Tuesday, March 09, 2004

KURTIE'S BLOW: We have happy memories of a summer evening spent at the International 1 (or was it the two?) in Manchester, having slipped some money to the bouncer to gain entry to the Ultra Vivid Scene gig. We'll still tell tales of how Kurt Ralske is so tiny you could slip him into your pocket and carry him off, and we still maintain that regardless of the excellence of other contenders, Ralske is the greatest musician called Kurt ever. So it was with absolute delight that we found he'd posted to I Love Music; less happy was the news that he's given up on music:

Hehe, this is too funny.
Mr. Kurt Ralske here. A friend alerted me to this thread. There seem to be some ghosts from everyone's past lurking 'round here.
Interesting to read all your comments. FYI I gave up making music entirely a few years ago + now focus on making video art, which I've had some nice success with. I've completely forgotten about UVS -- it seems like some weird half-remembered dream.
My own take on the UVS records is...well they're for me personally embarrassing, because I don't really think "pop stardom" was anything I was ever suited for + probably should never have pursued. So I think of these records the way someone might think of their career as a former stripper, or something like that: a skelton in the closet. I can't bear to listen to the first album + don't even own a copy of the second. I do think the third has some interesting music on it, and it gets played once every year or two.
Looking for happy endings? Yes, why not. For what it's worth, I am much much happier now than when I made those records. Someone above mentions a my involvement with a Bjork-like co-worker...yes well we were married two years ago + are expecting our first child in June.
So, requisite warm fuzziness all 'round, and if you've ever enjoyed the music, wishing you continued enjoyment.


In the end, I suppose, what matters is that he's happy - wouldn't we wish that on all our heros? And that nobody can ever remove Special One, or Mercy Seat, or Staring At The Sun from our own private jukeboxes. Yeah, he might have been a stripper. But he was a damn good one.


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