Deep Down with Penny Reel

I forgot to mention – if you liked Penny Reel’s excellent writing below (in the Tappa Zukie entry) and my feeble attempts at emulating his style then you should definitely get hold of his book Deep Down With Dennis Brown.

Comrade Reel is one of the best reggae writers EVER imo – a much underrated enthusiast who manages to evoke so much more than the usual names, dates and cliches that a lot of music journalism seems to sink to all too often.

(There’s also some wicked psychogeographical writing from him in the Faber Book of Pop)

dreaming of derek

“You come to realise that peeling spuds is good fun. Much better than being dead.”

Just got a text from Neil reminding me that Derek Jarman died 10 years ago today.

I met him a couple of times and he was wonderful – really generous and kind and interesting. One time he’d just come out of hospital and showed up at the Scala Cinema in Kings Cross where I’d organised to show a selection of films including his Dreamachine and footage of William Burroughs in London.

He wrote great letters to the papers as well, and was impassioned enough to turn out for protests and the like (Outrage and Act-Up iirc) – something which is easy to forget given his post-humous lauding as Great British Film-maker (and gardener!).

“The slow-witted approach to the HIV epidemic was the result of a thousand years of Christian malpractice and the childlike approach of the church to sexuality. If any single man was responsible, it was Augustine of Hippo who murdered his way to sainthood spouting on about the sins located in his genitals.”