Needle in the Groove
Encyclopedia
Needle in the Groove is a 1999 novel
by Jeff Noon
. A music/spoken word CD was released on the same day as the book.
It tells its story through the eyes of Elliot, a young twenty-something bassist
, as he finds himself playing bass for Glam Damage, a new DJ-based band who are experimenting with a new recording technology - a weird liquid/drug that remixes music when shaken.
2002, and the drugs as music metaphor is the essence of the novel. Eschewing conventional punctuation
, capitalisation and grammar
, the book reads as if it is a series of song lyrics.
The book also traces the history of pop music
in Manchester, starting with skiffle
in 1957, running through the sixties, before coming to an angry explosion with the punk
of 1977 and the Buzzcocks
. This love for music is also expressed by the names of the streets. Poking fun at the increasing excesses taken towards marketing our heritage, Manchester streets have been renamed after Mancunian bands and musicians. So we are given Ian Curtis
Boulevard, a street called Gerald
, Bee Gees
Avenue and even Northern Uproar
cul-de-sac.
This was Noon's farewell book to Manchester, before he moved to Brighton
, and, for the time being, seems to be the last set in the Vurt
/Manchester universe. His next work, Falling Out of Cars is his first not to be set in that city.
and David Toop
. The music is experimental
/ industrial
and backs Noon speaking lines from the Needle in the Groove book.
The CD was originally available from the Needle in the Groove website (now offline) for £10. Now, the CD is available in very limited amounts as there has only been one pressing of the album.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Jeff Noon
Jeff Noon
Jeff Noon is a novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works make extensive use of word play and fantasy. Noon's speculative fiction books have ties to the works of writers such as Lewis Carroll and Jorge Luis Borges...
. A music/spoken word CD was released on the same day as the book.
It tells its story through the eyes of Elliot, a young twenty-something bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
, as he finds himself playing bass for Glam Damage, a new DJ-based band who are experimenting with a new recording technology - a weird liquid/drug that remixes music when shaken.
The Book
Previous readers of Noon will be in familiar territory, the book is set in the near future of ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
2002, and the drugs as music metaphor is the essence of the novel. Eschewing conventional punctuation
Punctuation
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences...
, capitalisation and grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, the book reads as if it is a series of song lyrics.
The book also traces the history of pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
in Manchester, starting with skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
in 1957, running through the sixties, before coming to an angry explosion with the punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
of 1977 and the Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
. This love for music is also expressed by the names of the streets. Poking fun at the increasing excesses taken towards marketing our heritage, Manchester streets have been renamed after Mancunian bands and musicians. So we are given Ian Curtis
Ian Curtis
Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...
Boulevard, a street called Gerald
Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert...
, Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
Avenue and even Northern Uproar
Northern Uproar
Northern Uproar are an English rock band from Heald Green, Stockport. They formed in 1995 and initially disbanded in 1997. The band reunited in 2006 and are currently working on their fourth album. They released three albums and a number of singles, several of which charted in the UK Singles Chart...
cul-de-sac.
This was Noon's farewell book to Manchester, before he moved to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, and, for the time being, seems to be the last set in the Vurt
Vurt
Vurt is a 1993 science fiction novel written by British author Jeff Noon. Both Noon and small publishing house Ringpull's debut novel, it went on to win the 1994 Arthur C. Clarke Award and was later listed in The Best Novels of the Nineties....
/Manchester universe. His next work, Falling Out of Cars is his first not to be set in that city.
The CD
Released on the same as the book was the musical version of Needle in the Groove. The CD was produced by both Jeff NoonJeff Noon
Jeff Noon is a novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works make extensive use of word play and fantasy. Noon's speculative fiction books have ties to the works of writers such as Lewis Carroll and Jorge Luis Borges...
and David Toop
David Toop
David Toop is an English musician and author, and as of 2001 was visiting Research Fellow in the Media School at London College of Communication. He was notably a member of The Flying Lizards. He was a prominent contributor to the British magazine The Face. He is a regular contributor to The Wire,...
. The music is experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
/ industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and backs Noon speaking lines from the Needle in the Groove book.
The CD was originally available from the Needle in the Groove website (now offline) for £10. Now, the CD is available in very limited amounts as there has only been one pressing of the album.
Track listing
- door code
- scorched out for love
- bass instruction#1
- heavy on the download
- glamourboys parade
- plugged in total
- bass instruction#2
- dubbed out for love
- the kiss
- the kiss (recorded)
- bass instruction#3
- vibegeist (spirit of the groove)
- smoked out for love
- bass instruction#4