Gawd, what a fraught trip that was around Tescos today. I need to study for a postgraduate degree in shopping vouchers. Thanks for the comments. For a moment I thought Latlife was the title of a New Order album, then I realised that was Lowlife.
Paul Simon was known for his sensitivity from early on - Old Friends, April Come She Will, My Little Town etc - whereas McLaren was expected to do outrage. Both their futures in the early 1980s though were uncertain. McLaren was being seen as increasingly tame. "Hearts and Bones" (1983), Simon's only original album between 1975 and 1986, had only reached number 35. It is difficult to assess McLaren's main fan base. Even if some of those who sent Buffalo Gals into the charts had been Pistols' fans, they were with him for the entertainment rather than the politics. While a few odd musos and politicos might have had sleepless nights about elements of Puleng in Double Dutch, what remained of the masses only revolted later over the punk negator Madam Butterfly.
I rather like the varied self-indulgent twists and turns of McLaren's eighties' output. For someone so fiery, his music never quite triggered internal emotions in the way that he thought. His emotion was always largely directed towards posturing. However, he was highly attuned to the zeitgeist and went to great lengths to bring new sounds to a wider public. While heavily crafted, his records could either be energetic or things of icy beauty. Cynicism's a funny thing. He was the epitome of it in his aptitude for promotion and the very opposite when it came to having a genuine enthusiasm and not simply churning out the obvious.
Anyhow, he was on the wane. As it turned out, Simon wasn't. Graceland was not merely a huge success but an international phenomenon. I do think that some of the bitterness is about that success. Don't forget that sixties' folkies were supposed to have been working anonymously in offices long before 1980. Recording until 70 and beyond wasn't a part of the new generation's game plan. And then, as far as the journalists born in the 1980s are concerned, I think any shortfall in knowledge is countered by modern day prejudices. South Africa isn't quite the promised land the international community wanted it to be. Someone has to be blamed for it. The easiest target is probably an old white Jewish American millionaire who is only just over five feet tall.
Paul Simon was known for his sensitivity from early on - Old Friends, April Come She Will, My Little Town etc - whereas McLaren was expected to do outrage. Both their futures in the early 1980s though were uncertain. McLaren was being seen as increasingly tame. "Hearts and Bones" (1983), Simon's only original album between 1975 and 1986, had only reached number 35. It is difficult to assess McLaren's main fan base. Even if some of those who sent Buffalo Gals into the charts had been Pistols' fans, they were with him for the entertainment rather than the politics. While a few odd musos and politicos might have had sleepless nights about elements of Puleng in Double Dutch, what remained of the masses only revolted later over the punk negator Madam Butterfly.
I rather like the varied self-indulgent twists and turns of McLaren's eighties' output. For someone so fiery, his music never quite triggered internal emotions in the way that he thought. His emotion was always largely directed towards posturing. However, he was highly attuned to the zeitgeist and went to great lengths to bring new sounds to a wider public. While heavily crafted, his records could either be energetic or things of icy beauty. Cynicism's a funny thing. He was the epitome of it in his aptitude for promotion and the very opposite when it came to having a genuine enthusiasm and not simply churning out the obvious.
Anyhow, he was on the wane. As it turned out, Simon wasn't. Graceland was not merely a huge success but an international phenomenon. I do think that some of the bitterness is about that success. Don't forget that sixties' folkies were supposed to have been working anonymously in offices long before 1980. Recording until 70 and beyond wasn't a part of the new generation's game plan. And then, as far as the journalists born in the 1980s are concerned, I think any shortfall in knowledge is countered by modern day prejudices. South Africa isn't quite the promised land the international community wanted it to be. Someone has to be blamed for it. The easiest target is probably an old white Jewish American millionaire who is only just over five feet tall.
), about Graceland. Ladysmith reminding of the effect they had when they first burst on the scene - hadn't seen the clip from Saturday Night Live before. I was interested in Simon's stance, politicians v artists, which he made with the son of Oliver Tambo who was far too reminiscent of Oliver Reed, but forgave him in the end (spoiler alert) - also an interesting suggestion of why the Boyoyo Boys are not on the album, when in some ways they were the original inspiration. Needless to say woke up this morning with the 'Mississippi Delta was shining like a National Guitar' in my ear.
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