Saturday, October 18, 2008

Coronation chicken

Nico's culinary arts. Hmmm, I am thinking there may have been a moment or two when he and the interviewer were speaking at cross purposes, but here is a funny bit:
Growing up in New England, the only child of two counter-cultural and unparental artists, the adolescent Nico attached himself to a dreamy old England that he discovered by listening to High Anglican church music. 'I know, it's culturally bizarre. But for me William Byrd's music is the most fascinating thing ever, maybe just because it's so severe and restrained. He could only write one note for every syllable of text, otherwise they called him a papist. Then there was Tallis writing this totally decadent, continental-sounding stuff at the same time, and Orlando Gibbons with those twisted cadences that they thought announced some devilly apparition. Because of all this I became a choirboy, then I got obsessed with finding out about the English Reformation. It was, like, wow, so there was this gay king, James I, who wrote the Bible!'

1 comment:

  1. Cornation Chicken? Ha! You're reading the new Hensher, aren't you?

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