Fall
News - 6 July 1998
Fall
News - 6 July 1998
Re-releases:
Perverted By Language and Grotesque reissues are out: PBL contains a studio demo of Pilsner Trail in addition to the single tracks - Grotesque doesn't contain a track called Grotesque though (see the last FallNews)
From: "John F. Monroe"
Subject: Grotesque re-issue cd - now extra wired
I just got the new new grotesque cd today. First off, the original castle classics cd is much better, but at least this one isn't filled with skips and crackles. The new one ( oddly enough also on castle communications, you would think they could get their old cd to make this new one) sounds much quieter ( i played the new one with the old cd, back to back ), and just doesn't sound as good. Its not horrible, but its like getting a tape of the album, it just doesn't all seem to be there.
There is no bonuis 'cd' but you get how i wrote elastic man. city hobgoblins, totally wired, and putta block ( but they leave hobgoblins off the back art, the tracks are numbered 1, 3, 4... skipping 2 entirely, what bad art editing! ). and liner notes that go on to say how liner notes aren't needed. there is more artwork in the new cd booklet, as you get a few pages of the cover art of the singles. and under the clear cd tray is a photo of the b-side of the 7" of totally wired
its not a big rip off, and it was cheaper than normal, but no reason to get it if you already have the tracks already. plus they shaved 8 seconds from the beginning of english scheme, but it was just some quiet noise really, still, i don't know why they felt they had to scrap it.
---------------
>From Jeff H:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Arena/9350/
> you may wish to point people
> to the I, Ludicrous Web page (again) where there is a Fall-relevant
> update. If one clicks on "Good Evening - I, Ludicrous meet the stars"
> there is an item about IL & MES.
----
BUG DAY
- These things wanted rights and tenancy, Govt. sponsored bands - of course it all stemmed from the Nip Insect Glorification craze - the tinned bean diet for Spiders just about sealed it...
------
From: Graham Coleman
I got a 'new' Fall-Lit quote for ye:
"We go round to see Johnny Ram from Yorkshire who is an intense fellow. He is doing a Ph.D. on Wyndham Lewis and spends all day listening to Fall records. He had all these theories about how the Fall guy was the Wyndham Lewis of nowadays (thenadays); intricate theories, devious, unconvincing. Michael said that in Kathy Acker's book she said she wanted to sleep with one of The Fall, so she needs the contact lenses right enough."
from story by one Paul Reekie, from 'Children of Albion Rovers' collection ( inc Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner etc)
-----
From: "Philip Johnson"
Subject: Benny's cobweb eyes
This is an allusion to the UK soap opera 'Crossroads', which isn't on any more. In the late 70s and early 80s, one of the show's best known characters was Benny Hawkins (Paul Henry), a sort of gentle-giant simpleton figure who always wore a woolly hat. He was meant to be pathetic, and was regularly used as a punching-bag for fortune - he was illiterate, his girlfriend got killed off, a Mrs Prewitt made him sleep in a garden shed, and for a while he was blinded. When his eyes were being examined, he said to the doctor 'I can't see nothing, doctor... only cobwebs!'
-----
> What You Need was inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone I believe.
>From the Twilight Zone episode guide:
http://www.germar.pair.com/tzdirectory/
"What You Need"
(Originally Broadcast on 12/25/59)
Written by Rod Serling
Based on the short story
"What You Need" by Lewis Pagett
Pedott is a sidewalk salesman with the ability to know what people need.
He meets a two bit thug who he helps out by handing him an item that
saves his life. Instead of being grateful, he wants more from the
salesman. Sensing danger, the salesman hands him a pair of shoes. The
thug puts them on, just when a truck swerves towards them. The shoes
have no traction and the thug is killed by the truck. The shoes is what
the salesman needed at that moment.
> "Time enough at last" was a TZ episode,
"Time Enough To Last"
(Originally Broadcast on 11/20/59)
Written by Rod Serling
Based on a short story of the same title by Lynn Venable
Henry Bemis was a bank teller who loves nothing better than to read books. He slips into the vault to eat his lunch and read when a nuclear attack wipes everyone out. He finds himself totally alone, wondering about an empty, destroyed city. He suddenly realises that he now has every book ever written at his disposal and no one to bother him. He piles up a group of books, settles in to read... when his thick prescription glasses fall off and shatter. He is left alone, no longer able to see.
<Rod Serling's monologue during the intro to
<"Nervous Man In A Four Dollar Room" was certainly
<the inspiration for MES's opening lines of
<the song. If I can ever find the episode, I'll transcribe
<it for Fallnet & Lyrics Parade referential purposes.
"This is Mr. Jackie Rhoades, age thirty-four, and where some men leave a mark of their lives as a record of their fragmentary existence on earth, this man leaves a blot, a dirty, discolored blemish to document a cheap and undistinguished sojourn among his betters. What you're about to watch in this room is a strange and mortal combat between a man and himself, for in just a moment Mr. Jackie Rhoades, whose life has been given over to fighting adversaries, will find his most formidable opponent in a cheap hotel room that is in reality the outskirts of the Twilight Zone."
-----
From: Peter Conkerton
Subject: Re: This Nation's Saving Grace
As if anyone really cares, the basis of the cover is a photograph taken from the southern end of Cheetham Hill, just off Corporation Street, looking towards the city centre. In the foreground is the railway line going into Victoria Station. The tall building is the CIS building. The squat black building immediately to its right is Parkers Hotel. The spire of Manchester Cathedral is just visible in the centre. Just off at the left of the picture is the Crown & Cushion, a splendid Holts pub in which MES has given several interviews and I've spent many happily inebriated hours.
-----
Gez:
ENGLAND TUNE UP FOR WORLD CUP WITH NME... (AND A LITTLE BET ON THE SIDE)
ALAN SHEARER, England World Cup squad captain, declared last week that he was "dancing on the ceiling" after copies of the NME were flown into the team's tournament headquarters in France.
Shearer was delighted because at the time the England squad had a running bet on who could name the most song titles in each TV interview they gave - and they'd been poring over NME in an attempt to get one up on each other!
NME's publisher IPC is the official magazine supplier to France 98 and, as part of the deal 22 copies of NME are sent out to the England team each Wednesday. A spokesman for the FA says NME had been "a great help" in keeping the bet going, though rumours that Tony Adams had been working on slipping titles of Fall songs into his interviews were unsubstantiated as NME went to press.
Each England team member put £100 into a kitty and the player who mentioned the most titles in a single TV interview by the end of the tournament would win the lot. To make the task harder, players had to pick band names out of a hat.
Last week, Gareth Southgate drew George Michael/Wham! just before an interview with ITV's Bob Wilson. Asked what he thought of England's training camp, Southgate told Wilson, "It's hardly 'Club Tropicana', Bob." After repeated questions as to who would feature in the team for England's opening game against Tunisia, he replied, "You won't be getting any 'Careless Whisper's from me."
In The London Evening Standard (June 16), Southgate revealed that Tony Adams had been way out ahead in the competition, which was called off when the UK press cottoned on to it. "He is the king. He managed to fit four titles into an interview."
In a three-minute interview with BBC's Des Lynam, Adams scored four Beatles titles: 'Get Back', 'Something', 'Let It Be' and 'With A Little Help From My Friends'. He was leading the competition with a high score of six. "It's a silly little thing really, but it all helps to while away the time and keep the spirits up," Southgate said.
The bet explains why Alan Shearer punched the air in triumph during a TV interview last week. Shearer told ITV he thought less fancied teams could do well 'Against All Odds' then realised he'd scored without even trying.
[nme]
--------
From: John Howard
Subject: Smith in Numan Shocker!
From sleevenotes to Gary Numan's The Pleasure Principle cd reissue:
"The Fall's Mark E. Smith, a man not given to complementing other artists
on a regular basis recalls 'While I was in South Chicago recording an
album in 1992 (IS?), I went to a few clubs and all the black guys with
machine guns worship Gary Numan - Snoop Doggy Dogg samples his stuff."
-----
Sietse:
Subject: High Tension Fallnet Concurrence Lines
If we take Fallnet appreciation for The Fall as a straight line:
THE FALL ______________________________________________
the lines for other artists/genres/etc. discussed here would be something like these (the more disrupted the line, the less concurrence):
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART _____________--________--____
PHILIP K.DICK _____________--________--_________?__
PERE UBU ---------------------------===----------===-----*#@----
CAN ___________---+++-------==---------++-----------------------
BRIX _________------>>>>> %#^$&* <<<<------_____________
THE BEATLES -----=====+++***----=======--------^^------<<----
CORNERSHOP !! >> -=+@#$%^#*@()$(%*&#^@%!$&$**()_(_"_|\#$ << ¡¡
ARAB STRAP - ***%----$@++)* W H O ? ? &^#---$#^%^$^&%&!!
PROG ROCK --$& !! %¡¡# <f<u<c<k<<o<f<f< >>>>>>>>> -- + *&%#@$#
-----
From: Graham Wilson
Subject: curious oranj
From today's Glasgow Evening Times:
The Fruits of Success
According to partners Stephen Burns and Stephen Halpin, Curious Oranj is Scotland's youngest and most innovative provider of marketing and creative services.
Formed last year, the company provides advertising, corporate design, market research, marketing consultancy, interior design and exhibition design.
The two men had previously worked together in consultancies, and spotted what they saw as a gap in the market for linking strategic, marketing advice with creative execution, all under one roof.
"Bringing creatives and marketing together in one single consultancy allows for complete management of projects from start to finish", explains Stephen Burns.
The company aims to build a Curious Oranj brand which will expand the client base, especially in new sectors.
Already a Curious Oranj interior design outlet has opened in East Kilbride, and there are plans for a bar in Glasgow.
The firm employs 12 people, and hopes to double that next year.
-----
Several line-ups for the film version of The Fall:
AmC:
Karl: Eric Bogosian
Shanley: John Lithgow
Tommy: Tom Cruise
Julia: Margot Kidder
MES: Anthony Hopkins
----
Stuart:
Karl Burns: Robert Lindsay
Steve Hanley: Michael Barrymore
Tommy Crooks: Roy Castle OR Desmond Lynam
Julia Nagle: Nerys Hughes
Mark Smith: James Bolam
----
Martin Wheatley:
Where's your ambition. What is this a Channel 4 movie? Think Hollywood Think
how they'd treat the story
As Steve Hanley - the loyal best friend who stands by the hero only to be rebuffed it has to be the person who always plays 'the loyal best friend etc etc' - John Goodman
Karl Burns the honest but limited sidekick is played by Woody Harrelson
Tommy Crooks the handsome young newcomer oppressed by his elders and striving to break out and become the star he was always meant to be - Leonardo DiCaprio
Julia Nagle the scheming woman who has an affair with MES, changes the bands style and alienates him from his friends should have been played by Joan Collins but she's too old so it'll have to be Nicole Kidman
With MES you have split personality , the awkward old man who is alternately offensive and friendly. He is to be played by Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in alternate scenes
There will be special guest appearances by Sharon Stone as Brix and Tom Cruise as John Peel.
The film will be called 'Decline Of The Fall' and the follow-up where Tommy strikes out on his own for stardom will be called 'Triumph Of Ark'
The soundtrack will be by Fall doing heavy metal versions of songs The Fall have covered with a Celine Dion track over the titles (written by Tim Rice)
All we gotta do now is find a director and raise the money for the special
effects
----
Graeme Park:
Karl: Greta Scachi
Shanley: Amanda Donahoe
Tommy: Jenny Agutter
Julia: Helen Mirren
MES: her out of Lifeforce that walks about with no clothes on
What it lacks in plot it'll make up for in visuals
----
al:
> Karl Burns: David Hasselhoff
> Steve Hanley: Gert Frobe
> Tommy Crooks: Ronnie Corbett
> Julia Nagle: Jenny Agutter
> Mark Smith: Lee van Cleef
----
David Kettle:
Karl Burns: Michael Caine
Steve Hanley: Danny DeVito
Tommy Crooks: Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog
Julia Nagle: Mollie Sugden
Mark E. Smith:
as child: David Bennent
as young man: Brad Dourif (then)
as middle aged man: David Thewlis
as old fucker: James Bolam (now)
----
Kent:
I can't believe no one wants Tori Spelling in their Fall Fantasy Biopic.
I guess I'm the only one. If this is focusing on just the last year or so,
I'll take:
Julia Nagle - Tracey Gold (TV movie queen)
Steve Hanley - Kevin Spacey (models bald look v. nicely)
Karl Burns - Bob Peck (someone British for authenticity)
Tommy Crooks - Elijah Wood (mesmerizing Ice Storm performance)
MES - Jack Lemmon (like The Days Of Wine & Roses Pt. 2)
...and the Judge in the MES NYC trial should be Judge Judy.
Tori can make a guest appearance as Brix. If the film were to cover the entire history of the Fall, then Parker Posey can play Marcia, and Lili Taylor can be Yvonne, and wasn't there another Fall chick? Una something-or-other? She can be played by Christina Ricci. And there was one more, I think - Gillian Anderson's can play her - another MES girlfriend, no? I can't keep track... But these are all fine actresses that deserve to work together.
I think David Mamet would have to write the screenplay.
----
From: "Michael Pinto
MES played by George Clooney
- He has that been around the block look, and besides we need good box
office.
J Nagle played by Uma Thurman
- We need to make sure she has the right haircut.
the rest of the band played by unknown extras
- I would play up members leaving the band by never letting the audience
actually get to see them on screen formore than a few seconds.
Brix played by Courtney Love
- Sure I stole this idea, it's great!
MES Mum played by Tina Turner
- "Big wheels keep on turning, I wish my post-punk son would start
earning!!!"
the manager of the club played by Quentin Tarintino
- We had to give him a role to get him to write the script
the leader of the rival band played by Antonio Banderas
- Sure they never had any real competition but this is a movie
The script: Yer basic rip-off of Purple Rain with a few basic twists. Of
course nobody wants to see a movie set in the north of England, so
instead we move it all to LA. We also need to have a happy ending where
our hero goes mainstream.
----
Chris:
From a posting today on the Mekons list:
>And the banter was sharp as usual -- when one audience member shouted
out,
>"Just play Rock and Roll!" Tom promptly walked up to his mic and intoned,
>"Go home. Now." And Jon had me literally convulsed with laughter when,
>after inviting the audience on stage to have sex with the band (don't
>ask), he observed that "If this were a Fall show, we'd be inviting you
up
>to beat the band senseless
-----
From: Brent_Colyer
>From the chugchanga list:
The final release from the Monorchid, _Who Put Out the Fire?_, is an album destined to shake your fillings loose. it's something I never thought they'd make - half blistering punk, half caustic rock, angry and scared and raw and unrefined early '80s malaise channeled through about 30,000 watts of amplified genius. I got it at 12 noon and have listened to it about 8 times in a row. no songs break 3 minutes. there's a passage at the beginning of track 2 that sounds like Chris T. getting into a fight with an audience member near the end of the band's existence that's pretty terrifying. he sounds like he's having a nervous breakdown. the first song ends with the bass line from "Spector Vs. Rector". how cool is that. this easily beats anything Circus Lupus ever did, and to me, that's saying a lot. there's no space in the Monorchid - everything is right on top of you at once, esp. those sick twin guitars blaring out dirty blues rock and Rough Trade-style post-punk ching at the same time. fucking brilliant, and making me look forward to hearing Food Chain that much more.
-----
Ryan:
DBC035 The In Out's _CosmOsis_ LP. First full-length from this awesome and snarly Boston band of Fall fans. A co-release with Oblivion Recordings and Viscera-Versa. $7 ppd.
------
From: Chris Kovin
Subject: Grimm of the Week(s)
The Stubborn Child
Once upon a time there was a stubborn child who never did what his mother told him to do. The dear Lord, therefore, did not look kindly upon him and let him become sick. No doctor could cure him, and in a short time he lay on his deathbed. After he was lowered into his grave and was covered over with earth, one of his little arms suddenly emerged and reached up into the air. They pushed it back down and covered the earth with fresh earth, but that did not help. The little arm kept popping out. So the child's mother had to go to the grave herself and smack the little arm with a switch. After she had done that, the arm withdrew, and then, for the first time, the child had peace beneath the earth.
The Old Man and His Grandson
There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son's wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears.
Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they bought him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat.
They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground. What are you doing there, asked the father. I am making a little trough, answered the child, for father and mother to eat out of when I am big.
The man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. Then they took the old grandfather to the table, and henceforth always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything.
------------------------------------------------------
Recent news....
------------------------------------------------------
980620 MES communication, MES font, Falling Through
Time, Grotesque/PBL rerelease details, Northern Attitude ripoff, British
Grenadiers
980614 Fall cover version details, US tour provisional
dates, BEF
980607 not much...
980531 The Fall as a can of beans with a dead mouse
inside, Lovecraft, Bracewell
980525 Lay of the Land, old fan club stuff
980517 Alchemy, chiliasm, Michael Bracewell spouting
bollocks
980510 Another NME report
980504 Dingwalls and Reading reviews; Guardian,
NME articles; pointers to Fall pics and PSF's Fall tribute
980426 German Levitate review, Dee Pop's tour
diary
980419 NME online report, Lathe of Heaven
980414 Wire Levitate review
980410 More Philly reviews, Black Cat DC, NY Brownies
reviews. Loads of stuff on the Thule group. Select interview from January
980405 CIH, Loop Lounge, Middle East Boston, Plilly
Troc reviews. Various press reports.
980331 Details of Live in Melbourne 82 CD, Smith
on Smith spoken word CD, Nine Unknown Men, initial Coney Island High
reports
980329 bollocks Smile comp details
980322 Vox interview, other stuff
980315 TBLY/Info service
details
980308 Peel session details; US tour dates
980227 a few bits & pieces, RTL, PoSR
out
980222 NME interview
980215 Destroy punk covers exhibition, Masquerade single details
980207 Brats award transcript
980130 Bits on NME Award, POSR/RTL reissue
details
980125 Shanley i/view
980118 Time Out interview w/pics, Melody Maker
review, Oh Brother press release, Oxford review
980111 Dutch Opscene interview
980104 Melody Maker interview
971221 Not much
971211 Portsmouth, London, Cambridge, Norwich,
Bristol reviews
971203 Oxford, Stoke, Leeds, Liverpool reviews;
Esquire interview
971125 Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stoke
reviews
971116 Manchester reviews, Loaded interview
971112 Band back together, teletext interview
971110 NME report, various Dublin/Belfast disaster
reports
971109 First Dublin/Belfast reviews
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