Some quiet news

Thomas Dolby is going into the studio tomorrow. This, according to his blog. Now, I found this blog off a list of LJ feeds and randomly decided to friend it. I still don't know that much about Thomas Dolby outside of the whole science eyesight loss incident. I do know that he played to Boise the year I was 20 and he played at a bar so I couldn't go. And then of course that venue hasn't had anything that great since I was granted entry by virtue of growing older. Such is life.

I have a couple more book reviews to write. I don't know if this'll become a regular feature, but Rachel checked out a whole bunch of books from Boise's library, including one on techno.

In unrelated news, I downloaded a Martin L. Gore sim, and rasturbated a picture of Dave Gahan which looks very cool on our wall. Pictures to come?

Book review: Jonathan Miller's "Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode

Please excuse the tardiness of this post as I've just moved to Boise. Man, that's a bit of a headache and it really does force me to see just how many books I own. Maybe not for long?

Anyhoo, I've just read a band biography about Depeche Mode, this book, specifically. I found it to be a pretty extensive account of the development of DM throughout the years. Some may find all the info on Vince Clarke's post-Depeche career a little irrelevant, but I appreciated it if only because I'm a bit curious about Erasure at this point in time.

This book is mostly cobbled together through interviews originally published in music magazines, such as Smash Hits, New Musical Express, and Melody Maker. But don't let that fact keep you from thinking that this book has nothing more to offer. Miller interviewed many people himself to flesh out the book and to get other sides to the story. He interviewed Vince Clarke, Jo Gahan, Gareth Jones (producer), and many of the band's old acquaintances from their days living in Basildon.

Miller is a sympathetic narrator and one that's easy to follow. I found his writing style effective. He obviously put in a lot of work, "2,000 man hours" as he put it. All that work is reflected in the text and in the bibliography. The reader comes away feeling like they have a fairly accurate story of Depeche Mode.

This book made me, as a relatively new fan, aware of the personalities of all the band members. Surely old fans who actively sought out interviews already knew a bit about all the musicians, but I found it nice. One Amazon reviewer surmised that Alan Wilder wouldn't appreciate the author for making him seem "arrogant, filled with self importance." I just found him delightfully acerbic and funny as hell, but I'm a bit biased in Wilder's favor. I found him to be sensible and matter-of-fact, not self-important. It seems like he holds no hard feelings about the departure and neither does the rest of the group. Maybe he's a bit hard on Fletch, but everyone had their turn being hard on Fletch.

This is surely a hefty read. The main part of the book is 518 pages and the bibliography and discography punches it up to 596 pages. Despite its length, it's still an engrossing read. One gripe that my sister and an Amazon reviewer shared is the fact that Miller spent more time and words on the early days and sped through the more recent years and albums.

If you want some sort of rating system, I would give this book 4/5 stars.

SotD: "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" by The Smiths

Song of the Day goes morose as this popped up on shuffle. This is Morrissey set to maudlin. Live performance with Moz's band from 2006 Some kid also made his own music video that I found last summer and didn't watch all the way through and won't watch now. But I encourage you to watch it!

Related link: "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" on Wikipedia

SotD: "Tastes So Good" by File 13

Oh my God, I went 21 years without hearing this song and it hit me hard. Maybe it's like chicken pox in that respect. Get it out of the way when you're young and it won't affect you so badly. Anyway, have a non-music video YouTube video. My sister and I played this track on our college radio show and totally surprised someone in our listening audience. He had never heard this and barely knew what he was listening to.

I know it's been slow 'round here, but I'm moving. So that's exciting.

Related link: Double Dee and Steinski on Wikipedia

SotD: "Another Night" by Real McCoy

This was one of my favorite songs when it came out when I was in third grade (Huh, wikipedia told me that this song came out in 1994, but I distinctly remember it coming out when I was in second grade, which would make it '93.) So anyway, I loved this song because I like Eurodance? Another night, another dream, but always you. Check out the related videos! Ah, memories.

SotD: "Little Girls" by Oingo Boingo

Warning: Contains midgets.

This is the song of the day purely because it was in Sarah's head today. And it was in my head at work yesterday. Two people can't be wrong, right?

My Spencer Cobrin interview

After yesterday's post I wondered if there was any pressing need to reproduce my article in case any reader got curious. Sure, was my conclusion. This was an interview I conducted via MySpace (as I've previously mentioned) last summer. I thought this guy would be like, "A school newspaper? What's the point?" but, no. And I lived out part of a fangirl dream. So here is my interview, as it appeared in the Coyote. Title, opening paragraph, and inset are not my words. Spencer Cobrin had a positive reaction and gave it rave reviews, adding that his friends thought it was great.

The Next Chapter for Spencer Cobrin
by Sarah Beukelman
Hit nineties drummer spills all on sensitivities, glory days, and varied plans

Spencer Cobrin supplied the beats for one of the best, and most controversial, Irish rock albums of the early nineties. [You see? That was totally the editor's misguided attempt to edit a weak opener. Better a weak opener than an inaccurate opener, I say] Cobrin was a member of Morrissey's band from 1991 - joining the group at the age of 22 - until he left in 1998. Many fans consider him to be the best drummer Morrissey has ever worked with. And who could forget the way he licked his way around an ice cream in the video for "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"?

A couple years after Cobrin left Morrissey's band, he formed Elva Snow with Australian singer Scott Matthew. (Elva Snow's self-titled album is available on Cd Baby's website and I highly recommend it. Get it while you can.) Elva Snow has since dissolved and Cobrin has left to focus on composing for film, which he is exceedingly good at. Credits include music for the documentary My Child: Mothers of War and the film Send in the Clown. Samples of his work are available for listening at his MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/spencercobrin). Cobring's page features songs he co-wrote with Morrissey, Elva Snow tracks, and compositions for film. As a guitarist, pianist, and drummer, his music is noteworthy for its range and emotionality.

Cobrin and I recently discussed what it was like recording Your Arsenal and what life is like post-Morrissey. [Note: this was meant to be a companion piece to an "essential albums"-type column I wanted to have in the paper. That idea was shot down :(] I discovered an artist who is funny, intelligent, and yes, a little bit sweet.

Your Arsenal is one of my essential albums. What are a few of your essential albums?
Art Blakey's Indestructible, Joni Mitchell's Blue, and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture.

What is your favorite song on Your Arsenal?
"The National Front Disco"

How was it in the recording studio when you were recording? Had you become comfortable working with Morrissey and you other bandmates by this point?
It was exciting but overshadowed by my lack of skill and confidence on the drums, and within myself, I was very insecure and had no self-esteem whatsoever. I had to try very hard; I was the least talented in the band and had to really dig deep.

Have you found self-esteem? Is the present day Spencer Cobrin more secure in his abilities than '91-'92 Spencer Cobrin?
Looking back and comparing myself then and now, I've grown a lot. I also challenged myself to do things I would never have done.

Morrissey fans are known for being particularly enthusiastic. Was it overwhelming or did you embrace (pardon me for saying it) the rock and roll lifestyle?
I loved life on the road. I didn't set out to be a rock and roll cliche, nor did I become one, thankfully, but i did my share of partying (and still do!) It was a joyous time. Coming off the road was very hard though - living on adrenaline for months at a time - it's not surprising people turn to paraphernalia to keep the high going; it can be quite a comedown.

How did you manage to stay away from "paraphernalia" as you put it?
Loaded question!

Do you still keep in touch with any of your former bandmates?
A couple of them wrote me recently. It has been 10 years since I've heard from them.

How did you make the decision to get into scoring? Do you long for the days of touring and live gigs?
I thought it would be a great creative outlet for me, something to explore and see if I actually had a proclivity for it. I started to meet filmmakers and test the waters. Of course I always throw myself into the deep end, but real life experience is better than books. It hasn't been easy but I'm doing something that I never thought I could do. What else lies beneath!?

I haven't missed the touring at all, which is strange. Maybe I just had enough of it. It would be fun to play live again but I don't pine for the days of old. That was a rich chapter of my life and I've moved onto the next.

Are you working on anything currently?
Most recently I scored a heist/feature film, Daylight Robbery and am writing the cello arrangements for Scott Matthew's debut album.

Do you write a lot of music for yourself on the side? If so, are you interested in working with lyricists? Just for fun?
I've been pretty busy with film and other projects recently that that is all I've had time for, but maybe when things calm down again, which they invariably will.

What plans do you have for the months ahead?
I would really like to travel for a while and get way from this damn laptop!

Your location is listed as both London and New York. In an interview you said that London doesn't feel like home. Has this changed for you?
Yes, definitely, having been in g NY for 10 years I love going back to London. I see it through new eyes. I love that everything is so green, that's the first impression one gets immediately departing the airport, green everywhere. It was shocking having not seen it for so long.

In an interview for MorrisseyTour.com you described yourself/your music as "romantic, emotional, and sad". Would you still describe yourself that way? Also referring to the the interview:[the author claims that there is a Good Spencer Cobrin who is approachable and easygoing and "other" Spencer Cobrin who is a bit standoffish]are there tow Spencer Cobrins? Which one is answering my questions?
No, not two, just confused, lost! I haven't departed from my personal feelings of musical expression, except for working on projects where you are fulfilling someone else's vision. Of course, I can assimilate that too, but I still lean towards the tragic romantic nature of art, or being, unrequited love namely.

What is your philosophy on love? [whoa, heavy/heady stuff!]
Oh boy, I'm not one to really expound on this but I suppose love is like an all-consuming sickness, if you've got it bad, it's band, but if you've got it good, you're lucky and if you've had it but lost it, it'll screw you up, it's a crazy thing.

On a fan sit from 1995 someone described you as "so painfully sweet, it was untrue" when you autographed a fanzine. Do you think of yourself as sweet?
No! Ha. I'm just not a bastard.

Are you a reader? What books do you enjoy?
I'm currently going through my Greek mythology phase, but I'm kind a picky, if it doesn't grab me then forget it.

Live Earth took place recently. Did you catch any of it? Do you think an event like this will produce any significant lasting changes?
My TV has about four channels and I don't really watch TV that much anyway. And not unless there was a shift on a global scale by big business and government now. There is obviously much more awareness and talk on the subject but how much change do you see taking place? It's way too slow to have any lasting effect. It's pathetic. America being the leading power is so far behind the eight ball on this, it has the resources and power to make a significant impact almost overnight, which is needed right now, but is leading us down a road to disaster.

What's the deal with the ice cream in the "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" video? How do things like that get into videos? Do you laugh about it now?
It was improvised. They gave me an ice cream and I just went with it - it's called being a ham! Plus I'm pretty self-deprecating. I really didn't care what people thought, seems like a lot of people took it way too seriously. The seem to get really defensive of attack me for it. That's been my experience, ti's very odd. But one has to have a laugh and I just couldn't resist it.

One silly question: who do you allow to call you Spenny? Second sill question: can I call you Spenny? [XD]
I don't allow, people just take advantage of me. {I read this imagining Cobrin saying this with the deepest of sighs. Oh the bother of being called Spenny!}
You can call me Shirley.

So there you have it!

SotD: "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" by Morrissey

This may just be me, but I prefer Morrissey when he worked with the Smiths. That's not why I gathered you here today, though. This is mostly to celebrate that drummer named Spencer Cobrin (appearing in this video for Morrissey). This guy is cuter than puppies and so modest! I had the privilege of interviewing him for the College of Idaho student newspaper via his MySpace page. I totally asked him for the interview out of the blue and he was so nice about it. I'll always consider him my "big break" like a dork.

Musically, I don't know much about drummers and what makes for better drummers than others besides the ability to keep a steady beat. However, I can say that this dude is pretty talented! He not only plays the drums, but he plays the piano and guitar. Right now, he's given up live performance for composing and doing scoring for films. His work is really good.

Last year, he even wished me a happy birthday! This musician is definitely one of my favorite personalities.

Further link: Elva Snow on CD Baby

Recoil

I barely know what I'm listening to, and I mean that in the best way possible. After having a huge crush on Alan Wilder and seeing him on my last.fm recommended artists page, I got my hands on Recoil: the side project turned main project solo work by Alan Wilder. I'm listening to Liquid (2000) featuring spoken word artists over atmospheric music. It's really cool. Definitely not pop but definitely appealing to those who like a bit of challenge with their music. If that describes you, then, dear lord, find some Recoil. It's giving me chills.

Links: The Recoil MySpace page (Oh my gosh! A mailing address for Alan Wilder!)
Recoil on Wikipedia
An interview turned essay/rant
The Recoil Video Channel on YouTube

In Morrissey-related news

The album that was supposed to come out in 2008 has been pushed back to 2009 it seems. Story on Morrissey-solo.com. I can't say I'm all that surprised. Speculations as to why appear in the comments. It would be quite the bold move to follow up the Greatest Hits album so soon with a studio album, but I think fans are ready now considering that Ringleader... was released more than two years ago.

Of course this increases the likelihood that Moz and Depeche Mode will be on tour at the same time (although it's impossible to predict that they'll be in my neck of the woods at the same time). If they are in the NW at the same time I will be both sad and broke.

Please to Overlook

the fact that there has been no song of the day lately. Dude, I've found myself in Nampa twice already this week and I'm going back tomorrow for a dental cleaning. So here, have a song today. Have this totally 90s style music video for "Spin Spin Sugar" by the Sneaker Pimps. Lick that milkshake, Chris Corner!