horsemouth is back from sunny pop(u)lar. he was not recognised by soon-to-be-evicted disgruntled tenants and torn limb from limb (next time maybe).
just as the director of the wickerman stunned his cast by suddenly announcing that they were not making a horror movie, as many had thought, but a musical, so horsemouth stunned enza by announcing that they were not making a magical film in the style of kenneth anger but in fact remaking a british children’s cartoon series called mr.benn.
every episode mr. benn would go into the fancy dress shop and try on a costume - he would then have a magical adventure. but eventually the shop keeper would come and get him and the adventure would be over for the week.
when they had finished working i.e. dressing up in silly costumes and photographing themselves and arranging all the statuary in the place as if they were guests at a party - enza gave horsemouth a glass of mulled wine to send him off out the door.
horsemouth wandered downstairs to howard’s (pausing to drop off a copy of musicians of bremen volume four with howard’s next door neighbour darsavini - who was well). there they drank beer and played a little music and listened to a little music - reflection eternal’s respiration (with the great verse by common), company flow’s track that lifts run-dmc’s dance to the rhythm and rime and co(ld) flow, emmylou harris (and ricky skaggs)’s the darkest hour is just before the dawn, ennio morricone’s theme to il gran silencio, the beatles michelle my belle and, to kick it off, juliette greco and ibrahim maalouf’s version of la javanese.
thereafter horsemouth wandered back up the hill (pausing at wick fisheries to get a bag of chips to refuel).
“writing about music is like dancing about architecture” - quote attributed variously. to frank zappa, thelonious monk, brian eno, miles davis, elvis costello, (and gore vidal) people generally considered to be smart (for the music industry).
nonetheless this is horsemouth’s plan - not the writing about music bit (he’s done that already at length) but the dancing about architecture bit. he goes to memorialise a mural. the wrecking ball is coming. the high rise will fall (or be left like a giant rotting tooth). very little will be saved out of the wreck.
walking in and walking back out again is distinctly part of horsemouth’s practice.
famous brutalist concrete (and a james bond villain) saved the balfron. but being named after an outlaw got robin hood gardens destroyed. the destruction of social housing on the nearby aberfeldy estate goes unremarked because it’s not in brutalist concrete. on chrisp street market the festival of britain reaches its predestined end (obsolescence - neglect - destruction - regeneration as a playground for yuppies just at the point when they no longer need to be there).
once again the timing is all wrong out east. maybe it will take so long to redevelop it will come to be seen as a signal of hope rising from the ashes.
he has some music (that he made last weekend with suke). ok he has the start of a plan. to make a film with enza and suke (to memoriaise the mural)
horsemouth is the magician - he waves his magic wand. but his magic can’t save the block (or prevent the evictions). nor indeed can his magic put money in people’s pockets as the economic shock of the coronavirus epidemic hits and people lose their work (and there’s the winter and brexit to come). horsemouth’s magic is of very limited power.
you’ve gotter larf incha. remarks horsemouth in his best mockney surveying the wreckage.yesterday horsemouth went to meet one person indoors in an enclosed space. monday he goes to meet more than 6 people in a garden (weather permitting). thereafter he will be ‘working from home’ until thursday where he may actually be ‘working on site’ (he will walk in and walk back out again).
walking in and walking back out again is distinctly part of horsemouth’s practice.
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