Rip it up and start the blog again

Yes, now Im back! After a couple of hectic months with studying, a journalistic internship, work etc. I now have some time off to write on the blog!:)And this time Im back stronger than ever... I have now also started to write on a blog with political (neutral) theme. Please read it and tell me what you think. thecatgoespolitical.blogspot is the address.

Anyhow, I thought it would be good to start with a good book recommendation, something for you to enjoy in your hammock during Summer. This book is called "Rip it up and start again" by Simon Reynolds which I read during spring. Although I didn´t write on the blog, of course I took some time to engage in my biggest interrest.

The book is about the Post Punk era 1978 and 1984. Reynolds guides us through the history of post punk, how it emerged, the reasons to the development of the genre and how this creative era finally stopped in the mid-80s. Reynolds gives us brilliant details and each chapter is divided after record labels and bands. This is truly a brilliant book due to the fact that, as far as I know, no such comprehensive book has ever been written on this neglected but great and meaningful era in music history. Everything from Joy Division to Orange Juice can be found in this wonderful book.



Enjoy!

/The Drumming Cat

Update on Edwyn Collins

A couple of weeks ago I recommended the beautiful documentary about Edwyn Collins recovery from a stroke he suffered in 2005. Now it´s 2010 and his progress is still ongoing with steps in the right direction. His wife Grace Maxwell has written the book "Falling and laughing" about Edwyn´s way back to the music scene. Hear Edwyn and Grace talk about the recovery and the book on BBC Radio Scotland. About 26 minutes into the show starts the interview with Edwyn and Grace.

/The Drumming Cat

Nick Hornby is everywhere

Just finished reading Nick Hornby´s great and latest book Juliet naked. The story takes place mostly in Gooleness, a small English town by the seaside. Annie and Duncan is a middleaged couple whose greatest thing in common is their shared fandom of Tucker Crowe, an obscure half forgotten 80s singer/songwriter, and especially the album "Juliet". When a new version of the album is released, Tuckers first release for over twenty years, called "Juliet, naked", they disagree about the quality of the album, which have consequences for their relationship and even their lives. At the same time we get to follow Tucker Crowe, whose American and lives in America, and his struggle in being a father and dealng with all sorts of ex-wives. The two stoires are then of course coming together as one eventually, but telling how would be to reveal too much information before reading it.

I recommend the book to everyone, both to those who are music nerds and those who are not, because on a deeper level its really about pre-conditions for different outcomes of a person´s life and the complicated relations people might have with different persons in different ways. But of course, if you love music, all the both comical and more serious observations Hornby´s makes on being a music fan gives the book some extra spice. Im talking for example about the relationship between an artist and his fans, how you can be so obssesive to cross the Atlantic to watch a toilet in a bar connected to Crowe or sit and talk via intenret with only a few of the other Crowe fans around the world, called crowologists. I really love this book and recommend it to everyone!

Worth noting is also that Oscar nominated movie An Education with manuscript written by Nick Hornby just have had premiere in Sweden. Nick Hornby is trully everywhere at the moment, at least today.

/The Drumming Cat