NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS - White Lunar (2009)

Nick Cave and I go back a long way. Back to the night I saw The Birthday Party on some TV show in 1982 or something, and although I've not been the avid fan that I might have been since around the late 90s, I still value the guy above most others, and still reckon him one of the best songwriters that is working in the world today. Another string to Cave's bow is composing film music, and since Ghosts... of the Civil Dead he's done a lot of film work. This double CD collects a lot of his work with The Dirty Three's Warren Ellis, a demonic violinist and general shaggy Bad Seed. As you'd expect, this is lovely stuff, by turns lush and elegiac, melancholy and haunting, sweet and bitter-sweet. The two discs each have a general theme; the first larger orchestral pieces, the second more intimate and experimental work; but it's not much of a division. The music on the first disc comes from better-known movies The Proposition, The Road and The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, while the 2nd features work from films I'd not heard of before: The Girls Of Phnom Penh, The English Surgeon, and The Vaults. It's all wonderful, but the only complaint I have is that as you can see, the music only comes from six different movies. It's one of those compilations that doesn't really have much of a point. It could have been one disc and served the same purpose. It's great stuff though, can't fault the music, just question the reasoning.

Murder Me Dead by David Lapham (El Capitan)

David Lapham is best known for the ongoing Stray Bullets, which I haven't read, but I just finished this one which was originally published as a 9 issue mini-series. The cover states that it is "A Harrowing Tale of Love and Murder", which is a pretty accurate description. It's the story of jazz pianist and general all-round relative sleaze Steven Russell, and his attempts to get something halfway decent out of a series of very bad situations. I say "relative sleaze" because in this noir world of con artists, the filthy rich, private eyes, gangsters and convicts, Russell is as close to a good guy as you're going to get. It starts with the suicide of Russell's wife Eve, who's hung herself from a big ceiling fan in their expensive home. She's from a rich family, and they don't think much of Steven, even less so now that they can blame him for her death. Steven reunites with an old girlfriend, and things basically spiral out of control. It's brilliant stuff, with a storyline that is full of violence, but pretty free of cliches. Recommended.

Pye Corner Audio - Black Mill Tapes Volumes 1-4

Sad to say I was a little disappointed by this 3CD set, although I was prepared to be transported to a promised land of spooky public information films, dark meadows filtered through distorted early 70s video effects, and unnerving haunted magnetic tape experiments. I may need to listen again, but after nearly 3 hours I hadn't heard anything that spoke to me as I'd hoped. I find all the hauntological mythology really engaging, as obviously I lived through all the late 60s/early 70s British children's TV and spookiness that people like Ghost Box and PCA draw on. Maybe the pastiche can't quite live up to the remembered weirdness? It's all very well done though: pulsing electronics with plenty of tape hiss and dark tones, often bringing to mind John Carpenter or Tangerine Dream in moments of rare brevity. I do like it, but I don't love it. Have a listen to this track from Volume 1 and judge for yourself.

The End of Week Two

Two 'working' weeks of being redundant/self-employed/something or other. Been ill all this week. Some kind of viral infection. Feel rubbish, obviously. Managed to go out yesterday and meet some old work chums for lunch, which was marvellous, but after walking all the way to town and all the way back again (about 6.5km) I felt all unbalanced and tired. I had a bit of a lie-down and felt better in the evening, but I'm not getting anything done. Today also felt rubbish, and only managed to post an ebay sale, not a long walk to the local post office. I don't know what I expect you to do about this state of affairs, but I just feel like airing a grievance. Have a nice night. Oh I must say that the cast commentaries on the Spaced DVD box set are very amusing. Here's a picture from the episode I just watched/listened to. Probably the first time anyone can remember seeing David Walliams, dressed as a Leigh Bowery type character called Vulva.

Happy St Valentine's Day, ya filthy animal!

Week 2 of the Freelance Life: Sickness

My lovely wife has been down with the flu/cold/viral infection/mild ebola since Xmas, and I've done a pretty good job of not succumbing to it myself, until Sunday. Now I am enjoying a nice bit of man flu. I call it that because it's not that bad, and I can't resist telling people about it. I think those are the qualifications. Oh yes, and I did actually have a temperature of 100 yesterday, so there.

Not actually had any freelance work so far, but as I keep telling myself: I haven't really made much of an effort yet. Honest. I have a couple of 'irons in the fire' and hopefully these will eventually turn into horseshoes, or horseshoe nails or whatever. Or I'll flatten some clothes with them. Not sure where that comes from basically. I'm kind of just getting myself into a different 'headspace' as the young people (of the 1980s) might say. One where I don't have a 'proper' job, but have to survive through the sweat of my own brow, the gird of my own loins, and the fearless eradication of grammatical error and spelling of wrongness. As Steve Martin once said: "Some people have a way with words. Other people... not have way."

Anyway, I'm working on it. I have written some stories, which I might post here, after they are inevitably rejected by the websites I have submitted them to. Just being realistic, folks. If anything does get accepted, I shall certainly let you know. Oh yes indeed.

I'm a bit delirious. Have a nice day.

Here's a picture of an island. It's in the Adirondacks in New York. I love that word: Adirondacks.

5 Things

5 Things I Did Today

1) Submitted a short story to a short story website
2) Met a fellow redundanite for lunch. (I made that word up just now)
3) Cleaned the hob on the cooker. Not the oven, that's too daunting
4) Submitted a 50 word flash fiction story that included a bear to a website
5) Cut my hair.

I bet your day wasn't this much fun.

Weird Times and Wednesdays Always Get Me Sideways

Have been redundant for three working days. Feel like I've got jetlag. It's complicated. Feel all up and down and confused. Not 'going out in a snowstorm in my dressing gown' kind of confused, but a wee bit baffled about 'Who I Am Now'. That kind of thing.

Working on a CV and doing stuff on linkedin. It's all very grown up and peculiar.

Working on short stories and flash fiction too. Onto story number 3. Should also work on that novel.

Hey ho.

The End of an Era, and the Beginning of an Epoch

Well kids, I no longer work at the AA. I started in 1996 as a temp, after finishing my degree, and trudged on through all the years in between, until I reached now.

In a possibly foolhardy attempt to try something both different and yet the same, I have decided to set myself up as a freelance editorial chap, and see what the world of random word work offers me. Early days yet, - I've only been redundant for 1 and a bit working days - but it does feel quite daunting.

I've got a Reedsy profile: https://reedsy.com/jim-barker - because I want to help people with their books.
and a linkedin profile because other work: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-barker-editorial-services/

I'm also writing a novel about an investigative archivist, which is called Archiving The Beast, and working on flash fiction and short stories to get some practice in actually writing things.

Wish me luck, and I'll keep you posted on what goes on.