| Author | Message | ||
     Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1152 Registered: 10-2004 |
That's right, Mark E. Smith has written an autobiography (!). 2273649%2C00.html,http://music.guardian. co.uk/rock/story/0,,2273649,00.html Totally weird. Seems like a must read, but at the same time, I imagine MES would be one of the most UNreliable narrators imaginable. At any rate, this Guardian article plucks several classic nuggets, like this: "Fatherhood A lot of people say I'd be a really good dad. But I'm the sort who'd forget about the child. I'd be at the pub engrossed in a conversation when I should be at home because the baby's in front of the fire getting slowly roasted. I'm that type of fellow." and "I only have three chairs in the house: one for the wife, one for me, and one for a guest. No more. One guest at a time - that's my philosophy. You don't want your house turning into a hippie commune." | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1153 Registered: 10-2004 |
Crap, for some reason some embedded code (on this board?) is messing with the link I pasted, adding a bunch of crap to it before the "http..". So, just copy the link from http:// onward and paste it in the browser. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 2075 Registered: 05-2005 |
This book was being advertised by Amazon about this time last year, and kept getting pushed back. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2283 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jeff it was probably me, I posted the other day on watcha watchin. sorry. I must say, the E Smith comment: "I'd be at the pub engrossed in a conversation", when I should be at home because the baby's in front of the fire" That is such a true satetment, he's good at the truth. I'm proud to ay that i'm not down the pub and am very much there with my twins daughters, day and night. Most of the people I know who don't have kids will always been seen in conversation down the pub, in fact later in life,i.e. recently, this sorta activity seems to put pay to my friendships, which is a real shame, they'd rather be pissed down the pub than come and see my kids. It has to be noted these are mostly male friends. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1600 Registered: 03-2005 |
The idea of an MES autobio seems completely bizarre to me. Jeff's quotes sound more like "The Gospel According to Mark E. Smith." I wonder how drunk he was when writing it. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 1120 Registered: 01-2005 |
Who would the winner be in a drinking contest, MES or Shane MacGowan? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2288 Registered: 05-2005 |
Actually, Paul morely commenetd not so long ago in a Fall TV thing that what if E Smith stopped drinking, or what if had vnever started? Would we have lost or never even had the genius of The Fall? I'm not so sure its all down to drink, I mean the very early days, yes, he probably cracked open a few Double Diamond's but Industrial Estate is hardly that of a boozer is it? Even if he is a big time drinker and he loves his fags, I still appreciate his gift for his wonderful works, he'd b boring if he was straight. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1162 Registered: 10-2004 |
Okay, Mark E. Smith is simply batshit crazy. This is an old interview from about 10 years ago. I think this goes beyond simply messing with the interviewer. For a glimpse into the apparently drunken, drug-addled mind of MES, scroll down to where it says interviews and read the first one. http://www.visi.com/fall/news/971116.htm l Sad thing is, I wonder if MES has much longer to live. There was an interview in which guitarist Ben Pritchard was interview after he was out of the band, where he spills the beans on Smiths' substance abuse. Said Smith was heavily into speed. I wish I could find the interview. Speed is vile, nasty stuff, and it totally explains why Smith is looking so hideously awful these days (eg - loss of teeth, accelerated aging, gnarled features, etc... also explains why he's always wiping his nose and mouth so much in televised interviews). I've seen firsthand what it can do to people and it ain't pretty. At any rate, the thought of Smith wallowing in drugs like speed is truly sad. It's such an utterly stupid, loser sort of drug. Almost contrary in a way to what I used to think the Fall were about. Alcohol, sure, it's been clear Smith was at least a boozer for years, but now songs like Totally Wired have more or a ring of truth to 'em. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2311 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wise iords jeff. At least Shaun and Bez have had their teeth done, boy they're whiter than white man, almost blinded me! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 2079 Registered: 05-2005 |
My copy came today, hardback copy. Only 250 pages so should finish it on nightshift tonight  | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 52 Registered: 08-2005 |
That is one barking mad interview! Thanks for the link, Jeff. I've seen The Fall live a few times - I had tickets to see them again last year but MES broke a leg. Not that we found out until we'd got to the gig, to find a suspiciously quiet Bristol Academy... As for the few times I saw The Fall, they always created an impressive wall of noise that I somehow found quite relaxing and MES's sneering was always amusing. (Jeez, that makes me sound incredibly pretentious - but it's hard to describe quite what they sound like). | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2315 Registered: 05-2005 |
I agree Simon, The Fall were really one of the best live acts around. I'm on a bit a bands that remind me of The Fall trip at the moment. A group called The Noseflutes. they were very The Fall and very The nightingales/pig Bros/Yeah yeah noh. I thought they were better than typical Ron johnson bands of that ere, like The Mackenzies, Bogshed etc. Though tey wre similar, I always though tthey had the ingenuity of The Fall, and therefore were one step on from the RJ lot. RJ had great artwork though. Very, now. I saw them many times around 86 and 87 in and around birmingham. I found their 3 albums on a blog yesterday (gotta be thankful for technology (and people) sometimes! The tunes are pretty impressive. They looked incredibly geeky, and typical of that time, anti establishment, buttoned up collar ala Wall of Voodoo guitarists, grey cardigans, hush puppies, and Polish dissident haircuts. here's the blog with free downloads if anyone is interested. http://phoenixhairpins.blogspot.com/2007 /09/noseflutes-3-albums.html I remember around this time, I advertised for an additional guitarist for a band I had around the time called Steamtown. And, in my influences were, Josef K, Television, Curtis mayfield and The Fire Engines. I never got a response, and the night I saw The Noseflutes for the first time, the guitarist said he'd been looking for someone who was into what I had down as myinfluences, but was now tied up with TNF! I never ever found anyone else who liked what I liked and who played an instrument at that time, so i had to teach the wisdom of my influences on suspects close to me, never went down too well I can tell ye! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1610 Registered: 03-2005 |
Josef K, Television, CURTIS MAYFIELD and the Fire Engines? I want to hear THAT band, Spence. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 1166 Registered: 10-2004 |
I want to hear THAT band too! Anyway... My one live Fall experience, was sadly lackluster. I saw them back in '94, when they were on tour for Middle Class Revolt. They played to a half-empty Fillmore (in SF). Some trendy flavor of the month band opened, and they actually drew more people than the Fall (as evidenced by all the people filtering out within the first few songs of the Fall's set). The cool thing about that show was Brix had just returned to the band (unbeknownst to apparently everyone in the crowd) for the tour, and when she pranced out with her paisley pink tele, the whole room seemed to give off a collective vibe of elation and disbelief. Thing is, Brix was giving it like 110%, while the rest of the band was on auto-pilot (well, except for maybe Hanley). I don't think Scanlon changed his facial expression once during the whole gig! Not that he was ever all that expressive anyway, but still... Smith was his usual self. Paced around with one hand jammed into his pocket, the other limply holding the mic. He did his bit where he wandered around and messed with Scanlon's amp settings, and kept repositioning Wolstonecroft's fan so that it was facing any direction but at him. The show had its moments: Mere Pseud Mag Ed. was the surprise oldie thrown into the set, which went well. Big New Prinz and Life Just Bounces were played with decent energy, but overall the show veered on lifeless (except for Brix), and I wondered if the fact that they were playing to a half empty venue had anything to do with it. Clearly, the idiot who booked them at the Fillmore was being overly optimistic. What made the gig all the more bizarre was that front and center in the audience was this huge, flat-topped muscle man who looked like an ex-marine. I think he was on PCP or something, because he kept lapsing into these intermittent fits of blind rage, where whenever Smith was within a few feet of him, he'd start pounding the stage violently, and then he'd flip Smith off and aggressively shout things at him like "Fuck you, I fucking HATE your guts!" I mean, this guy was insanely menacing and hostile. A sneering, amped up ball of confrontation and aggression. And so out of place! Smith did a great job of pretending the guy didn't exist. My friend and I just inched away toward Brix's side of the stage! I've never seen the Fall since. If I could go back in time and see them at any point circa '80 - '88, I'd be pleased as punch. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2317 Registered: 05-2005 |
"huge, flat-topped muscle man who looked like an ex-marine" He's probably in Afghanistan now! E Smith sure damn ain't!! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 2080 Registered: 05-2005 |
The new Fall album is ace, an absolute return to form with MES barking out the vocals with renewed vigour. Thank f*ck for that! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2332 Registered: 05-2005 |
kev ma man, cannae wait tae hear it!! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 2082 Registered: 05-2005 |
And they wonder why MES is a god like genius "Veteran rocker faces RSPCA probe for chopping up rare red squirrels with hedge-clippers By Sam Greenhill Ever since Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat, hard-core rockers have had much to live up to in the depravity stakes. So perhaps veteran guitarist Mark E Smith, frontman of The Fall, was trying to go one better when he boasted of murdering endangered red squirrels with hedge clippers. The short-tempered punk rocker - said to have been one of Radio 1 DJ John Peel's favourite acts - bragged to a music magazine he had "killed a couple last weekend". But if the readers of Uncut magazine were impressed, the RSPCA is decidedly unamused by Smith's claims - and yesterday announced an investigation. Now the 51-year-old could be prosecuted under the Wildlife and Countryside Act if his backyard bloodbath is confirmed. The gruff singer claimed he would "happily set about an endangered red squirrel with a set of professional hedge-clippers". He added: "Squirrels mean nothing to me. I killed a couple last weekend actually. They were eating my garden fence. "My sisters are animal lovers and they had been leaving food out for these squirrels. They've got rats in the bloody house now. Serves 'em right." To make matters worse, the maverick frontman went on to add that he 'wouldn't have a problem' with running over seagulls for fun. But the RSPCA said its investigators were appalled by the remarks and were now preparing a prosecution. Spokesman Klare Kennett said: 'The comments made by Mark E Smith are extremely irresponsible and he has basically admitted to committing an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act by killing two red squirrels. "These animals are highly protected and anyone killing, harming or taking red squirrels from the wild is liable to prosecution and can face up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £20,000. "We will certainly be investigating this alleged offence now it has been brought to our attention." She added: "If he is getting confused and talking about grey squirrels, then killing them without a good reason - eating food put out for them is not a good reason - could also be an offence under certain circumstances." Red squirrels used to be common in Britain but have steadily been wiped out by their grey cousins, which have become the dominant species. Famed for his quick temper, prolific singer and lyricist Smith has sacked dozens of musicians who have played for The Fall over the years. The group - whose songs include Disney's Dream Debased and DIY Meat - have released 95 albums since forming in 1976. They never achieved widespread public success but maintained a strong cult following, and were championed by legendary DJ Peel who once cited them as his favourite band. Franz Ferdinand, The Smiths, Nirvana and the Happy Mondays have all named The Fall as inspiration. In the May edition of Uncut, interviewer Ben Marshall suggested seagulls should be run over because they were a public menace, and Smith replied: "Quite f*****g right. I don't have a problem with that." Miss Kennett said: "Running over gulls is also an offence and the RSPCA has prosecuted people for illegal killing of both squirrels and gulls - and would not hesitate to do so again. "To suggest in a magazine read by youngsters that it is a good idea to harm wildlife is both extremely stupid and highly irresponsible." Osbourne, frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, recently explained how he came to bite the head off a bat during a concert in the United States. He said: "Someone threw it on stage and I thought it was a toy. It must have been stunned by the lights 'cos it was dead still when I picked it up. I put it in my mouth as a joke. "Its f***ing wings started flapping and I ripped it out of my mouth but its head came off! The worst part was the anti-rabies injections in my a*** the next day. F***ing painful!" Last night a music industry source said: "I don't know what would be worse for Mark E Smith's image - being found guilty of killing squirrels, or the RSPCA finding out he made up the claims." | ||
| Adrian P Member Username: Adp Post Number: 27 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hilarious non-interview with MES on BBC radio earlier this evening. He claims he's only two-thirds of the way through reading his autobiography! Well worth a listen - you should be able to hear it on the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/frontro w/past_programmes.shtml - it's Monday's programme, about 15 minutes into the show I think. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2336 Registered: 05-2005 |
http://www.thequietus.com/2008/04/renega de-the-life-and-tales-of-mark-e-smith-re viewed/ I watched what was I think a fairly recent snippet of a Mark E Smith Culure Show interview on You tube, and he actually looked really, really fragile, it was as if he had had a face transplant, and the donor was Mark E Smith! |