It’s the day before the Aespa concert, and it doesn’t look like I’m gonna get a ticket. Bought a bottle of vodka to drown my sorrows.  Listened to Yukika’s Timelapse album in the car. I’m really warming to it. Some of it reminds me of Abba from their dance phase. Went to the Aespa concert, which I’ll review separately, but I missed the start. Anyway, I don’t need to drown my sorrows with the vodka now. I get to celebrate with it! | I got a text first thing this morning from rostering telling me my 5 – 8 shift, that I was ducking out of due to the Aespa concert tonight (and for which I still don’t have tickets for), hadn’t been taken yet. Great. By the time I got to work for the 12 – 5 shift the evening shift had finally been covered by my colleague, Roz, who was pulling an 11 hour shift to do it. That doesn’t make me feel guilty, no. After constantly checking my phone for ticket availability, I finally got my ticket around 4.30 whilst still at work. Yes, I sometimes fly by the seat of my pants. Before I left, Roz asked me what concert I was going to, and when I mentioned it was Aespa, a Kpop band, she called me an ‘anomaly’. Have to say, I was a little offended. Met Elvis at work today. Rosario. Good bloke. |
| Watched Youtube. Saw latest Jeongyeon Detective with Kangnam. Next week it’s Jihyo! Still trying to track down info about the Aespa concerts, what songs they started with that I missed. I assume one was Supernova and possibly Black Mamba. Saw a bit of a video of them practising their solo songs for the concert.  A Collins Book store had a nice Tarot card display, which always attracts me. The best thing I saw there was a fabulous Lord of the Rings tarot set, complete with ‘leather pouch’ for the cards and a nice booklet. Was tempted to get it, but it was a bit pricey. Finished Hozuki’s Coolheadedness anime. I love the second last story, the summer hell parade. Nothing really happens – everyone just enjoys themselves at the fair, eating stall food and playing games – but I like its relaxed iyashikei vibe. The reveal at the end where Hozuki is revealed as the drummer for the finale is a nice surprise. The man has layers. |  Found a copy of XTC’s Three Wise Men picture sleeve Christmas single at an op shop. The shop clearly thought it was some old fart Christmassy thing going by the cover, but I knew better. What a find this is! Check out the artwork. Of course, I have the two songs, Thanks For Xmas and Xmas Party Time, on the Rag and Bone Buffet album, but at two bucks this was well worth the price for the cover. Score! I also purchased a copy of Stevie Wonders’ Lately single, a nice track from Hotter Than July. A little schmaltzy, but a nice tune, and I’ve never owned it or the album. His singing on this is amazing. Saw a terrific clip on Youtube of the Red Velvet girls doing a concert in the rain. Loved how they enthusiastically came out from the shelter of the stage and got a soaking. Also saw a clip someone put up of the Sydney Aespa concert featuring the opening tracks, which I missed when I saw them. Turns out they started with Drama, then Black Mamba then Salty and Sweet. After an intermission they did Supernova and Thirsty, which was about when I came in. Damn. |
Been listening to Abba’s 1979 Voulez Vous album in the car because some of Yukika’s music reminded me of it. Apart from a couple of tracks, it’s their dance album, where Benny and Bjorn were in thrall to disco. It’s also during, or maybe just before, that Bjorn and Agnetha broke up due to Bjorn’s affair with their nanny. I mention this because the first song, As Good As New, could be some kind of apologia from Bjorn to Agnetha. The lines ‘How could I make such a dumb mistake?/Now I know I’m not entitled to another break’ certainly suggest that, but I’ve not read any commentary that clarifies it. Anyway, an interesting way to start the album. Of the dance tracks, I really love the title track and, especially, If It Wasn’t For the Nights. It has a city pop vibe for me and I think it’s one of their best tracks ever. It’s the one that Yukika’s music reminded me of and which led me back to it. I will always love this song, the melody, the beat, the strings, the vocals, it’s all yum. Of the non-dance tracks, I tend to jump over the ‘Eurovision’ song I Have a Dream because it’s too schmaltzy, but Chiquitita is a classic Abba gem, very similar in theme and approach to Fernando. I really like Benny’s little coda at the end, with its ‘rumpa-pa’ crescendo. Daggy to the max, but I love it. Does Your Mother Know still rocks, but those cradle-snatching lyrics really date it. That song was all over the radio back in the day, and indeed, it takes me right back to my high school days. I will never stop listening to Abba.
I read more of my Steely Dan magazine. This time there was a review of the third album, Pretzel Logic. This is where I came in on the whole Dan concept, because it features the song Rikki Don’t Lose That Number, which was a hit here in Australia in 1974. Amongst all that bubblegum it really stood out. Jazzy and sophisticated, it’s still one of my all-time favourite songs. The review, by Jason Anderson, mentioned its importance, but strangely did not acknowledge the debt the song owes to Horace Silver‘s Song To My Father. If it was me writing the review, I would also point out the song Parker’s Band was used as the theme music for the late night music video program here in Australia called Night Moves, hosted by Lee Simon. I remember, I remember…Another great review, adding more lore and filling in more arcane detail about The Dan.
Watched the second disc of my Twice Ready To Be bluray. This was the extra stuff they performed, minus the solo numbers, There was a nice teaser where the members showed up for a schedule at JYP headquarters and discussed their plans for the upcoming tour. Then it was cut to the actual Seoul concert with them performing Moonlight from little trucks that were wheeled around the concert venue for an up close and personal showcase. Damn, I wish they’d done that in Melbourne. The final ments went on for a long time, but I couldn’t help thinking how damn fine all the girls looked during this segment. I loved how relaxed they all were by this stage. Just natural performers enjoying the chance to display in front of a large crowd. The spin the wheel segment at the end was fun as always. I liked how when they noticed some people were leaving the venue, because it was late and they needed to catch public transport, the girls just said, ‘Goodbye, see you again.’ Personally, I think the early leavers were nuts. Imagine leaving a Twice concert while they were still playing!
Listened to some Book Club For Masochists podcasts with an eye to doing a page about it. Masochists is right. The cast spend their time not reading what they’ve set themselves to do because they’re too busy playing computer games. The concept is good. I like the focus on different genres each month as research for library readers advisory, but the execution can be poor. For example, one of the podcasts I listened to, non fiction pop culture books, they spent a lot of time trying to explain what pop culture was and manage to fail. I mean, as a media studies teacher, I know it takes about a minute, but they couldn’t even do that accurately. The guy, Matthew, touched on some elements, like high and low pop culture, and another mentioned the class element of it, but none of them came up with a satisfying description, and mostly just wasted time. This is a common problem for me with podcasts. The hosts spend so much time waffling about things that aren’t important to us, the listeners. Anyway, I will persist. This podcast has over 190 episodes and counting, and covers an amazing territory, so I will feature it on this blog at some point.
 Listened to Twice Tzuyu’s album AbouTzu, which came out today. It’s actually quite good. Ordered a copy from K-pop Time. I’m liking the song Lazy Baby. It’s quirky. The featured single, Run Away, has a very catchy chorus, but the verses are a little generic electro/disco. It’s early days, so I’m sure it’ll grow on me. Listened to the Three Wise Men and Stevie Wonder singles. Then side one of The Seeds, then Hot Boppin’ Girls Vol 6, an album I bought ages ago at Dixons Records. It’s one of those rockabilly compilations, this one featuring chick singers. I have a bunch of these on cd from a series by Buffalo Bop records, a German label. A couple of the songs from it are on this comp, but most were new  to me. I’ve gotta say, awesome stuff. It’s like sixties garage rock, but with rockabilly. Most of the artists were one (or no) hit wonders, spawned during that rock n’ roll explosion of the fifties. I especially like the singer Jeanette Washington. Man, her voice is a force of nature! And dig that nudie cover! | I watched Tzuyu’s clip on Youtube, plus the interview with Chaeyoung, plus a showcase stage. She looks confident. The dance routine with the six dancers is quite impressive.  Watched Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part One. I recently grabbed parts three and four at the library, so wanted to watch it all again. It’s set about two years before the 1995 film and, among other things, tells the story of how Major Motoko got her Shell team together. In this first instalment, where she’s out to prove the innocence of her dead commander, she encounters Paz, Batou and Togusa. The scene where they get together in a warehouse of cyber spiderwomen/bombs that are out to kill them is a highlight. We also get an early version of the Tachikomas, called Logicomas. I’m looking forward to re-watching the rest of this fabulous series. Also, bonus points for the awesome music by Cornelius. |