Its true that Gang of Four had been and gone before I was around… now that’s not much of statement because so had The Beatles, the Clash and Elvis… but for a band who’s sound so defines the end of a decade, my decade, these guys totally past me by. I’ll try a little comparison by way of introduction to anyone else in the dark: Gang of Four are a post-punk group that sound somewhere between DEVO and The Specials, their material is political and somewhat dated but they sound great on the albums I’ve found online. The only track I recognised was ‘Natural’s Not It’ as used in the film (I think it was actually the trailer) “Marie Antoinette”- brilliant song, go find it!

On Friday Editor of The Leither (check out the fancy new website at leithermagazine.com) and myself trundled up to the Picture House on Lothian Road. Read On »

I caught up with Garrison Keillor outside the Filmhouse, minutes after completely failing to pitch any of my prepared questions during a Q+A that followed a special screening of A Prairie Home Companion. The film, directed by Robert Altman, written and starring 67-year-old Keillor, is the semi-fictional story of his old-time variety radio show, which I’ve been a fan of for years. Not to belittle the man’s achievements – which include a dozen novels, poetry, 35 years of radio, countless newspaper columns – but Keillor has one of the great American voices I’m sure you’d recognise. His literary tone is similarly baritonic; deep, soulful, vaguely satirical tales of a fictional Mid Western hometown called Lake Wobegone.

“Oh, it’s you?” came the sagacious lilt – understand Keillor does not speak, rather he spreads his voice over conversation like ketchup – I responded with something original like “hello Garrison,” and produced something for him to scribble on. After some initial star-struck, weather related, prattle, I got to some questions. He graciously responded as we ambled in the direction of Princes Street.

“I read your piece in the Chicago Tribune about bloggers being writers who’ve been liberated from editors.” I explained my worried interpretation; that writing sans-editor has only led to an increase in misappropriated sound-bites, that it’s become too easy to blog a half-baked non fact-checked story. “It’s not easy enough…” he answered, now jaywalking across Lothian Road, he regards bloggers as wholesale memoirists. “The internet is great for that… you can read the source material for yourself, the web is going to be a wonderful archive”.

“That’s what Obama really gets,” he added. But was it Barack Obama or rather his team who really ‘got’ the idea of exploiting blogs and social networks – comprehensively connecting their message with my generation. “Have you spoken to the President about this?” Keillor replied that it was an interesting question and although they hadn’t met they had talked.

I then asked a pretty dumb question, “are the real American’s back in power?” Following that by wondering if a character from Keillor’s film, a scripture guided Texan played by Tommy Lee Jones was a veiled parody of George Bush. He paused for his trademark genial sigh and replied thoughtfully, “I think George Bush is a real American,” a truly Democratic answer, “…America is a complicated country.”

He asked where I was from and what brought me to Edinburgh, we talked about heritage for a bit; he thought it odd that the Glaswegian accent was so incomprehensible to him despite being the grandson of a Glaswegian. Raised in the countryside ,like myself, Keillor (now staring up at the castle from a dismembered/tramlocked Princes Street) told me he was defiantly “a city guy” he asked me what I made of it. Humble and generous, he’s an uncannily easygoing idol to chat with.

I jokingly asked if he was still haunted by his small town upbringing, which imparted many of the wry, parochial, anxieties that I found so bitterly familiar in books like Lake Wobegone Days, where he writes:

I’ve been taught the fear of becoming lost, which has killed the pleasure of curiosity and discovery. In strange cities, I memorise streets and always know exactly where I am. Amid scenes of great splendor, I review the route back to the hotel.

He smiled, recalling the passage, “No, I’m over that -I’m looking for adventure.” I asked who was guiding this newfound adventurous lifestyle; his instant response was, “Why, I am.”

At this, our paths diverged; he had signed my book ‘good for you’, which as platitudes go, is a pretty a good on but his sign off from the show A Writer’s Almanac is a little more fitting: ‘be well, do good work, and keep in touch’. I intend to.

Although about as technologically gifted as a gorilla’s bum, The Leither (a local magazine I occasionally contribute to- if only in loud hand gestures and stilted opinions) has signed up to Twitter this month. This is a piece I wrote to celebrate this move. Although technologically akin to turning up late to a student party with three empty bottles of blue nun in a ragged paper bag we’re tweeting…

twitter is the latest online service to be hyped to such a lofty a lofty degree, in a rash of himalayic superlatives, that you could be forgiven for thinking it offers a cure to swine flu, a solution to toxic debt, or the answer to life’s persistent questions. it does not.

twitter (once you’ve signed up at twitter.com) lets you share a few choice words with friends. think: “anyone fancy a film tonight?” don’t think:
“anyone fancy a beer with the editor?” your message is limited to no more than 140 characters known as a ‘tweet’.
tweets can be trivial “i’m at the beach, mmh Seafeild”, or it could be a link to an article you’re reading, a photo of your new puppy. simple stuff you’d like to share. once logged in you can find and add friends near and far (you can choose to ‘follow’ bands, there’s a few celebrities on there… @BarackObama) their tweets will appear on your homepage where you can reply to messages or just keep an eye on what’s happening. friends can choose to follow you by searching your name or through invitation. by connecting with these other twitter users you create a global conversation, accessed easily through your phone, IM, mobile browser, or old- fashioned web. at home at work at play.
Read On »

There’s a story I once heard about Thom Yorke’s hard-working conscious getting the better of him which I think may account for the ‘Bauer Iron Erectors’ hoody he chose to wear in Radiohead’s “Scotch Mist” special new-years’ recording (Watch via YouTube). I was hoping to get the Google Whack on this one… but someone raised questions about Yorke’s blue-hooded fashion statement in this forum, nevertheless that odd company title emblazoned apon the Yorke-sters back in that video has been bugging me for a good while.

Who are ‘Bauer Iron Erectors’?

Last year, as the story goes, Thom Yorke grew tired of his unbarred creative lifestyle– it was all too ‘easy’. Getting up whatever time in the morning / early afternoon (he looks like a late riser?), skipping breakfast on occasion (going straight to the veg drawer no doubt –like some kind of cazy-talented wonky-eyed bunny), scribbling down musical notation here and there, bashing out a rare solo project in between un-hectic schedules comprised of saving the world, editing Radio 4’s Today programme and being frightened of cars… fatigued by his contentment he reached out to a friend who ran a construction site.

For two weeks last year Thom Yorke worked as a construction labourer on-site somewhere in Oxfordshire (sorry, Yell.com couldn’t help me become more specific). Who knows what he got up to, consider the lyrics of ‘In Rainbows’ – perhaps we can find some clues:

Thom the: Architectural Office Assistant

So don’t get any big ideas
they’re not going to happen
You’ll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking

… here Thom complains about an over-baring boss, dashing his plans he wants to kill the stuffy closed-minded architect by drowning them in their own filth. obviously.
(disclaimer: i am not talking about anyone i know… honest)

Thom the: Lighting Engineer

I am a moth
who just wants to share your light
I’m just an insect
trying to get out of the night

…with zoophilia (here imagining he IS the moth, Lighting-Engineer-Yorke alludes to his decision to install low beam lighting in-doors which do not attract the proverbial moth to the flame… he may have also installed bright outside lighting for his insect friends, allowing both humans and metaturnal animals to enjoy Edison’s invention without interference. aww

Thom the: Ironic Site Manager

Jigsaws falling into place
There is nothing to explain

… here he pokes an irreverent finger at day-to-day planning issues, scope-creep and the ongoing increase in basic material costs- although he couldn’t put it into so many words when it came to discuss the problems with his client.

Thom the: Recycling Guy (who said tenuous?)

Squeeze the tubes and empty bottles
and take a bow, take a bow, take a bow

… i think Yorke did particularly well at this job- he seems to have got compression down to a t, in-fact the lyrics to Faust ARP suggest he won an award which was presented on stage at some by-weekly construction related ceremony.

Thom the: fella about to throw the towel in on his construction site job

The walls abandon shape

… things didn’t go well on this project. apparently this was all captured on CCTV camera’s by Yorke’s boss- who had the grin of a feline.

Thom Yorke, back the in the real world (or at least the anecdotal one) did throw the towel in, after two weeks. Its a tough job smashing things up… apparently. I can’t imagine it did much for morale having a guy working on site who once wrote “I’ll build you up to pull you down”.

Bauer Iron Erectors may well have been the company he worked with last summer. I doubt it, they aren’t listed online and searching for Iron Erectors in Oxfordshire is a simple task; there’s only 2 competing companies. I think the company is fictitious- perhaps the made-up name Yorke gives to himself when he plays in his back garden… sitting on one of those pedal-JCBs *brumm brumming* like a loon, he hauls piles of staples from one edge of the patio to the other, on occasion he creates a tower- only to tear it down seconds later, that’s when he’s not caring for moths who are scared of the dark.

It only hit me today, how bloody-brilliant the ablum ‘In Rainbows’ is. Watch their performance video Scotch Mist for a sample, you’ll see that Blue hoody 10mins in.

recently i helped out on the photography side of things for the Leither magazine. in this month’s issue you can see my snaps from the Leith Festival, a traditional / eclectic week of music, dance, arts and culture with its heart and soul in the east of edinburgh. photos here. felt like a successful event– the free food and drink resulting in what felt like longest hangover of my life was very much worth while. incredible group of passionate well-meaning folk running the festival which can only grow and grow. and i’m sticking around to see what happens, that week and the characters i encountered confirmed that leith is the place where i want to be, i’m staying-put in my current flat even planning a trip to ikea too. how sad.

So, the photos from Leith Festival are here and i’ve changed my email address too, add @gmail.com to callumalden. If you fancy any of those shots contact me or The Leither Magazine.