RIP Mark E Smith

Why did Mark E Smith live his life the way he did?  He wrote great songs.  He made great music.  he was an intelligent man.

I first remember hearing the fall in the late eighties, on the John Peel show. I remember sitting in the back of my parents car, driving, late at night with John Peel on the radio, playing tracks by the fall.  As a young punk obsessive in 1989 I would borrow records by the Fall from the local library, specifically live at the witch trials and hex education hour although I didn't really get them straight away.

The music on the infotainment scam made more sense to me a few years later.  Free Range was the first Fall track that totally clicked with me.  Their cover of Lost in Music was great too.

I first saw them play live at the phoenix festival in 1994 - the stand out track from that day was Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room although it doesn't seem to be on the video of the show on youtube.  I just remember pissing myself at the line about masturbating over pearl jam.

I saw them in Primavera a few years back and at ATP festivals a couple of times.   I probably saw them in Leeds in 1999 too.  Sometimes they were amazing, sometimes they fucked up.  It seemed to depend on Smiths mood and alcohol intake.

His death at a relatively young age is not a shock but it's still sad.

RIP

Max Richter - Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

I was in the pub with a pal from work a couple of weeks back and we were generally shooting the shit.  We were talking a bit about music.  My pal is into proper classical music and opera and has travelled to Milan to see shows in the past.  If you've seen this blog before or know me, you know that I like music although in terms of classical stuff Philip Glass and Steve Reich is more my thing.

In the pub I remembered that Max Richter was playing the Concert Hall as part of Celtic Connections so I picked up tickets to check it out.  I've got the Sleep CDs from a few years back although I haven't managed all 8 hours in one sitting and I've got The Blue Notebooks somewhere.  I think they were on my old iPod but I've not listened to him much.

The show tonight was the soundtrack to a ballet based on the work of Virgina Woolf.  I've never read her books but I am actually aware of the plot of Orlando, the centre piece of the night, after it was liberally showcased in an Alan Moore comic book a few years back.  The music was good with some great dynamics.  The violin part in the Mrs Dalloway segment was striking, really cutting through the sound.  The Orlando segment was anarchic and constantly changing, at one point reminding me of Pinball Wizard by the Who.  With much of the music, the melodies and themes were familiar, bringing to mind rock songs and post-rock sounds.

The final section dealt with the end of Woolf's life.  It was calming and felt very watery.

After a brief break, the chamber orchestra played On the nature of daylight from Blue Notebooks.  That piece of much is very familiar and has appeared in a lot of films and TV shows.

The music was lively and comfortable with some great sounds.  There was warm feedback which I think was intentional.  A good evening of modern classical music.