Welcome to our inaugural Freitag. Every Friday we'll be posting links to news, articles, media, events and other assorted sources of distraction that we've unearthed through the week.
We’ve been enjoying the writing and documentaries of the inimitable Jonathan Meades over the last three or four weeks, so it was very pleasing to find an interview with the man on one of our favourite websites, The Quietus (and unlike most Meades-related matters, you don’t need a dictionary to hand). As they rightly point out, there is a rather wonderful YouTube account with many of his documentaries on it (hopefully they’ll all make it onto DVD someday, as opposed to the eleven that currently are). The brilliant Museum Without Walls, a collection of his essays, articles and TV scripts, is out now on Unbound.
A trip to the Pompidou Centre in Paris, combined with the recent release of Skyfall, provoked a discussion about John Maybury’s superlative Love Is The Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon and, lo and behold, the Guardian have a couple of archive reviews (contemporary to its release) up on the culture section of their website, Adrian Searle’s being particularly enjoyable. Not only that, but they currently have the film streaming on demand.
We’re excited to hear that the BFI will present a major retrospective on Ealing Studios. Light & Dark (BFI Southbank, 22 October – 30 December 2012) features great comedy classics (The Ladykillers, The Lavender Hill Mob) as well as lesser-known and grittier takes on post-war Britain (It Always Rain on Sunday). We look forward to catching some of the films at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse – details to follow next month.
The Filmhouse are also to be thanked for a recent (and extensive) season on Alfred Hitchcock. During November and December, there will be an opportunity to (re)discover eight of his newly-restored silent films. Most films will be screened with live musical accompaniment.
Following some shocking news that certainly saddened the Edinburgh music community, Avalanche Records’ management have announced that they have set a deadline for closing their doors for 06 January 2013. We are hoping that the last remaining branch of this much-loved independent institution will pull through.
Veronica Falls have announced they will release the follow up to their superlative eponymous debut early next year. The new LP, entitled Waiting For Something To Happen, is out on 04 February in the UK (Bella Union) and 12 February in the US (Slumberland Records). A taster can be heard below. They are also headlining a rather amazing line-up at the Islington Mill in Salford this weekend. Tickets can be purchased via We Got Tickets.