A local dispute on the planet Mars. Art by Kevin O’Neill from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
• “…this image has puzzled enthusiasts of the scientific mystic’s works, both for its obscure provenance and cryptic symbolism. With its pastiche of Renaissance visual style and medieval caption — “A missionary of the Middle Ages tells that he had found the point where the sky and the Earth touch” — the illustration was once thought to have originated centuries before Flammarion published his text.” Hunter Dukes on the enduring mystery of the “Flammarion Engraving”.
• “For Spare, radio, and the waves that carried the music he loved to listen to, were more than just a metaphor for the spirit world. They were an active mode of conveyance for occult energies and vibrations – the swirling, ectoplasmic tendrils from which odd figures emerge in some of his most dense and haunting work.” Mark Pilkington explores Austin Osman Spare’s influence on the world of music.
• At Spine: Design studio Milk & Bone’s designer Alicia Raitt re-imagines all 14 of Kurt Vonnegut’s book covers to celebrate his 100th birthday.
• Farewell to Kevin O’Neill and Nik Turner, both of whom headed to the Western Lands this week.
• Mean, moody and magnificent: film noir studio portraits – in pictures.
• Mix of the week: XLR8R Podcast 773 by Roméo Poirier.
• New music: Evergreen by Patrick Shiroishi.
• Brainstorm (1972) by Hawkwind | Hurricane Fighter Plane (1985) by Inner City Unit | Brainstorm (1993) by Monster Magnet
Leslie Phillips, Keith Levine, Kevin O’Neill and Nik Turner all in one week?
That’s pretty harsh…
Yeah, and Mimi Parker from Low. I’ve never listened to them very much but I appreciate the enthusiasm people have for them.
That’s an amusing cover of “Hurricane Fighter Plane”, one of my favourites. I remember when I finally tracked down a copy of “The Parable Of Arable Land” in a collector’s shop in Bayswater; the owner was glad to part with it saying that it was one of the worst L.P.s he’d ever heard (still wasn’t cheap though). Even now, I use the initial “Free-form Freakout” as the ring tone for my phone. Mayo Thompson’s first solo album: “Corky’s Debt To His Father” is good too and surprisingly McCartneyesque. Have you heard Nik’s other garage-punk covers project “Ersatz” by The Imperial Pompadours?
Ha, there can’t be many Familiar Ugly ringtones out there! I used to have Captain Beefheart reciting the first few lines from Golden Birdies on my answering machine. Some people enjoyed that.
I heard most of Turner’s immediate post-Hawkwind things but only owned the Sphynx album and the first few ICU records. I saw the latter play on many occasions. They enjoyed doing cover versions although I’d forgotten all about the psych EP until I went looking through their discography. The Imperial Pompadours was a Barney Bubbles project which makes it extra special. Also surprisingly close to The Cramps in attitude and choice of songs.