Adrian & I have been working out the parts here in The Basement Belewbeloid, leaving the Rhythm Buddies to work with Paul on their sounds in town at the rehearsal studios. We'll be going in shortly.
19.42
Dribble. Dribble. Pysche dribblatum est.
So dribbling that I have just put out photos of my Wife & her Parents in front of a small riverside cottage in Worcestershire, the steps up to a garden in Deepest Dorset, and our village inn. Whingey classics bevoomerate in the Basement. Mahler is presently relating how it is possible to live in a fallen world, providing one's focus of attention remains on what is real, what is true, what is eternal.
Yes, it's a tired Englishman far from home.
Genesis are telling stories of Behind The Music on VH1. Pals & acquaintances of mine from yesteryear are appearing in various forms to contribute stories and anecdotes. A former KC roadie appears in one photo with Phil Collins, a roadie of whom stories are still told. Sadly, heroin was his downfall: he disappeared from London several years ago. The history of King Crimson would be very different if drugs were removed from its telling. A history which concentrated on the accurate presentation of facts would be desperate, tragic and a hard read. An epitaph might be: music triumphs, musicians fail. Shortly to be available from Sidney Smith: My Lasting Grief: How I Deserved More Recognition For My Contributions.
Meanwhile, an arising issue of the day is an enquiry from the Press Department of Virgin in the UK to DGM World Central --
"I presume you are aware that we are releasing 'Damage' newly remixed by David Sylvian on 3rd September 2001.Just thought I might ask whether Robert would be around for any interviews or available for a phoner if requested by Journalists. I know that Robert is very busy at the moment, and he may not want to be involved in this at all... but if you could let me know in advance, I'd appreciate it a lot."
From my reply --
"Firstly, I don't do telephone interviews. If I can look someone in the eyes, it becomes possible to see if they are connecting to what is being said. The telephone effectively limits the exchange to words only, usually with a person I don't know, which converts the interview to an essay presented orally. This means a lot of energy is withdrawn from the pitiful energy reservoir which constitutes my being.Secondly, do you know the history of Damage? Originally, this was mixed by myself, David Bottrill & David Singleton. David Sylvian was primarily responsible for mixing the Sylvian/Fripp studio album, which is his view of our work together. The live recordings fell to me, which is essentially my perspective on our joint work. David (Sylvian) was not happy with the results of Damage and, once the limited release of 50,000 was achieved, withheld his permission for a general release unless he re-mixed the album himself. Damage never recouped on 50,000 sales and, with the additional advance to enable David to remix it now, may not recoup at all!
But the music is worth presenting to a larger public, so this version of Damage is David's perspective on our live work some 7 or 8 years after the event. Since this is David's take on things, I had no involvement in the remixing and haven't heard the revised version, it seems more appropriate that the interviews fall to David himself, if he chooses to take them on.
My favouritist version of our live work was the trio of Sylvian, Fripp & Gunn. This was dangerous stuff. I have many DAT tapes of these performances, but if you have any interest you will find them widely available on MP3".
"The only contribution we make is the quality of our work."
