Sir John Betjeman: North Coast Recollections (El, 2010)Two things that are great about this poem recorded in 1959. One, Betjeman pronounces "golf" as "goff". I have no idea why, but I really like the way he does. Then there is the line, "and lamps are being lit in bungalows" where there is just the hint, the suggestion, the echo of a possibility of a chance, that "bung-er-lews" are, somehow, a little off. Or "orf". Then - then! - there's the idea that, even in the late 50's, things weren't quite as good as they once were, that even Cornwall's wild north coast had been spoilt by the grinding gears of progress.
That's more than two, isn't it? Sorry. Much more of this sort of thing here.
Mount Kimbie: Carbonated (Hot Flush, 2010)I have an innate fondness for two machine-friendly blokes making odd noises that are as likely to clear a dancefloor as fill it. I think it's a proud and noble tradition and it's one that Mount Kimbie are definitely part of. In my overfull brain they are (sort of, if you squint a bit and look through someone else's glasses) a link between epic45 and Burial (and, perhaps, Kerogen). That's a great place to be. Anyway, Carbonated gives the impression it could, if it wanted to, go nuts at any moment. But it never does. That works for me every time because I'm obvious like that.
I've hoiked this off a promo copy of their excellent album, Crooks & Lovers which is out on Hotflush Recordings on July 19.
2 comments:
Have you tried these winners from JB:
Trains and Buttered Toast - selected radio talks transcribed into one volume. Like Godfrey from Dad's Army turns modernist philosopher on the state of the nation.
And Metroland a gem of a documentary about the Metropolitan line
Both absolute classics - thanks old chap...
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