Iain Cameron's Diary
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2002-12-13 - 4:58 p.m.

Stranger Days. Yvonne phoned to say that James has been offered a place at the London School of Economics to read International History � there are only 20 places and I am not sure that there is another course in the country like it. This is really the course that seems most closely to fit his interests in global historical patterns � if he gets offered a place at Cambridge it will be a nice issue which he might take. Anyway it means he can do what he really wants to do and it is a long last some definite pathway forward after all his work � and his decision to break the normal pattern and apply on the basis of concrete achievement rather than someone else�s assessment of what he might get. If he wants to be an academic then this is as good a launch pad as any � but if he wants to meet lots of interesting people I am sure the LSE would work on that basis too.

This was a definite lift to the day which started with me wondering what on earth I might be on about with that version of the Disney song � was this a bridge too far etc.

I listened to the 2nd C Wilson album � it opens with Strange Fruit. On a first hearing it�s a good reading of a pretty hard challenge. It�s a unique song which has already been given a classic treatment � but she is able to make it her own. Its even braver to make it the opening track of the album � because it is such a disturbing work. There is no other way round the song � you have to make it hard to listen to and then to set it right at the opening shows great artistic confidence.

Great news about the Blur guitarist wanting to do Been Smoking Too Long. I really look forward to hearing GC�s version and Robin�s new treatment.

Paul mailed with some really good feedback on the Shortstories � including an imagistic treatment of the set. This is massively useful in trying to understand what the music amounts to. I mailed it to Gilbert and he was very pleased with the feedback too. Mark also seems pleased with the way we have weighed into BBC 500 � in some ways I feel this is the harder piece � because the treatment is so long. If a piece lasts a minute or so � like a lot of the early Webern and Schoenberg pieces then it can be tolerated even though it might be quite discordant. When a piece goes on for 5 minutes or more then the listener expects the journey to yield something other than confusion! Also I am more tuned into the Shortstories having listened over many times. BBC500 was done this week and seems to have pole vaulted me into more extreme territory than ever.

Laurence and I exchanged some stuff too � he has a book which lists 7 independent areas of �aim� or �benefit� or �goodness�

Knowledge

Play

Beauty

Sociability

Practical Reasonableness

Spirituality

Life Itself

We kicked the list around a bit and decided it was pretty good � not in the sense that its obviously right but if it is wrong then it is in a very interesting way.

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