Matthew Holness (writer/star of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace) is making a
spoof film/documentary about the (fake) fiction writer Terry Finch. Finch is
apparently a
largely forgotten 70'S pulp fiction author whose books feature a
character who calls himself 'The Reprizalizer' (aka Bob Shuter). The
books allegedly share the same no
nonsense ultra-violence as 70's stalwarts The Sweeney, Dirty Harry and Taxi Driver.
He's set up a beautiful crafted 'tribute' web site to Terry Finch giving a brief outline of the writer and his anti hero creation. Find it here...
The website's attention to detail for those crappy pulp books is wonderful. Faintly yellowing pages and that inimitable 1970's typeface which turned up in loads of Scholastic style books, I can almost smell those musty pages! If your of a certain age, I'm sure your more than familiar with the cheap look, of used by 'The Pan Book Of Horror'. If you've seen 'Darkplace' you'll immediately recognise the Holness writing style in the 'Buck Up' introduction to Repriselizer. Faintly pompous and self aggrandizing, the character is not unlike the main character in Darkplace, Dr Rick Dagless M.D. but , erm, with a moustache.
A short film financed by Warp films back in 2011 called 'A Gun For George', hopefully a taster for the up and coming film 'proper'. You can watch it here...
Thought I'd brave the current arctic conditions for a mooch from Lickey to Waseley Hills.
I can't resist the lure of snow, even if the driving to get here was frankly treacherous.
I love the stark architectural quality that snow gives trees, drawing the eye to lines that are not always apparent when it's not lying amongst the branches.
Also, it was an excuse to try out my new toy, a Canon EOS 350D I picked up cheap.
Never had a 'proper' camera before, and didn't want to spend a fortune in case I didn't get on with it.
It has to be said, really enjoyed fiddling about with it, even if fingers were numb most of the time, and I kept forgetting to turn the camera off.
Here's a few 'first efforts', hopefully, as I get to know the camera better my pictures will improve a little.
Found a bunch of images from a canal walk from year or so ago on my hard drive. These haven't been tampered with, just shot portrait and not rotated. It was a very still day and I was blown away at how abstract some of the photo's look, lost fractal like on the bottom two.
Think the walk was on the Stratford on Avon canal just North of Baddesley Clinton
After 10 years in the wilderness, Bowie releases new single/ album on his birthday. Amongst all the media bluff n bluster I came across this great version of Where Are We Now? by musician for hire Momus. Gotta say, even a s a massive Bowie fan, this is streets ahead better than Bowie's version.
Here's the original for comparison
There's even a Harry Hill remix
Plus, how obscure are YOUR musical tastes...ever wondered if there was some yardstick you could measure your cool music taste too? Well now you can check your cred factor with the handy Obscurometer. Can you can out cool your pals with your weird tastes.
Well I guess it's that time of year when the web succumbs to list mania again, when we all 'fess up' about the stuff we've been listening too and raving about all year. I may as well add my 2p worth, and whilst it is by no means complete list of aural 'diggage', the accompanying MP3 compilation gives you a rough idea what's been rocking my world for much of the last year.
Of course, after compiling a shortish 20 song tracklist I realised there were quite a few notable records I'd forgot to include, so there ay yet be a part two, but for now, I hope you enjoy my little Soundtrack annual.
Track list goes a something like this... (The video's below don't necessarily represent tracks on the compilation')
1. The Pre New - I Believe In Jackie (From the CD 'Music For People Who Hate Themselves')
Rising from the ashes of Earl Brutus and World of Twist, The Pre New glitter stomped their way into my heart with a wonderful album encompassing influences as diverse as D.A.F.and Ivor Cutler through to Italian disco and Punk and all points in between. Lyrics laced with a dark and frankly ridiculous reference points from popular culture to pop art. Deserved to be huge, but sadly seem to have been universally overlooked.
2. G R - Bradenhend (From the vinyl LP 'A Reverse Age')
Great in your face album in a similar vein to many early to mid 80's Blast First noise acts like Big Black, Sonic Youth, Big Stick etc... Sadly only got a limited vinyl release. This one really floated my boat.
3. Pop.1280 - Bodies In The Dunes (From the Sacred Bones LP 'The Horror')
Another great ensemble taking their grimey cues from the darkest recesses of post punk, Pop.1280 ( their named after a Hunter S Thompson novel) mesh dark garage guitar with stark electronics, deep bass and pounding drums to brew up a heady stew of claustrophobia and paranoia fresh to your own front door. Can't wait for the next record, I'm sure its gonna be a keeper. Much of this album has similar dynamics and sound the last album 'The Human Jukebox' by Antipodean wonders The Scientists which trust me, is a GOOD THING.
4. The KVB - Until I'm Cold (From the digital only release 'Always Then')
This duo take all the best bits of 70's/80's post punk (Joy Division, Mary Chain, Cure et al) along with the odd dose of Suicide and Spacemen 3 to boot and mold it all into something new and fresh. This album seems to only be available as a digital download, here's hoping it gets a 'proper' release in the not to distnt future.
5. Woven Hand - Closer (Taken from the album 'The Laughing Stalk')
Great album by one time singer with 16 Horsepower. All the usual themes are on show, religion, redemption and Old Nick, but fleshed out with a meatier sound than the early Woven Hand releases.
6. Tarwater - Radio War (Taken from the album 'Inside The Ships')
I've been a fan of Tarwater since the LP 'Animals, Suns and Atoms' from the mid 90's. and have closely followed there on/off career ever since. Can't say the new album holds any surprises sonically. Lush soundscapes, mid tempo beats and hushed vocals is the order of the day with a nice mix of acoustic and electronic instrumentation. Plus there's is a great cover of the D.A.F song 'Sato Sato' which is appreciably different enough to the original to be interesting but similar enough that you recognise what song it is.
7. Clinic - Seesaw (Taken from the LP 'Free Reign')
Rockier album than were used to from Clinic. All the usual ingredients are there, melodion, organ, guitar and drums, and dare I say a less melancholic air than those early albums, but everything I love about them is still intact.
8. Peaking Lights - Cosmic Tides (Taken form the album 'Lucifer')
This is a great step forward from last years '936', The band seem more self assured and aredefinately channeling King Tubby in there somewhere.Hell they even released an 'In Dub' version of Lucifer too which is ever bit as essential. Would luuurve to catch these babies live, bet they'd be a blast.
9. Death Grips - System Blower (Taken from the CD 'The Money Store')
Lets get it straight, Hip Hop ain't my thing, but something about Death Grips really got under my skin. Could be that they operate as a real band, guitar, keyboards, drums etc, and have an appreciably harder sound more akin to punk than the usual MTV kak were used to being served up. Can't say the subject matter strays much form the rap mores were used too, but those abrasive sounds are really what caught my attention.
10. METZ - Negative Space (Taken from the the LP 'Metz')
This is a fantastic slice of raucous guitar and drums, fueled by teen angst and vinegar and piss.
I have been a massive electronic music fan for most of my life. Something about the tones, frequencies and textures synthesizers evoke has always really interested me musically, and for many years after the 80's I guess it was dance music that did it for me. At the time (late 80's early 90's) it seemed to be pushing new and interesting boundaries, but slowly over time it got samey and repetitive and I lost interest. It seemed to stagnate with four to the floor beats and ridiculous wailing divas, not those pure and interesting noises it started out with. But, something about VCMG got under my skin. I wasn't too bothered on first hearing the album Ssss. Nothing new is really brought to the table in terms of pushing boundaries, but the combination of rich and pure analogue tones really does it for me. If I'm honest, it's basically Vince Clarke and Martin Gore ripping off mid period Nitzer Ebb, but in a goood way.
Cyrk is a great quirky album, full of fragile voices and deranged fuzz excess, not quite up there with the debut album 'Me Oh My', but interesting enough that it had me coming back for more. Cate is basically channeling Trish Keenan on 'Greta', and I could have done without the drastic trumpet parping at the end, but it's still has something about it that makes me put the needle back to the beginning of the track every time.
13. Julian Cope - As The Beer Flows Over Me (From the double CD 'Psychedelic Revolution')
Copes best album in a good while (tough still not as good as Christophe F's 'Heathen Frontiers In Sound'). If I'm honest, I couldn't stand this album when I first got hold of it. I thought it a little twee and light weigt, but coming home from a particularly arduous hike, it turned up on the walkman and seems to be just the right thing for the drive home. There are some great catchy sing alongs on here, not something I ever thought I'd associate with Cope, but his melodic strengths really shine through on this album. Some of the lyrical sentiments are a little embarrassing to say the least, real 6th form bedroom rantings, but you know his heart is in the right place. I just wish he'd stop the 2 CD thang though, the album is barely 80 minutes long. For professed 'eco' warrior, he's bloody wasteful.
14. P.I.L. - The Room I Am In (Taken from the album 'This Is')
I was pleasantly surprised how good the latest offering fro P.I.L. is. Seems to meld the best of the later stuff, with some of the nouce of those seminal early records. High points for me were the tracks 'One Drop', Lollipop Opera' and the Magazine like ambiance of' The Room I Am In' (Which owes ore than a nod and a wink to Magazine track 'The Book')
15. Rites Wild - Thieves (Taken from the Not Not Fun release 'Ways Of Being')
If I'm honest, I don't know a whole lot about the artist behind the tour de force that is Rites Wild. I've read that the LP is basically three super limited cassette releases and a few new tracks bundled together to make an LP. Channeling the same sonic reverberations as 'Stella On Source', Rites Wild is a delicious mix of reverb, delay and strung out drones, held together with gossamer beats,micro melodies and a hushed/buried vocal.
16. Peaking Lights - Cosmic Dub (Taken from the rather wonderful 'Lucifer In Dub' LP)
17. Moon Duo - Seer [Psychic Ills Remix] ( Taken from the limited Moon Duo - Mazes Remixed LP)
Seems to be a bit of a thing about 'remix' albums this year. Luckily most seem to be worth a listen. There are some drastically different (in a good way) versions on the 'Mazes Remixed' album. Well worth picking up.
18. Eternal Tapestry - Alone Against Tomorrow - (Taken from the Thrill Jockey LP 'A World Out of Time')
Don't know a whole lot about Eternal Tapestry other than they make a righteous guitar driven psych rock, and remind me of the seminal and sublime Michael Yonkers Band. Looking forward to more from these guys in the coming year
19. Mugstar - Axis Modulator - (From the LP 'Axis')
Mugstar make space rock into an art form. Gota say Axis is my fav' so far.
20. The Horrors - I Can See Through You [Blank Mass Remix] (From the forthcoming box set 'Higher')
Another remix album (this one is available for download from the Horrors website) prior to the release of a 4 12"/CD/DVD box set due out next year.
Am very excited about Warp's forthcoming release of the soundtrack to Berberian Sound Studio. This was the last recording made by one of my favourite bands Broadcast before the sad and untimely death of singer Trish Keenan. Out on Warp on 7th Jan 2013, you can pre-order vinyl and CD here. DVD/ Blueray released December 2012.
