MetaFilter posts tagged with markesmith

The White Crap Talks Back

nasreddin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:05:56 -0800

"A lot of people have lumped us in with punk, but I've never aligned myself with it. I didn't want to be part of a scene, never have. And I knew it wasn't going to last. Once that quick statement was over, most of the main players couldn't handle the fall-out: they were like a bunch of shell-shocked army majors stuck in time, endlessly repeating their once-successful war cries. When you're dealing in slogans like the Clash and the Pistols, it's hard to keep that shit fresh." An extract from Mark E. Smith's new autobiography. Bonus: long, rambling, exceedingly pointless 4-part interview with Ian Svenonius (Nation of Ulysses).(previously)

Soft Focus: Interviews with some damn fine and/or interesting musicians

Item — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:52:49 -0800

For the last year, the Vice TV program Soft Focus has presented an assortment of "discussions about art, culture, politics, personal history, personal feelings, fashion, and the like" with a series of noteworthy musicians. Host Ian Svenonius manages to wrangle dialogue with of some of the music world's most colorful and idiosyncratic characters: The Fall's Mark E. Smith, My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, The Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder, Crass' Penny Rimbaud, Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV's Genesis P. Orridge, Cat Power's Chan Marshall, Thee Headcoats' Billy Childish, The Specials' Terry Hall, Andrew WK, Fugazi's Ian Mackaye, and Palace/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Will Oldham. I'm not a fan of Svenonius' music, but his subjects are relaxed and his interviewing style works well in the format given. His oddball sense of humor allows for some funny segments, as shown in the Will Oldham episode, and most of the musicians seem to take him seriously enough to talk freely.

The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E Smith

Item — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:32:12 -0800

"In January 2005, Mark E. Smith and The Fall (described as 'one of the most enigmatic, idiosyncratic and chaotic garage bands of the last 30 years') were the subject of a BBC 4 TV documentary, The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith." parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Tottenham Hotspur Postponed

johnny novak — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 09:57:26 -0800

Mark E Smith reads the football results.