Monthly round-up June 26
(Featured Image – we saw The Cure perform an amazing set on the scorchingly hottest day of the year)
A month that almost resembled the old days of working. I gave a keynote (online), had an external examiner meeting (the end of my tenure for the fabulous Warwick IATL courses) and went to a conference. I need a month off now.
I may blog this in more detail later, but this month made me reflect that when I first left the OU I was quite focused on creating distance between my old identity of ed tech and open ed, because I wanted to carve a new path. But after a couple, of years (during which time I have remained connected if not deeply involved), I feel that I can combine both the new and old identities. It’s not a case of one or the other. And I still have some thoughts on education.
Writing
I usually cover books I have read and vinyl I’ve bought in this monthly round up, and now I’m adding a new category of writing, which will cover my progress on fiction writing. See? I’m combining those identities already.
This month I finished the final round of copy-editing on my new book – The h-index (I’ll blog more about the book later). I also sent the brief to the cover designer, Roderick, who did the cover for The Recluse Rules. I hope to have a cover to reveal later in July.
After several rounds of copy-editing I am very happy with this book. The writing is a clear improvement on the last one, and the characters really lead the way. I had the experience this time of not being sure where things would go, but letting the characters themselves lead me.
Books
John Kampfer’s Braver New Worlds attempts something very noble – to try and offer realistic hope. He examines some of the main political, social, and economic problems that democracies are dealing with, such as immigration, health care, education and technology, and for each find one country that is at least attempting to deliver a practical, long-term solution, instead of simplistic, populist responses. These are not without issues themselves, and I don’t always agree with him, but they are at least reasonable, robust solutions based on careful policy and not the “old man shouting at clouds” based approach we have now. Mind you, I also found it a bit depressing because for each of them I tried to imagine them being implemented in the UK, and the right-wing press would stir people up into a frenzy each time.
Katherine Rundell’s hugely readable biography of John Donne managed to be both entertaining and thoughtful. She gets the balance right in not judging Donne by today’s standards, but also highlighting his flaws, as well as his gifts. I also learnt that Renaissance flattery and sucking up was on a level that Gianni Infantino would aspire to. This is how you do biography.
And Graeme Thompsons book on Talk Talk is how you do music writing. His book covers the last three Talk Talk albums and the solo Mark Hollis one. He details the gruelling, extraordinary process of creating the beautiful, influential album The Spirit of Eden. He doesn’t glorify Mark Hollis, but also gives due reverence to the music itself. It made me go back and listen to each album again, with new ears.
Vinyl
Which neatly segues into my music listening this month. As well as revisiting the post-rock, minimalist world of Talk Talk, this month I purchased the new record from 00s indie rock favourites Death Cab For Cutie. This group personified the American wave of that indie movement in the noughties (covered in depth in the book Such Great Heights), and their album Transatlanticism was one of my favourites. I didn’t think I’d get to see them live but last year they toured that album, as well as the hughly influential rock/dance cross over Give Up (by the Postal Service). Without become a tribute band to themselves, the new album mines the best parts of what made them so great to start with. The sound of an artist being comfortable with their legacy,
The most unusual record I bought this month, and probably this year, is Frankie Archer’s The Dance of Death. Archer has a classic northern English folk voice, and this album covers folk songs, but it is very far from a traditional folk album, with each given an electronic, dance treatment. She describes it as “a collection of nu-ancient trad bangers”, which I didn’t know I wanted, but it turns out I very much did.
My album of the month is Aldous Harding’s Train of the Island. It sounds deceptively simple, and is quirky, distinctive and memorable. I’m still finding new elements to it.
By the way, if you’re interested I’ve started doing a short “What I’ve Been Listening To This Week” video over on my music Instagram account.
