Cary Grant: And On That Bombshell...

Express.

Think we all knew this, love.

Gilbert & George: God Save

From an excellent profile of the chuckle brothers in the Daily Telegraph.

PS I thought I'd made a BRILLIANT point before about G&G as Tory anarchists, by way of Edward Said, George Orwell and Jonathan Swift, but this seems to have been lost in the ether.

As you were.

Jeremy Corbyn: Fall Fan

Fagburn was informed by a Labour party robot on Thursday morning that he would not be allowed to vote in the leadership ballot, and - whoops! - it was now too late to appeal.

What a fucking farce.

Fagburn is of course still backing the dude, and hopes when he becomes leader he swiftly begins a Maoist purge of hopeless party bureaucrats.

Viva Islington's Allende!

The Fall: Hastings

To Hastings to see The Fall again.

Yay.

Bye. x

Dozy: 1944-2015

Fagburn is sad to hear of the passing of Dozy - of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich fame.

Thanks for this if nothing else. x

PS And for The Fall's cover of your number one hit single, The Legend Of Xanadu, obvs!

Thought For The Day: Lana Pillay

In a weird, warped way, I suppose you end up thanking all your adversaries, for teaching you how to be a twat back! They teach you how to defend yourself, how to understand the cognitive deficiency that motivates people to use others as a punch-bag for their own neurosis and insecurities. 

Lana Pillay, from an essay - part memoir, part queer polemic - for OuThere magazine.

Any friend of the late Leigh Bowery and Mark E Smith is a friend of mine... x

Totally Wired: The Fall (Cover)

Not sure why, but this makes me insanely happy.
Or happily insane.

Boris Johnson: This Country!

'If we was smart we'd emigrate...'

The Fall: The Skriking

Sometimes it's the strangest things that make you feel glad to be alive.
Thank you.
x

Shirley Temple: 1928-2014

The Guardian. @markesmith Some people are so childish...

By @beardedgenius

Smith: Smith - Post-Nearly Man

"It's good being a Smith sometimes - you can get away with murder."

Pink News: A New Low

So it's come to this...

Sorry, but the stupidity level on this story had threatened to engulf my neck.

Fagburn is particularly fond of this bit - mainly as it contains a two-word quote from The Fall...

The gay public realm has been hijacked by new puritans – bullies, censors, bores.

Bedwetting pearl-clutching fools, desperate to take offence at anything and everything.

I thank you.

x

Update: Quoted in the Daily Express!!!

Lou Reed: Mark E Smith Writes...

At 14 when some bikers in town told me
I could score at this horrible gig in Sth. M/CR,
Lou Reed was a constant in my life.
The support group was 'Lou Reed & The Tots'.

By 73 I was a criminally devout Velvet Underground fan.
Not a 'Velvets' or 'Lou Reed' fan.
Or Johnny cum latelys.

About 87 when my mother was moving out,
I stood in the front room and looked at the stereogram
I'd listen to "Sister Ray" on full blast, 14 years back.
I opened the curtain and Nico walked past the house.

On the 'Gorillaz' tour,
Lou Reed must've been the only person I didn't talk to.
I bowed and he nodded.

The Velvet Underground group live and on vinyl of 1969–70
excels over 'pop & rock' of yesterday, tomorrow,
this, last and next week.

The Remainderer.

"WHEN ARE YOU GONNA LEAVE,
YOU FUCKIN TRAMPS?"

LOU REED
Manchester. 'Rock N Roll' Animal tour 1974

The Wire.

Love Lou, love MES, so this is beyond wonderful.
Mark thought I was a girl, Lou was predictably brusque.
A New York 60 year-old dwarf in black leather.
I bowed and he nodded.

"Hi Richard!"

Nearly broke my hand.
Great man.
Good times!

x

Mark E Smith: Life

Life just bounces (So don't you get worried at all...)

Fagburn: Why I Love The Fall

"It's not as easy as it looks."

I like Mark E Smith very, very much.
He says/slurs the unutterable.

"Keep thinking."

PS I'm taking a short break from normal Fagburn postings and considering my options.
My absurdism has temporarily conquered my communism.
What is point?
Oh what's the bloody point? 

Maybe it's a rabbit. 

Marriage: Gay Cake-Topper Watch

The newspapers' reactions to yesterday's really rather minor announcement that the gays may be allowed to get gaymarried in churches (some restrictions apply etc) were as predictable and boring as the cake-topper illustrations accompanying them.
The wonderfully creepy one above is from the Telegraph, the most anti-gay-marriage paper who, oddly, also got some exclusive old twaddle by Equalities Minister, Maria Miller, reassuring its readers how desperately dull and reactionary marriage equality actually is.

"Marriage brings stability and it binds us together. It helps make our families stronger... For me, far from being a radical departure, this is simply one more in a long line of reforms which have strengthened marriage, ensuring it remains a modern and vibrant institution." 

How very interesting.
And now with added religion!
(Though note, they still haven't said how they're going to introduce this gay marriage thing yet). *
I genuinely can't be arsed to comment on the rest.
What do they say?
Little parlour game - have a bleedin' guess!  
Enjoy your weekend.

* "A free vote in the spring" has been promised, according to those oft-quoted "sources".

Fagburn: Me Me Me!

Fagburn has been very depressed these last few weeks.
I know! Boo hoo hoo.
Squish squish *sad face* etc.
Some people say they are "depressed", but for some of us depression means we can't literally function and just want to die.
I'm not asking for sympathy - well, I am - I'm just trying to explain why this blog may have been a lot of random half-hearted bitter and/or boring balls of late.
Sorry.
Obviously everything would be better if we lived in a communist paradise where Tom Daley would let me kiss and cuddle him. 
But I understand my utopia may not be ever realised.
This is - clearly - the modern world's greatest tragedy, but we must somehow try to go on. 
I've been helped by some people's kind words, especially by my friends, some on FOF and here - and of course - my mum, and by listening to The Fall and Go-Kart Mozart.
I hope to be back to abnormal and posting endless crap about gay crap soon.
Thank you for your patience.

x

The Fall: The Man Whose Head Expanded

Fuck yeah!

Fagburn: Today

Today I have a funeral, a wake and then I'm off to see The Fall.
Strange day.
Swings, roundabouts, other fairground attractions...
Probably see you Saturday.

x

The Fall: Sound?

I hope Mark E Smith is well.
And hope some rumour-mongers can just die.
Some of us still burn, you know?