Bookshelf: Lolita

A brief look at one of the best novels I've ever come across. 

Pour Habit at Festmas 2012

Hey folks, something a bit different this week; a rundown of my recent experience seeing Pour Habit live in Melbourne. Also, this week sees my first video review. Pretty cool huh? 

Forgot to mention that Colin, the drummer for Pour Habit was amazing, he drove the entire set and didn't miss a hit all night. 

Hat Guy  

Help Me I Hate: Punk Music

Well this one has been a long time coming. It's finally time for me to lay my Punk credentials on the line and try and sell the genre to those who're mostly not interested. To understand Punk, one needs to know a little about where it came from; the downtrodden working class youth of the West who saw no future outside of the shitty jobs their fathers were working. Basically, Punk is to white people what Rap is to black people. Well, sort of, anyway. When Punk started, the prevailing music style was Glam Rock, overproduced, ridiculous and mostly pretty awful (Slade is worth checking out though). In a reaction to this, Punk returned to rock roots for its riffs and the lyrics focused on social injustices and the inanity of pop culture.

So first off, Punk music should sound like this: 

(In my opinion one of the best songs of all time.) 

Punk music should not sound like this: 

(What the hell are they getting at? Is the song Anti-Bush, Anti-Media or Anti-America?) 

Once again, however, it's no challange for me to throw down some Ramones and Clash and tell you that they're good. Just like the pop music, I'll pick 3 songs from the past 5 years and we'll see how we go. 

The Bright Lights of America - Anti-Flag (2008)

American West-Coast hard-left Punk outfit Anit-Flag have a long and proud history of anti-government activity, having toured with Rage Against the Machine and organised more than a few protests. I may not always agree with the band's politics, but I love their music. This song about the disaffection of suburban American youth speaks perfectly to the origins of Punk whilst sounding thoroughly contemporary. Although this song is a little more pop style than Anti-Flag's usual fare, it still maintains the core tenants of Punk Rock, Short, Fast and Loud. 

Xmas Has Been X'ed - NOFX (2012) 

Want to bring down society? Fuck with Xmas. NOFX has a great history of combining humor with social issues and this little number is a good continuation of that. If this doesn't do it for you, listen back to it a few times, lines like "priests and nuns are molesting each other" are far more clever than the chorus would let you think. Even the opening lines about metaphor and mythohistory a brilliant if you take the time to think about them. That's the problem with Punk music, it asks you to think. No music for the feint of heart this, you have to use your brain you lazy bastard. 

Matter of Opinion - Pour Habit (2011) 

Yes, I'm going to keep pimping Pour Habit until they're bigger than Jesus; they're certainly more relevant and sound better. This rocking number tackles racial tension and government policy but at its core, is about the simple notion that The Truth is not a matter of opinion. I don't know what more I can say about this band, so I'll let Matter of Opinion stand on its own merits. 

Now get out there and get you're Punk on!

Hat Guy - I live by the River.  

Do you remember rock 'n' roll radio?

Interesting news my three regular followers! In the next few weeks I shall be joining the exciting world of community radio! Thanks to a kind offer from Gareth Baxter, the host of "Gravelrash" on Inner FM 96.5, I'll be helping out and maybe playing a song or two. Details are yet to be confirmed, but you can stream the show on innerfm.org.au from 1700h to 1900h on Saturdays. Gareth has a great spectrum of music to play, plus you can call in requests (website for details). I'll be keeping you posted on further developments so stay tuned. 

Just in case you were wondering: 

I also considered "Angry James and the Radio" 

Hat Guy - Coming soon to a radio near you, kinda, hopefully...  

Pour Habit Hits Down Under

In just a couple of weeks, Pour Habit, one of the best punk acts touring today, will hit Melbourne for two shows of frenzied awesomeness. So why am I mentioning it here? Because too few people know about this band and you still have your chance to get to see these guys tear it up! I'm actually going to let Chuck speak for himself on this one: 

Shameless plug? Maybe, but no one cared about the Ramones until Joey died, so I consider this a public service announcement. 

Hat Guy - My liver lives life too bold.  

Bookshelf: Gulliver's Travels

One of the first novels ever published, Gulliver's Travels is a sharply written satire of 18th Century society and of the folly of human endeavor. Unfortunately, due to the abstractions of size in the text, with the minute Lilliputians and giant Brobdingnagians, the text is often mistakenly read as fantasy and thus tends to be presented to children. This is a shame because Gulliver's Travels is probably the finest example of literary satire ever written. The story should be familiar to most, Lemuel Gulliver is a traveler and ship's surgeon that is repeatedly shipwrecked on alien shores, learning the culture, language and customs of wherever he finds himself. 
To go too much into the detail of this text would be to ruin many of the delightful surprises that await the reader, such as when politicians start, literally, jumping through hoops to get elected and scientists attempt to return feces to its component foodstuffs. Although it was Swift's aim to "vex the world" of the Age of Reason, the text remains relevant to contemporary society as humans continue to be unpredictable, foul, political and argumentative and far inferior to the noble Houyhnhnms, a race of pacifist, equine philosophers.
One of the hardest parts of reading Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels will be finding a copy of the text that is not adapted for children, a Penguin Classic or similar is about the only way to find the original in its entirety. If that can be managed, prepare yourself for dense 18th Century English ripe with metaphor and allusion, an annotated version (Norton) may be of some help here. For most, Gulliver's Travels is a novel to challenge, but the rewards can be great, if you haven't encountered this text since childhood, it is well worth revisiting.

Hat Guy

BAYNH Special: Australian Bands

Well, actually Australian bands that never got the success they deserved overseas. Australian music is a strange beast, some weird stuff has come out of our island nation over the years, it may have something to do with our isolation and proximity to Asia, but it does make life interesting. Sadly, the bizarre beauty of Australian music doesn't always translate internationally and some brilliant acts never really hit outside of native shores. So this is my little effort for my handful of international readers so that they can hear some great music that they may otherwise never come across. 

TISM (This Is Serious Mum) 

Ok, so the song "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" did go viral back in the day, but aside from that blip, TISM have never really had much international fame. That's a shame, because the band's lyrical work is stunning and needs closer scrutiny. I'm a little guilty of not paying them as much attention as I should and I aim to fix that once I'm done here. 

Regurgitator 

Yeah, I chose Polyester Girl, this song ruled my life for a good six months in school. Regurgitator was an odd little band that I'd have to call "College Indy", a little like an Australian, Gen X, REM if that makes any sense; weird lyrics, incomprehensible videos and the kind of craziness that can only come from a University background. Once, the band locked themselves in a bubble in Melbourne for a month and made an album; they deserve your confused respect. 

Radio Birdman

Little known fact, one of the first Punk bands started in Brisbane. Radio Birdman is one of those bands that only beardy music types talk about, the kind with 8 track cartridges who roll their eyes when you don't know who Marc Bolan was. Despite this, Radio Birdman are a fantastic act that have influenced generations of music makers both in Australia and overseas. This song (about Hawaii 5-0) makes great use of traditional rock riffs and the frantic vocals of the infant Punk movement. 

These are just some of my picks for underappreciated Australian acts, if you have one or two you want to throw in the comments, I'd love to hear them. 

Hat Guy - Steve, I wanted to thank you... 

Essential Listening: Bad Religion

Bad Religion (or BR) are one of the oldest and most respected Punk acts still recording. Based out of California in the United States, BR is possibly the most politically active band on the planet; organizing lobby groups and raising awareness of even the smallest government misdeeds. I'm not going to go too much into the politics of Bad Religion, as this is a blog about music, but should you be interested in the social justice side, check out http://www.badreligion.com/ for more information. 

Bad Religion's name and logo (The Crossbuster [above]), mistakenly leads many to believe that the band is wholly anti-religion, however, BR typically promotes an anti-organized-religion attitude as well as promoting the separation of Church and State. 
Musically, a little bit of BR can go a long way; several members of the band past and present have admitted that there is a distinct "BR" sound, as they use the same chord progressions in almost every song. BR's 2011 album "The Dissent of Man" did feature some minor experimentation, but it was overshadowed by the typical BR songs on side one of the record. Despite this, Bad Religion remains one of my favorite bands; their fast rhythm lines and harmonic vocals combine in a unique way that some have tried to emulate, but remains distinctly BR. 

Against the Grain (1990) 

Aside from having fantastic cover art, this album was BR's first really "big" album, insofar as a Punk album about American Fascism can be "big". The song "21st Century (Digital Boy) charted well in Australia and the UK, partially thanks to its pretty damn cool video. Instead of that, here's a song about religious groups trying to hold back science and advancement in the name of tradition. 

The Gray Race (1996) 

The concept of a "Grey Race" is not, as it may first appear, about interbreeding to eliminate racial barriers, but instead about the loss of individuality in a postmodern society. "Punk Rock Song" is about the futility of attempting to change the world by making music. However, the act of dissenting is better than doing nothing and hoping things get better. 

The Empire Strikes First (2004)

Not actually about forest fires, but rather about the film industry, "Los Angeles is Burning" is my favorite BR song hands down. The bass line is fantastic and great fun to play. Seeing BR do this live was fantastic, the whole venue roared along, way out of tune. 

Hat Guy - Missing you is like kissing cyanide. 

Bookshelf: David Malouf

So, you know how it says "and more" up there? Well it's time for more; I'm going to flex my literary muscles a bit and lay some fiction on the lot of you. I'm starting a new series of reviews to go with Essential Listening, Help Me I Hate and Best Acts You Never Heard; Bookshelf. In each Bookshelf I'll be talking about one of my favorite novels, commenting on the plot, history and just what it is that I like so much about it. That catch is, I'm only going to talk about Novels, no Epics, Anthologies, Biographies, Non-Fiction, Poetry or whatever, just Novels. 

To start with, I'll be looking at An Imaginary Life by David Malouf. 

An Imaginary Life looks at a possible life for the Roman poet Ovid after his exile (an actual historical occurrence that is well worth looking at), the novel was first published in 1978, but manages to be contemporary and striking nearly 40 years later. Ovid, after his exile, has found shelter with a primitive tribe of barbarians far beyond the Imperial frontier, he is still alive, but has lost the most important part of his life, language, he can communicate his basic needs to his hosts, but no one around him is able to learn Latin. Much of the conflict of the first part of the novel comes from the struggle between primitive hunter-gatherer existence and the loftier pursuits of art and culture.
Drawing upon the universal myth of the "feral child", Ovid encounters a child in the wilderness that he identifies with a similar figure of imagination from his childhood. After reclaiming the child from the wilderness, Ovid begins to impart his knowledge and teachings to the child, attempting to instill in him more Roman values. In this, the latter part of the novel deals with something of a nature versus nurture conflict as well as expanding upon the ire between Ovid and his hosts, who increasingly see him as unable to provide for himself. 
 I won't expand upon the plot any further for fear of ruining the magnificent ending, but there is more to discuss. David Malouf's prose is lyrical and profoundly naturalist, evoking a great, unbound wilderness that is at once totally alien yet inexorably intertwined with the nature of humanity. There is a similar theme of a "return to the earth" that runs through several of Malouf's novels that is not an overly Romantic, Pantheistic idealized nature, but instead more of an embracing of humanity's part in the wider scheme of the universal order of predator and prey. 

An Imaginary Life is not an "easy" read, the text is steeped in symbolism and there are few passages that are overtly literal in their meaning. However, the language is familiar and approachable for most; almost anyone should be able to read An Imaginary Life in its entirety in a reasonable amount of time. This is easily one of my favorite novels and well worth your time if you feel like something a little bit different. 

Hat Guy

Excelsior!

Greetings True Believers! To celebrate the release of Marvel's The Avengers on DVD and BluRay, this week I'll be counting down the; 

Top 10 Stan Lee Cameos in Marvel films! 

So without any further ado: 

10. Fantastic Four (2005) 
- My man Stan pops up as Willie the Mailman, a staple of FF comics since the 1960s, creating a great little nod to the fans in what is, otherwise, a pretty poor film. 

9. Daredevil (2003) 
- A young Matt Murdock has discovered his powers and is training in secret when he prevents Stan Lee from walking into traffic. A nice little scene that's not on the nose. 

8. Thor (2011) 
- Stan Lee wrecks a pickup truck trying to pull Mjolnir out of a crater, his line? "Did it work?" Stan can be a funny guy. 

7. The Incredible Hulk (2008) 
- Stan Lee is on-screen maybe as much a two seconds in this film as he drinks a Gamma-tainted energy drink and keels over. The only film to kill Stan Lee to date. 

6. Iron Man (2008) 
- On his way into a party, Tony Stark stops to greet Hugh Hefner, as played by Stan Lee, complete with pipe, smoking jacket and bunnies. Funny and memorable without being distrating, bravo. 

5. The Avengers (2012) 
- "Superheroes? In New York? Give me a break." It's funny because Stan Lee created so many heroes that live in New York, see? Ok... yeah... I'm a nerd. 

4. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- Top Army brass await Captain America when an aide walks in instead, Stan's response? "I though he'd be taller." 

3. Hulk (2003)
- Ang Lee's experimental, Freudian examination of the duality of Bruce Banner is, in my opinion, unfairly maligned, but it does give us a great double-whammy cameo with Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno as security guards at the Gamma facility. Their response to the Hulk? "We need to beef up security around here." 

2. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) 
- A beautiful scene where librarian Stan listens to classical music whilst Peter and Curt tear up the school behind him. You know this kind of thing is working when the whole cinema is roaring with laughter. 

1. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) 
- Ok, so this film is terrible, but it does give us one of Marvel's most iconic moments, the marriage of Reed and Sue. A familiar face is trying to get in only to be told that he's not on the list; "I'm Stan Lee!" "Sure you are buddy." Fourth-wall breaking? Yes. Hilarious? Hell yes.

Now I'm off to watch The Avengers again... 

Hat Guy - Earth's mightiest pedant.  

Musical Team-ups I'd Like to See...

Just a quick update today, in a bit of a funk of late and forcing myself to write. So, fair warning, this may not be the best entry I've done to date. 

There exists in popular music a grand tradition of two (or more) acts teaming up to create a fantastic hit. True, most of these team ups are pretty terrible (Islands in the Stream, Dancing in the Street), but there have also been a couple of great dual efforts in the past like "Smooth" (Santana and Rob Thomas) and the Bowie/Queen version of Under Pressure. Rap artists can never seem to go a whole album without getting a couple of guest artists on to shoot some rimes. 

So, without further ado, here is a list of team-ups I'd like to see (hear?); this list is not exhaustive, just a few off the top of my head... 

Public Enemy and Lupe Fiasco 

Public Enemy, the original social activist Rap group and Lupe Fiasco, the Muslim-American social activist rapper. I imagine that the two would come up with something a bit like an American version of "Thou Shalt Always Kill", a rapid-fire tirade on all the things wrong with contemporary American culture and the oppression of minorities. 

Andrew W.K. and Lady Gaga 

Confused? Both Andrew and Gaga have one major theme in common, the promotion of self-esteem. Andrew (I can call you Andrew right?) focuses on partying as a method of self-expression, party how you want and fuck anyone who tells you not to enjoy yourself. Gaga tells her "Monsters" to love themselves and live their lives how they see fit. If these two could get together (musically, Andrew is happily married), the result would be the greatest party song ever created. The only problem I can foresee is the blending of styles, Andrew does Power Metal and Gaga makes 80s pop. I think maybe they could meet in the middle with 80s Hair Metal? Given Andrew's fantastic work on "Gundam Rock", I think it could work. 

Devo and Weezer 

The two greatest Nerd Bands of their respective generations unite! Not much to really explain with this one, I'm thinking a combination of "Girl U Want" (Devo) and "Buddy Holly" (Weezer). Both bands have a big pop appeal but still maintain that subversive edge that really makes them worthwhile acts. While I'm dreaming, I may throw They Might Be Giants into this mix... 

Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop 

Iggy and Rollins have had this kind of fake "rivalry" going on for decades now, often going back to back at festivals to compete with one another. It's about time they got together and did an album like Kanye and Jay Z, before they get too over the hill. Besides, Punk Rock really needs a kick in the rear to get going again and Rollins and Iggy could do that without breaking a sweat. 

That's it for now, see you next time. 

Hat Guy - The world's forgotten boy. 

Essential Listening: R.E.M.

Those that have read my blog with as much regularity as my sparse updates can allow should already be well aware of my love of Athens-based indy group R.E.M. and their varied back catalog. I find it interesting that whilst most people I talk to can name one or two R.E.M. songs (usually "It's the End of the Word As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and "Everybody Hurts") there are few that readily admit to being fans. I think this can be put down to one of the major things that attracts me to R.E.M. as a group; their diversity. When pushed, I would categorize R.E.M. as "Indy Pop", but this is only due to the fact that this is the broadest genre that seems to fit them. Over the course of their career, R.E.M. have dabbled in various flavors of Pop, Rock and even Folk, Bluegrass and Country. R.E.M. have never been beholden to what people expect of them (for the most part) and have always done what they felt like doing and this can be off-putting to the non-pretentious art student crowd. That aside, R.E.M. are still brilliant, even their charting Pop hits are far more intricate and cerebral than most Pop songs, which is probably a reason for their continued success. 

So the thing with R.E.M. is, every R.E.M. fan has a different take on the band. There are Pop R.E.M. fans, IRS era R.E.M. fans and a great many other varieties of people who will talk your ear off about how awesome R.E.M. are. Given that, here's the deal; this is MY pick of R.E.M., this is the stuff I like. If you like something different, great, but this is the R.E.M. that does it for me. I recommend that you listen to way more R.E.M. than just the three albums here to really get an idea what the band is like, however, I still think these are a good place to start. 

Automatic for the People (1992)

Ok, so I like the "Mainstream" R.E.M. album, why do I like it? Because it's good damn it. This is the R.E.M. album that seems to be the most common to own, even though I wasn't really into music when this came out (I was in Primary School), I still remember it being all over the radio despite its downbeat mood. Riding on the back of the Grunge movement, R.E.M. became really big for a little bit in the '90s as people began to realize that they were all depressed before it was cool. I love this song, it's beautiful and a perfect example of R.E.M.'s mastery of slower and less "poppy" songs. 

Green (1988)

This song is about the Vietnam War. For some reason people can never figure that out, despite the fact that Michael Stipe has repeatedly said as much in interviews. Anyway, Green is one of the albums (and R.E.M. one of the bands) that music historians reference as a big inspiration for the Seattle Grunge Movement that gave us Nirvana. If that still isn't enough reason for you to check out this album, it also features some of R.E.M.'s best pop work with songs like "Stand", which remains one of my favorite pop songs of all time. 

Around the Sun (2004) 

Yeah, ok, so I've put this exact video in one of my reviews before (a no-prize for the first to say which one) but this song is that good. Around the Sun is not the last good R.E.M. album released before they split up, but it does serve as an excellent example of how the band maintained their skill over an extended career. R.E.M. were just as good more than a decade after their big hit album, if not better. Around the Sun is probably the R.E.M. album I'll listen to most often, the progression of songs and overall flow of the album is excellent and R.E.M. have never been tighter. Maybe it's not the "best" R.E.M. album, or the most "artistic", but Around the Sun remains one of my personal favorites in the genre of Pop. 

R.E.M. are a brilliant band and if you're only listening to "Losing My Religion" you're missing out. Check out some more R.E.M. and you'll be hearing one of the greatest bands in history. 

Hat Guy - Stand in the place where you live. 

Next Time: Something to do with rap... I've been listening to a lot of Rap recently...

BAYNH: Bluejuice

Ok, so maybe you have heard of Bluejuice, they've been around for a few years and more than one of their songs has been featured on JJJ and Rage. That said, this fantastic Sydney-based pop group certainly doesn't get the recognition they deserve. In terms of genre, Bluejuice has been wandering a bit, they're mostly an alternative pop group, but there's some experimental Hip Hop and Dance tracks in their back catalog. 

Bluejuice's recent album, Company, is by far their best to date. The fun Pop beats and lyrics make for some great songs to dance and party to. For those who've read my "Help Me I hate: Pop Music" article, you know that I can really get into a decent pop song, so Company has had a bit of a workout on the office cd player. And now, Bluejuice: 

Shock 

Life isn't what you thought it would be and you're getting older, pretty heavy stuff for a four chord pop song, but Bluejuice make it fun to lament your lost youth with this snappy number. The diminished keyboard strings and the backing harmony really sell this song for me as well as the tight writing, fitting a decent bridge in 2:40 and building a real melancholy mood. This perhaps resonates better with those who have grown up just a little and have a couple of regrets, but any lamenting song I can dance to is good in my books. 

Vitriol 

God I love this video. The song? Not bad, but you can tell that Bluejucie is still trying to find their voice. That said, pretending to be a cult in a Sydney mall is hilarious and the intro makes me laugh every time. I picked this song and video because it demonstrates just how damn FUN Bluejuice can be; I'm told this is present in their live gigs as well, but I'm yet to get the chance to see them in person. So, always remember that the universe is composed of millions of tiny spiders and that the inside of a jar of peanut butter is negative space. 

Aspen, New York

There may be way too many songs about New York, but damn it if I'm not a sucker for a good piano riff. Seriously, there's not enough pianoforte in contemporary pop, or really good harmony like in this song. Come to think of it, this song about a long-distance relationship filled with longing and hope reminds me of They Might Be Giant's New York City, and not just because of the name. Man I gotta find more good alt pop... 

That's it for this week, enjoy Bluejuice, if you weren't already. 

Hat Guy - You keep sayin' all that stuff... 

Essential Listening: Bruce Springsteen

When it comes to Rock music, there are few people I recommend more highly than Bruce Springsteen. Known best for his Stadium Rock, the Boss actually has one of the most interesting musical catalogs of all the big name rockers, having explored Folk, Gospel, Country and even some recent forays into Hip Hop. The problem is, most people are still only familiar with his 1980s "Born In the USA" era Stadium Rock work, which is, frankly, about his worst work. That said, having your "worst work" be a hugely successful Anti-Vietnam anthem that attacks the core of the decaying American morality isn't really as bad as it could be. 

So where do you start with Springsteen? Honestly, picking up an "Essential Bruce Springsteen" is a pretty good move, but to get a real feel of what the Boss is capable of, I think there's a grand total of three albums that you need to check out. 

Nebraska 

Released two years before Born in the USA, Nebraska is the other side of the coin from 'USA. Whereas 'USA is angry and hopeful, Nebraska is dark, mournful and hopeless. The America presented in Nebraska is a land where all the opportunity has dried up, young people can only hope to work the same soul-crushing jobs that their fathers have done for 40 years and wind up marrying their prom date after they accidentally got her pregnant. This is not an uplifting album, it is an album about all the things wrong with 1980s America, about the death of the American Dream and how the greed of the few is killing the future of the many. Still a pointent message nearly thirty years on. 

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions 

I love American Folk music and there are few Folk albums out there this good. The Boss and friends retreated to his mountain cabin for a few weeks and recorded this album in 2006 and it remains a favorite of die-hard Springsteen fans to this day. Although this may not be the most accessible Springsteen album, it does show the sheer talent of the Boss and the musicians he associates with and just how damn good some of these classic American songs are. If you can't get into this, listen to it once, give it a few days, then come back to it and see how you feel. Like smokey whiskey or blue cheese, this can be something of an acquired taste. I'd still much rather listen to this than to Dancing in the Dark however. 

Magic 

Some people question my love of this particular album, but I have my reasons. There was a bit of buzz around this in 2007, it was getting played on the radio and the Boss was doing a lot of TV spots to push it, so I got curios and checked it out. The first track Radio Nowhere blew me away. This thing was a Bolt from the Blue, before Magic, Bruce Springsteen was something your parents listened to and now he was everywhere. What this song, and this album, really demonstrate is Springsteen's ability to compose an ensemble piece, there are a lot of instruments in this song, but they all blend together perfectly, creating a wonderful harmony. Aside from being one of my favorite Springsteen albums, Magic is one of my favorite albums period. When I think about the Boss, this is the first album I go to. 

So where does that leave Wrecking Ball? Personally, I think Wrecking Ball is one of the best albums of 2012 so far, but I'm not sure if it will have the longevity of Nebraska. Wrecking Ball feels like a culmination of where the Boss has been and where he is going musically; there's a great deal of anger in the album but also a hope that can be, at times, uplifting. Expect to see the Boss on my 2012 Top Ten early next year. 

Next Time: Something Else

Hat Guy - The streets are paved with diamonds and the gutter's lined with song