You know how it is when you’re sober, and happy to be so.

It’s fine, nothing wrong with it. You can still enjoy the wind in your face and early evening sun on the back of your head. You can still enjoy the sounds of people walking back along St James St from the Pride festival in Preston Park, flaunting their pink cowboy hats and silver hotpants. There’s no need to drink alcohol, not when there’s a baby to return home to, all smiling and gurgling and alert. There are chocolates to eat. And there’s a new Willy Wonka film to see, Johnny Depp a maliciously disconcerting latter-day Childcatcher, the landscapes all Technicolor bright.

We’re sober, and doing fine. We’re excited to be out. It’s our first time alone together since Isaac’s birth. And we’re especially excited because Dan Treacy’s Television Personalities are playing an early show at the Hanbury Ballroom. We’re wondering how it will be.

I tell Charlotte how they would often veer between inspirational and crap in the space of minutes: how I would often feel deeply frustrated at the way Dan purposedly fucked his own beautiful songs up like he never wanted the attention in the first place. Charlotte tells me she only saw them once, in a West End club. Dan detuned his guitar and caused her to resent the overpriced ticket.

We know Ed Ball will be playing. That’s exciting.
If Ed is there, Dan can’t fuck up too badly, can he?

We know that that female friend of Jon’s that Dan’s got a crush on will be singing.
Never mind. Dan is all about the personal, isn’t he? Even if it’s personal verging on desparate. It’s cool. I’m sure she’ll add to the spectacle.

Who knows? Maybe we’ll see some old friends. Maybe the place will be full of scuzzy aging Brighton scenesters, seeing as how their own house band Shrag is ‘playing’ as support. But man, it’ll be exciting. Or crap. Or whatever.

What songs, d’ya reckon?
What songs, d’ya reckon, he’ll play?
Will he be a tart and go for ‘’King And Country’, ‘Three Wishes’, ‘Silly Girl’, ‘Dorian Grey’?
Will he throw in some of the new ones? I heard a few that Jon brought in to the radio show the other day: sounded great, moving and uncomfortably open and just plain wonderful in their own shambling manner.
We can’t lose, can we?
I know I’ve been covering a few TVPs numbers recently but that’s only because Dan’s not been around. I figured these songs are so beautiful they should be heard.

And how will Dan look?
He’s got to be thinner than he was. Maybe a little shyer. Or will Dan be as confrontational as before?

So we’re sober and buzzing and excited and a little nervous, and…

Well. You know how it is when you’re like that? And it’s still quite early, and you walk into a pub full of yr mates pissed off their heads, being all loud and leery and lecherous… and you feel a total Outsider because no one told you the point of the party was just to get drunk, fuck the music.

So glad to see that some things haven’t changed.

Posted by Everett True on Sunday, August 7th, 2005
(1 Comment)

Sam J recommended I got some Brenda Fassie, and as Party Shuffle unearths it for me I remember that I owe him many intelligent emails about exes and music and magazines. Hey Sam, I know this is a poor second, but thanks for the Fassie recommendation, k? And for your fine words. I owe you, massive times.

Talking of k, here is what me and Nite (Metal Thru The Nite!) played on the radio this evening. Note: 5ive is not the boy band 5ive, it is these dudes here.

Apologies to anyone who had their headphones on when we played our new missive from a place of intense confusion, Star In A Jar. Ouch!

Sunroof - Pink Horse Sweat
OOIOO - Grow Sound Tree
Helios Creed - Your Spaceman
Spacecraft - Cosmic Wheel [I know, I play this a lot, but MY GOD! Spacecraft! Cosmic Wheel! Le boite octave! L’ARP Odyssey! C’est superbe!)
Necromonicon - Tips Zun Selbts Mord [sic, probably]
Yat-kha w/; Albert Kuezin - Orgasmatron
Can - Full Moon On The Highway
Skullflower - Annihilating Angel
Luigi Archetti & Bo Wiget - Stuck 13
Morgen Und Nite - Star In A Jar
Hulk - We Ran
5ive - Cerrado

Posted by Frances May Morgan on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005
(9 Comments)

Man, I was stoked earlier today. Went charity shopping in Worthing - kind of by accident because we were actually searching for a pick-your-own fruit place near Steyning - and scored, big. Found tons of cheap baby clothes, but I guess you don’t wanna know about that, except for the baby Snoopy earmuffs. Bought a 12-inch carrying case - been looking for one for ages. And the seven-inchers! Whoa. Two Muppets singles, ‘Being Boiled’ (pic sleeve), ‘Banana Splits’ (yellow vinyl), Dexys (p/s), bunch of Fifties stuff like Eddie Cochran and Buddie Holly, Grandmaster Melle Mel (p/s), The Tubes (p/s), ‘Running Up That Hill’ (p/s), Kraftwerk’s ‘The Model’ (p/s), Mike Oldfield ruining the Blue Peter theme (p/s), Tracey Ullman (p/s), England World Cup Squad 1982 (p/s), Tenpole Tudor (p/s), Jona Lewie (p/s), ‘Up The Junction’ (purple vinyl)…all for 10p each.

OK, OK…you could argue I own many of them already but..
Man. I was stoked.

Posted by Everett True on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005
(5 Comments)

Well, they still haven’t actually added my name to the Kosmische roster on the listings, but I swear to you it’s there somewhere. Honest. After what feels like years of asking and filling in for other djs…anyways, tune in to Resonance FM at 10pm and hear ye some drone of the Kosmische variety, selected by me and Mr Nite. Requests accepted; not necessarily heeded.

Posted by Frances May Morgan on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005
(No Comments)