Lockdown Diary - Saturday June 13th 2020

I've got all the boring chores either done or under way, so first off I'm going to read some of today's papers.

Third wash hung out, it's time to watch the second episode of 'Altered Carbon'. After watching the second episode, my conclusion so far is there are a lot of nipples. TV criticism at its finest. Pop back tomorrow for more insightful analysis.

Listened to a podcast about Kraftwerk that a friend shared with me. Enjoyable, though I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. Kind of odd in that it talked about all the music and musicians influenced by them, with obvious reference points like Afrika Bambaataa's 'Planet Rock' (which is the starting point of so much of today's music) and Bowie, but chose not to illustrate any of this. Strange.

Managed to grab some time to listen to music. Two albums at the outer reaches: one by Witch 'N' Monk, the other by Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus.  Both of these are exploratory music at the periphery of my musical universe. The third album, a bit closer to home, though still away from the centre, if such a thing exists, is the latest from Eileen Gogan and the Instructions. It is good to explore.

Tonight's film choice, selected by son #2, was 'Dallas Buyers Club'. I'm guessing Matthew McConaughey had to lose weight for the role, he did look convincingly ill, especially at the start. Another good film choice and also not one I'd have chosen, so especially good.  The story itself had plenty of social comment, but the biggest thing I took from it is that we cannot let the NHS be privatised or American drug companies get their way on the prices they charge the NHS. The American health system and the FDA seem to be about making money not saving lives and they collude with drug companies in doing this. Truly scary. This must not happen here. I thoroughly recommend the film and urge you to watch it if you haven't, though be warned it is fairly gritty!

The nightmare of an American-style health system spills over into the song choice for today, if only in terms of one word (the song has nothing to say on the subject of healthcare!). This is The Crazy World of Arthur Brown with 'Prelude - Nightmare' from his / their (it was a band, at least in name)  eponymous debut album from 1968

[[The album features the hit single 'Fire' which I guess he / they are most famous for, though they made other excellent albums after this one (with lineup changes). That song - not because I don't like it but because it's so ubiquitous and over played - put me off this album for years, but actually it's one of the great early psychedelic albums. 

Pointless trivia: The band features two musicians who went on to greater fame: namely Carl Palmer, drums, and Vincent Crane, keyboards. Both left to form Atomic Rooster, who had their own success.  No prizes for knowing where Carl Palmer ended up.

Incidentally Vincent Crane was from Reading in Berkshire. Unfortunately he suffered various mental health problems from the late 1960s (at least) and eventually took an overdose and died aged 45 in 1989. Vincent Crane's story is another one of those sad tales that are so often hidden in rock music history.

Final fact: Vincent Crane co-wrote the hit single 'Fire' with Arthur Brown.]]

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