Und wo ich gerade bei #ScienceFiction bin: Ich hatte früher ein Buch von #IanMacDonald, auf deseen Titelseite der deutschen Ausgabe eine Frau auf einem geflügelten Fahrrad in der Luft unterwegs war. Ich kann mich leider nicht an den Titel erinnern und hab in der Bibliographie da es Autors noch nichts gefunden. #FragFedi

Enjoying Day 2 of @cymerafestival , catching talks by likes of City Doctorow, Neil Williamson , Doug Johnstone, Ian MacDonald & more.

#books #livres #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #Cymera23 #CoryDoctorow #IanMacDonald #ScienceFiction #bookstodon #writers #authors

Ways of life that disappeared in our time.

#Teesside #history #iron #ianmacdonald

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/jan/10/shipbuilding-ian-macdonalds-teesside-in-pictures?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Documentary #photography of the highest order. But will this exhibition be shown in #IanMacdonald’s native #NorthEast?
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/jan/10/shipbuilding-ian-macdonalds-teesside-in-pictures?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Across the Universe is one of John Lennon's personal favorites. Written in India while practicing TM with Maharishi, the line 'Jai Guru Deva' translates to 'I give thanks to the guru'--a salutation at the ashram. While the lyrics are calming, the mood was short-lived. At the Get Back sessions, Lennon sang the line, 'Nothing's gonna change my world' before spitting the aside: 'F#cking wish it would.' Still, the song retains its beauty and charm.

#JohnLennon #AcrossTheUniverse
#IanMacDonald

Strawberry Fields Forever (1967) is another Lennon psychedelic classic--a study of uncertainty tinged with the loneliness of the solitary rebel. Lennon at his most somnambulistic. The studio sessions again became legendary, devouring 55 hours of recording time and contributions from all, Strawberry Fields Forever is another creative peak--a singular vision and a stunning soundscape.

#JohnLennon #StrawberryFieldsForever #IanMacDonald

Tomorrow Never Knows (1966) is one of the most extraordinary musical statements of all time. Taking LSD, Lennon wanted a serious voyage of self-discovery. He turned to a book, The Psychedelic Experience, which paraphrases The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The results were spectacular & Lennon hastened to capture them in song. The recording process is legend & reflects collaborative genius, a tape-looped sound from the future that still stuns today.

#JohnLennon #TomorrowNeverKnows
#IanMacDonald

Ticket to Ride (1965) expresses 'unusual emotional depth' & reflects a chance encounter with LSD. Spiked at a dinner party, Lennon, Harrison & their wives Cynthia and Patti, spent a roller-coaster night careening around London, 'dazzled & near hysterically under the influence.' In addition to the sound of the track, 'there is a narcotic passivity to the lyric; the girl who is leaving doesn't care.' An 'extraordinary precognition of the music to come.'

#JohnLennon #TicketToRide #IanMacDonald

Help! (1965), the title track to the Beatles' 2nd film, is pure Lennon autobiography. Having achieved fame & wealth, Lennon was stuck in depression in what he called his 'fat Elvis' period. Lennon's marriage to Cynthia was deteriorating & she disapproved of his drug intake. Originally brought to the studio as a slow blues, George Martin saw its potential and sped it up. A number one on both sides of the Atlantic, Help! transcends the film it was made for.

#JohnLennon #Help! #IanMacDonald

Seven* John Lennon songs to remember him by on the anniversary of his death on December 8, 1980:

Help!
Nowhere Man
Ticket to Ride
Tomorrow Never Knows
Strawberry Fields Forever
Across the Universe
Don't Let Me Down

*denotes impossible task & acknowledges contributions of the other Beatles to each track

*comments on each track sourced mainly from Ian MacDonald's book, Revolution in the Head.

#JohnLennon #IanMacDonald
#RevolutionInTheHead