― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 14:08 (twenty years ago) link
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, what exactly does that mean? Wyatt was a member of the British Communist Party, he was a Marxist, he was not a Stalinist.
― Dadaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 14:12 (twenty years ago) link
― amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 14:17 (twenty years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 14:30 (twenty years ago) link
― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 14:40 (twenty years ago) link
"Robert Wyatt! I got on well with Robert. The greatest problem between us was a political one. I had been in the Young Communist League -- when I was a schoolboy, I'd established a branch or two. And I was the one that didn't get beaten up on the way to our first meeting. I'd worked with the Communist Party of Great Britain's headquarters. I kind of knew what the party was like. One of the things that appealed to me about Marxism was its anti-utopian foundation -- it was infinitely preferable to wishing that the world was a nicer place, or that Robin Hood was elected sheriff. But through reading a lot of theory and working for the party, I thought, 'This ain't for me,' whereas Robert was getting more into it. I really liked him, but that was the principal reason for drifting apart: he was getting more Stalinist and I wasn't."
― Colin Meeder (Mert), Thursday, 10 July 2003 03:49 (twenty years ago) link
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 10 July 2003 06:52 (twenty years ago) link
― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 10 July 2003 07:03 (twenty years ago) link
Anyway, why is it only Robert Wyatt who is hauled over the coals for having been a Marxist when other musicians like the various members of Henry Cow or AMM aren't? (I say having been a Marxist, but as far as I know, at least two-thirds of AMM still are Marxists.) I haven't heard anyone bring up Fred Frith's politics lately - least of all Fred himself. And let's face it, there's far worse things you could be than a Marxist: a Tory or a Republican or "New Labour" for instance.
― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:18 (twenty years ago) link
do some research before you accuse people of being new labour
― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:25 (twenty years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:28 (twenty years ago) link
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 10 July 2003 11:29 (twenty years ago) link
i have a deep respect coupled with a bit of bemused exasperation re. robert wyatt. he reminds me of a lot of people i knew growing up.
― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 10 July 2003 13:48 (twenty years ago) link
― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 22 May 2004 06:17 (nineteen years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Saturday, 22 May 2004 17:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― de, Saturday, 22 May 2004 17:34 (nineteen years ago) link
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 17 September 2004 05:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― JaXoN (JasonD), Friday, 17 September 2004 05:54 (nineteen years ago) link
― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 17 September 2004 07:17 (nineteen years ago) link
the album is very melancholic--it's the urgent combination of melancholy and whimsy (blended such that you often can't tell them apart) that is a big part of what makes this record so special to me. the wordless vocalizing at the end of the first track (??) is one of the most powerfully ... desolate stretches of music i know. such things are in the ear of the listener, of course. but considering the circumstances under which it was made it's not hard to imagine depression being one of many states that is being evoked in rock bottom.
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 17 September 2004 07:30 (nineteen years ago) link
i have a long and intense history w/this record (incl. listening to it in venice where wyatt composed much of the music)...
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 17 September 2004 07:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 17 September 2004 07:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 17 September 2004 09:02 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:03 (nineteen years ago) link
― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 17 September 2004 09:10 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:12 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:13 (nineteen years ago) link
x-posts
― frankiemachine, Friday, 17 September 2004 09:21 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:27 (nineteen years ago) link
― gaz (gaz), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:30 (nineteen years ago) link
*digs out dog-eared copy of End Of An Ear for comparison purposes*
Hmmm, I see your point. If it's Wyatt it's bloody good playing for someone who says he isn't that good at playing the guitar.
(either that or it's his funny Italian organ, or Hugh Hopper's bass speeded up?)
― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 17 September 2004 09:38 (nineteen years ago) link
Interesting record, though, End Of An Ear; it's like an extended avant-scat variation on Gil Evans' "Las Vegas Tango."
― Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid, Friday, 17 September 2004 09:40 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:45 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:49 (nineteen years ago) link
― gaz (gaz), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 09:52 (nineteen years ago) link
― gaz (gaz), Friday, 17 September 2004 10:07 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 10:09 (nineteen years ago) link
― peter smith (plsmith), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:21 (nineteen years ago) link
-- Donnie Smith The Quiz Kid (what_d...) (webmail), September 17th, 2004 5:02 AM. (later) (link)
i can see our "interpretations" being complementary, more or less. but i'm reluctant to describe this album as being "about" any one thing, especially something as cliché as "learning to laugh again." i don't think the album has a narrative per se, or an obvious forward progression. or at least i've never chosen to hear it that way.
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:40 (nineteen years ago) link
I agree that's not Oldfield on that track, but it's definitely Oldfield on the final track 'Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road', the huge soaring melodic line that turns into the 'can't you see them?' riff. One of my favorite moments of recorded sound in the history of our world etc.
Oldfield is credited as a musician on the back cover of the original vinyl, but I suspect Oldfield's saying he wrote that entire solo, the melody and riff, and deserved a co-authoring credit for the entire track (I would be obliged if you could find his exact complaint)... the riff is nearly identical to one of the sections of 'Ommadawn'. I still see it as more of a break in the middle of Wyatt's song, but it is certainly Oldfield's solo that pushes it over the top.
― (Jon L), Friday, 17 September 2004 17:35 (nineteen years ago) link
YES
― amateur!!st, Friday, 17 September 2004 17:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― (Jon L), Friday, 17 September 2004 17:40 (nineteen years ago) link
― cºzen (Cozen), Friday, 17 September 2004 17:48 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 17 September 2004 17:48 (nineteen years ago) link
― amateur!!st, Friday, 17 September 2004 17:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― (Jon L), Friday, 17 September 2004 17:52 (nineteen years ago) link
― nickn (nickn), Saturday, 18 September 2004 06:19 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stewart S, Saturday, 18 September 2004 08:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Saturday, 18 September 2004 16:11 (nineteen years ago) link
Thanks, I relate to all of that, although your experience goes deeper--wish I'd been listening to him at 21!― dow
― dow, Friday, 9 February 2024 03:36 (two months ago) link
It doesn't seem like this has been posted before, but I loved it. One hour doc from 1998, Italian made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z5zy6MaFtI
― nickn, Monday, 26 February 2024 07:02 (one month ago) link
missed this. heartbreaking
Friend of mine managed to end up backstage at a Patti Smith concert (in the Southbank probably?) Verlaine might have been there and Gillespie almost certainly was and various other luminaries. He said everyone there were complete arseholes and then he noticed a guy sitting (he thought) in a corner, pint of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, covered in ash. He went over to talk to him and it was Robert Wyatt and he was like, "What do you make of all this?" and he was basically the only genuine person in the room.
^exactly as you would expect
― A street taco cart named Des'ree (Deflatormouse), Monday, 26 February 2024 07:16 (one month ago) link
Robert Wyatt is the best <3 Wish him all the love
this sux :(
― A street taco cart named Des'ree (Deflatormouse), Monday, 26 February 2024 07:17 (one month ago) link