BEATS OF LOVE 

115. Sometimes by James

THE MIND is strange, or at least mine is. I have this crystal clear image of a guy at my school enraptured on the stage with James in one of their oversized tee-shirts. 

I've never seen James live, and the only possible explanation for this crystal clear memory my mind holds is he was instead invading the stage as The Man From Delmonte supported the Fall. It would help explain why the life affirming anthems of the era sung with frenzied passion on a bed of proper adult musicianship sailed clean over me. I loved the unpredictable intensity and warmer intimacy of less accomplished smaller gigs. 

With age, this momentous song now feels alive in me as, outside of Weatherall's interpretations of their work, I've never really experienced the band itself at the peak of its powers. Cheers to Matt Best for sharing this might online. It's truly heartwarming to know that the Beehive Mill was their practice space as round here mills became warehouses, stifling creativity, before finally being razed to the ground. I was going to treat myself to a vinyl copy until I realised I could add the CD to an existing order for just 50p. The fact I keep spinning it means it's super value for money coz you can't buy a chocolate biscuit for that.

The mind is wonderful, or at least mine is. For, despite having some serious water cascading toward me, I can completely escape myself and still get lost in music. It hasn't failed me yet.   

BEATS OF LOVE 

114. One Goodbye in Ten (Album mix) by Shara Nelson

BOB STANLEY wrote a moving piece in the Guardian about his friend Shara Nelson.

She lived simply and moved us deeply with her music, making her mental health struggles heartbreaking. I agreed with Bob that when famous men act strangely because of mental illness, they are often called "geniuses" to shield them from shame. Famous women do not get that support. Her quiet dignity through it all shows her true strength.

Despite being a cornerstone of the Massive Attack's distinctive sound, this track finally captures the precise Motown sound Saint Etienne had long pursued. Her musical presence never intrudes but contributes richly to a greater whole and as a result, Stanley and Pete Wiggs have never crafted a better song. The timeless soaring strings still get me every time, and the warmth of her soothing voice, like a fine taste of Remy Martin, put me in my happy place. Great pop music can be as affecting as any work of art and its exponents don't need to be capricious or contemporary. They just need to know exactly what they want to do.

Thank God Shara heard Only Love Can Break Your Heart and heard this pure gold, a true balm for mental well-being that surrenders to the transformative power of music. For this alone, she deserves countless blessings. 

 

BEATS OF LOVE 

113. Reflection on the Crucifixion of Our Lord, Jesus Christ by John Littleford

WE SKIPPED film class to attend this talk in my local church community hall. It's fascinating to learn about the other life of people and even more fascinating when they turn you onto their art.

The Idenheim Altarpiece inspired John’s crucifixion series, copying its three-panel layout and modern theme but using abstract shapes. I prefer realistic art, so I was glad his final piece returned to recognisable figures. It also felt highly relevant today, likely because of the massive success of the movie Oppenheimer. Because photos fail to capture the deep texture of mixed-media art, I left the exhibition truly wanting to see the physical paintings in person.

His gently painted World War I figures climb out of the trenches toward death. He only hints at this violence, out of respect for today's reflective audience, who can easily look up graphic war images. In contrast, Grünewald fearlessly painted a plague-stricken Christ to show deep empathy. He created this for a hospice where doctors wore the bird-like masks that inspired Hieronymus Bosch. Those suffering patients desperately needed hope. John’s artwork sits well in the ordinary, modern parish church, perhaps ours. We, too, still need that same hope. 

Depicting the second atomic bomb because its cloud lends itself to encasing Christ better is odd, but that's the problem with schematic figurative art, I guess. Thumbing through the delightful draughtsmanship of John's sketch-books is fascinating coz you see how reworked his Christ was before he arrived at the Gauguin-esque figure. A figure dwarfed by the famous sentence of reconciliation 'Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.' These words of God still have great global force. The 20th century made horror inescapable while introducing collective shock and mass spectacle into society. The 21st century, with its Millennium dome, the first building in history to put a gun to its own head and pull the trigger, summarises this state of overkill we now live through.

Liberated from the bubble wrap of John's attic, this series is bound for a higher purpose. It serves as an urgent wake-up call for the church to defend social justice, offering a defiant lifeline to a world drowning in hopelessness.