The Life and Times of Bitsy Ramone: November 2006

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Your Monday Morning WakeUp Call

'Questioning my Sanity' by L7 (Live in Cannes on the Beach)

Saturday, November 25, 2006

The Day I Met Courtney Love

I had the most interesting experience this week, meeting two people (oddly linked in the most bizarre way) that were majorly responsible and impressionable upon my teenage years, namely the writer, former editor of Melody Maker and champion of american music in the nineties, Everett True and one Courtney Love.

Firstly was a visit to the Charing Cross Borders to hear Everett talk about his new book, Nirvana: The True Story as well as a meet and great promtional thing for his excllent magazine, Plan B. It really is an excellent book, you truly feel so close to the band as the author and surrounding figures take you on his journey through the early days of the band right upto a very exclusive view of Kurt's funeral.

The Bookseller to the Stars Review:

This is the last word and definately the most respectable biography of the band (until Dave or Krist ever feel to brave the task), blowing the likes of "Heavier and Heaven" out of the water. Weaving in accounts from the people most close to Kurt and the band, the man who was the first British journalist to cover the music scene in late 80's Seattle. In his journey, he enlightens die hard fans with reconstituted interviews and unheard anecdotes from the people who truly have respect for the man who was one of the closest confidents to the "Kurtney" camp in 92 and 93. It's just truly captivating from the first honest and moving chapter.

If you appreciated Nirvana for what they were, a great rock band who got a little too famous and successful than they anticipated, then you have to read this book. If you just think the man was a junkie and you danced to "Teen Spirit" at your prom, then, perhaps this is not for you. Everett for one, will agree with me.

An empassioned Everett pointed out at Borders that the reason he eventually felt the need to write this book was because he was sick of reading articles and books about the band from writers and inexperienced journalists who never even met Kurt and was even more frustrated at hearing the Courtney version of events too.

From the nature of his final days to when they first met, Everett seemed to be pertubed as is in his book about Courtney's recollections, but then neither Everett or Courtney really has been able to recollect adequately with the years of drug and drink intake. An example of his frustrations with the contiued Nirvana accounts is what he wrote in my book, that people keep writing that Nirvana were a Seattle band, when they weren't and never lived in Seattle.

It was great to meet and chat with him though and hear his views on the music magazine trade at the moment. Very interesting. He is working on a book about Sonic Youth which is great news. They really need to be revisited because as great as "Confusion is Next" is, it ends in 1994.

There was an interesting admission from Courtney on the Jonathan Ross show last night and its something that Everett has definately a point about Courtney and her shit memory/dubious historical source about Kurt.

JR: Y'know I met him very briefly...

CL: Really?

JR: He came on one of my shows. Nirvana came on one of my shows.

CL: Oh, I must not have been going out with him.

JR: I think it was before you were with him.

CL: Oh, i must not have been going out with him, cause I definately would have come along to that.

JR: It was years ago.. '91. When did you start going out?

CL: I started going out with him September-November 91.

I think Courtney's brain has been fried over the years. Courtney was with him. According to the accompanying booklet to With The Lights Out, Nirvana appeared on Ross' show on December the 6th that year, so Courtney would have been dating Kurt by her omission but what is more searching is that Courtney should have remembered as it is a well documented fact that the couple fell in love around this time as the bands were touring in the Uk at the same time and Kurt proposed to Courtney a few days after they were on Jonathan Ross at TJ's in Newport after one of her gigs.

Hole would have been in Gronigen, Holland the night Nirvana were on Ross' show, which would explain her abscence but I think she just has a shit memory really.
I mean, I love the girl but she didn't even remember being on The Word when I asked her last night... She should really get some YouTube, it was a great performance...

I wonder if she was playing cute dumb american then and with Ross about the Nirvana appearence. After all, the performance of "Terriorial Pissings" is on the Live, Tonight, Sold Out DVD/long documented video release. They were due to do "Lithium" as Ross announces but changed their minds at the last minute to antagonise the producers.

Courtney expanded on the Mickey Mouse Club rejection on Ross' show also. She said that she read a Sylvia Plath poem called "Daddy" and Jonathan pointed out that wasn't really inkeeping in the tone of Disney, which was quite funny.

So, onto the signing.

It was very well attended and I got out early so I could head down to Picadilly. I was a bag of nerves all day and I was really concerned as to whether I would get to see her as Courtney stopped traffic in Oxford Street last time she did a signing in the capital (12 years ago) but as Waterstones had not shouted too loud about it (only using posters in the store and a message on the internet) and not let out a press release about it, we were able to comfortably have a good experience. If they had, it really would have been bedlam, so hat's off to them.

We waited about 2 hours to see her. When we finally got into the room on the sixth floor that the signing was taking place, there was another queue that snaked around the room, which took another 30mins. There was a Stones album playing, although I'm not sure which one as I didn't recognise it so probably something from the late 70s/early 80s, if I know Courtney.

There were no photos allowed (hence the getty images, sorry) and we had our bags taken from her. Some had even their flowers and gifts taken away by the security before they had chance to give them to the star, which I thought was a bit shitty but then the security presence around Courtney was a bit extreme. Two of the biggest guys I have ever seen were flanking the ends of the table eyeing up everyone that approached, as well as one other checking what we has on us.

I had planned to give Courtney a hand painted T-shirt I had bought from this guy outside her show in Barcelona '95 to give to Frances but I thought "Fuck it, what's the point?", I wouldn't get to see her reaction to it and she wouldn't be able to thank me, what's the point in that?
Anyway, she was very gracious with everyone who came to see her. She was signing for well over the amount of time she had planned, which would have only have been down to her passion for her fans and the fact that they had let her smoke. She even smiled attentively and thanked the people with multiple copies that were clearly going straight home to advertise them on Ebay.
Y'know, I had all of these things planned to say and we ended up chatting about Metallica!

...and it was worth every minute. It went something like this:

CL: Hi Mark! (Like we were old friends)

I should point out that we're not (cha-ha) even though we met some years ago very briefly but that the people at Waterstones had prepared everyone's name on a sticker in the book.

BTTS: "Hey Courtney, I just wanted to say that the book is great and I have loved you and your band ever since I saw you on The Word in 1993 playing Beautiful Son..."

CL: "We were on The Word?"

BTTS: "Yeah"

CL: "God, that makes me feel old..."

I resisted, honestly.

BTTS: "Well, yeah and that pulled me out of my Metallica phase and it was because of that I got into so many other bands like Sonic Youth, The Breeders and L7 so thanks..."

CL: "Cool, well y'know I played with them. Metallica are awesome, they're gods. Nobody can kick they're asses. I mean, nobody. Not even me."

BTTS: "Yeah, they are cool. Will you come and play Reading this year, pretty please?"

CL: "Err... well... I'd like to. I'm coming to do a play..."

BTTS: "You should play the smaller stage though..."

CL: "Reading... Fuck off, If I'm coming, I'm headlining... (laughs)"

BTTS: "Well, that would be cool too."

I told her that I was really looking forward to her album coming out and she thanked me for my support of her and even said "Goodbye Mark...", it was really just an amazing few minutes that I won't get over for a long time. She really has touched so many, despite her guarded nature and I hope she continues on the right path and stops getting involved with drug addicted British comedians and vacuous Hollywood Types and concentrate on her career.

The Bookseller to the Stars Reviews Dirty Blonde

Links:

More Courtney Pix

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

"The Young, Crazed Peeling" by The Distillers

This is for my friend Alys, in celebration of her return to the stage this week.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Rancid Brixton Acadamy 16th November 2006

So after a rather boozy and oddly run book launch, I dashed down to catch the Rancid punx down at their sold out show at Brixton Acadamy. The place was packed, definately more people there than their show at the same venue three years ago. To think with Matt Freeman's recent health scare, it was touch and go whether these guys would ever play together again. But he's been fighting and he's back for now and we were treated to an almost celebratory retrospective show that cover their number of albums complete with covers and additional career spanning film footage shot behind the band.

From the word go and the opening bars of "Radio", the pit was heaving and by the third song, the band actually stopped mid song to say, "Hey, calm the fuck down." It was the mst manic I have ever seen the venue and definately the most rioutous show I've been to since seeing The Vandals and Sick of it All on that tiny little stage the stuck on the outside of the Millenium Dome at the Snickers Game On.

The band never fails to deliver and as usual, I sung myself hoarse. Pics here, set list and videos at the bottom...

Here's the Set List from the night (highlighted tracks have video links):

"Radio"/"Roots Radicals"/"Nihlism"/"Journey to the End of the East Bay"/"Black and Blue"/"Dead Bodies"/"Sidekick"/"Tenderloin"/"Unity" (Operation Ivy)/"Maxwell Murder"/"Gunshot"/"Antennas"/"Old Friend"/"World's End"/"California"/"Rejected"/"Salvation Road"/"St.Mary"/"Rats in the Hallway"/"Olympia, WA"/"Hoover Street"/"Timebomb"

"Fall Back Down"/"To Have and Have Not"(Billy Bragg)/"Bloodclot"/"Knowledge" (Operation Ivy)/"Ruby Soho"

Friday, November 17, 2006

Sonic

Theres this competition on KerrangTV to win a chance to meet the band Killswitch Engage and the voiceover in the ad is like,

"You will spend the day being sonically abused by the band!"

I wonder what thats like? Does anyone know how to sonically abuse someone, I need to know.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Monday Morning Wake Up

“Journey to the End of the East Bay” by Rancid (Warped Tour 2003)

In anticipation of this week’s Rancid gig, here’s a great live clip from the band for your Monday Morning.

Trapped in a Box, No More

I thought it was coming but I have been in denial for so long. Yes, I think Gwen Stefani has finally disappeared up her own arse.

Has the adulation and iconic wonderment of others upon her in recent years finally caught up with her? Has being the media and style darling of the high fashion monthlies and red carpet diva-like moments of oscar nights and the like finally popped Gwen's credibility bubble?

What happened to the spunky young thing that did this?

It pains me very much so as a long time No Doubt fan. For nearly, 10 years now. I am quite willing to admit that the first time I heard the crooning of Don't Speak in early '97 (thanks to a certain girl from Leeds), I really turned my nose up at it. That was until I heard Just a Girl and eventually discovered the ska-punk brilliance of the album that the song was lifted, Tragic Kingdom, at a tiny little record store in Bognor Regis.

It baffled me before this point why exactly the likes of Kerrang! (hard rock UK magazine) were giving them such worthwhile coverage (in particular their spectacular live shows that January in London). I really couldn't get enough and didn't until I got the chance to see them when I eventually arrived in London myself in early 2002. By this time, they were fairly removed from the Tragic Kingdom era band and had moved into some ragga tip ska thing that was bordering on a bit of a bore. The magic was still there in the show though and I was brought to tears at the Brixton Acadamy, when they finally bounced on to the tune of Hey Baby.

So it is with great sadness to now witness the video for new single, Wind it Up.

Before we get onto the pseudo-Busta Rhymes imagary of the video, this slunky Missy Elliot cast off not only lacks the vision it aludes to in its concept, but its Sound of Music sample and incessant and irritating constant yodelling are just cringeworthy.

It's very depressing indeed. I couldn't even watch it until the end.

I wasn't convinced the first time she marching band her way into a solo career a year or two ago, despite my enjoyment of What You Waiting For?, not surprisingly the Linda Perry track. This is reminiscent of Hollaback Girl from the last album to the point where it could almost be a remix and that would be due to both tracks being co-penned by The Neptunes/Pharrell Williams. Awful, truly awful and very sad.