See Hear

We're so used to the idea of art being hung in museums or on our walls, that we forget that we have may have hundreds or thousands of pieces of art hiding in plain sight – on shelves in our record or CD collections.

Welcome to episode 99 of See Hear Podcast.

Anytime you go exploring through your local record or CD store, before you even hear the music, the potential to draw you to an album you're unfamiliar with is the cover art. They can be futuristic paintings, posed photos, extravagant, plain, in questionable taste, exciting or dull. The designer is the person the musicians have entrusted to be the gateway to their own work.

Kevin Hosmann is an album cover designer and first time film maker. He has released a documentary paying tribute to his colleagues in the design profession. He speaks to a lot of them, many who have designed many iconic covers over the course of popular music history, and many who have just designed functional covers. The film explores their experiences and the history of this artform. Does the cover art always say something about the music? How much does an album's iconic status relate to the front (or rear) cover? How have things changed in the streaming age?

Kevin's film is a fascinating exploration into a side of the music business we don't always consider, but is hugely important. Bernie and I were fascinated hearing him talk about his own experiences as a cover designer (Beastie Boys, Ice Cube) as well as telling stories about giants in the field like Reid Miles, Roger Dean and Tom Wilkes. Tune in, then watch the film – you'll be very entertained,

The film is streaming on Prime or in England on Sky Arts International. You can keep up with album cover talk at the film's Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/THE-ALBUM-1514923212059261/

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NEXT MONTH IS EPISODE 100 OF SEE HEAR.....SPREAD THE WORD.

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

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An English woman and an American man drive through the American south in 1959. Their mission is to record folk songs for the Library of Congress, but they also record what peoples' lives are like at that time. How did this bode for the future?

Welcome to See Hear podcast episode 78.

The man was ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, and the woman was folk singer Shirley Collins. Their travels came on the cusp of the civil rights movement, and Alan had returned to America after an extended time away avoiding HUAC. The journey should have just been a study in peoples' living conditions and preserving a wealth of songs previously passed down from generation to generation. The fact that Lomax had been responsible for recording music from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger meant that anything he did was considered a political act – not a safe thing in 1950s America.

Bernie and Maurice had the pleasure of speaking with English film director Rob Curry about two of his films – 2017's The Ballad of Shirley Collins and 2020's Southern Journey (Revisited). The two films are intertwined with each other, so it made sense to discuss both. The Ballad of Shirley Collins reveals its subject in the 21st century living her life in Sussex. She hadn't been able to sing for over 30 years, something she struggled with as singing was at the core of her being. Southern Journey has Rob and his co-director Tim Plester taking the same journey in 2018 that Lomax and Collins did in 1959. They meet up with many people in the same regions – some are actual descendants of the people recorded in 1959, others are part of the spiritual lineage. In 2018, this may be just as political, but presents a very different picture to those on our news programs.

Like Lomax and Collins, Rob and Tim were also travelling in a politically charged time. We speak to Rob about both films, the differences between the roles of folk music and commercially popular song, southern hospitality, the ties of community,.....and Morris dancing. We also discover that a popular rap artist of the early 90s lifted his biggest hit from a traditional drum-and-fife tune. Who was it???? You'll have to tune in and find out.

Unfortunately, Tim Merrill was unavailable this month, but Bernie and I are hugely grateful to Rob for taking the time to speak with us. We recommend both of these magnificent films for your viewing pleasure. The Ballad of Shirley Collins is available at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/shirleycollinsmovie. Southern Journey (Revisited) is currently on limited cinema release, but will hopefully be available to stream in 2021.

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please give us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists.

Proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com

Send us feedback via email at [email protected]

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Check out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

You can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.....or whatever podcast app you favour.

We're sure you've all said or heard, “Don't judge a book by it's cover”. That can logically be extended on occasion to “Don't judge a film by its poster art”.

Welcome to episode 83 of See Hear Podcast.

Tim is finally rejoining the show after having been absent since October 2020. We welcomed him back with his choice of a round-table film discussion. No interviews....just the “terrible trio”. He picked a film by director Craig Brewer, whose earlier film Hustle and Flow is part of See Hear lore (don't try looking the episode up, it ain't there).

If you look at the poster art you will get the impression you're about to watch a sleazy tribute to early 70s grindhouse cinema. The truth is a little more complex than that. We advise you not to rage against the perception of what it is, but to absorb what it REALLY is...let us be your guides. Samuel L Jackson plays an ex-blues guitarist whose life is broken. He discovers a battered Christina Ricci outside his farm – she's also someone whose life is broken. Sam's character tries to heal her though chains, religion and the blues.

The film has its detractors, but we believe it's more from THAT poster than the content. Tune in as we talk about anxiety, Christina Ricci's knack for acting in films where she's kidnapped, and dancing as catharsis.

There's also a Welcome Back Kotter reference because....we had to.

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, please tell your friends to tune in anyway.

See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com The list of new shows is always increasing.

Send us feedback via email at [email protected]

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

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You can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.....or whatever podcast app you favour.

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There have been many 50s music stylists who pay tribute to Elvis and other icons of the rock and roll era but appear locked in a retro time warp. Then there are musicians like Charlie Megira who are consumed by the music alone – they’re doing something new and exciting based on the foundations of 50s rock and roll.

Welcome to episode 74 of See Hear Podcast.

Tim was absent, but Bernie and I spoke with first time director Boaz Goldberg about his 2019 documentary Tomorrow’s Gone. The film serves as both a chronology and a character piece on Israeli guitarist and singer Charlie Megira aka Gabi Abudraham. He started recording music in the mid 90s with music that was drenched in the likes of Santo & Johnny, Duane Eddy, Dick Dale and Sun era Elvis. Boaz met Charlie early on and was convinced he needed to document the music and thoughts of his friend. Charlie’s personal and professional life went in directions neither would have guessed. Sadly, the demons he was wrestling for much of his life got the better of him.

Tomorrow’s Gone serves as a beautiful tribute to a talented musician. We speak about Charlie, the music he loved, his spiritual leanings, the Israeli music industry of the day.....and headless Elvis statuettes. Bernie and I are extremely grateful that Boaz took the time to speak and would urge you to look out for the film on a streaming service or film festival. The story doesn’t have thousands of talking heads talking of Charlie’s importance – he has the music to do that.

If you’ve been enjoying the show, please give us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists.

You can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.....or whatever podcast app you favour.

Send us feedback via email at [email protected]

Check out the Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en

Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast

Proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com

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See Hear May 2019 state of the nation....PLUS new piece of technology...whadaya think????

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