horsemouth supposes that it's the (allegedly) receding threat of death that is free-ing up psychic energy for him to feel so dissatisfied with his existence. you've survived horsemouth and you've just been given money that otherwise you would have had to have earned.
even when horsemouth has reassured himself that he has enough to live on he will still be being anxious because, well, because he does anxious.
last night the 50th anniversary of the old grey whistle test show. an unapologetic whispering bob harris (with 30 more years of broadcast experience) sits on the sofa with the show's producer, first presenter and mark radcliffe (as token northerner).
but first a dryly sarcastic jo brand narrates over the talking heads (charles shaar murray, mark radcliffe, annie nightingale. etc.).
now the old grey whistle test was vital to horsemouth growing up because (good) music was rare (it was underground). there wasn't much music on tv and what there was was almost entirely pop, music that was 'serious' - rock, prog etc. was incredibly rare, but the old grey whistle test had it.
the only way you had of finding out about new music was to listen to john peel on radio one at ten o'clock at night monday to thursday or watch the old grey whistle test (eleven o'clock at night, a few days of the year).
horsemouth grew up slightly too late for punk - but that was a big generational shift, whispering bob harris had to go, annie nightingale came in, the damned literally smash it up (rat scabies ostentatiously gobbing on the OGWT logo), there's PIL careering too cool for good taste, serious and progressive in a different way.
two songs each in a bare studio. and after nearly 20 years of broadcasting there's this vast archive of the music - the rock, the prog, the punk, the new wave, some key reggae and soul even (bob marley, curtis mayfield etc.).
but for the 50th anniversary show bob harris is firmly back in charge, good taste rules, why here's kiki dee and peter frampton (just flown in from nashville) - which to horsemouth demonstrates why punk had to happen. and here we are with later with jools holland and how many decades of that has there been? more good taste. a little of which, as oscar wilde reminds us, can be absolutely fatal.
horsemouth just doesn't feel music the way he used to feel it. it doesn't have the explosive effect it used to have in the culture (he's probably just the wrong age), does drill really encourage gang violence? (probably). who would you have to stick on later and doing what to redistribute the roles in music? horsemouth no longer knows.
anyway all of this was made possible by horsemouth's clearing of the living room.
earlier horsemouth was listening to a documentary on mike bloomfield - bloomfield can seriously play and he gets himself noticed in all the right places. he's with dylan going electric at the newport folk festival but he doesn't take the gig with the band, with electric flag at monterey for example, on super sessions, soundtracking peter fonda's the trip). but ultimately he's not in the position of jimi hendrix (who manages to take everything that's going on and turn it into sound, a look, a stage show, himself).
also last night on the news a chinese diplomat rants about the inevitable reunification of china and taiwan (jesus let's not have a taiwanese missile crisis, nuclear superpowers going eyeball to eyeball, let us be conquered through trade).
today horsemouth goes to make some music (probably). ideally what he'd like to get is that baaba maal/ mansour seck sound and feel, anyway - what will be will be.
horsemouth has writing duties to be getting on with. at some point he has to revive his audio-visual work. he has to work out how to punt his stuff round more so more people get to see it and hear it.
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