![]() Meanwhile, if you can stand more Eitzel, my interview with the man himself is in today's Herald. ![]() But not nearly as much fun, admittedly.Īn interesting week: conversations with Sufjan Stevens (we last met in 2006, sitting on the grass in McCarren Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn he was sweet and pretended to remember), Charlie Watts and Alison Goldfrapp, covering topics as diverse as soul singers turned elevator attendants, sharing a tailor with Sonny Rollins, and writing non-Beatlesy music for a film about the young John Lennon. Easy to mock (the title, the earnest acceptance of every rock cliche, the lyrics, the lack of ambition), much harder to be constructive. Though we all stand in the shadow of death, the ability of the greatest artists (and of someone such as Thomson himself) to look that reality in the eye, and live (or write or sing) even more fully because of it, is what makes living worthwhile.”įinally, read my – admirably even-handed, I thought – review of the new Stereophonics album here. I know a few visitors regularly pop in to this blog from Italy it can be bought here, and no doubt at other reputable libro-vendors.Īlso, ambling into the party a mere 15 months after publication, but no less welcome for that, there’s a review of Reno on the Uncommon Threads blog, which calls the book “compellingly readable and expertly handled… the greatest feat for an entire book written on a topic such as death was the fact that it never grew obsessively morbid or morose, and eventually resolves poignantly and resolutely. The Italian printing of I Shot A Man in Reno now appears to be on sale, expertly translated – or appallingly translated, how would I know? – and published by Arcana. Trying to please other people is different and enjoyable." Writing for film was a way to escape the inside of his own head.įeaturing interviews with Karen O, Goldfrapp and Badly Drawn Boy, you can read my cover story about pop musicians writing for film in today’s Guardian 'Film & Music' supplement. Basically, it's not about me – that's what makes it easier. I felt attached in many ways, but when you're writing music for someone else, you can step back. "When something like this comes along, you can detach yourself from it emotionally. "One of the hardest things as an artist or musician is that you're expressing yourself, and you sometimes feel you're not ready to do that," says Damon Gough. All that autonomy, freedom of expression and relentless self-analysis can be burdensome. ![]() More followers than leaders, perhaps more craft than innovation more heart than head."Īlthough there's next to no money to be made in writing for film, and all along the line the musician's vision is subordinate to that of directors, editors and producers, the chance to be a mere cog in a much larger machine seems to offer welcome relief from the essentially solipsistic nature of songwriting. Perhaps that’s why, while there has been no shortage of talent, it’s hard to argue that many artists – aside from Donegan and the Postcard bands, whose legacy lingers in modern groups like Bloc Party, Vampire Weekend and Franz Ferdinand – have been particularly influential. Scotland has always had its stand-alone mavericks – the great Alex Harvey, an explosive mix of Jacques Brel and Bar Brel Billy Mackenzie, perhaps the nation’s most complex and innately gifted pure pop star and Bobby Gillespie, who for all his studied posturing has refused to allow Primal Scream to become a fixed entity – but in the main the body has been Zelig-like, an often thrilling patchwork of borrowed identities. "Scottish pop music is less about a distinct musical identity than a shared sensibility, primarily communicated through a voice that, like the country as a whole, often doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, hit or hug.
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