30. Hurray for the Riff Raff - Living in the City
A few themes have emerged across the previous 29 posts, which will feature here and thus validate the truism that although some things change, some things never change. Despite the fact that I am wallowing in the comfortable abyss of middle-age, disinclined towards many of the things I enjoyed doing in my teens, 20s and 30s, favouring routine and productiveness over excitement and spontaneity and functioning in society burdened by indifference, irritation and contempt....despite ALL of that bleak gloominess, I am still in some ways no different to the person I've always been: I still love Bob Dylan, I'm still open to forming distant crushes on talented women like Kate Bush and I am still capable of being passionately awestruck when discovering a new band or artist.
And that's the point of this last post. Illustrated by Hurray for the Riff Raff.
The famous line in Forest Gump about life being like a box of chocolates is much better applied to the BBC music show, Later...with Jools Holland. On any given night, when the sardonic-sounding, boogie-woogie piano-plonking Jools isn't falling flat on his arse trying to interview someone famous with 30 seconds of crass questions, he introduces us to the widest range possible of talented musicians. You might hate some of them (I myself don't get African music in the slightest and believe that some people pretend to like it just to appear right on), but that is often down to taste not to lack of talent. But every series throws up a few acts new to me, who prompt me to buy an album or two of theirs.
Most recently, he featured Hurray for the Riff Raff and I was hit by that same thunderbolt that gets Michael Corleone in The Godfather when he first sees Appolonia in Sicily. At least, from a musical point of view (mostly!). The band performed Living in the City and the lead singer had something of Dylan in her delivery, I felt, perhaps due to a subtle mannerism or nuance in her voice. I found out afterwards that Alynda Lee Segarra 'is' Hurray for the Riff Raff - they aren't actually a band. She writes and performs everything and has used different musicians to accompany her at different times. I found it impossible to purchase all of her back catalogue online - Ebay had one copy of one particular CD going for £1800 (no one was going to pay that, but there wasn't another copy anywhere on line for the few months I spent looking). In the end, I had to resort to iTunes downloading, burning a disc (like it was still 2005!) and making my own inlay card, for the first two albums anyway.
Alynda Lee Segarra has touched a nerve with me. It's like being 15 again and a little bit in love with Kate Bush. Her voice cuts to the marrow of my bones. Her songs halt me in my tracks and transform the world for a few minutes, as I listen, transfixed. And, I do quite fancy her too. Only this time, instead of posters on the bedroom wall, I have done 3 paintings in which she is the subject.
Painting is my other new passion and fits perfectly with the theme of change. It gets me through the week, having a focus for the evening, come 9pm, when dinner is finished and the dishwasher loaded. It relaxes me and gives me enormous satisfaction - mainly because, although I am no great artist, I am much better than I thought I was, not having painted since fucking up my O' Level art and slipping from an A to B thanks to a bad portrait of my Dad. After re-cutting my teeth by making copies of Edward Hopper paintings (women looking lonely and contemplative in windows), I turned to more creative pursuits and successfully pulled off my first portrait of which she was the subject.
And so, this is where I'll end it. No matter how shitty life gets - and it does get shitty and to be honest, it kind of maintains a consistent flow of shittiness all the time - music always retains the power to be a distraction, a source of awe and wonder, a passion, a reminder that it is still possible to carve out small slices of joy in life, sometimes every day. Some songs never fail to bring that joy. Occasionally, it is nostalgic joy. I no longer idolise Adam and the Ants, but Kings of the Wild Frontier reminds me of happy times. With other songs, like the Madness ones featured here, there's nostalgia, but there are also other memories adding layers to what the song means for me. When my daughter and I finally get our matching Madness tattoos (planned soon) then another layer is added. And for other songs, there are no memories yet, but the power to move is undeniable and I daresay, I will be equally moved by the likes of Hurray for the Riff Raff when I am in my 80s.
And that's the point of this last post. Illustrated by Hurray for the Riff Raff.
The famous line in Forest Gump about life being like a box of chocolates is much better applied to the BBC music show, Later...with Jools Holland. On any given night, when the sardonic-sounding, boogie-woogie piano-plonking Jools isn't falling flat on his arse trying to interview someone famous with 30 seconds of crass questions, he introduces us to the widest range possible of talented musicians. You might hate some of them (I myself don't get African music in the slightest and believe that some people pretend to like it just to appear right on), but that is often down to taste not to lack of talent. But every series throws up a few acts new to me, who prompt me to buy an album or two of theirs.
Most recently, he featured Hurray for the Riff Raff and I was hit by that same thunderbolt that gets Michael Corleone in The Godfather when he first sees Appolonia in Sicily. At least, from a musical point of view (mostly!). The band performed Living in the City and the lead singer had something of Dylan in her delivery, I felt, perhaps due to a subtle mannerism or nuance in her voice. I found out afterwards that Alynda Lee Segarra 'is' Hurray for the Riff Raff - they aren't actually a band. She writes and performs everything and has used different musicians to accompany her at different times. I found it impossible to purchase all of her back catalogue online - Ebay had one copy of one particular CD going for £1800 (no one was going to pay that, but there wasn't another copy anywhere on line for the few months I spent looking). In the end, I had to resort to iTunes downloading, burning a disc (like it was still 2005!) and making my own inlay card, for the first two albums anyway.
Alynda Lee Segarra has touched a nerve with me. It's like being 15 again and a little bit in love with Kate Bush. Her voice cuts to the marrow of my bones. Her songs halt me in my tracks and transform the world for a few minutes, as I listen, transfixed. And, I do quite fancy her too. Only this time, instead of posters on the bedroom wall, I have done 3 paintings in which she is the subject.
Painting is my other new passion and fits perfectly with the theme of change. It gets me through the week, having a focus for the evening, come 9pm, when dinner is finished and the dishwasher loaded. It relaxes me and gives me enormous satisfaction - mainly because, although I am no great artist, I am much better than I thought I was, not having painted since fucking up my O' Level art and slipping from an A to B thanks to a bad portrait of my Dad. After re-cutting my teeth by making copies of Edward Hopper paintings (women looking lonely and contemplative in windows), I turned to more creative pursuits and successfully pulled off my first portrait of which she was the subject.
And so, this is where I'll end it. No matter how shitty life gets - and it does get shitty and to be honest, it kind of maintains a consistent flow of shittiness all the time - music always retains the power to be a distraction, a source of awe and wonder, a passion, a reminder that it is still possible to carve out small slices of joy in life, sometimes every day. Some songs never fail to bring that joy. Occasionally, it is nostalgic joy. I no longer idolise Adam and the Ants, but Kings of the Wild Frontier reminds me of happy times. With other songs, like the Madness ones featured here, there's nostalgia, but there are also other memories adding layers to what the song means for me. When my daughter and I finally get our matching Madness tattoos (planned soon) then another layer is added. And for other songs, there are no memories yet, but the power to move is undeniable and I daresay, I will be equally moved by the likes of Hurray for the Riff Raff when I am in my 80s.
Comments
Post a Comment