Comments on: Why I Love My Town (and why in the future we might all come to love where we live more than we do now) http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/ An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent Thu, 24 May 2012 15:12:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Peter Bralesford http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-61012 Peter Bralesford Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:56:38 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-61012 Sadly that seems to be the case. I remember a line from Andrew Simm's Tescopoly, comparing chain stores to invasive species, a very good analogy, I think. Still, you can only cement over the cracks for so long, but then it depends how long that "long" is. Sadly that seems to be the case. I remember a line from Andrew Simm’s Tescopoly, comparing chain stores to invasive species, a very good analogy, I think. Still, you can only cement over the cracks for so long, but then it depends how long that “long” is.

]]> By: Graham Burnett http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60890 Graham Burnett Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:56:13 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60890 I'd like to hope so peter, but at the moment the cracks are being filled with more of the same... Woolies niche in the system seesm to have been colonised by Poundland and the like... Years ago we had many independant record shops in Southend, I even did a 'record shop review' in the fanzine I used to do back in the day - The Golden Disk and Downtown Records were good for your mainstream stuff and 'rock' records respectively, the latter staffed by heavy metal fans and aging rockers, the former by (quote) 'girls who are very pretty but I expect they've all got boyfriends'. Record world on Southchurch Road was the first to stock punk records and was an outlet for all sorts of fanzines, the only place locally where one could pick up publications like 'Sniffing Glue', 'ripped and Torn' and other London based titles (and probably directly inspired me onto the self-publishing path I've followed ever since...), but Projection Records was my personal favourite as it not only kept up to date with everything post-punk and indie (when 'indie' actuall meant 'independant'...), but was also a specialist in jazz records, opening my eyes up to all sorts of musicians and musical forms I might not otherwise have come accross, eg, Derek Bailey, John Coltrane, Keith jarrett, etc. the proprietor Barry Martin was a huge blues fan and always happy to support the local music scene even if it wasn't his personal cup of tea - he once stood in on guitar for local punk band The Sinyx when the usual guitarist couldn't make one of their gigs, and later joined R'n'B legends The Hamsters. Then there was Parrot Records,who had a manager who looked like Beethoven, smelled like a goat and was always outrageously rude to customers. Another local record shop proprietor, Guy Norris, even got an obit on the Southend Punks website when he recently died... then there was the little independant reggae shop in York Road market that always smelt of highly suspicious substances when one walked past... Nowadays all we've got is Zavvi and HMV, and Zavvi will be gone in a few weeks... I’d like to hope so peter, but at the moment the cracks are being filled with more of the same… Woolies niche in the system seesm to have been colonised by Poundland and the like…

Years ago we had many independant record shops in Southend, I even did a ‘record shop review’ in the fanzine I used to do back in the day – The Golden Disk and Downtown Records were good for your mainstream stuff and ‘rock’ records respectively, the latter staffed by heavy metal fans and aging rockers, the former by (quote) ‘girls who are very pretty but I expect they’ve all got boyfriends’. Record world on Southchurch Road was the first to stock punk records and was an outlet for all sorts of fanzines, the only place locally where one could pick up publications like ‘Sniffing Glue’, ‘ripped and Torn’ and other London based titles (and probably directly inspired me onto the self-publishing path I’ve followed ever since…), but Projection Records was my personal favourite as it not only kept up to date with everything post-punk and indie (when ‘indie’ actuall meant ‘independant’…), but was also a specialist in jazz records, opening my eyes up to all sorts of musicians and musical forms I might not otherwise have come accross, eg, Derek Bailey, John Coltrane, Keith jarrett, etc. the proprietor Barry Martin was a huge blues fan and always happy to support the local music scene even if it wasn’t his personal cup of tea – he once stood in on guitar for local punk band The Sinyx when the usual guitarist couldn’t make one of their gigs, and later joined R’n'B legends The Hamsters. Then there was Parrot Records,who had a manager who looked like Beethoven, smelled like a goat and was always outrageously rude to customers. Another local record shop proprietor, Guy Norris, even got an obit on the Southend Punks website when he recently died… then there was the little independant reggae shop in York Road market that always smelt of highly suspicious substances when one walked past…

Nowadays all we’ve got is Zavvi and HMV, and Zavvi will be gone in a few weeks…

]]> By: Peter Bralesford http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60889 Peter Bralesford Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:18:32 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60889 I agree with Graham. What gets me down about modern cities is that they are all much the same. Chain stores, mass motorization and "modernization" have rendered our towns and cities so similar and bland that they have lost their identity. I felt a little sad seeing Woolworths go, but who knows, maybe Woolworth's downfall is the first crack to appear in the British Clone Town world, and maybe it is the first tentative step towards a world of more human, pleasant and cultural towns and cities. :D I agree with Graham. What gets me down about modern cities is that they are all much the same. Chain stores, mass motorization and “modernization” have rendered our towns and cities so similar and bland that they have lost their identity.

I felt a little sad seeing Woolworths go, but who knows, maybe Woolworth’s downfall is the first crack to appear in the British Clone Town world, and maybe it is the first tentative step towards a world of more human, pleasant and cultural towns and cities. :D

]]> By: Dave http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60833 Dave Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:12:38 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60833 The Wurzels! Glorious! ("I'm off to Barrow Gurney..." etc). Great in front of a live South Bristol crowd, singing along. (Don't think I'd fancy the Pill ferry at night though...). The Wurzels! Glorious! (“I’m off to Barrow Gurney…” etc). Great in front of a live South Bristol crowd, singing along. (Don’t think I’d fancy the Pill ferry at night though…).

]]> By: Sami Grovers http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60820 Sami Grovers Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:53:27 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60820 What about THe Wurzles???!!! Pill, Pill, I Love Ee Still... etc. What about THe Wurzles???!!!

Pill, Pill, I Love Ee Still…
etc.

]]> By: Dave http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60792 Dave Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:41:57 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60792 Can't agree with your idea that there are no songs about our land. Try listening to 'Show of Hands'. they are from South Devon - not a million miles from where you live. The UK definitely has a folk culture that celebrates where we live - but it just maybe a culture that you've never looked for. Can’t agree with your idea that there are no songs about our land. Try listening to ‘Show of Hands’. they are from South Devon – not a million miles from where you live. The UK definitely has a folk culture that celebrates where we live – but it just maybe a culture that you’ve never looked for.

]]> By: Graham Burnett http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60780 Graham Burnett Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:51:13 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60780 Anyone familiar with The Idler Book of Crap Towns? Much of the (very funny) cynicism of that book seems to be drawn from the fact that so many of our towns and cities have suffered from the 'modernisation' which has led to bad town planning, brutal and inhuman concrete and ring-road based architecture and identikit high streets and shopping malls full of the same corporate chain stores and 'theme' pubs, and the alienation this produces in the residents. As one contributor puts it; "Is there some conspiracy to homogenise the country (whole of the ‘western’ world) so that in the end we haven’t got a f**king clue where we are?" One day we will look back at books like 'Crap Towns' and ask ourseves how we allowed ourselves to live like this. http://idler.co.uk/category/crap-towns/ Anyone familiar with The Idler Book of Crap Towns? Much of the (very funny) cynicism of that book seems to be drawn from the fact that so many of our towns and cities have suffered from the ‘modernisation’ which has led to bad town planning, brutal and inhuman concrete and ring-road based architecture and identikit high streets and shopping malls full of the same corporate chain stores and ‘theme’ pubs, and the alienation this produces in the residents. As one contributor puts it; “Is there some conspiracy to homogenise the country (whole of the ‘western’ world) so that in the end we haven’t got a f**king clue where we are?”

One day we will look back at books like ‘Crap Towns’ and ask ourseves how we allowed ourselves to live like this.
http://idler.co.uk/category/crap-towns/

]]> By: ROG http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60765 ROG Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:13:46 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60765 When I moved to Scotland, people would ask me 'Where do you belong to?' It seems like an interesting way of putting it. Certainly beats the question: 'Where are you from?' with it's obvious answer, 'My mother'. Perhaps it's not the place you left that matters so much as the place that claims you. When I moved to Scotland, people would ask me ‘Where do you belong to?’ It seems like an interesting way of putting it. Certainly beats the question: ‘Where are you from?’ with it’s obvious answer, ‘My mother’.
Perhaps it’s not the place you left that matters so much as the place that claims you.

]]> By: Stephen Watson http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60739 Stephen Watson Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:59:24 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60739 Great stuff :-) Great stuff :-)

]]> By: Rob http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60736 Rob Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:09:59 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60736 Harriet, that is quite wonderful! Thanks.... Harriet, that is quite wonderful! Thanks….

]]> By: Harriet http://transitionculture.org/2008/12/17/why-i-love-my-town/comment-page-1/#comment-60734 Harriet Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:22:31 +0000 http://transitionculture.org/?p=2209#comment-60734 I enjoyed the way my area of Poole was celebrated in song recently. See http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=F8kfyDfU3IU (but please don't look if you're likely to be offended by strong language). I enjoyed the way my area of Poole was celebrated in song recently. See http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=F8kfyDfU3IU (but please don’t look if you’re likely to be offended by strong language).

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