I have just been watching Royal Academy Summer Exhibition: The Culture Show on BBC2. The largest open-submission contemporary art show in the world. I must really try to get down there sometime this summer.
One exhibit really stood out, but not in a good way. Self portrait as Rubbish Bin by Michael Landy is just that, a rubbish bin. O.K. it is made out of bronze but how is it art? Apart from the title, which is apt and a recurring theme in his art, there seems to be no other artistic input from him. He just sent a rubbish bin to a Chinese foundry and said copy that.
The price: a cool £26,000 , but I am sure some poor misguided fool will buy it. Maybe the real designer of the bin should get a cut.
This morning I watched Songs of Praise, not a programme I would normally think of seeing, but I was round friends having stayed the night and it was just before the Thames Jubilee Pageant.
Listening to “I Vow to Thee My Country” was very moving and reminded me of the days as a young boy when I was made to to go to church on Sundays. I was bored with the services but enjoyed singing some of the hymns my favourite being “Jerusalem”. God does have some good music.
Also from the show “We Will Stand Together”, was sung brilliantly by the operatic quartet Amore and I also enjoyed the Commonwealth anthem, “Stronger As One”, helped by the fact it was sung by the beautiful student soprano Laura Wright.
Great to see the sunny weather back again after all this time. I can’t believe it’s been nearly two months since that great start to spring and the intervening near wintry weather we have had in between.
I spent lunchtime on a bench in the park basking in the sun surrounded by the lovely smell of new mown grass.
Oh well, that’s British weather for you. From the balmy weather we’ve been having that wouldn’t have been out of place in summer to winter again.
Have I ever said how much I hate winter? Most probably. If I had the money I would spend the winter somewhere warm maybe coming back for Christmas and New Year.
Amazing. The vernal equinox was yesterday marking the official start of spring and the weather has turned warm and the sun is out. From winter woollies to shirt sleeves in just one day. I hope we might actually have decent spring this year.
I have just heard that yesterday Davy Jones died of a heart attack in Florida at the age of 66.
Although he had been in Coronation Street and played the Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver in both the West End and Broadway, I remember him best as the British member of the Monkees.
The original manufactured boy band, The Monkees were recruited for a television series of the same name that ran for two seasons.
I fondly remember their madcap adventures in the late 1960’s and the music wasn’t too bad either, my all time favourite being Alternate Title.
Ah ha. Just found out that it really was an alternate title. Released in America as Randy Scouse Git it was renamed for the UK release in case it offended Brit sensibilities.
Peter Gabriel has just released (10 October 2011) his ninth studio album New Blood. The album is an orchestral re-interpretation of some of his greatest hits including San Jacinto, The Rhythm of the Heat, In Your Eyes and Red Rain.
As much as I like the work of Peter Gabriel I shall not be rushing out to buy it. I have never been keen on the orchestral reworking of rock music, the whole idea seems to me to be a bit naff.
This is the song that started it all: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight from the album Selling England By The Pound by Genesis recorded in 1973.
I never did manage to see Genesis live while Pete Gabriel was in it so I missed all this theatricality.
Lyrics
“Can you tell me where my country lies?”
said the unifaun to his true love’s eyes.
“It lies with me!” cried the Queen of Maybe
– for her merchandise, he traded in his prize.”Paper late!” cried a voice in the crowd.
“Old man dies!” The note he left was signed ‘Old Father Thames’
– it seems that he’s drowned;
selling england by the pound.Citizens of Hope & Glory,
Time goes by – it’s “the time of your life”.
Easy now, sit you down.
Chewing through your Wimpey dreams,
they eat without a sound;
digesting england by the pound.
Young man says “you are what you eat” – eat well.
Old man says “you are what you wear” – wear well.
You know what you are, you don’t give a damn;
bursting your belt that is your homemade sham.
The Captain leads his dance right on through the night
– join the dance…
Follow on! Till the Grail sun sets in the mould.
Follow on! Till the gold is cold.
Dancing out with the moonlit knight,
Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout.
There’s a fat old lady outside the saloon;
laying out the credit cards she plays Fortune.
The deck is uneven right from the start;
and all of their hands are playing apart.
The Captain leads his dance right on through the night
– join the dance…
Follow on! A Round Table-talking down we go.
You’re the show!
Off we go with – You play the hobbyhorse,
I’ll play the fool.
We’ll tease the bull
ringing round & loud, loud & round.
Follow on! With a twist of the world we go.
Follow on! Till the gold is cold.
Dancing out with the moonlit knight,
Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout.
