Awake is the new Sleep
Ben Lee

I remember the first time I heard the first few seconds of Cigarettes will kill you.

I was hooked right away. It seemed so refreshing. Undeniably pop. But also undeniably accentric. So I bought the album. And since then, I've bought his next album. And then I went to see him play with the other Bens. In this show he was, I must say, the least fun part. He seemed awkward. His jokes just weren't funny. And out of the three, he was the least flexible musically. He could only play the guitar for one thing. The others played guitar, piano, drums. He seemed the odd one out trying to fit in. There was just a hint of 'tryhard' in him somehow. But I've always had a soft spot for Ben Lee and his music.

I recently named Breathing Tornadoes as one of the ten most influential albums in my life. It's a special album - the closest thing he had to a mainstream breakthrough. Not to everyone's taste, I know, but I've met others who reminisce about the album with great fondness. His next effort, Hey you yes you, had some nice songs in it. It had the same Ben Lee signature to it. But ultimately it was less consistent and emotionally hollow.

Now this latest effort is a great comeback. After his breakup with Claire Danes and a somewhat stagnating career, he's said:

"You go to bed one night feeling that you’ve come to a dead end, that everything has been said and done, that there is no magic in the world...but the next morning you wake up - and everything’s changed.

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. This is an album about waking up."

Here's my take on it. This is a major leap for him, musically. It's that good. It's like he's found a voice he's finally happy with. No longer concerned about trying to establish himself or trying to mimic someone else. The most impressive thing about this album is how effortless it sounds. Much more stripped down than his last two and much more consistent. Make no mistake though, this still sounds like Ben Lee so if you never had an interest in him before, this probably won't convert you. But I still urge you to try it.

It's more upbeat than his previous ones. It's happy. It's positive in an awkward and honest way. But at the same time, the pain is obvious. It's like the smile that appears on your face after you've had a good cry. When someone places a hand on you and tells you that everything's gonna be alright. Not the first time that you hear the words. But the first time that you believe them - when you finally get it.

Bits and pieces

At work, I always have to give the editors page proofs of our newsletters. And on each one, I write '1st proof' or '2nd proof'. One of our editors is gay. I'm so afraid that one day I'll accidentally write '3rd poof'.

I just went to see Lior perform at the Vanguard in Newtown. Personally, I think he's the real deal. From talking with the people I went with, I guess he's not going to be to everyone's taste. Imagine a Jason Mraz/Josh Kelley type with Middle Eastern influences. That's the best that I can think of. Eclectic, emotional, with a voice that just blew me away. At least give it a go...

My favourite songs at the moment are (in no particular order):
This old love - Lior
Gamble everything for love - Ben Lee
Somebody told me - The Killers
Wasting time - Thirsty Merc

An album I'd like to buy but as yet have no money to:
Forever young - Aberfeldy

I just saw a man on Dave Letterman try to eat 44 dozen oysters in an hour to break the world record. He fell short at 40 dozen. For that effort he got a $25 voucher at a seafood restaurant.

I swear the mirror in my bathroom makes me look better than I do in any other mirror. I also swear that I'm not as vain as I sound.

You know what... I'm doing good. No money. But all smiles...

I’ve just spent almost my entire weekend without leaving my place once. Between 1am Saturday morning to 7pm Sunday night, I stayed exclusively at home. The highlights included watching Shrek, the ending of Four Weddings and a Funeral, a DVD movie called Wicker Park, a few hours of Rage and a British horror movie which, while admittedly was fairly lame, did feature a few glorious scenes in which a somewhat younger Kate Beckinsale was nekkid.

On top of all that, I also invented a new vegetarian spaghetti dish with Hoi sin sauce and mayonnaise and I won three regular season games with my fictional Dallas Mavericks team on the Xbox. It’s becoming too easy I think.

I didn’t spend a single cent all weekend.

The last thing I did, that I want to talk about, is entertain myself by way of running my very own slayerfest. Five episodes of Buffy, thus finishing off season 5. And here’s what I realised:

Buffy’s damn good.

Buffy the series should’ve ended with season 5. Buffy dies and that’s that. Actually, Joss Whedon did plan for it to end with 5. But what was he supposed to say to an offer for two more seasons worth of cash? Season 5 was just so poetically complete. There’s a real feel of finality to it. The next two seasons, in comparison, are like the Degrassi High reunion episode and the hobbit pillow fight in Return of the King. Yes, you did want to know what happened after, but after you watched it, you kinda didn’t think it was all necessary.

I didn’t need to see Buffy bonking Spike almost every episode in Season 6. Really wasn’t necessary.

Anyway, when people used to ask me why I liked Buffy, my standard reply was ‘She’s a cute blonde chick that kicks arse. What’s not to like?’ But now I realise that’s really not doing the show any justice. The greatest trick that Joss Whedon did was convince the producers of the original concept. Buffy just sounds like a lame concept. I didn’t buy into it. But what they did during seven years of the show was often pure brilliance. The mythos they built up, the characters they developed. This was a really well-written show with a more-or-less coherent universe.

Spike is a very interesting character. I hated when he went soft, but in the context, it was somewhat understandable. Glory is a fantastic villain – a stunted hell god gone insane from frustration and sharing one body with a human vessel. The whole plotline with Dawn being inserted into the show without prior notice was fantastic.

Ironically, the best episode of the season may have been one that didn’t involve the supernatural. ‘The Body’, which was about the early stages of grieving for Buffy et al after the death of her mother, is possibly the most realistic portrayal of post-loss grieving that I’ve ever seen on screen. It was equal parts uncomfortable and brilliant to watch. Everything was spot on.

Anyway, now I have seasons 2 and 3 to go. I know I said that the show should have ended with season 5. But I kinda wish the show never ended at all.

Little little ants.
Water trickle trickle
Down below.
Dream of a pricking pricking
There she goes.
The smell of a pickly pickle
Behind the fridge door.
I feel like a donut.

Here's the sad thing.

No matter what anyone ever says. What they swear to their nominated deity. What they have tatooed on their arse or whatever. When push comes to shove, no one ever picks mates ahead of dates. Guys. Girls. Whatever. Everyone's the same. At the end of the day, it's always so bloody predictable.

And with that, a happy Valentines day to you all.

'Hi'
'Hello'
'I'm from the University of New South Wales and today we're doing a survey on young drivers under the age of 25...'
'Oh I'm over that.'
'Really?'
'Yeah.'
'OK then. Thanks!'

The rest was quick. I filled in the form at work already. There's another guy renewing his license next to me.

'Read the bottom line please.'
'Q-O-E-T-V-P-U-G.'

I'm thinking, I don't wanna do the eyetest with my glasses. I'm thinking, I don't want an 'S' on my license. I'm thinking, hang on. That's the same chart I'd be looking at. That's the same bloody chart! I'm thinking, can I remember that? What he just said?

Q-O-E-P-U what?

My turn.

'Can I try without my glasses?'
'Sure.'

The little door opens.

'Can you read me the fourth line from the bottom?'

Fourth line? Fourth line? That line's big! The fool next to me gets the bottom line and I get the big arse fourth line from the bottom? That bottom line could be spelling my own name and I wouldn't be able to read it. But the fourth, it's friggin' huge!

OK, here goes.

'That's fine. Thanks.'

So now I'm thinking, do I really wanna be a donor? Am I gonna be gunned down by some Mafia hitman looking for a pancreas?

'All done. Now take a seat in front of the camera.'

What the hell does a pancreas even do?

'Chin up a bit.'

Maybe I can do without one.

'That's it. Thank you. It'll be ready in a couple of minutes.'

Hey cool. Lucky I wore a yellow T-shirt. With the gold band I look colour co-ordinated.

OK. Back to work.

pan·cre·as ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pngkr-s, pn-)
n.
A long, irregularly shaped gland in vertebrates, lying behind the stomach, that secretes pancreatic juice into the duodenum and insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin into the bloodstream

Hmmm... Maybe I can do without one.

Or maybe not.

Me no eat meat again now.

40 days.

No Habibs.

No KFC.

No steak.

Not even a Fillet-o-Fish.

This will take the edge off eveything else.

Puts a tofu-munching grin on my face.

This is very good news. Although I'd be surprised if any more than two of you reading this will share my joy.

I have nothing else to say.

xtn: Hey remember that tall leggy blonde girl I talked about?

Sleepwalker: The one who you passed on the way to the toilet?

xtn: That's the one. Anyway, now I sit only a few feet from her.

Sleepwalker: How many?

xtn: How many what?

Sleepwalker: Feet.

xtn: Oh I don't know! Anyway, we walk past each other a lot now.

Sleepwalker: Yeah? You guys talk?

xtn: Not really. But she did say something to me. She said 'I like your Homer.'

Sleepwalker: Not bad. Way to go xtn!

xtn: Of course, maybe she was just talking about my Homer Simpson doll that sits on my computer.

Sleepwalker: True that...