some links

second try....

U.S. Immigration Law Inhumane to Same-Sex Couples

Family, Unvalued
Discrimination, Denial, and the Fate of Binational Same-Sex Couples under U.S. Law


i'm having trouble creating clickable links for these. both are very interesting articles from 'Human Rights Watch' about the plight of thousands of same sex binational couples and US immigration law...

"Going to hell again": Bauhaus at the Forum

Wow...i'd never seen them before. My first Bauhuas record was 'The Sky's gone out', sometimes in 84 and it was so weird and schizophrenic and intense, so 80s. It just really suited me. okay, at the Forum, very hot again, very claustrophobic again even though it wasn't sold out, was a bit of a weird one but i would'nt really want to have it any other way.

- the second of two nights, the first one apparently triumphant, this was one was cut short by guitar problems. Still they finished the night with 'Ziggy Stardust', and if there was ever any doubt, they still are the missing link between glam-era Bowie and the more gothically inclined. And lots of leftfield rocknroll basically, oddly textured, and always a hint of chaos. No 'Bela Lugosi' though and maybe that's a good thing, why should they play it every night?

- Pete Murphy is a fantastic front man. they came on and just stood there with bright lights shining into everyones faces. You could hardly see them it was so blinding but they were all looking at us, especially the Murphy who

- soon came alive on stage. that face, that voice still has that nervy edge, so expressive and weird. and so much precision...

- Silent Hedges, goosebumps, "going to hell again", brought me right back to my teenage bedroom. I lost it during that song for some reason, everything else was at least adequately fabulous but that was something else

- guitar problems, and suddenly Mr Murphy alone on stage, threatening solo material, instead he strapped a guitar on and played 'all...we ever wanted... is everything...get up ...eat jelly....', followed by a wonderful, intense rendition Bowies 'Bewlay Brother'...

- outside i buy a Bela Lugosis Dead poster for a quid, you know, that classic image. I'm still a goth teenager at heart. My bedroom is still UNDEAD UNDEAD UNDEAD

- my mate Steve who was also present gave me a copy of their live album, 'Gotham', it is fantastic, i'm not sure whether i've got anything else by them in the flat (field) but it does a nice job reminding me why i loved them so much for a while back in the 80s...

flower

Admiring the flowers on the West Heath...

Plus by the tractor

Chris sitting on a tractor at Ferretstock, our friend Emmas birthday party in a field/large garden behind her grandparents house in Essex just outside London. It was a lovely Sunday morning, too hot though, Chris had singled out that tractor for a while, he just needed to sit on it and I brought him his guitar. He's playing a new Plus tune called Antlers, with some weedy singing from me. It's kinda lofi-lovely though. Simon's taking over the 'camerawork' halfway through. Here's the video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pBy49lthL4

follow the teenagers

See my band Plus live!'Steamrise' and 'Teenager' from a gig last year at the first birthday party of the rampART, a squat/community centre in the East End. Most of the gig was a bit shambolic, I was drunk and a bit off (into the clouds), we couldn't soundcheck, just plugged in and played, but, whoaaa, i mentioned before that that song 'Teenager' needs to be 100 %, well here it is slightly more than that, it's my favourite recorded live version, it's how we first conceived it, a real headfxxx. It's the second track here, starts at about 3.37 min. Anyway, it's intense, the rest of the gig is mixed, a bit too screamy. John filmed it and put it up a while ago, though i would have probably chosen it slightly differently, anyway, looks like people have watched it (!) but they should watch this part, by far the best of the gig. Part 4 is great too, "Electric Germany/Silhouette". Maybe better avoid the rest :-)

Steamrise & Teenager
Electric Germany/Silhouette

Singalong The Sound of Music

Me and Simon's family dressed as nuns after all three hours of last Fridays Singalong The Sound of Music at the Prince Charles. I had heard about this for years, just found out it's happening all over the world, and I wasn't disappointed, lots of nuns, Austrians, nazis, and a lot of singing, booing, hissing, miaowing, mooohing, etc. hosted by the great Candy Floss who kept Simon's mum on stage to judge the next lot of fancy dressers.

The Bevis Frond and Teenage Fanclub: Ain't That Enough?

London is still so hot, and up until last Monday there was something almost every day or evening keeping me creeping through the soupy hot air for hours, tubes stopping in tunnels, train drivers who sound like they'd rather be stoned, not being able to move out of the wrong pubs, starting far too long walks that otherwise would have been refreshing, last Sunday it took us almost four hours to get to a family barbecue, where everything was already burnt black by the time we arrived. And then last Monday, courtesy of a spare ticket, Vanessa had pulled out again, the hottest gig of the year. And also definitely A Gig Of The Year. Considering that Teenage Fanclub seem to have mostly the sort of fans who will sing along to every line and know every song backwards it was weird to know most of The Bevis Fronds material, and not much of The Fannies. I've seen them quite a few times, mostly at festivals, but I don't own any of their records, and somehow on these occasions they passed me by a bit, they were fine but not that engaging for me. However here, in the sweaty, smokey, blokey, and unbelievably thick air of The Forum, after two hours, two sets, the first being a full playback of their Bandwagonesque album (I need to get that btw!), hands in the air, they gradually morphed into a really great band, with one wonderful song after another, it slowly crept up on me, but by the end, dancing with strangers, sweating like pigs, drunk, riding a time machine to a place I hadn't been to, it dawned on me that this was a really proper legendary gig. It took a while and I almost left, but kept bumping into people, getting another drink, washing my hands, running around, and then towards the end, a revelation. I'm sure my experience of this gig is fairly unique though as the hall was rammed with twenty and thirty somethings reminiscing a particular point in the early 90s (i love early 90s nostalgia too btw, special time for me too) where sunkissed sixties US pop styles caught up with a loved up, raved up UK indie scene and opened a window that apparently still hasn't shut. I loved the way all this crept up on me slowly and didn't hit me over the head, it was very gradual and the greatest hits set in the second half was actually a bit more happening than the playback of that legendary album which most of the fans from near and far who had gathered here had come to see.

But initially me and Gavin were really excited to see The Bevis Frond open up, since they rarely play in London. I own their excellent Live in San Francisco album from 1997, and, having also seen them recently at ATP, seem to know most of the material played for this brief "greatest (non) hits" set ("This is my biggest hit .... that wasn't actually a hit"). Main man and songwriter Nick Solomon is hilarious between songs, like an English middle aged Lou Barlow, very endearing and self deprecating, wearing the same T-shirt in which he is pictured on that 97 live album (!) but just a little bit older, a benevolent obscure stoner rock god floating through his own little universe, friendly, laid back and happy to connect, but not afraid of taking the piss out of himself and everyone around him. The lineup has since explanded to a five piece, and just as at ATP, they sounded really big and made some good expansive guitar noise, starting with an apparently customary jam but then went straight in to the songs. They are big, wonderful, haunting songs and they sound good in a big room on a loud sound system, Maybe, Hole Song No 2, Stoned Train Driver, Lights Are Changing, etc. and seem to gradually connect with the not so teenage fans of the Fannies. I mean there's some puzzled faces too, but it's not hostile. They're playing their annual three hour show at their local beer hall in Walthamstow in October, I hope I can make that one. Beautiful.

Ten Tips for Surviving Summer Sun

I spent most of the hot day yesterday in a field in Essex, where we were camping for the night, a birthday party, the sun came out at 7, the roosters were waking everyone up anyway, though thankfully our tent had shade till about 9. just getting ready and packing up took hours, it was very nice out there but there was little shade and the little there was wasn't all that effective, there was a tree but not all trees give proper shade, and a marquee, but again they are bit dodgy in my book when it's as hot as this. I did a brief walk through the baking countryside and came across a car full of half naked young guys sitting in a small lane in the shade, they were just 'cooling down' one of them explained as he let me pass through. . Anyway, i'm really feeling the heat and it's not so nice, headache seems to have just about receded, and i don't want to feel like i did yesterday evening again. So for the next few days I'll follow the common sense guidelines issued by the Department of Health...


The Department of Health advises people to take the following action:
Stay in the shade or indoors.The sun is at its most dangerous between 11am and 3pm. Find shade under umbrellas, trees or canopies. It is worth remembering that the temperature is at least a couple of degrees cooler if you are by water.
Use sunscreen and cover up.If you can't avoid being out in the sun apply sunscreen (factor 15+) and wear a t-shirt, hat and sunglasses.
Increase your fluid intake.The normal recommended daily intake of fluid is 2.5 litres or 8 glasses per day. In extreme heat experts recommend you drink more and include a range of different fluids.
Ventilate your home.Keep some windows open all day and all night and use fans. This is particularly important at night, when the body cools down. However, be careful because burglars are opportunist and will use open windows to get in. Close downstairs or easily accessible windows at night, or when you are in the garden.
Look after the elderly.Older people are more prone to the effects of heat. If you have older relatives or neighbours you can help simply by checking on them and reminding them to drink plenty and often. They should have a mixture of drinks including tea, fruit juice and water. Also help them to keep their house as cool as possible, using a fan if necessary.
Protect childrenKeep a close eye on young children, who need plenty of fluids. A good way to check if they are drinking enough is that they are passing urine regularly and that it is not too dark. You should check nappies regularly. Babies and the very young must be kept out of the sun.
Avoid excessive physical exertionIf you are taking physical exercise you need to drink half a litre of fluid at least half an hour beforehand and continue to replenish your fluids after exercising.
Know the perils of outdoor eating.Warm summer weather is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria so it is especially important to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold until you are ready to eat them. When barbecuing always make sure you cook meat until it is piping hot, none of it is pink and all juices run clear.
Be sensible with alcoholHot weather speeds up the effects of alcohol so extra care should be taken when drinking. Alcohol will lead to dehydration so make sure that you alternate alcoholic drinks with water or fruit juice.
Keep cool at workThe office is often the coolest place to be in a heatwave. Ask your boss for air-conditioning or fans and open windows where possible. Keep windows shaded with blinds and if possible move your working position out of direct sunlight. Have plenty of breaks during the day to get cold drinks and cool down.
These precautionary measures will help increase protection from heat exhaustion and sunstroke as well as food poisoning and skin cancer.
A Department of Health spokesperson said:
"This week's temperatures are unusually high and people need to take extra care. The tips issued today are common sense precautions and will help people enjoy the weather whilst protecting themselves from the dangerous, and potentially fatal, effects of these temperatures

RIP Syd Barrett

there was a vague sense that somehow, miraculously, while and as he was still alive, he could have reappeared and issued another madcap sign of life, however frail or fragile. i know this notion is/was as crazy as any ... crazy old diamond. It was still somehow intriguing to know there was this reclusive legend living somewhere in Cambridge, someone who once communicated very vivid and enduring messages and who was now seemingly lost to distortion, withdrawal and enduring silence. I couldn't help being intrigued by that, and that's that. At least he was still alive, where he wanted to be, apparently, and being left alone.

Last time I was in Cambridge, not so long ago, I wanted to do a walk from Shelford through Grantchester Meadows into Cambridge, but it started to rain heavily, and I had to abandon it halfway through and get a cab into Cambridge where it continued to rain for hours. What did I expect to see or experience there? I don't know... but it was around a time when Pink Floyds first album was on heavy rotation on my headphones. Grantchester Meadows is still there though, and I should go back and do that walk now.

'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' sounds very vivid and colourful today ...

"Alone in the clouds all blue
Lying on an eiderdown.
Yippee! You can't see me
But I can you."

basement rush

I hear tense, complicated drones coming from the entrance,
pushing it open
lights guide you through corridors,
my voice gets weak and fades out,
leaves me sluggish, alone with the scream, the hunger, the thirst,
the hole gets more insistent
as you slide down, speaking sense for once,
commanding a stage, whispers from another life
lift up the curtains, screams from the other side
direct the madness
but underneath it all
there's no real number
on your back
as you go in
to talk back
and fight
the rush
below
where i rest
inside a conversation

the boy with the birthday cake hat

he's a fool, but we knew that all along...;-)

i was wearing this charmingly colourful outfit, chosen and put together by various enthusiastic members of our respective families, all afternoon at our summer party, i even walked down the road to the off licence with it...and I was dressed quite modestly to start with...

some more photos here courtesy of 'photographer of the stars' Vanessa Robertson:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/45373348@N00/sets/72157594181379901/

40 golden fogbanks and one awesome avatar, or maybe the other way round?

the GbV rune, entirely made up of DTS avatars, this awesome t-shirt or poster idea comes from the amazing barthatronic...


(I'm pleased to see my newest one, the rather plain beige cover of 'The Best of Tocotronic' somehow made it on there a couple of times...)








hey i'm turning 40 tomorrow, if you're in the west hampstead area just follow the sounds'n'smells of football and barbecue ;-))

foggy gold

dial another colour
fade from sight but don't forget
it's all deceptive
discover for real
what that noise can do
for you
while laughter still resides
in the foreground
i'm not what you think
but i don't know how to say it right
still
lonely lanes feel quieter
and distant
discoveries
stutter through mainline exposure
distorted sights lead to
nothing, maybe an explosion.
soft tunnels
sunshine drifters what you want is
floored, agreed, but
i've got other plans now
drifting though last orders
and new beginnings
i'm all over these
foggy golden buildings
shine strange sights
for love to share and hills to climb
4ever
type faster
build an escape route
follow me
enlightened hills
reversed shapes
all you backwards procession markers
i'll wrap you all around me
as i stare ahead to lose control
flattering thoughts vanish into these grounds
like water leaking through
for safety nets to gain
a power to survive
i kneel for space
and handle more suspense
though through these eyes i see nothing
but grey walls
occasionally another map sprawls further
and leads me into gardens
out of step
whatever you see
it's real to me
i fear i'm swallowed by the tide
to see you through and bite it off
sombre clear dividers build a picture
and fight back
through moist tunnels
and reversed options
i shall say yes to you

shoot me stranger
become clearer as the wave collapses into
familiar patterns
wave through to the content edge
exploring the rest as if it was
a neverending present
feel good when black edges turn up
for it is here
that you will slip through
confidence kills
the other side
but i remain a willing survivor
of the rage for meaning
control
deliver a parcel
a birthday cake
or wave another direction
you're free

Frances McKee & Eugene Kelly: The Vaselines play an encore

I discovered The Vaselines not so long ago, as part of my random journey , and am still listening, they just had some great, warped pop songs. We were all really into it playing some Vaselines stuff in our chalet at ATP. Apparently 'Rory Ride Me Raw' is about a bicycle saddle, I learned, haha...

So yesterday was the first night of a short tour billed as Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly, where they were both playing solo sets, and then some Vaselines stuff was promised to follow. In the end that meant only about five songs, and despite it sounding more acousticy and a little underrehearsed it was still super sweet and affecting. They played Mollys Lips, You think you're a man (originally sung by Divine), Jesus wants me for a sunbeam (not originally sung by Nirvana :-), (I think) Son of a Gun, Monsterpussy (?) and/or The Day I was a Horse (Love these titles..). The first three were tacked on at the end of Frances set which was low key, quite nice, her all female band included a cello player and her own daughter as backing vocalist, you could hear a certain tone familiar from the Vaselines in there just about but it was more acoustic, and didn't have the same kind of bite and synergy, I guess as in all great bands the sum is more than its parts. We were lounging around in the corner when she finally asked Mr Eugene Kelly on to the stage which created a bit of rush and excitement in the audience, I guess most people were excited about the Vaselines reunion of sorts. It wasn't really much, some false starts ("twenty years in the business..."), didn't sound as mad and maybe seemed a little half hearted, as if they were doing it more to promote their solo records rather than reuniting but as I said, it just made you smile, it was sweet and a little magic. I wish they'd played a full rehearsed set, but this little gesture made it all the more precious i guess. 'Jesus wants me for a sunbeam' was astonishing, probably the highlight. After the last two songs of the encore (and they'd never done an encore in the old days before apparently) Mr Kelly mumbled 'Please forgive us for we have sinned', and stumbled off. Followed by a playback of Velvet Underground's entire 'Loaded' album, which a member of our party knew line by line by heart. Cue drunken, low key dancing. A lovely evening, and I even dreamt about it (and that went on for hours in my dreams, haha)!

some of them are art collectors...

so Bob's original artwork for 'Mag Earwhig' is being sold on ebay
, well, all 5 1/8” x 5 1/8” of it (most of his artwork is rumoured to be very small, he's a master of miniatures after all...a lot of his songs play like miniature rock operas) . It's safe to say 'Astral City Slickers' is one of his most famous and distinctive collages. While people's opinions about the album and its status within the GBV canon are somewhat divided (it is still quite a mysterious record, and in some ways a transitional record too) it's always been said that the cover art for ME is especially good (recently the album's received a bit of a critical renaissance as well, and quite a few tracks from it have been added to the live set). Most of Guided by Voices and Fading Captain releases feature Bobs artwork, and while some are more successful than others, they are striking additions to the music, and there has been talk about putting together an exhibition for some time. I'm a little sad that this is being auctioned without being shown beforehand, but hopefully an exhibition will happen at some point and if it does, the new owner can be persuaded to loan it for all fans to see...well, I'd love to see this and a full exhibition exploring Bob's visual art (even though it's not likely to come anywhere near me) , it would just be such an awesome thing to happen and would probably help market the artwork too. Anyway I won't be bidding here, it starts at $ 5.000. While that figure might shock some, it wouldn't surprise me too much if it reaches at least that target...happy bidding (or not)!

Dublin

part of my 40th birhday celebrations (still coming up)

John, Carmel, Darren, Simon

another lost weekend

so you have these really old pubs in Dublin, where nothing has changed, you even have old cigarette adverts on the walls, and still they're no smoking, definitely haunted and haunted by smoke too, but still... pretty amazing (apologies, smokers, but yeah....)

just outside Dublin, Howth peninsula. We went for an epic walk all around it

Two Men on a MISSION

our chalet, Sunday afternoon, me and Trev, i'm wearing a 'Mission of Burma' shirt, Trev wears his 'Mission Accomplished' one from the GBV Electrifying Conclusion tour. Some bad singing to follow...

All aboard for planet ATP

Simon, Trev and Pete facing the beach















the kitesurfers, Sunday morning.

















get higher, baby!
















Dungen

they played two grand wigged out sets, on the Saturday and the Sunday, no need to skip anything if you're in such willing and capable hands... simply wonderful


















Gavin on the (very windy) beach

grizzly bear

are keeping a nice tour blog . i'm very tempted to see them tonight, hope it isn't sold out.

now playing is: grizzly bear _horn of plenty_ (which is a type of funghi - i found out through the Guardian's trippy "funghi" poster, which adorned our window as you approached our chalet at ATP, hehe) a lovely record, lofi psych, warm glitchy vibes, a convincing and engrossing urban folk feel. i picked it up in NYC in Dec 2004, it was my token random local purchase after reading a little recommendation note tacked next to it in Other Music. The guy behind the counter was very enthusiastic about all the polaroids of customers animals displayed on the wall by the cash desk, i said they should rename themselves 'Pet Sounds', hahaha...

bears, bears, bears keep swinging

"And I'm haunted by the freakish size of Nancy Reagans head": Mission of Burma

So, ATP...wow, again. Good sets from Dungen (twice, best I've seen them so far, really stoked to be there), Elf Power (finishing their set with a cover from Eno's 'Here come the warm Jets', yay!), Mission of Burma, Dead Meadow, Boredoms, Destroyer (I got into them after about ten minutes, spiky and warped, interesting), New P@rnos (superb as usual), Bevis Frond (it was so great to finally get to see them) , The Shins (of course), Brian Jonestown Massacre (despite some long breaks very entertaining and, uh, dare I say it, professional) Lightning Bolt (the media circus around them is getting a bit much though, all I could see was people trying to hold their camera over the crowd, sounded great though), Dino Jr on fire as well, though by that point I could only manage about twenty minutes, even with earplugs. The Dino Jr day was superb, had a real stoner/psych/shoegazer vibe. . .but being hungover from going to see oAH and The Lilys the night before with the whole crew didn't help, plus it took ages to get there, signal failure in Ashford, yuck...when we finally got there things fell into place very quickly...

Overall it was not quite as manic and excessive as previous years but that was deliberate on my part. An all blowfish (or at least ex-blowfish) chalet so plenty of GBV and other good music on the ipod shuffle, also impromptu renditions of GBV songs at inappropriate points (sorry, anyone, actually the best bits happened in the chalet...) . I went to the beach all the time, even with sandstorms, thunderstorms, rain, etc., it was my favourite place. Sunday morning I spent a good two hours, when it was relatively calm, on the beach to the left towards the lighthouse in Dungeness, where you can watch the kitesurfers hang out, it was so beautiful, and the fresh sea air totally amazing. My chaletmates managed to go to the beach just once in the whole weekend, which happened to be during the worst sandstorm of the weekend, but it was my tonic after the far too smokey main rooms of the festival, a counterbalance to the cramped, manic noisefests and freakouts.

Best deal in the brilliant buzzy merch room was this: ten pounds for the brand new Mission of Burma album, featuring a bonus live DVD, plus a free MOB t-shirt (from their 2004 tour), and a free handshake from Clint Conley. Pretty amazing deal in my book! He was really friendly, told me to spread the word a bit here in the UK, I wasn't sure whether that was really necessary, though he insisted, so I'll do my little bit here by saying that after a few spins I love this new Mission of Burma album. 'The Obliterati' is noisy, raw, heavy, paranoid, trippy, haunting/haunted, anthemic, beautiful, their sound is very peculiar as ever, seems to express all sorts of complex interior half states and feelings beyond the abrasive surface. The title of the last song 'Nancy Reagans Head' seems to point towards their 80s roots, and the album sounds just as tremendous as what they were doing in the early 80s. But it's timely too and most importantly, it sounds like they still mean it, there's a passion and integrity there. Their show at ATP was fierce, almost confrontational, very passionate. The old ones got reshuffled or thrown out, and they played a lot of new stuff. I remember whooping as I heard the opening chords for 'That's When I Reach For My Revolver' early in the set and Roger Miller whooping right back into his mic. Then they played the song...WOOOO! The new album has an interesting wikipedia style website that anyone can edit.