Happy Holidays
Text: The Blackmail
December 18th, 2009
Cheeky Freaks Of 2009
Text: Tristan Ceddia & Gabriel Knowles
The end of the year usually means publishing a best of list or something equally as interesting. Here at The Blackmail we’ve gone with something equally interesting and even more subjective, favourites. So without further ado we have a few favourites from 2009 as according to some of our expert contributors, who we must send out a big thanks to, as without them none of this would be possible.
We’ll be back early in 2010 but until then enjoy 2009 for a little while longer…
Oliver Georgiou’s screen highlights of 2009…
This year for me has been a year of return, revisit, reacquaint, retrospect and a few other re’s both in and out of the world of the moving image. During these looping times and back inwards curve I felt compelled to re-watch a lot of films that I have been moved by somewhere along the way.
The craving for Australian cinema came hand in hand with occasional homesickness after living a Tokyo for a few years. The major video rental chain in Japan ‘Tsutaya’ has a healthy dose of well-catalogued movies and aren’t afraid to stock a huge range of VHS cassettes. Not surprisingly ‘Romper Stomper’ was nowhere to be found in the Australian section however Dogs in Space, Lantana and Chopper were all present allowing me to transport myself away from the land of the rising sun back to the comfy seats of The George cinema in Melbourne.
Upon returning back to Australia I have found myself in front of my laptop at 3 am with a set of headphones on, watching planet Tokyo flashbacks way too regularly. Studio Ghibili animated masterpieces such as the gut wrenching war movie ‘Hotaru no Haka’ (English title Grave of the Fireflies and available for free rental at the St Kida Library), ‘Tonari No Totoro’ as well as their aquatic 2008 release and return to true 2D animation techniques in ’Gake no ue no Ponyo’. 21 years after it release Otomo Katsuhiro’s ‘Akira’ I’m still wondering how they did some of their handcrafted lighting effects. For your own safety, please don’t ever watch any of these films in English dub, it’s like watching ‘Rocky’ with a Fred Flinstone voiceover, almost there but NQR.
With the space and time to run free once again in the wild planes my adventurous side has had me watching ‘BMX Bandits, Bones Brigade, Beat Street, The Outsiders and Point Break’ and sometimes just relaxing with a nice warm glass of ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and ‘Round the Twist’ dipping cookies during my double winter.
In 2010 I plan to be forward oriented and hope to bring you some interesting stories, stay safe over the holidays and if you surf then I hope you get lots of hollow barrels.
Daniel Boud’s favourite images of 2009…
While everyone else is moving on to Tumblr for their eye candy fix, I’m still cruising Flickr, clicking that favourite button when something magical catches my eye.
If you find a photographer you like, you can look at their favourites to discover what they’re enjoying. You can get lost down that rabbit hole of beautiful images for hours.
There’s amazing talent on there. From young amateurs publishing gorgeous pictures to old pro’s sharing their back catalogue.
Dan’s Flickr favourites
CC Bake’s favourite dishes of 2009…
I have to admit, I find it hard to answer questions about my favourite or best things. So when trying to narrow down the BEST MEAL of 2009 I was inevitably in a quandary, there are three of these a day for 365 days to choose from, yipes! I have already mentioned my most memorable restaurant and have thoroughly documented many of my favourite home-cooked dishes as CC Bakes. This year I have dined at some fine restaurants, and some not so fine, both locally and abroad. I have eaten my mother’s home cooking regularly, which is always a treat. I have put things in my mouth that perhaps I never will again with any luck, and perhaps most notably I have grown more fond of cooking and eating than ever before. I have, however, realised that the best part about eating is the company, and it is these occasions that are the standouts for me. That said, sometimes it is something unassumingly simple like a chopping board with a slab of meat, some potatoes, and a few greens thrown in to wash them down that can be extremely enjoyable. Also, this cake is by far the best cake I’ve seen all year, perhaps ever, I can’t actually believe it’s made of sugar, flour and eggs.
Melissa Loughnan’s favourite art show of 2009…
New World Records 9 July – 8 August 2009
Curated by Helen Johnson and Nick Mangan, Sutton Gallery, Fitzroy
Artists: Hany Armanious, Dan Bell (image), Piero Golia, Helen Johnson (image), Laresa Kosloff, Nick Mangan, Lisa Rave, Stuart Ringholt, Kate Smith, Charlie Sofo, Sriwhana Spong and Michael Stevenson
This exhibition, curated by two well known artists in the Sutton Gallery stable, exhibited established artists alongside lesser known emerging artists, brought together by a consistently strong curatorial trajectory.
‘New World Records’ explored the idea of art inciting change, considering methods in which we measure, qualify and quantify ourselves and our relationship to our environment in contemporary culture. Stand out works in the exhibition were Charlie Sofo’s ‘Finger-grease’ of 2007, a perfect circle of stained white paper within a pristine white frame; Dan Bell’s ‘Rope’ of 2008, multiple strings of rope made from sequins strung on their side where, except for the occasional gap within the lines of rope, their glitz was unapparent; and an abstract drawing from Helen Johnson, ‘Sometimes it’s hard to see all the aspects of a given situation’, 2009, configured from entrancingly repetitive coloured forms.
A reoccurring motif grew present while Helen and Nick were curating the exhibition, that of the ‘circle’, apparent in Nick Mangan’s apocalyptic photograph of the sun taken on Friday 13th, a week after Black Saturday, in Charlie’s work, and again in Stuart Ringholt, Dan Bell, Piero Golia and Hany Armanious’ works. To Helen, who wrote the essay accompanying the exhibition, the ‘repetitive gesture is interesting to me as a defining aspect of recording or cataloguing, because it also forms the root of certain forms of anxiety, and certain approaches to attaining a meditative state.’
‘New World Records’ provided an inclusive and widely relevant intellectual enquiry into current artistic practises and cultural binaries in Australia, intrinsically linked to the global human condition and current social, political and economic environment, whilst maintaining a distinct Australian, and aesthetic, appeal.
Douglas Lance Gibson’s favourite music performance of 2009…
Living in Australia there are some things you learn to accept. One of those things is the fact that there’s a good chance you’ll never get to see some of your favourite foreign bands perform live. I’m sure it’s not because those bands don’t want to come here, it’s just the economics of it all.
Pink Reason were one of those bands. Lacking any sort of commercial appeal, I was sure that they would never play in Australia. When I first heard that Kevin de Broux and co might be making the journey down here, I couldn’t believe it. I was going to see Pink Reason. What ended up happening was that I saw Pink Reason perform 4 times in just over a week. Each set was a visceral and emotionally churning experience. And they always managed to include an epic rendering of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird”.
My favourite moment happened during Flip Out in Sydney. I’ve never been one to yell out requests, but I knew that the likelihood of me ever having another chance to see Pink Reason perform ‘The Devil Always Wins’ was very slim. They’d finished their set with the aforementioned cover of “Free Bird” to a mostly apathetic crowd, and Kevin put down his guitar and looked to walk off stage. I started yelling “The Devil Always Wins” over and over again. I wasn’t even sure if he could hear me. He must have though as eventually he walked back to the front of stage and attempted to sing into the mic, but the sound guy must have turned it off, so he just started shouting out the lyrics to the song, accompanied only by hand claps and foot stomps. It was one of the most powerful performances I’ve seen; a final defiant act to the vastly disinterested crowd.
Carine Thevenau’s personal shoot of the year…
The year that was….2009. To have the freedom to delve inside ones own imagination and come out the other side with a vision that has not been lost by too many people pushing and prodding is a rare thing, but when it happens it’s magic…
Billy Bride’s fashion statement of 2009…
Golly gosh, another year over already? Time certainly flies. It was a tumultous 365 days of fashion this year, a whirlwind mish-mash of sci-fi structure and nostaligic femininity. Far from recession-ridden, the world of fashion flowered this year, with none more brightly blooming than the irrepressible, irreverent and always-surprising queen of controversy – Lady Gaga.
Love her or hate her, it’s virtually impossible to discuss a moment in 2009 fashion without mentioning Lady G. She sent girl’s sprinting for the Thighmaster with her pants-off craze and had us green with envy over her steamier-than-steamy bad romance with ‘True Blood’ stud Alexander Skarsgard. She spearheaded the candy-coloured highlights revolution, and chalked up some of the most unlikey friendship phenomena the world has ever seen! First came the surprise performance at BFF Marc Jacobs’ afterparty in September, followed by the November release of collaborative hit double-single’s with Beyonce in ‘Telephone’ and ‘Videophone’, polishing off the year by shaking hands with the Queen of England. Stealing runway thunder at fashion week, it’s clear that where Gaga goes fashion follows. The pint-sized popsicle now commands a designer fanclub a mile wide, counting Jeremy Scott, Alexander McQueen, Jean Charles De Castelbajac and Hussein Chalayan among her high profile comrades.
Never one to disappoint, Gaga was most definitely the hardest working woman of the year – establishing a freshly minted music empire & her own fashion house ‘Haus of Gaga’, as well as appearing in ceaseless TV spots, magazine covers and feature editorial (Vogue, V, Rolling Stone, Out, Style, Billboard….) and signing more merchandising deals than you could poke a stick at. It’s debatable whether the talent lies within Stefani Germanotta herself, or the myraid of well-oiled stylist/marketing/PR puppeteers that push her, but whatever the case there is definitely something magical in the mix. The Lady dug her claws in this year, and I dare say she has a few more surprises up her sleeve. Look out 2010!
Belle Place’s book of the year…
I know, I know, picking favourites isn’t meant to be easy. But there’s something about Steven Amsterdam’s Things We Didn’t See Coming that makes me all warm inside that books like this are being written and published in Australia.
Despite the setting of dystopia, there is an alluring lightness and grace to his stories. Set in apocalyptic landscapes, which are somewhat familiar and easily imaginable, there is a sense of resilience and a desire to do more than simply survive. Very little detail is given to how these circumstances came about, but that’s not what’s seems really important anyway. Amsterdam’s day-of-reckoning futures are often just a backdrop for the spotlight he casts on the little things that really matter to his effortlessly cast characters.
The book is broken into nine sections, short stories that are joined through theme and context, driven by the same nameless protagonist, who we encounter first in his childhood and leave when he is middle aged, across different geographical space. Amsterdam’s stories foster a hybridity of science and literary fiction, and it’s this, along with his tight and assured prose, which gives the book its sense of originality and will surely establish Amsterdam as an eminent new figure on the Australian literary scene.
Maybe it’s a little bit to do with the books ultimate success from inauspicious beginnings – Amsterdam copped innumerable rejections from publishers before being picked up by Sleepers Publishing (a member of the Small Press Underground Networking Community (SPUNC)), for their first voyage into the publication of a novel, then went on to win The Age Book of the Year prize earlier this year – but Things We Didn’t See Coming leaves you with a sense of hope that somehow, things will end well.
Mikey Gilles’ best party of 2009…
If we were graduating high school this year, the back patch on our preppy jerseys/ bomber jackets would clearly say “Life’s fine in ’09!” because gosh-darn-it, there have been some INCREDIBLE hoedowns this year!
Narrowing it down to one stand-out night is impossible in times like this, so with that in mind, behold the FINAL FOUR…
4. Jingle Jangle Twin Peaks Special (Goodgod Small Club, Halloween 2009)
Smart Casual and Smokey warming the room with their self-proclaimed ‘Creepin’ Around’ music, a striped dancefloor á la The Black Lodge, a dozen Dr Jacoby’s, one Vegetable Leo (replete with party hat and vacant stare), the best live swamp blues band this side of New Orleans, La Mancha Negra… this was easily the BEST celebration of Halloween I’ve ever had the grave misfortune of shakin’ my bones at.
3. Pod War’s Bogan War (The Cricketer’s Arms, March 2009)
I don’t remember much from this one, but if the photo’s are anything to go by, everyone else was farkin sh*tfaced too aye. A bogan wizard-staff (made out of VB tinnies), a DIY Ned Kelly helmet, blue eye shadow, a sea of flanno’s – add about 20 iPods into this mix and the AC/DC was surely blasting all the way out to Eastern Creek. Yewww!
2. CLAMBAKE (Secret Beaches, January 2009)
Impossible to narrow it down to a single one, but the most recent (December 5) was by all accounts INCREDIBLE. A nudist beach + the funnest summertime dj’s in Sydney + zero bad vibes + minimal police interference = the wildest ‘secret’ party you could ever pinch your crab claws into! Its simply AMAZING these wonderful parties get off the ground, particularly in this over-policed town of rampant evil vigilantism! On behalf of Sydney’s fun-starved crustaceans – MASSIVE props to the anonymous molluscs who make it happen…
And NOW…drrrrrrrrrum roll please… the #1 party of the year by FAR…
1. Gibson Fox & Renee Warne’s Taco Friday (Gibson & Renee’s house, October 2009)
Everyone knows the best parties are the random ones that just HAPPEN, and well, this one definitely HAPPENED. Two cases of Donari, several random tabs of acid, around 10 rolls of film and the most mouth-watering lamb strap tacos that have graced a non-commercial kitchen and Limewire all added up to the wildest experience I’ve had since I got lost on the metro system in Paris back in ’99. The photos barely do it justice, but for a general idea check them out here … The moral of this story is you don’t need a fancy club and a few hundred dollars to have a freaking great night in Sydney, just a bit of imagination (or perhaps acid), good music, a camera and a few worthwhile friends around.
And that, my fellow students, is the moral to this struggle we call partying in Sydney.
So that about wraps it up! Have a safe and happy time these holidays… see you again in 2010… fly pelican, fly…
Much Love, Tristan & Gabe
December 17th, 2009
Mountain Man
Text: Billy Bride
I’m back! I’ve crossed time-zones and hemispheres to bring you a message from the future! Six months in the future to be exact! So join me, take a leap of faith, and peer into my crystal ball, because Winter 2010 is calling – it’s got something to say!
So listen up, because this weeks post is a first time ever – not only will I be utilising ground-breaking time-space-continuum bridging technology to peer into our future, this is my first post that is BOYS ONLY. That’s right, Winter 2010 is a man’s world, a mountain man’s world to be more specific. Next season is all about the outdoors, nature’s rugged terrain – wood choppin’, sheep shearin’, back breakin’ man land. Forget slick tailoring, and sharp silhouettes, and be as Mother Earth intended. Pendleton, Elizabeth & James, Woolrich and Ralph Lauren bring you style from the roughhewn calloused landscapes of the old west. Worn denim, sheepskins, corduroy & melton felts are the stars of the show, with accessories like the Woolrich Buffalo Check Attache to complete the look. Check out current stock at Barneys and Opening Ceremony to get a head start on the rest of the Southern Hemisphere. Thank me later!
Check back each Thursday for more on the fashion world from Billy Bride
December 16th, 2009
Keeping Promises
Text: CC Bakes
Since my name is CC Bakes, I’ve got a lot to live up to. So I made a pledge to BAKE more, perfect some cake recipes and of course post sweeties here. I mentioned the Bourke Street Bakery Cookbook a few months back, which I tip my hat to, it is truly the Ultimate Baking Companion as it professes. So, in the name of keeping promises, this week I post a most delicious carrot cake from their collection. This is such a great recipe, if I lived in Sydney I’d try and live near this place so I could eat it every day.
Then in the name of the season, I took my hand to a Christmas cake (pictured). I thought, for my first Kiwi Christmas I would bear the gift of a dense fruit cake, but alas I don’t think customs will let me cross the water to the long white cloud with it. Nevertheless, I made the cake, and thought I could give it to some other fruit cake loving soul. This is one of Karen Martini’s.
Also in the baking department this week. I offer hand written notes on how to bake fine gingerbread men, which I also made. Gosh, what a good housewife I will make.
Email me for any of the above mentioned recipes.
Another delicious taste of what comes every Wednesday from CC Bakes.
Want to ask CC a question? ccbakes@theblackmail.com.au
December 16th, 2009
Skillet For Two
Text: CC Bakes
I’ve never posted a breakfast item before, so I thought it be about time. For breakfast really truly is a very important meal, and the first in the day. Also, I have become more and more fond of breakfast items over the last while. One reason for this is that I have become more adventurous in the morning, and decided that you can eat anything for breakfast, there are no rules and there shouldn’t be. Why not eat something unruly at 8:30am, a hot dog, or a fish taco (no puns intended). And besides, breakfast out can too often be overpriced and just not quite right.
In saying that, it’s not everyday that one has time to whip up something like this. However, this dish is nothing grandiose to assemble, though I must admit, it looks pretty scrumptious, and I’d be chuffed to get this placed in front of me at a cafe on any given morning. This situation here is something I like to call Skillet for two.
Leeks
Baby Asparagus
Ham off the bone
Fried Eggs
Dill
All cooked together in a pan in a little bit of butter and served with some toast. Lucky for me I don’t have to leave the house and this might be placed in front of me.
Another delicious taste of what comes every Wednesday from CC Bakes.
Want to ask CC a question? ccbakes@theblackmail.com.au
December 11th, 2009
Cheeky Freak Of The Week: Hana Shimada
Text: Tristan Ceddia
The Cheeky Freak this week is the wonderful Hana Shimada who we feature in the current issue. Hana has been kind enough to design our amazing Scat Karaoke Christmas poster this year (pictured above). To tie in nicely, the poster was printed by Blood and Thunder who we featured in last months issue – whoa! Since it’s close to Christmas, We are giving away five limited edition posters! For your chance to win, just email prize@theblackmail.com.au and tell us why you want to win so bad…
In Sydney this weekend, check out the Modular Christmas Party on Saturday featuring Tame Impala, Jonathan Boulet, Canyons, Bang Gang DJs, Kim (The Presets), Ladyhawke and Tim from Cut Copy. Should be a pumper! Get your tickets here.
In Melbourne tonight, go see Jodorowsky’s El Topo at ACMI Cinemas, Fed Square, screening at 9:30pm. If you were lucky enough to get tickets to Meredith Music Festival this weekend, visit Raph Boogie’s Beatbox Kitchen, a food van disguised as a giant boom box, featuring in collaboration with Eddy Current Suppression Ring the Eddy Current Cool Ice-Cream Sandwich along with Raph’s other great hits from the grill. Mmmm, tasty!!
December 11th, 2009
On The Road
Text: Gabriel Knowles
Songs are “walking the hard road back to modernism with a shrug” apparently. Whilst their drone pop isn’t quite right here and now, their more discernible influences such as no wave are hardly from a time when classical music ruled the world. But that’s another debate altogether. What’s not up for debate is the ability of Songs to blow away audiences with their live shows, a skill not all present day bands are yet to grasp. Good job they’ve got a new album to hit the road with then. If you get the chance don’t pass it up.
Thursday November 26
SYDNEY – Oxford Art Factory
With Panel of Judges and Lost Animal (Jarrod from St Helens)
Saturday November 28
BRISBANE – The Clubhouse
With The Jezabels
Sunday November 29 (4pm doors)
MELBOURNE – Workers Club
With Kes band, Fabulous Diamonds and The Ancients
December 10th, 2009
Bridezilla!
Text: Adriana Giuffrida
Bit of a different post this week, not necessarily about fashion…
If you are in Sydney tonight, head to GoodGod Small Club where Bridezilla are launching their new album, The First Dance supported by Kirrin J. Callinan and the ever amazing Daisy M. Tulley (pictured above and a member of Bridezilla). If you havent seen Daisy perform before, you are in for a treat, each time you she performs it’s a very special and intimate experience. Check it out if you can.
Billy bride is currently spending up a storm in New York. Check back next Thursday for the return of Billy Bride… really this time!
December 10th, 2009
Cheeky Freek Of The Week
Text: Tristan Ceddia
This weeks Cheeky Freak is a sly combo! Above is Sarah Blasko’s new music video for “Bird On A Wire” directed by Krozm, and featuring our mate Martin Bell as the wild looking tribal feather arrow guy. Great video for a great song! We featured Martin in our premiere issue and Krozm in our October issue. Martin is currently working on his second book, the follow up to My Birthday Party. Stay tuned!
Tonight in Sydney The Stabs, Witch Hats and Ghosts Of Television play Mountain Folds Gold Shoulder at GoodGod. Saturday night, polish off your best ceramics, mull up and head down to the Cricketers for the ever amazing Bong Wars… once all your weed is gone, head to the Phoenix bar on Oxford St for a potentially lethal dose of Hip Hop with Half Way Crooks. Boom!
Tonight in Melbourne check out the opening of Three Of A Kind featuring new work by Beci Orpin, Irene Grishin-Selzer (Iggy & Lou Lou) and Madeleine Stamer. We did a mini interview with Beci a few weeks back. Three Of A Kind opens tonight from 6-8pm at Lab X Gallery, 40 Pakington Street St Kilda.
December 9th, 2009
A Taste of Marilyn
Text: CC Bakes
Whipped up by some people at Melbourne design studio Marilyn & Sons, I introduce you to A Taste of Marilyn.
This blog is to follow on from a book they made at the end of 2008, titled A Taste of Marilyn. The book was the culmination of a year’s worth of Friday lunchtime recipes, chronicling what started out as an impulse, turned into a ritual, and ended up being the centrepiece of the working week. A Taste of Marilyn blog documents the continuation of Friday lunch, online.
But before you dig in, there’s some explaining to do: Marilyn & Sons is a graphic design/web/advertising studio based in Prahran. Their strange little family consists of five sons: Kristian, Gavin, Martin, Benjamin and Caroline.
In January of 2008, acting upon Caroline’s suggestion, they started taking turns cooking lunch for one another each Friday. To begin with, the kitchen implements were, at best, elementary. They had a sandwich press, a microwave and a toaster. But they persevered. In time, they added a camping stove and an electric pan to the setup, and soon the warm meals were flowing steadily into their cold winter gullets.
The extended Marilyn family soon began to get involved, with brothers, mothers and friends generously coming into the office and becoming, for a short time at least, genuine Celebrity Chefs.
There were culinary highs and lows, and degrees of skill and effort that ranged from the truly herculean to the downright average, yet with each meal there was always that delightful mixture of a cook’s pride and the warm, appreciative glow that comes with a belly well filled.
So it is with great pleasure, and some trepidation, that they present to you the collection of their Friday lunch recipes for A Taste of Marilyn.
A Taste of Marilyn
Another delicious taste of what comes every Wednesday from CC Bakes.
Want to ask CC a question? ccbakes@theblackmail.com.au
