Blue- it’s one of my favourite albums, and that’s been on repeat after a long gap. Ole Man Trouble: what a song, what a performance. And it doesn’t let up after that. I must dig out some William Bell, Soul of a Bell is a particularly fine LP.

    Jimi Hendrix – various albums – pretty much everything. I have loved his stuff forever and occasionally go on benders playing whatever I can find. Valleys of Neptune (song) is stuck in my head. As is Machine Gun.

    Lanterns on the Lake – various albums and videos – why didn’t anyone tell me about this band before? Kind of a cross between The Sundays and American Music Club.

    Seen:
    A lot of videos of music & guitar lessons.
    First series of Bergerac (!)

    AOB:
    We got a dog, so I am walking him a lot.
    Dealing with various health issues as ever, but I refuse to let it get me down.

    • Good luck with your health, Leffe. A dog should definitely put a spring in your step. The outdoors is uplifting all the year round.

      As time goes by, Otis Blue becomes ever more magnificent, and Jimi is peerless. I’ll have to give them another spin.

  6. Listening –
    The Neil Young archive release Early Daze was a pleasant surprise; interesting and largely stripped down versions of crowd-pleasers, plus a couple of decent lesser known songs. The Felice Brothers released an album of spare material from their last two releases this month. Valley of Abandoned Songs is far better than just a bunch of offcuts though, and adds handsomely to a catalogue that is rapidly becoming one of my favourites. Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs released their third album recently. I’ve posted a review of it elsewhere on the AW. It’s not exactly cutting edge, but it’s their best release yet, and worth a listen. Finally, and just because I have all the others, I bought the 25th anniversary edition of REM’s Up. It’s not a great album, but the extra disc of live recordings almost makes it worth the price tag.

    Reading –
    I’m currently reading Conversations with Tom Petty, an updated edition of a series of interviews held with Petty by Paul Zollo that originally came out in 2005. Petty had started working on his autobiography just before he died, so this lengthy and detailed overview of his life and career is the closest we will ever get. It’s a pretty good read.

    Watching –
    I saw Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 film The Zone of Interest this month. It’s loosely based on the novel of the same name by Martin Amis and is a snapshot of Rudolf Hoss and his family’s life while he was Kommandant at Auschwitz. The film’s premise is to depict the ‘banality of evil’ contrasting the unspeakable atrocities taking place in the camp on the other side of the wall from Hoss and his family’s idyllic life in a well-appointed house with its manicured garden. The film steers clear of showing anything of those atrocities, but they can be heard taking place in a soundtrack that is the constant backdrop to the film. It’s needless to say an uneasy experience – Mrs B was unable to finish watching it with me, so disturbing did she find it. It’s one of the most powerful films I have seen for a long time, outstanding in its portrayal and compellingly resonant for the times in which we are currently living.

    • I’m interested to hear that Mrs B (!) didn’t watch the whole film.

      If I’d been more astute, I might have gone the same way.
      It was only after seeing it a second – and then third – time, and talking to other people, that I really got the full picture.

      That said, I would see it again.

  7. We had Chris Quinn at the folk club. Young fellah from Shrewsbury. Sings and writes, but I’d say is primarily a guitarist. Connected more than I was expecting to, for a very enjoyable evening.

    I’d pulled a calf muscle while dancing at Chester at the back end of May. We don’t repair as quickly as we used to, do we? I promised to take it easy on the dancing when Topette! came to Sheffield on their 10th anniversary tour. Fail! Got to dance to Topette! whenever you can. Just as they were last summer, they were brilliant and hit the dance spot on target.

    Two days later, I was on the ferry to Brittany and my first chance to try out my breton dance chops in their native land, since getting the bug 12 years ago. I wove a cycling itinerary that threaded between five different fest noz. Revelatory. But more of that later. I’ve barely had time to unpack yet.

  8. Interesting month.
    After seeing R Thompson in Manchester with my son and staying with him we booked a holiday to Greece which we’ve just returned from.
    After the RT I decided to book for the Thompson at the RAH highlights were seeing Danny Thompon and Linda giving RT a kiss. I’ve now booked for the Linda Thompson concert at the Connaught Rooms next week.
    Then to the Cat Club in Pontefract for a talk and a couple of tunes from Phil Manzanera, fascinating life and the book is well worth a read. Also showed him the photo of Saucy’s guitar which he confessed he’d never seen one like it.
    Saturday was a trip to Pocklington to see the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, an interesting and odd band.
    I’d seen a list of tour dates for Iain Matthews with Plumhall but I would be away when they played Leeds there was a gig mentioned in Halifax but I could find no information about it. I asked on Iain’s Facebook page and he confirmed it was a private house show. I then got a message from the chap whose house it was inviting me, which was incredibly kind. So the following day I sat in a stranger’s front room to watch Iain Matthews with Plumhall. Another most enjoyable night.
    The next day to Cubley Hall in Penistone to see a stripped back version of the Slambovian Circus of Dreams which turned out to be not stripped back but decidedly loose and free-form.

    I think the only thing I read was the Phil Manzanera book.

    Can’t remember watching much.

    Listened to a podcast about the making of I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight with RT and Linda (voiced by their daughter Kami, who I thought was under used at the RAH) as I trained it down to London for the RAH concert.

  9. Not the most culturally enlightening of months but here’s my effort…

    Seen

    Really not a lot. Watched The Gentleman TV series which was pretty good.

    Heard

    Bits and pieces by LCD Soundsystem, following their Glastonbury appearance, although “The Sound Of Silver” album is a particular standout. A bit New Ordery, Talking Heads ish with hints of A Certain Ratio, there’s a lot there that certain folks on here might appreciate. Dance music for Dads? Maybe but who cares?

    Crowded House “Gravity Stairs.” A bit underwhelming, a bit drifty and somewhat forgettable, but most of all I think I find the “nepotistic band changes” angle slightly irritating. If I wanted to hear Liam sing I’d buy an album of his. Come to think of it I’ve not been that impressed with much by Mr Finn since the “Time On Earth” album, which was superb, but I still want to like what he puts out and I try to be optimistic that the songs will grow on me. They tend not to now. Maybe it’s just time to stop investigating and that’s a shame.

    Gigs

    The Keller-Tones at The Ten Tun Tap, Alton. Self-described as a “1960s style trio performing early Brit R&R and Hamburg sounds” they sounded right up my street after popping up on a Facebook feed, and looking at a couple of their live clips I liked what I heard. At a loose end one Saturday I went and checked them out with the youngest, a 21 year old Beatles nut. What a cracking little band, whose self-description was absolutely spot on. Thoroughly recommended if you like authentic early sixties twangy guitar rock and roll with just a hint of rockabilly. Covers like “Some Other Guy,” “You’re No Good” and “You Can’t Do That” hit the spot, with some excellent originals thrown in for good measure. I do hope they get around to recording some, but there is some live stuff on Youtube which is well worth checking out.

    Ruts DC at The Cryer Arts Centre, Carshalton. I didn’t really know that much by The Ruts but loved the singles from the late seventies and a work colleague talked me into going. What a good night and what an impressively tight band they were, lean, focussed and full of energy, despite being in their sixties and possibly even north of that. “West One (Shine On Me”) is a genuinely classic single but “Staring At The Rude Boys” and “Babylon’s Burning” were served up on full power as well and sounded surprisingly ageless. It really must be said that Dave Ruffy is a fabulous drummer.

    AOB

    With the mortgage gone and both kids having finished university now, I’ve just requested to go part-time in my college Head of Dept job, 3 days a week with a trusted job share partner on the other 2 days. It’s time to so some other things as well now and I can’t wait.

  10. Having moved house and got the records and CDS back out , its been fun revisting in acoustically different rooms ( 2 rooms, 2 record players)
    Saw Aussie Vince Jones crooner Flugelhorn player and pianist Paul Grabowsky. They put a good record out a few years ago – Provenance. Paul is still great but Vince is heading in Biden direction. Flakey singing and playing. Seeing Grace Cummins and blues guitarist Chris Cain.
    Got the Nick Cave interview book out Faith Hope and Carnage. Serious stuff , got to concentrate when reading. A bit pretentious at times, nay, often.
    Back doing a radio show , this time down the country. From a demountable, turn on lights , take off automated programming. Heaven knows how many listeners 10s? Doubt its a hundred but a good way to air the collection and exercise the mind.Roots Rock Reggae’s first show featured
    Culture, Gregory Isaacs, Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, Les Wanyika,Master Mwana Congo, the Sweet Talks, Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti, James Brown , Herbie Hancock , Youssou Ndour, Santana, Wilco, Dallas Crane, Susannah Espie.

  11. With 3 weeks of the month on Corsica, ability to watch much TV was denied, and despite aspirations to catch some Corsican Polyphony, urged on by @kaisfatdad, that never materialised, the prospect of driving down the mountainside to the coast, for 9pm concerts too daunting. (For those unaware, Corsica, especially in the centre, is a very mountainous slab of rock. We were at the bottom of the “finger that points upward, Cap Corse, a thin istmus isn’t far, coast to coast, but is miles and miles of hairpin bends, more hairpins than Elsie Sharples, abounding precipices, requiring enormous concentration and bounteous underwear. Nonetheless, a terrific spell of eating, drinking, chilling and unwinding. A wonderful island.
    With deadlines to meet, however, I was still catching up with a lot of new music. Last month’s crackers included the excellent Proxy Music, the Linda Thompson album played and performed by friends and family, in the now near complete absence of her voice. Sceptical at first, it is actually a terrific set, encompassing styles of all genre. Yes, the usual extended family Thompson and others cut from the same sort of lineage, a Carthy and some Wainwrights, provide the bulk of the contributors, but John Grant is also on hand, to sing a song entitled John Grant. About himself. Linda is a fan. The new Decemberists, As It Ever was, So It Will Be Again turned out to be terrific return to their anglo folk rock best, most of the synthesisers of their last now laid aside again. An unexpected pleasure came from a fella called Boulder Fields. His solo debut, All the Other Ghosts, packs a lot of ragged frayed charm into largely acoustic songs. I also finally got around to the latest Michael head (& tREB), Loop Hole. I can’t share quite the enthusiasm, preferring each of the two that came before, but it has some moments of utmostly pleasurable listening. The track, Connemara, is one such.
    Actually this month, but only just, I attended New Forest Folk Festival over this last weekend. A delightful and bijou event, with a capacity of barely 2k, it packs a hefty punch for that size. With headliners of the score of Oysterband and Steeleye Span, squeezed into support were acts such as Steve “Show of Hands” Knightley’s new outfit, Dream In Colours. Highlights included the impeccable Slim Chance, keeping the songs of Ronnie Lane alive, newish Celtic folk-punks, Roving Crows and not just a covers band, The Sandy Denny Project, with P.J. Wright on searing electric slide guitar. I also got to see Afterword favourite, @sarahmcquaid , for the first time, introducing myself as a representative of this organ afterwards, at the merch table. (And @Colin-h will be drooling, as not only was Sarah playing at the festival, so too was Katie Spencer.) It is a pretty damn fine organisation, and, bucking the trend, has already listed next years line-up and ticketing details. Bravo!
    (For those with any interest, here is a review of the w/e:
    https://atthebarrier.com/2024/07/10/new-forest-folk-festival-2024-live-review/ )

    • Going to the Linda Thompson concert next Friday.
      Just back from Santorini, my son hired a car. He’d never driven on the right or a lefthand drive or an automatic car. Quite a few hairpin bends there. He did really well but decided to take the car back early as he felt it was quite stressful driving.

      Plus walking back to the car we heard an engine roaring behind, a motorised buggy shot past and clipped a person walking along then scraped down the side of a car before running headfirst into a tree. By the time we got there everyone appeared to be fine, but we suggested the chap clipped go to the clinic which luckily the accident had happened outside. Plenty of people on hand to sort things out.

    • Mixing up your Corrie females there, Retro, but it was a long time ago.
      Ena Sharples was the hairnet-wearing gossip collector, supping her glass of stout in “the snug”” of The Rovers Return and dishing the dirt, with her old-girl-gang Minnie Caldwell and a lady whose name I can’t remember now.
      Elsie Tanner was the middle-aged dolled-up siren of the Rovers main bar, no better than she ought to be and loathed by the buttoned-up Ena. The antipathy was mutual.

  12. Not much of note except we saw Deacon Blue at Dreamland in Margate. They’ve been on my “would quite like to see” list for a while and the stars aligned with reasonably priced tickets and a Premier Inn 5 minutes walk from the venue.
    Not sure quite what to expect, they exceeded all expectations, playing most of their greatest hits found on the Our Town compilation from the 90s. Dreamland is a nice venue with decent sound, affordable bar prices and I’m told by Mrs BP, clean, plentiful toilets. A good natured audience that knew all the songs ensured a nice atmosphere and we were really glad we went. Highlights? As the band were really tight, with no filler on the setlist, it comes down to personal favourites, mine being Real Gone Kid but the crowd were really waiting for Dignity and weren’t disappointed. Perfect for a warm summer evening, would recommend.

    • I haven’t seen Deacon Blue since they supported the Bible in about 1987, but I picked up their live in Glasgow blu-ray for peanuts and it is a great watch (edited highlights currently available on iPlayer).

      Toilets seem to be making a comeback. Lincoln has just reopened the indoor market and there are plentiful, and excellent, loos.

  13. Hmm… June/July… OK, I know this is meant to be about June… tricky business, nonetheless.

    T’was a time when the local football team would play their last game in late April, and the following week, early May, exactly the same group of ‘erberts would pitch up in the local cricket team.
    Not so now. The 1st… that’s F.I.R.S.T… Test Match of the summer began after I’d already gone to two (and there were more options available) pre-season football friendlies.

    Films have hit a brick wall too, apart from the 50th Anniversary version of ‘The Conversation’ – the opening scene of which HAS to be seen on the big screen – a wonderful film… post-60s… was there ever a more cinematic ‘the Golden Age, it went thatta way’ example of the Golden Age going thatta way?

    If so, I’m not sure I’ve seen it. ‘The King of Marvin Gardens’?

    Music?
    Pop.
    Obvs.
    Bought CDs online… yep… really… from the ultimate source (Ace)… went for all those 60s foreign girls’ compilations – Swedish, Spanish (my favourite), French, Italian, Japan etc.
    Lumped on. A rarity for me to pay top dollar, but, hey, they’ve been great through the Euros, and we’ve got the Olympics to come. Seriously, they’re as fresh as a daisy – unless you’re
    at one with Spanish pop c. 1965! – an excellent set of purchases.

    But actually, the act I’ve listened to most has been the Delfonics (via a £1 compilation)… yeah, that’s what I thought… also-rans… not so, all their stuff is late 60s, and they ‘categorically’ are NOT the woeful Stylistics, the group they are invariably linked with – and the act which most informed my negative view of black music in the ho-hum 1970s. Why would it not have been?

    No, the Delfonics look like Sly & the Family Stone, not Barry White or the Osmonds or the Stylistics.
    My next online bundle, from Ace (obvs.), is sure to include their 68 and 69 LPs on the one CD.

  14. I watched Problemista last night. Excellent film. Tilda Swindon’s best role to date as a loveably loud and obnoxious art dealer trying to flog her dead husband’s paintings. She befriends a young El Salvadorian immigrant called Alejandro (played by El Salvadorian immigrant Julio Torres, who writes for SNL and looks a lot like Justin Long). Despite his youthful appearance (he’s nearly 40 but looks about 14 and plays Alejandro as being around 20ish) Torres wrote and directed this. He’s talented in both departments as well as being a nice comedic actor. The film is creatively quirky in both its writing and direction.

    This month I also rewatched There’s Something About Mary and re-read The Magus, both of which I remember enjoying hundreds of years ago, but not so much this time round. Especially not There’s Something About Mary. Terrible film.

    • The Magus is massively over-written and far too long. Kind of like a high art version of Stranger In A Strange Land. But re-reading The French Lieutenant’s Woman a few years ago it holds up as a masterpiece. Second rate writer who produced one first-rate novel. More than most.

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