Unexplainable

Currently Listening To :: The Best Of You :: Foo Fighters

Again, I can't bring myself to write about death. Every time, it gets closer and closer to home. For some, tradgedy has to be endured over and over. Karma is not supposed to work this way.

It's these situations where I'm at my most awkward; what to do, what to say, how to say it.

Rest in Peace Auntie Alexis. Uncle Wally and you are together now in Paradise.

But Wait, There's More...

Currently Listening To :: The Great Indoors :: John Mayer

I hate waking up early, although once I get on the road I'm feeling pretty good. Being the practical person I am, I’ve never seen the appeal in “just cruising”. But as I flew down the highway with my attention levels at just the right pitch to ensure I didn’t end up in a ditch, I felt clearer and more relaxed then I had in a long time. Sure my stomach was telling me what time it was, but as long as I knew that John Mayer was as hungry for success when he released his first EP as I was for food, a strange bond we shared.

Talking like Yoda is not like me, but I bought KFC last night, and Yoda's flogging Pepsi now, and...no KFC doesn't take AMEX either. Perhaps it's a conspiracy to stop us from eating poorly. Or cheaply. Or both.

Room for Squares has been a favourite album of mine for some time now. The number of albums that I can listen to from start to finish and not feel the violent urge to fast forward tracks are few and far between. It makes me wonder exactly what’s going on in apop artists mind...are they happy with the album? Is it a matter of filling the gaps in between radio playlist hits? Or is there a genuine (yet quite possibly misled) belief that their album will have a lead single and at least 2 other follow-ups that will lift them from one hit wonders to legitimate stars…at least for the next few months?

For the record, while I loved "Bigger Then My Body" and "Somethings Missing", I didn't think Heavier Things was a better album then Room for Squares.

Ah, the sophmore slump, that very American term for the failure of a second album to "live up" to the success of the first. Blackstreet. Mos Def. Dilated Peoples. Joss Stone. Erykah Badu. Shit, even N.E.R.D. stuggled. Even if you don't measure success in terms of unit sales, I would still say that a lot of artists struggle after that initial album. The rest are either that good (like The Roots, David Tao and The Foo Fighters) or have struck a Tom Clancy/Dan Brown formula for pumping out likeable sellable sameness (like Nelly, Jamiroquai and Jessica Simpson).

Learning #3: Was I phased that the Thai restaurant I ate at last night was staffed entirely by people who clearly weren't Thai? No. The moral of the story is, if the people in the kitchen look like they should be there, keep your seat. If not, get out before they can ask you "would you like some rice with your pad thai?"

There’s an old saying that everyone has a least one book in them, whether it be a short story or a novel of X proportions (having never read “War and Peace” it seemed just a little crass to mention it). The same I assume, can be said of most recording artists. I think that there’s a place that all musicians can go, a space and time when they can create something that will make a hit. But for the ones who have the ability to make a successful album, not just one good track, well, just like De La Soul said back in '96, Stakes is High.

Because it's not about making music for the local crowds anymore. This is for the radio...

Binge Blogging

Currently Listening To :: They :: Jem

The next few days will see a proliforation of writing/rambling from me. Partially because I'm in Port Macquaire/Taree for work. Well, actually, that's entirely it.

So I’m here at the domestic terminal, waiting for my flight to Port Maquarie to board. The thought of 6 (!!!!) days away from Sydney has filled me with equal measures of dread and anticipation.

I’ve always been a city boy; it takes a certain mood for me to want to venture out of the world’s metropoli. When I travel, more often then not I’m heading to a new city in search of cosmopolitan delights or ancient architecture. Then again, more often then not, I’m travelling by choice.

Fast forward to Sunday night, and I’ve caught the propeller plane flight, driven my hired RAV-4 to the hotel, and was ready to eat dinner then waste the night away watching the remainder of Season 4 of the West Wing and surfing the net.

Learning #1: Corporate card holders everywhere, beware. Subway does not take AMEX. I repeat, Subway does NOT take AMEX.

Alas, the mantra "always be prepared" was nowhere to be seen on Friday afternoon as I sunk back my second beer at work. Instead of talking to IT on whether the DVD player actually had a decoder installed or whether the dial-up connection was working, my attention was elsewhere. And so I’m paying for it now, being forced to watch Ben Lee on Music Max. Which isn’t all that bad if you like that sort of thing, but when you think of what I could have been doing the Sunday of a long weekend…well.

You’re right. I probably wouldn’t have been doing that much anyway.

I haven’t stayed up late and written like this in years. People often used to ask my why I never kept working as a writer of sorts. But writing for money was something I don’t think I could ever have done. Even if they had offered to make me a journalist, in hindsight, I’m glad that they didn’t. Being able to always write on my own terms is something that I have never wanted to give up, even to an editor like the one I had. And she was fantastic, making my thoughts really sing, challenging me to give my words an edge that I was sometimes just too afraid to voice.

Speaking to my marketing manager on Thursday, she sat me down and told me not only was she happy with the way I'd been voicing my opinions, but she wants me on her team. Now I'm not normally the cheshire cat, but all those late nights at work, making sure to play the game enough but not too much; it was all paying off. And not in a monetary way, because at my level 4% post tax adds up to about an extra drink during happy hour at the bar every Friday night.

For a change, it wasn’t about the money. It was about respect. People seeing that you have what it takes. Words of recognition. Now that’s priceless.

Also priceless. Learning #2: Always check the date on milk products before you buy them. Always. Preservatives can leave your tastebuds deceived. Your stomach won't be.