I am really into bands/artists from Australia and New Zealand.
I have probably written about this before because my down under obsession has been going on for some time now.
My first run-in was the movie Starstruck. It is a typical early 1980s new wave movie about a group of kids wanting to be rockstars. There is a local competition (on TV that is how the whole town will see them), some prize money, love interest, and a great soundtrack.
I discovered the Swingers. They were in the movie (which I saw on Night Flight) and I want to say I saw their music video on Video One with Richard Blade. Totally hooked. Phil Judd would depart the Swingers and start Split Enz with the Finn brothers. Ooooooh how I love the Finn brothers (still mad I didn't get tickets for Crowded House at the Fox). From here I seamlessly became fans of the bigger names Midnight Oil, INXS (The Swing is their best record if you ask me), AC/DC, and Men at Work. Then I moved to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Cruel Sea, and Hunters and Collectors. I was shocked later in life to find out that The Little River Band are also Aussies. Have YOU heard about the lonesome loser? Beatin' by the queen of hearts every time. And of course we can't forget Air Supply.
I have a fond memory of me and my friend driving back from the Spoleto festival (we saw Damon Albarn Gorillaz symphony - epic) and since she had a doctorate in musicology and I was getting my master's in musicology and we were coming from an amazing musical experience it is not a shock that our conversation turned to music. I asked her what her favorite band was from down under and she without even taking a beat said Air Supply. We listened to their ultimate collection and live in Tokyo recordings back-to-back for the rest of the drive home.
But this isn't really what I wanted to write about...I was with a friend the other day and they were processing some drama they are going through and they said to me quite glibly (is that a word?) that I didn't have problems. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but as I was going to sleep last night that is all I could think about. Does this person really think that? If so, fuck you. But also, thanks? Perhaps I don't have "problems" in the area of their drama? What one might think is not a problem is to others. You know kind of like someone's trash is another one's treasure. Is there some secret qualifier chart to what can be considered a problem? I am not one to throw up my "problems" on people (though there are some lucky folks who have worn my emotional vomit on their shirts) so it may appear that I do not have problems. I think it was a throw away line, but it got me thinking about personality masks.
There are people that I have known, heck even related to that I have no idea really what they are feeling. I am positive that they have and had problems (issues, situations, difficulties, worries) but they did not share them out to me at all. I think that there are also folks who are more comfortable with sharing out problems, issues, situations, difficulties, and worries. This is not a judgment, just an observation. With the check-ins (usually a quick text) that I do (since 5 of my friends died) with my chosen family, it is all about effort. You do what you have the capacity for... I am always available to be a shoulder, ear, soundboard, or whatever for people I care about. Even when I am having a problem. But sometimes I feel like the song I chose for the title of this blog. Not today. But some days.
The band is (you guessed it) from Australia. They are called the Middle Kids and this song is a favorite on John Richard's show on KEXP, my drive time listen. And if you live in the bay area can now listen to on the radio proper at 92.7. I know. Old school.
You are not alone.
