Lost AT E Minor

All You Need Is Love

In 1974, journalist and film-maker Tony Palmer set out to make the definitive documentary of pop music. Seventeen episodes later, All You Need Is Love (broadcast between 1976-80) endows any music devotee with more then they could ask for: fifteen hours of historical music anthems, interviews and cultural gospel. From the first glance of Glitter Rock icon David Bowie, to the experience of being ‘altered’ by Pink Floyd, this box set is beyond worthy. For those of us who were mere zygotes when Angus first graced the stage with his backwards jig, this gives Generation X’ers a first glance at all that we missed out on. Spending a rainy Sunday afternoon watching Keith Emerson destroy a Hammond Organ on stage could be considered one of life’s little delights.

Maybe, I’m Amazed

I’ve been going through a Paul McCartney phase of late, trawling deep within his catalogue to unearth hidden gems amongst the played out classics. His recent collaborations with ex-Killing Joke member, now uber-producer, Youth, aside {the aptly titled Fireman projects), McCartney has always maintained an elegant polish about his recorded music, the melodic perfection of his poppier numbers brushing ever so gently against the soulful songs he wrote to his late wife, Linda. This is one of them, Maybe, I’m Amazed, as heartfelt and emotive as one man and a minor key progression can get. The rawness of his delivery, on this song in particular, is so intense and beautiful.

Frente! Ordinary Angels

Oh boy, this song reminds me of the misspent years of my early-twenties, living large within the cloistered, sweltering surrounds of Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Marvin The Album was a typical Saturday morning soundtrack, a bouncy kickstart to the weekend ahead, as I dusted off the mental cobwebs from the night before and looked out over my balcony onto this vast beckoning expanse of sun-kissed sand. Yes, beam me back Scotty! To those days of relative innocence, where the subtle swing of a feel-good song was only ever a couple of hotsteps away. Frente! were like the icing on a lush chocolate cupcake: a little sweet, kind of gooey, but always concealing something a little darker just beneath the surface.
[audio:http://www.tsururadio.com/music/girlievox/03%20Frente%21%20-%20Ordinary%20Angels.mp3]

Leadbelly: A Life In Pictures

A founding father of blues and a very influential figure for bands as varied as Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, Leadbelly lived his life to the absolute fullest (including singing his way out of prison after apparently murdering someone!) A new book of photographs and pictures commemorates his life in meticulous detail. This beautifully bound hard back book contains a ‘treasure trove of rare unpublished family and other photographs, news clippings, concert programs, personal correspondence (including letters from Woody Guthrie), record albums, awards, and other memorabilia.’ Forget the White Stripes, go an buy a Leadbelly CD. You won’t regret it, As the late, great George Harrison is quoted as saying in the book ‘No Lead Belly, no Beatles’. Need we say more.

Alec Soth’s Dog Days, Bogota and Niagara photo books

Alec Soth is a huge inspiration on me, a contemporary American photographer who dabbles in the grim realities of life, but always manages to coat them just enough not to depress the hell out of you. Some of his photographs are openly unbiased views of the human race, while others are just statements about how we live and the environment that surrounds us. Two books I received recently take my breath away: one is Soth’s Columbian photographic memoirs Dog Days, Bogota; the other is his peculiar photo diary, Niagara. Both books mix deep elements of tragic realism molded with Soth’s own thumbprint of bold lighting techniques and wide exposures. Read more

The Gorrilapod

The Gorilla Pod is a nifty invention, totally useful and practical at the same time. It comes from a innovative production group called Joby, based out of San Francisco, California, who started pioneering these products in 2006. It is essentially a tripod with a difference: what this tripod does differently to all other tripods is that it can hang itself wherever it wants. It looks like something out of the jungle with its ribbed and motionable bod — hence the name, no doubt. This animated product wraps itself around almost any surface, giving you a 360 degree view. Pretty amazing stuff.