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John Cale by David J




The very first article in issue 2, from 1984, was a piece by David J, then a solo artist about to release on Glass Records the fellow Northamptonian Alan Moore inspired “V For Vendetta” EP, Bauhaus having split in 1983 and with Love And Rockets not forming until 1985. He'd come to us by way of his contributions to a couple of Jazz Butcher albums, the Jazz Butcher completing a very neat circle by contributing a version of John Cale's “Chinese Envoy” as one of the four tracks on the EP that accompanied issue 2.

An Appreciation Of John Cale by David J

“The soul of anaesthesia. Antarctica starts here....
At the time of writing, I am listening to a bootleg tape of John Cale's solo London concert which took place in January of last year. I remember the gleam of that moment, air chilled by fire. “I Keep A Close Watch On This Heart Of Mine”, a key song always. The stage is a seducer, a doctor, a card you cannot trust. Cale has five aces and a raven tattooed sleeve. Black on black, white light white heat, legacy of Velvet.
Dronnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne.
Menace menace, viola and time. Vintage violence, etiquette of same. Shadow of the long knives. How green is my rose garden funeral of sores. Sticky fingers in a jeweller's eye. Church of Anthrax, chorale and cry, the Gospel according to Fear Is A Man's Best Friend. You know it makes sense, don't even think about it. Life and death are things you just do.....
Glinting, like violence in the hangman's eye. Where the air is a grappling hook and a legacy of shadows reside.
Time is a seducer, a card you cannot trust. Days are marked and numbered. Fear is a doctor, Preventative medicine at the time of writing. Vintage blade stuck in a raven's eye. Close to the Gospel of Anthrax. Tattooed eye, viola and key. How green is my bootleg at the time of writing. Those remembered times. That moment.
Fear Is A Man's Best Friend.
Honi Soit.”

And to complete this post, here's that version of "Chinese Envoy" by The Jazz Butcher. Only ever released on that EP with issue two, I apologise for the surface noise and the lack of a video proper to accompany the soundtrack.

Comments

  1. Unknown11 February 2011 at 22:43

    I've been looking for this version of Chinese Envoy forever. Great cover.

    ReplyDelete

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