A brief review of a substantial memoir.
Unbalanced Equinox
The man with the missile is masturbating His shadow splats onto the garden He thinks he is making history Heaven knows he's making a mess The equinox will re-stock the garden It won't be easy this year The east reheats the cold war There are sentries in spades at the lych-gate When a man without … Continue reading Unbalanced Equinox
Bracken
Bracken rules the carrion roost. He’ll hide any cadaver. He’ll launder immoral earnings. He’ll raise an army. He’ll muster rebels. He’ll occupy territory.
Blog Jamming
Blog 101. After four years of blogging and one hundred posts, which scribblings were the most popular with readers and which were ignored? Which compositions were the most satisfying to share and which were the most uncomfortable to reveal?
Reviving Deadlines
The most extraordinary aspect of the Deadlines album is the cover. It's not the arresting image that makes it exceptional, but the fact that the action depicted in the picture is not artificially composed. It really is a shot of a man in a telephone kiosk filled with water. The booth was a specially strengthened … Continue reading Reviving Deadlines
Imbolc
Pregnancy is perpetual. There are countless births every millisecond. The Earth is always with child. Our ground is antenatal again. The unspoken garden draws breath to speak some more. Imbolc Imbolc was an important celebration in ancient times. It was originally a pagan festival in honour of the goddess Brigid. She is associated with fertility, … Continue reading Imbolc
Guttering
Dave Cousins and I disagreed over the worthiness of the Strawbs album Nomadness (see my earlier post Rehanging the Gallery), but I think we would be in harmony regarding Burning for You. He says in his autobiography “'Burning for You' is my least favourite Strawbs album.”1 It is my least favourite too, at least of … Continue reading Guttering
Plough Monday
Unearthing thoughts on Plough Monday.
Deep Cuts and shallow scars
The previous three pressings had an autumnal or winter feel to them. This album always sounds like summer, even when the song is a tragic or sad one, or even about the prospect of a hard, hard winter. Many of the tracks were written quickly during the warmer months of what in the UK was … Continue reading Deep Cuts and shallow scars
Nobody Here
A review of Lieutenant Kije by Yuri Tynyanov as translated by Nicolas Pasternak Slater.







