News Holland Music - Bill Callahan

I love a break up album. Beck, Seachange; Elliot Smith, XO; John Lennon, Mind Games (kinda); and of course, most famously Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. Nothing spawns inspiration like a broken heart. Happiness is boring. Give me ravaged, tortured souls destroyed by wayward lovers any day. Bill Callahan's second solo album, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, could be a break up album. Rumour has it he broke up with Joanna Newsom not long before recording this album, and that's gotta hurt. We all know his voice - it's deep, it's very deep. It jumps out at you as if he is there in the room. It is the perfect conduit for his dark and brooding style of storytelling. He slowly meanders through a childlike fascination with animals and nature, stopping occasionally to reflect on love and loss. The music is there, the instrumentals are beautiful, but it's hard to concentrate and anything but that voice, that sad and broken voice. Perhaps that's why his first solo album Woke on a Whaleheart didn't work for me. I think he was in love. With Joanna.

Kool Thing

Image courtesy of Mini Rodini

When did kids wear get so freaking cool? Today I found myself double-glancing at a five year old thinking 'wow, love the way you've put that together'. It was a quirky ensemble, part Antwerp deconstructionist, part French cool. And it's not the first time I've had wardrobe envy from a kid. Why, who would have thought my very own child would own a Philip Lim piece before me? It's not just an extension of supremely stylish mummies and daddies, indeed it's more common to see a designer-clad kid strutting ahead while his tired and frumpy mother tries to keep up. Skinny jeans in japanese denims, organic cotton logo tees, motif hoodies and vintage-style prairie dresses, to mention but a few. Are we living now vicariously through our children, or has dressing them become a creative outlet? Either way, the retailers are loving it and have been quick to capitalise on the trendy trend. My expensive Danish cot came with a tag-line, something along the lines of 'nurture good taste from the beginning'... of course i fell for it.

Play the Game

Image courtesy of Rush PR

The motto at my leafy, suburban primary school was 'play the game', a good strong, thought-provoking slogan (although the double entendre was lost on me and I developed an unhealthy obsession with sport).

Whoever selected it, back in 1891, no doubt did so with an innocent mind, wanting his students to relish in opportunities presented and have a well-rounded education and life. These days, to successfully 'play the game' one usually resorts to trickery and dirty tactics. From Australia's Next Top Model to Federal politics, the players are ruthless in their pursuit for the top. It's become less about camaraderie and more about ambition. And nowhere is this more relevant than in politics where yesterday Kevin Rudd, once again played the game. By amending their carbon emissions scheme, Rudd and his ministers have politically compromised by trying to appease two sides. Delaying the scheme by 12 months and thereby mollifying the Coalition, while increasing the target to a more environmentally acceptable 25 per cent by 2020, is some shifty politics. Surely, an amendment the opposition leader can't pass up on, and cleverly designed to refocus attention on a cornered Turnbull. Of course he will pass and the environment and climate change will become the marinated vegies in this bitter, political sandwich. If only the contestants on Australia's Next Top Model were this clever.