"Like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid", says Sonny Rollins. Maybe so, but for John Coltrane this recording was just another tape reel and another day in a brief, wondrous life.
There are new beginnings everywhere I look. Several friends are wearing signs of the terrific fatigue and joy of being new parents; Ireland’s getting a new government; the UK has uncoupled from the EU, and is presumably about to enter its GOOP-launching phase, or produce some late-period Coldplay songs; some are getting new jobs (though… Continue reading Beginnings
My task while in Bristol: make this dang record. Time spent anywhere is always limited, but now I'm aware of just how limited that time is. Which causes one to set priorities, right? So the album itself, which encapsulates what brought me to town, which encapsulates an era that is even now passing, is the… Continue reading Time to Focus. Here are the Things I’m Not Focusing On
I’m moving. In summer. Which is fun! New city, new Michael, right? Maybe. Bristol still feels like a new city to me – there’s definitely loads to discover, even after a couple of years here. Actually yes, there’s LOADS I want to do while I’m still here. I haven’t been to a gig at the… Continue reading Little Song for the Day of the Sun
Happy New Year, and now that we’re back home we’re confronted with all the treats in the world. Our home is like a selection box. Each of my arms forms a radius, within whose circle all gloriously unhealthy foods can be found. There’s also a multiplicity of gorging options offered by digital devices – but… Continue reading My Only End-of-Year List was Me Leaning to One Side, Thanks to the Cava
This week, my partner and I made an all-too-rare trip to the cinema. Not to a popcorn-carpeted theatre the size of a small city, but to our local, volunteer-run Cube Microplex, to see Atlantics. We go to see a different view of the world we live in, or to visit an imagined world, and like… Continue reading Returning Spirits
It's that time of year! No, not that one. It's the time when the hours of daylight have narrowed, when to stay warm it's necessary to chain-drink tea, and in the south-west of England at least the forecast ranges from 'heavy showers' to 'light showers'. I need inspiration, otherwise the urge to hibernate will become… Continue reading Things of Feather, Flight and Bone
Good day, friends, It's been a long time... probably... since I was last in touch. The world is a strange place, and while several parts of it are in disarray or literally on fire, among the things that seem to have become comparatively inconsequential is music. More music, new music. As you probably know, that… Continue reading Call Upon Some Saints’ Assistance
