John Zorn's Spillane / John Pertwee Rock God

Spillane is the first 'jazz' record I ever owned and is still one of only seven. Normally, I hate jazz. I've tried to like it; it's not like I haven't put in the effort. I've bought records (then sold them), been to gigs, ploughed through all the recommendations in The Wire Magazine and still I've never quite got it; it's eluded me, slipped through my fingers like a small dog's tongue.

Spillane isn't jazz. Maybe that's the problem. It set me off on the wrong foot when I was at my most vulnerable (I bought it after a recommendation in Sounds for Chrissakes) and thereafter I thought all modern jazz would sound like this.

It doesn't. It sounds like Andy Shephard.

Or Courtney Pine.

Or the rest of John Zorn's stuff.

Spillane sounds exactly like a 20 minutes trailer for the best post-modern noir film ever (i imagine that's not exactly accidental). There's none of the John Zorn strangles and bleating and Ornette Coleman lizard scales; just lightly kinetic segueways, spoken-word interludes, strings and things and edgy cinematic soundtracking.

It sounds a little like the backing to one of my favourite albums of all time Steven Jesse Bernstein's Prison and for this alone you should download this, the title track John Zorn - Spillane and start hating jazz along with me.


John Pertwee, Rock God



Years ago, when I lived in Brighton, I heard a track on Festival Radio by John Pertwee, the 3rd Dr Who (no, I don't count Peter Goddamn Cushing). It was a shameless cash in but somehow it touched me in the places normally reserved for my wife.

Listen and maybe you'll get touched too.

I am the doctor

Apparently, Deep Purple had something to do with this so if you want to blame anyone...