Yadda Yadda Yadda

It's review time people! I've been to see some amazing live music over the last couple of weeks. Let's start with Gotye.

Gotye is the solo music project of Melbourne's Wally De Backer. What a taltented man he is! Gotye grabs samples from all sorts of different music and puts them all together to create new tunes. He sings and plays drums, so there is a lot of his own work over the top of these samples too. He plays guitar and keys at times too.
Given the nature of his music, it's not an easy thing to translate it to the stage. However, the creativity of this man never ceases to amaze me! On stage he had 2 violins, viola, cello, percussionist, 2 sax's (who also played the clarinet and flute) and a bass player. Plus Wally himself on drums, vocals, electronic drums and keys. What a show! The music was different to the album, which is what gave it it's special something. It was still his music, but revamped for the stage with an amazing array of people and sounds.
And there was a great light and visual show going on up on the screen behind the band! Impressive stuff!
I love his music anyway, but seeing him live just made me love him more! Such creativity and raw talent.
I recommend getting along to see him if you ever get the chance!


Then on Thursday I went to see the John Butler Trio & Josh Pyke. Josh Pyke opened the show and he was brilliant! I'm such a huge fan of his music. Great interesting acoustic tunes with catchy, yet creative melodies. He's a brilliant lyricist too.
I was impressed with his live show, hadn't seen him live before. but I was disappointed with the sound. His vocals were a bit too muffled and quiet. If I didn't know what he was singing, I'm not sure I would have been able to make it out.


Then the John Butler Trio took the stage! Incidentally they just came on the radio! Love it!
I've seen these guys twice before and I'm always blown away by how good they are. Even if you don't like their music, you have to appreciate how good they are as musicians. Talk about impressive! No-one's fingers should move as fast as John's! And the drummer (Michael Barker) and bass player (Shannon Birchall) are so imcredible! Shannon plays a 5 string and an upright. So very cool. And Michael? Phenomenal!
What I love so much about their music is their obvious passion. John writes about things he is passionate about. His music is a reflection of who he is and what he believes in. I have a lot of respect for that. And he's not just all talk. He acts on what he thinks is important. I love his heart for reconcilliation, compassion and respect. His message is all about love for your fellow man and the planet. Whatever form that takes. If that means overseas aid, then good. It it means just stopping in the street to say hi to someone, then that's good too. If it means not mining our planet to death, then that's another good thing. And everything in between. I have a lot of respect for these guys, as musicians and as people.

I've seen a lot more live music over the last 2 weeks too, but more later. These are the 2 shows that stood out to me the most.

Any musicians you want to recommend?

Tell me what you think about powerlessness. Is it something that just happens to us? Or is it something we allow to happen to us?

I think, once we reach a certain age, we allow it to happen to us. People cannot have power over us unless we given them that power. We are not controlled by external forces, we have the power over how we respond to anything in life. That is not to say that we are not strongly affected by outside sources, but we are not determined by them. We choose how much power we give to others.
While we may like to think that others can control us, that is not true. We have responsibility over who we are and what we do. Perhaps blaming others for our lives is simply a defense mechanism, and we really are responsible for how our lives have turned out.
Sure, we cannot control all the forces out there, but we can control how we respond to them. We are in control of who we are in the midst of our situations.
I'm a bit admirer of Viktor Frankl, who is an Austrian Psychiatrist who survived Nazi concentration camps. He wrote an amazing book called 'Man's search for meaning' if you're interested in the topic. Amazing, insightful and powerful book.
What I got from is that we can't control others/life, but we CAN control how we respond to that. We always have power over who we are.

Feel free to offer opinions, discussions, whatever.

I bought Regina Spektor;s latest record yesterday. I am soooooooo impressed!!! The best cd I've bought in AGES! She is quirky, weird, interesting, catchy, talented and baffling all at once. Some of her songs are catchy and beautiful, some are fun and odd, some are a mixture of everything. She is a taltented woman! Beautiful voice, incredible pianist, talented song writer. I LOVE this cd!

Favourite new albums? Recommendations?

Today was a bad day.
This morning about a quarter of our company was made redundant on the spot. I still have my job, but some of my friends lost their jobs. It was weird and sad and disappointing and baffling and angering all at once. They weren't even given notice. They all lost their jobs right there and then. No handovers, nothing. They were locked out of their computers, door passes were frozen, everything stopped right there and then. It's a strange thing. They turned up to work thinking they had a secure job, and 2 hours later, they are unemployed. I feel so bad for my friends who lost their jobs. A lot of people have their identity caught up in their jobs and when that gets taken away it's devistating.
Our company was in financial trouble so they had to cut staff. It's a sad thing that people have to fall second to the almighty dollar. Sometimes I hate capitalism.

Isn't it weird when you get in contact with friends from your past? Sometimes it's lovely, sometimes it's awkward, sometimes it brings up old emotions and memories, both positive and negative. Sometimes I want to go back, sometimes I'm glad I've moved on. It's a strange thing to reconnect with past relationships.

I discovered facebook last night. I only joined to see photos from Kathryn who is in America at the moment. I'm still unsure about how it all works.

Uni starts again tomorrow. Homework does not thrill me.

Going out for my first work function in my new job tomorrow! Should be great and interesting to see people outside of an office context.

Last night I went with a few people to see an acappella group called 'The Idea Of North'. I've seen them a couple of times before and I always forget how amazing they are. These guys are some of the best singers I've ever heard! I can't get over how incredible they sound as a 4 piece, and as individuals. Their music is moving and beautiful. If you ever get a chance to see them I recommend you don't pass it up! It was their live DVD launch last night and I got one, it's stunning. But nothing beats seeing them live.

*NOTICE*
Spoilers for 'Lost' ahead!

Have you ever been too invovled in a tv show? If I watch a show too much then I tend to incorporate it into my life. Like when I was 12 hours behind in '24' last year and I watched heaps and heaps of it in a short period of time. I started to get a little paranoid and was on edge a lot. Think I did that with season 1 of Alias too in 2004. Anyway, my latest one is 'Lost'. I haven't even watched heaps of it, just the season finale. It was the finale of season 3 last night and I watched it today. I think I'm a little too invovled because my heart is breaking for Jack. And Charlie dying was just so awful and tragically sad! I'm really upset by the show, like it's real.

Tell me I'm not the only one who does this! What show/movie have you done this with?

Well I didn't win the Bloc Party Remix comp, but I did have the highest rating remix on the site for the last 2 weeks, so thank you soooooo much to those of you who rated my remix. I really, really, really appreciate it! I'm taking it down tonight to put up a new version of 'who asks the question'. It's slightly shorter and has reworked vocals. So jump on and rate it HERE!

The Zoophyte launch was incredible! I don't think I've ever heard the boys sound so good! It's obvious they put an awful lot of work into this gig. I was so impressed! I'm loving their new CD! If you get a chance to get along and see them I highly recommend it. And get a copy of their new CD! It's brilliant! You can hear them HERE.

Yiorgo (their bass player) is leaving though, which is really sad news, coz not only is he an unbelievable guitarist, but a really nice guy. And Andy has left the band now, due to work commitments, so the band is dwindling! Although the do have a new bass player, and Andy still plays as a 'special guest' sometimes.
Seriously, get along to see these guys! They're amazing!

I'm off to Zoophyte's album launch tonight with Sabine! Should be heaps of fun! They are talented boys! You can check out their tunes HERE.

I've been thinking a lot this weekend about the nature of relationships and how vulnerable we are to others. I've been doing an intensive (as part of my uni studies) with an organisation called 'Forge'. I'm a big fan of where they're coming from and have really enjoyed engaging with the material over the last 4 days.

Let me preface this with saying that I am talking about any relationship, not just romantic ones.

Something I was thinking about was the nature of relationships and being hurt by others. I can think of a time recently where I have been hurt and disappointed by someone I have been friends with for many years. I was hurt and angry to begin with and thought about ending the friendship out of frustration and hurt. But then I thought about it and realised that this is not an option if I am to live with integrity

Does this mean I was wrong to open myself to this person? No, I don't think so. It is the nature of life that we will be hurt by some people, but if that stopped us choosing to be vulnerable to others, then I think it would be a rather sad existence.

Being in relationship with anyone invovles a certain risk. There is no guarantee of 'success'. Although I would argue that our definition of success is warped anyway. But the more I think about it, the more I tend to think it is ok to be hurt. It means that you have really given something of yourself to another person. Even if you think there is a real risk that you will be hurt, ripped off, disappointed, or taken advantage of. We are only responsible for what we do, not what others do. It is the nature of humanity that we let each other down.

I want to live a life of love. And that means sacrificial, inconvenient, unconditional love. I want to care for anyone and everyone, even if that means I am hurt, inconvenienced and disappointed. I want to be able to look back on my life and know that I did all I could for people, even if it invovled pain. I would rather live a life of challenge than comfort.

Well, I've had some issues raised this week. Is it ok to publically critisice a person's character? I understand that sometimes it is appropriate to criticise a public fiure in terms of their behaviour (and therefore character) if that person is meant to be representing you/your interests (ie politicians). BUT, is it ok to criticise someone who is simply being themselves? Who does not represent you? I have often come under fire for things that I write on this site, and mostly I find if unecessarily offensive. I would never seek to criticise someone for who they are, unless they are supposed to be representing my interests. I may have opinions on them, but I would not publically state it for the world to see.

I wonder what that's about? How does that benefit anyone? Appropriate constructive criticism (in private) is one thing, but general character assassination? What purpose does that serve? I can't see how that helps anyone. It makes the person in question feel attacked and ridiculed, and it can't benefit the readers in any way, apart from entertainment (which I would argue is not healthy entertainment). So I can't understand why people feel the need to publicalyl attack my character. Or anyone's for that matter.

I heard an interview last week about the internet and its potential evils. One of the problems is that people have anonymous identities that allow them to behave without the restraint that they would normally restrict themselves with. Is it not a good thing that we hold back? Why do we feel that being brutally honest is a good thing? Can we not be honest, whilst still taking into consideration the feelings of others? Why does 'being ourselves' mean that we get to hurt others? Why is that their problem? I would argue that it is in fact our problem. I don't want to be responsible for hurting someone else out of my brutal honesty. I'm sure we can find a way that both serves the other person, and is still truthful.

Thoughts?

I hate working. I can't function in the mornings which means I'm a moron when I arrive at work, and I'm super grumpy for the first 2 hours of every day. My brain literally can't function properly and I actually hate everyone when I wake up. I'm not cut out for normal working hours. I'm such a night owl. And I don't think it's just that I haven't adjusted yet. It's been 6 and a half weeks and I still can't cope properly. Why do we work 9 - 5? Or 9 - 5:30 in my case.

I've come to the conclusion that I find no meaning in my work. I know this is a common story, but while I'm at uni I just need any job that gets me through. While my workmates are nice, I don't enjoy my job. It's repetitive and boring. I find no satisfaction and purpose in my job, therefore I have no motivation to be there.

It sounds cliche I know, but I'm struggling with my new lifestyle. Working 30 hours a week is really hard on top of study and all of the other commitments I have. It's not the kind of life I envisioned for myself. I'm grieving the loss of a lifestlye I have enjoyed and want to continue. I miss all the live music I used to go to (I've had to severely cut down on all that). I miss hanging out with people as often as I used to. I value people over a job, and now I can't put the time into them I want to. I'm finding this change hard to accept.

Got me a new CD! I bought 'The Cops' new CD calld 'drop it in their laps'! Great stuff! Anyone else heard it? I highly recommend it as a great alternative pop album!

If anyone's still reading...

I got back today from my weekend down the beach, Sorrento way. We had a great time just hanging out and having some down time. I really enjoyed it! Now I'm back! But I'm about to go away again! But not really. I'm house sitting for the next week in North Balwyn. I'll still be on the net though.

In other news I've got a new song up on Triple J's unearthed. It's a remix of Bloc Party's 'the prayer'. Triple J are running a reminx comp at the moment, so head over there and rate my remixed track! Thanks!

I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping over the last 3 or so weeks. I've been lying awake in that half asleep half awake state for most of the night. So while I'm in bed and getting some sleep, it hasn't been good quality sleep. It means that I spend all day every day feeling awful and unable to do things properly. I've been grumpy and exhausted. My poor family... But guess what? Last night I slept! I have no idea what changed, but for once I had a good, deep sleep. I feel amazing today. I still need a few good nights to catch up on all the sleep I've missed, but compared to what I've been feeling like, I feel incredible! Yay!

I'm going away tonight with my microchurch (small group). We're heading down to Blairgowrie for the weekend! Should be really nice, although it'll be kinda cold!

We need rain. It's good. But it sucks when you get caught in it, it's super windy and it blows your umbrella inside out.

Well I finally finished all my assignments! I handed my last assingment in at 3:15pm yesterday. It was a great feeling! Now I have 5 weeks of freedom! No more voice in the back of my head that says 'you should be studying!'. Yay!

Got to catch up with Amy & Troy last night. They're from Tassie. They'd been in SA visiting family and were catching the boat last night. It was great to see them again! Ezra is 10 months old now! He's so big!

Then I went to Naomi's birthday party! It was fancy dress and I went as Tinkerbell. Wings and all! I even covered myself in glitter. Lots of fun!

Tonight I'm going to another fancy dress party. I have to go as a gangsta. Guess who's going op shopping today?

I took photos last night with the iSight on my computer.