First Visit To The Garden

A while ago I bought "The Prison" a book and album that should be read an litened to together. I read and listened on the train journey to Edinburgh and was quite surprised that I finsihed the book as the last piece of music finished and we rolled into Edinburgh.

I bought the follow up, "This Garden" but as yet haven't done the read / listen thing. On my walk to work this morning I thought it may be nice to listen to the (largely) instrumental album and it was particularly appropriate on my walk through parts of Nunsmoor (some pictures here), although my headphone power ran out halfway through the penultimate piece "Wisteria".

I may actually try to read the book tonight just to see what the experience is like. While Mike Nesmith is a far better songwriter than book writer, it is a engaging concept , and as I have mentioned previously done particularly well withe Camel's take on Paul Gallico's "Snow Goose". I would encourage you to try all three of these, each one will only take you around forty minutes and will definitely treat you to a new concept of enhancing your reading.

We have a lot of cloud, but some blue sky. Enjoy your Thursday.

A Prison, A Garden, A Country Singer, A Snow Goose and A Camel

A far longer title that the post itself. Today I will be going up to Scotland and the other night I listened to "The Prison" by Michael Nesmith and the concept was that you read the book that comes with the album and the album is a soundtrack. The music stands on it's own but on the train up I am going to read this while listening to the album.

The general consensus is that Nesmith is a far better musician thatnauthor but that's a moot point as far as I'm concerned.

He followed the concept of "The Prison" up with "The Garden" which I am going to order after writing this very short piece. I'm not going to analyze or even tell you the story of these because I actually don't know. When I get back and have listened to both and read both books I will follow this up.

This concept was also used by Camel with Paul Gallico's "The Snow Goose" which I know a bit more about because I have done the read / listen thing with this, set in the wild, desolate Essex marshes and is an intense and moving tale about the relationship between a hunchback (Rhayader) and a young girl (Fritha) who nurse an injured bird and Rhayader's involvement in Dunkirk. It is very short and very moving and takes about the forty minutes which can be soundtracked by Camel's album based on the book. A fuller synopsis is available on Wiki here.

The weather is hot, England have been beaten, and the weekend is here so have a great Friday and a great weekend and do try to investigate these albums and books.

However I am not going to choose a song from the albums but another Michael Nesmith song "Some of Shelly's Blues".

Have a great day.

Tarantula

I've just finished "The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ" by Philip Pullman and in the afterword he says he thinks that people should have their own interpretation of a book, though some authors such as William Golding say there should only be one interpretaion of a book.

Personally I think this is true of all art , be it books , paintings, sculpture, installations or whatever. Often people dismiss art because "anyone could do that". For something to have value as art, the artist has to submit is as art and it has to have an effect, and that is any effect whether it is positive or negative. If you are affected by a piece of art then it has served it's purpose.

I've been mentioning inspiration and certain things this week have caused me to write posts and this is another one that has been caused by something.

When I was in Helmsley's Cut Price Bookstore I was looking for someting to buy (although I don't need any books at the moment, but when does that ever stop us buying a book) and I saw a copy of Bob Dylan's "Tarantula" and I resisted it, and left the shop, but then thought no, support local business and go and buy it. So I did.

I may have had "Tarantula" before but can't remember reading it (though that doesn't mean I haven't read it), and last night I opened and read the explanatory first page, which seemed good, this was followed by some publisher blurb about "Chronicles" , and incidentally I caught a bit of "No Direction Home" on Sky Arts which I got as a birthday present and still haven't watched, and it was quite amusing see supposedly Novocastrian folk fans dissing his electification with plummy home county BBC accents. I think that needs watching soon. Some people cannot accept change even if it benefits them, and while we need constants and conformity we also need evolution and progress.

Anyway I hit the first page of "Tarantula" proper and was hit with a block of stream of consciousness text, with no paragraphs and little punctuation and quite a few ampersands. It hit me like a brick wall. I first thought there is NO WAY I can read this. It's only 116 pages but in my mind was 116 brick walls.

I've read shorter novels, JG Ballard's "Running Wild" is only 110 pages but is a brilliant read, Ballard is my favourite author by the way. Paul Gallico's  24 page "The Snow Goose" can be read as you listen to the Camel album that was inspired it, you can finish it in forty odd minutes.

I will not be finishing "Tarantula" that quickly, though once you start reading the are interlude windows to an alternate parallel narrative which may or may not actually have a story. The book has had an immediate effect on me and I am enjoying it, and this is how all art should affect you.

I'll leave you with something from Camel's "Snow Goose" but do check out these books and then create some art yourself.