FINALLY!! After eleven dreary, frozen, uphill weeks, JANUARY 2025 is OVER!!
So, please, gather round and share with us – what have you been listening, watching, reading, or otherwise getting up to ?
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Being a long time Crowded House fan I belatedly caught up with the band’s two most recent albums this month. Neither Gravity Stairs nor Dreamers Are Waiting quite have the heft of the band in their prime, but they are growing on me. The Finn Family House version of the band is a bit too comfy and lacks a bit of edge, but Neil Finn can still turn his hand to a decent tune.
Also caught up with releases from Hurray for the Riff Raff this month. The Navigator, Life on Earth and Small Town Heroes all trade to a greater or lesser extent on Alynda Segarra’s leftfield punkish take on Americana, but best of the lot is last year’s The Past is Still Alive, a much more mainstream affair but with cracking good songs.
One of my favourite bands of recent years is LA-based Lord Huron. A new single has appeared this month, but sadly no new album is in the offing although the band are about to set off on a major tour. As with their previous material there is a lot of subliminal David Lynch homage going on. The video and vocals both feature Kristen Stewart in something distinctly Lynchian with scenes from Lost Highway springing to mind. It’s a great track which just whets the appetite for more.
After reading Peter Ames Carlin’s biography of R.E.M. (The Name of This Band is R.E.M.) I went on a retrospective R.E.M. binge with a number of DVDs. The band were never better than in Perfect Square (concert filmed in Germany), while Live in Austin Texas features a latterday performance where Michael Stipe is particularly engaged. R.E.M. by MTV is a lengthy documentary worth seeking out. All of the above are also on YouTube.
Albums played:
Duke Ellington – …And His Mother Called Him Bill
Jenny Scheinman – All Species Parade
Joni Mitchell – Archives Volume 4: The Asylum Years 1976-1980
Tineke Postma – Aria
Louis Hayes – Artform Revisited
Blue Lab Beats – Blue Eclipse
Ill Considered, Rob Lewis – Emergence
Sun Ra – Inside The Light World: Sun Ra Meets The OVC
Greg Foat, Sokratis Votskos – Live At Villa Maximus Mykonos
PAZ With The Singing Bowls Of Tibet feat. Allan Holdsworth – Live In London ’81: The Ron Mathewson Tapes Vol. 2
Blossom Dearie – My Gentleman Friend
Snarky Puppy – We Like It Here Remixed, Remastered, Reimagined
Ghost Train Orchestra, Kronos Quartet – Songs And Symphoniques: The Music Of Moondog
Nik Turner – Space Fusion Odyssey
Monty Alexander – Spunky
Ray Russell Quartet – The Complete Spontaneous Event: Live 1967-1969
Jo Harrop – The Path Of A Tear
Daniel Casimir, Tess Hirst – These Days
Red Hot Org. – Transa
Gordon Beck Quartet, Joy Marshall – When Sunny Gets Blue: Spring’68 Sessions
Various – Congo Funk!: Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982)
Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain
Virginia Astley – Hope In A Darkened Heart
Lucibela – Moda Antiga
Aural Exciters – Spooks In Space
Art Taylor – A.T.’s Delight
Jimmy Smith – Back At The Chicken Shack
Stanley Turrentine – Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Free For All & Buhaina’s Delight
Jackie McLean – A Fickle Sonance, Capuchin Swing & New Soil
Lee Morgan – Cornbread
Hank Mobley, Sonny Clark – Curtain Call
Dexter Gordon – Dexter Calling & Doin’ Allright
Horace Parlan – Happy Frame Of Mind, Speakin’ My Piece, On The Spur Of The Moment & Us Three
Johnny Griffin – Introducing Johnny Griffin
Lou Donaldson, The 3 Sounds – LD+3
Kenny Burrell – On Prestige & Midnight Blue
Donald Byrd – Off To The Races, Royal Flush & The Cat Walk
Horace Silver – Six Pieces Of Silver
J.J. Johnson – The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Vol.1 & 2
As you may notice, I’ve been doing some digging into the late ’50s – early ’60s Blue Note Records catalogue. Very rewarding. I made a big list and I still have more to explore.
Gigs: All cheap, all good.
Alan Barnes/Bruce Adams Quintet @ Karamel in Wood Green on January 9th.
Tony Kofi Organisation @ The B3 Lounge in North Finchley on January 12th.
Rachel Sutton, Roland Perrin & Band @ The Elephant in North Finchley on January 19th.
Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band @ The Vortex in Dalston on January 23rd.
Burns Night Jazz with Jim Mullen @ Karamel in Wood Green on January 25th.
Derek Nash/Ed Bentley Trio @ The B3 Lounge in North Finchley on January 26th.
Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band were the loudest band I’ve ever experienced. I feared my hearing might have been damaged but it seems I got away with it. 5 trombones, 5 trumpets, the full range of saxes (including bass) and 2 drummers.A 17-piece skronky band in a fairly small room make a lot of noise, when you’re seated in the second row. Must invest in good earplugs.
TV:
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (again).
Father Brown
Partners In Crime (again)
Sister Boniface Mysteries (again)
Silent Witness
Crime fiction rubbish, really.
Books:
Michael Connelly – Fair Warning (on Kindle) Unconvincing depiction of not very pleasant journalist main character. Interesting premise.
Jo Nesbo – Killing Moon (paperback) not yet finished.
A.O.B.:
An expensive month, as is usual for January.
Car insurance and winter car service/small repair put a hole in my bank account which will only refill slowly.
Had a smart meter installed for my flat’s electrics. Only realised several days later that when the guy asked me afterward to test the meter was working by putting my kettle on, he was hinting he’d appreciate a cup of tea.
Met up with an old friend transiting through London from Sheffield to the West Country and we sampled the all-day breakfast at the Waterloo Bus Garage café (pretty good fryup and nice ‘n cheap) before having a couple of beers in a very nice pub nearby, then a pricey but OK coffee in Waterloo Station.
In the final days of the month I came down with an absolute stinker of a cold, which resulted in missing a couple of gigs I’d wanted to go to. Hey ho…
Nothing else of note to report.
I’ve let Peter, one of the trombonists with Ferg’s, what you thought. I await his reply.
I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the music* just that it was LOUD. I could feel my skull tingle.
*It was an experience as much as a concert. Like a cross between the Sun Ra Arkestra, the Bonzos and perhaps one of Carla Bley’s bands.
I didn’t think you didn’t enjoy it.
Oddly enough Peter is a huge Bonzo fan. I got 3 Bonzos and a Piano to sing Happy Birthday for him on his eighteenth.
He’s glad you enjoyed it.
Heard:
Cheery Red emptying my wallet again with:
* Sharks – The Island Years 1973 – 74. 2 full albums, plus one unreleased album from Chris Spedding/Snips Parsons band, initially with Andy Fraser. Debut album has a Free-esque vibe if they were fronted by Frankie Miller, whilst the second album (without Fraser) is more of the same.
I’m not selling it very well, but it deserves attention.
* Rezillos – The Complete Recordings. I had the first album on vinyl, and never did get round to the second. Now it’s all here on 2 CDs. Triffic!
* The Yachtles – A tribute act to Yachts in the vein of The Rutles – all original songs, but you can’t truly see the join. Birthed and driven by Michael Kalik who is the nephew of Yachts drummer Bob Bellis, and has the blessing of the band themselves.
(Which reminds me: this led to going back to Yachts original albums – Box202 must surely be one the greatest singles that was never a hit.
Seen:
The cold evenings have been televisually filled by:
* Silent Witness – never really watched the previous series, now it’s time to catchup
* Out There – Martin Clunes as a Welsh Farmer in a promising drama that didn’t really have an ending
* The return of Death In Paradise provides a gentle introduction to the weekend
* The Dunning-Kruger effect is on full show in the programme also known as: A bunch of self-important fools trying to impress a prune.
Others call it The Apprentice – I’m still trying to work out who’s the most annoying in this series
Read:
Before It Went Rotten: The Music That Rocked London’s Pubs 1972-1976. Informative history, but not as engaging as it could be – I found it hard work to get through at times
(this had me searching for 2 Will Birch books – No Sleep Til Canvey Island and Lee Brilleaux: Rock n Roll Gentleman – for the price of less than a kidney
(I know the Canvey Island book can be got for kindle, but I’m a luddite and want the book)
AOB:
Having an absolute mare with Fantasy Football this year – last weeks bench boost has given me some hope though
The Rezillos one is a cracker! So many great B-sides, and the A-sides still sparkle
Silent Witness is a regular chez Fentons. You’re in for a treat, there are best part of 300 episodes to catch up. They’re all nonsense, of course, including the most recent episode where they operated a touch-screen phone which was inside a plastic evidence bag. Basically it is Midsomer Murders set in a morgue.
Yup, saw that, remembered from here, and informed Mrs D that you can’t do that with a phone
The GLW and myself have always watched SW. I thought the previous couple of series were really poor – I presume the writing (and a few of the casting choices) but something just wasn’t working.
This recent series, however, was really good. I wonder if the ending was an indication of a big change coming? It’s survived major cast changes before, of course.
Every episode is soundtracked by “by Christ, he has got a big nose” and “you should try eating some pies, love.”
Perhaps – spoiler alert! – the Lyell Centre will move to Brum? It was in Cambridge for the first couple of series. We’ve had no mysterious deaths here on the Fens since then.
Heard
Catching up on some Christmas presents – the excellent Nala Sinephro album, Endlessness, has had a good few spins, as have Creedence Clearwater Revival At The Royal Albert Hall and Arooj Aftab’s Night Reign.
I have also been listening a lot to Little Feat’s first four LPs, with Dixie Chicken in the lead at the moment.
Read
Brian Blessed’s book about adventuring to the wilds of South America (and other places) – Quest For The Lost World – is excellent. His enthusiasm bursts out the page. A heartwarming book. I also enjoyed Trevor Horn’s autobiography, Adventures in Modern Recording, as an audiobook. He was at the forefront of several technological steps, especially with the use of the Fairlight to make new sounds for Frankie Goes To Hollywood and many others.
Robert Harris – The Second Sleep was pretty good – a thriller, with twists and turns. I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers.
Seen
Nothing much of note – I’m even behind on Only Connect! I have enjoyed the NFL, despite some pretty shabby and inconsistent refereeing calls. I will enjoy the Superb Owl on Sunday. (It has been known that way since Microsoft auto-corrected my calendar entry for the day off after one to that name. )
AOB
Stewart Lee asked The Primevals to help with a tune for his new show – “Stewart Lee vs The Man Wulf”, so we wrote and recorded it, and he is now singing the song as part of his show. Which is nice. The single is out now – https://primevals.bandcamp.com/album/im-the-man-wulf-ep – and we are playing Preston (Sat 15th Feb) and Edinburgh (Mon 17th Feb, with The Godfathers).
Following on from several happy turns at Inktober, I started a new app in January, sketch-a-day, which is good fun and encourages me to get the pen out every single day.
Cinema:
Vermiglio – An Italian film, about an extended family, set in a remote mountain village at the end of the war. Rather good, and rather good looking, inspection of a life that seems to be a far better deal for the men. Isn’t it always. However, it’s probably one I will have forgotten seeing by the end of the year as it’s not that memorable.
A Real Pain – A wonderful film about two American cousins travelling to Poland to visit the home of their grandmother. Achieves the rare feat of having a brilliant beginning and a brilliant ending. Common in songs by The Beatles, in fact in abundance, not so common at the cinema.
A Complete Unknown – Thoroughly recommended. Forget the actual truth (did Dylan ever meet Suze again after Ballad In Plain D? I doubt it), just thrill at the period detail. I’ll probably try and see it again before it leaves the cinema.
Music:
The man at the top of the hill (the only place to buy CDs in a market town of 20,000 people – I’m not convinced by his humble attire, I reckon he’s raking it in!) has unearthed a full compliment of The Beatles, The Stones, Dylan, Zappa and many others, and is shifting them for the cost of half-a-pint of Guinness.
Now, I loathe anything to do with the tongue logo brigade c. 2025, but have enjoyed two U.S. Stones’ LPs from this source… 12×5 and December’s Children. All yer favourite Brian Jones songs, just in a slightly different order!
Loads of Dusty, my favourite ever artist I think, and, best of all this month, and following an unlikely worthwhile purchase of Record Collector, the Ultimate Live at the BBC from the Yardbirds is wonderful. It’s so good that I’m going to get a physical copy, as it won’t be on Alexa for ever.
In particular, a shout out to the various interviews with Keith Relf and Paul Samwell-Smith with the incomparable Brian Matthew, something omitted from memory (I’ll have to check) with the lousy Rolling Stones equivalent a few years ago. Why would they do that? It’s those bits that make those BBC releases: see The Beatles’ two releases.
Heard: Getting my ‘money’s worth’ from my free Spotify account by listening to stuff I’ve never owned and never heard, or stuff I’ve found such as Garth Hudson’s Canadian Tribute to the Band. Burns Night involved whisky and Silly Wizard and Five Hand Reel.
Saw: The Malcolm Bruce Trio with special surprise guest Arthur Brown, actually not much of a surprise as we walked into the pub with him, at the Cat Club Pontefract.
also containing the back of your correspondent’s head.
Leo Brazil at a local pub, I’ve seen Leo quite a few times and hope next month to see him with his new band.
Read: Magpie Murders and Folklore Rising (a late Christmas present from my son, which he thought I’d like) unsurprisingly I did.
Watched: Cinema, Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown (possibly could have been called Alias) and Maria (Callas). Finished watching the four series of Babylon Berlin beautifully filmed. Father Brown bingy watched. Quizzes on Monday on 2.
Others: met Cheshire for a folk exhibition at Manchester Library, there’d been a mix up and there was still an exhibition of Fall artwork so not everything was on show. Will hop over the border to see it all. Been diagnosed with high blood pressure, had an ECG and now have a spray in case my heart gets the occasional pain at some unearthly time in the morning.
January didn’t turn out quite as I’d imagined it…I had my knee surgery at last, but rather than the two weeks sick leave that they’d said I’d need, the surgeon told me when I woke up that he’d put me on two months leave after seeing what my knee looked like inside.
Partially because they won’t give me anti-inflammatory drugs due to my diabetes, but also because I had three acute problems (that they could mostly fix) and a couple of “live with it” problems. But because of the extreme inflammation and me having a job where I walk for 7-8 hours per day, he said I needed the rest.
And rehab of course, which I was allowed to start a few weeks ago, and from now forward I’m going to do three sessions per week.
Read:
An Yu – Ghost Music: this is a surreal novel about unfulfilled dreams, betrayal and how you can feel even lonelier in a (bad) relationship. Music and mushrooms are other big components of this story – you could say that the mushrooms speak and the music is silent! It’s quite trippy but very well written in a hypnotic way, it gives interesting glimpses into everyday life in Beijing, and the book is a real page turner. Perhaps I vibed extra well with it because I started to read it when I woke up from my op, and was all messed up on pain killers…!
Then I finally took the plunge and read Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. It’s brilliant, but it was one of the worst reading experiences of my life. Every day I’d hesitate to pick it up, feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of it; but once I did continue I could hardly put it down, and this was the daily routine that got worse and worse the longer I got into the novel. Yikes…it’s grim AF. But I’d still urge you to read it (however, I know I’ll never re-read it!)
Then onto a Swedish minor modern classic, Händelser vid vatten; Blackwater in the English translation, by Kerstin Ekman. I’d call it literary crime fiction; with murders as part of a story set in the north of Sweden. She’s one of my favourite Swedish authors, but I especially love her essays and nature writing, so I just never got around to reading this before. But it was actually very good. So not like most of the awful “Scandi-crime” novels. 😉
Finally I decided to tackle another – huge – novel that I’ve owned but avoided for many, many years…The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I bought it on its release date, IIRC, but then everybody started to have opinions about it and discuss details and spoilers, so I wanted to wait so I could come to it without all of that standing between me and the text. Didn’t quite mean to wait this long! But it’s long, so you really need some free time to get into it.
So, how did I like it? I thought it was very good, not as great as The Little Friend (which is one of my favourite novels of all time), but more than decent. It’s very Dickensian, so if you dislike Dickens, you’re going to hate it, I suspect. It has a small part, sort of two thirds in, that drags a little, but when it got going again I could appreciate in retrospect what that part was doing for the build-up of the climax. So, as usual: definitely not the turkey that some call it, but not quite a masterpiece either. But a very enjoyable ride. Made me want to re-read TLF again!
Seen:
Rewatched the masterpiece that is The Shop Around The Corner, but that’s the only film I’ve seen in January, despite my good intentions.
Lots of YouTube…my latest weird obsession is a Japanese guy going around filming micro apartments – it’s addictive and soothing at the same time! So my new routine before bedtime is an hour of the US politic shitshow news, then a few Tokyo micro apartments to calm down… 😀
Toilet paper storage! Yay! (IYKYK)
Heard:
Haven’t bought any new albums yet in 2025, and won’t be able to afford any until April, I guess. But two CDs I’d ordered last year but got delayed, finally showed up. I had already listened to the Wilco Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP, still not really loving it (but it sounds better on CD than on Spotify).
The other one is by Swedish composer Matti Bye and is called Capri Clouds. I’ve really enjoyed his film music before, so took a chance. And I do really like it, my only “complaint” is that it sounds very same-y (so much in fact that I’ve yet to listen to the whole album straight through – so who knows; perhaps it shifts in sound later?)
But my most listened to in January is a playlist that I made for my 50th birthday! Containing a few of my favourite tracks from each year of my life, from 1967 to 2017.
I did listen to it a lot back then (I’m 57, going on 58) but in later years I haven’t, or if I did I only listened to the beginning of it. But, for reasons that will be revealed in the next segment, I’ve had the time and reason to listen to all of it, many times, during January and this month too.
And I’ve rediscovered a lot of really great tracks – especially from the 2010:s and late 00:s. Back then they were still too new and too familiar to me, but I haven’t really listened to any of those albums since then and I forgot how great they were!
AOB:
OK, so what to do when you suddenly get two months away from work?
I decided to use that time to finally continue one of my novels, and I’ve been writing three to six pages every day since the worst pain subsided a week or so after the operation (and when I’m writing, I’m listening to my playlist…) I’m having a lot of fun and making great progress, it’s now around 110 pages long. Almost done with chapter five (but I’m planning at least thirteen chapters, so still some way to go!)
If it was just straight up prose the whole time, I could have written much more by now, but around 40% of it are other kinds of material…which requires much more thinking and word-trickery.
I’m having a wonderful time, and if it wasn’t for the blow to my economy, I wouldn’t mind the two months leave at all!
So between the intense rehab, short daily walks on crutches, writing my novel, reading, watching weird YouTube videos and some jigsaw puzzling now and then – I’m keeping myself busy! 🙂
Take it easy and I hope the recovery goes well.
all best wishes for the rehab – it will probably feel tough at first, but it is totally worth it.
Wishing you a full recovery, Locust!
Thanks guys!
Fully agree with you on Prophet Song, one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read. No spoilers but there is one particular chapter that’s stayed with me since. Chilling.
Be well, Locust!
Do make sure you do the rehab. My mum had surgery in mid-Feb 2020, by the time the plaster cast came off we were in lockdown, and physio was postponed. She never did get properly recovered, and is still walking with the aid of a zimmer frame.
SEEN
I’ve nothing against going to the cinema; it’s just not in my habit. I was staggered to find that I hadn’t been for 15 years, which is daft as we have a lovely comfy studio cinema a ten minute cycle from my house. So, what better way to dip in my toe after such a gap than the three and a half hours of The Brutalist? Do not be daunted; just luxuriate. It may be a long haul but the plot and the dialogue are not so dense, which allows enjoyment of the excellent sound and sound track. I have more than a passing interest in architecture, so the imagery worked for me. That said, I do know that those with a professional interest have baulked at it, finding fault with chronology and detail. While it is fiction, apparently it is all too clear which emigre Hungarian Jewish architect inspired the plot, which causes consternation when the plot and characters swerve wildly from the inspiration. I suspect it is a little like A Complete Unknown, in that the knowledgeable will get annoyed by inaccuracy, whereas my superficial interest leaves me free to enjoy.
On more typical territory for me, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan hit the bright lights of Sowerby Bridge – always consummate. Then Femi Kuti was absolutely wired at Band on the Wall.
READ
Four fabulous days in the most beautiful place in England afforded low level walks in the morning, with eyes focused up on the Borrowdale Fells all around me. Afternoons were spent making progress with Christmas presents:
Rory Stewart’s Politics on the Edge (a previous Christmas!)
The Body Keeps the Score, which is quite a deep dive into PTSD. This is all learning for me after last year’s incident, though my experience is but nothing to the abuse victims and Vietnam vets who are subjects for the text – but relevant just the same.
Borderlines: A History of Europe old from the Edges. I knew I would love this. An explanation of the history and significance of the fluid borders of Europe over the centuries, with plenty of geopolitics thrown in. Lewis Baston is explicit in his Remainer sympathies, which all helps me along for the ride.
The Rory Stuart book is excellent…AND he is a Tory!
He WAS a Tory…..
I think he still considers himself a Conservative. He just doesn’t think his former party are, any more.
Very busy month but glad to see that the nights are drawing out although not as quickly as I would like.
SEEN:
Went to the cinema about 6 times last year so something of a surprise to go 4 times one month:
Better Man -I don’t like Robbie Williams music and when I saw this advertised on the side of a bus I mentioned to my wife that it looked like a pile of shite.Then I saw a trailer and changed my mind. we took the plunge and I have to say I thought it was fantastic. The part at the end with his Dad was highly emotional
Maria – Great performance by Angelina Jolie but the film was extremely dull.
Conclave – I have to confess I nodded off in the first hour of this film – God was it boring. The second part of the film improved a little but not enough to elevate it to greatness. I should have known better – I detest the Catholic Church and have no idea why I would be surprised or even interested by their shenanigans.
A Complete Unknown – fantastic film. Yes it took liberties but that mattered not one iota. The voice, the songs, the story – all great.
A side note – My daughter whatsapped me asking if I had seen the ‘Dylan movie.’ She works in media and got a free press preview showing. She has suddenly become a Dylan fan and apparently sales of Dylan albums have surged 150 percent in January so he has done alright out of it.
On stage we got to see Julian Taylor a Canadian singer-songwriter at the Kitchen Garden Cafe – we were accompanied by @carl and his wife who are big fans and who was responsible for introducing him to me. A very impressive artist with some very good songs and a great guitar sound. Now to see him with his band the next time he is over. They were with him in London but guess the economics didn’t extend to letting them loose in the provinces.
READ:
I was deeply saddened by the news of Marianne Faithfull’s passing. I consider myself a big fan and had started reading her autobiography two weeks prior. Nothing else at this time but have a couple of books lined up for my holiday in Chile later this week.
HEARD:
Plenty as usual.
Costello’s King of America and other realms was irresistible because there was sufficient stuff in the set that I didn’t have. It is excellent and am blown away by Brilliant Mistake/Boulevard of Broken Dreams which is a snarling cocktail lounge song which has had my hooked from first listen.
My wife treated me to the Phil Manzanera 50 years of music boxset for Christmas and I love that – I know this will be contentious to many but I thought he was as important as Eno/Ferry in the success of Roxy and his solo stuff is adventurous and interesting.
@Duco01 recommended Jeff Parker ETA IVtet in his end of year poll – I love this album, improvised Reggae influenced jazz.
Compilations from Blue Aeroplanes, Amadou and Mariam.
The new Bonnie Prince Billy album The Purple bird is up there with his best – great songs, some wonderful country playing.
Also loving the Mary Chapin Carpenter/Julie Fowlis/Karine Polwart album Looking for the thread which has good balance from all three artists. Would have welcomed a new Mary Chapin solo album but this is the next best thing.
AOB: Rejoined Rock Choir which is uplifting and great fun.
We went to see Conclave. We enjoyed the performances. As soon as he appeared though we knew who was going to be the pope it was just a matter of how the story would push him into it.
What had me tittering for most of the film was Stanley Tucci’s cardinal’s hat. He must be quite a slight skinny man with a narrow head. His skull cap seemed far too big for him. It looked more like Wee Eck’s beret than anything else.
I don’t think I’ll ever be tempted to watch Conclave but I thought I recognised one of the actors in the trailer. Ralf Fiennes sidekick. A bit of a Google confirmed for me that it was Brian F. O’Byrne last seen in clerical garb as the dancing priest from Father Ted. Who’d have thought that he’d have been the one to rise up the ranks of the Catholic hierarchy?
Oh, it’s up here for scheming and navigating your way through the machinations of power politics and down there for dancing..
Re: Manzanera/Roxy – not contentious in the slightest. Manzanera and MacKay contributed to the music, the sound, the look – wouldn’t have been Roxy without them.
Manzanera’s book Revolucion to Roxy is well worth a read.
In my To Be Read pile. Sadly missed him at Petworth Literary Festival. Did see Hepworth though and exchanged a few words as he signed my book.
You’ve written a book? What’s it called?
I’d second @stevet around the last 2 mentioned, it proving a stonking out the January traps for what might be best called Americana, with more hot on those heels. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is an undersung maverick genius, prone to introspective inaccessibility: The Purple Bird is anything but. The Carpenter Polwart Fowlis is sheer unadulterated brilliance, a top 10 album of the year in January. Worthwhile other listens have included Shimli, by Cynefin. Welsh language singer-songwritery, with an ear on local poets to set to tune.
Little live, bar the Olllam, a heady mix of funk, post-rock and penny whistles. I don’t really know what post-rock is, but it was bloody good. Chum of @colin-h , John McSherry was in the band, on said whistles and uillean pipes, yet it wasn’t in the least folky.
Telly has been uber disappointing, switching platform to platform. 2nd series Bad Sisters? Dull. I wanted to like Say Nothing, but the wife couldn’t abide it. Heretic, bought for £13, yawn. Loads more, from Yellowstone to, late to the party, Sex Education, fab to start, with tail offs into critic fodder.
Hey ho.
À l’eau, c’est l’heure!
Heard
I already mentioned it last month, but I am now completely hooked on The Future Is Our Way Out by Brigitte Calls Me Baby. (And this time I must credit the wonderfully named @the-pelvis for being THE ONE VOTER to bring it to my attention). I haven’t pounded a record this much since the first Fred again..
Also from the 2024 AW poll, I’m enjoying the 20th Anniversary live album by Naragonia.
Reminds me a bit of Irish band Moving Hearts.
Meanwhile, apparently no respecters of the AW poll, SAULT sneaked out an album (Acts Of Faith) just before Christmas. I’m not wild about it – it’s innocuous and unobtrusive and in places it even reminds me of Shakatak. Caroline Rose has also just slid a new one out (Year Of The Slug) – one of those write it, record it, release it fast jobs. Early days, but – Velvetslike ballad Antigravity Struggle aside – I think I’m more of a fan of her pop side.
Seen
Fresh from the topped-and-tailed-by-T Rex Longlegs – the latest vehicle for Nic Cage to go all mad for our amusement – it’s only John Squire’s riff from Love Spreads that opens episode 3 of Severance. The new series is building beautifully on the first, with this week’s fourth episode a highlight. I enjoyed Longlegs up to a point. I like that it keeps you wondering whether you’re dealing with sick people or the supernatural rather than showing all its cards from the off.
Amandaland is so keen to let you know it’s a continuation of Motherland that it even uses the same music (it is a choooon, tbf). After one episode, I’m hoping for more characters than we’ve already got. The joy of the Amanda character was the way she just crashed into whatever was going on among the other, more real characters. Staying with her might get a bit repetitive.
Reading
Following on from our 90s threads I’ve been popping in and out of one of my Christmas pressies, Faster Than A Cannonball: 1995 And All That by Dylan Jones. I say popping in and out because the book’s structured around a mountain of quotes from those who were there and, as such, lends itself to dipping into rather than consuming the whole in sequence. (Also, I tend to skip the arty types whose perspective is of limited interest to me).
Upcoming
Ooh! New Brother Ali, Delines and House of All albums incoming this month, as well as a couple of Dub Syndicate collections.
And there’s word that they are filming a new series of The Capture, which, whenever it arrives, will have my rapt attention..
@sewer robot The Brigitte Calls Me Baby album is wonderful ain’t it? Full of 80’s pomp. I got it sent to me through the Rough Trade Club, which imo throws up more misses than hits. This one stuck though.
I watched two excellent 2024 films this month. Nickel Boys and Queer. Both based on novels that didn’t impress me.
Pulitzer Prize winning The Nickel Boys didn’t really work for me as a novel. It seemed more about “injustice” than “character” and I didn’t find the injustice particularly emotionally compelling on account of it being purely fictional. But I thought the film was very good largely due to the director’s choices. Showing everything through the eyes of the two protagonists (like Peep Show) was a great idea given how their roles develop in the narrative and the inclusion of seemingly unconnected images and footage also worked really well.
I read Burroughs’ novels Junky and Queer as a youth and neither made a big impression on me. I found the books’ covers (“upside-down” paintings by Georg Baselitz) far more interesting than their contents. I would never have imagined either as being suitable for screen adaptation, but Luca Guadagnino does an excellent job, helped by a superb performance from Daniel Craig and by his now regular cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Suspiria, Call Me By Your Name, Challengers).
I also watched an excellent 2019 black comedy slasher film called Ready or Not. Slasher comedy is a genre I love and this had plenty of blood, gory deaths and funny moments.
Yep. Ready Or Not recalls those Friday night trips to the video store, when you came back with something you thought might be a laugh, but turned out to be much more satisfying than expected – see also Happy Death Day..
Heard
Doing the year end poll prompted me to go back over polls of previous years and re listen to some of my top choices from the past. There are some I haven’t listened to in ages and to be honest haven’t aged well. But there are plenty of real keepers too – Gretchen Peters Hello Cruel World; Laura Marling’s Once I Was an Eagle, and Semper Femina; Steve Earle’s Low Highway; Frazey Ford’s Indian Ocean; Courtney Marie Andrews’ Honest Life, Bowie’s Blackstar, Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways and more.
Seen
Two trips to the cinema – a Complete Unknown and A Real Pain were both excellent,
Watched His Three Daughters on Netflix, an excellent film about three sisters gathering at their father’s flat as he is dying. And enjoyed The Greatest Night in Pop, which is a somewhat overstated title for a documentary on the making of We Are the World, but which has some fun footage and recollections from some of those involved.
Read
Read David Peace’s Munichs, his third football related book after The Damned United (which I have read) and Red or Dead (which I haven’t but which I remember getting a real caning on this very site). Peace’s style is not for everyone – lots of repeated phrases and rhetorical devices, with long, building sentences, and the book itself is full of repeating scenes – we go to several of the funerals of the dead in sequence. But I thought it was really effective in capturing the tragedy and embracing the mythology of it, and of survivors like Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes, Bobby Charlton and Matt Busby.
Seen
To the pictures on two drear January evenings to watch Nosferatu and Wolf Man. Whilst neither was especially scary, they both built up an atmosphere of dread. Handsome films to look at, too.
Couple of decent shows started on Disney Plus; High Performance whilst utterly ridiculous, is quite good fun. A murdered President and a compromised secret service agent are at the heart of Paradise, which is an intriguing political thriller.
Read
Exiles by Jane Harper. The final book in the Aaron Falk trilogy is a bit of a slow burn. We watch as Falk slowly, patiently pieces together the truth behind twin tragedies that hit a small community. Affecting and achingly melancholic.
Heard
Martin Freeman reading the Hitchhikers novels. I’m listening entirely out of order – and am currently on “Life, the universe” having already heard “So long” and “Restaurant”.
AOB
I first encountered David Lynch’s work in the mid-80s when Eraserhead appeared on Channel 4 late one Friday evening. I’ve never seen it again yet even now, 40 years later, scenes, images and fragments of that disconcerting soundtrack remain etched in my mind.
In the following years I saw Elephant Man (a thing of beauty) and Dune (a deranged joy). But the ones that really stick with me are Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks and Wild at Heart. First time I watched Blue Velvet I recall feeling non-plussed. It was heralded as a masterpiece yet felt to me just wilfully odd. Yet I persisted and with each subsequent viewing it opened itself up further. It is wilfully odd – that’s part of its appeal (and of Lynch himself). But it’s also mesmerising and uncanny, goofy and malevolent. Wild at Heart was a day-glo freakshow, populated by Nic Cage dressed in killer shades and a snakeskin jacket giving it 100% Elvis and Laura Dern shedding the girl next door look from Blue Velvet to play the fiery Lula. Plus, there’s the leering, black clad Willem Dafoe, whose Bobby Peru gives Hopper’s Frank Booth a run for his money on the sicko/psycho scale. I loved that film, returning to the cinema on multiple occasions to soak up the insane road trip. And Twin Peaks – what more is there to be said about this strange, joyful, frightening yet peculiarly comforting soap opera / supernatural horror / police procedural hybrid?
This month’s listening has been moving on from the AW 2024 chart with a collection of old Monty Python albums –
Another Monty Python Record, Monty Python’s Previous Record, Monty Python’s Contractual Obligation Album, Matching Tie and Handkerchief – a trip down memory lane as I hadn’t heard them for almost 50 years…. A massage from the Swedish Prime Minister and the sketch with the exploding Stradivarius were particularly poignant. The death of Marianne Faithfull prompted me to explore her recent records, and I particularly enjoyed ‘A Secret Life’ (Love in the Afternoon was a track with lyrics that made me think of Pulp).
As ever, I dip into Latin music for the latest from that continent. Vuk Vuk Todo Dia (feat. El Dusty & BRUSA FUNK) (https://soundcloud.com/joaobrasilofficial/vuk-vuk-todo-dia-feat-brusa) is a mix of Baile Funk and Cumbia that should wake you up in the morning and put a grin on your face.
I am not sure Fabio Bergamini is from Latin America, but his collection of percussion tracks are very evocative and plangent – love them
Finally, something soothing and calming from Colombia after all that excitement – Sara y Jacobo
Have a great February, everyone
Read:
I started Who’s the Boy with the Lovely Hair? in January, having received it as a Christmas gift – I haven’t finished it yet (circumstances beyond my control) but it’s been a fascinating and rather sad read. Also reading Pledging my Time (a bit later than everybody else) on my Kindle, mostly while travelling – also a fascinating book, for completely different reasons.
Watched:
Traitors series 3. Wow.
Also caught up with Ludwig on the iPlayer – that was enjoyable, I hope they do a second series.
And the usual Monday evening quiz shows – although I increasingly find myself shouting and throwing my hat at the telly, as the best and brightest of the day fail to answer yet another music round on University Challenge. What are they teaching them in the halls of academe these days??
Listened:
Beethoven complete string quartets, played by the Smetana Qt (courtesy of Mr Pencilsqueezer of this parish) – and damn fine they are too.
Also the (nearly) complete back catalogue of Wire.
And reacquainted myself with A Passion Play by TMT – and Music for Quiet Moments by Mr Fripp.
AOB:
Health again. After a highish PSA in October, leading to an MRI in November and then a biopsy in December, I was transferred from “surveillance” to “treatment”. Travelled to Wirral in January to discuss options with a surgeon and an oncologist specialising in radiotherapy, then back to Liverpool the week after for a bone scan (turned out my MRI picked up something “indeterminate” which needs checking before we can proceed). So now waiting to find out if I also have bone cancer, or if it’s something like the site of an old injury.
[PS: interesting going through the airport when you’re radioactive – the hospital gave me a letter for the authorities, in case I set the scanners off!]
I suspect the University Challenge brainiacs nowadays don’t have as much in the way of extra-curricular lives as the students in the full-grant ’60s and ’70s had. Too much serious knuckling-down and not enough hedonism.
Very best of luck with your health stuff.
Thanks, Mike – and you’re probably right about the UC teams. Not many of them look like hedonists these days…
All the best with health issues
I concur. Never before have you hoped you had chipped a bone, all those years ago.
Thanks both. And retro – that’s a yes, indeed! It’s at least theoretically possible – I had a couple of heavy falls on ice a few years ago, on the correct side. Badly bruised, but I never considered any further check at the time.
Then I think I’m clutching at straws and should be preparing for bad news. Gets in your head (as I’m sure you know).
Everything crossed for you even bits I didn’t know could be before now. Pob lwc.
Thanks for that, Mr P (and for the Smetana Qt link, of course – there’s something special about the Czech and Hungarian quartets playing Beethoven…)
I’m partial to a good string quartet as you know although I’m getting stuck into a lot of Ravel’s piano and orchestral work at the moment with the old soul’s 150th birthday coming around in early March. J’adore Maurice.
As to the other I’m off for my first PSA blood test on Thursday followed up with a date with my sawbones on the 24th due to problems arising since Christmas. Growing old is a bugger ain’t it? Hold fast matey.
Good luck with that.
And to both of you.
Hope it’s not a finger ahoy moment.
I had bloods done on Thursday as required and I’m expecting to get a good probing from my sawbones on Monday morning. Then what will be will be.
Fingers crossed, Fitz.
Thanks, Mr F.
In fact, I can supply a quick update. I don’t have it in writing yet – but I had a call to let me know that I do not – that’s do not – have bone cancer. As suggested, they suspect that the “indeterminate focus” is the site of an old injury. So I’m somewhat relieved. And of course it gives me back a choice on how to proceed. All good.
Phew! Delighted for you. I’ll play some Eric Coates to celebrate.
Thanks, Mr P – and excellent choice!
The sun is out here in the Tropical Socialist Republic of Wales so a bit of light classical seems appropriate plus I know you dig it. Onwards and upwards butty. ✌️
Huzzah! That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.
Many thanks, Steve – it’s a relief! Dealing with the prostate cancer is one thing – but adding in bony mets would have got us into a whole different arena.
Well, yes, and the rest of the news has set a fairly low bar…
Well, quite!
Glad to hear that.
Thanks, Mike.