Sunday, August 31, 2014

Kate Bush: Before the Dawn: Part I...


Very few things these days can reduce me to a nervous, fumbling teenager. I'm a battle-worn hack from a working-class town in Yorkshire, who's have seen a lot of stuff. I'm also not particularly star-struck after interviewing some big names over the years. But the impending Kate Bush concert that I'm going to has me all sorts of giddy. 

The only comparable artist to Kate Bush for longevity and influence is probably David Bowie. Unlike Bowie, though, Bush left the limelight at the height of her musical powers and virtually disappeared, only releasing music when she thought she had something worth releasing. 

So after the initial burst of albums, from 1978's Kick Inside and Lionheart, 1980's Never For Ever, 1982's The Dreaming and the seminal 1985 Hounds of Love, the output slowed down. Another two albums followed in 1989's The Sensual World and 1993's The Red Shoes, then came the public hiatus.

Some 12 years later, the double CD Aerial was released in 2005, followed by the Director's Cut in 2011 and 50 Words for Snow, also in 2011.

The decision to withdraw from the limelight and not play the whole celebrity game, plus her sporadic releases following that, certainly helped create an added mystique to Bush. The fact that she only toured once, in 1979, also means that these new concert dates have generated a disproportionate amount of publicity.

But there is also good reason for that. 

For a start, in an age where most celebrities will happily whore themselves out for any publicity, Bush and her career remain a great reminder that there are artists who are more interested in creating art than is making the next easy, greasy buck. The fact she had success and fame at such an early age, then slowly turned away from it, to focus on bringing up her son and enjoy her family life, gains her all sorts of kudos in my book. 

And the fact she continues to work and create on her own terms is inspiring for artists of all disciplines because it means it can be done. And maybe not all of us are Kate Bushes, but there's a lesson to be learnt there about creative drive and singularity of vision and focusing on what's important. 

At the end of the day, it may be only be music that Kate Bush is creating. But at its best, music can be a beautiful and inspiring and energising thing. And in a world that's over-populated by halfwits pushing appalling product, it's good to have somebody who can remind you that there are still things that are pure and focused and beautiful out there.

PS. And apparently Lily opens the concert. Happy days!

Monday, August 25, 2014

Comic Stuff...


I'm slowly wending my way back into the world of comics and, thanks to a very long train journey to and from Scotland, I finally got round to catching up with a few things I've not got round to digesting...

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Parts I & II
The animated movies of the seminal Frank Miller comic books are, quite simply, pretty brilliant. They're incredibly faithful to the comics, the animation is wonderfully done and the voice artists, such as Pete Weller as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Michael Emerson as Joker, are excellent. Much as I enjoyed the flawed epic that was the most recent Batman film trilogy, directed by Christopher Nolan, the amalgamated film stories weren't a patch on these animated versions of the Miller tales. DC superhero movies generally suck but these two animated films were great. 

Moon Knight 
I'm a long-term fan of comic and novella writer Warren Ellis, and I'm loving the opening five comic books in this new series, with Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire doing the artwork. So far, each book is a separate, self-contained tale and it's taking a 'B' list Marvel version of Batman as both superhero and detective and giving him real depth and a genuine sense of intrigue. Loving it. 

The Boys 
I'm a very late convert to this Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson series of graphic novels about an of-the-books team whose job it is to police the superhero community. It's foul-mouthed, it's dirty and it rips into characters and teams from both the Marvel and the DC universes. If you liked Preacher, you'll love this.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Toilet Break...

I went into a toilet cubicle at work the other day.

The toilets themselves are astonishing because I work at quite a flash media company, but many of my co-workers don’t seem to know how to use a toilet. This means I often walk into a cubicle to greeted by a scene that would not look out of place during a dirty protest in a prison riot. 

The scene that met me, however, provided a new source of fascination. In the pan of the toilet were two small buns with white icing on top, bobbing around in the water. 

I simply could not compute.

So either some idiot thought a toilet cubicle was a great place to bring cakes to eat, then thought ‘I don’t want these any more now I'm having a shit…’ Or, worse, somebody is shitting whole cakes.

Either way, it’s not the actions of a well man.

PS. Went in there today and three pens, a pair of rusty scissors and a roll of sellotape were balanced on the toilet roll dispenser. Invent your own narratives…

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK: Part II...

The Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK exhibition at the British Library is a bit of  a curate's egg. It's good in some parts and less good in others.

The positive bits are that it celebrates some of the history of modern British comics and modern British comics creators, who've done great stuff in UK comics before working at some of the big publishing houses in the US and reinvigorating their key characters.


It's also pretty decent on the history side with nods towards sequential art in a religious context in the 14th century, before moving onto Hogarth caricatures in the 18th century and funny strips in the 19th and 20th century. The links to anarchy and the political content of comics is also well documented.


The negative bits are that it's quite wordy without any large-scale images or blown-up comics panel sequences to break the flow up, and many of the exhibits are small-scale so large queues quickly amass around the various cases.


But, overall, it's quite well done and worth the admission price. 

Monday, August 11, 2014

Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK: Part I...

I am visiting the Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK exhibition at the British Library with the Missus, the Other Woman and the Other Woman's Long-suffering Boyfriend.

After the exhibition, we find a pub and grab some drinks and food. During this outing I am called the following:
Moron (9 times)
Twat (3 times)
Pillock (2 times)
Idiot (2 times)

The Other Woman's Long-suffering Boyfriend uses none of these terms. The Missus and the Other Woman split the insults about equally.

I may be starting to understand what an abusive relationship feels like.