Album of the Week - Vol.15

Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS (2004)
Week: Mon 28th October to Sun 3rd November 2019
Format: CD/iPhone/iPod
Producer(s): Nick Launay and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Track listing:
Disc One - ABATTOIR BLUES
1. Get Ready For Love *
2. Cannibal's Hymn
3. Hiding All Away *
4. Messiah Ward *
5. There She Goes, My Beautiful World
6. Nature Boy
7. Abattoir Blues *
8. Let the Bells Ring
9. Fable of the Brown Ape
Disc Two - THE LYRE OF ORPHEUS
1. The Lyre of Orpheus
2. Breathless *
3. Babe, You Turn Me On *
4. Easy Money *
5. Supernaturally
6. Spell
7. Carry Me
8. O Children *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 82:30

Turning fifteen at the start of 2019, this is the thirteenth offering from Messrs Cave & Bad Seeds and it's also their first double album. As with many double albums, it's a sprawling document of many moods, and some songs only seem to work within the context of the record. Having said that, this is one of my favourite long players from Nick and the lads, and it's also the album that gave me a bit of a push into delving a little deeper into the Cave. Pun absolutely intended.

While this has been presented as a double album made up of two separate records, I don't really hear a huge amount of difference between them. Some critics have remarked that The Lyre of Orpheus is a much mellower affair, but there's just as much gallop and swagger on offer, although maybe there's an extra ballad or two. For Abattoir Blues, drum duties went to long-serving Bad Seed and multi-instrumentalist Jim Sclavunos (before the formation of Grinderman) with the band's regular drummer Thomas Wylder handling The Lyre of Orpheus. Their different styles might be the main reason why some say there is a definite change of feel between the two albums. Sclavunos seems to go on the attack, while Wylder (who has been in the band since 1985) is little more restrained and subtle. Interestingly, Sclavunos would also drum on the irreverent Grinderman albums which would bookend Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!!, NC&tBS' excellent 2008 record. But to me, I don't see the two records as being that wildly varied from each other, and it comes across as a considered and well-constructed double album.

As is the case with most double albums, there is some filler here. And again, like most double albums, this possibly could have been whittled down a bit to make for a strong single disc. To me, the closing track of Abattoir Blues, Fable of the Brown Ape, sticks out like a sore thumb, as does the title track of The Lyre of Orpheus. In fact, the latter's menacing tone and dark subject matter is the main reason I can't see the second album as mellow. As a suggested step towards better listening, I would remove those two songs and bang, you've got an absolute cracker. Plus, Let The Bells Ring flows brilliantly into album highlight Breathless..and all the songs would fit on one disc!

The double record gets off to an absolutely ripping start with Get Ready For Love. Its immediacy slaps you in the face, and the joyous fervour of the lyrical delivery threatens some sort of religious conversion. While Cave and Co. utilised the wondrous vocals of Kate and Anna McGarrigle on 2001's No More Shall We Part, they employ a full female choir on most of this album; and the opening track has them at the forefront of the sound, not buried behind the music. While there is a lot of harmony blocks, there are occasional solos, soaring counter-melodies and on Hiding All Away, sinister giggles. For six female backup singers, they sound like a church full of gospel singers. The first four songs are all fantastic, with Sclavunos's drumming either thundering through the speakers or delivering the band to their destination at a fantastic gallop. 

Since joining The Bad Seeds in 1994, Warren Ellis' contribution to their albums has increased in importance exponentially. So much so that the inner sleeve photos on their new album Ghosteen only feature Cave and Ellis.The last three releases of the group have seen a reliance on Ellis' loops as well. His fingerprints are all over this double record, whether providing lovely and understated violin plucks on Babe, You Turn Me On or a jaunty intro on Let The Bells Ring, his ability to enrich the sound of The Bad Seeds is crucial. A good thing too, as this album was the first one the band recorded after the departure of longtime Bad Seed Blixa Bargeld, who had been in the fold since 1983. Thankfully, this record still benefits from the fantastic musicality of Mick Harvey, who would leave the group in 2009. Harvey had been Cave's right hand man since the early years of The Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party, and it's a role that Ellis appears to effortlessly slip in to after Harvey's exit. 

This album is also the first of two Bad Seeds releases to feature James Johnston on organ, and the wonderful late Conway Savage continues to handle piano duties. Ex-Triffids band member Martyn P. Casey wields his bass guitar deftly, and since joining the group in 1990 has been Wylder's constant in the rhythm section. Oh, except for Sclavunos' work on the first album of this set, of course! Casey's excellent playing can either be the heartbeat of a song, or can subtly underline the sound and feel. His bass part on 1997's wondrous Into My Arms almost goes unnoticed, but it's perfect.

Now, as I mentioned before, if you trim away Fable of the Brown Ape and The Lyre of Orpheus, you are left with a fantastic set of songs. The highlights are many, and the moods swing from whimsical ballad Breathless to cynical blues/rocker Abattoir Blues to the simmering dream pop of O Children. A lot of the tracks on this album rank among my favourites in the Cave catalog, and I was a little disappointed that nothing from here made the setlist for Distant Sky live concert film. But it was here that my passing interest in Cave's work took a firmer hold.

I've always struggled to enjoy the early years of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and it's not until the excellent Henry's Dream from 1992 that I really start to get into all that's on offer. I only acquired that record fairly recently, and it's the earliest NC&tBS outing where I can listen to every song, and for the most part, enjoy it. The first album of theirs I ever bought was 1996's Murder Ballads, and that was mainly out of curiosity. I really liked the early single Where The Wild Roses Grow with Kylie Minogue, but I was quite interested in the concept of a record entirely made up of songs of doomed relationships and murder most foul. While I liked some of the tracks instantly, others took years to really get under my skin. When The Boatman's Call was released the following year, and with it Into My Arms, I thought that there might be something worth delving into here. So, I got my hands on the 1998 The Best of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, and left it at that for a good few years.

Not sure what possessed me to nab this double album, but it would have been a coupla years after its initial release. I think I had seen a documentary on ABC about Cave's songs and a few of them appealed to me. I was still buying JJJ's Hottest 100 CDs at the time too, and every year or so another NC&tBS track would pop up. I have a feeling I got No More Shall We Part at the same time as Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus. Anyway, long story short, except for 2003's much derided (and defended) Nocturama album, I have all the CDs from Henry's Dream to Ghosteen. It was this double offering that really got it's hooks in me though. The astonishing power of that fab opening track Get Ready For Love, the whimsical pop of Breathless, the moody plod of Messiah Ward, the swirling desire of Babe, You Turn Me On; these are songs that I never tire of. I've had this album on my iPhone for years now, so I always have a copy with me. While there might be better records in Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' catalog, this was the one that landed me. 

Album of the Week - Vol.14

Hello, I Must Be Going! PHIL COLLINS (1982)
Week: Tue 8th to Mon 14th October 2019
Format: CD/iPod
Producer(s): Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham
Track listing:
1. I Don't Care Anymore *
2. I Cannot Believe That It's True
3. Like China *
4. Do You Know, Do You Care?
5. You Can't Hurry Love
6. It Don't Matter To Me
7. Thru These Walls *
8. Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away *
9. The West Side
10. Why Can't It Wait Til Morning
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 45:03

This is Phil Collins' second solo album, and one that I wasn't overly familiar with until recently. To prepare for attending his concert at Perth Arena in January this year, I chose to listen to The Singles, a compilation of his solo work that came out in 2016. He even suggested it himself on one of his promo vids for the tour. Being me, I sourced the 3CD, 45-song strong edition. As I only owned But Seriously... and the concert album Serious Hits... Live! on CD, I felt that I needed to bone up some.

I'd lost touch with Phil's output after Dance Into The Light, and wasn't overly interested in his work for Disney, but I thought I was a pretty full bottle until 1993 or so. I was surprised that six songs from Hello, I Must Be Going! were included on The Singles, and I only knew one of them, which was his cover of You Can't Hurry Love. That song was the only track from H,IMBG! that appeared on Serious Hits... Live! as well.

Anyway, fast forward past the concert (which was awesome), and I decided to use some JB Hi-Fi vouchers which I had accrued to acquire more Phil. I managed to grab the limited edition 8CD Take a look at me now... boxset which housed all of Phil's solo studio albums. Each one had been remastered and reissued in 2015, complete with newly recreated covers featuring Phil at his current age. I was stoked to finally have a decent copy of Face Value, after nearly wearing out my dad's vinyl and I had Both Sides on cassette once upon a time, so I felt it was worth having the lot. As of writing this, I've had the set for nearly eight months, and I still haven't listened to the last three albums.

I've been spending a lot of time with H,IMBG! recently as I've really started to appreciate the album that it is. A few months back, a friend of mine told me that his three-year-old son had been drumming along perfectly to the track Thru These Walls, and I couldn't place it. It wasn't sounding familiar to me, so I made a note back then to give Phil's difficult second album a decent spin. I think it was a fairly staggered affair though, as I seemed to latch on to some songs and keep listening to them, in essence ignoring over half the record. 

The aforementioned Thru These Walls has become a big favourite of mine now, and although it has been unfairly labelled as simply retreading In The Air Tonight, it is quite different as far as melody, structure and theme go. Sure the intro, is similar, but the chords are different! And yes, the repeated drum fill is almost identical to ITAT (right down to the replicated gated reverb), but the song's narrative about a guy listening to the amorous couple in the room next door is far from the anger and rage in the former. Anyway, I dig it. I wish I wasn't so late to the party.

The first time I heard the opening track I Don't Care Anymore, was on the rock radio station of Grand Theft Auto V. I was struck by Phil Collins' voice and the realisation that I didn't know the song. I wasn't even sure if it was Collins solo or Genesis. Now it's become another highlight of this album for me. Although it feels like the climax never really arrives, I love the venom in Collins' vocal performance. Looking past the clichéd lyrics, the drums sound great (very 80's) and each listen seems to improve the song. As if knowing the build peaks with Phil's vocal compensates for a big musical pay-off. The record's second song I Cannot Believe That It's True and It Don't Matter To Me fit nicely into his blue-eyed soul work, complete with brass lines by The Phenix Horns. Indeed, the album swings from jaunty pop numbers to menacing, moody pieces which is typified by the transition from the dark Do You Know, Do You Care? to You Can't Hurry Love. Juxtapose much? Big fan, me.

One of my go-to tracks on this album is Like China, which sees Phil adopt the persona of a teenage boy trying to woo a girl he's become infatuated with. There's hooks-aplenty here, and I love the emphasis on the guitar. Phil puts on a Cockney accent to add to the fun too. Although, on first listen, you're questioning (excuse me?) what the actual lyrics in the chorus are. They go like this:

"I'll be so careful I'll hold you like china/

I'll promise not to hurt you I'll hold you like china..."

Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away was a song that had to grow on me a little, but I love it now. As the title suggests, it deals with someone pleading with their ex-lover not to give up on their relationship and ditch Mr Right Time (with the Right Smile) who swooped in to pick up the pieces. When the drums kick in, it seems to lift from a soppy ballad into something a bit poppier, with a little swing. The piano in the refrain helps the song shuffle along nicely too.

I feel that the album does fizzle a little towards the end. The (mostly) instrumental track The West Side has some nice moments, but seems to outstay its welcome a bit. An issue rectified on Saturday Night and Sunday Morning from 1989's But Seriously... which doesn't even break the one and a half minute mark. The record closes with Why Can't It Wait Til Morning, which hasn't endeared itself to me yet. It was released as single in the UK (his fifth from this album) but it just doesn't move me. Such a shame, because the rest of H,IMBG! is quite strong.

While not the masterpiece that Face Value is, Phil's difficult second album is certainly a more-than-worthy addition to his catalog. Some of the turmoil he had experienced during the breakdown of his first marriage seeps into this record, but not to the same degree as Face Value. Some songs are a bit more fun, and obviously his love of Motown and old R&B/soul fueled his decision to cover The Supremes. To great chart success, at that. 

Now, should I give Dance Into The Light a spin..?

Album of the Week - Vol.13

The Division Bell PINK FLOYD (1994)
Week: 29th June to 5th July 2019
Format: Vinyl (25th anniversary reissue)
Producer(s): Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour
Track listing:
SIDE A:
1. Cluster One *
2. What Do You Want From Me
3. Poles Apart *
SIDE B:
4. Marooned
5. A Great Day for Freedom
6. Wearing The Inside Out
SIDE C:
7. Take It Back *
8. Coming Back To Life *
9. Keep Talking
SIDE D:
10. Lost for Words
11. High Hopes *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 66:23

I got into Pink Floyd pretty late. While guys in high school were already praising The Wall and Dark Side of The Moon, I was still burying my head in The Beatles. I was away of some songs like Another Brick In The Wall (pt 2) and Wish You Were Here, but it wasn't until I went to Bali with my family in early 1990 that I ventured into the cave a little.
Back then, you could buy a cassette (old school album, kids) for around five Australian dollars in Bali. So, since there were no streaming services available on the internet  back then (what are those things??), I set about delving into some musical artists' back catalog. I bought tapes of David Bowie, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and took a punt on Pink Floyd's The Wall and Wish You Were Here albums. 

I still remember turning up my Walkman-like device as In The Flesh kicked off The Wall, struggling to hear the music, until the first chord thundered through my skull like a lightning bolt. Although my nearly-fourteen-year-old self didn't quite get all the nuances of the narrative, I did enjoy the journey of the album. I was slightly more familiar with Wish You Were Here, particularly the title track and sections of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. As I listened, I started to understand what some kids at my school were on about. Yeah, this was pretty awesome music. 

Once we were back home, which was Albany at this point in time, I slowly set about listening to all of the existing Pink Floyd albums. Again, this was before streaming services were around, so I couldn't just hop online. I found friends with vinyl records and began swapping taped copies of albums back and forth with other like-minded Floyd enthusiasts. I remember finding a cassette copy of the Relics compilation in a roadhouse while on a school trip to Perth. 

Anyway, as the years went by, I became quite the fan. When news broke that they were releasing a brand new studio album in 1994, I was quite excited. This was the first time that I had anticipated a new Pink Floyd release. I went down to my favourite local music store, Southern Sound, and pre-ordered a copy on CD. I would have been eighteen years old at the time. Possibly seventeen, but I don't think I would have pre-ordered it any earlier than a month or two from the March release date.

Listening to the 25th anniversary reissue has brought back a lot of memories. Before I even put the first record on the player, I was struck by the amazing scent of the set. It's that lovely glossy photo feel that smells like a pack of collector's cards, namely Batman, I think. I collected cards from Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns movies, and I'm almost positive they smelled the same. The blue coloured vinyl is just divine as well. So pretty. The artwork incorporates all the different versions of the album covers too. They look amazing at vinyl size.

When I dropped the needle onto the first side of the first album, I remembered that feeling of excitement when I put the CD into my stereo system at home when I was eighteen, some twenty five years ago. It was cool to hear the crackle of vinyl before the white noise sound effects kicked in though.

The Division Bell is an album that gets stronger as it reaches its end. Opening instrumental track Cluster One is wonderful, and quite reminiscent of Signs of Life that kicked off 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason. I think that it works better than the album's other instrumental Marooned, which would bizarrely go on to win Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy award. Marooned just feels out of place and may have worked better later in the album.

What Do You Want From Me has some classic Floyd musical motifs, but comes off a little toothless. The first great song of the album, Poles Apart, sees David Gilmour singing to former bandmates Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. I'd forgotten how much I liked this one, and as that dual-guitar line ripped through the speakers I was suddenly eighteen again.

The album's two weakest points for me, close the first record's second side. A Great Day For Freedom is fairly listenable, but a little meandering, whereas Wearing The Inside Out just feels like being stuck in pool of honey. It's a shame because the latter has the only lead vocal contribution from keyboardist Richard Wright, and even features Dick Parry on saxophone.

Once the second record begins, it's all great stuff. Take It Back was the album's first single and was unfairly criticised by some as being derivative of their more radio-friendly work. I think it's one of the highlights of the album, and an obvious choice for a single. It's followed by the excellent Coming Back to Life, which gives Gilmour a chance to offer up a couple of lovely, melodic guitar solos. The menacing Keep Talking closes Side C, and I think it's my favourite slice of the album. It's a difference experience listening to The Division Bell on double vinyl, rather than a CD or streaming service. You have to get up and flip the record, or change it. As such, each quarter of the album gets the chance to hang around inside your head for a spell. 

The last two songs are very good too, with High Hopes crossing over the line into excellent. The former, Lost For Words, could be directed at ol' mate Roger again, and it's a very pleasant melody with some great acoustic work from Gilmour. High Hopes is full of The Wall-era atmosphere and contains the album's title in the lyrics (Yay! I love that). Eclipsing eight and a half minutes, the closing track is also the longest offering, but doesn't outstay its welcome. Considering the average song on The Division Bell is between five and six minutes, it's quite an achievement to have the longest one feel like one of the rest. 

Anyway, it's been brilliant spinning this album again, and on vinyl. I'm tempted to get out the CD and rip it onto the iPod for more portable listening. It's been a good years since I listened to the album in full. I must have spun it around five or six times since I got the vinyl copy. Hmmm...might be time to give P.U.L.S.E. another spin too!

Album of the Week - Vol. 12

Wildflowers TOM PETTY (1994)
Week: Mon 13th to 19th May 2019
Format: CD
Producer(s): Rick Rubin, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell
Track listing:
1. Wildflowers *
2. You Don't Know How It Feels *
3. Time to Move On
4. You Wreck Me
5. It's Good to Be King *
6. Only a Broken Heart
7. Honey Bee
8. Don't Fade on Me
9. Hard on Me
10. Cabin Down Below
11. To Find a Friend *
12. A Higher Place 
13. House in the Woods
14. Crawling Back to You
15. Wake Up Time *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 62:48


Tom Petty's second solo effort is a classic 90's album full of his trademark drawled vocals and melodic pop/rock tunes. Although it's touted as Petty working solo, all the Heartbreakers play on the record, except for drummer Stan Lynch. Steve Ferrone handles most of the drum work here and would join the Heartbreakers officially in 1995. His first whole album with the band would be 1999's excellent Echo. The only drum part not performed by Ferrone is on To Find a Friend, which features old mate Ringo Starr.

As the project wasn't a Hearbtreakers affair, Petty was free to focus on his own creative desires and arrangements. Recorded at the legendary Sound City studio in L.A., the album took over two years to get in the can. Which is bizarre, because it sounds like the record was done over a weekend. The tone and feel of Wildflowers remain consistent, even when the genres shift. Rockers like You Wreck Me and Honey Bee sit comfortably alongside stripped-back ballads Don't Fade on Me and the title track.

Picking my five favourite songs here was quite tough, as everything is so good.  As much as Full Moon Fever is highly revered as THE Tom Petty solo record to have, I'm a bigger fan of this album. Not only is it nearly twice the running time, but the songs are stronger, in my humble opinion. While Full Moon Fever has classic Petty tracks like Free Fallin', Runnin' Down a Dream and I Won't Back Down it runs out of steam by the end. Can't say I'm the biggest fan of Zombie Zoo, for instance. Wildflowers is a joy to listen to from beginning to end, and it almost flies by. 

When Wildflowers was released, I was right in the middle of an age of Petty discovery. I had bought 1993's Greatest Hits album the year before and gained knowledge of more of his earlier hits. I think my earliest memory of Petty is Don't Come Around Here No More, which I'm sure I watched on Countdown as a young six or seven year old. Or it could have been the group's duet with Stevie Nicks, Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, from some various artists compilation LP. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers provided the soundtrack to the 1996 Edward Burns film She's The One and I bought that based on the strength of the excellent Walls (Circus) single. I still haven't seen the film, but I feel the soundtrack is quite solid. Apparently some of the Wildflowers outtakes were added to fill the record out a bit. Not sure which particular tracks they are though.

There's so much to love on this album. The title track is a wonderfully jaunty ballad with heart and a nice bouncy feel. I still remember seeing the video clip for the album's first single, You Don't Know How It Feels, and wondering if there was something wrong with the audio. He he he...turns out the video edit reversed the end of the couplet "Let me get to the point/Let's roll another joint". I wonder if that lyric would be so controversial today. The wonderful mini-epic It's Good To Be King has lush production without sounding overdone, and the fable-like To Find a Friend benefits from a playful but sparse arrangement.

One of my highlights, closing track Wake Up Time, has become a little tinged with sadness for me in recent years. When news of Tom Petty's heart attack broke in early October 2017, his death was falsely reported numerous times. I remember going for a walk after hearing that Petty had been hospitalised, but he was unconscious, not dead. I dialed up some of his music on my iPod and hoped for good news. Wake Up Time came on after a few tunes and it really hit me, although the lyrics weren't hugely pertinent. It was the chorus: "And it's wake up time/Time to open up your eyes/And rise/And shine..." that gave me a lump in my throat. I was almost filled with a sense that he would be okay, but it turned out to be a sinister omen when Petty's passing was confirmed at the day's end. 

If you've not heard this album, I recommend it to anyone who likes rootsy rock and pop. If you're familiar with Tom Petty, you kinda know what you're in for. Seeing as it's celebrating its 25th birthday this year, maybe a fancy anniversary edition is on the way soon? 

That'd be nice.

Album of the Week - Vol. 11

The Aeroplane Flies High THE SMASHING PUMPKINS (1996)
Week(s): Wed 27th March to Tue 9th April 2019
Format: 5CD Box Set
Producer(s): Billy Corgan, James Iha, Flood, Alan Moulder, D'arcy Wretzky
Track listing:
CD 1. BULLET WITH BUTTERFLY WINGS
1. Bullet With Butterfly Wings
2. Said Sadly *
3. You're All I've Got Tonight
4. Clones (We're All)
5. A Night Like This *
6. Destination Unknown

7. Dreaming *

CD 2. 1979
1. 1979
2. Ugly
3. The Boy *
4. Cherry
5. Believe *
6. Set the Ray to Jerry *

CD 3. ZERO
1. Zero
2. God *
3. Mouths of Babes
4. Tribute to Johnny *
5. Marquis in Spades
6. Pennies *
7. Pastichio Medley

CD 4. TONIGHT, TONIGHT
1. Tonight, Tonight
2. Meladori Magpie
3. Rotten Apples *
4. Jupiter's Lament
5. Medellia of the Grey Skies
6. Blank *
7. Tonite Reprise *

CD 5. THIRTY-THREE
1. Thirty-Three
2. The Last Song *
3. The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)
4. Transformer
5. The Bells *
6. My Blue Heaven *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 138:53

I noticed on March 26th, that it was James Iha's 51st birthday. To mark the occasion, I decided to give Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness a spin. It had been a while since I listened to the whole thing in one go. It really is one of the best albums to come out of the nineties, and one of the greatest double albums ever released. It stills holds up so well. I love the mix of feels and genres.

I was working at a music shop in Albany called Southern Sound when Mellon Collie... was released. I remember opening the box from EMI and excitedly feeding the first disc into the store's CD player. We were quite puzzled by the opening instrumental piano track that opened the album, which shared its name with the title. When Tonight, Tonight followed I couldn't tell if it was Billy Corgan singing or not. Had we received a dud batch with another random recording on it? Jellybelly sounded more like the Pumpkins we knew, and Zero further solidified that this was indeed their new record.

As listening continued I was struck by the shifts in tone and production. We were certainly warned from the beginning, but I really dig the fact that this album jumps from heavy sludge rock to acoustic ballad so suddenly. The different emotions evoked as the album rolls on is fantastic.

Anyway, after enjoying my revisit of Mellon Collie..., I remembered that I had a copy of the expanded singles collection The Aeroplane Flies High. I also remembered that there were some great tracks on there too. The sessions for Mellon Collie... must have been hugely prolific, as the purpose of the box set was to house each of the five singles from the album in their expanded form. So, rather than one or two B sides per single, there are six or seven. I'm basically ignoring the five singles, because, let's face it, they're all terrific songs and we love them.

For the most part, it's all pretty good. The first disc features five covers, which are covered quite well. I don't know what the reasoning behind those particular songs were, whether to pay homage to their influences, or just have a bit of fun. It's a fab mix of artists: The Cars' You're All I've Got Tonight, Clones (We're All) was a single by Alice Cooper in 1980, The Cure's A Night Like This, Destination Unknown by Missing Persons and Blondie's Dreaming. The latter features lead vocals by the band's rarely-heard bassist D'arcy, and James Iha does a lovely understated job of singing A Night Like This. For a time, I thought the two of them were sharing lead on Iha's wonderful Said Sadly as well, but the female part is actually Nina Gordon from Veruca Salt.

The second disc is a mellower affair, with 1979 setting the tone nicely. The two tracks penned by Iha, The Boy and Believe, are big highlights for me, particularly the latter. Corgan's B sides are a little more ominous, but Set the Ray to Jerry is terrific. Sharing that sense of menace, it manages to feel like it is building to a climax that never comes.

Disc three features the longest and most challenging listen with Pastichio Medley; a twenty-three minute collection of pieces of songs that were recorded after Siamese Dream, but before Mellon Collie... was completed. The riff-tastic Tribute to Johnny is a very fun instrumental track, while the distinctively softer Pennies provides another standout. Overall, the disc is a little sludgy, and probably my least favourite.

Tonight, Tonight's disc features a couple of big highlights for me, namely Blank and Rotten Apples. Both are stripped-back affairs and feature Corgan in introspective acoustic mode. The whole disc is quite mellow, with Jupiter's Lament and Medellia of the Grey Skies also fitting the overall vibe. It's nice to have Tonite Reprise here too, which is included on the original Mellon Collie... triple disc vinyl release. If you track down a copy of Infinite Sadness, which is an outtake from Siamese Dream, you can create a playlist of that version, which features a different track listing from the double CD we all love.

The box set finishes off with the Thirty-Three disc, which includes B sides of varying mood and genre. The Last Song is probably my favourite song here, with a nice string arrangement giving it a nice sense of finality, but I also really like the slightly melancholy cover of My Blue Heaven too. While the title track has some nice Pumpkins riffage, it does go on for a few minutes too long.  Once again, James Iha provides a nice ballad with The Bells that also features D'Arcy on backing vocals. 

For a collection of outtakes and B sides, it is quite remarkable how strong these songs are. Particularly when you consider that Mellon Collie... had a track listing of twenty-eight songs. I really enjoyed listening to this again. And again.

(NB: In 2013, The Aeroplane Flies High was reissued and expanded as a massive 6CD box with a total of 90 tracks. A live DVD was also included.)

Autism Acceptance Month is Coming!

April is Autism Acceptance Month! 

This will be the second April I'll experience as an 'officially' autistic adult! For the last decade and a bit, we Bolgies have been advocating for autism acceptance in today's society. When our daughter Alyssa became the first autistic Little Telethon Star, we felt like we were starting to get somewhere. There had been a dialogue about autism that had rippled through WA. Our family formed Alyssa's Autism Acceptance Project around the breakfast table one morning, shortly after Telethon 2015 came to a close.

We have been a part of many autism events over the years, and we continue to promote Autism Acceptance Month every April. World Autism Day is on April 2nd every year as well, a fact that our family and friends will constantly be reminded of. We say autism acceptance, and not awareness, because there is plenty of autism awareness in the world. Ask anyone and they would have at least heard the word, or even be related to someone with autism. Acceptance of autism is another story.

So much is done on behalf of the autistic community, without any (or in some cases, limited) input from an autistic person. Before Rhona or I were diagnosed, we advocated for our two autistic kids as best we could. We were always very aware that our children were the experts of the autistic experience. They both were non-verbal until the ages of five or six, so we had to learn how to listen to them. They were communicating...just without words, like many other autistic people.

As we navigated life with kids on the autism spectrum, we sought out the autistic voice. When we attended seminars or conferences, we were drawn to talks or presentations done by autistic people. Our first realisation of how important this was came at the first APAC in Sydney 2007, when we attended a panel session that featured four teenagers with Asperger's syndrome. They were recalling their experiences during school, and hearing their stories gave us more insight into what our children were going through than the medical experts we'd been listening to.

We learnt over the years that some images and motifs closely associated with autism were, in fact, derided by the autistic community at large. But as Rhones is fond of saying, "When you know better, you do better," so we have taken many things on board as we've continued on our journey together.

I stumbled across a fabulous post about Autism Acceptance Month on Facebook from a Tumblr page called Endangered Bodies NYC. The following words are lifted directly from that website:

PSA to our followers this Autism Acceptance Month:

• Use Autism **Acceptance** Month (as opposed to Autism Awareness Month). 
• NO “light it up blue” or puzzle pieces. Google “Autism Speaks hate group” to learn more. 
• Use red or gold instead, which are colors supported by the autistic community. 
• Use identity-first language (most autistic people prefer “autistic” instead of “person with autism”), but don’t police the language of someone who prefers to be called a person with autism. 
• NO scare terms like “suffering with autism” or “afflicted with autism.” 
• Avoid functioning labels like “high functioning” or “low functioning.” 
• If autistic voices are not at the center of your efforts, you’re doing it wrong. 
• When in doubt, ASK AN AUTISTIC PERSON. 
• To learn more about autism, visit autistic-run organizations like the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and Autism Women’s Network (AWN). 

We had to learn most of these things ourselves through experience. We participated in Light It Up Blue occasions until we learnt of its negative connotations. The puzzle piece motif has long gone from many logos involved with autism. We have constantly requested an autistic voice or input from the autistic community when any initiative or idea is planned to benefit people on the spectrum. 

Looking at the points on this list, we would always seek advice from either our own kids or autistic adults we had met along the way. We asked both of our kids if they preferred being called a 'person with autism' or an 'autistic person'. The argument being with some PC folk is that you see the person first, and the disability later. This person-first language is being taught in many universities by non-autistic people. Our kids (and now us) prefer being called autistic, as we are proud of our autism. We also feel that our autism is a big part of who we are. We wouldn't be the people we are without it. Our brains think differently and we tend to process sensory input in a diverse manner, compared to both neurotypicals and other autistic people. 

The following graphic shows our feelings on the matter quite clearly. Rhona uses this is in The AAA Project PDs and presentations too.

We don't just carry our autism around with us, and pack it away at night. It's an essential part of our being. But, there are some who prefer being called a 'person with autism'. It comes down to personal choice. 

Our main goal is to help those on the autism spectrum be their own advocate. We want to make sure that educators, parents and other members of society are listening to the autistic voice. Another saying Rhona is fond of is: "Stop talking about us, and start talking to us." I think that sums things up pretty well.

This April, why not take some time to learn about autism? Do you know someone with autism? If you know me, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. As Rhona was diagnosed in mid 2017, and myself that December, we are fairly new to being 'officially' autistic. Some scoff at the validity of an adult diagnosis, but it has been hugely invaluable to both of us. We now give ourselves permission to de-stress from certain social situations, rather than just keep on pushing through. We recognise that we may need help in some environments and we understand why we react in a particular way.

Speaking for myself, I forget every now and then about my diagnosis. When I remember, "oh yeah, I'm autistic", I feel hugely grateful. I've embraced my autism but I'm still getting used to being actually autistic. So, in closing, I'll leave you with The AAA Project motto: Listen. Respect. Accept.

RIP Keith Flint

The world discovered that The Prodigy's Keith Flint passed away a few hours ago. He was found dead in his home at the age of 49. Media reported that his death was not suspicious. That usually means one of two things: suicide or a drug overdose. I was hoping for something else. Rhones suggested that it could have been a heart attack.

I'm not the biggest Prodigy fan in the world. I only have a couple of their songs on JJJ compilations and the Breathe CD single. I've never seen them live either. In fact, I remember walking out of the 2009 Big Day Out in Perth just as their set was kicking off. 

But when fellow band member Liam Howlett revealed in an Instagram post that Keith had indeed taken his own life, it really hit me. A huge sense of grief just welled up in me, and I'm not sure what really triggered it.

I've always found the way we react to celebrity deaths as a society very fascinating. Someone we have never met or spoken with can be so important to our lives that they leave a gap when they pass. There are those who will deride such actions, and offer a debate of whether a famous person's death deserves more attention or mourning than children dying from diseases in a third world country or victims of another shooting massacre in the USA. 

I think that one of the reasons I got so moved by Liam's words about Keith was that he was describing how he felt. Suicide leaves behind a lot an unanswered questions. The whys and hows aside, one thing that someone who has lost a loved one to suicide might ask themselves is 'what could I have done to prevent this?'.

The Prodigy recently toured Australia and New Zealand. Their last show was in Auckland on the 5th of February this year. Keith had only been home for a month or so. Being in a band myself, if I woke up to the news that one of my bandmates had taken their life, it would devastate me. In addition to sharing a stage, you spend a lot of time together. Sometimes you travel to a gig together, and there's breaks between sets. You get to know each other. You find out what's happening in each other's lives. I like to think that I am the kind of person that people can confide in. I usually don't have an issue talking about what someone is going through, and I'm happy to be the shoulder that gets cried on. It's so important to have someone you can talk to if you're experiencing depression or anxiety or both.

Having lost my own mother to suicide, I'm probably a little more sensitive and empathetic towards friends and families of those who have taken their own lives. You go through a lot of emotions. I struggled to deal with my mum's death. Well, to be honest, I didn't really try to. I was so determined not to let it affect me that it did. I became emotionally stunted. I overreacted (or under-reacted) to certain situations. Being diagnosed with autism a little over a year ago has informed me of how I handled some issues as I grew up as well. We're all just little pieces held together with sticky tape and string after all.

Bottom line, don't be afraid to seek help. It's one of the most important things you could ever do to move forward out of the hole of depression and anxiety.

Anxiety

Around September last year I slipped into a black hole of anxiety. It was pretty crippling because it felt like everything took a massive effort to get through. As a result, I avoided simple tasks like checking my email. Sometimes just putting a meal together caused me a lot of stress.

The worst thing was the morning. It was so hard to get out of bed. On odd occasions where I could have a sleep-in, I would constantly battle with myself on when I should get up. I'd feel guilty if I was still in bed, or I would just feel horrible and anxious once I got up. I would experience that awful racing heart that seemed to make my chest thud so hard I was surprised people couldn't see it pulsing. 

If my mobile phone went off, either an SMS or a phone call, I freaked out. Sometimes it would just be a vapid notice from our phone carrier or a random message from a friend. The relief that it was no big deal would be pretty great, but then the anxiety would just begin growing again. I had to build myself just to check my email. And I would only do it once a day. I would congratulate myself each time I did it too. It felt like such an achievement.

The most frustrating part for me was not feeling like myself. I've usually got a few things going at once, and I'm fairly enthused to start the day. Struggling just to get out of bed was horrible. I'm a pretty happy guy most of the time, so to feel so blue was just soul crushing. And to not really know why. Part of me thought I could just snap myself out of it if I fixed the root cause. I did learn not to get so hung up on that as time went on.

This was not my first wrestling match with the black dog. Although, it was more anxiety than depression. I've had down patches ever since I was a teenager. They used to be triggered by falling behind in my homework at high school and/or insomnia. If I had a night without sleep, I knew I had about a week of cloud to fight through. There was a period of time before my mother took her life that I felt like I understood a little of what she went through. 

She spent her last few years battling severe depression. Before I was born she'd had a bout so severe that she attempted suicide by jumping off a building. Thankfully she was unsuccessful, or else I wouldn't be here. It seemed that my birth played a big part in her coming out of her depressive state. She managed to keep the black dog away until I was a teenager. 

So, I've had my moments with depression and anxiety over the years. I've never had suicidal thoughts, which I'm very grateful for. I'm very lucky to have had Rhona to help me through. I know there are people out there with mental health issues who have partners that don't understand or empathise. As Rhona has her own stress and anxiety problems, she knows exactly what I go through. We're a good team. Usually, when one of us is low, the other is high enough to help prop them up. Even when we're both a little low, we're good at leaning on each other.

I'm very lucky that during my latest period of anxiety, I still enjoyed gigging. If my work had become stressful, that would have been really hard to push through. As it was, just emailing and talking on the phone was a challenge. Socialising with band mates or punters in my breaks was a little touch and go. I did let a few close friends know what I was going through, and their support was wonderful.

Without wanting to jinx myself, I think I'm pretty much through to the other side now. I've been feeling good, and full of a little more get-up-and-go. Particularly in the mornings. Just a little more motivated to get things done.

Rhona encouraged me to visit the psychologist she'd been seeing, and come up with some strategies to help manage my anxiety. One big thing I took away from those sessions was making little 1% changes in life. Just to look at particular aspects of life and seeing if we could make a small change for the better. So I stopped putting as much emphasis on some household chores or errands to be done immediately. I was giving myself permission to leave things until tomorrow or another day. I began to make time to do things that I enjoyed, those activities gave me a little reprieve from the day-to-day stuff. They became very important in helping me move forward.

One analogy Rhona and the psychologist liked to use was that of a jellybean jar. Each interaction, task or moment of the day requires a certain amount of jellybeans depending on how stressful or manageable they are. It's important to remember to fill the jar back up. So, activities you enjoy, or time taken just for you, is crucial in filling up the jellybean jar. Rhona was very conscious that I needed to have filled up my jar before going to out to play a gig or the shops or other social interactions. 

January is usually a bad month for me and Rhona, as we don't have a routine to stick to. School's out, and the structure of the usual week is gone. Rhona spent most of last year on long service leave and was experiencing high levels of anxiety due to not having a set routine. To add insult to injury, she was putting pressure on herself to enjoy the leave, which is something she'd been working towards for ten years. Sometimes getting what you want can have its drawbacks. 

As the year progressed, Rhona got emotionally stronger and was managing her anxiety attacks quite well. Just in time for me to fall down the hole. I was constantly waking up with a racing heart. Some mornings I seemed to be in a waking loop where I was reliving a situation that was making me anxious over and over again. I would awake slightly panicked and not really be sure what I had dreamt or what was causing the feeling. 

Thankfully I never dreaded going to sleep or getting into bed at night. I was usually up late enough to be tired, and I would want to go to sleep. Our bed is super comfy too. Night time was usually when I felt best, mentally speaking. I guess, it was the end of the day, there was little I could do other than enjoy the night and wind down. I think I possibly kept clinging to the idea that I feel better in the morning. 

I remained very grateful for Rhona. She would constantly ask how I was feeling and check if I needed to talk anything through. If I had an upcoming gig that was causing me a little stress, she was a wonderful sounding board. 

Things progressed slowly, but over time, the cloud started to lift. Constant support from my family and friends was the greatest factor alleviating my stress. The sessions with the psychologist helped me put a few things in perspective as well. Nothing like the reduced rationality when you're in the throes of depression and anxiety!

As I write this blog, I'm feeling a lot better. I'm pretty much back to my old self again, but I'm riding a different wave. It's my manic wave. Everything is awesome, and nothing is happening fast enough for me. Driving seems to be in slow motion as well. I can't get to where I'm going fast enough!

I tend to get a little self-centred too. Or rather, a bit blinkered in what I'm doing or trying to get done. My mind map gets very rigid and some things that come up to challenge this either get ignored or not taken seriously. I can almost feel myself doing it, but I don't fully realise it until after the fact.

I'm happy to be feeling happier. The family has had a couple of challenges to start the year off with, but there's been a fair few wins as well. Hoping that will be a trend that continues to, um, continue. 

Album of the Week - Vol. 10

Greatest Hits Vol. 1 THE FLAMING LIPS (2018)
Week: Sat 7th Jul to Fri 13th Jul 2018
Format: Vinyl/3 CD Deluxe Edition
Producer: various
Track listing:
VINYL EDITION
Side 1:
1. Do You Realize?? *
2. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1
3. Race For The Prize *
4. Waitin' For a Superman *
5. When You Smile *
6. She Don't Use Jelly
Side 2:
1. Bad Days (Aurally Excited Version)
2. The W.A.N.D.
3. Silver Trembling Hands *
4. The Castle
5. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 45:25

DELUXE EDITION
Disc 1:
1. Talkin' 'Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants To Live Forever)
2. Hit Me Like You Did the First Time
3. Frogs
4. Felt Good to Burn
5. Turn It On *
6. She Don't Use Jelly
7. Chewin' the Apple of Your Eye
8. Slow Nerve Action
9. Psychiatric Explorations of the Foetus with Needles
10. Brainville *
11. Lightning Strikes the Postman
12. When You Smile *
13. Bad Days (Aurally Excited Version)
14. Riding to Work in the Year 2025
15. Race For the Prize (Sacrifice of the New Scientists) *
16. Waitin' For a Superman (Is It Getting Heavy?) *
17. The Spark That Bled
18. What Is the Light?

Disc 2:
1. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 *
2. In the Morning of the Magicians *
3. All We Have Is Now
4. Do You Realize?? *
5. The W.A.N.D.
6. Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
7. Vein of Stars
8. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song 
9. Convinced of the Hex
10. See the Leaves
11. Silver Trembling Hands *
12. Is David Bowie Dying?
13. Try to Explain
14. Always There, In Our Hearts
15. How?? *
16. There Should Be Unicorns
17. The Castle

Disc 3:
1. Zero to a Million
2. Jets (Cupid's Kiss vs. The Psyche of Death) (2-track demo)
3. Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair
4. The Captain
5. 1000ft Hands
6. Noodling Theme (Epic Sunset mix #5)
7. Up Above the Daily Hum *
8. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (In Anatropous Reflex) *
9. We Can't Predict the Future *
10. Your Face Can Tell the Future *
11. You Gotta Hold On
12. What Does It Mean?
13. Spider-Man Vs Muhammad Ali
14. I Was Zapped by the Lucky Super Rainbow
15. Enthusiasm for Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2
16. If I Only Had a Brain *
17. Silent Night/Lord, Can You Hear Me?
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 3:43:47

I've been a fan of The Flaming Lips since the early part of the 21st century. I heard She Don't Use Jelly when it came out in 1993, and thought it was kinda loopy, but I still dug it. After that song faded from the spotlight, I didn't really give the band another thought.

Until around 2002, I think. A few friends were asking me about the band and if I knew any of their stuff. Their albums The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots were getting rave reviews from music critics a-plenty. I still thought of them as that noisy band who had a hit with She Don't Use Jelly and scored a track on the Batman Forever soundtrack. 

I decided to dig a little, and I think the Yoshimi album was my first decent jump down the rabbit hole.  I was pretty taken with it, from memory, and headed straight to Bulletin. Nearly twenty years later, and those albums remain very special to me, but it's 1995's Clouds Taste Metallic that I call my favourite now. My golden Lips period is 1995 to 2006. I didn't really get into the experimental 4CD Zaireeka from 1997, but I appreciated the concept. They lost me a little with 2009's Embryonic, particularly as I was quite taken by their go at Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. 

The 3CD set offers up a pretty good overview of their early output to the present day. The first two discs consists of most of their singles from 1992 to 2017, presented in chronological order. We are treated to demos, B-sides, soundtrack contributions and outtakes a-plenty on the last CD.

If you're after something a little more concise, the vinyl edition is pretty taut, consisting of just eleven tracks. The really well known songs are there too, Do You Realize??, She Don't Use Jelly, Bad Days and Race For The Prize. I've picked out five favourites from each CD and five from the vinyl tracklisting. Have at it! He he he...

Got Lips?

They're not for everyone, but there should something for all tastes here. If you can tolerate Wayne Coyne's high singing voice.