Sound and Vision 2023

A Personal Best of the Year's Living, Reading, Watching, Listening

“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning." ~ TS Eliot

The Author and The Puffin, Las Vegas, October 21, 2023.

Happy New Year to you all. It’s been a whirlwind of a year filled with magic and loss. Since the world opened back up post-pandemic (for the time being) in late 2022, I have tried desperately to make up for lost travel time, returning to familiar haunted places like New Orleans (twice), New York (twice) and Los Angeles/Las Vegas and seeing cherished old friends in those fine cities. As is our way, Sherry and I also explored new remote Arctic lands, driving all around Iceland for ten days in late 2022 along with visits to Greenland and Newfoundland and a frosty Northerly cruise with family and friends in late 2023. I created no less than six expansive travel journals since the beginning of the year, entries of which I hope to share here in the coming months (Wendy, I have not forgotten the U2 concert review you requested). I also contracted rather debilitating strains of Covid while traveling on two occasions, which I continue to suffer from along with the usual physical and mental health challenges and strange neuroses common to the near- 57- year- old American male homosapien. So goes what they call the new normal for me.

While my workanight job remains located at the same Austin Community College campus since I quit teaching and accepted the position there, there have been dramatic changes in both the college bureaucracy and my schedule and responsibilities, and subsequently no small amount of crisis, controversy, and chaos. The less said about that the better; I will let the great postmodern scribe and world-class adventurer William Vollmann do the talking on my behalf here:

Workplace Propaganda Campaign by the author 2013. Image of Bill Vollmann not used with permission.

I spent countless hours this year working with the incarcerated within our revered Texas (in)justice system. I met with convicts weekly both through my parish’s prison ministry outreach and with the Bridges to Life program. It has been a rewarding if very heavy and challenging experience. A bit like life in general in that regard. I also spent a great deal of my time and diminishing energy trying to be a better friend and family member to loved ones as we weathered the vicissitudes of life. I continued to try and forge reconnections with a select few old friends I have come to consider the very dearest I have met in my long life (you know who you are). Conversely, I broke ties with one very old and deeply disturbed friend due to his extreme toxic behavior, whereupon he accused me of being a Satanist disguised as a Christian. I can only hope he is not among the jury of my pending witch trial, at which I expect to be fully exonerated of such charges.

I tried to be a more positive, generous and peaceful person while in a persistent outrage over the behavior of others. Not a very chill Buddha. Arrogance and stupidity and greed and corruption and violence and unwarranted victim outrage seem to comprise the new standard of excellence. But a little kindness still goes a long way. So I continue to hope.

In my “free time” (whatever the hell that means), I wrote like a fevered madman, sometimes for entire days, and I launched this here Thee Bat City Vangarde column on Substack back in July. I went to dinner a lot, attended Mass, frequented bars and coffeehouses, saw a lot of great bands, read quite a few books, viewed films, drank beers on my back porch, lifted a few weights sporadically, and took my little dogs on near-daily mile-and-a-half walks. Like a lot of Texans, we went without heat or power for the better part of a week during an ice storm and other crazy Arctic weather conditions back in February. Yes, this was in fact happening again. Spoiled complaining animals, we watched too many movies and TV shows while smothered snugly beneath blankets. There were a number of plumbing and car repairs caused by the ice storm as well. Always work to be done.

No need to recap the year’s notable obituaries here, but the passing of Shane MacGowan some weeks ago seems to have kicked off a domino effect of related deaths. The underrated New Hollywood actor Ryan O’Neal was, like MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor, of fighting Irish stock, while Shane was quickly followed to the grave by a number of other punk era luminaries within a few days: Geordie Walker from Killing Joke, John Rambo Stevens (John Lydon’s manager, producer and bosom companion), John Hyatt of the Three Johns, Afro-punk poet Benjamin Zephaniah, probably more I didn't hear about. Then Patti Smith was hospitalized with some mysterious illness while touring Italy; she is reported to be fine at the time of this writing. The old gods of my misspent youth are in steady decline, but onward the writer-warrior must march, always into some fresh dark night. Yet, the perilous path is ever illumined with some strange light.

I thought I might round out the year (and my first half-year of this blogthing) with a summary of the best books, films, TV shows and concerts I enjoyed in 2023. But with a caveat: I’m not certain if there was simply an overall lack of quality in my film-viewing and book-reading this year or if I am just not as passionate about such things as I once was. More than likely, it is a combination of both. Much of what I read, listened to, and watched was very much interrelated and bound up together; films and bands mentioned in books I read, for example. My listening, reading and viewing for the year was also to a large degree themed around my travels from late 2022 through 2023.

BOOKS:

At any rate, I only read a meager 60 books this year, ranging from dense doorstop tomes to much shorter works. While I didn’t frequently experience the usual narcotic excitement I associate with devouring great works of cinema and literature in 2023, there were some real standouts. In fact, Patrick McCabe’s Pogue Mahone is one of the best novels- a mammoth novel in verse form no less- I have read in many years, and is a new addition to my canon of great literary fiction. Another caveat: I am inordinately well-versed in the history of the English and Irish squatter and rock & roll countercultures of the 1960s-1980s as well as Irish history, literature and folklore in general. Such arcane knowledge is one of my few virtues, an area of exhaustive study if you like. However, to paraphrase Renton’s remark concerning his fellow junkie pal Sick Boy’s vast knowledge of James Bond films in Trainspotting, this is hardly any sort of admirable character trait, it is just how I have passed the time over the years (I may get around to writing about the pleasures of Strange Attractor Press’ wonderful catalogue of books here one day). But without some knowledge of the history and culture McCabe explores- including his many allusions to bands, songs, IRA bombing campaigns, Irish supernaturalia, and the terrors of the Catholic clergy, not to mention the Irish and British street vernacular in verse form-, McCabe’s experimental novel will likely prove impenetrable to most readers. An epic poem, a Gothic ghost story and an accurate evocation of early 1970s alternative communities all from the perspective of a quasi-reliable narrator who may not even exist, Pogue Mahone is certainly not everyone's cuppa tea; but I loved the book in a way I hadn't loved a work of fiction in ages (probably since reading AnthonyBurgess' Earthly Powers a few years back). And yes, The Pogues do in fact make an appearance in the book if only for a moment (When I gleefully devoured this book back in the summer, I had no idea Shane MacGowan would not live to celebrate his Christmas birthday in 2023).

Despite the pleasant surprise and literary ecstasy of Pogue Mahone, I have increasingly come to feel that reading contemporary fiction is a complete waste of my time, so as always much of my fictional reading tended to run toward the so-called classics and/or more seasoned writers (like McCabe). Here is a 12-title greatest hits of both the old and new works of fiction I read in 2023:

Pogue Mahone by Patrick McCabe

All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

The Passenger/ Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

The Awakening and Selected Stories by Kate Chopin

Only Lovers Left Alive by Dave Wallis

Gone to the Wolves by John Wray

The North Water by Ian MacGuire

The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke

Sub-Hollywood by Bruce Caen

The Twilight World by Werner Herzog

The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome by John Govey

I also seem to have read very little poetry in 2023, which is unusual for me; however I read the usual amount of song lyrics and am righting this deficit by kicking off the New Year with the collected poems of Dylan Thomas (in anticipation to our visit to Wales in a few days). I did read a wealth of books on music, film, and cultural history which is the annual norm, while much of my other reading was tied to the places I traveled to in 2023. Topping my non-fiction list is a volume of conversations with Nick Cave, which turned out to be probably the most interesting and beautiful book on art, grief and spirituality I have yet read. Here are the 20 non-fiction books I most enjoyed in 2023 followed by some others I found notable:

Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan

Obliteration of the World: A Guide to the Occult Mindset of Antonin Artaud by Peter Valente

Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia by John Gilmore

Gumbo Ya-Ya: Louisiana Folktales by Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer & Robert Tallant (WPA)

Strange Cures: A Memoir by Rob Zabrecky

Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy by Steven Powell

A History of Violence (1973) by David Cotner

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

The Art of Darkness: A History of Goth by John Robb

Room to Dream by David Lynch and Kristin McKenna

Rememberings by Sinead O'Connor

Dead Man’s Float: Poems by Jim Harrison

Writing for Slash 1977-1981: The Know-it-all Years by Chris D.

Do You Believe in the Power of Rock & Roll: 40 Years of Music Writing from the Front Line by John Robb

The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions by Sister Helen Prejean

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

Last Gangster in Austin: Frank Smith, Ronnie Earle and the End of the Junkyard Mafia by Jesse Sublett

Restoring Peace: Using Lessons from Prison to Mend Broken Relationships by Kirk Blackard

Fragments of History: Exhibitions at the Greenland National Museum by Daniel Thorliefson

This Must Be the Place: Music, Community and Vanished Spaces in New York City by Jesse Rifkin

Honorable Mentions: Some New Kind of Kick by Kid Congo Powers, The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man by Paul Newman, Cannibalism in the Cars: Humorous Sketches by Mark Twain, Mickey Rourke and the Bluebird of Happiness: A Poet’s Notebooks by WS DiPiero, Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino, Hard-Core: Life of My Own by Harley Flanagan, Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys by Lol Tolhurst, I Dreamed I was a Very Clean Tramp by Richard Hell, U2: Far Away So Close by BP Fallon, Steve McQueen by Marc Eliot, The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan, Black Coffee Blues by Henry Rollins, Belfast Punk: Warzone Centre 1997-2003 by Ricky Adam.

FILM:

All in all, my film viewing this year initially seemed rather lackluster compared to years past. For whatever reason, I seem to have seen very few foreign language films in 2023, which perhaps accounts for my overall apathy or lack of enthusiasm in the movie department. I'm normally something of a cinematic and literary Europhile. I also saw very few films in the theater, far less than in 2022 in fact, which may also have been a factor. All total, I watched an astonishing 280 films and TV series over the course of the year. The incredible Icelandic film Godland starring the brilliant Ingvar Sigurdsson topped my best-of list this year, and in retrospect I saw a great number of remarkable new films. The 50 new or very recent film releases I most enjoyed in 2023 were:

Godland

The Starling Girl

Flora and Son

Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story

The Killer

Men

The Master Gardener

God is a Bullet

Reptile

The Feast

The Pigeon Tunnel

Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis

Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party

Empire of Light

The Pale Blue Eye

Hitman

Artbound: Chinatown Punk Wars

The Boys in the Boat

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism

Artifice Girl

Beau is Afraid

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

Against the Ice

Causeway

Bono and The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with David Letterman

Sound of Freedom

Sisu

Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy

Flux Gourmet

Infinity Pool

Nothing Compares

Dio: Dreamers Never Die

The Quiet Girl

Days of the Bagnold Summer

Skinamarink

Personality Crisis: One Night Only

Satan Wants You

The Holdovers

Marlowe

Kite Zo A: Leave the Bones

Little Richard: I Am Everything

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

The Whale

The Forgiven

Lynch/Oz

Last Voyage of the Demeter

Triangle of Sadness

My Animal

Suitable Flesh

Peter and the Wolf

As always, I mostly watched older films in 2023, the vast majority of which were frequently revisited favorites which I won’t list here (thankfully, I hear you sigh). However, the ten older films I most enjoyed seeing for the first time this year are:

Tales from the Gimli Hospital (1988)

King of Herrings (2013)

Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Panic in the Streets (1950)

Paris Blues (1961)

WUSA (1970)

Laundry Day (2016)

Jezebel (1938)

Patty Hearst (1988)

Bergman Island (2021)

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020)

The Outfit (1973)

Hell is for Heroes (1962)

TV:

As far as long-form TV viewing, nothing held a flickering Arctic candle to the wonder of The North Water starring the great Colin Farrell in one of the best bits of acting I have ever witnessed. I was reading the novel by Ian MacGuire as preparation for our own adventures in Greenland when my wife alerted me to the new miniseries adaptation. It is the rare adaptation that is actually superior to its literary source, and to me The North Water is a new benchmark in the limited series format. Simply the best show I have watched in years. Starting from the cold, lofty heights of The North Water’s crow’s nest, Here are the 10 best TV series I watched in 2023.

The North Water

Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland

Wu Tang: An American Saga

Fargo

Vikings Valhalla

Copenhagen Cowboy

Treme

Austin City Limits

Fleabag

The Fall of the House of Usher

I still plan to catch up on the latest seasons of Derry Girls, Peaky Blinders, Slow Horses and Babylon Berlin in the next few months and then I hope to be done with TV series for a good long while. Life is too short for long form televisual storytelling.

MUSIC:

It would be impossible to overstate the amount of and variety of music I enjoy, much less try to come up with even a short list of what I listened to in 2023. As is my way, I also watched a whole lot of concerts, music videos, interviews, etc. on Youtube in 2023. I can report here that it was a great year overall for Live Music and other theatrical events I attended. For sheer spectacle, spirit, and transfiguration, no other concert I saw in 2023 remotely approached the religious experience that was U2’s multimedia extravaganza at The Sphere in Las Vegas in October. Here are the best concerts and shows I attended this year (in Austin unless otherwise noted):

U2 (Sphere, Las Vegas)

Squrl (New Orleans)

TV Smith’s Adverts

Mike Peters/ The Alarm

The Cure

CS Lewis: Further up and Further In

Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band/Jo Harvey Allen

Thou (New Orleans)

Tom Russell

The Brogues (Austin-based Pogues tribute band, SXSW and Shane MacGowan memorial concerts)

X/ John Doe

Dinosaur, Jr./Soul Asylum

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot

Off!

Tom Jones

Black Flag

Psychedelic Furs

Rebekah Del Rio

Duran Duran

The Gospel (Los Angeles)

Nick Cave

Metallica (Dallas)

Sparks

Los Cogelones

Magicians at the Magic Castle (Los Angeles)

Jonathan Richman

Fever Ray

Cro-Mags (Harley Flanagan iteration)

Pixies/ Franz Ferdinand

Protomartyr

Meteors

Wolves in the Throne Room

Dandy Warhols/Black Angels/Brian Jonestown Massacre

Ray Wylie Hubbard/ Bluebonnets

Local music in New Orleans, Greenland, etc.

There’s much to look forward to in 2024. We are off to Wales soon for music and more at The Gathering in Cardiff then further adventures around Merry Olde England once again. There are already tickets in hand to see The Rolling Stones, Terry Allen, and Adam Ant back in Texas in February. New records by The Stones, Gavin Friday, Raymond Pettibon, Jeremy Reed & the Ginger Light, ONX and others are in the mail. There are many new books to read sitting patiently on my shelf: Memoirs by Rockwell Kent, Werner Herzog, Jarvis Cocker, and Thurston Moore; recent biographies of Leonard Cohen, Austin Osman Spare, Charles Lindbergh, Peter Beard, Aleister Crowley, Iggy Pop, Terry Allen and Lou Reed; more punk studies by John Robb, James Spooner and Chris Terry; voluminous collections by Nabokov and Anthony Burgess; and a collection of Roberto Bolano’s essays which was a New Year’s Eve gift from my wonderful friend Mark Smith, whose own writing you should check out here:

Life is sometimes very sweet if you allow the light of good things in. I wish you the very best of all things in 2024. Drop me a line and let me know how you are. Thanks as always for reading. And if you’ve enjoyed some of these posts and care to buy me a cuppa coffee around my birthday on January 11, you may do so below.

And to close, Peace on Earth, goodwill to men. Love to the people of Gaza, Israel, Japan, and all troubled lands. Here’s to a better world in 2024. Do your part to make it so. Keep the faith. Enjoy the sensations, sounds and visions around you until I see you again in this New Year of Our Lord 2024.