It occurs to me that I am somebody who is told off, but who rarely tells others off. Or at least that’s how it seems. I feel my innate passivity is sometimes exploited, because people know I’m not going to pick an argument with them. That I just want a quiet life. So they tell me off with impunity, because they can.
Again, there’s times I wish I could take, say, the Russell Crowe approach to disagreements. I’d like to tell many such people to just get stuffed to their faces, if not actually punch them. I want to turn the tables for once, have a raging rant at them, release a volley of character assassinations, tell them to get over themselves, say that actually they’re in the wrong here, or even just to say f— off, frankly.
“Dear Sir, F— Off. Yours, Dickon Edwards.”
But I’m not that sort of person. And they are. Except that these days I have found a way around it. It’s called ignoring the comments. Or saying nothing. There’s a quiet power to it, and I must really do it more often.
To such detractors: you’ll forgive me for deleting your ranting messages and mails in order to concentrate on my kinder, less grumpy readers and friends. Anyway, enough of me being annoyed by people being annoyed. So deep breath, group hug, move on.
Here’s a nice photo of me recording my vocals at Alex Mayor’s studio on Monday:
I should add that Mr Mayor the producer was wearing a nice silky waistcoat, and that his studio is located in deepest, darkest, dangerous Hackney. I like the idea of soft boys in hard places. Though like most places, Hackney has its perfectly nicer streets and gentler Victorian avenues. It doesn’t look like downtown L.A.; it only gets reported that way.
Here’s an older photo which I don’t think I’ve seen before. It’s by Claudia Andrei, so it must be from the last 3 or 4 years. I love my slicked-down hair here. It doesn’t always work so well:
Finally, I’ve been enjoying a couple of recent pop videos, which I heartily recommend looking up on YouTube.
One is “Tonight I’m Going To Leave It” by the Shout It Out Louds. A Swedish band, very classic Bunnymen. The singer pronounces his “s”s unusually, which I can sympathise with.
The other is “1234” by the Canadian lady songwriter Feist. A perky, skipping, clapalong sunshine pop song; with a truly amazing video that features impeccably organised dancers in primary colours, and a single take camera that swoops and swivels. It’s like an indiepop Busby Berkeley sequence. Perfect for cheering you up when you’re feeling a bit down or when, as in my case, someone has pointlessly gotten to you, when you were at your most fragile. I highly recommend the video as an alternative to Prozac.
So I delete the unkind mails rather than take them on, and I watch the Feist video for the umpteenth time. There are attitudes more people should have more often, and this video is one of them. Be nicer, or be nothing.
