Godard on Godard! It's really happening. This Sunday, 2nd December, 8pm at the GFT. Godard's dazzling mid 60s super-coloured masterpiece, Pierrot Le Fou as selected by Vic Godard.

After the screening Stephen Pastel will host a Q&A with Vic giving consideration to the influence of Jean-Luc Godard and European Cinema on the early Subway Sect.

Pierrot le Fou: Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) leaves behind his Parisian wife and child during a party and takes off on an adventure with Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina), the family baby-sitter with whom he had an affair five years earlier. The following morning a man is found in Marianne’s apartment with scissors sticking out of his throat…
Jean-Luc Godard, 1965 starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina and Graziella Galvani. Tickets: www.glasgowfilm.org

This is part of an amazing Vic Godard weekender, VIC.ism - http://racketracket.co.uk/music/vicism/

Saturday 1st December, 7.30pm, Stereo.

VIC.ism kicks off with a gig in which Vic and the Sexual Objects will perform Subway Sect songs.

Sunday 2nd December, 4pm, The Poetry Club.

Afternoon Tea with Vic Godard and friends – musical performances, recollections and recitations, jazz. Tea, scones and sandwiches will be served. Tickets £5 on door or £3 advance from Monorail Music / Tickets Scotland
A beautiful vintage 1960 Bedford Bus will be on hand to transport ticket holders from Monorail Music to the Poetry Club, and later, along to the GFT.
Bus timetable:
Monorail Music to The Poetry Club 3.15 and 3.45pm
The Poetry Club to the GFT 6.15 and 6.45pm
The live performances will also feature a Sound of Young Scotland mobile exhibition of photographs
taken by Harry Papadopolous. These projections will feature photos of Vic along with the Scottish
groups (Orange Juice, Josef K, Fire Engines, etc) that were inspired by seeing Subway Sect on the
White Riot tour thirty five years ago.

RIP - Larry Hagman

Mr Spence wishes to inform you about the return to Edinburgh of the 12-legged garage rock'n'roll party machine from Wigan/Liverpool that is the fantabulous SHOOK-UPS!!!! For one night only at the PARLOUR BAR, 142 Duke St., Leith. With support from Glaswegian trogglodytes, THE BRUTES.

https://www.facebook.com/shookups?sk=info

https://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-BRUTES/143472689012414?ref=ts&fref=ts

Entry is free. Drinking, dancing and jolly japes are encouraged. Music is 60s-style garage punk/R&B of a high standard. ....and you seem smart enough to know this is gonna be one damn fine night!!!

...and word-up to any rock'n'roll fanatics in the North-East! ...THE SHOOK-UPS and LES BOF! play upstairs at the Central Bar, Gateshead this Friday, 23rd Nov for free!!!! .....sounds like a bargain to Jim!

Grabbers never really grabbed me as a title and I deliberately never even watched the trailer until the screening at the Hippodrome’s Monster Day yesterday. The writer Kevin Lehane was there too and did a pre-show discussion/Q+A with Jon Melville. It suggested he has a healthy attitude to his craft and the film itself is one of the most genuinely entertaining and cool things I’ve seen in a while. He mentioned something about the main theme during the chinwag that was very funny and so true but contrary to it perhaps ruining the mood it only heightened it connecting this even more so to "Gremlins". It straddles that fine line of cool and stupid while remaining entirely engaging all the way through without ever appearing to be premeditated.

I don’t want to give anything away because this - to my mind - would appeal to the hardcore demographic of this portal entirely. Like Joe Dante directing "Rockets Galore" from a script by Graham Linehan, right down to the character Paddy who channelled Dick Miller pretty perfectly across the piece. Add a rumour of "Local Hero" and away you go. The film will have an absurdly stunted cinema release on Boxing Day here in the UK. I’m HOPING it’ll return to Bo’ness before it languishes in big telly hell on DVD so I can see it again on the big screen.

The disc will be available on December 31st. Grabbers is the antithesis of bollocks (not the Irish term of endearment) like Sk*fall and the fact that it was made at all suggests there are still surprises out there. And who in their right gourd wouldn’t want to get drunk with Garda Lisa Nolan?

All this and a Ronnie Self tune in the score. To find out which one you’ll have to see it. Or google it but fuck you if you resort to that. This is ultimately what a trip to the pictures is all about and last night we saw it in the ideal setting. Here's to the next Monster Day and all associated with it.

Double underlining the fact that there’s no such thing as a god, the situation over on the Eastern seaboard of the US is overwhelming. And that’s just hearing about it, not exactly how those that are living it are able to process what is going on. If there is a higher power then it’s time the bugger thought about focussing. And talking of higher power’s, seems to me typical that many of the “high heid yins” are putting undue strain by making unrealistic prognostications. It’s those that are at the coal face that have to carry out the work. This is something that just ratchets up more and more all the time. Like fucking targets set up in back rooms by arseholes who have not a scoob about how to do anything. These are not strategists, let me assure you.

It does seem like an outbreak of common sense to cancel the marathon though. I think that might have tipped the populace over the edge. As I understand it, while people are doing everything they can to maintain a Dunkirk spirit, there are cracks appearing in the edifice.

And let’s face it, much of the history of these areas has been washed away. No one can measure the structural damage and general condition of anything. It’s heartbreaking. Particularly for me, the Norton warehouse. Another example of people who are actually saints being dealt a terrible blow. They’ll overcome for sure though because of their bond with everyone who ever took rock’n’roll seriously and well because wat they believe in is stronger than any conventional religion. I have experienced this first hand over the course of these past 30+ years.

I’ve no idea how long the citizens of the area will have to experience this taste of the third world. Likely for longer than Bloomberg has actually considered. I think it’s important in such a circumstance not to play to the balcony. The real heroines and heroes of all this are the people who are trying to keep moving forward against seemingly insurmoutable odds.

The infrastructure over there was already creaking and I only hope that some kind of plan can be hatched to do the rebuilding of hearts and minds not to mention the stuff that makes New York, New York. For all the ways it became a theme park in recent times, let’s never lose sight of its significance and most importantly, it’s amazing people. I feel blessed to be connected to that part of the world.

This time last year we were on the verge of the Norton party. So get bejind these guys any way you can and help them beat this damn thing...

NORTON RECORDS EMERGENCY UPDATE
Thank you again to all the volunteers who have been helping Norton Records recover the near total destruction of our Brooklyn warehouse at the hands of Hurricane Sandy. We have been able to salvage some stock but the job is incredibly overwhelming. We will need able hands to help with the salvage effort here at Norton HQ in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. This is an indoor job, pulling records out of wet boxes, etc. If anyone has a vehicle of any sort to assist in getting wet boxes from the Red Hook warehouse to HQ in Prospect Heights, please call. No reception in Red Hook. Email is best bet at nortonrec@aol.com and the office landline (718) 789-4438 are the best bet for phone. Don’t leave a message. Call back til you get one of us. Messages are full.

Please do not respond with questions on facebook – we will not be following threads, but please repost if you can. We can use any help offered. We will give you the address.

Norton asked for help through the weekend but we actually will continue to need any help that we can get throughout the upcoming week. We are working from 11AM until 11PM every day. Anything that you can do to pitch in would be most appreciated. The folks who have helped so far have been simply incredible. Friends, neighbors, Norton artists and complete strangers – we thank you all for the work, the food and snacks you brought and the much needed support you’ve all shown through this ordeal.

WE WILL NOT GIVE UP ON YOU IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP ON NORTON. THAT'S A PROMISE.

We have gotten messages from people who live too far to get here. Thank you. If you are in our hurricane area, please direct your efforts to helping those who you can reach. Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Staten Island, the entire East Coast needs a neighborhood effort.

Norton Artists!

We are heartbroken to report all of this destruction to you. We will do everything in our power to get your records back into print as soon as humanly possible. Please believe in us 'cause we sure do believe in you as musicians, friends and superstars!

STORES AND DISTRIBUTORS!

WE HAVE SEVERAL NEW RELEASES WITH NOV. 13 STREET DATE THAT ARE UNHARMED AT THE PRESSING PLANT, and KICKS BOOKS HAS THE NEW HARLAN ELLISON PAPERBACK "GETTING IN THE WIND" AND THE NEW KIM FOWLEY PAPERBACK "LORD OF GARBAGE" AT THE PRINTER. EVERYTHING ROLLS OUT WITH THESE TITLES ON SCHEDULE, GIVE OR TAKE. IF YOU ORDER BACK CATALOG, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT MUCH OF IT IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. IF YOU OWE US ON ANY INVOICES WE ASK THAT YOU DO NOT DELAY IN SENDING PAYMENT NOW IF POSSIBLE. GOD BLESS YOU.

FAITHFUL NORTON CUSTOMERS!

BE AWARE THAT POSTAL SERVICE HAS BEEN NON EXISTENT SINCE THhE HURRICANE HIT. WE HAVE STACKS OF ORDERS HERE WAITING FOR THE POST OFFICE TO OPEN. RECENT ORDERERS, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THINGS WILL BE DELAYED HERE AND SOME THINGS YOU ORDERED MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

email nortonrec@aol.com

Norton landline 718 789 4438

Norton HQ - THANK YOU EVERYONE!