NRL goes Global

It's not often you hear anything about NRL on the BBC World Service. And I mean ever. But the Melbourne Storm's salary cap rort and the whopping penalty they copped last week did rate a mention on the late night news. Just before their story on the Armenian election.

What? Me? Insular?

Today’s paper reads: “Aussies stranded as Europe imposes biggest airspace closure since 9/11…”

Good thing it’s only Aussies being stranded then, otherwise it might be serious.

Seriously, while the Sydney Morning Herald is without doubt a publication in decline, are we not more global than this?

O My Soul: Alex Chilton RIP

This is somewhat belated even by my own lax standards.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard that Alex Chilton had died on March 17, 2010.

This didn't receive anything like the mainstream media coverage that say, Malcolm McLaren's death received. And most people (of the vast numbers of people that read this blog) will say "Who?" but I would also wager that most people have heard Alex Chilton singing "The Letter" by The Box Tops without knowing who the lead singer was. He sung that was when he was only 16.

I also only discovered Alex Chilton late, namely when his subsequent band, Big Star, had their first 2 albums, #1 Record and Radio City, re-released on a single CD. This was simply one of the best CD re-releases ever! Hearing this music for the first time was a revelation. There was something joyous and yet fragile about it at the same time. You also quickly realised that you belonged to a pretty exclusive (read "obscure") club. This was not music that you were about to be hearing on the radio anytime soon. And yet this was not because the music was "difficult" in any way. In fact, the artists influenced by Big Star had been all over the radio: REM and Cheap Trick to name but two of them.

The "obvious" song, if a track can be described as such for appearing as an album track on a Bangles album, was "September Gurls". It was also covered by a strangely hip-to-it, latter-day version of The Searchers.

There were plenty of other delights however, to be found on this CD. "O My Soul", "When My Baby's Beside Me" (a great driving song), "The Ballad of El Goodo", "Don't Lie To Me" and "You Get What You Deserve" were all great to name just a few but the real joy for me was "Thirteen". This beautiful melody over the simplest of arrangements with its innocent vulnerability stood out from the rest. It remains one of my favourite songs of all time. As in "ever, ever" to quote a mate of mine.

Their next work Third/Sister Lovers was also subsequently reissued and in many circles is regarded as their greatest work although much of it was not music that could be readily played live, "Too Wagnerian for my present band", Chilton once noted! To my mind though, Big Star and Alex Chilton as a solo artist never repeated the simple magic of those first 2 albums.

A couple of great articles can be found at Popmatters: a poignant obituary featuring moving first-hand testimony along with an equally heartfelt summary of his career and life.

What the World Needs Now...

...is another Kiss tribute band.

At least that's what's suggested by all the phone number tags having been torn from this "Bass Player Wanted" flyer. Clearly, there's a lot of would-be Gene Simmons walking around the Sydney CBD. Guess it beats my day job too.

On the other hand, the person motivated to scrawl: "How limiting! Do Something More Your Age" would appear to disagree. A lot!

Perhaps that person also tore off all the phone numbers...

Why Don't We Have...Fake Archive Records

When you've only just started a blog, your archive is all but empty; it looks pretty uninteresting.

You should be able to install an existing archive from somewhere to give your blog at least the appearance of gravitas and longevity!

A complete forum would be good too...

The God Particle

Talking of the "The God Particle", I wonder if it's "The Delusion Particle" that makes it so hard to find.

Job Search Results Check

413 jobs this week in my Google Reader job-search feeds.

There's plenty there that I couldn't do, so it's a good thing that I'm currently working, and is no doubt a sign that I could improve my search parameters.

Nonetheless, that's a lot more jobs than were available late last year.

Misnomers

Good Friday? That would be like the Great War then.

Hot Stuff

Heard on the news this morning: an interview with an English guy who's almost accidentally grown the hottest chilli in the world.

It's been very catchily (no pun intended) named: "The Infinity Chilli". That's because, as you might imagine, the taste lasts a long time. To me, the name has a ring to it that also makes it sound a bit like "The God Particle"!

Apparently, half will make for an incredibly hot curry. So I'm guessing you wouldn't want them used in these cocktails...

Road Calm

Today I saw a tourist stop crossing the road to take a picture while only three-quarters of the way across. She seemed completely unaware of the growing line of drivers at the intersection waiting to turn. Now I've been a clueless tourist at various times in my life, so it wasn't the absent-minded thoughtlessness of the tourist that caught my attention; it was the fact that nobody hooted at her.

Maybe everybody's feeling extra-relaxed because we've got 4 days off work.