Okay, I'm getting some better ideas here. I made myself an entirely different Martin Hannett compilation, much happier now. My last one was crap, but this is getting a lot closer to a finished product. There really are an awful lot of songs to consider, though. And it can't include any JD or NO at all, that would ruin it. I mean for god's sake he produced most all JD's entire career, so it isn't fair to include just one or two songs. No I don't want any JD or NO to spoil my Martin Hannett compilation. Which sounds sacreligious I know, but the point is to get some exposure to his other, perhaps lesser known works. Including the EP by Dessau I paid $100 for on ebay cause it's so rare. It actually sounds kindof like Soft Cell, to be honest.
Also ESG's "UFO" is a fabulous addition to my Martin Hannett compilation. And The High - "More (more madness mix)" Yeah that is a great track, too.
I've got John Dowie "It's Hard To Be An Egg" on here, too, which is just kindof quaint and funny. I wish I owned that 7" though.
God I love shopping for records online.
In search of the ultimate Martin Hannett compilation
McC I'm already perhaps inevitably kicking myself for nominating John Cooper Clarke's "The New Assasin" as a "best of Martin Hannett" tune without also including the likes of "Limbo (Baby Limbo)" and "A Distant Relation" (which no one will convince me didn't feature Vini Reilly on guitar, and he IS thanked on the sleeve, so there). It's all getting much clearer now, the cream of the cream of Martin Hannett will eventually all appear to me as a complete CD. It's just now taking shape.
That John Dowie 7" was the pits. It was white vinyl, you see, this obscure Factory record that came with a small white feather attached! What a lovely gimmick, but the problem was it'd been stuck inside this thick plastic for so long (the kind of plastic that picture discs come in you know what I mean) that the chemicals from the plastic had left these awful stains all over the surface of the record so that the surface noise was constant and very distracting. So I am returning it. I have a decent version of the A-side already, and that's all that matters.
Does anyone care that I am playing a live version of Joy Division's Dead Souls right now? Not bloody likely.
Does anyone care that I had more than my share of beer this weekday night? No, not bloody likely. But as long as I go to bed on time and drink lots of water there is hope for tomorrow at work. I don't normally drink on weeknights at all, but today I just lost it. My new job bothers me a lot, and it was only my first day. Right then, where's that water?
That John Dowie 7" was the pits. It was white vinyl, you see, this obscure Factory record that came with a small white feather attached! What a lovely gimmick, but the problem was it'd been stuck inside this thick plastic for so long (the kind of plastic that picture discs come in you know what I mean) that the chemicals from the plastic had left these awful stains all over the surface of the record so that the surface noise was constant and very distracting. So I am returning it. I have a decent version of the A-side already, and that's all that matters.
Does anyone care that I am playing a live version of Joy Division's Dead Souls right now? Not bloody likely.
Does anyone care that I had more than my share of beer this weekday night? No, not bloody likely. But as long as I go to bed on time and drink lots of water there is hope for tomorrow at work. I don't normally drink on weeknights at all, but today I just lost it. My new job bothers me a lot, and it was only my first day. Right then, where's that water?
that sucks. about your new job.
i like my job. in fact i love my job. for a while i hated it when the state's standards and gw's total bullshit no child left behind were all i could think about. i walked in one morning handed my keys to the janitor and left. it was one of those fuck the man kind of moments. it felt amazingly good and liberating. then three days later it felt amazingly insane. i think i've told this story b/f.
anyway, i got over hating it b/c now i fuck the man, not literally mind you, at work. i think most people would just call it passive agressive behavior. in my head though, it is fuck the man behavior.
today's opener: the united states is at war. describe war -- in one paragraph.
then we followed it up with an excerpt of Zlata's Diary, in which an eleven year old living in Sarajevo during the nineties describes getting bombed -- then we talked more about how much war sucks.
i can't wait until i can get drunk, and that is the truth, but i know i will arrange for the baby to be with my folks or something like that . . . i sort of think there won't be a whole lot of spontaneous drunken evenings anymore.
but i was already heading in that direction. i wouldn't get drunk on a night b/f seeing the kiddos even b/f i was pregnant. but i have a different kind of job.
so plastic . . . if it does that to a feather, just think of what it does to you . . . don't drink the water, there's plastic in the water
the year that american baby came out, i was at a dmb concert when he was really just about screaming that song "don't drink the water! there's blood in the water!" the concert was up near dc -- i looked around at all the folks there -- i thought about american baby, you know what it really means and then that song and the lights on the crowd were all red, and so many rich ass white folks were drinking their coca-cola / dasani three dollar plastic from petroleum bottles and i felt like we were all lady macbeth . . . with blood on our hands, you know?
i like my job. in fact i love my job. for a while i hated it when the state's standards and gw's total bullshit no child left behind were all i could think about. i walked in one morning handed my keys to the janitor and left. it was one of those fuck the man kind of moments. it felt amazingly good and liberating. then three days later it felt amazingly insane. i think i've told this story b/f.
anyway, i got over hating it b/c now i fuck the man, not literally mind you, at work. i think most people would just call it passive agressive behavior. in my head though, it is fuck the man behavior.
today's opener: the united states is at war. describe war -- in one paragraph.
then we followed it up with an excerpt of Zlata's Diary, in which an eleven year old living in Sarajevo during the nineties describes getting bombed -- then we talked more about how much war sucks.
i can't wait until i can get drunk, and that is the truth, but i know i will arrange for the baby to be with my folks or something like that . . . i sort of think there won't be a whole lot of spontaneous drunken evenings anymore.
but i was already heading in that direction. i wouldn't get drunk on a night b/f seeing the kiddos even b/f i was pregnant. but i have a different kind of job.
so plastic . . . if it does that to a feather, just think of what it does to you . . . don't drink the water, there's plastic in the water
the year that american baby came out, i was at a dmb concert when he was really just about screaming that song "don't drink the water! there's blood in the water!" the concert was up near dc -- i looked around at all the folks there -- i thought about american baby, you know what it really means and then that song and the lights on the crowd were all red, and so many rich ass white folks were drinking their coca-cola / dasani three dollar plastic from petroleum bottles and i felt like we were all lady macbeth . . . with blood on our hands, you know?
But SLOTH why why why must I always login? Why? I hate logging in. No one wants logs in their Inn. I mean...oh christ where am I going with this? Better move on...I need another drink. Hahahahaa.
First of all Sarah, I feel the need to redress an imbalance - for you have it wrong, the feather was not ruined by the plastic, no, the feather was fine and survived quite well and intact, it was the VINYL that suffered from the plastic chemicals, not the feather.
Then you mentioned a crazy DMB song, which was also very cool.
Thanks just for saying "that sucks. about your new job" I've really felt a terrible need to talk about it with someone and just really haven't had the chance to. I feel like my emotions have been put in a bottle of shook up soda. I'm upset, very upset, but numb, completely numb at the same time.
First of all Sarah, I feel the need to redress an imbalance - for you have it wrong, the feather was not ruined by the plastic, no, the feather was fine and survived quite well and intact, it was the VINYL that suffered from the plastic chemicals, not the feather.
Then you mentioned a crazy DMB song, which was also very cool.
Thanks just for saying "that sucks. about your new job" I've really felt a terrible need to talk about it with someone and just really haven't had the chance to. I feel like my emotions have been put in a bottle of shook up soda. I'm upset, very upset, but numb, completely numb at the same time.
Holy shit! Can you fucking believe that the Martin Hannett website says that before he produced Happy Mondays he was in the fucking studio with John Cale?? Fucking John Cale and Martin Hannett in the studio together??? I mean jesus fuckin bloody....*high voice of sheer disbelief*
I mean I know John Cale (of Velvet Underground, yes) produced the first Happy Mondays album, so I guess that explains it but GOD I wish John Cale and Hannett had done something themselves musically together, one could be the producer and one the musician and jesus the mind boggles.
where's my Jilted John CD damnit? That's a Hannett production I really need to revisit.
I mean I know John Cale (of Velvet Underground, yes) produced the first Happy Mondays album, so I guess that explains it but GOD I wish John Cale and Hannett had done something themselves musically together, one could be the producer and one the musician and jesus the mind boggles.
where's my Jilted John CD damnit? That's a Hannett production I really need to revisit.
jilted john, 1978.
from the sleeve notes of true love stories we learn that:
jilted john, otherwise known as graham fellows, is a full time drama student in manchester and his ambition is to become a full time actor. he has three sisters and a very nice mother and father who live in yorkshire.
jilted john likes fancy mice, kate bush and the countryside. his dislikes include gordon the moron, anyone successful with girls and gardening.
jilted john is one of hannett's earliest production jobs, and one of the first releases on rabid records. hannett and john collaborated on this 7", and, perhaps, on the "gordon the moron" 7", also on rabid - although rumours are rife as to gordon's true identity! jilted john is a novelty 7" that hit unexpected popularity in britain in the summer of 1978, where it reached number 4 in the charts. the song tells a typical story of, well, a guy named john who's jilted by his girlfriend, julie, for another guy, gordon. with wonderfully dumb lyrics and an irresistable sing-a-long chorus ("gordon is a moron!"), this wouldn't seem to be a natural hannett production. but remember, hannett was first and foremost a punk rock producer, and in this case gives the vocals ample room to tell the story while still emphasizing the bass and percussion. the b-side is some more nonsense, naturally. at the time, jilted john was a drama student at manchester university, and perhaps his most memorable role was in the soap coronation street, playing a miserable youth hanging around the city centre - having been jilted.
john returned to coronation street a few years later, playing les charlton, gail's boyfriend, for a few months. these days jilted john is better known, in britain at least, as john shuttleworth
from the sleeve notes of true love stories we learn that:
jilted john, otherwise known as graham fellows, is a full time drama student in manchester and his ambition is to become a full time actor. he has three sisters and a very nice mother and father who live in yorkshire.
jilted john likes fancy mice, kate bush and the countryside. his dislikes include gordon the moron, anyone successful with girls and gardening.
jilted john is one of hannett's earliest production jobs, and one of the first releases on rabid records. hannett and john collaborated on this 7", and, perhaps, on the "gordon the moron" 7", also on rabid - although rumours are rife as to gordon's true identity! jilted john is a novelty 7" that hit unexpected popularity in britain in the summer of 1978, where it reached number 4 in the charts. the song tells a typical story of, well, a guy named john who's jilted by his girlfriend, julie, for another guy, gordon. with wonderfully dumb lyrics and an irresistable sing-a-long chorus ("gordon is a moron!"), this wouldn't seem to be a natural hannett production. but remember, hannett was first and foremost a punk rock producer, and in this case gives the vocals ample room to tell the story while still emphasizing the bass and percussion. the b-side is some more nonsense, naturally. at the time, jilted john was a drama student at manchester university, and perhaps his most memorable role was in the soap coronation street, playing a miserable youth hanging around the city centre - having been jilted.
john returned to coronation street a few years later, playing les charlton, gail's boyfriend, for a few months. these days jilted john is better known, in britain at least, as john shuttleworth
And I'd like to add that something miraculously wonderful happens in track #10 "In the Bus Shelter" where you feel Martin Hannett in your bones all of a sudden. Yeah then the next song has Hannett's paws on it as well...you can't be fooled by the first part of this Jilted John CD, there ARE big traces of Hannett here, if you switch to the latter half. Don't give up before you've gotten to the latter half of the CD. WOW.
Last edited by marky on Sat Sep 30, 2006 6:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
"for you have it wrong, the feather was not ruined by the plastic, no, the feather was fine and survived quite well and intact, it was the VINYL that suffered from the plastic chemicals, not the feather"
you're right i didn't read very well. i was almost going to say that you did not have a clear antecedent to your pronoun "it" then i read a little further and was like no actually he does make "it" pretty clear.
well that is worse isn't it? the vinyl being messed up, not the feather. or is it worse, i mean if you're a collector? do you have to send the feather back too? i don't know. my brother is a person who collects. i'm not. i'm a person who destroys. cd's. . .they never make it too long, my records sit around my house like art -- no sleeves and i've got some decent old records, but i just like the art on the cover so much. . . i don't like those plastic sleeves. i don't treat things the way i should. i break the spines of books -- i do terrible things to things.
if you need to vent about your job . . . i'm sure you can somehow tie it into a rant with music and then it will be a proper rant, so i think you should vent. i'd prefer drunken venting
you're right i didn't read very well. i was almost going to say that you did not have a clear antecedent to your pronoun "it" then i read a little further and was like no actually he does make "it" pretty clear.
well that is worse isn't it? the vinyl being messed up, not the feather. or is it worse, i mean if you're a collector? do you have to send the feather back too? i don't know. my brother is a person who collects. i'm not. i'm a person who destroys. cd's. . .they never make it too long, my records sit around my house like art -- no sleeves and i've got some decent old records, but i just like the art on the cover so much. . . i don't like those plastic sleeves. i don't treat things the way i should. i break the spines of books -- i do terrible things to things.
if you need to vent about your job . . . i'm sure you can somehow tie it into a rant with music and then it will be a proper rant, so i think you should vent. i'd prefer drunken venting
Heheh. I picture you there, sitting on the couch, smiling and ripping up the spines of books one by one, crazy grin, crazy eyes, hahahaha.
Well I'd rather not rant about my job I'd rather forget about it, really. I appreciate that you'd prefer drunken venting. Actually I'd rather vent about my goddamn record player which has just decided of its own free will that it is going to fuck up on me for the first time in 16 years. BASTARD! I'd like to take a sledgehammer and smash it to pieces, just to get revenge.
But the problem is I have to get on the bus soon here to catch the Billy Bragg show.
Does anyone here know who Laurie Anderson is? I don't often think about her, but this girl at work I get along with at my old job mentioned performance art and it made me think of Laurie Anderson. I don't have any records of her and never have, but I've always respected her a great deal. I remember when I first discovered college radio she had this 4 LP box set of live stuff called "United States Live" that was really being played a lot and talked about. Really bizarre stuff on that. She's a cool lady. I kindof wonder how old she is now, actually.
Well I'd rather not rant about my job I'd rather forget about it, really. I appreciate that you'd prefer drunken venting. Actually I'd rather vent about my goddamn record player which has just decided of its own free will that it is going to fuck up on me for the first time in 16 years. BASTARD! I'd like to take a sledgehammer and smash it to pieces, just to get revenge.
But the problem is I have to get on the bus soon here to catch the Billy Bragg show.
Does anyone here know who Laurie Anderson is? I don't often think about her, but this girl at work I get along with at my old job mentioned performance art and it made me think of Laurie Anderson. I don't have any records of her and never have, but I've always respected her a great deal. I remember when I first discovered college radio she had this 4 LP box set of live stuff called "United States Live" that was really being played a lot and talked about. Really bizarre stuff on that. She's a cool lady. I kindof wonder how old she is now, actually.
Yeah, I have considered this very carefully and have decided without a doubt that the Happy Mondays version of Hallelujah on the Madchester 12" is absolutely one of the top 10 things Martin Hannett ever did. I'm going to get that on vinyl along with a few other things, very soon. I wrote the 12"es I wanted down on paper so I wouldn't forget to spend too much money on them! Hahaha.
I also wanted to talk about this other CD I got today that has songs produced by Martin Hannett. It's by this guy called Pete Farrow, a folky guy from Manchester who comes across musically as a kindof 90% Van Morrison and 10% Nick Drake. Something like that. Anyway Martin Hannett produced 4 of the songs. Of course it was far before Hannett had come into his own, we're talking 1977, he hadn't yet learned to carve out his niche of sound, but I admit that several of the tracks on the CD are quite good. Some tracks are from as late as 1994 and 1998, but the ones from the mid 70's are often fine as well. Not really a bad CD at all, as it happens. It's called "Who Says There's No Beach In Stockport?"
It's worth mentioning of course that Martin Hannett worked some of his best magic in the studio in Stockport called Strawberry Studios.
I also wanted to talk about this other CD I got today that has songs produced by Martin Hannett. It's by this guy called Pete Farrow, a folky guy from Manchester who comes across musically as a kindof 90% Van Morrison and 10% Nick Drake. Something like that. Anyway Martin Hannett produced 4 of the songs. Of course it was far before Hannett had come into his own, we're talking 1977, he hadn't yet learned to carve out his niche of sound, but I admit that several of the tracks on the CD are quite good. Some tracks are from as late as 1994 and 1998, but the ones from the mid 70's are often fine as well. Not really a bad CD at all, as it happens. It's called "Who Says There's No Beach In Stockport?"
It's worth mentioning of course that Martin Hannett worked some of his best magic in the studio in Stockport called Strawberry Studios.
I wonder what's standing there now in England, if it still exists as a studio. I'd love to stand in that studio even for 5 seconds. I don't care if it's turned into some cheesy restaurant now or something, I'd love to be within that space. I don't care if it's just a bunch of rubble of broken walls and ceilings and rocks. I'd love to stand in that space, etc. etc. etc. Martin Hannett fetish we've all heard it before, Mark. Put a sock in it until you get the compliation properly finished. You must work harder to get the ultimate Martin Hannet compilation finished. Must try harder. It's not over yet. Huff Puff blow the house down.