Category: Updates

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Vanity Fair parties like it's 1975…

From Feministe, a critique of the current Vanity Fair magazine, their ‘Hollywood Issue’.

I’m not particularly well-versed in Vanity Fair’s usual output – I’ve picked it up in airports before now, only to put it down due to there being nothing in it worth reading, like almost every other magazine out there (if there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to turn me into a tree loving tearful EcoMonkey of the most extreme variety, it’s magazine stands in newsagents – trees being chopped down in their millions to publish page after page of unreadable horseshit… but I digress…)

Anyway, the critique of the gender politics at work in the current issue of Vanity Fair is pretty incisive, though oddly enough it only seems to be shocking because Vanity Fair is less crass most of the time, otherwise they’d be critiquing Loaded/FHM/Maxim and all the other porn-lite that peddles the notion that a clothed woman is unworthy of being interviewed or photographed.

It’s not a new problem, it’s indicative of the relationship between women and print media for half a century, but it just seems to be so stark in that particular issue of Vanity Fair, and the critique is particularly clear (as with about half the stuff on Feministe – the other half being patchy…), worth a read.

Soundtrack – Peter Gabriel, ‘Up’.

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I. Officially. Rule.

First up, big thanks to all techie geeks who attempted help with the router/hub/modem thingie problem – Lovely G, TH and Christian Renz, all fine peoples with some top advice.

However, in the end it was me who came up with the solution. Yes, me. I’m sat here thinking about the problem, and how everyone says ‘but ethernet ought to connect automatically’. TH in fact pointed out that I ‘must have had the ethernet connected to configure the modem in the first place’. And that’s the bit that sparked my next thought… My problems all seemed to stem from the fact that I’d configured it all via wireless, so it saw the Wireless as the primary internet connection, and wasn’t sending the right DHCP info to the ethernet side of things at all.

So, I do what every self-respecting geek-in-a-fix does, and restored the factory settings on the modem, turned off the airport on the laptop, plugged in the ethernet and started again.

This time, it worked like a dream. DHCP assigned LAN IP details (shark, ask TH) to the ethernet side of things, I was all hooked up in seconds, and could properly configure the wireless side of things to actually have a password on it! Yay for me.

However, more important than all of that, I could also then do the software update for the Looperlative, fixing a bug I found two days ago (Bob uploaded the fix yesterday – how’s that for customer service???), and cleaning up the audio even further (it already kicked the arse of every looper I’d ever used)… So scratch that title – Bob. Officially. Rules.

Oh yes.

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Aged Feline Update

The ginger fairly aged feline has been up and down health-wise of late – a few weeks back the vet detected his tumor had come back, and so decided to switch chemotherapies to see how he reacted.

Yesterday he was in for the day, for an ultrasound, put on a chemo drip, and kept in overnight. The ultrasound showed that the tumor was once again barely detectible, and the little guy seems to be pretty perky. I’ve just picked him up from the vets and he’s happy to be home. He’s doing great all things considered.

Soundtrack – Sumitra, ‘Indian Girl’ (lovely singer/songwriter CD from a friend I met in California – will report back more fully when I’ve given it more of a listen).

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contender for the king of mint teas crown…

Had to buy a box of mint tea bags as soon as I got here – too many places where you can’t get things that are neither caffeinated or fizzy. So a trip Trader Joes was in order. Why don’t we have Trader Joes in the UK? It’s fantastic. Anyway, TJs mint tea is gorgeous – up there with Dr Stuarts. Oh yes, bloglings, it’s that good – try to refrain from drooling on the keyboard at the very thought of such at thing.

So I’m a happy minty stevie today.

Soundtrack – Jeff Taylor, ‘promo ep’ (all the songs from his myspace page plus one more – great stuff); Steve Lawson/Jeff Kasier (the improv stuff we recorded on sunday – marvellous noises – watch this space.)

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'America's Finest News Source'

I’m a firm believer in the redemptive power of satire – take the piss, expose the myth, change the world.

One of the world’s finest satirical sources is The Onion, and one of their latest targets is the crap around file sharing – ‘‘RIAA bans telling friends about songs’…

Also on the list of truly fantastic satire is the new Saturday night cartoon double bill of Family Guy followed by American Dad. It’s fantastic subversive stuff, that somehow has ended up being commissioned by Fox! How did that happen? Like Borders selling copies of ‘No Logo’, it just baffles me… Anyway, both are required viewing, and a great guidebook to the worst excesses of the American psyche.

Soundtrack – King’s X, ‘Ogre Tones’.

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Heroes in unlikely places

Was watching a great programme on tele this evening – Dickens In America, presented by Miriam Margolyes. It was a fascinating premise anyway, following Charles Dickens’ journey into the heartland of America in the mid 19th century.

But the best thing about it was the presenter – I was reminded again why Miriam Margolyes is one of my heroes, and in my ‘most like to meet’ list along side David Attenborough, Billy Bragg and, um some other people (Peter Ustinov was on the list before he died… if the list were just a fantasy one, he’d still be on it…)

There’s just something about Miriam that I warm to, that I admire greatly, and that makes her seem like one of the most marvellous people on the planet. Every time I hear her interviewed she makes me laugh uproariously, she’s got a fantastic grasp of the english language and revels in the art of speaking (her recording of ‘the queen and I’, in which she plays every member of the British Royal Family is the biggest-selling audio book in the world).

It’s all a bit random really – most of my big heroes are political and spiritual figures – MLK, Mandela, Gandhi – same ones as everyone, really. But there are a handful of people who make me feel like Britain isn’t such a dreadful place after all, that there’s something uniquely wonderful in our heritage here, and Miriam is one of those people.

So raise a toast to La Margolyes!

Soundtrack – Abraham Laboriel, ‘Guidum’.

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Radio Days

For the second (I think) time in my life, I just phoned a radio phone-in show. The story in question is the marvellous news that finally gay couples can have civil unions in registry offices, giving them most of the same rights as married straight couples.

The phone in, on Vanessa Feltz’ show on BBC Radio London was being populated by gay couples delighted at their new found freedom, and bile-ridden hate-filled so-called-christians railing against the evil abomination that they see homosexuality as being.

So, as a christian who a) sees no problem in permanent stable faithful gay relationships and b) recognises that this is fundamentally a human rights issue NOT a theological one, I felt ours was a voice not being heard. So I rang in and had a lovely chat with Vanessa, touching on the ambiguity surrounding the various interpretations of the biblical stuff about homosexuality, the dangers of applying post-enlightenment rationale to a pre-rational text (thankyou Middleton and Walsh!) and the need to uphold the right of self-determination to people with regards to their property after they die.

Anyway, the phone-call was fun, but the change in the law is a fantastic step forward for anyone looking to uphold human rights. It’s decades overdue, and has until today been a blot on British law. Thank God that we’ve now grown up, moved on, and recognised the human rights of gay couples who want to be recognised in law.

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Eric Roche benefit gig…

Today, Eric Roche would have been 38. He already had Haverhill Arts Centre booked for a gig to celebrate. Sadly, he died too soon. So instead, the venue decided to put on a Tribute gig, which would act as a benefit gig for his family, and the bookings co-ordinater at the venue, Nick Kemble, set about booking lots of Eric’s friends to come and play, and ended up with a stellar line up – Max Gilkes, Ravi, Stuart Ryan, Steve Lockwood and Chris Newman, Boo Hewerdine and me.

Max kicked things off with a solo set, followed by me – I did Grace and Gratitude, which just before I went on I decided I’d segue into ‘Deep Deep Down’ by Eric, which is usually in G and had to be in Bb, to fit over the Gminor of Grace and Gratitude. I followed that with a version of ‘Lovely’ with Steve Lockwood on harmonica, and then did People Get Ready, started solo and was joined by Steve and Chris, which was great.

However, the more keen-eyed of you will notice a glaring omission from my set list… who was the gig in honour of?: Who have I written a tune for that I’ve played at every solo gig I’ve done in the last 5 months? How on earth did I forget to play my tune for Eric???? what on earth was going on in my head when I was thinking back stage ‘hmmm, what shall I play?’ – sometimes, I amaze myself with my own sieve-brain-ness.

Anyway, I came back on during Steve and Chris’ set to play a funky blues with them, and again during Stuart Ryan’s set to play an uptempo blues with him and Steve. And then finally at the end, I sat in on the last of Boo’s tunes, and we all finished together with a version of ‘The Water Is Wide’ – a folk song that Eric played regularly, and recorded a lovely version of.

All it all, it was a magic night – everyone played well, the venue was packed, the sound was great, and they sold tonnes of Eric merch, meaning a healthy chunk of cash goes to his family.

Don’t forget to go and buy his CDs, especially ‘With These Hands’ – it’s amazing. I’ve had a few people mention with some surprise that they’d bought things on my recommendation from the blog that turned out to be amazing. Believe me, i ONLY recommend things here that I think are genuinely marvellous. I’ve got lots of lovely friends who make CDS and write books and stuff that are fine, but aren’t world-beating, so I save my recommendations here for things that are magical. Eric’s CDs are just that – magical. Do yourself a favour and get one.

It was a real privilege and an honour to be a part of the gig, to help support his family, to play with such great musicians, and to contribute my noises to a celebration of a life well lived. If you were there, thanks for coming – all of us who performed had a fantastic time.

(oh, and Nick did a great job of the compering… ;o) )

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"Intention is Audible"

It’s one of those things I tell my students all the time. ‘Intention Is Audible’ – if you’re writing music just so other people who play the same instrument as you will think you’re a badass and can play faster than them, that’s going to come across in the music, and it’s very unlikely to have any emotional impact on your listeners. If you are playing out of some sense of obligation to some outside standard of what is and isn’t acceptable, the likelihood is that it’ll be plainly obvious that it isn’t from the heart. It’s why so much modern pop is as dull as shit, why not one of the TV talent shows has, as yet, produced a genuinely creative artist. That Will Young is the best we have is a sad indictment on the whole sorry charade.

Every now and again, the ‘intention is audible’ line is hammered home to me in a positive way (the negative stuff is there in so much music every day, sadly). One such experience is listening to ‘Duw A Wyr’ by Lleuwen Steffan/Huw Warren and Mark Lockheart. It’s a collection of Welsh hymns from the time of the revival, sung in welsh and given a european jazz reworking. And it’s beautiful.

But more than that, it’s deeply moving. Remember, it’s sung in welsh – there are translations on the sleeve, but I’ve intentionally avoided them thus far, as I’m allowing the music to impact me on a purely emotional level. And it works. Boy, it works. One particular track, ‘Gwahoddiad’, is one of the most uplifting things I’ve heard in years. The intention of the song is crystal clear in the performance, in the intonation of the voice. It’s incredible. Maybe I’ll have a read of the words later on. Maybe I won’t. It’s gospel music in its purest form – ‘good news’.

And it reminds me why I do what I do. Playing solo bass that isn’t all histrionic fretboard gymnastics and slapping, tapping circus tricks is definitely a ‘road less travelled’. There are very few solo bassists around, even fewer that aren’t spending their time pushing speed and agility as their main frontiers. To keep heading down this path into music where the emotional narrative is front and centre is a juggling act, given that it requires a lot of work on all those technical control and awareness issues that the twiddly stuff requires but without the pay-off that your peers rave about your wikkid skillz. Instead you get the pay-off of people being moved by what you do, being changed in some way by hearing it. I get enough of these stories from people to make it worthwhile. It’s never going to be a mainstream choice of music career (well, I guess it might be, I’d be happy to end up looping, layering and noodling on Top Of The Pops… or at least on Jools Holland’s show…), but it’s one that ultimately is so much more fulfilling for me creatively.

For any musician, learning to practice, absorb and then dismiss virtuosic technique is a huge challenge. For extreme virtuosity and emotional impact to be resident in the same player is incredibly rare – Coltrane would be one, Michael Manring another. Keith Jarrett’s one, Pat Metheny is more than capable of it. And Eric Roche, for whose family I’m playing a benefit gig on Sunday night, was definitely one, one who inspired me hugely, who encouraged me to pursue those aims, to carry the tension forward on my own journey into deeper musical understanding, and greater control of musical vocabulary and expression.

The gig on Sunday night, at Haverhill Arts Centre will be a great chance to give credit where it’s due. The rest of the bill is pretty fine too – Boo Hewerdine, Steve Lockwood and Stuart Ryan are all fabulous musicians that I’m really looking forward to playing with and listening to.

Soundtrack – Lleuwen Steffan/Huw Warren/Mark Lockheart, ‘Duw A Wyr’

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Hacker logic

So my forum was hacked. The hacker in question was clearly a fairly benign hacker – no links to porn, no major disruption. It was actually more of a warning than anything else. However, in the process of upgrading my site to the new very with all the security patches, I’ve lost all the edits I made to the templates. I did a backup of everything before hand, but apparently ‘everything’ doesn’t include edited templates. Ah, my mistake, I thought this was the ‘everything’ usage of the word ‘everything’, rather than the version of the word ‘everything’ that means ‘not quite everything, actually’.

So the forum looks a bit weird at the moment. And probably will do for while – it took me ages to get it looking nearly right last time (I never quite got the integration spot on – some font differences and a patch of grey background behind the links bar), but I’ll have a go at it soon enough… and this time I’ll see if I can back up the files as I go along…

grrrr.

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