It’s a bit weird, for me to admit this. But I guess I’ve become a sneaker fancier!? It was never a conscious thing. And I think, oddly enough, that drumming plays a part.
Keeping white sneakers clean is an issue.
Whenever I consider buying a new pair of shoes these days, it’s invariably trainers Some nice antique brogues appeal, but are usually way too expensive (and I quite fancy some two-tone loafers!).
Got a pair of these Pumas for Xmas… love ‘em!
Here they are in situ:
Facebook also plays a part. And there’s a bit of a rub there, as I’m vehemently anti most advertising. But I have to concede that FB ads for trainers have ultimately seduced me into spending money on funky footwear.
Bought myself a pair of these for my upcoming b’day!
The drumming connection has to do with a long-running but as yet unrealised desire to start making and posting drumming videos on YouTube. One of the stumbling blocks there is my antiquated iMac and defunct DAW scenario (i.e. Logic not working on my Apple computer!).
If money were no object I’d love a pair of the converse khaki shoes pictured below. But I already have two pairs of Converse. So I can’t really justify buying more.
Damn you, Converse, for making such alluring footwear! These off-white ‘plimsoles’ have really caught my eye. And, since posting this, my mum and her husband, Malcolm, have bought me these for my upcoming birthday. Thanks!
And a bit further back I bought a pair of flip-flops…
I’m longing for sunshine and warmth to return!
This last lot seem rather out of place right now, in the depths of winter. But it’s nice to think of spring and summer to come.
I’ve never really been a fan of punk. Although that said, well… it’ll become clear.
My first point of contact with Iggy and The Stooges was a Sixth-Form band I was in. The guitarist was into Sonic Youth, and he wanted us to include I Wanna Be Your Dog in our set. Or at least… that’s a memory I have!?
Actually, no… come to think of it, my very first encounter with Iggy was via David Bowie, and his album Tonight. Bowie and Pop had a very long and mutually fruitful friendship, which started around the time of Raw Power. Iggy was heavily involved on Tonight, supplying several songs, co-writing others, and guesting on a number of tracks.
Mick Haggerty’s cover is very Gilbert & George!
As the years rolled by I would occasionally encounter Iggy or The Stooges again, like when his song Lust For Life suddenly re-entered the national zeitgeist, thanks to its inclusion on the Trainspotting soundtrack.
Another encounter was watching Tom Waits and Iggy in a Jim Jarmusch Coffee & Cigarettes short film. And my illustrator buddy Tim Oliver would sometimes play Iggy’s Lust For Life album as we worked in his shed studio.
Two legends!
I’ve been a big fan of Jarmusch for a long long time now, since fairly soon after discovering Tom Waits, in my mid-teens (or slightly later; poss’ late teens/early twenties?), and subsequently discovering and exploring the Jarmusch/Waits connection, via Down By Law, and suchlike.
Mark Kermode approved!
I remember seeing trailers for Gimme Danger, back in 2016, when it came out, and wanting to go see it on the big screen. I didn’t! More’s the pity. Well, tonight I finally put that right, and watched it. And I loved it. It’s a loving portrait or homage, to both Iggy and The Stooges.
Jarmusch and Pop talk to Vice about Gimme Danger.
As a drummer myself I loved discovering that Jim Osterberg, aka Iggy Pop, started out himself on this most primal of instruments. But, as he so beautifully puts it, he got fed up of ‘looking at the singer’s ass’! It’s also very interesting hearing about his early influences, from TV and movies, to black American music.
A young Osterberg, in his drumming phase.
His Damascene revelation – ‘Hey, I’m not black!’ – as funny as it sounds, especially delivered in Pop’s eloquently laconic basso profundo drawl, is, as mark Kermode points out, a really crucial moment.
Another thing I loved about this film and it’s subjects is the whole art vs business, or life vs the machine vibe. As Jarmusch says, very early on in the Vice thing, Iggy and The Stooges are Art! And they paid quite dearly for such a stance.
Iggy’s stage antics were amazing!
All in all, this is an affectionate and very charming portrait of both Iggy himself, and The Stooges. Most of the rest of The Stooges – all three of the original line up outside of the Igster – have passed: bassist Dave Alexander in 1975, guitarist Ron Asheton in 2009, and, most recently, drummer Scott Asheton, in 2019. Only Iggy remains.
Their debut, 1969.
Seeing Pop performing with later iterations of the group – the latter day lineup of Iggy, Mike Watt (bass), James Williamson (guitar), and Scott Asheton features heavily in the movie – is a bit odd. He still looks pretty amazing. And he still favours shirtless contortionist cavorting.
Although Iggy still looks surprisingly good (or at least surprisingly’rock n’ roll; esp’ for his age), his bandmates do admittedly look a bit less cool, and overerall the sound is a little more lethargic than ‘back in the day’. Naturally and understandably so, given the passage of time.
Obviously drugs played a part in the group’s less than smooth history. And it’s only really been with the benefit of hindsight that The Stooges are or have been steadily becoming more respected. Their role as creators or instigators of proto-punk in particular, along with fellow Michiganites MC5, is a theme much harped on in the music press and online.
The Stooges second album, 1970.
Ironically, claims that they’re the greatest rock n roll band ever, which are made several times in this movie, don’t in my view really hold up, leastways not if you just shut your eyes and listen to the music. I like the music. Or at least some of it. But it’s hardly blisteringly original or innovative.
I think a very large part of The Stooges attraction – although as youngsters they all looked pretty good – is, inescapably, the Igster! His energy, charisma, stage presence, etc, all meant that for those who saw The Stooges perform, such was the energy, that they truly were ‘the greatest rock n roll band of all time’, for any such spellbound acolytes.
Jim Osterberg, as he is now, or rather was, c. 2015/16.
Iggy puts it with sublime and succinct precision when he says that their art was Dionysian, and not Apollonian; it was orgiastic, sensual and physical. And, at their best, they have a terrifically pure and simple and enormously powerful energy, that is really very seductive.
I enjoyed this film so much I’ve ordered The Stooges’ first three albums. And I look forward to enjoying them!
Well… I pulled the trigger, and ordered me those green tops, from emilyannie.com. I got a bit of discount, and free shipping, as I ordered four items. These beauties:
A jacket (2XL).Long sleeved shirt (XL).Short sleeved shirt one (XL).Short sleeved shirt two (XL).
I’m hoping they’ll arrive in time for my b’day! And we’ve booked a table at an Italian restaurant. So I’m chuffed!
And to fund this sartorial extravagance? I’ve booked two extra shifts, delivering for Amazon. Cool!
Well, Terminal Passage, who regularly uploads music to YouTube that I either really like, or at least find interesting, came up trumps with this.
I was researching the drummers of Casiopea, and Murakami was listed: ‘Occasionally appeared as a second drummer for the band in a few of their live performances’, in the ‘77-79 period! So, around the time of the groups transition from their first drummer, to Sasaki, whose playing I adore.
This album gets a relatively low score, of three and a half stars, purely on listenability. It’s very interesting, being pretty experimental, and perhaps technically deserves a higher rating. It’s also very very interesting from a drummer’s perspective, with some incredible playing. But, it’s not an entirely easy or pleasant listen!
The cover artwork, however, is a very pleasing and delightful surprise, appealing to me massively aesthetically. That gets five – or poss’ even the rare but coveted six – stars from me. Fantastic!
The back cover. Fab!
Intent at his work/playing, ‘Ponta’ looks like a major dude in his fair-isle sweater and jumbo earphones!
As it currently stands this post is just a ‘heads up’, to myself, as much as anyone else. No doubt as I listen to it more – I’ve only had a cursory listen so far – I’ll fill in on the musical content a bit more here.
LATER…
Well… it’s now very late in the day, and I’ve listened more closely to the first four tracks, which would’ve comprised side one, in vinyl days of yore. It sounds like it’s mostly just keys and drums; Ponta along with Jon Fukamachi. If there are other musicians I don’t know who they are!
Musically it’s pretty gonzo! Veering all over the map, with a big nod to funky jazz fusion, but in a decidedly odd and unusual vein. Track one, Dance Of Paranoia, moves between a funky clavinet feel, with busy drums, segments that are driven by acoustic piano bass lines, and some outright weirdly composed stuff. It also features some unusual scoops or dips in volume. Very obviously deliberate, and highly unusual!
Contact Point, track two, sounds like it has electric bass. And is – relative to much of the album – quite straightforward, if still a bit quirky. There are shades of disco space funk in this one. Absolute Space takes the spacey soundscapes vibe and goes much more deeply and freely into it, although the abundant earthy percussion tethers things, with some Airto like organic percussion.
The ballistic yet super tight drumming of Quadriga, track four, is the first instance of something both musically interesting, and also somewhat to my tastes. Up till now, there’s been much to enjoy, but scattered throughout a real kaleidoscopic scattershot mix of stuff, much of which doesn’t float my boat.
But, even here, Ponta oscillates pretty wildly, between driving groove based sections, and much freer segments. This track really is a tour de force of drumming and percussion skills. In places it’s like the kind of weird modern ‘classical’ composed music you hear percussionists performing on Young Musician of the Year. Music by musicians for musicians! Poss’ of very limited appeal to non-musos?
As a drummer, musician and ‘artist’, I can really appreciate the artistry of the whole album, even when it doesn’t necessarily ‘do it’ for me. But with Quadriga I can totally enter the spirit of it. As it’s so intensely rhythmic. Definitely my favourite track so far. But maybe tomorrow, and ‘side two’, will change that?
More musical magic from the early ‘70s. Just sit back and dig it!
Setlist
00:00 Ain't no Sunshine 03:18 Lonely Town, Lonely Street 09:14 Grandma's Hands 11:47 Use Me 16:06 Let Me In Your Life 20:20 Lean On Me 24:43 Harlem
As so many folk note, in relation to Bill Withers, he exemplifies the truth that, in the right hands, a little can really go a long way. Obviously he has a terrific voice. Although it’s not the type of voice you would see winning The Voice (and thank goodness!).
Might have to get me one of these…
As a guitarist, piano player and songwriter, he’s a little bit like Tom Waits, only even more basic. Like Waits, he’s not a virtuoso on these two composers’ tools. But he is most very definitely an artist, wringing a lot of feeling from a limited technique.
As a child he had suffered with a stutter. It’s hard to credit that, watching this intimate soulful concert, where he seems so natural and at ease, despite playing – as he alludes to early on in the set – with a partial scratch/pick-up band.
Personnel
Bill Withers - Vocals, rhythm guitar, piano John Barnes - Piano Snuffy Walden - Guitar Melvin Dunlap - Bass Fred Casey - Drums
Wow! I love the interweb for stuff like this. I’m trying to learn more about Casiopea’s original drummer, Takashi Sasaki, I found several YouTube videos, listed on the Discogs website. I’m sharing them here.
These recordings appear to be from a Yamaha music corporation even, which, by the looks of things, was recorded. These live performances show Casiopea already performing several tracks that would appear in the eponymous debut, in ‘79.
Sasaki joins the ranks of my favourite drummers. His playing is tight, crisp, nuanced, with a perfect dynamic range. His drumming is always imaginative, and can frequently be quite busy, but it always fits the music perfectly. A real inspiration.
So, he was playing a Rogers kit.
Several pictures and videos confirm that Sasaki was playing a Rogers kit at this point. I’m very keen to learn exactly what cymbals he plays on the Casiopea debut, as I adore their sound.
And, rather joyously and groovily, it seems that, whilst video of the entire ‘79 Pit Inn gig – from which performance of Midnight Rendezvous I discovered the groop – is not to be had, the complete audio is:
I was reading about the several ‘Sokal’ hoaxes recently, wherein folk (or squally scientists) have submitted fake articles to ‘critical theory’, aka Postmodernist journals, to see if these alleged organs of intellectual inquiry could be easily duped.
They’re named Sokal hoaxes because the first notable example was perpetrated by the physicist Alan Sokal…
I have chronic conditions – psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis – that require ongoing medication. And to pay for this – in addition to the taxes we all pay* – I pay a monthly direct-debit towards a prescription pre-payment scheme.
*Or ought to, and by and large do. I my view it’s those wealthy enough to dodge such joint responsibilities that are our biggest problem.
On my last visit to the chemist, to pick up my regular prescription meds, after 5 or 6 years of never being asked for any proof, I was asked. I told them I had none, as I’d never been asked before. They told me I’d have to bring some proof next time.
I’m not sure what constitutes proof? There’s no physical document or card anymore. There used to be a card. But that’s been scrapped. Toryism shaving off another small fraction from the public purse, to give the fat cats further scope to skim off more cream. So I guess I’ll just have to print out an appropriate email, if I can find one.
The Tories have always disliked the NHS, and for decades they have been systematically butchering it. Tragically the Blair/Brown Labour govt. colluded in the expansion of rapine capitalism within the NHS, making an already dodgy situation even worse. In many ways New Labour was Tory Lite. Tragic!
There are so many layers and levels to all the ramifications of the Tory ‘only money matters’ attitude (I won’t dignify it with the term philosophy!). One of these is to make parking at NHS facilities another opportunity for parasites to drain money from NHS workers and patients.
So not only am I taxed ‘at source’, to fund all our public services, including the wonderful institution that is the NHS. But, as an ill person – something that at its rotten core (I can’t say heart, Toryism has no heart) the right equates with ‘sin’* – I have to pay two more times: once more for my prescriptions, and again, to park.
Healthcare Tory style.
* There’s a barely disguised eugenicist Spencerian thread at the base of such ideologies, itself heir to the far older superstitions of religions, and dark pre-scientific (mis)understanding, which equates illness (and even ‘ugliness’) with sin and evil; outward manifestations of inner un-Godliness. Conditions that – rather than being understood and treated with due sympathy and care – are to be denigrated and punished.
Oh well, we should’ve known! That 6-2 victory over Iran got us all hyped up. Only for this 0-0 draw against the US to bring us crashing back down to earth.
Went round to Chris’s again. But barely watched the match. It was just sooo un-engaging. Wound up watching Miklas playing on his X-Box and chatting to folk!
My wife was delighted that Ecuador beat hosts Qatar today. Not because the host country has a dodgy record on moral issues. But because she has South-American roots. Her parents came to the UK from British Guyana.
I was delighted as well. But not just because I prefer the cultures of South America – many very troubled (which I believe goes for Ecuador?) – to anywhere backward enough to endorse Sharia Law. But also, frankly, because I hope that, if this World Cup does anything – besides entertaining sports fans and generating lots of money (the first I’m fine with; the second troubles me) – it might cause Qatar to loosen up somewhat. But somehow I doubt it will.
Some of the home crowd leaving a bit early.
I’m not a footy nut. So all I really know thus far is that beer was eventually vetoed. And given that the beer in question was Budweiser, I would understand if it were about the quality of the beverage. But as it’s not, as it’s a supposedly religious/moral thing… that I find pretty odious.
What’s obviously worse and of far greater significance are things like the deaths of many migrant workers, whilst building the stadia, criminalising people on grounds of sexuality, and making 50% of their own populace second class.
So, even though I skipped the whole preamble/build-up (my usual MO) – I was actually really pleased to note that Gary Lineker and the BBC weren’t dodging these issues. Quite the reverse. Oh, and the match was ok.
