Took Josh for a drive in my car around the Healesville area, past the Sanctuary and parts unknown. It was a beautiful day for it. Last visit he’d expressed a desire to listen to the Oh To Love album by The Going Away Party (his old band) so that’s what we did during the drive. ‘Not a bad little indie rock album,’ was his modest summation after we got through it and the trip came to an end. He’s right: they made a good little album. Not a bad song on it. Josh, who wrote and sang all the songs, was in thrall at the time to the music of The Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, and that definitely comes through, but he also had his own thing going on that makes it unique.
Apart from that, we had our usual meal at the Chinese restaurant. His birthday’s coming up this week and so I asked him what he wanted, and typically, he said nothing, leaving me to grasp for ideas about what to get him. ‘What do you give the guy who has everything?’ I joked. Later, at his place, after the driving jaunt, he wondered, out of the blue, if the singer Carole King was a Canadian. He’d been listening to her stuff so I guess it was on his mind. I was pretty sure she was New York born and bred, and a quick net search confirmed it. We both warmly agreed on what a great album is Tapestry. Then I offered one of my patented critical viewpoints on the subject of the song, Home Again, that’s on the album. Basically, the lyrics of the chorus suck. It goes ‘Snow is cold, rain is wet/Chills me to the marrow’. What a stupidly obvious couple of metaphors! Couldn’t she come up with something a little more…imaginative? It reminded me of other stupid obvious metaphors. Bryan Adams’ Cuts Like a Knife. Then, warming to my subject, I offered other examples of bad lyrics, like ‘The point is probably moot’ from Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl, and ‘She knows what it takes to make a pro blush’ from Kim Carnes’ Bettie Davis Eyes. Oh, and finally, ‘You’re my pride and joy, etcetera,’ from Eleanore by The Turtles. What a damp squib of a compliment. I’m a bit of a nut about bad lyrics to otherwise good pop songs. I asked Josh if he could think of any, but nothing came to mind.
But most of the talk was around the album we’d just been listening to in the car. It was a rare opportunity having the actual creator of the music there in front of me, and he had a few observations to make. There were things he would have liked to have tweaked: songs where the vocals should have been double tracked, one track that he had wanted to add an extra bass line in, but the producer nixed it. He was proud of his bass lines, since the band didn’t have a bassist, and he’d only had about a week to come up with them, using a borrowed bass. I asked him whether songs from the album got any radio play, and apparently the opening track, Make Up, was played on local community station 3RRR, but apart from that, not much. The band didn’t have a manager, and only did four gigs before they broke up, which is a pity. I asked him what would have happened if they’d had a hit – would they have stayed together, and maybe tried getting a manager and all that showbiz razzamatazz (they broke up because member Drew left for a university post)? He thought maybe. Josh had a mental breakdown sometime after that. I wondered if the breakup contributed to it, but he said nothing. It’s a dark period for him. I hope the drive and revisiting that album helped shake some cobwebs loose for him.
I read that David Bowie play Lazarus again. That’s right: I read it twice. Well, it’s Bowie: we pay a little more attention. Also read a bunch of reviews and am hoping to get a glimpse of the film that was made from one of the London performances. It was mostly written by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, with inspiration and guidance from Bowie, so that should be acknowledged. My main interest in the play was the fact that it’s a kind of sequel to the book and film The Man Who Fell To Earth. I really loved the scifi elements of the film and was very invested in the story of ‘the Man’, the alien Thomas Jerome Newton, and his efforts to extricate himself from the muddle of life on Earth and get back to his home planet. In the play he’s still trying to get back, but he’s so ground down by alcohol, sadness and heartbreak that he’s incapable of saving himself. He hallucinates a girl, who later is called Marley (a ghostly Dickens reference) who tries to guide him. His flesh and blood assistant, Elly, tries to assume the persona of Mary Lou, Newton’s previous assistant (played in the film by Candy Clark), who he’d been in love with. And Valentine, a killer, tries to confuse him with promises of hope that are hopeless, and gives him a knife that he uses…Well, in the end he walks off with Marley, both ‘lost in the stars’ to some final peace and resolution. How it all hangs together with the music, I don’t know. It’ll take a viewing of the film for that. The reviews have been mixed, to say the least. It’s not the vision of a sequel that I wanted, it’s Bowie’s, and that’s enough. It’s a great soundtrack. I made a playlist of the songs.
I listened to my David BowieLazarus playlist while washing the car (don’t judge: it’s a good activity for listening to music). Not a bad selection conveying a pretty consistent mood. The only problem is the mood is glum. It’s not a laugh riot. There is a certain affection or nostalgia for the past, which lightens things a bit. Bowie always did melancholy well – I particularly like it on Where Are We Now. The overall theme of mortality wears a bit thin after a while, but I guess if your time’s nearly up you have a right to get maudlin. I need to listen to this a few more times to get the nuances. It probably just makes more sense in context with the play.
I played some No Man’s Sky for once. I started off at Sharon Base on Mina’s World. Did some aimless wandering, checked out a crashed freighter, then decided to head for Sana’s Moon to take up where I left off with the last film I made. Last time I was headed for Sana’s other base, Minatozaki Base, and the plan was to take a stargate from there to Nayeon’s World, which will be featured in the next film. I haven’t worked out the storyline yet, but I did film a visit to the nearby trading post and then went to Nayeon’s World for some reconnaissance. I was mainly on autopilot during all of this, just enjoying being back in the game and its world and enjoying the in-flight mechanics of flying my spaceship. I’ll go over the footage I shot and see if any of it’s usable.
At work in the library I helped a patron find a book he was looking for. It was The Empire Strikes Back: From A Certain Point of View, a collection of short stories that features new perspectives on the various characters and incidents that appear in the film. It’s part of a series of books that feature the other two films as well. Have to say, this is a GREAT idea and I have to get reading it soon. Thanks for clueing me into this, dude looking for a book!
I listened to the new Revisits and Discoveries playlist I made yesterday whilst driving to Healesville for work. Still can’t get over that Billie Holiday song, the wrongness of it, compared to Strange Fruit. There was a nice segue from the Creedence song Need Someone to Hold to America’s Today’s the Day. The America song starts with the line, ‘Hold me close/You turn nighttime into day’. And I listened again to Mardi Gras. Now I’m liking the Doug Clifford song, Tearin’ Up the Country. It’s really not bad. Doug delivers a good vocal. ‘Tearin’ up the country with a song...’
I also read a bit more of the manga Maison Ikkoku. Godai is caught ‘pleasuring himself’ by his neighbour, who blabs it to Kyoko, who was the object of the act. Wow, that’s a bit raunchy for an otherwise family-orientated slice of life manga!
Read the story Meisje met de Parel by Anna Wu in the Sinopticon collection. This was one of the most unusual time travel stories I’ve ever read. Shizuko is a budding artist whose father many years ago made a drawing of a woman he briefly admired. But it was torn, and she gets it fixed by a restorer she knows. The restorer excitedly shows Shizuko an anomaly on the drawing: the woman’s pearl earring contains some kind of fractal message when looked at through a powerful microscope. It turns out she was an AI from the future who had returned to the past to leave the message so Shizuko could be inspired to make her own version of this Girl With a Pearl Earring (the Dutch title refers to the famous Vermeer painting). In the pearl earring woman’s future the painting Shizuko will go on to paint is considered a masterpiece. There’s so much more to this story than that precis. It is told in quite an elliptical fashion that is intriguing and ultimately very satisfying. Definitely a five out of five from me.
Thursday was mainly about my trip to Melbourne, which I wrote up as a full blog here. When I got home I read through some of the art books I bought at the Outre Gallery. One was Neo Retro Illustrations, a riotous, colourful Kawaii overload of cute girls in retro themes. I especially liked artist Tabi’s gorgeous girl with penguin series. The publisher’s decision to print it on relatively cheap paper somehow adds to the appeal. Great for idly flicking through and having your eyes poked by the sensory overload. The other one was Everyday Scenes From a Parallel World, a larger format book on good quality paper. The luscious imagery by a series of artists is weighted towards young girls in dreamy Motoko-esque landscapes. It’s a familiar theme of individuals romanticised against a beautiful backdrop. Life is a movie, which is a quote from an Nmixx video I watched later, but which seems to fit here. The parallel worlds of the title peek through from time to time, looking very steampunk, which is a sub genre I love. Another beautiful get-lost-in-the pictures book to while the hours away.
I had some small change in my pocket I wanted to get rid of, so I did what I sometimes do to get rid of it – went to an op shop and made some unnecessary purchases. It’s usually a cd, dvd or a book. This time it was a couple of cds: The Dock of the Bay, anOtis Redding compilation; and The Best of New Order. Can’t believe I didn’t have an Otis album. The New Order thing is mostly their later songs, including an ‘88 version ofBlue Monday, but it’s still good. Anyway, it got rid of the couple of bucks change that was weighing down my pants. They are now in my ever growing To Be Listened To pile.
After almost a year since my Japan trip, I finally started listening to Perfume’s P Cubed comp in the car. It’s three discs of Perfume heaven. The doof doof of composer/producer/wizard Nakata’s beats never end and I think my car is happy to play along. It starts with Challenger, a new song at the time of the album’s release in 2020, but then it goes chronologically from the pre Game releases onward. The Game songs kick in early on disc one. I hadn’t heard many of the single versions of songs that ended up getting different album versions. There’s lots to take in. I think the wait has been worth it!
I watched a film I’ve had sitting on my PVR for years. In fact, it’s the first one I recorded on it. I guess I’m catching up on things. The film was And Then There Were None, a 1945 black and white based on an Agatha Christie story and directed by Frenchman Rene Clair. Ten people are holed up in a hotel on a small island and a sinister ‘judge’ plans to kill them all for their own acts of (mostly unintentional) murder. It’s probably Christie’s most famous story, originally titled Ten Little Niggers, believe it or not. It’s also known as Ten Little Indians. The plot point where the captives realise their killer is probably amongst them, rings paranoia bells that echo down to future stories like The Thing. Funnily enough, that story, originally titled Who Goes There, was published by John W Campbell in 1938, while And Then There Were None was first published in 1939. The film is a brilliant recreation of the play that Christie wrote, and includes a different, happier ending to the original novel. Let’s just say the film should be titled And Then There Were Two, because two people survive. Clair does some nice directing, particularly in a ‘keyhole’ scene where someone is spied on, who is spied on by someone else, who is spied on, etc. The plot is ingenious, and the book is still Christie’s biggest seller.
I watched some Youtube, mainly an episode of Twice Jeongyeon’s Inspector show where she invades a celebrity’s space and gets them to donate treasured items. Today it was the turn of rapper Hanhae to get the Inspector treatment. He generously donated some expensive wines he owns (he’s a wine fancier) and an exercise bike. The best part was when he persuaded Jeongyeon to go to his studio and record her doing a rap theme song for her show. Jeongie acquitted herself well and even wrote her own lyrics. It was a fun ep and was good to see her out on her own doing her thing away from Twice. It’s well-known she doesn’t want to do a solo (as yet), so maybe she could be a TV show host?
It was the seventy-ninth Anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing today. I visited Hiroshima during my Japan trip last year. It was eerie standing on the bridge that was the epicentre of the blast all those years ago. I also went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It was an unforgettable experience. All through my stay there I kept thinking of the Byrds song, I Come and Stand At Every Door, which is about the bombing. I used it in a film I made about my visit. The city today is beautiful and vibrant, and the people happy. As I’m writing this a couple of days later, news has come through that the US has boycotted going to the Peace Memorial Ceremony for Nagasaki, where a bomb was dropped two days after the one in Hiroshima. The reason being the committee didn’t invite Israel for its bombing of Gaza. Twitter account, PalMedia’s comment sums up the situation succinctly: ‘Let me get this straight: the US, which actually dropped a bomb on Nagasaki, is to boycott the Peace Memorial Ceremony because Israel, which has dropped the equivalent of 2.5 nuclear bombs on Gaza, hasn’t been invited?
I uploaded my Hiroshima visit video to Youtube so I could link it to this Diary entry. It immediately identified theByrds song, I Come and Stand At Every Door, I used and limited its play regions. But that turned out to be only Russia, so no big deal. Their detection algorithms are crazy fast.’
In other news, the ABC did a report on a story about the Queensland government entertaining the idea of owning certain petrol station franchises. Presenter Lisa Millar’s sour face gave away her feelings about the idea of state ownership of such things. The US it seems is preparing for a fight with Iran, expected to ‘retaliate’ for Israel’s recent assassination of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh. In possibly related news, the US stock exchange went into nosedive. But MAGA twits were blaming that on Kamala Harris. Looks like it’s gonna be an interesting year.
I watched the first two eps of my Black Lagoon anime recently bought on dub. I really love the high contrast look to it all. Makes it extra cartoony, which somehow goes with the gritty violence and language. Have to say I don’t love some of the dub. Problem is it’s many of the same old voices I’ve heard so many times before with the production drawing from that seemingly very small pool of voice actors. Main culprits for me are Brad Swaile who voices Rock, and Maryke Hendrikse, who voices Revy. I especially find Hendrikse’s voice grating for Revy. It may just be a personal thing, but that’s how I feel. But it makes sense to watch the show in the dub, as the characters are mostly speaking English, including Rock, who is Japanese but clearly can speak English. Still on the dub theme, I should also point out, Patricia Drake, who voices the Russian Balalaika – shouldn’t she be putting on a Russian accent?
Watched three more eps of Black Lagoon that night. It was the German submarine storyline, a three-parter. A German submarine and its crew is sunk by the Americans near the end of World War 2. Its cargo includes a special painting, possibly the work of one Adolf Hitler. In the present, our Black Lagoon team are tasked by some shady authority to retrieve it. But they encounter opposition from a comical neo-Nazi group who want the painting too. The crux of the story is the deepening divide that occurs between Rock and Revy when they dive down to the sub to retrieve the painting. Rock’s innocent positivity clashes with Revy’s opportunistic cynicism over Revy’s decision to loot the dead soldiers’ valuables. The story goes to some dark places, but it’s lightened by the comical treatment of the neo-Nazis who are outrageously stereotyped and dealt with violently. The show can be pretty nihilistic at times, and at the centre of the nihilism is Revy, which is what makes her so bad ass.
I watched a bunch of Youtube vids, mostly Kpop themed. There was another Twice JeongyeonInspector vid, this time with BamBam from Got7. At BamBam’s encouragement she ate insects – crickets. I thought she wouldn’t go through with it, but she did. Then she ate a whole lot more. They were apparently delicious! I wonder how many other Twice members would have done the same. Most of them have bug phobia. Fearless Jeongyeon. I also watched a couple of Nmixx Workdol vids, where the members, especially leader Haewon, have a go at working at various jobs. In the first one Haewon took on four part-time jobs in one day. Jobs might not be the right word for most of them though. Perhaps silly demonstrations might be a better term – especially the one where she ‘coached’ an idol on how to take selfies like a millennial. Then there was one where she and Bae worked at Subway. It was called Hae and Bae Hit the Subway. Bae’s insistence that customers include avocados in their food selections (because it meant more money for her) was a comedy highlight. These two women are so extra, I love ‘em. Then Haewon and Lily worked at a ‘musical pub’ where customers are treated to a round of amazing vocalising from the staff after their meal. Haewon and Lily fitted right in, singing up a storm from various musical-theatrical catalogues. I liked Lily’s line to Haewon after one performance that ‘life is a movie’. In this setting, so true, so true.
I made a playlist on Spotify called Revisits and Discoveries. It’s old songs I’ve revisited lately and new discoveries of old songs I hadn’t heard, like that Creedence song, Need Someone To Hold, which inspired it. It’s pretty eclectic. The Billie Holiday song that starts it, Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do, is pretty scary. Let’s just say it’s not the most feminist song I’ve heard. I like my Spotify lists.
I quickly got through my Yashahime volume 5 manga. Towa is forced to hide in ‘used demon seller’ Jubai’s house while Moroha and Setsuna take on the new demon threatening them. They are all without their demon strength due to the full moon so they have to be inventive in how they fight. Whilst hiding, Towa contemplates what her life may have been like if she’d been born full human; an interesting theme, but it’s not given much attention. Overall, I felt there were too many fight scenes and not enough story or character moments. It got a bit too shonen for my liking.
I watched the first episode of season three of2wice Date on Youtube. This one paired leader Jihyo with maknae Tzuyu. They were staying at a kind of spa-rest retreat called a Jjimjilbang. Their clear comfort in each-others presence thrilled us Onces, especially Tzuyu coming out of her shell to talk about her upcoming solo album. Jihyo, who had released her first solo album, Zone, last year, was able to offer advice about the rigors of solo stardom. Her reassurances that, if Tzuyu found the going too much, she could call the members and all eight of them would come running to help, was adorable and touching. Personally, I wondered if Tzuyu was asked by the company to do a solo or if it was something she had initiated, but she didn’t mention that. Then, talking about their previous 2wice Date episodes, Tzuyu confessed her date with Nayeon, the first of the first season, was a bit awkward. “She was so serious, I almost died from the seriousness”. I wonder what Nayeon made of that comment?
I also watched an ep of Media Watch. I was especially interested in host Paul Barry’s segment on the misinformation surrounding the recent UK race riots led by those ‘right wing thugs’ (a term that fills me with glee). The killer of the three girls that sparked it off turned out not to be Muslim or even Arab. He was of African descent born in England with a Christian background. The misinformation came from not only social media (X/Twitter being the main culprit) but also from some mainstream commentators as well – a point that, not surprisingly, the MSM glossed over. There was also the story about the ‘Hamas flag’ at the demonstration in Melbourne, that wasn’t a Hamas flag. It didn’t stop the right-wing media (Sky, 3AW, Murdoch, etc) screaming outrage and anti-semitism. I’m so sick of this Israel shit. Do the decent thing and give the Palestinians a safe home in your country. Considering your tragic history, you should know better.
Apart from that, we had our usual meal at the Chinese restaurant. His birthday’s coming up this week and so I asked him what he wanted, and typically, he said nothing, leaving me to grasp for ideas about what to get him. ‘What do you give the guy who has everything?’ I joked. Later, at his place, after the driving jaunt, he wondered, out of the blue, if the singer Carole King was a Canadian. He’d been listening to her stuff so I guess it was on his mind. I was pretty sure she was New York born and bred, and a quick net search confirmed it. We both warmly agreed on what a great album is Tapestry. Then I offered one of my patented critical viewpoints on the subject of the song, Home Again, that’s on the album. Basically, the lyrics of the chorus suck. It goes ‘Snow is cold, rain is wet/Chills me to the marrow’. What a stupidly obvious couple of metaphors! Couldn’t she come up with something a little more…imaginative? It reminded me of other stupid obvious metaphors. Bryan Adams’ Cuts Like a Knife. Then, warming to my subject, I offered other examples of bad lyrics, like ‘The point is probably moot’ from Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl, and ‘She knows what it takes to make a pro blush’ from Kim Carnes’ Bettie Davis Eyes. Oh, and finally, ‘You’re my pride and joy, etcetera,’ from Eleanore by The Turtles. What a damp squib of a compliment. I’m a bit of a nut about bad lyrics to otherwise good pop songs. I asked Josh if he could think of any, but nothing came to mind.
