THIS IS NOT MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE

I had always imagined that somehow in my autumn years, the natural manifestation of all life's experience and knowledge would magically deliver me to a beautiful state of mind and a comfortable place where I would be 'Healthy, Wealthy & Wise.'

Of-course the reality is much more like 'Fucked Up, Hard Up & None the Wiser Why...'

And this is absolutely fine, I'm ok with it, in fact it's a perfect life lesson. 

I'm learning how to come to terms with the truth whilst still believing in the dream.

- - - 

"And you may find yourself 
Living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself 
In another part of the world
And you may find yourself 
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!
Water dissolving and water removing

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again into silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

You may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
You may ask yourself
Where does that highway go to?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may say to yourself
"My God! What have I done?"

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Look where my hand was
Time isn't holding up
Time isn't after us
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Letting the days go by
Same as it ever was
And here the twister comes
Here comes the twister

Letting the days go by (same as it ever was)
Same as it ever was (same as it ever was)
Letting the days go by (same as it ever was)
Same as it ever was
Once in a lifetime
Let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by.."

- - - 

Once in a lifetime - lyrics by David Byrne

ARE FRIENDS ELECTRIC?

Good friend Johnny Stingray has lent us a Fender Telecaster for the darkening nights.

THERE'S NOTHING ON THE TOP

... but a bucket and a mop

Many a hand has scaled the grand old face of the plateau
Some belong to strangers and some to folks you know
Holy ghosts and talk show hosts are planted in the sand
To beautify the foothills and shake the many hands

There's nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop
And an illustrated book about birds
You see a lot up there but don't be scared
Who needs action when you got words

When you've finished with the mop then you can stop
And look at what you've done
The plateau is clean, no dirt to be seen
And the work it took was fun

There's nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop
And an illustrated book about birds
You see a lot up there but don't be scared
Who needs action when you got words

Well the many hands began to scan around for the next plateau
Some said it was Greenland and some said Mexico
Others decided it was nowhere except for where they stood
But those were all just guesses, wouldn't help you if they could

(Followed by the most amazing outro... click here to listen)

© Curt Kirkwood

LISTEN TO THE SHINING - I DARE YOU...

The Sound of the Shining

I once worked in a small graphic studio in Falmouth, run by a guy called Norman. Not only was Norman a great creative thinker, he was also a muso and a tech wizard. He'd installed a really good quadrophonic sound system in the studio and we'd take turns choosing what to play during the day.

One day we had a big project to finalise on a tight deadline - Norm went over to the sound system and loaded up a high quality recording he'd made the night before and cranked it up really loud.

It was the complete soundtrack to 'The Shining'. From start to finish, everything... The dialogue, the sound effects, the atmospherics as well as all the music.

Holy shit! It was intense. The film had already become a classic by this time so we were all familiar with it, but actually listening to it without the visuals added a whole new layer.

You could easily watch the film with the sound muted and it would quite possibly be amusing and maybe even a little silly in places, but I dare you to 'listen' to the film with the pictures only in your mind's eye and not be impressed by Kubrick's skill in creating a vivid sonic horror story. Kubrick himself, created a working edit for the soundtrack before engaging various composers to produce the final score.

The Sound of the Shining

Apparently there was a soundtrack LP produced in 1980, but was subject to legal wranglings when the composers complained of Kubrick's editing of their material and is very hard to find. It also only has the main musical pieces and is by no means the complete soundtrack that Norman created for our studio pleasure.

ps: Needless to say, we got the job done on time.

1984

What a year!

Meat Puppets / Meat Puppets II - Best band in the fuckin universe.

Minutemen / Double Nickels on the Dime - Just perfection...

Husker Du / Zen Arcade - Blitz!

REM / Reckoning - The good years.

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions / Rattlesnakes - Studenty soundtrack.

Talking Heads / Stop Making Sense - Masterclass.

Prince / Purple Rain - Cinematic, melodrama.

Sade / Diamond Life - Lovers groove.

NO, NO, NO

Dawn Penn - You don't love me (No, No, No)

Yes, Yes, Yes. This one is definitely in my all-time Top Ten.

1981

In hindsight 1981 was a bit of an in-betweener. Not much on offer at the time, and I was drifting away from the rock of previous years and yet still a couple of years shy of really latching onto American Indie. A few albums from the shelf that year included..

The Psychedelic Furs / Talk Talk Talk - Good for parties.

Grace Jones / Nightclubbing - Good for dark rooms.

Japan / Tin Drum - Good for smokey rooms.

Brian Eno and David Byrne / My Life in the Bush of Ghosts - Good for headphones.

Rickie Lee Jones / Pirates - Good for very, very late at night.

NEURONS v PIXELS

Like somebody else's digital dream..

Recently Kate Bush made a request that concert-goers refrain from taking photos or recording video of her performance. My first reaction was 'That's kinda harsh, bit dictatorial..' but on reflection I totally agree with her. Here's why:

The best concert I've ever been to was Talk Talk at Hammersmith, London 1986. I've seen loads of really good gigs; The Clash supported by Spear of Destiny, Dinosaur Jr at The Mean Fiddler, Pavement supporting Sonic Youth and blowing them off the stage, Firehose in a tiny club in Brighton, and a whole host of others, too many to list here... But it was the total experience of Talk Talk's final UK appearance that was the standout show for me.

The audio was as good as it gets that night, and Mark Hollis's vocals were astonishing, every nuance in his delivery as clear as a bell. The band's musical arrangements and performance were incredible too - a group at the very top of their game with not a note out of place. The venue offered uninterrupted views of the stage and along with a few thousand others I was witness to a gig that felt intimate yet epic at the same time.

And nobody was holding up a mobile phone or digital camera because there weren't any in 1986. The crowd were fully engaged with a band that were equally in the moment, no distractions, no other agenda - a live performance was taking place and that was all that mattered.

It was awesome and I remember thinking even as it was happening that this was special.

I was still buzzing for weeks afterwards, yet there was no instant replay available - there was no internet or social media. I'm sure there was a write-up in one of the music papers at some point but I didn't search it out. Why would I? I'd been at the gig, no need for somebody else's opinion, I was stuffed to the gills with vibrant memories of my own. A while afterwards the BBC did broadcast a recording of the concert which I taped and would listen to now and then. Talk Talk went on to produce two more albums, both increasingly atmospheric and deeply nuanced and not particularly suited to live performance. Which was all fine with me, as simply listening to their music was a profound and satisfying pleasure.

Then they stopped, it seemed Mark Hollis's work with Talk Talk was done and he virtually disappeared.

Like many, I wanted more - the latter Talk Talk output was some of the most sublime music I'd ever heard and I couldn't believe that the sonic journey had come to an end. For a while I hunted down any new or obscure material. A live bootleg of the London gig was eventually released along with a DVD of the same tour 'Live in Montreaux'. I have them both. Ironically the DVD leaves me cold - watching little figures (cringingly 80s style too) on a screen is a pale imitation and can never equal the vivid memories in my head. I thought the internet would add to my connection with Talk Talk. It hasn't. I've come to understand that my love of the music is personal and no amount of pixellation will alter that.

- - - - - - - - - -

So I believe that a gig clip on YouTube is not only unnecessary, but actually a disservice to the performance, the band and the viewer.

I like taking photos and I like looking at them too (often post a few up here), but music performed live adds myriad layers, elevating the visual and blending it with the aural, emotional and physical senses - you can't record that. Because of this I agree with the advice - Be in the moment truly and there is no need to pixellate it. It exists forever, because you are there with the band, listening, watching, feeling. That is enough.

HAD A NICE DAY...

In the morning, took off on a leash-snapper.

In the evening, got nicely chillaxed.

HOLLIS

Sometimes you just gotta have the good stuff..

Mark Hollis.

ECHOES '78 - '80

Some sounds echo forever in my head.

I've waffled on at length before about Talk Talk, Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Meat Puppets, Bentley Rhythym Ace, Tortoise, WOO, Gregory Isaacs & Rory Gallagher amongst others.

So here are just three of the albums that I heard between 1978 and 1980 that have remained as part of the soundtrack to my life ever since.

Q: Are we not men? A: We are DEVO! 1978.

Steel Pulse - Tribute to the Martyrs. 1979.

Talking Heads - Remain in light. 1980.

There may be more...

LEGACY

The Party's Over - 1982

It's My Life - 1984

The Colour of Spring - 1986

Spirit of Eden - 1988

Laughing Stock - 1991

What a journey, from early synth pop to works of genre defying genius, Mark Hollis steered Talk Talk along a path of purist musical abstraction.

There's a great article from The Quietus about the making of Laughing Stock.

You can hear Mark Hollis himself talking about Laughing Stock here:

Mark Hollis talks about Laughing Stock (1991).

FESTY

///

OK I'll admit it - I was dancing the other night, well when I say 'dancing' I really mean shuffling about on the spot in a vaguely rhythmic manner. Still, it's very rare that you'll see me busting my moves in public. Admittedly when I say 'in public' I really mean ‘at a festival’ which isn’t at all like being in public.

We were at Hop Farm Festival in Kent - kindly given free passes by my friend Blue who earns his living at such events. He and I first went a-festival-ing a long time ago, and when I say ‘a long time ago’ I really do mean decades ago. We watched Roy Harper & Ginger Baker having a punch-up on stage at Glastonbury in 1981. (You may never have heard of Roy Harper or Ginger Baker - ironically they were a couple of old hippies who should have known better than to start brawling at a CND concert.) I can still remember the intensely vibrant sense of excitement and discovery as we stumbled into a variety of marquees where all manner of musicians, actors and comedians were sharing their talents, often in intimate surroundings. Since then I’ve whiled away many pleasant days at all sorts of festivals over the years, and always relish the rekindling of those first magical experiences.

Anyway, where was I? That’s right - doing some ‘dad dancing’ in the early hours under a Moroccan style awning along with a few hundred equally ‘relaxed’ revellers. If you really want to experience a tiny glimpse of our long lost personal freedom, then I suggest that there aren’t many better places to do so than at a festy in the middle of the night.

Of course I’m under no illusion that today’s festivals are incredibly mainstream and more devoted to the spirit of making money than the spirit of the counter-culture revolution. They tend to be much tamer affairs these days too - it would be unlikely to see a naked guy, tripping on acid sitting cross-legged IN the speaker cabinet whilst Gong thrash out some sonic psychedelia. But I believe there are still a few strands of the original DNA remaining in even the most commercial modern festival that allows people to tune out for a couple of days and disregard normality. Hey, if you fancy cracking open a couple of beers before breakfast - go for it, why not? What’s the worst that can happen? You may feel the need to have a lie down later on - well that’s fine, in fact that’s probably a good idea anyway. Preparation for the inevitably long night ahead! Likewise, if you want to spend the whole weekend wandering around in nothing but a loincloth, I guarantee nobody will be bothered by that either.

I suppose the point I’m trying to make here is that personally I enjoy individual pursuits. I’ve never been into team sports or clubs. I get my kicks from surfing, which in essence is a solitary activity. But I was reminded again last weekend that sometimes freedom can still be found amongst a crowd of thousands.

SIREN CALL

Bentley Rhythym Ace rocked the tent last Friday night!

They cranked up the siren and got funky in a field - fuggin ACE!

IN 7EVEN YEARS...

Just realised that The Beatles made all their albums (as a band) in just seven years. When you consider the impact, seven years is not a great deal of time.

// Please Please Me (1963)
// With The Beatles (1963)
// A Hard Day's Night (1964)
// Beatles for Sale (1964)
// Help! (1965)
// Rubber Soul (1965)
// Revolver (1966)
// Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
// The Beatles (aka the White Album) (1968)
// Yellow Submarine (1969)
// Abbey Road (1969)
// Let It Be (1970)

Please please me.

With the Beatles.

A hard day's night.

Beatles for sale.

Help!

Rubber Soul.

Revolver.

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

White album.

Yellow submarine.

Abbey Road.

Let it be.

On the other hand I started decorating the front room in 2003 and still haven't managed to finish it!

TORTOISE

millions now living will never die.

Dug out a couple of Tortoise CDs last night, cranked em up, turned the lights down low and dived deep into the soundwaves.

I'd forgotten just how good they sound.

Got to say thanks to my good friend Meany for turning me onto Tortoise (amongst others) all those years ago. He was a sort of musical mentor to me for a while when our paths first crossed.

TNT.

WOO

Whichever way you are going you are going wrong.

Many moons ago, when I had endless time on my hands and a pocketful of loose change I came across an album in a record shop and just bought it on a whim. I used to do that a lot - sometimes it turned out to be ok, more often than not it didn't. But this time I struck lucky - a quirky, organic & atmospheric collection that often kept me company late into the night.

There wasn't much info on the sleeve about who WOO were, apart from the names Mark & Clive Ives and I never really followed it up at the time and certainly haven't come across them very often since.

But a recent post by Cabinessence reminded me of how much I enjoyed discovering their album and sent me off in search of the Brothers Ives again.

RIP

The Cool Ruler.

(ADJ-NOUN) ANIMALS

Band names made up from an Adjective plus an Animal Name (in that sequence). I'm sure there are many more, plus those constructed the other way around such as Wolfmother etc, but these are a few I like.

Sparklehorse (RIP Mark Linkous).

Arctic Monkeys.

Fleet Foxes.

Howlin Wolf.

Longpigs.

Yardbirds (like the typography).

Modest Mouse.