—-
‘It seems Brisbane’s experimental music scene may be flourishing again. Peaks and troughs, ebbs and flows are common not just to Brisbane’s music scene but to its very demographic. Census data tells us that huge swathes of ‘young people’ leave Brisbane yearly to live, work and study abroad. The entertainment sector presents us with film titles like ‘All my Friends Are Leaving Brisbane’ and local band nights called ‘God Hates Brisbane’. As an outsider looking in you have to wonder how Brisbane’s creative side feels about itself. The creative arts have had, historically, an uneasy relationship with Brisbane’s conservative and rural minded heritage.
‘Musicians support each other by swapping members between bands, which deepens the level of respect and camaraderie, although finding venues to play in can be a challenge. While there was a shortage of venues over the last 18 months, Brisbane’s musicians took advantage of their enviable weather and planted the scene in backyards. Tom Hall’s regular house party series, Sonic Boom, of last year seemed to be dictated entirely by the idea that good sound is good sound so let’s all get drunk in the back yard. — Cyclic Defrost
‘In terms of the music scene Brisbane is good, maybe better than it has been for ages. Some really inspiring bands around the place. Some pretty cool and unexpected things coming out of Brisbane lately, like the Bedroom Suck label, which is looking pretty promising, and the Negative Guest List ‘zine, which is just one of those crazy opinionated publications that you always hope will come along. Otherwise the city is hot and they are always building new buildings. They re-did King George square, which you might remember is this big public square in the middle of town, in this really expensive landscape-architect’s-wet-dream kinda way. Only problem was they used these concrete tiles that heated the square up to over 50 degrees celsius, and people hated the new square, and goths don’t hang there anymore. Brisbane just isn’t ready for that kind of change.’ — Daniel Spencer
____________
Primitive Motion
‘This duo is an offshoot of Brisbane’s Deadnotes, and while they share some similarities to that outfit’s stumbling gait, their approach is way diff. Electronics, male/female voices and echo-up-the-wazoo make me think of a creation strain of San Francisco post-punk aesthetic of the very early 1980s. But the label’s reference to the Door and The Window is accurate as well. Very diffuse, non-anti-hippy pop-weirdness. With flute!’ — Byron Coley
live in Brisbane
___________
Kitchen’s Floor
‘Kitchen’s Floor takes nothing for granted. There is nothing escapist, mystical, or blankly comforting in their music. It’s anthemic, but not in an Arcade Fire sense. That band’s music is about 5% struggle and 95% chest-beating triumph. KF inverts that ratio, to spectacular effect. They know that the beauty exists in the effort, that perseverance in the face of hopelessness can be its own kind of victory. In this sense, KF embodies the experience of most people in their early to mid-twenties. ‘Regrets’ sounds drunk and unfocused, well-read yet barely articulate, profoundly furious and desperately in need of a map. There’s something very early 90s in the way the album straddles the line between fighting to the death and walking away. Barlow, Cobain, Westerburg, et al would be very proud.’ — Collapse Board
‘orbit’
______
Feathers
‘Feathers remind me a lot of Vivian Girls; don’t be quick to pan these ladies, that girl-group comparison is only for comparisons sake. Feathers have got just enough rowdiness behind them to keep you engaged but don’t sacrifice DIY pop charm. From the sweet trance jam “Early Morning,” to the up-tempo “Cruel For Love,” there’s some killer sound going on; bass heavy tracks brimming with infectious hooks and stellar guitar. To say Feathers are good isn’t enough. I’m pretty jazzed on this release, as an LP it’s rather strong and I can only imagine how these songs sound live. Potentially my new favorite act.. someone get this band to tour the states as soon as possible.’ — Heartbreakers
Live at Latrobe Tce. Brisbane 15-07-10.
________
Cured Pink
‘Cured Pink is artist/musician Andrew McLellan whose “music may sound like a man raging at (and in) a void” but “is also a defiant act of celebration. These spontaneous howls and improvised song fragments are teetering on the edge of chaos. […] But it’s also fun!” (Mess and Noise magazine). In 2010 Cured Pink appeared at Psycho Subtropics curated by OtherFilm (Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces), Make It Up Club and Stutter and at Cairns’ On Edge Festival.’ — DISEMBRAINING SINGLES CLUB
Live 23-12-2010 Underneath the William Jolly Bridge
Per Purpose
‘Per Purpose take a page from the Minutemen’s ‘jam econo’ philosophy. Brevity is favoured, and normal song structure is ignored or contorted so that every worthwhile idea can be crammed in to fit. Like that influential trio, this one shifts gears every few seconds, but tends to keep grooving/convulsing along in one malformed way or another. It sounds like chaotic, agitated energy being forced through a conduit of brittle ‘n’ wiry punk-funk.’ — Lee Parker, Five Thousand
live at Format, Adelaide, Feb 27th 2011
____________
The Lost Domain
‘The Lost Domain are among Brisbane’s most intriguing experimental outfits. Members David MacKinnon (aka John Henry Calvinist), Simon Ellaby (aka Ragtime Frank), Greg Hilliard (aka Papa Lord God), Leighton Craig (aka L Tone), and Eugene Carchesio (aka Mr E) have all been involved in a multitude of visual, aural and performance art projects. In The Lost Domain, they produce a racket that encompasses elements of primal, deconstructed blues, blown out free jazz and irreverent references to rock music. These realms and many more have been explored throughout a two-decade-long discography of innumerable cassettes and CD-Rs.’ — The Thousands
Froggie went a-Courtin’, From Exploding Cinema in Brisvegas #3, 2007
________
Sky Needle
‘Sky Needle perform primitive pop improvised along hypnotic waves of clunk in the backwater of the cosmic junkyard on unstruments operated by Alex Cuffe, Joel Stern, Sarah Byrne and Ross Manning. Sky Needle live in Brisbane, Australia. As Sky Needle say, “we are a couple of steps up from banging rocks together in a cave and a couple of steps down from modern music”. You can hear in there, the influences of the repetitive abrasion of 80’s New York post punk/no wave, but it’s got more rhythm and more soul. Perhaps somewhere between post punk and free jazz.’ — Sarah Werkmeister
Live at Burst City, Brisbane 18-07-10
__________
Blank Realm
‘Blank Realm is a rock band out of Brisbane. They “create a levitating atmosphere built on improvisations that focus sharp into excellent, tuneful songs (Brian Turner – WFMU)”. The band is composed of 3 siblings and a spiritual brother who share a love fine dining, and even finer selections from their well-stocked humidor. While they once sat comfortably next to Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood or Castings, they now sound more at home playing side-by-side with Royal Headache or Boomgates, as they did tonight. This stylistic shift reflects a wider philosophical movement in Australian underground punk music: a dismissal of the predominantly disaffected and angry music that prevailed in the last decade, in favour of something gleeful and celebratory.’ — Mess and Noise
at the ***9 Johnston Street Landslide
_____________
Lawrence English
‘Lawrence English is media artist, composer and curator. Working across an eclectic array of aesthetic investigations, English’s work prompts questions of field, perception and memory. English utilises a variety of approaches including live performance, installation and found sound/vision to create works that generate subtle transformation of space and ask audiences to become aware of that which exists at the edge of perception. For over a decade, English’s audio investigations have traversed a divergent path where musical and environmental sources are granted equal focus. His work calls into question the established relationships of sound and structure – field recordings and musical materials work in unison, acting as suggestive devices. Rather than prescriptive, English’s sound work calls for the listener to construct their own narratives and impressions based on their personal histories and experiences.’ — LPE
live at Serial Space, Sydney July 2009
—-
*
p.s. Hey. ** Matthew, Hey, man. Lispector, that’s interesting. Yeah, that’s cool. Good mental move there on your part. Kudos. The working girls/ guys ring is still there? That’s crazy. When I was at the Book Fair, I never left the official grounds except to eat near the Fair and/or smoke, so I didn’t get to check out possible local bookstore finds. I just googled the topic, though. There’s this. You could try that. Yeah, I’ve read some Will Alexander. Very, very interesting stuff. I read, uh, let’s see … ‘Exobiology as Goddess’ and ‘The Stratospheric Canticles’. Maybe one more. I’ve heard great things about ‘Sri Lankan Loxodrome’. I’m going to get it. Hang in there. How has today turned out? ** Allesfliesst, I’m afraid I do, although when I polish it my eyes are usually kind of semi-beat, so it probably doesn’t read like it’s been smoothed. But I do try. Thanks for the celebratory pen rotating on my behalf. Yeah, seriously, doing this blog is like having a full time volunteering job. I try not to think about that too much though because I don’t want to risk coming to my senses. But I like that the blog feels like it just magically appears. You get a pen rotation for suggesting that this place might have been the result of a spontaneous combustion. If only. The buches were good. My plans got fucked up because both of the limited edition ones I wanted got sold out before I reserved them. So they looked more normal this year. You can see a bunch of people plus me eating the best looking one of the two in last weekend’s Varioso post. The one Yury and I ate on Xmas was so normal looking that neither one of us remembered to take a photo. ** Jeff, Thank you, man. A belated Happy Birthday to your mom, and, of course, I’m glad you had a good time. ‘The Collected Connoisseur’ looks/sounds pretty tasty. I’ll see if I can search it out. Thanks again, Jeff. ** David Ehrenstein, Congrats on being one of the winners of the Jon Swift Memorial Prize! Whoever does that yearly wrap-up is very attentive. That’s nice. Everyone, David E.’s FaBlog won a cyber-certificate of very high merit at the Jon Swift Memorial Roundup 2011, which is kind of an annual awards for blogs and posts. Go check it out. ** JoeM, That makes sense about the market size and swift reactions, yeah. I’ll watch the new ‘AbFabs’ when they get available, and I know they will. I watched it the last time they revived it, and it did feel kind of stiffened and too self-conscious, but nonetheless blast-like, of course. I’ll try to be more careful in the future with the fast judgement of long-haired old guys. It’s the old rockers who did it to me. Steven Tyler and the rest of them who I assume think that as long as the cameras taking their picture aren’t too close, they’ll look like they used to. And maybe Bob from ‘Twin Peaks’ influenced me too. ** Killer Luka, Cool, you’re welcome, awesome! ** Ken Baumann, Ken! I quite liked ‘The Last Novel’. See what you think. I’m reading almost only mss. right now that people have sent me either to read or blurb. Tao sent me the Megan Boyle book, and I just got it, so I’ll read that too in the spaces in-between. Best to you, buddy. ** Trees, Hi, T. Oh, yes, I saw Mike’s personal finale of your Xmas Eve-ning together via a video on his FB wall. It looked to have been, um, very effective, ha ha. Very cool about you reading with Lonely Christopher and Richard. Do get someone to put their iPhone in video record mode at the very least, okay? That’s funny ‘cos I’ve been thinking I should try to listen to more older stuff ‘cos I’m in such a phrase of devouring the New these days. Godflesh is awesome, of course. Maybe I’ll go back and start there, come to think of it. But I don’t want to get evil or more evil, hm. You don’t seem evil, so maybe I’ll go ahead and take the chance. Bon everything, man. ** A.r., They/it kind of are, right? It’s fun to see you and Joe go back and forth on Saville. I’m starting to think I should do a post about him. ** _Black_Acrylic, The book is pretty good, yeah. Kind of wandery, but even that feels like it’s happening out of necessity. ** Bernard Welt, Yeah, I think that new ‘AbFab’ thing is coming to the US on some official TV channel or other soonish. I read that somewhere. ** Misanthrope, I get you on the tea thing. That makes sense. I almost kind of wish my tea drinking wasn’t a habit ‘cos it kind of has made me take tea for granted. I will not make an escort joke. I will not make an escort joke. That is weird. I agree with Joe that your job is wacked. Maybe you should do a blog post about it. I thought about adding a ‘ha ha’ there, but then I didn’t. Interesting. I hope what’s-her-butt gets assigned to DC longterm, obviously. I used to spend big wads at Xmas too when I had people around who I had to buy presents for. Like Cody. Every Xmas, I tried to buy him into being a cool and weird guy when he grew up. Seems like it worked or helped at least. ** Chris Cochrane, That Linton thing sounds nice, Oh, the Clock Tower. It’s still going? Awesome, cool place. Is that recording of the Nayland/Ish/you thing watchable by bystanders like me? I’ve always wanted to see it, natch. Yesterday I just listened to the stuff in the post above when I was checking to make sure the videos I imbedded were still there. ** Postitbreakup, Yeah, a few people wrote to me to congratulate me on that lifetime achievement award thing while I was asleep. I guess it’s very cool, but as it’s called the ‘Foer/Franzen’ Lifetime Achievement Award, it also seems like it could be mean or something. I’m going to go watch the stream of the awards ceremony thing and try to suss out Roggenbuck’s tone of voice when he gets to my award. Maybe I’ll do that now while I’m doing the p.s. Hold on. Okay, I’m watching it. Man, he talks really loud. I had to turn the volume down to almost the bottom. Anyway, in theory, yeah, that’s pretty cool, I hope. And other awesome people got awards too: xTx, Richard Chiem, Blake, Ofelia Hunt, etc. Thanks for your congrats. I hope next year is your alt lit gossip rewarding year. ** Chris Dankland, I have no tattoos. I’ve never thought of anything that I wanted to be attached to and saddled with for eternity. That tattoo you’re thinking of imbedding in yourself sounds really cool, I have to say. Yeah, nicer the more I think about it. Mm, it’s weird ‘cos I relate to Whitman’s Transcendentalist thing more than I do to Dickinson’s Isolationist thing, but I don’t really like Whitman’s poetry, and I do quite like Dickinson’s. That’s strange. Anyway, I say go for the tattoo. I feel no reservations while encouraging you to do that whatsoever. ** Statictick, Cool, you’re welcome. I’m sure Jeff thinks ‘you’re welcome’ too. I’m so sorry to hear about Moose being sick. Having little kids means one gets sick a lot more than un-childrened guys like us. Well, you get sick way too often too. Anyway, I sure hope it’s just some particularly vexing but brief winter- related thing and that it’s evaporating right now. Let me know what you hear from her, and I’ll check her FB wall too. ** Chilly Jay Chill, Hi, Jeff. Yeah, Coley’s a longtime treasure. It’s very cool how he has remained totally in touch with new music for so long. I thought The Wire’s best-of list was pretty reasonable. It made me go buy some stuff. I hadn’t heard and have just downloaded that latest Ferrero album, for instance. I think it’s interesting that The Wire loves that Reed/ Metallica album when so much virtually no other music review place can stand it. I haven’t listened to more than a fragment. I wonder if I should extend my experience. Have you heard it? What did you think of The Wire’s picks? I hope you’ve nailed the ending of the theater piece now. Endings, yikes. The only Mario Vargas Llosa books/stuff I’ve read haven’t done all that much for me, no. ‘The Cubs’ … I’ll try that. Nice title. But, yeah, his work has never instituted passion in me much at all. ** Steevee, Hi. Yeah, exactly, on the estate stuff. Sure, I’ve heard Francoise Hardy. I knew her work a little when I was living in the States, but I’ve become much more familiar since I’ve been over here. I don’t own anything other than a handful of tracks. I just hear songs there here and there a lot. I’ve liked everything I hear, pretty much. I think her singing/ interpreting is particular in an intriguing way, although I don’t know if I would have picked up on its specialness if I wasn’t so surrounded by the sounds of French chanteuses all the time. See what you think. ** Shannon, Thanks, Shannon! I want to be entirely ridiculous. That sounds so inviting. Any tips? Happy New Year three days early to you, buddy! ** Alan, Is that true about the plural of p.s.? It looks ugly. Or maybe it looks interesting and I’m just being afraid of the new. Let me try something. ‘p.ss.’ But my spellcheck just underscored that spelling with the fatal red line. Let me try ‘p.s.es’ Okay, that’s interesting. The spell check automatically changed it to ‘p.s.s’ How about that? ** Joakim Almroth, Hey, J! I’m doing good, I think. It’s kind of too cold outside, but, wow, here I am griping about cold to you who are probably frozen everytime you even slightly crack one of your windows right now. I feel like I’m being sloth-like too. I guess it doesn’t show up here. I have plans to get less sloth-like today, but I haven’t figured out to do that yet. I think it might have to involve a ride on the metro. Anyway, I hope your distractions are good ones. Love from your pal and collaborator, me. ** Oscar B, Hey! You know, until the night before last, it was really mild in the cold department, not that Kiddiepunk wouldn’t been complaining, ha ha, but now it’s actually pretty cold outside. So maybe this cold right now is a freak thing, and it’ll be all temperate again upon your return? Let’s hope so. How hot is Melbourne? Go ahead, tell me, I can handle it. ** Okay. Uh, yes, quite simply there was the article/scene report in the last issue of The Wire about the experimental music scene in Brisbane, and it sounded really interesting, so I researched it and its music makers and listened to a bunch of things, and, yes, it is very interesting, and, yes, as so often happens in cases like that, a post was born. Meet the Brisbane experimental music scene. Enjoy. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
Dennis? You trust Blogger over me?
P.S.
postscriptum
postscript
P.SS.
postscripta
postscripts
Hey Dennis did you ever hear from Balthazar Clementi re TMS?
Well Coop, I do forget that American television is not some vast transmission with its
digital phalanges rummaging the inside trouser pockets of the galaxy.
So, here is my privy depot on the mentioned TV series: ‘Face Off’ is
reality television game show, hosted by someone’s daughter, in which a
group of “creature feature” prosthetic makeup artists compete for cash
and prizes. The contestants all look like alt-sters from 90’s/early 00’-ish:
pluged 1inch gauged ears, retro (hey sailor) sleeve tattoos, full on the black dye
and Betty Page haircuts. The industry expert judges have that elder
Sunset Strip, cool not so cool, metal daddy rocker thing. Challenges
include flying latex, gelatin, and silicone, naked models, dancing
zombies, aliens that live on planet Gliese 581g and villains with
catchy tag lines, so ya, cheez-its nibbles. ‘Project Accessory’ (a
great title if you shade it) is the bog-standard sibling of ‘Project
Runway’ with the non-German host Molly Sims (?), the contestants
compete with handbags, bangles, earrings that chandelier away
Connective lobe tissue and scads and scads of bedazzled sandals.
Highlights for me a necklace pendant made from the wings of
a horned Herculean beetle, faux leather re-take on the bolo tie
that looked like an ineffectual Haute Goth noose or stilly slave collar,
must have, must have. ‘Work Of Art’ is not unlike ‘foundations’ year
at art school, assignments using a variety of materials, forms,
genres, media, and styles. The show does not deviate from the reality
game show format; meaning the process and the artwork are appendages
to the creation of type characters: Asian conceptualist, graffiti artist, clamorous performance artist, waterless fish Midwesterner chain smoking urbanite sporting the skinny jeans and a Liam Gallagher circa 1994 shag,
sad eyed dow boy who may or may not be wearing anxiety disorders like a sweater… I am making it sound much worse then it is, worth watching.
The child in the picture is male, the new one, his sister was born with
a full head of hair. I should take up wig making! Imagine, I could
take my brand gait to streets in variety of disguises… afro-puff
drummer ,dreamy bedroom hair pout , flat iron emo, curl bang
skater, dread occupier, Even Peters, an early Michael Stipe…ahhhh. I
should take up hat making… hair hats, hair collars, hair vests
(Flitomus wrings his hands) textures for two-d art … hair sculptures;
watch the fuck out ‘PROJECTEDWORKOFRUNWAYACCESSORYART’
This Brisbane post looks cool, I will give it more attention when after I leave of work.
I like the Hardy album I picked up, but it's strange. If you took off the vocals, it could pass for an American singer/songwriter album from 1972. That means lots of US folk and country influences, including pedal steel guitar.
The Reed/Metallica album is worth a download to hear once, but I think it's awful. It sounds more like a mash-up than an actual collaboration. Reed's vocals don't suit the music – or mesh with James Hetfield's backing vocals – at all. The lyrics sound like bad beat poetry. Both Reed and Metallica sound tired and well past their prime. Neither seem to have put any thought into how they could combine their styles into a synthesis that could actually work, instead of jarring.
Ah, many thanks for the introduction of Max Blecher. We had Scarred Heart in stock for awhile at Book Soup, but it totally went under my radar. i just ordered the last remaining three copies of Scarred Heart for the store – and I'll pick it up for sure.
A Chris Stamey tribute would be great. He sort of fell between the cracks of the REM world. Meaning that there were a lot of bands of that type, and of that time, but only REM really made it into the mainstream. Which to me is a shame, because of all the bands of that period, I find them the lest interesting. Stamey's songs and his guitar playing is pretty amazing. So I think it is time to focus some attention to Chris Stamey.
And yes Dennis, for some reason I have been having trouble linking my personal blog to facebook, and not sure what the problem is.
aw, i also read the article on brisbane in the wire and thought i should check out some of the bands mentioned there. excellent service, mr. fulltime volunteer. yeah, i'll keep pretending to myself that everything which appears here magically flows from your never-tiring fingers by clicks or by hits on keys. as soon as i got a new job i'll work on some guest posts to make your life a little easier. actually, there is one that is almost complete, and an idea for another. — those buches look yummy enough, if not quite as eccentric as last year's bamboo branch. (did everyone have to wear black?) i'm really bad with making reservations, i'm almost never in time and i kind of hate it, haha. our favorite vietnamese restaurant is just about to become so popular that you need to reserve a table on weekends, and it won't be long until it will be the same on weekdays – and then, bye bye, i guess… that's also one thing i dislike about paris: almost no chance to get a table in good restaurants without reservation. although, for a buche i might get my head out of my ass…may-be ;d
Thanks for the Brisbane primer! Cured Pink gets my vote from a quick skim through.
I got a nice LP in the post today. It's a compilation of rare Italian new wave from the early 80s, the first track of which is XNO – The Story of the Death Boy. That song gives me goosebumps.
I also read a fascinating article about the origins of psychedelic trance music here. Now I dislike that sound intensely, but the story of its origins is quite an eye-opener.
I think this long-haired old guy is very scary.
Can you believe this is the same person?
The best thing about the new Ab Fabs is that Jennifer Saunders is back after battling cancer. She seems to have a new lease of life. Though she IS writing a film with the Spice Girls. I can barely think of a more unnecessary comeback.
I like improv music but I love studio. I just think like with MP3s and compression with live music you get an uneven and even faux-sound. Didn't get NIN's Broken at all, even though I knew it was probably one of the most progressive records ever. Are you a Dodger's fan? 'Cos you just earned a psychedelic Dodger's jersey! TMS scares me in the worst way, with you being the guy that would know something about something like that. LOL Will Farrell, that other dude was actually good in "Kevin". When I think boys in elf suits, I think attitude. Like that older brother, works at the mall, doesn't masterbate quite enough snip. That sounds right, you could even make it a banana split! Xmas horror movies are so nostalgic and fun. Fun like this, Worst Xmas Story Ever Christmas boxes just opened all around Paris, they're easily 17 and their panties are around their ankles. I think I may have read 'A Christmas Story', never watched the movie, it was always too weirdly Midwestern? Capote is one of my favs, "Country boy can survive." Satanists! "Wanna smoke a joint?" Thanks dude! Just learning the ropes. I love to write and rewrite. I want it to churn, I want it to burn, I want it to bleed, I want it to be less. Off to catch up and get some godamned writing done.
Thanks again! Regards, Steve
I saw THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN today, and while it's better than WAR HORSE by virtue of being short and unpretentious, it's not much of an improvement. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is the Spielberg film it evokes most closely, but if anything, it feels more callow and less mature. In fact, it comes off like a feature made by one of the teens from SUPER 8 if they had enough technical resources. It works as eye candy, but that's the only level on which it succeeds, and even there, it pales next to HUGO or even most good video games – the 3D isn't very expressive and when it is, Spielberg is throwing things into the audience. Tintin has zero personality and seems like a plot device, as do most of the other characters. I can see why this closed in a few weeks in France, and the screening I attended was half-empty, although that may have been because it was a weekday afternoon.
Dennis, Hahaha, believe me, it's hard for me not to get a boner when I'm told to get an escort there. Hehehe. Well, okay, don't believe that, but yeah, the double entendre is certainly swimming in my head when I hear it.
Yes! Weird and cool is better than normal. Definitely. And Cody's certainly got enough weird and cool to be…um, weird and cool. That's a compliment, btw.
Speaking of nephews, I've been kind of getting my nephew into the idea of maybe doing video game design when he grows up. I just don't see him being into art and things like that without that angle. So far, anyway. But he loves his videogames. I just heard him telling my mom the other day he wants to design games when he gets older. I got all warm feeling. 😀
Oh, shit, congrats on the Whitney Biennial. I totally forgot to say that though I keep meaning to. Duh.
I got my new Suede CDs today. They're really nice. Lots of pics and a nice booklet in each.
The job is wacked but I can't complain. I've been there three days this week and have done zero seconds of work. I spend my days writing, reading, and playing games on my phone. And I'm getting paid for it. It's all just so Twilight Zone for me. Like I said before, I'm not complaining. But I can't help but observe the weirdness, you know.
To respond to Joe also, there are times when I'm sitting there and look up and just can't believe I'm there, that it's real, that it's actually happening in real time. Especially when I hear the cat lady say something like, "We're so busy!" and I'm thinking, "Woman, you've done as little work as me, are you serious?" But I just let it pass and pinch myself.
I started thinking about the cat lady a bit today. Well, over the last couple weeks, actually, because the stench has become unbearable at times. It's really that bad, I'm not exaggerating one bit. As bad as I feel for her, I started thinking the other day, "She makes at least 70 grand a year, she can buy soap, shampoo, and detergent. Or buy a damned shed for her 20+ cats."
But I guess she can't smell herself, you know? Or she's used to it or something. I mean, there are days where I have to sit there for periods of time either holding my nose or with my shirt over my nose, it's that rank. Of course, I'm not gonna complain about it. The last thing I want is her to be fired and me to be stuck doing actual work.
Hia.
How are you? Is Christmas treating you nice. New year’s eve soon, we (as in me and my roomies)are having a party, but I'm not sure how it feels as it feel like a kind of important party to have. And I mostly go to them and rarely have them. But it'll probably be fine. There's going to be mostly pop music listening people there, because most of my friends that are not, and I ask to come, are either busy or too afraid of the pop listening people to come. They also go away for Christmas. To their homes.
I wish I was as good as opening my mind as you are. You find so many things. I can't get them to stick, or maybe lately it feels like my mind has got a new roof where the sky used to be. It's not sad just a bit more organized, as what used to be out is now inside. Like you have to shine lights on things to see them as roofs, unlike skies, do not give an evenly dived natural light to all. And it's not like the sky is lost, it's right there over the roof, I just need to find the staircase to take me there. Guess my light hasn't shine on that yet.
Did you get anything nice for Christmas? I did, but lately I've found gifts kind of strange. It's like the item parts of them grow into the givers thoughts about you, and not only for you. Maybe they always have, but it's kind of clearer now. From my brother I got a book and a figurine which is kind of his way of saying; we're alike in a secret way, even though everyone thinks we're so different. From my sister I got soap, tea and a star shaped bowl, and it's really nice but it kind of screams: I really love you but I've got no idea what to buy you. I think she's sad about that. As if she doesn't feel like she knows me enough anymore. I think if she would just remember that I'm just me she would realize that she does. That I'm just me even though I change, and she knows me.
I like the word clearer because it's like broken glass. Kind of sharp and see-through, and because it's see-through it's kind of round, because see-through is nice, and what's nice feels kind of round. I like clearer better than clear, because clear is more like the sea. See-through in a way that means it could be gone in a minute. Though I like them both.
I saw this film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1umvAwyyCU&feature;=related
and I really liked it. Guess because it's very different, and kind of bad, but then even though it is there must have been put great efforts in to making it. And that kind of makes it filled with joy. Because they bothered right? You can tell that someone cared. I think traces of care is some of the most beautiful things ever. Whenever I feel down I look for them and feel happy. ier maybe. but happy to.
Ok. Best of best to you. And lots of love!
Let the silver bears take you where
the paths grow too cold to be walked alone.
Two of my very favorite people singing one of my very favorite Frank Loesser songs
madlib, beach boys, dinah Washington, some miles tune with him playing wah wah trumpet and it sounds like keith jarrett playing ring modulator, which was always amazing, he hated playing electric, some of his best playing. john mcclaughlin tells a story of showing up for a couple days of recording sessions and miles gave him him a shitty guitar to play. – kind of fantastic, asking people to fucking deal with the limits he would set and they had to play and deal – muzak wise today was lot's of dreg ending with something from the Latcho Drom soundtrack – work today was helping someone call in a police report after she was stabbed by her partner. the piece with ish, nay and I – kind of a fantastic disaster, so I don't think you'll ever be so lucky – it was a worthy experiment. the kinks now – Mr. pleasant – I better stop while I am ahead – see you on the other side of the gig – have a great weekend
hey dennis, nice of you to turn yours and your musical ears to the antipodean shores. brisbane is one of the major towns i've never spent time in so was good to see a focus on this day. friends who played in bands used to like touring the West End of brisbane and I do remember the odd band travelling down from Brisbane to melbourne when i was there. it's been a good city for music too as far as i remember both The Saints and The Go Betweens hailed from there.
Re: your Foer/Franzen award maybe the award is named after that because the award givers feel you should be getting as much attention and accolades as they are. That's my thinking.
Loved the Perec day. that essay on the Infra-Ordinary started me writing an essay about appreciating the little things and looking around at the everyday rather than the larger abstract world that can be rather disorientating. tyring to juxtapose scenes from my day to day life in a small remote town in the NT with the grander theory of Perec and others. i'm not sure the juxtaposition works. we'll see.
hope you enjoy the fireworks display come Saturday.
tosh – one of my favorite records is rhris stamey and peter holsapple's Maverick, a collection of sweetffeelgood songs worth half a dozen angsty, self important REM records.
La Dolce Vita, properly letterboxed, ran on cable earlier. Oh bliss to see Nico cavorting in that italian castle and nadia gray's very modest striptease. 400 Blows followed but Truffaut never excites me like Fellini. Does anyone know why Nico is called Nico Otzak in the credits? She nevewr used that name, not ever.
dennis "agent" cooper,
i was in the chat at the time and we were all sincerely graduating you, i think the award is sincere despite the title. steve r is super nice and one of the very few optimists who doesn't drive me crazy, because he so sincerely wants to make people happy
i hope you have a really happy new year
*congratulating
dennis-
sorry for the MASSIVELY delayed response. it's been a hellish month between losing like a third of the staff at work (more hours, which equals out to great paychecks, but a lot less time for band practice or just sitting at home smoking pot), moving into a new place and trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy through the holiday season.
in response to yr questions, though. i haven't yet read any of PdB's work (couldn't find i'm with the band at the library but there's another library right by my new place that i will check for it). i did, however, read wonderful tonight by pattie boyd, which was a great one.
yes, las vegas. ugh. i've lived in this city for considerably longer than anyone should have to, but the longer i'm here, the less i can see myself living somewhere where i can't get a burrito and a bottle of whisky at 5am from the same place.
also yes, i'm a musician (in case the 'less time for band practice' thing didn't clue you in). guitar mostly, sometimes bass or piano (which i'm awful at, so not much piano). two bands. re-write dept is the band i sing and play guitar in. cupps, just guitar. i won't bore you with describing our sounds (except to say that the first rwd EP sounds like a bastardisation of the jesus lizard and june of 44, maybe?).
other things:
1. did not know that inspector gadget was a french cartoon. i watched that show all the time as a child.
2. byron coley's writing is always fun. i wish they'd anthologise forced exposure the way they did with t&g; last year (or was that '09? i thought habitual cannabis use only resulted in short term memory loss, so why have i so little long term left?).
3. that fucked up album blew my mind. pretty much the only other new record i listened to this year was arabia mountain by the black lips (and i suppose i did spend a lot of time with the alcest EP reissue, but it's a reissue so i don't know that it counts). i do intend to cozy up to the atlas sound and wire LPs once i get a chance to hit the record store again.
4. gbv… eh… i could never get into those guys. maybe i was too young when they were huge. or maybe they have too many fucking records and i have no idea where to start. perhaps i'll give the new one a spin.
i think that covers everything blog related that i was planning on commenting on in the last little bit. finished TMS again today (i think that makes 5 times through since i got it). i think i've got it, except the last couple pages are still proving a tough nut to crack. we'll have to discuss it over a pint sometime. on that note, i leave you with this thing i wrote at work a couple weeks ago that i'm planning on using for a song:
surrealistic vision. a ticker tape raper. and a sign overhead that told me in plain terms: 'repent all you sinners; what happened didn't stay, for the lord has an eye in his asshole and god wasn't made that way/to stay.'
cheers!
chris g.
postscript to #2: i suppose if they (coley and a publisher?) were to anthologise forced exposure, that would have to be a multi-volume set.
also, what did you think of the latest tom waits LP? i'm only just wrapping my head around it.