Dear Elliott - illustrated!
Current mood: melancholy
Category: Art and Photography

The above illustration was created by an incredible Melbourne based artist by the name of Beck Wheeler. It was based on my poem, 'Dear Elliott, written on the death of American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith.
Beck has been doing works based on my poems for about a year now, after we randomly met each other through MySpace.
This Tuesday night, the 4th March, an exhibition of Beck's work will be opening at the Uber Gallery. The work above will be part of the exhibition, amongst many other wonderful pieces.
I've also been asked to read my poem Dear Elliott at the opening.

Uber Gallery is at 52 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda.
'Hey, Hey, Which Way?' opens on Tuesday the 4th March at 6:30pm.
The exhibition runs until the 30th March.

Here is the original poem.

Currently listening : Underachievers Please Try Harder By Camera Obscura Release date: 20 January, 2004

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Liner Notes Vol 3: Madonna’s ’Like A Virgin’
Category: Art and Photography

Last Wednesday Babble hosted the third volume in the Liner Notes series. Liner Notes is a series of readings I founded which are spoken word tributes to iconic albums of our time.
It began in 2006 for the Melbourne Fringe Festival, the first volume of Liner Notes was in tribute to David Bowie's Hunky Dory album.
Then in 2007, again for the Melbourne Fringe Festival, The Velvet Underground's 'Banana Album' was given the Liner Notes treatment.
The nights have been so successful I've decided to run them more often than just once a year for Fringe.
The concept is simple, match a writer to each track on the album and ask the writer to respond in any way they like.
Mostly the responses are in a poetic form, but there's also monologues and comedic approaches.
I'm pleased to say that this last volume of Liner Notes was the best ever!
The quality of work was astounding. Not just from the writers but also from the house band for the night, The Heavy Cases. Their unique takes on Madonna classics were brilliant.
The host of the evening, Michael Nolan, was in excellent form and educated us about Madonna in ways I didn't think were possible.
In the past Liner Notes have always been one night only, but Vol 3 was such a great success that I am thinking seriously of a return performance of this one sometime in the near future.
In the meantime we do have another Liner Notes booked for early May.
Which album?
Well, I have a few in mind, but I'm keeping it under wraps... for now.


Our host - Michael 'Material Boy' Nolan



Phil Norton - Material Girl


alicia sometimes - Angel


Chloe Jackson - Like A Virgin


Ben Pobjie - Over and Over


Sean M Whelan - Love Don't Live Here Anymore




The Heavy Cases rip it up.


Steve Smart - Get Into The Groove


Emilie Zoey Baker - Dress You Up


Dan Lee - Shoo-Bee-Doo


Pretender - David Prater


Terry Jaensch - Stay

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postcard poetry no. 4
Category: Art and Photography

Currently listening : Treasure By Cocteau Twins Release date: 03 June, 2003

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a quote from the writer Richard Ford
Category: Writing and Poetry

"Happy, as my poor father used to say, is a lot of hooey. Happy is a circus clown, a sitcom, a greeting card. Life, though, life's about something sterner. But also something better. A lot better. Believe me."

I'm not sure why, but this quote has been ringing through my head lately.
It's taken from Richard Ford's latest book 'The Lay of the Land.'
Richard Ford is one of my favourite writers.
He started writing in the seventies and came out of the North American school of writers known as the 'Dirty Realists', his good friend Raymond Carver was the best known of them.
His two favourite novels of mine are 'The Sportswriter' and 'Independence Day', both of them trace the life of the same character - Frank Bascombe.
Both of them are startling meditations upon what it's like to be a man.
And he has just released a third novel exploring the same character, called Lay of the Land, which is where I've taken the above quote from.

Currently listening : Last Beautiful Day By New Buffalo Release date: 24 November, 2004

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postcard poetry no. 3
Category: Art and Photography

Currently listening : Neon Bible By Arcade Fire Release date: 06 March, 2007

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postcard poetry no. 2
Current mood: melancholy
Category: Art and Photography

Currently listening : Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State By Sufjan Stevens Release date: 01 July, 2003

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An Urgent Black Shape

I'm woken by the sound of urgent fluttering against glass.

Whenever one is woken unexpectedly in the middle of the night the script of being in bed is turned upside.

For the tiniest of moments I think I'm in my childhood room.

This feeling lasts only a second or two, then I'm back, my senses focusing hard on the immediate problem.

What is that sound?

In the space between the bottom of the curtain and the window frame I can see an urgent black shape.

I suddenly realise there's a small bird in my room.

How did it get in here?

How the hell will I get it out?

It stops fluttering for a moment.

In the darkness I think I can make out a wing.

I lean forward over the edge of the bed to get a better view and by doing so I accidentally knock over the bottle of water on my bedside table.

"Fuck!" I quickly turn on the bedside lamp.

The water has spilt over the power board on the floor beside my bed.

I start mopping at it with a t-shirt.

With the light on I look back towards the space where the bird was. It's gone.

Then in my peripheral vision I sense a big black shape. My eyes are slowly drawn up, towards the ceiling.

Up there clinging to the wall, its wings trembling slightly, is a huge black moth.

It wasn't a bird at all.

I stare at the moth. There is something profound about its presence here.

After watching it for a while I turn out the light and try and get back to sleep.

My thoughts keep returning to the moth. As my eyes get used to the dark I can make out its silhouette.

I think about the moth possibly landing on my face while I sleep.

Why is the moth here?

Who sent it?

Who is the moth working for?

My eyes get heavier and my thoughts start unravelling and working back to the moment when I first woke up at the sound of the beating wings, when I thought I was back in my childhood room.

It was the first room I had to myself. I can't remember how old I was. Eleven, twelve years old?

I had problems with my ear then. A perforated eardrum which would flare up periodically. This night I woke up in extreme pain. My ear was killing me. It got worse and worse. I started crying. In the first room I had completely to myself there was nobody there to hear me. I thought my parents would wake up and come to my aid. But they didn't hear. For some reason I didn't want to get up and go to them. I wanted somebody to come and help me.

And at that moment I realised that the price you pay for being alone… is being alone.

Electric crackles interrupt this memory.

I'm back in my present room.

Snap, crackle. What's that sound?

I realise it's coming from the power board.

I turn on the light. There are some drops of water on it I missed. Water must have seeped in.

Tiny electric crackles.

What should I do?

I go to wipe it again with the t-shirt then I have a sudden fear of electrocution.

What if I died right there and now? Electrocuted while trying to mop up water of my power board, with the sole witness to such a ridiculous death being a big black moth clinging to my ceiling?

I turn out my bedside lamp (I'm brave enough to touch that electrical appliance) and I slump back in bed.

Soon I can make out the silhouette of the moth again.

I close my eyes and its shape remains upon my eyelids.

The electric ticking of the water in the power board sparks little white fires upon the tips of its dusky wings as I descend slowly back into sleep.

Currently listening : Let's Get Out of This Country By Camera Obscura Release date: 06 June, 2006

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a new poem, but it's a secret! for now...
Current mood: productive
Category: Writing and Poetry

Have written a new poem built around the theme of brown. It will be published in a pretty unique fashion, all I can say right now is that Justin Heazlewood, AKA The Bedroom Philosopher is involved in a major way.
Watch this space for further details!

Meanwhile I leave for my tour of New Zealand with The Mime Set, today! Damn, I gotta finish packing.
Will be attempting to blog the experience while I'm there but am uncertain of internet access.
Be back in Melbourne in about a week!

Currently reading : The Lay of the Land By Richard Ford Release date: 24 October, 2006

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postcard poetry no. 1
Current mood: nervous
Category: Art and Photography

Currently reading : The Corrections: A Novel By Jonathan Franzen Release date: 27 August, 2002

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Bill Callahan live at the Rooftop Cinema
Category: Music

Was very, very blessed tonight to be one of only about two hundred or so punters who witnessed Bill Callahan (AKA Smog) performing live on the Rooftop Cinema at Curtin House.
This was his only Melbourne performance, and from what I hear he really had to be coaxed into this one as he isn't really out here on tour, rather he is accompanying his extraordinary partner, the wonderful Joanna Newsom.
The Rooftop Cinema is such a beautiful setting for Bill's dark acoustic wanderings. Bill spent the entire gig seated, with the twinkling city lights providing the backdrop. (As you can kind of see from my crappy mobile phone pictures.)
He started off with one of my all time favourite Smog songs, Hit the Ground Running from 1999's Knock Knock album.
Other highlights included The Well and Rock Bottom Riser from his last album  A River Ain't Too Much to Love.
At times the sound of the exhaust fans was a little annoying but Bill wryly joked that it reminded him of the tape hiss on his first album.
Joanna Newsom spent most of the gig sitting on the fake grass directly in front of him.
For me the absolute highlight of the evening was the end.
After performing Dress Sexy At My Funeral as a kind of encore without leaving the stage, Bill abruptly stood up and walked off.
But here's the funny part...
Because the Rooftop Cinema is on a... well, rooftop, there is no real backstage area, so to leave the roof Bill had to walk down the middle of the aisle, with Joanna following closely behind, to the rapturous applause of the audience. And some members pleading 'please don't go Bill!'
It was quite a sight to watch the two darlings of the neo-folk scene, indie royalty, walking down the aisle together.
Joanna slightly wobbly in high heels on the spongy fake grass!
Looking to all the world as if they'd just got  hitched.
Lovely.

ps. I know the pics are really shitty, but my mobile was the only camera i had on me, okay! 

Currently listening : A River Ain't Too Much to Love By Smog Release date: 31 May, 2005

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