Will the last one out please turn off the lights?

Since my blogger friends have mostly shut down for Christmas and as I was the last resident to lock up at Verdon St, I feel very much like the last one standing (except for Cate who doesn't really get a holiday). And today is my last day in Canberra until New Year's Eve.

So it seems like as good a time as any to reflect a little on the year that has been - although that is such a mammoth task, and I'll focus on one small change.

Last year, I made mix CDs in lieu of Christmas cards - featuring such modern classics as The Raveonettes' "Christmas Song" and Low's "Just Like Christmas" and reworkings of oldies by Death Cab For Cutie and the Dismemberment Plan. Oh, and two covers of Wham's "Last Christmas" (by Jimmy Eat World and Erlend Oye).

One of these discs was made for a girl who some of you will recall was the girl whose driveway I chalked messages on and it apparently failed to win her heart. Despite her wanting to be "friends", I didn't call her again.

Another CD went to a friend of mine, a girl who I didn't know very well at the time, by the name of Mandy.

And yesterday, I saw the other girl in Civic, doing her Christmas shopping. I didn't recognise her until after I'd passed and she didn't seem to notice me. As she walked by, I stopped and watched her walk away and I realised that 12 months can be a very long time.

It's a cheesy song, I know, but to paraphrase George Michael: this year, I've given my heart to someone special.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Categories: Music For The Ladies; Indie

Blame Canada and Architects Turned Dancers

[Two short pieces inspired by my recent listening and mental ramblings]

Blame Canada

I have to stop jumping to negative conclusions about bands being overrated - I'm missing out on too much genuinely great music. And never has this been more apparent with my feelings about Canada's Arts & Crafts label with its myriad interlocking units roughly centred on Broken Social Scene.

In hindsight it was just bad timing. BSS's big album You Forgot It In People broke in 2003 and crossed my radar early in '04, by which time I was tiring of a lot of bands as they became more and more overhyped (please stand up, Interpol and The Shins). I really didn't have the inclination to check out another "next big thing", even if I was enjoying "Lovers' Spit" on the radio.

And then in 2005, along came their second, self-titled album at the end of eighteen months of Canada hypeing - starting with the over-rated Arcade Fire and going on and on and on. What was I to do?

The something started. Leslie Feist got under my skin. Then it was Stars with their "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" tribute video clip and angelic harmonies. Now I don't know what to do. I was liking about half of BSS without meaning to. So I've bitten the bullet and the newie is really starting to work its magic on me. And I doubt they'll have a more devoted fanboy than me by the end of the summer.

Architects Turned Dancers

As a rock writer (if I can call myself that with two bylines to date) I've been thinking more and more about the reasons behind why I feel the need to produce musical criticism almost as much as I need to produce music. The oft-quoted maxim (from Frank Zappa, I believe) that writing about music is like dancing about architecture seems simplistic, even if witty.

The question posed by my girlfriend's housemate Ali is "who are these people to decide what's good and what's not?" Apparently she excludes me from this group because I'm a musician.

Is that the key requirement? That you can't dance about architecture unless you've designed a building yourself? I think there are a lot of levels on which you can appreciate music, and a technical understanding isn't essential to be able to encapsulate music and to spread the word.

Too often musicians are obsessed with artists that demonstrate proficiency in their specialised area. Like guitarists with their love of Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. Or my bassist friend Andre's love for the indigestible Meshell Ndegeocello. I suspect musical ignorants can have a broader perspective on music - looking at personal significance, lyrics, social context etc.

This doesn't resolve anything (I realise), but I want to share my love for the democratisation of musical criticism that has come with the internet and blogging revolutions. Like most increases in quantity, it means there's a lot more crap to sift through, but a lot more gems to find.

Categories: Indie

Site stuff

My site traffic (see the little counter at the bottom of the page) has tripled over the last few days to around 30 hits a day. Sure, it's not exactly Google, but it's exciting. If you're reading my blog and like what you see, drop me a comment and introduce yourself.

I've just added categories now, so you can find all the posts on a certain topic - see "Genres" on the sidebar.

It's Go Go Go here at the Nation.

Categories: Miscellaneous

Reverse-engineering theology

[This is an edited version of an article I'm hoping to get published in a Christian e-zine]

When it comes to theological disputes, I'm in an interesting position as an Aussie Baptist. Unlike US Baptists, who seem to split over each and every point of difference, Australians have taken a more “live and let live” approach and simply prefer not to talk theology at all. That way we can affirm contradictory positions:

We believe in the gifts of the Spirit (thank you, charismatics) but don’t like to practice them (please make yourselves at home, Anglicans and Presbyterians).

We straddle the fence between Calvinism and Arminianism somehow - probably by not even knowing what either word means.

We allow women in leadership, but only in children or youth ministry.

We no longer make a fuss about drinking or dancing, although you won't catch your pastor doing either.

So do any of these debates actually matter? Given that our reason is always going to be flawed as fallen humans, there cannot be such a thing as True Theology for believers. I'm not saying there is no Absolute Truth, just that we can't be certain that we know what it is. Still, we can approach it through the gifts of scripture and the Holy Spirit; cautiously, humbly and with a searching and open heart.

As Paul says in 1 Corninthians 13 – “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” God isn't so hung up on whether we are right but whether we are righteous: that we live as Jesus lived, in love and in reliance on God. There is no written test for entry to Heaven (to the best of my knowledge!)

So I end up with the search for a theology that leads to Christ-like behaviour:

If your belief that people are "elected" to be saved leads you to abandon mission and evangelism (modelled by Jesus) or to exclude people who aren't "chosen" then it is useless to you.

If your belief in God's providence and involvement in this world means that you don't care about the plight of the poor or the oppressed (because it's all part of God's plan), you've missed the point.

If your belief in the power of Jesus' death leads you towards a complacent faith in which everyone is automatically saved, then you're taking a big risk.

If your belief in the gifts of tongues and prophecy allows you to serve other Christians and reach those that are not, then that's great. However, if it leads you into an exclusive club of believers marked by external signs, then you are way off base.

Obviously our theology needs to be based on scripture (beliefs that come from tradition or personal experience without biblical support are immediately suspect). But in the areas in which we simply cannot know the truth we should not let a belief reduce our ability to live as Christ lived – to love the lost, to boldly preach forgiveness for sins and reconciliation with God, to create genuine community and to be used by God through His divine plan.

Categories: Gospel

I got hoffed

Andy Warhol: In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.

David Hasselhoff: In the future, everyone will appear in a dodgy fake photo with The Hoff.

Thanks to Chriso for this quality photo of me meeting The Hoff at Carols in the Domain last weekend. It was made with love and care.

Categories: Miscellaneous

Cheeky bastard

Office conversation #1

Erin drops by to have a chat while doing her normal morning PA errands and for some reason (oh that's right - we were talking about outrageous hair-dos) starts telling me about her 19 year old "happiest goth you'll ever meet" sister who has recently lost 20 kg, taken to wearing tight-fitting clothes and died her hair black - all this with heaps of piercings.

"Sounds like a bit of a fox" I say, with my usual glint.

"You leave my sister alone!" she snaps back.

Mission accomplished.

Categories: Songs For The Ladies

Clean

It looks like the Aropax has left my system, so now with my levels not crashing around, I feel quite good. Certainly no more headaches and electric shock sensations.

I had my second appointment with my new doc yesterday and it was a vast improvement. He's a lot more caring and personable than at first and the whole CBT process looks like it will be quite helpful. I'm surprising myself with how honest and blunt I can be.

Holidays are so soon and I need to start making plans to see people in Melbourne. A lot of people are keen to catch up and I (for the first time in a while) am equally keen. It'll just be a nightmare to organise and I know I'll get the usual comments from Vida like "Oh it's ok...you don't have to see me if you have more important people to see". Grrrr.

Categories: Old Sad Bastard Music

An ideas man

My mind has been overflowing with great ideas this last week and maybe, just maybe, they will spill over into great activity.

Getting a music writing job has given me a long-needed confidence boost in my writing ability and all the untapped creativity in my head is now swirling around, waiting to get out. Kind of like sperm, I guess.

I have heaps of article ideas for Stylus and some more for next wave (an emerging church zine which takes submissions) that I shared with Andy last night at the Civic pub. And I'm thinking of taking Garth's idea on board and starting a t-shirt label - maybe just a small run for friends to see how it goes.

So many things to do, so little time.

Categories: Indie; Gospel

...and the sequel

I submitted my second article today for the stypod and its gone up already...nice.

Out of town for the weekend as Mandy, Chris and I venture up to Sydney for Carols in the Domain - which is Chris' girl Meryn's idea. I believe the Hoff will be there, which is exciting and troubling both at once.

Still feeling a little flat, but I figure once my chemicals rebalance I'll be back to my usual abnormal normality.

Categories: Indie

In print (or at least bytes)

Hello lovely people....

My first column for the stypod has gone up and I'd love it if you read it. Thanks to Vida for inspiring this little effort.

PS. Mandy loves "To Hell With Good Intentions". Who would have thunk it?

Categories: Indie

Best albums of 2005

In which Sufjan Stevens encapsulates yet another State of the Union within a compact disc. The album’s sheer volume of stories, history, relationships and places overwhelms at first but then begins to open up, rewarding repeated listens. The inventiveness and passion that infuse the music are rare commodities in today’s music world and Illinois is an album to be thankful for.

It’s hard to believe this album came out only this year – it’s already such a part of the musical firmament. It’s also less an album than the most cohesive singles collection ever. Bloc Party knew they had only one shot to justify the hype and they don’t waste a single track. Kele Okereke’s stream of consciousness lyrics and angst-ridden squawk lifts the band’s music upwards, while Matt Tong’s drumming propels you to exactly where the band wants to take you. And it’s not such a bad place to be.

Not even Conor Oberst’s staunchest fans could have predicted this opus. Oberst’s stories finally take the leap from teenage self-absorption to a universality that they’ve always hinted at. Mike Mogis’ dramatic countrified arrangements and the best backing vocalist ever in the form of Emmylou Harris make this the album that Gram Parsons might have made in the shadow of Bush’s America.

These Windy City natives take the spirit of experimentalist neighbours such as Tortoise and apply it to their vaguely “metal” music. The riffs feel like continents shifting – somehow setting the course of the future of instrumental music. Pelican have truly mastered dynamics on this record. The swells and fades have an effect you expect from illicit substances more than from rock music.

One half of techno-pranksters Super_Collider, skinny white boy Jamie Lidell was never going to be next Curtis Mayfield. Or so we thought a few months ago. His slightly skewed take on 40 years of soul music (Otis Redding to R Kelly via Prince) leaves you gasping at his audacity and at the amazing agility of his voice. This is an album you try to push to all your music-loving friends.

Mark Mitchell is a mid-20s Australian music geek, like myself. Unlike me, he has recorded a great album of atmospheric lap-top indie pop (2003’s Come Here When You Sleepwalk) and then followed it up with a shift almost as dramatic as Dan Snaith’s transformation into neo-hippy on the second Manitoba LP. One Way It’s Every Way has more ideas and great musical moments than most bands’ careers.

Definitely the most divisive album of 2005. A five part song cycle split over 12 tracks, with lyrics that Yes dismissed as too pretentious, was never going to be a source of consensus, but it’s the bravest experiment I’ve heard this year – making up for most of its faults. I think I now know what Santana and Led Zeppelin let loose in the playground without their Ritalin sounds like.

The Tortoise comparisons are easy, but there’s something idiosyncratic about this Sydney combo’s electro bossanova. Creative use of turntables, a rock solid rhythm section and a track named after my favourite blonde movie starlet – I couldn’t ask for more.

MMJ have trimmed the fat that weighed down their last three albums and released a new beast – a little bit thinner and a hell of a lot meaner. Jim James’ voice still can sound like an angel singing in a grain silo, but he pulls out a John Fogerty yowl now and then to propel the rockier numbers. Each song sounds like the classic rock they’ve always drawn comparisons to (Crazy Horse, Tom Petty, Creedence, Skynyrd) but there’s a special MMJ flair for spinning things off centre and careening into a corner of the bayou you’ve never seen before.

Something of a late inclusion for me given how recently I discovered this gem. It's a relatively pop album for Eric Bachmann this time around, with some vaguely Spanish musical and lyrical flourishes that give the album a slightly surprising edge. But it’s ultimately Lara Meyerratken's backing vocals (much as for Emmylou Harris' work on the Bright Eyes album this year) that push these simple tunes into another world of meaning and symbolism, as they mesh with Eric’s lead lines, cohering into a conversation or even a whole relationship.
Categories: Indie

In my hour of darkness

Aro withdrawal continues to suck, although I don't know why I'm surprised. I get a lot of tingly sensations in my head that just pass through it and then on to a better place.

My new doc is a bit of a condescending shit, but then all doctors I've met are. It's those years of dehumanising medical training that are designed to suck the last dregs of personality out of them. Why can't I get a saccharine-sweet Robin Williams doctor who will turn my life into a nice big schmaltz bonanza?

That said, Dr O'Neill seems to know what he's doing and is willing to take me through some Medicare subsidised Cognitive-Behavioural therapy. So I'm not complaining. And I'm just being rude in return and non-compliant, which comes quite naturally to me. It'll be a battle of wills.

Categories: Old Sad Bastard Music

What goes up...

Thinking of ditching work early today seeing as my Aropax discontinuation is killing me. So far, the only symptoms I've copped are:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Light-headedness
• Vivid dreams (quite common it seems)
• A little bit of low mood and increased anxiety

When I read about "electric-shock sensations" I realise I could have it so much worse.

Going to see a new Doctor tonight (one with psych qualifications) to see what he has to say about my condition. Maybe I need some new pills that work or maybe things will work themselves out once my neurotransmitters stabilise again. I'd really like a return to the relative bliss of November.
Categories: Old Sad Bastard Music

God in the hipster media

I don't know why it is that the more alternative end of the web media seems to give more even-handed coverage to Christianity than the mainstream press (which tends to confine itself to discussions in terms of the "religious right" and "values voters" - neither or which group do I identify myself with). Maybe it's the delightful Mr Sufjan Stevens getting through to them with his heartbreaking tales of love and loss. Or maybe its just reflective of the deeper level of analysis we're blessed with in these hipster circles.

Today I have come across Phoebe Kate Foster's excellent look at C.S. Lewis and the Narnia controversy in Popmatters and a nice little piece in my new employer's Stypod section about sensitive Christian music from an agnostic perspective. This comes on the back of the enlightening piece from my blogger-buddy Kenneth Yu in Popmatters a few weeks ago on God, Antony and the Johnsons and sexual ambiguity.

It all makes me very happy.

Categories: Indie; Gospel

This post has no title

What to say the morning after tagging along with Mandy to Emma's Hen's Night, complete with a visit to a sex shop? Not a lot really.

I'm wondering whether my ability to relate to girls is a gift or a curse. It's so effortless and so natural that it makes me think I must have some special insight into being a girl - do I actually know what they experience at any level at all?

Here's a few things that most guys will never do:

• Attend a girls night out
• Attend a Hen's Night
• Share a uni camp cabin with five girls
• Share a house with two girls
• Be the only boy in a work team of seven

I guess it's not so important - I at least "get" girls better than most guys and I can gain privileged access to situations like last night. And I also get to do the guy thing the rest of the time.

I reckon I get all the fun of being a girl without the period pain. Although having breasts could be fun.

Categories: Songs For The Ladies

Office Christmas Party

Here are some helpful hints from my latest departmental newsletter for appropriate Christmas party behaviour. My party is this afternoon and I don't plan to follow any of them if I can help it!

Loosen up, but always think ‘business hours’ not ‘party time’.

Control the alcohol intake. Drink if you want, but don’t get drunk and don’t help or encourage others to get smashed. Never, ever drive when you’ve been drinking and don’t get into a car driven by someone who’s had too much. Alcohol is the biggest contributor to regrettable behaviour.

Don’t be abusive. It may seem like a damn good idea after a few coldies, but it is really not worth it.

Be the first to arrive, but not the last to leave. If you have been drinking, take a taxi home or arrange to be driven home by someone sober.

Be friendly, but don't be a flirt. No explanation required here.

Keep your hands to yourself. In business, the only acceptable physical contact is through a handshake. Don’t go around hugging everyone – there are people who will feel extremely awkward if you invade their personal space.

Mingle with people outside of your core group of coworkers and friends.

Keep the conversation light; don’t drone on about work problems, other people, politics or office gossip.

Use good taste if you are involved in a gift exchange. Forget the joke gift. You might think it’s hilarious, but you could unwittingly cause deep offence.

Smile, be positive and have a good time.

Categories: Miscellaneous

Why won't you fall back in love with me

What I'm looking forward to with the Stylus gig will be sharing songs that express a particular emotion for me. I think it's a common affliction for the music obsessive that every love or crush has to have a theme song - usually favourite song shared with the crushee or a track that you fell in love with at the same time as the girl/guy.

Now Mandy is no indie geek (although she's started listening to JJJ and no longer exclaims "What is this shit?" every time I play her a song) but I'm going to forever associate her with the songs from the Crooked Fingers newie, Dignity and Shame.

It's a good deal poppier than the earlier albums (which make Damien Jurado sound chipper), which seems to suit her mainstream tendencies. After all, the only band we're completely in agreement on is Counting Crows. And it has an aching, country lilt to it that fits with a new relationship before everything done gone wrong. Lara Meyeratken's backing vocals sound like Emmylou Harris' best work with Gram Parsons (or even Conor Oberst) and there's a synchronicity with Eric's lead vocals that seems to speak of deep understanding and friendship. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into a beautiful album.

Categories: Indie; Songs For The Ladies

A life of possibilities

So much is going on in my world, I hardly know where to start. Here's my life in no particular order:

The Mumbil trip was excellent. There were tough times (events being rained out, Mandy and Ali's house being burgled, no teenagers turning up to the concert) but there were also great times.

I got to preach at church last night about mission and evangelism. A great response from the congregation and I got so many positive comments from friends and complete strangers. I almost felt like my talk was prophetic - like the words I was saying weren't really from me, but were exactly what God wanted to say to the people there at that time. Although one friend, who has done some preaching in the past, was strangely silent about it. I spoke to him for quite a while and not once did he refer to my sermon. Oh, and I used the word "piss-funny" in the first minute. I bet that's a first for BBC!

I'm cutting down on my Aropax (yes, I know...what will I call this site?) and it's going uneventfully - which is a blessing. I'd read about "brain shivers" and other freak outs that can occur, and they haven't happened yet. Only another 20mg to go.

There were so many new couples on the Mumbil trip - Mandy and I, Chris and Meryn, Col and Danielle, and Stu and Kat. And we were all seeing who could tease each other the most!

Lunch with some old work colleagues last week which was lovely, although I still haven't seen Skye since she got back from her holiday. Must remedy this situation.

I am now a staff writer for Stylus Magazine. I'll be contributing to the stypod every week with some mp3s of my choice and some choice words about the mp3s.

Hope you are all well.

Categories: Gospel; Old Sad Bastard Music

King of confrontation

First of all, I hope you like my new banner - following Vida's comment on the resemblance to the Oxfam site, I've decided to bite the bullet and just parody their website properly.

Last night was interesting in that I had a very honest (and I think productive) conversation with Cate on the phone - rather than just getting shitty and monosyllabic like I usually do.

I also took Greg (Mandy's housemate) aside after small group and talked to him about an "incident" that occurred at the house a few weeks ago. I was upfront, explaining that I could understand why he did what he did, but that he went about it in an insensitive, judgemental way and that he owed Mandy an apology. He was surprisingly ok with it all, and this will hopefully clear the air a bit and I won't feel so awkward going over to Mandy's house.

Amazing stuff for someone terrified of confrontation as recently as a few months ago.

Categories: Old Sad Bastard Music; Songs For The Ladies