Sporting theme once again this week. I know it was quite a few days ago now but I was mightily impressed to see footage last week of AC Milan's Kevin Prince-Boateng stopping play in protest against a racist section of fans. He picked up the ball in a rage against fans of lower league side Pro Patria chanting whenever he got on the ball and kicked it towards them (unfortunately missing their leering heads by quite a distance). He then proceeded to lead his team off the pitch, with little objection from his manager or fellow players.
I've linked the video at the bottom of the page and have had a great chuckle at the antithesis of placing it directly above an acoustic number from Benjamin Francis Leftwich. The thought of the ginormous Boateng sat in a park on a sunny day next to a tree and bobbing his head slowly to Leftwich's languid melodies is greatly amusing.
First and foremost, I feel for the non-racist Pro Patria fans.They play in the fourth tier of Italian football and would have been looking forward to a rare home game against one of the biggest sides in the country only to have it spoiled by a bunch of absolute sub-humans. Italian football fans have been guilty more than most others for consistent racist chanting, as can be seen in the testimony from such ex-players as Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, but that doesn't make them all guilty. It's a total embarrassment for the game and needs to be overcome quickly but this leads me on swiftly to my second point.
How the hell are we supposed to move on from this barbarism when the head of FIFA himself simply refuses to condone racism. If anyone isn't yet familiar with Sepp Blatter, he is quite the character. He's had the top job in football since 1998 and yet takes underhand bribes from countries wanting to host tournaments (Qatar 2022? Are you fucking serious) and is also unashamedly sexist. A few years ago this actually happened, Blatter telling female footballers that they should be wearing 'tighter shorts' and 'play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball'. Yes, in the 21st century a male authority figure genuinely made these remarks. His attitude towards racism is equally despicable- in 2011 he said it could be overcome with a handshake and now he's strongly criticised Boateng for walking off. Even AC President Silvio Berlusconi praised Boateng's behaviour and he sleeps with prostitutes all the time for christs sake.
Surely, if racism in football can ever be overcome it's sensible to state that on every occasion a minority player feels he is being treated with disrespect he should have every right to lead his team off the pitch. Only in this way can fans learn that, if they behave in a racist manner, the football they so crave will be taken away from them. Or is this train of thought just a little bit too logical??
Anyway, here's a picture of the daft prick looking particularly daft.
On to better things, and Benjamin Francis Leftwich is certainly one of those. Been around for a couple of years now, this multi-talented folk singer from the depths of York cites amongst his influences Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Arcade Fire, an odd mix.
His debut album Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm is an absolute treat. It debuted at number 35 in the UK charts, which isn't at all a bad effort seeing as Leftwich represents a genre horribly under-appreciated in the UK mainstream. The album itself is jam-packed with peaceful melodies, flowing riffs and intricate lyrics. 'Pictures' and 'Atlas Hands' are two personal highlights, both of which were released as singles and are simply beautiful. There is also the delightful 'Box Of Stones' which is complemented wonderfully by Leftwich's long-time collaborator Haley Hutchinson who is equally worth a listen (She is part of The Sorry Kisses, a two-some comprising her and Sam Forrest of Nine Black Alps and her dad played guitar with Bowie). These tracks conjure images of forgotten rural lands, places where I imagine Leftwich spent the majority of his childhood.
Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm has been followed up with an EP released a few weeks ago, entitled In The Open. It's of a similar style to the album but with a little bit more bite to it, there is the faint hint of electric guitar in record highlight 'Manchester Snow', which I've linked at the bottom of the page along with 'Pictures'.
Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm has been followed up with an EP released a few weeks ago, entitled In The Open. It's of a similar style to the album but with a little bit more bite to it, there is the faint hint of electric guitar in record highlight 'Manchester Snow', which I've linked at the bottom of the page along with 'Pictures'.
It's music like this which, for me, keeps the music business ticking over but is so terribly under-recognised. Leftwich at no point tries to sell out and almost seems to make a point within his wavy melodies of not trying to sound too 'complete' or 'defined'. Under scrutiny, his lyrics are fascinating and insightful but my personal favourite is one particular line in 'Pictures', 'If you find faith in your parent's God/ Don't be so quick to point out the flaws in it'. A simple lyric which yet may have taken a tremendous amount of thought to conjure and definitely one to leave you with.
Leftwich is embarking on a tour of North America in February then returning to the UK to play London, Glasgow, Birmingham and Newcastle. I for one am pretty excited.
Away from Yorkshire, I've been listening to Fever Ray's debut album Seven this week. She's part of popular Swedish electronic duo The Knife but for me this album supersedes anything they've released, definitely worth a listen.
Once again, thanks a lot for reading and you can always tweet me (@goldbart1) with opinions or music.
Max
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