Poster by Tadanori Yokoo for The Trip (1967).
• Post of the week is this long-overdue introduction by Warren Hatter to the French rock and electronic music of the 1970s and 80s, a variety of Continental culture which has never commanded the same level of interest in the Anglophone world as its German equivalent. The music made in Germany in the 1970s became popular in Britain thanks to record labels UA and Virgin, and support from enthusiasts like John Peel, but the label “Krautrock” demonstrates how even a favourable form could be promoted in a manner not much better than a tabloid slur. French underground music, as Hatter notes, was never recognised enough to be explicitly labelled although the term “Eurorock” was common for a while in the UK music press, useful for avoiding the slurs while also ignoring national boundaries. Now that German music of the period has been thoroughly explored, resurrected and plundered, more attention may be given to the musicians across la Manche.
Related: Eurock, the long-running distributor/publisher/website/podcast; David Elliott’s Neumusik fanzine, 1979–82; Richard Pinhas: Electronique Guerilla – A Profile by Tony Mitchell; and (linked here before) a Discogs list, French Underground Rock—1967/1980.
• More music: The Flower Called Nowhere, a previously unreleased instrumental version by Stereolab, and Midsummer’s Queen by Meadowsilver.
• Hard Time for the Hardcore: Nick Pinkerton on the pleasure of long feature films, and a decent article once you’re past the stupid sub-heading.
• Coming soon from Strange Attractor Press: Bass, Mids, Tops, An Oral History of Sound System Culture by Joe Muggs & Brian David Stevens.
• Anthony Quinn reviews It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track, Ian Penman’s collection of music essays.
• Bajo el Sigo de Libra on the art of Touko Valio Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland.
• Territory of Dreams: Becca Rothfeld on the world of Bruno Schulz.
• Mix of the week: XLR8R Podcast 601 by Sa Pa.
• RIP Richard Williams, master animator.
• A trailer for The Trip. RIP Peter Fonda.
• The Trip (1966) by Donovan | Trippin’ Out (1967) by Something Wild | The Trip (1968) by Park Avenue Playground
Just out of curiosity, who would you consider to be your favourite writer(s) of all time? I waver between Bruno Schulz, or Borges, with Angela Carter, Machen, Poe, as well as Lovecraft, Bill Burroughs, and Cormac McCarthy making the cut.
I think the tag list at the foot of this page is a reasonable guide to my tastes although some people are prominent for other reasons, and a few aren’t prominent at all. I return to Borges’s writings continually although he doesn’t satisfy if it’s novels that you want to read. On the novels side, Cormac McCarthy is my favourite living author. I’ve read all his novels, and re-read some of them several times. I dislike picking favourites because any form of art has multiple things you like for different reasons. Selecting a few will always omit others.
By the way (apologies for the persistent inquiries), I notice that you might be on an Angela Carter kick. My Carter period was early last year, and, although I think either NIGHTS AT THE CIRCUS or THE BLOODY CHAMBER are her true masterpieces, THE INFERNAL DESIRE MACHINES OF DOCTOR HOFFMAN might be my personal favourite; it’s as though Jodorowsky and Herzog collaborated on a film together whilst under the possession of Sade, Schulz, Swift, and the Surrealists. If you are reading it for the first time, Mr. Coulthart, then you are in for a rich and decadent treat.
Yes, it’s a first reading for Doctor Hoffman, it’s been sat waiting to be read for a while now. I recently finished ploughing through 1300 pages of Lawrence Durrell so was in the mood for something shorter and closer to my perennial tastes.