I got nominated for the book meme by Merrick back on May 1st. But I had to hang about with it a bit whilst I actually read some books. And fought an election. And did up my bathroom. And stuff.
You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?
Probably Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss. Mainly because I already know most of it off by heart
“Would you could you – in a boat?
Would you, could you – with a goat?
I would not could not in a boat! I would not could not with a goat!
I do not like Green Eggs and Ham – I do not like them Sam I am…”
So it would be a piece of piss to memorise and recite compared to Marx’s Grundrisse or whatever the fuck. Actually it would be wicked to know some Marquis de Sade or Burroughs off by heart as well, for the grown ups. Those insane routines of sexual debauchery and crazee alien drug spasms would go down a treat around yer dystopian community campfires, I reckon.
It would also be handy to know the Bible and Koran entirely off by heart so as to engage in arguments with deranged fundamentalist zealots. I feel like I know large chunks off The Rough Guide to Reggae off by heart already anyway, but this is probably of limited use, both now and in Fahrenheit 451.
Actually, it’s tempting to say “Fahrenheit 451”, just to create some kind of wormhole in reality with huge ensuing universal chaos.
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
No. I don’t really read books like that, if that makes sense. In fact I don’t really read much fiction at all these days. Or books, actually.
Jesus, I’m not doing myself any favours here, am I? Merrick’s bigged me up as a cultural powerhouse and I’m giving the game away with all this stuff.
The last book you bought is:
A load turned up at the same time. Rip it Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds from HMV (a special mission there cos they have it for a tenner). Which I absolutely tore through, as with Energy Flash. I’ll go back to it to and do a bit more listening some time. Loved the bits on Devo, industrial and the Some Bizzare acts. Loathed the chapter on McClaren, more because he comes across as a manipulative scumbag than because of the quality of the writing.
54 by Wu-Ming and Mindcrash by Mike Gill turned up in the post on the same day courtesy of the authors (thanks!).
The last book you read:
Last night we read:
Maurice Sendak – Where the Wild Things Are (Red Fox)
“And the Wild Things said ‘oh please don’t go! We’ll eat you up, we love you so!’”
“And Max said ‘No.’”
“The Wild Things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.
But Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye.”
Classic stuff – dreamlike imagery, vivid pics, general allusions to naughtiness, it’s great.
And: Jackson, Shirley; Smith, Jan; Horsley, Lorraine; Anderson, Julie; MacGregor, Catriona – Stuck in the Mud (Ladybird)
Which isn’t one of my favourites, but is mercifully brief. I have to hide a lot of the books we’ve been handed down because they are excruciatingly dull AND mind-constrictingly long. I would rather lose a limb than have to read Victoria Plum goes Fishing by Angela Rippon again. The difficulty is that 3 year olds seem to choose books by the pictures and possibly have short memories in terms of how boring they are. That or they just do it to wind up their Dads.
Yesterday I finished: Lowdown by Richard Jessup (Pan)
It’s pure pulp class:
“UP… like a Rocket. That was Walker Alise, singing star, idol of teenagers, liar, cheat, thief.”
“He had a style like Frankie’s and a stolen test recording. With that much he began to climb fast. No friends and helpers went with him. He cut them all down.”
“He made it big – million-dollar sales, smash hit films, Golden disc, the lot.”
“DOWN… like the burnt stick. But by that time he was an old man at 33, burnt out with alcohol, sex and the fury of his living.”
“When he came down they waited smiling for the big smash.”
It’s written at rapid fire pace – the middle section seems like it’s just some notes in places. I guess it’s reasonably accurate, but I don’t know much about the 50s music scene in the US, so I can’t say. It sounds like a blast from this, though! Obviously the first point of attraction for me was the amazing cover, but unlike Shaft Among The Jews I did actually read this all the way through.
Last week I finished Robert Tressell: – The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Flamingo)
I can’t even begin to tell you how great and how important this book is. Anyone who’s ever done a rubbish job should read it. It’s been nearly a century since this was written and it’s quite clear very little has changed. Some of the characters in the book are the spitting image of people I’ve worked with over the years and the grind of the house decorators’ jobs, the conduct of the bosses, the corruption of local “dignitaries” is pretty much bang on for the 21st century. There’s even a brilliant section on why people with no money go out and get shitfaced at every opportunity.
If you’re going to read one book out of this blog entry, this is the one. It manages to be affectionate, bitingly satirical, incisive AND to get across the fundamentals of socialism and the theory of surplus value (!) without being leaden.
The sting in the tail is that Tressell, himself a house decorator by trade, wasn’t able to get the book published in his lifetime. His family now run the Robert Tressell Foundation, funded out of their own pockets because the royalties have never been paid to them – despite the book running to an estimated 111 editions over the years.
What are you currently reading?
Mike Gill – Mindcrash (iUniverse)
Mind Crash originally appeared as a series of infrequent leaflets in the 80s and 90s, circulated through the post and at gigs. They had a playful seriousness about them which was influenced by industrial culture, zen and acid house. A point of reference would be the Out of Order Order’s Gneurosis zine, which I seem to remember republishing some of Mike’s writing. But Mind Crash was much more… ephemeral.
The book is a collection of the newsletters with some new material. I’m actually surprised at how much of it has stood the test of time. There are a few references to “hacking” and so on which perhaps are less futuristic than when read 15 years ago, but generally Mick’s style does still raise a smile and a twitch of yer 3rd eyebrow. I’ll try to write more on this when I’ve finished it, but you can get more detail via: http://www.mindcrash.co.uk
Wu-Ming – 54 (Heineman) (more of which soon)
Five books you would take to a desert island.
I probably wouldn’t take any, to be honest. I’d only drop them in the sea or get sand all over them or something. Err…
The Bible, Shakespeare, Marx, James Joyce, and maybe a massive dictionary.
Sorry, that’s crap isn’t it? I dunno, I would like the chance to read all that stuff, though. Something with lots of pictures in would be nice.
Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
I’m not, it’s played out… and it’s all my fault 🙁
shit. MINDCRASH.. “a poke in the third eye with a sharp stick”.
it was one of my first encounters with ‘other stuff’ and it totally fucked with me, great stuff.
i remember trying to find more a few years ago but failed.
… oh, and apparently it’s mike. ahem.
oooops! I’d better correct that, thanks! Check the book for sure….
Actually, that being one of your doorways to weirdness is quite interesting in itself, MB. Where did you get it from?
hmm, i’m not too sure now, i have a feeling it just turned up. i remember a mag that was stocked in a local newsagents called ‘the zine’ or something and i guess it was an attempt at some kind of glossy, overground exposure for a lot of self published behaviour. actually, i think that mag may have been a local (north east) creation. i know i mailed the people who where doing the ‘hoax’ zine from a contact featured in there. interesting times.
i was named after owen in ‘the ragged trousered philanthropists’!
That’s extraordinarily cool, Owen! 😎
MB – yeah I remember the zine, I think a lot of people found zinedom or little micro scenes through that. A noble attempt to get the underground into WH Smiths!
Always razor sharp as ever, responding to a June post… I do recall the Zine, but rather vaguely (Vaguer than Vague!). I was trying to locate the original reviews but I somehow mislaid them between house moves. It still freaks me out re-reading my own work from back then. I blame chemicals for a lot of it (brain chemicals, obviously!).
I found a copy of “Lowdown” in a second-hand bookstore a while ago and, like you, was taken at first by the great pulp cover – i’m a huge fan of the old Ace and Pan “penny dreadful” cover artwork, but seldom hold out much hope for the contents therin. i was, however, pretty impressed with this book – very hip, knowing and knowledgeable about the Tin Pan Alley scene, a classic rise-and-fall arc, and yeah – that middle section is like pre-James Ellroy shotgun/shorthand. cool.
MonkeysBlood – glad to hear I had some impact! Get in touch via the mindcrash web site – would be great to hear from you. Mick/Mike, no worries, so long as it’s not Michael!
Adam – It was Penny Dreadful that inspired me to produce Mind Crash. Up to that point, I was far too lazy to produce anything the size and quality of Vague. So I was relieved to find that I could get away with a single A4 sheet plus graphics!