Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - DISCUSSION THREAD

[Robson]

Yes, because for the second time Mark was inspired by another artist.

[hunter v2.0]

Yeah, the cover art for Mark's solo albums is on the whole pretty lame. I think STP, TRD and KTGC are the nicest ones. I like all the DS cover art, except BIA, which I think is pretty awful. But of course, it's iconic.

If you want to see nice cover art, do a Google Image search for "blue note cover art" and "ecm cover art". Beautiful stuff.

[vgonis]

...From Mark's radio show, the biggest "aha" moment for me was when he introduced the band Yo La Tengo, which apparently he discovered nearly at the same time as his listeners. And the album he played music from had a cover like this:



It turned out to be a photo by an American photographer Gregory Crewdson: https://www.flakphoto.news/p/gregory-crewdsons-new-book

I ended up finding a hi-rez version of this photograph. And while both the music and the cover art are great, I get much more enjoyment while looking at a full, not cropped image without words. And it's almost painful to look at, especially when paired with the muisc, this is how beautiful it is. Talking about ART!

Thank you quizzaciously. I was also stunned by this yo la tengo cover, when it came out and bought it on the spot, without trying the music first. Of course I had some of their previous records, so not a total shot in the dark. I also found a book a few years later which contained other Crewdson photos, along with other photographer's  work with the Twilight concept, called Twilight: Photography in the Magic Hour.  Some beautiful  photos, and Crewdson's were all stunners!
I wasn't aware of MK's suggestion - endorsement of yo la tengo. Which poadcast are you referring to?

[Viervalen]

I asume he’s talking about The British Grove Broadcast on Sxm

Are those episodes still available anywhere? (Not just the songlist but the whole episodes with Mk comments)

[quizzaciously]

Thank you quizzaciously. I was also stunned by this yo la tengo cover, when it came out and bought it on the spot, without trying the music first. Of course I had some of their previous records, so not a total shot in the dark. I also found a book a few years later which contained other Crewdson photos, along with other photographer's  work with the Twilight concept, called Twilight: Photography in the Magic Hour.  Some beautiful  photos, and Crewdson's were all stunners!
I wasn't aware of MK's suggestion - endorsement of yo la tengo. Which poadcast are you referring to?

I asume he’s talking about The British Grove Broadcast on Sxm

Are those episodes still available anywhere? (Not just the songlist but the whole episodes with Mk comments)

Whoah, vgonis! What great memories you had with this particular album! I really don't know what I've been doing all these years without hearing it, but I'm happy I finally did, thanks to Mark. Yes, I was talking about The British Grove Broadcast, which is now completely forgotten and neglected like any other "official" product.

You can get it if you write to some of the fans who keep the original files on hand (who could it be???), and I'm not sure there's a way to obtain it legally. It should've been a podcast released on Mark's YouTube channel, not a radio show, but whatever. Still an amazing effort. I loved every second of it!

[qjamesfloyd]

I always loved that cover from day one. I fully understand that anyone could find it boring or ininspired, but the contrast between "Sailing" and the plane makes curious and let you take the (then) CD in your hand when you spot in a store, the blue sky and the silve plane was an echoe of the  Brothers in Arms cover and even the typo was cool

Same. I think it has the best artwork of all his solo stuff. I love how tiny the letters and the plane itself are, great perspective. The CD itself was cool too, though it all feels a bit dated now. Shangri-La was the worst; it felt so cheap and amateurish.

That said, I am really bored with the sky theme. The list is getting ridiculous: : Communique, Love Over Gold, Brothers in Arms, Sailing, Tracker, DTRW, One Deep River. If there is ever going to be a next record, I hope he spends a few more minutes choosing something else.

And All The Roadrunning

I really like the sky theme. I like the compass on the Sailing To Philadelphia album and the hidden map. Covers are important to MK. I remember what he said about The Ragpicker's Dream album.

And don't forget, Mark wrote a song called In The Sky

[stratmad]

I asume he’s talking about The British Grove Broadcast on Sxm

Are those episodes still available anywhere? (Not just the songlist but the whole episodes with Mk comments)

There's a playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1J1sld3BDxSXLXiRDUghOi.
Some episodes are scattered across FB and YT.
But if anyone here has the full collection, or at least some episodes, I'll be in the queue of those who'd love to have it. 

[quizzaciously]

I asume he’s talking about The British Grove Broadcast on Sxm

Are those episodes still available anywhere? (Not just the songlist but the whole episodes with Mk comments)

There's a playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1J1sld3BDxSXLXiRDUghOi.
Some episodes are scattered across FB and YT.
But if anyone here has the full collection, or at least some episodes, I'll be in the queue of those who'd love to have it. 

I also made my own Spotify playlist of the show because people kept adding the wrong versions of songs to their playlists. The song could be right, but the version... Not always. I also used a perfect image for this courtesy of Guitarist Magazine, way better than the official shot: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4t7y47gbDJQNKRL2dfKYWm?si=8a1e6a9ce0a64b20

Please mail me at fffoma@gmail.com or drop a message for the link to a full show collection.

[vgonis]

Completely missed those podcasts. Thank you for bringing them to my attention. Will be on the look out for them.

[dustyvalentino]

Don't want to get anyone into any bother re copyright etc but on a completely separate matter I will take this opportunity to remind everyone that Knopfler Unlimited is a wonderful resource

[Robson]

I wonder if it is possible to combine all of Ed Bicknell's statements (answers) without questions so that it reads like a book with understanding. Certainly a very difficult task.

[stratmad]

I wonder if it is possible to combine all of Ed Bicknell's statements (answers) without questions so that it reads like a book with understanding. Certainly a very difficult task.

Hm, it might make it shorter, but not necessarily easiert to read, because he often wrote short answers without repeating the questions. You'd have to add a lot of info in brackets.

[Pottel]

I wonder if it is possible to combine all of Ed Bicknell's statements (answers) without questions so that it reads like a book with understanding. Certainly a very difficult task.

i proposed that from day one, but it is a DAUNTING task.....not one i have time for right now (things are changing Q2 2025)

[Pottel]

as no one is saying it, MAN I AM MISSING OUR SHINING STAR & LEADER THAT IS THE GREAT EDuard Bicknell!

[dustyvalentino]

as no one is saying it, MAN I AM MISSING OUR SHINING STAR & LEADER THAT IS THE GREAT EDuard Bicknell!

Seconded!