Just ordered the Chris Blackwell memoir - anyone else pick it up? Link below is gifted so hopefully no paywall issues…
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a couple of christmas gifts to myself. i’ve wanted to own the first one since the eighties, but it was an expensive proposition at the time. now they can be found rather cheap, which is great.
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Thanks for posting this, looks right up my strasse just ordered 
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I’m all for this kind of thing. Fair play to the 80 year old dude joining in 
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It’s a beaut. Three quarters in and getting to the good stuff, in other words Compass Point Studios and Grace Jones.
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What did you think? At least he got it half right though as ever Leo gets left out and Cosmo (?) left in. My worry is things like this, which are kind of wrong in many ways, are creating an incorrect history. Sort of the same with the Disco Pogo article.
It’ll always be that way if you haven’t lived it I guess which is always the problem with the observer as opposed to the participant. Joe is a top guy but he’s never going to be the guy rolling about on the floor wearing a kaftan or even attending a club. Which is more than fine of course.
The goal with Test Pressing was always to go forwards and backwards. Forwards with the new music that is relevant to “us” and backwards with first hand articles scanned from the time (these don’t lie) and interviews. Same way a tape from Phil Mison recorded in ‘92 tells a different story to a list of records compiled in 2023. Dr Rob (bless him) really does a great job of continuing this on in a regular fashion where we also do when something strikes we care about. Hopefully telling stories in real time and building new histories.
Outside journalists writing pieces like this come from a scholarly angle. No take down intended but it’s why Tim Lawrence feels different to Frank and Bill. You feel Tim came to it late whereas Frank and Bill got fully stuck in whilst in New York.
#balearicthoughtfortheday
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His examples of tunes at the end are pretty interesting. If you listened to all of those you’d have a fairly good idea of (a) what the “Balearic” sound might be and (b) how confusing it is to try and define it in the first place. Good piece though imo.
Agree with @Apiento that the Cosmo angle is a little off beam in all of this.
Perhaps it’s easier to leave it at the old adage that it’s “pop music that sounds good on pills”!
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Well to be fair to Joe he does add that disclaimer at the beginning to say there will be omissions and its not a comprehensive list. Think he’s just applying the tin helmet before the inevitable backlash.
It’s a well written piece and yes the Cosmo inclusion did raise an eyebrow, and while there’s nothing here none of us aren’t previously aware of I think it does a good job of trying to flesh out the aesthetic for those that aren’t necessarily au fait with the proper spirit of Balearic
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Yes. Agreed. I think what both of you are saying is fair.
This just arrived via post
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From Viz?
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I loved Make Some Space so I’ll be picking this up.
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Same author but has very few drawings & just the script
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Some of the reviews are brutal but they all
Agree with him. Tough crowd economists.
Gotcha
It’s really good already. Thoroughly enjoying it…
Just finished the first part of Stephen Morris’ autobiography ‘Record Play Pause’, really enjoyed it, he doesn’t take himself seriously at all and is very self-deprecating throughout.
If finishes just after the shock of Ian Curtis’ death and the first, tentative steps into them becoming New Order.
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I’ve got both of these as audiobooks. Interestingly they contain a fair amount of what sounds like unreleased versions of NO tracks, plus what I assume are Stephen Morris solo bits and pieces.
Very good read/listen! If you haven’t already, check Hooky’s book Substance too
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Yeah, need to pick up part 2 of SM’s autobiography and then the Hooky one which I heard goes into great detail about NO.
Have you read Barney’s book?
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