The Good, The Bad & The Queen - 'Merrie Land'

Song of these last days of autumn...

The Good, The Bad & The Queen - 'Merrie Land' 

MERRIE LAND

If you are leaving Please still say goodbye And if you are leaving can you Leave me my Silver Jubilee mug My old flag My dark woods My sunrise If you are leaving Can you please say goodbye And if you are leaving Can you leave your number I’ll pack my case And get in a cab and wave you goodbye I’ll drive in the early hours down to the sea I’ll stand on the beach where the storms amplify All the voices I care for And the ghosts I hold sacred In this alignment that lasts for a day There’s nothing that I can do anyway, anyway What am I doing here waiting for you So rebuild the railways Firm up all the roads No one is leaving now this is your home And the horses, the foxes, the sheep and the cows Bow down on their knees To the fanfare of progress it’s always the same We cheer on the clowns as they roll into town But their faces look tired and sad to me And carry the terrible things they have seen All lost in a painting of a sky coloured oil In this Merrieland You are my crows, my window rattlers Perfumed valley criers Oh the dark ponds of Merrie England The deep space echoes Get on your mo…. What did you say? Get on your mobilised hooters … Get hold of those mobilised hooters You can fly to the moon one day They are half price This is not rhetoric It comes from my heart I love this country Daneland I am your kin You were the ones who work together Put the money in the pockets Of the few and their fortunes Who crowd the school benches And jeer at us all because they don’t care about us They are graceless and you shouldn’t be with them Because they are all disconnected and raised up in mansions And two hundred plastic bags in a whales stomach So you turn to the trident Are we green are we pleasant? We are not either of those Father We are a shaking wreck where nothing grows Lost in the sky coloured oils of Merrieland You can fly to the moon… one day

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The Good, The Bad & The Queen



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And this nice event can bring more meaning to the song, the album, and the relation the musicians have with their England:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46391087

Tea, cake and Brexit: What happened when Damon Albarn played a 200-capacity Geordie social club

By Mark SavageBBC Music reporter

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS: British Library - Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone

Dear friends,

you can imagine how proud I am to invite you to this event.

We'll show some videos from the band to illustrate the talk... 

Hope to see you there!

Best regards,

melissa

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone

March 2019 

A new book on the band's story

Bristol was part-built on the wealth generated by the slave trade, an arrival point for Caribbean immigrants, and a melting pot that shaped one of the most successful and innovative bands of the last thirty years, Massive Attack. 

Journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer talks to the author of a new book on their story, Melissa Chemam.

This event will have speech to text interpretation.

Image: Cover art from Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone by Melissa Chemam. 

Artwork by Robert Del Naja.

Details

Name:	Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone
Where:	Knowledge Centre The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB
When:	Thu 14 Mar 2019, 19:00 - 20:30
Price:	Full Price: £12.00 Senior 60+: £10.00 Student: £8.00

Bristol : une contre-histoire culturelle du Royaume-Uni ?

Annonce:

Je suis invitée par le groupe "Génération" du Royaume-Uni à parler art, musique et politique, en janvier 2019, ici à Londres.

Date confirmée : le mardi 8 janvier, à partir de 19h.

Lieu: East London

Pub The Gunmakers, 

13 Eyre Street Hill, London EC1R 5ET 

(salle à l'étage) 

métros: Farringdon ou Chancery Lane

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Et quelques mots d'introduction ici :

Bristol : une contre-histoire culturelle du Royaume-Uni ? La vie culturelle d’un pays est souvent la meilleure plateforme d’observation de sa vie politique… Dans son dernier ouvrage, la journaliste et auteure Mélissa Chemam livre ses appréciations sur la ville de Bristol et plus particulièrement sur le groupe Massive Attack.  Elle sera parmi nous pour présenter ses idées lors de notre réunion de janvier (renseignements à suivre); entre temps, vous trouverez ici un article qu'elle a rédigé pour nous, en guise d'introduction.

Bristol : une contre-histoire culturelle du Royaume-Uni ?

Par Mélissa Chemam

La vie culturelle d’un pays est souvent la meilleure plateforme d’observation de sa vie politique… Depuis mon installation au Royaume-Uni en 2009, je n’ai cessé d’explorer la culture de ce pays puissant et fascinant. Je suis revenue de manière plus permanente en 2015 – après des années en Afrique – pour écrire un livre sur la ville de Bristol et plus particulièrement sur le groupe Massive Attack. Pourquoi ce groupe ? Parce que comme mon propre parcours de journaliste, le leur les a menés sur quatre continents.

Composé de membres d’origines antillaises et italiennes, Massive Attack a révolutionné la musique britannique dès leur premier album, Blue Lines, en 1991. Une sortie qui leur a valu de temporairement changer leur nom en « Massive » ; l’expression « attaque massive » faisait la une des journaux pour désigner la Guerre du Golfe. Le nom du groupe avait été choisi en 1988 pour décrire leurs fêtes mêlant punk, musique soul, reggae et hip-hop de manière explosive ; il résonnait désormais autrement. Marqués par cette abdication forcée par leur label, les membres du groupe n’ont depuis cessé d’imposer un son métissé, invitant des artistes d’origines nigérianes, jamaïcaines, écossaises, afro-américaines ou irlandaises à travailler avec eux, incorporant des influences turques, russes et même mongoles à leurs chansons.

Parallèlement à un riche développement qui a les menés à un succès mondial  avec la sortie de l’album Mezzanineen 1998, les membres de Massive Attack ont approfondi leur engagement politique et pacifiste. Leur principal parolier et compositeur, surnommé 3D, a protesté de manière particulièrement forte contre la Deuxième Guerre d’Irak en 2003, un fait rare dans la communauté musicale, allant jusqu’à transformer leur spectacle en tableau de chiffres, données et noms documentant l’évolution des batailles. Quelques années plus tard, il créait pour leur cinquième album, Heligoland, une illustration inspirée du passé esclavagiste de Bristol…

3D avait déjà marqué Bristol avant de fonder Massive Attack par ses graffiti pionniers et adulés. Il est connu pour avoir inspiré un autre artiste bristolien, le fameux et anonyme Banksy. Ensemble, ils ont créé plusieurs expositions pour souligner l’injustice en Irak et en Palestine, désignant leur pays comme l’un des responsables historiques de cette situation du fait de sa domination coloniale dans la région.

Une telle position est rare dans le paysage culturel britannique. Alors que j’écrivais ce livre, le pays s’est enfoncé dans une crise identitaire en lançant ce référendum sur sa sortie de l’Union européenne. Une crise qui a nourri une montée des extrêmes et le renvoi de nombreux Antillais de la génération « Windrush », appelés de Jamaïque dans les années 1950 pour reconstruire le pays. Massive Attack, dont cinq des membres de la formation de tournées sont d’ascendance caribéenne et deux italienne, a exprimé sa déception à Hyde Park en juillet 2016, et récemment dans le Guardian. Héritage brillant d’un multiculturalisme complexe, le groupe de Bristol sonne désormais comme une réponse pleine d’espoir face aux inquiétudes actuelles.

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Lien: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jj6g8aeLBoFqOzaX31KIrodkpTfL9t_eW8M1K7GtpLc/edit

The Story a Sound, a City, and a Group of Revolutionary Artists...

Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone 

The Story a Sound, a City, and a Group of Revolutionary Artists

By Melissa Chemam

- 

Dear book and music lovers,

A few words to explain the latest delay on the release of my book on Massive Attack and Bristol's art and music scene... 

This book retells the story of Massive Attack's roots, history, influences, friends, collaborators and many explorations up until today. It describes Bristol's history and explains its art and music scene from the outburst of punk to our days.

Through interviews with members of many Bristol bands, like the Pop Group, Black Roots, Smith & Mighty, Portishead, Alpha, Tricky, Martina Topley-Bird, Tracey Thorn, Inkie and other artists from Bristol... Interviews with historians and local actors, as well as artists close to the bands...

I worked on this project over the past four years.  

What happened in the summer is that the publishers suddenly decided that they didn't like my choice to write in the present tense, and I had to rework the text on my own. 

Luckily, in terms of fact checking, I received tremendous help from the artists themselves and I've now completed the work on the proofs.

It's now up to the publishers to send this text to print. 

They apparently cannot give me a proper release date but it should be early in March 2019, according to Waterstones:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/massive-attack/melissa-chemam/9781910089729

As soon as I'll receive confirmation, I'll update the details on the book's Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/frombristoltomassiveattack

Book Presentation:

Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone 

The Story a Sound, a City, and a Group of Revolutionary Artists

By Melissa Chemam

This book retraces a journey into Massive Attack’s multicultural history. Influenced by the underground reggae and punk scenes, the band members gave birth to a new form of sound and urban art movements, selling over 13 million albums.

Known as a graffiti artist under the tag 3D, from 1983, Robert Del Naja was the first of a group of underground writers to come out of Bristol, spawning a scene that gave birth to the most fascinating artist working today, Banksy. 3D joined Nellee Hopper, Milo Johnson and Grant Marshall in the seminal crew the Wild Bunch and they paved the way for a whole generation. Forming Massive Attack in 1988, 3D, Grant and Andrew Vowles released in 1991 an acclaimed first album, Blue Lines. 

The author also looks at the whole scene that emerged in Bristol afterwards, and explores the making of albums, experiments and political statements. She met with friends and collaborators of some of the major actors in the Bristol scene – from the Pop Group to Tricky, Massive Attack and Portishead, delivering a unique story about music, art and social change.

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Thanks to everyone for your interest!

I'm now based in London again.

I'm invited to give a talk at the British Library about this book... I'll update everyone interested.

Feel free to get in touch!

With my best wishes to you all,

melissa

'Yanka's Song' - Liz Fraser

Teasing 2019...


Massive Attack / Elizabeth Fraser - 'Yanka's Song'
MIF, Mayfield Station, Manchester, 04/7/2013

Short clip - Part II

'Yanka's Song' - Liz Fraser for Massive Attack v Adam Curtis @ Park Avenue Armory, NYC 28/9/2013

Nitin Sawhney - 'Homelands'

Went back "home" for a couple of nights and a few hours... Home? I thought it could be here, my home? Can I choose still? Or are these new customs officers posted at the train's arrival at St Pancras a bad omen? 

I say you create your own world. 

I'm the last offspring of generations of nomads. I'm not going to let anyone tell me that should change.

Home is where the heart is. England is the home of so many sounds, a crossroad. That's why I love it... For the rest, tomorrow is another day and I still wear this little heart on my sleeve with hope and joy.

To the worst, I'll still have the music.



Nitin Sawhney - 'Homelands'

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook - 'Longing'

I had been looking for this song for years...
Thank you, BBC Radio 4's archives!

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook - 'Longing'  

Nusrat Was My Elvis

Listen to the programme here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02sx7jq

21 August 2007


Jeff Buckley was just one of the Western musicians to fall under the powerful spell of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - a Pakistani singer of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music whose origins can be traced back to the 8th century.

In this programme Navid Akhtar explores the Nusrat phenomenon with the help of Nitin Sawhney, Peter Gabriel and Massive Attack’s Robert del Naja.
Part of Radio 4 on Music, re-releasing the best of Radio 4's music back catalogue.

#LondonIsOpen and always will be

My city :)



#LondonIsOpen and always will be


We are lucky to have millions of people from across the world who have decided to make London their home. They are Londoners, they belong here and they will always be welcome. We're getting the message out loud and clear around the world that despite Brexit, London remains open to the world. #LondonIsOpen

11/11/11

Track of the day...


3D & Vermona (Demo) - 11/11/11

3D - Vermona (demo) 11/11/11


Published on 11 Nov. 2011

Massive Attack have released this track via their Facebook in celebration of 11/11/11. 

The track is called 'Vermona', which is a type of German analog synthesizer, created by 3D, who's one half of Massive Attack.

November

 What a sweet entry into November here in North London...  

November used to be my "scary month", versus October, which I particularly affectionate for its colours and feeling of melancholy.

But November is the month of all these allsaintsday, remembrance of grief, loss and death... Cemetery and "dias de los muertos"...

But it did all play out as lessons. "Live and Learn".
Healing.

Have a beautiful Scorpio Season everyone.

x

Reportage : Le Brexit vu par les artistes et curateurs d'art d'Irlande du Nord

Cette semaine dans Vu d'Allemande sur DW: 

* Le 9 novembre, "jour du destin" allemand,

* Et mon reportage en Irlande du Nord, où les artistes redoutent la fermeture de la frontière entre leur territoire britannique et la République d'Irlande, après le "Brexit"

Pour écouter :

https://www.dw.com/fr/le-9-novembre-jour-du-destin-allemand/av-46196635



Le Brexit vu par les artistes et curateurs d'art d'Irlande du Nord

À cinq mois de la date envisagée pour la sortie officielle du Royaume-Uni de l'Union européenne, la question de la frontière entre l'Irlande du Nord, territoire britannique, et la République d'Irlande, membre de l'UE, constitue toujours un des principaux obstacles à la conclusion de l'accord de divorce. 

Un modèle a bien été évoqué, celui du "backstop", qui éviterait le retour d'une frontière physique entre les deux parties de l'île en assurant le maintien dans l'union douanière et le marché unique de l'Irlande du Nord, mais Londres estime que cela porterait atteinte à son intégrité territoriale.

Parmi les secteurs qui risquent d'être touchés par un rétablissement de la frontière, il y a celui des artistes et organisateurs d'expositions pour qui la séparation serait un obstacle majeur à la circulation des oeuvres et des idées.

Un reportage à Belfast de Melissa Chemam.

Et selon un sondage révélé en début de semaine par la chaîne Channel 4, 54% des citoyens britanniques se prononceraient aujourd'hui pour un maintien du Royaume-Uni dans l'Union européenne. Le sondage a été effectué en ligne auprès de 20.000 personnes dans tout le territoire. Il est présenté comme le plus grand sondage d'opinion indépendant sur le Brexit.

'I Want You'

#MusicHistory: 

A cover of Marvin Gaye's classic love song 'I Want You' - by Massive Attack Feat. Madonna - was released on her compilation album "Something To Remember" in November 1995, after a single release in October...

Enjoy the sublime and intense video:

 I Want You (Official Music Video)

"Remainer Now "

Email of the day:

Dear Melissa,

In June 2016 I voted to leave the EU.

It was a hard task trying to decipher exactly what leaving would mean but it sounded attractive – a quick and easy deal resulting in more money for our public services, more trade deals and with people enjoying the same benefits as they do today.

I thought by voting to leave the EU we would be getting more. In reality, we’re getting less.

In light of all the new information on Brexit and now with a better understanding of the EU, I’m demanding a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal.

It’s ok to change your mind, and I’m not the only one who has. We know that as new information has come to light, more and more people who voted leave are now backing a People’s Vote.

Are you one of them?

I VOTED LEAVE BUT BACK A PEOPLE'S VOTE

There’s lots of people out there who feel the same way as I do. If any of your friends or family think this way, please get them to sign up here. 

TELL US WHY YOU SUPPORT A PEOPLE'S VOTE

When it comes to persuading MPs, we know these are the most persuasive stories. We will use this information to step up our campaigning and make it clear to MPs that across the country people have changed their minds and now want a People’s Vote.

Thank you for your continued support,

Hugh Norris, 
Remainer Now 
Leading Supporter of the People’s Vote campaign

'Take Me With You'

These times are a lot about her voice:



Elizabeth Fraser - 'Take Me With You'

Music: Michael Kamen Lyrics: Alan Rickman Performed: Liz Fraser


Cd Album : "The Winter Guest" (Soundtrack)


The Winter Guest is a 1997 film directed by Alan Rickman in his debut as a director, which stars Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson.

*** *** *** *** *** ***


Lyrics


Your eyes are still closed Are you sleeping? Can I touch you? Would it make you fall? You sail in love through the sky When there's a close slips in between us Am I livin' your dreams? Take me with you. The night is still cold Let me hold you Drifting homewards Do you know how the wind blows You sailing love through the sky And I will keep you close beside me Am I livin' your dreams? Take me with you. Drifting homewards Do you know where the wind blows Take me with... Take me with you You sail in love through the sky And I will hold you close beside me Am I livin' your dreams? Take me with you. Am I livin' your dreams? Take me with you.