last years wishes were this years apologies...
Nothing like a bit of sleep deprivation, a moderately disappointing day, a fair dash of procrastination about packing, and something that genuinely brought a smile to my face to lead to what will probably be a long and rambling livejournal post...
Its been an awesome year, comparatively. I think my lack of posting here has reflected somewhat my change in mindset over the past 12 months, and hopefully it continues. There have been some glorious moments... My best friend getting engaged, my getting my own radio show, a stack of awesome gigs, and some really special moments.
2007 started with an excellent Big Day Out. I had a genuinely awesome time by avoiding the main stage almost entirely - and highlights like That One Guy and John Cooper Clarke, as well as the avoidance of the majority of the dick heads that sometimes make your day unpleasant (see last years flag draped "I was there at the 'nulla" bogan fiasco), made for me to still feel good about doing my favourite things, just a little more grown up. Whilst sandwiched in the middle of radness was the biggest rip-off festival I have ever been to, the terminally disappointing Good Vibrations excersise in cattle herding, the first V Fest gave me everything I had ever wanted, which, it turns out, was The Pixies live, as well as Jarvis Cocker, Beck, The Rapture, Phoenix and a great deal more, well presented and awesomely fun day... and Soundwave was wet but full of awesome - especially The Deftones, Suicidal Tendencies, Unwritten Law and Juliette & The Licks...
My friends up here have, for the most part, had a great time, and it has spurred on a fair bit of positive action in myself. Whilst the most tangible would be the engagement of Bec and Nick, I have completely stoked on the success of Pat in his English literature endeavours, and am somewhat chuffed that he followed my essay structure guide to such amazing success - for entrance exams, he (without scaling) got 114% or thereabouts, and whilst I did nothing except a little nudge in the right direction, it still gives me a great deal of pride, inspiration and joy to think of his journey. Having Moxey move up here has been lovely, and on top of that, the love and fostering of relationships with everyone from the Glebe/Inhale crowd - Dazed n Flawlezz, Satchin, Radford and his crew, and the broader selection of drum and bass misfits has really helped me out in enjoying this town a lot more. That, and when the outstanding 2ser crew got added to the mix, I now feel not lonely, but alive, loved and happy.
I had my share of self-sabotaging badness... I freaked and failed miserably with trying to contribute to Cyclic Defrost, going about everything in the least professional and caring way possible, which to this day is an issue that I have to resolve fully. I fell behind in rent and study in the middle of the year, and it took me a really long time to get back on track. And I feel some of my relationships (particularly with my house mates) probably would have been better had I worked at them slightly harder (or at all...). But the difference, I think, this year, is that I can identify and at least name these problems - honesty with myself, analysis of my actions, and stopping and thinking once in a while has limited the general chaos bandwagon that really has been my life to this point (something all my LJ friends can probably attest to).
To kind of personally atone for my embarrassing failure at the beginning of the year to become an active member of the alternative media, I decided to take one of the opportunities that presented itself. For about a year, I had been helping Bec out with Patent Pending, her radio show on 2ser. When a new job meant that she could no longer attend Monday lunchtimes in the studio, she essentially handed the reigns to me for the rest of the year. Having had quite a fun time doing that - who would have guessed? - me enjoying playing dope records to people and talking about them, and having it broadcast so anyone in the world could potentially hear it - I was approached about taking a further role in the 2ser community. After a bit of deliberation, I ended up with a magazine style show, on Tuesday's between 9:30 and midday, called the Tuesday Daily. Whilst I haven't totally settled in - I still need to nail more contributors, and start working on stories myself, as well as really get comfortable enough to stamp my personality onto my show, it is both an immense honour to have been trusted to that role, a privilege to work alongside some genuinely talented, interesting and creative people, all with the full knowledge that I can actually say by the age of 28, I had achieved one of my life-long goals. I am now an active participant in the Alternative Media, in a way that I couldn't be more happy with. From those dreams when I was 16 of being the editor of Rolling Stone magazine, to the dalliance with dj'ing and bands, to showing my dab hand at writing... This is more tangible, more of a challenge, and hopefully more rewarding in the long run. So when it comes to all of that, I am really really stoked.
On the subject of djing and music and all things related... I made lots of trips to Canberra this year for Ug Beats. Now, the catalyst that made me think to post today was Mezla throwing a link to this post on Hayley Mei's blog Mayoress, that her and her girls contribute to... Now the post expressed disappointment that during the phenomenal Ug Beats 5th Birthday gig, Jem, Cam and I had reprised a trick we used to do back in the old D$ times - putting on an incredibly dope Q-Bert et al scratch set and feigning the scratching over the top... Its a hell of a fun thing to perform, and I think it sums up the Ug Beats philosophy quite nicely... We are serious about our hip-hop (and all popular music culture) to an immense degree, but at the same time, we love to have fun. Now, this post came from a very disspointed place - that despite my crew and I being genuinely good guys, faking skillz is just plain wack, yo. And just like my message to shitty taggers - maybe you should practice your shit at home before taking it public... let alone biting on the work of actually talented mofos... And that is kind of the point. We knew some people would be appalled by the dupe... others on the night were convinced our display was genuine to a tee, and for those in on the joke, it was hilarious for them on the dancefloor to see the reactions - dropped jaws, a few middle fingers stuck up, but overall amusement... To be reminded of such a great night - we had a million nicks playing, all but Bec and Radge and Rhys and Tim playing from our crew, and a crowd that was up for it till the end... That was one of the better gigs of the year (and if I recall correctly, I played alright too...). Indeed, changing tack to slap both Mindcircus and If I Survive onto the crowd that led to seething hugs from the crowd was awesome - there's a dope photos of Tim Crowley lunging at me for the hug on the dance floor later... and it summed up my night well. So yes - after filling Hayley in on the background behind the antics, she now feels probably more sorry than she should - I find it hilarious our little stunt got talked about so much it could make a blog from Melbourne - I was inspired to come on here and write this.
I haven't done the Al-Awards for a few years now, and totally don't have the time this year either, so instead ill just list a few of the things I stoked on hard...
Gigs...
Boris and Sun o))) @ the factory was pretty radular, especially Boris. Outstanding.
Envy and Brisk @ Specco was similarly fantastical - Envy really are close to one of the most outstanding bands I've ever seen, and the first since the Flaming Lips to leave me speechless (joining Sonic Youth, Ruby Fruit Jungle and PreShrunk on that list).
J-Zone played to a relatively empty Gaelic club, but that made it all the more better that Zac and I were there! He surpassed my wildest expectations, putting on one of the most entertaining hip hop shows I've ever seen... nay... THE MOST. Coz, despite my love for the boom-bap... Live it so rarely matches the recorded version. So rarely for me. I in fact half the time find it boring to be at shows - you cant understand the words through bad mic control and crappy P.A, and there's only so much one can do unless you are a superstar or really willing to put the time and effort in...
Ice Cube hahahaha Did something that... well... he confirmed to me something I had been wondering about for a while... I mean, I had my inklings, but no real way of ever getting a confirmation, one way or the other... But in between some awesome stuff he was performing (now there is one record that was way better live than on disc - ice cubes new one), he stopped the crowd and said authoritatively "SYDNEY, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE IN FACT ALL PART OF.... THE WORLD-WIDE WEST SIDE". Dear Mr Cube... Thank you so much for clearing that up.
In one of the funnest gigs of the year, Regurgitator, I Heart Hiroshima and Hong Kongs brilliant New Pants rocked mine and everyone's world down at the short lived U.C Green Room.
The Dolly Rocker Movement are a really really sweet band, and will be my obsession for most of 2008 i think.
DJ's Kode 9, Luke Vibert, Shortkut, Numark and Luke Fair for proving to me that my like for a good DJ set hasn't completely dissipated...
Albums
Thurston Moore's "The Trees Outside The Academy" is fucking outstanding in almost every respect. Who ever knew all he really was missing (if anything) was a violin.
Maximo Park's "Our Earthly Pleasures" is my sing-along album of the year.
Fall Out Boy's "Infinity on High" is my guilty pleasure success story.
Amon Tobin's "The Foley Room" is close to his best work, aka ESSENTIAL.
Cadence Weapon's "Breaking Kayfabe" only got local distro this year, so it deserves a mention for being so retardedly outstanding, that when the second song "Sharks" talks about people biting his style, I'im kind of curious as to who he's hating on, coz NO ONE (barring old rob sonic) makes hip hop like that that I have ever heard...
Aesop Rock's "None Shall Pass" is his best work to date, and just gets better with every play.
El-P's "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" similarly showed a damn good year for Def Jux, and is every bit a worthy purchase.
Joe Beats "Diverse Recourse" is the first 12 ive ever bought of bully, but MAN is that my shiz
The Helliocentrics album is also essential...
DJ mayonnaise
DJ Alibi
Oh No
Hey, I'm out of time. I've probably messed up your friends page enough with it the length that it is, so have a great xmas and a happy new year y'all if I don't speak to you guys before hand...
OH WAIT...
Nothing, to this day, has stopped the shivvers of excitement, pride, I dont know what, overall joy, that we experienced on Election night. I still kind of tear up thinking about it. Whilst there has already been far too much written about it, THANK GOODNESS THOSE ARSEHOLES ARE FINALLY GONE AND I CAN GO BACK TO NOT BEING CRITICALLY EMBARRASSED AND UPSET BY MY NATIONS GOVERNMENT. Whilst I am a realist, and know that this new govt wont be much better, my fists couldn't have pumped more when I passed a newsagent and saw the headlines "RUDD RATTIFY'S KYOTO". It took far too long for this to happen, but now we can move on... and yeah I'm crying tears of joy right now (which maybe shows my psyche still isnt 100% sane) but oh my god... GO MAXINE! GO JULEZ! GO K-RUDD... and hit the road, Jack. Its such a relief. Its so great. SO GREAT! Those cheers on election night, the rapture of playing *that song* after the speech I'd been waiting for ever since I got back here... Oh my.
Be good now...
I'm doing Purple Sneaker NYE party
Moving house to Glebe this weekend
and Ug Beats feat EdSeven + more in our new home The Transit Bar will be on Jan 19.
ROCK.
AL
Its been an awesome year, comparatively. I think my lack of posting here has reflected somewhat my change in mindset over the past 12 months, and hopefully it continues. There have been some glorious moments... My best friend getting engaged, my getting my own radio show, a stack of awesome gigs, and some really special moments.
2007 started with an excellent Big Day Out. I had a genuinely awesome time by avoiding the main stage almost entirely - and highlights like That One Guy and John Cooper Clarke, as well as the avoidance of the majority of the dick heads that sometimes make your day unpleasant (see last years flag draped "I was there at the 'nulla" bogan fiasco), made for me to still feel good about doing my favourite things, just a little more grown up. Whilst sandwiched in the middle of radness was the biggest rip-off festival I have ever been to, the terminally disappointing Good Vibrations excersise in cattle herding, the first V Fest gave me everything I had ever wanted, which, it turns out, was The Pixies live, as well as Jarvis Cocker, Beck, The Rapture, Phoenix and a great deal more, well presented and awesomely fun day... and Soundwave was wet but full of awesome - especially The Deftones, Suicidal Tendencies, Unwritten Law and Juliette & The Licks...
My friends up here have, for the most part, had a great time, and it has spurred on a fair bit of positive action in myself. Whilst the most tangible would be the engagement of Bec and Nick, I have completely stoked on the success of Pat in his English literature endeavours, and am somewhat chuffed that he followed my essay structure guide to such amazing success - for entrance exams, he (without scaling) got 114% or thereabouts, and whilst I did nothing except a little nudge in the right direction, it still gives me a great deal of pride, inspiration and joy to think of his journey. Having Moxey move up here has been lovely, and on top of that, the love and fostering of relationships with everyone from the Glebe/Inhale crowd - Dazed n Flawlezz, Satchin, Radford and his crew, and the broader selection of drum and bass misfits has really helped me out in enjoying this town a lot more. That, and when the outstanding 2ser crew got added to the mix, I now feel not lonely, but alive, loved and happy.
I had my share of self-sabotaging badness... I freaked and failed miserably with trying to contribute to Cyclic Defrost, going about everything in the least professional and caring way possible, which to this day is an issue that I have to resolve fully. I fell behind in rent and study in the middle of the year, and it took me a really long time to get back on track. And I feel some of my relationships (particularly with my house mates) probably would have been better had I worked at them slightly harder (or at all...). But the difference, I think, this year, is that I can identify and at least name these problems - honesty with myself, analysis of my actions, and stopping and thinking once in a while has limited the general chaos bandwagon that really has been my life to this point (something all my LJ friends can probably attest to).
To kind of personally atone for my embarrassing failure at the beginning of the year to become an active member of the alternative media, I decided to take one of the opportunities that presented itself. For about a year, I had been helping Bec out with Patent Pending, her radio show on 2ser. When a new job meant that she could no longer attend Monday lunchtimes in the studio, she essentially handed the reigns to me for the rest of the year. Having had quite a fun time doing that - who would have guessed? - me enjoying playing dope records to people and talking about them, and having it broadcast so anyone in the world could potentially hear it - I was approached about taking a further role in the 2ser community. After a bit of deliberation, I ended up with a magazine style show, on Tuesday's between 9:30 and midday, called the Tuesday Daily. Whilst I haven't totally settled in - I still need to nail more contributors, and start working on stories myself, as well as really get comfortable enough to stamp my personality onto my show, it is both an immense honour to have been trusted to that role, a privilege to work alongside some genuinely talented, interesting and creative people, all with the full knowledge that I can actually say by the age of 28, I had achieved one of my life-long goals. I am now an active participant in the Alternative Media, in a way that I couldn't be more happy with. From those dreams when I was 16 of being the editor of Rolling Stone magazine, to the dalliance with dj'ing and bands, to showing my dab hand at writing... This is more tangible, more of a challenge, and hopefully more rewarding in the long run. So when it comes to all of that, I am really really stoked.
On the subject of djing and music and all things related... I made lots of trips to Canberra this year for Ug Beats. Now, the catalyst that made me think to post today was Mezla throwing a link to this post on Hayley Mei's blog Mayoress, that her and her girls contribute to... Now the post expressed disappointment that during the phenomenal Ug Beats 5th Birthday gig, Jem, Cam and I had reprised a trick we used to do back in the old D$ times - putting on an incredibly dope Q-Bert et al scratch set and feigning the scratching over the top... Its a hell of a fun thing to perform, and I think it sums up the Ug Beats philosophy quite nicely... We are serious about our hip-hop (and all popular music culture) to an immense degree, but at the same time, we love to have fun. Now, this post came from a very disspointed place - that despite my crew and I being genuinely good guys, faking skillz is just plain wack, yo. And just like my message to shitty taggers - maybe you should practice your shit at home before taking it public... let alone biting on the work of actually talented mofos... And that is kind of the point. We knew some people would be appalled by the dupe... others on the night were convinced our display was genuine to a tee, and for those in on the joke, it was hilarious for them on the dancefloor to see the reactions - dropped jaws, a few middle fingers stuck up, but overall amusement... To be reminded of such a great night - we had a million nicks playing, all but Bec and Radge and Rhys and Tim playing from our crew, and a crowd that was up for it till the end... That was one of the better gigs of the year (and if I recall correctly, I played alright too...). Indeed, changing tack to slap both Mindcircus and If I Survive onto the crowd that led to seething hugs from the crowd was awesome - there's a dope photos of Tim Crowley lunging at me for the hug on the dance floor later... and it summed up my night well. So yes - after filling Hayley in on the background behind the antics, she now feels probably more sorry than she should - I find it hilarious our little stunt got talked about so much it could make a blog from Melbourne - I was inspired to come on here and write this.
I haven't done the Al-Awards for a few years now, and totally don't have the time this year either, so instead ill just list a few of the things I stoked on hard...
Gigs...
Boris and Sun o))) @ the factory was pretty radular, especially Boris. Outstanding.
Envy and Brisk @ Specco was similarly fantastical - Envy really are close to one of the most outstanding bands I've ever seen, and the first since the Flaming Lips to leave me speechless (joining Sonic Youth, Ruby Fruit Jungle and PreShrunk on that list).
J-Zone played to a relatively empty Gaelic club, but that made it all the more better that Zac and I were there! He surpassed my wildest expectations, putting on one of the most entertaining hip hop shows I've ever seen... nay... THE MOST. Coz, despite my love for the boom-bap... Live it so rarely matches the recorded version. So rarely for me. I in fact half the time find it boring to be at shows - you cant understand the words through bad mic control and crappy P.A, and there's only so much one can do unless you are a superstar or really willing to put the time and effort in...
Ice Cube hahahaha Did something that... well... he confirmed to me something I had been wondering about for a while... I mean, I had my inklings, but no real way of ever getting a confirmation, one way or the other... But in between some awesome stuff he was performing (now there is one record that was way better live than on disc - ice cubes new one), he stopped the crowd and said authoritatively "SYDNEY, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE IN FACT ALL PART OF.... THE WORLD-WIDE WEST SIDE". Dear Mr Cube... Thank you so much for clearing that up.
In one of the funnest gigs of the year, Regurgitator, I Heart Hiroshima and Hong Kongs brilliant New Pants rocked mine and everyone's world down at the short lived U.C Green Room.
The Dolly Rocker Movement are a really really sweet band, and will be my obsession for most of 2008 i think.
DJ's Kode 9, Luke Vibert, Shortkut, Numark and Luke Fair for proving to me that my like for a good DJ set hasn't completely dissipated...
Albums
Thurston Moore's "The Trees Outside The Academy" is fucking outstanding in almost every respect. Who ever knew all he really was missing (if anything) was a violin.
Maximo Park's "Our Earthly Pleasures" is my sing-along album of the year.
Fall Out Boy's "Infinity on High" is my guilty pleasure success story.
Amon Tobin's "The Foley Room" is close to his best work, aka ESSENTIAL.
Cadence Weapon's "Breaking Kayfabe" only got local distro this year, so it deserves a mention for being so retardedly outstanding, that when the second song "Sharks" talks about people biting his style, I'im kind of curious as to who he's hating on, coz NO ONE (barring old rob sonic) makes hip hop like that that I have ever heard...
Aesop Rock's "None Shall Pass" is his best work to date, and just gets better with every play.
El-P's "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" similarly showed a damn good year for Def Jux, and is every bit a worthy purchase.
Joe Beats "Diverse Recourse" is the first 12 ive ever bought of bully, but MAN is that my shiz
The Helliocentrics album is also essential...
DJ mayonnaise
DJ Alibi
Oh No
Hey, I'm out of time. I've probably messed up your friends page enough with it the length that it is, so have a great xmas and a happy new year y'all if I don't speak to you guys before hand...
OH WAIT...
Nothing, to this day, has stopped the shivvers of excitement, pride, I dont know what, overall joy, that we experienced on Election night. I still kind of tear up thinking about it. Whilst there has already been far too much written about it, THANK GOODNESS THOSE ARSEHOLES ARE FINALLY GONE AND I CAN GO BACK TO NOT BEING CRITICALLY EMBARRASSED AND UPSET BY MY NATIONS GOVERNMENT. Whilst I am a realist, and know that this new govt wont be much better, my fists couldn't have pumped more when I passed a newsagent and saw the headlines "RUDD RATTIFY'S KYOTO". It took far too long for this to happen, but now we can move on... and yeah I'm crying tears of joy right now (which maybe shows my psyche still isnt 100% sane) but oh my god... GO MAXINE! GO JULEZ! GO K-RUDD... and hit the road, Jack. Its such a relief. Its so great. SO GREAT! Those cheers on election night, the rapture of playing *that song* after the speech I'd been waiting for ever since I got back here... Oh my.
Be good now...
I'm doing Purple Sneaker NYE party
Moving house to Glebe this weekend
and Ug Beats feat EdSeven + more in our new home The Transit Bar will be on Jan 19.
ROCK.
AL