“Writers are liars, my dear, surely you know that by now? And yet, things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.” - Neil Gaiman - Dream Country
Artist: Queen Title: Radio Ga Ga Lyrics: You had your time, you had your power. Why?: Happy birthday to the other Roger Taylor, also a drummer, whom I admire very much.
This was the first Queen song I had ever heard. It got super heavy rotation on music TV when I was in my formative years. I loved the nostalgia, I was able to long for the days Freddie sang of, even though I wasn’t old enough to have ever experienced it. But this isn't about Freddie today. It's about an amazing drummer in an amazing band.
You know that performance of "Mirror Man" on YouTube, from a television show, back in 1982. They're all in their seriously misinterpreted 'A Clockwork Orange' suits*(see note below) and it's actually from a Swedish television show called Måndagsbörsen. There's a 3 minute mega fail of an interview just prior to the performance which is all at once so discombobulated and hilarious. Don't believe me? 'Ask Harry.' Here's the transcript. The link to the Facebook post which contains the interview is below (I can't figure out how to embed from Facebook). and the link to the full performance of 'Mirror Man' on YouTube will also appear below.
September 2021 edit update: DJ John Cope of youtube has posted a better clip of the interview and song combined. I've linked it below, but will keep the other two links active just in case the internet police come along and decide we're not worth anymore.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of this. This transcript isn't 100%. Please feel free to help correct the text if you can in the comments. I'll keep this as updated as possible. Interviewer: Talk... ative? That's a good joke in your name, right?
Mark: Yeah. That's right.
Interviewer: Mark, Mark, Mark. This is awfully nice of you darling.Um. Mark comes from? Mark: Hackney, London Interviewer: Hackney, London. And you’ve come all the way today just for this? Mark: That’s right, yeah. Interviewer: That must be a terribly expensive thing to do. All this... These lads right? Mark: We like to see a bit of decadence. Interviewer: We’d like to see a bit of decadence. London’s decadent (?) with all the violence? Mark: There’s no violence. Interviewer: There’s no violence? Mark: There’s none. Interviewer: Ah well yes, those police reports must all be wrong. (Swedish) You’ve got some friends over here Mark. (?) Interviewer 2: (Swedish) Uh. Paul, listen. Can you tell me a little about your equipment? Paul: Don’t ask me. Ask ol' Harry over there. Look. Interviewer 2: Harry? Paul: Ol' Harry there. Interviewer 2: We’ve been told Harry doesn’t know anything. Paul: But he does! Interviewer 2: (Swedish) Roger? You’re nearer. Interviewer: Ok. Mark? Harry? That’s not him here. Mark. You’ve flown in today and you’re playing here and I presume your next single is being released today in Sweden, isn’t it? Mark: That’s right, yes. The next number we’re going to be doing tonight for you. Interviewer: (Swedish) (audience laughter) - Got my grammar wrong. Sorry Mark. I got my grammar wrong in Swedish.
Mark: Did you bring her?
Interviewer: Do you get your grammar wrong in English? Mark: No. I never take her anywhere. Interviewer: You never answer political questions either, do you? Mark: Ask Harry. Interviewer: Harry? Do you answer political questions? Simon: I think we should play Mirror Man. Interviewer: Ah ha. They want to play the next single. Should we let them do it? Interviewer2: (Swedish) Uh. Paul, your, your tape recorders. How about all your gear? Paul: Yeah well we use… That’s a TEAC (?) tape recorder there, right? Interviewer 2: TEAC(?) tape recorder. Paul: And that there is a Simmons kit. That’s like a new electronic kit we use. And we've been using that for about three months now. But ask Harry. Ask Harry, he knows! Interviewer 2: Uh, ask Harry. (Swedish) Interviewer: Just want to say… How much does this gear cost? I know you’ve borrowed this today. But your gear at home. How much does a set of all this equipment cost in England say? Mark: Well, Harry’s the property boy. He'll tell ya. Interviewer: Harry? How much did this cost? (Swedish?) Very, very interesting answers. All right. Their next single is coming out in Sweden today. Do you want to play your next single, do you? Mark: Yeah, sure. It’s called Mirror Man. Interviewer: You’re not allowed to advertise on Swedish television. Mark: Ok. It isn’t called Mirror Man.
Updated clip from YouTube (September 2021) (interview and song):
Link to the interview HERE FYI: The YouTube clip below does NOT contain the interview. Just the performance.
*From several sources, where they explain those white suits were their stylists' gross misinterpretation of the image they wanted to portray at the time which was supposed to be "A Clockwork Orange" themed.
Updated June 17th, 2020-Thanks to everyone who is helping this transcript along. Your help is greatly appreciated. So... it occurred to me a while ago how many fans of Talk Talk were not anglophones. Part of Talk Talk's charm was their wacky sense of humour and sadly it gets lost because people don't quite understand what they're saying. Even I have problems with their Essexian accents or whatever they are. ;) (I'm being facetious here. I know Mark's from North London and he was born in Tottenham. Lee and Paul are from Southend). Being the daughter of immigrants, I spent a lot of my time translating complicated English into simpler English which fit what vocabulary they knew. I've always tried to be about clear communication since. Consider this a labour of love for any non-English speaking fan. And while Google Translate or whatever translation program you use isn't going to be perfect, it'll better help you understand what the hell our favourite guys from London and Southend were saying. Disclaimer: I don't own any rights and my transcriptions aren't 100%. Oh and hey! Any Brits out there who can correct and add to this, please feel free to comment or email me and I'll keep this as up to date as possible. Without further ado, here is the band banter from the Dum Dum Girl video, version 1. Links after the transcript.
Mark Hollis: Right. Trousers. Right? It’s these things here. Trousers. Tra! Tras-izz. That’s trousers. Tim Pope: Yeah. Mark: I feel really weird standing like this. Tim: Well look at him (? - unintelligible) Mark: I dunno who I feel like, but i know it ain’t healthy. Tim: You feel like me, don’t you? Mark: I know it ain’t healthy. Tim: You feel like me don’t you? Mark: I hope not. I do dearly hope not.
Tim: (laughing) ----------------------------------------------- Lee Harris: How are you me old china? (*see note below) Mark: How are you? Alright. (shouting) Hey! Hey! Lee and Paul Webb: Oi! (shouting) Mark: I love my auntie June. (?-Note: I heard this "Well I find it all in tune.") Paul:(unintelligible/I don't understand what he's saying here) Mark: Well, fuck off then* (? - NOTE: I initially heard "Well, it’s my first day" and fully admit I still don't hear him dropping an f-bomb. I'm going to say because my ear is definitely not trained for his accent) Mark: I feel like I’m in the Pink Floyd. ----------------------------------------------- Mark: How are you? Alright? Mark: Stereo (?- NOTE: A couple of people have said Mark is saying "Stereo" here. I worked it out to be "Stop staring"). Paul:(unintelligible/I don't understand what he's saying here) Mark: Who is he? We all like him (?). Paul: Well, I’m tripping. Paul: So you say trousers and pud out. Ahmmm...🐙
🐙 This update comes direct from Rustin Man himself. (scroll down to see @trumanfalls question about the "TRAASERS!" and you'll see the comments I'm referring to.
Artist: Erasure Title: A Little Respect Favourite Lyrics: And if I should falter Would you open your arms out to me We could make love not war And love at peace with our hearts I’m
so in love with you
Why?: Andy Bell is an amazing showman. What a
show this was! There was so much energy and audience love. I honestly
can’t remember hearing one note from Andy during this encore because we
were all singing this song right back him loud, proud and so very much
in the moment. Simply amazing. Thanks for the memories.
“We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.”-Neal Degrasse Tyson
On
this 50th anniversary of the moon landing I wanted to share a
couple of stories of how important the moon and stars are to me.
The
first story is of my dad’s scrap book and Apollo 11. I assume it was a
scrap book of interesting things, newspaper and magazine clippings. It
was his attempt to learn how to read English having newly arrived from
West Germany in 1968. In July of 1969 he and my mother were half a year
away from having their first child, my older brother. In this scrap
book, he carefully placed articles and stories and pictures of Apollo
11. I used to look through this scrap book and be amused at the old
paper, bits of coloured and aged tape holding everything together. The
paper had already yellowed by the time I found it, when I was five or
six. And I would often sneak down to his office, and haul out this scrap
book. It was a favourite of mine. I’m not sure why I never questioned
him about it. It was just something ever present and a piece of my dad
that was there. I’ve been assured it’s still somewhere in the house, but
I haven’t seen it in over a decade now.
The second story
relates back to my grandmother and shooting stars. She told my mother
when she was a little girl, that shooting stars were spirits of souls
going to heaven. My mother told me this and us both being women of
science giggled at my grandmother’s innocence. But it was a cute story
and one my mother decided to share about her childhood and her mother.
The
third story is of a kindly a kindly gentleman, Mr. Johnson, who was
essentially my substitute grandfather. He would come by to buy his
cigars and if it was dark enough, he’d bring me outside in front of the
store and point out all the constellations you could see in the city.
Orion, the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper. Casseiopia. Seeing how
interested I was, my mother would cut out Terrence Dickenson’s astronomy
article that ran in the Toronto Star back in the 80s, a little
highlight of anything exciting to see for the week and give it to me.
And there was Jack Horkheimer’s short ‘Star Hustler’ bit on PBS (which
featured Isao Tomita’s version of Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 which I will
forever associate wth star gazing) just before the channel would sign
off where he did the same, summarizing something interesting to see in
the sky for the upcoming week. It was a great excuse to be up way past
my bedtime and my dad would humour me to let me watch it. It was
educational after all.
So
naturally, through all these influences, my love of astronomy was
instilled in me a young age and with much love. When I look up at the
sky, at first, I’m looking for constellations, satellites, shooting
stars. But then I’m looking and take time to look at the sky in a
meditative way and to think and to dream. After a while I’m
contemplating the meaning of life and what happens to the conscious mind
after all is said and done.
Eventually I have my flights of
fancy. How wonderful would it be to have a spaceship. To spacewalk. To
see the planet from outer space. What dreams the sky inspires. It
brought men to the moon 50 years ago today. May it bring men to the
stars someday. I’m beginning to think grandmother’s theory wasn’t
completely wrong. After all, when you look at the stars you’re looking
into the past. The light left those stars when dinosaurs walked the
earth, when the pyramids were built, when someone who is gone today was
still alive. There are spirits, dreams and memories up there. Perhaps
grandmother simply meant it was those intangible things that make us
human was what those shooting stars were showing us.
Lyrics: Cover me with shades of disbelief Can happiness be someone's else's dream Numbers call to spell my name Move about as values change Catch me if you can but don't delay
Why?: Happy birthday to the super talented and super adorable drummer Lee Harris from Talk Talk and .o.rang. I'd go on, but nobody needs (nor wants) to hear me gush about Lee Harris. Nobody needs to see me revert back to my 14 year old self.
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world Every time you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful world One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye Goodbye It's your world so live in it!
Artist: New Order Title: Blue Monday Favourite Lyrics: I thought I told you to leave me While I walked down to the beach Tell me, how does it feel When your heart grows cold?
Why?: I’ve always enjoyed New Order’s music. This is the second song I had heard by them, the first being ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’. It’s a good dance song. Very much a part of my youth where it would be a regular part of the playlist at the clubs I would frequent, and late 80’s early 90’s CFNY, when the Edge played decent music. They still play ok music, but I’ve become an old cantankerous woman, bitter at the world and find myself unable to relate to what the younglings call music these days *get off my lawn, ya damn kids!* I liked, and still enjoy depressing songs. I understand that this song’s title is in reference to the day the news broke about Ian Curtis. Ian Curtis committed suicide on May 18th... um... a long time ago. I think I mentioned before I really dislike commemorating sad events which is why this post didn’t go up back in May, along with all the other Ian Curtis commemorative posts. FYI, I didn’t know who Joy Division were until after I’d discovered New Order. Also, this song should have been posted along time ago, but Mondays back in February were just intent on delivering shitty news to me, so I held off, and this song got buried in my list of songs until today, the day after Ian Curtis' birthday. That's me, late to the party and bad at timing.
I remember growing up with all my friends and I remember how it never mattered where are parents were originally from. We were all kids and we liked a lot of the same things and we were all Canadian.
And we
all ate our Kraft Dinner and hotly debated on the need to have ketchup
on it or not. Did you add Cheese Whiz too? Velveeta? Hot Dogs? Fried Bologna?
And that was it. Kraft Dinner. Ketchup and whatever else you had or not. We can argue up
and down about the right way to eat it. And in the end, despite our
differences, it was still Kraft Dinner, it was Canadian and we all ate
it (or in some cases, didn't like it at all...Eyes those people suspiciously) and we're all still friends. Here's hoping eventually everyone can enjoy the KD and love each other just the same despite our differences in ourselves or in the way we have our mac and cheese.
Peace. Happy Canada Day! Also for your listening pleasure - Stuff I'm Listening To: The Canada Day Edition:
Artst: Barenaked Ladies
Title: If I Had Million Dollars
Favourite Lyrics: (which is actually part interchorus banter...)
If I had a million dollars we wouldn't have to eat Kraft dinner But we would eat Kraft dinner Of course we would, we'd just eat more And buy really expensive ketchups with it That's right, all the fanciest dijon ketchups. Why?: Well, it's Canada Day, it inspired me to write the above and because I can think of nothing more of my generation Canada than this.
