AMBUSHED BY UNEXPECTED MINIMALISM
I had feared that the Southbank Overture event was going to be a stroppy throng of poncey nitwittery – the cultural mall syndrome that makes Tate Modern a bit of a chore. And though there were moments when it felt like being trapped in some Bosch-meets-Posey Simmonds purgatory, it was mostly hugely enjoyable. It was nice to gaze out over the Thames from the old VoiceBox room on the fifth floor while
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cis’s gamelan crew twinkled away (I particularly liked the bits when the singers sounded like they’d suddenly been pleasantly startled). And it was particularly great to watch the London Sinfonietta, augmented by some schoolkids from the local estate, plus members of the London Laptop Orchestra, phase through the 40 minutes of Terry Riley’s In C in the RFH ballroom. Just a lovely atmosphere: curious, playful, not condescending, not overbearingly reverent – I wish more arts events were like that. Maybe they are and I should just get out more.
IS RICHARD RORTY RIGHT OR WRONG?
During the course of a particularly boozy interview in Ladbroke Grove last summer, Green Gartside told me that this was his initial title for the record that went on to become White Bread, Black Beer (his missus wisely talked him out of it). The memory was provoked by the news of the death last Friday of Richard Rorty – probably the only philosopher I can honestly say changed my life, or, at least, the way I think about it. Occasionally, when I’ve expressed my enthusiasm for his work, mates have been surprised that I’d be so keen on such a seeming liberal milquetoast. I don’t think the seriousness of his political engagement is generally acknowledged, or it’s overshadowed by talk of his Ironism. A useful corrective is the free pdf “Against bosses, against oligarchies” – available here:
http://www.prickly-paradigm.com/paradigm3.pdfGOTTA DANCE!
I finally managed last week to track down a bittorrent of Jacques Demy’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort – a kind of glitzy sequel to Les Parapluies de Cherbourg. I thought it was absolutely magnificent, but
evildrakling thought it was fun but silly. Even despite the presence of Gene Kelly. “There are no TUNES in it,” she told me. “Not like Singin’ in the Rain”. And I now notice that SitR is being shown on a big screen in the open air at 9.15 near the Mayor’s office down near Tower Bridge this Wednesday.
http://www.timeout.com/london/aroundtown/events/417506/more_movies-open-air_film_screenings.html Does anyone fancy making an evening of it? (I now realise that farewell drinks are happening on the same night – aren’t they somewhere in that vicinity too?)
ANDORRA
New entry in the Nipper Chart of Truth: Caribou’s Andorra (obviously inspired by David Beckham’s return to the England team) – spectacular electronic soft psych-pop from someone I’d never rated much. He doesn’t have any of it on his myspace yet, but I imagine it is eminently findable.
As everyone knows, the greatest pop thing of 2007 so far is, implausibly, the Mutya/Groove Armada collaboration. However, running it close, as of last night, is this wonderful album by Single, aka Teresa Iturrio, who used to be in Le Mans (who I had previously lazily thought of as standard issue Elefant janglers). The press release describes the song "Mi primer viaje" as "Bobbie Gentry meets the Temptations", but in fact it is Pipas produced by Glenn Campbell. If that sounds like it would marge up your madeleine, I have put it up here for a limited time.
