Again we start with a music theme today. Martin Wilson of Here Are Photos fame was kind enough to let me have a copy of the Jose Gonzalez Veneer CD last weekend and I can confirm that Gonzalez has collaborated with the Z7 boys on The Garden contributing both vocal and instrumental input on at least one track (Futures), though much of the latest Z7 offering does sound a little commercial to me with less of a hint of the vaguely deconstructive feel of earlier albums.
‘Fab Four Suture’ by the irresistible Stereolab is close to the top of my list even though some pundits claim that this consistently recognizable band are somewhat post peak and becoming a little too samey. I will reserve judgment but somehow know exactly what to expect from the Fab Four compilation of limited edition 45s.
I suppose Dwight Trible’s ‘Horace’ is the most exciting find. It has taken the best part of five years to find a copy of this engaging homage to Jazz legend Horace Tapscot by one of the few truly decent Jazz vocalists but this could be an expensive US import job I’m afraid. The ‘Coltrane’ track really left an impression when I first heard it on Mike Chadwick’s JFM show in 2002 with its amazing Doppler like slewing harmonies and that strange sophisticated moodiness that only left-field jazz can invoke
A return to the Audio Engineering field still beckons but unless I can get a free place on the excellent SSR ‘V Project’ up skilling course I fear that any attempt at re-entering what is in effect one of the most high tech industries around could be rather futile at my age.
At least during the last couple of weeks I have been able to indulge that other passion for working in some sort of quasi agrarian way albeit modestly. I volunteered to help my friend Rob maintain our beautiful churchyard last week as he is suffering the after effects of a broken collar bone. This week the task in hand seems rather daunting as mowing, strimming, and generally maintaining the aesthetic integrity of such a large and ornate area of arboreal delights seems almost too much for one person, but it is fulfilling and a lot better than being stuck indoors at this time of year.
I feel I should make some passing comment on the recent local elections like other more eloquent and well informed diarist that are known to me but I don’t seem to have an awful lot of the relevant facts to hand. The Greens did get a fairly decent amount of support in the handful of Macclesfield wards that actually had a Green candidate, in some they were even in second place behind the Cons or Lab. Strong support for the Lib Dems in favour of the Cons was also evident around Macc. Inevitably though, the overall sway was predictably and rather unimaginatively (if I may say) biased toward the Conservatives. The Green manifesto does make for a refreshing and potentially exciting future predicated on sound and intelligent humanist values applied to all aspects of life and society but I fear that this level of sophistication is beyond the reach of too many folks mired in the mindless treadmill of consumerism, trash culture, and well to do self interest. I think all such lofty ideals are hindered by the fundamentally degenerate nature of our species and a consistent desire to operate in a Darwinian fashion avoiding notions of cooperation and natural symbiosis. The broad problem of a basic scientific illiteracy (which is now endemic in the UK) is another short coming that excludes people from a clear objective understanding of the nature and importance of environmental issues and sustainability theory, the fundamental subtext of most Green Party principals. Some of us fear that the only way to push these issues forward is by direct support for the burgeoning militant green organisations or the various anarchic anti capitalist movements espousing ( sometimes disingenuous) environmental motives and purporting to be anti the corporate style of faux environmentalism proffered by new Labour gob shites. Others seem to adopt an almost fatalistic or “survivalist” approach and prepare for the coming chaos of a world disorded, driven to conflict, and then irreparably damaged by climate change—- It’s a case of run for the hills and pray for Armageddon mentalism.
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