< Drumz of The South >: Sonic Life Cycles

< Drumz of The South >: Sonic Life Cycles.

Georgina has posted the film she created for our contribution to the UCL’s Creative Edge workshop on (sub)urbanism.

It’s essentially a broad brush look at the development of musical genres and the interplay between the urban and suburban. It is also, as she points out, slightly tongue in cheek – and captures the energy and humour of those movements really well, I think.

It was great collaborating with Georgina (not just because she did most of the work, ha ha!) and the day proved very interesting. I suspect many of the academics in attendance were a bit mystified by our contribution and Blackdown’s, but this was mutual… sometimes it’s good to stretch out a bit and broaden your horizons.

The books of Roger Robinson

Surely everyone has got hold of the King Midas Sound album now? So you’ve all been enjoying Roger’s vocals and lyrics to the full for your winter soundtrack.

Perhaps it’s also time to curl up by the fire with a good book?

roger robinson - adventures in 3d

Adventures in 3D (Lubin and Kleyner, 2002)

A collection of short stories. Some nice themes including someone being scared of splitting up with their girlfriend because she is a sixth dan in karate, making your own crop circles, office politics, blood fetishes, weed dealing. I think it’s really well written – not overtly “extreme” despite some of the subject matter. Some nice wry observations.

roger robinson - suitcase

Suitcase (Waterways, 2004)

His first collection of poetry. You know how I really don’t get on well with poetry, right? Well Roger’s stuff is the exception (along with Tim Wells). I guess this might be because he covers topics which resonate with me or because there is a subcultural/sonic association. Or maybe I am (gasp!) simply getting into poetry.

It helps a lot to be able to hear Roger’s voice in your head when reading this, I think. (Same as William Burroughs, innit). I like the powerful quietness this book conjurs up.

Lots of well observed, well crafted poems about girls, growing up, Trinidad, England. There is nothing extraneous here – nothing flowery, just precise evocative words making pictures for you.

“Uncle Robert’s letter to my Father” is an incredibly powerful tale of a young Caribbean man who happens to fancy other men.

roger robinson - suckle

Suckle (Waterways, 2009)

His latest collection of poems. Similar themes but maybe more emphasis on music:

“In 1984 my sister was serious about dancing.
She was the only girl dancer in the Emperor’s
dance crew. Probably the only girl breaker
Trinidad, but that wasn’t enough for her…”

(Electric Boogaloo)

or how about:

“Uncle Clyde had acquired a collection
of old calypsonians on shellac 45s.
Each started with a pr0longed scratch
and hiss. As the orchestras kicked in
and the singing hit, you could see him
doing the silliest of made up dances.
Not for my entertainment; that
was what the music made him do…”

(The Urgency of Sound)

Order Adventures in 3D, Suitcase and Suckle direct from Flipped Eye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7zS2r4S2M4

http://www.myspace.com/rogerrobinsonmyspace

searchin’ – lookin’ for love

I don’t look at my webstats too often, not least because the number of people who drop by here terrifies me slightly (um, hello!).

The search stats are usually quite a depressing array of dysfunctionality (more of that below). But now we have a clear winner, which whilst depressing does suggest that a lot of people out there aren’t afraid to research the more unsettling aspects of London history.

Picture 2

I guess most of these are self explanatory, but here goes a whirlwind (but not very festive) tour of the hidden parts of uncarved.org

Looks like some of these put me in the premier league of google searches…

Police corruption stoke newington 1980s (speaks for itself really)

Amputee Sex (a booklet by Stewart Home which I have for sale)

anarcho punk (a genre of music which is roundly criticised here, but uncarved.org still provides hordes of forum posters and myspacers with logos to put in their profiles like people used to have on the backs of their leather jackets) Number 3 on google!

Frieda Powell (A victim of a particularly gory murder – all text but NSFW) Number 2 on google!

Nicky Crane (a gay nazi skinhead who exerts an ominous sexual hold over some people – from beyond the grave!) Number 2 on google!

Inna Gadda Da Vida meaning (the hidden story of Brion Gysin and Vidal Sassoon’s influence on this sixties anthem) Number 1 on google!

The Bug (yes! some sanity at last!) Number 4 on google!

Donkey Show (a Disco theatre performance which seems to share its name with some dodgy pron)

Skin head (“Born to fight / Born to win / We were all born to be Skins / Born with martens on our feet / Face the truth there’s no retreat” authentic working class subculture now adopted by retro-pseuds everywhere)

Babylon (the film)

Tom Vague

Vague 14Vague 15

Tom Vague.

“I was completely obsessed with Vague (and to a lesser extent with RE/SEARCH and Rapid Eye, they were a bit too professional, ha ha) – such a great combination of underground culture and music, like this window into a strange London-centric counter culture of squats and revolutionaries and occultists and bohemians.”
(me – interviewed by Simon Reynolds earlier this year)

Fanzine legend now has something resembling a web-presence, courtesy of Housmans – one of London’s best alternative and lefty/anarcho bookshops.

Lots of nice cover scans – even of the early issues which I had never seen before. And a nice bit of documentation of Vague issues 1-54. Tom’s gone a bit Tony Wilson with the numbering with various books, websites and pdfs thrown in.

Vague #54: 50 Years of Carnival 1959 – 2009 is just out.

Housmans have some Vagues for sale online and links to downloads…