The First Casualty Of War

The bad news is that my shampoo exploded in my suitcase during the flight. The good news is my luggage has taken on a nice sheen and is relatively dandruff free.

Only one solution: Off to the pub.

Music to leave the Island by

Bill was my Deputy Principal for 3 years, my Boss for 8 years and remains to this day a good friend and a musical confidant.

On the eve of my trip overseas we meet for coffee where he thrusts into my hands a bunch of mix CDs he has been curating for a while.

I have no doubt that the majority of the music on these discs (all soul of course) will be new to my ears. Yet I am fairly sure I will find some tunes that will set me off searching for more.

Not that much different to stepping on a plane to explore the other side of the world.

Keen to boost!

So we are a week away from our trip overseas and I have been wondering what the best way to keep everyone up to date.

Last time I left the island I used this place but that was in the early smart phone days so I never had the full force of an app to help post articles. With any luck, the use of the Blogger app will make things very easy.

Let's see how we go.

I'm one of the many pieces fallen on the ground

As a counter punch to my previous post, if the Counting Crows never release another album, I will be happy in the knowledge that this is the final song in their catalogue.

Step out the front door like a ghost...

Start, a photo by jakeandlindsay on Flickr.

Openings are a special thing. A great opening will stick with you forever, especially when the end product is not quite the masterpiece that its beginnings suggest.

Though it lasted just a season, the opening scene from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip re-affirmed my love for Aaron Sorkin's writing, even if he didn't hit it out of the park every episode. It was as if Sorkin set the bar so high for himself it was impossible to better. Though the Christmas Episode was something special.

The dry wit of Garrison Keillor is not for everyone but he nails the opening line of Pontoon his novel about the fictional town of Lake Wobegon:

"Evelyn was an insomniac so when they say she died in her sleep, you have to question that."

The rest of the book is fine without being brilliant. If anything, the above line proves that Keillor's tales of Lake Wobegon are better heard than read via his radio show A Prairie Home Companion. If you are after something funny and light for 15 minutes a week then I suggest you subscribe to the 'News From Lake Wobegon' podcast.

As far as opening salvos go, my favourite belongs on the first album I ever fell in love with. To the casual observer, August & Everything After will forever be remembered for bringing radio staple 'Mr Jones' to the world. To those of us who stuck with Counting Crows, the opening track 'Round Here' is year zero.

Adam Duritz has often been labelled a mopey, petulant rock star and whilst someone like Morrissey wears it like a badge of honour, Duritz wears it like a millstone. But everyone gets a free pass on their debut and this song about growing up allows Duritz to let it all out emotionally.

Here I present to you a cathartic live version from only a few years ago.

A mix tape for a new year

As part of a get fit regime, I took up running earlier this year. For me to be motivated to run I have to listen to music. Thankfully it doesn't mean I have to listen to David Guetta-ish beats just to keep going - it can be absolutely anything. And because I ran a lot this year, I can attest to the following artists and songs. These songs helped me and inspired me through a period of transition. A change of job and a change of city. 10 songs to keep with me on the journey.


Ryan Adams - Do I Wait (taken from Ashes and Fire)



City & Colour - Little Hell (taken from Little Hell)



The Decemberists - June Hymn (taken from The King Is Dead)



Fitz & The Tantrums - Moneygrabber (taken from Pickin' Up The Pieces)



Noel Gallagher - If I Had A Gun... (taken from High Flying Birds)



Gotye - In Your Light (taken from Making Mirrors)



Mayer Hawthorne - No Strings (taken from How Do You Do?)



Husky - History's Door (taken from Forever So)



Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin' (taken from Stone Rollin')



Teddy Thompson - Gotta Have Someone (taken from Bella)

Lenny = White, Carl = Black

I have been listening and thinking a lot about hip-hop of late. Also talking about it. Arjunan is a good friend at work. He is known as Arj only to his friends. Because he is the nicest man on earth, everyone calls him Arj.

An unassuming soul, it was a delight to discover that he was also partial to the art of spoken rhyme. Like myself, Arj wades in the conscious end of the hip-hop pool but also has well articulated views on 90s West Coast rap that belies his character. He is kinda like Charles Grodin in 'Midnight Run' come to think of it.

So as a result we have been swapping discs (remember them?) and chatting further about why we like certain artists and albums. The thing that resonates most of all with hip-hop for me is 'the swagger'. From the time they drop their first single, rap artists are full of confidence which most other genres don't seem to naturally have. The term 'earnest' is virtually unknown in hip-hop circles.

Which inexplicably brings me to Kanye West.

Casual listeners to Yeezy will be forgiven for thinking that Mr West is simply a mouthpiece for boasting and for broadsides at anyone who wins an award he was nominated for. But dig deeper and Kanye is one of the very few of his peers that is willing to bare his soul. This was most evident on his debut album The College Dropout. Sure there was bravado up the wazoo but there were some moments where he dropped his guard a little. Often on the same track.

'All Falls Down' was my entry point to this album and seven years on I still have it on high rotation. The last line in particular spoke to me as a slightly directionless twentysomething:

"We all self conscious I'm just the first to admit it."

As I have mentioned previously, one of the aims of my current writing project is to steer away from the thick slabs of earnestness that weighed down my earlier attempts at fiction. But as Kanye has demonstrated, a little openness on the odd occasion has the ability to keep things grounded.

Write with confidence but with an awareness of what is going on around you.

That's not a bad thing to aim for.