#Martin Newell

[nedison]

This Black Sea-era Andy Partridge demo ended up in the hands of Martin Newell, who ended up recording the definitive version a little while later as The Cleaners From Venus:

Andy and Martin would, of course, end up recording together in the 90s during XTC's strike from Virgin-- crafting one of the great home-recorded albums of all time. I just love the idea that they were swapping demo cassettes in the 80s ahead of their collaboration.

[the-macabre-goatman]

[peeemo]

how come no one ever told me about cleaners from venus this is the best music ive ever wven heard

[bandcampsnoop]

7/29/24.

Jodie Lowther's label The Cat Collects has gotten off to a rousing start: an excellent 4-band CD followed by Rachel Love and now a full album from The Cleaners From Venus (Wivenhoe, England).

Just the other day we posted about Nick Saloman and I marveled at his ability to create consistently great music over a period of 40 years. Martin Newell's been doing it even longer under various names, but mostly under the Cleaners From Venus moniker. "Lilli Bolero" will stand up with any of the great Cleaners' songs. When I think of Newell's music I always think of Television Personalities, Guided By Voices, The Kinks and XTC.

The great thing about The Cat Collects and Jodie Lowther is the art/design. She has a clear style that somehow makes music sound better.

[mistfunk]

Mistigram: to the vulgarian, it's just pixelart of a teapot. But anyone with a bellyfull of the lore of early computer graphics will appreciate the subject of this #teletext screen by @illarterate, the foundational and ubiquitous Melitta teapot that #MartinNewell modelled at the University of Utah in 1975 -- nearly 50 years ago! Also it pours a mean cuppa. This piece was included in the foolish MIST0418 artpack collection.

[streetsofdublin]

I'M A TEAPOT - IT IS ACTUALLY THE NEWELL TEAPOT OR IF YOU PREFER THE UTAH TEAPOT

The Utah teapot, or the Newell teapot, is a 3D test model that has become a standard reference object and an in-joke within the computer graphics community.

THIS IS LOCATED IN SMITHFIELD CLOSE TO THE TRAM STOP HTTP Status Code 418 I’m a Teapot. In the context of web development, the HTTP Status Code 418 I’m a Teapot is a client error response code that indicates that the server refuses to brew coffee because it is, permanently, a teapot. This code is often used as a joke or a way to indicate that the server is not functioning properly. It is not a…

[restlesschilled]

I’d like to point out that that reference to Norris’s voice being whiny is really really funny because Alex wrote this episode 

[strawberriedmeadows]

they are Mitski and The Crane Wives coded husbands, methinks

[i-psofacto]

Hi, welcome in! So glad you've visited. Have a seat!

I made some tea, would you like some?

Maybe a bite to eat? I only have canned goods...

Just the tea is fine? No problem, let me get you a cup... here!

You know, it's such a nice day outside, why don't we make it a picnic?

Ahh, isn't the view so nice? I love the beach!

Did you hear something towards the tea?... oh my gosh what is that watch out

[fiendishartist2]

this changed the world btw

[nedison]

I got [my Höfner V3] for 19 quid in Guitar Village Shaftsbury Avenue when I was 17 in 1970. People didn't reckon it much as a guitar because then it was prog rock and everyone was doing widdly-widdly and this was a jangly-jangly sort of guitar. But it came into its own in The Cleaners From Venus!

- Martin Newell, The Jangling Man (2022)

[eithernich]

sony tc-630

[rxse-dxst]

Alex J Newall is my spirit animal for this reason

One of my hobbies is listening to the tma q&a with jonny and Alex and clipping out bits that I'm like, this is just martin and Jon bickering. The girls are fighting. This conversation could happen in season 5 and I would not bat an eye.

[VD: An excerpt from The Magnus Archives Season 5 Q&A Part 2. Jonny Sims stutters, "... stuff like, it's just, it's just horrible," but Alex J. Newall speaks over him in a disagreeing, emphatic tone and says, "Ah, now you’re— Nothing wrong with a good mold. You can do a lot with a good mold. Also, the Corruption is a Power that you can kick. So I'm okay, I'm okay with The Corruption, doesn't bother me."

Jonny asks, "What do you mean it's a Power you can kick?" and Alex responds casually, "'Oh no, creepy mushroom.' Kick it." Jonny splutters and says, "Yeah, no, what-- You can't kick it-- Like, if the mold has buried into your flesh—" Alex repeats, "'Oh no, creepy mold.' Kick it."

Jonny argues, "If you are rotting, you can’t just... kick your own rot out." Alex says brightly, "Yeah, you can. Kick it." Jonny says wearily "Okay." Alex repeats, "The Corruption is a Power that can be kicked. I have-- I have no time for it." Jonny hums argumentatively and says, "Disagree," making Alex laugh. End VD]

Described by @princess-of-purple-prose

[bandcampsnoop]

2/5/24.

Another Bandcamp Friday has come and gone. The best news of that day (for me at least) was the announcement of a new BMX Bandits LP. The "Dreaded Light" soundtrack was an excellent addition to the canon, but it wasn't Duglas' normal pop fare. "Dreamers on the Run" is slated for a late April release, and Tapete Records states that this LP is BMX Bandits' "most musically ambitious so far". Two pop gems are available right now, so it will be interesting to see what the rest of the LP brings us.

You can preorder the 2LP on Tapete's webpage. Their order page mentions Martin Newell, Jonathan Richman and Curt Boettcher as touchstones. Monorail Music is offering signed copies as well (Duglas Stewart is based in Glasgow and has been a friend and collaborator of Stephen Pastel (McRobbie) for years).

Finally, if you find yourself loving BMX Bandits, you should really listen to The Lookyloos.

[jontycrane]

Best of 2023 - Books

Thanks to extensive travels and listening to a lot of audiobooks while hiking I read ~170 books this year. This was down on the pandemic records of 308 in 2020 and 210 in 2021 but still a pretty decent tally. As usual more than two thirds were history or travel related, with the others a mix of biography, fiction, essays, and politics. These are the ones that stayed with me the…

[dspd]

It's really funny how the fandom loves Martin for all the things Alex hates about him.

It's really sad that the reason Alex doesn't like Martin is because Martin reminds him of things he didn't like about himself in his past.

It's really great that, in a way, Alex gets to experience how loveable his past self was through his portrayal of Martin.