A HIDDEN LANDSCAPE ONCE A WEEK: the kickstarter for the book of the politics of rockwriting conference

londoners the actual real official LAUNCH of this takes place in nine days' time: 19 March at Iklectik, nr Archbishop's Park, London SE1 7LG, inc.a Q&A panel feat.me, savage pencil, bob stanley and MC my podcast co-host Hazel Southwell. Come along and say hi!

go here for details: https://www.facebook.com/events/358489934749708/

I read your intro; it was really interesting and did a good job of fleshing out these weeklies that have floated in and out of a not-unsubstantial portion of the conversations I've had for the past decade and a half at the very least

My copy arrived this morning! Like the chunky size and cover stock, and especially like the lettering on the spine. Great to see so many ILXers listed in the back. Congrats mark s.

Mine just arrived!

Got it! It smells so good.

Somehow never got around to help kickstart (sorry!), but otoh received it through regular buying a couple of weeks ago. Congrats Mark!

Upcoming launch events in London, Cambridge and Norwich

Tuesday March 19: The big London launch is at IKLECTIK ARTS, 7 for 7.30pm (free), in Old Paradise Yard, 20 Carlisle Lane, London SE1 7LG. Mark Sinker, book illustrator Savage Pencil, contributor and musician Bob Stanley asked questions by Hazel Southwell

Wednesday March 20: I am giving a paper at a seminar at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge. "MUSIC AS IMAGINARY COUNTERCOMMUNITY: The emergence, dispersal and dissolution of a dissenting media subculture", ARU, Helmore 201, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT (3.30-5pm).

Tuesday March 26: in conversation with CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY and MATTHEW WORLEY at Louis Marchesi (17 Tombland, Norwich NR3 1HR, nr the cathedral), 6:30-8pm (organised by the Hive Bookshop):

Wednesday April 3: in conversation with OWEN HATHERLEY at Housmans bookshop, 5 Caledonian Rd, N1 9DY London, from 7pm: (tickets £3 each redeemable against any purchase).

so I am enjoying this and will say more when I finish I guess.

Maybe this was linked to elsewhere, I don't know--Scott Woods interviewing mark s. about the book.

http://rockcritics.com/2019/08/09/interview-with-mark-sinker-editor-of-a-hidden-landscape-once-a-week-a-book-about-the-uk-music-press-which-any-critical-person-could-learn-from-and-enjoy/

I don't check in on rockcritics.com as often as I should, so I sometimes miss things there--the interview goes back a month.

hi all, i am in MANCHESTER for the LOUDER THAN WORDS FESTIVAL to talk abt the book with SIMON FRITH and JOHN McCREADY

https://louderthanwordsfest.com/2019/10/09/a-hidden-landscape/

(Sun 2pm to be precise)

How did Manchester talk go?

i enjoyed it! there were even some quite young people at it lol (some of them left early)

An article on NME history:

https://journals.openedition.org/palimpsestes/4649?lang=en

nice to be cited! the typo in the 13-word quote was not in the book! say hi to eugene from me!

( i will read this later) (im saving it up)

Got some old music press vibes off this interview:

https://newsocialist.org.uk/culture-ordinary-interview-billy-lunn/

Gets a mention here:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/07/beethoven-was-black-why-the-radical-idea-still-has-power-today

nice! only gets two things wrong lol (neither matters much tho both will now get traction *sigh*: i wasn't reporting my conversation, it's from the on-stage interview richard williams did with her at the conference -- and val wasn't officially interviewing reich i don't think, just talking to him informally at some point)

ok i checked my own book lol, and yes, apparently she was officially interviewing him

the screenshot of the relevant passage that andrew male tweeted last year is going quietly viral

(someone has already made the bad val kilmer joke in comments, and someone else the worse "fourth reich" joke)

i got to do a "this blew up here's my soundcloud" tweet :D

(linking to the book, i don't really have a soundcloud)

lol just saw that.

A long time ago I remember B3n W**son doing a Steve Reich is an imperialist - type thing (doubt it was on Wire, probably on his site) which he (ofc!) used to prosecute minimalism with.

the essay cited here (it's linked in googledocs further down the thread, for now at least) is very interesting on the complexities of that (i've only had time to skim it):

And for some more interesting reading on Reich's politics:https://t.co/xzpgtAXLIQ

— Pierce Gradone (@piercegradone) September 8, 2020

Excellent interview with Chris Bohn, touches on lots of aspects of Hidden Landscape, further testimony to that time:

https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/06/eastern-bloc-rock

Thanks, and speaking of interviews, when Scott posted his Mark interview re this book in '19. I commented:
Great interview—can see I’m going to have to re-read to catch every bit of it (possibly)–as with Mark’s intro to the anthology (was immediately gratified by his hailing of 80s syncretism, a new age [somebody pointed out that this was in part because of cassettes, rough and ready in areas around the world where record and CD players weren’t feasible}. In contrast to some of his contributors, who dismissed the 80s for plastic on everything, Phil Collins and shoulder pads bleghh).
Fave contributions pretty obvious choices: adventures of Val Wilmer, Cynthia Rose having lunch with Andy and his corsets, Hon. Chas Shaar Murray stylin’, Penny Reel! )thanx so much for link to Mark’s Freaky Trigger on him) Also the intriguing Paul Morely, applecart-upsetter Paul Gilroy, and Mr. Frith on his experience in xgau’s version of the Voice line-edit (goes with what I’ve heard from other survivors).

admin
September 9, 2019 at 2:36 pm

Ah yes, Don, thanks for mentioning Mark’s intro–I would have if I didn’t struggle so much trying to write ANY kind of intro for THIS (I meant to quote a couple bits from it, in fact). It’s really a great thing in itself, wonderfully detailed, lots of open questions.

Here's the whole thing:
https://rockcritics.com/2019/08/09/interview-with-mark-sinker-editor-of-a-hidden-landscape-once-a-week-a-book-about-the-uk-music-press-which-any-critical-person-could-learn-from-and-enjoy/#comments

Came across this tribute to an anarchist organiser who did a lot of work in punk zines.

https://crimethinc.com/2023/02/10/we-remember-jen-angel-a-eulogy