So, it’s time again to condemn. Here’s a nineteenth open condemnation thread. What’s getting up your goat this month so far? Which evil political, cultural, social, musical, religious and other phenomena need condemnation? (Or loud denunciation?)
You can condemn anything you like except Jolie Holland. Because Tom Waits is a big fan of hers. As am I. You can condemn the budget. Every loud interest group is. Or you can condemn the condemners!
My vote is for greedy people who think that Federal budgets must be tailored specifically to suit their own individual needs, and if it fails to do so, must be bagged from pillar to post.
Bu**er the Budget, I condemn Mel Gibson for starting up on a remake of “Edge of Darkness”. http://www.variety.com/VR1117984773.html
Hi Kim,
I don’t want to condemn, but I hope you would permit a suggestion??
I was reading Huffington Post on the Democratic elections and found a media link. It has a great round up of different media personalities. I especially like the Keith Olbermann fight with O’Reilly. Also the Hardball show that Tim Dunlop had on his site earlier.
I was wondering that maybe in the future, if anyone had the time, if LP can have a media section. You could have a weekly/monthly round up of OZ media commentary as well as the US/UK media commentary.
I condemn my partner for saying “Who?” when I told her Paul Weller is playing in Brisbane in August. Now I feel old…
aj,
SMITE THE UNBELIEVER!
I condemn myself for being so old I wasn’t sure who Paul Weller was until the all-seeing eye of Google opened mine.
Can I condemn Jolie Holland’s really weird speech impediment while singing, while not condemning her per se?
Other than that, I’d like to condemn Rudd & Swann for a crap budget for climate change, and the meeja for mostly not noticing…
lol Ok, Tigtog
I would like to condemn the OZ meeja especially Milne for not allowing comments on his opinion. Gutless.
I condemn Michael Chricton for rewriting critics as paedophiles in his books.
I didn’t hear about it until this morning (despite the year and a half age of the story) so I’m condemning him anyway.
I condemn my brother, Peter @ 7, for mis-spelnig the name of Australia’s Treasurer, while thanking him for the link
Perhaps I should also condemn him for not revealing a potential perceived conflict of interest at the same time? But perhaps I should condemn myself for suggesting that that might be the case.
Regardless, I wholeheartedly join with him in condemning a visionless, weak and cowardly Budget which fails utterly to tackle the fundamental challenges of our time.
At the risk of being shouted down, while we’re in the musical vein, I condemn kd lang for a boring and spiritless cover of Joni Mitchell’s magnificent song, A Case of You, which I was reminded of yesterday by a friend with questionable taste.
Flabby age pensioners who get $900 extra in the budget and then cry persecution.
I condemn Paul Weller for being interminably boring for the best part of 25 years, despite still carrying that aura just because he was in The Jam. I condemn record companies for continuing to give him contracts.
I condemn (unnamed Brisbane based Jeep parts reseller) for wanting to charge $450 for a $200 piece of glass and refusing to ship it to a local glass fitter despite the whole thing being an insurance claim.
I condemn the fools who think breaking stubbies on the side of the road is fun, despite having condemned them before, just because flat tires make me late for work. What possible fun is it to smash glass on the road?
I also condemn Black Mountain because their new album is so seventies cool I can’t get any work done. (no, it’s not Rick you suspicious buggers).
I condemn SBS for commercials during shows (again)and I especially condemn them for putting on good movies so late at night I fall asleep halfway through them. I also condemn them and all other TV channels for endless repeats.
I condemn Kevin Rudd and the Labor front bench for not having the sense not to look so glum during Bumbles’ Address in Reply to the Budget. It looked terrible. And while I have some definite reservations about the Budget, which I’ve expressed on other thread, I can’t condemn it over all.
I also condemn Kevin Rudd for showing by his expression that Kerry O’Brien’s needling on pensions on the 7.30 Report last night was getting to him (though he probably deserved it.)Mind you I prefer a petulant Rudd to a lying John Howard any day.
I condemn the Parliamentary Liberal Party for not going on a witch-hunt over the leaked e-mail, especially as the suspects now are Nelson, Turnbull, and, would you believe it, Costello.It really spoils my fun.
I condemn and condemn and condemn cold Armidale winters.
I should probably also condemn myself for being narky in my comments about the Budget and DSP pensions, but I won’t.
Firstly, I condemn the (liberal party controlled) UQ union for stuffing up the booking of the UQ centre so that they have to hold exams on the Queen’s birthday… not that I have an exam then – i just think it demonstrates profound incompetence.
Secondly, I condemn the UQ union for putting up posters around the place blaming the uni admin for the stuff up and trying to absolve themselves of the blame.
I condemn thumb drives which are the same size and shape as cigarette lighters but don’t light your cigarette when you pick them up while doing something else.
Totally OT, but what’s a thumb drive?
How very Pink Panther of you, Mark.
Have you ever tried to light your computer’s usb plug?
Thumb drive could be (a) little USB based flash memory device that acts like a little disk drive – you can drag files onto it and keep it in your pocket. They require no power, cost about $30 for 2 gigabytes at the moment or (b) what you use to power a cigarette lighter i.e. “My lighter is thumb driven, it has thumb drive!”
Thumb drive’s what I do when I’m trying to change from my ordinary glasses to my sunglasses. Don’t you?
No way Liam, thumb drive too dangerous when changing sunglasses. I use my knee or wedge an open container of alcohol between the seat and the wheel.
Oh, yeah. One of my friends has one of them. We were discussing where to plug it in my computer to download some photos she took of me so I could put one on Facebook. Instead she decided to e-mail them to me. Haven’t got them yet.
The USB plugs are on the back of your computer Paul, up near where the keyboard and mouse plug in. I’ve seen ‘em!
Well DR, if I tried to put my beer down to use my other hand, the wind’d knock it off the handlebars. So I’ve got to use the thumb-steer to change specs.
I condemn the BBC’s Rico Hizon ( Asia Business Report anchorperson ) for announcing the name of the new Treasurer of Australia as ‘Wayne Swayne’.
Sneering at colonials never seems to go out of style.
I condemn the Pacific Ocean for letting the La Niña pattern to fade and therefore not getting the amount of rain in Victoria that we were promised.
I reckon the Keith Olbermann fight with O’Reilly is BOGUS.
Look at the Corporations behind them. A lot more serious issues but it’s the same BS they got in the UK w/ Blur VS Oasis…anything to get attention, to sell records, please the companies.
Olbermann & O’Reilly have know each other for years. The American corporations such as FOX & (NBC) GE will do anything to get your attention. To make sure you don’t really scrutinise the war & its players & the real motives. They both benefit from WAR & LOUD debate. Check out the ad companies who support them & you’ll get my drift.
The corporation of Amerika knew thay would reach an anti-war SURGE…they had to have a few characters they could TRUST to grab the attention of the pissed off public…distract…whilst sounding REAL…but in the long run it’s just profiteering by SHADOW BOXING.
I wish Keith Olbermann was for real…but i have my doubts…seen too much BS played out by Corporate types over the years. “Good night & good luck…and remember to smoke your ciggies…they’re good for you.”
I condemn filmmakers for being used as propaganda merchants…remember the patriotic swill in the summer of 2001 called “Pearl Harbour”?…released interestingly by Touchstone, a subsidiary of hmmm…The Walt Disney Company. Brilliant timing before 9/11 i might add…bet the video released later in the year or such was a cool marketing tool for the American military.
Now we’ve got hometown boy Baz Luhrmann making a real EPIC:
AUSTRALIA
(yep, it’s about the land of valuable resources)
The story takes place during the bombing of Darwin in Australia during World War II. Production took place in Sydney, Darwin, Kununurra, and Bowen. The movie will be released on November 13, 2008 in Australia, and on November 14, 2008 in the United States.
(wiki pedia )
20th Century Fox…yes, Mr. (dual citizen) Mogul’s company… has just released the first trailer for Australia.
Let’s hope Baz hates war as much as most of us do.
And I hope for our sake that after all the gorgeous scenes of bombing, romance, heroism & bad English land barons (as opposed to the American heroes in planes)…that we don’t have to undergo a NEW NORMAL a few months later.
I’m hoping Baz will give icky patriotism for mobilising the yoof of Australia’s sake the flick. I liked his ballroom film. That was enuff dancing for me.
Over to you Timmy…i’ve got my tinfoil hat in the oven baking potatoes from a REAL Aussie farm.
CONDEMNING PAUL WELLER – ARRRGH!!!!
Right, I am so condemning you David Rubie@25… forevah. Paul still has a thousand things he wants to say me.
And for David@5
In the City:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivm0inFdJL8
Going Underground:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whSYTSXm8wo&feature=related
say to fricking me!
shee-zus.
I’ll be pinning up a pic of paul on my high-level nursing unit wall.
Down in the Tube Station at Midnight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGsyL6DhgPU&feature=related
That’s Entertainment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv55WsedLYI
I condemn sailing for being so expensive – something so good should be cheap enough to enliven the lives of even the Great Unwashed (I’ve just got back from a short sailing break).
Oh, and I condemn King O’Malley for not siting the national capital where you can sail – ideally in the Whitsundays.
That Jolie Holland song reminds me of Alela Diane for some reason. Anyone else? No? Not even a little? So it’s just me then? Oh… ok.
Melbourne taxi drivers for setting a really, really bad precedent regarding how to get people to pay attention to your street protest
I condemn channel ten for their crap programming. While I’m at it I am going to condemn all the commercial tv stations for gratuitous ads and general level of mediocrity whenever I feel like relaxing in front of the tube.
A lame condemnation I know but I’m in front of the box at the moment and there really isn’t anything interesting on. I know its that time of night, but when is there something on?
Thank you so much, jo. Those clips are awesome. How wonderful Paul Weller is.
I condem Nick Minchin for outing/embarassing our longest serving foreign miniature Alexander(fishnets) Downer, and forcing the aformentioned to “robustly’ defend his right to go at a time of his own choosing.
But the “robust” defence of the “longest serving foreign minister”, along with a predictable hissy fit was pure gold.
For the Labor Party.
And Amen to Laura, who really needs to see senior cits. in their err. undergarments?
Oh, like, David Rubie, I am so condemning you for your extraordinary elision of the STYLE COUNCIL when condemning Paul Weller. How very dare you? The man is a genius. You are so condemned to getting a Spandeaux Ballet song stuck in your head I reckon.
Ahh ha ha ha hah, I know this…much is..true
I condemn anybody who hasn’t ordered ‘American Demo’ by The Indelicates yet. They most certainly AREN’T Jolie Holland (or The Jam, or Tom Waits for that matter, much as I love ‘em all). Here’s a couple of their videos if anyone’s curious:
New Art For The People
America
It’s taken them a couple of years to get the album out, and what better place than an open condemnation thread to give ‘em a plug?
I condemn vegans for trying to take my steak and chops away from me and plotting to make me use milk made out of grass.
I also condemn the brain dead oafs who smash stubbies on the road. Let them buy alcopops to smash.
Ditto hard luck stories from people raking in $150k+.
And Boris Johnson because I can.
I condemn myself for owning a Spandau Ballet cassette. But I still hate the Style Council and it’s a grudge I’ve held since the execrable “walls came tumbling down” shite festival, or that craptacular long hot summer thing that always gives me a headache. Frankly, the spandau boys posing/hair/idiocy was always better than anything the modfather did sans Buckler and Foxton. Gold. There, I said it.
I notice Jo only posted videos of the Jam, clearly the Style Council stuff is just as embarrassing as it was in the 1980s when it caused us all to throw things at the telly.
David Rubie, yo can’t knock ‘Shout it to the Top’.
If you do you’re condemned to a lfe of listening to ‘A Flock of Seagulls’.
A Flock of Seagulls is too good for David. I condemn him to a constant loop of Kids in the Kitchen. Philistine.
no, wait, I condemn myself. Even better:
Hazi Fantaiysee is better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjsnkIP4ddo
Here’s more Paul. And hasn’t he aged well with his elegant crop of silver hair.
I condemn whatever you are about to put up and put this up in its place Fine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vFsY8o1mos
He. was. so. beaudiful.
Sorry, mine didn’t embed. It was Paul with Noel Gallagher singing ‘That’s Entertainment’.
Having now sucked the life out of a few nicorette chewies (ahh, that’s better) I’ll grant you pretty (okay!) very patchy post Jam career David Rubie, but you’re still condemned till at least midnight for posting “just cause he was in the Jam”. That’s like saying just cause he was in the Who, or the Stones.
One for the hive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IccNC0XKy5Q
Still so handsome.
I bought a Japan cd today. Fully remixed Oil on Canvas! I condemn the extravagant price of 20 bucks!
I condemn nostalgia about New Romantic bands! (not really)
Jo,
I take your gracious concession and concede that “Shout to the top” was truly worthy.
Although, this is a reasonable substitute for most of the Style Council output:
Modfather?
Mark, I condemn you for finding the time to troll CD stores looking for David Sylvian goodness.
I was looking for the new Portishead cd, David, which I also duly obtained. I condemn myself for not having listened to it yet…
Jo, I couldnt agree more. The Jam were the finest band available to humanity. I almost fainted from the excitement when I saw Weller at Glastonbury in 94.
And I condemn myself, in the strongest terms, for not realsing Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler played St Kilda three weeks ago.
Mark,
Surely CD stores are still ordered alphabetically – how do you end up in J when you were looking for P?
I condemn myself for not buying CD’s any more. Between Emusic, Ebay laserdiscs from the 1980’s, old CD’s and that pirate thingy I’ll never get through what I have.
Just browsin’, David. I condemn Rocking Horse for having so many good cds that you always end up with more than you’d budgeted for.
Well some people dont get the 80’s I reckon. Paul Weller post the Jam had it right. It was about style, not substance. It was all parody and tricksters. It was dress ups as pirates, and gypsies and stuff and it was about dancing to Billy Idol in the dying years of the cold war. I mean, wtf were any of those songs about anyway? Nothing.
This is because the precious children of the revolution had already told us they were real thing, as Russell opined:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ8d2EB435Q
Our generation was only left with simulacrum and pastiche with which to differentiate ourselves. We were the first generation doomed to the postmodern condition.
Anyway, Mark will knock this down in about 3 secs I reckon. But Im sticking to it as there is no other sane reason I can think of for wearing jodphurs, harem pants, pirate shirts and Artful Dodger ensembles all through the eighties.
I agree casey! It was style, style, style. There may be an interesting little story to be told here about the art school background of so many of the New Romantic bands. But I condemn myself for not having read the book on Roxy Music which apparently traces this yet!
Mmmm – casey I think you’re onto something (as much as weller was off
Roxy Music (looks,arch seriousness) + Chic (basslines) = Duran Duran (at least according to the boys themselves).
In fact, a lot of the bands from that period worked with similar formulas:
Roxy Music + Krautrock (Neu! etc.) = Ultravox, early Spandau Ballet.
Roxy Music + Kraftwerk = Gary Numan, Visage
I condemn myself for not recommending Neu! to everybody who grew up in the eighties – there isn’t a single lick on Neu! 2 that didn’t turn up on a pommy hair-band record at some point (see Hero).
Although, Bowie was an incredible maven – he seemed to know the significance of German music before anybody, and a lot of the late 70s, early 80s Bowie influenced stuff simply uses his work as a conduit, although hardly anybody knew it at the time.
I condemn the lack of imaginative haircuts among today’s musos!
I condemn the reckless dismissal of the eighties as ’style style style’.
It was the decade that brought us such unstylish goodness as The Pixies, The Smiths REM, Felt, The Cocteau Twins, The Go Betweens etc etc etc. Mind you I was very stylish back then (and how I laughed at the antipodeans and their mullets and marble wash jeans}.
I condemn my prior ignorance of the incredible vocal prowess of walruses.
They are, in appearance, demeanour and ability, the Luciano Pavarottis of the animal kingdom…
Neu, Faust & Can…superb. Ash Ra Tempel, Klaus Schulze, Amon Düül, Tangerine Dream (just got their live in Montreal…brill) ….Don’t forget later Julian Cope & Teardrop Explodes…& Eno. And Suicide. The Fall. Joy Division. The Chameleons. Allan Vega. Spacemen 3. Loop. Main. Ride. Curve. Flying Saucer Attack. Surface of Eceon. Yume Bitsu. Interpol. Ulrich Schnauss. M83. Xiu Xiu. Stereolab. Electrelane.
We’ve certainly covered all our bases now that both Julian Cope and The Go Betweens have been mentioned. Bloody. Grate.
For a great band without style OR substance, what about the Lime Spiders?
I condemn myself for not having the guts to regrow my 1980s mullet. I still have the hair, just not the time for hair gel or futzing with blow dryers. I condemn rf for not thinking the Smiths were stylish. Morrissey was the Human Quiff.
Yeah yeah. How old are you Casey? (You can be general about this if you wish.) In other words, were you there? To see the reality?
The 80s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg
I condemn wolverines for being nothing more than slighty brusque otters.
I love a thread where getting rick-rolled is actually on topic.
I don’t think The Smiths were an 80s band. That’s circumscribing them. They were a 20th century band.
Oh Laura, that’s brought back some bad memories of Blue Light discos, Wang Chung and some bird in stripy tights who could not sing. Shiny shiny something. Oh it hurts it hurts!
I should have read further up the thread – Hazi Fantaiysee it was. Oh the horror.
Exactly Mindy. I just don’t get this arch smooth hipster nostalgia for the 80s. Actually I do, because nostalgia is the enemy of remembering. Bryan Ferry, Yes, The Fall – all very well. But the 80s was a Blue Light Disco a million miles away from London and Manchester where teenagers confusedly attempted to replicate Pete Burns’ dance moves while doing their hair like Jason Donovan and dressing like Jacko, whose original video for I’m an Individual is disappointingly absent from youtube. You can listen to it tho – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5red47pdo4
rf, I condemn myself for not being more specific. I was talking about 80s New Romantic bands, not 80s music generally (a category too broad to characterise, I think).
Eg. That was your 80s, Laura. Mine included participation around 1985 in the tragic subculture of Brisbane mods, and buying old op shop suits and winkle pickers and hanging around dank ZZZ venues in George Street. For which I condemn myself.
But I had a few other 80ses later in the 80s.
Yes Mark, you ARE cooler than everyone else here, jeez
No I’m not, Laura. I was just a bit older. I’m trying to make a point about the individuality of memory. Not everyone had the same experience of “the 80s” or of “80s style” or “80s bands”. If it didn’t come across as I intended, then I stand condemned.
No you weren’t Mark, you were putting me back in my box. Had to do it on a cheerful thread like this one well done sir. In my box I shall remain.
Honestly I wasn’t trying to do that, Laura. If it was badly worded, I apologise for a second time. I condemn commenting before sufficient caffeination.
I condemn this equation of the New Romantics with the 80s and respectfully suggest that youse were looking in the wrong direction, viz., I (temporarily) condemn all 80s guitarists who were not Adrian Belew, Thurston Moore, and Lee Ranaldo. And Robert Fripp.
casey: “Our generation was only left with simulacrum and pastiche with which to differentiate ourselves.”
Ah, not at all true. Unless you wanted it to be. Take a look at THIS, for instance, for an antidote. (FDB, I was originally going to call this to your attention, but then, maybe you’ve already seen it.)…
Go to YouTube and type in “Talking Heads live Rome The Great Curve”
That was the real band, by cracky. The Speaking in Tongues band was great, too, but not a patch on the Remain In Light gang. Ho. Lee. Shit.
I condemn the fact that there is not a giant solid-gold statue of Adrian Belew in the middle of the Boulevard Woodrow Wilson.
I’ll wholeheartedly support JPZ condemnation and further condemn any 80s music that isn’t speed metal or guitar-based prog rock.
Rawk!
I had j_p_z, but always up for a refresher. Sweet Zombie Jesus that’s tops.
There’s a lovely version of Drugs from Fear of Music from the same show I think.
If you haven’t got it, the double LP The Name of This Band is Talking Heads has two disticnt incarnations for handy comparison. LP the first just has the 4-piece core, the second the whole shebang – Busta Jones, Bernie Worrel, Belew, Nona Hendryx et al on backing vox. Plus about a million excellent live pics on the artwork.
Umm… where was I? Oh yeah…
I condemn anyone who doesn’t acknowledge David Byrne as their Lord and Master.
I condemn David Byrne for two decades of crappy “world lite” music.
The bands I mentioned took on aspects of KrautRock. Bits & pieces.
I liked Laura’s offering back then. Loved the clothes. This is good too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzyzVZZfUfM
(Minutemen – This Ain’t No Picnic)
And Husker Du were great too. Agree re: Sonic Youth & Smiths & Talking Heads…& Yo La Tengo. Guided By Voices. Wedding Present. All had lps in 80s.
Diversity works. Too many suits suck.
Safety net good too…but not cage.
“All had lps in 80s.”
Und Jane’s Addiction auch.
And let’s not forget Ugly Kid Joe.
I condemn the very petty thieves who stole our house numbers from the fence. Tools.
I condemn myself for assuming that Mark meant 80’s music generally. My eighties were the typical indie-pop student standards and Doc Martens and quiffs and the rest of the indie uniform. Pity I didn’t realise it was a uniform at the time and I further condemn myself for failing to notice. Mind you, it was a better uniform than the one we watched on Neighbours (which along with Rolf Harris and The Sullivans was the only tangible evidence of a place called Australia).
I condemn itchy skin and dry air.
Laura, Im not sure what to say. I hope I havent read you wrong but what are you are suggesting? That I wasnt there? That Im being nostalgic and it has nothing to do with the realities of the 80s? Perhaps you were kidding but I read it as patronising.
My comment was just a bit of tongue in cheek designed to provoke in a playful way (Particularly David who I was having a bit of fun with). I do think my comment holds relevence with the new romantic movement which played with precisely such things as I talked about upthread. But just let me say that while you were blue lighting it with Jacko, I was at grown up discos both here and in Europe. So you know, there are many realities of the 80’s for many people in many countries, as evidenced here on this thread (which my comment subsequently provoked in a most informative way – thanks for all the music refs everyone). I must say I dont feel the need to accede to your request for age based evidence on a thread which was only playful with the past until you came along to question authenticity of memory and experience based on age and location. 80’s music in all its variances was after all a global phenomenon that surprisingly, spread beyond Australian blue light discos into other countries where some of us spent some time experiencing it, thankfully sans Jacko.
Anyway, as I said, if Ive read you incorrectly I am sorry.
I think it’s obvious that different people were aged and located differently in the 80s and experienced different aspects of 80s culture differently. I’m not sure why Laura seemed to find this surprising. Maybe I’ve misread her too, so along with casey, I’ll condemn myself if that’s so.
I condemn Laura for not condemning in a condemn thread, not for her accurate description of blue light discos. I thought most kids in the 80s spent their lives trying to sneak into real discos and wouldn’t be caught dead at the blue light variety, but I condemn myself for thinking that.
And I condemn casey for that Hayzee Fantayzee thing. The woman in that video is so smokin’ it nearly sets off the fire alarm. But who is that freak with her?
Casey, I was joshing you in the same spirit you were joshing others, should have been obvious – if you couldn’t garner that then I just gotta shrug – but thanks for the smackdown just the same.
Bye all.
Laura, I’m not sure why you’re interpreting disagreement with you as a “smackdown” but it’s unnecessary – everyone who you thought was doing that said they weren’t and apologised if you thought they were.
I condemn everyone (who has done so) for getting all serious.
Also, anyone who doesn’t find this to be charming, witty and informative. An excerpt:
I remember going to an outdoor alternative concert in Graz, Austria – a day or so after i’d put on some headphones & slipped the compilation “Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine” by the Doors into my walkman & taken a slow, observant walk around the first district in Vienna where monuments of GRAND PEOPLE glared at me as I intruded & took in the cleanish, brisk winter air – anyway, a bunch of krautrock/electro style bands played on scaffolds and stuff outside of derelict buildings & took the piss out of certain soft drinks, it was all kinda rebellious & I felt thrilled & naughty…
those were the days, early 80s when some young adults from Österreich, mainly Uni types – in their hours away from cutting up carcasses on slabs & learning law, medicine & theology – went to pre-Christmas festivals to get smashed on delicious Bockbier (In Austria, Bockbier is traditionally brewed only around Christmas and Easter, when nearly every brewery brews its own bock….wiki)…
and they guzzled champers and weisse/white wine..& rotwein (usually better tasting than it sounds…nicked from the tables of drunken well-off types who were busy waltzing & such)…& in these large halls meet prospective partners & greet friends & some family enthusiastically…whilst making fun of the straight, rich types and their poses…& afterwards tramp home in the new day is rising snow…smoking Milde Sorte cigs bought from machines like they were about to go out of style (”dieses Leben ist hart genug”/”This life is hard enough” was the sell…from what i remember)…
& if guys wanted to be cool they lets cigs hang from the sides of their mouths to emulate the French character in the original “Breathless”/À bout de souffle (the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo was a star in crappy action movies w/ BAD BAD HILARIOUS dubbing by that time…but still adored by intellectual men pretending to be tough & sexy)…
it seemed like a timeless time when some who wanted to spark their brains read Gunter Grass & Hermann Hesse & Peter Handke & Kurt Vonnegut…& yelled about “plastic food for people” in cinemas…& took in, half-pissed…sometimes HIGH, Bernardo Bertolucci marathons incl. “1900″ & “il conformisto”…& films like “The Tin Drum”, “Fitzcarraldo” & “im anfang va das feuer”/”Quest of Fire”…& watched on THE BOX eye opening shows such as “Heimat”…
and they went to coffee houses & jazz bars…& listened to Sth. & Central Americans play alien instruments and discuss the problems at home…nodded their heads & tapped their fingers keenly to hypnotising & other wordly music in underground caverns that could of been dingy but had colourful art works & other handmade things on the walls…& got there by travelling on trams that relied on honesty for payment…
I was wondering the other day if some Austrians still do that kinda thing?…or are the younguns just kept in prison cellars these days?
Wow, that’s an inviting picture of Austria, nasking!
I condemn stereotypes of national culture which look only at dungeons!
“Wow, that’s an inviting picture of Austria, nasking!”
I fell in love w/ the place so to speak Kim…but because my German was pretty lousy it was hard to find work…& the citizenship bit was real strict…& my new wife wanted to travel…& I was keen to see my Mum over here ’cause i hadn’t for a decade or so…so reluctantly I left. But they were great days. I can remember heaps like it was yesterday…but you always question your memories, particularly if you smoked & almost inhaled…:) Graz was a university city where most of my friends lived…the 1st district was in Vienna…we used to go back & forth by train…so for the reader’s sake they shouldn’t confuse my recollections of Graz (the alternative music scene etc. w/ the walk around Vienna…tho they were only dats apart). We lived in the 3rd district of Vienna from what I recall…Trappengasse?…or somethin’ like that.
Hi Laura
I misread you and didnt get it. Forgive my obtuseness.
I condemn my spectacles for fogging over when I’m reading in the bath.