I have told the story at least twice before of how my dad and my sister had such a massive impact on my musical taste albeit completely unknowingly, here’s another story.
I went out this evening and while still searching for music I found myself reverting to another old favourite.
Sometime in 1998 my friend Alan (I know that some of you never thought you’d see those words) bought a house. It was somewhere out in Stillorgan (that’s in Dublin for the rest of ye) and a whole load of us went around to help him out with stripping wallpaper and carrying furniture and all that. It was a Saturday afternoon and I think there was some booze but I can’t be sure. Not much if there was. Anyway we rocked up there, off the top of my head we had Avril, Liam, Frank, Jono, Liz, Emily, Liz, Mary, Nora, Chris, Joni and possibly Morna and Genevieve, in fact nevermind possibly that’s a probably (Jean, was this before your time or were you there too?…hmm I think Jean was there too - come on it was a decade ago, I can’t remember last week!).
Anyway I remember that Liam arrived a little late but he had brought some music. The reason I remember that day so well is that it was my introduction to The Smashing Pumpkins. Liam had just bought Adore. It was brand new and on CD. I remember that he was agog over the lyrics “you’ll always be my whore” and the liner photos of a woman in a very sheer top. I was totally lost in the music. I sat by the CD player for a good hour just lost. I remember saying to someone, Liz perhaps (Liz?) that I loved this album and I had to go and buy it and being told that I’d said that four or five times in the past hour and would I just go and buy it already (them were days huh?)
So I did. It’s easily one of my most listened to albums and it’s, unfortunately, reached that level of being overplayed for me. Sometimes I come back to it, like tonight, when I’m looking to just touch base with life and it’s perfect. Most of the time though I can’t listen to it.
Now I know I know, it’s not a good Smashing Pumpkins album but you know what, fuck that. It’s the only good Smashing Pumpkins album. Ooh controversy!! I know I know! I like a whole load of Smashing Pumpkins tunes (my favourites aren’t even on Adore which by the way works as an album but none of the songs really work on their own) but this is the only album I love. Don’t get me wrong Melon Collie… has some awesome tunes but and I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I prefer them with the guitars turned down. Shocking huh?
Anyway I took a little listen while I walked out tonight and I’m listening now. Not that it’s connected but to follow up on some other old days, same timeframe different people, I thought about getting in touch with people some more and send a couple of emails today to what were way back then mutual um acquaintances and so we’ll see what happens there.
Now as I’ve started typing I’d like to keeping going. I’m, I must admit, a little wary. There are a significant number of smart people reading this (that’s not you Dave, nor you Rich and especially not you Patrick!) and I suspect that it’s pretty clear but again I’m finding it a struggle to go between using this to work out things for myself and having others reading along. I think that’s part of the reason that despite having all the free time over the past few days that I haven’t manage to really type up anything. I know what I want to type but I know that I can’t post that here and so I’m stuck.
For newer readers all the possible context you need on this is here from a few months ago. I never really decided what to do about that.
I was most amused and most shocked though the other day. When I landed in Australia, something went wrong that afternoon. I think I’ve mentioned this before but I was out and I went into a shop to buy pen and paper because whether it was to work something out or not, I had to write down a few words. I had to see them on paper. I still have that notebook and I’ve written a few things in it that I’d be really really unhappy not that if someone read but if I had to explain because I’m still working on all that.
But then a few days ago, I lent the notebook to someone to write down a phone number or something like that and it didn’t even cross my mind what was written in there. I got the notebook back and it’s open, totally randomly, at a page that I have only vague memories of actually writing but that means so much to me and I was alright with that. Hmm I’m loosing this one.
So um photos! I’ve uploaded about 70 today, go and take a look! . I’ve not being doing very well on the Flickr front in a while. As it’s so much a social site not having time to look at people’s photos and comment and stuff means that I don’t get so many people taking a look at my own photostream (and hopefully staying a bit!) and so I’m much lower on the exposure meter than I had hoped. I did spend a while today whoring some photos around and with luck I’ll get some more people in to have a gander but if you have a moment or two click that link and then take a look at just 2 photos that catch your eye!
Alright I should sleep. I have to *gasp* set an alarm for tomorrow.
02.02 Buenos Aires Sunday December 21st
Just a small town girl, livin’ in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin’ anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin’ anywhere
A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night
Working hard to get my fill,
everybody wants a thrill
Payin’ anything to roll the dice,
just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night
Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to the feelin’
Streetlights people
Don’t stop believin’
Hold on
Streetlight people
Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to the feelin’
Streetlights people
I have been listening to some old school R.E.M. over the past few days. I had an urge to listen to World Leader Pretend (I can’t imagine why…) which of course lead to a couple of runthroughs of Green and then Document and then well back to Murmur. Now I’m about to head off for a walk and I think it’s time for some of Reckoning. I see that last night’s setlist from the end of the tour was pretty decent but the last album did nothing for me at all. I kinda liked Around The Sun but nothing since Up (shut up, it’s glorious and contains my two favourite R.E.M. songs) works well live.
Anyway still alive. Drinks with Leanne tonight and then a couple of days photography and then New Zealand.
Ramblings on Sigur Rós at the Hordern Pavilion (Sydney) tonight. No mention of strip clubs or brothels, though now I know what to blog in future about to see a sudden increase in readers!
Continue reading ‘Within me a lunatic sings’
Sigur Ros in about 3 hours, I have been listening to með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust to prepare and I’ve thoroughly fallen for track 2; Inní mér syngur vitleysingur. Love it, cannot wait to hear it live. This is going to be a good evening.
You know when you have an urge to listen to a particular song? And then you don’t have the song and the urge builds and builds and builds. Well that’s what was missing but hurrah internet connection! I musta listened to this 5 or 6 times on the walk home last night.
A remote cabin in Wisconsin. Two dead deer for food. A guitar. The result? A classic debut album
Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago
I rarely read reviews in music magazines unless I know the band in some way. I know, it kinda defeats the point of reviews and leads me to miss out on lots of music. I read that recent Uncut pretty much from cover to cover and this was the first review and indeed album of the month with a 5 star review. I read it and I knew pretty much from the get go that I would track down and love this album. I know, I know minimalist folk guitar playing singer-songwriter and so you’ve all stopped reading at this point.
Your loss!
I finished off Love in the Time of Cholera a few days ago. I was flagging a bit at it and so decided to just power through. I enjoyed it but I am glad I’ve finished it! There is a lot that appeals about it and at the same time a lot that very much does not. I didn’t find the ending to work but I wonder if perhaps that’s just due to cynicism on my part?
I was meeting a friend for drinks in town the other day. It would turn out to be quite a drunk evening but anyway I was very early and went looking for a book to read. I came across Julius Winsome by Gerard Donovan. I like to look through the Irish fiction sections in several bookshops when I’m in Dublin and so it jumped out. It’s very short and indeed quite easy reading. I finished it off in about 2 hours while killing time. I enjoyed it a great deal and I’ll be looking for more of his books.
Then on Thursday morning I stared into Iain M. Banks latest; Matter which I had been looking forward to. It’s an odd book and one that I must admit I wasn’t enjoying as much as his other books but damn if it didn’t have one of the best endings of anything I’ve read in a while. Exactly my kind of ending. It’s somewhat spoiled by the presence of an epilogue that seems very tacked on a few pages later. I’d much rather it had simply ended right then and there. Glorious to the point of redeeming everything that I didn’t like about the book till that point.
I also took a re-read of Ty Templeton’s Bigg Time which I recall enjoying a great deal when it came out…not so much this time. The art was still very pretty but I guess the jokes just don’t work a second time. Last night I finally read the first volume of Sandman Mystery Theatre which wasn’t bad but not the genius I had come to expect. The art seemed to vary from being all over the place to being really really nice. I did very much like the quick panel that just shows the shape of Morpheus’ mask. That was nice. Note to self, must make sure that someone snags a copy of Absolute Sandman III for me while I’m away. Though I have the full collection upstairs and I may very well have to take a re-read of some selected pieces soon. Ooh there is so much I’d love to take a re-read through. I may have to order some of those bookends too. I never did manage to get any Sandman busts from that release a few years ago.
Oh finally last night I was aimlessly wandering on the net and I ended up watching two clips from a amazing gig I went to back in November of last year. The evening was the Duke Special in Bush Hall and the two clips and indeed two highlights of the evening are a cover of Van Halen’s Jump and then a lovely cover of the already hauntingly lovely Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Maps. Today’s title comes from a song at the same gig and so closes off this entry very nicely.