Aug 18: 2021

2021 was five years ago, and the pandemic was still fresh in people's memory.

Crown Lands were the break out for me.

It was 2023 until this made it to an LP and was then turned into a CD which finally made it to the UK.

Very influenced by Rush, this Canadian two-piece has since released several albums and EPs.

Some splendid guitar work here.

Public Service Broadcasting released their 'Berlin' album: 'Bright Magic'. This had more tracks which were purely synthesiser driven. J Willgoose had obtained a 'Blade Runner' synthesiser.

This blog post outlines the process of creating the album:

Band leader J. Willgoose, Esq moved to the city in 2019 to begin both research and writing. As with all PSB full lengths, their fourth album tells a story, leaning even further into the projects cinematic nature. Split into three parts, ‘Bright Magic’ looks into Berlin’s past, present and future as we learn about the cities history and the characters that inhabit it.

 Here's 'Im Licht' from the album:

I saw the last date of their tour in support of this album, at the Cambridge Corn Exchange.

Aimee Mann released her most recent album to date (we are overdue another one please, although she has been quite busy in the last year or two with other projects).

This is a short album (just 40 minutes) made of 15 exquisite short pieces which provide themes from a project which was derailed by COVID.

It was inspired by Susanna Kaysen's 1993 memoir Girl, Interrupted, about Kaysen's experience in McLean Hospital in the 1960s. This was set to be made into a musical. The title came from a poem by Anne Sexton. Another of her poems was adapted into 'Mercy Street' by Peter Gabriel.

Via Wikipedia

Mann spoke to Rolling Stone about the inspiration behind the first single, "Suicide Is Murder", explaining that the song grew from personal experience with people who had died by suicide and the guilt that survivors carry. She described the phrase "suicide is murder" as capturing the devastating aftermath for those left behind, who she said would spend the rest of their lives wondering whether they could have intervened.

This Guardian article explores more of the background to her work on this album, and her childhood.

Being on the road with ’Til Tuesday was so intense that she once contemplated cutting her hand – enough to wound, not maim – to enforce a break. In the mid-90s, Mann, now solo – and repeatedly battling label execs who said they “didn’t hear a single” on her albums – found herself on Geffen, also home to Nirvana. “I remember having a conversation with someone at Geffen [who was] very shocked that Kurt Cobain had killed himself. They had a minute where they were like, maybe we should consider the mental health of artists on the road because it’s very unnatural.”

What are your musical memories of this album?

Aug 17: 2020 - COVID year

We are getting close to the present day now and 2020 was a year when we saw the world change.

The UK's first national COVID-19 lockdown began on March 23, 2020. Boris Johnson ordered the public to "stay at home," only permitting residents to leave for essential shopping, medical needs, one form of daily exercise, and travelling to work if absolutely necessary. My school stayed open for essential workers' children and we had months of fine weather where we were confined to in and around the village apart from heading to queue to get into the supermarket to buy food (and hopefully some toilet roll). A local village shop in Castle Acre did a great job of supporting local people who were shielding and avoiding contact.

Music became important to many people... I listened to it while working from home, and while cooking, which became a bigger part of life. I got to know the local fields and woods around my village well and saw the full growing cycle of crops from sowing to harvest. Everyone was concerned for their health and the health of family.

Mary Chapin Carpenter released an album recorded live without an audience, but then shared this excellent track, which she hasn't bettered since...

Between the Dirt and the Stars. The guitar solo on this is excellent...

Produced by Ethan Johns (Ray LaMontagne, Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon) and recorded entirely live at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, in southwest England, the album finds the 5-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter pondering life’s intimate, personal moments and exploring its most universally challenging questions at an unprecedented time. 

Written at her rural Virginia farmhouse before stay-at-home orders became the “new normal,” the songs celebrate invaluable experiences and irreplaceable wisdom, while also advocating exploration of the best in all of us.

Tangerine Dream released an excellent album at the end of 2020 capturing the sound of the original band, with three members who worked really well together...

Here's a 2016 version of the track 'Proton Bonfire' from this album.

Bob Mould closed out the year with 'American Crisis'.

What music kept you going through COVID? 

Please let me know...

Jun 3: Lost venues at the V&A

Earlier in the year, John Medd kindly provided a guest post on lost music venues, based on a poster for a band called 'Girl' - go and read it now if you haven't already.

There is now an exhibition on at the V&A in South Kensington on the same theme.

This Rolling Stone piece explains:

More than 150 objects are showcased in the display, with a large proportion being obtained after the V&A put out a public call for items last year.

As per NME, the exhibition is split into four different sections. 

The first explores how dance halls and cinemas became purpose-built music venues in the 1980s. Featured items in this section include artefacts linked to the iconic Manchester club The Haçienda, fashions from brands like Dr. Martens and Converse, and even the original 1985 sign for the Astoria, which has been loaned by Damon Albarn.

I plan to visit next Monday as I'm in the V&A anyway for a meeting ahead of the RGS AGM and Awards and summer reception.

Update

Some photos are in a Flickr album here.

I like this collection of back stage passes...

Feb 14: M is for Marillion

I bought Marillion's first album: "Script for a Jester's Tear" on the day of release in March 1983 from a record shop in Huddersfield whose name escapes me, and saw the band play live quite a few times in those early years, including some gigs with Fish... facepaint, Grendel and all. 

The playing was not as polished as it was on later albums, but the tone and atmosphere it portrayed went right to my sensibilities. I saw the band play live three or four times in the early years, with Fish in his make-up prowling the stage. I will post about 'Grendel' later in the blog. There were comments about the time about the derivation of their name, the use of face paint, progressive time signatures etc.

I'm also a fan of the longer version of 'Assassing' and other songs from their 2nd album 'Fugazi'.

In 1985, they released 'Misplaced Childhood' - this tour was the last time I saw the band play live, so that's over 40 years ago!

They had several singles at the time, most notably 'Kayleigh', which is probably their most played song on the radio.

They have released many albums since, and changed after Fish's departure and the arrival of Steve Hogarth as vocalist and lyricist.

One of my favourite later albums of theirs was F.E.A.R. - from 2016.

On the title, Steve Hogarth said:

”This title is adopted not in anger or with any intention to shock. It is adopted and sung (in the song "New Kings”) tenderly, in sadness and resignation inspired by an England, and a world, which increasingly functions on an “Every man for himself” philosophy. I won’t bore you with examples, they’re all over the newspapers every day. There’s a sense of foreboding that permeates much of this record. I have a feeling that we’re approaching some kind of sea-change in the world – an irreversible political, financial, humanitarian and environmental storm. I hope that I’m wrong. I hope that my FEAR of what “seems” to be approaching is just that, and not FEAR of what “is” actually about to happen.”

Spoiler alert: it happened.

In 2022, they released an album which has references to climate change, COVID, Greta Thunberg, blood diamonds in Sierra Leone and a whole range of other issues of the modern day, with a reminder that as well as being kind to ourselves it might be better to be hard on ourselves...

Interestingly, I saw Tangerine Dream recently at the Roundhouse and the special guest guitarist for the final improvisation session of the concert was Steve Rothery: the Marillion guitarist. He was also in the audience for the final gig of Clannad - something I mentioned earlier this month, sitting in the row in front of me.

Here's the video for the opening track from that album: 'Be Hard on Yourself'.