Why does anyone like the Fall?

Woebot meditates:

http://www.woebot.com/2022/03/hip-priest.html

“The only hangovers I’ve ever had were off ecstasy. It’s not nice… You’re drying up your brain with that stuff.”

Would love to have seen MES on E. Though I have a feeling the immovable object might have resisted the unstoppable force.

They've got until Tuesday to raise £4000... so far they've managed £210! Seems like not many people like the Fall after all.

https://www.burynewroad.org/bury/save-the-fall-archive/

In case you feel like breaking the hearts of the citizens of Bury:

https://bid.omegaauctions.co.uk/auction/search/?sto=0&au=79&w=False&pn=1&mc=6&sc=96&ssc=130

xp Looks like it’s now £1,190 (which actually seems like a lot, considering the details here?)

Oh right, I didn't check the crowdfunding page. Still quite a bit short though.

I see among the categories is "Mike Leigh"

Nice try...

can’t quite work out what that last comment relates to, but the fall did have a drummer called mike leigh (no not that one) around dragnet time.

A balding Teddy Boy iirc.

interviewed in The Fallen!

Early drummer, a balding Teddy Boy
Mistaken
For famous
Film directahhh

Not surprising that Mark E. Smith was a bit of a slob.

Best artist of all time.

The five former-Fall members have joined together as HOUSE Of ALL. Their self-titled album will be released Spring 2023 & we're planning a very limited run of live shows to celebrate this unexpected coming together of former soldiers of The Fall. Aren’t we lucky! pic.twitter.com/DLWovi5nRB

— Tiny Global Productions (@tinyglobal123) November 16, 2022

prediction: not as good as the Imperial Wax album, but happy to be surprised

Hanley, Hanley, Bramah, Wolstencroft, ???

greeeeeenwaayyyyyy

because they want to wear a large suit jacket

And the House of All album is up for preorder

https://houseofall.bandcamp.com/album/house-of-all

April 22, gahhh

preview track sounds amazing

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this (from the Bandcamp writeup)

Martin Bramah, The Fall's singer until Mark E Smith's lesser guitar skills caused them to swap places, was, per Daryl Easlea, "possibly the last true equal to Smith in the group" and likewise the longest survivor of the original line-up.

re: "last true equal"

ha this song is great.

Yeah Bramah being involved gives this an immediate and interesting focal point.

someone tell me what the best book(s) on the Fall are, as I'd quite like to read firsthand accounts of how awful it was to be in this band

Steve Hanley's book is what you want.

^^^^^^

I need to finally get that.

Also, Simon Wolstencroft's.

and The Fallen! and Brix's book. get them all.

The best writting piece post Mark E. Smith disappearance.
Der Sun Ra aus Manchester
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/mladen-gladic/der-sun-ra-aus-manchester

"Mark Edward Smith, born on 5 March 1967 in Broughton in Lancashire"

So, he was ten when The Fall first formed?

Renegade is the best one. I'd rather have Mark's lies than the others' truths lol

I mean, I'd read the others ofc, I'm mostly comparing it to The Fallen which felt like a doomed exercise

Renegade is the only one I've read and it's great if you are the kind of person who frequently found his interviews piss funny, it might be a bit wearing if you are not.

The best bit is when he loses his lyrics in the desert somewhere in the US and a little lad shows up and picks them all up and he says, "Thanks, cocker".

*spoiler alert*

Renegade is the best one. I'd rather have Mark's lies than the others' truths lol

― imago, Friday, January 27, 2023 12:27 PM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

to each their own, but the Hanley book is a must read, really fab

Both Hanley's books, and the other Hanley's other books as well...the history of manchester through song book was fantastic.

ooooh I'll have to read that

reminder that the Hanley bros have a podcast called Oh! Brother where they interview ex Fall members and famous fans about The Fall
can be a bit hit or miss depending on the guest, but e.g. the Marcia Schofield & Grant Showbiz episodes were fascinating

i enjoyed the episodes with eleni poulou and steve albini.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J6cWqgoxJ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8maHil8GKY

i kinda love the episodes with people like Albini because it just turns into famous people interviewing the Hanleys about The Fall.

The Paul Hanley book about manchester (and I loved his Hex Enduction book too) is so great, it goes DEEEEP into Graham Gouldman and 10CC all the way through the 80s, and even the chapter on Joy Division was fantastic, and I say that as somebody who's read a lifetime's supply of books about Joy Division. https://www.amazon.com/Leave-Capital-History-Manchester-Recordings/dp/1901927717

also it's one of those books where the footnotes are extensive and excessive and essential and if you're reading it on kindle app on yr phone it's easy to just ignore them by accident and then have to bo back soon as you realize you have to read them.

Yeah you def have to read both hanleys- Steve’s memoir and Paul’s making of

I also liked brix’s a lot but it’d be understandable if you only read the fall related sections

Have not read renegade because it sounds annoying but the mick middles one was worthwhile as a basic band bio

The Middles book is the only Fall book I didn't like. For basic band bio there's the Simon Ford book which I remember thinking was good enough but it's been a long time since I read it. I will never read Renegade.

I specifically mentioned the Hanley and Wolstencroft books above as they are particularly good on the awfulness of working with MES.

Haven’t read wolstencroft, need to

I thought Steve Hanley’s book was very good. Shifted my perspective a little and I ended up approaching the Fall catalogue in terms of the different line-ups/eras rather than with a focus on MES as the constant.

I found the Wolstencroft one inessential. Entertaining, but kinda "I did some drugs, slept wit a girl, then the next day we travelled to the next town"