Entertainment For Lively Minds
It's Question Time on the Word Podcast
Posted by David Hepworth on 28 May 2009 - 3:39pm.
Whatever happened to the sound of Young Islington?
What item would we contribute to the OGWT museum?
Would we rather be a superstar flash in the pan or an honest plodder?
Which musicians would we vote for?
In Podcast 99 we answer your questions (above) and also pose a few of our own.
Is there a fictional character whose showy musical taste doesn't make him sound like a right tosser?
What's best: watching football at home or in the pub?
Plus: Annie Leibowitz's little local difficulty, Jon Peters's proposed memoirs, Al Kooper, pirate radio and false memory syndrome.
You can subscribe to the weekly Word podcast here or stream the latest one below.
Evening all
Sorry I just have to say, it re the career choice if you were a fleeting high level copper would you be a flash in the plod ?
Authors using music
Bit of a cheat, but James Baldwin weaves in jazz pretty well. But then his novels were written in the 60s and it's an integral part of the story
Agreed...
a good example of where it works.
Authors Using Music
Clunkiest example has to be Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series of detective novels. Like Rebus, Banks is a music fan and as the series has progressed has gone from listening to light classics on a cassette Walkman to digging Alice Coltrane on his 160gig iPOd. His taste is now absurdly modish, as if Robinson scours the monthlies' album reviews looking for names to drop. For example, in the latest novel, Banks argues with this girlfriend over the merits of Animal Collective side project Panda Bear and goes to a Wilco gig. I feel sure that Robinson's core audience will have no idea that the artists so frequently mentioned actually exist. In contrast, in The Rotters Club Jonathan Coe seamlessly weaves the subcultures of '70s music into the narrative in a funny and touching manner. The Yes album review that the central character writes for his school magazine is a perfectly observed comic gem.
In the plus column
He named Strange Affair after the Richard Thompson song and plugged Thea Gilmore in The Devil's Music, both of which are more than OK by me.
I have spotted a gap in the market for crime fiction
A smartly dressed detective who does everything by the book who is tee-total, non-smoking, a keepfit fanatic, with a deliriously happy private life and a liking for Chris de Burgh.
Great podcast as usual gentlemen.
Jon Peters link
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/it-should-be-called-dickhead-jon-p...
'Saming'...hmmm
Was the first instance of this Decca Records signing The Stones? Or even Cliff 'saming' Elvis? Both of these probably did more for the world than landfill indie or Duffy/Winehouse but it does suggest it's been going on for a very long time. Or am I missing Mr Hep's point?
Competition is one thing and has gone on since the Dark Ages
"Saming" is the near-scientific replication of a successful formula. Yes, there was Elvis and there was Cliff but in those days there were very few competing companies. If it happened tomorrow you would have Cliffs stretching from here to the far horizon.
All Fur Coat
was written by Andrew Holmes:
http://www.64clarke.co.uk/
That thing on Radio 4 that mentioned The Perfumed Garden.
That was this week's Book of the Week, a reading of a book entitled Radio Head by John Osborne, a poet. It's his first book, in which he listens to a different radio station a day and writes about it.
I caught the first few minutes of the reading this morning, and soon realised it was, quite frankly, complete drivel from a 'wet-behind-the-ears' wassock who had no idea what he was talking about. The bit about Peel was when he attempted to talk about the original pirates when waffling on about Kiss FM.
Radio Head
I thought 'Radio Head' was quite enjoyable... until yesterday's instalment, which I've just listened to this morning. Though admittedly, that's probably because he was going on about Kiss FM... ; )
Authors who know music
Best among this small band is, IMO, George Pelecanos. His Washington novels weave music into the stories, from George Clinton in the 70's set 'King Suckerman' to the hip hop and go go of the current DC music scene. He's obviously a music nut, as can be seen from his book tour playlists he publishes here;
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/georgepelecanos/music/
Superstar vs. second rate
Surely the answer to that question is The Ridge?
definitely Superstar
Definitely be a big star. Prime examples are Mark Knopfler and Daryl Hall. Both were big stars in their time but have managed to fade away gracefully and walk down the street without being noticed. And now the financial success they had enables them to do exactly as they please.
RE false memory syndrome
DH: opinions seem to be at odds with Sarah Dempsters piece in this months magazine where she dismissed Pete Townsend for trying to bring some realism into discussion of the most over discussed decade since Jesus. SD prefering Austin Powers to any thought that the girl having a flower painted on her face (yes that one ) then went home for plate of liver and oinons and dried her smalls on parafin heater rather than say going to Chelsea with Mick, Keef, Lulu and Lord Profumo.
Words and Music
...from a couple of Fifers.
A few years ago Ian Rankine and Jackie Leven toured together. Rankine would tell a short story and Leven would play appropriate songs during the story. They'd then blether some bollox with the audience and the evening would finish with Leven playing a short set of half a dozen songs or so.
The short story is about someone in the music business in London who has to come home to Scotland for a family funeral.
I'm happy to say that the performance at Edinburghs Queens Hall was recorded and can be found on CD at Amazon, or maybe in your local library in the audiobooks section.
It's called "Jackie Leven Said".
Rankin
His Rebus books are littered with excellent musical reference points, themes and soundtracks in your imagination as you read. Possibly one reason why the books have failed miserably in their translation to the goggle box. That and poor casting...
On the other hand, Rankin's very own shadow, Peter Robinson, tries the same trick but, as the pod points out, can't make it happen
Damn.
Ya beat me to it. Rebus has a good selection of vinyl, but judging from the amount of scotch involved when he slumps sweatily in front of the speakers to seek solace in sound, I bet they're all scratched to buggery. Siobhan, of course, prefers CDs, but there's hope for the girl's collection I'd venture, with Rebus for mentor.
More to the point...
...did Lewis Taylor turn up to soothe anything that needed soothing?
Stereo Separation on this one
Was Wimbledon, gentlemen. Excellent content notwithstanding.
Creedence
I'm in total disagreement about CCR being a band for any time, any place. I had the double Platinum album on my MP3 player. I was quite fond of the band in my youth and had nothing against them, I thought. Yet I time and again found myself getting irritated by their songs whenever one came up, with the result that, by complete coincidence, earlier this week I deleted them from my player.
Maybe it's the fault of the CD mastering, but I really didn't want to hear them anymore.
Creedence
Also this week, I found myself with a carful of people that thought CCR were rubbish. I always thought it was the kind of timeless music that everybody liked.
Could be...
...you're just hanging around with the wrong people. The greatness of Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the few unarguable truths in popular music.
I concur
It appears Mr Hare has fallen in with a bad lot - you know what you need to do.
Yes
Thank you. As I suspected. I was momentarily shocked to find myself with non believers. Now I know they were just WRONG!
And next time...
...tell them we told you.
*stands behind Mr H, nodding*
Stop!!
You're giving me a crisis of confidence in my own taste being the best thing for me.
as ever, vinyl rules
I bought the re-mastered box set, but nothing on it sounds quite as good as my careworn vinyl of Creedence Factory. CD -> Mp3 does diminish some things
Evening folks...
It's late and booze has been drunk. But on the subject of authors and music (sorry, can't find correct thread section), I was a long term admirer of what Brett Easton Ellis did with music in American Psycho.
Patrick Bateman's panegyrics to Genesis, Whitney Houston and Hughie (how do you spell that name?) Lewis and the News seemed horribly plausible to me considering the era and the character. Admittedly it's meant to flag up red flags to us Word types, and I know it's satirical, but for me it worked on a realistic level, a satirical level and (nowadays) a nostalgic level.
Hope this made sense folks. I may not remember posting once the cold light of day is upon me...
Huey
Lewis. Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
Re: American Psycho
This one was done particular well for me. Starting with an accurate run down on the career of Whitney then progressing on to more slight inaccuracies on Huey and then howlers on Genesis which to me were reflections on his state of mind and how that character was becoming more unstable.
I only picked up on it though because of my rather sad knowledge of Prog and pre 'Duke' period Genesis though.
Probably baffled many readers who would have wondered why these were inserted at seemingly random points within the book.
It is becoming a bit daft though, even in the excellent Red Riding series we get the odd moment of Eddie turning on the radio and hearing the latest 45 from the Rollers. Thank god for the Web and getting your hands on quality reference material (or lists as we should say).
Anachronistic nitpicking
The thing novelists, film designers and music editors get wrong is that well over half of everything that's to be seen or heard at any given time is old and falling apart.
This was brought home to me the other day when I watched, back to back, the film Dog Day Afternoon and the US version of Life on Mars. Both are set in exactly the same time and place but were made nearly 40 years apart. As you might expect, the TV show was chock-a-block with Seventies wardrobe and set-dressing - Huggy Bear afros, stripy tank tops, the works - whereas in the film most of the cars were beat-up Sixties hulks, everyone over 40 was dressed like it was still the Fifties, etc.
Look around you. How many of the objects and pieces of furniture you see shout out "Noughties!" Not many, right?
The same goes for music. Turn on a radio right now and you're as likely to hear some decidedly non-now-'n'-happenin' Bonnie Tyler or Whitney Houston as you are the latest offering from Lady GaGa.
And worst of all is the language. In that Life on Mars episode one of the Seventies characters referred to someone's "sexual orientation". Back then, if that term meant anything at all it could only have been an oddball reference to using your dick as a compass.
I think that last sentence
Will stay with me for a long time.
fade in
a question for podcast #100 ...why do *most* of the podcasts deliberately start with the fading in of a conversation thats half way through.
is it a peel tribute ? ...whispers over lengthy silence "this one fades in"
A question of careers
Surely a nun has a longer career than a rock musician. They envariably start younger, it's a 24/7 job and they can go on as a nun until carted out in a coffin. A rock star ceases to be a jobbing rockstar when they retire e.g. John Deacon, or they enter Dunrockin, a retirement home for the perpetually deranged e.g. Bill Wyman.
And undertakers
There definitely is a good living in dying
Near me in North London:
"Leverton and Sons Independent Funeral Directors since 1789
Owned and managed by our family for 8 generations"
The Royal family
Seem to have jobs for life too.
Rebus
I don't think the musical references jar in any way. It's the sort of music a man of his age would like.
On a slightly different tack, I think Morse was fond of Wagner in the books but this seemed to change to more viewer-friendly Mozart and Puccini on the TV (in the same way, the car changed from a Lancia to a Jaguar).
Rumpole, on the other hand, despised Wagner.
Great podcast again though. How can number 100 top it?
Litter-ary rary music
I think Spider Robinson has enough of a skill on guitar to write about it in his science fiction.
Rankine equipment reviews
Unlike the enjoyable heavy satire of Easton-Ellis (ganglesprocket) The extract that David Hepworth read out ,i found absolutely risible in it's inclusion of a sort of "What HiFi" review of the equipment being used.
Which led me to recall THAT. Yer man Rankine did,in fact,at one time, write for "What HiFi",or it's equivalent. I remember an anecdote about reviewing the latest "budget bookshelf" speakers,without even taking them out of the box!..
Sebastian Faulks (no, really)...
...must have listened to your excellent #99 podcats BEFORE he wrote his recent novel 'Engleby' (I know that would involve time travel and so on, but bear with me...)
This is is my favourite of his novels, a first-person narrative by the eponymous Mike Engleby, firstly about his time at Cambridge in the early 70's, after which he moves to London to become a journalist.
He's an unreliable narrator at the best of times, and the whole thing is filled with questions about false memories, but also with arcane references to obscure prog-rock, folk and other assortments from that era (including Patrick Bateman-esque album reviews and notes about specific moments in songs). Being born in 1969, I can't possibly comment on the accuracy of these, but that's almost besides the point.
I really recommend the novel - it's fantastic.