Covers and Remixes

While it may be a bit lazy in terms of musical homework, I am very much getting into covers and remixes at the moment - the familar is all new and interesting. Some standout ones for me:

• Eddie Vedder contributing on 'I See Red' and 'Stuff and Nonsense' (7 Worlds Collide)
• Holly Throsby doing 'Not the Girl you Think you are' (She will have her way). I also like New Buffalo doing '4 seasons' as it's, well, odd, and Sarah Blasko's "Don't Dream it's Over" for a gratuitous use of a choir and very slight over-production, mostly to good effect.
• Jose Gonzalez doing 'Put your hand on your heart' - yes, the Kylie song (Australian Tour EP)
• The entire Guerolito album
• The Cat Empire does 'Hotel California' (Like a version) - possibly the only way I can sit through an Eagles song
• Gary Jules in Donny Darko - 'Mad World'
• Propellorheads remixing - Of her Majesty's Secret Service (Shaken & Stirred). I especially like this as the left/right balance has been tweaked so it sounds like an entire horn section is running from side to side behind you.
• Soulchild remix of 19-2000 as originally created by the Gorillaz
• Malcom McLaren - About her (Kill Bill 2)
• The Pictures - Milkshake (Like a version)
• Rebecca Barnard (Ex Rebecca's empire) - She's Rare (The Women at the Well)
• Scissor Sisters - Take me out

I also have recently got 'Strung out on OK Computer', a string quartet version of OK computer (Radiohead). I quite like it, but other albums in the same vein of Radiohead as classically interpreted have gotten better reviews, so I guess it's more homework for me

I also have found the 'Army of Me' album of remixes of the Bjork song of the same name - still trying to work my way though it but homework is not always fun :(

Friday night fun

I enjoyed Underworld when it came out a couple of years ago - interesting take on vampires/werewolves, action but also plot development, good costumes. So I agreed to go see Underworld: Evolution without any argument. Next time I might read the reviews.

For this movie, they decided to take the budget they spent on plot development in the first movie and blow the whole lot on mucus and fake blood. Lowlights included:

• A terrible sex scene that looked like they had shaved off the pubic hair of both parties, and then gave the direction 'aim for her navel'. All this plus "Blade Runner" lighting as well.
• At least one impaling
• A truck-delivered scraping
• The most efficient use of a roter blades since "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
  

Highlights were:

• Some good acting from Bill Nighy. I like this guy, entertaining regardless of how good or bad the role is.
• A reasonable amount of bare-chested action by Scott Speedman and Tony Curran. I liked Tony Curran better, much more manly!
• Calculating how much baby powder Kate Beckinsale would need to get into her rubber suit each morning.
• While not actually part of the movie, there was a preview for an interesting looking Jake Gyllenhaal movie (Jarhead) which used to good effect, a Kayne West song (Jesus Walks) that I rather like. As a side note, if the movie tonight had Jake with no shirt on, it would have gotten a much better review.

Blade 3 was better, and possibly even Blade 2. Sorry, Husband-person.

I may yet start to enjoy this cricket stuff

Why the Gabba is better than the MCG

• It's in Brisbane so it's not freezing
• The ground is a sensible size and you can actually see the players and not little matchstick men
• The toliets are near the stands
• There isn't 3 flights of stairs to get to your seat!

and Twenty20 is better than ANY other form of cricket

• I have a really short attention span
• We can go after work
• The seats are hard and I only have to sit there for 2.5 hours
• I have a really short attention span
• The match goes so fast it's a foregone conclusion we (Australia) will win and and so you an stop watching the cricket and amuse yourself with counting the number of laps the mexican wave has got to.

I have to admire the audacity of the organiser and BCC for even thinking 'hey, lets move 20,000 people with BUSES' (note to the wise, leave before the last wicket falls). Yeah to public transport.

There is a special place in hell for the inventor of telemarketing

Like most sane people, Husband-person and I hate telemarketers. Husband-person even has a special tone of voice he saves just for them - the wrath inflicted upon the poor telephone operators is truly disturbing, given he is normally nice and pleasant, but it’s great fun to listen to.

To avoid them, at our past two residences we have invested in a silent number, which is a lovely invention and has afforded us much peace and quiet. However, due to some service providers being a bit free with our number (not mentioning any names, MajorVideoStoreChain) we have also added the tactic of only giving out mobile numbers except for health care services. It's not like we are home much anyway.

This has worked reasonably well so we went for the silent number at our new house (which will be far more permanent given we have bought it). Unfortunately, the lady who had the number previously (for the purposes of this posting, let’s call her Mrs D) obviously didn't follow the telemarketer avoidance rules and we now get 3 or 4 calls a day when we are in. GRRR.

They are all looking for Mrs D - so now when the phone rings during the day, I answer "Hello" and I wait to see who they are looking for. When it's Mrs D, they get "Sorry wrong number", and then I can just hang up. Except for the genius that rang today - when I gave them the usual routine, I got “Oh, I don’t know if I have the wrong number or the wrong name”. Honestly, if you don’t know the whose number this is, don’t try to convince me that you are calling ME.

Hell, I tell you.