I hope everyone has had a great summer. Technically, summer is still ongoing. And for me, still doing book work, but going well. I’ll post a further update on that in a few weeks, just nose on the grindstone right now.
And I didn’t know of this band when they were around in the ‘90s, but am glad to be listening to them now:
One main section of the book remaining to finish, and this summer will be spent on that. With that done, it will be largely complete.
I will resurface with an update early September. Have a great summer!
Also, this rules:
Working away on the book, and I’ll post more of an update in May on progress there.
Meanwhile here’s a fondly remembered bit of 1995. I thought I saw Paul Cook playing drums, was nice to see I spotted that correctly.
December showed up rapidly on the heels of November, so this is a not-November post. The important point is that book progress has been … actually very good. The stubborn section is on the ropes, nearly done as the year closes. One more main section to finish in 2026 to have it done.
And it is in fact the most wonderful time of the year … I don’t like a lot of rock Christmas songs, but there is this one:
August just ended, and I’m still plugging away on a stubborn book section. Will be back in a month. Right now, it’s good to note that it is still summer and here’s a great musical expression of it. This is honestly better than the original:
It is July indisputably. Even in my imagination it is no longer June. Still here, still working on one particular book section as previously mentioned. Will be back in August.
I hope everyone enjoys the 4th here in the U.S. And with heavy metal’s founders about to do their big farewell show, here’s a good musical closer:
Writing work continues in the material world. Meanwhile, here’s this fun TV performance by Robyn Hitchcock. There was nothing quite like ‘80s alternative rock when it was alternative, and the host of this show was clearly having fun introducing the band:
Matthew Muhl is a filmmaker and writer who has been keeping the Robot Monster flame alive with his script Man or Ro-Man, for which he was kind enough to ask me for input. Matthew has assembled a creative little short film that previews some of Man or Ro-Man, which I believe he’s working on presenting as a theatrical play. It’s now up on YouTube, so please check it out, give it a like, and spread the word!
From postpunk, the hobbit rock thread can be traced onward to later in the same decade. A mellow strain of alternative rock began to emerge in the mid-1980s, or so it seemed to some of us in America. I suspect that in Britain, funnily enough, much British music seemed mainstream. And this example, courtesy of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, fits the jangly guitar sound that was more and more common then.
I like this song, and the banter at the end is amusing, but I’ve got another reason to like this video. I can’t quite remember, yet I’m convinced that I owned Lloyd’s shirt in junior high school.
Bonus video: Back in 1968, Leonard Nimoy graced the world with this lighthearted ode to a hobbit. This is not postpunk or alt rock, but it is quite literally hobbit rock.
Another year, and blogging has been too infrequent around here. There will clearly be much more Hobbit Rock work to be done in 2022. In the meantime, here is an easy one.
As my previous Hobbit Rock post showed, all the Joy Division influence in northern England could not extinguish the Hobbit Rock flame. Like a stubborn Viking invader, it merely moved north to Scotland and never left the island. And here’s a further ‘80s Scottish example of Hobbit Rock to follow up “All About You” by Scars. This is one that everyone knows, but here in a fantastic live performance:
RUNESTAD WRITES 