Tag: British

On Gilbert and George, their Southbank Centre show, and conservative artists

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Following up after the Richter, I also got to head over to London and see Gilbert and George: 21st Century Pictures at the Southbank Centre. You can get a sense of the show by reading what the Centre says here, but you really have to see their work in person to appreciate both the scale of it and the detail of it. (No matter if I got close or far back from a work, I was always losing something in my photographs, as you can see above.) So see it before it leaves on January 11th.

One thing the exhibit had me look into was the prominence of conservative or right wing artists. These two definitely qualify for that label. But other than someone like Clint Eastwood, I couldn’t think of other right wing artists who were influential.

It seems I just wasn’t paying attention. Reactionary artists are everywhere, based on this list here and here. Of all of them, though, these two English sculpturers (as they refer to themselves) are my favorite.

For more on Gilbert and George, I’ve found a number of other good pieces here and here and here and here. They’re living legends. I’m glad I got to see a major portion of their work at this Southbank Centre exhibit.

Friday night music: the sultry sounds of Sophisti-pop

Wait, what is sophisti-pop, you ask? Let me let Wikipedia explain:

Sophisti-pop is a subgenre of pop music which developed out of the new wave movement in the UK during the mid 1980s. The term has been applied retrospectively to describe acts who blended elements of jazz, soul, and pop with lavish production. Music so classified often made extensive use of electronic keyboards, synthesizers and polished arrangements. Artists also utilized cutting-edge studio technology and perfectionist recording methods.The genre has been described as mellow, romantic, and atmospheric.

Sounds right. Sophisti-pop was made by artists like ABC, Aztec Camera, Bryan Ferry, Haircut One Hundred, Joe Jackson, Prefab Sprout, Simply Red and Spandau Ballet. Add to that list three of my favorite: The Style Council, Sade and Everything but the Girl (EBTG).

EBTG captured the genre recently when they wrote: “We were a band who listened to Chet Baker but also Buzzcocks, who loved Getz-Gilberto but also The Doors, whose lyrics were intimate but also political”.  The same could be said for many of the bands listed above.

If you want to know what was some of the best of it, check out the 10 of the Best Sophisti-Pop albums. If you’re a Spotify user, they have an entire section devoted to that sound. Also EBTG put together their Complete Discography 1982-2005 on Spotify.  They have a new album coming out soon: meanwhile go back in time and listen to what you may have missed.

Finally, here’s a song I’ve listened to a million billion times since it came out. A great song for walking alone at night in the rain: