‘The early 80s saw the emergence of the electronic/dance phenomenon in Europe. At the forefront of this movement were four names: Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League, The Normal, and Fad Gadget (Frank Tovey). Tovey released his first single Back to Nature in 1979 and was the first signing to Daniel Miller’s Mute label. Miller (as The Normal) had previously put out his own composition “T.V.O.D.” c/w “Warm Leatherette” and was thinking of starting a label when he met Tovey. As Fad Gadget Tovey played solo with a drum machine and synthesizer confusing audiences at the time used to the standard rock format. Now, obviously, the scene is radically different with electronic sounds and beat boxes being the norm.
‘Fad Gadget’s music was characterized by a use of synthesizers in conjunction with sounds of found objects, including drills and electric razors. His bleak, sarcastic, and darkly humorous lyrics, often layered in meaning and discussing subjects such as machinery, building construction, human sexuality, and physical violence, were sung in a droning, often expressionless voice.
‘The influence of Tovey’s early experiments in electronic music can be heard in the likes of the Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Depeche Mode, and all the Techno/Dance Bands of the 90s. The main characteristic of Tovey’s work that distinguished him from his contempories and his followers was the quality of his lyrics. Not satisfied with singing pseudo science fiction (a la Gary Numan) or crass love songs, Tovey developed a style more akin to Dylan or Lou Reed, his black humour often confusing the punters at the time more interested in style than content. His songs “spoke of the diseases and fears poorly hidden from view. They spoke for and against the little man, the ubiquitous civilian bewildered by the speed of events threatening to sweep him up or leave him behind. And they spoke in a variety of voices: dead pan, severe, sardonic, satirical and, finally, disarmingly sincere….” — Biba Kopf ’91.
‘Imagewise Tovey never played the pretty pop singer role preferring to be photographed by Anton Corbin covered from head to toe in shaving foam or tarred and feathered. His stage shows were often been mad acrobatic events. Where most performers remain untouchable he would purposely goad an audience, sometimes somersaulting from the stage (before stage diving became an international sport), like a latter-day cockney version of Iggy Pop his audience passing him around above their heads before depositing him back on the stage and screaming for more.
‘In 2001, after a number of years recording and performing under his real name, Tovey resurrected his old Fad Gadget pseudonym to support his former colleagues and Mute label-mates, Depeche Mode, on their Exciter tour. He continued to perform live, and was working on a new album at the time of his death. Tovey suffered from heart problems since his childhood, and died of a heart attack on 3 April 2002 at the age of 45.’ — fad gadget.co.uk
_____
Gallery
________
Interview 1
on German TV
________
Interview 2
by Edwin Pouncey
______
Further
Official Fad Gadget/Frank Tovey Website
Frank Tovey Fansite
Fad Gadget Discography
Alex Proyas’ film ‘Frank Gadget by Frank Tovey’
Boxset: ‘Frank Tovey by Fad Gadget’
Fad Gadget @ Mute Records
Fad Gadget @ Trouser Press
Simon Reynolds ‘Cult Heroics: Frank Tovey’
Frank Tovey obituary @ NYT
______
Tribute (2012)
March 1 – April 8 – EXHIBITION Opening Reception, envoy enterprises (131 Chrystie Street)
March 3 – LIVE PERFORMANCES, Dixon Place (161 Chrystie Street)
March 10 – FILM, Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey, Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave)
envoy enterprises, in collaboration with NP Contemporary Art Center and Mute Records, is pleased to present FG.Ft, a three-part project series in homage to Frank Tovey – founder of the 1970s/1980s British electronic group Fad Gadget, marking the 10 year anniversary of the pioneer’s death. Summoning a diverse group of artists and musicians who have been both directly and indirectly influenced by Tovey, the series will take place from March 1st through to April 8th, 2012 featuring a group exhibition, live music performances, and a film screening. All events are free and open to the public.
Show catalog and flyer will be available for purchase along with CD released by Mute Records of rare archived material from Fad Gadget. To purchase, please contact office@envoyenterprises.com
All events are free and open to the public on a first come, first serve basis.
Participating Artist Roster: FG.Ft
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Olaf Breuning, Nick Cash, Nathan Cash Davidson, Thomas Dozol, Fischerspooner, David Flinn, Erik Hanson, Kelsey Henderson, Tom Kalin, Erika Keck, Brian Kenny, Robert Knoke, Terence Koh, Lovett/Codagnone, Slava Mogutin, Micky Pellerano, Edwin Pouncey, Alex Rose, Desi Santiago, Matthew Sims, Stephanie Snider, Gail Stoicheff, Una Szeemann, Frank Tovey, Conrad Ventur, Martynka Wawrzyniak, Liz Wendelbo, Grant Worth
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Live Performances: FG.Ft
March 3, 2012, 10:30pm: Dixon Place
Xeno & Oaklander
Ike Yard
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Film Screening: Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey
March 10, 2012, 8pm: Anthology Film Archives
Directed by Morgan Tovey Frost
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
FG.Ft (Fad Gadget). Tribute to Frank Tovey
FG.Ft (Fad Gadget) – David Flinn Performance
________
Statement
(1984)
___
Gig
‘Swallow It’
‘Love Parasite’
‘Collapsing New People’
‘Ricky’s Hand’
‘Coitus Interruptus’
‘Luddite Joe’
‘Back to Nature’
‘Luxury’
‘Plainsong’
‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’
‘Ladyshave’
Fad Gadget & Boyd Rice live at the ICA, London
*
p.s. RIP Brian Wilson ** Dominik, Hi!!! Yeah, happy to get to catch you for a few days before the short lull. The new script is moving along well, pretty close to being finished, I think. Just a handful of adds and tweaks and things left, it seems. Over a year without an obsession! Culture is being so stingy. Not that I’m especially obsessed with anything or anyone that I’m not mildly obsessed with all the time. If you find a sucking void, let me know, maybe I can follow you in there. Barack Obama x Shrek fanfiction … the mind boggles. I don’t know if I even want to know how that pans out. Love constructing a life maintaining forcefield around the remaining musical geniuses, G. ** Misanthrope, I was going to say maybe you can get David to switch to acid, but on second thought maybe not. ** _Black_Acrylic, Not unless you live near a Cinematheque with weird tastes. Thank you for the ‘Human Traffic’ link. Btw, the WeTransfer worked great, and the post is set now, and it’ll launch on the first Saturday after my return, which I believe is July 5th? Thanks so much, Ben. It’s wonderful and fascinating. ** Bernard Welt, I think his earlier non-porns are the best ones, but then I’m not a horny hetero, am I? Awesome about the porn pub. Someone just told me that they have a copy of Crooked Fagazine which they intend to place in my hands when I arrive in LA. I could imagine The Paris Review being well disposed. They seem to like to have fun. ** julian, ‘The Beast’ is pretty cool. I don’t know for sure about acid being laced. Maybe it’s just more temperate. I haven’t used it in decades, but when friends of mine describe their recent trips, I usually think, ‘That’s all?!’ ** Carsten, I guess my favorite Borowczyks are the earlier, pre-sexed up ones. My flight’s on Sunday. No, unfortunately I will be scrunched into a coach seat and madly rubbing my nicotine patch with my eyes fixed (and mind blanked) on blockbuster movies for 11 1/2 hours, oh joy. ** Uday, Yes, always good to experience something before one assesses it. Oh, I could restore ‘How to write an awesome fan letter’, I think. Let me go look at it. I forgot all about that one. Huh. I liked sleepovers as a teen. Now I think I prefer my own bed or a hotel or something. But I should try it again, shouldn’t I? I do like having house guests, or I did when my apartment was big enough to invite friends to stay. The ATM bank room near me just got shut down and gutted, and I never appreciated it properly when it was second nature. I love gluesticks, but I don’t have one, but I could buy one, couldn’t I? Hm. Thank you. I hope you have the same chance but with a bottle of rubber cement. ** Steve, My toe is pretty much sort of back to normal. I think I could walk forever without pain if I wanted to, but I don’t think I’ll test that. I know, two absolutely major geniuses in two days. They were old and done artistically, but still … fucking hell. Huh, interesting about Terence McKenna. I think my go-to audio response to the complainers was playing something off ‘Trout Mask Replica. Good morning! ** pancakeIan, I was in my brief year at university when Monty Python started and became a viral sensation, and I do not miss the days when you could not have a conversation with anyone without them launching into a Monty Python routine. The soap2day link was for everyone. That site’s a boon. You have to deal with a lot of pop ups, but they stop after three or five of them. I remember ‘XY’. Everybody bought it and pretended they didn’t. ** jay, Hey. No, it’s not like ‘porn’ porn. Or at least most of them. Yeah, I greatly prefer visual porn to written porn, I’m not sure why. I think I like sussing out what’s documentary about it and what’s fiction and what the performers are controlling vs. what the directors are controlling or something. Thank you so much about my descriptions. Okay, vis-à-vis you and your friend. That sounds like the best possible outcome. If my friend had evinced embarrassment and regret, it would have been very different. Good, I’m happy to hear that. Love back to you, my friend. ** Steeqhen, Here’s to a motivated today. I hate moving. One time I had to move apartments here in Paris on my own in the dead of winter schlepping my stuff down the sidewalk on a trolley, and I ended up getting bronchitis from doing that. ** Hugo, We’re well into open windowed sleeping here. And the return of the mosquitos. Yeah, 21, you have a ton of time left, although there’ll come a point where you go, ‘That was awfully quick.’ But for now, rest easy and dream up your future. Mm, no, I can’t think of memorable literary oral sex scenes off the top of my head. Weird suggestion, but ‘Hogg’? I’ll see if I can remember something. I guess you could just read some basic hardcore porn writing and edit/fix it? I don’t know. I think in all of my work, the only oral sex scenes involve rimming. That’s not as hard to write strangely/poetically about, For me at least. You have a day that utterly endears you. ** HaRpEr //, I like that word churlish. I don’t think Americans use it very much. Very sad about Brian Wilson. Really a serious genius, that guy. His ambition in ‘Smile’ was really influential on me. Pilot has published Derek McCormack and Kenward Elmslie, so it does seem pretty open, maybe? If wishes were real, going back and having a coffee with Rimbaud when I was fifteen would be in my top three at least. I guess speaking French fluently would have to be one of them too. ** Alice, Hey, Alice! Yes, come, and let’s hang, and I’ll verbally draw you a Paris treasure map. I just got that Derek Jarman book. It looks really interesting, no surprise. Amazing they got ahold of it. Wonderful about the friends you made, and in the context of ‘Aggro Drift’ especially. Yeah, I mean, it does seen like living in London would make a big difference. Every French person who wants to experience as many possibilities as they can basically has to move to Paris. Or I guess Lille or Marseille as a backup. ‘Dreamy and intimate’: nice. I used to draw comix for myself and a couple of weirdo friends when I was a kid, which was odd because actual comix used to bore me to death. All’s good here, and there too, I hope. ** Tyler Ookami, I certainly prize my periods of emotional stability. It’s by far the best launching pad, for me at least. I loved ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, but I love all of his films to one degree or another. I think I’ve heard of ‘R-100’, but maybe I’m wrong. Hitoshi Matsumoto … I’ll investigate. Curious sounding. Thanks, Tyler. ** Malik, There isn’t really a ‘late’ around here. Well, except if I were to slack off, I guess. You sound tracked more than sidetracked. Great projects, and your diving into poetry is obviously a plus. Acting! How are you preparing for that, or are you, I mean in terms of pre-thinking how you will present yourself fictionally? ** horatio, Hey! I really like your film. It’s beautifully made, looks just the right balance of mysterious and crystal clear, tonally too. I know from my work how delicate it is to present or visualise such things, and you masterfully found a way that’s intense but dreamy. The main performer is very good. Yeah, it was a great pleasure. What are your plans with it as far as … I don’t know … getting it out there? Congratulations, and total respect. I’m happy Borowczyk’s work drew you in. Who are some of your favourite filmmakers and/or ones you think might have influenced you? Your character sounds wonderfully complicated and challenging in an exciting way to give a face and body to. I hope the painting is feeding you. Lovely day to you and yours! ** Okay. How about looking at and listening to and thinking about Fad Gadget today? Sound like a plan? See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
Hi!!
Thank you for this Fad Gadget post! I like his droning voice, and the charisma rolling off him was crazy.
Wow, from my admittedly far-removed, outside perspective, it feels like the new script has found its main shape really fast! Do you already have any plans or ideas for the next steps once those final adds and tweaks and things are settled and smoothed out?
That’s a deal – I’ll definitely let you know when a new obsession sucks me in! How fantastic it’d be to be obsessed with the same thing at the same time!
I’m 100% sure I don’t ever want to find out what that Barack Obama x Shrek fanfiction entails.
Yes, fuck, love should really do that! So many great people have passed this year! Love abruptly waking up from a dream whose last sentence was “This guy works in a library; in the eyes of the police, he’s boring as fuck,” Od.
Dennis, Hahaha, David on acid. He’s tried it. Not his thing. He’s a fent guy.
I hope you have a safe trip to and fro LA. And get everything done you need to get done.
Me, I got the neck appointment tomorrow. I took the whole day off.
Right now, I have to get a copy of our contract to our company. Yes, the fuckers don’t have it. What the actual fuck?
Was feeling a bit poorly this morning, but happily enough am much better later today. Very glad to hear that Little Sparta Day meets your approval!
Big fan of Fad Gadget here and back in my DJing days would often be playing Ladyshave and Collapsing New People to an enthusiastic Dundee crowd. Would have loved to see the guy live as the clips reveal him to have been quite the performer.
Am I correct when I say this is your first ‘night’ instead of ‘day’? That’s cool. Have listened to some Fad Gadget before. Listened to a lot more today, thanks. I prefer hosting sleepovers to going to them too, even if it’s in my single room. Glad that your toe was resolved. Don’t think I’ve ever used rubber cement, except in erasable pens, but there’s no time like the present! Or maybe the near future. I do a lot of little arts-and-crafts stuff, despite my preternatural inability to, so it should come in handy. Speaking of a preternatural lack of skill, I recently read some writing from a friend of mine. I don’t think feedback is mandatory from me, but there is some implicit expectation. My problem is that it is really bad. They’ve written good stuff before, and are generally a competent writer, but this feels unsalvageable. I’m keeping silent for now, but wondering if there is some way to nicely/constructively let them know this. I care about them too much to see them put stuff like this out in the world. I’m fairly ok with being told straight up, but plain speak has not landed so well with friends in the past so I’m hesitant. How do you usually go about this?
I keep wanting to do the
‘Love,’
Sign off because my name appears below the comment box on the submission form, but it publishes on top of the comment when it goes through, so that’s an idea abandoned.
Fad Gadget’s very cool. I first read about him in a book about Depeche Mode (written by Steve Mallins) that I got for my birthday in 2001 or thereabouts, and he sounded really interesting, but at that time all of his studio albums were out of print. When we vacationed in Montreal that same summer, I managed to find a used record store that was selling all four of his studio album CDs (plus his first greatest hits CD, THE FAD GADGET SINGLES of 1986, which was later replaced by THE BEST OF FAD GADGET in late 2001), at crazy prices, like $40 a piece. Needless to say I got all 5. And I wasn’t disappointed. As someone who considers Mute his favorite record label, and especially likes a lot of their earlier releases, I dig his sound, and for all his weirdness he had a knack for creating a lot of catchy hooks and melodies; even some of my brothers, who don’t really much care for weird or experimental music, like some of his singles. I’ll still replay him from time to time, and his 4th studio album GAG usually finds its way on my Top 100 Albums list.
Hi! This group is so very 80s…..i like it . Tovey reminds me of a cuter, gayer Bowie .
When I was a kid in the 80s , many acquaintances would launch into Python routines as well . Like the ‘lumberjack’ song. It was annoying, because I wasn’t allowed to watch it and had no idea what they were on about. Now that I’ve actually seen the show, I appreciate the humor . Even lumberjacks have their place I guess……
Ya, Soap2day could save me a lot of money , in theory . I don’t mind pop ups . Nowadays, most of the streaming services make you pay extra for no ad plans anyway .
I wondered if you’d know about ‘XY’ magazine . Ha, ‘everybody bought it and pretended they didn’t ‘ . I was too cheap to shell out the money, so I would just peruse it sitting on a bench in the store . It did have a lot of soft core erotic photography with those hot models. I doubt Virgin could have sold it if it qualified as porn, though .
I eavesdropped on your mosquito woes. Florida is infested with them , especially this time of year, when it’s so warm and moist. If you have problems with them in a city, it must be because they breed in the Seine ……? And I’m guessing you don’t have screens on your open windows. I empathize……….I’d get eaten alive by them .
later…..
How many milligrams of nicotine patch do you go through on that flight? I used one last year when I couldn’t smoke for a few days after dental surgery & it sucked. I suspect my dosage was too low.
Given your in-flight movie line-up I assume you can’t sleep on a plane either? The only time I succeeded was back in my drinking days, where enough whiskey did lead to a halfway decent snooze.
I’m stressing the minutia of flying so much because for years, ever since my spinal trauma, I’ve been aching to return to Mexico & SoCal but dreading the flight & trying to figure out a way to make it bearable. My spine was reinforced with iron vertebrae so after three to four hours in the same stiff position I start feeling the pain… I always hoped business class prices would drop over the years but nope
When I glanced at the top image, my first thought was “is it slaves day again?” Will definitely spend time with the delectable entries here. Unfortunately my internet is still in-and-out, so it’s been distracting and tricky to keep up with Borowzyck and Tovey and chocolate. Not to mention make progress on the abstract comics post I promised.
Hope preparations for the big trip are going well. Look forward to seeing you in a week or so.
Bill
Hallå där Dennis!
Been missing writing here with you. How are things? Is mind and body up to speed? I just got my summer break this Tuesday and things have been pretty good, and it’s really nice to start living stress free and devoid of assignment after 10 months of torture. Writing this on the bus on the way home from a party, which was pretty fun, but I accidentally upset my friend so much he stormed away from it all so I hope he’ll forgive me. He’s kind of my favorite person ever so I hope he’s not too mad.
Thinking of starting shooting my short film ’Papaya’ again, which has been on a 1 year hiatus, but the thought of starting back up with it kind of just stresses me out. I think the script is pretty good, and I have all the actors, but it’s just such a hard work to do it all by yourself, since my ”creative partner” who was supposed to help me behind the scenes is a total stoner who’s dedicated purely to pot and Boards of Canada.
Now it’s just two weeks until I’m going to Berlin too! Going to try to sneak into Kit Kat club at least, do you think they’re hard on ID:ing? They probably are, but it’s worth a shot. I think you recommended me a Kebab-place over there some time ago, do you remember which one it was cause I seem to have forgot. You traveling anywhere this summer?
Oh, and I saw you started following my schools film club (which I run) on Instagram! So cool, hahah. It’s the one called Pelicula with the @filmklobben. We ended the term by showing ’Pink Flamingos’, which was a surprise hit! A record amount of people showed up, not to mention a record amount of people left early due to disgust, but I have to count that as a win hahaha. Since I started Gymnasiet, I’ve become such an Instagram-whore, I basically live and breathe the shit (which is probably not a good thing), so I’m happy seeing you on there!
xoxo, BT
Hi Dennis.
Well, it was worth a shot to ask you about this subject, suppose I’ll have to look on my own for what I want. Hogg might be worth a look, but I’m aiming to make a good mix of intimacy and mild disgust, not anything too strange or hard, I suppose. Ashbery had a pretty decent attempt with “Poem in three parts”, I might see about borrowing a little from there, but I think I’ll go my own way. I like looking at previous references for stuff I like to do, which ironically led to me reading “Closer” by you while writing my first novel. I actually didn’t find it too helpful, but I did like it a lot, which led to me reading most of your stuff (which was quite hard since I don’t like ordering online and most of your books aren’t in print in England or Brussels). – BTW, do you ever plan to reissue the Cycle novels in one omnibus? Or does Grove prefer to keep them separate?
Today was a bit odd since the issue between my friends became quite vicious and mean. I don’t like being in the middle of these things, but it’s just a bit sad. I worry that people just fall into bitterness and anger with the passing of time and silence. idk, I try not to be like that, but conflict always feels a bit inevitable. I also just hate therapy talk when people talk to each other as friends, it always feels a bit off…
Anyhow, I hope you’re doing ok. I’m going to miss this space while you’re on hiatus, but I wish you all the best and hope you have a good time. V sincerely
The training session today went fairly well, but it made me realized how different doing a live show is from recording and editing my Mixcloud shows into Audacity. Doing the DJ breaks over the course of a day is a lot less stressful than having to do them on air, especially if you’re reading tongue-twister song titles in foreign languages. The DJs need to enter the names of each song into the station’s playlist as it airs. The station manager will be present during my first show to help me out with technical issues during my first show. I’m waiting to find out when that will be.
Are there any blockbusters you’ve been waiting to catch up with on the plane? Is there a restriction on the number of nicotine patches you can take and use?
I read today that the Beach Boys’ unreleased album ADULT/CHILD, recorded with Brian Wilson around 1977, will finally come out this year!
Hey Dennis,
God that move sounds terrible. Mine was fortunately just inside my house, but moving everything by myself down the stairs had me faint and sickly. My body temperature is naturally high (i think) and even cleaning my room has me wiping myself down and needing to open the windows.
This room is huge, I need to get a few more things like drawers from my parents place for clothes, my cd player as I have the room, and some beanbags or something for the bay window I now have! I’ve desperately needed seating in my room that isnt my bed, and now I have that opportunity to make a cozy little place to read or listen to music or relax. Being able to have friends in my room too is nice, and of course not having direct neighbours will make my dating life a whole lot easier.
I struggled a bit with the motivation today, though it’s 12am now and it’s hit me. This one I know asked me for an interview for their podcast documentary on social media and bedrotting, just wasting your time online. They said that they asked me because I’m insightful but not preachy, and we had talked about some of this before in Dublin. I even mentioned a bit on our discussions on it; how there is good to social media and the internet, but also how for a lot of people my age, they seem to struggle with seeing it as a tool and not as integral to living, like that life itself is contained inside the walls of Instagram and TikTok. I ended up just bedrotting today, but to be honest I think I needed a bit of that, as I’ve been having a hard time and was not up to the task of tidying my new room.
Listening to some Fad Gadget while I scroll this post. I hadn’t heard of him before, but I’m happy you introduced me! It’s sad about Wilson, I was scrolling through reddit and saw a post 1 minute old announcing his passing. I’ve always liked the Beach Boys, especially as a teen; Sloop John B is probably one of my most listened to songs ever, the happy-sadness of that track really affected me. I was such an emotionally volatile child, and that song really seemed to sonically express this struggle inside of me: this blend of being elated and sorrowful, their harmonies really captured it. I feel like I’m going to fall deep into their work again in the coming weeks.
Oh, forgot to mention but a remake of the original Silent Hill has officially been announced; I was talking to Shannon about how badly I want the og game to be remade, as everyone (in the West at least) associates Silent Hill solely with elements of the 2nd game, and most people tend to ignore the first game because of it’s ‘outdatedness’. Personally I adore that game, the real Silent Hill town ambience, the cult storyline, Harry’s blankness, Midwich Elementary (which was apparently modeled after the school in Kindergarten Cop), Nurse Lisa’s whole existence… I’m excited for a whole generation of people to finally give the original game its dues!
Hey. That is true about Pilot Press publishing Derek McCormack and Kenward Elmslie. Speaking of, I can’t wait for ‘The Orchid Stories’ coming back via Pilot. I pre-ordered it a while ago. Also, I read yesterday that Guyotat’s memoir ‘Idiocy’ has been translated and is due out by NYRB in September. ‘Jack the Modernist’ is due out around the same time, also NYRB. I’ve seen the cover, I like it.
I went to see a screening of ‘Hail the New Puritan’ at Hackney’s incredible Rio Cinema, coincidentally down the street from where a lot of it was filmed, and Leigh Bowery used to DJ in the very room we were sitting in. It was part of their queer cinema club. The guy who ran it was the real deal and knew Leigh Bowery. He spilled it about the Tate exhibition, saying that he took issue with how they took out some of his more controversial material which was really what he was best at doing. Apparently Bowery was sort of a horrible person to be around, as were a lot of people in the Taboo scene, but it was because they had to toughen up because they got beaten up for dressing how they did.
When I walked in I struck up a conversation with someone who asked me whether I was there because I was a fag or a fan of The Fall and I said ‘well, both’.
Anyway, this film is one of my new obsessions.
I need to get myself to Hackney more. That’s my mid-year resolution. I think it will all work out for me if I do that because you see something interesting on every corner. I really really want to rent a room there when my tenancy at this dystopian hole ends, but I need to find work before I can even think about that .
What the fuck, how have I never heard of Fad Gadget? Thank you for waking me up to that, I’ve been listening to him all day. I’m always compelled by when grooviness and terror come together, and Gadget’s presence is really something.
Hey Dennis! Oog, New Romantic-type 80s electronic stuff is maybe one of my least favourite cultural projects, but the weird lyrics of this guy seem cooler than I was expecting. I think the combo of conventionally hot young people/easy lyrics/easy music is just too easy for me, but yeah, this guy seems cool, just because he goes against at least one of those.
God, my day today was like, accidentally spectacular. I went for a walk to some new gallery near my sister’s house, and I ended up stumbling across this insane art storage warehouse that was open to the public. I must’ve spent 4 or 5 hours in there, it was so far from anything I’d ever seen before. Just rows of identical Medieval statuettes and harpsicords and tons of other stuff like that, all semi-organised. The highlight may have been a doll’s house stack (which looked like three suburban streets stacked on top of one another, given the way they were stored), and a set of mannequins in bags (which looked either like a hostage photo or a set of war dead). So, so surreal. Still buzzing from it. It made me wish I was a visual artist, because everything there was so striking.
That’s a cool description of what’s fun to pick apart in visual porn. I’m maybe too much of a cynic, but I kind of assume everything in porn is super overacted? Maybe I’m weird, but I don’t know many people who make noise during sex beyond like, mumbled words or breathing, let alone the microphone-peaking groaning that comes from studio porn. I agree about my friend, best possible outcome. I’m seeing more of him soon, so I hope I’ll be able to ensure he’s staying good, or whatever. Good night (!) to you, and see you tomorrow! Good luck for your trip, if I forget!
Hi there Dennis! I look forward to seeing what you recommend. I hardly get the chance to get out of the UK. I’ve spent my time travelling around it to meet with some friends. I took a trip into the deep north of the UK a few years ago and had a lovely time. Got to see Manchester for the first time. There’s, of course, an eclectic music scene there, and I got to see many record stores in the area. Can’t think of a place that has an entire street that’s mostly covered in them. It’s exciting to get to see the unique traits of different areas. I’m certain I’ll be surprised by what’s there in Paris.
There are only two times that I’ve been outside the UK. Both of them were family trips. I’ve been to Turkey and Gran Canaria. For some time, I’ve been aching to get out of here for a while. A close friend of mine chose to have a six-month holiday to himself after his studies. Under his terms, he found himself as far as Vietnam. I’m not sure if I could do that myself, but I’m attracted to the ambitious nature of a trip like that. Are there places in your trips that have stood out to you?
That screening of Aggro Drift was quite amusing. I mentioned that Harmony Korine was there to give an intro speech. He was in this green suit that was covering his face. It was a 5-minute speech. For 3 minutes of it, he discussed experiences of micro-dosing in a cinema. He then briefly mentioned the film and left afterwards. I heard from some people there that he went to a gay bar straight after. I’d like to revisit his work but I’m fond of his filmography. There’s a persistent beauty to his work that I think is often overlooked. Films like Mister Lonely and Spring Breakers come to mind in how they engage with the potential of an identity that exists under an individual’s terms. Gummo was a film that drew me close to a person I’d consider my best friend. She’s from Kentucky and has told me how Gummo helped her come to terms with the environment she grew up within. What do you think of Harmony Korine’s work?
I also never read comics much lol. They at least served as a format for me to express myself creatively when I was younger. It’s strange because I see aspects I used to explore with them that I’ve recognised. Youthful engagements with the world interest me. Being in a position where you feel a sense of power but you’re unable to recognise it is a relationship I’d like to explore in my work.
Things have been a bit inconsistent for me. There are some personal struggles that I’m figuring out to respond to. I’m also finding a means to earn money right now. My workplace hasn’t given me many hours so I’m looking for a way to build up elsewhere. I’m sure I’ll figure something out.
Wishing you well on your upcoming trip!
(this is a reply to your reply in https://denniscooperblog.com/flowery-2/)
hi!
apologies for the absence. i’ve been busy/distracted (i also keep forgetting that i can just comment on any post without the post itself necessarily being related to my comment). i’m excited to be a part of this circle!
you and thomas are very much welcome for the praise (and i loved his new novel)!
as for what i’m into, i like your stuff dennis cooper first of all. the only full book i’ve read of yours is ‘flunker’ which was great. i wanna read the george miles cycle sometime (tho i’m always drowning in books and movies i wanna read/watch so i’m not sure when it’ll happen). i’ve also seen your two films. excited for ‘room temperature’! it might be too early to ask but any idea if it’ll be shown at any australian festivals (or get a streaming/home media release)?
my other interests are all wide and eclectic. a general mishmash of weird/underground/transgressive/fucked up etc. too much to mention. i suppose to give another example, i’m currently reading ‘your love is not good’ by johanna hedva. i love their essay ‘sick women theory’ and i love their novel too.
in terms of how i am and what i’m up to etc, my main goal is always just surviving first and foremost. i’ve been struggling with sleep and exhaustion recently (i have insomnia on-and-off among other things) but i’m otherwise ok. being disabled means that all my other desires have to be put on the backburner and health always comes first. my main creative output recently has been submitting pieces to scab magazine. it’s only published every six months so it gives me plenty of time to work on a short piece. i’m not on social media and even just the idea of constantly posting/sharing/networking exhausts me so i just try to work on and publish stuff at my own pace. if you’re interested in my art, you can find it here: https://lotuseatermachine.substack.com/ (or from clicking my username).
people like you and thomas moore are a huge influence on my art!