Ok ... maybe because I was rockin the drop crotch in my head ... or the non-exisent asymmetrical haircut ... but I felt just like a teenager all over again ... full of unbridled excitement and hope ... or maybe its because WF was with me and she's a girl who drinks beer, cleans her plate (yeah WF I noticed!!) but still looks like she stepped off the catwalks of Milan ... or maybe its simply because the Pains of Being Pure at Heart are brilliant live ...
The PPBHs hail from NYC ... but wear their anglophile hearts proudly on their rock chic indie sleeves. Kip, the singer, wore a Belle and Sebastian T-shirt and Kurt the drummer (hawt!!) had the Young Marble Giants emblazoned across his delicious chest (yes WF drummers must have to be fit!) ... and really the band's sound is a blend of the 2 ... if nothing else they were rather apt musical signposts pointing to a love of 80s indie bands ... fey and jangly. And WF is quite right .... every cool band has at least one daggy nerd in tow ... in this case Alex on base with his buttoned up polo ... Peggy on keyboards was an absolute charmer ... so cute in that sort of arty asian chick way and a dead ringer of fashionista Suzie Bubble ... all fringe and straight hair, sharing WF's wardrobe ... and fashion tip ... ripped jeans!! Get a rock peops!!
BUT IRL (in real life) .... I'm the sad geriatric trying to look 20yrs younger listening to bands that no longer hold cultural relevance to the pace of my daily life ... but at least for an hour and a bit ... I was someone in myself that I could actually like ... and this dear readers is fundamentally why I am a music fan.
oh and that sister fucking song still creeps me out!!
Ok ... Wow!!! This is what I call a Comeback album indeed!!!
I don't know anyone who dislikes Sade's "Smooth Operator" ... and we all do the whole "no need to ask" with that slight orgasmic aspiration at the end. (ok maybe its just my friends)
I really didn't have high hopes for Sade's 6th album after a 10 year hiatus. But Soldier of Love could very well make my Top 2010 list.
Let me first say that Sade looks fantastic!! I remember those hoop earings, backless turtlenecks and english rose lipstick ... we all wanted to be as cool and sophisticated as her. And really, no one sounds like Sade.
This is not going to break any new musical ground. The first track to drop from the new album, Soldier of Love, may have hinted at a sight new direction, with its clattering percussion and synth-driven background, but the rest of the tracks are quinteseential jazz-lite Sade.
But this is welcome relief from all of that noisy auto-tune madness that constitutes contemporary r&b these days. Yeah you know how to use a computer ... we get it ... but all hail the saxophone solo!!! This is panadeine forte in all its mp3 glory.
Ok ... Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone ... Nian Nian You Yu ... and all the rest of it.
What a strange Chinese New year it was ... spent with friends, traditions, superstitions, vodka and tonics, cigarettes, drama!, real converstaion and above all else, a slap bang meal to boot for your troubles.
I learnt and re-learnt 2 things:
(i) you can't do any washing (or any other menial tasks) for 6 days starting on the 1st day of the Lunar New Year
(ii) your Chinese New Year meal must consist of Fish - which you must not finish! (M had a coronary) and noodles - for a long life of fortune
This was not like other celebratroy dinners. We started off being terribly organised, but real life intervened at a couple of spots which meant that alcohol was consummed at a rapid rate, which in turn meant that the wok was thrown out of the window along with the peanut oil (just run with it ... it works in my head anyways).
So what did we end up consuming?
(i) Nian Nian You Yu - Pan Fried Snapper with a sweet and spicy sauce - incorporating the carrots and snow peas that were meant to go with the stuffed bitter gourd and scallops
(ii) Boiled chicken with ginger and chinese red cooking wine
(iii) Braised Pork - my pick for the evening - rich and oh so succulent
I am going to rename this Chinese New Year dinner as a microcosmical (?) representation of our tri-cornered friendship - a testament not only to its longevity but to its authenticity as well .... I hope you're all extremely jealous ... as you should be.
Ok ... I was a big Eurythmics fan ... Huge!! ... They lost me a little with their american flirtations ... but they returned to their very British roots with the release of Savage - complete with long a vowel sounds ... this is kitchen sink drama writ large ... and for a bunch of queens just starting out on life this was the soundtrack to our "coming out" ...
We identified with the frustrated housewife shackled to the norms of suburban social mores; afraid of the reflection in the mirror and the harsh truths held within; yearning for some kind of animalistic release; wanting it so badly that we were willing to debase ourselves physically and mentally ... and none of us were even virgins ... though we didn't know it at the time.
I remember rolling on the floor of the bunk lip-synching to "I need a man" ... it was some kind of twisted revenge therapy for me ...
"I don't care if you won't talk to me
You know I'm not that kind of girl
I don't care if you won't walk with me
You don't give me such a thrill ...
Cause there's just one thing that I'm looking for
And he don't wear a dress!" I need a Man
I remember pilfering the phrase "but you have used that weapon against me" and having that oil-slicked pugnacious goon spit chips in my face "You think you're so bloody clever!"
"You think you know just what you want
But you have used that weapon against me
Did I tell you I was lying by the way
When I said I wanted a new mink coat
I was just thinking about
something sleek
To wrap around my tender throat" Beethoven (I Love to Listen To)
We were creatures, slightly damaged and painfully naive at times, but we understood the fine line between happiness and despair; pain and pleasure.
"I need you to really feel
The twist of my back breaking
I need someon to listen
To the ecstacy I'm faking" I Need You
And years later, when I finally got a chance to see this band live, I was wracked with heaving sobs when Annie sang that final stanza from "You have placed a chill in my Heart":
"Love is a Temple
Love is a Shrine
Love is Pure
And Love is blind
Love is a religious sign
I'm going to leave this love behind,
Love is hot and Love is cold
I've been bought and I've been sold
Love is rock and Love is roll
I just want someone to hold" You have placed a chill in my heart
I can say with some certainty that this is my favourite Eurythmics album. It encompasses all that is great about this band; a combination of studied electronic music and stadium rock bombast! Annie's voice is in fine form and that Dave Stewart guitar sound is luscious. Its an album bouyed by a level of artifice that is laced throughout with some very raw and painful honesty - if you need some kind of distraction at the moment, check these little vignettes on life, I guarantee you'll not only be humming the tunes, but you'll be drifting off into moments of subliminal contemplation.
"Words of Power are killing me
While the sun diplays it's teeth
All Mockery is laughing
All violence is cheap
She said
these are my guns
These are my furs
This is my living room
You can play with me there sometimes
if you catch me in the mood
Savage
You Savage
She said
I have this unhappiness
To wear around my neck
Its a pretty piece of jewellery
To show what I protect
She said
everything is fiction
All cynic to the bone
So don't ask me to stay with you
Don't ask to see me home
Savage
You Savage" Savage __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Comments:
Temasek wrote:
Wow. Yes. Most Eurythmics afficianados adore the soundtrack to 1984, me included. Whats even more frustrating is that its unlikely that a remaster will ever see the light of day. I actually see the soundtrack as a study in rhythm and as a pre-cursor to the modern dance album as we know it now. But as I said, I am a fan. 12 Feb
Phoenix wrote:
I always thought Annie Lennox was cool. Recently I discovered the soundtrack album they did for Nineteen Eighty-Four but which was hardly used because, apparently, Richard Burton and John Hurt requested that the film's soundtrack feature more classical music. It's a really dark experimental "industrial" album. I wouldn't say that it was before its time exactly, but I don't think that casual Eurythmics fans would have liked it much back in the early 80s. 12 Feb
Ok ... I'm plugging another blog that my gorgeous friend D got me onto. Although I am a little peeved that she won't inveigle an invite for me since she kinda knows them and all ... anyhoo, if you are in any way interested in cooking and asian food, then this is the site for you - http://3hungrytummies.blogspot.com/
Its an extremely well laid out blog with easy to follow instructions and photos. I have already attempted 2 of the recipes but this third one was by far the most successful. So what did we cook for tea tonight? Crispy fried Duck with Orange and Star Anise sauce. You can find the recipe here - http://3hungrytummies.blogspot.com/2010/02/crispy-skin-duck-with-orange-and-star.html
I started by preparing the szechuan pepper and salt rub:
Then I combined all the spices and wet ingredients:
I couldn't find duck breasts so we bought maryland pieces instead which I de-boned:
Then I prepared the vegetable component. Cutting up spring onions for garnish and stir frying some bok choy with salt and a bit of sesame oil:
I pan-fried the duck pieces and bunged them in the oven, sticking close to the times listed on the recipe and ensuring that the meat was well-rested:
While the oven-cooked duck pieces were resting, I cooked out the orange and star-anise sauce:
Having reduced the amount of liquid and thickening the sauce with some corn flour, we were ready for the assemblage! And a pretty fine dish it was too:
So easy and so very very yummy. You have to try this and let me know how it went for you.
Ok ... here's to Impromptu nights of food and drink.
Now that most of our friends are comfortably esconced in the cul de sac of raising life, we rely on our "girl"friends to supply us with spontaneity. Unfortunately this doesn't happen as often as we like, but last night it did and how.
I get a missed call from CC while I'm at the gig on Thursday night. We finally catch up on the phone and arrange to have dinner with D in tow at Vinh Ky on Vic Street. I have not hyperlinked Vinh Ky as I believe standards have slipped - but the sliced beef soup is still a smple bowl of yummy msg!!! (there is msg ... but I love it all the same).
We started off with some scallops cooked 3 ways - with ginger, black beans and XO sauce:
The XO sauce version was by far the best, with the ginger second and the black bean a very dissappointing third.
This was swiftly followed by our mains, including the soup listed above:
(i) Pipis in XO sauce served with what is colloquially known as Chinese doughnuts:
(ii) Crispy skin chicken (a Vinh Ky specialty)
(iii) Belachan Kang Kong (of course!!)
As always, our "drunken dregs" are always delightful company. M had a particularly stressful day so he was in fine form. We had pre and post dinner drinks over at the Vic. If you're a Vic Street denizen then there's no better local for you. And a Hendricks G & T only costs $9. Bargain. Oh and the DJ is good!!
They're a great looking bunch and seemed genuinely grateful to be here in Melbourne and to have us all turn up to watch them play. There was a fair bit of banter with the crowd and apologies for having gaps between songs in order for some on stage tunage (they blamed this on our 20kg baggage limit).
They are an interesting proposition as a band and most likely not everyone's cup of tea. Its your standard Brit rock format but the lyrics belie art school pretensions, with ominous sexual connotations and thinly disguised homo-erotic tendencies (or am I just willing it). And as I've mentioned, they are after all a fairly good looking bunch (yes even the bald and short one!) Then of course there is main singer Hayden Thorpe's oft beriled falsetto.
I wouldn't say that this was a fantastic gig, nor was it simply pedestrian. The sound was great and I marvelled at Hayden's vocal control. These boys can sing!!! But this is all purely academic ... emotionally they weren't exactly engaging. Perhaps its the lyrical obfuscation or the fact that approaching these songs melodically and structurally requires some small effort from the listener ... i.e. any impact is not as immediate.
Or maybe I am simply over sweltering in hot bars in order to see bands I'm interested in. Whatever the reason, if you are interested in the band, this would have been a good opportunity to see them in a relatively low key environment and at a supermarket price ($35 per tick).
All in all it was a great night and the perfect way to catch up with old friends.
Ok ... in my year of Frugality what do I learn but that Marais does layby!!!!
And my fav Galliano shirt is half off!! Which is still most people's rent for a fortnight and a quarter of my fortnightly mortgage payment. Sigh! Anyone out there willing to be my Sugar Daddy? (I love you long time?? No??? Haters!).
(I did console myself with 2 shirts at Somewhere ... sshh!! Don't tell!)
OK ... I'm falling asleep at my desk and then "old skool nylons in my hair bangles up my arm" madonna comes on and perks everything up. But I have such a yearning for tights, pumps and oversized jumpers ...
Too cool Michelle Pfeiffer ... and weren't we all (albeit for a very brief moment) in love with Maxwell Caulfield?
