REVIEW SOMETHING

Book: The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

It is lucky children do not fully understand the implications of intimidation when they are handed The Great Gatsby and instructed to complete a 500 word essay on 'how the protagonist and the landscape of The Great Gatsby are intertwined and what relevance this has to the American Dream...with examples.'

I have recently re-read and re-loved Gatsby and would implore you to do the same. If for no other reason than the fact you can read it, enjoy it and put it back without having to analyse the fun out of it. Anther bonus is that you will find this book at any good second hand dealer, I picked up mine for $2.

I will leave it at that, no critique, observation or plot analysis...with examples. Just because I can and with the realisation that sometimes, just sometimes, it is good to be an adult.

REVIEW SOMETHING

ALBUM: The Woolshed Sessions - Various

Ancient Maori myth tells a story of how ‘the Gods sang the earth into existence’, a truly beautiful belief to gravitate towards. The gods were singing a particularly dulcet tune when they created The Woolshed Sessions. It is the product of nine local musicians of the highest calibre enjoying a four day jam session in, you guessed it, a Woolshed. Age Pryor, the inspiring figure behind this collaboration, has long been a significant thread in the fabric that is an increasingly eclectic, unique and talented Wellington music scene. The additional artists provide vocal and instrumental support in the form of the guitar, bass, drums, lap-steel Guitar and Taonga Puoro (traditional Maori instruments).

From the first note in the opening track Hey You Lee Prebble’s lap-steel sets the tone of the album; an airy, resonanating sound and while there is no doubting its splendour, Lee does over indulge slightly throughout the album, only missing out on a few songs. Stringing Me Along then absorbs like lanolin into your every pour, it's an infectious sing-along lead by the 2009 Silver Scroll nominated Jess Chambers. Age Pryor continues the upbeat tempo with I’ll not bother you, a swinging number juxtaposed by a story of rejection and missed opportunity; ‘But you don’t know I exist, that I know for sure.’ Jess’s next vocal lead in Only Your Arms is a mournful ballad recorded at such high definition that Jess’s parting lips are ever so slightly distinguishable on the opening line, a subtle human impurity the gods would envy. It is an album that manages to capture the essence and feel of live music without all the hoots and holla’s from a rowdy crowd that can often become tiresome. The beating heart of the album comes in the shape of a humble guitar. In Violence on the Quiet it vibrates, hammers, clicks and tinkles simultaneously under the influence of the sessionistas.

The story of The Woolshed Sessions can be traced back to the success of the Fly My Pretties concept, an idea that brings various artists together for a brief moment in time, not as a band but as a collaboration. One track worth noting on the 2005 album The Return of Fly My Pretties entitled Catch the Light, performed by Barnaby Weir and Lee Prebble, displays distinctively similar features as this latest kiwi Collaborative effort and there is an obvious ancestral link here.

We all know that when you buy local you are guaranteed fresh, full flavoured produce. So get yourself out there this week and consume something local.

Thanks to little Glenny for the heads up on this one. If you have an album that keeping you awake at night then let me know and we will share the love.

Sydney 19 - 18

You can't go to Sydney and not take a photo of the Bridge.

La Crosse - someone once told me it is hurling for pansies, I wasn't prepared to tell it to these guys.

An eerily quiet first half gave way to boisterous admiration from All Blacks supporters and boisterous desperation from the Wallabies crowd. Jonathon Kaplin managed to silence 80,000 people with his first half antics, even rugby purists of the highest knowledge would have found it difficult to explain to the Mrs what was going on. It became very clear that the main attraction was a small South African with a big whistle. That was until the main attraction became a young man with an uncanny knack for the big occasion, oh how we lavished praise upon him when that kick sailed over, there was a lot of love in ANZ Stadium.

Saturday mornings entertainment was an ocean swim from Manly Beach to Shelly beach and back, the 'and back' portion of the journey had to be abandoned due to a lack of stamina and stomach stability. The evening (and afternoon) prior had been enjoyed in high spirits and the old saying; 'what goes up must come down' was proven true yet again. The highlight of the swim, aside from finishing it, was seeing an ironically named 'Gummy Shark'. It's like naming a member of the sloth species the 'Hasty Sloth'. It was not a big one but that familiar steady sway of the tail was enough to get me swimming to shore with a little extra effort. Besides, I'm sure they're not called 'Gummy Sharks' because they don't have any teeth.

Couldn't let you get away without one of the Opera House...

REVIEW SOMETHING

ALBUM: Nick Drake – Pink Moon

The tale of Nick Drake is a tragic one, he was a reclusive yet highly talented personality who died at the tender age of 26. Musically he left behind three albums, the last of which is entitled Pink moon. It is only in death that he has been able to gain critical and popular acclaim for his music. As I mentioned; a notoriously coy character, perhaps this is the way he would have wanted it.

It is difficult to measure the longevity of popular music's influence just at the moment, it is still a relatively new movement. Ancient Greeks and Romans passed stories of heroes and villains down through generations, great artists and sculptors are often immortalised in their artworks and great politicians are remembered for their contributions to societies. Perhaps popular musicians are the newest of those elusive immortal creatures, those who are capable of posthumous influence. It is only in death that Nick Drakes music has gathered a cult following of fans and while his influence may not be wide, it is deep.

Folk music provides a coupling of minimalist instumentals and thoughtful, thought provoking storytelling which seems to harmonise well with Generation Y’s current inclinations. If minimalist mumblings of considered lyrics is to your liking then Nick Drake is your man and Pink moon is a great place to start. I will warn you though, Pink moon is a little gloomy, but hey, we all get a little down sometimes. It is often described as his most critically acclaimed and least accessable album, it is also notably short but not always to the point.

Drakes voice and his very accomplished solitary guitar dominate throughout the entire album, this simplicity of sound is exemplified on Track 7 entitled ‘Know.’ It consisits simply of 4 notes (E, A, A minor, B) plucked on an acoustic guitar and only four lines of lyrics. Where Nick Drake succeeds is in his delivery, each song is performed like he means it. You feel as though he is reading you his diary, all of his thoughts and feelings emotionalised into melody. There is an innocent feel to Drakes voice in Pink Moon. If the medium is the message then perhaps it is not necessarily Drakes intonation that suggests naivety but the infereor recording equipment of the era, when compared with today’s crisp capabilities that we are all used to.

Mudjimba

Old Woman Island in the background, John and Anna in the foreground, a shadow of our former selves...couldn't help myself.

'Like going away on holiday'. A phrase often used when spending an afternoon at Mudjimba Beach. It's a sleepy village located in a national park only 10 mins drive north of Maroochydore. The wild and windy beach seems all the more dramatic for the scarred island only meters off shore, slowly but surely making its getaway from the mainland. It's called 'Old Woman Island', for what reason I have no idea. It does not resemble an old woman, house old woman or attract old woman.

You don't go to Mudjimba to search boutique stores for hidden treasures or to wine and dine your loved one. Mudjimba speaks to the heart and soul of why we live on the Sunshine Coast, beautiful peaceful beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see. You might share the beach with the odd fisherman or fellow wanderer, or maybe not. It is sad but true, I am a Virgo and I like long walks on the beach. Perhaps it is the influence of the Hyundai Elantra we are now driving, a mature car for mature people...and us, the youngest Elantra drivers on the Coast. I can assure you though, the fuel efficiency is quite astounding.

REVIEW SOMETHING

True, the Touring has ended...for now. So, with all this extra time and money I thought it would be a good idea to review a few things I have been spending my time and money on. You never know, you may wish to spend your time and money on some of these things too.

ALBUM: Bonjah – Until Dawn










Really good music for me, more than anything else, evokes a sense of time and place, a moment, a memory. Just as an image in a photograph allows you to remember the past, a melody or riff will take you right back there. It’s personal. Until Dawn has this effect on me. I purchased the album while overseas on i-tunes, an unnervingly easy experience, and it quickly became the album of choice for every occasion. There is nothing quite like fresh, good quality music from your home country to raise spirits and swell pride while abroad.

My memory of university is patchy at best; glimpses of colour, sound and movement occasionally enter my conscious mind, often as I am trying furiously to slip into unconsciousness. One of these stirrings involves a dimly lit, smokey Dunedin University pub where the boys are hovering over their crates of beer while the girls are hovering over an amazingly talented cover band named Jaded, a three piece consisting of Glen, Regan and Dave (now the core of Bonjah). They were obviously skilled musicians but the strength of Glen’s voice was then an unknown quantity, crowds would almost always sing along at full drunken voice to Jaded’s impeccably chosen cover tracks. Only seconds into Spin with the World, the first track on Until Dawn, you realise Glens voice has strength in abundance and a unique quality that keeps you coming back for more. Furthermore, what I think makes this debut studio album very special, is that behind Glen`s unique vocals and insanely catchy melodies are lyrics with sufficient depth to warrant the dive. A couple of years of hard work beating the streets in Melbourne`s busking music scene has done them many favours. Fans now sing along at full voice to songs penned and scored by the lads themselves. At the heart of it all these guys are passionate and educated musicians of the purist soul, the trimmings associated with the music industry is certainly not the fuel on Bonjah’s fire.

Those who love to label things will find it difficult to pigeonhole Bonjah. Their influences are obviously many and varied. I have read their music described as roots, alternative and even pop. Perhaps it is all these things but above all, they`re just really really good.

An extremely exciting debut studio album, watch this space.

Check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/bonjahband

Sunshine Beach

ooh ooh ooh...ah ah ah

Contemplating

Towards 'A Bay'

Looking South across Sunshine, Sunrise and Castaways Beaches

Just because we have arrived back to the part of the world we are calling, for lack of a better word, 'home' it does not mean the adventure must end. In fact, quite the opposite. When abroad you often find yourself thinking; 'I wish I'd seen or done...when I was back 'home.' Anna and I often discussed at length all the wonderful things we must see and do when we get back to the Sunshine Coast. So, after a couple of weeks of settling in, we've started ticking off that endless list of 'stuff to do.'

Noosa National Park carries a lot of hype, a lot of which stems from the same people who love to tell about how much they just adore Hastings street, First Beach and everything that is so delightful about Newsa Darling. Aside from all that, the National Park is a pretty special spot. The best and most discreet way to start the National Park walking track is from the Sunshine Beach end; Stroll North along the beach, a quick hike up a few steps, around a bluff and you are onto the Southern end of Alexandra Bay (A Bay). A popular nudie beach but beautiful none the less. Be sure to keep your attention shifting or risk looking like a derdy pervy, when really you're probably just a little disturbed. We did not go right down to the beach on this morning but from a distance, unless it was 'wear your beige bathers Wednesday', there were definitely a couple of happy go lucky naturists with their goods, or bads, on display.

A Humpback Whale thankfully diverted our attention to the ocean as it made its way North, leaving behind a foot print in the water suggesting its immense size. Topping off the mornings entertainment was a large pod of Dolphins drifting about in the currents not to far off shore. It was a morning show of splendid variety.