mountain masala

Heading overseas

Five days until Yvonne and I head overseas for some work (for me) and a holiday. I have some study leave so I'm presenting a paper at the Conference of the International Society for Media, Religion and Culture in Canterbury, England. The paper reflects on my own use of digital media in alternate worship and the nature of authoring and media representation as they relate to postmodern religious experience. The conference has an amazing array of speakers and some big names in the field, some of whom I met in 2008.

Throughout the trip I'm also visiting some libraries and getting up to date in the place of media in installation art. The work part is to go to Greenbelt and connect with a bunch of people there and learn stuff. Along the way we'll be visiting Paris, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Whitby, York and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Yvonne has never been to the UK and is jumping out of her skin, especially having an interest in the history of the British monarchy.

Neither of us have been to Paris...

So prepare for the trip blog and photos. Now back to finishing my paper for the Conference.

new music

I haven't posted about new music since forever. Here's a bunch of stuff from the last few months. As usual, a lot of it came through emusic.com

"Where Are All the Nice Girls" - Any Trouble - UK 1980's Evlis Costello proteges featuring Clive Gregson - see below.

"Happy Hour" and "I Love This Town, Take One" - Clive Gregson - prolific UK songrwiter, now living in Texas. Everything from Costello pop-rock to acoustic balladeer. He plays a fine guitar too.

"Shadow Weaver" - The Choir - I've been a fan of this band for a couple of decades. they helped make Christian rock respectable... On Noisetrade

"They Might Be Giants - Live" - They Might Be Giants - those crazy musical genuises... on Noisetrade

“The Ambassador” - Gabriel Kahane - complex second album. Think Paul Simon with a graduate degree in composition...

“All Our Own Work” - Sandy Denny & The Strawbs - the most famous voice in English folk music with a short-lived band. Think "The Seekers" - really, that's where they got their sound...

“Celtschmerz: Live UK ’98” - Richard Thompson - stellar acoustic set by supremo songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire. Stunning version of "Persuasion" with Teddy.

“The Internet’s Own Boy” - John Dragonetti - great soundtrack album - a bit synthy, laid back. On Noisetrade. 

“Mutineers” and “Draw the Line” - David Gray - new album and an older one from the man who could sing the telephone book and make it sound prefectly melancholy...

“Heal” - Strand of Oaks -stunning second album of rocky and acoustic songs

“Enjoy Your Rabbit” - Sufjan Stevens - a range of randomness from Mr. Inventive... quirky, synth stuff. 

“Behold the Spirit” - William Tyler - acoustic/electric guitar instrumental stuff. that's it.

“Digital Frame”, “Fragments of a Cold, Broken Day” and “Gray Light” - Arvo Part - insanely talented Estonian composer makes brilliant instrumental music - electronic/ambient and then not...

“Queen of Denmark” and “Pale Green Ghosts” - John Grant - just catching up with this guy. A real mixture of interesting songs, some quite gentle and folky, others more electronic and funky. Well worth a listen.

“Eagle Rock Fire” - Joe Purdy - croony, raspy, laid-back cowboy music

“Nickel Creek” - Nickel Creek - newbie from Chris Thile and his harmonious bluegrass companions

“Piano and Ambience” - All India Radio - rounding out my ambient collection while they were giving their albums away for free last month. always wonderful, inventive, spacey...

“The Take Off and Landing of Everything” - Elbow - disappointing new album from Mr Garvey and co. I dunno, the songs just aren't there...

“A Decade of Hits 1969-1979” - The Allman Brothers Band - rouding out my musical education...

“How I Live Now” (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Jon Hopkins - nice. Saturday morning music...

“Eight Songs” - Andrew Dutney - previously unreleasee recording from 1987. A bunch of  interesting lyrics and fine acoustic-based songs.

“Until Now” - My Brightest Diamond - lush, melodic soprano, sometimes quirky. Sampler from Noisetrade.

“There’s a Light” - Liz Vice - fantastic gopsel/RnB. From Noisetrade.

“Tomorrow’s Hits” - The Men - so the punk rock edge has been replaced by garage-country. still a good band with stadard songwrtinig chops.

“Gentle Spirit” - Jonathan Wilson - first album by that canyon guy that everyone in LA loves now. gentle, trippy California...

“Haw” - Hiss Golden Messenger - North Carolina - says it all...

“Perils from the Sea” and “Mark Kozelek & Desertshore” - Mark Kozelek - making depression sound beautiful for a couple of decades now...

Oh yeah, and a Bob Dylan box set - some 80's stuff that I only had on vinyl..."Infidels", "Oh Mercy", "Shot of Love", Dylan & the Dead, etc... some great songs and some dross...

Pete Rollins in Adelaide

Download Flyer Pete Rollins 2014 (PDF)

Visiting Canberra

Here's me attempting to get back onto the blogging bicycle....

Spent the weekend in Canberra as part of a work trip, accompanied by Yvonne who is on holidays. So we programmed some time off and did a few tourist things. The National Arboretum is south-west of Lake Burley Griffin on hillsides formely occupied by forest destroyed by bushfire several years ago. The plan is to plant 100 forests each with 100 trees of a particular variety. Already the scope of the project is breath-taking, the views are stunning. I joked that it looked like the opening sequence of Game of Thrones. Well worth a visit and a great playground for kids is onsite as well.

 

The Bonsai Garden has  moved to this site and is remarkable. I wish I had taken this up 30 years ago!