The end of REM

No, I'm not going to say "REM RIP", which had become a hoary old cliche within 24 hours of the announcement. I feel sad about it, because although I didn't hear their last album I did hear "Accelerate", and to me it sounded that they still had fuel in the tank.

I still haven't heard the first four albums, and I'll try to seek them out. Like a lot of fans, "Document" was the first one I heard and liked. But "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" is my favourite.

I only saw them live once, at Wembley Arena on the "Green" tour in 1989. At the time their music didn't seem to me to fit big venues like that - I remember people singing along to "You Are The Everything" at the tops of their voices and thinking it was a bit stupid. But obviously they grew into it.

Good luck!

Beethoven - String Quartet No 9 (Rasumovsky No 3)

Finally finished listening to the Rasumovskys. Wonderful wonderful wonderful. So good there isn't anything intelligent I can write. The music says it all.

The Fall - Levitate

When I bought this in 1997, I was incredibly disappointed. I had heard bad stuff from The Fall before, but I realised (as I thought) they would never do anything worthwhile again. (I was wrong.) Listening to it again, the really disappointing thing is the way in which a lot of the songs seem to be created by laying down the musical base, and then Mark E Smith sticking the vocals on as an afterthought. A bit like making pizzas - and I'm talking Domino here, not (eg) the excellent Boca Cabana in Grasse. The only song where Smith seems truly with-it is "4 1/2 Inch". Some of the music could have made awesome Fall songs - "The Quartet Of Doc Shanley", "Hurricane Edward", "Ol' Gang", even the cover of Hank Mizell's "Jungle Rock". What a waste.

And whose idea was the cover of Bob McFadden's 1959 novelty hit, "I'm A Mummy"? Now "Monster Mash" would have been interesting. Perhaps it's not too late...

Catch up!

I hadn't realised it was over 5 months since I last posted here. I haven't been listening to much music - some, but not much, and very little new. Also very little classical music. Here's a list:

Love - Forever Changes (great as ever)
Radiohead - In Rainbows (respected rather than loved, and the last track "Videotape" is awful)
Lee Perry - Arkology (the best bits rather than the whole 3-disk set, but fantastic)
The Fall - "Theme From Sparta FC" (getting to become my favourite Fall song)
Talco - Combat Circus (punk/ska with Italian folk influences, a bit like the Pogues but Italian. Really great, free download from Jamendo).