6 minute read
BARTLEBY
Save our songwriters!
Acouple of months ago I dug out the old record player. Sorry, I’m making it sound like a gramophone complete with horn and attentive dog, but actually this particular machine was state of the art as recently as… well it must have been about 1990. At the time I thought it a shocking injustice that my grandparents had bought themselves a music centre complete with double tape deck and – gasp – CD player, just so they could hear The Archers more clearly. Now I’m happy that they bought something good.
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The recent history of this analogue relic mirrors that of musiclistening in the wider world. We listened to records, then CDs. When streaming came along I stuck the old stereo in the basement, because who needs to fiffle about with vinyl when you can enjoy Bach or Beyonce at the click of a mouse? A shelf of records remained to remind us of those long-ago days when listening to music involved standing up every twenty minutes. I suppose we might have sold them if they’d been worth anything, but they aren’t, so we didn’t.
And now, like lots of people everywhere, we’ve plugged the record player back in, fitted a new needle and are happily rediscovering forgotten treasures, some of them genuine antiques.
We went to a library sale years ago, equipped with a borrowed supermarket trolley, and today our collection of Cold War-era classical records must be one of the biggest in BS3. Each one is a thing of beauty. The vinyl disc itself you could repurpose as a table top, while the cardboard sleeve is richly decorated with photos and erudite musings on composer and performers.
In the 1950s these records were expensive luxuries, but if you couldn’t afford them you could listen to the radio or join a music library –the equivalent, I suppose, of signing up to a streaming service today. Except that now you can listen to pretty much anything you want, all day long, for –what – 10 or 15 pounds a month? Which, like so much in our digitised world, is great for the people who run the streaming service and great for the listener. But not so great for the people who write and perform the music.
More than ever, musicians rely for their bread and butter on live performances and sales of their own merchandise. Whether you’re in a thrash metal band or a string quartet you need people to come and see you strut your stuff, which as we all know has been impossible for a year now. And as the future brightens ahead for the rest of us, musicians now face new difficulties created by our departure from the EU. Up-and-coming bands hoping to tour a new album, bassoonists looking to freelance with an orchestra in Berlin, rappers, performance poets, opera singers… all now have to negotiate an expensive tangle of bureaucracy.
In the long term we will see concert halls and pub venues filled with people again, and deals will be done to help musicians rove the continent, but what about in the short term? Bristol is full of people desperate to hear live music, but how can performances be managed safely? Would it be okay, for instance, for a busker to play if there was enough space between them and the audience? Suppose you had a big circle painted on the pavement in the Centre and a trio of musicians stood in the middle of it and played. Would that work, Covid-wise? And if so, could the council take charge, licensing-wise? Of course the musicians couldn’t pass round a hat because a) it would be too germy and b) nobody has change anymore, but we could easily pay by phone. Who knows, perhaps this summer will bring a citywide festival, giving us a chance to support musicians – and musicians a chance to support us. Heaven knows we need them! ■
THE BRISTOL
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WHAT’S ON IN MARCH
Bristol Old Vic Young Company Professor Lyndsay Duthie Muneera Pilgrim
Let’s Make Art: Word Art Throughout March, Arnolfini, online
Let’s Make Art is treating us to another fun activity for all the family. Inspired by the works in ‘A Picture of Health’ and Jo Spence’s ‘From Fairy Tales to Phototherapy’, Let’s Make Art invites us to explore the world of word art, where artworks can be created by using letters and words to create interesting shapes, patterns and more. arnolfini.org.uk
Scribble and Sketch Online Throughout March, RWA, online
Explore the drawing material of charcoal by making doodles with your fingertips. You will need paper, charcoal, chalk, erasers (big and small) and a rag. Aimed at kids of 48 years but anyone can join in. Get messy and have fun. rwa.org.uk
Celebrate Phenomenal Woman 5 and 24 March, various times, online
Design your very own card (physical or digital) to send to a phenomenal woman you know. This could be for your mum, sister, gran, colleague, friend or postwoman! Say thank you, send some love or just tell them how phenomenal they are. All you need is a piece of paper and pen or access to the internet. info.uwe.ac.uk
Dressing Up and Creating Characters 6 March, 3.30pm, Bristol Old Vic, online
Be inspired by the everyday objects and garments around your home and learn how to create characters fit for the stage, in this exciting Young Company Taster session led by Maisie Newman and Emma Hughes. Join the Bristol Old Vic online to dress up, play games and discover the wild and wonderful characters that you can create. Ideal for ages 8-10. bristololdvic.org.uk
What’s Next For Film and Television? 10 March, 6.30pm, UWE Bristol, online
Professor Lyndsay Duthie, who is CEO of The Production Guild of Great Britain at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden UK, will give a talk entitled ‘Pushing Past the Pandemic, What’s Next for Film and Television?’ Lyndsay’s lecture will look at how the pandemic paved the way for new production techniques and opened up new methods of working safely. uwe.ac.uk
Bristol Libraries: Power, Protest & Poetry 11 and 25 March, various times, online
Bristol Libraries is partnering with creative development agency Words of Colour and commissioned artist Muneera Pilgrim to deliver a series of online literary events on the theme of politics, power and protest as part of the Novels That Shaped Our World Festival. Join two workshops with Bristolborn poet Muneera Pilgrim and delve deep into poems that deal with ideas around power and protest. wordsofcolour.co.uk
Bristol Run Series: 5k Challenge 20 –21 March, University of Bristol
Medals are up for grabs as the University of Bristol launches virtual running challenges. The events are free and will see runners logging their attempts on apps before sending in their results to the organisers. Runners can access free training programmes curated by the university’s professional coaches. bristol.ac.uk
Window Wanderland St Pauls 26 –27 March, around St Pauls area
To light up our evenings, the community interest company, Imayla, along with Bristol Refugee Festival, Full Circle and St Pauls Adventure Playground, have come together to launch Window Wanderland. Residents, retailers and organisations can decorate their windows for all to admire, creating a beautiful art trail. Decorated windows can be marked on an interactive map to follow. windowwanderland.com n
