Friday, January 19, 2007

Lou was almost happy.

Finally got to the sumptious State theatre on the right night.
Lou Reed was performing one of the great moments of rock angst. His album Berlin.
It was brutal and confronting when it came out but never sold much.
Ahead of it's time perhaps.
Lou had some of the best players in the world including Steve Hunter who took my head off with his feel and style.
Lou was funny in that he did that Vegas thing with his own songs a bit.
You know come in late and then rush to pick it up again.
Still he is Lou.
His voice is unforgetable, I wish he hada stuck to the tune a bit more.
The choir and orchestra were brilliant as were the backing singers.
One who was Anthony from Anthony and the Johnstons.
What a voice this man has!
An angel who is obviously not neurotypical, but then neither is Lou (but that might have been self induced.)
The concert was populated with a lot of old rockers done good as well as some of the houghty toighty Sydney Festival crowd.
Lou did a nice encore too.
Sweet Jane and some old velvets number I didn't recognise.
Rock is now officially a high culture item.
Cant be long before the Australian Opera does a Metallica album.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Right Gig Wrong Time

Very excited about seeing Lou Reeds Berlin, part of the Sydney festival.
Same price as a Big Day out ticket and I must be getting old because I could nae face all the crowds at Homebush.
Anyway last night we organised an babysitter got dressed up and went out to see Lou, only problem was he aint on till next week.
Duh!
Had a lovely Spanish Tappas fest instead.
January is such a time warp, must remember to check dates for everything.

Like a true Mac Dweeb I watched Steve Jobs strut around the stage and launch the I phone .
The man is a immaculate showman.
A wizard of techno spin.
He talks almost non stop for one and half hours.
Doesn't seem to be reading and except for a dud pointer is flawless.
All the other CEO's that trot out seem goofy and dull compared to Stevie.
Apple is everything that is good about America.(and perhaps the flaw)
Religious belief in themselves and the future.
Enlightenment through superior design.
Powerful and easy to use technology/magic.
A man with a vision.
His connection to Disney/Pixar is just perfect too.
Why isn't he running the country? Or someone like him.
I want one of those iphone things of course.
Then I'll change my Nom DePlume to Peter Iphonecast- or maybe not.
Also just finnished mixing a great track by me brother, a Grant McLennan song called the wrong road.
For a tribute compilation.
Used nashville tuned guitars for the first time.
You might think you know all the tricks and then ya see something that makes you realise how far you have to go.
Complacency is an insideous flaw.
I banish it forever and open myself to the everchanging whirling energies of the universe.
Now where was I ?
Mmmm.
Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Back to the grindstone.

Hope the holidays were good for everyone.
I went up to visit friends on the central coast.
Swam,read, ate, drank and slept.
Read The Beach which was a top read and made me want to dissapear on a Thai Island.
Now am reading a novel called American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
Which is right up my alley.
This guy gets out of gaol and goes to work for Odin- the nordic god who is a con man since noone worships him anymore.
Neil Gaiman wrote the Sandman series as in the Metalica Song.
We are in to the home stretch with the blogging class.
Have some wonderful posts from the students.
Hope the stragglers catch up.
Remember you must have at least twelve posts.
Photos and movies don't count unless there is a fair amount of text with them.
Now you should work on your blog critique which should be posted up for the world to see.
Say the person who writes the blog reads it?
Quite possible....
Recently Saddam was executed and you can see the video,if you have a ghoulish streak- the photos were enough for me.
A lot of people have a short memory or are too young to know much about him so I link to this excellent obit of his life.
It was another blunder to execute him under such atrocious circumstances.
He went with a calm resignation that made him into a marytr.
I had to admire how bravely he went even though he had ordered the deaths of thousands.
That cant be a good thing.