Let There Be Music

Prefab Sprout will indeed release a new album in early september! "Let´s change the world with music" (not more not less) will be the first PS-album in eight years.


From what I gather the album was actually planned to be the follow-up to "Jordan: The Comeback" from 1990, titled "Earth: The story so far". Apparently the record company was bored by the spiritual tone of the material and shelved it.

Listening to the album opener "Let there be music" it appears that the whole record could have been put into the vaults, waiting for it´s release 20 years later. "Let there be music" is bonafide Prefab Sprout radio-pop (where it will never be played, of course). I am listening to it on endless repeat right now.
So are these actually only demos recorded roughly 20 years ago? It doesn´t really matter! It´s Prefab Sprout, it´s timeless (regardless of a gated snare and Paddy´s Vadder Abraham-beard).



I think the heroes of back in the day should do remixes for this: Frankie Knuckles, Mashall Jefferson, Justin Robertson... oh, I forgot: they were actually giving remix jobs to the Future Sound of London back then.

Meek

The Strange Story of Joe Meek

Watch   |  

Watch in   |  

Now: Zero! James Graham Ballard, 1930 - 2009

When I found out this morning that James Graham Ballard had died yesterday I was shocked and deeply sad. It almost felt like a distant, but beloved family member was dead. A strange reaction towards the passing of a person I have never met in my life. On the other hand: JG Ballard´s writing and his thoughts have accompanied my life and shaped my world view for the last 25 years.

I constantly re-visit his amazing short-stories, one of which gave the name to this blog. His novels pushed open windows in my mind that would never close again. His interviews provided a constant stream of brilliant insights into the mind of a person who had the ability to see right through the veneer of the human condition. As an admirer of surrealism and pop-art, he was one of the first to understand, decipher and describe the psychological effects the all surrounding media-landscape, technology and architecture are having on our "inner space".

In "The Intensive Care Unit", written in the late 60s or early 70s, he describes the first family meeting of people who live in a future society where physical contact has grown out of fashion. Communication and intimacy is only possible via a closed circuit TV-screen.
What sounds like a drab premise for a thinly disguised parable turns into a gripping story thanks to Ballard´s fantastic imagination. The way he describes the couple´s intimate moments as a series of expertly montaged close-ups of their bodies (private parts are blurred with filters), their honeymoon being spent by watching the same documentaries of some foreign holiday-resort, is written so well that one almost anticipates this hilarious dystopia.

Another brilliant short story from "Myths of the near future" is the wonderfully titled "Motel Architecture". Here we meet a "film critic" who has retreated to live in a self-contained "solarium", where he has devoted himself to analyse the famous "shower scene" from "Psycho" over and over again.
Sitting in a glorified wheelchair, he re-plays the sequence on multiple screens, hoping to finally reveal the hidden geometry that the scene supposedly contains. Only looked after by a cleaning woman, he is totally secluded from any outside reality. Soon he believes that a strange intruder is hiding inside his solarium. He can hear him breath and he catches glimpses of the stranger on surveillance videos.

The conclusion to the story doesn´t come as a big surprise, but Ballard follows the nightmare logic of his visions to the inevitable end. Written in 1978, years before the home-video revolution was sweeping the western world, he painted a bleak but perversely attractive picture of a society that could hardly wait to retreat into their homes and heads, eagerly devoting themselves to their private obsessions.


That was one of Ballard´s remarkable aspects: He never came across as a finger pointing, grumpy man who intended to change our silly ways. Like his protagonists, he embraced the present and the future, knowing that the age of reason had already come to an end.

10 Years ago I moved temporarily into a house that was designed by Le Corbusier. It was like living inside JGB´s "High Rise". Although the sporadic acts of violence never seemed to occur, I was aware of Ballard 24/7. I was prepared to climb to the top!



Here is a couple of obituaries, essays and clippings I gathered today:
The Guardian´s obituary by David Pringle.

The most dedicated and sophisticated Ballardian has an obituary by site owner Simon Sellars.

Re/Search publisher Vale notes his first thought upon hearing of Ballard´s death: “There’s no thinker left alive that I can totally trust. They’re all dead.”

"Cult" is certainly a questionable attribute. BBC NEWS: Cult Author JG Ballard dies at 78

A good article from Filmmaker Magazine.

This is what IFC had to say.

Another obituary from The Telegraph

A very touching collection of readers comments from BBC News: Have your say. Your memories of JG Ballard

Megablog Boing Boing is also deeply influenced by JGB.

Here is a Canadian info/fan site dedicated to the man himself: JG Ballard.

More Thoughts on the death of JG Ballard by Robin Brown

A Personal Obituary by Vicky Lamburn

How the pitiful NME sees it. (They are, of course, forgetting to name "Warm Leatherette" and "The Comsat Angels")

Last but not least, on the lighter side of things: Total Film dreams up pitches for 9 Ballard Stories That Must Be Filmed



"Enslavement designed as mass entertainment."

Do It Yourself - The Story of Rough Trade

Do yourself a favour and watch this great BBC 4 documentary "Do It Yourself - The Story of Rough Trade", if you haven´t done already.
From its humble beginnings as a small record shop filled with records which owner Geoff Travis had brought back from America, to its rise as a major distribution force of independent music and one of the most influential labels of the 1980s.

It´s especially interesting to follow the rise and fall (and rise) of a couple of devoted people who never wanted to be part of the mainstream music industry but soon found out that they needed hits, "Top of the pops" and binding contracts to sustain their growing business.

It is a whopping 88 minutes, but there are lots of worse things you can waste your time on...

Doris birth Day

8 1/5 reminded me that the very funny Doris Day was born 85 years ago today! Happy birthday, Doris! You always looked great in the kitchen...

Mbube

"Mbube" is most likely one of the most famous melodies known on this planet. The history behind this haunting Zulu-song, which would later be known throughout the world as "Wimoweh" and/or "The Lion sleeps tonight" is as ramified and mysterious as the jungle it evokes with its chants and wailing, ghostly voice.


Salomon Linda, who conceived the melody one afternoon in South-Africa´s only recording studio in the 1930s, sold all the rights to the owner of the record company for a minimal amount of cash. In return he was "allowed" to work as a packer in the small company. During the decades, several people would take on the song and changed it until it became an enduring mega-seller. I found it quite surprising that the song, which is widely believed to be an ancient African lullaby, was written in the 1930s and that it was transformed by several composers who conveniently forgot to mention Salomon Linda as the original author.

For some downloadable versions of "Mbube/The Lion sleeps tonight" and a short write-up of the story head to Any Major Dude. The complete and riveting history of the song from it´s conception to the long law-suits during the naughties can be read in this fascinating story.

This is the original recording of "Mbube" by Salomon Linda and the Evening Birds.

Super Sonic Birthday

40 years ago today the Concorde took off for its maiden flight. Although it would last another seven years until the supersonic jet would carry it´s first jet-set passengers.


When I saw the Concorde for the first time on the runway I was surprised how small the jet actually looked, and I remembered how I had read some comments by passengers who complained about the tiny interior of the plane. How typical: Flying at kerosene guzzling Mach 2.23 while eating from custom made china all they could think of is how small the rocket-shaped jet was.



Once, while I was waiting to fly out of JFK with British Airways, a computer malfunction kept the passengers from checking in and for some reason the Concorde travellers would not be allowed to wait in the exclusive lounge. Instead they had to wait with us regular travellers which became a very interesting, slightly nasty experience. It turned out that most of these Concorde travellers were not exactly the Bianca Jagger-type. Instead they were mostly regular, middle-class people with issues who had saved a very long time for a one-way trip with the legendary jet. As soon as their trip deviated from their jet-set fantasy, they were seriously pissed. A matter that got only worse when they got served free champagne...


The last time I have seen the Concorde was at a CSD party in London´s Clapham common. While Björn Again were doing their rendition of "Dancing Queen" and fireworks were going off, the Concorde was majestically crossing the sky, surrounded by explosions of light as thousands of people were cheering this perfect moment!

You can buy a variety of interesting and ugly Concorde memorabilia including cutlery and a whole jet engine, which will only cost you one million Pound Sterling!



After the Russian Tupolev copycat (which also looks amazing) never really "took off", there are currently plans for the "son of Concorde", new supersonic jets that would reach up to 5 Mach. London to Sydney in five hours! Both planes are now grounded and exhibited in an aviation museum in Germany.

Suicide! Horror! Shadazz!

Much confusion about Alan Vega´s alleged 70th birthday last year. Many sources claim that he was born in 1948, but since the release of a series of 10" singles celebrating 70 years of Alan Vega this question seems to be finally answered. Or is it?

I now managed to get my hand on the "The Horrors/Suicide" EP which features an amazing cover of Suicide´s "Shadazz" by Garage Rock band The Horrors.


Quite contrary to their usual sound they manage to perform the futuristic rockabilly rhumba original as if Suicide could sound today. The beat is full of clanging, cheap echo effects that turn the steady beat into a quite intricate polyrhythmic groove. The typical, minimal bass is also present, but it occasionally morphs into a sub-bass growl that nods to Jungle and Dubstep. There is even a half-speed, live drum break all the while lonely guitar chords are wailing away in the background. On top of all this we have the vocalist who sounds exactly like Vega. On first thought I actually thought it was a clever remix.
Click the arrow to listen to one of my favourite songs at the moment: The Horrors - Shadazz

The EP also contains another, very fine cover of "Rocket USA" by Nic Void and a re-mastered live recording of "Radiation" from 1984.

Here is the original for you to compare: Suicide - Shadazz.


Suicide´s second album from 1980, which contains "Shadazz", always stood in the shadow of their monumental debut. It was often called a sell-out because of it´s attempt at being a proper pop-album. Well, after they had atomised rock´n roll with "Rocket USA", "Ghostrider" and "Frankie Teardrop" they emerged from the fall-out with "Cheree", a song that paved the way to the future by looking back. In this regard, the second album was a logical progression from the first. "Diamonds, Fur coat, Champagne" and "Fast Money Music" are actually more influential and visionary than anything from their debut.

Go here for a dose of Diamonds, Fur coat, Champagne

Seconds with Saul Bass

The amazingly disturbing title sequence to John Frankenheimer´s "Seconds" is another Saul Bass masterpiece. Body horror, transformation, surrealism and paranoia all neatly wrapped into an unsettling 3 minutes (with Rock Hudson playing the lead in one of his best roles.)









Here is a rare interview with Mr. Bass discussing his work. I guess this was shot in 1977, after he had already finished his first feature film, the classic "Phase IV".



Together with his wife, Elaine Bass, he directed another, almost forgotten sci-fi film in 1983. "Quest" was a 30 minute short film after a Ray Bradbury story. Financed with the help of a Japanese corporation "Quest" was hardly ever shown and is a lost gem in Bass´ biography.

I found the film in two parts on "google video". Enjoy a fast paced allegory with very "Tron"-like special effects!

Quest 01

Quest 02

Boom!

I was finally able to watch "Boom!", one of the most notorious, critically and financially failed flops in celluloid history.


Like similar car-crash films such as "Showgirls" it is actually not a bad movie. It just totally mis-judged and missed its potential audience (by miles!).

Thanks to John Waters´ frantic eulogies "Boom!" has become a classic of "failed art" and is treasured by lovers of "bad" cinema. Much has been written about its camp value which it delivers in spades!


The opening sequence sets the tone: Liz writhes in pain during a massage. She throws glasses back at her slave-like servants (yes, one is a midget) while pressing her swollen, diamond-clad fingers onto several intercom devices.
"Pain! Injection!!" are her first words and we know we are in for a wild ride after the camera zooms in on one of her famous Krupps-diamond.
Jennifer Saunders must have seen this over and over to model the character of Edina Monsoon from "Absolutely Fabulous" after Liz´s über-bitch performance.


I really didn´t know what to expect of "Boom!" and so I was totally surprised to see a film that looks like it came straight out of J.G. Ballard´s "The Thousand Dreams of Stella Vista" short-story anthology.

All the characters and images that live in Ballard´s imaginary "Vermillion Sands" desert-resort become flesh in "Boom!": The mysterious, tragic woman who wears the most bizarre outfits, who is permanently surrounded by ticking telex-machines and who relies on a system of "elaborate" intercom devices to communicate with her small world of dependent servants.

The drifting man who follows his obsessions, who becomes a part of this secluded world only to play his role in a play that unfolds with nightmare-logic consequence.


All of this takes place in a setting that is one of the most beautifully shot film-sets ever. The house, that combines the best (or worst) of Dali, Pierre Cardin and the Flitstones, is perched on-top of a rugged cliff in Sicily is the true star of the film.
The angles and rooms serve as a fractal mirror of the characters who live and act in seperate universes, even if they all appear in the same frame.


Ballard himself said that "Pandora and the flying Dutchman" (1953), starring Ava Gardner, influenced his vision of Vermillion Sands. "Boom!" was made in 1968, at a time when many of the "Stellavista"-stories had already been written. Although I doubt that director Joseph Losey and production Designer Richard Macdonald modelled "Boom!" after Ballards ideas.

Still, the similarities between the Sissy Goforth of the movie with all the female characters who inhabit Vermillion Sands are uncanny.


I have captured about 90 stills from the not-so-great-copy I obtained of the film. Despite of the slightly murky quality I made sure to capture the most embarrassing moments in all their intoxicated beauty.
Click on any pic for bigger boom!


"Pain!!! INJECTION!!!"



Easter Island?





The arrival of the witch


Crustation


"... i was the guest artist at a relief-thing for victims of a Tycoon or Typhoon, or something."





"Blackie! DICTATION!!! Meaning of life!"






cough, cough, cough, etc.