In the slipstream we will stay

The noble D, product of Newent School, informed me yesterday that my favourite band of the 1990s, Pavement, are reforming and are likely to tour next year. I shall keep ‘em peeled. I’d recommend Pavement to all hepcats. Their series of long players remains a peerless and enviable back catalogue. Their debut, Slanted and Enchanted, is a classic example of an album that, on first hearing, appears impenetrable, difficult, dense and, er, dreadful only for its melodic genius, wry wit and life-affirming wistful beauty to become revealed after several plays. If any hepcats with no knowledge of this band have half a day or so to spare then I recommend giving Slanted and Enchanted six or seven plays in a row and experiencing the ride from ‘What was that rubbish?’ to ’I can’t live wi’out this remarkable long playing album!’. My favourite Pavement LP, and I know the cognoscenti will be raising a collective eyebrow and narrowing a collective eye, is Brighten the Corners which is a bewitching collection of longer, almost anthemic, beauties. Wowee Zowee is a patchier recording but it does contain my two of my favourite Pavement songs, Rattled By The Rush and Father To A Sister Of A Thought. My favourite Pavement song is called simply Here. This is a majestic band. This is a majestic band.

The two male Coles travelled to nearby Tewkesbury on Friday night to see a feature film at the Roses Theatre. Moon proved a fascinating slice of science fiction, a bleak vision of loneliness, despair and bewilderment. The ending was clever – but not complex – and was very affecting on a human level (which, I guess, all good sci-fi should aspire to). I won’t publish any plot-spoilers as this feature will be at the Gloucester Guildhall in a few weeks and I know a few of the gentle people who pass by these pages will be attending. I recommend this feature.

The rugby football was dreary yesterday. I can cope with the Gloucester club of Gloucester losing but not in the lacklustre manner that they capitulated to a very ordinary Northampton side. I sense it might prove a long and difficult season for my favoured club. We struggle without the guile and grace of Morgan and the young prince, Simpson-Daniel, behind the scrum and the terrier-like vivacity of Hazell at the breakdown. The side desperately requires a classy scrum-half. Neither David ‘Dave’ Lewis (too small and predictable) or Rory Lawson (gritty but limited) possess enough class to lift the team and orchestrate play.