Go on, get started on Hornby, Mr Sinker!!!!

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re thee "new yorker" thread on ILM. Someone mentioned "hornby" (I presume nix0r hornby) - "don't get me started on hornby" replies are mark. Mr Sinker, please fire away! Someone lent me that crap book he wrote about the record shoppe, saying "it's just like us". Excuse me?!?! NOTH!NG L!KE ME, D00D, not even when I worked in a used rekord store. I though it was k-lame rubbish, and every time I've read interviews w/him in thee guardian or some such place, he seems so BORINGLY OASIST in his tastes & outlook. So I say screw him. And his imitators (and don't get ME started on the section ov Dillon's bookshop marked, I kid U not, "millenium fiction", and which consisted solely ov hornby/"trainspotting imitators. GrRrRr. Gimme Alasdair Gray or Jorge Luis Borges anyday. Your THORTS please, dear posters.

kiss kiss

― |\|0|2/|\4|\| |=4'/, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I just got Fever Pitch while over there and quite liked it. But I've steered away from anything else he's done -- the description of the original High Fidelity was pretty offputting.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

_About a Boy_ struck me as being a carbon copy of _High Fidelity_, but without the hipster music references. Haven't read _High Fidelity_ (though I was told, like Mr. Sinker, it is SO me it hurts - sorry, I only WISH I had as much facetime with the ladies as that record geek nebbish), but the movie was entertaining enough. Doesn't really whet my whistle, though.

I read an article in my lovely Hartford Courant (the GOOD section) about how hot young writers are being buried with comparisons to either Hornby (XY) or Fielding (XX), regardless of the book's contents. Those book companies must be run by some sad little pygmys.

I'd take Gray & Borges, too, if I knew who they were.

― David Raposa, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nick Hornby = of absolutely no interest to me at all, being Mr 90s Bloke supreme. I don't have anything against males obviously, but I do hate Blokes.

― DG, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Mr 90s Bloke supreme": can't tell from yr grammar, DG, if this refers to you or to NH. Surely you are Mr 00s Bloke supreme?
[distant heckle from ILE Massive: Answer the question!!]
(mark s adopts sophie ellis-bextor-type i'm-ignoring-you-all face, and minces off)

― mark s, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No, I mean HE is a 90s bloke supreme, not me. I'm not blokey in any way.

― DG, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Who are Gray & Borges, please and thank you?

― David Raposa, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Borges - Argentinian writer of referential, 'fantastic' short stories that often read like literary criticism, scientific reports, autobiography etc. His best collection is aptly titled 'Labyrinths'.

Gray - Scottish experimental writer, author of 'Lanark', '1982 Janine' and others. Again, v. far removed from any kind of literary realism - mates with the great James Kelman, but little in common lit-wise. Has keen interest in S+M too. Designs his own bks; most recent publication an anthology of introductions.

― Andrew L, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

So Gray is still alive? I thought he was not in this world anymore none, for some reason. Might be because Cindytalk references Lanark in a song and Mr. Sharp tends to like his heroes dead for some reason.

You don't know Borges, David? Be off with you. ;-) No, to be fair, I've read little of his work, but one day more will be forthcoming. If we're off on another random recommendation list, might I suggest Stanislaw Lem, who is as amusingly convoluted and mock-academic as Borges but from his own particular sphere? Solaris may be the most famous, but I'd suggest The Star Diaries as both great sf and wonderfully hilarious writing.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Andrew L's description above beats what mine would have been. "Lanark" is perhaps my fave book. "Labyrinths" its main competition. I read a feature a while ago in the guardian which claimed that the folks who made "trainspotting" were originally planning a film vers. of "Lanark". They even had pics from Gray's storyboards. Bah. How I wish they had. Imagine all of the shit clubbamental "we do drugs, us" britmovies that would NOT have been made were it not for the success ov "Trainspotting" (which I actually thought was OK, but not as good as an indie film of "Lanark" would have been. WTF do I know, though. I saw "run, Lola, Run" at the tyneside cinema thee other night AND THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT.

x0x0

― Norman Fay, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Run Lola Run = grate

― mark s, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I liked Run Lola Run, and so did the divine LC, therefore RLR = GRATE.
Anyway, this isn't the point - MARK! Tell us about Hornby!

― DG, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

la la-la la-la la

― mark s, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Come on, Sinker...Out w/it! A blunt stix0r covered in narky bees awaits otherwise!

RLR = the real "tomb raider" movie?

xoxo

― Norman Fay, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mark, if you don't hurry up and tell us I'm going to have to break the peace treaty and tickle you do death with a feather duster at the Lollies gig tomorrow.

― DG, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

perhaps i *like* sticks with bees now, dum-de-dum-dum-dee

― mark s, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If so, DG, you must take pictures.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If he hasn't answered the question by the time I go to bed tonight (and I don't know when that will be) I'll pack a duster for my travels tomorrow and hope someone else has a camera, I don't. SINKER - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

― DG, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I didn't see any Tombs in Run Lola Run. What are you on about you apeth?

― Pete, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

hot chix0r w/turquoise garment running around all over thee place. Vid-game-like intensity of action. Guns waved around. You get killed, you start again. Yes, I know it's not much to go on, but I am a sad old fart.

xoxo

― Norman Fay, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No, Norman I thought the exact same thing. My housemate and I came up with the perfect Tomb Raider movie over a year ago, in which Laura dies 100s of times in different ways, occasionally bumps into walls for no reason, and spends lots of time running in circles - why didn't the studios listen????

― tracer Hand, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

RLR- rubbish ending.

― Mitch Lastnamewithheld, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't change the subject! You'll only let Sinker boy off the hook! [btw it's 9pm Mark, you have a maximum of six hours to explain yourself]

― DG, Friday, 17 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Tick, tick, tick ...

― Robin Carmody, Saturday, 18 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

tick tick tickle

― mark s, Saturday, 18 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Bah! I saw Mark at the Lollies gig but was unprepared for threatened action. I'll get you one day, Sinker! [shakes fist]

― DG, Saturday, 18 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

So how were the Lollies, then?

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They were jolly good actually, I had a very nice evening. Some of the other bands were a bit...iffy, though.

― DG, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Would those spotty bands be the ballyhooed (and damn fine, if my mind ain't completely shot) Olympia, WA contingent?

― David Raposa, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Lollies = grate; the Gossip of Olympia = also grate (shakin' swamp rock like i imagine the cramps first did, cept singer = fat, and her fatness = the thrilling scary centre of the energy) (plus singer publicly dissed nme and steve s*therland hurrah); Sarah Meagre = very meagre (plus most whole time bitching abt unnamed people); left before headliner haha as am old and need my bed. also met (for first time) gareth (who = disappted at low drum'n'bass quotient) and paul strange- fruit (= busy and frazzled). And — completely by chance — my good friends Sarah and Jonny. Didn't know a single song played by the SF DJs (cept a cover of Betty Boo's "I Love You Baby"): all great, the bulk as if jilted john dominated the pantheon as the stones used to...

― mark s, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Meagre!! Oooh!!!

― the pinefox, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Were you there last night, pf? I imagine her stuff MIGHT be quite good on record, given a bit of time. But I wasn't sold, and the between-song lectures about who-knows-who were a pain.

― mark s, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

There a few moments when I thought Rik from the Young Ones was going to run onstage and incite The Kids to revolt! Right On!

― DG, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Thought the Lollies were great, tech hitches were intermittent but didn't distract too much. But the Olympia contingent had a few bitchy, not exactly straightforward ISSUES in line with a very puritanical Evergreen State form of feminism which didn't exactly tally with being positive to other women.

Shouts going to DG, Sinker, Gareth, Sarah and Alix, Paul, Kate etc. It was fun.

Hornby's new novel is on the Booker Prize longlist and it is PaNTZ.

― suzy, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Tasters for slow-building rant:
1. Fever Pitch = pretty good. Reasons to come.
2. I believe he is a sincere and basically a nice man. For a gutless pseudo-sleb dimwit.
3. cf thread on male kulchur for early elemenZor of my plaint
4. [Tash-Will-Come tag followz]: Nick Hornby can suck my cock till I cum blood

― mark s, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

And isn't Daddy Hornby former chief of British Rail or summink?

― suzy, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Surely the ex-boss of British Rail being called Mr Hornby would just be too classic? And even if he was, what's your point Suzy?

― Nick, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It was WH Smiths, I think.

― Robin Carmody, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

eleven months pass...

I think it may be a more interesting question asking why mark didn't diss Hornby here? Surely more than laziness as he appears on the thread a few times, going out his way to be pithy - then, it is easy to be pithy. Bring um dowin, please.

― david h, Saturday, 10 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hornby is Mark's secret benefactor or something, he can't say anything nasty.

― Nicole, Saturday, 10 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

There's your thread revival of the day. And now that the noise article is complete, Mark has no excuse! ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 10 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"give me borges over hornby" = "give me owl over kinder egg"

unless are you equating labyrinths with record shop/memories? or are you just MAD and incongruous?

― Bob Zemko, Saturday, 10 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

er no, I'm equating a writer of fiction (good) with another writer of fiction (shit). And yes I am mad and incongrous, but no so much so that I would come out with this:

"give me borges over hornby" = "give me owl over kinder egg"

Which, I think is totally incorrect and more than a little a bit silly.

― Norman Phay, Saturday, 10 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Fiction" is a bit of an infinity to just pluck out two (as far as you have indicated) random authors and say... what? They write fiction so they have what in common exactly? Like an owl and a K-egg are both, like, stuff? I don't see yr point

ps OH NO you called me SILLY!!!

― Bob Zemko, Sunday, 11 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

ps2 don't take this as a personal attack, i'm just prodding cos I'm bored. I don't know if that's obvious. doesn't mean I don't feel i have a point tho.

― Bob Zemko, Sunday, 11 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Tracer - v funny movie joke

Re Irvine Welsh - filth was very good, if he'd left off the ending and not made it that the wife's voice was actually the cop's at the end - it was really thrilling for a few moments to think that you were reading the voice of a vapid, bad, irredeemably stupid woman - the cancer was just him not being able to leave his own notes on character development out of the story! Good characters though good voice I thought and good control overall, able to leave out poetry very well.

Nick Hornby - I havent' read him but have a lil anecdote that my friend told me - a bunch of english judges went to a country retreat to judge who was the best young writer in england and one of them complained that nick hornby had ruined everything cos all the manuscripts had lovely details in them of things like how someone put their teacup into the saucer but none of the details went anywhere. that is a criticism that i think could be levelled at some contemporary photography and installations that recreate scenes and interiors from the recent past too. nick hornby is responsible for the dissipation of thought then. but i bet i would like him.

― martika, Sunday, 11 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

martika - i lub you - you just wrote me something, finished me something, i have my stricture, my structure...

― david h, Sunday, 11 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Bob, really, I just picked out Borges & Gray because I like them as much as I dislike Nick Hornby, and there are a load of even worse imitators of Hornby, whereas I've never seen an imitator of either Borges or Gray. A lot worse than Borges or Gray = possibly still readable or even enjoyable. A lot worse than Hornby = pulp it up quick for chrissakes.

― Norman Phay, Sunday, 11 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

please?

― david h (david h), Saturday, 28 September 2002 17:45 (twenty-three years ago)

six months pass...

I looked at 31 songs; it was abominable. So was N Lezard's Guardian review.

― the pinefox, Thursday, 24 April 2003 11:28 (twenty-three years ago)

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