ANDY GET YOUR GUN

A little teen drama by the name of The O.C went to air for the very first time exactly 10 years ago today. To this day, no other TV series has made such an impact on my life. It was probably a case of, right place/right time, but TV rookie, Josh Schwartz, struck gold with a show that was firmly rooted in the teen drama genre but managed to escape the cheesiness and clichés. Instead, it revelled in off-beat humour, great one liners, a soundtrack like no other, endearing characters (each not without their flaws, but all with at least one moment of complete vulnerability when you crossed over to their side. Even Luke and Marissa’s mum. [if only for a second]). I understand that The O.C was nothing new. That story has been told over and over again and will for years to come. But there was a reason 90% of the Wednesday’s school day was spent discussing last night’s OC episode. Boys & girls, from years 7 to 12. An interesting article over at Stereogum deconstructs the OC phenomenon a little more, especially in terms of music and the show’s legacy on the whole ‘indie’ genre: http://www.stereogum.com/1426101/deconstructing-the-o-c-and-indie-rock-gentrification/top-stories/lead-story/

I won’t lie, I looked up the songs from each episode and downloaded every single one I get my hands on (via Kazaa). 14 year old me had a long way to go, but I don’t doubt The OC laid the foundations to the iTunes collection I possess today. 

Sadly, the OC was a sinking ship. After season 1, it was all downhill, and fast. But you can’t deny S01 is flawless.

SPLENDOUR IN THE ASS 2013 - a photo essay. 

4 photos taken with an iPhone. This is all I got. I wasn't allowed to take my proper camera in (da fuq?) and the newly imposed electric bands created a weird forecefield that drained phone batteries like nothing else. Forcefield, check. Yet no buzz. Vibe. Or the like. 

They also lied about the 'grass' part. I demand a refund on the grounds of false advertising! I didn't even care that the headliner pulled out. Oh what, did anyone actually want to see Frank Ocean? I only came for Mumford & Sons and Flume. But I really would have liked more grass. Any grass, for that matter. Maybe mud on mud on mud has it's appeal but I'm yet to find it. Aside from that, 1 bar with full strength beers isn't enough. And even then, 90% of the punters weren't allowed in there. All those drink tokens being spent on watered down beer really broke my heart (not my token, but you know, i feel for the rest of the poor souls)

On the plus side, The National absolutely brought the BIg Top down on Saturday night! That one really separated the men from the boys. And I gotta admit, I did tear up as James Blake played 'A Case of You' to finish off his brilliant set (minus the techincal trouble during Vouyer, which was absolute BS cause he never made it to 3:12 - aka the most amazing bit of that whole album). TV on the Radio also played my favourite song on Friday night (Blues From Down Here), so all in all, there was something great about every day. 

Tame Impala covering one of my favourite Outkast songs (or is technically only credited to Andre 3000 thanks to that 2003 split album?)

I vowed never to post pictures of food here, but I just had THE saddest meal of my life. My heart breaks for the burnt, leathery crape posing as a sausage and the ocean flavoured tofu disguised as ‘grilled barramundi’. The only good thing the 3 of us could come up for the 3 meals was that the steamed zucchini was edible and there was a generous serving of gravox.

Interesting article about Justin Timberlake selling himself (and as a result, his latest album) as a luxury brand. It brings some insight into the current state of music economy and making a dollar when the cd sales don't. 

Here's one he did with Brian Eno - Digital Lion