Australian film might be in strife but Oz Music is in good form. I’m taking a break from the thesifying to clean the ap’t up in time for Christmas. That requires music! I’m listening to Beth Gibbons’ Out of Season, the wonderful Sia (originally from Adelaide)… and something new to me, New Buffalo’s Last Beautiful Day. New Buffalo is singer/songwriter Sally Seltmann.
I bet you never thought I’d say this about my goddess Beth O, but I agree with the review posted on the site:
Largely composed of analogue organs, scratchy samples, and layers of Seltmann’s thin-yet-tender voice, it’s a profound piece of personal expression, a collection of lyrical pop-songs that’re a product of a single individual. It’s so Sally’s album that a guest-vocal guest-spot from Beth Orton (on Inside) seems like a minor incident; the famous folkie but a murmur in the background as Seltmann stages another off-kilter, home-made, shockingly-intimate symphony.
Sally’s vocals remind me a little of Sarah Blasko, but I think she’s a bigger find… New Buffalo are playing in Melbourne on the 16th of January at Manchester Lane. Ok, back to the bathroom scrubbing now…
Just think how good life will be when you have finished your thesis.
My most creative moments come when I am writing something which is a diversion from something that makes my nut hurt, but once it’s over, I allus feel so much better.
At least for the five minutes between banking the cheque and taking up another deadline.
I caught myself yesterday saying “I’ll do it between Christmas and New Year, since I will have a bit of time..”
and another thing.. Joseph Conrad’s wife used to lock her husband into his room and give him food when he pushed pages under the door.
.. I was hugely relieved to find out that Ingmar Bergman would feel so stressed when he made films that he had a portable dunny erected next to the camera. See, performance anxiety is natural.
Can you send Joseph Conrad’s wife round here, David?
Thanks, David, I want to add – the encouragement’s much appreciated! You’re so right that I need to look to the farther shore to sail this boat to port!