Hello, all. If you'd like to immerse yourself in some more of that M.E.S. magic, check out his column on IndiePlanet.com. Mark has graciously agreed to pen a regular one for us and we're very excited to have his musings appear here. If you're interested you can read his first one at: www.indieplanet.com/preview/columns10_13/col_music_smith_p1_2.html

It's a little hard to make out in places due to a reproduction issue, but we'll get that sorted out soon. In the meantime, and as can be expected, it's an interesting read.

Stanza 2000, St Andrews, 6th October:

Rob McIntosh:
If you like the fall, you probably enjoyed it as much as I did - if you like poetry, you probably enjoyed WN Herbert more. 25 mins or so: amongst the collage: epigrammatic dream, cd in your hand, english glasnost, idiot joy showland, sons of the utmost east (?), dissolute singer (encore of life just bounces with MES and WNH sharing mic and words between them). 10% new material I would say. Lyrical mystery cleared up (mystic jog-suits).

Stefan's put up the "I Am Curious, Orange" Edinburgh Festival programme:
http://www.visi.com/fall/gigography/kurious_1.html
Many thanks to Alan Hamilton for scanning it in.

Paul Wilson:
I'm reading David Bellos' biography of Georges Perec (he who wrote a novel without using the letter 'e') and a quote from Wittgenstein jumped out:

"That is how it is with great works of art. If only you do not try to utter what is unnutterable, then nothing gets lost. But the unnutterable will be - unnutterably - contained in what has been uttered."
Ludwig Wittgenstein, letter to Paul Engelman

Paul Saxton:
Smith and Bellos once met on that late night Granada TV arts programme fronted by Tony Wilson in the late 80s. Bellos was talking about Perec (specifically Life: A User's Manual) who Smith reckoned he liked, describing his work as "very economical." Smith was wearing a blue polo neck top and consequently had a disembodied head throughout. Very odd.

Etan:
Amazon has the delightful cover to Cambridge 1988 up: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/music-glance/B00004XNS2/qid=971548915/sr=1-2/103-1778779-8808655

Finally, the subject of comedy dogs has been absorbing Fallnet this week:

Peter Reavy:
A wonderfully sinister circus site with musical clowns from Belgium, a Danish sealion act and some comedy dogs.

http://www.veress.se/mikesanger.htm

Toby:
Yes, have the Fall ever considered incorporating comedy dogs into the stage act? You can clatter into Lie Dream of a Casino Soul, then Mark can shout "hold on.. hold on" and turn his back to the audience to fiddle with an amp/drumkit/guitar. While this is happening, a troupe of comedy dogs can trundle across the stage, juggling small brightly coloured balls. Mark will pretend to be oblivious to this, continuing to fiddle with the amp/guitarist while the audience all shout "behind you!" Then, just as the dogs disappear stage-left, Mark can turn round, pretend to be bemused by the laughing audience and once again clatter into Lie Dream. You can repeat this several times for maximum laughs.

Pete:
F*cking superb, I would pay good money to see that. You could also have the drummer stop mid song, walk round to the front of the kit, staring at the bass drum and scratching his head. He then removes the front skin and inside is a fluffy poodle wearing shades and playing a toy piano. All the audience go "ahhh!" as the smiling drummer holds the poodle up to a mic - he's playing the sax riff from Bremen Nacht! The whole band join in to roars of approval from the audience. You could have a clap-along bit later on.

I really think we're onto something here.

Peter:
I'm Going To Spain: a terrier walks on wearing sunglasses and comedy sombrero. It then barks.

Chris:
How about Dubsky's Sealions barking the "you pep!" parts?

http://www.veress.se/dubskyssealions.htm

Which brought us onto the sad scarcity of dogs on Fall LP covers:

Chris:
Since The Fall seem determined to have their CD cover art be crap from now on, I have created an alternative cover for The Unutterable, feauturing the ghosts of the Comedy Dogs:

http://www.vulturous.com

Fin:
Ham-fisted alternate covers, you say?

http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/~fmackay/dogsinister.html
http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/~fmackay/cerebralcanine.html

Jon:
http://brokenhomes.com/images/newthingdogs.jpg

Chris:
http://www.vulturous.com/shiftwork.gif
http://www.vulturous.com/draygos.gif