Entertainment For Lively Minds
Classic NME letters
Posted by epigone on 7 May 2011 - 6:14am.
Mention of Benny on another thread brought to mind a splendid letter in the NME around the time of Searching For The Young Soul Rebels that parodied its sleeve notes by applying the self-mytholgising theme of putting together a crack team to assembling the cast of Crossroads, if I recall correctly.
Does anybody else remember this, does anybody have it and did anybody on here actually write it? If so, I owe you a pint.
On a related matter, does anybody have any favourite NME letters to reference or quote?
Modesty forbids me sharing mine.
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'mythologising'
As you were.
Awwww, come on....
I DEMAND that you stop being modest and share it.
Awwww, OK ...
I thought you'd never ask : - ).
I recall being somewhat irked that they edited it to fit in with a feature they were running at the time entitled The Bozo Songbook, but my letter was this (around the time of Slow Train Coming and its attendant fuss):
Bob Dylan's new single: I fought the Lord (and the Lord won).
"I asked them for salvation
- they gave me a lethal dose"
Was it the NME or Sounds that had that as the title for their 'Slow train coming' review?
I also rather liked "Give 'em enough dope..." for 'Sandinista!'
Always remember the letters page
as being a bit like an internet message board now, full of people who couldn't see past their own opinions.
However, the only one that really sticks is one from two blokes at Bradford University. Can't remember the content, but the best bit was their names:
Pants and Cragg.
I can only remember one off the top of my head
Short and pithy.
"All and all I'm just another prick who bought The Wall" .
I can never hear that song...
..without recalling that letter!
"WHERE IS BEATLES BAND?"
Of course.
The wonderful Samuel K Amphong.
AKA Danny Baker, I believe.
I seem to recall
that the Melody Maker had a superior letters page. Wasn't this the chosen forum for Lennon's diatribes against Macca in the early seventies? And, famously, against Todd Rundgren of course.
Much more superior
They published one of my letters, after all.
Viv Stanshall
replied to a letter in the NME that there was a name for the back of the knees (ie popliteal) I cannot remember how the letter went so the best I can do is this from Q magazine written by Viv.
Distinguished linguists languish In language of English ease.
In hot pot de "Chambers Revised" they gandered
And butchered in bags of "Nuttall's Standard".
But no flic with the "Shorter Ox. Dic. Of Eng."
Will find an n. sing for the back of the knees.
Poplitic, popliteal: both are adj. for the crease.
The ham remains nameless. This is rather hard cheese
- For stuff without title, it is said, cannot be -
Therefore, necks we have napes, also backbone and bottom,
But back of the knees, friends? So far - we ain't got 'em."
On another note a couple of years back the question 'What part of the body does popliteal refer to' was asked on University Challenge. One of the Cambridge students was an ex-pupil of the school I work at and answered ' the back of the knees'. My partner turned to me and said she got that from you, a very proud moment.
I remember
Samuel K Amphong with "Where is Beatles band", plus a series of letters of the "I have a 12" disk with grooves on it - is this a record" variety.