At least for me. The kind of a day where a little pop music list would just do the trick.
Via Twitter, I found out that Defamer Australia is doing a list of “The Greatest Australian Pop Songs of All Time.” If you think Australian pop is all Kylie Minogue, think again.
As for our Antipodean cousins, take a look at NZ On Screen’s very thorough music video section.
Good for what ails ya!
Satoshi Kon, a real visionary of the anime world has passed away.
I’ve always enjoyed everything that Kon ranging from the TV series Paranoia Agent to films like Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika.
His work was touching, but also thought-provoking. He eschewed the ultra-cute type of characters prevalent in anime, preferring instead to create multi-dimensional characters in fantastical, but very real situations and worlds. His work definitely inspired me as a scriptwriter and playwright, and I’m looking forward to seeing his final film.
In tribute, this is the opening of the TV Series Paranoia Agent.
…the sincerest form of flattery…getting attention without effort.
At least in Korea.
It should be easy to guess which “controversial” video by two worldwide successful artists was the inspiration for Mamma Mia.
Good thing that the song isn’t too bad, though the video helps it…majorly.
Is it really an aftermath when to some extent it’s not decided.
The ABC News Homepage at the moment says “Deal or Deadlock.”
The House of Representatives is at 70 Labor, 72 Liberal/National, 1 Green, and 4 Independents. Convincing the 4 Independents and the 1 Green (Yay!) to side with either Labor or the Coalition will decide which party will rule, albeit as a minority.
Rational thinking puts Labor as the better suitor, but you can never rule out randomness in Australian politics.
So perhaps we’ll call it Election Day Ceasefire? Election Day Stalemate?
The really big silver lining: The Greens now hold the balance of power in the Senate, so I’d say that whoever does the courting would be wise to swing to the Left.
Australia will likely get Same-Sex Marriage before California.
In the coming hours, Australia will either legitimise its first female Prime Minister or give it to a North Shore freak show who knifed his colleague.
Since voting is compulsory in Australia*, I won’t trot out my “voting is a right that many people have died for” spiel, but I would just encourage anyone in Australia to really make a concerted effort to think about what they’re being asked for at the polling booth:
* Technically it’s only compulsory to show up at the polling station to have your name crossed off on the electoral rolls, but most people do the right thing and vote.
Have a laugh before and after you vote…
Via Daniel Burt, I found this selection of Lego comedy sketches about Election 2010. Nothing beats Australian political comedy.
As this election season goes on, I find myself at a bit of a crossroads. Shortly after moving to Australia, I figured I was an Australian Democrat (centrist, although still rather left by American standards).
Then the Liberal Party (centre-right, although centre by American standards) put Malcolm Turnbull in charge. I started out indifferent towards Mal, but despite his Republican (as in turfing the Monarchy, not as in GOP) sensibilities, Scrooge McDuck background, and disinterest in same sex marriage, he actually seemed rather decent and willing to make the Liberal-National coalition more moderate. He also was more charismatic than Rudd.
Through some bizarre twist that oddly mirrored how Rudd fell, Mal got the boot in favour of Tony “Mad Monk” Abbott…by one vote. Poor Mal said that he was going to leave politics, but fortunately stayed. Still, he’s not leading the Coalition at the moment, so the Liberals got struck off my list.
As for Labor, I’ll be honest with you, I did not like Kevin Rudd at all. He seemed too socially conservative and travelled too much as opposed to dealing with domestic concerns. I was happy when Gillard took the reins (although as an American, watching Westminster-style politics in action is very strange…it comes across as almost too secretive and devoid of public input).
Now the AusDems are making a play for disaffected Liberal voters (particularly those who are horrified by the Mad Monk), and by all intents and purposes, I should be quite happy for the party to be gaining strength.
Yet, I now find myself attracted to a party that I used to be horrified by: The Greens.
As left as I am, I just always found the Greens to have their priorities in the wrong place. Call me selfish, but I’m “people over plants.” I care about the environment, but not enough to make it a political ideology.
The Greens must have heard enough people with similar reservations, because they have moderated their message.
Health, infrastructure, and in favour same-sex marriage, I’m sold…for now.
Just keep things sane, Bob. Please.
One last jukebox clip for today. I’ve posted the first person POV version of Like A Queen previously, but I discovered that there was another version which has its own charms. Enjoy!
For a Japanese jazz-pop video, both versions seem to be shot in Sydney, or a part of Japan that is very similar to it.
After a day in hospital, and a day and a half of doing the fun logistics of insurance and home repair, I wish it was the early 1980s and I was a surfie listening to neo-Beach Boys pop as performed by Tatsuro Yamashita.
I was raised pretty much religion-free, and I pretty much intend to do so whenever I have a child. There will be some out there who might think this clip is blasphemous, but I think it’s hilarious myself.
Drum n’ bass and taking the piss? Priceless.
So there’s another Korean girl group…Wait!
Seriously, there is no need to run for the hills. The group’s name is Secret and their latest Madonna, is actually pretty decent. Apparently, the Go Go revival which Amerie and Beyonce began has finally caught up to Korea. If there’s any auto-tune going on in this song, then it’s pretty well-hidden.
Bonus: New Zealand has kind of a burgeoning soul music scene. Prime example: Fat Freddy’s Drop. This is their rather well-executed video for Boondigga.
Yep, the other half & I have moved on up to the East Side…to Wentworth
I lurve Australian politics.
First, I want to thank all you out there for your patience during this unscheduled hiatus. Over the past few weeks, I’ve moved neighbourhoods (swapping Redfern for Darlinghurst) and now come across a bit of a bad trot health-wise.
Now onto the fun!
You know, I was eager to rip into Penny Wong with regards to her bizarre choice of toeing the party-line with gay marriage, but let’s start out with something uplifting…Antoine Dodson.
The sudden interne celebrity rise of Dodson first made me think that this would be yet another case of inner-city crime turned into hipster fodder, but actually, I’m quite pleased to find that higher profile is helping raise funds for him and his family via the iTunes auto-tuned version. (Buy it!)
Now, Ms. W®ong.
I think she’s done her soul a serious disservice by supporting the party line, but I think it’s also important for those not familiar with Australia to know a few things about the gay marriage debate in Oz.
In Australia, more than in the US, it’s ultimately a debate over the word “marriage.” Australia is one of the least religious countries in the Western world, and the idea of “shacking up” is not as frowned upon. Both gays and straights use the word “partner” to refer to their significant others.
What we Americans call “common law” marriages are called “de facto relationships.” These de facto partnerships effectively are equal to married couples in all the states and territories. For example, unlike the US which would require marriage for an American to stay with their foreign partner, the foreign born partner of an Australian can remain in Australia under the interdependency/de facto visa scheme (which interestingly enough is the same visa that many Australian men used for mail-order brides).
The interesting thing in Australia is that the popularity of de facto partnerships along with the Australian sense of fairness has led to a majority of Australians supporting same-sex marriage in poll after poll. So it really is an argument over a word, and in my opinion the government should either get out of the marriage business or declare civil unions (and de facto partnerships) for all. *
The religious argument that often colours the same sex marriage debate in the US and other countries doesn’t really hold much water in Australia. Case in point: a Family First senatorial candidate in Queensland has gotten a serious public bollocking in the media for homophobic tweets comparing same-sex marriage to child abuse. Queensland has a strong redneck reputation. It’s where Pauline Hanson (she who would gladly have the White Australia policy back and the Apology to the Stolen Generation rescinded) is from. If those comments don’t work in Queensland, they don’t work in Australia full stop. It’s also worth noting that a majority of Queenslanders also support same-sex marriage.
While my partner & I have considerably more legally enforced rights in Australia as a same sex couple than in the US, I am hesitant to paint the Antipodes as LGBT paradise. Why? Well, in New South Wales we have a bizarre law from 2000 which prohibits same-sex couples from adopting, but not LGBT individuals. This restriction may be lifted this month, as the Premier is going to allow a conscience vote on the issue.
The light at the end of the tunnel may very well be in sight.
