James Morris

Saw The Producers last night. One deeply funny idea brought to life through lots of superbly executed but quite basic ideas.

Fair play to the picture editor for finding an image to summarise their reaction after mentally reconciling the second part of this sentence with the opening.

John Zorn at the Vanguard. He’s an absolute genius. Klezmer, Blues, Eric Dolphy whoknowswhatness. Incredible band. And a tight, hugely enjoyable 60min set. Nothing better.

Andrea Berta bringing a new approach to making Arsenal players available

Saw my third Eugene O’Neill play at the weekend - A Moon for the Misbegotten at the Almeida. Powerful about how people become trapped economically, socially and psychologically. Michael Shannon’s performance was stunning: fragile and forceful, decrepit but dashing. There a handful of tickets left.

Olivia Rodrigo on stage - two huge screens at the side

Had tickets to see Beth Gibbons last night at the Roundhouse but gave them up to take my youngest to her first gig*; so watching her Glasto set now on TV. Sad to miss this tour - looks brilliant.

*Olivia Rodrigo, Hyde Park, genuinely good, great band and top tunes. Will go down a storm tomorrow.

Big big day in American politics as Dems learn it is good to come across like a human, appear in the media people actually watch and say you’ll do something about issues they care about.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the spectacular Royal Albert Hall - even made use of the organ. Totally different to their full on 2022 gig in Brixton - pared back, intimate, less synth, more acoustic guitar. But still 100% them, continuing to try different things and push themselves even in their 25th year.

Lots of insightful stuff out there now. This is really informative esp re timeline. “Fordow could convert Iran’s entire stock of high enriched uranium — assessed to be 408kg by IAEA inspectors in May — to produce in just three weeks enough weapons grade uranium to make nine nuclear weapons.”

Leaving the gig during their last Brixton residency, I wished I could go back. Three years later @lcdsoundsystem.bsky.social booked another stand & I got my chance. Exhilarating enveloping live sound - the drop in Tribulations, the sonic variation in Losing my Edge, the euphoria of All My Friends

The dangerous decline of child vaccination in England. Such a worrying trend at several levels.

Iggy Pop (singing), Nick Zinner (guitar) and Ale Campos (more guitar) on stage

Iggy with Ale Campos in the background

Iggy stepping into a coffin that is propped vertically on stage

Iggy at Ally Pally last night. He’s got great songs, including on the new album, and the only hint at his age came in the box he left the stage in. The Stooges tracks sound huge now, must have been extraordinary back then.

And, by the way, the number one source of mental health issues for kids is not smartphones etc, it's poverty. Status awareness is acute amongst teenagers. Poverty creates lifetime impacts.

The Bitcoin hum that is unsettling Trump’s MAGA heartlands Trump has said he wants to turn the US into the crypto-mining capital of the world - but that has real-world implications for many of his core voters

2% of US electricity goes on Bitcoin ‘mining’

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"Heart of Glass" by Blondie–Strong Songs – Apple Podcasts Podcast Episode · Strong Songs · 03/05/2024 · 56m

This was a great listen. Somehow both warm and forensic. Thanks @kirkhamilton.com

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...

Very 90s night out at the Donmar Warehouse, watching Patrick Marber’s debut play be treated like a period drama. Somewhat amusing, highly engaging, ensemble piece where everyone is flawed in totally expected but nevertheless meaningful ways. Brilliantly staged in such a tiny theatre.

Sad to see many brilliant brilliant musicians self-righteously try to use their cultural power to silence decent activists who oppose support for violence against civilians - whether MPs or attendees of the Nova festival. It’s easy to oppose Israel/Tories without chanting for Hamas/murder.

Reporting focuses on the apology bit of this statement but chiefly it’s a conspiracy theory about the ‘establishment’ plus lawyered words (‘have never’). There’s an easy way to avoid being seen to support murderers & terrorists - don’t chant in support. Plenty of pro Palestine activists manage that.

Letter: As British Jews we can no longer stay silent on the war in Gaza From Harriett Goldenberg, Baron Frankal, Sophie Hasenson, Robert Stone and others

"the Israeli government instead chose to break the ceasefire... Israel’s soul is being ripped out and we, members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, fear for the future of the Israel we love"

A brave letter:
www.ft.com/content/6a50...

Last time I went to Wembley Arena, Radiohead were touring OK Computer. Next time, it will be My Bloody Valentine. Bit surprised it’s in an arena but very exciting all the same.

What a treat the Bertha Dochouse is. A screen devoted to docs at the beautiful Brunswick centre cinema. Saw Dig! for the first time there on Tues. Great film about art, friendship, delusion and economics. Seeing the struggle, jealousy & conflict made Feb’s Brixton gig even more joyful in retrospect.

Max Cooper at the Roundhouse was all about huge visuals and huge sound but for most of it I felt like Id wandered into a screensaver convention where the conference manager had figured out how to train an LLM on Insides by Orbital. I liked the Squarepushery and Swervey bits but all too retro for me

Photo of shop selling workwear (yellow vests, boiler suits, etc); with a range for adults and one for kids

Tbh I didn’t know there was a big need for workwear for children any more

Just read this which is a better and more informed articulation of what struck me last night bsky.app/profile/john...

Jack White at the Troxy. A rolling sprint, rooted in blues and bringing the peak of Jonny Guitar rock; stitched together as perfectly as an uber produced stadium boring mega tour, but played with no set list. Firecracking energy without a pause.

Ah. Agree there is too much confusion generally. That (also) sounds like a competence issue. To categorically say c. ‘the PM won’t comment on the most important thing happening in the world that directly affects a central plank of his foreign policy’, is (also) a media handling judgment failure.

While I think you’re right in general, I think a bit harsh on this specific. What to say is easy for states that had decided to challenge Trump. UK choice was to try to ride two horses so calibrating what to say necessarily harder - not due to indecision, but due to the nature of the decision.

Uplifting view from the office earlier

Three guys being released today were kidnapped in the early hours of the morning from a music festival and kept hostage for over a year. Others were also dragged off, assaulted, murdered. I’d have thought more people in the music industry might have said a bit about that.

The greatest Swedish language indie song was, perhaps inevitably, written by Berlin-based Californian shoegaze psychfolk Brixton-Academy-filling seven-piece, the Brian Jonestown Massacre. A highlight from a wall of noise and lots of smiling faces. #Vad Hände Med Dem