crumb

I watched a DVD called "crumb" during the week. This is a documentary about a famous cartoonist called Robert CRumb. He became famous during the 60's for his underground comics. They interviewed him with his two brothers, both of which had fairly sever mental health problems. The older brother never left the house or put his flase teeth. He had a distinctive sound when he talked. The other brother was into more normal stuff like sleeping on a bed of nails. I thought that Robert was mocking his brother a bit during the interview, perhaps in a normal sibling rivalry type thing. Charles comitted sucide a year after the film was made. Some of the last comics that Charles did while he was at school, starting putting more and more text to the pictures, before the comic imploded into unreadable scrawl.

magnet

I went for a drink in ther magnet bar in Liverpool. I was pretty tired. The magnet is a cool bar with boothes and red leather seats. There used to be an annoying rock wall thing on one of the walls, that one of my good drinking partners used to complain about. In the half light I saw a huge photograph of a lone man on a seat. I could't tell whether the man was sitting on a piona stool, or slumped in a bar (like me). It was fun to try and decide which it was, than to walk over and take a closer look. True piglrims of this blog can investigate this issue for themselves. Here is some information on the magner bar. After I left the bar, I walked to the bus stop near the bombed out church. As I trurned a corner I saw a beautiful white horse full of power and life. It seamed a strange sight in the center of Liverpool. It was a police horse. Man, I was tired last night.

God hates me

I really wanted to see the band Brian Jones Town massacre play at the Barfly last week. When I went to the venue the gig was sold out. The door staff was pretty good and tried to get someonw with a spare ticket to sell it me. Unless I totally fucked up this is the same band that was in the great documentary called "dig". This was a comparison between two bamds. One band suceeded and the other messed up drugs. The band that messed up was the more talented. This is a pretty bland review, but the film dig is clearly one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made. When I saw the film at the Liverpool FACT the place was not that full. Perhaps, if I watched MTV and listened to young and hip radio 1, I would have known more people would turn up. I was a bit worried that I was going to the gig because of voyourism. I would hate to be like the people who go to babyshambles gigs just to see the lead singer OD on stage. Their set at Glastonbury was pretty weak. (OK I watched it on TV, but still....)

Liverpool

I orginally took this job in Liverpool because someone on a hazy and smokey bar told me that there was a gate to hell hidden in Liverpool. I have searched and searched. Some blood has been split (not all of it mine). Various live things have been sacrificed to the instructions in the large leather book I bourght from a white flaky old lady in a Manchester oxfam shop. Still I have two weeks to find the gate to the heat and pain. I must believe I can do this.

daniel johnston

Umm. The people at FACT are such bastards. They keep flashing the trailor for the documentary about Daniel Johnston. Daniel Johnston was an underground singer song writer whose career was hampered by mental illness. I think I first got my first Daniel Johnson CD when I was living in the US. I have always picked up a new CD when I see it in a store, but they don't tend to stock his back catalogue. I really like Daniel Johnston, but perhaps not as much as I like Syd Barret or Kevin Coyne, but srill... In one of the reviews I read that he got obsessed by Mountain dew. This was also ne of my favourite drinks in the US The documentary was playing in Glasgow when I was up there last week, but I didn't make the show. I just worry that FACT will not show it before I leave. Oh well, I can just get it on DVD.

Brick

I have just been out to see a film called "brick" at the Liverpool FACT center. What a great film! It was a film noir film set in an american high school. The hero was like a private eye type figure in a 50's black and white film. There was a lot of cool talking and jargon. The hero gets beaten up on a regular basis. Part of the film was insane. The hero was talking to the drug dealer while his mum fixed him orange juice and cereal. In some kind of ideal world I would like to dress like the drug baron pinn. Very gothic. For another review see here.

internet

I love the web. I downloaded a Daniel Johnston CD to my computer. I listened to his songs of mentail illness and pain in my bedroom, and I too felt a bit sad. I found the latest record by Neil Young tha he realeased free from a web site. THis was a good rocking record. Perhaps not a classic, but an angry anti-bush rant. I then found te censored episode of south park about Tom Cruise. What more does a person need to be happy, but high speed internet access? I clearly need to start to download more music. TRouble is what will I do on Saturday afternoon. For over 10 years I have gone out on a Saturday afternoon to buy Cds. What will I do with the saved time. If the electronic book thing works out. I could carry all my possessions in my laptop. I would finally be free of the real clutter that surrounds me.

Glasgow

I am sitting in a coffee house in the West End of Glasgow drinking a latte. Yep, I always feel a bit let down by the "poshness" of the city. Perhaps, I have just been brainwashed my the English propaganda machine. There are plenty of hard men in the streets and pubs. Two police walked into the pub we were in last night. This looked the same as the regular patrols around Lark lane. I have found a place to live. I am going to move ino a flat with two bedrooms, a working shower, and no holes in the bathroom. This will be a luxury I have nt had in Liverpoool (although I could have moved to a nicer place).

Thomas Lang

I went out to see Thomas Lang play at the University of Liverpool student guild. I had never heard of hime before. He looked vaguely techno and European on the posters. I did of course check him out on this internet thing. When I looked at the ticket I got from the card shop, I noticed that I had ticket numer 20. Small crowds always freak me out, because the band are pretty unhappy. When a hit the venue, I noticed a number of things. The place was packed. Local bands always do well. But it was a sit down do. I just hate seated venues. In this case a large fraction of the audience were a bit old so perhaps seats are needed, but you know rock and roll...... if you can't manage to stand up for a sixty minute set, perhaps a another TV night might be better for you.... The seats didn't put me in a receptive mood. The songs were very "easy listening", but perhaps on another night I might have been enjoyed the set more.

bacon

I went to Macdonalds to have a bacon sandwhich this morning. The road at the botton of Aigburth road was totally closed off. Some shots had been fired at 6:30 in the morning. I was not put of though. When you need a bacon roll you need it and no amount of mere bullts will put you off.

A new york doll

I just went out to see a doc his film at te FACT center in Liverpool. umentary about the base player for the band "the new york dolls". I saw the film at the mighty fine FACT center in Liverpool. The New York Dolls were a very influciencial pre-punk band. They influenced the Ramones for example. Just before they got really big, they slit up because of a variety of drug and alchol problems. The player "killer kanes" essentially just dropped out. He wanted to be s star but couldn't manage it. He ended up poor and alcholic and joined the Mormon faith. He worked at a library for the church. There was a reunion gig organized by Morrisey in LOndon. It looked as though the documentary was started when the guy suddenly got the call to go this gig in London. It was a strangley touching film. The Mormon church must be very pleased by the film. They had a number of interviews with his Bishop and personal teacher. It was all quite respectifull. Even when one of the other New York Dolls was taking the piss out of his mormon beliefs (in a fairly gentle way), Kane took it pretty well. I am glad I didn't see this film before I lived in Salt Lake City. I might have made some different decisions. Perhaps I would have not jointed up with those gnostic people. Anyway a good documentary. Not perhaps as seminal as "dig" but still pretty cool. It looks as though the FACT center are going to show the film about Daniel Johnston. I really like the guys voice -- it oozes insanity and pain.

audition

I watched the DVD "audition" directed by Miike Takashi as my bank holiday treat on Monday. Jessssuez. A lonely director organizers an audition for a film to meet someone to marry. The first half of the film is a romantic comedy and the second half is a piece of insanity and genuine torture fest. My DVD player had some problems playing the entire DVD, so I ended up slighly more confused than I should have been because of the odd frozen scene. I really liked the texture and colours in the film. There were great flashbacks in the film. The guy is having a "nice" chat with the women over dinner. The flashback sees one of his friend freak out about the women. Anyway I am not going to date any women who used to practise ballet.

ugly duckling

Last night I went out to see a hiphop band called ugly duckling at the Carling accademy. I don't think I have ever been to a see a proper hip-hop band before. There are no instruments like a guitar -- just a DJ deck. I got searched when I sdent in (God I'm hard). Can't say I saw many gangsters in the venue. A pity really I could have done with selling a few more guns. I realy enjoyed their set. There was a good positive vibe with everyone singing a along with the band.

Iraq

I have decided that I can't go on with this life of no meaning anymore. I feel so empty. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like an pointless thing such as suicide, I just feel the need for more meaning in my life. I was walking to work today, it becme clear the only way to feel again was to help people. The only cause that matters now is Iraq. So I must go to Iraq and help the people become free and happy just like me. Umm, I see one problem already. Expedia don't sel tickets to Iraq! This is what Expedia says when I try to go to Iraq: Destination currently unavailable -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Expedia.co.uk is unable to sell tickets to one or more of the destinations you have chosen. Please select a different destination. We apologise for the inconvenience. Apart from the problem of actually getting there. I am not sure what I can give to the people of Iraq OK I have had an idea. I will go there and open an off liscense. Irqa is a dangerous place but they probably don't have the off liscences with glass walls in them that Liverpool has. I am sure that the glass in a Liverpool off liscens is bullet proof, whether they can take a bazooka shot I am unsure. If I do get a flight to Iraq, I don't see myself taking the cases of Carling beer there. So I will have to be more cunning. I will take over some traditional English homebreew beer. That should be easy to take in a suitcase. I could brew "freedom beer". That would sell well, I am sure. Perhaps, George Bush would visit my shop, because of my succesful busines. How could George refuse a tankard of freedom ale? Now that would make politics in the US interesting and help the people of Iraq.

rats

Last Thursday I was pulling the one working wheelie bin for this flat to the front of the house to be collected. I heard a bit of rusteling from the bin. This little black thing jumped out and ran over the road. Oh a rat I thought. I was too numb to feel fear or revulsion. I wouldn't like it if there were rats in the flat. Yesterday, I looked up through the window to look at a tabby cat walk on a high wall. The cat looked at me, as if to say, you are protected from the rats. I winked back at the cat, heavy with the promise of tuna for my new rat guzzling best friend.

wasting my life

I can't help but feeling that I am wasting my life. I got in from work last night. I was so tired and burnt out, that I could only watch "Miss Marple" on TV and drink some beer. I didn't even have the energy to watch the film audition by Miike Takashi. I wasn't in the mood for torture. It was a wasted evening. Nothing creative watched or created. I have also spent part of the morning looking for reviews of the latest Scott Walker CD on the guardian. Why? For what purpose. The only reason can be that I am addicted to this consumerism. I did find that Scott Walker had put out a CD of Jacques Brel covers. I have 1 CD Jaques Brel CD, but he sings in French. Of course I could learn French to listen to the original songs, but I am a lazy Englishman. I need to turn my life around. Perhaps, I should volounteer to go to Iraq to find myself and get a purpose.