The Rise The Fall & The Rise
The life of Brix Smith who became the bassist for The Fall for quite a while including when I saw them perform a great set at the Elephant Fayre in 1984 with Simon. Remember climbing up a big wicker elephant when under the influence? Anyway Simon gave me this to read. Interesting start charting what seems to be a fairly typical disrupted and dysfunctional childhood of someone brought up in the American west coast media zone. Somewhat self publicising and navel gazing but I guess it is an autobiography of a self obsessed self publicist so what did I expect. There are some funny stories here, although I can't quite believe all of them, and an interesting insight into a world I'm bloody glad I don't inhabit. Then from there to an almost nun like life of solitude in Manchester, if you believe what Brix says which I do find very odd, and if you can imagine a nun living with Mark E Smith. And with no other nuns to chat to. OK not like a nunnery. And again, some of what is written about living in England are plain wrong but maybe Brix's memory is as good as mine so I let that pass. We don't really get a deep insight into either The Fall or Mark E Smith and you feel that all you get is opinions to back up how hard done by Brix is feeling, still. But fair dues for getting involved with them anyway. After her break up with Mark E the interest in the story is somewhat lost for me and I ran out of the will to spend time on this when she meets Nigel Kennedy as I've absolutely no interest in his jazz parties, their affair (I'm assuming they have one given how she builds it up) or the rest of Brix Smith's life. Not often I close a book half way through but I've got War and Peace to read which is far richer and believable.
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