Belle and Sebastian in Melbourne

Posted on August 25, 2024 by admin

My first Belle and Sebastian album was a download from a service called eMusic (I think) and the album was The Life Pursuit, which remains a favourite. Now I am physical copies of six of their albums, five of them on vinyl.

I would describe them as breezy pop, but in this day and age you could just find a song of their on YouTube and make up your own mind. Or, if you are more musically minded, you might enjoy this terrific write up on All Music. I saw that they were playing in Melbourne so I booked us some tickets.

Nicky and I went on Friday night and it was an absolute treat. While their music is melodic more than anything on the records, it had more energy and kick in person. They have three singers: Stuart Murdoch, Sarah Martin, and Stevie Jackson and they each have their own vibe. In spite of this, many songs have main parts for at two of them. I particularly enjoyed Murdoch, who sang on the bulk of the song. He projects and joy and energy that is amazing.

I don’t remember all the songs that they played but here are some of them.

  • Dress up in you
  • To be myself completely
  • Will I tell you a secret
  • So in the moment
  • Talk to me, talk to me
  • Piazza, New York catcher
  • Stay loose
  • Unnecessary drama
  • Stars of track and field
  • My wandering days are over, and
  • The boy with the Arap strap

Addendum: Here is the complete list.

The crowd was enthusastic for the whole set, but everyone lost their minds for Boy With the Arab Strap, as well they should. I’m really glad we went and this was easily in the top five concerts I have been to.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Board Games

Posted on August 18, 2024 by admin
Possums playing a board game

Mental health is a tricky thing within any family, I suspect. And we are not different. We eat dinner together almost every night of the year, and sometimes the kids join us to watch TV after that. But it is very easy to everyone to retreat to their own screen, and I am pretty sure that this doesn’t produce terrific mental-health outcomes.

One thing we have done is have an internet siesta from 11 until 2 on weekdays for kids if they are at home. It’s not popular, but I am certain that unbroken hours in front of YouTube cannot be good for anyone’s mental health.

The other thing we have been doing in playing games after dinner. Like many people, we did this a bit during the lockdowns but didn’t persist in the habit. But we’ve been doing to for about three weeks, and I think it is helping us be a bit more connected, and I’ve been enjoying the company of Nicky and the kids.

So far we have been playing:

  • Scrabble (surprisingly popular, with the kids getting lots of help from Nicky, who always wins)
  • Uno
  • Jenga
  • Yahtzee
  • Cluedo
  • Cards Against Humanity
  • 21 (boring an unlikely to be repeated)
  • Bananagrams (surprisingly fun)
  • Dominos (which we don’t really understand the rules of
  • Connect 4

We take turns to pick. It’s my turn to pick tomorrow and I’m going for Yahtzee

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Universal Remote

Posted on August 11, 2024 by admin

Remote controls are terrific, of course, but if you happen to lose one or – more likely – have one stop working then their replacements are a racket. You would think that a universal remote would solve a bit of this, but I’ve never had more than passing success with them.

But I decided to give it a go, and there is why. I wanted to be able to play CDs through my good speakers but CD players are rare in shops these days. You can buy terribly cheap ghetto-blaster type units or really expensive hi-fi units, but nothing between. So I picked up a second-hand DVD player in a shop in Sydney Road and it plays CDs fine. Except that you can’t navigate between tracks. It just does eject, stop and play.

So I bought a cheap universal remote from K-Mart. With these, you type codes for the manufacturer and one of them will match the particular device. My player is a Sony, so there are about 15 codes. I tried them all.

With three of the codes, I could start and stop the disc, but not jump forwards or backwards. So I tried them all again. Still no luck, but it only cost $13 so that’s not the end of the world. Then I noticed that there was a code for the Song Playstation. With nothing to lose, I tried that. And that was the code that worked.

All’s well that ends well, I guess.

The back button for our Samsing telly has stopped working, too. We don’t use it much since we watch almost everything through the Chromecast. But I thought I’d try the code for this one on the same universal remote.

Got it first try.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Consumption: July 2024

Posted on July 28, 2024 by admin

Gravity Stairs: Crowded House

I’m really enjoying this new album. I’m listening to it on vinyl at home and streaming when I am out and about. It felt a little bland when I first listened to it, but after a few listens there are songs that are really stuck in my head. In particular – Oh Hi and Life Imitation.

Late Developer – Belle and Sebastian

Some of my tax-return went on this delightful record. We are going to see Belle and Sebastian live in about a month, so I wanted to get used to their most recent album, given that bands on tour often play mostly from their most recent album. I have also been giving A Bit of Previous some time, and that’s a fun album, too.

Midnights – Taylor Swift

This is only my second Taylor Swift purchase on vinyl, after 1989, and it’s a ripper of an album. I really like Anti-Hero, but there who album is a ripper.

Shogun – Disney Plus

This is based on a novel that seemed to be in every holidays house I’ve even been in. I have not been in many holiday homes. Set in 1600, this is about feuding group of Japanese nobles and their political machinations. I have heard people call it a classic, and I’m not sure that I’d go that far, but we enjoyed it.

Silo Trilogy – Hugh Howey

I really liked the TV show on Apple+, so I have been reading the books. I am almost finished the third book, and I am enjoying it. But I am not a diligent reader.

The Rest is Entertainment – Podcast

This twice-weekly podcast is a regular delight. It is like listening to two fun, informed friends. If you are interested in TV and Film, give it a go.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment