Mark E. Smith and The Fall: Art, Music and Politics

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©CopyrightedMaterial


introduction

‘MessingupthePaintwork’MichaelGoddardandBenjaminhalligan

one Day in May

on the9May2008, around thirtypeoplegathered for a symposium,whichasseveral participants noted was far from being a typical academic conference.this symposium, ‘Messing up the Paintwork’, set out to engage with the artandpoliticsofMarkE.SmithandtheFallandfromthebeginningencounteredantagonismandquestionsofterritory,evenbeforethedayoftheconferenceitself.From the time it was first proposed, there was a lively discussion thread about the conference on the unofficial Fall website, The Fall Online, most of it sceptical. thecontributorsquestionedeverythingfromthepriceofadmissiontothevalueof highbrow academic discussion led by ‘chin stroking grey haired professors’ontheFallorindeedonrockmusicingeneral.thisantagonismfarfrombeingadiscouragementwas taken as a positive sign, in that the eventwas engagingdirectly and conflictually with a unique fan culture who in some cases exhibited highlysophisticatedresponsestotheeventevenwhiledisparagingit.anexampleofthisinteractionwasonecontributortothediscussion,‘GrannyonBongos’,whoofferedupaseriesof‘pre-cog’conclusionstotheconferencetopicssuchasthefollowing:

*MarkE.Smithand(northern)workingclassculture:likesapint,doesn’tkeeppigeons,mayormaynot like leeksoup.can’tkeepwhippetsdue to touring.(theFallonline,2007)

Ranging from the flippantly sarcastic to the incisive, these ideas about The Fall wouldhavebeenperfectlyathomeattheconferenceitself,eveniftheirintentionwastosaveFallfans£30andthewasteofadaywithabunchofacademics.

theconferenceitself,whilenominallyfollowinganacademicstructureduringtheday,wascomposedofamixtureofacademics,fans(oftencombinedinthesameperson)andsomeassociatesoftheFallsuchasproducerGrantShowbiz,promoteralanWiseandmusicjournalistMickMiddles.Whiletheanticipated‘grey-hairedprofessors’werelargelyabsent,therewasneverthelessahighlevelofintellectualanalysis during the day but an analysis that responded to the ‘territories’ ofThe Fall whether they be defined in geographical, fan cultural, political or aesthetic terms.thisrangedinmethodologiesfromcloseanalysisofparticularrecordingsto the interrogation of specific techniques to the more general investigation of the

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MARK E. SMiTH ANd THE FALL2

placeofMarkE.Smithinrelationtomediaandcultureandthenorth,adiversityofapproachesthatisfullyattestedtobythisvolumeofessays.

towardstheendoftheafternoontherelativelynormaltoneoftheconferencebegan to shift, a shiftmarkedbyalanWise’sEdgarallenPoe-likedescriptionofMarkE.Smith’sPrestwichabodeand the latter’spsychicpowers,whichheclaimed were fully operational both in his ritualistic live performances and indailylife.Wisekeptremindingtheaudiencethattherewerelimitstowhathewas‘authorized’tosayandatonepointbrokeoffhisdiscoursetorefertothefactthatspiessentbySmithwerepresentintheaudiencetokeepaneyeonthings.Wisenotedthathehimselfwasunderpsychicobservationandatonepointduringhistalksuddenlyjolted,whichheexplainedbysayingthathefearedhemayjusthavegone too far.these unlikely assertions seemed to be validated when, after theconferencehadmoved to thekingsarmspub, relativesofSmithmaterialized,demandingtoknowwhohadauthorizedtheeventandwhowasgettingtheroyalties(anegativesumasitturnedout).thisirruptionoflocal(sur)reality,whichcamein the middle of Mick Middles’ talk and screening of his unreleased film on The Fall,completelydisruptingit,becameincorporatedintotheeventitself,althoughthiswasonlymadepossiblebyskilfuldiplomacyonthepartofGrantShowbizandothers.inthemiddleofGrant’sowntalk,atelephonecallwasreceivedfromMarkE.Smithhimself,whichtheformertookonstage,tellingMarkthatithadbeenagreatdayandhereallyshouldhavebeenthere.thatsomeoftheevent’scriticsseemedtohavecomearoundtotheideawasevidencedbycommentsaftertheeventsuchasthefollowing:

i have to say this was the most bizarre conference i’ve ever attended.trulya one-off. the kingsarms evening was unforgettable, with Mark’s etherealinterjections, via family and mobile phone, lending weight to alan Wise’samazingandbrillianttalkaboutMESandhissuperpowers.(theFallonline,2008)

WhattheseshiftingrelationsbetweenthisacademiceventandtheFallonlineattesttoisaformof‘generalintellect’operatingbetweentheacademyandpopularculture,comprisedofintellectualrigour,whatisgenerallyrelegatedtotrivial‘fanknowledge’andconstitutiveweirdnesswithinwhichthiscollectionofessayscanalsobeusefullysituated.however,asacollectionofwritingsontheFallratherthan a live event, it necessarily has another immediate context, namely that ofexistingwritingontheFall,whichwillbeexaminedinthenextsection.

Writing on the Fall

adecadeago,itmighthavebeenmoreaccuratetoentitlethissectionnotwritingontheFallandeventodayinthecontextoftheconsiderableretroactiveinterestinpunkandpost-punkmusic,theFallarecertainlyyettobeaccordedthedegreeof

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iNTROdUCTiON 3

attentionoftheirMancuniancontemporariesjoydivisionandtheirFactorylabel.1Paul Morley, a key figure in the construction of the Manchester Factory myth, has lucidlydescribedhisreasonsfornotwritingabouttheFallrelativetohisbelovedWarsaw/joydivision:

MarkE.Smith…wasexactlywhathewasalwaysgoingtobeassoonasthefirst Fall played their first show, as if he had already picked out in his buggered brilliant head the songs and albums and jackets and rhythms and melodiesand gigs and drinks and arguments and shoes and musicians and marriages and blackouts and birthdays he would live through … Mark E. Smith’scoruscating confidence in his own terrible, fully-formed genius verged on the indecent…anddidnotpointmetowardintellectualandemotionalsalvation.(Morley2008,32)

theFallofferednoneofthetranscendenceoftheMancunianenvironmentthatJoy Division would briefly provide but they instead turned it inside out, uncovering layersofweirdnesslurkingwithintheeveryday;moreimportantly,ratherthanthevagueinchoatemythofjoydivisionthatneededwriterslikeMorleytoarticulateit inanotherregister,theFallandespeciallySmithhadnoneedofsuchmyth-makingandinfactpositivelyrepelledanysuchattempts,makingthemfromthebeginning daunting figures for prospective interviewers. Some like Ian Penman or MarkSinkertooktheriskbutlittlemoresubstantialthanshortinterviewsemergedontheFalluntilquiterecently,withtheexceptionofsmallcirculationbookslikeBrian Edge’s Paintwork (1989) or the bilingual book of Fall lyrics apparentlyproducedattherequestofaGermanfanoftheband(Smith1985).

intheearly2000s,however,correspondingtotherevivingfortunesofthegroupitself,twobooksappearedthatapproachedtheFallinradicallydifferentways,emphasizing some of the challenges and difficulties of writing about The Fall.2MickMiddles,inhisbooksimplyentitledThe Fall (2003)andforwhichMarkE.Smithwasgivenaco-authorshipcredit,clearlyfeltthatsomethingotherthanastandardrockbiographywasneeded.atanyrate,itseemsthatSmithhimselfwasreluctanttoengageinanystraightlinearaccountofthegroup. asMiddlesquotesSmithinthedialoguethatopensthebook,‘idon’twanttheretobeanyofthatretrocrap…don’twantittobeanotherlinearrockbiography…ontheFall…thatwouldbesodull’(MiddlesandSmith2003,ix).Middles’ideawasbasedonhavingexperiencedthebrillianceofSmithnotonlyonstagebutinconversation,whichhehopedtorecapture‘live’bytakingSmithofftothelakedistrict,plyinghim with sufficient beers and allowing the brilliant weirdness of Smith’s mind sufficient space to express itself. By Middles’ own account this was a difficult

1 ontheFactory‘cartel’,seeWittsinchapter1ofthisvolume.2 inthesameyeardavethompson’sexcellentannotateddiscographyoftheFallalso

appeared.Seethompson(2003).

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experienceandonethatresultedinasprawlingandunevenbookandyetonethatdoes indeed contain flashes of brilliance.

theoppositeapproachwastakenbythearthistorianSimonFord.WhileFordwasclearlydrawn towritingontheFalloutof intellectualcuriosity,hisbookHip Priest (2003) reads surprisingly like a conventional rock biography, withlittlespacedevotedtoanyintellectualanalysis.Ford’smoreacademicandlinearapproach, alongwithhis academic credentials, certainlydidnot endearhim toSmithwhodeclinedtoparticipateintheproject,andsoFord’sbookisconstructedthroughacombinationofaccountsbyformerbandmembersandarereadingofalready existing writings on the Fall. For all its meticulous research into thishistory,Ford’sbookisintellectuallythinandthereareprobablymoremusingsasto the significance of The Fall from Middles. It is telling that in ending his book FordcitesacommentfromSmiththatseemstoprecludepreciselyanyintellectualapproach:‘theFall,[Smith]hoped,wouldalwaysescapeanalysis:“idon’tthinkestablishedhigh-arttheoriesapplytotheFall.i’dmuchratherbeseenasafailedpopsinger,tobehonest”’(Ford2003,280).itisasifFordwasatpainstodisguisehisacademiccredentialsandtoadheretoSmith’santi-academicstanceandallthemoresoduetothelatter’snon-participationintheproject.

afterarelativelapseinpublishing,2008wasaveritablebumperyearforFallwriting,withnotonlythere-releaseofthebooksbydavethompsonandMiddlesbutnewbooksbySmithhimself,thelongawaitedRenegade anddaveSimpson’sfascinating book, The Fallen. coming in the wake of renewed interested intheFalloccasionedbythemanytributestojohnPeelfollowinghisuntimelydeathin2004,andtheBBc4documentaryThe Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith(2005),inwhichtheubiquitousMorleyparticipated,andbolstered by the relatively high profile release of imperial Wax Solvent in2008, theFallwerenowoccupyingamoreprominentplaceinthemedialandscapethantheyhadformanyyears.

Renegade itselfwassomethingofadisappointment,forthemostpartlackingtheoccasionalburstsofbrillianceevidentinthebookwithMiddlesorthequalityof writing evident in Ford’s book. Essentially a series of rants on a variety oftopicsfrommusicianstofootballtomarriage,Smithseemstoplayuptohismediapersona of a cantankerous, Northern ‘fifty year old man’ without revealing very much.Part of theproblem is thewriting stylewhich isneither true toSmith’sspeechrhythmsnortransposedintoanywriterlystylebutisinsteadexpressedinastiltedandmutedidiom;directtranscriptsfromSmith’sdictaphonewouldhavebeenpreferable.neverthelessoccasionalcausticremarksdoshinethroughthetextasdothetypewrittenpassagesentitled‘Voices’inwhichSmithcutsupfragmentsofspeechandmemoriesinadisjointedbutpoeticmannerresonantwithsomeofhisbestlyrics:‘constantexperimentation…Manyatimehe’sexploded…theyreekofself-pityandconfusion…i’llmeetyouattheredat3.00…ihopetobecome an afternoon amnesiac’ (Smith 2008a, 47).these passages rather thantalkingaboutSmithandhiscreativeprocessesactuallyembodythemandareinmanywaysmorerevealingthantherestofthebook.

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iNTROdUCTiON 5

Finally,Simpson’sThe Fallen takesthereaderonastrangejourneyinwhichthe writer embarks on the fully admitted obsessional task of tracking downas many Fall members as possible to try to understand the phenomenon ofthe Fall from the series of intimate perspectives provided by former bandmembers.Surprisingly,thisprojectwhichwouldseemtobeanathematoSmithgivenhisdisparagingviewsonmusicians,ex-membersoftheFallandnostalgia,actuallyincludeshisparticipationinanopeninginterview.Simpson’sclaiminthebookthatoncetouchedbytheFall,musiciansareneverquitethesameagainisequallyapplicabletofansandindeedoneofthethingsthebookmostintimatelyrecounts is the toll of Simpson’s own obsession withthe Fall on his personallife, particularly on the relationship that falls apart during the writing of thebook.Simpson’sdrivetounderstandthemadnessoftheFallclearlybordersonabarely controlled obsessional voyeurism on Simpson’s part that fully reflects the book’ssubject.

What this existing literature on the Fall demonstrates is the irreduciblyenigmaticnatureoftheFall and the impossibilityofanexhaustiveaccount. italsoshowslimitsandconstraintsingettingaccesstotheFallandSmith’sprivateworld,whetherinthecaseofauthorizedorunauthorizedaccounts,linearhistoriesor more fluid and non-linear explorations. As a response to this enigma and the self-censorshipitseemstohaveimposed,thisvolumewillbreakatleastoneofthe unwritten rules of writing on the Fall, namely by being unapologeticallyintellectualandapplyingavarietyofintellectualmethodologiestothinkingandwritingabouttheFall.thisisnotdoneinthevainattempttoprovideasuperiorunderstandingoftheFall relative topreviousaccountsbut inorder toprovidea different layer of engagement with the Fall, precisely through the kind ofintellectualanalysisthathassofarbeenavoided.neverthelesswewouldmaintainthattheFall,asauniquelyintelligentmusicgroup,deservesanequallyintelligentresponseandsothevarietyofessayspresentedhereshouldbeseenasanattempttocomeupwithideasadequatetothinkingwith theFall,adisplayofintelligentresponsewhichisinnowayreservedtoanacademiccontext.assuchthisvolumeaimstocomplementandextendthealreadyexistingwritingontheFallandisnoless kaleidoscopic and multi-perspectival than this existing work or indeed theworkofthebandthatinspiredit.

From Punk to Post-Punk

inhisstudyofglamrock,auslander(2006)positsamomentofitsinception:thesudden and unwelcome appearance of an unapologetic theatricality rather thanauthenticity,andshowmanshiprather thanaspontaneous living-in-the-moment,denoting a return to a 1950s conformism rather than a progression of 1960sradicalism, in the midst of the counter-culture. Specifically, this was Phil Ochs performing–toabooingaudience–inagoldlamésuitinnewYork’scarnegiehallin1970(auslander2006,10ff.).counter-culturalrockmusic,forauslander,

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ismarkedandstructuredbyitsauthenticity,asevidencedintheoftenpoorsingingvoices, interspaced with the lengthy guitar solos that are both qualitative, inrespectofmusicalvirtuosityandart,andquantitative, inrespectof theneed tobreak out of the commercial confines of pop music. Glam, with a postmodern brio, jettisonedtheauthenticandembracedtheinauthentic–abelatedandappropriatelyperverse Futurist impulse to celebrate the dehumanized, dehumanizing new.Caught between these two poles, as the story goes, the fledgling punks ransacked and thenwishedaplagueonboth thesehouses.thepop-as-eventofglamwassynthesizedwiththevauntedauthenticityoffeelingofpsychedeliaforanassaulton the ossified and moribund music scene, which was emblematic of the wider ‘scene’ofEnglishlifeinthemid-1970s.

But what of the rejection that gave rise to post-punk? here the narrativebecomeshazy.reynolds (2009,x) attributes this, inpart, to a lackof researchand analysis but anticipates thekindof attentionpreviously afforded to earliereras.Evenattheendofhissecondvolumeonpost-punk,reynoldsskirtsarounda firm definition of the subject at hand and, after eventually offering a number of commercial framings for the phenomenon, identifies post-punk as ‘a space of possibility’fornewgenresofmusicandacreativeresponsetopunk’sdestructiveresponsetoboredom,‘the problem facing youth in the affluent West’ (Reynolds 2009, 408, 415; his italics). In terms of personnel, specifically the trajectory of the Buzzcocks, joy division and the links between the Sex Pistols and Publicimageltd.post-punk representeda second shot atpunk.thispunkafterpunkwas more thoroughgoing, had overcome opposition-for-the-sake-of-oppositionandofferedacontentrecalibratedtoform–the1918leninistmoment,whenthemeansof productionhavebeen seized and thequestion arises:what now is tobedone?Punkandpost-punkmaintain the relationshipofnegativecorrelation,therefore;amutualantagonism,certainly,butwithinasharedsetofcoordinatesandconcerns.theimplicationofMarkE.Smith’sprovocativereadingofpunkisthatpost-punk,intheprojectoftheFall,soughttorespondtoquestionsthathadremainedsuspendedintheyearsimmediatelyprior:

Punkwasasafetynetforalotofpeople,arefugeofsortsfromtherealitythatwas 70s Britain. on one side, it was something that the kids could fall into,andoutofwhen it allgot abit toocomplicatedandharsh; and for theoldergeneration,insteadofconcentratingtheirmindsontheundeniablemessoftheState,itprovidedthemwithanalmostmanageableproblem.(Smith2008a,41)

theanswercameinahangingupoftheleatherjacketsandabinningofthesafetypins:musicaslifestyleoptionreplacedbymusicasacritical,philosophicalengagement with the world around. But was something lost in this maturing?Punk was vainglorious but – as Savage (1991) and Derek Jarman (in his 1977 film Jubilee)recognized–romanticinitsradicalism;theworldcouldstillbechanged.thenewmanagerofthe‘almostmanageableproblem’,Margaretthatcher,whocame to office in the same year (pace reynolds)ofpost-punk’sbeginning,now

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iNTROdUCTiON 7

precludedtheideaofsuchapossibility.herquotingofStFrancisofassisiasshearrivedat10downingStreetcouldwellhavebeena riposte to theproblemofpunk–‘wherethereisdiscord,maywebringharmony’.Whatmorecouldbedonewithdampenedutopianimpulsesbuttotakestock,regroupandgounderground?It is not entirely appropriate to conflate The Fall and post-punk, which is their usualcategorization.however, themovementbetweenpunkandpost-punkisatendencyfromandwithinwhichtheelusiveculturalcontextoftheFallcanbeconsidered.

the Fall in Context

anumberofessaysinthisvolumenotetheFall’suneasypositioninthehistoryof contemporary Manchester music; if this history is considered as somethingof a party and, indeed, it has seemed mostly given over to celebrations andanniversaries, the unwise renewal of acquaintances with old flames and matters of civicpride, then it is aparty towhichMarkE.Smithhasnotbeen invited.this observation holds for a wider consideration of British pop music too:MarkE.Smith rejectstheFall’s claim to thepantheonofpunkasamatterofcourse; while acknowledged as an undeniable influence on Britpop by John Harris (2004),theFallreceiveonlyoccasionalmentionsinpassinginhishistoryof1990smusicandeventheFall’susualcategorizationasapost-punkbandsuggests–inthenegativecorrelationofthisterm–thattheyareonlytobegraspedinrespecttothatwhichtheyarenot.theFallarealacunaintheseways–aninterlopercaughtbetweenthesehistories,betweenlocations(aretheyMancunianorSalfordian?),betweenthesingularandplural(Smith,orSmithand/orgroup),betweenpastandpresent(thesoundoftheold,post-industrialnorth?andyetsurelythecritiqueofthenew?)andbetweenanumberofgenerations.aquickglancearoundatthebaffling demographics of the uncategorizable crowds at Fall gigs will confirm thislatterpoint.3theFalldonotpandertonostalgiaandsotheirbackcatalogueandtheircriticalstandingarenothistoricalburdens,orself-declaredstandardstowhichtheycanbethenheldtoaccount.inthisvolume,bothlongandMcdonaldsuggestthatsuchaturnofeventsoccurswiththeperceptionoftheFallandanappreciation of the Fall as marks of authenticity – unsubsumable within thatmosthomogenizingandconservativeofallsectorsoftheentertainmentindustry:pop.therapidturnoverofgroupmembersworkstoforeverremaketheFall–

3 Smithdescribesthis‘Fallarmy’as‘rigsbypilledup’–seeminglyanallusiontoleonardrossiter’scharacterinthe1970sBritishsitcomRising damp(Smith2008a,72).Perhaps sartorially and in terms of temperament but certainly in the way in which thisoldergenerationisnowforcedtorubshoulderswith theyoung(rigsbyisa landlord tone’er-do-well students in his dilapidated Victorian house in Yorkshire), Smith is quitecorrectinhisobservationofFallcrowds.

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aconstant,obsessive-compulsivesheddingofskinswhichgivesrisetoaprotean,shape-shifting,self-renewingentity.

But if such a turnover is understoodas the symptom rather than the cause,a reading that Smith himself advances when defending the firings in his autobiography,thenwhatcanaccountforthisseeminglybottomlesspitofcreativeenergy? it is here that amoreuseful critical context emerges fortheFall: thelong-distancerunningofthenorthernoutsider.theimmediateprecedentcouldbesaidtobethenorthernstand-upcomic,whosemilieu(theworkingmen’sclub)wasinitiallysharedwiththeFallandwhoseunending,inexhaustiblemonologuesseemed possessed of inner perpetual motion. Such a ‘northernness’ effects anoblique take on the world, neither essentially condemnatory nor celebratory,neitherentirelyhumorousnordoleful.thischaracteristicisoftenlazilyreducedto‘cynicism’oranorthern‘straighttalking’andwithanunpolishedandscruffydemeanourmistakenforpaucityorslovenliness.andyet,astheVorticistsclaimedfortheirmanifesto,itisacharacteristicthatrepresentsaparticularvantagepointandroleforthenortherncommentator-creator:‘tragichumouristhebirthrightof thenorth/anygreatnorthernartwillpartakeof this insidiousandvolcanicchaos’ (Lewis 2009, 38). Chaos presupposes flux, and flux requires a change that outmanoeuvresthattendency–academic,historical,curatorialorjournalistic–tofreezeacreativeproject,roundupitsassociatesandbelongingsandjailthelotinthemuseumofart.theFallremaininastateof‘becoming’,toborrowdeleuzeand Guattari’s term, evading capture, shunning identification and confounding analysis.

the Fall in Concert

thelacunastatusisafundamentalnecessityfortheFallasweencounterthem,ratherthananhistoricalblindspot.johnPeel’softenquoteddescriptionoftheFall–‘alwaysdifferent,alwaysthesame’(quotedinGarner2007,282)–seemsdisarmingly accurate in this light.this lacuna status is inoperation in the liveexperienceoftheFall–indeed,itgoessomewaytoexplainingthebizarrenessoftheirliveappearances.theperformancesarecontingent–seeminglycolouredby mishaps, the urgent need for Smith to fiddle with amps or reposition musicians andotherobscureconcernsthatoverridethetemptationstodeliver‘thesongs’,orindeed songs at all. This operating within a field of contingency seems to occur even to thepointofabandonmentof thestage, thegigsoreven the tour,oftenthroughorleadingtomasssackings(surelytherealsenseinwhichtheFallisapost-industrialband).nothingcanbeassumed,nothingshouldbeexpected–fromtheearliestdays:fromareviewofa1979londonlyceumgig,‘MarkE.Smithwasmetonstagebyaskinheadwhopouredapintoflageroverhisheadandlandedtwopunchesonhisjaw.Smithcontinuedtoperform’(quotedintimeouteditors2008,198);tothemostrecent–Smithperformedanapril2009camdengiginawheelchairandphysicallyexitedthreesongsbeforetheend,hisvoice,however,

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iNTROdUCTiON 9

remainingviaradiomikefromhisdressingroom.thepoetSimonarmitage,inhisGig,recallsanothersuchoccasionof‘justthestandardoddness’arisingfromSmith’sabsentingorsemi-absentinghimself:‘atonestage,Smithwalksintothewingsandmakesalife-maskofhisfacebycoveringhisheadwiththecurtain,andsingsintothemicrophonethroughtheheavycloth’(armitage2008,80).inthisconditionof theunexpected, theprojectoftheFall–whenat theirbest–remainslive,unsettledandinastateofhappening.thesongsbecomethesumoftheirparts;remixedlive(viaSmith’samprebalancingwork),experimentallyanddeconstructively,adisassemblageratherthanashowcasingastheendinitself.thiscouldbecomparedwiththetreatmentoftherollingStonesand‘Sympathyforthedevil’atthehandsofjean-lucGodardinOne Plus One (1968),theabstractionsofcubismorthepoetryofFrancisPonge.inthecontextofmostgroupswhohaveremainedactiveacrossthreedecades,suchhappenstance-livenessreinventsandsoredeems the music: it de-karaokizes the songs and de-deifies their singer.

Figures0.1–0.6 theFallliveinManchesteracademyone,18july2009

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Whereasmostgroupswillvamptheirimminentarrival,buildingtheexpectationsthat they will, must or can meet with a dazzling beginning, in recent yearsThe Fall defy this frisson of anticipation. Looped film and video clips of singers andperformers(fromorchestraconductorstoheavymetalsingersmid-screamtoaBoyGeorgeTop of the Pops entrance)areprojectedontothebackofthestage;the

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iNTROdUCTiON 11

clipsareonlyasecond’sworthofrealtime,butaresometimesstretchedorextractedin medias res,sothatthesound–atsomevolume–distortsandunnervesandthegesturesarerenderedastheinvoluntary,spasmodicjerkingsofthoseinphysicalormentaldistress.theeffectisoneofacausticcleansingoftheauralpaletteanddeflection of the gaze away from the central point of the venue. Thus when The Falldotaketothestage,oncethebarragestops,itcannotbutbetoacollectiverelief–thefastbroken,theconditioningcomplete–thecorollaryofwhichisawillingness tonowgenerously takeanysoundorvisiononitsownterms.thisprocessseemstorelatetotheimportanceof‘de-cluttering’,whichSmithdiscussesinrelationtocreativeanddomesticconcerns–fromthepreparationoflyricstothenumberofchairsappropriatetoahousehold(Smith2008a,136).thereafter,then,thesongscanbeandareexplored–oftentotheendsofbeingde-articulatedratherthanre-articulated,andde-familiarized,short-circuitingtheunitythatcomesfromthatconcertaudiencecryofrecognition.thisisnotsomuchaprocessofnegationbutofadialoguewiththesongsastheinterlocutorcontinuestoshapeandinterpretthem.thestagebecomesalaboratorytothisend,althoughSmithcanpaceitasifa factory floor manager. Is it any wonder that there are so few bands exemplifying the musical influence of The Fall, and yet a legion who would ape this attitude? Forthisreasontoo,theauthorsofthisvolumehaveshunnednostalgia;thisisnotahistoryoftheFall,butacontemporaryconsideration–andthereforetheveryoppositeofSimpson’sinvestigations(2008)intotheoriginsandback-storiesofthegroup.

the Fall and the north

inParti,threedirectionsareofferedasameansofsituatingtheFall:asindialoguewithgeographical,sociological,historicalandevenarchitecturalframingsofthenorthanditscultures(fromrichardWitts),asuniquelyapartoftheculturalsceneof a specific time and particular place (from Katie Hannon) and via the mesh of approachesthatgiverisetoa‘psychogeographical’discourseforMarkGoodall.ForWitts,theFalloffersthepotentialforasplinteringofthereceivedhistories,socialandcultural,ofManchesterandSalford.theideologicalbiasofthesenarratives,as identified by Witts, underwrites the self-mythologizing embedded in the new talesof the twocities,not leastviamedia representationswhichWittsdissectsforensicallyandsoservesthevariouscreatorsofandcoteriesintheindustriesofnorthernculturalheritage.inthisrespect, thestoryofManchesterandSalford,accessedthroughtheFall,isseentohavebeensubjecttothatwhichraymondWilliams (1973) identified as the ‘selective tradition’. This ‘official’ history, limitedandcircumscribedwithintightparametersandgivenmeanings,andoftenassociatedwith individualsandheroic individuality(rather thancollectivesandcommunalachievements),servesonlytheconceptionofthepastmostusefultothe dominant forces of the present. conversely, spinning the story ofthe Fallthrough considerations of Manchester and Salford – which is the dramatic arc

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andnarrativerelationusuallyemployedbycriticalcommentatorsandhistoriansofpopmusic(thechecklisthereincludesdulldoledays,pubbasementrehearsalrooms,thebrotherofagirlfriendwhoplaysbassandsoon)–issurelypartofthisproblem.ForWitts,theFalldelimits:thinkingandwritingabouttheFalleffectsand necessitates a methodological shift which we hold to be the essential first step forthisvolume.

hannon’s essay melds an instinctive understanding of this need for anunshackling of the Fall with an insider’s perspective. that is, she generouslylendsherthoughtsasanexampleoftheonegroupwithanhonourable,irrevocableclaim tothe Fall: fans, concert-goers, album listeners, compilers of clippings,thosewhosehistoriesplacetheFalldownasamarker,mappinglife’shighandlow points onto various Fall gigs. in hannon’s discussion of the Fall, a ‘FallScene’leadstoaseriesofmorelocalreconsiderationsoftheFall’sstatus,origins,meaningsandthecommentariestowhichtheygiverise.GoodallincontrastcallsonapsychogeographicaldiscoursetopindownthemercurialnatureofSmithandthehistoryoftheFall–psychically,historicallyandgeographicallymappingthelineaments of a rhizomatic, subterranean network of influences and connections, allusionsandborrowings.inthisrespect,atthehandsofthepsychogeographer-exorcisttheFallseemstobeanectoplasmicmaterialization–andindeedisoftenrudelypukedoutintopolitesociety(onethinksofSmith’soccasionalandstrikingtelevisionappearances;ontheBBc’sNewsnight in2004inrelationtothepassingof john Peel is the most celebrated) – to be teased out from the spiritual(ist)stirringsintheether.

the techniques and tactics of the Fall

In Part II, the essays hone in on the specific techniques employed by The Fall, inordertoinventnewformsofmusicirreducibletopre-existingcategoriesandgenresbyexperimentingwitharangeofdifferenttechniques.Whilethisemphasison originality, invention and experimentation was a feature shared with manypost-punk groups, the Fall explicitly distanced themselves from theircontemporaries,rangingfromtheearlypunkscene,throughthepost-punkperioddominatedinManchesterbyFactoryrecordsandonupto‘Madchester’andnew‘indie’groupslikeoasis.andyWood’sessayfocusesontheseactsofdistinctiononthepartoftheFallasessentialtothemusicandphilosophyofthegroupoverthisentireperiod.

The next two essays in this section focus more directly on specific techniques employed by the Fall, namely their approach to the vinyl record and thedistinctivemeansSmithusestorecordhisvoice,whichrobertWalkerreferstoas‘dictaphonics’.BothessaysshowthewaythattherecordingtechniquesemployedbytheFallchallengeideasofsonicprofessionalismwhetherbymixing‘proper’rocktechniqueswithcheapandhomemadeinstrumentsorbysplicingprofessionalrecordings with home recordings, in some cases accidental ones. Whereas

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iNTROdUCTiON 13

richardosbornesituatesthesetechniquesinrelationtothevinylrecord,Walkerfocuses more on production itself, specifically on Smith’s use of microphones, dictaphones and other voice recording devices. drawing on chion’s work onfilm sound, Walker refers to these practices of voice recording as ‘dictaphonics’, whichhe seesasacoherentandconsistent strategyused throughout thecareerofthe Fall to generate a different, more active engagement on the part of thelistenerthanthataffordedbystandardsoundrecordingtechniques.inthiswaythefocusontechniquesinallthreeoftheseessaysleadsdirectlytothequestionsofaestheticsthatwillbedealtwithinPartiii.Finally,owenhatherley’sessaytakesonacompletelydifferentarenaoftactics,namelySmith’snotoriousapproachtobandmanagement,contrastingitusefullywithtaylor’saccountofthedisciplinedworker.inthislightthecontrastbetweentheFallandthebandsgroupedundertheFactoryumbrellatakesonbothanaestheticandapoliticaldimension,asradicallydivergentmodesofproduction.

the aesthetics of the Fall

theuseof the termaesthetics isprobablyone thatwill result inan impressionofaninappropriatemixingofhighandpopularculturesandyet,astheessaysinPartiiidemonstrate,thisimpuremixtureispreciselywhatisgoingonintheworkoftheFall itself.MarkFisher’s ‘“Memorex for thekrakens”:theFall’sPulpModernism’, focuses on the relations betweenthe Fall and what Fisher refersto as ‘pulp modernism’, specifically the works of writers that are associated with ‘weird fiction’ such as H.P. Lovecraft and M.R. James. References to these authors abound,especiallyintheperiodoftheFallfromdragnet (1979)toHex Enduction Hour (1982), which is the focus of Fisher’s essay. If weird fiction already points toanambiguousdomainbetweenmodernistinventionandpulpconsumption,thisisheightenedintrackslike‘Spectrevs.rector’,whichisasonicallyandlyricallycomplextalemakingexplicitreferencetotheabovementionedauthors.FisherseesSmith’s inhabitationof thisdomainasawayofdealingwiththecontradictionsbetween his proletarian origins and desire to produce intelligent, difficult work, whileatthesametimeavoidingbeingassimilatedintomiddle-classaestheticsandvalues.accordingtoFisher,Smith’sengagementwiththeWeirdalsoaccountsforthetransformationsofmediacultureintheFallaswellastheirtransformationsofliterarymodernismbyopeningupanambiguousspacebetweenthetwo.PaulWilsonapproachestheaestheticsoftheFallinacompletelydifferentway,namelythroughafocusontheFall’salbumcoversinrelationtomoderntypography.aswiththesonictechniquesexploredearlier,theFall’salbumcoversbearwitnesstoaconsistentdeformationofthenormsofpresentationofrecordings,especiallythroughtheincorporationofSmith’scrypticallyscrawledhandwritingandtheothertechniquesanalysedbyWilson.While itmayseemcounter-intuitive toanalysetheFallinvisualterms,WilsonmakesastrongcasethatFallalbumcoversareas

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originaladeformationofmodernistnormsoftypographyastheirmusicisofthenormsofpopularmusic.

thenextessayinthissectionislargelydevotedtothecloseanalysisofasinglesongbytheFall,‘iceland’(1982),althoughthisisnotdonethroughattentiontothelyricsattheexpenseofthemusic.ratherrobinPurvessituatesthissonginrelation to the problematic field of improvisation, claiming that in distinction to the ideologiesoffreeimprovisation,thistrackcombineselementsofbothspontaneityandstructure.Purves’analysisshowshowthesituation inwhich themusicianswere hearing the lyrics for the first time, while the singer was unaware what music wouldbeproduced,createdauniquesituationofmutual,‘idiomatic’improvisationin amuchmoreunstable and tense situation than the idealsof improvisationalcommunity.Finallyinthelastchapterinthissection,MartinMyersexplorestheothernessoftheFall,makingreferencetoSimmel’sconceptofthestranger.ForMyers,however,theFallarenotsomuchforeigntotheirculturalenvironmentas the stranger within, at once familiar and strange, and have a transformativeeffectonthelocalculturetheyinhabitandrenderstrangethroughtheirothernesstoculturalnorms.thisessaythereforeopensupthequestionsofMarkE.SmithandtheFall’splaceincontemporarymediacultureandculturalpoliticswhichareaddressed in the final section of the book.

the Fall, the Media and Cultural Politics

Part iV opens with angus Mcdonald’s consideration of the Fall’s implicitcounteringandoutmanoeuvringofthemediamachineandtheresultant,diminishingmediationvisitedupontheband,amediawhichincludes,asMcdonaldpointsout,thedisciplineofculturalStudies.theFall,forMcdonald,substantiallyoperateina space outside the industrial imperatives of products to sell and wares to flaunt, a space from which a certain relationship between the followers of the Falland Smith becomes possible – and one that mirrors and justifies the praxis ofSmith. Such a consideration allows the notion of authenticity to emerge – anauthenticityofbothartisticexpressionandofthegive-and-takeofthetypicallypersonal relationship established between the Fall follower and the band.Friendship,asarelationshipnecessitatingtruth,isanappropriateandilluminatingterm to use in this context, and Mcdonald returns to the roots of the idea offriendshiptothisend.

theexistenceof theauthentichas longbeenheld tobeananathema in thepostmodern critiques of the workings of the mediasphere and the emotionalweightlessness of its 24/7 discourse. it is in this context that Paul long positsthe late disc jockey John Peel as a self-defining media persona in and through his championingoftheFall,andtheFallasauthenticatedbyPeelinturn.theonebecomesthetalismantotheother:aprotection,andawardingoffoftheevilspiritswho would steal the souls of the pure. This relationship confirms Peel’s status – the

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iNTROdUCTiON 15

dj,inBritishterms,andnomoresothaninthepost-punkera–asessentiallyanexceptioninthatmostpostmodernofculturalphenomenon:djculture.

chrisatton offers us an archaeology ofthe Fall. in the ‘fan discourse’ ofthe fanzine, a proto or Ur-pop media of the type that finds its virtual recreation and sometime institutionalization via MySpace and the like, is visible. thedynamism and sophistication of this pre-digital community in articulating andillustratingitsowninterests,formedandfoundandfoundeditsownconstituency.Suchquestionsofauthenticityandconsumption,whichareexplicitlyaddressedin this section of the volume, and might be termed a ‘political economy’ oftheFallsound,aremitigated,asatton,Macdonaldandlongindicate,bythewayinwhichcommercialconsiderationsneverseemtoquitecapture theessenceoftheFall.theirelusiveelement,seeminglyresistanttotheeffectsofcommercialexploitation, is foundedon the longevity andvery continuumof theproject oftheFall,andsocollapsestheseveralgenerationsoftechnologicaladvancesincetheFall’sinception,fromphotocopiertoWorldWideWeb,intoone.toparaphrasePeel:theworldmaybedifferent,buttheFallremainthereallthesame.the‘Fallarmy’–asifdirectedbycheGuevara(perhapstheonlyrevolutionarycommunistleadertowhomSmithisnot likenedbytheauthorsinthisvolume)–engagesonitsowngroundsanditsownterms.

clearly the relationship between the Fall and the fans is complex andmultifarious,andsohaspromptedourcontributorstoreach,attimes,foranumberof ‘difficult’ philosophical concepts and theorists. Likewise, for the final chapter, janice kearns and dean lockwood, in setting out to hunt down the nature ofSmith’s persona in the media, draw on deleuze and Guattari’s theory of a‘minoritarian culture’. Smith’s gadfly cameos, and the licences granted to him forasmuch,andthewiderhauntingoftoday’smediabythespirit(orspirits)ofpost-punk,suggestthatvariousissuesofanideologicalandculturalbent,issuesthat can be situated at the inception of the post-punk period, do not remain atrest.kearnsandlockwood,however,buckBrecht’smaximofurgingustoforgetthegoodolddaysinfavourofthebadnewsonesbygalvanizingtheremarkablelegacyoftheFallinrelationtowhat,theyanticipate,isstilltocome.

Mark E. Smith and The Fall: Art, Music and Politics

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