Well, i'm not entirely sure what is wrong with me lately. It just seems that I am in this permanent state of sleepiness lately, which is somewhat distracting. Now, I know what you're all wondering, and yes, I have finished my recent course of duramine. "Was it worth it?", I hear you scream. And honestly, not really. It did curb my appetite, but left me often wondering what I felt like eating over anything else. I would wander from shop to shop, looking at the multitude of opportunities, and often end up with some bio-degradeable low fat muffin and a diet vanilla coke. But the biggest let down was the fact that I was hoping to re-kickstart my metabolism by heading back to gym and I think, in the time I was on the medication, I may have gone a whole twice or something. Obviously, this does need to change, and i'm thinking that the answer may lay in personal training again. Perhaps if I can find one who is willing to do an hour with both Ant and I at the same time, it might be benefitial and cost effective, but I guess we'll see.
A few people have said that it looks like i've lost weight though. I place so much emphasis on my looks that it tends to bring me down very easily, and I find that i'm 'on track' when i'm not carrying the excessive weight. Perhaps that is just the influence of the subculture that I belong to? Irrespective of this, if it brings me down, it needs to be addressed.
Ebay has become something of a trap for me again, but one that I am managing to control. I did come across a copy of The KLF's 'The Manual' on line, and in a frenzy of excitment, placed my bid. In the end, I won the auction, and paid something like US$28 for it, including the shipping. Only after that did I discover that the book has actually just been reissued and I probably paid twice the amount for it. However, it is something i've waited a decade to have a copy of my own, so I guess I shouldn't complain when I put it in that perspective. For anyone who has even a passing interest in popular music culture, a study on The KLF is absolutely essential. Innovators is definitely a term that springs to mind, as they forged new ground with sampling, copyright issues, and even just the audacity of how things should be done. Who else would have a release recalled because of an illegal use of ABBA's 'Dancing Queen', only to reissue another version of the track complete with instructions on how to rebuild the original illegal version? Who else would decide that they wanted to have a #1 record, change their name to The Timelords, sample Gary Glitter, and release a Doctor Who tribute record, 'Doctorin' The Tardis'? And then follow this up by releasing 'The Manual', a book on how to have a #1 hit within three months of purchasing the book, or else your money back? That's The KLF for you... or The Timelords... or The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu... or any of the other multitude of aliases they liked to disguise themselves other. One week prior to 'breaking up', they issued a statement saying that they would never play live again (although they never did actually play live ever), and then issue a statement the following week stating that they had broken up and that the majority of their releases (which they owned control over) were immediately deleted; thus making everything else they had released immediately collectable. They bring a whole new mindset to the world of pop and pop marketing that is just inspired... so yes, check them out.
Speaking of inspired, I joined the Scissor Sistersforum. Have decided that I do need to collect this band, as the more I listen to them, and the more I discover about them, the more fascinated I become. I did send their management an email asking when they would be heading to Australia and received an email back saying that it looked extremely likely for Jan/Feb... can you say Big Day Out folks? I can't stress how essential this album is at the moment, and if the constant radio play of 'Take Your Mama' hasn't convinced you, check out tracks like 'It Can't Happen Quickly Enough', 'Better Luck Next Time', 'Music Is The Victim', or the next single, 'Laura'.
Big record fair on in Melbourne on Sunday in Essendon... come along folks!
And an entry wouldn't be an entry without a plug for my reviews column - SOLD On Vanity - the virtual companion to my Bnews/Melbourne Star column.
