Uncut magazine wants to know if you have a question for Julian Cope. But hurry because submissions are due tomorrow, July 26th. I probably haven't kept up with Julian Cope's career as much as I should have, so I'm not sure what I'd ask him. But I noticed that while UMG has released a deluxe 2-Disc edition of 1992's Jehovahkill, Cope's initial Island solo releases, the World Shut Your Mouth EP and Saint Julian are out-of-print. Considering Saint Julian looks to be fetching good money on Amazon.com's marketplace, perhaps a deluxe edition of Saint Julian is in order as well.
I think this EP was my first exposure to Cope's music, although I may have heard one of the Teardrop Explodes' albums first. It's hard to be sure. When this came out in 1986, I was a junior in high school and discovering new music at a fast and furious pace; this was around the time I discovered both the Velvet Underground and Love, as well as many later day acts that were producing music under those band's influence. It seemed like every week I brought home a new record that blew my mind, whether it was by the Dream Syndicate, Robyn Hitchcock/The Soft Boys, any number of SST acts, Echo & the Bunnymen, or Julian Cope.
When I first heard "Umpteenth Unnatural Blues" I thought it sounded like a long-lost outtake from Love's Forever Changes. I still do. The guitar break distinctly recalls "A House Is Not A Motel" and Cope's lyrics wishing a violent death unto himself ("I want to die in solitude, I want to die in pain, I want to see my rotting body swept out in the rain") recall Arthur Lee's dark vision. "Levitation" is a rocking cover of The Thirteenth Floor Elevators' classic, and is probably what led me to discover that band.
Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention that Julian Cope has a robust web presence.
