Jobs and Julius

Earlier today trying to explain to a friend in the RSA what we miss about the place i got stuck but here it is in spades courtesy of an m&g article about Julius’  more recent shenanigans

film feeding frenzy…

… two performances that left me slackjawed in awe last year:

“Pope” played by Ben Mendelsohn in Animal Kingdom, and

“César” played by Niels Arestrup in Un Prophete.

To call these supporting roles does them no justice. See for yourself

Jimmie Dale Gilmour

Then, at the end of UnProphete that haunting version of Mack the Knife running over the credits which turns out to be Jimmy Dale Gilmour from his 2000 album “One Endless Night”. It’s little “mental problems” Smokey from the bowling alley in the Big Lebowsky. Walter puts a gun to his head over an argument about his (Smokey’s) foot being over the line.

well ain’t that kick in the head…

… look out for the imminent release of “Crazy Clown Time”, David Lynch’s 1st solo album release. What can i say, um… it’s a swampy aural weirdly dirty aural scratchy lol nasty aural lynchean mindfuck go listen Here Now!! … that wonderful dirty old man, up to fabulous new tricks …thanks my larnie and James for the heads-up…

hey Robin!!

So good to hear from you. Just the other day i downloaded the Happy Ships album via the Shifty site. Nostalgia overcame me. Recorded in part at 11 Wilson Road, yes? I remember your story about Hamish’s tantrum, something about musical competence / incompetence, and, having killed everyone’s creative muse, retires to the garage / recording room to meditate for three hours in the dark.

Remarkable how fresh that music remains nearly 30 years on.

Here are a few songs (very easy listening) for you…

Mack The Knife – A gorgeous rendition by Jimmie Dale Gilmour which i first heard over the end-credits of Un Prophete. Jimmie Dale Gilmour, incidentally turns out to be the little fellah in The Big Lebowsky whom Walter threatens with a gun over a little argument during a friendly bowling match.

Lost – King Midas Sound. Fabulous 21st Century dub

Addiction – Matthew Herbert.

… and, saving the best (and pretty startling) for last …

My Reckless Parts – Bill Orcutt

Cheers for now.

hello James…

… a quick post to say thank you so much for the Japanese sirloin recipe. I have made it twice already, delicious. Sirloin btw is a very esteemed cut here in NZ, more so than rump which i remember was more expensive in the RSA.

Come visit and taste for yourself. And please spare me that “…would love to but…” refrain. There’s a good market for snap-in-and-just-do-it Ruby skills heretoshore, particularly in Wellington, would pay for your trip and stay and more in no time, plus accommodation is taken care of…

Otherwise, a quick snapshot of what i’m listening to at the moment…

• Woke on a Whaleheart – Bill Callahan
• The World of Arthur Russell
• Kind of Blue
• Chance Meeting (the very 1st Nurse with Wound album… strange is not the word… )
• Brian Wilson reimagines Gershwin
• Hanky Panky (The The sampler doing Hank Williams songs)
• After Robots
• Faust IV
• Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy Cornell 1964
• Concrete – André van Rensburg

… oh and ¼Zones – so messy, so forgotten and yet i stand by the spirit of it all, so many little moments, particularly in the so naive improvised pieces, fixed there in the early eighties, clumsy echoes of overseas influences and yet timeless… i’m a fan, can’t help it, sorry.

singing the praises…

… of the good old Paramount toward the end of Courtenay Place. For anyone with an interest in cinema beyond the mostly mindless shite offered in cineplexes worldwide, look no further than this seedy gorgeous old movie palace for a selection of worthwhile (putting it very mildly) films.

Look at this list, and that’s all either running now or will be before the end of November.

• lebanon
• the killer inside me
• un prophete
• exit through the gift shop
• after the waterfall
• animal kingdom
• city island
• winter’s bone
• the disappearance of alice creed
• farewell
• young @ heart

And there’s more…

Finally, just can’t wait for A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop, which is… wait for it… a remake of Blood Simple set in the Chinese Desert.

She is married to the richest guy in town, runs a noodle shop and is fucking the cook behind her husbands back. She buys a gun to whack the husband. Meanwhile, hubbie, onto them, has hired a cop to kill her and the cook lover… you know the story…

my god, i’m already in stitches, it hurts, lol!!!

it gets better…

Paul does indeed have The World of Arthur Russell somewhere in his collection – though not yet listened to. He also refers me to this blog where you can download both this and another album, The World of Echo… and it is magnificent.

Arthur Russell – A strange wonder from the closing years of the last millenium. I reckon he’s in Heaven.

But as i say, it gets better, well, stranger maybe, no, better and stranger dammit …

The aforelinked experimental etc blog, – a world of bizarre shit i kid you not – harbours a goldmine of mini posts and links related to the weirdest arcana of the New Zealand underground – i think a very deep underground – mostly pre-millenial.

I have the more recent Dirt Beneath the Daydream compilation commissioned by The Wire last year. Here also is a link to the socalled preterite, and as is so often true, here lie buried gems …

hello Paul…

… sorry to take so long to respond to your email from last week. All’s well (huh?) here and then some! First off i have to share with you something i found yesterday at Slowboat (along with a Brian Wilson album “…Reimagines Gershwin”) that has put my being out of joint. It’s a Soul Jazz compilation called “The World of Arthur Russell”. I think i’ve found something sublime.

Chances are good that you with your broad knowledge (ahem – understatement of the century, yes?) already know everything about Arthur Russell and even have an enviable collection of Russell’s music, but for me it’s a completely new dip into the bizarre depth of the New York underground of 80’s disco. I am blown away. I am … words defy me.

Lot’s of stuff available online, i haven’t gone further than YouTube, here’s an “unofficial” mashup of an animation to one of the gorgeous (maybe less typical)  songs on the compilation. It’s called “A Little Lost”

The compilation includes “Let’s Go Swimming” and here’s a mix posted on YouTube (not a video, just an un-be-fucking-lievable mix courtesy of Walter Gibbons that today remains futuristic … did Czukay ever hear this ? … different but somehow related, intertwined, connected … no?

Arthur Russell is dead. Long live Arthur Russell!

i’ve already made my fortune…

… so for those of you that haven’t here’s a compelling opportunity. See below…

I am reminded of a fellow in the UK who pretended to take the bait by responding but asking for more details “seeing that there is so much fraud happening on the internet, with due respect, etc etc…” There began a lively correspondence that went on for months. With each assurance the pretending mark asked for more proof of fidelity. Eventually the Nigerian shack-dwelling fraudster agreed to and then sent a picture of himself with his pants around his ankles in his efforts to show that his intentions were sincere.

It was hilarious, wish i had the link to it at hand.

Here’s the heartache sent to me:

No 45 Prinsslo Street
Johannesburg,
South Africa.
Tell-27-837-621-754

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Mr. Evans Dadah, the second son of Mr. Lawson Dadah a former farm owner and a top opposition member in Zimbabwe polities.

Please I am actually looking for a person who has got a good experience in hotel management, hospital management,transportes management , private school management, or any lucrative business overseas, because I can not operate here in South Africa due to security reasons.

Also my life and that of my senior brother depends on what I am going to tell you now.

Well, you may wonder how I got to know you. Please, do not wonder, because I believe it is the work of God that made to come across your name.

I prayed and asked God to help me to get somebody who could help me in this transaction because this money is actually not mine for now. My father mapped it out for his electioneering campaign and for upgrading his farm land before he was killed by the government of Mr. Robert Mugabe. Before he died, he put this money in the basement of our house in a sealed metal box. The amount is {US$17.5} seventeen million five hundred thousand united states dollars.

When he was killed, I ran away with my brother together with this money to a friend in South Africa, who helped us to deposit this money in a security company since August. So please, I am kindly asking you to assist us transfer this money out of South Africa into your personal account in your country.25% for the total money have been mapped out for your assistance while 5% is for expenses occurred during the transaction.

Am look forward to your kind assistance. You can contact me with the above telephone number if you so wish to assist or through this E-mail address evans_dadah_01@yahoo.com (God will bless you and your family)

Best Regards
Mr. Evans Dadah.
(For the family our heritance

friday night Wellington…

… Colleen is down and we take in two live bands.

Batucada Sound Machine at Bodega, The Finnster on trumpet, my (very patient) piano teacher in Auckland last year. That’s Finn Scholes, and alongside him on trombone, buddy Oliver Emmitt. A friendly mix, nine piece band playing and you can hear yourself talk. Hats off to the soundman!

Have a look here for a sampling of their sound, and, if you happen to be in Europe over the summer, the BSM are all over there, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK…

Then onto San Francisco Bathhouse to hear The Pyramid Scheme, celebrating the release of their new album “Massive Reminders of a Virile King” (chortle chortle) – this set an earsplitting rendition of songs that now sound tame and restrained on the recording. Live is the thing, but my old ears took damage for sure. A gorgeous showy bunch on stage, outfits, makeup, hats, it reminds of the Arkestra all right. A fabulous drummer. Hope to see them again soon!!