'45' (1924-1977)

45: Berlewi (1924) 

45: Bubbles (1977)

45: Your Generation

The Number One Son told me last week that one of his neighbours is currently sporting a giant Generation X '45' framed print in his flat - James isn't stalking the guy, this piece of artwork is so large it can be seen from space, apparently. Now, I know a thing or two about Generation X: 'I think you'll find that particular design was the brain child of Tony James' (Gen X bass player and joint CEO with Billy Idol), I said with that tone that fathers adopt when handing down vital nuggets of rock history down the male bloodline. Wrong, wrong and wrong.

45: Idol

45: James

If the graphic artist, sleeve designer and troubled soul that was Barney Bubbles (1942-1983) had been eavesdropping our conversation, he would have been yelling in my ear that, actually, the Generation X masthead was one of his - Tony James would just knock out copies when he was screen-printing band tee shirts.

However, I think Barney, real name Colin Fulcher, would be the first to admit that he was influenced by Polish artist Henryk Berlewi (1894-1967), whose 1924 work 'Composition in Red, Black and White' (at the top of this blog) was surely the inspiration behind Barney's 1977 iconic sleeve for Generation X's first single.

45: Derwood

Carr trouble

I have trouble with Jimmy Carr; I think a lot of people do. For every gag that has you choking on your false teeth, there'll be another hot on its heels that will make you feel uncomfortable; you'll laugh, but you'll still be uncomfortable. And for a comic who openly admits that, with the exception of the Hillsborough disaster, everything else is fair game, then you're never far away from a joke that some a lot of people are going to find offensive. But, hey, you know that when you step over the threshold.

His appearance last week on Desert Island Discs was very revealing. Give it a listen and you may come away with different feelings towards the fella; I know I did. The way he spoke about his mother, dyslexia, Catholicism, depression and not losing his virginity until he was twenty-six was very honest and at times very touching. And when he chose 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie as the record he'd save from the waves, I was practically reaching for the fan club application forms.

Death Cab for Cutie: I Will Follow You into the Dark

Till Another Day

My friend Martin Heaton has just released a new album; he very kindly bequeathed me a copy at Songwriters on Monday night, and it's been on constant rotation in the car all week. Despite it being stacked to the rafters with great songs (Martin never short changes his fans - it's got 16 tracks in total), I've got two personal favourites:

Till Another Day mp3

The Letter mp3 

Copies of 'Pillow Talk' are available directly from the artist - you can email Martin at martinheaton@rocketmail.com

(Another) Another Train

A couple of years ago I was corresponding with Pete Paphides for a piece he was writing on obscure record shops, and I did a mixtape for him. He said that half way thro' listening to it he'd logged onto CD Baby (other online stores are available) and was buying up most of the stuff off it! Including Another Tain by Pete Morton. He'd never heard it before, loved it and commented that it was 'just the right side of soppy.'

I wonder if Pete P's heard Pete M's reworked version of the song he did with with Full House?

Pete Morton & Full House: Another Train mp3

We fill our heads with the craziest things that only break our hearts

Sock drawer. May contain memories

New socks. Old socks; some with holes in. Ticket stubs. Receipts. Cuff links. Photographs. Diaries. Birthday cards. Postcards. More photographs. Phone numbers. Guitar picks. Pens. More photographs. Keys. Invitations. Elastic bands. Unchecked lottery ticket. Spanish phrase book. Loose change. Map of New York. Oyster card. Book marks. Theatre programmes. More bloody photographs. Memories; a ton of memories.

And that's just my real sock drawer; don't get me started on my digital sock drawer. Or the one that lives in my head. What was it Ben Watt said, 'You can push things to the back of your mind, but you can never forget.'

The deeply unfashionable Alan Parsons may or may not have been talking about sock drawers back in 1982, but he too was plowing a similar furrow.

The Alan Parsons Project: Old & Wise