Last week I was feeling a bit sluggish so haven’t been touring the media hinterlands as I would have liked. Having said that there are still a few things to share. Obviously the football season is upon us now so all pretence at being an edgy and artistic young buck are out of the window in favour of the daft fervour that comes with hugging overweight men in pubs and swearing at talented strangers. This is of course not to pour scorn on the idea that football has its own artistic and creative heart.Anyone who had the pleasure to watch big Jan Molby drop a shoulder in the late eighties knows that the beautiful game has the potential to rival ballet for physical poetry (Ninjinsky with an eating disorder.) Sadly these days what with Wayne Rooney’s face it’s easy to forget that there is such a thing as footballing grace.
To remind ourselves of some of the reasons why we love football in spite of its occasional crassness read a bit about Walter Tull (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Tull) and Bert Trautman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Trautmann) and try listening to any Half Man Half Biscuit records. These “four boys who shook the Wirral” help to illustrate clearly that some of the best football and the most dedicated supporters operate away from the glare of the premiership. On a personal note: Become Tranmere Rovers fans immediately. We need you and will make you all very welcome.
Mmmm I can taste the hotdogs and hear the singing just looking at this picture. TRFC forever!!!!
4.What a difference a day makes. My two teams both drew over the weekend and instantly the lustre has gone from the football season. Not even glorious defeats to stir the soul. So let’s get back to those things that are immune to mediocrity: Music, art and drinking until the pavement bites us in the forehead.
It’s very easy to talk about the natural beauty of life and how diluting this simple poetry with drink and degeneracy is an affront to the innate perfection of the universe. Having said that, after a couple of boxes of wine even the dogshit in the gutter begins to look like an ergonomically designed pillow. How can anything be wrong with that? Obviously most things are wrong with that. For example it’s very difficult to remember to close your eyes (and thus avoid blindness) when using excreta to cradle your ravaged bonce.
Enough about my lifestyle! Through the wonders of facebook I have become aware of an old school pals efforts to breathe some arty life in to Liverpool. This is happening right now so if you find yourself up north swing by: http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/nervecentre/whats_on.php It looks great and is exactly the sort of thing we all should be doing all the time. Gosh darn super groovy.
Thinking about the old country is making me wistful for the accents and attitudes of the North. Here’s Tony Harrison:
Back in blighty after a spell in Spain inexplicably working with children on summer camps. This is a life choice which I won’t be repeating as it turns out children can see through my affectations and can tell better knob jokes than me! Unpleasant.
Little bit of class (Man Ray if you care) there to take your minds off the knob jokes. A pal of mine has been showing me some photos by a chap named Stefano Stranges and I rather like them. http://www.strangesimage.com/art/othersNot sure about some of this but the kids deffo got something worth keeping an eye on.If you’re in the smoke go and see the following at the Barbican library. Some of it is predictably bland but there are a few little belters lurking in here and it’s free. http://www.cityandcripplegate-ps.org/ There is a gallery you can nose through online but let’s be frank it’s free to go so go unless you’re under house arrest or something like that.
Finally: The Handsome family are one of the most interesting and inspiring bands to ever have graced the world with their music. A husband and wife duo who write and perform some truly original and haunting works of twentieth and twenty first century American Gothic.http://www.myspace.com/thehandsomefamily listen to the stuff on here and then buy all their records (and if you go on their website you can buy some interesting paintings too.)
Never mind I’m sure it’ll all start flooding back to me soon and all the good stuff will be gushing like a poorly maintained oil well (how’s that for a semi topical simile eh?)
There’s lots to report so I’ll pace myself and with any luck I’ll accidentally write something interesting which will captivate and entertain (I’ll settle for nobody being sick down their shirts but why not aim high?) Of late I’ve been noticing some really encouraging changes in both online media and the arts in general and my stated intention is to report what I see and hear and hopefully generate some worthwhile discussions and maybe prompt some kind soul to steer me down the path to even more innovative cultural endeavours.
It’s long been a source of irritation to me that those responsible for so called groundbreaking media are really just adding day-glo patterns to the coat tails of the mainstream and that the majority of new trends are neither new nor trendy. I am the first to admit that I will never have an original idea in my life but there are people who do and it makes my blood boil that these heroes are often overlooked in favour of the terminally bland (often appearing interesting at first due to alcoholism or mental illness.) I can’t do but I can find and I can share.
You know about these already but I love them after all this time and I’d hate you to forget how great they are just because they’ve been around for a while:
I love this song. It’s as simple as that. When I’m feeling down, flat, miserable or just out of sorts, I can’t think of a better song to raise my spirits. I found this video while poking around on youtube this morning, as you do, and it’s a lovely change to the official Viva la Vida video clip. Set to a series of five paintings by the artist Thomas Cole, it is entitled ‘The Course of Empire’. Coldplay’s lyrics combined with these stirring images make for a reel kick start to the day. Take a look!
Written by Ruth Slavid, “Extreme Architecture: Building for Challenging Environments” is as impressive as the title suggests. A journey through the elements, the book covers the major environmental factors—hot, cold, high, wet and space—categorized into five chapters and led by a brief summary explaining the difficulties of each climate.
The range of impressive architectural feats includes a tropical summer home, a Swiss chairlift station, a floating sauna, a lunar hotel, African school buildings and an underground global seed vault, to name a few. With the photographs just as inspiring as their subjects, the book makes not only for a great reference point but also a work of art.
This is the second part of the BBC’s interview with Alfred Hitchcock in 1964, and if you enjoyed the first half you’re sure to love the second. Topics of discussion range from ‘A good cry’ and the satisfaction of temporary pain in Thrillers, to reality and whether we really want it in film, and the differences between English and American audiences. Hitchcock also goes on to mention how content is of little importance, and that audience reaction is what it’s all about. A wonderfully entertaining and informative documentary that is sure to have you rushing down to the local video store.
For any lover of film and cinema this is a must see. This first half of the 1964 BBC interview with Alfred Hitchcock is highly amusing, and not to mention extremely interesting. Hitchcock talks about the science of pure cinema and how one must tell a story visually, thereby letting the “talk” be part of the atmosphere.
He also goes on to say how the art of pure cinematics means an audience in Tokyo, New York and London watching the same film will respond emotionaly to the same things. There are some fantastic comments by Hitchcock and you’re sure to catch yourself having a good giggle.
Banksy strikes back! But this time it’s legit. The anonymous street artist, who is more accustomed to attacking city walls and buildings like a guerrilla soldier, has this time taken the straight approach and landed his biggest exhibition yet in the Bristol City Museum.
A collection of Banksy works using different mediums but with the same cheeky Banksy style will be on display until August 31st. Many never-before-seen works, including his animatronic pets which were recently on display in New York, have been presented in what was a bit of a coup for the museum’s top brass, with many employees having little or no idea what was going on leading up to the exhibition launch. Duped into thinking a film crew was setting up, the artist’s work were literally installed over night! From blood smeared lion statues with remnants of a lion tamer’s outfit at their paws, to beret sporting chimps painting sunsets. A must see.
You have to listen to this. I promise you it’ll be worth it.
Courtesy of a guy who goes by the name of Pogo, this is an electronic piece of music that uses 90% of the sounds recorded in the Disney film “Alice in Wonderland”.
Take a look at the yooouuutuuube version which, visually, works especially well here, but make sure you select the “show video” option.
I am not sure if you’re all familiar with this site… but I think it’s brilliant! Francesco Mugnai teaches graphic design and also works as a Web Manager. What’s really cool is this section on infographics, which makes even the “dullest” information seem interesting…
