A double bed
And a stalwart lover, for sure
These are the riches of the poor

En läsovana jag alltjämt håller mig med sedan läsningens hödagar är att jag gillar att hålla på i flera olika böcker & skrifter samtidigt. Precis som med musik känner man för olika typer av litteratur vid olika tillfällen, och utifrån det väljer man den lektyr som passar humör & stämning bäst. En direkt konsekvens av denna ovana är att det skapas en läshög med de böcker & tidningar man för närvarande håller på med (& de som står närmast i tur).

Så anländer vi då till inläggets kärna, fotot på den aktuella läshögen:

I högen just nu:

Home, Draw or Away: Bland vinnare & förlorare i fotbollens hemland
Antalogi med olika artiklar ifrån tidningen Offside. Man fick den på köpet av Svenska Spel om man tippade för över en hundring för ett tag sedan.

Status: Hoppar mellan artiklarna i intresseordning. Hittills har Anders Limpar, Terry Gordon & Exeter City avverkats.

***

Skövde stadsplanering & bebyggelse 1760-1960
Titeln säger väl allt? Vill man nörda i lokalhistoria, lokal arkitektur & originaltankarna bakom de olika stadsdelarna är det här en rekommenderad början.

Status: Hoppar mellan stadsdelarna efter intresse. Naturligtvis inmundigades Norrmalm först av alla. En detalj jag gillar med denna bok är att man med behållning kan måfå-läsa den, dvs slumpmässigt slå upp en sida & hitta något som fångar intresset.

***

Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR 1949-1989
Har här tidigare nämnt gamla DDR som ett av mina specialintressen. En gång i tiden en socialistisk mönsterstat & världens 13:e största ekonomi. Det här är Mary Fulbrooks försök till en objektiv resumé utan att ta väst- eller östsympatier.

Status: Har bara kommit två kapitel in i den. Den här är inte en bok man vill slöläsa utan det är en sådan som är allra bäst när man orkar koncentrera sig & verkligen vill suga in den.

***

Football Talk:The Language & Folklore of the World’s Greatest Game
Bland annat om fotbollstermers & -metaforers etymologi. Av Peter Seddon.

Status: Har något otroligt svårt för människor som oavbrutet kallar fotboll för the world’s greatest game. HELA tiden (Vi fattar! OK?). Ändock har jag, tack vare själva hårdstoffet, trängt in en fjärdedel i den här så här långt.

***

The Soul Stylists: Six Decades of Modernism – from Mods to Casuals
Av Paolo Hewitt (med förord av Paul Weller) om de subkulturer som intresserar mig allra mest.

Status: Trots att jag har varit grymt sugen på den här sedan den kom i början av milleniet så inhandlades den först i somras. Påbörjades häromdagen & Londons jazzmodernister har precis avverkats.

***

Berlin över & under jorden: Alfred Grenander, tunnelbanan & metropolens kultur

Arkitekturhistorisk antalogi som handlar om modernisten & Skövdesonen Alfred Grenanders verk. I princip okänd i Sverige men apstor i Tyskland där han gjort sig ett namn bl.a. genom sitt arbete med Berlins tunnelbanevärld. Lär även ha inspirerat Charles Holden till formen vid byggandet av Piccadilly Line-stationerna i Londons t-nät.

Status: Ej påbörjad, men kan inte låta bli att med jämna mellanrum tjuvbläddra & kolla på bilderna, vilket givetvis medför små brottstycken av läsning.

***

Narrative Theory & the Cognitive Sciences
Antalogi. Om berättelsers struktur & hur de påverkar tänkandet.

Status: Ej påbörjad. Ser fram emot att införliva bokens innehåll & ser vad som styrker mina egna teorier med- & mothårs.

Jag är fortfarande helt övertygad om att det hos människan finns en medfödd narrativ struktur med inneboende kausal funktionalitet som vi automatiskt ordnar kunskap efter. Alltså en direkt & medfödd förmåga som suger upp specifik information (temporal & spatial info, situationsagenter & vilka orsak-verkansamband sampelet dem emellan ger), istället för en massa separata processer.

Naturen är det mest ekonomiska system som finns, & kognitiv balans i oändlig komplexitet bör förutsätta ett perception- & minnessystem efter en enkel, direkt & effektiv grundorganisation som skapar information. Jag kan orera fram & tillbaka om det här i timmar. Det som är kul är att det de senaste åren äntligen börjar dyka upp litteratur som rör sig i gränslandet till detta.

***

DDR Design
Bilderbok med produkter & förpackningar ifrån DDR.

Status: Klar & jag noterar därmed att den genast bör avlägsnas ifrån läshögen.

***

Rockabilly: En bok om de sista romantikerna.
Mer subkulturellt av Josefin Ekman.

Status: Ej påbörjad. Jag gillar inte rockabilly, men jag gillar rockabillies & hyser stor respekt för dem. Där finns lojalitet, nörderi, stilrenhet & fetischism.

***

Världens bästa pappa?
Papperier av Ylva Elvin-Nowak med undertiteln: Om mäns relationer & strävan efter att göra rätt.

Status: Ej påbörjad.

***

Morrissey & The Smiths
Ett specialutgivet magasin av tidningen Mojo.

Status: Läst klart ytligt, men ordentligt genomläst ca 50%. Jag trodde jag visste det mesta redan, men här finns faktiskt små guldkorn & magasinet är faktiskt en bra sammanställning över Moz, The Smiths & post-Smiths.

***

Tromb, no 0
Magasin, om media.

Status: Läser bara de artiklar som intresserar mig särkilt. Till exempel om ägarförhållanden inom media, om pressintegritet, om presstöd, om hype. Har någon enstaka artikel kvar.

***

This is a distinctly teen movie, but subtly different from many of its contemporaries in that the humor is not engrained in the grossness of teen humor (fart and poopie jokes), but breezier, in line with its more “adult” romantic comedy mates. In that sense, then seemed to be the heir apparent to Zach Braff’s Garden State in its attempt to be smart and subtle, funny yet poignant; I also first considered the trace would go back to Sixteen Candles.

But upon further review, Nick and Norah seem to channel a bit of the 1983 “classic” Valley Girl. The similarities include two characters from different worlds, both with romantic baggage, both trying to “stretch” beyond their normal parameters to find happiness. (Come to think of it, Pretty in Pink would also play into this … and a bunch of others I’m forgetting.)

In that sense, then, I guess the state of the teen romantic comedy is still ticking ... though it is more sophisticated, more adult-oriented than in the past. I wonder how "true to life" the relational aspects of the movie are to the teens watching the movie.

Here’s a bit more of what struck me:

• The movie seemed to stuff as many different disparate statements into it as it could. The bit about Judaism in Electric Lady Studios seemed a bit forced.
• The “normalization” of the three homosexual characters was interesting and a sophisticated departure from the normal homosexual stereotypes.
• The back-handed confrontation to teen sexual intercourse, while trying to walk the line of abstinence, seems notable. Plus, the importance placed on female orgasms was a bit interesting, though a bit overblown.
• Michael Cera is pretty much solidifying the George Michael Bluth character that turned heads in Arrested Development.
• And, perhaps most importantly, cool, hip indie music. I appreciated the two back-handed nods to 80s icons The Cure (Nick’s ringtone) and The Smiths (as interpreted by Modest Mouse).

fav records in the bunch:

have heart - songs to scream at the sun, i really love the cover layout for this record, sweet photography.

the smiths - how soon is now 12" single - fav song now i finally have the single!

blacklisted - the beat goes on "last show edition" this is probably the rarest and most limited blacklisted record next to a test press.

saves the day - cant slow down, ok so this is just a copy on black but im happy to finally have one of my favourite all time records on vinyl.

not pictured, i picked up youth of today - break down the walls on wishing well records from laforge and that is def a staple for any straight edge kid's record collection, happy to add it.

Stay tuned.

sP

Pero visitando el tumblr de Suicide Blonde (imprescindible) he descubierto algo que me ha sorprendido por desconocimiento: la portada está basada en una foto real, la de Maureen Hindley acompañada por su marido David Smith instantes antes de entrar en el juicio de Myra Hindley, su hermana mayor y sanguinaria asesina.

La historia es la de unos asesinatos en serie que conmovieron Manchester en la época de los 60. Myra Hindley e Ian Brady se conocieron mientras trabajaban en una fábrica en 196. Como suele ser en estos casos, se miraron a los ojos y en el fondo de aquella mirada se reconocieron en el reflejo de su propia un alma podrida, así que decidieron hacerse felices mutuamente y de paso, convertir en un infierno el final de las vidas de unos cuantos chavales. En concreto 5 adolescentes que fueron torturados, violados y vejados hasta acabar enterrados en Saddleworth Moor.

El último de ellos fue Edward Evans, de 17 años, que murió a hachazos a manos de Brady. La encantadora pareja había invitado a la fiesta al marido de Maureen, David, un joven de 18 años que observó aterrorizado la escena y en estado de shock ayudó a Myra e Ian a limpiar los restos de la carnicería adolescente. Después, corrió a su casa y le contó a Maureen lo que había pasado. Ésta llamó a la policía y puso fin a la cadena de asesinatos.

Los asesinos fueron condenados a cadena perpétua y Maureen murió a los 34 años a causa de un derrame cerebral.

Entre la numerosa información encontrada en la Red acerca de la familia, destaca:

• La tumba de Maureen, que puede verse en la página web Find a Grave, dónde puedes encontrar y ver las tumbas de personajes famosos/célebres.
• Raymond Pettibon hizo un comic con la historia y de ahí salió la portada de los Sonic Youth.
• La canción "Suffer Little Children" de los Smiths (ver vídeo al final del post) está basada en estos macabros acontecimientos.
• Cuando Myra e Ian se conocieron, ella no tenía esa pinta, sino que él la moldeó a su gusto haciendo que se tiñera de rubio y se comprara minifaldas. Una mente cruel.
• Maureen volvió a casarse y vivió relativamente feliz sus últimos años de vida, con su marido y su hija, hasta que murió repentinamente.

The Morrissey fan website True To You has posted word that he will be playing in NZ and Australia early next year.  Could it be that he will be added onto the BDO or ATP lineups?  My first thought was that he would be perfect for the V Festival but that doesn't hit our shores until March.

True To You posted – “Morrissey will play his first concerts of 2009 in New Zealand. January shows are booked in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin. From here, Morrissey will travel to Australia where concerts are booked in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide”.

was macht man eigentlich, wenn einen die div. Hartz4 Sendungen im Fernsehen langweilen und MTV schon lange nicht mehr das spielt was man gerne hören möchte ?

Man baut sich seinen eigenen kleinen TV Kanal und sendet ihn auf MySpace.

Das macht Spaß und man kann sich sein eigenes Liedchen pfeifen ...

Probiert es ... Nick Nitro

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before, but Morrissey hasn't always been regarded as one of England's national treasures.
Back in the early '90s, he was hated by the music press. The post-Smiths backlash started when Mozzer released his 'difficult' second album, Kill Uncle, and spiralled out of control when he flirted with right wing imagery for the follow-up, Your Arsenal.
OK, so we admit that waving a Union Jack around is a bit dodgy, but how can you criticise Mozzer for making Kill Uncle - one of his most enjoyable and diverse records. Funny, sad, moving and controversial, it's everything a Morrissey album should be.

The closing sombre ballad, There's A Place In Hell For Me and My Friends, could well be Stephen Patrick's finest solo moment. Backed by a piano arrangement that's worthy of any state funeral, Mozzer ponders the afterlife. Honestly, when the drums kick in, it'll make your quiff wilt.
Clocking in at a paltry 33 minutes, Kill Uncle is Morrissey's shortest album. On its release in 1991, it was accused of being lightweight, but compared to some of Mozzer's later efforts (the experimental Southpaw Grammar and the patchy Maladjusted), it's a delicious, quirky pop treat.

Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness and Elvis Costello) - Morrissey had severed his alliance with Stephen Street - it includes rockabilly (Sing Your Life), raga-violin (Asian Rut and Our Frank), Roxy Music keyboards (Mute Witness) and strange music hall accompaniment (The Harsh Truth Of The Camera Eye).
It's not just the music that's wildly eclectic - Morrissey also creates a weird and wonderful array of characters including a deaf and dumb thalidomide victim and 'a tooled up Asian boy' who's out to avenge the murder of his best friend. Corrie scripwriters take note.

One of the highlights, the guitar-heavy rocker, Found, Found, Found is rumoured to be about Mozzer's friendship with Michael Stipe.
For Kill Uncle, Morrissey teamed up with two new songwriting partners - Clive Langer and Fairground Attraction's Mark E Nevin. The end result was a varied album that never failed to surprise - a long-lost Mozzer classic.
Cherish it like your favourite, er, uncle.

Morrissey - Kill Uncle 1991 (EMI)

In with a shot (aimed at its own head) at number 5, The Smiths' "I Know It's Over"!

How could this NOT be in a list of depressing, lovelorn songs? Depressing and lovelorn lyrics is what The Smiths do best; Morrissey could patent the art of sounding like he's spent the evening crying and writing poetry about a lost lover in his room. (Fuck, he even referenced it himself in "Ask" - "Writing frightening verse/To a bucktoothed girl in Luxembourg" - he wins for sheer audacity alone.) Even the name signifies that this is NOT a happy song. The title signifies misery and loathing and all the other fun stuff, and the lyrics could make the most hardened nasty bastard ever feel a slight pang of sympathy, even AFTER he realised that the bloke who wrote them used to gad around wearing a hearing aid with flowers sticking out his arse.
Crowning moment of misery: Oh, the whole fucking song. Like I said, nobody does misery better than The Smiths. Rumour has it that the first successful SSRI antidepressant, Prozac, was developed to counteract their influence. Not really.

Freezing it up at number 4, Porcupine Tree's "Russia On Ice"!

Steven Wilson (from hereonin called "Stevie" because it's funny) excelled himself with this four hundred year long prog rock opus, about drinking yourself silly and calling up your ex and feeling bad. Personally I think it's miserable because the poor twat is drinking neat vodka - who the FUCK drinks neat vodka? If you're going to do shots of something, do whisky, or mix selfsame with coke or ginger ale and drink it down. Vodka just tastes like shit, which emphasises the misery - since being left, he's been so penniless he's had to buy Sainsbury's Basics Vodka, whereas previously he had delicious Maker's Mark bourbon. There's also some stuff about a failed relationship in there, and some suitably dramatic strings. But yeah, the alcohol's the main bit.
Crowning moment of misery: The string crescendo at the beginning of the second chorus. You can almost feel the now-alcoholic Stevie bursting into tears and soiling himself. Well, not the latter bit, anyway. I hope.

Fuck me! Number 3's Godley and Creme's "Cry"!

Now this is proper depressing shit, right here. It's so depressing they didn't even bother writing anything except a single verse, thinking that would put the underlying sense of desolation across well enough. The song is even named "Cry", and it's about crying and tears and cheating and lies. You can tell because those four words make up pretty much the whole song. You know how you can make any Dragonforce song ever by simply strumming random chords and shouting the words FIRE, FREE, FLAMES and FREEDOM over and over again really really fast? Godley and Creme WENT FORWARD IN FUCKING TIME and stole that approach for "Cry", being magical time travelling rock warriors and all. Don't watch the video though, because Godley's got a really friendly looking face, like Bob Ross, and Creme looks like someone took Paul McCartney and spliced him with Roger Waters, which totally spoils the effect. Extra bonus points for being produced by J.J. Jeczalik of Art Of Noise, who I presume wore one of those frowny AON masks throughout the entire mixing process. You know, sort of like in this picture.
Crowning moment of misery: Hearing it in GTA4 and driving through Liberty City really slowly in the rain. It was MADE for this shit.

Locked in a padded cell at number 2, Pink Floyd with "The Final Cut"!

Pink Floyd's album The Final Cut was much maligned, with some saying bassist and vocalist Roger Waters was locking everyone out of the recording process and trying to be the leader of the band. But, in this song, we can forgive him, because now, we feel his deep pain. Roger Waters is sad and alone and he wants us all to know. He wants us to share in his unhappiness, and talk to him; just once, just so he can feel a connection to another person. He wants to show you his "dark side" and hopes you won't "send [him] packing". He wants to tell you what it's like seeing "through the fish eyed lens of tear stained eyes" (his loneliness is so epically huge that his eyes are actually STAINED WITH TEARS. That's dedication, right there.) He wonders aloud, "Could anybody love him, or is it just a crazy dream?". The answer, sadly, is no. But before leaving Pink Floyd, he could be happy, save in the knowledge that he's written and sung one of the most depressing dirges ever made. The song even ends with an attempted suicide. HARDCORE.
Crowning moment of misery: Occurred about 2 years after the release of the song, when Waters went from writing decent lyrics to making Radio KAOS, an album that makes no sense whatsoever and at any rate isn't very good. But that's another blog post, for another time. Basically, I'd have preferred he actually did slit his wrists than write that turd.

POW! That's the sound of Radiohead shooting themselves (with music!) at number 1 with "All I Need"!

"Quelle surprise!" some might say to Radiohead being named as depressive. But, really, I wouldn't class a lot of their music as "depressing" - thoughtful, maybe, pessimistic, perhaps, but depressing? Nah. All I Need, however, takes the piss. In Rainbows features numerous examples of Thom Yorke changing his focus from slagging off consumerism and war, and instead he now wants to tell us all about failed and strained relationships - "House of Cards" does the same thing, but it's nowhere near as depression-tastic as "All I Need". Obsessive, unrequited love? Check. Repeated allegories to actual physical suffering? Check. He even comes right out and says "I only stick with you because there are no others", which on the loneliness and depression scale zooms right up to the top, above even my Facebook statuses after I've drunk too much "Scottish lemonade". Its only problem - its Achilles' heel, if you like - is that the opening drumbeat sounds a little bit like "Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z, and once you've decided that it sounds like "Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z, you're going to forever associate the song with little kids singing with a rapper, which is perhaps not what Thom Yorke intended. Oh well. It still thoroughly deserves its place at No. 1, for being an extremely depressing and lovelorn song on an album chock full of depressing, lovelorn songs. Well done, Radiohead. Don't do it again.
Crowning moment of misery: The bit at the end where Thom starts shouting and wailing and SCREAMING because he's so VERY VERY SAD AND JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED. Can you do that, Morrissey? No, you fucking can't.

(Apologies to David Rees for almost entirely nicking his style. It's a homage, dude.)

Throw your homework onto the fire
Come out and find the one that you love
Come out and find the one you love

The Smiths: How Soon is Now?

“A jumped up pantry boy
Who never knew his place
He said "return the ring"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things

I would go out tonight
But I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "It's gruesome that someone so handsome should care"
Na, na-na, na-na, na-na, this charming man ...
Na, na-na, na-na, na-na, this charming man ...”

[The Charming Man – The Smiths]

Indie philosophy linked a community that socially identifies around a music for more than 20 years. As Wendy Fonarow describes in her wonderful book “Empire of Dirt – The Aesthetics and Rituals of British Indie Music” it is a proper british phenomenon, radicate and influencing society beyond music and up to fashion, design and journalism.

“Existence is only a game
And I'm, Not sorry for, For the things I've done
And I'm, Not looking for, Just anyone

And I'm, Not sorry for, For the things I've said
There's a wild man in my head, There's a wild man In my head”

[I’m Not Sorry – Morrissey]

Morrissey since he appeared on Top of the Pop with a bunch of gladioli singing This Charming Man obtained a godlike status within UK. As any God, he speaks his Word and the words he uses are always so effective to storm debates that question the inner nature of being British. A country split between worshippers and people who cannot stand him.

“Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said I'd like to smash every tooth
In your head

Oh ... sweetness, sweetness, I was only joking
When I said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed

And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt
As the flames rose to her roman nose
And her Walkman started to melt

Bigmouth strikes again
And I've got no right to take my place
With the Human race”

[Bigmouth Strikes Again – The Smiths]

He synthesized in 4 lines the indie manifesto. Before Panic we were looking for a holy grail, after we found it. A music about emotions, against technique and show-off, a music that speaks about us.

"Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life"

[Panic - The Smiths]

We have our clubs and our nights, we are beautifully lonely in our own depressions

“Take me out tonight
Where there’s music and there’s people
And they’re young and alive
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven’t got one
Anymore

And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine

…

Oh, there is a light and it never goes out"

[There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths]

“There's a club, if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go, and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home, and you cry
And you want to die

…

You shut your mouth
How can you say?
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does"

[How Soon is Now? - The Smiths]

I don't know who was the target when wrote Get Off the Stage song, but is reinforcing the point. The addressee must have stopped playing, since authenticity and credibility, the two key features of any independent artist (cit. Wendy Fonarow's book again) are missing.

“Oh, you silly old man
You silly old man
You're making a fool of yourself
So get off the stage

You silly old man
In your misguided trousers
With your mascara and your Fender guitar
And you think you can arouse us?

But the song that you just sang
It sounds exactly like the last one
And the next one
I bet you it will sound
Like this one"

[Get Off The Stage - Morrissey]

There is a never-ending struggle with England and the rest of the world, a sense of impatience and discomfort about places is recurring in the lyrics

“Oh ! Take me back to dear old Blighty,
Put me on the train for London Town,
Take me anywhere,
Drop me anywhere,
Liverpool, Leeds or Birmingham

…

Farewell to this land's cheerless marshes
Hemmed in like a boar between arches
Her very Lowness with a head in a sling
I'm truly sorry - but it sounds like a wonderful thing

I said Charles, don't you ever crave
To appear on the front of the Daily Mail
Dressed in your Mother's bridal veil ?
Oh ...
And so, I checked all the registered historical facts
And I was shocked into shame to discover
How I'm the 18th pale descendant
Of some old queen or other

Oh, has the world changed, or have I changed ?
Oh has the world changed, or have I changed ?

…

Past the Pub who saps your body
And the church who'll snatch your money
The Queen is dead, boys
And it's so lonely on a limb

…

Life is very long, when you're lonely"

[The Queen is Dead – The Smiths]

Few years living in LA and is America’s turn.

“America your head's too big, Because America, Your belly is too big.
And I love you, I just wish you'd stay where you belong

In America, The land of the free, they said, And of opportunity, In a just and a truthful way.
But where the president, is never black, female or gay, and until that day,
you've got nothing to say to me, to help me believe

In America, it brought you the hamburger. Well America you know where, you can shove your hamburger.
And don't you wonder, why in Estonia they say, hey you, you big fat pig

Steely blue eyes with no love in them, scan the World,
And a humourless smile, with no warmth within, greets the world.
And I, I have got nothing, to offer you
No-no-no-no-no, just this heart deep and true, which you say you don't need”

[America is not the World – Morrissey]

A farewell to California settled him in Rome, Rome? why Rome? Something I’d love to know, Is any hint hidden here?

“Pasolini is me
'Accattone' you'll be
I entered nothing and nothing entered me
'Til you came with the key
And you did your best but

As I live and breathe
You have killed me
You have killed me
Yes I walk around somehow
But you have killed me
You have killed me

Piazza Cavour, what's my life for?

Visconti is me
Magnani you'll never be
I entered nothing and nothing entered me
'Til you came with the key
And you did your best but

…

And there is no point saying this again
there is no point saying this again
But I forgive you, I forgive you
Always I do forgive you.”

[You have Killed Me – Morrissey]

Mancunian fans petitioned to close any butcher and burger shop if he moved back to his neighborood, he opted out for the Eternal city

"...and the flesh you so fancifully fry
Is not succulent, tasty or kind
Its death for no reason
And death for no reason is murder

And the calf that you carve with a smile
Is murder
And the turkey you festively slice
Is murder
Do you know how animals die ?

Kitchen aromas arent very homely
Its not comforting, cheery or kind
Its sizzling blood and the unholy stench of murder

Its not natural, normal or kind
The flesh you so fancifully fry
The meat in your mouth
As you savour the flavour of murder"

[Meat is Murder - The Smiths]

A big chapter. Beef eaters aren't Moz only target, he creates much more of a storm when he talks about his country. The ambiguous facets encountered in his lyrics, reinforced in interviews, have created several discussions that reached serious questions about his and English intolerance today. I can’t stand for him or against, because I can’t read the inner side of such lyrics, English is a tricky language when you are not English…

“No no no
he does not want to depress you
oh no no no no no
he only wants to impress you
Bengali in platform
she only wants to embrace your culture
and to be your friend forever
Bengali, Bengali
oh shelve your Western plans
and understand that life is hard enough when you belong here
A silver-studded rim that glistens
and an ankle-star that...blinds me
a lemon sole so very high
which only reminds me, to tell you
so I break the news gently
I break the news to you gently
"Shelve your plans"
Bengali, Bengali
its the touchy march of time
that blinds you
don't blame me
don't hate me
just because I'm the one to tell you
that life is hard enough when you belong here
life is hard enough when you belong here
shelve your western plans
life is hard enough when you belong here"

[Bengali in Platform – Morrissey]

The one that didn’t seem (to me) to leave much space to interpretation from the title to the chorus, apparently does

“David, the wind blows
The wind blows ...
Bits of your life away
Your friends all say ...
"Where is our boy ? Oh, we've lost our boy"
But they should know
Where you've gone
Because again and again you've explained that
You're going to ...

Oh, you're going to ...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
England for the English !
England for the English !

…

National, ah ...
To the National ..
There's a country; you don't live there
But one day you would like to
And if you show them what you're made of
Oh, then you might do ...

…

National
To the National
To the National Front Disco
Because you want the day to come sooner
You want the day to come sooner
When you've settled the score”

[National Front Disco - Morrissey]

To reignite the question a fight caught him, NME, the journalist Tom Jonze, the national press and some solicitors busy for weeks about a year ago…all was around an interview with few sentences “The gates of England are flooded. The country's been thrown away”. He denied and accused to be manipulated by NME, one thing is for sure, his thought about the music press was clear even eighteen year before

“Journalists who lie
Stealing the money
Prospering with spite
Hate-In-A-Hurry

They're only trying to make their name
By spreading Biz myth-lies
About the ones who've made their name
Stick in the knife
Stick in the knife

Journalists who lie
The truth is, it happens
Praise, then crucify
Just follow this pattern
And see how :

They're only trying to make their name
By spreading sickening lies
About the ones who've made their name
Mate, give us the knife
Give us the knife

Journalists who lie
So happy in malice
Rock star - out of line
So happy in malice
Oh ...

…

They're only trying to make their name
With unprovable lies
About the ones
Who've made their name

In the black hole
Of your soul
Still bargaining away the Truth
So easily
Truth

Journalists who lie
Stealing the money
Prospering with spite
And Hate-In-A-Hurry

Journalists who lie
The truth is, it happens
Praise, then crucify
Just follow this pattern

Journalists who lie
So sick and belaboured
They want to be favoured
They only want to be favoured"

[Journalists who Lie – Morrissey]

Journalists are in good company, the record industry was already an enemy at the times of The Smiths

“At the record company meeting
On their hands - a dead star
And oh, the plans they weave
And oh, the sickening greed

At the record company party
On their hands - a dead star
The sycophantic slags all say :
"I knew him first, and I knew him well"

Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra Track (and a tacky badge)

A-list, playlist
"Please them , please them !"
"Please them !"
(sadly, THIS was your life)

But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
You could have said no
If you'd wanted to

BPI, MTV, BBC
"Please them ! Please them !"
(sadly this was your life)

But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
You could have walked away
...Couldn't you ?

I touched you at the soundcheck
You had no real way of knowing
In my heart I begged "Take me with you ...
I don't care where you're going..."

But to you I was faceless
I was fawning, I was boring
Just a child from those ugly new houses
Who could never begin to know

Who could never really know
Oh ...

Best of ! Most of !
Satiate the need
Slip them into different sleeves !
Buy both, and feel deceived

Climber - new entry, re-entry
World tour ! ("media whore")
"Please the Press in Belgium !"
(THIS was your life...)

And when it fails to recoup ?
Well, maybe :
You just haven't earned it yet, baby

I walked a pace behind you at the soundcheck
You're just the same as I am
What makes most people feel happy
Leads us headlong into harm

So, in my bedroom in those 'ugly new houses'
I danced my legs down to the knees
But me and my 'true love'
Will never meet again ...

At the record company meeting
On their hands - at last ! - a dead star !
But they can never taint you in my eyes
No, they can never touch you now

No, they cannot hurt you, my darling
They cannot touch you now
But me and my 'true love'
Will never meet again”

[Paint a Vulgar Picture – The Smiths]

...which would be a bit more believable if an umpteenth greatest hits album wasn't out with its many editions and packagings available.
There is no other artist as Morrissey in UK and probably around the world, either you love or detest him, one thing he can claim, England and not only his music would have been different today if he hadn't appeared.

In the "difficult to believe" case you don’t know Morrissey songs you can listen some short sample here [myspace] browse his website [website] or find thousands of performances on [youtube].

dieser Song war für mich immer wie ein Echo auf Too much too young von den Specials. Dort heißt es in Richtung einer jungen Dame:

You done too much much too young
You're married with a kid when you could be having fun with me
(...)
You done too much much too young
Now you're chained to the kitchen making currant buns for tea

Morrissey spricht, surprise, suprise, eher den männlichen Part an, wenn er singt:

How can you stay with a fat girl who'll say :
"Oh ! Would you like to marry me ?
"And if you like you can buy the ring"
She doesn't care about anything

Hier besteht noch die Chance, dass die Mahnung gehört wird, bei den Specials ist es schon zu spät.

Angeblich soll Morrissey in dem Song seine - erwiderte oder unerwiderte - Verliebtheit in Billy MacKenzie verarbeitet haben. Billy war Sänger der schottischen Band The Associates, die 1981/82 eine kurze Phase des Ruhmes auf der Insel hatte, von einigen Kritikern noch heute hoch gelobt für die Singles vor den Charterfolgen und für das Album Sulk. Hier eine kleine Kostprobe, ein schmucker Junge.

"A sad fact widely known
The most impassionate song
To a lonely soul
Is so easily outgrown
But don't forget the songs
That made you smile
And the songs that made you cry
When you lay in awe
On the bedroom floor
And said : "Oh, oh, smother me Mother..."
No ...

Rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring (...)"

Rubber Ring, de The Smiths

La canción nos recuerda que "sí, ahora eres mayor y eres un canalla, pero ellas (las canciones), fueron las únicas que siempre estuvieron contigo". Ellas fueron nuestro salvavidas, y es justo recordar lo que hicieron por nosotros.

Situémonos en Manchester, Inglaterra, hacia 1976. Los Sex Pistols tocan en el Free Trade Hall delante de una audiencia compuesta por 42 personas. Como nos cuenta 24 hour party people, de Michael Winterbottom, ese concierto marcó un antes y un después en la escena musical de esa ciudad gris y industrial. Entre los presentes había nada más y nada menos que Tony Wilson, el presentador de Granada TV y creador de Factory Records; Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner (Joy Division y New Order), Morrissey, que más tarde formaría The Smiths con Johny Marr; el productor Martin Hannett, y Mick Hucknall de Simply Red. Nos volveremos a referir a este concierto cuando dediquemos una merecida entrada a Joy Division.

Pero hablemos de The Smiths que, por cierto, no aparece en la película de Winterbottom por problemas con los derechos de las canciones, pero que es una de las bandas más míticas que vio nacer esa ciudad. Su historia empieza en 1982 y termina en 1987 con su separación, tras la cual Morrissey y los demás miembros seguirán con carreras en solitario y otros proyectos.

The Smiths fue un grupo polémico por sus letras y actitud. Con un lenguaje claro y directo, Morrissey habla desde sí mismo y para los demás. Temas recurrentes como la adolescencia, la timidez o el amor facilitan una complicidad absoluta con quién escucha. También contribuyen a su fama sus provocadoras canciones en contra de Margaret Tatcher, la familia real, o la maravillosa 'Meat is Murder' a favor del vegetarianismo.

Pero lo verdaderamente valuoso para mí es esa idea que se desprende de que lo personal, lo que se encuentra dentro de los sentimientos, también es político. Todas las canciones están impregnadas de una crítica a la hipócrita sociedad inglesa de la época (que puede aplicarse por extensión a la mayor parte de la sociedad occidental bienestante y bienpensante hasta nuestros días), y a la moral religiosa. Son una llamada a vivir sin los límites impuestos, a ser uno mismo y a relacionarse con los demás libremente.

"And if the people stare
Then the people stare
Oh, I really don't know and I really don't care (...)"
Hand in Glove, Hatful of Hollow (1984)

They said:
"There's too much caffeine
In your blood stream
And a lack of real spice in your life"

En fin, a lo q vengo, hace poco menos de un mes q alguien (mocosita resuena en mi cabeza como golpe en un vidrio) me pasó un disco de una banda llamada "The Smiths", usualmente no le presto atención a lo q me pasa (NOOOOOO, por esto me va a caer, yo lo se), pero decidi leer sobre esta banda, y resulta q es una bandotototota de los '80 de "Indie Rock/Pop" y no se q otras etiquetas q no me interesan, sino la música, que al menos en este disco, es espectacular, hace ratos q no me enganchaba tan rápido con un disco (a excepción del Death Magnetic, digan lo q digan, q discazo).

The Queen Is Dead es un disco "rápido", dura como media hora, un poco más q un disco de Van Halen, pero es increíble, desde el inicio al final, cada canción tiene un no se qué, que es como sentarse a ver un paisaje sin poder dejar de verlo, sumergido en la belleza q nos ofrece, algo así si me entienden.
Principiamos con el "Title Track", que empieza con un como canto q según lei es un clásico himno de bar o de "pub" como le dicen los estirados británicos (jajaja no se enojen, uds han provisto al mundo de la mejor música), q se llama "Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty" y es parte del título de la canción, luego entran los tambores (pero no de la tribu), y luego empieza el recital de Morrisey (el cantante), que tiene una voz tan distintiva, y que va tan bien con la música, no hay forma de describirlo; esta canción tiene un ritmo puesto por las guitarras acústicas y eléctricas que se combinan para formar el colchón de la voz ya mencionada, que canción!!. Después pasamos a una canción divertida, alegre, llamada "Frankly, Mr Shankly", que tiene una letra cague de risa, excelente.
Luego entra "I Know It's Over" una hermosa "palabra que sustituya a balada", deliciosa, introspectiva, desesperada, otra vez, bien deahuevo, que da paso a otra similar, "Never Had No One Ever", otro himno a la soledad, con la letra repitiendo el título en coro, simple y sencilla pero efectiva.

Ahora damos paso a una de las q me agarró por las pelotas desde el inicio, "Cemetry Gates" (si se dieron cuenta está en mi cursi post anterior), q hermosa canción q una piensa q se trata de una canción alegre por el ritmo y las guitarras que tiene, luego se da cuenta q no es asi y piensa uno q es una canción triste acerca de la muerte, luego se da cuenta a la 3era realmente del teme central de la canción, q lo dejo de tarea; Inicia con estas líneas:

"A dreaddy Sunny Day
So I meet you at the cemetry gates"
Desde ahi, ya se queda uno enganchado como el loco Rodriguez en el fuera de lugar. Ahora después viene "Bigmouth Strikes Again", otra que me encanta igual que la anterior, escuchenla, no la van a poder dejar de escuchar al menos por 4 veces.

De ahi tenemos "The Boy With The Torn In His Side", otro jonrón (digale q no no no no no!!!), ya se me estan acabando las palabras y adjetivos calificativos para cada canción, asi q ahi la dejo, lo q les aseguro esq las q no describí son igual de buenas que las anteriores, creanme, confien en mi, mandenme su diezmo, pare de sufrir.

Pare de sufrir aqui

Some very exciting news for Smiths fans. Rhino is set to release The Sound of The Smiths on Nov 11th. Unlike the last greatest hits sets from these rockers, Rhino was wise enough to get imput from both Morrissey (who provided the title) and Johnny Marr (who helped with the mastering).

The retrospective set will be released in 2 versions--one single disc 23-song compilation, featuring all the band's singles and one double-disc set that will include a second disc with the band's b-sides, alternate versions and live takes.

Check out the track lists for both albums after the cut...

--Mikey

The Sound of the Smiths:
Disc One:
01 Hand in Glove [single version]
02 This Charming Man [single version]
03 What Difference Does It Make [Peel session]
04 Still Ill
05 Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now [single version]
06 William, It Was Really Nothing [single version]
07 How Soon Is Now?
08 Nowhere Fast
09 Shakespeare's Sister [single version]
10 Barbarism Begins at Home [7" version]
11 That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore [single version]
12 The Headmaster Ritual
13 The Boy With the Thorn in His Side [single version]
14 Bigmouth Strikes Again [single version]
15 There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
16 Panic [single version]
17 Ask [single version]
18 You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby [single version]
19 Shoplifters of the World Unite [single version]
20 Sheila Take a Bow [single version]
21 Girlfriend in a Coma [single version]
22 I Started Something I Couldn't Finish [single version]
23 Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me [single version]

Disc Two:
01 Jeane [B-side]
02 Handsome Devil [B-side, live 1983]
03 This Charming Man [New York vocal]
04 Wonderful Woman
05 Back to the Old House [B-side]
06 These Things Take Time [B-side]
07 Girl Afraid [B-side]
08 Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want [B-side]
09 Stretch Out and Wait [B-side]
10 Oscillate Wildly [B-side]
11 Meat Is Murder [B-side, live in Oxford]
12 Asleep [B-side]
13 Money Changes Everything [B-side]
14 The Queen Is Dead / Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty [medley]
15 Vicar in a Tutu [B-side]
16 Cemetry Gates [B-side]
17 Half a Person [B-side]
18 Sweet and Tender Hooligan [B-side]
19 Pretty Girls Make Graves [B-side, Trot Tate version]
20 Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
21 What's the World [live in Glasgow]
22 London [live in London]

Go find yourself a bouquet of flowers to twirl around.

Hagamos memoria: ¿no era Morrissey el que se quejaba de su discográfica, pedía que no compráramos su nuevo DVD porque era sólo para sacarnos el dinero y todo eso? Entonces, ¿qué hace participando en la enésima recopilación de The Smiths? En serio, ya hay muchas, y si como mínimo pensaran en reunirse, pues todavía... Pero en fin, resulta que de cara a estas Navidades tendremos una nueva compilación, con título a cargo de Morrissey (The Sound Of The Smiths... ¡qué original!), y el guitarrista Johnny Marr supervisando la masterización del disco (que es como venir a decir que no ha hecho nada, pero está ahí). Un primer CD con 23 hits del grupo, y un segundo con 22 canciones entre las que se incluyen rarezas, versiones y tomas en directo. En fin. Después del salto, listado de temas.

Disco uno:

'Hand In Glove'
'This Charming Man'
'What Difference Does It Make? (John Peel Session)'
'Still Ill'
'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'
'William, It Was Really Nothing'
'How Soon Is Now? (12-inch vinyl version)'
'Nowhere Fast'
'Shakespeare's Sister'
'Barbarism Begins At Home (seven-inch vinyl version)'
'That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore'
'The Headmaster Ritual'
'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side'
'Bigmouth Strikes Again'
'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'
'Panic'
'Ask'
'You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby'
'Shoplifters of the World Unite'
'Sheila Take a Bow'
'Girlfriend in a Coma'
'I Started Something I Couldn't Finish'
'Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me'

Disco dos:

'Jeane'
'Handsome Devil (Live)'
'This Charming Man (New York Vocal)'
'Wonderful Woman'
'Back To The Old House'
'These Things Take Time'
'Girl Afraid'
'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want'
'Stretch Out And Wait'
'Oscillate Wildly'
'Meat Is Murder (Live)'
'Asleep'
'Money Changes Everything'
'The Queen Is Dead'
'Vicar In A Tutu'
'Cemetry Gates'
'Half A Person'
'Sweet And Tender Hooligan'
'Pretty Girls Make Graves (Troy Tate Demo)'
'Stop me If You Think You've Heard This One Before'
'What's The World? (Live)'
'London (Live)'

Vía: Cuchara Sónica

At my new job I expected middle class, middle aged, stuck up, suburban workaholics. For the most part I was right, but yesterday I heard Cold War Kids new album blasting from a co-worker, Carl's, office. I went in and we started discussing music. Although he is not a Smiths fan (he told me that he was going to remove all the sharp objects from my cube because The Smiths are just that emo, I resent that comment), we listen to a lot of the same music. He burned me the new TV on the Radio cd, 'Dear Science,' which is awesome.

Carl told the other co-op student that I was hardcore about my underground music (I wouldn't say underground, I'm just an indie girl), and then asked him what his interests were.

The other co-op replied, "I love music too, I have like 700 songs on my new ipod touch."

Carl said, "You're an amature, what do you like? Rhianna?"

Yep, the other co-op student loves Rhianna (and all things main stream) and wears Marc Jacobs sunglasses. I think he's too cool for me, in that incredibly annoying, look at my expensive things, kind of way.

Oh, well, I have at least one person to talk to.

Today the only thing keeping me going is my mellow indie rock, watered down coffee and looking forward the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I brought for lunch.

Slightly depressing, isn't it?

(Currently listening to 'Dear Science' by TV on the Radio)

Jimi Hendrix, one of the most iconic guitarists of all time

The Ancient Greeks (left) played many instruments with strings. The medieval gittern (right) is another early precursor of the guitar.

In tracing the guitar's evolution, Yentob finds its forerunners were often street instruments, popular with the common people but considered inferior musically and socially to more classical instruments. In Elizabethan and Stuart times, guitar-like sitterns or gitterns became fashionable props to be seen in competition with the lute, a notoriously tricky instrument to play and keep in tune. Such instruments were often identified with sex and sittern became a slang term for ladies of easy virtue – "any man can play upon them".

"The guitar has always had that potential," says Yentob. "You only have to look at the shape of it to see what a sexual object it is. Being a way to impress girls is a theme that can be traced back to the Spanish traditions of Flamenco through to cowboys like Gene Autry in the Fifties, strumming guitars to the delight of whoever."

It wasn't until the 20th century that classical guitarist Andres Segovia finally gave the instrument a status and repertoire it had previously lacked, developing his own style as a performer away from the clicking heels and flamboyance of Flamenco. "He turned it into something more serious and skilful, something that you could listen to on its own," says Yentob.

The big problem for Segovia and for another guitar genius, jazz player Django Reinhardt, was the relative inaudibility of their instruments when playing in larger venues or in a band. In America, the Martin company developed bigger guitars called "Dreadnoughts" to produce more sound, but big band leader Benny Goodman still regarded guitars with disdain, at least until Charlie Christian attached a pickup and amplifier to his guitar, becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Benny Goodman Sextet – the first band to build its repertoire around guitar riffs.

Charlie Christian, electric guitar pioneer

The second programme continues the story of the evolution of the electric guitar from early experiments such as Rickenbacker's "Frying Pan"; to its eventual transformation into the solid-body instrument that would become the central plank of rock 'n' roll. "I don't know how many people know that the most popular guitar style in America in the Twenties and Thirties was the Hawaiian guitar," says Yentob. "But it's through that and the evolution of the steel guitar that people came to see that there was a sound that would resonate more."

One of the first to explore the possibilities was Les Paul, a young American who conducted his own experiments with the electric guitar. Not everyone was convinced, but when Fender came up with the Telecaster – a solid-body electric design of such brilliance that it remains in production today – the Gibson company responded by putting into production a classic of its own. Based on Les Paul's design and taking his name, it remains one of the most sought-after guitars in the world. "Gibson suddenly realised that they needed Les Paul," says Yentob, "not least because he had his own radio show to which millions listened on NBC and could publicise this new guitar in a way that they couldn't do by themselves."

The guitar could now not only be heard at the back but was ready to take centre stage. One of the first to make the most of its potential was bluesman T-Bone Walker, featured in a wonderful piece of archive displaying moves that would later turn the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend into rock gods. "That's my favourite item in a film that's packed with brilliant archive," Yentob agrees. "The way he moves is amazing! If you think of Townshend and Hendrix, you should see how T-Bone Walker held that guitar and played with it."

T-Bone Walker...showmanship way before Hendrix!

Concentrating on the guitars and their players rather than merely re-telling the story of rock, Yentob interviews BB King and Les Paul, both still performing at 83 and 93 respectively, and also talks to an unheralded but influential British pioneer, Bert Weedon, the first man to take a guitar instrumental, Guitar Boogie Shuffle, to the top of the UK charts. Best known for his Play In A Day book which has inspired generations of fledgling guitarists, Weedon also provides a link to Django Reinhardt, with whom he played.

Another important contributor is Elvis Presley's unassuming guitarist, Scotty Moore, who played on songs like That's All Right Mama and Heartbreak Hotel. "I think Scotty, in particular, has been overlooked," Yentob says. "When you listen again to the guitar solos on those Elvis numbers, you realise that he made a big difference. It was great to get him."

It wasn't just America that fell for rock 'n' roll. Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, BB King and their guitars were just what many young Britons had been waiting for. "Before Elvis there was nothing," John Lennon once observed, which was certainly true in guitar terms. "The phrase that fascinates me most in all these programmes," says Yentob, "comes from Bert Weedon who, having bought his first guitar in London's Pettitcoat Lane as a boy in the Thirties, took it to show his friends who said: 'What's a guitar?' I found that amazing."

By the late Fifties and early Sixties, owning a guitar was a way to differentiate yourself from the masses. "There was something in its shape which, in conjunction with the exotic sound of blues and rock 'n' roll, appealed to youngsters brought up in the suburbs of London or Liverpool," says Yentob.

The guitar allowed countless young men to reinvent themselves and, as Elvis had shown, it wasn't even necessary to be good at it. It wasn't just something on which you played a tune, says another contributor, Pete Townshend, but an accessory with which to create excitement.

"The guitar is an incredible prop for somebody trying to get noticed," says Yentob, and, at that time, nobody attracted quite as much attention as Hank Marvin of The Shadows.

What was it that Marvin had that the other boys didn't? A bright red Fender Stratocaster for a start – one specially imported for him from the USA. For the likes of young Mark Knopfler, later of Dire Straits, and David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd fame, it became the ultimate object of desire. "David told me that seeing Hank Marvin with that red Fender really was an iconic moment for a lot of those guys," says Yentob, "they absolutely had to have one."

As the Sixties progressed the other thing guitarists craved was volume. Advances in amplification and new technology changed the very nature of the guitar. "I hated being shouted at by yobs," says Townshend, "so the amplifier maker Jim Marshall and I got together to develop the weaponry to ensure that no-one would interrupt me ever again."

While Marshall and Leo Fender, whose background was in electronics rather than guitar playing, built amplifiers of ever-increasing power, effects wizards set to work on producing new sounds – Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones is an early example of the use of fuzz. New heroes such as Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton pushed the boundaries, inspired by the genius of unsung heroes such as Roger Mayer, a former Admiralty acoustic engineer from the Surrey suburbs, whose Octavia pedal allowed Hendrix to come up with Purple Haze.

Johnny Marr of The Smiths (left) and Matt Bellamy of Muse...modern guitar heroes

To support the contention that "it isn't just the guitar, but what you do with it that counts," Yentob, in the third and final film, emerges from a garage holding a charred Strat that Hendrix had set alight during one of his incendiary London performances. How could anyone follow that? The last programme covers post-Hendrix guitar, making room for stars such as Townshend, Marvin, Gilmour and Johnny Marr of The Smiths to explain what the guitar means to them and illustrate their style of playing.

From the ostentatious soloing of Steve Vai to the punk-inspiring anti-music of the Stooges' Ron Asheton, guitar in the Seventies and Eighties went into overdrive. Today, with the likes of Matt Bellamy of Muse inspiring a new generation of fans, there seems little immediate threat to the guitar's pre-eminence (Bellamy's father George, who played on the Tornados' 1962 hit Telstar, is featured in another astonishing piece from the archive).

Much of the guitar's popularity lies in the fact that it is open to everyone whether they pick up Weedon's Play In A Day or adopt the famous punk maxim "here's a chord, here's another, here's a third... now form a band". Fittingly, the series concludes with an astonishing but touching display of devotion by non-guitar players performing at an "air guitar" club. In a madcap way it makes perfect sense. "In an instant virtual world where everything is possible, why not just play the guitar without the guitar?" Yentob says. "The air guitar sequence is, I think, a very funny one, while the Guitar Hero games franchise, which has shipped 40 million units, is incredibly successful and gives everybody the chance to have a go..."

What do you think is the future of the guitar? Is the age of the guitar heroes over?

Are the days of the real Guitar Heroes over...thanks to Guitar Hero?

Quotes from the series

B.B. King

"The guitar is like a friend, it introduces me to people. If someone really wanted to punish me, they'd take my guitar away from me."
BB King, the king of the blues

"Who the hell wants to hear an electric guitar player?"
Benny Goodman, who changed his mind after Charlie Christian plugged in...

"It's like turning your daydreams into sound... playing the guitar feels more natural than talking."
Johnny Marr, The Smiths

"Any instrument that you're allowed to set fire to, and people actually cheer you on, has got to be an instrument worth playing."
Matt Bellamy, Muse

"I don't have any respect for the thing as an artefact, it's a tool."
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, owner of a 1954 Fender Stratocaster serial number 0001

"It's not about playing well it's about causing disasters – magnificent ones."
Malcolm McLaren, Sex Pistols svengali

"I don't use effects as an addition to the sound – effects for me are the sound... I find songs in sounds."
The Edge, U2

"It's private, it's personal, it's wonderful, it's poetic, it's cathartic, it's moving, it's expressive, it's a real release, it's just a wonderful, wonderful thing to have."
PeteTownshend

"It's a little bit of a social problem."
Iggy Pop, punk godfather

Watch it!

This first programme features the rise and rise of the acoustic guitar and features interviews with Bert Weedon, the man who taught Britain to Play in a Day, Pete Townshend, Bill Bailey, Flamenco player Paco Pena and classical guitarist John Williams.

Sun 5 Oct, 10:20 pm - 11:20 pm 60mins

View Guitars at Dolphin