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In The Mix

Last week Sylvia tipped me off to the fact that Rock Bottom Music is closing down at the end of the month and is marking down their already cheap stock. So when I was in Sydney on the weekend I tricked Sylvia into thinking we could do something interesting and dragged her to Pitt Street.

About two years ago I saw Guerolito, a remix of Beck’s 2005 album Guero. I hadn’t seen it since, and had been kicking myself for not buying it. That situation has been fixed now.

I may have bought B In The Mix. All popstarlets should employ Jacques Lu Cont to produce their music. The end result would be so much better. (And by ‘all popstarlets’ I mean Britney and Gwen. The rest can go die.)

Manic Street Preachers B-Sides / rarities collection, Lipstick Traces. ‘Cause I’ve been getting into them all over again since the release of Send Away The Tigers.

I don’t really know why I bought The Verve’s singles collection on DVD. Film clips hardly interest me. But it was cheap. Also, The Verve are reuniting! Awesome! Well, it could also be disastrous, but let’s hope for awesome.

Words From The City

I recently heard there was a feature length hip-hop documentary coming out called Words From the City. When I found out it was about Australian hip-hop I got a bit interested. When I found out it was about the decent Australian hip-hop (we’re talking Elefant Traks / Obese here, not American imitation), I got excited. And when I saw that TZU were featured in the documentary, it’s fair to say I wet myself.

Straight from the website:

Focusing on the unique lyrical and verbal artistry of the form, the film follows a diverse range of artists from around the country, including Wire MC, Hilltop Hoods, Downsyde, Layla, Koolism, Bliss N Eso, Maya Jupiter, TZU and MC Trey. From social and political rage to personal and cultural storytelling, from laneways and parks to festivals and nightclubs, the film explores the diverse environments that shape these artists and their urge to make their voices heard.

Filmed across one long hot summer against the backdrop of an increasingly conservative mainstream, Words from the City follows the daily lives of these artists at the vanguard of Australian hip hop, a movement that is exploding onto the musical landscape as one of our most powerful and energetic creative forms.

Check out Joelistics freestyling!

I have no idea when I’ll be able to see it. I’m not likely to be going to any film festivals, and it’s not likely to be very in widespread the cinemas, so I might be waiting for the DVD. But it’s gonna be … uh, dope. (Seriously, it’s gonna be awesome).

Like Simon Pegg

Yesterday morning I thought I had a brilliant idea. Get up twenty minutes earlier than usual, and go for a run. (With the idea that eventually the energy gained from daily exercise negates the pain of getting up earlier, and then some).

By yesterday afternoon I was pretty sure it was a stupid idea. By last night I was pretty sure it was a stupid idea, and there was no way I was going to do it. I set my alarm twenty minutes earlier anyway, figuring I could hit the snooze button and/or throw my phone under my bed.

Amazingly when my alarm went off I was surprisingly calm about the situation. So I got up and went for it. When I got outside I realised there was a few parts of the plan that hadn’t been very well thought out. First, there was no way I was going to stretch because that would require standing still and it was freezing. Note to self; next time, stretch in bed while in the process of waking up. Second, I am fitter than I thought and twenty minutes was very easy. With no barriers to push I got bored very quickly. It’s unlikely I can be bothered to get up any earlier, but will twenty minutes suffice? I’ll take my iPod next time. Third, I was running on a completely empty stomach. While this meant I was less likely to get a stitch, it also meant I felt like vomiting before I’d started spreading fish guts on my toast. A helpful hint - it doesn’t matter how thirsty you think you are, don’t drink the glass of milk until after you’ve eaten the first piece of toast. This also gave me a headache, in a good way. Except that I’ve still got it eight hours later.

So far, I’d call it a success. But will it be this easy tomorrow? Unlikely.

Health Kick

I need to get healthy. Not in a ‘health freak’ way. More in a general health way.

My main problem is I’m lacking in energy due to too little exercise. The other day I had to charge my phone overnight, so it was on my desk, out of arms reach from my bed. When my alarm went off, at half past eight and I woke and realised I would have to get out of bed to switch it off, I thought the world was coming to an end. For a few seconds I thought there was literally no way I could possibly face the day if I had to rouse my body at that moment. I thought I was going to die. Pathetic, I know. Yet again, work is impeding on other areas of my life. More exercise equals more helpful chemicals a-flowin’, and less sleep needed. Ideally I’d run a few kilometres every day, but work means there’s no time for that like there was during the university years.

My second problem is food. In primary school Harold the Giraffe told me about the four tier food pyramid. But I’ve since been told it’s all wrong, and we should use a seven tier pyramid.

I’m not a health nut. I’m not going to stop eating food I like just because it’s unhealthy. However I do need to do some little things, like get more fish oil and vegetable oil in me. I’ve started eating sardines on toast for breakfast, because that’s easy to do. I tried to find avocado spread, an apparently common replacement to margarine, but no one seems to sell it.

So I need ideas. Especially for the exercise problem. The clincher is that it has to be incidental. I can’t spend an extra hour a day making new complicated meals. I can’t just go out and run to nowhere and back again, I don’t have time. I can’t run or cycle to work, it’s too far. The exercise needs to be two times a week minimum, preferably three. Incidental, incidental, incidental. What do you reckon?

Little Eve

Kate Miller-Heidke’s debut album Little Eve came in the mail yesterday. It’s awesome. I got a bonus disc. It’s awesome too. The CD comes out tomorrow. It’s witty, it’s happy, it’s unique and you should get it.

Speed Of Purple

Last week, after seeing Kate Miller-Heidke, I bought an EP of Kate’s backing vocalist and violinist Sallie Campbell. As I walked out of the pub I was kicking myself for wasting money on a band I didn’t even know the name of. Four days later I still didn’t know the name of them, but I was no longer kicking myself for spending the money. I chucked the songs on my iPod to listen to over the weekend. They are great.

And they’re called Speed Of Purple, which is not so great.

I don’t know how to describe them. They have strings, and piano, and drums. And probably other stuff, I wouldn’t know. And it sounds kind of pop, and pretty fresh. I’m afraid the only place I can find their music is on their MySpazz, but even I’ve now learned how to use MySpazz well enough to hear a band’s music, so you’ll cope too.

Am I really Reduced

Kate Miller-Heidke is very small. Very very small. She’s also very loud. I’ve never seen such loud and varied (musical) noises come from someone so small. She’s also completely insane. Seeing the world through her eyes would be a trip.

I saw her live last night. It was pretty excellent. Her live show is nothing amazing, but she’s so good that doesn’t matter much. The opera-singer-turned-pop thing is hugely entertaining. No doubt when she’s a bit more experienced her live show will be something to behold.

She did all the songs I knew of hers (which isn’t many) except for Blah Blah. She even did Australian Idol (if you haven’t heard it, shame on you, and here it is).

During the show some genius photographer decided to obstruct my view. They are usually some kid from the local university looking for assignment material. I figured he’d move after a while, but it seems he was only after one angle. I moved towards the back for a better view. Towards the end the merch table got set up right next to me, so when the applause finished I found myself first in line. I had a brief conversation with Kate (yeah, we’re on a first name basis now), and a slightly longer conversation with her violinist Sallie. Then I spent thirty dollars on two EPs, one not even Kate’s but rather Sallie’s band, because I am that easily conned out of my money.

(I’m really sorry Sylvia, I forgot to mention to Kate that you have her music on your MySpazz page like you asked. I was nervous and stuff, because she’s famous).

Civilized Dialogue

‘Talk’ by kphil

When somebody disagrees with us, we should thank God instead of digging in our heels. Civilized dialogue is one of language’s greatest gifts to humanity, right after love songs and 419 scam emails.

:: John Darnielle.

The Mountain Goats - Standard Bitter Love Song #4 (Amoeba Music Store, August 22, 2006)