Received these in the mail this morning from Virginia.
Merry Kerr-istmas ššš„°š„°š„°

Received these in the mail this morning from Virginia.
Merry Kerr-istmas ššš„°š„°š„°
As we approach the end of this rather strange and turbulent year, there is still so much relevance I hear in a song like 20th Century Promised Land – so much so, I thought it could actually be renamed ā2020 Promised Landā.
āGreat times in commotion. Here comes every day, it only lasts an hour.ā Oh, how weād have wished for every day of 2020 from about April onwards to have only lasted an hour! āCount out evenings and stars, how fast can these things move on?ā Not fast enough, Mr Kerr, you adorable wordsmith, you!
So letās hope the āreason for fear *is* moving onā and the āspeed of life *is* moving onā to take us into better times for 2021.
Because 2020 certainly has been āSome time.ā The most ātroubled time.ā
āUnhappy the land that has no heroes. No, unhappy the land that needs heroes.ā – AMERICA, ANYONE? America in 2020, more so! (Of course, these lines arenāt actually Jimās.)
Anyway, I shall stop quoting lines from the song and let you go read them, and listen to that amazing voice be just…incredibly expressive and convey the story. I absolutely ADORE the way Jim sings on Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call. He says in latter years heās most happy with his voice but … there is a way in which he sings back then – I think itās all in the enunciations of words and the (largely) fragmented and ambiguous style of his writing. I can feel it when he talks in the past about trying to use his voice as another āinstrumentā. I know it sounds as pretentious AF, but I honestly donāt think he meant it to sound like that. Because he talked about using some words just based on how they sounded. Like..that he just liked the sound of them and how they would sound and blend in with the music. Yeah…it does sound pretentious AF! Lol
I spoke to Bruce Findlay recently and he made me giggle talking about how heād read the band reviews and get all downcast about anything negative written. āMore so than Jim wouldā, he said to me. āI remember reading one review and the guy had said Jimās lyrics were pretentious. I told Jim what had been written and he said āOf course my lyrics are fucking pretentious! Iām a pop star, for fuckās sake!āā šššš
Anyway, just….enjoy the wonderful splendour of 20th Century Promised Land.
I think sumbliminial thoughts play so much a part in oneās thought processes. I suddenly thought about the word āinterferenceā and how much relevance it has to me right now.
Yes.
Anyway, this is āuberā dancey, and not to everyoneās liking, I appreciate, but I love it. The pace of it. The way theyāve chopped Jimās lyrics and voice.
I havenāt played this much in recent times but I used to really play it a lot for a long while. It is one of my very favourite extended remixes of the band.
I changed my photos on display today. Details in the video below…
Itās been the inspiration for a few art pieces, and the video is a fave. Jim is sssoooo frigging skinny in this video. Heās got his gammy eye and he is that heady mix of fledgling Laird Dash Fandango in his collared shirt and tailored trousers but with that bit of āgangster roughā with it.
Oh, and him doing all those whipping actions with the mic cord….OMG! It used to have me saying stuff like, āWHIP ME, JIM! PLEASE! WHIP ME!ā Lol. Oh…the fantasies!
Anyways! Itās a Happy Anniversary to Sweat In Bullet being released as a single a mere 39 years ago today. Enjoy…art and video… (the first is still a fave, even though I did it yonks ago)
Visuals from Glittering Prize for the last one but words from Sweat In Bullet.
I might be in the minority here (well, not on my blog, I guess – majority of one – but maybe any of you guys that visit here might not be in agreement) but I really like this.
Thereās a kind of softness to it that I like, and heās done a fab video for it. Itās a braw wee cover. Top marks, Darren šš»š
The only mark against Iād give is for him getting my favourite line of the song wrong. He sang ācanāt see the road for the treesā but it is actually ācanāt see the road for the tearsā which is just one of the most beautiful lines Jim has ever written and it always makes me think of this interview I read when he was talking about writing the song and looking out of the tour bus window and I remember him saying something like āI canāt see the road for the tears, Charlieā. I think it might have been when some crew members had a road accident in Canada? Not sure. But…it was just a beautiful, emotional thing to read.
Jim can seem the softest, sweetest man sometimes. The reason I adore him so much. I canāt help it. I see so much beauty in him. Itās never just the aesthetic. Itās the heart and soul too.
Anyway! Back to Darrenās braw cover.
I did this bit of editing work on one of Virginiaās photos of Jim. I asked her permission to share it on my blog and social media. She granted me permission – so please, I ask if you do share, give credit or link back to the blog or social media pages. Either to mine or to Virginiaās pages. Youāll find her at www.virginiaturbett.com or on Facebook and Instagram as Virginia Turbett Photography.
āDonāt you have enough images of Jim?ā I hear you ask? Erm…NO! Obviously not! Lol
And with the number of images Virginia Turbett has of Jim ALONE, that is unlikely to change soon. I have only a few on my STRICT āshopping listā to go. Which will then have brought my collection of Virginia Turbett prints to (I think) 150.
Again, if money was no object, Iād keep going. Iām sure I will still buy one here and there, when funds allow. I love them all too much!
I think we can safely say that I have the biggest collection of Virginia Turbett Simple Minds/Jim Kerr photos in the entire universe now. Well, apart from Virginia herself, that is.
The one that is in the middle of the three? It accompanies the old āfiddle merchantā one that you guys know is a favourite. Now āfiddle merchantā gets joined with āholy shit! If I had been Virginia taking this photo Iād have MELTED/ sultry, brooding, down-the-camera-lens/excuse me while I rock back and forth on the spot while cradling myself/heās just so goddamn fucking beautiful!ā photo sitting on the chair…with the boots and the white t-shirt and the jeans and the slick back hair.
Imma gonna die! Or my eyes are gonna fall out. One or the other.
Anyway…
Three more for the collection.
Love Song Priptona art…new take…
So…Jim. James. Sir Kerr. Laird Dash Fandango. It appears by this evidence captured by Jill Furmanovsky and taken at…the Manor House, I believe? That you, fine sir, have been practicing the āembrace the suckā mantra for some time now. And a number of years prior to Mr Forsey reputedly exposing you to such…questionable phrasing, yes? Lol