Hello Substackers! I’m me.
Thanks very much for subscribing to this blog, mailing list, call it what thou wilt. My little corner of the ‘internetty’. ‘T’internet!’ Do you remember when people used to say ‘t’internet!’? Do they still do that? I always imagine the type of person who says ‘t’internet’ spending their time sort of mournfully servicing a Brompton bike.
Anyway, I’m going to use Substack to post bits and pieces of writing about books and music. I aim to post something once a month or so. I promise not to spam you. Much!
My first (proper) post will be about the novels of Kazuo Ishiguro. I started writing it two years ago when Klara and the Sun was published, but have only just got around to finishing it. I originally wanted it to be about how no one ever seems to comment on a) how funny Ishiguro can be and b) how unbelievably weird his novels are (weirder than the films of David Lynch, I would say). But it ended up not being about that at all. So, you’ve got that to look forward to (seem to be losing a lot of subscribers as I type).
What else have I been up to recently?
I saw Gojira at Alexandra Palace the other week. They achieved total heaviosity. I love metal audiences – they’re such a kind and welcoming bunch. Here’s Ally Pally looking lovely:
I really enjoyed listening to the Something About The Beatles podcast with guests Doug Sulpy and Dan Rivkin in which they discussed Peter Jackson’s editorial decisions in Get Back. It was totally fascinating to hear how certain scenes and bits of dialogue had been tweaked and moved around to create a more plot-driven, emotionally engaging series. Obviously, Jackson is a film-maker and he’s telling a story, but some of the edits are… surprisingly misleading! There’s an interesting discussion in the pod about how, with all that footage, you could make several different films, each telling a different story. Also, it’s fascinating to compare the isolated dialogue of Get Back with the confusing and difficult-to-follow conversations on the original Nagra tapes. Well, that’s what most conversations are like, aren’t they? People talking over each other and going off on tangents. George’s brilliant response to the suggestion that P&O could provide the band with an ocean liner to sail them to Africa to perform – ‘They won’t even give us a free Fender amp!’ – is buried by chatter and barely registers with the group (which seems highly significant, given George’s role).
It’s funny – whenever a big new Beatles reissue gets announced and the track-listing is revealed you always see people on forums and social media commenting ‘Another missed opportunity!’ But after listening to this episode I get it. There is so much treasure in the Beatles’ vaults – why can’t we hear it? Compare and contrast with Bob Dylan’s comprehensive Bootleg Series. The endless Beatles reissues, as nice as they often are, don’t really scratch the surface. (Although, admittedly, it is questionable whether we need to hear all 101 takes of ‘Not Guilty’.)
I bought Doug Sulpy’s brilliant account of the Get Back sessions Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image (the best title of any Beatles book) after listening to the pod. I was struck by the fact that he describes John Lennon’s creativity during this period as being at a ‘career low’. You’d think you could forgive him for having a few months off in between ‘The White Album’ and Abbey Road, but that’s just not how Beatles time works! (For some perspective, I don’t think I’ve finished a song for about three years.)
You can buy Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image as a pdf from Doug Sulpy’s website, by the way. Recommended!
Anyway, thanks to Ben Jacobs (AKA Max Tundra) for alerting me to this brilliant conversation. Ben guested on Your Own Personal Beatles last year, which was a really fun record – and you can buy reissues of his albums here.
Moving along… Here are a couple of tunes I’ve been enjoying recently:
The title track from Kelela’s new album Raven on Warp is brilliant. I love how delayed the ‘drop’ is!
Also on Warp, the new stuff from Squid sounds great. How nice to hear the influence of This Heat! Hope to see them live sometime this year.
That’s all folks, see you soon for some much-delayed Ishiguro chat.