Ode to oi!

Lord Bassington-Bassington has always had a soft spot for Oi! music and for skinhead culture, but for several reasons has not immersed himself completely in it.

(Frankie Flame sharing the secrets of life).


There are several reasons for this. One is that the Bulldog is an unofficial symbol of these scenes, so Basset Hounds quickly feel out of place. Another is that Lord Bassington-Bassington isn’t very working class (indeed, His Lordship tends to not do any work at all, but due to blatant racial discrimination Bassets can't sign on the “dole”).

Yet another reason is politics: As His Lordship is ”neither red nor racist”, as they say in skinhead circles, he prefers to avoid the associations with extremism (of the right and left varieties) that often comes with these scenes. And anyway, you get enough political nonsense when you like neofolk music.

One of His Lordship's most beloved recent aquisitions on the vinyl front is The Way We Feel, a seven inch by Dutch Oi! veterans Evil Conduct – featuring the intriguing Frankie Flame, probably Oi! music's only pianist. Together, they have produced a tribute to the really important things in life: Brogues and crombie coats.



We take the liberty of reproducing the lyrics.

Brogues and crombies

I don’t care when people stare
At the clobber that I wear
High street fashion, overpriced
Imitations, oversized

Brogues and crombies, I like to dress in style
Brogues and crombies, I wear’em with a smile
Brogues and crombies, always dressing smart
Brogues and crombies, girls say I look the part

Sometimes people take the piss
Anti-fashion, that’s what it is
I’m no fuckin’ city-gent
They’re too dumb to understand

Trends they come and trends they go
Your life looks like a fashion show
Manipulated, makes you spend
That’s why I won’t follow trends


Words to live by!

Lord Bassington-Bassington’s home town of Oslo will probably never be a hotbed of Oi! Music. Which is probably just as well. But with the help of aforementioned Mr. Flame, local band The Whalers have created a nice little tribute to Oslo. It was originally released on a rather charming self-produced CD back in the 1990s, but has now been re-issued on a beautiful little piece of vinyl.

Invictible

One of His Lorship's little hobbies is to write press releases for his friends' bands. So His Lordship felt honoured to be asked by one of his favourite neofolk outfits, namely Sol Invictus, to produce a short promotional text.

So why not print the result in the Chronicles as well?

After finding his musical feet in the legendary punk band Crisis and the (in)famous Death in June, Tony Wakeford has been releasing records under the name of Sol Invictus since 1987. His list of collaborators reads like a who’s who of the musical underground – Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound), David Tibet (Current 93), Matt Howden (Sieben) and Kris Force (Amber Asylum) – but Sol Invictus is an underground institution in itself. Sol’s music is a place where punk collides with chamber music, and industrial noises chitchat with folk tunes. Recurring lyrical themes deal with disillusion and doubt, ideals and cynicism, often drawing on Wakeford’s own life experiences.

Lord Bassington-Bassington, Little Storping-in-the-Swuff, Febrary 2012

His Lordship is also working on a longer biography of Sol Invictus. Oh, and it seems that this blog post has coincided with the launch of Mr. wakeford's own blog.

Photos of Mr. Wakeford at Café Grössenwahn by Superfritz.

Bow tie 2.0

Lord Bassington Bassington has a deep appreciation for the bow tie. Perhaps it has something to do with its similarity to one of His Lordship's favourite foodstuffs?

Having mastered (in a fashion, at least) the art of tying the bow, His Lordship felt the need to "take it to the next level", as it’s called in hip-hop parlance. And it was obvious what this ”next level# was going to be: The diamond tip bow tie. The Wizzard of Woof, which has some credit (or blame) for making His Lordship interested in bow ties to begin with, tried to warn him. The name of these bows sounds a bit like a snake, and they’re almost as tricky to handle.

In choosing his first diamond tip Lord Bassington-Bassington went for British outfitter Peckham Rye, who carry a fine selection of men's accessories. Both price, service and quality of the merchandise was impeccable.

Plainly put, learning to tie a diamond tip is like having to learn to tie a bow all over again: Intensely frustrating, but also a lot of fun.



Oh, and since today is Wednesday, Lord Bassington-Bassington couldn't help but discuss the idea launched by the good Swedes over at the Drones Club that Wednesday be bow tie day. In a fit of rebelliousness, Lord Bassington-Bassington barks out a hearty howl of defiance, perhaps brought on by his newfound interest in gangsterism. Simply put, His Lordship insists that he will "rock" the bow tie whenever he damn well pleases.