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Here's Johnny!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Generation Landslide
Many years ago, I used to lounge around the house singing Alex Harvey’s ‘Gamblin’ Bar Room Blues’ at the top of my voice. It’s a poignant little ditty about infidelity, and alcohol fuelled murder with the stirring chorus of
The point was that it used to drive my father mad. He would make out he didn’t care for as long as possible so as not to encourage me, but eventually he would snap and tell me to stop singing “that revolting song”. I would continue with gusto.
Cut to the present day and life in the Little House: the Little effay lies on the sofa idly toying with a colouring pencil and merrily singing
I try to ignore it, but my stomach gets tighter and tighter until I just have to do something. “Can’t you sing something else?” I ask. She smiles at me, ups the volume, and starts doing the actions.
I can hear the ghost of my old man chuckling over my shoulder.
Ho ye, ho ye, you’re just as drunk as me
Ho ye, ho ye, headin’ for the deep blue sea
The point was that it used to drive my father mad. He would make out he didn’t care for as long as possible so as not to encourage me, but eventually he would snap and tell me to stop singing “that revolting song”. I would continue with gusto.
Cut to the present day and life in the Little House: the Little effay lies on the sofa idly toying with a colouring pencil and merrily singing
McDonalds, McDonalds
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
I try to ignore it, but my stomach gets tighter and tighter until I just have to do something. “Can’t you sing something else?” I ask. She smiles at me, ups the volume, and starts doing the actions.
I can hear the ghost of my old man chuckling over my shoulder.
Posted by: johneffay / 5:12 PM
Friday, December 09, 2005
The Ape of Naples
Ha ha, I’ve got it! Initial impressions, because I’ve only heard it twice: ermm, well, it’s okay I suppose. Obviously being a sad fanboy with access to the Backwards demos and various bootlegs, I’ve heard versions of just about everything on it before. The thing is, in many cases I’ve heard better versions; notably in the case of ‘Cold Cell’ and ‘The Last Amethyst Deceiver’ (do we really need this? I make it the sixth version officially released). Furthermore, I would have preferred fewer tracks that went on longer as too many of them never really get going, giving the album a somewhat disjointed feel. ‘Triple Sun’ sounds great but, at three and half minutes, it feels like a radio edit for the much longer version on …and the Ambulance Died in His Arms.
The standout tracks for me are ‘Tattooed Man’ and ‘Going Up’; the latter featuring Francois Testory turning the ‘Are You Being Served?’ lyrics into something spectacularly haunting. These two make the album worthwhile. None of the rest of it is actually bad, but ‘sure to be seen as the classic Coil album of all time’? I very much doubt it; more a slightly weak coda to an illustrious career.
One last whinge: whilst the artwork is quite nice, the packaging is a non-standard size and features the sort of foldout that has all the user-friendly foldability of an Ordnance Survey map. Why they couldn’t just use a digi-pack and a booklet is beyond me. I’ve already transferred the CD to a jewel case and consigned the cover to the large trunk in which I keep all the other fucking silly CD packages which won’t fit in racks, never to be looked at again, but which I’m too anal to throw away.
The standout tracks for me are ‘Tattooed Man’ and ‘Going Up’; the latter featuring Francois Testory turning the ‘Are You Being Served?’ lyrics into something spectacularly haunting. These two make the album worthwhile. None of the rest of it is actually bad, but ‘sure to be seen as the classic Coil album of all time’? I very much doubt it; more a slightly weak coda to an illustrious career.
One last whinge: whilst the artwork is quite nice, the packaging is a non-standard size and features the sort of foldout that has all the user-friendly foldability of an Ordnance Survey map. Why they couldn’t just use a digi-pack and a booklet is beyond me. I’ve already transferred the CD to a jewel case and consigned the cover to the large trunk in which I keep all the other fucking silly CD packages which won’t fit in racks, never to be looked at again, but which I’m too anal to throw away.
Posted by: johneffay / 1:36 PM
[ the X 10/12/2005 00:01:27 :: web]
[ johneffay 10/12/2005 00:39:00 :: web]
[ loki 10/12/2005 21:30:43 :: web]
[ johneffay 11/12/2005 15:05:18 :: web]
[ the X 11/12/2005 16:05:26 :: web]
[ loki 11/12/2005 19:45:17 :: web]
[ infinite 13/12/2005 02:26:38]
[ johneffay 13/12/2005 03:40:17 :: web]
[ darth gredient 23/01/2006 06:58:16]
[ johneffay 27/01/2006 03:10:56 :: web]
Care to comment?
- no! -don't say this!
...i'm putting my fingers into my ears and try to erase this post lalalala until i've heard it for myself- dammit, now you're spoiling all the fun!:(
(and i've got a *nagging* suspicion that the corrupt nordic post system is going to eat up this package along with all the other "lost" items who routinely and mysteriously always seem to disappear in the postman's arms around christmastime/winter solstice...bless'im, his family must have heaps of limited post-industrialist/punk/avant/not-prog-but-sound-like-prog/kraut/spunk-funk/noise-pop/etc. digipack releases by now...i hope they won't come for the this heat re-masters!...eek!)
but really- it's nice to have it in your hands, innit? come on...nothing beats that anorak moment of joy when you tear of the plastic wrap and can touch/smell/hear the newly born record for the first time...?
i do have a vague hope that they'll re-release all their major records though- their catalogue is way too good to just disappear into obscurity/the mists of history....:(
...i'm putting my fingers into my ears and try to erase this post lalalala until i've heard it for myself- dammit, now you're spoiling all the fun!:(
(and i've got a *nagging* suspicion that the corrupt nordic post system is going to eat up this package along with all the other "lost" items who routinely and mysteriously always seem to disappear in the postman's arms around christmastime/winter solstice...bless'im, his family must have heaps of limited post-industrialist/punk/avant/not-prog-but-sound-like-prog/kraut/spunk-funk/noise-pop/etc. digipack releases by now...i hope they won't come for the this heat re-masters!...eek!)
but really- it's nice to have it in your hands, innit? come on...nothing beats that anorak moment of joy when you tear of the plastic wrap and can touch/smell/hear the newly born record for the first time...?
i do have a vague hope that they'll re-release all their major records though- their catalogue is way too good to just disappear into obscurity/the mists of history....:(
[ the X 10/12/2005 00:01:27 :: web]
Don't get me wrong, it makes my top 5 albums released this year but, because it's Coil, it has a lot to live up to. I'm sure you'll like it, but whether you'll like it as much as some of the other Coil albums is doubtful.
Thanks very much for the genre 'not-prog-but-sound-like-prog'; I know exactly what you mean!
Thanks very much for the genre 'not-prog-but-sound-like-prog'; I know exactly what you mean!
[ johneffay 10/12/2005 00:39:00 :: web]
i have a different take on this but it could be you're half-light...
[ loki 10/12/2005 21:30:43 :: web]
Well, obviously I'm never going to agree with somebody who rates Love's Secret Domain so highly ;) I've never thought particularly highly of that album and somewhere at the bottom of a rated list of tracks on it would be 'Teenage Lightning', so I couldn't possibly agree that it is the central song on either the Ape or LSD.
Obviously it's on constant rotation in the Little House at the moment, but I don't have much more to add apart from sticking by my assertion that it would be better if it contained fewer tracks which were longer. They could free up quite a bit of space by getting rid of 'Teenage Lightning 2005' for a start!
Obviously it's on constant rotation in the Little House at the moment, but I don't have much more to add apart from sticking by my assertion that it would be better if it contained fewer tracks which were longer. They could free up quite a bit of space by getting rid of 'Teenage Lightning 2005' for a start!
[ johneffay 11/12/2005 15:05:18 :: web]
...are we talking the *same* version of "Teenage Lightning 2005" which appeared on the CD-R-only "Black Antlers" release, which i'm sad and anorak-y enough to have, or is it a new and reworked version never released before in any form or format?
[ the X 11/12/2005 16:05:26 :: web]
X, the one on Black Antlers is different - sort of - from the one on The Ape of Naples... more of a remix than a new version... John's right about some of the tracks being too short though, especially Triple Sun... i was expecting a masterpiece after hearing it on Ambulance.... but this is a little disappointing...
As for LSD.. well, i'm so stroppy i might not comment here again - kinda trolling in reverse... see how you like that...
(insert sound of mad Mumra cackle and hand-rubbing)
As for LSD.. well, i'm so stroppy i might not comment here again - kinda trolling in reverse... see how you like that...
(insert sound of mad Mumra cackle and hand-rubbing)
[ loki 11/12/2005 19:45:17 :: web]
hey, on a sorta related note, (loki is no. 1 hit for search on her and Coil!), effay, I've been listening to lots of Kate Bush lately (not the new one, too expensive but early stuff), and I heartily take back something I once said to you in conversation about her work....thought you'd like to know!
[ infinite 13/12/2005 02:26:38]
And it was only last night that I was chuckling with Mrs effay about how it's suddenly become fashionable to like Kate Bush (not that I'd ever accuse you of pandering to fashion, dear heart). It won't be long now before you're begging for access to my Grateful Dead collection!
[ johneffay 13/12/2005 03:40:17 :: web]
I just don't get the deal with Kate Bush - should I like her just 'cause my dad used to fancy her, I is there actually some merit to that caterwauling? On the other hand, don't beg for access to GD - infinite should do the decent thing and go get some! Ha Ha Ha, where would you suggest to begin? DPs or Europe '72? The only hassle with falling for those pranksters is that here in Blighty it is a pain in the arse trying to buy anything - so it's all .com purchases and then wait for ages. And you're scared by Mr. Cameron? He reminds me of a young Kenneth Baker, that same slightly unctuous appearance and ability not to commit to anything in public whilst ensuring that a dogma-led agenda is imposed. Sorry, I'm confused. That's Blair.
LOL
LOL
[ darth gredient 23/01/2006 06:58:16]
where would you suggest to begin? DPs or Europe '72?
Never Dick's Picks: That way madness and bankruptcy lie. Also, interminable arguments about which are the best ones (1, 15, & 16).
Europe '72, eh? You've got the right year, but I'd fo for Steppin' Out, the 4 CD collection from UK concerts in '72 because:
1. It's not overdubbed.
2. It has a massive version of 'Dark Star'.
Never Dick's Picks: That way madness and bankruptcy lie. Also, interminable arguments about which are the best ones (1, 15, & 16).
Europe '72, eh? You've got the right year, but I'd fo for Steppin' Out, the 4 CD collection from UK concerts in '72 because:
1. It's not overdubbed.
2. It has a massive version of 'Dark Star'.
[ johneffay 27/01/2006 03:10:56 :: web]
Care to comment? Wednesday, December 07, 2005
New Kid on the Block
Tuned into to Prime Minister’s Question Time today to see how the new Tory darling coped with his big debut: Chewed up and spat out. One amusing snide comment (the prime minister used to be the future); one offer to vote with Blair to shore him up against his backbenchers (good strategy this – make Blair’s own party hate him); one hopeless attempt to dig at Tone over climate change. The only time Blair got rattled was when Alex Salmond asked him to ignore the minutiae, and define the differences between his political philosophy and Cameron’s. Predictably, an angry Blair got caught up in the minutiae and ended by saying that he differed from Salmond in believing that Scotland should remain in the UK. Hardly an effective jibe against the leader of the SNP.
Despite his poor debut, Cameron scares me. People say he has no policies, but I suspect that he has loads and the wishy washy ‘I love Society’ blather is simply a way of sounding vacuous and appealing whilst sneaking in an agenda somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun. Witness the one substantive he came out with at PMQ’s: All schools should be allowed to set their own admissions policies. It doesn’t take a genius to see where that’s going to go.
Of course, New Labour scare me as well and things probably won’t get better when Blair finally pisses off to stand trial in the Hague for war crimes (I can dream, can’t I). It will be crap if Gordon ‘pass me the baby oil; I’ve got some figures to massage’ Brown gets the leadership, but probably even worse if he doesn’t. Either way, I’m praying that people see David Cameron for what he really is and that he doesn’t manage to revive the fortunes of the Conservative Party.
Despite his poor debut, Cameron scares me. People say he has no policies, but I suspect that he has loads and the wishy washy ‘I love Society’ blather is simply a way of sounding vacuous and appealing whilst sneaking in an agenda somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun. Witness the one substantive he came out with at PMQ’s: All schools should be allowed to set their own admissions policies. It doesn’t take a genius to see where that’s going to go.
Of course, New Labour scare me as well and things probably won’t get better when Blair finally pisses off to stand trial in the Hague for war crimes (I can dream, can’t I). It will be crap if Gordon ‘pass me the baby oil; I’ve got some figures to massage’ Brown gets the leadership, but probably even worse if he doesn’t. Either way, I’m praying that people see David Cameron for what he really is and that he doesn’t manage to revive the fortunes of the Conservative Party.
