2006: already seems so far away
Posted: January 7th, 2007, by Dave StockwellIt had its good points amongst all the crap, didn’t it?
MUSIC
This Heat – their boxset finally came out, and it’s better than anything else you’ve ever heard.
Rob Lee/Wax Stag – http://www.myspace.com/waxstag
The Beloved Music by Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano
Crescent by John Coltrane
10th Avenue Freakout by Fog. I know I’m late.
Super Golden Original Movement by Golden
Mother of Thousands by MV, EE & the Bummer Road
Racoo-oo-oon
Busdriver
The Dead C
Led Zep
AC/DC
50 LPs for a quid down t’market.
The resurrection of Siltbreeze
LIVE
Trencher & Kraufort @ The Social (Jan)
Part Chimp, Hey Colossus, Lords @ Cabaret (Jan)
Jack Rose & Chris Corsano @ Raffles (Jan)
Earth & Sunn0))) @ The Custard Factory (Feb)
The Evens @ Sneinton Hermitage (Mar)
Thee More Shallows @ The Social (Apr)
Burning Star Core @ The Old Angel (Apr)
Smegma @ The Old Angel (Apr)
Magik Markers @ The Matilda (May)
Subtle @ Coventry Colosseum (Jun)
Charalambides @ Bunkers Hill (Jul)
Alasdair Roberts @ The Maze (Aug)
Steve Reich, Konono #1, Gavin Bryars @ The Barbican (Oct)
Erase Errata @ The Rose of England (Oct)
No Neck Blues Band @ Taylor John’s House (Dec)
FILM
The New World pissed all over every other film released in 2006 from a very great height. Actually, it pissed all over every pretty much American film released since Terence Malick’s last effort (The Thin Red Line in 1997). The only reason I can think that it didn’t get into the diskant poll was because no one saw it – it slipped in and out of UK cinemas with alarming speed, and predictably has made fuck-all money. You can now buy it on DVD for about six quid. I recommend you do so.
Also, the Harvey Milk DVD.
BOOKS
The Road by Cormac McCarthy – not only his best book for 20-odd years, but so much better than any other book I read this year.
How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers
JPod by Douglas Coupland
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Mysteries of Pittsburgh & Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
Buying loads of second copies of books I already have in charity shops to thrust upon friends and insist they read them.
MAGS
I get more depressed at music journalism with every passing year – I don’t think I’ve bought a magazine in a good 3 years now. I did however finally chance across a copy of Simon Reynolds’ Blissed Out in a secondhand shop, which is always worth a dip.
EVENT OF THE YEAR
Finishing mixing the new Souvaris album after 3 months of sitting in a bedroom in front of a laptop, slowly going insane.
THINGS YOU DID MOST THIS YEAR
Waited at stations for trains that were either chronically delayed or cancelled. I’m biting the bullet and buying a car in 2007.
Complained how tired I was.
PLACES VISITED
Scotland’s southwestern coastline
The Lake District
Yorkshire
The Dales of Derbyshire
Sheffield
Taylor John’s House in Coventry
BEST THING
Love.
Rediscovering meat and how to cook it.
Rediscovering that decent electronic music is being made all over the world.
WORST THING
No time for love, Doctor Jones
So many boring noise/improv bands.
Labels and bands overkilling on the amount of stuff they put out that all sounds exactly the same. Again.
The Next Big Thing in music and bands covered by the mass media just seem to get worse and worse.
OVERALL
At some point I’m gonna catch up on all the sleep I missed out on. Maybe in 2008.
LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2007
A much-needed holiday. In the autumn.
Dave Stockwell
David can always be relied on to end his e-mails with one of those 'np: blah blah' things in order to remind us of how much more music he listens to every day than anybody else. His interests include rockin ' out in a major style as guitarist in Souvaris, throwing frisbees from tall buildings "just to see what happens" and simply kickin' back with his bitches in a gold-plated jacuzzi.
http://www.souvaris.com
January 7th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Gotta say I found the Harvey Milk dvd a bit boring. Had high expectations too. Admittedly I did download rather than purchase, perhaps I wasn’t giving it the full attention it deserved.
I am also happy about Siltbreeze.
January 7th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
The DVD is four and a half hours long Ollie! I choose to appreciate it in small doses, otherwise I just get a headache.