OK Graham, that was you, wasn't it? You sent me the email and pretended to be Zed. What a funny chap you are, ha ha ha.
Genuinely, mate, I would be interested to know what you thought of "Without You". Any chance of a comment? Come on, I know you read this.
Sunday 26 August 2007
Monday 13 August 2007
Without You
For me, "Without You" was Beth's masterpiece. I hope I've done it justice. You can now hear my first version of it on www.fournotes.co.uk. Just choose "Without You" from the menu that appears when you click on "Music".
Maybe, Graham, you think this is slightly more representative of the band?
Maybe, Graham, you think this is slightly more representative of the band?
Thursday 9 August 2007
Out of the blue
This email received this morning:
Everything's cool. Let it be.
Z
My jaw is on the floor.
Everything's cool. Let it be.
Z
My jaw is on the floor.
Wednesday 8 August 2007
Graham
Graham's got me thinking now. I could never understand how someone so logical, straightforward, lacking in imagination and dare I say just plain dull could ever come up with a lyric so sick as "I Keep the One I Love in the Freezer".
Then it occurred to me. Maybe he didn't need any imagination to write it. Maybe it was based on personal experience. Got anything you want to tell me, Graham?
From what I remember, Graham wrote the song just after Zed disappeared, so I guess he might have been feeling a bit disturbed by the whole experience - we all were. But I still to this day have trouble matching up the Graham I knew with the words of this song.
Then it occurred to me. Maybe he didn't need any imagination to write it. Maybe it was based on personal experience. Got anything you want to tell me, Graham?
From what I remember, Graham wrote the song just after Zed disappeared, so I guess he might have been feeling a bit disturbed by the whole experience - we all were. But I still to this day have trouble matching up the Graham I knew with the words of this song.
Monday 6 August 2007
Just for the record
I have to respond to Graham's post. I tried not to, but it is so full of errors that I just have to comment.
On 'A Face in the Crowd, part IV': Graham, you never understood this. It's essential to the overall piece because it acts as a still point at the centre. Jen's "complex and wonderfully haunting bass line" I had a really good laugh about. Jen for once missed the point of this music too and overcomplicated it. Removing it, and simplifying the percussion, was essential to return it to its essence. So now there's no endless banging away by the drummer, thank goodness.
"I Keep the One I Love in the Freezer" was a very sick song, Graham. I was never comfortable singing it and it is your worst lyric. And as for representative, what planet are you on? It was the least representative of our music. For me it was far too close to the commercial "single" that we were always trying to avoid, though having said that I can't imagine a song about that subject in the charts somehow. I think you were mistaking the cheering at the end of performances of it for appreciation - personally I think they were just glad it had stopped.
So pleased you're worried about my mental health old mate. It's a shame you didn't show your concern a bit sooner, isn't it? You never liked a mystery, did you - everything in Grahamworld always has to be so controlled and logical and understood. The world's not like that. Maybe you're happier now you're a bank manager or whatever mundane humdrum job it is you do, but some of us just think there's a little bit more.
On 'A Face in the Crowd, part IV': Graham, you never understood this. It's essential to the overall piece because it acts as a still point at the centre. Jen's "complex and wonderfully haunting bass line" I had a really good laugh about. Jen for once missed the point of this music too and overcomplicated it. Removing it, and simplifying the percussion, was essential to return it to its essence. So now there's no endless banging away by the drummer, thank goodness.
"I Keep the One I Love in the Freezer" was a very sick song, Graham. I was never comfortable singing it and it is your worst lyric. And as for representative, what planet are you on? It was the least representative of our music. For me it was far too close to the commercial "single" that we were always trying to avoid, though having said that I can't imagine a song about that subject in the charts somehow. I think you were mistaking the cheering at the end of performances of it for appreciation - personally I think they were just glad it had stopped.
So pleased you're worried about my mental health old mate. It's a shame you didn't show your concern a bit sooner, isn't it? You never liked a mystery, did you - everything in Grahamworld always has to be so controlled and logical and understood. The world's not like that. Maybe you're happier now you're a bank manager or whatever mundane humdrum job it is you do, but some of us just think there's a little bit more.
Friday 3 August 2007
More nonsense from the nonsemeister
This just in from my 'friend':
Dear Robert
I hope this email finds you well.
For crying out loud - I am NOT "cheesed off" at you and you HAVEN'T done anything wrong. Things change, we were in a band together a long time ago. That was a different time in a different place and we are now different people. It's called life! Everyone moves on, sometimes friendships endure change and sometimes they just don't. You need to stop reading between lines that have no text between them.
While I am here I thought I must comment on the music you have completed (Face part 4). I'm very sorry and hope you won’t be hurt by my comments but this is utter rot! You have completely misinterpreted the percussion and totally left out Jen's complex and wonderfully haunting bass line. Besides why in God's name did you choose this as your first piece? It was never one of our best. Could this be you unconscious desire to fail? Anyone tuning into your blog will take one listen to this and never come back. Why not put something up that represented our music, rather than the hippy-trippy, substance induced nonsense. Personally I would suggest "I Keep the One I Love in the Freezer" this was a good representation of our work and always a favourite with audiences. Any additional music you DO put up, please please treat it sensitively which might avoid anyone listening vomiting their internal organs.
One final point, I'll be honest, I'm worried about you. Just because our lives have gone in separate directions does not mean I don't think about or care for you - I do. I find your continued obsession with the whereabouts of Zed worrying in the extreme. You seem to see the slightest little thing as mystical signs and portents. First the 'sighting' of Zed’s guitar - how many battered old strats are out there? And then the "Zed' Dead" website. Jesus H Corbett - it just a web site!!! "Zed" and "Dead" rhyme - get it - it's just a cool name for a band!! There really is nothing mystical here. I hope your readers do not think I am being over fussy here but remember I know you well and I know the fragility of your mind. Please Robert, I am begging you, seek help before this gets out of hand.
As always I wish you the very best and much respect. I look forward to reading my email on your blog and will be interested to see if you have had the common sense to edit any of it.
Graham.
From Robert: funny how Graham wants me to do a song with one of his lyrics in. I always thought "I Keep the One I Love in the Freezer" was a rubbish song mate.
Dear Robert
I hope this email finds you well.
For crying out loud - I am NOT "cheesed off" at you and you HAVEN'T done anything wrong. Things change, we were in a band together a long time ago. That was a different time in a different place and we are now different people. It's called life! Everyone moves on, sometimes friendships endure change and sometimes they just don't. You need to stop reading between lines that have no text between them.
While I am here I thought I must comment on the music you have completed (Face part 4). I'm very sorry and hope you won’t be hurt by my comments but this is utter rot! You have completely misinterpreted the percussion and totally left out Jen's complex and wonderfully haunting bass line. Besides why in God's name did you choose this as your first piece? It was never one of our best. Could this be you unconscious desire to fail? Anyone tuning into your blog will take one listen to this and never come back. Why not put something up that represented our music, rather than the hippy-trippy, substance induced nonsense. Personally I would suggest "I Keep the One I Love in the Freezer" this was a good representation of our work and always a favourite with audiences. Any additional music you DO put up, please please treat it sensitively which might avoid anyone listening vomiting their internal organs.
One final point, I'll be honest, I'm worried about you. Just because our lives have gone in separate directions does not mean I don't think about or care for you - I do. I find your continued obsession with the whereabouts of Zed worrying in the extreme. You seem to see the slightest little thing as mystical signs and portents. First the 'sighting' of Zed’s guitar - how many battered old strats are out there? And then the "Zed' Dead" website. Jesus H Corbett - it just a web site!!! "Zed" and "Dead" rhyme - get it - it's just a cool name for a band!! There really is nothing mystical here. I hope your readers do not think I am being over fussy here but remember I know you well and I know the fragility of your mind. Please Robert, I am begging you, seek help before this gets out of hand.
As always I wish you the very best and much respect. I look forward to reading my email on your blog and will be interested to see if you have had the common sense to edit any of it.
Graham.
From Robert: funny how Graham wants me to do a song with one of his lyrics in. I always thought "I Keep the One I Love in the Freezer" was a rubbish song mate.
Thursday 2 August 2007
Jen and Beth
I spoke to Jen again last night. She's been keeping up with the blog, apparently, and wondering why I haven't been posting.
No reason really. I've been working a lot on 'Without You' which was pretty much Beth's piece on 'A Face In The Crowd'. I'm pretty happy with how it's sounding and should be able to mix something down and put it up on www.fournotes.co.uk fairly soon.
Anyway, the interesting bit of news that Jen had for me was that she's been talking to Beth, and they're going to meet up. Now I haven't heard anything about Beth since about 1991. Apparently she got married in 1992, to a chemist of all things (a chemist!!!) and lives in Sussex. I'll be very interested to hear more.
So just for fun, here's the current status of band members:
Robert Fenn: me!
Jen Chaplin: have met up again, now in regular contact
Beth Hale: have heard recent news
Graham Bennett: have exchanged emails but clearly he's a bit cheesed off with me
Zed: no news
No reason really. I've been working a lot on 'Without You' which was pretty much Beth's piece on 'A Face In The Crowd'. I'm pretty happy with how it's sounding and should be able to mix something down and put it up on www.fournotes.co.uk fairly soon.
Anyway, the interesting bit of news that Jen had for me was that she's been talking to Beth, and they're going to meet up. Now I haven't heard anything about Beth since about 1991. Apparently she got married in 1992, to a chemist of all things (a chemist!!!) and lives in Sussex. I'll be very interested to hear more.
So just for fun, here's the current status of band members:
Robert Fenn: me!
Jen Chaplin: have met up again, now in regular contact
Beth Hale: have heard recent news
Graham Bennett: have exchanged emails but clearly he's a bit cheesed off with me
Zed: no news
Warren Street
I don't know whether anyone else has ever noticed this, but there's something odd about the mazes at Warren Street tube station.
Go down to Warren Street Victoria line platforms. Go to the northbound platform. Have a look at all the mazes on the walls. They look identical, but if you look closely you will see that one of them is slightly different - there's no way of getting into the centre.
Was this an error made when creating the mazes? Or is it some deliberate quirk?
The chances of anyone actually knowing this are miniscule, but if you were the person responsible for creating the Warren Street mazes, please let me know. With the history of The Empty Vessel it seems somehow apt that one of the labyrinths at Warren Street can't be escaped from...
Follow-up - there's some information on the Warren Street maze here: http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/maze/branch.htm. However, there's no mention of the 'blocked' maze which suggests it's a mistake. I've also found out that Alan Fletcher, the designer of the maze, died only last year: http://www.designmuseum.org/design/alan-fletcher. However, other sources quote a different designer, John Burrel, but I can't find any other links to him.
You can see a panorama of Warren Street tube here, but it doesn't show the blocked maze: http://www.urban75.org/vista/warren_st.html.
Please let me know if you have any more information about the Warren Street mazes.
Go down to Warren Street Victoria line platforms. Go to the northbound platform. Have a look at all the mazes on the walls. They look identical, but if you look closely you will see that one of them is slightly different - there's no way of getting into the centre.
Was this an error made when creating the mazes? Or is it some deliberate quirk?
The chances of anyone actually knowing this are miniscule, but if you were the person responsible for creating the Warren Street mazes, please let me know. With the history of The Empty Vessel it seems somehow apt that one of the labyrinths at Warren Street can't be escaped from...
Follow-up - there's some information on the Warren Street maze here: http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/maze/branch.htm. However, there's no mention of the 'blocked' maze which suggests it's a mistake. I've also found out that Alan Fletcher, the designer of the maze, died only last year: http://www.designmuseum.org/design/alan-fletcher. However, other sources quote a different designer, John Burrel, but I can't find any other links to him.
You can see a panorama of Warren Street tube here, but it doesn't show the blocked maze: http://www.urban75.org/vista/warren_st.html.
Please let me know if you have any more information about the Warren Street mazes.
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