read any good books lately...

Spoiler alert: this book does not involve a Prog Rock Band

Cured: the Tale of Two Imaginary Boys by Lol Tolhurst

First up, whether you love or loathe the Cure, this tome confirms that Lol Tolhurst got to partake in what most of us can only fantasize about i.e. urinating on Billy Idol, albeit accidentally from the Bristol Locarno male toilets in the late 70's. The Cure were thrown off the bill shortly thereafter by headliners Generation X. Tolhurst comes across as a sympathetic but deeply flawed character whose descent into alcoholism appears to be preempted by a distant and abusive father who had been traumatized by military service. Lol's concomitant life journey does the epithet 'troubled' scant service and although we can disavow the SOCAL mysticism that probably ended up saving his life, his tale is a redemptive one of atonement and forgiveness.

He also rather succinctly dismantles the argument that the Cure provided a soundtrack for self-pity:

(Lol Tolhurst)

Greg Lake: Lucky Man the Autobiography 2017

I have to say this was a major disappointment as there is so little revealed about the man or even those in his closest orbit that you could be forgiven for thinking it was cut and pasted together by a press officer. Lake skims perfunctorily over both the succession of the Crimson King and the early 70's success of ELP by merely name checking managers, recording studios, engineers and listing concert dates, venues and audience reactions (invariably ecstatic) His marriage, kids, pets, friendships and affairs of the heart are treated with all the attention to detail most of us reserve for junk mail. To further lessen the reading experience the book is blighted with some factual errors that should have never made it past a proof reader e.g. AFAIK there are no polyphonic synths on the Trilogy album?. The accordion solo on C'est La Vie from Works Vol 1 is NOT by Keith. It was by an (unknown) session musician that Keith learned to play note perfect for the subsequent tour. Greg also states that when he asked Keith what the Moog sounded like prior to being used on the famous Lucky Man outro solo, he replied, 'I don't know, I've never used it in the studio' (yet we are also advised the album was 3 to 4 minutes shy of the required 40 minute running time even though Tank which features the synth had already been recorded?) There is very little here that most fans or casual listeners don't already know (and I've never yet met a 'casual' ELP fan) There's a story about the orchestral recording of I Believe in Father Xmas that involves a stripper which is genuinely funny but such moments are few and far between. Trivia fans might be tickled that the drummer they nearly hired prior to Cozy Powell in 1986 was session man Tony Beard: Emerson, Lake & Beard?   Despite the overarching conservatism Lake is capable of genuine insight when he describes the success of Rock trios like ELP, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream and the Police as a result of the human brain being normally only able to discern clearly three individual pathways of information (more than that involves flicking between the streams and thus missing some information) Greg also does offer towards the end his own candid and heartfelt view on the possible reason for Emerson's suicide as that of a crippling loneliness that originated as an only child which he never came to terms with in adulthood. He also lays the blame squarely on Palmer's shoulders for the final split of the band after the High Voltage festival appearance in 2010. Anyone who has heard the live recording of that performance will attest to the fact this show ended 30 years prior. Emerson's autobiography Pictures of an Exhibitionist casts Lake's in a very feeble light as Keith's personality, wicked sense of humour, virtues and flaws are all laid bare. (although it ends at Love Beach alas...)

Both are extremely celebrated and for the right reasons. I cannot get enough of them.For work, i am teaching Discovering Spam to my undergrad students so reading that too. Maybe that is why i enjoy reading these two writers- they capture the psyches of their characters to the exactitude 

The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney 

Finished reading this today. A (masterful) Portuguese translation of René Guénon's The Esoterism of Dante, followed by his short essay on the life, work, and significance of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the spiritual father of the Knights Templar. An essential book for lovers of the Divine Comedy, especially those who are interested in its deeper meaning and symbolism and in its esoteric and initiatic aspects, or in Christian esoterism as a whole.