Please accept my apologies for the delay in posting – I’ve been in London, for a Memorial Event.
So, at last, please gather round and share your news
Blogger Takeover CXXXVIII
by 42 Comments
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
The film I most enjoyed this month was ‘The Passenger’ (2026), in which a Somali-American shuttle taxi driver illegally gives a troubled young political activist a ride from Minneapolis to Chicago. The political aspect is a bit clumsy, but the thriller aspect is kept interesting thanks to an excellent performance by Kodi Smit-McPhee. He was good in ‘The Power of the Dog’, he’s very good in this.
I liked ‘Colony’ (2026) – another fast-paced Korean zombie film by the director of ‘Train To Busan’. It’s very much more of the same – once again we have lots of frenetic zombies, only this time they’re in a quarantined-off skyscraper rather than on board a train. And this time round they have collective intelligence (“like ants”). It’s somehow not quite as gripping as Train To Busan, but to some extent that might be because Train To Busan came first.
The film I least enjoyed this month was ‘Tony’ (2026). I don’t know much about Anthony Bourdain, but I had the impression he was a bit of a charismatic rebel. Strange then that this biopic is so dull. “Young man who is a bit of a dickhead gets a job in a kitchen” about sums it up. Bourdain is played by Dominic Sessa, who I already disliked from ‘The Holdovers’, cos I thought he looked way too old to play a teenage schoolboy getting told off. In ‘Tony’ he reminded me a bit of the cartoon dog Droopy, with his constant facial expression of hard-done-by petulance.
Since my last takeover, I seem to have been busy.
We’ve had three celebrations: Offspring the Younger turned 21; three days later, Mrs F and I spent the day at a spa near Peterborough, for our 27th wedding anniversary, followed by a four-day weekend at the Norfolk coast; Mrs F turned 60 and we spent a weekend in a posh spa hotel in the Cotswolds.
And, as usual, I organised Physics at Work, an schools outreach STEM event at the university. Unfortunately, due to cock-ups at work, I only had four weeks to plan it instead of six months.
Seen some telly, the usual blue light procedurals.
Read a few books, the best of which by far was Me by Elton John, which I picked up for £1.50 in a Cromer charity shop. What a life story, written in a self-aware and self-deprecating style. I still don’t much like his music, though.
Heard some records, most of which were chazza buys of Shirley Bassey or Frank Sinatra. I did pick up one absolute holy grail, a 1967 mono first pressing of Sgt Pepper in a ripped and torn sleeve, for £1.99. It plays better than expected, apart from one skip at the start of Ringo’s vocal turn. Coming to a community radio show near you soon.
AOB.
I buy a lot of records in charity shops and routinely offer what I hope is constructive criticism when I spot wildly over-priced tat. One recent conversation included “Are you running a fund-raising effort or a vinyl museum? At those prices I am buying one, at sensible prices I’d have bought ten.” It’s a niche skill which I have acquired over years (decades!)
Anyhow, I happened to be walking from the car park to Waitrose when the door of Oxfam (which has been closed for months) opened. So I popped in, said hello, headed straight for the crate on the floor, and the new manager asked “Do you know what they are worth?” So… I have become a volunteer for Oxfam. I spent last Monday mostly putting 99p stickers on hundreds of CDs. I put three crates of LPs out, priced to sell at £1.99 each, and told the manager “anyone who spots a real bargain will offer to pay more”. First customer picked out two Jaqueline de Pré LPs, took them to the counter, and paid £20 for each. “Told you so!” My work here is done…
I’m going back on Monday morning to sticker the massive pile of DVDs and Blu-rays in the back room. At some point I’ll reach equilibrium, and only have to pop in for half an hour to price up the previous week’s donations.
I am very much enjoying semi-retirement. Mrs F is going to pack in work within the next nine months. I might stay on for a year to give her a chance to adjust to the new routine, but tbh I’d be happy to stop now.
Also heard: prompted by buying a couple of dirt-cheap 12″ singles, I’ve been on a bit of a Swing Out Sister binge. Their third and (Family Stone influenced) fourth albums – after the hits but still on a label – are fantastic. They’re still around, which is nice, although I haven’t bought the last couple.
Went to CityFolk here in Ottawa. I go every year it is an absolute bargain at $99 CAD (about 55 quid) for a full festival pass (5 days), I normally go for about 3 nights and that was the case this year. Was at a new venue which was a bit harder to get to for me, but the weather was perfect and I had a great time with a few friends . Wrote about “Sex Pistols” elsewhere, the other main highlight for me was Alabama Shakes, not too familiar with their material but I heard this on the radio when driving to the show, a new track and they played it, actually almost brought me to tears given the state of the world right now
Otherwise, watched the 2nd series of Ludwig, my god that was terrible. I thought the first one was fine, but the plotting, scripts and incidental music made the 2nd one a big disappointment for me. Maybe the first series also wasn’t as good as I thought at the time?
Also did my best 5km parkrun ever as the weather cools down in the inevitable trek towards winter. Work was terrible but I am on vacation now. Hooray!
Completely agree about the second series of Ludwig. Quite liked the first but this was terrible.
After a brutal summer we entered the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, and I found myself in a lachrymose mood. What’s caused this? It’s the end of the holidays, it’s seeing kids dressed in stiff and scratchy new uniforms as they go back to school, it’s Halloween tat in the shops, or worse, Christmas faff and knowing we’re rushing pell-mell into the end of another year.
Heard
Seventh Tree – Goldfrapp
Beautifully bucolic, a dreamy harvest festival of a record.
Read
The most fun we ever had by Claire Lombardo
Marilyn and David Sorensen’s marriage is so perfect, and they are so blissfully happy, that their four daughters see themselves as failures when judging their own lives against it. But of course, no life is perfect, nobody can be happy all of the time. They are judging themselves against a false perception. Funny and touching, infuriating and moving. This drew a physical reaction from me on a couple of occasions – which is a rare occurrence for a book.
Lucy by the Sea and Tell me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
I love Elizabeth Strout’s books – they’re so full of wisdom, grace and empathy. And extra credits for Tell me Everything that features the vinegary presence of Olive Kitteridge.
Seen
The Dog Stars
The tone and the pacing are a bit wonky, granted. And we probably don’t need to see yet another post-apocalypse dystopian nightmare. And one of the scenes seems to have been lifted from a David Lynch tribute film. But I really enjoyed this. Amongst the carnage there are scenes of quiet beauty and at least there’s an attempt to seek meaning when the world has ended.
The Good Place
I had been meandering through the series, sort of half paying attention to it even though I’ve always enjoyed its thoughtful, meditative comedy. Then the clock started ticking as Netflix announced it was leaving. So, I knuckled down and binged my way through it. And I’m so glad I did, because it’s such a silly, funny, insightful and romantic show. I found the closing episodes genuinely moving – I now only have to think of Eleanor’s final words to Chidi to well up.
The Life of Chuck
Based on a Stephen King story – where he’s in more Shawshank mode that The Shining – this is a sort of expanded version of the 12 days of Christine (a favourite episode of Inside Number 9) that riffs on Walt Whitman’s contention that “I contain multitudes”. Must admit the lower lip wobbled on more than one occasion.
Arrested Development
We bailed early in season 5, by which time I was finding the plot incomprehensible, the script incoherent and the acting detached. Such a shame, as the first 3 seasons are weird and wild and extremely funny.
Resident Evil
Something of a palate cleanser after all the angst and ennui. A gruesome, funny horror flick featuring a wonderful turn by Austin Abrams as a grumbling, grouchy, confused protagonist, stumbling from one life threatening moment to the next whilst whining about having wet socks and stupid monsters.
@Marwood Elizabeth Strout is one of the few novelists I’ve encountered in the past twenty years when after the first – My Name Is Lucy Barton – I immediately knew I wanted to read everything she had ever written. I’ve just read her newest, Things We Never Say, which introduces a new cast of characters, though still middle-aged and in Maine. Not her very very best, but still excellent. I now hoard the ones I have still to read, the 2 x Olive Kitteridge and The Burgess Boys on a once a year schedule.
She’s a lovely, lovely writer – her novels are full of characters rich in empathy and wisdom. I too have a special place for Olive Kitteridge, both the character and the novel (although it’s more a collection of short stories, I think).
SEEN
Watched most of season 2 of The Gentleman…utter tosh really, as with a lot of Guy Ritchie stuff, but reasonably fun all the same. This second series has focussed much more on big cartoonish characters rather than actual plot but it just about hangs together enough to be a watch, even if you need to smirk while doing so.
Series 2 of Ludwig (as mentioned before in this thread) was a real disappointment after the very enjoyable if not totally earth shattering first series. Maybe they just rushed it.
HEARD
While “Apples For Isaac,” the new album by Echo And The Bunnymen, isn’t bad at all, it’s always nice to have an album of new tunes by an old fav to listen to, but it does occasionally sound like you imagine an AI version of the band might. It’s pretty much a Mac solo album, as Will Sergeant apparently plays on only 4 of the songs and isn’t involved in the songwriting at all. It’s well documented that Will and Mac don’t get on these days and hardly communicate but when one of the most inventive post-punk guitarists is sidelined to this extent you do wonder what the point of it all is, other than Mac knowing that a solo album under his name wouldn’t have gained even half the attention.
“Underpass Kiss” by Only When I Glow is an album made by some guys from East Kilbride who formed a Postcard influenced band in the mid eighties but only got around to making their debut album this year. You might be fooled for thinking that this might be the musical equivalent of vanity publishing, but you’d be wrong. In fact it’s highly reminiscent of Aztec Camera, Trashcan Sinatras, Lloyd Cole, and is the kind of tuneful and thoughtful pop music that sounds particularly effective in these early days of autumn. Produced by James Grant of Love And Money, this is an album that quite a few here might enjoy.
READ
Nige Tassell’s “Truly Gifted Kids: A Book about Prefab Sprout” is another delightful addition to the Tassell section of my bookshelf. I love his writing, and it’s perfectly suited for what one Amazon review describes “rather than a biography, it’s a collection of moments, memories and observations.” Exactly that. I’d describe myself as a partial Sprout fan, finding some of their catalogue just a bit, well, “much” for me, but the bits I do like, I love. I loved all of this book though.
Marco Pirroni’s “Your Money Or Your Life” is about the guitarist’s punk years and subsequent time with Adam And The Ants. You don’t need to be a huge Ants fan (I loved the first two albums) to thoroughly enjoy this, as it’s a terrific ride through the sudden stratospheric rise of a band who’d been written off. If you liked anything about the pop charts from 79-83 there’s a lot to enjoy here.
AOB
You may want to skip this bit if you’re not part of The Afterword’s Campervan Squad…
We spent two weeks in September travelling in our van around the Scottish Isles, taking in Skye, Ulva, Mull and Iona, Mull probably ending up my favourite. I get that we were contributing to the problem but I have honestly never seen so many campervans in one place as there always seemed to be on Skye and you can certainly see why the locals see it as a mixed blessing. Yes, tourism contributes to the economy and all that, but the traffic was often awful in many of the places and at times we felt like we were almost going round in a convoy. I guess the bridge from Kyle of Lochalshe makes it so accessible. However, I love ferries and it was a relief to get onto Mull and then the smaller islands. All were stunning though, and we’ll just have to gloss over the fact that it rained for 12 days out of the 14!
The west coast of Scotland campervan thing is quite a surprise when you come across it. I cycled Arran, Kintyre and Bute in 2022, and every west facing beach seemed to be lined with them. I don’t begrudge people finding their own way to enjoy themselves on a budget. My only hope is that they do put something back into the local economy by not packing their van in advance at their local supermarket. Us cyclists are known for leaving ‘sticky money’ wherever we travel, ’cause we can’t carry much, so are bound to spend wherever we are.
We do stock up on a few basics before we go, but always try to spend a bit wherever we end up, either through eating out or buying some local produce in butcher’s or other places. When you can buy delicious haggis and lorne sausage it’s even easier!
Seen
A quiet month, with no shows that I can see in my calendar. There were plenty of local events though, including Invasion Colchester (a fundraising cosplay event which takes over the town and is always one of the happiest days of the year), the Rice and Spice festival which takes over the grounds of FirstSite Gallery with exotic music and fantastic food, various events around Open House day including a couple of fascinating guided walks and a backstage tour of the Arts Centre … with so much free stuff going on we didn’t miss shows.
On TV we watched the whole of Monster: the Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix over a couple of days. It’s … it’s very. Very everything. Let’s say they haven’t held back on the gore or allowed the facts to get in the way of the narrative. The new series of Taskmaster is the best in a while. The show stands or falls on the strength of the line up. You can always tell how good it is by the amount of work Greg and Alex have to put in to make up for the weaker series. This one benefits from having an experienced set of comics with new callow newcomers to bring the rest of them down.
Read
I enjoy Alexander MCCall Smith’s Edinburgh set series more than the Number One Ladies books, and the new Scotland Street book The Prime of Bernie Pollock keeps the narrative rolling, though you might want to read the previous 18 rather than diving in here. I had also been looking forward to Rachel Stirling’s All About My Mother, the mother being Diana Rigg of course. Based on some earlier interviews I had expected an element of score settling, but although there was clearly a rivalry they obviously adored each other and the result, while highly entertaining, is more of a hagiography than I thought I would read.
Heard
I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, my the rare and live Richard Thompson CD on the new issue of Uncut really is superb. Grab a copy before it disappears.
AOB
We had a few days in Krakow, a city we have visited before and liked very much. The old town is very touristy, but it’s also beautiful and packed with great bars and cafes (and surprisingly veggie friendly). The museum is superb, many of the churches stunning and the legendary waxworks worth your time too.
For much of the year the future of my role at work has been in doubt due to proposed Local Government Reorganisation. Now LGR here is off the table, at least for now, so it’s business as usual and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. The change would have taken place in 2028 when I will be 61. I had started to ponder whether a nice redundancy payment would have allowed me to retire, or at least a new role in a smaller authority would mean I could go to 3 days a week. The first might not have been possible, but the news still feels like a let down (though obviously it’s a relief to younger colleagues with mortgages to consider). There is other stuff I want to do with my time but the toad work squats on so much of it.
Oh, and on Wednesday I went to the dentist because I have lost a bit of a wisdom tooth and needed it to be prepped for a crown. 90 minutes I was in the chair, and So Much Drilling! An afternoon’s birdwatching today, which I acknowledge is indisputably in October, did much to restore my equilibrium (spoonbills, egrets, cormorants, lapwings and a red kite among the highlights).
Agree on the RT CD. Someone here kindly asked me look after an off-site backup of the CD and it’s a banger.
Continued to bag festival wristbands. I can’t deny that I was beginning to suffer festival fatigue, especially at Bromyard, as I didn’t quite recover from some very early shifts earlier that week. Then, all of a sudden, something cuts through and it’s all joy again. Chris Wood had been at Shrewsbury just a couple of weeks earlier, which was fine and dandy, but somehow his quite different Bromyard set was on another level. A spontaneous standing ovation and some genuine artist/audience warmth ensued. I was also rewarded for keeping an open mind about Olivia Chaney, whose first album left little mark on me. Live, I was impressed.
Durham, I have mentioned in part elsewhere, but again, I was suddenly all in festival fever again. Plenty of solo singers; plenty of solo singers singing in pubs; in particular, lots of me singing in pubs, and that is ever a winning formula for me. I was in my element. Many thanks to @retropath2 for sending me up there.
Finally, the small but perfectly performed Banterfest in Lincolnshire is remarkably well established for a festival with such a short life so far. It has a very loyal audience and they too like a good session; not only did they drink the bar dry, but they like a music session too. It’s a small festival, but in no way a small line up. If I had to choose favourites, it would be the smaller acts, especially Tarren, Jack Rutter and a very intimate and soulful show from Janice Burns and Jon Doran. That all said, I do like a good knees up to Merry Hell and Melrose Quartet.
It’s not all festivals round here, y’know. Jon Anderson and his band of geeky men have been covered elsewhere, and littl’ol Northwich Folk Club hosted John Doyle at the start of the month. Any regular of the Transatlantic Sessions will know that that was fabulous, and all the more for being in a room of fifty or so.
I saw Olivia Chaney earlier this year at one of the Martin Carthy tribute concerts. I went to see her again at the same venue and was greatly impressed. I’d told some friends I was going, they said they’d seen her before and thought “she was full of herself”. I didn’t think that at all.
Odd how friends you know have different views. Another friend had said how brilliant Spooky Men’s Chorale were so I’d looked forward to seeing them at Cropredy I positively hated them and just wanted them to stop. Unfortunately they seemed to go on and on.
@thecheshirecat : have you heard of Malvenn, a French-Canadian trio? Their album Chez Nous would be right up your boulevard.
Have you seen the list of stuff I’ve got to catch up on. Aaaargh!
Banterfest was just up the road from me. Didn’t know it was on – where did you find it! Mind you I loath banter so might have avoided it. 🙂 Your energy levels are to be admired Cat.
Simple answer – the band are my mates!
September felt very long, but not in a bad way.
Read:
My favourite Swedish author (that’s a lie – he’s my favourite author of any nationality) P.C. Jersild released another novel at 91 years old, nine years after his latest (he’s written a few non-fiction titles in between though), and of course I bought it on release day… I was afraid it would be a let down, but of course shouldn’t have worried – the novel Livet som gåva (“Life as a gift”, which is approximately his 50th or so book published) is masterful proof of undiminished literary strength. The first half is autobiographical/biographical about his older brother, who died too early due to badly treated TB; the second half is a fictional version of his brother’s life, as it could have happened if he hadn’t contracted the disease. It’s surprisingly moving and very believable – the life he writes for his brother is very realistic and ordinary, the parts about himself are completely autobiographical, so in the end the reader have forgotten the first part and sees the second half as the truth. He’s successfully gifted his brother the better life he never got. I loved it!
The other big reading experience in September was Whistler by Ann Patchett. A middle-aged woman runs into a former stepfather and they renew their relationship and she unpacks her buried memories from childhood and finds out truths she never knew at the time. Another really moving depiction of a close relationship, and never sentimental (but will bring you to tears many times if you’re anything like me…it brought up a lot of feelings of grief and longing for my dad as I was reading it). Loved the writing, could barely put it down.
Other than those two big ones I quickly read a couple of Swedish books of little significance to you lot…and now I’m (barely) reading two books, neither one truly gripping me.
One is a book about Billy the Kid by French author Éric Vuillard, which is very French.
The other is The Fran Lebowitz Reader, which is quite funny, but so far almost all of the essays are using the same template and it’s starting to rub me the wrong way (but then I end up giggling at some witty turn of phrase anyway, so not a huge point against it…) But it’s a book you can only read in short bursts, so I’m going back and forth between the two books (except when I’m not, because I’m more in the mood for a meaty novel, but can’t choose what to begin next…)
Seen:
The brilliant AFL Grand Final…wow! Best final I can remember seeing in all of the years I’ve been following AFL, and all the better for the incredible surge by the Brisbane Lions at the end, taking the win!
Swedish TV did a (too short) docu series about beloved Swedish songs, which was lots of fun (even when the songs they talked about weren’t personal favourites of mine…which were the majority of them, unfortunately). Interesting backstories and anecdotes from the artists, and many surprising fact revealed – I hope it gets a second series, and with the subject and format it really could run for years and years.
Otherwise the usual YouTube suspects, like catching up with the latest Taskmaster and Celebrity Traitors, and following miniature artists, home renovators, film reactors and booktubers – with the occasional cat- or dog-video and a maximalist house tour when I’m in the mood for those…
Heard:
A ton of CDs bought this month (and a few LPs too, but those are yet unheard) – I’ll save many of them for next month’s review, as a lot of them only arrived this week and haven’t had enough listens yet.
The new album from Dungen is called Vidrig vår (“Loathsome Spring”) and is a separation/divorce album, as far as I can tell, but the final song is a plea to try again, so not sure how that worked out… Anyway – the album is their usual flavour of brilliance; gorgeous melodies, full of the melancholy of Swedish folk music. The lyrics are unusually straightforward for being written by Gustav Ejstes, he’s usually more abstract in his poetry, but these lyrics are quite direct and needs very little interpretation – although you guys will of course need a translation, as all of the lyrics are in Swedish. 🙂
The new – and unfortunately final – Soft Cell album is a really worthy end to their impressive run. On Danceteria we hear Marc Almond sing about sex, drugs and dancefloors in New York in the early 80s, over Dave Ball’s beats, evoking the times but also timeless. I don’t know if it will make them any new fans, but this OG fan is very happy!
A friend introduced me to the music of Mary Coughlan some years ago, via the album Live at the Basement, and I finally got hold of her latest (but not brand new) album Repeat Rewind and listened a lot to it this month. Love her lived-in voice, and her mix of sad and humorous songs. This album also has a gorgeous, sad version of “God Only Knows” which brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it…
I gave up on Lambchop when Kurt Wagner started processing his vocals more and more, so when promised a new album without such things, I revisited to hear Punching The Clown. It’s certainly better than the last couple of albums I bought before bailing out, but still not quite my vibe. Maybe it’ll grow on me.
Taylor Swift surprised with the Encore to TLOAS, four new songs. I like them a lot, at the moment I like “Babylon” best, closely followed by “Pink Clouding” – but all four have at some point taken the lead.
The new album from scandi jazz trio Rymden (=Bugge Wesseltoft, Dan Berglund, Magnus Öström) is called Today May Be Tomorrow and didn’t disappoint. A good mix of melodic and rhythmical delights, at some points almost funky. Probably my favourite of theirs so far!
I’m afraid I gave up on Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend, or at least paused my attempts to like it.
Stay tuned for October’s Blogger Takeover to find out my thoughts on Tove Lo, Julia Holter, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Chaka Khan, Julia Jacklin and Carly Simon (first impression: when did she turn into a slightly Irish-sounding folk singer??) and whatever else I buy this month!
AOB:
We had a wonderful family feast earlier in this month, my siblings and cousins and some of their kids, which went on long into the night and was full of food, anecdotes and laughter. It was originally supposed to include my 98 year old aunt, on her annual visit from Italy, but unfortunately she was temporarily hospitalized with a bad cold (no chances taken at her age…unless you count the flight, getting her passport renewed and voting in the election).
Too bad – she really is very spry for her age otherwise!
My redecorating project is in limbo at the moment, due to a change of dates for some work to the sewage pipes in my building. Was supposed to get done this week, but was suddenly aborted for non-specified reasons. Highly annoying.
Got to see my new diabetes doctor this week, and she was the best one I’ve had so far, so that’s a huge plus! Also, my stats were excellent, and I got to switch a prescription that didn’t work for me, so unusually didn’t leave the appointment annoyed, for once.
Will officially inaugurate autumn tomorrow by cooking a nice beef bourguignon (with added root vegetables) and a blueberry pie – despite the weather this week being very warm, but you have to start leaning into fall at some point, and I have a slight cold; which is all the excuse I need! 😀
I can’t class myself as a big Lambchop fan by any stretch, but I think this latest album is really wonderful & will definitely grow on you @locust.
The opening track (see below) is simply stunning for anyone else who is curious
Thanks to a mention by @salwarpe in a previous Takeover, MrsBJB and I caught up with the travelling Yayoi Kusama retrospective exhibition in the Stedelijk Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago. My first visit to Amsterdam and I found it charming – we will visit again. One of Mrs BJB’s nieces had lived in the city for several years – so we had quite a few recommendations, that were taken up when-and-if we wandered passed them on our random perambulations. The exhibition itself was very entertaining and took on some poignancy after Kusama’s death a few weeks before the visit.
In terms of listening, the only thing new (well to me anyway) I listened to was the latest Melody’s Echo Chamber LP Unclouded – which was released >8 months ago anyway. More of the same Gallic neo-psychedelia with a bit Yé-yé.
I saw King Lear for the first time. Ian McDiarmid, aka Emperor Palpatine, was the main draw for the production at The Crucible. Given that he is in his 80s – and a age appropriate Lear- he gave a real physical tour-de-force. As I didn’t know that much about the play – apart from the basic arc and the “Blow wind…” soliloquy I was a pulled up by the brutality of some of it! TBH, McDiarmid kinda blew a lot of the rest of cast off the stage.
A confession: reading a review of The Husbands by Holly Gramazio I was intrigued by its set up and I thought I ordered a pre-read copy off AbeBooks, only to realize I had bought The Husbands by US-author Chandler Baker, duh, which proved to be a Stepford Husbands/Get Out knock-off, entertaining enough nonetheless. Currently reading The Sage of Science by Andrew Brown. It is about J D Bernal. I could see someone like Paul Thomas Anderson do a movie based on his life. He was a brilliant in science, but also got involved in key events in WW2, as well as political intrigue, Marxism and unconventional shack-ups and shagging around. An eventful life, but now a bit of a forgotten figure.
I started watching The Flash, as I noticed there is about 7 series on Amazon. I am hooked and enjoying the first series at least, it is proper comic book entertainment. Also, as I had done The Detectorists, as a relaxing pre-bedtime watch I am working my way back through This Country.
Oh I also saw The Lost Words on their In Thin Air tour. Musical accompanied by Jackie Morris doing live drawings. A bit of a Folk super-group that were reminiscent of Clannad at times.
Read
The new Shadows biog by Bob Stanley is excellent – just the right blend of research, affection, humour and respect to the protagonists of this (to me) surprisingly eventful story that goes way beyond Apache. Even changed my view of pantomime dame Cliff.
Paris In Ruins
Brilliant, vivid account of the siege of Paris in 1870-1871 and how Manet, Morisot and Degas emerged against the shitstorm with this newfangled “Impressionsism” painting. Really enjoyed this
The Siege
I had listened to the audiobook of this account of the 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy in London a few years ago but found the book in a box when moving and picked it up again. Written with meticulous detail and beautifully coloured and paced this is absolutely gripping and poignant. You end up feeling a sense of pity and despair at the idiots who carried out the attack and invested in each of the wonderfully drawn hostages and SAS men who stormed the building.
Seen
Nothing special, some Netflix series – College Friends with Keegan Michael-Key is pretty good, as was the similar one with Tina Fey.
Heard
New Joy Division box set Eternal is fantastic. Much better quality than I had hoped for and enjoying listening to their live evolution over their brief lifespan. There are some gigs that sound monumental – the Factory,. Hope and Anchor, Bains Douches etc,. And the DVDs are pretty good too.
Einsturzende Neubauten – Ende Neu
I saw EN live for the first time in Berlin last month and it was one of those gigs that send you home feeling totally ecstatic. Prompted by the final song ‘Stella Maris’, a gorgeous duet with their new bassist, I bought a copy of Ende Neu from 1996 which is absolutely wonderful
The Shadows – Sound of The Shadows/Greatest Hits
I’d never taken the Shads seriously until I read Bob Stanley’s new book (above). Since reading, I dug out these two lovely old Columbia LPs from deep in the collection and have been playing them daily much to the distress of my other half
The Police – Ghost In The Machine
For some reason I listened to this the other week and really dug it. Def my favourite Police album now. Brilliant production, tight punchy tunes, amazing playing.
Arooj Aftab – Vulture Prince
This passed me by when it came out some years back but it’s sublime – Urdu ghazals with drifting, languorous tunes and evocative production.
“Paris in ruins” sound good – I had a bit of a deep dive on the Franco Prussian war last year – hardly anyone knows about it (I didn’t before then) but it effectively set up modern Europe. Fascinating.
Yes, absolutely worth investigating. I’d always understood Impressionism purely within an art historical context, a sort of punk against the prog excesses of the Salon, academic painting etc but here, it gets woven into the wider situation, the Franco-Prussian War, siege of Paris and the grisly suppression of the Commune. Really fascinating read.
Well my splurge at Chalky’s, mentioned in an earlier post, is trickling in, day by day, as pre-releases become releases. And, on the basis of the half dozen received so far, I can wholeheartedly endorse their delivery charge free service as an alternative to the one breasted titan. I will still tend to Bandcamp for most releases, but these purchases were artists who tend less often to feature there.
Briefly, these are the ones that have arrived: Agnes Obel/The Meaning of Flowers – su-bloody-perb, Ezra Collective/Here Because of Hope – terrific, Teenage Fanclub/Do Not Dare to Dream – fair to middling, so far, but these are typically cosy songs to slowly leech in, Kristin Hersh/Sugar on Blackstone- another slow burner, needing more immersions. 1 absolute stonker, tho, up with her best, Meshell N’degeocello/Synonym -baffling and yet beautiful, a very odd mix of songs covered, with varying success, even with some cringeworthy duds it’s a flawed masterpiece, the Mary Wallopers/Paddywhackery – as hoped, they have hauleded back from the rent-a-riot paddy on the black stuff, producing a solid set.
Elsewhere I have greatly enjoyed the new Martin Simpson/Some Kind of Jubilee, Mary Gauthier’s Reckoning may well be her best for a while and the new Tubs release, their 3rd, Hard Life is as grand as expected. Mentioned in dispatches would include Stamina Island/Shooglenifty, Ibibio Sound System/Chopping Island and Arab Strap/Half Told Tales, as being al up to the standard expected if, ultimately, more of the same. (Wil all still likely make my 2026 AOTY, mind.
Life has been on a low simmer, with a much looked forward holiday, to Somerset, aborting on arrival. Literally, as the comparison between the advertised property and the reality was zilch. So a wasted 3 hour drive each way, but we got our money back. Try again this month, elsewhere…..
No live music, as we were supposed to be away for the core of the month.
Not much to report. Enjoyed the new Mary Gauthier and Israel Nash’s reimagining of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, already reviewed earlier.
I’ve been listening to the 2-CD version of Rubber Soul over the weekend. The Giles Martin remix sounds pretty good to me. So crisp and clear it could have been recorded yesterday. The extra CD of offcuts is pretty non-essential, heavy on instrumentals and redolent of barrel scrapings. It’s the kind of thing that’s likely to be played only once, but hey, it’s the Fabs so what’s not to like!
Seen for the third time this year Richard Thompson this time at Aysgarth Church, I particularly enjoyed the bat flying overhead in the interval and partly through the second half.
The Grand Slambovian Circus of Dreams at Pocklington always an enjoyable evening.
The Wilco play at York Theatre Royal I enjoyed it though I know some have misgivings.
Watched Series 3 of Colin from Accounts wonderful so I rewatched the other two series. The Marble Hall Murders I’d read the book and looked forward to this and it didn’t disappoin unlike Ludwig in which there didn’t seem to be much tension.
Read: Hepworth’s Hope I Get Old before I Die, a book about Kate Bush and another about Steve Marriot (I can imagine him being hard work to live with and be a member of a band with him)
Not much else.
September … a new season, a new start
(although this new start has been delayed by hectic work life and constant cold, flu, and other illness).
Aware that I missed a report last month, so some of this content may have happened in August
Heard:
* Paul Heaton – Jenius. Another welcome addition to the Heaton cannon, maybe not as essentail as previous but a darn good listen in a non-offensive way.
* Steve Marriott compilation – runs from Artful Dodger, through Small Faces, Humble Pie, Packet Of Three, and finishes with possibly the greatest reading of Stay With Me Baby committed to CD (what a set of pipes that man had!)
* Scene 26 – Mod compilation from Heavy Soul records featuring current bands ploughing the furrow. Damn good listen, and hope to be seeing Sharp Class later this year.
* Stiff Little Fingers – Nobodys Heroes, 4 CD box set including original album, singles, b-sides, Radio 1 sessions, and a Dutch Radio Live Broadcast. There may only be 500 (apparently) but I’ve got one of them
Seen
* What is it with second series – neither Ludwig or The Gentleman were as goof as the first series of each.
I do get the feeling each will have a series 3 though
* Trigger Point – harmless drama about bomb disposal officers working through their issues and therapy whilst trying to disarm a Nuclear Weapon at the London Stadium
* Becoming Led Zeppelin arrived o Netflix – Good film about the early years with no and unheard past interviews. I have the thought there will be 2 more in the series: Being Led Zep and After Led Zep
* Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer – documentary following Paul Di’Anno through surgery and meeting up with Iron Maiden members one last time. Tells the story from early days, leaving Maiden, attempts at staying in spotlight, and his declining health – honest film, but one comes away seeing that he is his own worst enemy
Read:
All or Nothing: The Authorised Story of Steve Marriott – may well be the same one as hubert above, but agree that was the tone – loveable rogue, but hard work to be with
That’s the one Steve Marriott, library book which I’ve returned.
Just remembered I watched the new series of Bookish which passed* the watch test.
* Just for @retropath2
Seen: A very quiet year and then two gigs in two days! From two people that will feature highly in my end-of-year album list.
First Joe Jackson in Cork City Hall. I last saw Joe and his band in Dolan’s, Limerick ten years ago – this was the same excellent band, Graham Maby, Teddy Kumpel and Doug Yowell with the addition of an amazing percussionist from Costa Rica – Felipe Fournier who has so much energy he does the work of two men or more. The setlist included most of the well-known songs with a few lesser-known like ‘Target’ from Night And Day (which featured Felipe hitting a lot of things very hard to great effect), ‘My House’ from Laughter and Lust and the title track from ‘Fool’. The excellent new album was well represented and the new songs benefitted from a live setting. It was great to hear YCGWYW(TYKWYW) played with gusto. Joe was a little under the weather with a cold but soldiered on in a curmudgeonly fashion and complained of poor sound but from where I was sitting the sound was very clear. A surreal moment during ‘End Of The Pier’ when the PA died but the performers in-ear monitors did not, so we saw a band finish the song in almost complete silence thinking that all was well. When informed of the problem, JJ counted the band in and they reprised the song from the point where the PA went silent, culminating in a standing ovation for a song most of the audience had just heard for the first time. A nice piece of live music theatre,
Two days later and back in my favourite venue, Dolan’s of Limerick to see the fantastic Katherine Priddy. First up was support Darragh O’Dea who I had not heard of before. I was struck by his performance, helped out by his friend David Clancy. His songs are well worth exploring and his lyrics are very interesting. One to look out for I think. Then Katherine took the stage and her solo performance with just one acoustic guitar was spell-binding and beautiful. I’m familiar with a lot of her stuff but it was lovely to hear her between-song patter explaining the stories and feelings behind those songs. Her latest album has a lot of instrumentation but the songs all worked perfectly well with the basic arrangement. It was truly remarkable and she was so gracious afterwards when I spoke with her. I also spoke with Maw and Paw Priddy who were in attendance and are as nice as you would expect.
Read: Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe.
A very well written book detailing the history of the Price sisters who became IRA volunteers as young women and participated in some of the significant events during what we call The Troubles, The book focuses especially on the abduction and murder of Jean McConville, one of the darkest incidents in those decades of dark incidents and comes to a startling conclusion about her final moments. Not many people emerge from this story with much honour or dignity, exceptions being Mrs. McConville’s ten children – left to fend for themselves when their mother was taken away one night. Those of us who lived through the Seventies and Eighties with daily atrocities on the news bulletins will recognise the names and the author puts events and places into context and a cohesive timeline.
Currently reading All The Broken Places by John Boyne. A sequel to his big-seller The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. Set in post-war France, Australia and present-day London, one of the characters looks back through the years and how the events of the first book have impacted on her life. I really like his books. The Heart’s Invisible Furies is one of my favourite books and his recent ‘Elements’ collection is a great, if uncomfortable, read
Watched: Furious on Disney +. Mostly because it featured Lola Peticrew, who played the young Dolours Price in the TV adaptation of Say Nothing. She is very good in this as well as a very good ensemble cast. Quincy Tyler Bernstine is particularly good bringing some of the darkest of dark comedy to a series that addresses some difficult themes.
Heard: A lot. But two standouts are the live albums from The Specials and The Go-Betweens. Phoebe Bridgers and Billy Strings sound pretty good as well.
AOB: A quick visit to London saw myself and two daughters catching a performance of ‘As You Like It’ in The Globe. A lot of fun, even though we only had the vaguest of ideas of the story when going in. The actors were having a whale of a time hamming it up.
I saw Joe Jackson at the London Palladium last night. He was still a bit poorly but it was an outstanding gig and Felipe Fournier really added a lot to the sound.
I’m about halfway through David Kynaston’s latest installment in his Tales of a New Jerusalem series. This one is called Deep into the Sixties and it covers 1965-66. Fascinating, makes history almost 3D courtesy of his multi-faceted approach. In terms of listening I really liked Ronnie D’addario’s album ‘Written by’ and the Elvis Costello 49th anniversary of My Aim is True box. I also liked the Waterboys’ Atlantic Rain box (although the versions of Sgt Pepper will probably not be visited again). I’m looking forward to the Peter Hammill album Tears in Time but it hasn’t arrived yet!
I’ve not added anything to these threads for some time, but have been enjoying seeing everyone else recs – some truly great ones these last few months thank you.
For me in Sept;
Heard
The new Carly Rae Jepsen album Day and Night is very good, but at 24 songs is possibly a little too long, even for me an avid fan. However, it is getting better with each listen & the gems are slowly being revealed. I really adore her songs which are her & an acoustic. Go Find Yourself Or Whatever from her last album was special & it seems like Wild Child of this latest offering is of the same ilk.
Keeping up on the Pop side of things, the new Tove Lo album Esterus is 32mins of pure pop. A great listen that I keep going back to.
As Locust mentions above, Lambchop have a new album out called Punching The Clown & I am really taken with it. I’ve shared the opening track above & it is lovely. The choir is used sparingly but very effectively
I recently read the Tricky autobiography so have been on a rediscovery mission. When he is good he is something else.
Seen
The only thing we really watched was the last series of Colin From Accounts & after we finished it we went back to the start & rewatched the lot. Some excellent writing & memorable scenes still held up.
Read
I am usually quite positive about things & don’t dislike a great deal….. Enter the new book by Jon Ronson ‘The Castle’ which was the biggest pile of horsehit of I have read in a long time. The last 50 pages or so of this were amongst the worst i have read. I should note I have enjoyed all of his other books, but this one was awful. Not sure how he managed to type this up whilst being so far up his own jacksie! Everything about this doesn’t seem to ring true & his take on the ‘man crisis’ is a bit odd.
The other side of the scale was Hell Is Round The Corner by Tricky. It has made me relisten to his albums with False Idols from 2013 really shining.
I could have added the Jon Ronson tom my list, but also was hardly a fan of it. The stated premise – investigating men who lack purpose because they find the rules have changed so they lack economic usefulness – is pretty much entirely turned over in favour of a rich (and dangerous) eccentric, and then shoehorns in a lengthy section on Graham Linehan, before returning to the man with the castle and fizzling out without reaching a conclusion to that thread either. It’s all over the place.
A really busy month – from 4th to 21st September we visited the 5 Stans in Central Asia. It was gruelling at times but we met some fantastic people, visited some great places and there were many times where my faith in humanity was restored such was the kindness of strangers.
Despite all this I am pleased to catch up here as I missed the previous two months:
SEEN:
Saw Waterboys at Glasgow Hydro. Fabulous gig made better by the return of Steve Wickham and a great showing by Steve Earle who was present for the whole of the second set. He could potentially be a great addition to the band if they wanted to take it further. Sadly the sound at the Hydro is a bag of shite and doubt I will see another gig there.
I was really taken with the film Sunny Dancer – a big hearted feel good film with a magnificent performance by Bella Ramsey. She has a bright future.
I have long wanted to see Hadestown but the West end pricing was frankly prohibitive. I was therefore really pleased that there was a youth performance at Lichfield Garrick. Let me tell you it was sensational. Young actors giving it there all and emotionally drained at the end such was their intensity. Marvellous.
Watching East of Eden currently on Netflix which I am enjoing very much.A bit darker than I recall the book being.
The Split UP was also compulsive viewing which ended with you wanting more rather than the current trend of many series outstaying their welcome.
HEARD: Lots
Mary Gauthier – Reckoning. She has never released a duff album and this is up there with her best.
Beck – Ride Lonesome. His best since Sea Change
Buddy Miller -Fantastic, first album for a while. I love his version of Don’t look back.
Bonnie Prince Billy – Ghosts of American Psychnauts, continuing his purple patch.
Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts – Second Song – big improvement on some recent releases.
Dexys Midnight Runners – Love. Gonna take a few listens. His voice sounds too processed.
Westside Cowboy – It goes on – Stupendous debut album.
The Jayhawks – Sanctuary Park – always nice to get new Jayhawks. Some lovely melodies.
Paul Heaton – Jenius. Requires more plays, some standouts, some that haven’t shown themselves yet. Looking forward to his gig next month.
Agnes Obel – The meaning of flowers – love this – great sound – possibly her best. Will be in my year end best of.
READ:
The Mags mainly and shout out to Uncut for the RT cd. Brilliant.
Tried reading Polly Samson – A theatre for dreamers – her prose started to grate on me and gave up about 100 pages in. Might try again – we will see.
So, where do y’all get the Mary Gauthier? I ordered the vinyl from amazon with a mid September release, pushed back to early October….now, not in stock. HMV gives it a 25 November release date.
Don’t know about the vinyl but have had on cd for a couple of weeks now.
Have a duplicate copy if you DM me I will gladly post up to you
Thanks for the offer Steve….very kind of you, but I will pass, thanks. I am only interested in vinyl these days, unless there’s no option.
It’s been quite a month, what with one thing and another.
I retired on September 3rd, lovely send-off from my colleagues, and so far I have tried to take up a new hobby – relaxing. I’m not sure that I have entirely got the hang of it yet, but I am enjoying it.
We had a fabulous week in Porto – great weather, great food, lovely beaches, excellent wines and ports and gins, lots of interesting nooks and crannies to investigate.
To keep myself occupied during the early days, I went through the LP collection and added them all to discogs. This led me to gather a number of records which have completed their duty in my collection and are now off to pastures new. I also have one Kallax box full of records that I realised that I need to play again, soon, and I have been making my joyful way through that. I have managed to start most days with an LP, listened to in peace and quiet, on the sofa, not on the PC.
Standout LPs from that listening run :
Charles Mingus – Mingus Ah Um
Eric Dolphy – Out To Lunch
Various Artists – The World Is A Cafeteria (Cairo Records) – rare soul, including a spellbinding version of “Nothing Compares To You” by Jimmy Scott
Portishead – Roseland NYC Live
Gil Scott-Heron – Free Will
Betty Lavette – Let Me Down Easy In Memphis
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme, Live in Seattle – a wilder take on the classic, with the addition of Pharaoh Sanders on Tenor, Carlos Ward on Alto, and Donald Rafael Garrett on Bass to the core Quartet – McCoy Tyner on Piano, Jimmy Garrison on Bass and the maestro Elvin Jones on Drums
Various Artists – Little Bangers from Richard Hawley’s Jukebox, Volume 2
Don Cherry – Om Shanti Om
Arooj Aftab – Night Reign
The Primevals played in London as part of a Celebration of the fashion designer and all round force of nature, Pam Hogg, who was a friend of ours. This was held in the Rio Cinema in Hackney, and was a suitable celebration of a wonderful person. We then had a day off, pottering around guitar shops and record shops before some afternoon beers in The Coach and Horses, 43 years on from the first time we played in London (at Dingwalls – which Pam Hogg filmed on Super 8, and we found out when talking to her collaborator Rick Elgood at the event that he thinks that film is in the archive!).
That Jimmy Scott Nothing Compares 2 U is one of my all time favourite covers. It also on his album Holding Back the Years, including also that song. Seeing as you are in touch with Discogs……
https://www.discogs.com/master/306227-Jimmy-Scott-Holding-Back-The-Years