tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30434685243676468022024-03-28T07:12:34.233+00:00Electric EdenRob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-80172512579534506032012-03-26T22:02:00.000+01:002012-03-26T22:09:56.402+01:00The Devil gets all the best movies...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCG4mp3lYS2O5gV9G_ClxIHwHQzzrlmyhomDGq79jdkW120it5CCeMPQ1yiUlQCOIhbFCUvyy-1hqjSUvn9gKtkB2-oqwvv0lUXAUX5SKFK_CTB90toJX3fiImynB1mL0ZsgLG_nS0eUk/s1600/KRussell+cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCG4mp3lYS2O5gV9G_ClxIHwHQzzrlmyhomDGq79jdkW120it5CCeMPQ1yiUlQCOIhbFCUvyy-1hqjSUvn9gKtkB2-oqwvv0lUXAUX5SKFK_CTB90toJX3fiImynB1mL0ZsgLG_nS0eUk/s1600/KRussell+cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCG4mp3lYS2O5gV9G_ClxIHwHQzzrlmyhomDGq79jdkW120it5CCeMPQ1yiUlQCOIhbFCUvyy-1hqjSUvn9gKtkB2-oqwvv0lUXAUX5SKFK_CTB90toJX3fiImynB1mL0ZsgLG_nS0eUk/s640/KRussell+cover.jpeg" width="459" /></a><br />
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To celebrate the BFI release of Ken Russell’s film <i><a href="http://filmstore.bfi.org.uk/acatalog/info_21668.html">The Devils</a></i> – which I’ve reviewed at length in the current edition of <i>Uncut</i> – I'm posting up some photos from the <i>Daily Telegraph Magazine</i> (issue 350, 9 July 1971), which featured an interview and on-location report by Lee Langley. Until this year I’d only seen the film once - in the early 90s, Channel 4, on a tiny portable black and white TV. Seeing it again in this beautifully restored version, Russell's colour scheme, and the richness of the whole conception, really shine out. And the BFI have excelled themselves with the extras disc, too – behind the scenes footage, film of Peter Maxwell Davies conducting his harrowing score, some rarely seen Ken shorts, etc etc. One of the must-have DVDs of 2012.<br />
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<br />Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com338tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-79879220630918571372011-06-17T11:06:00.014+01:002011-06-17T11:34:01.956+01:00A Walk to the Paradise Garden<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My eight page feature on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://royharper.co.uk/">Roy Harper</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> is the cover story on this month’s </span><a href="http://www.thewire.co.uk/"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wire</span></i></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> magazine (issue 329, July 2011). The interview was conducted over a couple of days and Roy was kind enough to host it at his home in West Cork. Here is an exclusive virtual tour of the amazing landscape he has planted and built with his own hands in the grounds of his house. It is an idyllic creation, and makes a fascinating counterpoint to the more Edenic aspects of his music – you could almost see it as an organic song inscribed in the landscape...</span></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42FtJ4E2iy7lSLw4VmR_DS19W9GJrTQkq4iJgzsHk-MTIxV1V8TugmpHU_RDZ5rOvgVlZPHSJeW_QWVVEJNEkVm5X-6sw_mEwBmPGyX_qGiCdOkZKJP3_npl4MWK8BVBrnDqfaLpGBG_g/s1600/roygarden7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619118717845196098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42FtJ4E2iy7lSLw4VmR_DS19W9GJrTQkq4iJgzsHk-MTIxV1V8TugmpHU_RDZ5rOvgVlZPHSJeW_QWVVEJNEkVm5X-6sw_mEwBmPGyX_qGiCdOkZKJP3_npl4MWK8BVBrnDqfaLpGBG_g/s400/roygarden7.jpg" style="float: left; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 400px;" /></a></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB239ayi6H3Kquc9QR60tYn0G84_8N-bFPg_YC7w9RdA4Cismhxw_hKdUO655EhKtZhazYDu9Ra94L-W2xsT534ss8n0zpATKFCtv628r3nYuvNprtBpiLiRvgZ75aMqoOioBTJdWAkqm/s1600/roygarden5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB239ayi6H3Kquc9QR60tYn0G84_8N-bFPg_YC7w9RdA4Cismhxw_hKdUO655EhKtZhazYDu9Ra94L-W2xsT534ss8n0zpATKFCtv628r3nYuvNprtBpiLiRvgZ75aMqoOioBTJdWAkqm/s400/roygarden5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">“The Blackcap sings and the forest rings</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The nettles tall around me...”</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs6_lG7rk3vPw3l8YeK8NaCL4B4n-tWyMVuP2oPpf966Asw3bW6dhrVnlc5m1fZVRTeFZpYhHipbi2b1CknQQXDxcYYly83Yt-J2GgFG5O2nwCqGyFIJDUHdT2estYIrrK8tiAMrwh_v1/s1600/roygarden+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619118712211066466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs6_lG7rk3vPw3l8YeK8NaCL4B4n-tWyMVuP2oPpf966Asw3bW6dhrVnlc5m1fZVRTeFZpYhHipbi2b1CknQQXDxcYYly83Yt-J2GgFG5O2nwCqGyFIJDUHdT2estYIrrK8tiAMrwh_v1/s400/roygarden+1.jpg" style="height: 300px; margin-top: 0px; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0zvzAUBNWicUTyMrOT3pjOU6K2uefDtfcHUbbeGplNXBy_WXVsBo0AkEbhUX3SxPpTLU0OGH6Hjv0QKarx0p8WSDWQF1CKRK-t6Uo4QGMThQE3-fTXEdQV_WOo9liAj5_ioPSyD0ue1a/s400/roygarden9.jpg" width="400" /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8O2OI2CFbEsdOsoW_TT5uXZDm7vFmDz8wCByVUVcXLka_mVSZLE-VupFbYZyHu7jdnGARv7oxYyi6a4gqU_KJ5ZTE0oaKAQ6zxhde00FOBH2uLB0WyJBauorFr2BtVHBIohLe0HipMZg/s1600/roygarden6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8O2OI2CFbEsdOsoW_TT5uXZDm7vFmDz8wCByVUVcXLka_mVSZLE-VupFbYZyHu7jdnGARv7oxYyi6a4gqU_KJ5ZTE0oaKAQ6zxhde00FOBH2uLB0WyJBauorFr2BtVHBIohLe0HipMZg/s400/roygarden6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">“With shafts of sun and moving things...”</span></span></span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaX6WCa60bD1gECUQPlsNQC2BTplrcXvIg9uRRLu-CLnKBktseh9GQD-3YGaI5HQXGdLNuUxii3Jk_IsSmN2Itrx48uuXTW0i81kt3BvEpP-4WMdjy7oEtTFZzO0vhOCrXS8oYeB_aR5hu/s1600/roygarden3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaX6WCa60bD1gECUQPlsNQC2BTplrcXvIg9uRRLu-CLnKBktseh9GQD-3YGaI5HQXGdLNuUxii3Jk_IsSmN2Itrx48uuXTW0i81kt3BvEpP-4WMdjy7oEtTFZzO0vhOCrXS8oYeB_aR5hu/s400/roygarden3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">“... And poems fast and slowly...”</span></span></span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Su8uV6984PWgnBb66gklP4YdP9zyO56yF_jhXdCK35pein_fOfX8CPNOrSDi-CyguxLkk2P3pz3yFqfwIbrCjvevh1ZRBrV8tdWsFrS4u3lpgykjzCBUiYsRmiPcluPgcJXyUODYMFxg/s1600/roypool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Su8uV6984PWgnBb66gklP4YdP9zyO56yF_jhXdCK35pein_fOfX8CPNOrSDi-CyguxLkk2P3pz3yFqfwIbrCjvevh1ZRBrV8tdWsFrS4u3lpgykjzCBUiYsRmiPcluPgcJXyUODYMFxg/s400/roypool.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">“And fantasies of luscious thirst</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">For new lust and fresh waters to seek it...”</span></span></span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qwLxkf5iKaVw9kUShUlI3zgmZWr60djTwCNoXYI3cVmWrw5B2AEiXGtPu77xZLgwHmBU5gT0a-lbZe1Q13Pep67D97r3X7xWA91g8wlTsRkL7cWhzGnTPB3GgqBvzN-7abbeI6BJ4zas/s1600/roygarden4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qwLxkf5iKaVw9kUShUlI3zgmZWr60djTwCNoXYI3cVmWrw5B2AEiXGtPu77xZLgwHmBU5gT0a-lbZe1Q13Pep67D97r3X7xWA91g8wlTsRkL7cWhzGnTPB3GgqBvzN-7abbeI6BJ4zas/s400/roygarden4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">“Like diamonds set in realities...”</span></span></span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2NeAYm-vVsWGOnUy06oc-ixCi5gy-7LFNg7-0Vm9QBbK8ojVVzEADPrya6RFgsaDj4tmfMi1tAaXmCUy-wAW2tQG6_3TtTkqSnD3p3QOz54USxE5Rgtfg4sCu592SxvuYQ3x_t-KzyfV/s1600/roygarden2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2NeAYm-vVsWGOnUy06oc-ixCi5gy-7LFNg7-0Vm9QBbK8ojVVzEADPrya6RFgsaDj4tmfMi1tAaXmCUy-wAW2tQG6_3TtTkqSnD3p3QOz54USxE5Rgtfg4sCu592SxvuYQ3x_t-KzyfV/s400/roygarden2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">“Of skies drawn back in secret.”</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Times, serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">Roy Harper, “Commune” (From <i>Valentine</i>, 1974)</span></span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-30419869639564757372011-06-01T10:34:00.005+01:002011-06-01T10:45:04.492+01:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywZf8zjdPXlP_ZFUDjJfO2q7j_xynpA62Dt8QSiKVrbHry51A_dq-dpf48W04fK3k4NYqjhh4X4ApRmmWcCFj2rUnMvigdPgbG-qLYihEDy1Pc8wQ7XA8GDgHddkiPC5sgheMuEB61m5J/s1600/tomorrowlandposter.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywZf8zjdPXlP_ZFUDjJfO2q7j_xynpA62Dt8QSiKVrbHry51A_dq-dpf48W04fK3k4NYqjhh4X4ApRmmWcCFj2rUnMvigdPgbG-qLYihEDy1Pc8wQ7XA8GDgHddkiPC5sgheMuEB61m5J/s400/tomorrowlandposter.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613184728052680786" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I’m hosting a panel around Simon Reynolds’s new book,</span><a href="http://www.faber.co.uk/work/retromania/9780571232086/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></a><i><a href="http://www.faber.co.uk/work/retromania/9780571232086/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Retromania: Pop Culture’s Obsession with Its Own Past</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, at London ICA this week. Also in the panel will be Cosey Fanny Tutti (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey), ‘reconstruction artists’ Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, and Caroline Evans, Professor of Fashion History at Central St Martin’s College of Art. We’ll be talking about the prevalence of ‘retro’ and nostalgia in the music, art and fashion in recent decades and pondering whether this has enhanced or diluted contemporary culture. Among other things.</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Over And Over And Over And Over</span></b></div><div><a href="http://www.ica.org.uk/29131/Talks/Over-and-Over-and-Over-and-Over.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">London ICA</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, 2 June, 6:45pm, £12–£10</span></div></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-28603208498364038132011-05-20T23:47:00.002+01:002011-05-20T23:49:55.977+01:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The rollicking <i>Revolt of the Apes</i> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">site has just published an <a href="http://revoltoftheapes.com/2011/05/20/rob-young-author-of-electric-eden-unearthing-britains-visionary-music/">interview with me</a> by Ryan Muldoon. </span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-19622695078356280992011-05-04T18:38:00.006+01:002011-05-04T18:43:54.528+01:00Hello America<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLMdJyin5meXqCZaLZdMJqVmLPbra-B3VoUeB_Dxz13MM1QiTj0J_mDtuPYpB7VkfSHe2s5tevN6sjEyktO_YaaA1jbTtf33fskZwqp3_4A-gUx59W8wWOC6QlDh-TYv40ISJC366LotF/s1600/EE+US+cover+FINAL.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLMdJyin5meXqCZaLZdMJqVmLPbra-B3VoUeB_Dxz13MM1QiTj0J_mDtuPYpB7VkfSHe2s5tevN6sjEyktO_YaaA1jbTtf33fskZwqp3_4A-gUx59W8wWOC6QlDh-TYv40ISJC366LotF/s400/EE+US+cover+FINAL.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602917387090090274" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865478562/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d8_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=11VM5F3QZKVWXX7064ZE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939031&pf_rd_i=507846"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">US edition of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> is published on Tuesday 10 May (Faber via Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Revised, updated and corrected! </span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-89835971444520463872011-05-04T15:03:00.004+01:002011-05-04T15:15:05.221+01:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-foGeEqQierNe12o3FUW9PDf5XnH2Vn905dOR8SGx7QB37qoG1ukX4cxaEye3ZaDS-YzwnQAk5zBpzxwqt8bDCTZ2RYXmH3Pt_0u27OwcdIxTnERRk266U-6qiwtXu4lVRlovQRt_aGYO/s1600/fire+%2526+rain.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-foGeEqQierNe12o3FUW9PDf5XnH2Vn905dOR8SGx7QB37qoG1ukX4cxaEye3ZaDS-YzwnQAk5zBpzxwqt8bDCTZ2RYXmH3Pt_0u27OwcdIxTnERRk266U-6qiwtXu4lVRlovQRt_aGYO/s400/fire+%2526+rain.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602864008411698962" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Just finished reading </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Fire And Rain: The Beatles, </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Simon & Garfunkel, </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, by David Browne (Da Capo). It’s a very detailed account of the interlinked fortunes of these artists and groups at a transitional point in rock history (see Jon Savage’s compilation of a few years back, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Meridian 70</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), and the author has already tackled the twin biography of Tim and Jeff Buckley and the story of Sonic Youth. Although the Beatles breakup year feels very well chronicled elsewhere, it's an engaging read, particularly for the mass of material on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – I could have happily read a whole book on these volatile personalities who managed, for a brief interlude, to make some of the most gorgeous folk-rock on earth – and let’s not forget that a good deal of it was powerful reactions to horrific political events – “Ohio”, for instance, written spontaneously two weeks after the Kent State University shootings.</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I’ve reviewed the book for the next issue of </span><a href="http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Word</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, but meanwhile I recommend steering your wooden ship back to solo albums like Crosby’s </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If Only I Could Remember My Name</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and Stills’s first solo LP. Those, at least, are my current soundtrack to these early summer breezes. </span></div></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-34109737993314797572011-05-04T14:40:00.006+01:002011-05-04T15:03:14.314+01:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS8hQCxkWG0SlK7Cy9eR6Y8xXMmzCrk4v13ER4luvV2NDtPYpy-oH-Ylthu3op3VDZVmD6F3_P4kXr4dgNY9NkDCnwU3kREtLHevuNuAQugFI4uRds89Ir7t5BJVosCh3SBohvYnSovadh/s1600/gt+folk+jukebox.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS8hQCxkWG0SlK7Cy9eR6Y8xXMmzCrk4v13ER4luvV2NDtPYpy-oH-Ylthu3op3VDZVmD6F3_P4kXr4dgNY9NkDCnwU3kREtLHevuNuAQugFI4uRds89Ir7t5BJVosCh3SBohvYnSovadh/s320/gt+folk+jukebox.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602860706297683714" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">60 years ago, on 1 June 1951, the great folklorist A. L. Lloyd hosted Singing Englishmen, a celebration of British folk song. Part of the Festival of Britain, it was held at St Pancras Church near Kings Cross, and involved a programme of folk songs sung by the Workers' Music Association Choir, with arrangements by the composer Alan Bush. Both Bush and the WMA had strong connections to Topic Records, going back to the label's formation in 1939, and stem from an era before any of the major post-war folk revivals, as we know them, had actually taken place (Ewan MacColl and his gang didn't really get going until several years later). </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">60 years on, the Southbank Centre is hosting its own revival of the spirit of the Festival of Britain. Last Saturday I took my daughter up there and found the forecourt outside the Royal Festival Hall packed solid with people listening to Billy Bragg belting his song “A13 Trunk Road To The Sea” out towards the choppy Thames. (One to add to my short list, in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, of that rare commodity, the British driving song.) In the RFH basement, tucked away so you could easily miss it, is an excellent exhibition of Festival of Britain memorabilia – posters, graphics & typefaces, film screenings, an amazing quilt made by local schoolchildren at the time depicting all aspects of British life, furniture, etc – in that unrepeatable 1950s fusion of folk craft and modernism. Well worth a visit. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And this Saturday, I’ll be compering the Festival Hall’s commemoration of Lloyd’s Singing Englishmen event. Entitled The Great Folk Jukebox, it’s been convened by members of Bellowhead, who’ll be acting as a ‘house band’ behind such singers as Marc Almond, Green Gartside, Lisa Knapp, June Tabor, Robyn Hitchcock, Bishi, Oysterband and more, doing their own renditions of British folk numbers. Far from the stark and no doubt rather wholemealy songbook of 1951, these will be versions that draw on the more recent arrangements of the folk-rock era, by the likes of Pentangle, Shirley Collins, etc – illustrating how far folk music in the British Isles has moved since the war. Should be an interesting one. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://bit.ly/hcJ4W1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Great Folk Jukebox</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Royal Festival Hall, Saturday 7 May, 7:30pm</span></div></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-15261930799452694302011-04-21T12:17:00.004+01:002011-04-21T12:22:42.933+01:00Wise words from the departing...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3P1MbtPYSfH4X2BSipnknoCQifT1KVFBnMB10kwEmsIjZY8_EGBpABw0pv0PJk6Ni2CUjSSqVGksfP6VflItC6JfXP03I7KBvAuS4xGG9Kb3NyBGqTACyC9nxMRcjOPXN-cBpZ5oRnhxq/s1600/sleazy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3P1MbtPYSfH4X2BSipnknoCQifT1KVFBnMB10kwEmsIjZY8_EGBpABw0pv0PJk6Ni2CUjSSqVGksfP6VflItC6JfXP03I7KBvAuS4xGG9Kb3NyBGqTACyC9nxMRcjOPXN-cBpZ5oRnhxq/s400/sleazy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597995741404676130" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Anyone in the Bristol area this weekend, I’m giving an introductory talk at <a href="http://bit.ly/fsRNFw">Musick To Play In The Dark</a>: A Wake for Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson, a special event at the Cube Cinema. also appearing: The Man From Uranus, Bronnt Industries Kapital, films, body art, Dirty Talk Disco DJs and more. </span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-86424249079285481092011-04-04T14:07:00.004+01:002011-04-04T14:11:09.617+01:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I’ve got a piece on English Music in this week’s </span><i><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/03/labour-mehdi-english-maurice"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">New Statesman</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, which devotes a large section to the question of ‘Who Are the English?’ There’s also a great piece by </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Romantic Moderns</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> author Alexandra Harris. The issue incidentally features a fantastic illustration of David Cameron as a Muslim imam on the cover.</span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-29727302847656581402011-03-28T15:36:00.002+01:002011-03-28T15:45:23.515+01:00Sowing the seeds<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">In one of today’s first announcements from the Arts Council of England in their revised budgets in the wake of government cuts, a first round pass of £615,400 plus £30,000 development funding has been granted to the EFDSS, with a particular emphasis on digital preservation and access. Here’ s the text of the initial ACE press release: </span></span></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"></span>“</span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">The English Folk Dance and Song Society will work with five other nationally important English folk music and dance archive collections to tell the story of traditional, rural and working class culture in 20th-century England. The project will carry out essential conservation work, digitise the collections and join them through a single web portal, allowing online public access to the collections for the first time. An educational programme will be run in 21 different locations in England with volunteers given training so they can help care for the collection and support the accompanying activity programme.”</span></span></div></div></span></span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-2351804880338355192011-03-18T12:08:00.001+00:002011-03-18T12:09:53.384+00:00Birdsong<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/polyalbion">Chirrup</a></span></span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-88662379596594928002011-03-18T11:59:00.003+00:002011-03-18T12:02:50.851+00:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltLc3lCdkChRlSiSYuoi9a5JwzWKa1ZLzIFEN79cH_UNPiHWMHqfyHecEfgJcBUK171ggR94ZWvxK9kYr4EWAxWyyF3rbOIvplCePfLzXTelNI9nzu0y5kIVwRfIcxsS-gfzmesGBeMyp/s1600/Rose_The_Great_Oak_cover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 383px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltLc3lCdkChRlSiSYuoi9a5JwzWKa1ZLzIFEN79cH_UNPiHWMHqfyHecEfgJcBUK171ggR94ZWvxK9kYr4EWAxWyyF3rbOIvplCePfLzXTelNI9nzu0y5kIVwRfIcxsS-gfzmesGBeMyp/s400/Rose_The_Great_Oak_cover.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585388468112804194" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Faber 1970.</span></span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-27580139958304887412011-02-08T19:38:00.005+00:002011-03-04T23:36:55.795+00:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I’ve got various talks and appearances lined up over the next few weeks. Here’s your chance to turn up and ask all those awkward questions...</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Housmans Bookshop</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wednesday 9 February</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">45 minute talk + Q&A at London's celebrated radical bookshop situated near King's Cross. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Peace House, 5 Caledonian Road, London 7pm, £3 (redeemable against any purchase in the store). </span><a href="http://www.housmans.com/events.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Details</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Off The Page festival </span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Friday 11–Sunday 13 February</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Not strictly </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> related, but I'll be presenting a tribute to the French musique concrète composer Pierre Schaeffer (whose 100th anniversary was in 2010), including musical extracts and in conversation with Matthew Herbert, a modern exponent of sampled sounds from everyday objects. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Playhouse, Whitstable, 11:30am–12:30pm, prices vary, </span><a href="http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_south&query=detail&event=421992"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">tickets</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is part of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Wire</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> magazine’s first festival dedicated to musical discussion and criticism, taking place in Whitstable, Kent. Also appearing: Robert Wyatt, Green Gartside (Scritti Politti), Dave Tompkins, Kodwo Eshun, Jonny Trunk, Christian Marclay, David Toop and more. See </span><a href="http://www.soundandmusic.org/projects/page"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and </span><a href="http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/5746/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> for information. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bristol Grammar School</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wednesday 16 February</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bringing it all back home to my birthplace. Readings, Q&A with Chris Hamlett, live music, food and drink. Part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bristol Grammar School, University Road, BS8, 7pm, £8/£6, </span><a href="http://www.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk/Events/An-Evening-with-Rob-Young.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">info</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">by:Larm</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Friday 18 February</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Q&A session with journalist Luke Turner (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Quietus</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), as part of Norway’s gigantic annual music convention. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Royal Christiania Hotel, Oslo, Norway, 4:30pm, </span><a href="http://bylarm.no/nor/seminars/bylarm/2011-02-18"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">details</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Sohemian Society</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wednesday 23 February</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Readings and in conversation with Paul Murphy on British music and the country versus the city at this intimate monthly Soho literary gathering. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Wheatsheaf, Rathbone Place, London W1, 7:30pm, £3, </span><a href="http://lecturelist.org/content/view_lecture/9155"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">details</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bath Literature Festival</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saturday 26 February</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Illustrated talk, readings and book signing. Plus weird and glamoury folk from the fabulous </span><a href="http://www.emilyportman.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Emily Portman</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Masonic Hall, 12 Old Orchard Street, Bath, 8–10pm, £12/£11, </span><a href="http://www.bathlitfest.org.uk/electriceden.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">info</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">AyeWrite! </span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Thursday 10 March</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Talkin’ visionary folk at the massive Glasgow Book Festival. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mitchell Library, Glasgow, 7:30–8:30pm, £8/£6, </span><a href="http://www.ayewrite.com/programme/events/Pages/robyoungevent.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">info</span></a></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-90265905928664384672011-01-12T10:56:00.004+00:002011-01-12T11:17:56.943+00:00<a href="http://andrewcross.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Andrew Cross</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is an artist whose work – in film, video and photography – is largely concerned with the changing British landscape. His </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">English Journey</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (2004) traced transport routes of heavy goods vehicles through countryside, exploring – like Chris Petit’s recent film </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Context</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> – the secluded rural/suburban environment of the goods transit centre network. He is also fascinated with the outdoor rock festival scene of the 1970s, and one work is a eulogy to Led Zeppelin’s final show at Knebworth, in a series of mournful photos of the spot in a forgotten corner of a field where the stage once stood. Last year he exhibited a photo of a burning barn – set alight by his father in the 1970s – alongside a short extract from </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">His latest work, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Solo</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, features a 35 minute drum solo by Carl Palmer – yes, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">that</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Carl Palmer - shot in a minimal style and from a number of unusual camera angles. It elevates the Prog drum solo to a grand, physical, even magical act, suppressing Palmer's flamboyant personality to an almost abstract pattern of riffs and improvised percussive textures. The film is being premiered on Thursday 13 January at the </span><a href="http://cockpittheatre.org.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cockpit Theatre</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in Kilburn, and I'll be moderating a Q&A session with Andrew and Carl after the screening, which is free. </span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Solo</span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street, London NW8 7pm. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Event free, booking essential on 020 7258 2925</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Solo</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is also on show with a selection of Andrew’s other work here between 12–15 January:</span></div><div><a href="http://www.mummeryschnelle.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mummery+Schnelle Gallery</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, 83 Great Titchfield Street, London W1, Wed–Sat 11am–6pm.</span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-3619463205540491902011-01-08T21:59:00.000+00:002011-01-08T22:00:24.629+00:00No fear of time<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/08/sandy-denny-folk-music-singer"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">piece on Sandy Denny</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Guardian</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-739437743171214512011-01-06T12:22:00.002+00:002011-01-06T12:27:50.808+00:00Happy New Year...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuecbB_B7EryQlMKrUuRPb_hyphenhyphenar3LvEuAgUknoLJYrrPtB9yqxscgKPtCXKUfWwKc9r3iCGgpJVWVGdmV4c1CaFLbqC-8ho-8VQbrVZhAHdLS3MAdfdMKNvfvJesZw-vHtNvW0bHjarGZV/s1600/yule_log_gutenberg.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuecbB_B7EryQlMKrUuRPb_hyphenhyphenar3LvEuAgUknoLJYrrPtB9yqxscgKPtCXKUfWwKc9r3iCGgpJVWVGdmV4c1CaFLbqC-8ho-8VQbrVZhAHdLS3MAdfdMKNvfvJesZw-vHtNvW0bHjarGZV/s400/yule_log_gutenberg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559048477307750722" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">... To all readers of this blog, and by way of a late Yuletide offering, I should direct you straightaway to this incredible, gigantic </span><i><a href="http://open.spotify.com/user/seamusr/playlist/3FOZ1HH7EJ4F5TXmffpWIJ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Electric Eden</span></a></i><a href="http://open.spotify.com/user/seamusr/playlist/3FOZ1HH7EJ4F5TXmffpWIJ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> playlist</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> on Spotify. It really covers the range of the book, from the early 20th century pastoral composers via the 50s folk revival, 60s folk-rock/psych and through to the Unthanks, Trembling Bells et al. Well done Seamus, whoever you are!</span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-25733483267169479462010-11-25T11:05:00.004+00:002010-11-25T15:21:32.629+00:00Sleazy RIP<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sad news today, as reports come in of the death last night of Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson of Coil, apparently in his sleep after an illness. As anyone who's got to the final chapters of my book will know, I think Coil were heading into fascinating pagan/wildwood territory in their final phase, before the tragic death of John Balance. Sleazy worked hard afterwards to keep the Coil legacy alive as well as brilliantly reinventing his own work as the Threshold Houseboys Choir. I had the pleasure to meet him a few times over the years – we even DJed together once! – and for all his extreme interests he was a real gent in person. With a life that stretches from design work with Hipgnosis to the founding of Throbbing Gristle, plus the professional film directing and the epic psychedelic journeys of Coil and its offshoots, he takes a great deal with him as he goes.</span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-50129866466103632302010-11-25T10:34:00.006+00:002010-11-25T15:22:12.591+00:00Normal service resumed...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sorry for the hiatus on this blog for the past couple of months. Unfortunately I got zapped with a very nasty illness at the end of October that put me in hospital for three weeks. Happy to say I've been out for a while now and getting back up to speed. Apologies to anyone who'd been hoping to see my appearances at Hebden Bridge, Housman's Bookshop and the Idea Store in Whitechapel, all of which I had to miss, though a couple may be rescheduled at some point. There's more </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> related activity early in 2011 which I'll announce here in the near future. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It was a strange experience going into hospital while it was still a mild autumn and emerging into an icy winter. Still, there’s a new Patrick Keiller movie to contend with, BFI DVDs of old Public Information Films, an excellent BBC Four documentary on Elgar, the Sandy Denny box to wade through, a marvellous new CD by Britfolk-rock-inspired Americans Fern Knight, and Mick Houghton's brilliant account of Elektra Records, among much other stuff. Best of all, my wife is guest presenter of BBC Radio 3’s </span><i><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/latejunction/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Late Junction</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> this week and next! Hear it at the usual start time of 23:15 GMT or of course pick it up on the BBC iPlayer. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I can also announce that a US edition of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> will be published in spring 2011 by the good folks at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Faber are also preparing a smaller paperback edition in the UK to be released around the same time. In both editions, a bunch of small errors – some of which have been pointed out in various reviews and comments – will be corrected. I’m always happy to have any bloopers pointed out so please feel free to write to me if you think you’ve spotted one. </span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-14293824720792507142010-09-29T11:08:00.004+01:002010-09-29T12:11:11.747+01:00Book corner<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Interest very much piqued by </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/25/romantic-moderns-alexandra-harris"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">this review</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in last Saturday's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Guardian</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Alexandra Harris’s </span><i><a href="http://www.thamesandhudson.com/9780500251713.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Romantic Moderns</span></a></i><a href="http://www.thamesandhudson.com/9780500251713.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">promises to be highly complementary to the themes in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, focusing on the tensions between modernism, landscape and nostalgia in the English art and literature of the 20th century. I’m currently awaiting a copy and will review in more detail here once I’ve had a chance to read it. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Also deserving a mention is Mick Houghton’s </span><i><a href="http://jawbonepress.com/index.php?id=62"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Becoming Elektra</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, a thoroughly researched and beautifully illustrated tome covering the whole span of Jac Holzman’s wide ranging enterprise. I’m hoping there’ll be a bit more on Elektra’s UK interests – particularly The Incredible String Band – than appeared in Holzman’s own autobiography. Mick will in fact be participating in tonight’s Caught By The River Social Club event at the King & Queen pub, Fitzrovia (see below). Start time for the talk is 7:30pm. </span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-27921064588542638422010-09-15T11:26:00.004+01:002010-09-15T11:42:31.556+01:00September diary dates<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A couple of upcoming events this month, which I’m taking part in, that might be of interest:</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ghosts from the Basement</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saturday 25 September</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Launch event for new Village Thing label compilation, with a panel discussion featuring just about anyone who's written (or writing) a book on folk in the last few years: myself, Will Hodgkinson (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Ballad of Britain</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), Jeanette Leech (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Seasons They Change</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), Mark Jones (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bristol Folk</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">), Richard Morton Jack (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Galactic Ramble</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">) and Colin Irwin (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In Search of Albion</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The live line-up of this all-dayer is really strong too: Wizz Jones, Steve Tilston, Tucker Zimmerman, Ian A. Anderson, Dave Evans, Ian Hunt, Maggie Holland, Keith Christmas, The Owl Service, Jason Steel, Straw Bear Band, Pamela Wyn Shannon, The A. Lords with Mark Fry and more...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cecil Sharp House, Regent’s Park Road, NW1, 2–11pm, £20 all day (£25 on door), evening only £15 (£20 on door). Tickets from </span><a href="http://folkshop.efdss.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cecil Sharp House</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, 020 7485 2206.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Caught By The River Social Club</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wednesday 29 September</span></b></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> readings and Q&A session with Rob Young, hosted by Richard King (co-editor, </span><i><a href="http://www.loopsjournal.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Loops</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> journal). Plus The Memory Band play music from </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Wicker Man</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Presented by the estimable anglers of the </span><a href="http://caughtbytheriver.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Caught By The River</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> collective. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub10.php">King and Queen</a> pub (upstairs room), 1 Foley Street, London W1, 7–11pm, £5.</span></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-9754179995264373222010-09-14T22:21:00.003+01:002010-09-14T22:23:23.807+01:00Links in the chain<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A short piece by me in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue20/microtate20.htm">Tate Etc</a>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, on a detail from a Paul Nash painting...</span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-10473010944429997052010-09-14T22:08:00.004+01:002010-09-14T22:11:40.809+01:00King Learie RIP<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjueYyvJF5SMH-cE-cJ5423VMFzF-qO9DIQqC9cNpEDFrAdTfcxIcwsMFTlJytc2JIRNuE04hTwKL1cpkPUkRWV3r89mrQBfHCkKkht38g4LHZ3_WNLeviz7hnO1Wk-4Zp7RpV7Pbd6FUO/s1600/henge-75-river-3-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjueYyvJF5SMH-cE-cJ5423VMFzF-qO9DIQqC9cNpEDFrAdTfcxIcwsMFTlJytc2JIRNuE04hTwKL1cpkPUkRWV3r89mrQBfHCkKkht38g4LHZ3_WNLeviz7hnO1Wk-4Zp7RpV7Pbd6FUO/s400/henge-75-river-3-800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I was very sad to hear of the death of Roger Hutchinson on 3 September, after an illness. Roger’s photos of various free festivals of the 1970s, such as Windsor and Stonehenge, remain some of the most evocative and otherworldly of their kind. True to the spirit of these communal gatherings, he pointed his lens as much at the crowds as at the rock action on stage, and the exquisite misty colour lends the pictures a magical, idyllic, even timeless quality. The one above, for example, shot near the Stonehenge festival in 1976, recalls the tranquil Eloi of H. G. Wells’s </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Time Machine</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, or a tribe of Celts relaxing after a feast. It’s an image that for me captures absolutely the essence of Electric Eden.<br /><br /></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I never met Roger, but I was in touch with him over the past year as he graciously allowed me to use one of his Windsor 1974 shots on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Electric Eden</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">’s back cover, as well as another Stonehenge shot inside. In later life Roger was known as a local historian around Leicester, particularly its waterways and canals. He painted narrowboats and riverside life from his own photos, made videos (using the alias ‘King Learie’), and published </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Mile Straight</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, a hymn to the city’s Soar River. Many of of his 1970s photos are displayed on the marvellous </span><a href="http://ukrockfestivals.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">UK Rock Festivals</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> site, which is where I first encountered his work. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Condolences to his wife Gill and daughters Beth and Meg. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsovdoSXuAM5timdYtiPgPlIpLC4DOeFLDPsru3D3PF4xFq1VC7ydMmb6cnsIrrwk9qdhorv21uMB8N_2cePIQWcBhZSRllmVOSXyd5hSu5_6pSFmqTAYT1yUQQM7N4JLUKYIk7NDMjEM/s1600/henge-camp-76-770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsovdoSXuAM5timdYtiPgPlIpLC4DOeFLDPsru3D3PF4xFq1VC7ydMmb6cnsIrrwk9qdhorv21uMB8N_2cePIQWcBhZSRllmVOSXyd5hSu5_6pSFmqTAYT1yUQQM7N4JLUKYIk7NDMjEM/s400/henge-camp-76-770.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-14723019366651030732010-09-03T12:07:00.006+01:002010-09-03T12:32:47.714+01:00Way of the Morris<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizb5seCL8uyX4mS3YCXJSgSvc1Tgk4Cvvox_OhXtpSAswwORvR1wyGrqONPdj3DNxgW8ZZT4NeKSSzEQRw7AEDFYZhhlWWvXDnnhDughAHXeTcRixJRFyXDxK_1Boq04WfgzPPYJr9kB1X/s1600/wayofthemorris.com.1024.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizb5seCL8uyX4mS3YCXJSgSvc1Tgk4Cvvox_OhXtpSAswwORvR1wyGrqONPdj3DNxgW8ZZT4NeKSSzEQRw7AEDFYZhhlWWvXDnnhDughAHXeTcRixJRFyXDxK_1Boq04WfgzPPYJr9kB1X/s400/wayofthemorris.com.1024.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512646753689582450" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Watched this new </span><a href="http://www.wayofthemorris.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">film</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, directed by Tim Plester and Rob Curry last night. It’s a beautifully made, often elegiac investigation of morris dancing, one that steadfastly refuses to trivialise or patronise its subject in that knee-jerk way most media do. The film is a personal journey for Plester, a thirtysomething who was born into a family of morris dancers in the village of Adderbury in Oxfordshire. That particular group was started in the mid-70s, reawakening a morris tradition in the village that died out after the First World War, when only one member of the original side returned from the trenches and couldn’t countenance the idea of dancing ever again. Plester, who never danced himself, gets drawn into the mystery, charm and camaraderie of the morris men (for men they are), and eventually steps, literally, into his father's old shoes. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The tone of the film has what you might call a 'hauntological' bent, with a voiceover edging on the rhapsodic and melancholic, visual allusions to films like <i>The Wicker Man</i>, and plenty of unearthed Super-8 footage and family Polaroids. The notion of morris as a ridiculous, embarrassing aspect of native English culture is dealt with and transcended within the first couple of minutes, and after that we're off on a serious, respectful, yet never sentimental exploration of the impulses behind the dance and the individuals who participate. Anyone who saw Gideon Koppel’s recent film <i>Sleep Furiously</i>, about a remote Welsh village, or older rural movies like <i>Akenfield</i>, will find much to enjoy here. At the same time it’s an interesting counterpoint to older folkloric films such as Peter Kennedy & Alan Lomax’s <i>Oss Oss Wee Oss</i> from the late 1950s, which treats the Padstow May celebrations as an utterly mysterious, alien ritual. <i>Way of the Morris</i> seems to me very much about coming to terms with and finding a place for the dance in a 21st century life. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There seems to be a small resurgence of interest in this baffling custom at the moment, from </span><a href="http://www.morrismovie.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">this</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> comedic treatment to a BBC documentary which is currently in production. It's interesting to note in Plester’s film how many young people he encounters in the village seem to quite interested in the custom and express a willingness to get involved. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Way of the Morris</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> is being screened this Saturday and Sunday as part of the Southbank Centre’s 5000 Morris Dancers weekend, based around David Owen’s extraordinary artwork (featured on an earlier post on this blog). I’ll be hosting a Q&A session with film makers Tim Plester and Rob Curry, and a couple of the Adderbury Morris Team, after Saturday’s screening – details </span><a href="http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/dance-performance/tickets/way-of-the-morris-54730"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. It starts at 4pm and it’s FREE, with a small booking fee. </span></div></div>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-79302164926004773962010-08-27T11:00:00.005+01:002010-08-27T11:05:50.907+01:00Folk-rock nation<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mark Sinclair on </span><a href="http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/august/uk-passport-new-design-de-la-rue#feedback"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">proposed changes to the design of the new UK passport</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> – tapping yet again into the iconography of a rural, weatherbeaten, historic Britain. “The psychedelic village scene [on the opening page] might look more at home on the sleeve of a folk-rock album from the early 70s”... </span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3043468524367646802.post-57656479927854017672010-08-19T19:14:00.002+01:002010-08-19T19:18:29.709+01:00Stravaig with gravitas<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Reading and answering Qs at </span><a href="http://www.greenman.net"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Green Man Festival</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> this weekend, accompanied by Alasdair Roberts who seems to have worked up something special for the occasion. Literature Tent, Saturday 21 August, 2:30pm. </span>Rob Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12739496061411862971noreply@blogger.com0