Heartland

http://lurkingrhythmically.blogspot.com ... ritch.html

Classic 'old' Eldritch. Sick? Yes, that was the whole point.

Remember his 'Heroes' in MM? Norman Tebbit, Klaus Kinski etc. - again sick but utterly hilarious.

The last funny thing Eldritch did was 'War on Drugs'. That was 24 years ago.

He doesn't play that song anymore. He isn't funny anymore.

Discuss.

People are drawn to this mysterious man who dangles a carrot

IMO Mark's interview from the other thread contradicts your thesis. Several genuine laugh-out-loud moments in that.

Also, the interview from 1991? Cocaine is a hell of a drug...

Gets a bit stale when it's variations on the same carrot, but I never 'got' jazz did I matron.

Yes, Mark, that interview was very refreshing to read. But I think my point still stands to a certain extent. It may be that, historically, Eldritch has had certain enemies/dislikes that he nevertheless felt had some perversely if not redeeming then dangerously attractive features. That's how I would rationalise him having Norman Tebbit as a 'hero' but never Thatcher herself. I wonder what he thinks of Jacob Rees-Mogg? On second thoughts, I'm sure he despises him. Does he still think/would he still say that the Nazis had the best uniforms? Maybe/Probably not - you can never be too careful about this sort of thing these days. Does he still think nuclear explosions look and sound awesome? Perhaps. I guess what I'm getting at is something more specific than my original concern:

Does Eldritch still separate ethics from aesthetics?

Relatedly, often and especially on Floodland, Eldritch comes across as domineering and patrician. Not the kind of characteristics one would naturally associate with the left-wing political stance Eldritch insists The Sisters have always taken. I'm not questioning this stance but am suggesting that it's hard to reconcile it with the posture The Sisters have sometimes taken. Case in point: "We got the Empire" etc. My provisional solution to this problem is that not all Sisters songs are political and that e.g. the 'Empire' is to be understood figuratively. And we should also understand that Eldritch is an actor, explicitly so on Vision Thing ('dramatis personae' etc.) and less explicitly but still the case on e.g. his Maoist masterpiece, Heartland.

Back to Floodland, yes he sounds domineering and patrician, but this is to do with the gravitas of the situation. There's no acting here. His tone communicates the seriousness of the matter at hand. I'm answering my own question, I suppose, in realising that this is not about left/right politics.

I always find interviews quite strained. I see very little humor just somebody looking for a soundbite without any depth. Not a criticism, just noting the way he chooses to play in the park.

XidiouX wrote: ↑13 Sep 2021, 14:35 ... his Maoist masterpiece, Heartland...

? "This is a song about cars, speed, speed and more speed. But above all, it's about speed. This is called Heartland."

markfiend wrote: ↑15 Sep 2021, 10:08

XidiouX wrote: ↑13 Sep 2021, 14:35 ... his Maoist masterpiece, Heartland...

? "This is a song about cars, speed, speed and more speed. But above all, it's about speed. This is called Heartland."

... ...

Times change. Some of the things he said back in the day were cringeworthy. We've all been out of our face in our 20s and talked **** to be fair and whilst I'm not one for hunting down people because of a tweet when they were 12, hating the French etc wasn't funny then and hasn't aged well. Hell, imaging Bowie talking about how cool fascist uniforms and the like were nowadays. We might get what he means but he'd be slaughtered. The funniest and most perceptive Von's been was on Vision Thing, a very prophetic record with in my opinion his best lyrics.

markfiend wrote: ↑15 Sep 2021, 10:08

XidiouX wrote: ↑13 Sep 2021, 14:35 ... his Maoist masterpiece, Heartland...

? "This is a song about cars, speed, speed and more speed. But above all, it's about speed. This is called Heartland."

You're quoting Eldritch here? If so, well, even Eldritch can be wrong about Eldritch: "I was wrong\I was wrong to take giant steps in a car." You do, however, take giant steps when you make a great leap forward. And you might be thinking about this sort of thing if you've recently been studying Chinese stuff.

XidiouX wrote: ↑28 Sep 2021, 17:56

markfiend wrote: ↑15 Sep 2021, 10:08

XidiouX wrote: ↑13 Sep 2021, 14:35 ... his Maoist masterpiece, Heartland...

? "This is a song about cars, speed, speed and more speed. But above all, it's about speed. This is called Heartland."

You're quoting Eldritch here? If so, well, even Eldritch can be wrong about Eldritch: "I was wrong\I was wrong to take giant steps in a car." You do, however, take giant steps when you make a great leap forward. And you might be thinking about this sort of thing if you've recently been studying Chinese stuff.

This is from a concert were Heartland was played and it was also mentioned back in 2013 in here
https://www.myheartland.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=23424
such a nice collection of quotes

XidiouX wrote: ↑28 Sep 2021, 17:56

markfiend wrote: ↑15 Sep 2021, 10:08

XidiouX wrote: ↑13 Sep 2021, 14:35 ... his Maoist masterpiece, Heartland...

? "This is a song about cars, speed, speed and more speed. But above all, it's about speed. This is called Heartland."

You're quoting Eldritch here? If so, well, even Eldritch can be wrong about Eldritch: "I was wrong\I was wrong to take giant steps in a car." You do, however, take giant steps when you make a great leap forward. And you might be thinking about this sort of thing if you've recently been studying Chinese stuff.

Blimey I'm getting 3-2-1 flashbacks! Congratulations you've won a bin! etc

Dusty Bin was created in west Leeds

That's unless the giant steps in the car are to be understood figuratively in relation to the slip on the vinyl episode. Shimmer to shine, indeed!

I don't necessarily agree with everything I say.

I humbly recant if I'm mis-remembering this but wasn't it "I don't necessarily agree with everything I think."? If I'm right and if you think I'm being tediously pedantic here, then you're in good company. One of my very minor claims to fame is having had Andrew Eldritch himself call me a pedant, back in the day, in an exchange in the letters page of Melody Maker. And yes, he was funny then. He called himself 'Stickboy', as much a reference to his physique as to his arsenal, I'm sure.

XidiouX wrote: ↑11 Oct 2021, 15:08 I humbly recant if I'm mis-remembering this but wasn't it "I don't necessarily agree with everything I think."? If I'm right and if you think I'm being tediously pedantic here, then you're in good company. One of my very minor claims to fame is having had Andrew Eldritch himself call me a pedant, back in the day, in an exchange in the letters page of Melody Maker. And yes, he was funny then. He called himself 'Stickboy', as much a reference to his physique as to his arsenal, I'm sure.

... ... well done, T.

I think it was "say", but of course I could be at error.

XidiouX wrote: ↑11 Oct 2021, 15:08 I humbly recant if I'm mis-remembering this but wasn't it "I don't necessarily agree with everything I think."?

Yes I think you're correct. Bah!

XidiouX wrote: ↑11 Oct 2021, 15:08 I humbly recant if I'm mis-remembering this but wasn't it "I don't necessarily agree with everything I think."? If I'm right and if you think I'm being tediously pedantic here, then you're in good company. One of my very minor claims to fame is having had Andrew Eldritch himself call me a pedant, back in the day, in an exchange in the letters page of Melody Maker. And yes, he was funny then. He called himself 'Stickboy', as much a reference to his physique as to his arsenal, I'm sure.

Ha, ha, that‘s a pot calling a kettle black.
If I remember correctly, he called himself a pedant in an old German tv show which is available on YouTube called „was glauben Sie eigentlich, wer Sie sind“ ( it‘s in German). He was asked to name 4 character traits that applied to him. If I‘m not altogether wrong, pedantic was one of those he named.

But now you have me intrigued! Can you elaborate on the exchange in the letters page of the Melody Maker? I don‘t remember it. What was it about?

The Last interview by Mr Andrews showed that he's (AE) still abel to be funny enough.

Icon wrote: ↑12 Oct 2021, 14:37 But now you have me intrigued! Can you elaborate on the exchange in the letters page of the Melody Maker? I don‘t remember it. What was it about?

If memory serves me well (and my German these days is probably about as good as Von's Chinese) the issue was that a certain German verb is reflexive and should therefore come after 'sich' rather than 'ich'. I think the verb may have been 'durchsetzen' and Von tried to spin it as a transcription error. The exchange took place, I would say, within the month following Steve Sutherland's two-part interview with Von winter 89/90 (the 'Batman' interview) which was where the offending solecism occurred. If you read what he said, it's clear that he really did not like me criticising his German and that this was the only reason why he bothered to respond.