Heaven or September
I'll take either one
Dear fans, friends, and followers,
Here we are again — another September. Glorious month! (And yes, Heaven or Las Vegas has just turned 34.) It seems to have come upon us rather quickly, hasn’t it?
I recall reading somewhere once a theory of aging that says as we get older we (ever so slightly) approach the speed of light, and that’s why time goes by faster with each passing year. Presumably, at the moment of truth, we achieve that stellar velocity and merge with the Cosmos. Or something like that. It’s a neat enough idea, isn’t it? I’d like to imagine that all the innocent lives lost to violence, famine, disease, and neglect have not only transcended this realm, but are shining down upon us like stars, forgiving us our darkness. I’d rather they were still here, though.
You know who’s not definitely not slowing down with age? Our very own Robin, Liz, and Simon. For a trio of sexagenarians (look it up!), they are anything but retiring. One had a sense even in the ‘80s that these three were special, and they’re showing us just how much. While internet memes joke about an imminent (?) Oasis reunion (and a terribly unfortunate meltdown of Jane’s Addiction’s reunion tour), the former Cocteau Twins are continuing to do the work of artists — making music, touring the world, and writing books, whether or not the media or wider public take notice.
As always, I am deeply grateful to you for reading this and for keeping the golden thread of connection alive. Let’s get on with it, shall we?
Simon’s memoir, In One Ear, out now
Our biggest news this month is the release of Simon’s much anticipated memoir, In One Ear. My deluxe, limited-edition, numbered, signed edition is in the post, but I absolutely cannot wait to read it. The publishing house is the same one that put out Miki Berenyi’s (formerly of Lush) amazing memoir Fingers Crossed a couple of years ago, and this promises to be just as good if not better.
Chris Roberts wrote in Record Collector:
"His memoir is a joy — candid, modest, light-hearted (on football, for example), or serious (on mortality) when appropriate… lovely anecdotes from like mistaking David Sylvian for a courier, or a disastrous Cocteaus gig opening for Metallica, confirm his affability. Even is 2001 loss of hearing in one ear is described with a sense of wonder."
He wrote more, but Simon’s post of the review cut off the last bit and I couldn’t make it out. Long and short: It’s good and worth your time. Get it here.
Simon also spoke with The Times about the book and his experience writing it.
Robin Guthrie releases new EP and “orphaned” song
Monsieur Guthrie (he lives in France now, you know) has been quite busy this year, remastering Cocteau Twins LPs (more on that below) and keeping up with his own solo work. His latest EP, Atlas, was released in July via his Bandcamp page — a lovely quartet of Guthrie magic. He also released another of his “orphaned” tracks, “Mountain,” also available on Bandcamp.
Elizabeth Fraser touring with Massive Attack
Well, it’s been official since a couple of months ago: Liz — who celebrated her 61st birthday on 29th August — is back on tour with her Bristol mates Massive Attack. They kicked off the tour in Sweden, where we got some lovely video and stills of her on stage. The band confirmed Fraser will be joining the North American leg of the tour, as well. (I’ll be at the Boston show, screaming incoherently, I’m sure.) You can find tickets for those dates online.
Elizabeth’s relationship with Massive Attack goes back to the latter half of the 1990s, and her partner, Damon Reece, plays drums in the band. She sang on their breakthrough track “Teardrop”—a song inspired by the tragic death of her close friend Jeff Buckley—in 1997, and appeared on two other tracks on their Mezzanine LP (1998), “Black Milk” and “Group Four.” She later contributed vocals to a fourth song, “Silent Spring,” released on their album Collected (2006).
The Moon and the Melodies remastered and re-released by 4AD
The much beloved not-a-Cocteau-Twins-LP-really-but-sort-of The Moon and the Melodies has been remastered by Robin Guthrie and re-released on vinyl and digital by 4AD.
We teased this last time, and now it’s out in the world, sounding typically glorious.
Robin was interviewed by SPIN around the time of the release, saying:
“I didn’t really have any need to listen to that record ever again in my life,” Guthrie says. “but it comes around because it’s part of the catalog. And I’d never looked at it in terms of remastering… just, there seems to be somewhat of a wave of people sort of discovering Cocteau Twins now after all this time.”
…
“On an emotional level, it’s always just a big show when I go back to my catalog, because of course it just consumes you for a month or so…because it does take you back. And I have to live with that, as well as doing a good technical job. But nobody else really has an idea of what it was meant to be like,” he says. “It’s quite challenging to hold my hand up and say, ‘Oh, I’m really proud of the way it sounds now.’ I’m not particularly proud of the way it sounded back then either because, like I say, it wasn’t a full-fledged, proper production job. But it’s part of the journey, and that’s cool. And I think I’ve made it sound as good as I can.”
Regarding his long-term collaborative friendship with Budd, Guthrie said:
“There’s a huge amount of chemistry, personally…hence he was my friend, and we made so many records after that. And the chemistry there worked because I can look back now and it’s very clear that he never tried to stand on my toes and I never tried to stand on his. It’s like we had both got fairly distinctive things going on that were able to sort of flourish within the context of what we gave each other.”
And on the topic of younger generations catching on to Cocteau Twins?
“It’s quite cool to know that they could actually be out just playing games and being on social media and doing all the other things young people do — driving about with these little scooters, trying to knock me off the pavement when I’m walking somewhere to the grocery store — it’s like, they can be doing young people things like that, but they’re actually listening to this as music. That’s amazing. I have to remind myself sometimes that not everybody that was making music from the ‘80s onwards has their music listened to. There’s an audience, and that’s brilliant.”
You can read the full interview on SPIN’s website. You can also check out this interview with Harold Budd from the archive.
Cocteau Twins merchandise is — at last — a thing!
After years of fans begging for official merch — and more than a few online outlets deciding to make money off rolling their own — we have at long last an official Cocteau merchandise outlet!
Though modest in its initial offerings, the online store features high quality tees, totes, and other delights. Be sure to order yours today. (No word on what may be forthcoming, but there’s plenty to choose from.)
Cocteau Twins videos now available in high-definition on new YouTube channel
For so many years we were saddled with nth generation copies of videos uploaded countless times to the internet, but no longer. Thanks to Simon and a no doubt cooperative 4AD, Cocteau Twins now have their own official YouTube channel! It features high-definition versions of most of their official videos from the early days through Milk & Kisses (though with the notable exception of “Cico Buff,” which you can still view on CocteauTwins.com).
And that’s all for now, my friends! Please stay safe, be kind, and may your world be filled with wonder, beauty, and the music you love. They seem to be in short supply these days.
September sounds,
Michael
Another wonderful post!
Am sorry...I'm back.......No spoilers here ya baz...page 115 of Mr Raymonde's book, still ( at this moment listening to New Order's PCL) rolling on the floora. at 'I dont mend no fence' Sugar Pissup, Sugar Pissup. Wooohooo, superb :)