You weren't listening...

Monday 18 October 2004

0035hrs. Have just watched the South Bank Show on Robert Frank, the photographer/documentary maker. I seemed to be aware of his name though I had no real conception of who he was. Apparently he's regarded as the world's greatest living photographer. He also directed Cocksucker Blues, the unreleased Rolling Stones documentary. His first shots were in New York, though his real work started in Paris and then London. He then travelled accross the US. He has done a few documentaries on the Beat writers, one of his films depicted the beatnik scene, narrated by Jack Kerouac. He has never done an interview because he feels that his work needs no explaining and the reasoning behind each shot is intuitive and impossible to recount. In the first five minutes of the film you can see he wanted to keep his integrity. Frank was in the middle of a general description of how he worked when the film they were shooting ran out. Frank was furious and started to berate the director, telling him that if he couldn't get his staff together then it wasn't going to work and he wasn't an actor and couldn't be expected to be repeat his words (which were studied and cautious thoug intelligent and solemn). His work backed up the sentiments though - his photos were great and I think they're on display at the Tate Modern.

Waiting for Play to deliver Elliot Smith new album. It's received a load of really good reviews. Have been listening to Keith Tippett - 'Dedicated to you but you weren't listening'. It's really good. I must check to see if he has a website. I would love to see him play again. I've seen him twice - both times my musical education was not at the stage it is currently. The first was at Sheffield Uni. I met the Spaceman 3 and Spiritualised drummer Jon. He was really nice. I then saw him at the now defunct jazz club The Vortex in Stoke Newington where I met Spencer who I was in halls with at Uni.