23 May 2013 (Day 143) – A Hard Day’s Sickie

It started on Wednesday afternoon after “M” had finished our initial celebrations.  Pains started emanating from my stomach and colon area which I was easily able to ignore in my initial euphoria.  Unimpressed with this indifference my colon decided to make its presence felt and before long I was screaming in agony.  A lengthy visit to the toilet reduced the agony to a constant rumbling pain.

I went to bed not knowing if I would go to work the following day.  When I awoke 10 hours had passed, probably the longest stretch of sleep I’d had in about a year, but the pain remained.  I was also very weak.  I didn’t know what had happened but I was obviously going to stay at home. 

So what to do? Writing, or at least the ability of producing something intelligible, is seriously diminished.  I find it almost impossible to listen to music, read (or do both simultaneously) whilst bedridden and daytime TV is simply awful. “M” is still home but is herself either sleeping and, in any case, is being visited by a colleague. Clearly there is only one thing to do and I look for a decent DVD to watch that “M” would not want to view.  We share broadly identical tastes in movies and so a music themed item is usually the way to go.  Somehow I’m unaffected by the prospect of watching music whilst sick.  

And what I watched is an acknowledged movie classic;

(AV15) The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Before this movie was released, movie vehicles for pop or rock stars were cheap quickie jobs intended to cash in on the popularity of the star of the moment.  No doubt this movie was conceived with the same expectation but the end result, courtesy of director Richard Lester, was something else.  With what appears to be the active participation of the band, Lester was able to subvert the already clichéd square-adults-view-the-"kids"-music-with-disdain-only-to-see-the-light plot line into something that could easily be mistaken for a documentary.

The plot line is deceptively simple; a 24 hour period in the life of The Beatles.  It starts mid-afternoon with them fleeing fans at a railway station and then goes on to show them taking a train to their next TV engagement the following day, attempting to amuse themselves that night, performing on the TV program and then departing mid-afternoon for their next adventure.  Strategically, relatively unimportant features are included to remind people that this isn’t a documentary – the plotline involving Paul McCartney’s grandfather played by Wilfrid Brambell, the use of actors to portray The Beatles managers rather than Brian Epstein and, by this stage, probably their use of public transport.   But Lester ensured that more than enough material was injected to make people understand The Beatles life was a hard one.  The elaborate attempts to escape the fleeing packs at the railway station or to enter venues, their retreat on the train to the luggage compartment, the claustrophobic scene inside a car surrounded by screaming fans or even the sheer amount of fan mail that their “managers” demand they all answer individually show the pressure they were under. (It’s little wonder Ringo goes off the rails at one point.  Lennon's and Harrison's sense of humour is also given an understandable context.)   And yet, despite their charisma and talent they do not ultimately win over everyone they come across, including the clearly unimpressed business traveller who resents having to share the train compartment with them or the director of the TV special.

But the beauty of the film is that you can choose to ignore the significance of such features if you wish and simply take it as an entertaining romp containing some of the best of The Beatles early work.  And certainly their performance on the “TV special” was probably the closest that the vast majority of their early fans ever got to seeing them in concert.  

But that was it, musically speaking for my day, as more sleep intruded.  By day’s end my condition had not improved much and I went to sleep wondering whether there would be an improvement in the morning…..

22 May 2013 (Day 142) – Life and Death, or, “M” and Ray Manzarek

I returned to work today, “M” having sufficiently recovered to not require my presence.

At work there was so much to do - a briefing from Jack, emails to trawl through and meetings to attend – that at times I was able to forget about “M”.  However, there was always another colleague enquiring about her state to jolt me back into reality.  Eventually, I took a moment to have a cup of tea and scan The Age online.  There was another jolt of reality when I read that Ray Manzarek of The Doors had died of cancer. 

The Doors are one of those acts that evoke strong reactions from people.  Inevitably, those reactions are not really about the musical merits of the band but more likely about the cult of Jim Morrison.  To me Morrison was nothing more than the lead singer and key lyricist of the band.  I’ve never bought into most of his lyrics and have never regarded him as a great poet.  It’s nothing personal here, but I’ve never really developed an appreciation for poetry, an art form I consider to be easily the most pretentious of them all.  If anything, many of Morrison’s lyrics are true relics of the 60s containing words or phrases that immediately date them today.   Had he not died young, Morrison’s literary abilities would today be regarded as little more than that of a beatnik.  Manazrek as Jim’s greatest advocate, enabler and keeper of the flame, was always on hand to put up a spirited defence on behalf of his friend.

But it is the music of The Doors that has endured over the years and it was Manzarek as its musical director that needs to take much of the credit.  He was responsible for the band’s true defining feature – its keyboard sound – which allowed Robbie Krieger’s guitar and John Densmore’s drums to flourish.  By additionally taking responsibility for the role traditionally undertaken by the bass guitar, he was one of the first visionaries to challenge the basic singer – drums – guitar – bass – keyboard band format.  Acts through the years as diverse as The White Stripes, Morphine, Om, The Black Keys and many others are clearly in his debt. 

Before hearing the news of his death, I’d been too busy to play anything but decided on a memorial retrospective.  As I’d already played L.A Woman this year – Manzarek’s playing on Riders On The Storm  being one of its major highlights -  I decided to start at the beginning;

(#373) The Doors – The Doors (1966)

I remember reading an assessment in a book that resides somewhere on my bookshelves that held it was hard to think of a better debut album in the entire history of rock by an act whose members were all previously unknown.  That thought has always stayed with me, and years later, I still cannot think of a single alternative.  As with many Doors albums the key tracks were placed at the start or end of its original vinyl sides.  Break On Through (To The Other Side) provided an immediate and effective introduction.  Light My Fire provided the monster hit and with The End was the first of a number of memorable tracks greater than 6 minutes in length.  And all this is before factoring in tracks such as The Crystal Ship, Soul Kitchen and their memorable covers of Back Door Man and Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar).

By my retrospective was fated to end there.  Shortly after lunch “M” rang me.  She was in tears and it took a long time before I was able to comprehend what she’d told me.  Tests had confirmed that what had been removed during her surgery was benign.  She wasn’t to be condemned to the same fate as Ray Manzarek.

Before long I had provided input to Jack on a pressing matter, bashed out a triumphant thank you email to the small circle of colleagues who knew what was at stake and was in the car headed for home.  I stopped to purchase a bottle of the sparkling wine previously known in Australia as champagne and entered the house.  “M” wasn’t all that surprised to see me but it was quite a while before we let go of each other.

The last few weeks had been tough mentally as I’d started to let the prospect of a life without “M” intrude on my thinking.  But I couldn’t let it show, especially, to her.   I’d been reasonably confident for most of the journey that this life affirming diagnosis would be the ultimate outcome.  For “M” the entire journey had been, quite understandably, the opposite.  Although music played no role in the day’s outcome, it had provided quite the unexpected counterpoint.   Incredibly, a day that had begun with my mourning for someone I’d never met had morphed into a day for celebrating the continued life with the person I knew better than anyone else on the planet (and vice versa).  Not surprisingly, I felt a huge sense of relief.

But it was not to be a sensation shared by the rest of my body…….

20 & 21 May 2013 (Days 140 & 141) – Music For Nursing “M”

I spent Monday and Tuesday looking after “M” as she recovered from her surgery, also fitting in a day’s worth of work from home.  Thanks to our laptop, kitchen table and internet connection I was able to work whilst "M" slept during the day. Undertaking work tasks were the only times I was able to focus my mind on something over than “M”s condition and on each occasion I would emerge mentally refreshed from the stint. 

At the moment music isn’t in the forefront of my mind nor, for that matter, has this blog.  (The current disparity in dates between the actual days being recorded and the date of posting is testament to this.)   Suffice to say, these are tense days as we await the results of the surgery.   

I didn't play much music over these days, not being entirely certain about the power of music to soothe my soul.  It is something I use often as a means of relaxation but this involves loud or discordant music (and frequently both) played at maximum volume with or without headphones.  My technique involves letting the sound envelope me and then concentrating on just one element (e.g. guitar, feedback, basically anything of interest I find in a given track) and concentrating on that.  But this is not a technique I can use in this instance.  The loud music will annoy “M” and, in any case, I’ll miss her calls to me should require something from me.

And so, these are the albums I played over the two days, starting with an act whose early albums have proved to be a great relaxant in the past;

(# 369) Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet On The Sky (2012)

This is another solid album (the third) from the reformed original trio of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph albeit a lot smoother than its predecessor Farm.  The opener, Don’t Pretend, is classic Dinosaur Jr at full throttle complete with some inspired soloing by Mascis.  But the best material comes towards the end of the disc; Pierce the Morning Rain is a great rocker, closing track See It Your Side is another manifestation of Mascis’ seeming love of Crazy Horse and Recognition displays a clear appreciation of Queens Of The Stone Age.

(#370) Grizzly Bear – Shields (2012)

It has been a long time since I heard this band’s previous album Veckatimest.  If my recollections of that hold, this new album involves the same type of delicate melodies as found on it but has given a much greater emphasis to the guitars and drums.  As a result the album sounds a lot louder especially on tracks such as Speak In Rounds, A Simple Answer and Yet Again. This is a logical step forward and their next album could be the one that breaks them into the big time.

(#371) John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts (2013)

John Grant has a voice that, for some reason, reminds me of Stan Ridgway.  On most of the tracks on this album, his voice is accompanied by sparse electronic/keyboard backing and little else.  This is exactly the sort of music required for a set of songs that can make for unsettling listening particularly on Vietnam, Ernest Borgnine (a song about his positive HIV diagnosis) and Glacier.

(#372) Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Going To Change The Way You Feel About Me Now  (2012)

The opening line of the opening track of this album, Am I That Lonely Tonight, contains the first reference Justin makes about his illustrious father Steve that I’ve managed to pick out.  It doesn’t actually reveal anything (the reference itself is nothing more than stage setting) but on Baby’s Got A Bad Idea Justin sounds so much like his father that its spooky.  Ironically, the rest of this album sees him taking his boldest steps yet away from the sound of his father, employing sparse horns on many tracks.  It is a strong album of modern country from an artist whose best work is still to come.

19 May 2013 (Day 139) – The Eurovision Song Contest Final

I spent today like yesterday, tending to “M” needs as she recovers from her surgery.  Given her propensity for large amounts of sleep I was able to squeeze in some music related viewing, starting with;

(AV 12) Bob Dylan – The Other Side Of The Mirror. Live At The Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965 (released 2007)

This is a narration free documentary which brings together footage of Bob shot at three consecutive appearances at the Festival.  Almost everything is presented in chronological order which, by itself, is sufficient to tell the story.   In 1963, its Dylan the wunderkind.  The initial tracks, shot during daylight, show the intense interest in him from both audience and, even more revealingly, other musicians and festival organisers on the stage.  Despite this Bob betrays no nervousness.  1964 shows Dylan as the folkie superstar complete with rapturous applause and an audience unwilling to give him a moment’s peace.  Best of all is the tension evinced in 1965. You can sense it in the air during the initial acoustic numbers which gives way to outright hostility when the two brilliant electric tracks (Maggies Farm and Like A Rolling Stone) here are met mostly by boos.  The audience respond with renewed enthusiasm for the final two acoustic numbers (Mr. Tambourine Man and, fittingly, It’s All Over Now, Baby Blues) almost as a last ditch plea for him to forsake his new direction. For anyone even remotely interested in this phase of Dylan’s career, this is essential viewing.

(AV13) Richard Thompson Band – Live At Celtic Connections (2011)

I hope that every future live DVD is shot like this with a handful of cameras and in high definition.  Of course, when you’ve got someone of the skill of Richard Thompson, it’s easy to just keep one camera on his hands.  This electric show is dominated by tracks from his Dream Attic album with a selection of lesser known tracks from across his career.  An epic Can’t Win is the highlight of this set.

But, as good as these DVDs are, they could only be regarded as mere entrees to the day’s main event;

(AV14) The 2013 Eurovision Song Contest Final, Malmo, Sweden

Let’s face it.  There are only so many reasons why anyone would want to read something about the competition.  So, what I’ll do is summarise each act (once again go to their website for act and song names) as part of my unique scoring  system.

How does my system work? Basically it goes something like this, like the contest itself, my voting system is comprised of two elements.  Whilst both parts of the Eurovision system are subjective votes (a percentage from national juries and a percentage from the votes of the public of the competing countries), my system involves an objective/subjective  mix.  It goes something like this:

- my objective score rewards acts for meeting what I consider to be compulsory Eurovision elements  such as costumes , use of wind machine, etc.  I award one point per element and these will be listed per act.  Each back up dancer or musical instrument is awarded a vote.

- my subjective score relates to the song using the 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 scheme used in both parts of the official Eurovision score.

And so the contest panned out like this, with countries listed in the order they appeared:

COUNTRY	S1	SCORE1 ELEMENTS	SCORE2	TOTAL (+ MY COMMENT)
FRANCE	5	Sung in French; frilly dress; 3 back up singers	6	11 [=11th] French histrionics to great effect.
LITHUANIA	4	4 back up singers and nothing else.	0	4 [=2nd last] ….and I mean nothing else
MOLDOVA	10	Sung in Romanian; a Cameron Diaz “There’s Something About Mary” “hair gell” hairdo; an elevating dress; use of dress for back projection;  1 instrument; 3 dancers; use of choreography involving singer;  use of fog machine.	0	10 [= 14TH] Great gimmick in search of a song.
FINLAND	13	A short frilly dress; 5 dancers; use of choreography involving singer;  body lift of singer; use of flowing cape/sheet; use of explosion; use of glitter bomb; use of explosion; use of firework shower; girl on girl kiss finish.	2	15 [= third] Just needed the song to be half decent to have won.
SPAIN	12	Sung in Spanish; barefoot singer; singer uses walkway; 6 instruments on stage including bagpipes;  use of light prop; use of fog machine; use of explosion	0	12 [= ninth]
BELGIUM	7	2 dancers; use of choreography involving singer; 3 back up singers; use of light prop	4	11 [=11th]   Welcome Belgian weirdness
ESTONIA	9	Sung in native language; use of walkway; use of Celine Dion sustained note; black & white start to performance; 3 back up singers; use of wind machine; use of fog machine	0	9  [=16th] One Celine is more than enough
BELARUS	15	Use of glitter ball; entry of singer from glitterball; singer a blatant Shakira clone;  use of Shakira style dress;  2 dancers; use of choreography involving singer;  body lift of singer; 2 instruments;  3 back up singers; use of flash pot; use of fire	0	15 [= third] If only they spent as much time on developing the song…..
MALTA	9	4 instruments; 2 back up singers; use of back projection as integral part of performance; use of walkway; use of park bench	0	9 [=16th] Now we know how our own Frente! Would have coped if they entered Eurovision.
RUSSIA	7	4 back up singers; use of light prop; use of big balls; BIG FINISH to song	5	12 [= ninth] 5th place in the real competition. A tasteful Russian ballad – thanks Vlad!

GERMANY	7	2 back up singers; use of stairs; use of walk way; use of fog machine; use of fireworks; use of flash pot; use of firework shower	0	7 [=20th]
ARMENIA	9	4 instruments;  speaker stack on stage; band members wearing denim; use of fog machine; use of wind machine; use of fire	0	9 [=16th] “We’re from Armenia, you must be Malmo, wooo”
NETHERLANDS	5	3 back ups; use of walk way; use of fake fog	0	5 [3rd last]
ROMANIA	12	A Dracula outfit; sequens on outfit; 3 dancers; operatic falsetto; use of cape/sheet; rising singer; use of explosions; use of glitter bomb; use of fog machine; use of light props	1	13 [seventh] Inaugural winner of my “Spirit Of Eurovision” award
UK	7	Use of Bonnie Tyler; 5 instruments; use of walk way	0	7 [=20th] Well at least it wasn’t Engelbert
SWEDEN	10	Use of bizarre mound; 5 dancers; use of choreography involving singer; use of fog machine;  use of firework shower; use of flash pots	0	10 [= 14TH]
HUNGARY	4	Sing in Hungarian; 1 instrument; signficicant use of back protection; 1 dancer	0	4 [=2nd last]
DENMARK	10	1 recorder; 2 drums; really big drums; 3 back up singers; barefoot singer; use of confetti; use of fireworks shower	10	20 [winner] My winner and the Eurovision winner.  THE SYSTEM WORKS!
ICELAND	6	Starting with back to audience; sung in Icelandic; 4 back ups	8	14 [fifth]
AZERBIJAN	7	Use of box; singer on box; man in box; 1 dancer; use of choreography involving singer and man in box;use of sheet/cape; use of walkway; use of fog machine	0	7 [=20th] 2nd place in the real competition. Such a fascinating performance, I forgot to listen to the song.
GREECE	11	6 instruments; glow in dark instruments; sung partially in Greek; ; use of choreography involving singers;  men in dresses and long socks; use of walk way;	0	11 [=11th] Unlucky to miss out on votes
UKRAINE	12	Use of native language; 4 back up singers; use of 8 foot man; 8 ft man body lifting singer; use of rock for 8 ft man to place singer; use of fireworks; use of fog machine;  use of thunder; use of butterfly ring	3	15 [= third] 2nd place in the real competition. Best of the non English songs
ITALY	2	Sung in Italian; use of walk way	0	2 [LAST] Man in suit sings song in Italian.  This is not the San Remo Song Festival.
NORWAY	6	Singing with back to audience; 3 back up singers; drums; use of light props	12	18 [2nd] 4th place in the real competition. My runner up overall but the best song.  An absolutely thumping dance song that should be a massive hit.
GEORGIA	9	A duet; 3 back up singers; use of fog machine; use of wind machine; use of fireworks; use of smoke jets; use of firework waterfall	0	9 [=16th]
IRELAND	11	2 dancers; 4 drums; 2 big drums; 2 back up singers; use of choreography involving singers;  men in dresses and long socks; use of flash pots; liberal use of tattoos	0	11 [=11th]