The Cat Empire strikes back with “Steal The Light”

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this awesome Australian band before, and if I haven’t it is well overdue. The Cat Empire, who formed in 1999 and have released six albums over the last decade and performed hundreds of amazing shows, are a hard band to define – a blend of latin music, jazz, ska, reggae, funk and rock. Though a six-piece band, they are regularly joined by other musicians, including extra brass sections, string sections, and more.

Since bursting onto the scene a decade ago, they’ve gone through quite a few changes in sound. With their latest album, Steal The Light, it feels they have finally gone full circle and ended up back where they started, releasing an album that is full of energy, very latin, loud and upbeat, and incredibly good for dancing. As trumpeter Harry says on their website:

“In many ways this record is a return to our original aesthetic, a very simple thing; that the music is for dancing and feeling good; and that the beat of the record belongs to all nations. It should make people smile, make people dance. That’s all we want.” 

The album does have a very worldly feel to it, and I must admit the first time I heard the song above I just broke into a great big smile. There is something so upbeat about this album, an element which I felt was missing off their last album, and it’s so good to hear these guys back making the music they make best. Sometimes when bands return to their roots, so to speak, it comes across as forced, but with Steal The Light it seems the most natural thing possible.

There are a couple of softer sounding songs, particularly the album closer All Night Loud, but even this feels like a sort of triumphant way to end the record, still remaining positive even if it’s not as energetic as the rest. Most of the songs are bound to get you moving, with some of the heaviest latin influence to date on a Cat Empire work.  I hope this very infectious album performs well because it most certainly deserves to, and if you don’t hear it in full you really are missing out.

I’m going to end with my favourite song from it, “Prophets In The Sky”. Sadly there are only film clips for the first two songs I’ve already included, but you can look at the awesome album artwork on this one, by Graeme Base (the album comes with a big fold out poster of this, too). Enjoy!

What do you think of this music and this band?

Awards appreciation and some changes to my awards acceptance

Okay, first of all the awards. Kerilady from My Thought Exactly…! nominated me for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award quite a few months back. Then about a month ago I was nominated for it again by A Girl Who Reads from the blog Find A Girl Who Reads. Lastly, I was nominated by Jill London on her self-named blog for, well, one of a selection of awards she was nominated for all at once.

I want to thank all three of these wonderful ladies for sending awards my way – it is always much appreciated and nice to know people enjoy the stuff I have to say on here (even after quite a startling amount of posts). I also want to highly recommend their blogs, all of which are very interesting and thoughtful – if you haven’t checked these out before on your travels through the blogosphere, get the heck off my silly blog and go look at theirs (the links are in the first paragraph). Now. Go on. I’ll wait right here. I’m cooking a roast anyway so I have quite a lot of time to kill. I’ll just whistle a long song, like Bohemian Rhapsody. Or maybe Echoes by Pink Floyd, that’s like 20 minutes long…

Have you looked at their blogs? You have. Good stuff. This is why I like you.

Okay, now on to the second part of this post that I hinted at in my title.

As some of you might know, my life has become ludicrously busy in recent months, and the rest of the year is destined to become even crazier as I build up to some big changes that I can’t quite discuss yet because it’s too complicated but I promise you all I will one day write a blog post about it and you’ll all be like “ohhh now I get it.” But until then, spare time is something I find when I’m supposed to be sleeping, sleep is a distant dream at the bottom of my coffee cup, and I have more pressure being put on me than Queen and David Bowie would have at a concert where they forgot the lyrics to that song.

As a result, finding time to blog at all has proven increasingly difficult. I’m managing to stick to an average of about three posts a week, although some weeks I only find time for two, and this takes it out of me. I miss the days where I could blog four or five times a week with ease, but if I forced myself to do that I simply wouldn’t enjoy it any more, and to me that seems kind of pointless.

What I’ve realised is that when it comes to awards, I’m just not getting around to posting about them any more. I have a weekly music post, a weekly book/writing post, and then the third post tends to be whatever I can think of, and that’s it really. Not only that, but as a fellow blogger pointed out recently, sometimes these awards posts can be quite stressful, especially when you’ve already won a number of these awards and you’re starting to run out of things you can say about yourself or random questions you can ask people. It’s not that I don’t appreciate them – I really do – but I’m starting to see now why some people accept them but don’t post about them, and I’m about to become one of those people I’m afraid.

So I will still accept awards if you wish to send them my way, as I always, always appreciate the thought (though I understand as well if you’d rather send them to people who will continue with the posts). When I get around to it in the near future, I’m going to create a page for my awards with a tab up the top, so it has its own special corner of my blog, and there I will link to my old awards posts, and try and include links to everybody who has nominated me for each award (to the best of my abilities – with several thousand comments, it may be hard to pick up every single person who nominated me).

Wow, this post became longer than I thought. I must be tired (I ramble when I’m tired). So I’ll end it now.

Thank you to everybody who has ever nominated me for an award. And thank you to all my readers, past and present, who continue to amaze me with your kindness, support and encouragement. You all rock!

Replies to Spam Comments #2

If you don’t know what I’m doing or why I’m doing it, look at this first post in this series. Otherwise, read on for more replies to spam comments.

Comment 1

From Marvella:
“I appreciate, lead to I discovered just what I was previously having a search for. You’ve ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless a person man. Have a fantastic day. Bye”

My Reply:
“Marvella, out of curiosity, what is it you were ‘previously having a search for’? A four day lengthy hunt is quite lengthy, and too lengthy not to illuminate me as to what it was, but just to suggest that you found a thing. I mean, I could write to you and tell you I found a thing, but I don’t.
Yours blessedly, Person Man.”

Comment 2

From Prasouda:
“You produced some decent points there. I looked on the internet for that issue and located most individuals goes along with along along with your internet website.

My Reply:
“Most individuals goes along with along along? Go home, you’re drunk.
Yours along, Along Along.”

Comment 3

From Code de la Route:
“Rattling good information can be found on blog . “I don’t know what will be used in the next world war, but the 4th will be fought with stones.” by Albert Einstein.”

My Reply:
“Dear CDLR, what constitutes ‘rattling good information’? Is it information so good it causes a small earthquake entirely within the place the information is being consumed? Is it information accompanied by a small band who use only rattling instruments like, I don’t know, a maraca? Or maybe the completely random and out of context quote by Einstein is the rattling information? Speaking of which, do you know that person from the last spam comments post I made? Maybe you two are philosophical buddies or something?
Yours rattlingly, Not A Philosopher”

Comment 4

From Related Site:
“choice. Anyhow; in case you might be a youthful driver along with new on the road existence, then it is possible to definitely horn”

My Reply:
“horned on the road existence once, but I wasn’t a youthful driver at the time, and I didn’t feel a need to finish my”

Comment 5

From Free Background
“Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 25 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My apple ipad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!”

My Reply:
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I know that was entirely mean, but I just had to laugh at someone.
Yours laughingly, HAHAHAHAHA.”

Comment 6

From Read This:
“Now, whilst I had been at finish the same job, my brother stole my personal iphone and also tested to determine if it may possibly endure a thirty ft . drop, just consequently she can be a youtube experience. My ipad by apple is now broken and she gets 83 landscapes. I’m sure this can be entirely away subject nevertheless I necessary to share it with somebody!”

My Reply:
“Hey, you’ve just plagiarised Free Background, but written it in terrible English. You know plagiarism is bad, right? Like, you should go sit in the naughty corner and hang your head in shame. Also, you are speaking of your brother but then said “she gets 83 landscapes”…first of all nobody gets 83 landscapes, how greedy, and secondly, go apologise to your brother for calling him a girl. Then apologise to everybody for using any gender in a derogatory manner, you thoughtless person.
After you’ve done this, go away.
Yours unplagiarised, Eleventy Landscapes Strong.”

Okay, I’m done for a while on these spam comments, I think. If anybody has spam comments they would like me to reply to, though, feel free to leave them as a comment on here! 

Hugh Laurie returns with his second album, “Didn’t It Rain”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Hugh Laurie is a ridiculously talented man. While famous around the world for playing the much loved doctor in the television series House, in which he also put on a quite convincing American accent (he’s British), he started off his career in the world of comedy, often alongside Stephen Fry in such shows as Blackadder, A Bit Of Fry And Laurie, and Jeeves and Wooster. Top all this off with several movie appearances, and even the novel he wrote, The Gun Seller, and the fact that he has now turned to music and released his second album kind of makes him seem like a show off. But, with talent like this, he’s allowed to show off.

His first album, Let Them Talk, ventured into the New Orleans style of blues music, as he covered many of his lifelong favourite songs with musicians who he has always looked up to. With his follow up album, Didn’t It Rain, he continues this bluesy sound but explores music from the rest of America from this same time period. The main album has thirteen tracks, though there is a deluxe version with an extra five track disc that is worth getting if only for this song, “Unchain My Heart” (and his little talk at the start of the clip is quite funny – you’ll see why):

There are some definite differences between this new album and his first. While he took lead vocals on almost all of the tracks on his first album, this time around he shares lead vocal duties with the incredibly talented Jean McClain and Gaby Moreno on three tracks each, and Taj Mahal sings lead vocals on another song. The extra voices, particularly the strong female vocals, really add a lot to this album, giving it a very different mood to the first. There’s a lot of slower or quieter songs near the start too, although it starts to liven up a bit in the second half, which I quite like.

Reading through the liner notes, Hugh Laurie is very modest about playing these songs, and makes it clear that he does it because he loves the music so much, and they clearly mean so much to him. He brings each and every song to life in his own unique way, with that surprisingly strong and crisp voice of his, and he explains the story behind each song in the album notes as well – he hasn’t just chosen a bunch of songs at random but has very carefully selected what he wants to sing and perform.

After a few listens, I find myself almost as impressed with this new album as I was with his first, which is saying a lot. If you haven’t heard Hugh Laurie’s music yet, you really are missing out – it’s a lot of fun, and very addictive to listen to. I’ll finish off with another of my favourite tracks, “Wild Honey”:

What are your thoughts on Hugh Laurie as a musician and singer?

The nature of memory, truth, and non-fiction writing

Yesterday I read an article for The New York Review of Books that my wonderful and ever curious girlfriend pointed me towards, titled “Speak, Memory” (click to see the article) by author and neurologist Oliver Sacks (for whom long-time readers will know I have the deepest respect).

Memory is not a simple part of our brains, using several sections to connect the different kinds of memory. Taken the FDA website here.

The article, as its title suggests, is about memory, and is well worth a read. It discusses how we construct certain parts of our memory from the stories other people tell us about those same events – so much so that often our memory is no longer our own, as if it were a false memory, although Sacks suggests that there is very little neurological difference between these possibly false memories and “real” memories that are closer to the truth. He tells of how two of his reminiscences of his boyhood in London during the Blitz in WWII were included in his boyhood memoir Uncle Tungsten, but after he published it his brother pointed out to him that he couldn’t possibly remember the second event because he wasn’t actually there at the time. Naturally, Sacks was stunned to find that a memory he swore was real was in fact impossible, and existed only due to a very vivid letter written by a family member who was present at the time.

The article then goes on to discuss “source confusion” regarding memories, unconscious plagiarism, and other various issues that come with all of this, but I’ll let you read the piece as Sacks explains it much better than I ever could. Essentially, by the end, it is clear we can’t fully trust our own memories, or anybody else’s, but the strongest and perhaps most truthful narratives come from the collaboration of several people’s minds and perspectives.

The article has got me thinking about writing from memories with regard to non-fiction works such as memoirs, autobiographies, and so on. I remember once, in a university course on non-fiction writing, we discussed the issue of ‘truth’ – what constitutes truth in this genre, and is it possible to ever determine for certain the truth from the lies. The bottom line, we found, is that it is not possible. Truth is entirely subjective, and each person can and does have their own truth – their narrative is theirs to tell, as they remember it, and while this might not seem like the truth to others, perspective and context will always change the interpretation of an event, moment, thought or feeling. We even went as far as to suggest that non-fiction is probably never non-fiction at all, but can be just as fictional as your fantasy novels, sci-fi stories, and so on. Truth is a massive grey-area – there are no lines that can be definitively drawn in the sand when it comes to telling our own stories.

A view of memory beyond an individual’s memory. There’s probably more detailed and more holistic variations on this, but you get the gist.

It’s funny now, years after completing that course (I’m still not very keen on writing non-fiction, although the few people who have read my fiction stories have noticed certain little biographical elements in them, especially in some of the characters), that I find myself reading this article by Sacks which suggests the exact same thing, only on a neurological level. In other words, this article proves that what we discussed in that class is absolutely true, that memory cannot be fully trusted because it is constructed by more than just ourselves, and by more than just the events. Yet, I feel this also justifies what we spoke about – non-fiction doesn’t have to be 100% factual, as that is an unachievable goal to reach. It is possible to outright intentionally lie in non-fiction, but it is just as possible to write your own truth, and to believe it is real whether others believe it or not.

What are your thoughts on all of this? How truthful do you often think non-fiction writing is? What are your thoughts on Sacks’ article?

Music Monday – That time Colin Hay was on Scrubs

I’m keeping today’s music post short and sweet, as I’m currently looking into different ways to do my weekly music posts to see what works best.

Anyway, tonight Colin Hay (successful in his own right as a solo artist but also famous as the front man for Australian 1980s band Men At Work) was on a music quiz show we watch over here, and my house mate and I began to discuss his songs, before my house mate began playing his songs on the guitar and I pretended to sing along (well, I did sing along, just not very well).

Anyway, the point is, one of the songs that we started playing/singing was the Men At Work song Overkill. It’s an absolutely beautiful song, and recently (well, probably a decade now but whatever) made famous again after Colin Hay himself appeared in an episode of the comedy Scrubs playing the song at numerous points. It’s personally one of my favourite episodes of that show, and I’m pretty sure his appearance and this song have a lot to do with it.

So here’s a clip that someone has stitched up to include all the moments he appears playing the song in that episode in lyrical order. Although I really love the original album version, with blasting saxophones and all, I also love this stripped down acoustic version which manages to retain all the emotion that Hay has worked into the song. Enjoy!

Replies to Spam Comments #1

I’m sure we’ve all had a few spam comments appear on our blogs from time to time, and luckily the spam filter on WordPress is good enough to block all of them. I’ve found as my blog has grown in views, the spam comments have grown exponentially, now doubling my normal comments in number. And, more importantly, some of them are really quite funny and entertaining.

So, even though I delete them and will continue to do so, I thought it would be fun to pretend to reply to them, by posting the spam comment and my pretend replies on here. I’ll only post a few for now, with more to come later. Enjoy!

Comment 1:

From Yeast Infection No More (seriously? Where do they get these names):
“You, my pal, ROCK! I found exactly the explanation I already searched everywhere and simply couldn’t find it. What a great site.”

My reply:
“Dear Yeast Infection No More,
Thank you for your kindness regarding my ability to rock, or possibly my awesomeness – you didn’t really elaborate upon this so I’ll just make assumptions. I’m glad you found the explanation you searched everywhere for, were you playing a game of Hide and Seek with it perhaps? How fun.
Yours unyeastily, A Small Rock”

Comment 2:

From Find Out More:
“Howdy! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.”

My Reply:
“Dear F. O. More,
Did you even pay attention to the web address of this very site upon which you choose to scribble your unobservant ramblings? Clearly not. Also, if you used to blog, surely it would be easy for an internet savvy person such as yourself to find another blogging platform, of which there are many. There are many clever websites which can assist in your quest, namely Google, Google, Google, Yahoo I guess, and Google.
Yours sincerely, Knows More Than You”

Comment 3:

From Spider Solitaire Freeware:
“my brother has a gambling challenge and he just burned a thousand bucks in 1 night-”

My Reply:
“Dear SS Freeware,
Why did he do that? He’s not very good at gambling if he just sets fire to the money – did you explain to him that’s not how it all works? That is a ridiculous amount of money to set fire to, as well. What a silly person.
Yours disappointingly, Money Extinguisher.”

Comment 4:

From San Antonio Bail Bonds:
“I like this net blog extremely considerably so significantly great data. “It’s a poor sort of memory that only operates backward.” by Lewis Carroll.”

My Reply:
“Dear SABB,
Thank you, I also like my blog extremely considerably so significantly. Matters of the memory always contribute to interesting debate by various experts in the field, but I don’t really see what this has to do with your comment or Lewis Carroll. I thought the idea of quotes was to keep them relevant to the topic at hand? Of course, I have been wrong about these things before. But I’m probably right about this.
Yours quotefully, Abraham “You can never trust quotes on the internet” Lincoln”

Comment 5:

From Hockey Jersey:
“Utterly written topic material , Truly enjoyed hunting through .”

My Reply:
“Dear H Jersey,
My topic material is “utterly written” you say? Not a bit written, or mostly written, but utterly written? And all this time I thought I was just drawing things, but it turns out those things I was drawing were letters which then went on to form words, sentences, paragraphs – entire worlds in fact developed from these tiny little pictures. What a stunning revelation for me. I always wanted to know I was utterly writing.
Yours utterly, Written”

Okay, that’ll be enough for now. I expect I’ll do this again sometime soon!