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| Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 | | 9:44 pm |
Just call me Tom Daddy
So I've been offloading loads of CDs on ebay. I've sold more than 100 and I've passed the 50 feedback mark. It's rather time consuming and the the margins on my 99 cent or 1.99 CDs could be a bit better but so far so good. Had one or two mildly dodgey things go wrong like spammers and a non-payer but otherwise it's been going fine. In fact, it's quite satisfying. My most recent batch of uploads consists of about a dozen CDs. One of these is called 'Lip Sync' by a goth leaning/darkwave/experimental group called Attrition. I had several copies of the disc and I've sold about two so far from memory. I've currently got another copy uploaded and that's when I noticed something a bit odd... This first pic is what you see when you click on the listing. It's the item page, description, etc and it features an image of the CD. I should add that I opted for the "gallery' option whereby you are charged an additional fee to have a thumbnail of the pic displayed in searches. So far, everything is normal.  The description by the way reads: Attrition Lip Sync darkwave goth industrial experimenta. Copy and paste that into an eBay search and see what you come up with. But... when I enter that description into e-bay search, my item shows up, but the gallery thumbnail image (which like I said, cost me an additional fee to have displayed) doesn't display the CD cover you see above. In fact, it displays something quite different...  What is it? Let's take a closer look... Ok, so it's hard to tell what it is on that screendump but I assure you I know that's one certided a gay porno title front cover with two topless blokes hugging and a title called "Straight" something or rather... You know what you're getting there and it's certainly no 90s goth industrial single. Now I have to say I find this technical error on eBay's part quite hella-hillarious. However, I feel it's unfair on me because of the (I get to mention it three times now!) additional fee I got charged for displaying a gallery image. I've already contacted eBbay's technical people AND reported *my own item* for displaying naughty material or whatever it is but that was two days ago and no word since. As you may know, eBay are notorious for having little tolerance for non-kosher items, let alone subversive material like gay pron. Either that or I have a super-virus on my computer that has been programmed to do terrible things to my CD gallery photos, which I took myself. F**k I hope not... Any suggestions? At the very least I should get my gallery and listing fee back. | | Monday, July 6th, 2009 | | 2:58 pm |
there's no superstardj without TARD
Having for some time now been working a real job and having then gotten engaged, my clubbing side has grown somewhat old, boring and just a little jaded, at least by the standards of people who go out to all hours every weekend. Not that this isn't a common occurence - and more to the point, I like pottering around the house, getting stuff done, and most of all having money in the bank as a result of not blowing a substantial part of my income on booze and transportation. Nonetheless, I long for a decent night that I can go to every so often (but not too often - I'm old remember), where I can shake my boogie, which plays the music I love, that has acceptable drink prices, that has enough room to chillax, and that has generally cool laid back people. Now let me be entirely honest about the fact that this is a blatantly self serving post (more on that in a second) but I dare say that out of all the venues and nights that I have been to over the years, Z-1 (this Saturday in Collingwood) sits very close to the top in the way it manages to somehow balance most of these conflicting prerequisites. Z-1 - the format is "EBM - industrial - noise - terrorcore - aggrotech - futurepop - according to the flyer, which is another way of saying it's hella fun to dance at) has to be one of the best clubs I have been to in recent memory (and there aint too much of that left hahaha) and possibly stands right at the top for my music format. It's personal taste of course - horses for courses - and I mean no disrespect to other promoters or nights. If all industrial leaning duff-duff without too much of top 40 that is dancey and fun at the start of the night and well 'ard and head stompin' towards the end (the dude after me played Nasenluten and Hellfish last time, if that means anything) then this may very well be your tiocket to ride. It certainyl is mine. So here's the self serving bit - I am thrilled to have been invited to play other people's pre-recorded music this Saturday from 11 to midnight. The night itself begins at 9 ish and the venue serves free popcorn. Hilarity may very well ensure when I completely stuff up (like can someone please tell me where the play button is?) but as long as the giant pause between tracks isn't longer than a medium length shower then I'm sure it'll be great fun. Also, you get $2 off if you join (I think) if you join the "Z-1 Nightclub" faceplace community whatchimacallit. Z-1: 185 Smith St in Collingwood | | Saturday, June 20th, 2009 | | 7:30 pm |
Aaah the internet... seven shades of f****d up pro eating disorder glory
Something very odd happened this evening, the internet equivalent of running your car into the back of a mini and a seven foot clown steps out or something...
I log onto my computer this evening and I get a "hi" message on my Windows Messenger by some random stranger with a user name that I don't recognise. This isn't unusual since I rarely chat with people and especially since I'm no longer in touch with the hip kids who use g-chat or that fandangled faceplace or whatever it's called.
So anyway, I get a "hi" chat request. The dialogue went like this (edited it for clarity and yes - anonymity too so see below)...
ANONYMOUS SUFFERER: hi
ThomasBear says: hi
ANONYMOUS SUFFERER: WHo is this
ThomasBear says: you tell me buddy. you're the one who said hi...
ThomasBear says: it's Tom
No response after a minute. I'm guessing it's someone I used to know with a different email address or something?
I google the email address and there's one hit, apparently on livejournal. Aaah I think, someone on LJ, but my connection is a bit slow so it waits a bit.
ANONYMOUS SUFFERER: I said hi because I am an amazing and friendly individual. I am Ebony.
The page finally loads and it's some text frrm a post in A FUCKING PRO EATING DISORDER LIVEJOURNAL COMMUNITY --> http://community.livejournal.com/bodyperfect/5653978.html Uuuhmmm... ok... do I know this person?
ANONYMOUS SUFFERER: I'm going to take a hike yonder
ANONYMOUS SUFFERER: Cioa
Not really sure what to say about that so this is my sad little effort...
ThomasBear says: you've got a messsed up outlook on life nad self iamge, that's what you've got
ANONYMOUS SUFFERER: lol if you say so kiddo
ThomasBear says: http://community.livejournal.com/bodyperfect/5653978.html
And that's when I'm blocked and no further dialogue is possible.
The point? The anonymity afforded to internet users and the inevitable disputes, flaming, abuse and lies that goes with it means seasoned web users grow a thick skin and have fairly refined bullshit detectors. You fundamentally expect a sizeable portion of people’s online attitudes to be out of context or fake. The nastiest trolls are in real life typically no more than sweaty ball-less geeks with yappy fingers. You expect all manner of depraved wrongness to be accessible to those who seek it. Even the word ‘rape’ which to me is a horrendous term is on the web a blasé throwaway that has casually been absorbed into the terminology of online shooters (e.g. baseraping). Even the very concept of child pornography – despite being a criminal offence – has become a source of humour to large chunks of the internet, as evident by the existence of the pedo bear. It’s the culture of anonymity and you take it for the ten seconds of “meh” that it is before going back to playing World Of Warcraft. Yet I can’t help but feel a little disturbed by not only the existence of a pro eating disorder site. I’ll spare you the obvious remarks about textbook psychiatric disorders, the negative effect of media images (and there are plenty of those used as ‘thinspirations’ on said community) on impressionable young girls and everything else you heard on Dr Phil or were unfortunate to know about because a friend had a friend who suffered from a disorder. My dad once said “the internet is the greatest collection of lies ever collected by man” and I agree with him. If someone directed me to a bestiality site I wouldn’t want to look at it but I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the fact that somewhere out there someone is being paid to do unspeakable things with a horse and that somewhere elsewhere someone is enjoying the degradation with a box of tissues within arm’s reach. So what, I say. If it’s not your thing then it’s usually fairly easy not to take an active interest. Because like so much of everything on the internet it’s all bullshit. Yet I think the hard-to-forget factor here is the way everything here seems to be genuine. This is a community dedicated entirely to textbook “wrong” behaviour and there’s not a hint of irony or thick skinned immunity. When I was unwittingly exposed to the first twenty or so seconds of ‘two girls on cup’ I thought it was one of the vilest things I ever saw. But I was hardly surprised. Real people reaching – victims, and everyone knows it unless they’re one of them – out there and actively begging for others to reaffirm their messed upedness. Something, it seems, has gone horribly wrong. The saddest part of all? The number of accounts who are actually watching this specific community or who are members of it – almost 10,000: http://community.livejournal.com/bodyperfect/profile
| | Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | | 3:13 pm |
SPAM: 100+ goth/industrial/EBM/synthpop/darkwave etc. CDs
thomasbear ([info]thomasbear) wrote, @ 2009-06-16 14:45:00 Hi all, I am flogging a load of mostly 90s goth, industrial, EBM, synthpop and similar CDs. I am trying to be genuinely competitive with the pricing by makign comparisons with listigns on ebay and discogs.com - so if you see something you like and know of a better deal then let me know and I'll try adn adjust.
These will ship locally (Melbourne) and I will gladly remove CDs and booklets from plastic cases to save on postage.
Face to face delivery might also be possible depending on location option.
Almost all of these are unplayed (or perhaps played only in store) ex-retail stock from Heartland records. For more information visit: http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?seller=ThomasBear see under the cut. format is artist * title * price * condition ( under the cut ) | | Sunday, May 17th, 2009 | | 11:02 pm |
"You're myyy wife now!"
It is with great pleasure and joy that I get to announce that I proposed to Amanda on Saturday night. Here's how it happened (and apologies in advance for the crap quality of some of the images - it was dark and the camera wasn't up to scratch so the contrast and brightness had to be cranked up). Onwards to awesomeness... Some months ago I booked a super secret date with Amanda. The date itself was a dinner flight over Melbourne on the Melbourne Gooney Bird ( www.shortstop.com.au/gooney.html) - basically an actual World War II vintage transportation aircraft ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC-3) that does dinner fly overs. The company that runs the Gooney Bird encourages you to dress in period costume, to remember travelling was a "style" thing, so Amanda got herself a lovely dress that had a classic feel to it and shoes to go - no mean task for someone who didn't actually know what she was dressing up for. So the big day came after a false alarm several weeks ago when the event had to be cancelled due to bad weather and off we drove to Essendon Airport. Again, it was all rather myseterious because she still had no idea of what was was going on until we actually pulled into the hangar building. It was dark, in a commercial area that was dead quiet, kind of eerie actually, although it was clearly something aircraft related... and then through the fence we got to first glimpse (as I said, apologies for the quality, since these originally came out real dark).  We joined the other passengers for pre drinks and cheese in the "classic" lounge, which as you can see, was filled with photos of old school aircraft and had soft period lounge music playing in the background.  I should mention that as we checked into the lounge I took the opportunity to conspire with the cabin lady, who had been pre-warned that this was going to happen. We agreed that they wold bring out two glasses of champagne and the ring after dinner. Anyway, before we boarded we got a rather funny chat from the first officer, who was an old bloke who I'm guessing spent all his time being enamoured with engines and aircraft and not much else. "There's an old saying in DC-3s," he said. "If it's not leaking oil then that means it's run out - like Jaguars." That, and he also explained that they would rev the hell out of both propeller engines, one at a time, for a minute or two, "to warm up the oil". The aircraft was as it turns out built in 1945 but had only had the equivalent of four years of commercial flying... So we embarked. Note the sloped floor which straightens out when you're flying as well as the facilities from when art deco was in. The aircraft carried 28 people.  We flew past the city (got a magnificent biew of the fully lit MCG and Crown Casino) and then went past Geeling, Point Cook and a few other places around the Bay. Dinner was then served which was a worryingly hot butter chicken dish of some sort - very spicey indeed. I secretely suspect that it was in fact a ploy to get the passengers to take giant gasps of air. That's when I started to get a little bit nervous because suddenly the thought dawned on me... "What if she says no?" A bit of stage fright perhaps? After a damn hot and spicey dinner Amanda felt like a drink so I discretely asked the cabin lady for "two glasses of champagne please". So the big moment came. The lady arrived with a tray carrying a rose, two glasses and a little blue box. I got onto one knee and then we fortunately managed to promptly avert disaster as the glasses began to slide down the tray (thank you God for choosing not to have a sense of humour at the exact moment) and they were firmly grabbed. I asked hte qustion and the answer was a resounding YES. I have to say that the experience was ever so nerve wracking and I was kind of not capable of comprehensive chtter and I kind of went all blubbery. Then the cabin lady came to congratulate us and take a photo. Note the ring on Amanda's finger and me being totally blinded by the camera flash. This is literally four minutes after the moment and we are both grinning like Cheshire cats  So yeah, that was pretty amazing. Only one or two passengers noticed at first which was good, since I didn't want to make a huge scene, but then we got invited to see the cockpit, and on our way out the pilot promptly announced it to everyone hahaha and we were greeted with a round of applause from all aboard as well as a series of humorous quips like "sure it's not too late" haha.  We landed and went in for tea and coffee back in the lounge, after immediate families were called of course. However, it wasn't over yet, and to really top it off, the pilot then announced that they "occasionally give out the elegance award for people who really dress the part". This was awarded to Amanda - and our host is next to her. This just goes to show that dressing up does matter.  So all in all, there was much awesomeness as you can see and a marvellous and magical night was had by all. Please forgive me for not putting these under cuts, since I can't for the life of me figure out how to work the damn thing without stuffing it up. | | Sunday, March 15th, 2009 | | 10:24 pm |
Watchmen
Last weekend I went to the drive in for the first time ever. It was very enjoyable. There was a mob of 40+ year old car club members of some sort who all brought their masterfully maintained hot rods of some sort. I'd like to see some douche bag with a spoiler shoot flames out of HIS Commodore while revving on the spot (or narrowly avoiding a reverse crash). Watchmen was the film, and can I preface this by saying that I am not one of the many hyper critical original-work fanboys. In fact, I made an intentional effort to find out as little as possible about ti and enjoy it with no expectations, which is teh way films should be enjoyed. Overall... too long, I thought. With many excessive moments of clearly gratuitous and unnecessary violence. And what felt like character inconsistencies and plot holes. There were, however, some truly truly marvellous 'cinematographic' moments, for lack of a better word. The intro was just awesome, although I appreciated the comical 1930s super hero costumes because I owned a couple fo reprinted 'golden age' comics that portrayed them. The 'Good luck Mr Gorsky' line (look it up if you don't know what that means) was brilliant. And so were a lot of other parts. Many breathtaking visuals. The lowpoint I felt was around halfway through the film during the prison riot scene. Where up until now you there was dark as hell, visceral, teeth grindingly sinister violence, it suddenyl turned into bat man grade, comic book fun beat-em-up violence. The whole film just took a nosedive and it was as if a different director had filled in for a day. Oh yeah, and the corny bonking scene went hadn in hand with that. It kind of got better after that but I don't think it ever recovered As I'm sure everyone else who has seen it has said by now, it's unlike any other superhero film made so far. I wish I could maek my voice sound like Rorschach's. | | Thursday, February 26th, 2009 | | 9:24 pm |
The word of the night is legs. Lets go home and spread the word.
Cabaret Nocturne this Friday. It's at the Royal Melbourne Hotel so that should bring a tear to anyone who's been going around in the time spiral that is Melbourne's goth scene. It got changed very last minuteish to this venue so here's the blurb... Cabaret Nocturne Monthly - THIS FRIDAY @ RMH (formerly The Paladin) Cheap entry with Soundwave ticket stubb/wristband DJs Tommy Rotten, Lobotomy, MattSin, C-Rexx and special guests playing over 2 floors of music DJ Lobotomy's birthday bender! Plenty of NIN! Don't forget we're now in a sweet new venue, the Royal Melbourne Hotel (formerly the Paladin) over two levels! More details to come.  | | Friday, January 30th, 2009 | | 3:33 pm |
My new toy
I purchased one of these last week  More info here --> http://www.djcity.com.au/product_view.php?productID=1172It's basically a clone of the better known Pioneer model, which costs about two to three times that amount. So I'm keeping that dream alive haha. You can simultaneously play four channels at once and the sound is much better than the two channel I've been using for the last five or so years (I think it's been that long). It actually fades in and out like you want it to rather than than quiet for three quarters followed by a sudden jump in sound. I'm also yet to work out how to operate the effects and it has USB functions that sound interesting. So now I have the full setup: 2 CD players, two turntables, and more CDs (many of which remain unlistened to or are in their packaging) than I'll ever know what to do with in several lifetimes. I probably need to get out more often. | | Friday, October 31st, 2008 | | 2:28 pm |
I never was that fond of Mega Death Sauce
At a Mexican restaurant in Lower Plenty last night I acquired a sealed bottle of Blair's Mega DEATH Sauce --> http://www.deathsauce.com.au/megadeath.htmlThe warning label says it all... "WARNING This product contains the hottest known ingredients on the planet earth. Please use with extreme caution." and of course... "CONTAINS ABSOLUTELY NO PRESERVATIVES OR ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS". I doubt I will ever feel sufficiently suicidal to try this, but it makes for a fine show piece for visitors. Until one day, that is, when I have a party, and someone thinks they're game, and everyone present puts money into a hat (to pay for the ambulance ride no doubt). Madness! | | Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 | | 8:13 am |
putting the 'tard' into superstardj
I've been thoroughly expanding my musical horizons recently, and this in what I'd like to think is more in line with the 'old fashioned' way. By that I mean I've been scouring op shops for odd and obscure finds, with interesting results. It's certainly amazing what you find if you look hard enough. Cassette tapes for 75 cents - CDs for a dollar each - records for a dollar fifty. And while not that many people are into Hooked On Classics, Benny Hill, Elvis vs Junkie XL (not bad - even if it was used in a Nike commercial), and the you-probably-don't-remember-it-either brilliantly cheesy rock n' roll mega mix hit from back in the day that was Jive Bunny, it does still have its charm. I own five loosely grouped music 'collections': * a heavy metal collection that I have been building since about age 10 * an alternative/goth/industrial/EBM collection that got real serious from say 2003 onwards, mostly from GUP and Heartland * a small hardcore/gabber/drum n bass/breakcore collection sourced almost exclusively from Noisexchange * a large bulk buy consisting of all remaining Synaesthesia stock that I purchased BY THE KILO would you believe. It contains an unbelievable variety of sounds (and most of it is rubbish), and I still have boxes and boxes of the stuff that still remains unlistened to (and more multiple duplicates than I know what to do with). * a large bulk buy consisting of ex Heartland Records stock - almost entirely analogue goth/synthpop/industrial/EBM - again, I am sort of getting through one CD a night and there's about 400 to go... What do I do with it all? I understand that I may not be the only person with an unhealthy obsessive attachment to these tunes, but in the same way that you will never get through your 50 gig hard drive of MP3s (two weeks of continuous play is fairly common apparently), so too do I feel that I will probably never get to properly check out all the physical mediums that I won. But I still keep going, always longing for the fix that is the joy of finally stumbling across that mail order arriving at my home (good things come in small packages), scoring an op shop find amongst the masses of Pat Benetar and classic records, or basking in the joy that is ticking off from the mental want it list that much sought after CD or record. But where to? I'd love to spin more tunes at 'festive' events but I've gotten a bit old to party too late these days. The occasional personal(ity) clash I've had over the years haven't helped me either, and many of the follies of my youth were the result of my own inflammatory, impatient, silly self. I've mellowed out so much since, kicked off a serious career, found true love and generally settled down. I'm no longer the blue haired kid with a penchant for shock and hedonism, and I'm more inclined to stay at home and do some DIY or gardening with a cup of tea and the cats instead of getting home at 9 AM. I'd love my own radio show but unfortunately I don't see that happening without first embarking on 2 - 6 AM graveyard shows first - impossible at the moment with a career to balance. I've also always loved the idea of playing at 'retail' venues - Cyberdog in London had a DJ behind decks playing flawless hard psy until I realised he was playing a pre-recorded mix - but playing at a shop (and risking having your stuff pinched) is a bit sad when you think about it. Hell, I'd love to play music on Sunday afternoons at some caffee or bar that allows for eclectic music tastes. But how many Sunday afternoon venues allow for industrial or metal? Just some thoughts because compared to any half decent 'real' DJ I suck major dog's balls. Except for what are basically occasional ventures into goth clubs (and one warehouse party that I failed at spectacularly) I've essentially been practising in my bedroom for about four or so years. I'd like to take it further but where does one go from here? I have no aspirations for anything even resembling 'stardom' - there should be no such thing when it comes to playing other people's pre-recorded music - but I really just want to have fun doing what I love. | | Friday, September 26th, 2008 | | 2:17 pm |
| | Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 | | 12:20 pm |
| | Friday, September 12th, 2008 | | 2:54 pm |
Friday arvo
Q. What do Tupperware and a walrus have in common? A. They both like a tight seal. Q.What is the difference between 'ooooooh'and 'aaaaaaah'? A. About three inches. Q: Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact? A: Breasts don't have eyes. Q: If the dove is the bird of peace, what is the bird of true love? A. The swallow. | | Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 | | 9:13 am |
| | 8:25 am |
I am selling lots of CDs cheap
This is crossposted sorry... I am selling these CDs. Got loads, must be rid of them! Mostly nineties goth, industrial, EBM, synthpop and other oddities. Lots of obscure stuff and most of this is out of print. This is all genuine ex retail stock that is either new, near mint or otherwise in good nick. A lot of these are still sealed, and while it is not my intention to rip anyone off - I simply do not have time to verify the exact condition of everything. Nonetheless, I will double check all CDs to ensure sure that the condition is ok before anything is sent. Postage is 1$ for individual CDs in Australia, a little bit more for multiples. Check on the Aus Post website. I once sent 50 for about $9 so it shouldn't be to much. Feel free to try me out for a deal on multiples. Obviously cost is in AU dollars so that makes them about 10% cheaper than US dollars. Email is diplodocus500 at hotmail dot com Title / cost Absent Minded Killer $25 Armageddon Dildos - Fear $10 Armageddon Dildos - That's Armageddon $25 Armageddon Dildos - Too Far To Suicide $25 Ashika - Ashika $3 Attrition - Lip Sync $20 Battery - nv $5 Bio-Tek - A God Ignored Is A Demon Born $11 Blind Passengers - Born To Die $3 Brain Surgery Experience - Hello Spaceboy $3 Capital Hell - Vow Of Tension $3 Collapse - One Back And No Return $4 Complicity - Playing God $4 Consequence - Volition $4 Cradle->Grave - Saper Vedere $3 Creaming Jesus - Dead Time EP (CD) $5 Cyan Kills E.Coli - Do Not Open $4 Daeonia - Alice (got two of these) $3 Deathline International - Reality Check $7 Delay - An Altered State Of Consciousness $10 Dessau - Details (features NIN and Ministry) $3 Die Krupps - Isolation $4 Die Krupps - Scent $4 Diverje - Existence / Program Remix $5 Eden - Stone Cat $3 Electro Assassin - Jamming The Voice Of The Un $30 Enforce - All Together Now $4 Factory 81 - Mankind $3 Fortification - Organism $3 Fortification 55 - Heartleader $8 Good Courage - Guilty On All Accounts (Rust 5) $6 Good Courage - Old, Broken & Destroyed (Rust $3 Gracious Shades - Inoculation Of The Media (Of $3 Haujobb feat. Vanessa Briggs - Less $13 Holocaust Theory - Proclaimed Visions $6 Image Transmission - Regurgitation $6 Image Transmission - Shoot Your Shot $6 Industrial Heads - The Fear And The Anguish At T $5 Ionic Vision - Prophecy $5 Kill Switch...Klick - Alt. $4 Loretta's Doll - World Of Tiers $7 Man(i)kin - Sacrament $3 Mentallo & The Fixer - False Prophets $4 Nerve Factor - The Criminal Within $5 Nervosa - I'm Alive $3 Nocomment - Painkiller $4 Restricted Area - Turn Like The Devil $8 Sabotage - Acoustic Costumes $4 Snog - Hooray! (International Mind Control Corp $8 Snog - Hooray! (Metropolis) $8 Stark - Wield $5 Steril - Deep $3 Tarantella Serpentine - Class One Laser Product $3 THD - Mechanical Advantage $6 THD - Watz Your Program $5 The Galan Pixs - Acid Anger Again $4 Tiamat - For Hear Pleasure $6 Torture Tekk - Revelling In Perversion $4 Under The Noise - Future Automatic (1994 issue) $3 Unit:187 - Stillborn $5 Various - A Different Mix Volume Four $8 Various - Body Rapture Vol. 4 $4 Various - COP Compilation $6 Various - Death Rave 2000 $3 Various - Death Rave 2010 $3 Various - Diva X Machina 2 $10 Various - Electrocity Vol. 6 $12 Various - Electrocity Vol. 7 $12 Various - Electrocity Vol. 9 $12 Various - Electronic Youth Vol.1 $12 Various - Elektro-Industrial Sounds Of The Northw $4 Various - Hard Target - A Collection Of Electroni $4 Various - Infiltrate & Corrupt! $5 Various - Quadrophobia V.1 $18 Various - Romantic Sound Sampler (GOTH!) $9 Various - Subout $6 Various - Subreality $7 Wod - No Peace Without The Beat $3 X-Act - No Matter $3 | | Friday, August 22nd, 2008 | | 8:59 am |
Have some fun! Wanna write a short jingle or segment intro for a podcast? (cross posted sorry)
So there's this crappy soon-to-be music and talk podcast that I do some work on every couple of months. I get in touch with labels and artists for permission and if they're cool with it I add them to my pool of 'playable' tunes. The 'format' for lack of a better word is 50/50 rock and metal / hard and dark electronic. It's still a work in progress but I hope to give it enough polish and then 'really' get into pushing and producing it. It's one downloadable block MP3 file and will probably also have streaming once I get that set up. For some reason the site ([url= http://www.theschwarz.net/]http://www.theschwarz.net/[/url]) is down at the moment but here's the link when it gets back up. In an effort to make it more entertaining I was wondering if any of you budding musicians would like to have some fun and put together some short jingles or segment identifiers (I believe they used to call them carts back in the radio days). Anything from Blood Duster style six second grindcore oddities to complete harmonic distortions to catchy little midi jingles (well maybe more than midi) to wacky ambient scapes to 'humorous' pieces... Humour is of course encouraged and this whole excercise is purely for the sake of fun. suggested sections needed... (and further suggestions are more than welcome) 'douchebag of the month' A regular discussion about someone (politics, music, society etc.) for their outstanding effort in major douche baggery. 'News' Uhm yeah... news... Shockingly dramatic or spoofingly humorous would work well here. Also, a longer piece (maybe no vocals) to put in the background since this would have more discussion than usual. 'Secret' Not an actual section or segment but more of a noticeable memorable 'something' that emerges when least expected. Think this moment in the Simpsons --> "Loud!?!?! That's our secret word for today!!!". 'Reviews' Like news - but about reviews. The really ambitious could work with something that works on a scale of five (eg the same sound effect recorded on a scale of five for five ratings - or something). And perhaps a truly memorable and shocking composition for rare 'zero out of five' reviews. 'gimme' This is the part about giveaways. Make it appealing and desirable. Yes, real giveaways to bribe our millions of future listeners. 'help a brother out' This is in the highly unlikely event that The Schwarz takes off and requires donations for alcoho... I mean bandwidth... 'plugs' Yes, plugging gigs, events etc. 'so bad it's good' A special subsection of reviews. Music that's so bad it's good. Use your imagination. Seriously... 'mashup of the week' It's a mashup... Mashing is good. 'The Schwarz' outro It's the outro. It's the end of 'The Schwarz'. Go in peace. At the very least I would plug artists and play your music if you're keen to have it featured on a podcast that is on the surface like every other but which makes a legitimate effort to do the right thing. Email: diplodocus500 @ hot mail dot com [Edited on 21-8-0808 by ThomasBear] | | Friday, August 15th, 2008 | | 9:55 am |
VNV tonight
VNV Nation tonight so prepare to be awesomised. What a pity I am cleaning my old place from top to bottom over the weekend so no late evening for me. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to this as much for the music as for Roonan's stand up comedy/front man antics. Not a bad effort for two guys, a drum kit and a laptop or two. Apparently there is also an instore appearance at Peril tonight at roughly 6.30 --> http://www.gothic.org.au/forum/viewthread.php?tid=20460&page=1 (towards the very end of the thread) | | Monday, August 11th, 2008 | | 12:35 pm |
True love is a vomit bag
I missed the opening ceremony to the 2008 Beijing Olympics (apparently it was good - totalitarian states are renowned for putting on a grand show when it comes to a public event) on account of being in the Monash Emergency ward. Amanda (my partner) had gotten particularly sick following a week of already feeling like utter crap thanks to the flu, cold and other things. Basically, normal people get the flu or a cold or whatever and then get better. Type I diabetics on the other hand occasionally get the flu or a cold or whatever, and because the body is so busy fighting the illness it forgets to handle the diabetes. The result is a potentially life threatening and extraordinarily unpleasant affliction known as Diabetic ketoacidosis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetic_ketoacidosis). To put things in perspective, Amanda was feeling dreadful for a week thanks to a severe cold and flu. Instead of recovering, things got worse on Friday, particularly after she threw up several times. We called nurse on call (bless them!) and they advised to test blood sugars and then go to hospital. To cut to the good bit, she could barely walk by the time we got to Monash. In retrospect, I believe this was one of the symptoms of the body beginning to consume its own muscle tissue (see the wiki link above for more). It was a painfully long wait when we got there, waiting in line at the emergency ward while the staff were constantly kept busy. True love, as Amanda pointed out, is holding your lover's hair back while she hurls green stomach acid into a hospital sick bag (twice!), then disposing of it on her behalf. Anyway, when they finally did see us it was another agonising wait for a free bed, and that's when they finally attended to her in full. An hour later she had three separate drips going into her arm, had blood tests, she was feeling vaguely more human, and the good Doctor had made a correct diagnosis. I get the impression that DKA sufferers discover a new definition of 'feeling sick' once they are put through this. A morbid side effect of the affliction as it takes hold is an off fruity smell somewhat like nail polish remover coming from the body. As I understand it, this is a result of the body desperately trying to remove sugars from the body anyway it can, even if it means oozing out sugars. Anyway, she's been in there since Friday and she is being discharged today. There are a few lessons that I have taken away with from all this. Firstly, it is impossible to imagine how important nurses are until you've experienced it for yourself - not only for the vital medical role they perform, but also in the way they can afford one a sense of dignity in an otherwise sterile environment where you're afforded little privacy in a curtained room with people constantly walking past while you're wearing one of those embarrassing hospital gowns. My respect and appreciation for this profession has soared to new heights and if I was a philanthropic billionaire I would make them my primary cause. Secondly, I don't think you can possibly invest enough in the public health system. The staff in the emergency ward are for example very busy doing vital things like saving people's lives (I can't even begin to imagine the amount of paperwork that goes with it all) so it creates a catch 22 for those lesser tasks - like balancing saving the lives of your other patients while getting a bedpan for another who literally can't walk on account of numerous drips and things coming out of the body (just to clarify, there were no messy accidents in that regard). Thirdly, nurse on call is a fantastic service. I did not have be put on hold, the registered nurse on the other end was as professional as could be, and while it's obviously not a substitute for real face to face advice, a professional voice of reason like that can make the difference when it is most needed. | | Thursday, July 24th, 2008 | | 5:12 pm |
| | Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 | | 2:07 pm |
News
The bad news: My landlord has given sixty days notice to vacate so that they can knock the place down and develop it for profit! This means I regrettably won't be going to Infest in the UK. The good news: My landlord has given sixty days notice to vacate so that they can knock the place down and develop it for profit! This means I will be moving in with Amanda. |
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