Save Me, Manifesto and Football
Current mood: artistic
And there was me thinking I'd have a nice, stress-free Euro 2008, supporting Germany because Germany were better than England at the last World Cup, and on account of both my other half (happy birthday Josie) and my drummer being, to different extents, German. Despite the slight amusement that apparently 'Schweinsteiger' translates roughly as 'pig mounter', the Croatia match left me with very very short fingernails.
Yesterday we played a new song 'Save Me' which I CANNOT WAIT to get onto a stage - it's like a 3-minute sugar rush, like watching a television set that's somehow taken speed, so all the colours are flying by at 1000 miles per hour. Somewhere between Born Slippy and Flux, I think it's nestled into top place among my favourites of the new GoodBooks songs. Also on the 'new arrivals' list is 'Manifesto', for which we will need an orchestra. Slow, almost menacing (!) and gorgeously negative, it's pretty much the opposite of 'Save Me', but again, I can't wait to get that chorus onto a stage at some point.
In other news we're all a bit gutted because we were supposed to have a gig last night which got pulled at the last minute due to leaves on the line. But we were well excited about playing for the first time in ages, so it's a real shame we didn't. The bright side of that is that we won't be spending today in a van returning from Bristol, so we're having a barbecue and football - four goodbooks, three girlfriends, a manager, a guy from Columbia, and a guy from the pub. Max is excited.
Keep the faith, we will be back with you soon.
xx Max
Currently
listening
:
Beggars Banquet
By
The Rolling Stones
Release date: 2002-08-27
GOODBOOKS WIN PRIZE
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Music
for being the least frequent bloggists on the whole of the interweb.
But what are these four crazy mother****ers up to? These four free spirits, like the winds set loose on an unsuspecting world by an unsuspecting Aeolus? Well, as the mailout said the other day, a hell of a lot, but not much that you can share in just yet. The album's going to be an out-and-out banger from start to end, that's for sure. No quiet-contemplative strings-based meditation from us just yet. Maybe for album 6?
We're playing together again tomorrow, then a day trip to London on Tuesday, meeting our accountant and our A&R. I'm always impressed by how our accountant manages to keep a straight face when he's dealing with us - the other day I sent him a letter that my bank sent me: "I certify that on paying to Mr M R Cooke Gross Annual Interest of £1.29 I deduct Income Tax of £0.26. Love and kisses from his bank manager." It's sweet, it really is.
JP's been flirting a bit, in and out of the studio with Frankmusik, a good friend and fine musician. From what I can hear that all sounds fine and dandy, and I think Chris, Leo and myself will be contributing to what's already been created at some point in the future. Me and Vincent will have a sing-off or something.
And I've been flirting with I Was A Cub Scout a bit too - spent a few days in the studio recording two tracks for their upcoming double A-side single. From their album will be 'The Hunter's Daughter', twinned with 'Workerbees' (one of the tracks I recorded with them) and a fine cover of The Cure's 'Close To Me' (also me producing).
I thought it worth mentioning the passing of two very young-hearted old people, the kind of people who make me look forward to growing old.
The first is of course Humphrey Lyttleton. As someone who spent a very large amount of time in the back of a van throughout 2007, I can say that listening to recordings of 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue' is probably the very best way to pass the hours. I'm always impressed by someone who gives a great interview, and Humph was the subject of one of the most engaging interviews I've seen. When I'm 80, that's how I'd like to be.
The second is Mrs May, the lady who taught Leo and myself to read, write and count when we were at her nursery school in the late 80s. I still believe she taught me enthusiasm, if that's something you can teach. I bumped into her in town when I was about 16 or 17, and she had remembered who I was, from twelve years previous, and was able to list parts I'd had in plays, people I'd been friends with whose names were hazy memories even to me.
I have neglected you, in thought, in word and in deed. I dropped the ball. I fucked up, and for this I am sorry. Halfway through series 6 I failed to put in the basic effort required to give you the time you deserve, and as such left a team of brave intelligence operatives in the lurch.
Between the months of October and December of last year, I partook of five series’ of Spooks, including such moments as the fall of Tom Quinn, or the trial of Zoe Reynolds. My life was rich, fulfilled, and righteous.
What I’m saying is that I want to give it another go. Technically speaking, I know that watching it on the internet is a bit naughty, yet I need you in my life, and in the words of Damon Albarn, ’There’s No Other Way’. If you’d come round to my house, in the form of a DVD box set, then maybe things could be different. Incidentally, I urge you to get a move on with this.
I hope we can sort things out, and that you will let me fill the Spooks-shaped hole in this life of mine by allowing me to rectifying my behaviour. I look forward to the promt appearance of Series 7. And 8, and 9, and on into the future. You’re The One, Spooks. I want you in my flat and in my life. for good.
I don’t have a flat, but this is a line from series 1.
Yours in deepest regret,
Max Cooke
Currently
listening
:
Tusk
By
Fleetwood Mac
Release date: 25 October, 1990
today i moved my razor from my bedroom into the bathroom, which i suppose is one step closer to actually shaving. and i wrote and recorded a song called 'twilight'.
xx
Currently
listening
:
Somewhere, Anywhere
By
New Buffalo
Release date: 28 August, 2007
Roxy Music/Kate Bush/GoodBooks
Current mood: adventurous
Hello, how is everyone these days? It's all a bit non-interactive, this whole making an album process, what with the absence of live shows and everything. But important that we get it right before we're out again. Today me and JP have decided that the song we're working sounds like either the best track off a Roxy Music album or else the 4th best track of a Kate Bush album. We've spent the last week and a half recording some songs, which are now in the hifis of two men we wish to produce the album, seeing what they think they could bring to them. For the last day of recording, there were workmen chipping and sanding away right outside the windows, and so we were moaning about how irritating it was, and how we had to monitor really loudly etc etc... the next day on our way in to tidy everything else, the same guy asked if we were recording again, because he'd had to listen to the same stretch of music over and over again the day before, and he'd nearly gone mad. Beautiful. Who's up for the DJ set in March at Cargo? In the words of dear Will from Horsebox, let's all twat one out together. Right, I'm getting back to my 80s synths, gated snare drums and side-chained compressors
We're recording this week. Four new songs - Momentum, Sorcerers, Bones and Roundabouts. Nice, succinct titles. They're lovely, full songs, with a definite leap on from 'Control'. I think I'm just beginning to understand GoodBooks songs now, whatever that means. A couple of them are longer than most of our old songs, one of them even flirting with the 4 minute mark (!). But maybe that's just because it's slower than songs can sometimes be. Leo's been writing like it's a race, which is both sickening and brilliant; it's a real treat to sing the songs he brings in, because they're so great, but also a daunting task, because his writing has absolutely no respect for what might be easy or comfortable to sing, so I'm all over the place, at the very top and bottom of my range. Yes, higher than Leni. In contrast, the songs that I've worked on with JP are all tailored to fall right within my 'sweet-spot'. It's nice to have both approaches, and although I don't think Leo reads my blogs, if you do then in the words of the Thrills, don't change a thing!
We played football yesterday too, which is definitely not an alternative career path for any of us. Me and JP lost 2-1, after a promising start. I'm going back to Berlin, briefly, then we start recording on Friday. One of the things I like about this whole making a second album thing is that when the time comes to get the new songs out there, they will all be new; there won't be any of the silly 'and here's GoodBooks' NEW song', when people have had that song sitting on their iTunes for 2 years!
Speaking of iTunes, check out the most recent Underworld album, 'Oblivion with Bells'. I think it's rather great; I bought it a few months ago and only listened to it a couple of times, but it popped up on shuffle the other day, and I've been listening to it quite a lot. 'Ring Road' I think is my favourite, but it's a consistent record.
Right, I'm off to Fabric to begin a 4-day binge on pills and house music. Only kidding, I'm going to go and get a hot chocolate.
Well, that all went pretty quickly - what a great start to the year. Three amazing weeks in an amazing city with amazing people. And we've got ourselves a bit of radio play coming up too - The Teenagers' remix of The Illness will be popping up quite a lot on Fritz Radio in just over a week, so if you're in the area, tune in and listen out for that.
So what the hell next? Well, we've got a lot of time booked out in our practise room, and the second album is very slowly emerging from the shadows. Today we started work on a new song called 'Momentum' - so yes, well done to those people who've added me on Last.fm and asked me about it, 'Momentum' is one of the new tracks! I like it. But then again I would, wouldn't I.
The long and short of it is, album-making is a long, long process; with 'Control' it took us 10 months, start to finish. I'm sure this record (ooh what shall we call it? it needs a working title!) won't take anything like as long, mainly because we won't be touring at the same time as making it. I think the time in Berlin has really shaped it already though; we all know what we want to do musically and which avenues we want to explore. We've got a lot of songs already, and there's no sign of the writing slowing up. It's quite a weird thing though, going back to being just the four of us in a room, whittling away at ideas for hours on end, having spent most of the last 12 months performing the same 12 songs. I have no idea when we'll be out and about again, but we want to get the album firmly in the bag before we do any major touring, so we keep all our attention on the record.
Right, I'm going back to 'Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen'. Ich muss mein Deutsch verbessern!
artistic
cheerful
pensive
excited
hungry
adventurous
happy
calm
