what's more offensive? (this morning 8:47am)

Music-making still performs the normal functions Background noise for people eating and talking and drinking and smoking That's alright by us. Don't think that we're complaining After all it's only leisure time, isn't it?

That's a verse from the BBC version of Soft Machine's 'Moon in June' and it's probably my favourite version of that song. The 'us' of course is Soft Machine, making the background music. I am not sure that the band were all of a mind on that one but I can't know. It would have seemed arrogant or weird for Robert Wyatt to just say 'that's alright by me...'

Anyway this morning I was in Mr Tulk awaiting the annual staff day, held this year in the State Library, and I was reminded once again that most people don't even notice, much less like or dislike, the background music played in places like this, and also, that the only thing they would notice is if there wasn't background music. I suppose this is where spotify sees a market for lame non-music* to be pumped into public spaces to its own profit. 

Anyway, this morning, AC/DC's 'TNT', a version (not the actual Beatles version, slightly faster, though it did sound like George Harrison singing) of 'Here Comes the Sun', and Supertramp's fucking fucking fucked 'Give a Little Bit' were paraded before me saying 'we won, we won, bland old shit music is here forever and you can't do anything about it', all that was required was a visual of Trump jigging and swaying to it.** 

Now, the music has been drowned out by 12 yarra trams ticket inspectors around the central table. I actually think that's preferable. I can hear something pumping underneath but luckily I can't identify it. 

* ie the music it pays people a pittance to create and sign over to Spotify forever. 

** Later song was Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely' which I can handle but the point still stands. Although I read on wikipedia that 'Wonder performed the song live for Queen Elizabeth II at her Diamond Jubilee Concert on June 4, 2012, with lyrics modified to refer to the Queen' which is gross. 

end of an ear

 

...and you know, just when you think your covid has basically left you, then you start to feel its influence on you again, so I shouldn't be exposing myself to frankly brutal things like this record, which is not a sweet record but a bit of a bludgeoning one. Robert Wyatt was sacked from Soft Machine I think because they didn't like his lyrics/vocals, which were of course almost always the best thing, and because they wanted to turn shit and he was getting in the way. But it seems he took it fairly hard and decided to make a record without lyrics, and a minimum of vocals. I don't get it. What I also don't get is I had very fond memories of this record but listening to it now it doesn't sound the way I remember it at all. 

The Pintandwefall album however is a different kettle of fish, a bit like the Monks and Heart and gosh, I don't know who else, I need to think about it. 

In between I listened to another record that came today, Manfred Krug's Greens which is a bit of a disappointment because so much of it is in English, but also has a lot to recommend it in terms of being funny and upbeat. He does covers of great songs like Gilbert O'Sullivan's 'Alone Again Naturally'. But I will stop writing these bland non-reviews of records now, I think Nancy's attitude to records is the healthiest.

I was thinking today how annoying it was that there aren't fanzines anymore. If I had an extra day in the week I'd make a little fanzine on a regular basis. But I don't. 

we all live at the baked potato

 

So... I just had some nuanced feelings so nuanced it's almost going too far to call them feelings, about the above. I take my hat off to the person who wrote the three sentences/paragraphs, who totally knew what they were doing/saying and seriously, if you know what you're getting into you know, so I don't think anyone should cavil at this product, presumably all the original members are getting some kind of cream off the top at the use of the name, or at least signed a contract/release in 1973 or whatever saying 'I'll take fifty quid now and never think about Soft Machine again'. But also, there is a case that the most Soft Machine thing that Soft Machine 2020 could do is change their name to something else (though clearly they skirted around it for a long time before just going with it). 

John Marshall is the group's third drummer I think, and first played with them in 1972. It goes without saying he is good, he also played on a personal favourite of mine, Jack Bruce's Harmony Row. Kudos. Babbington played with them in 1972 as an additional member (according to wikipedia, which irritatingly does not have one of those irritating graphs showing you who played when). Etheridge came in in '76. Travis is a total newbie and indeed the poor fool is barely older than me i.e. he is about as old as Soft Machine (he was born in mid-64, it was born in mid-66). So, none of them played with the classic line-up and only Marshall ever played with Hugh Hopper but all except Travis played with Mike Ratledge. The group has had no founder members since Ratledge left in 1976. 

That's why I love the last line, 'absolutely at the top of their game'. The top of whose game? The Soft Machine were last at the top of their game (on record, anyway) with the release of Volume Two, with its truly vile cover and  entirely brilliant contents. That was, um, 1969. (A 'soft machine' is a woman's body, you see, and the band were in no way gay like William Burroughs). 

Since that time (or the time of Third) as far as I'm concerned, and I have not looked into it deeply at all, and nor am I qualified to judge the content and I am very biased by prejudice/prejudiced by bias, the musicians under the umbrella have just not cared enough about bourgeois things like what the band's called this time around, etc. I have been in the same boat tbh, with at least one band (I've mentioned this before and won't go through it again) where key members left and we were like - well - do we just keep going with the old name and cling to the raft of a little bit of product recognition amongst an otherwise uncaring public - or - do we strike out with a new one. I think (though I'm not sure, hard to remember now) on some level we had confidence in the next record, but perhaps given that confidence we should have pressed the reset button. 

I don't even know why I've made such a thing about this. It's not important if this record is called Soft Machine  Live at the Baked Potato or Amy Winehouse Live at the Baked Potato. We'll all survive and if consumers are lackadaisical enough to purchase a product like this expecting Mike to be there playing a solo somehow then more fool them.