You Learned A Hard Lesson

Some more rivers coming your way over the next few days I think. Yesterday’s river was the Afon Llugwy in Betws-Y-Coed, North Wales, photographed when I was there a few weeks ago. Today’s river picture shows the Irwell, historic boundary between Manchester (right) and Salford (left). The pub down by the river on the Salford side, the Mark Addy, was ruined by floods in 2015.

In 2002 Doves found themselves caught by the river. I think it’s the same river that R.E.M. were looking for yesterday, a mystical river rather than a geographically specific river. Rivers often symbolise time, power, nature obviously, loss of control, and futility (the futility of trying to hold a river back). Also the river, in song and in life, always joins the sea and then disappears into it. The narrator in this song seems to be talking to his son, who’s made a mistake, been caught and now has to learn the lesson.

Caught By The River

Doves were a good band. Currently on hiatus, Andy and Jez re-appeared as Black Rivers in 2015. I’ve posted it before but this Richard Norris remix of their song The Forest is well worth hearing again, a kind of autumnal Balearica.

Find Yourself

Alright? I hope you’ve had a good Christmas break with plenty of indulgences. I may have overindulged a tad here and there and feel like a morning busting my lungs on the bike in some winter sunshine would do me some good. But anyway, on with the music…

Acid Ted is doing a month by month run down of his year- you should go and have a look at it. His second favourite track from January was Richard Norris’ remix The Forest by Black Rivers (two thirds of Doves), a smooth, psychedelic masterpiece that I also posted but forgot about. Mr Norris has turned in some stunning remixes in recent times- Warpaint, Public Service Broadcasting, Temples and Noel Gallagher are probably the highest profile ones. This one from earlier this year is pretty sweet, Jacco Gardner sent on a spaced out trip through the cosmos…

And here’s one from a few months back, a remix of Amateur Best, light and airy, housified with a touch of disco.

There’s loads more stuff to dive into at his Soundcloud page.

Black Rivers

This is good. Black Rivers are the new band of Andy and Jez from Doves. Have Doves split up? Jimi Goodwin had a solo album out last year which I haven’t got round to listening to yet. Or are they ‘on hiatus’? Dunno. Anyway, Black Rivers are releasing an album soon and as a taster for it there’s a remix by Richard Norris, full of electronic soundscapes, pulsebeat rhythm, a bit of phased cowbell, a disco bassline, an ‘into the forest’ vocal refrain, some ascending 80s keyboards at the end- it all goes by in a warm haze for seven and a half minutes.