Monday 3 October 2022

Oh Miki, you're so fine

 A cup of tea waits for me on the table, getting cold. 

Biscuits lie on a plate uneaten.

The police are outside, hammering on the door, shouting through the letterbox, threatening to ram it open if I don’t answer.  Ok, I may have embellished that last bit (it’s just the postman with a package and a polite knock) but whatever it is, sorry, I’m oblivious, in another zone…… the reading zone.   The zone you get into which makes you forget to drink your tea, ignore that Hobnob, miss that knock at the door.  The zone you get into when a book is just so absorbing that nothing else around you can compete.  And it’s all Miki Berényi’s fault!

My copy of Miki’s autobiography ‘Fingers Crossed: how music saved me from success’ arrived just a couple of days ago and I’m already completely immersed (time off from working at last!)  I’d read some pre-publication reviews and excerpts, all of which confirmed this was going to be a book I’d lap up, perhaps for the most obvious, predictable reasons: to read an inside story on her band Lush and all the musically connected musings and revelations.  But I’m only a quarter of the way through its 367 pages and her life story so far hasn’t even got to that, yet it’s still as enthralling, hair-raising, fascinating and also, at times, disturbing as any sensational tale of adult rock’n’roll exploits.

I shouldn’t really be reviewing it so early on, I’ve a ton of chapters still to go, but my enthusiasm has made me defy convention – why not? I just want to get it out there!  There is so much ahead, I know – about the formation of Lush and its interpersonal relationships, the gigs, tours, triumphs and fallouts, plus Miki’s personal encounters with the sexism in the music industry and in particular the toxicity of the lad/ladette culture within Britpop (she is not afraid to name names) – all of which I’ve no doubt will keep me captivated. An extract from the book published in the Guardian recently is wonderfully, satisfyingly and justifiably angry and I feel especially invested as a woman - I love to read about this world from a female perspective, particularly when it also covers a very relatable period in time for me (Tracey Thorn’s and Viv Albertine’s autobiographies were likewise appealing).  But Miki’s accounts of her unconventional upbringing even before any of that could almost be a book – or film - on their own.

The childhood tales which are as shocking in places as they are compelling are told with a straightforward openness and the insight and emotional intelligence that has come with age.  100-odd pages in and our author hasn’t even left school yet but already I feel as if I’m on a wild, chaotic ride – leaving me feeling very troubled at times, but I take comfort from the fact that Miki is still here now, in a different life, to recount and reflect on her experiences with distance and disarming honesty.

Anyway… a premature review this may be but perhaps my impulsive urge tells you as much about the book as any in depth one may do later.  Plus I have a feeling I’m going to be too exhausted (in a good way) by the time I get to the end of it to write anything coherent…

It also seems deserving of a *‘Swedey McSwedeface’!


And, of course, some Lush:



* The official definition of  Swedey McSwedeface can be found here

'Fingers Crossed: how music saved me from success' by Miki Berényi was published by Bonnier Books 29th September 2022

26 comments:

  1. Read a review and interview a week ago and will definitely read this at some point.

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    1. I think you'll love it SA. There are some great photos in the book too, always a bonus!

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  2. I read the Guardian piece and thought the music stuff was great, but worried the family stuff might get a little heavy for my easily-depressed brain. Your half-review is persuading me otherwise.

    Top SMcSFace, C.

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    1. The family stuff is hard in places but I think, because Miki is telling it herself from this distance, you can sort of take on her attitude to it and be guided by that, if you see what I mean. I'd definitely recommend it anyway (in case you hadn't guessed...)

      Re. the SMcSF, it's not easy to cross fingers whilst holding a book!

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  3. Sold! Don't wrap it, I'll take it as is. Etc.

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    1. I think you'll love it - and Christmas is just around the corner...

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  4. Glad you're getting a break after all your hard work and that book certainly seems to have hit the spot. Enjoy the rest of it at your leisure, if enjoy is the word, experience it perhaps.

    Great Swedey.

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    1. Thanks Alyson, I'm just starting to wind down and it's lovely - but probably overdid the reading in the first couple of days as I had one of those MWWMMWWM (that's meant to be a zigzag) migraines again!
      Hope you're getting some breaks from your big project too?

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    2. Cross fingers the zigzag migraines go soon - they certainly were short-lived for me.

      Our big project being presented at the weekend, so a bit frazzled getting everything ready. My blogging has suffered too as a result. Hope to get back on track soon.

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    3. Thanks, hopefully a one-off the other day - I don't mind too much if I'm not doing much else but would rather not have them at all of course. Hopefully no more repeats for you either. I've even thought about doing a blog post about the phenomenon (it's quite an amazing psychedelic light show, after all - and seems to be experienced by more people than I had ever imagined!)
      Really sorry to hear you're feeling a bit frazzled by it but wishing you lots of luck for your big project presentation, and hope you can find some time to relax properly for a while afterwards - although I suspect that if all goes well it does mean you'll still be busy. So, as we always say, though, the blogging can wait - it will come back when the time is right.

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  5. To my shame I know nothing about her or the band; I should really address that.

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    1. Sorry, that was me (JM)

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    2. 'Lovelife' is a great album but, even if you're not enamoured of their music, this autobiography is just so interesting and revealing and so engagingly written - I'm sure you'd get something out of it.

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  6. I had no idea Miki was writing an autobiography until it was published and it's now gone straight onto my list. I'm woefully behind with my reading this year but this will be jumping the queue. Your early review captures the excitement of an utterly compelling read. And congrats on the SMcSF whilst crossing your fingers, no mean feat!

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    1. I know what you mean about book/reading lists - this one jumped the queue for me too. You know how sometimes a book just calls out to you and you can't wait! I've no doubt you'll find it as compelling as I am. Having to ration my consumption of it a bit now so I can make it last just a little longer!

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    2. I do! And the same with music, as your comment/signpost to HANN on my blog yesterday will attest...!

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  7. Slightly sceptical as I've never missed a hobnob, just saying x

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    1. :-) I may have exaggerated just a little...
      Lovely to see you Yve! x

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  8. As I'm sure I've mentioned once or twice in the past, I'm a dreadful picker up and putter down of books - there are at least half a dozen within arms reach of me now that I'm 20-50 pages into and have become distracted from for one reason or another. Every now and then though, a book will grip me totally, just as Miki's has you, and I literally can't stop reading it. Isn't it great when that happens? I'm glad that you're finding yourself with a little more time on your hands at the moment, so that you can really get stuck into Fingers Crossed. Don't overdo it though, those migraines sound very unpleasant.

    It's good to see the SMcSF being featured in alternative scenarios by yourself and John in recent days. It's been a long time since I did one. I'm not sure if I could actually conceal the whole beard behind an LP sleeve at the moment though, it's all getting a bit wild in the chin area!

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    1. Yes, so brilliant when a book just keeps you wanting and reading, fully engaged. I can only manage one book at a time but if it doesn't grip me I drift away and may not finish it; no chance of that happening here. I'm back to work tomorrow - but a slow easing in to a new project so Miki will not be neglected!

      I love that the good ol' SMcSF can have multiple uses! Wow, your beard must be even more impressive than when we saw you... maybe you'll have to show us an opened gatefold sleeve held lengthways to conceal it all next time...?!

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    2. I went to see Blancmange on Saturday (the band, not a wobbly dessert on a plate, that would be weird even for me). I was surprised and delighted to see that Neil Arthur has jumped on the SMcSF bandwagon…!

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    3. Khayem - ah, it's catching on!
      Martin - see Khayem's latest great post over at Dubhed

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    4. In a word, superb, Martin

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    5. Cheers. Must try to see them sometime.

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