Tír Na HiFi

mcq wrote:So sad, the early passing of Michael Karoli. What was the show like, Dermot?

From what I can remember I was equally mesmerised with the machine beat of Jaki's relentless percussion and Irmin's unpredictable but brilliant musicianship. Sadly, Michael was all image and he was content riding the crest of the enormous tsunami set up by his two band mates solo sets. Still he was the epitome of cool with a couple of his beloved violins dangling from his neck. I can't remember whether he played his strat....but I do remember that most of the songs sounded like variations on a theme called Dizzy Dizzy :-) Would you believe I actually recorded the concert in full on my trusty minidisc recorder! I must give it a listen sometime - yes, I still have the player and a handful of discs.....somewhere in the house?!?!

Again I feel humbled to be in the presence of such naked honesty; When Linda sings you believe.....Dimming of the Day, Jesus ?!?! Paul, you've made my day as I watch the snow falling gently to earth :-)

I agree, Dermot, Dimming of the Day is a quite extraordinary vocal performance for which words are ultimately inadequate to describe its beauty. You simply have to listen and believe.

One of my very favourite poets of the 20th century is the very great and very individual John Berryman who had the elusive gift of breaking your heart whilst making you laugh. A great mind, his career was wrecked by his alcoholism and his self-doubt. He was continually haunted as well by his father's suicide. Life was a constant battle for him, until he lost his struggle in June 1972 when he jumped off a bridge in Minneapolis. His verse took me a long time to appreciate but it was time truly well spent. His masterpiece is The Dream Songs, a sequence of 385 poems whose protagonist is a character called Henry, which is really Berryman's alter ego (despite Berryman's assertions to the contrary).

Here is Dream Song 121:

Grief is fatiguing. He is out of it,
the whole humiliating Human round,
out of this & that.
He made a-many hearts go pit-a-pat
who now need never mind his nostril-hair
nor a critical error laid bare.

He endured fifty years. He was Randall Jarrell
and wrote a-many books & he wrote well.
Peace to the bearded corpse.
His last book was his best. His wives loved him.
He saw in the forest something coming, grim,
but did not change his purpose.

Honest & cruel, peace now to his soul.
He never loved his body, being full of dents.
A wrinkled peace to this good man.
Henry is half in love with one of his students
and the sad process continues to the whole
as it swarmed & began.


The footage that exists of Berryman on YouTube is priceless. Some of it may be incoherent and rambling (like the man himself) but you really get a sense of the real man behind the poetry.

The Poetry of John Berryman is a long-lost interview with Berryman which recently resurfaced.

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKUSR-yOgpA

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUicQbyMuDk&NR=1

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3UZCCsC44g&NR=1

Part 4 ("Samuel Beckett - a mind so dark you have to wonder whether the Renaissance actually took place."):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjRNhrTnZbc&NR=1

Part 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syTAuLzTwN4&NR=1

Part 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu4TxkViBZ8&NR=1

Berryman in Dublin in 1967:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGIr7fGd ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YUu3L-qGMI&NR=1

What can I possibly say!?!? This is absolutely brilliantly coherent poetry and funny too as you say... can't wait to watch the Youtube footage and embark on another voyage of discovery before this whole shithouse goes up in flames :-) THANK YOU Paul....again!

Turntable porn :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuWcU3ED ... r_embedded#

Modest wrote:Turntable porn :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuWcU3ED ... r_embedded#

Where did you get that one? A steam driven turntable?!?! Can't wait to show Dad :-) Thanks for that Modest...

That is quite amazing!!

A Polish truck driver deals with a difficult German colleague who won't let him pass...

http://stupiddrivers.net/wordpress/poli ... river.html

For the day that's in it :-(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD2Vr7lb ... r_embedded#