Oct 25, 2023
Cabaret Voltaire-related matters.
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Cabaret Voltaire-related matters.
January 2018 #307
AKA, talking to Bedlamites.
Me: H?
Steward: Is indisposed.
Me: …How indisposed? Is he sleeping?
Steward: No.
Me: Then send him a message. Tell him his vagabond sorceress would like to speak to him. Unless he’s at a dance or the piano…
H: (brightly) Darlin’!
Me: Hi.
H: Do you have your papers?
Me: Close enough. The interview was brief. They only cared about some financial details and not anything else. Less of a nightmare than I thought.
H: (realising I’m tense and unhappy) …What happened?
Me: …Kal when sober knows that two years and half a world is a lot of distance to bridge all at once. Kal when drunk and stressed wants a shag and is paranoid I don’t love him. It’s… it’s as messy as I expected trying to pick our relationship back up as if two years apart never happened… I’m sorry darlin’, I’m bitching and it’s Friday night and I feel sure there’s some dance or tea party going on that I’m detaining you from - is there?
H: Yes, but they are curious now.
Me: Curious? What do they want to know?
H: Jess asks if you love him.
Me: I do, but I’m sensible enough to know that doesn’t magically fix everything.
Jess: (barging in) You diddled him?
Me: Rather blunt. Yeah, I’ve been with him. Is it a dance or a tea party I’ve dragged you away from?
Stephen: Friday is a day created for celebration!
Tom: Come join.
Me: (trying to keep up with the different voices) That’s very kind of you, but I can’t. Kal went for a walk to cool his temper and didn’t take the keys with him, which means if I run away to a lunatic’s dance he’s fekked. Which would be kinda funny but not worth the argument. You should get back to your celebration…
Mary: (to one of the others) But she needs wisdom!
Me: Ooookay. So should I go out and look for him?
Stephen: Him?
Me: Kal.
Jess: The boy with no keys.
Me: I’m his Kee. (A stupid joke - Kee is one of my nicknames.)
Jess: The boy with no kee…
Me: Is that his fault or mine?
Tom: (vexed) You’re both blind.
Me: And who do I thank for this revelation?
Tom: Yourself!
Me: Mm-hm, you’re hilarious. Go away.
Jess: (stubborn) No.
Me: Why not? Look, I’ll talk to H or to Bedlam or to no one at all.
Mary: (to the company in general) He wants a love truer than the stars. He’s been played false so many times.
Jess: (offering her opinion) He’s scared. It’s been so long and he’s paid such a price.
H: (quieting the others) Darlin’ he just doesn’t understand-
Me: My game?
H: Yes.
Me: He’s throwing stones at the window. I’d better let him in.
Next Conversation
Insanity mood board because it’s Bedlam o’clock. Full points to anyone who can guess where I am in this collage.
Sometimes, Very Bad Things Happen.
And sometimes you need a Kiabit - a shadow soul able to detach itself at will and go about its own business. A monster who is on your side when you are beset by human monsters who give you no choice. A darker soul, willing to do what you may not. A shadow soul for protection or vengeance when called upon...
Before Bedlam was Bedlam.
Eric Random and the Bedlamites "Cherish" (1987)
I posted this track on Vox five years ago, and called the mini-album it comes from, Ishmael, "The Great Lost Worldbeat Album". Apparently that moniker still holds, since as far as I can tell it still has not been reissued. It's a shame.
JAMES: "People always say things like, "Hey man, don't change, keep it real" and I'm like, "What the f**k are you on about?" You wouldn't say this to a doctor or a fireman, why are you saying this to me? I'm just a singer. I know what I'm doing. I may write a song that might change a few people, but I'm not saving a life like a doctor, or educating someone like a teacher, or saving a life like a fireman or an aid worker. I'm just a singer." INTERVIEWER: "I think your fans will say you're more than just a singer." JAMES: "I'll tell them they're more than just fans."
'The Blunt side of Being James', by Christopher Toh - 1st August 2011.
