Sunday, April 19, 2009




This afternoon spent going through the records - vinyl, that is. 

The French Impressionists 'A Selection of Songs' on EP, Rip Rig & Panic 'I am Cold', Terje Rypdal 'Waves', David Byrne 'Music from the Knee Plays', Bill Evans 'Conception', Burroughs, Giorno, & Laurie Anderson 'You're The Guy I Want To Share My Money With' ... the sheer physical thereness of the cover, sleeve, record ... not to get too fetishistic about it all ... but, you know ... CDs don't quite deliver the same buzz. 





That I don't actually have a record player to play them on is an irony which will be rectified shortly. 

2 comments:

walrus said...

There is a device for turning vinyl into MP3s, but I'm no expert on such matters.

Any thoughts on the late JG Ballard?

W

belgianwaffle said...

Great minds think alike - there's one over here which has a USB connection as well as the conventional one into an amp. That'll do nicely. It's on order and could arrive before the end of the week. I'm rather looking forward to the old familiar evocative sound of clicks and static - Philip Jeck territory ...

As for JGB - I think it was one of those slow eating away illnesses but without the Jane Goody media-vulture factor. An irony he'd have appreciated.

I'm a fan of the Atrocity Exhibition & see all sorts of ways in which he connects with Iain Sinclair (one of my fave raves). I have the Complete Short Stories in 2 vols and yearly spasms of interest. I think I agree with JGB that the shorts are the best format for his work (and The Atrocity Exhib. is effectively a collage of shorts). I've yet to take on Millenium People etc. - and Empire of the Sun is an unknown quantity.

In terms of his biography, I'm fascinated by his 'normal' suburban daily existence plus kids (his wife died young, didn't she?) with sorties into the wild world of 60s London and other exotica. One of the great fun:writing:life jugglers.

I like JGB & his excesses whereas I cannot 'click' with Burroughs & his. I'm sure the assumption is that if you like one you like the other?

Bizarrely, my mum has just read one of his more outrageous fictions - hardly her cup of tea. (Her usual stance is that artists & writers are all mad/bad/dangerous to know. Even Barbara Pym is a bit racy for her). I'd guess that JGB was sane to a crazy degree and rather fun to know. But who am I to say?

He had a long-standing thing about cars & blondes which seems - in retrospect - rather prescient in terms of the whole Diana business.

Three thumbs up, anyway, from me.

In many ways the epitome of the Deleuzean writer?

(Did Deleuze ever read JGB?)

Still putting together ideas on Gizzi.

Cheers

The C.

April Fool?