Ratatat: "Weeeeee ooo weee ooo ooo ooo oooooo..."

Ratatat's video for Falcon Jab has just been released, a fantastic choice for their next single. If I remember rightly, this is the same video that was projected onto the wall behind them when they played the song live back in May. I'd recognise that bearded, noseless face anywhere!

Wow-ow, Wa-owow, Wa-ow indeed.

Things I Love About Melbourne Part 4: State Library of Victoria

Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to own a room filled with books, wall-to-wall and with one of those ladders like Belle has in Beauty and the Beast. The curtains would be red velvet and I would read my favourite book aloud to the woodland creatures by my side as we sat next to the open fireplace. I have since realised that this dream has about as much chance of coming true as me owning a Chanel 2.55. A girl can - and will, dream. 

The first time I stepped into the La Trobe Reading Room in the State Library of Victoria I couldn't help but gape at the wondrous walls of books. I think one of the guys working there laughed at me. I didn't care, the place is like my dream come true! Grand architecture, wooden desks, revolving chairs, bankers lamps, a circular room, a domed ceiling and books! books! books! Even thinking about it now is making me sigh.

If I lived in the city, I would study there all of the time. Procrastination wouldn't exist. I would love to spend hours here. It even has free wi fi! 

They have a few exhibitions too, it's cool to see all the huge portraits and marble busts of the people who helped shaped Victoria in the early years. Ned Kelly's armour is there too. It's pretty eerie walking around, hearing your echoing foot falls on the wooden floor and looking into the past through these portraits, letters and artifacts. 

My new favourite place in Melbourne? Maybe so. It's probably the closest I'll ever get to Hogwarts.

The Unholy Triumverate

David Bowie, Iggy Pop & Lou Reed.

Midnight Boom

I found these photos on The Kills' facebook page, which were mostly taken by Alison while they were touring the U.S. with The Horrors. I would give anything to see a Horrors/Kills co-headlining show. The Horrors need to come back to Australia, stat. Preferably not when I'm in Wellington.

(That last one is for all you Mighty Boosh/Goth Detectives fans out there)

Could they be any more cool??

Night Vision

Waiting in line outside a club can be the most boring part of a night out. You're all dressed up with somewhere to go, but they just won't let you in yet. Frustrating. On the other hand, if you allow it, it can be one of the most entertaining times of your night. With a little bit of booze, everyone's inhibitions have been relaxed or discarded completely, so it's always fun to see who is in line with you. 

I've had some interesting conversations in a queue on a Saturday night, some have been hilarious and lead to friendships, some have been just plain strange. Here's one that happened a few weeks ago while I was lining up to go into Roxanne. We had noticed the group of three friends walking ahead of us because one of the girls was dancing terribly to a busker on Bourke st, in a gorgeous dress by mypetsquare that I had been lusting over for months. Had I been wearing that dress, I would not have embarrassed it in public like that, I would have shown it a good time while maintaining my/our dignity. (Though I am not saying that I haven't been messy before, but let's just say, I have learnt from my mistakes. I hope.)

While doing the usual "This line is so long! Are we ever going to get our dance on?" moan that tends to come from wasting a good chunk of your Saturday night in line, one of the trio, a guy wearing a velvet jacket turned to us and said: "Excuse me, do either of you have a cigarette?"

My Friend: "No sorry, we don't smoke."

His friend: (to Velvet Jacket) "Why do you even ask? No one smokes these days!"

Velvet Jacket: (in exasperation) "What has a guy got to do to get a cigarette around here?!"

At this point someone suggested doing push ups as a sufficient way to earn a cigarette.

Velvet Jacket: "Yeah, that's an idea, do you want me to do push ups?"

Me: "No seriously, we don't smoke, we don't have any to give you."

Velvet Jacket: "Really?! Are you sure?"

He was so persistent and so desperate, I couldn't help but make fun of him, to see how far he would go. 

Me: "Well actually, if you do some push ups I just might be able to find one in my bag..."

I hoped he would realise I was joking. He didn't. Velvet Jacket got on the ground and started doing push ups. I let him struggle for a little bit...

Me: "No, wait I actually don't have cigarettes, please, get up before you hurt yourself!"

His friend: "It stinks of piss around here."

Velvet Jacket: "Yeah, and I just lay on the ground."

I am so glad I am not a smoker. Or a drug addict. To be so desperate for one tiny hit! Jeepers. It's so annoying that something so disgusting can look so beautiful in fashion editorials and so cool when people like Alison Moshart are smoking. I think someone should create something that tastes like strawberries and doesn't potentially give you cancer but still has the cool smoke effect. Do I sound really shallow/naive/stupid right now? Sometimes style over substance can be a good thing... Who am I kidding? It never is!

Liam Finn

One of my favourite live performers, Liam Finn, will be playing at the Corner Hotel September 18. I can't wait!

Capote

“Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself”

Truman Capote is my favourite writer.

XOXO, Gossip Girl

I'm doing a radio course at the moment, at SYN in Melbourne. While print media will always be my favourite medium and I can see myself writing for print and online my entire career, I'm also keen to try a bit of radio and maybe some television too. Anyone who knows me knows how crazy I am about music, so I love the idea of having my own radio show. I get to play the tunes I like and force them on listeners, hopefully they will like what I play too, and maybe discover a new band to love in the process. 

I'm not very confident about speaking on air yet, but I hope that practice will help me overcome that and I can pretend that I'm not shy. 

At the end of our four-week course, we're encouraged to put together a demo as an audition to have our own radio show for ten weeks. I already have an idea about what kind of music I want to play and what topics I want to discuss, but I don't have a name for it and I think I need a catchy sign-off too. All my favourite journalists have one. I need a signature phrase, or maybe I'll have a theme and do something like having the last song from my show always being from a certain year, or country. Or maybe I could just end it by saying my name over and over again, in various vocoder tones. Yeah, that'd be real cool. 

Walter Cronkite "And that's the way it is."

Edward R. Murrow (As portrayed by David Strathairn in Good night and Good Luck) "Good night, and good luck."

Ron Burgundy, "You stay classy San Diego."

I'm currently listening to Tame Impala's live set on Triple J. It sounds lovely, I can't wait to see them in October! I love the way they're blending their songs into one another, going from Forty-One Mosquitoes Flying in Formation directly into Half Glass Full of Wine. It's like one long jam sesh. I'm sure there is a technical term for it, but clearly, I know nothing about music. 

Sweet Disposition

"Stay there /// Cause I'll be coming over"

I had been hearing this song on Triple J for a while now but rather infuriatingly, each time it was played the DJs never back announced what the song was. The other day, thanks to the new AFL ads on TV at the moment (yeah, go figure), I found that this song is Sweet Disposition by a Melbourne band called the Temper Trap. Try listening to it by yourself at night time, with the lights turned off. There's something about the building tension in this song that sends shivers down my spine. I love it. I'm sure everybody knows the giddy feeling of starting a new relationship, with a person you're absolutely head-over-heels for. I've listened to this song about 20 times in the last 24 hours and I'm not sick of it yet. Their album Collisions is definitely at the top of my list of albums to buy. The band moved to London a few months ago, but I have a sneaking suspicion they played in Geelong before they left. Just my luck. 

Falling in love with a stranger.

I was gobbling down my muesli when I first noticed you. As you sat down at the table in front of mine, you turned your head and smiled. Was there something in my hair? I suddenly felt self-conscious, on this hungover Sunday morning when I wasn't looking or feeling my best. The cute girl sitting across from you could have been your girlfriend, so I stopped admiring your hair and your sense of style and concentrated on the Sunday papers instead. I remember reading the social pages. Gossip and muesli always cures a foggy head. The next time I glanced up I recognised the relationship between you and the girl as that of brother and sister and I imagined what it would be like to hold your hand. When she went to the bathroom, you remained, looking around the room. I saw you glance coyly at me again. I finished my muesli and went to pay. I had better things to do with my day than fall in love with a stranger. As I was leaving you smiled at me. I smiled too, knowing that in this city of four million strangers I wouldn't see you again.

Sometimes it is all too easy to fall in love with a cute stranger we see. It's fun to imagine where we would go on a date, what movie we would watch on the couch together and even what we would put on the mix CDs to each other. All from that one moment of eye contact. I sometimes wish I had more confidence to do something about that spark, but I also like hiding behind my imagination and having faith in fate. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. But then, what if, while I'm waiting for fate to work in my favour, I miss out on the chance to meet someone awesome? 

Do you ever fall in love with a stranger? I do, most days.

Blondie

Blog Lovin' (If you're that way inclined...)

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Photo taken after a very fun Friday night. You know you've drunk too much when you're no longer too ashamed to be posing in a stairwell...

I've updated some of the blog links on the right there too. Check them out, they're the blogs I read religiously.

She's Cracked

Necklaces from Karen Walker's S/S 09 She's Cracked collection. I just can't decide which I like best!