We’re having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave …. come gather round, help yourself to a cold drink from the blue cooler, ice creams are in the green one, and tell everyone – what have you been listening to, watching, reading, etc. And – is it hot enough for you ?
Blogger Takeover CXXXV
by 72 Comments
I have been luxuriating in a couple of wonderful box sets. Loud, Fast and Out Of Control is a 4 CD Rhino compilation of early rock & roll, beautifully re-mastered. The acoustic guitars on the Eddie Cochran tracks leap out. The Sun Rock Box is a 10 CD Bear Family compilation. Some deep dives in there, including this great radio commercial – https://youtu.be/cjliLpuNmNU
I finally organised my 7″ singles – they had been loosely gathered in the Kallax where the LPs live, but were not easily searchable. So I bought 3 boxes for single storage andd took the time to go through them all. A couple were unplayable, so they went. Another 30 or so were not ones I needed to keep, so I sent the list of those to a friend who has got back in to 7″ singles in a big way, and he is taking some of them. The others that need a new home will be traded in at Love Music and turned into new records. Everything is much more organised, now.
Of course, as part of that process I played many old favourites –
The Rezillos – https://youtu.be/oogL-OtZcCs?list=RDoogL-OtZcCs
John Lee Hooker – https://youtu.be/oohisfAUUF0?list=RDoohisfAUUF0
James Blood Ulmer – https://youtu.be/Ti2DpvzgXHc?list=RDTi2DpvzgXHc
I also listened to Kevin Bridges’ autobiography, We Need To Talk About Kevin. It goes into excruciating detail about his childhood difficulties, his unwillingness to settle in at school, his close attachment to his mum, and his gradual shift from being so clinging to being more outgoing.
I am sure he feels better for having shared all of this, but I was looking more for some light entertainment.
I enjoyed Kate Bryan‘s book How To Art – some interesting ideas on looking at art, making art, and thinking about art.
My dear friend, the artist and guitarist Brian McFie died suddenly. He was always moving forwards, looking for the next thing, the next colour, or shape, or guitar, and was a very supportive friend to many people. The funeral was packed – I had to stand outside as the Crematorium was so full. He will be missed by many.
Organising 7″ singles – a wonderfully cathartic experience, and one I must undertake at some point. Did it about 7 years ago when I got new Kallax stuff – all present and correct, perfectly ordered, and played choice cuts when stumbled upon.
I now have piles (oo-er) of later purchases awaiting correct insertion (oo-er, again)
I seem to have a mental block when it comes to 7″ singles and can’t remember which ones I own, especially ones in plain sleeves rather than picture sleeves (which is how I think of records in my mind).
So I see one in a charity shop or bargain bin for 50p, and buy it. Which is how I come to own three copies of Heartache Avenue by the Maisonettes.
I must have a purge and donate the duplicates to the chazza.
SEEN
Elvis Costello and The Imposters at Hampton Court, which I’ve already written about on here. A classic gig of two halves, sort of just about redeemed by the second.
HEARD
Haircut 100’s reformation album, “Boxing The Compass” is an extremely pleasant summery nod back to the early eighties. Think XTC with added funkiness and horns, so no bad thing at all.
Graham Coxon’s “new” album, “Castle Park” is a new wavey kind of thing, supposedly recorded over a decade ago. If it really is an album that was shelved, then its hard to see why, because it’s far better than any of the Blur or other Coxon related albums that appeared in that time.
READ
Mike Pickering’s “Manchester Must Dance” is a (mostly) excellent run through his life as a Factory Records affiliated musician, DJ and A&R man. The stuff on the Factory/Hacienda years is excellent (in all honesty the main reason I got it) but he won’t convince me that M People (his later dance pop act) were anywhere as essential, radical and pioneering as Joy Division or New Order.
AOB
Firstly, a couple of weeks ago, and two and a half years after my total knee replacement, I fell over whilst walking in Sussex’s Ashdown Forest and now have a replacement knee which perpetually clicks somewhat uncomfortably and is very swollen. I’ve been referred to the Orthopaedic Specialist again, but be careful out there folks.
Secondly, this week we had a free pass for the second day of tennis at Wimbledon, courtesy of my son, who is currently working there in Broadcast Services. Now tennis isn’t really my kind of sport at all but this ended up being a really fun day out. The organisation of such as huge event like this has to be seen to be believed but they still somehow manage to maintain that very English sort of “it’ll all be OK” veneer. Managed to see a couple of minor British chaps fairly comprehensively knocked out by far superior opposition, and the Museum is well worth a visit too, especially if you fancy a bit of air con.
I’ve bought an audiobook of an old Radio 4 comedy panel show called The 99p Challenge. All 4 seasons, plus a bonus series 1 called King Stupid, which was its original form before being rehashed with a different presenter. I’m sure it will be familiar to some of you. Comedy is very subjective, but it still tickles my funny bone 25 years later. A bargain for about 7 quid.
Not much on YouTube, but if you like the idea of comedians just being daft, Clue style, it may appeal.
The 99p Challenge & King Stupid are both available, free by invitation, along with LOADS of other BBC radio comedy shows ancient and modern, from my pal Ben’s website, which has been mentioned hereabouts in the past.
I have permission to pass on his email to anyone interested who’d like a link.
That sounds rather splendid
Ban’s site has been very useful since you let me know a few years ago.
The other site I’ve recommended, is Fourble, which has a wider range of radio shows. https://fourble.co.uk/podcasts
That looks fab!
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I imagine most of us here disapprove of illegally downloading the work of musicians and I don’t know why comedy should be different. The BBC (currently facing massive funding pressures) paid to produce the 99p Challenge and is selling them as downloads at a reasonable price. They also provide an insane amount of radio for free via BBC Sounds. What gives us the right to take what we don’t want to pay for? As with archive.org, dressing up a pirate site in fancy clothes doesn’t make it a library.
We have to pay the licence fee whether we watch BBC or not. If anyone wants to watch it or listen to it for free, I say good luck to them.
I don’t currently have to pay the licence fee as I don’t watch live t.v. or use the I Player.
The BBC is a wonderful thing and , yes, if I was living in the UK I’d pay the licence fee with nary a thought. But isn’t the point of such sites as Timbar recommended that they give access to many old programmes that simply aren’t available on iPlayer or whatever?
You and me both.
No one has to pay for a TV licence, although I understand why it is galling if you are someone who has a TV but doesn’t use the BBC. All I would say is that the BBC is bloody brilliant, so if you are paying for it I would encourage you to make the most of it. As I am wont to point out, it has produced over 8,700,000 TV and radio shows, a great number of which are easily available.
I agree there is an argument that pirate/archive sites can have a role to play when the item is totally unavailable in other forms, although even then it can (as I remember Richard Thompson saying in an interview) arguably dampen demand for reissues. But as we’ve established, the radio shows that started this conversation are available for a modest fee.
I’m less convinced by the ‘I’ve paid once, why should I pay again’ argument. In this specific case, were you even around and paying a licence fee when this programme was made? If so, what did you agree to when you paid for a TV licence? I bet it wasn’t for everything the BBC ever made to be available to you on demand in perpetuity. There are presumably ongoing fees that should be paid out to the creators or their heirs that were never factored into those initial costs.
I just think we live in a world of almost infinite digital culture that is available free and legally, via numerous legit TV / radio / music streaming sites, libraries (Libby, et al), etc. It feels, to me, rather disrespectful to glibly take what isn’t offered just because we can and suggest it doesn’t impact on the creatives who make this stuff.
Then there’s the argument that licence payers have already paid for these shows to be produced so they should be free. C.f.: the backlash after they threatened to take the BBC Good Food recipes off the website to save server space.
That’s completely logical. Surely we don’t need to KEEP paying for something?
I think as Murkey says, there is a cost to the BBC when they show an old programme, as they have to pay residual fees to many of the people involved – actors, writers and composers. I remember reading an interview with, I think, Jonathan Cecil who had appeared in one episode of Dad’s Army and still got a cheque when it was shown thirty years later. The BBC doesn’t own the show outright, and so the licence payer doesn’t. I think this will also apply to streamers, and is the reason they don’t leave their whole inventory on their sites, as the costs will mount.
Saw Waterboys , a bit underwhelmed and Sparks who were very good.
Watching – trekked through 6 series of The Americans. Rather excellent.
Always listening to so much for the radio show but all a bit bite size. A Norah Jones podcast called playing along had this sublime duet of a song Emily King recorded on her latest album with Lukas Nelson. This version is better thanks to Norah.
Ah Sparks @junior-wells
Seem them twice in the last 3 years or so. Just fantastic live and, it sounds corny, there is such love and connection between the band and audience.
I’ve also been thinking about seeing the Waterboys as they seem to be doing Fisherman’s Blues but I haven’t quite made it happen yet
Fishermen’s Blues tour a different thing I think. Isn’t Steve Earle joining them ? I’d go to that
Fisherman’s Blues Revue apparently but yes with Steve Earle.
Did you do a review of Sparks @junior-wells?
I didn’t do a review of this one.
Ah, ok. I find it hard to non Sparks fans to describe their gigs.
Electric?
Well played @pyramid
Flying?
Reading: I’ve just finished re-reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’ for probably the sixth or seventh time, but the first time in 20 years or so. Magnificent – as always. I was lucky enough to acquire a mostly complete run of ‘DownBeat’ spanning 1966-69 recently (along with a complete 1947-54 run of British magazine ‘Jazz Journal’, which is rarer for that vintage) and I’ve been enjoying flicking through them – the ‘Blind Date’ pieces are fascinating (well-known musicians hearing records and guessing the players, and rating the sounds). The accuracy guess rate is probably around 60-70%, which seems very impressive and testifies to the distinctive characteristics of jazz players in that era.
Listening: An advance copy of ‘Along the Road Forever: Martin Carthy at the BBC 1965-2022’. Yes, I researched and compiled it, but it’s deeply satisfying to see and hear it in finished form. It’s out later this month (20 discs, book, signed photo etc.). I also gave Petye Townshend’s ‘Lifehouse Elements’ CD of around 2000 a spin this week – it’s remarkably satisfying as a complete listen, given that it was (a) a sampler from a bigger box set and (b) comprised various demos and live recordings from different eras and new orchestrations of themes from the Who’s abandoned 1970/71 concept. The version of ‘Who Are You’ from it is, I think, the definitive one. It was assembled from a 1999 live recording at Shepherd’s Bush Empire (which I was at) with lots of studio treatments thereafter. Explosive!
Podcasts: The same ones as always – The Rest is History and Sheddunit.
Watching: ‘Brokenwood’, a quirky cosy crime drama from New Zealand continues to deliver enough fun to keep the woes of the world at bay for a while. Looking forward to the return of ‘Ludwig’.
Gigs: The Adventures + Shock Treatment at The Empire, Belfast a couple of weeks back – sensational! Likewise, Dublin jazz-fusion-funksters Chief Keegan and veteran guitar hero Tommy Halferty’s Quartet at Scott’s Jazz Club.
AOB: Lots of legal stuff / crowdfunding continues. This week, a letter of rights assertion went out on behalf of Robin & Barry Dransfield – Robin and Barry’s widow Christine – for their two 1970-71 Trailer label albums. More news on that in a new Update here, including words from Robin:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/win-back-rights-to-pioneering-1970s-folk-albums-for-artists
I also went to Scotland for a day to film a crowdfunder (going live in 3 months or so) with the fabulous Jenn Butterworth and Stephanie, the partner of the late, great Scottish folk legend Archie Fisher, towards an 8CD Archie box set spanning 1961-77. More on that in due course. But it was a terrific day with great people (Cormac O’Kane, impresario at Scott’s Jazz Club and mastering maestro, was along too, as filming person). Jenn’s album ‘Her By Design’ is heartily recommended.
Well done, Colin. Sterling work!
Thank you Tiggs!
Jenn is lovely, isn’t she?
Yes.
I used to get Jazz Journal, and the more cerebral Jazz Monthly, from 1964/65 until the mid 70s. I don’t know how collectible they are today but I’m afraid they went a few house moves ago.
They’re not terribly valuable, Jazzer. But the very earliest period of JJ is fairly rare (1948-50, certainly, if not 1948-54) – I have a near complete run from 1948-64 (missing only 5 issues), then scattered copies across 1965-67 and a complete run from 1968-76.
The first couple of JM issues are difficult to find (early 1955). I’m missing issues one and two, but have a complete set from May 1955-1970.
I have a near complete set of the other significant British title, ‘Jazz News’, which moved from monthly to fortnightly then weekly then monthly in its last year 1957-63 – but not even the British Library has the first two issues, Nov & Dec 1956.
June summary: stoopid busy at work, and Pub Rock
Read:
Simon Matthews – Before It Went Rotten: The Music That Rocked London’s Pubs 1972-1976
A canter through the history, the venues and names (some appearing many times in different bands – it was a very close scene).
Take away thought … Punk may have happened anyway, but the fact there was an established circuit of venues no doubt helped.
Heard:
Cherry Red compilation Time! Gentlemen!
Not always brilliant, but a fine listen. Much variety on offer, and the knowledge that most nights one of these bands could be found in a smoky dive in North London.
(see also Surrender To The Rhythm, another Cherry Red offering from a couple of years ago)
Seen:
Youtube clips of Pub Rock stuff, and an old BBC doc (I think it was BBC?) on the subject.
(not Pub Rock) also binged Legends on Netflix
And as I begin to think that there is never anything on Amazon Prime (apart from Clarksons Farm which I also binged this month), Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (3rd film in the franchise) pops up – think Heist movie (in the vein of Oceans 11) with added magic
AOB:
After 9 months in planning, gestation, recording, editing, re-recording, and much discussion, Episode 1 of the Podcast “starring” me and my mate Nick is now up on Spotify.
Most of Episode 2 is in the can (as they say in the trade), so hopefully that should be up in a month or so.
Great stuff, Rij. I understand there’s a new Pub Rock book out in the 33 1/3 ‘genre’ series. I find it more fun to read about than listen to, by and large, to be honest (with a few exceptions). The Motors were the best of the lot for me, though connoisseurs may perhaps argue that despite a high degree of Pub Rock DNA they weren’t technically Pub Rock…
One of the great discoveries of the ‘Before It Went Rotten’ book was Glen Matlock’s revelation that the Pentangle at the Albert Hall was his first concert and that it enjoyed it.
Might have to track that book down. Argument is that it is just a convenient label,rather than a genre for a bunch of bands who happened to play in pubs. It’s a broad church taking in country rock, rock & Roll, R&B, funk, soul, and anything else a band happened to play.
Inspired by @niallb and his studio strand, I’m off to that London to find the venues (and expect that most are now luxury flats, or just flat earth)
I read Terry Murphy’s book about his time running the Bridge House in Canning Town which I have vague memories of visiting once in the late 1970’s. I was amazed to discover the live album “A Week At The Bridge” on Spotify, Amazon and Bandcamp which includes Filthy McNasty, Gerry McAvoy and my absolute faves, the Roll Ups and their celebration of onanism “Hand Shandy”.
In my research for the Gaughan box set I was intrigued to find that his Celtic-rock band Five Hand Reel (1975-78 for DG’s membership) played all the pub rock venues but never get included in the retrospectives (books, compilations etc.). So although one can argue that ‘pub rock’ is not a genre but was rather a descriptor for a loose collection of London pubs in the 1970-77 period (or whatever) and the acts who played there, I’d argue that in retrospect – as with ‘yacht rock’ (an entirely retro-fitted ‘genre’) – a fair degree of boundary setting HAS gone on, even subconsciously, by probably a handful of perople who have written about it. And now we all ‘sort of know’ what ‘pub rock’ sounds like – Americana, rootsy, etc.
Simon Matthews’ book challenges the Will Birch orthodoxy (and Will’s book remains the gold standard, nothwithstanding his inclusion/exclusion criteria) by strongly arguing for Shaky & the Sunsets being the root of all pub rock, not Eggs Over Easy (the Birch-school progenitors). Certainly, when one looks at ‘Melody Maker’ gig adverts for the early 70s, there is most definitely a lot of ‘rock revivalist’ activity going on – Shaky, Crazy Cavan, the Houseshakers (who later became Matchbox) etc. Mickey Jupp’s Legend in 1970 were akin to these rock revivalists but were obviously just enough within the circle of Will Birch’s criteria to qualify as ‘Americana roots rock’ rather than Teddy Boys.
And along with the Teddy Boy acts and the Folk Rock acts there were also jazzers – the London pubs had long been used as jazz venues; indeed, Eggs Over Easy blagged their seminal Monday residency at a pub that hosted jazz gigs by telling the publican they played jazz. By the early/mid 70s, some of the jazz acts were effectively jazz-rock – but you won’t find jazzers among the people in the pub rock books.
It’s all intriguing stuff…
And what was going on in pubs in OTHER UK cities? In Belfast, it was all blues (people who used to be in myriad versions of Them) and what would become ‘yacht rock’ (an act called Bronco, fronted by ex-Them Kenny McDowell, who did covers of MOR/muso US light rock).
And in Dublin? Here’s Crazy Cavan & the Rhythm Rockers at The Magnet in 1980.
Pub Rock is Welsh … Shaky, Crazy Cavan, and Dave Edmunds.
To balance, Nick Lowe is in the mix too.
But Dave Robinson … and most of the Pub venues were Irish landlords.
There is a passage In the book which debunks the Eggs Over Easy progeny, yet at the same time confirms it.
Had a busy time, as lots of not good stuff is going on at work (if you are interested see here: https://savesheffieldchemistry.netlify.app/). So, my personal time has been restricted. Still, had time to continue my read of True Nature, the epic Peter Matthiessen biog by Lance Richardson. It is what is usually called an “honest” portrait: Richardson obviously thinks PM is a Great Man, but still goes into the shitty way he treated the many women in his life and how he put his needs in front of those of his kids. For a bit of light relief, I am also reading Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm, which I have had on my kindle for ages. Happily, it is as sharp and funny as remembered it even though it is 115 years old.
Between watching the World Cup games that are on at civilized times, I have been re-watching Ideal on the Iplayer. Graham Duff is not as famous as he should be. I have also started on The Flash, which is jolly good bubble gum and should keep me going as there are 7 series on Amazon.
I saw Tuner and liked it, a bit of a homage to a 70s crime movie, underlined by the presence of Dustin Hoffman.
Listening: nothing new I keep reminding myself to catch up with Beth Orton’s latest, but haven’t. Is it good?
I was an early adopter of Beth Orton from hearing her on a Strange Cargo album and seeing her play with Red Snapper in Norwich. And she has Crohn’s disease so gets a free pass – big up the IBD Massive.
She’s never exactly been Maria Callas, but I heard her being interviewed on Woman’s Hour a couple of weeks ago and even her speaking voice sounded odd*. The song she performed at the piano was flat as a pancake. It put me right off playing the new album.
(*) not just ‘Norfolk’ – I know she had side-effects to medication and I’m guessing it affected her pipes.
Completely agree about early Beth Orton, the Strange Cargo stuff, her first two albums and the track on the Chemical Brothers album are all excellent. It was very quickly downhill after that though. I occasionally try new stuff when it comes out but it usually ultimately disappoints, even after perseverance. Such a shame if the meds affected her to that extent.
Later output indeed very patchy but this one’s a belter
The first time I heard her was on some arts programme on Radio 4 many years ago. She played lived and She Cries Your Name was painfully flat.
I did see her in Sheffield in 1999 on her Central Reservation Tour and she was flat live then, but the album is almost as good as Trailer Park. Even then she was an album artiste, not someone to go out of your way to see live. Sad if her voice is being affected by meds.
Yes the new album just doesn’t sound like her, to the point, if I’m honest, where I had to stop listening about half way through. I’ve always had a lot of time for her music and it’s a real shame if that has some medical cause.
Had a listen to the new album last night. The last song ‘Otherside’ is brilliant, like an outtake from Goldfrapp’s Seventh Tree LP, with a Beatlesy psychedelic vibe. Her voice sounds quite different on most of the album and may take a bit of getting used to. (I’d post the song, but youtube is playing up).
Oower. Interested now…will check on Spotify, ta.
As is my won’t I’ll restrict myself to nights (and in some cases afternoons) put type stuff. First was Jack Docherty bringing his Chief character from Scot Squad to the tiny, yet not sold out, Soho Theatre. I wondered how one character would fare over a 70 minute show, which ended up being closer to 80, but the answer is ‘rather well’. Docherty is a confident and experienced performer, utterly at home in the role, and we had a great night. Even if he did call me a radge.
We stayed over in London after that show* and went to see Louis Brennan’s launch gig for his self-titled third album at the Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon the following afternoon. We went to see Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (aka Neasden Temple) in the morning, and it’s a stunning building should you be in the area, with a decent Indian veggie restaurant in the car park. Louis’ opening act Jack Francis, playing solo, was excellent and played an extended set. Which is just as well as Louis and his band played the new album end to end, Lily Allen style, and one older song as an encore. Louis is one of the best singer-songwriters currently playing and the whole afternoon was much more fun than a series of contemplations on addiction, mental illness and the deaths of his parents had any right to be.
A while later the local arts centre hosted a comedy afternoon when first half comedian Shaparak Khorsandi was very good but headliner Milton jones was really funny. Not much to add to that, just that a series of puns developing over a hour or so created rising hilarity. (‘The woman sitting opposite said, “Do you mind if I do my make up on the train?” I said “Do what you like but it’s still going to look like a train.”’) From there we headed straight to an open air show in the beautiful gardens of a local art gallery, a fund raiser for the August Pride parade, and a colourful spectacle in lovely surroundings.
What else? Pipes in the Park is the biggest bagpiping and Highland dancing festival in the south of England and seeing as it was free entry and less than 5 minutes walk from our house it seemed rude not to drop in. I’m no expert on the pipes, but there is no denying how powerful the massed bands finale featuring literally scores of bagpipers and drummers was.
In a corner of the same park and local theatre group presented their annual open air Shakespeare, and this year it was Much Ado About Nothing. The cast were all excellent though few in number, but there are enough confused identities going on in that play without the half a dozen actors playing multiple parts once the business with the constables starts. A fun evening though, and we like to support these local events.
Finally, last Monday, we went to the Savoy Theatre to see Paddington the Musical (Mrs Gatz’s birthday treat – I made us marmalade sandwiches for the train journey). You can guess what to expect from the story, which is obviously a children’s entertainment. The staging is fantastic though, and the cast universally excellent. ‘Paddington’ is an actor in a costume, with eye blinks, mouth actions and so on controlled by the same performer who sings the role off stage. Once you get used to the presence of a bear in a duffle coat on stage the effect is totally convincing. The songs aren’t that memorable, and the whole thing could have been half an hour shorter, but if you go I’m sure you’ll have a great time.
* A tip – the prices at central London hotels were through the roof on that Saturday night, even for a Travelodge or Premier Inn if, like us, all you need is a place to lay your head in between outings. The Elizabeth Line has been a game changer, and we stayed in Ealing for about a third of the price of central London but only 15 minutes from TCR.
I’ve just finished reading Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong (typically late to the party – often I don’t show up at all), and found it deeply erotic, utterly horrific, and emotionally wrenching in turns. I shed a few tears at the end…
Listening –
Not much new stuff grabs my attention these days. I have a wealth of material at the end of a streamer but little of it really floats by boat, so I rely on the ever diminishing number of new releases from old favourites. Tift Merritt has a new album out this month after a long hiatus, Sugar, which is rather good. Rodney Crowell also has a new one, Then Again, which was shelved after being scheduled for release several years ago. It slots well into the slew of fine albums he has released in the latter half of his career, full of his characteristic clever wordplay and astute lyrics. Ryan Adams (can I still say Ryan Adams? Too late, I’ve said it) has finally released The Suicide Handbook. It’s a lengthy album of demo tracks and acoustic versions of songs that finally made it onto Gold and Demolition in full form, and includes a smattering of unreleased tracks. In Adams’ typical mercurial style it appeared then vanished from streaming platforms, and is (at the time of writing) hard to find in hardcopy, other than from the Pax-Am label website. Worth trying to get hold of though.
Reading –
Read my usual Simenon this month – Letter to my Judge, concerning a killer’s letter to his judge in which he attempts to self-justify a killing. In a series of bleak romans durs, this one outbleaks itself by some margin. An exceptionally grim, but strangely addictive tale, not one for cheering yourself up after a bad day.
When I was at university doing an English degree in the dim and distant past I was force fed Virginia Woolf by a professor whose enrapture for her subject was so great that she frequently disappeared up a fundament of incomprehensibility when lecturing us callow youths. 45 years on and I’ve finally got round to reading To the Lighthouse, and although I’d be lying if I said that it finally all made sense (it didn’t), I loved it. Classy writing indeed.
June was a glorious month, especially the two weeks vacation it ended on…
The beginning of the month was still me hustling to finish “Mum’s Book” (which I almost did – only the final, short chapter was missing for her B-day, but I brought the book along and then took it back to finish it on my vacation, in peace and quiet – it’s all finished now and delivered to mum) and going to work, but once that was over and done with I could get back to reading, watching and going outdoors rather than spending every minute of every day off hunched over my desk.
Read:
After my long reading break I started light, reading Liza Minnelli’s memoirs Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! It was OK, if slightly exhausting in that high-strung Liza way. The only two people she doesn’t have anything forgiving to say about are her last husband and Lady Gaga…
Then I read the latest collection by David Sedaris – The Land and Its People, which I enjoyed a lot. I don’t know if it’s always been there and I just don’t remember it as a big part of his writing, or if he’s mellowed with age, but I found it more tender and loving than I expected (although he’d probably gag hearing it described that way! 😀 )
Then – again sticking to light reads – I read the much lauded The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I liked it fine, but it was a bit too close to the dreaded “feel-good” genre for my taste. Some of the subject matters are absolutely bleak enough – a dead child, anonymous threats, wrongful verdicts, strained mother-daughter relationships and the trauma of having unknown birth-parents – but the light-hearted tone and everything turning out miraculously well at the end was a big spoonful of sugar. But, having said that; it was well written and had a sprinkle of humour that made the sugar go down, and I enjoyed the epistolary format of it.
But then I read the latest Maggie O’Farrell novel; Land, and that was more to my taste! Is it as good as the former novels it will be compared to? Perhaps not, but it’s Very Good.
I didn’t love it immediately, it started a bit confusing and bleak and a bit dull, but that turned around soon enough and I was drawn in completely when the main family came alive on the page. It’s still fairly bleak, but also beautiful and captivating, about land – as in (mainly) Ireland; the somewhat haunted plot of land the family settles on; land mapped out but keeping its secrets; and family. It’s great writing, as always, by O’Farrell.
Then onto a small book by Eduardo Halfon called Tarantula, which was thought-provoking and well-written, but also a bit too short and fragmented to really get its claws into me. But I’d definitely want to try other books by the author, I liked his descriptive prose very much.
Seen:
Not the films I had planned to watch on my vacation (I’ll hopefully get to them in August), but I did see the (by now quite old) horror film Smile – OK, but the premise fell a bit short (as in most horror flicks). Still, not too bad.
Then I watched the documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, which had impressive animations and a moving story, and I’m slightly ashamed that I found it a bit boring, definitely too long, and I just didn’t connect with it.
Some World Cup games, of course. But not half as many as I would have watched twenty years ago.
Heard:
Same as in May – I bouhgt so many albums then that I didn’t allow myself to buy any in June…
(That I happily allowed myself to buy 18 books is another thing completely!)
AOB:
Our heatwave was thankfully not as hot as in most other places, and I was on vacation for most of it, so could spend my days near water, eating watermelon. I had one horribly hot week at work afterwards, but now it seems to finally be over, and rainy season is here – hurray!
Can we have some of your rain in the UK please?
You know climate change is real when the British are begging for rain…
I’m reading the Sedaris too, rationing myself to one essay at a time. I agree about the more settled emotional tone. I wonder if it’s something to do with his arsehole of a father, who dominated the last collection, dying? I’ve seen David a few times. I’ve never asked a question in the Q&A section at the end of his shows, but if I had it would have been why did he keep connect with such a parent who was so toxic.
I guess that if you grow up surrounded by toxicity, it’s normal to you and you expect it. Perhaps even believe you deserve it.
Families are their own countries (=throwback to my remarks on Land…) and more difficult to break away from than a nationality, I would think. And the other family members will agree or disagree, and suddenly you’ve started a civil war…
Easier to avoid direct conflicts – especially if you, like David, live all over the world and don’t have to be in direct contact that often.
But I’m just guessing!
I’m reading Land at the moment. It didn’t grab me immediately but it’s slowly insinuated itself. I can usually tell how much I’m enjoying a book by my reading speed, if it slows down then I’ve really become invested in the book. I’ve slowed down with this one.
Interesting – I don’t think my reading speed changes depending on my enjoyment, but I’ll get through books I like faster due to not being able to put them down, so reading them in bigger chunks every day.
But if the language is particularly beautiful, I’ll sometimes stop, and repeat sentences out loud, to really taste the words.
Hope you enjoy Land really slowly and that it sticks the landing for you!
If it’s good I don’t want my enjoyment of it to end too quickly, so I slow down. It’s good to know I’m not the only person who reads out loud to themselves when the prose demands that kind of attention. I always read poetry that way. For me it’s meant to be heard.
I’ve been listening to Jon Cleary’s Substack playlists – here’s the latest – full of fabulously weird and wonderful stuff still within the distinctive New Orleans “genre”
David Byrne’s latest, too, is well worth a listen. Latin Psychedelic anyone?
Nothing much to report on this month except for a visit to the Ludwig art museum in Cologne this weekend to see the Yayoi Kusama retrospective that is touring Europe this year. Quite beautiful works on display as well as a lot of conceptualism that put Laurie Anderson in the shade. 97 years old and still alive. Though the polka dots and infinity rooms get all the publicity, it was her paintings that really impressed me for their psychedelic and hypnotic qualities. Mesmerising and shimmering.
Ah @salwarpe, thanks for heads up on the Yayoi Kusama exhibition. I have booked in to visit it on its Amsterdam leg for MsBJB’s birthday in September; we are both fans and have YK prints up in our house. Never been to Amsterdam anyway, so a long weekend visit is a good excuse to kill 3 birds with one stone!
Really happy this caught your eye, BJB. Hope you enjoy it!
Heard: Amelie Lens’s mixes, which are dropping monthly on Apple Music. Latest is 023 = banging, chunky mainstream techno, with fluid mixing and euphoric builds and drops all present and correct
Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark. Ordered a Rhino Remaster some time ago and while I am wondering how successful the mastering is (some of her higher backing harmonies sound muffled and over compressed) it’s a marvellously textured album, a perfect midway point between Blue and Hejira
The Coral – 388. I used to love The Coral back in the day and 388 is quietly (as ChatGPT would say) reasserting their kaleidoscopic worldview
Alice Sara Ott – Johan JOhannson Piano Works – A selection of JJ’s piano pieces, played by Alice Sara Ott. Liquid piano! Perfect for sunny afternoons at home
READ
Like everyone else I know, London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe – it’ll stay with me a long time. That poor foolish boy, sucked into a terrifying world. His parents’ fortitude and resolve is remarkable.
Auden by Peter Ackroyd. To paraphrase Max from Hart to Hart about these two magnificent writers – when they met, it was moider!
High Art Lite – Julian Stallabrass. Entertaining, funny and spot on in deflating the excesses of the YBA scene and although its 20 years old this year, still stands as a corrective to the blah pomposity and vacuity found through the contemporary art scene. It would be easy to demolish Chapmans, Hirst, Emin, Lucas etc though and he doesn’t mindlessly rip them – his was an art historical perspective that examined the phenomenon of “high art lite” and forensically digs out what it lacked
TELLY
Rivals. Nothing else comes close
We went to Rosendahl Garden Party in Stockholm for the last day. Notable acts were Slowdive and David Byrne. I kind of agree with the Swedish journalist’s view that it’s all about the drone when all three guitars are firing on all cylinders at once. When The Sun Hits was the closer and hit it did. The one we were all waiting for. Mesmeric.
We paid extra for seating in an exclusive, area with access to our a separate pizza counted and bar, which was nice. Generally a rather civilised affair.
DB took a bit longer to set up due to a special digital stage backdrop for projecting film. Worth waiting for. Wonderful, engaging gig. All the Talking Heads classics you could wish for.
To go all minimal: after the required 6 x listens the new Phoebe Bridgers track, Lost Boys, is an absolute banger and makes me excited for the new album.
Spent most of the first week of June cycling in East Lothian, which was just the ticket.
Spent all the last week of June at Halsway Manor in Somerset (The National Centre for Folk Arts), doing back to back courses with Melrose Quartet and Blowzabella, Truth be told, I don’t go for the workshops; I go for the gigs and dances and the (music) sessions in the bar of an evening. Melrose are the best band for a called dance at a festival at the moment, for my money, and Blowzabella are Blowzabella, though there is undoubtedly a hole in their midst with the loss of Dave Shepherd earlier this year.
Late to the party again. Had an horrendous weekend moving our daughter and her boyfriend from Ealing to Margate. Two last minute cancellations of vans we ordered. We gave up on Europcar – a seriously shit company. Went to Enterprise they had a van – but not the Sprinter we reserved, in the end I had to settler for a Transit. it meant 4 round trips of 200 miles in a 48 hour period then a 200 miles trip back home. That and the weather meant I was seriously grumpy and won’t be doing it again.
HEARD:
Quite bumper month.
I was lucky to get The Necks boxset at a reasonable price. Love this band – how can anyone do a piece like Drive by which is 60 minutes long and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Tremendous.
Kelly Stoltz – If you don’t know me buy now. Have been a fan for years and this one is a corker – the opening track Competitive Bastard is a real cracker and sets the scene for some catchy bubblegum with a little funk thrown in – some very strong TRex influences too.
Lee Scratch Perry and Mouse on Mars Spatial no Problem might just be my favourite album so far this year.
The Deslondes – Don’t let it down – brilliant album of covers.
Early James – Strange time to be alive – bought this after hearing a song he does with Sierra Ferrell on 6Music. In truth the album is good but the best song is the one that prompted me to buy it.Very often the way.
Where the willow and the dogwood grow – The songs of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan is a top compilation – I particularly like Hold on by Maddison Cunningham followed by The Long way home – two my favourite waits songs. None of them sound like Tom Waits but fabulous.
Then I discovered Tucker Zimmerman and bought Dream me a Dream and Dance of love which he did with Big Thief. Both superb.
Then a moment of nostalgia meant I bought Camel The Snow Goose and Renaissance Scheherezade and other stories. Both as good as I remembered.
READ:
I was a big fan of Matt Haigs Midnight library so was excited that his new book Midnight Train visits some of the same themes. Not really surprised considering how many copies Midnight Library sold.
It started off unconvincingly and then I got hooked. Still don’t think it was as good as Midnight Library but not too bad.
SEEN.
A really ropey Elvis Costello gig at Birmingham Symphony Hall – poor sound and his voice was off.
Only redeemed by an excellent support set from Chris Difford.
Katie Spencer at the Temperance in Leamington was superb – perfect voice and an amazing guitar sound.
James Oliver Band at the Hub in Lichfield was a great early afternoon gig – superb guitar playing – his blues numbers were best but he added staples like Apache and Peter Gunn to his repertoire.
Thanks to @retropath2 for the comp tickets as he couldn’t attend.
Legends with Steve Coogan was superb and just started watching Lilyhammer – why didn’t I watch that when it came out?
So that was June was it? Gone in a blur. What happened, then? Well, eventually got away for a week, up to the borders, and Ancrum. Gorgeous part of Scotland and near unpopulated by other than sheep and cattle. Over a year since Mrs P had contact with her youngest, and the anniversary of the wedding we were denied attending, so all still painful.
Radioing on LichfieldRadio.org continues to be fun. Deputised on the Soul show and for another presenter, bringing my spin to their genre and styles, as well as my own.
Live the highlight was David Ford and Michele Stodart teaming up with Scarlett Rivera and Rob Stoner for a 50 year romp through Dylan’s Desire, which will struggle not to have been show of the year.
A bumper crop of new albums saw Stramash II, Colin Steele’s follow-up to his jazz-folk album of 2008, Joan Wasser’s Joan as Policewoman persona revisiting her debut of 20 years ago, Real Life becoming Real Life Evolution and the new one by Hanging Stars, called Just a Day. Losing their pedal steel player has, counterintuitively tightened up their songwriting and it is, IMHO, their best.
Telly needs me to apologise. I have previously stated I wasn’t much taken by The Pitt. I was wrong, it is the best telly for years, especially if, like me, you have fond memories of the cut and thrust of working in that emergency setting. Superbly observed.
I’m back – have you missed me ? Did you even notice that I’ve not posted on here for a few weeks (I doubt it !)
Anyway….
We’ve actually been back in the UK for the past few weeks – my eldest boy’s graduation at St Andrews at the end of June. Before that, it visiting family – starting in Cornwall, via Oxfordshire, Sheffield before heading up Scotland (the car hire says I did 4700 KM / 3000 miles). Happily the trip went smoothly – we booked flights as the Iran war was starting and so were concerned we would actually get over – came via Turkish Airlines in the end as a similar price to our preferred Qatar rather than double that the direct flights were charging (added bonus was that Turkish had a free Istanbul tour, with food, for layovers over 6 hrs on our way back).
In Scotland, we stayed at Anstruther on the Fife coast (about 10 miles out of St Andrews) as all the accommodation in St Andrews itself was either booked up or stupidly expensive. Anstruther (and the Fife coast) is gorgeous and home to a couple of superb Fish & Chip restaurants (top tip – the Wee Chippy is actually better than the more famous Anstruther Fish Bar). Lots of walking along the Fife Coastal path, lots of fresh strawberries, a couple of jaunts down to Edinburgh (tried Dishoom, which is very very good and up to the hype in my opinion) and eldest boy got a degree. What more could one want ?
Aside from that….
Heard – mostly been playing the new Mono album “Snowdrops” which is superb (regular listeners will know I’m a fan). Both uplifting and melancholic at the same time. Going to see them live here in Singapore next Tuesday. Also loving the new Bruce Soord (Pineapple Thief) album “Ghosts In the Park” and an album from Lunatic Soul – “Transitions II” which is a reworking of a bonus disk from an earlier album
Seen – not that much, but enjoying Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed on Apple TV – it’s one of those that you want to stick with to figure out what’s going on. New season on Silo also on Apple TV – again mainly as I want to find out what’s going on.
Read – mostly dipping into a few books and magazines on flights – enjoyed the Tom Gilbey Wine Book, finally started Bob Mortimers books and a few of the On Track series that are now in ebook form.
RE: Mono “Snowdrop” – this review sums it up perfectly….
https://theprogmind.com/2026/06/19/mono-snowdrop/