Song for Sunday

TV on the Radio – Heroes

Heroes, Villians & Velodromes

It's a great story, well told. The rise of Team GB from the back markers of world track cycling to the all-conquering heroes of Beijing.

The subtitle on my copy is 'Chris Hoy and Britain's Track Cycling Revolution' and although Chris does feature prominently (even more so in the reprinted version below, hastily rushed out for Christmas gift sales) there is plenty about the other team members and also the back room staff who played such a key role in the transformation.

I was particularly happy to see so much prominence given to Craig MacLean and his achievements, which even though not quite up to three golds in one Olympics still helped to pave the way for Chris. My favourite story from the book concerns Craig and the opening of the Craig MacLean Leisure Centre in Grantown-on-Spey, near where I grew up:

MacLean was flattered. And after he cut the ribbon, he was presented with a large painting commissioned to mark the occasion, done by a local artist, who'd worked from a picture of MacLean in action. Or it was supposed to be MacLean. But as MacLean studied the painting he realized it wasn't. It was Chris Hoy. 'Typical,' says MacLean with a wry smile.

My only complaint is the US spelling used throughout and all the nasty 'z's (see quote above) that permeate the text. I am guessing that HarperCollins didn't choose this convention because they are expecting thousands of US sales and assume that it is standard policy across all their titles now. Oh well, my hatred of Rupert Murdoch had been waning recently so it's good to find yet another thing to add to his list of crimes ...

Song for Sunday

Tanya Donnelly – Keeping You

Happy Valentine's day my love!

GenderAnalyzer

We guess http://geographyofhope.blogspot.com/ is written by a woman (53%), however it's quite gender neutral.

Hmmm. Try it out on you favourite blogs here.

the Boat

the Boat is an interesting book and there's no doubt that Nam Le is a talented writer, who may well go on to great things. Unfortunately, the stories in this collection don't live up to all the hype and, for me, although there are some small precious gems within the book there are just too many gaps and holes for the writing to work.

He sets out his background and dilemma early on in the first story, Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice:

'It's hot,' a writing instructor told me at a bar. 'Ethnic literature's hot. And important too.'

And then on the next page his fictional friend tells him:

'You could totally exploit the Vietnamese thing. But instead you choose to write about lesbian vampires and Colombian assassins, and Hiroshima orphans – and New York painters with haemorrhoids.'

Sadly I didn't find the lesbian vampires, but all the other characters are present and correct. And that for me is the main problem. While the writing is virtuoso the stories aren't up to snuff. They all read like experiments for his creative writing course (that also crops up in the first story), and I am sure they got good marks, but most left me with a feeling that I only had tiny fragments of what was really happening in these imaginary worlds and these specks weren't enough to bring them into focus.

Even the heartbreaking final story about Vietnamese refugees trying to escape on a fishing boat that breaks down suffers from this problem. The description is superb and the situation is all too vivid, but the characters are obscured and they seem to richochet off each other rather than connecting as they should.

Song for Sunday

Buffalo Tom – Late at Night

Two of my favourite things: Buffalo Tom and My So Called Life. If you don't know either please (I'm asking nicely) go and get the DVD box set and Big Red Letter Day. You'll thank me later ...

Song for Sunday

White Lies – Death

Song for Sunday

Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines

Don't worry about the banjo, just give it a minute or two ...

Doors Open

Mike Mackenzie feels like a minor character in a Rebus mystery. He's an intriguing creation, but his Edinburgh is much flatter, more two-dimensional and much less interesting than the one Rebus inhabits.

The other characters are all recognisable representations of their real-life counterparts, but for me none of them came to life the way that Rebus and Shiv did.

The plot is fine and the action hammers along at a cracking pace, but there is something missing. Maybe it's me. Maybe I don't want to accept that Rankin's moved on, left Rebus behind, gone for good. It is an enjoyable read, but (another caveat) I just couldn't find the heart of these characters and I suspect it was a struggle for the author too. The perfect little details that rounded out Rebus and made those stories palpable just aren't there and the impression I am left with is of too much time spent making sure that the plot worked and not enough time spent making sure that the characters did.

Love is a mixed up thing

Love is a Mix Tape is a book about music lists, mid-90s alt-rock and sudden death, written by a self-confessed craven hermit. How could anyone who had actually read (or, let's be honest, even skimmed) the manuscript think that the cover above was going to be a good idea? The overall effect is topped-off by a lovely gold spine, with title reversed out in white.

I had read some mildly-positive reviews and almost bought a copy a year or two ago when it had the original trade paperback cover, but for some reason I resisted. When I saw the mass market version in a well-known discount bookstore a few weeks ago I almost didn't recognise it, but once I had made the connection was sufficiently interested to lash out and spend $5.

It isn't as bad as you might imagine from the cover – there are some good lines ("does your boy-friend wear glasses", "no a walkman") and touching passages – but overall it is not good.

It was probably never going to be the easiest commission, but how could it go so badly wrong? I can almost see the sales and marketing meeting:
Sales expert "hmmm, the trade paperback didn't take off like we expected, even with some good reviews and catalogue placement"
Marketing expert "what we need is a completely new direction ... can we try to tap into a slighty wider market than mid-30s, sad loser, music obsessives?"
Sales "great idea – lets go for the girlfriends of mid-30s, sad loser, music obsessives as well!"
Marketing "excellent – I'll see what we can come up with"

However, I really should have guessed from the titles of books advertised on the last few pages – Alice in La La Land, The Shoe Queen, Gucci Mamas and Not Meeting Mr Right ...

Song for Sunday

Frightened Rabbit – Heads Roll Off

More rich pickings from other peoples best of 2008 lists (last week's was the top tune in The Observer's end of year list). This week comes courtesy of my favourite blog-before-blogs-were-invented The War Against Silence. It means I am generally a year behind all the cool kids, but for someone of my advanced age and declining critical faculties I still feel that's not too bad.

My list is on its way ... promise.

Pittenweem to the Rock'n'Roll Dream (2008 in Mix Tape form)

The Rip – Portishead
If You Want Me – Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Quicksand – Dot Allison
Air – Expatriate
The Sun Smells Too Loud – Mogwai
Half Asleep – School of Seven Bells
Paper Planes – M.I.A.
Strange Overtones – David Byrne and Brian Eno
One Night On Earth – The Veils
Blue Plastic Bags – Malcolm Middleton
The Sixth Stone – Aidan Moffat and The Best-Ofs & Ian Rankin
If Looks Could Kill – Camera Obscura
Visitor – Nina Kinert
Driver, Surprise Me – The National
Down On the Ground – British Sea Power
Polmont On My Mind – Glasvegas
The Girl Is My Gun – Gersey
That Leaving Feeling – Stuart A. Staples

Anybody lucky enough to have a copy – hope you are enjoying it! If you don't then feel free to join in at home and make your own (or send me 5 good reasons why you should get one and I will put one in the post).

Song for Sunday

Happy 2009. Holiday hiatus over. New Year resolution is to write more regularly ... we'll see.


MGMT – Time to Pretend

The proper video is great and the cover version by Patience Hodgson and Broderick Smith on last night's RockWiz is also worth a look.

Song for Sunday

Song for Sunday

Daddy

Button number one's portrait of daddy. It is pretty lifelike, apart from the nose ...

Top 10 concerts

As promised ...

1 R.E.M. – Green World Tour 24 May 1989, Glasgow Barrowlands
I think I've said everything I need to in this post.

2 Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love Tour 21 June 1988, Villa Park Birmingham
I had finished my first year at university, spent a week or two helping a friend decorate his new flat, which would also be my home for the next three years, and before I headed home for my summer job I took the overnight coach down to Birmingham to see Bruce. As far as I can remember this was my first and last visit to Birmingham. I arrived in Birmingham at about 7am, hung around all day waiting for the concert and then caught the overnight coach back to Edinburgh. Sounds like a lot of effort, but I have to say it was worth every penny and every minute of discomfort on that coach. If I had had any money left I would certainly have stayed for the second concert the day after ...

3 Idlewild – Dingwalls 1998(?), Camden
I could have picked anyone of about five Idlewild gigs, but this one stands out for many reasons ... I went with one of my best friends, who was good friends with their photographer and knew all the band. Afterwards we ended up drinking all the bands booze (well tried to) and for some reason I purloined a t-shirt. I remember trying it on at Waterloo station while we were waiting for one of the very infrequent trains to Clapham Junction at 3am and discovering that it was a small female skinny-fit!

4 U2 – Joshua Tree Tour 30 July 1987, Glasgow S.E.C.C.
17-years-old. First big rock show. Summer between school and university. How could it not be brilliant? (Support was from the Waterboys who were at the apex of their fairly feeble trajectory ... Apologies Sam, but it's true.)

5 Interpol – Turn out the Bright Lights Tour 8 August 2003, Corner Hotel Melbourne
The bass amp was buggered, kept surging in and then dying about five seconds later, and the rest of the sound wasn't a lot better. Even so they were the epitome of cool and played a perfect set that made me believe in the possibilities of a classic two guitars, bass and drums rock band all over again.

6 Blue Aeroplanes – King Tuts 19 October 1990(?), Glasgow
Starting with the sound of 747 taking off played at the original volume, they proceeded to play one of the most inspired sets I have ever seen. In my memory there was about ten of them on stage and, of course, at least seven of them playing guitars – only Wotjek, the drummer and Gerald didn't. If you don't believe me check the list of band members ...

7 Mogwai – The Astoria 25 January 1999, London
All the details escape me totally, but what is still vivid is the sheer concentration and precision with which they created the most amazing, emotional, poignant, revelatory noise. Probably the loudest gig I've ever been to, the alternating feelings of your breath being sucked from your lungs by a monstrous steamroller of sound to the caress of the sublimest, delicate melody will always remain.

8 Belle and Sebastian – Union Chapel 28 July 1997, Islington
And on the guest list no less. I think this might have been one of their first London gigs and, to be honest, they were a complete shambles. All the hippest London kids, with their best 'come-on impress me' pants on and they didn't even seem to know who should be playing which instrument for most of the songs. Unbelievably all the interminable inter-song faffing and shy-weegie-janitor-schtick didn't make a blind bit of difference and every song they played seemed to have been dropped perfectly formed into their laps by fey-indie-pop-genius-angels.

9 Laurie Anderson – Hamer Hall 15 February 2003, Melbourne
Mad bird. Great show.

10 Prolapse – Camden Crawl II 19 September 1996, The Monarch Camden
It is hard to put my finger on what was so magic about Prolapse. Their live show was like watching the most ill-matched couple you can imagine having a massive post-pub domestic on stage, backed by your favourite left-field indie pop band. I could never understand why they weren't on Top of the Pops every week ...

And just outside the the top 10:
Afghan Whigs – 13 February 1994, The Venue Edinburgh
Don't know what happened, but at this point in time I reckon they were pretty much the best live rock band in the world.

My Bloody Valentine – Roller Coaster Tour 25 March 1992, Glasgow S.E.C.C. (with The Jesus and Mary Chain, Blur and Dinosaur Jr)
Same chord. 25 minutes. I thought it was awesome, most people seemed to think the bar was a better option.

Song for Sunday

Oh-oh. Loving this album at the moment. This tune is great as well ...

Song(s) for Sunday

Who says that Low don't have a sense of humour?

If that is too rowdy for you try this or this. And try this for a couple of live tracks, including one of my all time favourites – Last Snowstorm of the Year.

Cosmonaut Robbie

You can tell that the author studied Theoretical Physics to doctorate level. But don't let that put you off.

The first section is a beautifully rendered depiction of Scotland in the 1970s, where young Robbie Coyle is just beginning to get to grips with socialism, Top of the Pops, Dr Who, girls and The Meaning of Relativity by Einstein. Terrifically funny and achingly sad by turns, the first section ends with Robbie's first snog in the church hall storeroom.

Part two takes off into a parallel universe; recognisably still Scotland but bizarrely different, an alternative reality in which Robbie is suddenly ten years older and on the short list for a space mission planned to explore an approaching black hole.

The dislocation and night-marish qualities of this section echoed Alasdair Gray's Unthank, and the world Andrew Crumey creates is just as completely realised, deeply detailed and surprisingly tangible as that which Duncan Thaw inhabits.

Then we are back in the present-day and what seems to be normal life. Robbie has vanished from the narrative and it is not until near the end of the book that we discover what has happened to him. There are hints about the middle section and more puzzles to come, leaving the reader to tease out their own interpretation of events. I suspect this may frustrate some readers, but I have a feeling that Sputnik Caledonia will come to be regarded as one of the essentials of Scottish literature.

Song for Sunday

Barack Hussein Obama, 44th President of the United States

President-elect of the USA: a skinny black man with brains. (See Jonathan Raban's article for the details.) I guess if you are going to break down barriers you might as well tear them all down at once.

There haven't been many occasions in my lifetime that you could say well done the American electorate, but credit where it's due – thank you.

Over the next few months I presume the Republicans will be looking for new leadership and direction, so my modest contribution is some advice for Sarah Palin – before running for elected office again here are some books that might prove useful:

And, before you all write in, I know the Tim Flannery one is the children's version. Other suggestions gratefully received.

Song for Sunday

Looks like it was filmed on CCTV ...

I still feel a bit nervous about the result on Tuesday, and am pretty sure it will be way tighter than the polls are saying, but a bit of Bruce always makes me feel optimistic.

Monkey

Eleven quotes from an article in The Observer Music Monthly by Paul Morley and about 'the musician, realist and fantasist Damon Albarn and fellow conspirator, the graphic artist Jamie Hewlett'.

1 how since everything is a reflection of our minds everything can be changed with our minds

2 There were 30 Mali musicians playing very loud music [on the roof of Damon and Jamie's west London studio] and whenever a train came past we all waved. People must have thought, did I actually see that, or have I had a long and tiring day. No one waved back, though.

3 I remember the moment when I became a little bit more political when I spliced on tape some of my Dad's Arabic recordings over the Human League's 'The Lebanon'

4 fifteen lotus maidens in pyramid formation, some doing the splits and spinning plates in front of the all-knowing Buddha

5 Damon arrives carrying coffee and cake for three. 'That's not easy on a bicycle,' he boasts.

6 your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart give yourself to it

7 Opera magazine host an informal discussion, exploring for a classical readership unfamiliar with Albarn's pop music the possibility that Journey to the West might actually not just be hyperbolically called an opera but might actually be an opera.

8 There are in fact three Monkeys in all this – the cuddlier cartoon BBC Monkey, the slightly more sinister rascally Monkey in the Opera and the much more menacing Monkey of the record.

9 Chen Shi-Zheng has taught us about the Buddhist principle that you must not mourn for the past, or worry about the future, or anticipate problems, but live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. That's why we call him Chairman Now.

10 He wonders if perhaps it's from the 1940s, and is therefore a Nazi typewriter. The thought perversely pleases him.

11 Damon dances to his music, unashamedly lost in the thoughts he's having about how three years of thoughts – about the history and future of China, about how to follow up Blur, Gorillaz, his Mali music, his film soundtracks, the decaying London of The Good, the Bad and the Queen, his own perfectionist craving for newness that honours oldness, for strangeness that emphasies romance – have turned into an electric music that is clearly by the musician responsible for the above, and yet by a new kind of musician.

In Another Light

Bollocks. I think I am going to end up buying a book about golf.


I finished In Another Light a couple of weeks ago and for a few days after I was loath to start reading anything new. I wanted to savour the characters and the world that Andrew Greig created, and for them to stay fresh in my mind for as long as possible.

Greig alternates between two story lines – one set in Orkney a few years ago about a middle-aged engineer who is recovering from some sort of brain seizure, while the other delves into his family history and the time his father spent as an obstetrician seventy years earlier in Penang.

I had read that Andrew also survived a serious brain disorder at around the same age, but until today couldn't find much information about what happened. In my lunchbreak, catching-up on a back issue of the Scottish Review of Books I found a review of Andrew's latest novel Romanno Bridge, by Douglas Gifford. It's the sort of review I love because it not only covers the title that is being reviewed, but it also discusses virtually all his other books and unearths clues about how they all came into being. Anyway, well into the review, long after we have finished the discussion of Romanno Bridge, I discovered that:

Around the turn of the century things went terribly wrong. He tells the story in his moving account of recovery, a unique spiritual autobiography-cum-golfing adventure, Preferred Lies (2006) ... He tells how he was saved from death by the guess of a clever neurosurgeon, who realised that a colloid cyst was crushing Greig's brain. A drain which he implanted to take off the fluid killing the writer saved him; nonetheless, throughout Preferred Lies Greig feels the slight bulge in his head as reminder of time and death.

'Autobiography-cum-golfing adventure'! In anyone else's hands it would be too ghastly to contemplate, but now it has gone straight onto my list of essential purchases.

Needless to say In Another Light is a beautiful, fascinating read. The depiction of Penang in 1930 is wonderful, the Scottish sections have glorious descriptions of the human and natural landscapes and above all his characters, the subtleties of their relationships and the ebbs and flows of love and friendship.

Many of the same themes run through his novels Where they Lay Bare and Electric Brae (one of the all-time great Scottish novels and as Douglas Gifford notes '... takes its place in the line of novels that includes Docherty, Lanark, The Bridge, The Crow Road, Looking for the Possible Dance and The Trick is to Keep Breathing, the defining Scottish novels of the last quarter century').

I reckon Greig is one of the finest Scottish novelists ever and it has always puzzled me that his books don't seem to get the recognition they deserve. The reviews are pretty much always excellent, but you would be hard pushed to find his name on the bestseller lists or a major literary award shortlist (although In Another Light did win the 2004 Saltire Book of the Year Award) and most people look blank when I mention his name. Maybe I just need to hang out with golfers a bit more ...