OOOf

Automatic replies have been on. A moment to leave the working world behind, turn off the email and let the brain relax. It can take a few days for the mind to stop thinking about everyday issues and problems. You need to try and leave in a way where there are no issues overhanging which might eat into your brain, not allow you to fully relax. Our worlds are so overcome by earning a living, running projects, administration, bureaucracy, the needs of others, thinking about your job, looking for another job, friends, families, football teams. We all need a break, reset, get alternative perspectives which will then feed into our daily working worlds. The leisure process relies on us taking holidays, getting away from the daily grind to experience new worlds. A time to leave the screen, explore new cultures, sit by the pool, swim, read, wander, contemplate, talk, make new friends, cares gradually leaving your self as detachment from your daily routine and objects starts to nurture the soul. There is power in leaving work for periods of time, allowing your company or project to function even though you are not there. It shows trust in others. It is human to want to feel indispensable but allowing others to step up provides strength to organisations. Like a reserve goalkeeper in football, an unknown quantity until they are given the chance to perform under pressure. Give youth a chance. Managers nervous about their own precarious positions so afraid to experiment, to take a chance. It shows a lack of conviction in their own ways of working. But you can unleash them, from sitting on the side lines they take their moment, usurp the incumbent, become number one. Roy of the Rovers stuff. Experiment. Try things you never dared to consider. Do goalkeepers really need a break though, standing around watching. Goalkeepers are said to be mad, probably something to do with coping with the abuse they receive from behind their net. You’re s*** Agh. There aren’t many jobs where this level of personal attack is tolerated, even celebrated. All part of generating a great atmosphere. What do goalkeepers do when they go on vacation? Shout at random strangers. Stand longingly on a stretch of grass peering into the distance, wondering where all their mates have gone.

Creative Spheres

So I am coming to the end of finishing my second book, Creative Spheres, and as well as the relief and excitement there is also a slight feeling of loss. The work is done. Now, though, comes the tricky task of finding a publisher. Who will release a book that crosses academic and commercial arenas? It is the next mission, to find the place in the world for my latest baby. Here are the chapters…

Creative Spheres: the resonance of music scenes

Contents

Opening Reel

Resonance

Passing Through

Introduction

Part 1: Scenius

Art worlds and music worlds

Popular Music genres

Places and bands

Part 2: The elements

(i)           Hierarchies

The ordinary musician            

Interlocutor

Politics of creative space

Leisure

Media

(ii)          Process.

Materiality

Physicality

Chance/ Serendipity

Taste

Sonic spaces

Jamming

Lyrics, words, phrases, repetition

Technology

Critique

Tempo

And space

(iii)    Experimentation

Without the fear of failure

Attitude/ radical

Politics

Protest

Humour

Words/ lyrics

Eclecticism

Fashion

Examples

(iv)   Relationships

Master/ Apprentice

Instigator

Linkers

Tension

Place

Family

Friendships

Social Rhythm

Gigs

Sex, Sex,Sex

Fans

Religion

(v)       Flow

           Autotelic

           Dancing

 

Creative Spheres

Epilogue

 

Chihuahua band logo from Creative Spheres

 

Women in Revolt

A great exhibition of influential women artists from 1970-1990 is coming to the Tate Britain from the autumn. Features many of the artists interviewed in my book with The Raincoats Gina Birch as the poster image

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/women-in-revolt

Boooom

So wandering around a field in deepest Hampshire, UK, I am confronted by a multitude of people under 30 dressed extravagantly, stomping around in random directions, up hills, through woods into the delerious pop up world of Boomtown.

I’ve been to many a festival but this crowd is young. I feel like a carer or available for emotional support when world’s come crashing down. It is crazy, beautiful, clever and quite feral. It’s Thursday and already people are sitting in and around increasing piles of detritous.

My first band, Hoedown at Hanks, headlined in Copper County. A bunch of old dudes who got together in their youth to play to the new youth. Subcultures are still alive. Games and exiting the real world are a key driver. Boomtown you’re too young for me but the creativity and energy is an intense memory 🕺🎉