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BRIEFS THE SMIRNOFF CO will unveil five ice sculptures across the UK on 11 Sep, celebrating the national launch of two new flavours of vodka: Green Apple Smirnoff and Lime Smirnoff. Appearing in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and London, the ice sculptures will recreate iconic landmarks from each of the five major UK cities in the form of scaled- down replicas. In Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries, an ice carving of the Armadillo measuring 8 metres by 2.4 metres high will be constructed.
GLASGOW’S SOUTHSIDE is waving a cheery hello to Shed Live, a host of new live entertainment nights to run alongside their club nights. The new programme will kick off in September with live musical performances from acts such as The Five Aces, Big Vern and The Shootahs and Kizzy Star. FANS of the odd dram should be pleased to hear that Whisky Live – complete with whisky tasting and sampling events – rocks up to Glasgow this September, as part of a global initiative.
OTAGO NEEDS YOU ■ A plan to build flats and commercial units in Otago Lane in Glasgow’s West End has come under opposition amid fears it will ruin the boutique-style lane and force the closure of one of its best-loved retailers, the Tchai Ovna tea house. Protesters are worried the proposed development will eradicate a large part of the conservation area, as well as worsening congestion and putting other local independent shops at risk. Their Facebook page, Save Our Lane, already has upwards of three thousand members and is growing by the day. Supporters of the cause are urged to write to Glasgow City Council or sign up at www. gopetition.co.uk/online/30135.html
ON PATROL Snow Patrol’s Reworked tour will feature ‘reinvented’ songs from the band’s 15-year career, as well as some from the Reindeer Section. The tour begins in Belfast before hitting the SECC on 30 Nov.
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27 Aug–10 Sep 2009 THE LIST 5
Renaissance man The List lifts the lid on Nick Cave’s literary opus, as it prepares for a multimedia invention Words: Rodge Glass
P olymaths eh? They’re never satisfied. Though best known as the menacing, preacher-like front man of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the erudite Australian has been branching out recently. Amongst other things he’s now a successful soundtrack artist, having worked on films such as The Proposition (for which he wrote the screenplay) and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, out in the UK in January. Then there’s his new(ish) band Grinderman, featuring the core of the Bad Seeds, who released their raw- sounding debut in 2007 and are working on a follow-up. But even this has left spare time. So Cave has now re-entered the world of publishing. Originally a screenplay he wrote, entitled Death of a Ladies’ Man, this has now been turned into The Death of Bunny Munro, Cave’s second novel and first in 20 years, the story of a Brighton-based lothario who realises, to his horror, that he is damned and probably about to die. With all the swagger, sexual undercurrent and surreal aura of his recent musical work but also apparently influenced by the SCUM Manifesto (that’s the Society for Cutting
Up Men, for those not all that familiar with 1970s feminist history), this is a proper novel, properly written, properly put together. Fans won’t be surprised to hear that this isn’t simply going to be released as a standard hardback. Published in 31 countries worldwide, the August release is more like a multimedia event, with Edinburgh-based publishers Canongate claiming a world first. Some details remain hush-hush, with certain technical aspects and some live appearances being kept top secret. But without incurring any major court cases The List can safely say the novel can also be bought as a 7-CD or downloadable audio book, read by the man himself, replete with haunting soundtrack written by Cave and long-time collaborator Warren Ellis. And if the prospect of the author whispering sweet blasphemy into your ears isn’t enough, it also comes with 3D and binaural spatialised sound by the good people at Arup Acoustics, specially designed to suit headphone listening.
Mills and Boon it ain’t. You have been
warned.