Bredonborough Morning reading shopping eflurrying
11.54
Bredonborough.
Morning reading, shopping, e-flurrying, an early lunch & then off to Air Studios, Hampstead, London for the KC 40th Anniversary 5.1 Playback.
22.18 Chez Minx, Chiswick.
Arriving at Air Studios c. 14.55. Upon arriving, my first meeting was with Masa of WHD, our Japanese distributor, c .15.20. Masa is a pal & longtime Crimson fan & supporter, beginning at Virgin Japan; and also brought some very very tasty bean treats all the way from Tokyo.
Then to conversations with arriving pals: The Sidney Smith, The Great Kimbrini, David of DGM, Artist Advocate Andy Leff & Distributor Declan of Panegyric; who were mostly welcoming of fresh cakes acquired on the High Street this morning…
Sid immediately began recording the event for the interest of DGM visitors…
Preparing the space…
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Arriving Crims: Michael Giles, Peter Sinfield, Mel Collins, David Cross, Johnny the W & Billy B I…
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Greg was invited, and declined. Ian was invited & did not reply.
A conversation with Bill: Bill has referred on several occasions, including in his recent autobiography – My Life: A Drummer Rides The Back Of Monsters - to the guitarist’s strategy during the recording of Red, of withholding his opinion. That is, neither for nor against. A better name for this strategy is radical neutrality.
At 18.01: an introduction & brief overview of the 40th. Anniversary by RF I…
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… handing over to Steven Wilson, who presented an outline of the surround mixing & its aims. The playback ran for c. 75 minutes.
Richard Williams, presently The Guardian’s sports writer & historically one of the finest music journalists on several continents, was a luminary among various press arrivees. Richard brought me a copy of his new book, Blue Moment, pre-empting its about-to-be-becoming-ordered from The Bredonborough Bookshop. Richard’s comment on the playback: Hope for the future – and the past.
Also Tony Bacon, who referred to The Tyranny Of Stereo, an article I wrote c. 1979 for a magazine of which he was then editor. Tony asked: Perhaps this is now the tyranny of 5.1? But for someone who has been working in the Guitar Circle for over 24 years, this is the only way to represent what I hear from inside the Circle. I reminded Tony of the last interview we did together, at EG in 1991.
TB: What advice would you give young musicians?
RF: Never ever fly Air Iberia.
TB: No, seriously, what advice would you give young musicians?
RF: Seriously, never ever fly Air Iberia.
John Bungey arrived for the second sounding. John’s comments on my comments regarding the comments & general dopinesses, witlessnesses & mean-spiritednesses of the music press, are good fun.
Then all the Crims present assembled for photographs, which was well received by the photographers I…
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Another guest honouring the proceedings: Andrew Keeling
The second house playback followed shortly, with a few newly-arrived visitors & several already-arrived staying for more.
Afterwards, in the studio & personal space during the preparing-to-leave-the period, a young euro-journalist whose hovering, pouncing presence had made itself felt throughout, approached with his CDs to be signed.
YEJ: Will you sign my CDs?
RF: No.
YEJ: Why don’t you sign CDs?
Emanations of narcissism, blending with avarice, accompanied this joy-bending winged-life destroying exchange.
Emanations of narcissism, blending with avarice, accompanied this joy-bending winged-life destroying exchange.
His first question, on this day & in this particular context, was inappropriate & out of place. Nevertheless, within the currently-acceptable social norms of fetishisation, intrusiveness & lack of consideration for others, perhaps it might be filed under understandable-even-if-not-quite-right. However, the second question is known as The Second Question. This goes too far, even for a young euro-journalist whose head is placed where sunshine never falls. Simply put, anyone who needs to ask The Second Question will never hear the answer/s. The Second Question may only be asked by leaseholders, if not freeholders, of The Basement.
Why don’t you sign CDs? This is not, in itself, a question: it is a criticism. A question is: Why sign CDs? There is a range of possible answers to this, converging on the centre of gravity of the principle involved.
Generally, it doesn’t matter too much if we are stupid, providing we know we are stupid. This is normal-abnormal. We are all pretty dopey most of the time, but a person of maturity cultivates a certain distance from their dopey-manifestations that, in time, confers a measure of personal freedom. One example of which is, that I don’t have to ask dopey questions because I know dopey questions generate negative repercussions that (inter alia) cause waste & are destructive. If we don’t know the depth of our stupidity, we have no distance from our mechanical & automatic behaviours. That is, if we don’t know we are stupid, we are dangerous.
An innocent DGM visitor might now read this & ponder: Old Goat! Ranting on again about innocent punters who have guaranteed rights to autography! Such exaggeration & heartlessness! This man is a creep! Yet, in this simple exchange with one Young Euro Journalist, there is revealed The Fall From Grace; this typed with no exaggeration in the keypad at all.
Following this short, illuminating reminder of our graceless nature, I enjoyed a conversation with Artist Advocate Andy Leff. Following which, the journalist still hovering with several of his CDs set out on a studio surface, an area he should not even have been within – who let him in & remain in the private space? - a second brief exchange followed…
RF: Why do you want your CDs signed?
YEJ: It makes them personal
RF: I don’t know you.
YEJ: What’s left without that? (ie what value are the CDs without a signature to personalise them?)
RF: The music.
YEJ: But I know you.
RF: You don’t know me at all.
DGM visitors, foaming at the fingers as rightful condemnations are about to fly through the e-ether to the Guestbook, please note: the right to comment on the effects of autography is conferred upon those who have themselves acquired this right by giving-away at least 10,000 autographs; and those who have given-away 30,000+ autographs have additional rights of commentary. But those who have only acquired autographs, ie autograph hunters, have not paid the price of admission to that discussion.
Setting off c.21.25, arriving here in Chiz 30 minutes later.
The Minx called from Blackpool. She will be here tomorrow for our meeting with Artist Advocate Andy.
