- Naima Bock
- Posts
- May 2025
Hello, it’s been a little while since I last sent one of these out! Now that I’ve finished my degree I have much more time for music-ing, which is nice. We just got back from three Dinosaur Jr dates which went well, I got a jack extender from the tech guy that I’ll treasure. I am also playing guitar in a band called ‘The Cindy’s’, we played some Alt Escape shows and Dot to Dot festival last weekend. There’s more shows to come; namely supporting myself (ha) and Chris Cohen in late July.
Pre the last month (before May 1st deadline day), I was writing my dissertation on a vague idea around cultural differences towards death (very original I know) and tried to link it in somehow with something archaeological sounding, this was the title;
How ingrained cultural and psychological attitudes towards death affect the curatorial practices of archaeology and heritage workers in places of suffering; with special focus on ‘Instituto Penal Cândido Mendes’ and ‘Hospital Colônia’ in Brazil.
I got away with not mentioning stratigraphy or soil. I also had a mini heart attack when I heard I was going to have a spoken exam (heh?!). Turns out I did it without realizing when I rapidly babbled my way through the explanation of my floundering diss idea in front of a bunch of extremely clever UCL students who had all done actual research of their own using microscopes (or something else in that ballpark). They also made their own graphs? They were absolute clever clogs (I mean that in the nicest way possible) and will surely carve great futures for themselves. Needless to say, I hope I pass as it was a lot of work. The day after I handed it in I had that strange amnesia of immediately forgetting everything I’d learned and never ever wanting to open pages, look at my laptop or venture anywhere near; reasearchgate (worst one), JSTOR (best one) or Academia (average) etc. again. I would, however, like to thank all the public libraries and staff there for their existence, these were the most welcoming and warm environments I could have asked for. It made working in a fancy cafe (especially one I won’t mention by name that exists on a small side street in Dalston) feel completely heartless and devoid of all things good in this world. I experienced this jarring sensation only rarely as the majority of my studying time was spent in libraries, with the final week spent in the (little bit more fancy but FREE) Barbican library, which is ace. They have two electric (good ones) pianos that you can practice on with headphones in between writing, they have a whole music library as well a place where you can listen to CD’s. It really is good, I like it very much and would recommend it to anyone who wants some quiet or needs somewhere to play piano.
So I finished that and went to the pub quickly and then I completely forgot about the degree and carried on with my life as usual. The only problem I found with doing so was that I didn’t allow for any time to reflect or commemorate or recognize what I’d put my poor brain and body through. I just trundled on being busy and worrying about the next thing. This ignorance came back to bite me on the bum three weeks later when my emotional world got all wobbly and I didn’t know where to land. Turns out not traveling and being at home is the best way to land, so that’s what happened and now I’ve had some pleasant days completing menial tasks. This shall last until next Wednesday when I go on tour again with Jake Xerxes Fussell, this will be great because I am a huge fan and will enjoy listening to him every night.There’s also two nights where Richard Dawson is playing (wow) and I will also enjoy that as I am a FAN!
These dates are as follows and are in France and the Netherlands;
5th June- Lyon, France (w/ Jake Xerxes & Richard D)
6th June- Paris, France (w/ Jake Xerxes & Richard D)
7th June- Le Havre, France (w/ Jake Xerxes & Richard D)
9th June- Groningen, Netherlands (w/ Jake Xerxes)
10th June- Nijmegen, Netherlands (w/ Jake Xerxes)
11th June- Rotterdam, Netherlands (w/ Jake Xerxes)
Then playing a festival with the full band in Bergen on the 12th of June, the festival is called Bergenfest. Following this we have some time off in which I will be going back on the Camino for 8/9 days. After this, we have our London show;
10th July- Omeara, London
and the day after we’re supporting bloody Neil Young and no you can’t have guestlist but yes I still love you.
Currently eating; salted popcorn and much fizzy water
Currently reading; Loves Work by Gillian Rose (started today)
Currently watching; Pixar films and people having fights on the street below me
Currently listening too; mostly Radio 4, Aimee Mann, Michael Hurley, The Gloaming and Modest Mouse
Currently working on a new album which is completely written and ready to record in August, you can send me name suggestions.
Before finishing I’d like to put a word in for the late Michael Hurley who passed away last month. I’ve loved his music since I was 14 and words won’t do justice to how much his songs helped and inspired me. In his honour and as thanks to him for being completely himself in this world, we’re putting on a night to play some of his tunes on the 19th of June in London (this will be announced shortly).
Thankyou all for subscribing to this and apologies for the far and few between-ness of these newsletters. I enjoy writing them and aim to write more in the coming months, again, any sauna recommendations in the Netherlands and Bergen would be appreciated.
I have put new T-shirts up on the Bandcamp as well if you want to buy one that would be grand ❤️ here’s the link;
You can find my very professionally taken photos of the T-shirts there but remember that they do look better in real life.
From Naima (Redina) Bock xxxx