I am many things, but “someone who updates their blog on a regular basis” is clearly not one of them. Oh, I have my excuses, some more valid than others – long hours spent on subbing day-shifts, the eternal work/parenting face-off, a compulsion to follow every ridiculous contortion of this nightmarish US election farrago and a desire to watch AOC’s glorious Among Us Twitch stream over and over again (seriously, watch it!). Ultimately, though, they are just excuses. And the bummer of it all is, I have had so many exciting things to tell you about…
Towards the end of the summer, I was lucky enough to chat with one of my all-time heroes, Bob Mould, for several hours, in a far-ranging conversation that took in his searing new album Blue Hearts and the parlous political moment that inspired it, his struggles to make peace with his sexual identity and his final moments with former Husker Du bandmate Grant Hart. He was great company, and you can read it here.
Another day, another epic, multi-hour Zoom conversation, this time with Run The Jewels’ Killer Mike and El-P, for MOJO magazine. The duo talked up their ground-shaking new album RTJ4 (and the sociopolitical calamaties that provoked it) and the roots of their career-redefining partnership. Moreover, the feature gave me a chance to trace their roots, exploring Killer Mike’s past as scion of the Dirty South, and El-P’s halcyon days amid New York’s teeming late-90s underground hip-hop scene. The issue’s off the shelves now, but you can get back issues here.
As part of the Guardian’s ongoing series celebrating the most iconic festival sets of all time, I got to write about the legendary Fania All-Stars performance at Manhattan’s Cheetah Club on August 26, 1971. An evening of wild and joyous salsa that delivered the world the ever-thrilling Live At The Cheetah albums and, perhaps more importantly, Our Latin Thing – a concert movie/documentary that is the salsa equivalent to Wattstax (which it predated) – it was great fun to research the backstory behind this performance, and celebrate the work of Larry Harlow, Willie Colon, Ismael Miranda and so many others. You can read it here.
I contributed to MOJO’s current cover feature, a remarkable deep dive into the career of the White Stripes. Alongside pieces by the inestimable Victoria Segal, Keith Cameron and Andy Perry, I recalled my adventure across Brazil with the group for their 2005 MOJO cover feature, a tale involving riots, rock’n’roll and impromptu weddings to international supermodels. The issue’s still on shelves right now, or you can subscribe here. It’s the best magazine out there – subscribe, you won’t regret it.
Finally, over the summer I had the pleasure of speaking to Lee Thompson and Chrissy-Boy Foreman from the first band I ever loved, Madness, for sleevenotes to a new vinyl resissue of their second album, Absolutely. It was an absolute blast – especially getting to share with Lee that I, too, once drove under an obstruction that was too low and removed the top of my vehicle, just like that unforgettable scene in Take It Or Leave It. Life is all about such moments. You can still get copies at Rough Trade and Juno.co.uk – just don’t leave it too long, as they will Disappear (with the fun and the fear, etc etc).
And that’s it for now. Look after yourself. Wear a mask and look after others. Stroke strange cats. Eat chocolate. Donate to food banks. Look forward to going to gigs again sometime in the not-too-distant future. I’ll be in touch again soon in a couple of weeks, with more fun stuff, I promise.
Stevie Chick 