Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys, by Viv Albertine

Thanks to Faber Social for putting on a good show at the Lexington last night. It was the launch of Viv Albertine's new rock autobiography, Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys. You could order a gig ticket + the book beforehand, then collect your copy of the book at the venue on the night, which I thought was fun. Free badges and postcards to pack into your free tote bag too - and I also came away with a pair of Viv-style stripy tights, which was a nice touch.

I expected to see an absurd vision in a darkened gig room of squinting old punks, poring over pages of her lively verse, as we awaited Viv's arrival on stage.

I'm sad to report that Viv had to leave the venue, an hour before stage-time, due to some sad personal news, and understandably having to head off. It was an emotional thing to be party to. John Robb, who made an announcement, worked hard to keep the night one of celebrating Viv. Old friends, boyfriends and rock colleagues gathered on stage to give fans an insight into Viv.

Tessa Pollitt (bandmate, who'd done some stonking dub/reggae DJing through the evening), producer Dennis Bovell, an old school friend, and Viv's first boyfriend (!) all stepped up on stage to reveal fond and funny stories and anecdotes. I'm hazy now, and regret not jotting down notes afterwards - maybe I'll add anything that comes back. But I remember there was also a lot of stuff about The Slits, some of which even our compere, the punk expert/musician/music journalist John Robb seemed to be hearing for the first time. My personal favourite was hearing how the band had secretly 'borrowed' a mixing deck from Yes when they were on tour away from the studio, and Ari Up got a pen knife and etched ARI WOZ HERE onto the pristine mohogany wood! Insight from their producer, the dub legend Dennis Bovell was really valuable too - how excellent the band were as musicians despite what anyone wants to say about them nowadays; how long-established musicians struggled to learn to play their bass parts, and how unique Viv's guitar playing style was. It was also good to hear it be emphasised that the Slits were a punk band - not post-punk, as they get mis-labelled - they were there all along, young and in the thick of it all with the key bands involved.

I can't begin to imagine how tough things are for Viv right now. But I wanted to write up this blog as planned, to say what a good night Faber Social put on in difficult circumstances, and now also to say how sad I am to hear Viv's news. I hope she gets to take the time she needs, and all her fans will - I'm sure - totally understand her need for perhaps not going on with any promotional activities or anything right now. But here is to the book's success, as Viv is a lively, vocal, much-needed inspiration, and in Viv's word's rock biographies tend only to be written 'by twats', and generally only by men too.

Animals That Swim, Pullover, Abuse fanzine, and the spirit of 90s indie

Thoroughly enjoying creased up old issues of Abuse indie fanzine from the mid 90s lately - tatty old, black and white Xeroxed pages, heavy on typed cut and paste text and messily pasted backgrounds, only one staple in the top left-hand corner - nostalgia!

I remembered Animals That Swim again, and put them on as I read the fanzines, excited as a kid at Christmas. I bought one single at the time. But I do have one album that I came across in more recent years, the one that has the brilliant Faded Glamour on it, a classic indie song.




Their album Workshy sounds fantastic too. Particularly enjoy Pink Carnations (maybe ignoring the lyric about the big white turkey) and Smooth Steps. I miss that sophisticated, lyrical, wistful kind of indie that the 1990s produced a lot of. Whipping Boy and Jack were other bands of that ilk, also sadly missed by me.



I also marvelled at a Pullover interview in Abuse fanzine, as few shards of this sublime pop band survive. I have written about Pullover in the paper 'zine of this blog, they are a sadly lost, forever-to-be-treasured, indie-pop band of the mid 90s. I am still besotted with their pop songs, and I cherish the 7" singles of theirs that I have. I felt a bit of a pang to see the band's home address (a flat in Camden - but they're back in Manchester now, I think) 18 years too late. And the fanzine editor had a demo tape of their album - never released, to this day - which I really do not wish to exit the world without ever hearing!

Reading about the 90s indie gig scene again feels strange. It seems like such a small world now. And the spirit so different - the unabashed enthusiasm and rallying for little bands and challenging the music press status quo. Also the power that fanzines had to make new bands - they were useful and focal outlets and bands took the writers seriously as such forces for the good. The internet and digital music and all that goes with it - plus the lack of power/centrality to any kind of music press now - make things so much bigger, more out-there, less defined; not to mention how carefully corporate and hegemonic things have become in that dilution process. Even just reading about it now, in those battered, photocopied pages, it gives a real sense of how it felt like a community, one big exuberant party, involving a small number of specific little scrappy venues, that we'll never see the like of again.

Currently playing

1. Neko Case: Man

I heartily recommend Neko Case's recent album, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I love You. The song Man seems to send a nice anti-macho message with lyrics from different gendered perspectives, and overall is just quite simply a rousing great pop-rock tune. The album also has a high point in the graceful but catchy Calling Card.

2. Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros: X-Ray Style

This song keeps getting jammed in my head, since I went to a recent Strummerville night, with Ray Ganges on decks playing this, plus a bunch of other Strummer-related material, good reggae, old punk, and so on. I feel like as I get older, I prefer the work Joe Strummer did post-Clash, for the many more moments of tenderneess, intimacy and easygoing, breezy, calm sense. See also:

3.Joe Strummer: Sleepwalk

4. Viv Albertine: The Madness of Clouds

Really enjoying Viv Albertine's unique approach to music making - interesting sounds and her style of playing guitar and singing. Greatly anticipating her new rock biography too - not many books around that are by female musicians, frankly, plus there is that female perspective of punk that seems to have been written out of history.

5. Robyn Hitchcock: Keep Finding Me

Any excuse for a song by Robyn Hitchcock, really. This is a recent discovery of mine as I still have so much to explore of his glorious canon of work. He is rarely off the stereo in this house.

6. Go Kart Mozart: 

Only Lawrence could cover a Roger Whittaker song with such electric pop panache and perfection. But just when will Go Kart Mozart play London again... Last tour didn't even include a London date and got cancelled. We're waiting! Also, Go Kart Mozart are forever the mightier, better band of his career and we will never fathom this reverence for Felt this has been going on in recent years. Lawrence would agree too! Recommend all the band's albums (plus his work on Denim as well - synth pop excellence). I was going to link to Electric Rock and Roll on here, but Youtube doesn't have that one.

Nick Cave

Nat Johnson

My favourite song at the moment is by the solo singer-songwriter Nat Johnson:

I was delighted to discover her music recently by way of a surprise gig, with live violin along with acoustic guitar and her wonderful, reflective vocals. Really moving music - something so powerful in the quiet. I also really appreciate singers who are natural and gentle in their singing. I can't wait to investigate more of her music, and hopefully more gigs some time too - I think the Union Chapel in London on a summery Saturday afternoon would be just perfect.

Whole host of stuff to listen to by Nat on her official website.

Lou Reed Lou Reed

Luke Haines's tribute in song to Lou Reed is great for lacking in sentiment (lyrics), and just inducing a smile instead:

https://soundcloud.com/luke_haines/lou-reed-lou-reed

My own tribute to Lou Reed:

(a sketch of Lou, representing him in the era when he auditioned for the part of Timothy Lumsden in the sitcom Sorry - here he is with an old dish of lasagne from his mum, the caption being 'Oh Mother! I'm only eating this lasagne before it starts walking to the Post Office to draw out its pension. Which is long overdue, I might add!')

The Beauty of Earls Court (set to be demolished)

Earls Court features in a song by the revered Robyn Hitchcock - the lyrics, more than a decade old, seem to have been strangely prescient:

It opens with the couplet: 

Money makes the world go wrong

So what, who cares?

It goes onto sing sweetly of 'the Beauty of Earls Court', which is 'like the canyons of New York (but not as filthy or cool)'.

But then - given the possible future fate of Earls Court - comes a real gut-punch of a line and sentiment:

I've got to find another home

I've got to find another home

It's pure coincidence, but just carries such huge resonance in the circumstances.

Earls Court not only faces loss of its large, grand, beautiful, original art deco exhibition centre/concert venue - but the loss of community and housing with such huge impact.

This is about displacement of people, above all.

To get up to speed with the campaign, please read on here

Save Earls Court campaign has been going strong with support of affected residents, and you can follow their plans on the official website: http://www.saveearlscourt.com/

From the campaign site:

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham has approved the demolition of the world famous iconic, art deco Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre. 

The Earl’s Court Area Action Group believes that decision is wrong. It is now campaigning to save an asset that is of vital importance to the capital's economy. Together, Earl’s Court’s twin exhibition halls provide West London's largest exhibition/ conference space and concert venue. Despite assurances, it transpires no tangible replacement facilities will replace a loss, which economically and culturally defines the area. 

Additionally, against the majority wish of its residents, a community’s perfectly adequate homes will be demolished in the name of a hungry developer’s bottom-line profit. This is ill-conceived scheme pushed through at the expense of the area's economic and cultural well-being and needs to be halted.

The Earl’s Court Area Action Group urges you to sign its petition to Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government asking that he calls in the applications due to the conflict of interest for Boris Johnson in his capacity of Mayor and head of TfL, which owns a substantial part of the development site.

SAVE EARLS COURT PETITION HERE