IV Perhaps the Paper Lantern itself—this suddenly strange, suddenly useless and rather sad building just off the main road in our unimportant little ‘village’—bears a bit of describing. Where to start. Perhaps the plain greyish front door on South Street, the all-important road out, the road to the big city and all that might mean, … Continued
One of the biggest questions raised by lockdown is what happens next. And specifically, will we all just go back to old ways of living. Is it possible to change the pace we were all hurtling along at before everything stopped, chasing those daily goals irrespective of the effect on our mental wellbeing? Is it … Continued
Last month we brought you the first part of the hugely popular Cold War Steve/Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery collaboration. Today, we’re excited to present the second (and final) part of the commission on The Social Gathering. This consists of two never before seen CWS collages which feature characters from notable Pre-Raphaelite works in Birmingham … Continued
The last 8 weeks have been defined by an absence of action – at least any action that involved moving my body beyond the well trodden route of bed, fridge, sofa, desk, lawn, bed. Occasionally the bath when I got my act together. This week, all that changed. It started small. I made some decisions … Continued
III The morning after the VE Day celebrations comes on with a violent reminder of the previous world of this pub, of me, of my life with my parents. I sit in the sun and try to sweat the hangover out—a horror that seems barely credible. A few doors down the street the man with … Continued
The explosion of digital TV means that, even now, many weeks into lockdown, there is still a massive amount of unwatched, ready to discover televisual wonder out there. It also means that some of those gems suffer the ultimate fate of being cancelled after one or two series, leaving plotlines hanging in the air when … Continued
Phil May was born in Erith , a bleak, industrial town in the most easterly corner of London. He lived a few streets away from me and was viewed with suspicion because of his rebellious, beatnik look and his shoulder-length hair. He was always a rebel with a cause. Jagger and Richards lived in neighbouring … Continued
(artwork by Caio Wheelhouse) I shouldn’t have been surprised that as the world altered entirely, I’d be watching from the vantage point of the kitchen. ‘Second-Hand Time’ by the Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich collects oral testimonies from ordinary Russian citizens on the fall of the Soviet Union, during Perestroika and Glasnost. A lingering image from … Continued
II. What could be worse than spending these last few weeks alone in a place defined by its public communal aspect? A fatuous statement of course—there is always a case worse off than your own. And I say alone, but that is also a bit of a conceptual stretch, as in fact I live here … Continued
If I was to say Wind of Change by Scorpions was a guilty pleasure of mine, it would be a lie. It’s a record I genuinely love. That love is possibly a hangover from an early ’80s upbringing in old South Wales, where low-grade heavy metal was less a lifestyle choice and more a by-product of ambient … Continued
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the last month or so, it’s that people are nervous about telling secrets to strangers. You might consider that to be a fairly self-evident kind of truth and you’d probably be right. But when I get an idea I tend to think about the technicalities, the ways to … Continued
I. We will begin with a rough physical description. The place is a small market town which, for some reason, insists upon being called a village. But how, you might ask, would a place insist on such a thing? Already we hit upon a point of interest—does the place have some innate sense of self? … Continued
Listened to Florence blasting My Sharona from her room constantly. Bought a massive new fern which was delivered upside down but survived. Rewatched some of Patrick Melrose which I maintain is one of the best things ever made. Ordered the books which arrived in one huge volume which I look forward to devouring soon – … Continued
OK, so week three. Nice of the BBC to bring back Killing Eve, though I’m not feeling it like I once did – just me? – and a few big hitters including HOLLYWOOD set to land on Netflix (more on that in a week or so) but, fear not! There are still tons of undiscovered … Continued
“Eventually they turned up in Manchester, but they parked where the River Irwell is in Salford, it’s a big island. It reminded them of their home. So they all set up camp. And there’s these pictures from the fookin’ eighteen seventies and eighties of all these wigwams set up in Salford…” Filmmaker Glenn Kitson got … Continued
The only memory and association I have for May Day is the ritual of making wreaths at my grandmother’s home in Corinth as a kid. I would wake up excited, and after a gluttonous portion of Tiganites she’d made for us, I would briskly get dressed and wicker basket in hand jump out and over … Continued
“So the scholars say it was one of our religions when we lived in caves… I can’t say whether its druidic or neolithic, but you’ve got to admit this Padstow Oss dance is pretty terrific.” Words written by Alan Lomax, 1953 I’ve been fascinated with Britain’s May Day traditions for a long time. In any … Continued
A few years back, I met Jonny Trunk in a pub in Stoke Newington on a sunny afternoon to talk about The Wicker Man. Jonny is one of the most inspiring men you could hope to waste an afternoon in the pub with – both a font of pop culture knowledge and a great raconteur. … Continued
To mark the launch of Mark Lanegan’s memoir SING BACKWARDS AND WEEP in the UK, we teamed with White Rabbit to celebrate it with an online launch on their Twitter account. You can catch up on the whole thing here, and there are some highlights below – including a Q&A with Mark, a playlist featuring all the songs featured … Continued
Talking about things you like is fun. Fun is fun. High energy is fun, low energy is fun. Coffee is fun. America’s most notable coffee championing comedian, Chelsea Peretti, is fun. Below are some suggestions of Chelsea Peretti related fun. Chelsea Peretti is my favourite. Peretti, for me, has been a consistent humour compass. Content-wise, … Continued
We asked Hayden Thorpe, formerly singer in one of the great British bands of the past decade, Wild Beasts, to offer his ‘View from’ in our occasional series of sketches by artists around the world. We thought he lived in Kendal in the Lake District but it turns out his vista is rather less romantic … Continued
So, we’re still here. I’m guessing that you are pretty much done now with all the stuff you knew about. Maybe you now share my addiction to El Dragon and are ploughing through series two – Adela! Sure, you could rewatch The Sopranos or all of Mad Men if you were desperate but maybe last … Continued
(The Most Approximate Anti-Christ Blackboard by Babak Ganjei) — It’s 1984, a noisy Belfast classroom at break-time and some numerology is underway in the back of a homework diary. Teen fans of the divinatory arts are determining who out of Kevin Rowland, Chaka Khan and Paul Rutherford from Frankie most approximates the Antichrist. Our mystical … Continued
Four years have passed to the day since the most singular, talented and prolific musician and songwriter of his generation died alone in an elevator in Minneapolis. In that time there has been an avalanche of official Prince releases from the estate, dodgy bootlegs and ‘Mountains’ of live youtube footage that in his lifetime was … Continued
Announced internally “right that’s it now, I can’t do this anymore”, like that gave me license to take some forbidden action. Like once I’d properly acknowledged it, some path would be revealed that had remained hidden for the last 4 weeks, until I really needed it. Or maybe someone in authority was going to hear … Continued
In September 2019 (a properly different world it was then!) the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery approached Cold War Steve to work on a commission based around their amazing Digital Image Resource. The idea was to dig deep into the archives and give some of their fantastic pieces the CWS treatment, and in doing so … Continued
Fourth week of lockdown and we’ve all done Succession twice, we’re not sure about the new Westworld, the kids have got bored of Disney+ and we’re all wishing there was one more episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (or – even better – a Leon special). So what’s left to watch? Lewis Jamieson has trawled the outer … Continued
‘At the restaurant he put his phone face-down on the table, so I did the same as if for me, too, this represented a professional sacrifice’. So writes Naoise Dolan, about Julian (a banker), watched by Ava (a TEFL teacher), in the second paragraph of Exciting Times – a novel I am lucky enough to … Continued
Thanked God for immigrants (thank you Jeremy Deller). Missed drinking cocktails on a Saturday afternoon with Jen and Louise. Missed making Louise uncomfortable with excessive displays of physical affection. Missed trying to get Jen out of a cab and into a bar while she enquires about the driver’s entire life history. Ate a ridiculous amount of … Continued
When starting The Social Gathering, we sent out a message to friends outside of Britain’s big cities asking how our they were getting on in the rest of the world. How does isolation feel outside of our media bubble? What – if any – are the signs of hope that we can draw on? Our second View comes … Continued
A few years back, our friend Kieran Evans made a beautiful and intimate film with legendary singer / songwriter Vashti Bunyan. From Here To Before retraces the steps of her late ’60s journey from London to the Outer Hebrides by horse and cart and spends time with her before her return to the stage in … Continued
In the early noughties, Tesco Extra-esque supermarkets were hailed the new superclubs. A place of consumerist worship for the Nespresso generation. Star fade to 2020 and supermarkets are now legitimately THE ONLY public place to hear locally (and internationally) sourced (mostly) ethical BANGERS. Specifically Co-Op. At this point, I don’t know if other supermarkets even play … Continued
The View From Here One of the first things we wanted to do when we started The Social Gathering was ask how our friends were doing around the rest of the world. How does isolation feel outside of our media bubble? Are there signs of hope that we can read? The first view is from … Continued
White Rabbit: I’m assuming the film is set in Hartlepool judging by those accents. When did you first come across Rambo? Maxy Bianco: Yes the film was made in Hartlepool. Myself and Michael Smith had been developing the idea for the films on paper for a preposed series of short films for Channel 4 called, … Continued
flaneur noun a man who saunters around observing society ————————— Of all Andrew Weatherall’s many celebrated talents, the most under-appreciated might be his accomplishments in the itself under-appreciated pursuit of flaneuring. Thursdays were Andrew’s day to flaneur, or as he sometimes put it, perambulate around the West End. And he saw this as a civilising activity. He would visit … Continued
This is an extract from the new book I’ve been working on, about a bloke having a midlife crisis while late capitalism has its own spectacular crisis all around him, asking himself what the fuck (if anything) it all means – a bit angsty, a bit funny, set in a pretty, shabby, post-apocalyptic seaside town … Continued
Happy publication day to Will Burns, whose long-awaited debut collection, Country Music, is now out! We had a big blowout launch party at The Social planned, but sadly have had to postpone it due to the dread virus. But, of course, we’ll still be celebrating at a distance! In the evening (join us at 6pm on … Continued
The escalation of the virus has coincided with the Vernal Equinox, the immediate prospect of the clocks going backwards (time will be joining the current reality field) and the official commencement of what has already been a wonderful and restorative early spring. There is now more daylight than night; at least we won’t have to … Continued
Thanked God I didn’t have to tell my children Tom Hanks had died. Wore a lot of big earrings. Extended my loungewear collection beyond its already excessive levels. Maintained my lipstick schedule. Missed wearing suits. Ordered flea treatment on a monthly subscription at 5am one day because it was an anxiety I could easily manage. … Continued
Rap, Rave & The Rise of XL Recordings
Collecting up music, words, art & conversation to bring The Social to wherever you are in the world. Because if we have to do this in isolation, we should at least have our mates with us, reading over our shoulders & getting the beers in