NPRI don't feel that I'm up to the task of matching this worldwide outpouring of eloquence in regards to the life and work of this man. Nor do I feel the necessity to reiterate how much Mark and his band have meant to me over the years; I've covered that topic seemingly countless times in this blog. Smith and The Fall have been a reliable constant in my life for decades, and I looked forward to each new offering that appeared like clockwork year after year; no matter if the band's latest disc was brilliant or banal - it was The Fall, and that was enough for me. It is odd to contemplate the fact that there will no longer be any new music arriving from that quarter; Smith's voice has been stilled, and his brilliant, strange, obtuse and thought-provoking wordplay will no longer grace my eyes and ears. His death leaves a giant hole in my musical life, one that I can't foresee will ever be adequately filled again.
The New York Times
BBC News
The Scottish Herald
The Evening Standard
The Irish Times
Pitchfork
His local paper The Salford Star
The French magazine Liberation
The Dutch online newspaper NU
The Spanish daily paper ABC
... and, of course, the Times of London
Enough of my overwrought prattle about a singer and band that the vast majority of people in the world were profoundly unfamiliar with, uninterested in and/or indifferent to. Mark E. Smith and The Fall's music was definitely an acquired taste; I'm just glad I was admitted to the banquet... and brave/open-minded enough to sample and appreciate the wares being offered. If you're a fellow Fall fan, you know exactly what I mean.
I think that, instead of words, the greatest tribute I can render unto the man on this blog is to provide to you all over the next few days with access to some of my favorite, most obscure works of his (either with The Fall, individually or with other artists) from my collection of Fall-orabilia. I'll start with his first solo spoken word release, The Post Nearly Man, released on Artful Records in August 1998.
Enjoy, remember, and as always, let me know what you think.
More to come...
Please use the email link below to contact me, and I will reply with the download link(s) ASAP:
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Thank you for all you do in maintaining this mighty repository of all things Fall. MES' spoken word albums are important artifacts for future literary scholars to examine. He was our Joyce, except cooler. -VP
ReplyDeleteYour words are more than "overwrought prattle" -- I too feel a hole in my musical life, the absence of a creative mind whose recorded works and artistic vision profoundly altered my conception of what music could be.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you are following the collection of tributes on thefall.org. I was cheered immensely to see the photos of the words MARK E. SMITH graffiti'ed across the length of a London train car.
thefall.org/news/fallnews.html
beautiful words & definitely don't think the spoken word LPs are for completists only. it's important to hear the voice by itself, like ezra pound on ubuweb, it has its own value. thanks again so much for posting. all the best to you, mr. heckhole
ReplyDeleteI've been listening to the Fall quite a lot recently. Great band! It will be very interesting to listen to MES' hard-to-find solo material. Thanks for making that available. - Mr. Green
ReplyDeleteYou summed up what a lot of us have been feeling, not just when we heard the news but in the following weeks. Still can't quite believe it's true
ReplyDeleteThank you for the album. It means a lot to me to download the hard to find album
ReplyDelete