His ego is so massive he makes Lawrence look humble in comparison
― PaulTMA, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 17:14 (six years ago) link
Seems like a fairly troubled individual? He hasn't done anything since Felt at all, has he? Over 30 years ago.
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 17:20 (six years ago) link
by the end i found myself wondering the same thingwondering what he had been up to if he only made one solo album since then (and he was a very enjoyable guitarist to listen to, but i haven't heard his solo album -- nor do i expect it to be "indie" lol)
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 17:25 (six years ago) link
Not as good as Vini Reilly, I'm afraid to say.
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 17:28 (six years ago) link
if you like the instrumental stuff on the early felt albums you'll probably enjoy his solo record (which was made when he was still in felt).
― new noise, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 17:35 (six years ago) link
he made this one song with saint etienne
― new noise, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 17:50 (six years ago) link
I really like Inner Thought Zone! It's got a few tracks reminiscent of early Felt (The Watery Song, Golden Hills, Dance of Deliverance) and some other more classical guitar-type stuff that's really great but slides into kinda new age treacliness (which I don't mind at all) like So Serene and a Tale from Scriabin's Lonely Trail
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 18:04 (six years ago) link
wow the Spanish tv video linked in the Deebank interview is great, hadn't seen it before. it's better quality than that awful official live DVD from 15 years ago or so
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUcw_CkIkT8
― piscesx, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 18:48 (six years ago) link
yeah, that was posted above.
i feel bad for maurice. but he will live forever.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 20:51 (six years ago) link
slides into kinda new age treacliness (which I don't mind at all) like So Serene and a Tale from Scriabin's Lonely Trail
those tracks you singled out (and a couple of others) were recorded for the album's cd release in 1992.
― new noise, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:05 (six years ago) link
Interesting that Golden Hills is from 1992, it sounds to me one of the most Crumbling-like tracks!
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:24 (six years ago) link
Listened to the remixed tracks from "Ignite The Seven Cannons". I think I'm just too used to the original versions, these don't seem like an improvement at all.― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, March 4, 2018 12:37 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
heh, I'm on my first play and I've got the exact opposite view. it's a huge improvement for me
― Isi, Sunday, 11 March 2018 12:19 (six years ago) link
Fair enough. I didn't listen to them back-to-back, maybe that will give me a different perspective.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 11 March 2018 12:46 (six years ago) link
A nice look back at Forever here: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/felt-forever-breathes-the-lonely-word/amp/
― brimstead, Sunday, 26 May 2019 23:15 (four years ago) link
Nice. That was my first Felt acquisition (well, the twofer with Poem of the River) almost a decade after its release, and seems destined to be my favourite forever. The "Cherry Red/Deebank >>>> Creation/Duffy" talk at that time seemed overwhelming so a piece just straight out stating that Forever is their best record is fine by me.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 27 May 2019 04:18 (four years ago) link
“a wave crashed on rocks” might be my favorite felt song
― brimstead, Monday, 27 May 2019 04:30 (four years ago) link
Surprise guest appearance by an ILX0r in that writeup.
― TS The Students vs. The Regents (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 May 2019 12:43 (four years ago) link
"Denim On Ice", love that album, the songs are so catchy and the lyrics are stupendous.
― The Corbynite Maneuver (Tom D.), Sunday, 26 April 2020 16:59 (four years ago) link
I had the first two songs from that stuck in my head for weeks last year. A headband over the ocean! Great stuff.
― brimstead, Sunday, 26 April 2020 19:23 (four years ago) link
I've only recently gotten into Felt and got into Ignite the Seven Cannons through the remaster/remix. Man, the original version is so different. I know it's somewhat unpopular (well, it appears to be somewhat unpopular), but I think it's pretty fascinating and even a bit enjoyable after fully submersing myself in the remaster/remix. I think the mix definitely gets in the way of the songs, particularly something hooky like 'The Day the Rain Come Down,' but it totally works on another songs.
― afriendlypioneer, Monday, 27 April 2020 16:46 (four years ago) link
I adore the original "Seven Cannons" and was quite taken aback by the new version. Which songs to you think benefit the most on the new version?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 27 April 2020 17:06 (four years ago) link
I definitely prefer the originals to the de-guthrie’d tracks, love all that shimmery icing... but I think it’s cool on the new disc because it sounds more like Felt, the band, playing. maybe more of a direct line to the creation records
― brimstead, Monday, 27 April 2020 18:11 (four years ago) link
the first two felt albums are like tapestries that just kinda unfurl forever, a ribbon that ties around the whole earth. deserts, snowy tundras, the pacific ocean, all thatI'm going to listen to them all morning
― brimstead, Monday, 27 April 2020 18:14 (four years ago) link
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0539/8839/3128/products/SummerSmashcan_480x480.jpg?v=1623140724
https://carnivalbrewing.me/blogs/news/lawrence-takes-over?fbclid=IwAR0f1U5EatmF4k4QSYbwy06NE7dfGgPO30DwetK4ODXbr4S7AmZJFAZOYcU
https://carnivalbrewing.me/products/summer-smash-honeydew-melon-juniper-and-mint-sour-3-7?fbclid=IwAR1m-DgzEhXZhcIqx6VGz15DGqdwH2MZvZF4qP5gf4MGsoSvI0XTeoqfjrU&variant=40114676760744
― PaulTMA, Thursday, 10 June 2021 12:28 (two years ago) link
I really appreciate that it is low alcohol in contrast to these rancid Special Brew-strength ales that are all the rage these days
― PaulTMA, Thursday, 10 June 2021 12:29 (two years ago) link
I love both Lawrence and Wreckless Eric so it was a surprise to only find out now that Eric had done a response song to The Great Pub Rock Revival. It is quite something. Apparently they later made up.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_mlFyn_1w4
― everything, Sunday, 20 June 2021 23:34 (two years ago) link
We're gonna make a record and put it out on Record Store Day.
― visiting, Saturday, 17 July 2021 06:09 (two years ago) link
Not much of a song but it looks like Lawrence has a lot of the same records as me.
― Wouldn't disgrace a Michael Jackson (Tom D.), Saturday, 17 July 2021 07:46 (two years ago) link
Lawrence interview in the guardian todayhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/27/lawrence-interview-felt-denim-mozart-estateHidden away in there is the news that he will have a new LP out under the name "Mozart Estate"
― link.exposing.politically (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 19:05 (one year ago) link
i feel as if i have read a version of this article every few years for the last two decades. as a Lawrence agnostic it's still always interesting to read but i do wish they would get over the 'should have been / could have been famous' schtick, every single time.
― stirmonster, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 19:47 (one year ago) link
Was going to say exactly that. Also, I think the main photo was almost identical to one featured in a previous article of maybe a decade ago ago.
― Luna Schlosser, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 20:07 (one year ago) link
yeah really not a great article, but nice there's a new LP on the way
― link.exposing.politically (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 20:16 (one year ago) link
Also, I think the main photo was almost identical to one featured in a previous article of maybe a decade ago ago.
You aren't wrong. Here he is from 2011:https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/20/lawrence-of-belgraviahttps://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2011/10/19/1319037517163/Lawrence-of-Belgravia-007.jpg?width=620&quality=85&fit=max&s=03b5935f966a6f8e7f800017649c2ba9
And from 2014:https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/01/lawrence-felt-denim-go-kart-mozarthttps://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/2/26/1393422193018/Lawrence-011.jpg?width=620&quality=85&fit=max&s=e34c5d5aa3418d706d68a4f0da3dddcf
And 2022:https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/27/lawrence-interview-felt-denim-mozart-estatehttps://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bf6feccce5c6cf744d7f6e7fdebb0e3ce0985d82/0_287_6612_3967/master/6612.jpg?width=1020&quality=85&fit=max&s=6e48138d9f91db121abc0970d54eab7b
Perhaps his right side is his best side.
― Ashley Pomeroy, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 20:43 (one year ago) link
I feel a bit weird about hearing the "you can't use the toilet" thing so much - if its a genuine thing (that Lawrence would find it actually distressing) and I've no reason to believe it isn't, then it feels weird to write about it (unless in a really compassionate way). And if its anything else, it just feels a bit ... repeated.
― djh, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 20:44 (one year ago) link
Was he always a bit camera shy, or is it "getting old sucks and I don't want to show too much"?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:18 (one year ago) link
i'd like to know what's up with Maurice Deebank?
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:35 (one year ago) link
He did this interview a few years ago - https://www.outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=1528
― link.exposing.politically (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:39 (one year ago) link
I finally watched ‘Lawrence of Belgravia’ the other night, thanks BFI Player! Was interesting if a little depressing. I think I already knew everything it contained from various interviews and articles around it.One thing that struck me was that, yes, Lawrence has not achieved the level of fame and fortune he desired, but does he recognise that, at least with Felt, he’s got a greater artistic legacy than a vast percentage of the people who ever play music?I’m sure he talks about the Go Kart Mozart material he’s working on at the time of the film being very pop, but it’s a refracted version of the pop of his youth, not the pop that will get him where he wants to be. But I guess it’s the gap between ambition/delusion and reality that’s meant to be captivating?
― hamicle, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:41 (one year ago) link
Xp I’ve already read that one! I’m curious what he has been up to since.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:46 (one year ago) link
I think leading a quiet life outside of the business, and you can't blame him.
If I were interviewing Lawrence I'd ask about how he reclaims sounds which are considered tacky and cheap and foregrounds them to expose their hidden qualities and make us think about how / why we ever decided they were bad in the first place, that seems to have been his practice for the best part of 30 years, but nobody asks him about it and he doesn't seem to want to talk about it either. Maybe it just isn't interesting to anyone.
― link.exposing.politically (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:48 (one year ago) link
I feel a bit weird about hearing the "you can't use the toilet" thing so much - if its a genuine thing
It is, by the way.
― Let's Get Ready to Trimble (Tom D.), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 21:54 (one year ago) link
I just love MD's guitar playing so much that I want to know if he is making music or not and if not why not
No idea what y'all are talking about wrt toilets, do not care tbh
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 27 July 2022 23:05 (one year ago) link
The thing is, for 40 years visitors to his flat have been given The Toilet Chat
― PaulTMA, Wednesday, 27 July 2022 23:47 (one year ago) link
I still need to watch Lawrence of Arabia and wonder what else people watch on BFI Player.
― My Little Red Buchla (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 28 July 2022 00:10 (one year ago) link
― stirmonster
Yeah, this is the same theme for every interview I've read of his for the last 20 years now. There's no doubt he's some bad luck in the industry, but some of it has to be his own doing too. I remember him being on Mark Riley's show in 2012 and he was complaining about how he couldn't play live because nobody wanted to book him. As the interview went on, Mark mentioned how a number of people had called in from music venues saying they'd love to have him and to get in touch. He just kinda brushed it off and nothing came of it. The guy who made the documentary also says how he used to disappear all the time and he must be like that too when planning his career.
I'm not sure how much more mileage he can get from the Summer Smash/Diana story too. I seem to remember seeing an advert at the time for Summer Smash in the NME or Melody Maker that said it was coming out August 24th, a week before Diana died. I'm sure I cut it out and put it on my wall (along with all my Mansun and Boo Radleys pics). Maybe it got put back last minute as singles did at that time. As great as the song is, I'm not convinced it was going to be the breakthrough hit he was expecting. I don't remember hearing it on radio at all and I was desperate to hear it. I heard It Fell Off The Back Of A Lorry a number of times the previous year.
― kitchen person, Thursday, 28 July 2022 01:35 (one year ago) link
As I mentioned up thread, jeez, more than a decade ago, if Summer Smash had actually been released it would have been his worst single.
― everything, Thursday, 28 July 2022 03:50 (one year ago) link
I was a teenage Felt fan in the 80s, and even then I found him an awkward sod. Every new release or gig was a costly gamble. And the thing that always made me doubt the toilet story is that it was commonly told about Kenneth Williams bitd.
― fetter, Thursday, 28 July 2022 08:34 (one year ago) link
There could be various reasons for the toilet obsession. My guess is that 50% of it is that he is embarrassed about the state of his bathroom (because he can’t afford a refurb and the council/landlord won’t do it ) and 50% hates people using his toilet.
― Luna Schlosser, Thursday, 28 July 2022 09:04 (one year ago) link
Well, that make two people who etc.
― Mark G, Thursday, 28 July 2022 09:04 (one year ago) link
Check your bathroom privilege ! Before my bathroom refurb last autumn (probably 15% more expensive now at least) , I dreaded visitors saying “can I just use the bathroom”.
― Luna Schlosser, Thursday, 28 July 2022 09:58 (one year ago) link