As we roll gently out of lockdown, please gather round the firepit and tell us what you have been reading, watching, listening to, and – if you feel like it – what has kept you going through lockdown ?
How are we all doing ?
Musings on the byways of popular culture
As we roll gently out of lockdown, please gather round the firepit and tell us what you have been reading, watching, listening to, and – if you feel like it – what has kept you going through lockdown ?
How are we all doing ?
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Doing well, Hombre – I hope you are also. Here in Ireland we are a few weeks (or more) behind the UK in administering vaccinations, but this week I was eligible to register for my first one – so probably during this month I’ll be jabbed. No hurry, restrictions are no bother really.
Music – From 2021 I’m getting familiar with Steve Earle’s J.T. album, and the new ones from Cathal Coughlan and Julian Baker – liking them so far…
Nothing new in TV – I’m way behind everyone else as usual and I’m trying to catch up with the series you’ve all been watching over the past few years, so I’m about to finish Line of Duty 5 and in the middle of Killing Eve 2. I’m finding Snowpiercer on Netflix absolutely preposterous but very entertaining. And my daughter’s boyfriend convinced me to start watching ‘Drive to Survive’ on Netflix – I have avoided anything to do with F1 for the entirety of my life but this series is gripping I must admit.
Reading – I’ve slowed down a lot in recent years but I haven’t stopped buying books – I think Trump and Brexit took too much of my attention so I’m trying to get back to regular reading. Recently finished the most recent Kate Atkinson ‘Jackson Brodie’ novel to ease my way in…hopefully I’ll keep it up.
Another fan of “Drive To Survive” here. Just finished series 3 – not up to the previous ones, but the pandemic did rather cut across things. Netflix have done a first class job of showing the personalities within the sport. There’s a sense that the teams were a little more guarded after the first series, but it’s success managed to get Mercedes and Ferrari to climb off their pedestal and get involved.
Lots to be positive about now here in Ireland, thanks.
Reading
Just finished Dylan Jones’ ‘The Eighties – 1 day, 1 decade’. It traces 80s music and culture using Live Aid as its central focus. I liked it but thought it got a bit drawn out towards the end. Just started reading the Pete Paphides book. I know very little about him but already enjoying it immensely.
Watching
Working our way through Six Feet Under. An absolute gem of a series and very bingeable. Highly recommended if you haven’t seen it already. Next up will be Line Of Duty. And Inside No. 9 starts again next week!! With lockdown soon to become a thing of the past we might just get back to more normal viewing habits, if I can even remember what that is.
Listening
Listened to a couple of Troy Deeney’s podcasts which are decent enough. Lots of mutual respect between him and Elton John. I really don’t listen to enough music these days. I still work from home but find music too distracting while working. Still catching up on old DB afternoon shows from BBC London (up to 2006 at the moment). They are timeless in a way as there’s rarely anything to do with current affairs. On my walks/jogs I’ve been listening again to the old Baker &Kelly shows from around 1998. It all seems a little bit laddish now but still some of the best radio ever.
The Pete Paphodes book is fabulous. And agree on SFU – an outstanding drama series.
Pete Paphides is the guest on the latest Back To Now podcast.
Read:
Finally finished Obama’s 700 page memoir from which I feel I learned very little that was new. I’d already seen a pretty good documentary on his struggle and failure to get legislation through, among other things about his presidency. What he writes about I already knew really. He played it a bit safe in this book. I won’t get the next volume.
Also On Earth We Are Briefly Glorious. Some great writing here and there but must every moment be filled with such import and profundity? Too many sentences that seem to say look at the sheer poetry of what I present to you. It feels a bit like it could be an arty indie movie or series. Glad to get to the end.
Half way through Piranesi now which takes place in an imaginary world somehow related to the ‘actual’ world, a bit like a Marukami tale. Also a bit Kafkaesque you could say. It’s bulding nicely. Enjoying it a lot.
Heard:
Enjoying the new King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard album LW. Psychedelic, garage band boogie groove. Also Lana’s new one is rather special. Shorter than Norman Rockwell and more gentle. Crooked Machine is remixes and more, from Roisin Murphy’s Roisin Machine superb album of last year. A more ‘now’ sounding version. Sounds great though.
Watched:
We are 4 episodes into Mare of Easttown which is a police murder story with Kate Winslet as the main character. She makes it rise above the good but familiar type series that I suppose it is.
The Serpent was good. Series based on real events have the benefit of being more unexpected and unpredictable.
We are watching The Handmaid’s Tale new season. Also a case where the lead makes it watchable. It’s become just another kind of dystopia, sci-fi, life during wartime affair. They are on the run, will they get caught, will they escape, how will they survive? They could make this go on forever. It’s gripping but kind of frustrating too.
Kate Winslet is absolutely brilliant in Mare of Easttown. We’re watching it one episode a week – maybe everybody is – but that’s perfect because it’s so dense and involving bingeing on it would probably send you over the edge.
Yes it’s one episode per week on HBO Nordic which is where we watch it. Having seen a few more I now share your high opinion of the whole thing. We recently also watched Mildred Pierce which also features Winslett and Guy Pearce as her life interest. Also excellent, Winslett also superb. She’s heroically pissed off as Mare though.
SEEN
The Painted Bird.
I first came across The Painted Bird after hearing Siouxsie out of Siouxsie and the Banshees talking about the novel that inspired their song of the same name, on ‘A Kiss in the Dreamhouse’. I bought the novel, by Jerzy Kosinski (who also wrote Being There) and I vaguely remember liking it at the time, but I must reread it. I had such a vague recollection of the book that I didn’t watch the film with any preconceived notions. And I was blown away. Absolutely stunning. The best movie I’ve seen since Boyhood.
IMDB plot summary: “A young Jewish boy somewhere in Eastern Europe seeks refuge during World War II where he encounters many different characters.” Many different characters indeed – mostly rapists and murderers. The title comes from a character who paints a bird’s feathers then lets it loose among its flock, who soon attack it.
A black and white film, it has a few other things in common with Schindler’s List, not least the fact that even in the most harrowing and sickening scenes every frame is captivatingly beautiful to look at.
Shot very self-consciously in an Eastern European arthouse cinema style, it’s a homage that occasionally risks veering into the sort of minimal-dialogue intensity that Woody Allen might mock, and the appearance of some famous faces – Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands, Barry Pepper and Stellan Skarsgård (all dubbed into Interslavic ) jars enormously, only serving to highlight how contrived the homage is. It’s a shame that the director chose to use them. Yet, despite its flaws, I still say it’s a 5-star masterpiece.
Unfriended – The Dark Web. I really enjoyed this movie. I didn’t want it to end I was so enthralled by its format. It’s about a group of young adults chatting via Skype, one of them using a stolen computer belonging to a very evil and powerful organisation. Via the computer the organisation infiltrates into their lives in extremely nasty ways. I watched it on my Macbook (Amazon Prime), which is definitely the best way to see it, as the entire movie is just the main chap’s Macbook screen, complete with YouTube videos, Facebook notifications, Facetime calls, Wikipedia research etc etc. I had to pause the video regularly to read all the text messages that were coming up and to check the notifications were on the film and not my computer! Great fun!
At a friend’s insistence I also found myself watching Godzilla vs Kong. Based loosely, I’m told, on a William Wordsworth poem of the same name, it’s somewhat reminiscent of Derek Jarman’s ‘Blue’ in its total eschewal of plot, relying instead on a heady combination of computer generated imagery and CGI. If, like me, you’re fond of watching monkeys headbutt newts, you’ll adore it. And with a running time of what seems like several hours it allows ample opportunity for a relaxing nap. I can’t remember who wins.
READ
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry.
I read this after reading Locust and KFD’s recommendations. Beautifully written. The lyrical beauty of Barry’s language reminded me a little of John Williams’ Stoner, though the story was very different. Did you read the sequel @Locust or @Kaisfatdad? I’m tempted after reading the first chapter at the end of this one.
I also re-read A History of the World in 10-and-a-half Chapters by Julian Barnes. A collection of short stories with linking themes and threads (most notably Noah’s Ark). Most of the stories I’d describe as “quite good”, so that’s nice.
Heard
Nothing, I’m deaf you fool. Actually I exaggerate, I’m not totes deaf yet and I look forward to giving Marianne Faithfull’s new album a spin.
Days Without End is in among the pile of books I’ve got at home – I might move it up towards the top…
Days Without End is magificent, and Sebastian Barry one of the finest novelists on the planet (at least of those I have read). A Thousand Moons isn’t quite as good I don’t think, but still very enjoyable and moving – definitely worth a read by anyone who liked Days Without End.
Yes, don’t expect it to be as brilliant, and you’ll probably enjoy it more. It’s good, but parts of it feels a bit forced, like he’s actively trying very hard to capture the same lightning in the same bottle. I’d probably like it much better if I reread it now, without the ridiculously high expectations!
For that Godzilla v Kong comment you win the afterword so far this year.
Plodding along in semi-rural Lancs, staying close to home. Over lockdown my walking & running mileage has been more than half of my car mileage. We both got our 2nd vaccination last week which feels good. Looking forward to meeting up with my bandmates soon to restart our weekly practice / chatfest
Heard: I had a great Bandcamp Friday in April, bought 5 and all good. Two in particular are corkers: firstly Sturgill Simpson’s Cuttin’ Grass Vol 2, mostly songs from his 2016 album A Sailors Guide to Earth. The original versions were recorded in a country-soul style but these new versions are performed in bluegrass style with a bunch of top-notch sessioneers including my favourite mandolinist Sierra Hull. The whole album is a delight
The other is my current album of the year; Plastic Bouquet by Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams. 11 tracks, 29 minutes of country duet heaven. K&C are Canadian cousins, and Marlon is a New Zealand based singer-songwriter. He heard their recent album Strange Country and approached them to do a collaboration. He & Kacy produced it and wrote all the songs. She has a very distinctive voice which reminds me of someone but I just can put my finger on it. Marlon’s Roy Orbison style crooning is a perfect match. The whole thing sounds like it was recorded in 1950’s Nashville and Clayton’s retro guitar styles and tones are the icing on the cake. It’s all on Youtube. But as an example try Old Fashioned Man and swoon over the key change that heralds Marlon’s “Answer” vocal, with the rimshots and the little chicken-pickin’ pedal steel
Are you tempted by any of the gigs as the Met opens up? I’ve booked my first, but it’s not til October – Karine Polwart.
I’m not overly bothered at the imminent 2-shows a night, cabaret seating gigs. As it happens I booked Belshazzar’s Feast to appear at our Folk club in September so don’t need to rush to see them at the Met. I have tickets for Eddi Reader in September, postponed from last year, also John Smith and Chuck Prophet next Spring, both now 2 years after original dates. One of my fave bands Della Mae are touring in Sept but it looks like they are playing at standing-only venues
We’re booked on the Fairport Convention Danube cruise in late Sept / early Oct which we got as a result of their 2020 Rhine cruise being cancelled. I wouldn’t currently give this one more than 50/50 chance of going ahead
Which is your club?
Folk At The Barlow. Based in Edgworth, formerly known as Bromley Cross Folk Club. I volunteered to be the Booker for 2021, had the whole thing wrapped by the end of Jan 2020. Didn’t work out so well! Luckily we’ve been able to get Zoom replacements for all the cancelled gigs. We’re hoping to go live in July
Yes, we’ve been doing Zoomed guest artists most weeks for the last year. We’ve got Martin Carthy this Friday.
I’ve seen a few interesting things that have nearly tempted me to the Barlow over the last few years, but never quite made it. Can’t quite get a last train home across town.
Another fan of plastic bouquet here.
The best two things this month have been cricket on Saturday afternoons and libraries reopening. The take up for the latter is definitely down (often non-existent) which means twice a week I have the run of the old newspapers in a basement… a major result.
Saw the local landlord the other day – He, “How are you feeling?” Me, “Thirsty.” However, I have no intention of going anywhere near a pub on 17th May or, but for very rare and well researched exceptions, anytime else this summer.
Reading: Local newspapers c. 1950-53. An obvious thing to say, but the Coronation was “massive.” More than I ever imagined. Found out that one of the elders of the village won a junior obstacle race on a sports’ day held at the time.
Getting rid: Paul Morley’s embracing of Dylan and the need to go into town twice a week means I’ve been offloading stuff (at last), great feeling, 108 books and mags, 49 CDs so far. Going to keep at it and then, point blank, ask people who were born between about 1938 and 1949 if they’ve got any records. I know what a release getting rid of stuff is and I’d be offering them that same satisfaction. We should all be public spirited at this difficult time.
Music: Very infrequently I’ll listen to a Doors album, otherwise all Rock ‘n’ Roll… Alexa for Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Gene Vincent (not compilations) the CD player for Rockabilly, Dot, Sun, Combo, Meteor compilations. My top 10 albums posted about this time last year on this site would now be very different. I’d keep an early Beatles’ album, one by the Doors, Marva Whitney, and the other seven would all be pre-Love Me Do.
Wha … where did that month go?
First of the month = Mrs D’s Birthday
Last of the Month = Wedding Anniversary
Some stuff happened in between.
Seen
The Syndicate – entertaining in a “gentle, don’t want to try too hard way”
Line Of Duty – like most of the country, slightly disappointed by the abrupt way it came to an end. Looks like there’s going to be another round – there were enough loose ends left over
(and may be not filming in the middle of a pandemic might help the story twists of the past”
And the return of Alan Partridge is a good thing (if only keeping Mrs Brown’s Boys off the screen)
YouTube stream for 40th Anniversary of Go For It with Jake Burns and Ali McMordie – presented by Ronan MacManus (aka Elvis Costello’s brother)
Seen … lot’s of things, but can’t really remember much
Read
Stephen Morris – Record Play Pause. It’s almost like he knows he’s a bit boring, but it is written in a really conversational style with little asides throughout.
Redux comparison to band mates: He doesn’t take himself too seriously (Barney), there’s a bit more going on the Booze and lines (Hooky), and he actually says something (Gillian)
Heard
Filled the AC/DC gaps (why did it take so long, and do I really need a copy of Rock or Bust for any other reason than completeness).
Is it wrong to suggest 1983s Genesis is their best album?
May have found Album Of The Year with The Coral – Coral Island. A double album that is shorter than some single albums I own.
Re 1983 Genesis – it’s certainly one of their best side ones – Mama/That’s All/Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea is a fabulous run of tracks. The second side dips a bit, but I agree that it’s still one of their stronger albums (says the man who puts SEBTP as their best)
Heard
Eight years ago, James Robertson wrote a short story each day of the year. In echoes of Jon Boden’s ‘Folk Song a Day’, Aidan o’Rourke responded with writing a tune for each of these stories. Thirty of these have ended up on The Best of 365. These are snippets, inconsequential perhaps, but the creator of many of Lau’s most melodic flourishes is always worth a listen
Read
I’ve been ploughing through the Gentle Giant iteration of ‘on track…’, the series to which @Bargepole has been introducing us over the years. In some ways, I find the track-by-track stucture a bit limiting, in that some tracks just don’t bear that level of scrutiny. Also, while I recognise that finding the balance between fandom and objectivity is tricky, it is pushing it a bit to elevate the songwriting of a band known for prog arrangements, to the level of (favourable) comparison with Lennon and McCartney. But I’ve got a clearer idea of the trajectory of a band who’d time had passed before I discovered them.
I’ve read a few of these books, mostly fine, a bit variable – the Gentle Giant book is the only one to date that I found really disappointing…
I bought the UFO one. Not really sure why as I only had a few of their albums back in the day. Ho hum.
READ: ‘Into the Wild’, the book that led to the Sean Penn helmed film, below, came as a welcome gift after enjoying(!?) the film. Basically an extended directors cut of the magazine article author Jon Krakauer originally wrote, it is a meandering attempt to second guess the mind of Christopher McCandless, a young american with a wanderlust that took him, ultimately, to his death, starving in an abandoned bus in alaska. Thrown into this are treatises on his own journeys, into his own soul, and similar forays as a similarly aged young man. Highly commended.
WATCHED: Well, the film of the above. Echoes of that Danny Boyle film about the guy who had to cut off his boulder wedged arm, this is a surprisingly buoyant look at the life and premature death of someone with more romance in his soul than any practicality may have tempered. Sean Penn shows what a thoughtful film director he can be and usually is.
I Care a Lot is a very dark comedy about manipulating the courts and care home residency to your advantage. Peter Dinklage gives great baddy, even if the ending is a bit tweely convenient.
The Gentlemen, like most Guy Ritchie films, is neither art nor subtle, but is a n enjoyable hour or so, delighting in the awkward characters. What is the opposite of stereotype? Such characters become stereotypical Ritchie and is the base appeal.
Line of Duty, obvs, and I was one not disappointed per se by the ending, as, in real life, real life lets you down too. As others have said, the sandwich filling, episodes 2 – 6, were juicier than the thin and slightly hard heels of the opener and closer, but the overall was well worth having consumed. And to go from that straight into a binge of Motherland was a joy, Anna Maxwell Martin showing the breadth of her range between the two shows. Painfully accurate, the horrors of parent playground cliques evoked with huge empathic humour, with cringes aplenty. Free on one of the cable channels, unfortunately you have to pay per view for the second.
Started that Tenet last night. Couldn’t be arsed with all that running around and shouting. Gave it ten minutes, and then re-watched Interstellar instead. Now that’s a good film, bloody Christopher Nolan!!
LISTENED: A trip to Leeds for the wife to get groomed meant a spare hour or three. They’ve moved HMV again, third time in about 5 years, and it is now one floor, conveniently nearby Jumbo, themselves having sidled around the corner from before. So a good long browsing sash left me with a handful of 2019/2020 releases I was unfamiliar with and unaware of. So ‘Life Stories’/Mary Coughlan, showing there is still life in her lungs, sticking to her standard wallows in stimulants and unsuitable menfolk, if herself now sober and running on mint tea. Her voice remains an instrument of luxurious squalor, like bathing in ambrosia, in a chipped and rusty tub in a burnt out basement. Pete Glenister, onetime musical director for Kirsty MacColl amongst others, now occupies her right hand man role, and contributes songs, guitar and arrangements. ‘Sweet Little Mystery/Sarah Jane morris and Tony Remy, shows the guest low voice on Communards singles still in fine fettle, covering the songs of John Martyn. With the slightly jazzy licks of guitarist Tony Levy, this works well, if a little too much growly vocal encroaching at times, a sound better left to Dame shirley. Sounds a bit like Van Morrison at times, that onetime revered singer from N’Orn, and I would like to hear the same duo cover his early canon. ‘Acid Punk Dub Apocalypse’, a Youth/Jah Wobble collaboration is a good deal less apocalyptic than it sounds, and is an excellent sashay through the styles you would expect of these two unrepentant mavericks. With a fair few guests, ranging from Holly Cole to the Orb’s Alex Paterson. A bandcamp hoover, of course on bandcamp friday, has seen several purchases on the yet to hear pile, but I have listened to Heath Cullen’s ‘Springtime In the Heart’, bought for reasons not really known, other than perhaps spotting Joe Henry as th eproducer and Jaye Bellerose on drums. It is good singer-songwriter, Australiana, if you will and can while away an hour without much trauma. Finally, my new favourite band, even if it took thirty years before I ever heard of them, Leftover Salmon, a jam grass band out of Colorado, with the best banjo led country rock since I posted them on the country-rock post. ‘Brand New Good Old Days’ is their album.
O, and a late entry via the wife, she having become hooked on LP (or Laura Pergolizzi) a songwriter for hire to many american pop and r’n’b chantoozies. An extraordinary voice and prone to tourettian yelps and whistles, she casts an imposing and unsusal presence. Go check:
I watched the Delfest stream last year which was mostly highlights of previous years. Leftover Salmon, who I’ve never previously encountered, performed Neil Young’s Harvest album in sequence. I thought it was fantastic. I’s probably on YouTube somewhere
Better than that – it’s on the Archive:
https://archive.org/details/los2017-05-28
I like The Gentlemen – some nice touches, including a near Long Good Friday take-off at the end. Thought Hugh Grant’s acting in this film was a cut above the normal bumbling englishman, and there is an air of menace about him.
But it’s a Guy Ritchie film, and much as I like them, it’s at the Carry On end of cinema rather than the Citizen Kane end
The Gentlemen was the first Guy Ritchie film I’ve seen since LS&TSB, I think – and I enjoyed it hugely. The floppy-haired one was a revelation.
Hi @retropath2 – point your browser here and clear a little space on your hard drive…
https://archive.org/details/los2021-05-07
Cheers, vulpine being!
Heard
Avalanches – We will always love you
Both uplifting and melancholic. My favourite track is We go on, a fun little number featuring Mick Jones and Cola Boy.
On and On by Curtis Harding
This song played over the end credits at the finale of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. One of those tracks that feels like a gem hidden away on an early 70s Northern Soul LP and only recently unearthed.
Seen
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Excellent set pieces, great dynamic between the leads all mixed with some pertinent swipes at race relations.
Agent Carter
A relatively minor character from the MCU, Peggy Carter has a pivotal role in Captain America’s story arc. But here the character is given centre stage in her own short-lived show. Gorgeous sets and clothes; 1940s NYC and LA look amazing. Hayley Atwell is just marvellous as Agent Carter; resourceful, tough, charismatic, and witty.
The Mandalorian
The first series certainly had its moments – there were decent shoot outs and nice nods / call-backs to the Star Wars films. But it wasn’t as light on its feet as it could have been.
The Flight Attendant
A young woman wakes in a hotel bedroom to find a dead body lying beside her. Rather than sound the alarm, she tries to remove all trace of her presence at the scene and flees. And thus the scene is set for an engaging thriller starring Kaley Cuoco as the titular flight attendant, Cassie. There is a bit of padding, and 8 episodes is probably a little too much but it’s good fun and there are some great female characters – including an unstoppable assassin played by Michelle Gomez, the brilliant Zosia Mamet as a whip smart lawyer and Rosie Perez as Cassie’s best friend – herself embroiled in some espionage shenanigans.
Read
Later by Stephen King
Picking up a new King is like meeting up with an old friend. You may not have spoken for years but time seems to evaporate and you resume the relationship that you’ve held dear since childhood. This is a tight little novel, a sort of coming of age story that races along like a thriller with added gore and supernatural horrors.
West by Carys Davies
Stunning novel that manages to cram so many themes into such a short space. In the early 1800s a grieving man leaves his only daughter in the care of his sister as he travels west to seek out mythical beasts. Davies exploresthemes such as grief, the eradication of the Native Americans, and the brute force of nature.
The Boy who followed Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
By this stage in proceedings we know all about the amoral, self-absorbed, and highly dangerous Tom Ripley. So when a young man appears in his quiet corner of France you fear for the kid. From this point we’re plunged into a tale of patricide, kidnapping, ransom and murder.
All the while I was thinking – what’s Ripley’s angle and what is Highsmith’s angle? And I still don’t know what it was. Perhaps it is just the delight of putting a sociopath at the centre of this emotionally charged story, coldly observing the drama around him yet finding himself unable to emotionally engage.
Agent Carter often gets overlooked even by Marvel fans, it seems, but the two series were really enjoyable and HA is great in the lead.
As you’d expect, it’s on Disney+
Another thumbs-up for Agent Carter.
SEEN – Black Bear, with the always-watchable Aubrey Plaza. Watched it a week ago and still can’t work out what I saw. It hangs around like a half-remembered dream, like a David Lynch. Don’t want to give too much away but it’s weird to start with, and instead of resolving itself, it just goes weirder. Recommended.
Talking of resolutions, a perfect example of the new ‘Ah Fuck It’ (AFI) school of screenwriting is a Netflix mini-series called Behind Her Eyes. AFI was pioneered by the writers of Lost and has become more prevalent in the years since. The need to keep viewers engaged means you’ve got to have a spectacular plot twist every 20 minutes throughout the series, but that puts intolerable pressure on the logic of your narrative. So how do you resolve it in the last episode? Well, you don’t. Your hero wakes up and it was all a dream. Or you just go ‘Ah Fuck it’ and leave your viewer hanging. Over four episodes of Behind Her Eyes, you get intriguing psychological drama, with twists and turns and tension. How on earth can this possibly end? Tune in next week. So you do, and it’s an AFI ending. We suddenly discover, with no previous suggestion of a fantasy element, that some of the characters can GO INVISIBLE AND FLY. You fucking lazy fucking cheats. Be ashamed of yourselves, and never write again.
Also seen – Lino Duty, in which hard-drinking, pill-popping Customs Officer Sandy McArnott gets a tip from a CHIS (not me!) that an HGV of AVF (Affordable Vinyl Flooring) is being smuggled through Harwich PDQ by an OCG out of NL RTM. Stopping only to purchase a BBQ at B&Q and an ELP LP at HMV, McArnott jumps ASAP in his SUV and takes the A120 at 100MPH to put the OCG in HMP with the help of an ART, a DCI and a PCSO.
Can I have a STOP PRESS? Talking of Bandcamp Friday, I spotted I still has some credit in my bandcamp account, so, initially resignedly bought Serpents Tears, the new RT EP. And it’s a cracker, or most of the tracks are, with the opener and closer the most overtly folkie things, each of celtic hue, he has written for yonks. Pit together with last years Bloody Noses, and it’s a pretty good (largely acoustic) album.
Seen:
A big movie month here, for a change..
You’ll have heard something about Promising Young Woman, a neat script which gives Carey Mulligan something to get her teeth into. Away from the flashier, attention-grabbing aspects it’s notable for focusing on the devastation of an intense friendship rather than a familial or romantic relationship, which is more usual.
This is why I think it would be a good double bill with Booksmart, which is about two friends about to head off to college who, at the last minute, realise they have parked any notion of enjoying their school years in their determination to succeed academically and decide to have a blast on the last night before they graduate. While it hits a lot of familiar beats, there are many great lines and the whole thing is lifted by great performances.
Even more zeitgeisty than PYM is Spontaneous, a black romantic horror comedy where teenagers have their whole world turned upside down when some mysterious affliction appears out of nowhere to threaten their lives. In this case it’s that they keep arbitrarily exploding. Once again wit and strong performances push it past the downhill-skier-must-clear-all-the-poles functionality of the basic plot.
But my favourite of these, I think, was Straight Up, in which a neurotic young gay man decides he might have better fortune romantically by pursuing a heterosexual relationship. It’s the debut film by a guy called James Sweeney. He’s the writer, director and unlikely leading man, which means comparison with Woody Allen is inevitable. The rapid dialogue, too witty at times to feel authentically spontaneous (sample line: “If Helen Keller can learn to talk, I can learn to eat you out”), only adds to that. I can see how a lot of people would find this film over-mannered or too “pleased with itself”, but I found it charming.
Read:
The reading’s ground to a halt this month – hence all the films, I suppose.
Heard:
Every year starts with me looking forward to new releases by artists who have thrilled me in the past and ends – for the most part – with a stack of disappointing records by these favourites and a load of genius material by names I’d never heard twelve months previously. That seems to be the deal now and I do pretty well from it.
But, down the years, one of the very best pop feelings was hearing the first single from an anticipated album and it being all you hoped and more.
Like this:
(Self Esteem – I Do This All The Time)
Read:
Began the month by finally finishing Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics by Dylan Jones, which I’d been reading on the side for a while. I didn’t like it very much (but to explain why would take too long, so I’ll spare you…)
I did love the new novel by Kazuo Ishiguro; Klara and the Sun a lot, more than most do it seems. Perhaps because I’m not a big fan of Never Let Me Go, which I see others mentioning as a similar but better novel. I actually reread that one as well, to see if I misremembered it or would change my mind reading it again so many years later, but no, it’s not quite my cup of tea. I find Kathy very annoying, and I loved Klara, so that may be the difference for me. Anyway; I found Klara and the Sun to be very moving and beautiful – not as flawless as The Remains of the Day of course, but definitely worth reading.
I also read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons for the first time, to have something to giggle at on my commute once I’d finished the Runyon short stories. It didn’t disappoint.
The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex takes place in the 70s, when three lighthouse keepers mysteriously disappear, and twenty years later when a writer contacts the widows to try to unravel the mystery. The narrative jumps back and forth in time, and between the widows’ stories and the keepers’, inner monologues, interviews, letters. We slowly get more and more pieces of the puzzle, including some false ones, and our view of what happened shifts. Thankfully the readers get the answer to the riddle that the widows will never know, and it’s quite satisfactory. The writing is poetic and atmospheric, and a little spooky. The pacing of it is perfect.
A Girl’s Story by Annie Ernaux (which I read in Swedish) is a short autobiographical novel about her first (destructive) sexual experiences, at a summer camp in 1958. After spending a lifetime trying to forget, she examines who that girl was, why she did what she did, what exactly happened, how did it impact her future self? As always, Ernaux’s beautiful and exact prose is the star here – in a narrative that is sometimes painfully private and frustrating to follow without shouting advice to the girl as she makes all the wrong choices and is brutally taken advantage of by the older, self-assured, experienced and contemptuous fellow camp leaders.
As if that wasn’t bleak enough, I then read Consent by Vanessa Springora, her memoir about being groomed and sexually abused from the age of 14 by French author Gabriel Matzneff. It’s a brilliantly written book, and she analyzes the “relationship” and everything surrounding it in a very intelligent and honest manner, without holding back any punches.
Another classic that I’d only seen the film version of before (like Cold Comfort Farm above) was A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. Having read and loved other novels by him, I don’t know why I waited this long to read this one, nor why it surprised me how funny it is. The satire is never heavy-handed or judgemental, he elegantly undresses all of humanity to show them in all of their folly and vanity.
Also picked up the latest collection of texts by Joan Didion – Let Me Tell You What I Mean, which is a small volume of twelve pieces never previously collected in book form ( but printed in newspapers, magazines, and as a foreword in someone else’s book). Most of them are early pieces, but they all have her exceptional style of writing, the knife-sharp expressions, the intelligent analysis, the humour and her observation of details. It made me question why I don’t own more of her books (and why I gave away two books of hers that I used to own – to a good friend, but still). I may have to remedy this.
I’m 2/3 into The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr, a novel set among slaves at a plantation, so bound to end badly… It’s good, but IMO it tries a little too hard to be. I understand (and like) its ambition and why it’s written the way it is, but I also think it gets in the way for me to truly lose myself in the narrative and fall in love with the characters – the work is showing too much. But it may wow me yet – if that last 1/3 is a knock-out.
Also still struggling my way through Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan, picked it up again after a brief pause to serve as my “lunch book”. It’s slowly getting more interesting and I can see how it’s all weaving together nicely, I’m just not a big fan of how it’s done – the constant jumping around in time and between narratives is often annoying…just as I’m getting excited to find out more about one of the stories I get a new chapter about someone else, in another time, and I have to start again to connect to some new character! But I can see that it has all of the ingredients to make a satisfactory ending, I just hope everything is tied together well.
Seen:
AFL on YouTube (but I miss seeing whole matches, highlight clips doesn’t fully scratch my itch).
GBBO and Masked Singer – I’ve tried watching serious programs, documentaries etc, but I end up turning them off within fifteen minutes…all I can deal with at the moment is mindless and comforting entertainment.
Heard:
The Weather Station is going very canyon on Ignorance, again, but it doesn’t quite grab me as much as her last album did (so far – early days and I haven’t been in the mood for this type of music much).
Serpentwithfeet (real name Josiah Wise) – Deacon is a bit reminiscent of James Blake, but with more RnB vibes. A lot of it is a bit too samey, but quite nice.
Swedish artist Frida Hyvönen goes back to singing in English on latest album Dream Of Independence, unfortunately. I much preferred her lyrics in Swedish, but I also don’t think the music is quite as strong on this album. Perhaps it’s just because I loved her previous album (“Kvinnor och Barn”) so much, but I find it hard to get into this one, or perhaps it’s just another case of an album being a bit depressing!
Which is the reason why I think I can’t completely fall in love with the new album by Loney Dear; A Lantern And A Bell, as beautiful as it is. I feel a need for uplifting, happy, noisy, energetic music at this time, and this isn’t that. But it IS beautiful, and I can see myself absolutely adoring it later in the year…after/during a nice summer of (hopefully) pre-covid fun. I love his voice, love his gorgeous melodies, it’s just a tad too sombre for me right now! But if you don’t mind melancholia I definitely recommend it – it’s some of the lovliest music you’ll hear this year.
AOB:
Got my first vaccine jab this week, hooray! 🙂
As always, I am in awe of your capacity to consume books and music. Did you feel okay after the first vaccine? I’ve had one so far – the day after was a write-off.
I went straight to work after the jab, felt fine all day, just got a bit sore at the point where the needle had been stuck later in the evening, but gave it a massage and it got better after a few hours. Worked the rest of the week without feeling any worse than usual!
Great stuff!
Yes, I agree about the Weather Station album.
I’ve played and played it, and … I dunno… it’s still not doing very much for me,
As you say, her previous album was a cracker.
Uh @locust
You read more than one book at once?
I tend to have three books on the go at all times. One that I keep in my bag and only read on my commutes, and if I’m in some other situation where I have to wait around. I don’t own a mobile phone to distract me from my reading! 😉
Then I have two books at home, one that I keep in the bathroom (if it’s any good I’ll spend very long times at the loo…) and one I keep near my desk, for reading when I’m having lunch, and at any other time when I just feel like reading for a while. Sometimes I’ll switch them around – when a commute novel starts to get too moving – towards the end usually – I’ll take it out of my bag and finish it on the loo, choosing something else as my new commute book. I’m easily moved and hate crying on the bus! And if one of the books I read at home is much more exciting than the other, it will take over for a while, being lugged around from room to room, until finished.
Uh, doesn’t everyone?
I’ve done that as long as I can remember.
Not me, no siree jimbob.
I did the multiple books at once thing for years until I started reading exclusively on an iPad – with a “home” iPad and one I have in my work bag (and even occasionally my phone) they are synced so I can always continue the same book wherever I am.
I don’t read any more or less, I just get through them quicker then move on to the next.
Of course, it has nothing to do with reading more – except when it sometimes does…I read three books simultaniously because I enjoy having three different stories to skip between, I find it stimulating and less dull, especially when one of the books is a bit dull for a while. Having other books to read then makes it easier to get through the rough patches of that one book, and I’m less likely to give up on it. Also, if I wait too long between buying a book and reading it, chances are I won’t – I develope some kind of distaste for it, or forget why I was so enthusiastic about reading it in the first place. Always reading three books in parallel makes the waiting time shorter for the books in line for their turn. Also, I don’t have to decide between fiction or non-fiction, I can do both. I don’t think I’d read much non-fiction otherwise, if I could only read one book at a time I’d always choose fiction, non-fiction would feel like a wasted opportunity in a way. And, finally, another reason is that I never run the risk of sitting without something to read because I just happened to forget my one book at home when I leave for work. Not having any tech devices at all – and not planning on getting any – that’s important. But I’m certainly not saying that having multiple books on the go at once is a superios way of reading; it’s just how I enjoy reading and it suits me better to do it that way.
This makes absolute and perfect sense
I have at least two on the go myself
@locust
Blimey!
April was the month when some of the gloom was finally lifted thanks to a partial reopening of society.
HEARD: Something of a bumper month.
Nancy Sinatra excellent Start Walking compilation.
The London Symphony Orchestra have featured twice this month – First with Pharoah Sanders on the Floating Points cd which is excellent and then With Toumani Diabate on the album Korolen. Just when I thought they were being prolific I noted from the sleevenotes of this cd that it was recorded in 2008 but only just released. Still it was worth the wait.
Abdullah Ibrahim also featured heavily this month with his last album The Balance and a best of that I picked up cheap from Discogs – have loved his work for some years but his back catalogue is huge.
After hearing a track on 6Music I sought out albums by New Orleans Nightcrawlers. I ended up going onto the site of the excellent New Orleans Music Factory to get one of the albums but wehile browsing came across an album by the awfully named Bonerama. A New Orleans brass band doing brass versions of Led Zep songs. Too intriguing to pass up so I got this too – its actually pretty good.
The new Coral album is perhaps my pick of the months new releases – it is breezy and full of delightful hooks.
Also Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band released a stupendous live album Rare Dreams – recorded in London. I have yet to see them live but assuming they will play the UK again in the future I will be there with my boots blacked as my mum used to say.
READ: My reading is not as heavy as it used to be – something I keep saying I will put right but somehow life gets in the way. Reading RT’s autobiography Beeswing and enjoying it very much but really would like a second helping covering his solo years and living in America.
SEEN:
A rather sweet film called Sixty Six – about a Jewish boy growing up in London and preparing for his Bar Mitzvah who becomes horrified when he realises it coincides with the World Cup final and the possibility dawns on him that will no-one will turn up for his big day.
The Mauritanian – an excellent performance by Jodie Foster defending an alleged terrorist holed up in Guantanamo Bay. The shame of the US torture programme is laid bare but the biggest upset for me was that despite winning his case the defendant was kept in a US prison for a further seven years whilst Barack Obama was POTUS. It did taint my view of him as a man of humanity.
For light relief I was hooked on the Martin Freeman series Breeders which was really well written and absolutely hilarious. Anyone who has ever felt guilty for getting irritated with their kids should watch this and weep with laughter.
AOB:
From 17th May the shackles are lifted – that week I will be venturing to my local cinema to see Nomadland which I have been eagerly anticipating for several months. The cinema has two screens – the small screen with maybe 50 seats and the big screen with around 90. there is a two seat gap between each pair of seats. It is possible this is not economically viable but it is a start and I feel strongly that I need to support them.
Later in the week I see Steve Gibbons at the Kitchen Garden Cafe – a twice rearranged gig it is in the courtyard with heaters.
The next night I am at the Jazz Cafe in Camden – seated tables so all very civilised – life is for living.
big thumbs up for the Chris Forsyth Rare Dreams album. I was lucky enough to see him on that tour (reviewed it on this very site), and it was tremendous. He has released a couple of other live recordings via Bandcamp in recent years, including a very good set where the band Garcia Peoples (worth checking out in their own right!) are backing him, and another release which is simply a twenty minute plus version of the track Techno Top from his last studio album. I’ve combined them all into one playlist, and it will melt your ears!
I agree Kid – a phenomenal talent
Bit late to this but here goes…
SEEN
Not that much really. Seem to have run out of decent long haul box set type viewing, so any recommendations very much welcomed. However, Summer of Rockets, the Stephen Poliakoff mini-series, was pretty good. Was initially a bit dubious as historical drama isn’t usually my thing, but I was won over. Oh and the end of Line of Duty…nah.
HEARD
Really liked The Coral’s latest last week. Like others, I was impressed with the concept, the sound and the songs. However, and I know others on here may disagree with this, I’m not really sure it’s making the transition to second week listening.
Teenage Fanclub’s latest, Endless Arcade, has some nice tuneful moments but it’s not actually that memorable. They have a nice line in middle aged contented melancholia but this time around it just seems a little too apologetic in it’s sound. Productions a bit underwhelming to these ears as well. This may well be my fault of course… maybe it’ll grow.
READ
There and Black Again by Don Letts. In which punk and reggae filmmaker and chronologist Letts takes us through his life as a scenester turned documenter. Great book which really paints a good portrait of seventies and eighties London and the music scene within.
My Rock and Roll Friend by Tracey Thorn. Lindy Morrison, the Go-Betweens famously force of nature drummer, and Thorn of The Marine Girls became pals on the eighties indie scene in London. This book outlines their often long distance friendship against a growing resentment at Morrison’s commitment and longstanding band membership now seemingly being underplayed in the band’s history. I can see why she may have been written out, however unwittingly-she wasn’t their original drummer, Grant MacLennan allegedly couldn’t stand her, and she wasn’t asked to participate in the reunion. But Thorn is right in her attempts to restate her friend’s importance and unique role.
AOB
I work in education and the government’s guidance on what replaces exams this year, how to implement the changes and the guidance itself are a complete joke. They should hang their heads in shame and I cannot wait for this academic year to end.
I have read the previous Don Letts book, Culture Clash: Dread Meets Punk Rockers. Is it worth reading the new one?
Well I really enjoyed it. Lots of stories about The Clash and B.A.D. as you might expect, and that’s no bad thing, but he’s great on hanging out with Bob Marley and the pre-punk London scene in particular. I liked the writing style a lot. He seems quite down to earth but is able to tell a good story well. Difficult to say if it’s worth reading for you though @fentonsteve because I haven’t read the previous book!
He was the Listed Londoner on Robert Elms a few weeks ago. He sounds like a nice guy and it did make me want to get the book.
Love his weekly 6music radio show. Very diverse mix of music but usually hits the spot.
I had been looking at that Don Letts book.
You just reminded me so will purchase.
It’s been especially quiet chez F as it’s A-level (and to a lesser extent GCSE) revision and exam, sorry, “assessment” half term. So not much in the way of sit down and listen properly (i.e. loudly).
Heard:
A friend sent ‘help’ with the later Beloved albums, Conscience and X, and you know what? They’re not at all bad. I’m going to hit the Magpie and fill the gaps.
A Certain Ratio are releasing three EPs this year, ACR:EPA, ACR:EPC and ACR:EPR. EPA came out recently, four jams, the final recordings of Denise Johnson.
The new Field Music vinyl finally arrived but I’ve not played it yet. Ditto half-speed master of the Selecter album. Rico’s pair of Two Tone albums are next and I’m muchly looking forward to those.
Seen:
All four series of The Unforgotten. Series 2 was best. The final episode of series 4 means I won’t have to watch any more. We’re now starting on the most recent Line Of Duty, so no spoilers please. And a 15-min feature on how Linn Products make the LP12 turntable as part of ITV4’s Made In Britain. It’s machined to a tolerance of 6 microns, you know. I am very dull.
Read:
Tracey Thorn’s My Rock ‘n’ Roll Friend. And a go at the pile of back issues of Mojo & Uncut.
Other news:
Offspring the Elder qualified for a Pfizer jab because she is in the same household as someone with a compromised immune system (i.e. me). Which is good. Offspring the Younger is 15 years and 9 months and so does not yet qualify. By the time he does, our local GP will have completed their jabbing and so he’ll have to wait his turn in the nationals.
In not so good news, OTE suffered a pneumothorax, a lung bulge which leaked into her chest cavity, and has to be X-rayed at hospital every other Sunday. She can’t (currently) fly or (ever) scuba-dive. It’s lucky we didn’t book that once-in-lifetime family trip to the Australian barrier reef after all.
My brother had a pneumothorax in his late teens. I don’t think it ever came back to haunt him in any way; he’s 63 next month. Trust your daughter makes full recovery.
The good news is it’s not getting any bigger. The bad news is it’s not getting any smaller. CTI scan awaits.
Sorry to hear about your daughter Steve.
Thanks. In one way or another, she’s been hard work. If she coughs, it sounds terrifying. At least the FND has calmed down, no fits for almost 12 months.
If the lad flunks some of his GCSEs because the revision : gaming ratio was too low, at least he can just resit them.
Wait, I didn’t get that memo?
Lung collapses can’t scuba? Crap; better readjust my Australia goals.
Is scuba diving an option in Alice? I know there’s an underground river there…
Haha!
I was misinformed.