no-cowboys

 

I don't have much to tell you but I am presently listening to this album which is basically the only album by the London group PragVEC but for reasons unexplained they pretended it was a compilation record featuring PragVEC, Major Eddie, Couch Potatoes, Vince Quince and his Rialto Ballroom Detectives and 'Spec Records' (which is the name of their record label). It's the kind of record that makes me appreciate that, yes, 1980 really was a long time ago. And/or that while some records were being made that still sound contemporary-ish, like say the Human League's records (jesus, I heard Gary Numan's 'Cars' in a shop today, it's still revolting) there are records like this that took the road less travelled and sound, well obviously this is where I'm heading, really dated. I'm not against 'dated' (and I like PragVEC a lot - a lot more than most people on earth) but I feel the need to mention it. I don't know why. 

This afternoon I played in an ad hoc band called Loaded and True with Alec, Jack, Dusty and Snowy. Alec contacted me a few days ago and asked if I wanted to play in this band with him and Jack that had two shows booked in Melbourne. I don't know if someone dropped out or what but I said yes, which I probably shouldn't have (too many other things on) but on the other hand, who does it hurt. So we did five or six songs which had been partly worked out last night and it went really really well. I mean really well. People were being very complementary and these were people who I am pretty sure if they couldn't say anything nice, they wouldn't have said anything. So, that was good.

the public image is rotten

First up: fucking awful title for a documentary.

Second up: is this actually a documentary? Well, it has Thurston Moore in it, like most music documentaries that don't have Bono in them, and I have to give TM credit for never saying no to any documentary who wants to include him. Look, when the Cannanes played the Knitting Factory on the 15/5/1991 Sonic Youth were outside the venue with Epic Soundtracks (I remember talking to him and Aileen McNally about how he liked Reeves and Mortimer and she liked Julian Clary and he didn't like Julian Clary and she didn't know anything about Reeves and Mortimer, but I don't remember if he introduced me / us to Sonic Youth; my point being why wasn't Thurston Moore in the Cannanes documentary? He had at least some geographic proximity to something in that group's existence and he will clearly go to the opening of an envelope). But...

Thirdly, if this doesn't have John Lydon's fingerprints on it as a producer or something, or if it isn't officially sanctioned by him, there's no excuse for its shallow, pandering tone and even if it does/was, there's still no excuse. It is obvious to everyone - surely everyone involved in the band, let alone everyone around them - that whatever passes for PiL today/in the 20th century is a complete travesty of the original. I mean, beyond a travesty. It might as well be a PiL covers band but even that would be better than what it's become, a schmetarded piece of shit. I suppose it at least achieves one ambition of the original band: it unsettles and angers some members of the comfortable middle class i.e. me. But only because it has fallen so far from anything high quality. Those first three PiL albums were supreme genius. I admit I haven't heard Album and maybe I should do myself a favour (?). And really I haven't spent any time with anything produced under the PiL name since Flowers of Romance. But I watched this film and fucking hell. Lydon's fall from ability/capacity is just one of those sad, sad things that happen to 90% of great artists I suppose, you have to be just grateful you got them once at a good creative place. Christ. Awful! 

The film is unable to say what is clearly apparent: a great idea for a creative working unit became, over a  long period of time, a sad (if lucrative?) footnote to a career. Obviously a lot of this is due to economics and accidents and drug use (most specifically Keith Levene's) and the music industry being a crock of shit and shame, and even if JL doesn't believe his own myths (or those which have been thrust upon him) he still has to work with them. But argh. Frustrating. Thank christ it's not my problem lol. Actually I sought it out and let it upset me so more fool me. 

Two great albums I happened upon* this weekend which I heartily endorse. One is Punko's Plants Singing which came out earlier this year and which is a total gem (well, I've only listened to one side of it, but I can't imagine the other side would cancel it out even if it was gruesome) and the other is Shrapnel's Alasitas which is midway between being a 2021 cassette release and being an actual vinyl (I guess) LP and I have been playing in the car a lot. If I had to review it, which I don't, I'd say that it sounds like all those great early 80s Flying Nun bands if they'd actually formed five years earlier and were 'indebted' to prog (eg Caravan, Jethro Tull) instead of whatever they were 'indebted' to, Television or the Velvets (or imported german beer or whatever). I love it. 

*This is a lie. Both were recommended by Alec Marshall.