Dear Windswept,

I share your concern about The Downfall of the Occident, and initially I have been equally sceptical about both developments. But I must say the advantage of having my entire music collection with me everywhere I go on a couple of microSD cards is a thrill I wouldn't want to miss. So I'm pleading for a best of both worlds policy. And as to digital books and ebook readers, at first I, too, was extremely sceptical about this development, taking the usual vows and pledges I would never ever use such a newfangled contraption, but honestly, after I investigated these thingies a little bit further it was undeniable that they have unbeatable advantages over classical books on paper. Since you're obviously very francophile you maybe sometimes wish to read french literature in the original? If you do that on an ebook reader all you need to do if you encounter an unknown word is tap on the word and automatically the corresponding dictionary entry is displayed on the bottom of the page. Show me the paper book that is able to perform this magic and I will immediately renounce all digital books, but no, wait, I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to carry my book collection with me when I'm travelling, including the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.

But aesthetically you're of course right, having an LP cover in your hand, passing it around, reading all the details on the inner sleeve, smelling the vinyl when taking a brand new record out of its sleeve for the first time - these are all sensual experiences I wouldn't want to miss either, and I pity all those who grew up without it. Just as the sensual experience of reading a book on paper and feaverishly leafing through the dictionaries, the desk being buried under volumes of books, the asthma attack when picking them up after a week of absence... oops... ok, not the latter

The news is that the image that started this thread is indeed the official artwork for the new Avonmore album.

http://www.bryanferry.com/

If there are two things that Windswept despises about the modern world, it is the demise of vinyl and the rise of the digital book.
Both evolutions constitute absolute sacrilege but, he is ashamed to say, he takes advantage of both developments.

Windswept

Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
The hills were higher (when you were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
The trees were taller (when you were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
The grass was greener (when you were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
You used to walk upon (when you were young)

If There Is Something / ROXY MUSIC

I sometimes tend to see things this way, too, cher Windswept. The reason might be the rush of new technologies, computerization and all these things. But the other reason is probably that I was younger when I was young . Life may have been more simple thirty years ago but on the other hand I could easily cope with all the technologies that changed around me. Today - in my fifties - I try to keep up with new things but I don't feel forced to do so. That means Facebook but no Twitter, iTunes but no Kindle. Concerning the latter you may be right, dear Lonely Dreamer. When I have to look up a word in English I use an internet service instead of my dictionary. So I second you to use the best of both worlds. By the way, my favorite Robert Palmer song .

Great!
(-gee, you were quick!)

When I was younger, I used to disturb my sleep by dreaming that there was a new Bryan Ferry album which I would be excited to get my hands on ... Then when I finally got a hold of it ...It would have a shit title that sounded like a mashup of his other stuff , then there would be a cover with a picture I'd seen before , then I would listen to it and it'd be re- jigged old songs I'd heard ages ago .. I would wake up relieved it was all a dream thinking " thank god that'll never happen !!" Haha

Another Time, Avonmore Place!

Cher Lonely Dreamer & Pianoman,
You are of course correct. A best of both worlds approach is the only way forward!
Don't you just love those lyrics?
Back to the album - It looks like we've got a retro cover.
I'm not completely sure why he does this. IWNSHO, the Cavesque shot posted by Roxy was better but, mine not to reason why, mine just to do and buy!
Regards,
Windswept.

WS2:
Your perspective brings to my mind not so much ITIS, but rather Three and Nine from Country Life. Nominally, the lyrics to TAN appear to relate to the classic cinema of BF's youth, but they speak more broadly to the constant surge of cultural change that defines so much of life in the modern world. (They also rail against government interference in one's private life, and thus speak to BF's cultural/political conservatism)

As an aside, I would point out that TAN represents BF's version of Ray Davies' classic Kinks track Village Green Preservation Society...

I just don't 'get' the relevance of this picture. On the face of it, throwing every BF photo ever taken up into the air and throwing a dart at the falling memorabilia as a means of selecting something would have as much thought behind it.
Very disappointed. It's not like BF is camera-shy, but it's now 15 years since an album came out featuring a contemporary photograph. Sigh.

- See, the logical might be a bit shortsighted? In the mind of the casual fan, BF has much to do with "Avalon". If a pedestrian contemplating buying a new CD, gets a glimpse of something he can identify with in this enstranged world, like this iconic photograph, he would say; Hmm, Bryan Ferry? Wasn`t that something `bout "Avalon"? - But "Avonmore"? This CD just doesn`t seem too far from it. Let`s hope for something in the same vein...