australian rozie

Australian Rozie

Here are some tracks I played at Rob’s 40th birthday party. I was using Mark’s CD decks, not vinyl or scratch live (which I prefer). Had a few technical difficulties with MP3s on disc and I didn’t bring enough music. It seems that I now do only one DJ gig per year (I’m very exclusive ha ha), so book in for 2011 now .

Anyway – a fun time was had by all, great to catch with lots of old friends and drop some 80s glory. Mark played some nice house and disco tunes too.

In no particular order and not a complete list:
Come Back and Stay – Paul Young
Girls on Film – Duran Duran
Pull up to the Bumper – Grace Jones
Heaven is a Place on Earth – Belinda Carlisle
Mad World – Tears for Fears
Let’s Go Crazy – Prince
1999 – Prince
What have you done for me lately – Janet Jackson
Loose Fit – Happy Mondays
Blue Monday – New Order
Loaded – Primal Scream
Naughty Girl – Beyonce
SexyBack – Justin Timberlake
Bulletproof – La Roux
All Night Long (All Night) – Lionel Richie
Hung Up – Madonna
Music – Madonna
Vogue – Madonna
Holiday – Madonna
Dress You Up – Madonna
Cherish – Madonna
Suburbia – Pet Shop Boys
Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell (feat. Michael Jackson)
Got to be Real – Cheryl Lynn
I’m Coming Out – Diana Ross
Can’t get you out of my head – Kylie
Send Me an Angel – Real Life
and sorry I didn’t have any P!nk @#$%

Oh and Happy 40th Rob!

Continuing my 80s concert glory with a group of fellow 80s tragics at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Firstly Tears for Fears opened with an eerie acapella version of Mad World, then broke into all their classic songs: Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Head Over Heels, Pale Shelter, Woman in Chains and Shout. Surprisingly Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith both sounded great vocally and musically. They had a tight band and a backup singer who was a bloke but sounded like a girl!
When Spandau Ballet came on, the crowd went really nuts! There was an “older” couple sitting in front of us that stood up for the entire concert (not that great when I didn’t feel like standing for the entire concert when I’d paid for a seat). I had the impression they had not gone out for 20 years and they really loved Spandau Ballet Anyway, I knew every song they performed bar one. I had earlier bought Gold – The Best Of Spandau Ballet in preparation for this night! They performed for about 2 hours, so I’d have to say it was very good value for money. Tony Hadley can still sing really well (though needed a little warming up the beginning. Have to admit he sounds better than Simon Le Bon these days) and the rest of the band did their thing with gusto. Does anyone think Tony Hadley is channelling Anthony LaPaglia? Steve Norman’s cheesy 80s glory style sax solos were quite amusing. Martin Kemp is still the hot one! When the concert ended the band members all hugged and embraced like they really loved each other (again).
When I was a teenager, I had the poster of them where they all have their tops off on my bedroom wall. I think that came with their album Parade. Mind you, Wham and Duran Duran were my bigger favourites and there were many more posters of them on my walls.
There was something very satisfying and enjoyable about hearing some of my favourite songs from my teens being performed (well) live. A good time was had by all, then everyone got in their station wagons and drove home to the Hills District bwha hahaha – oh wrong decade.

PS. It wasn’t as good as George Michael, I mean holy shit, he performed a concert for 40,000 people!!!

Here’s some notes from day one Friday 19 March.
Frankie Magazine – their presentation was: relevant, organised, informative, inspirational. Made me want to subscribe to the magazine.
Some references: Sirota Guess Who book.

Travis Millard/Mel Kadel – this couple were super casual, very laid back in their presentation style but personable and funny. They are both really talented illustrators/artists. I saw Travis later on and told him he did a great preso and he said thx.
Some references: Raymond Pettibone, Fudge Factory Comics, Michael Jackson in Exile comic, Strong Arms, Farts – a spotter’s guide.



Craig Schuftan – his presentation was different, unusual for Semi-permanent. I felt like I was at uni again in a theory lecture. Some guys near me said it was boring. For me, it was interesting because the talk was about neo-80s and as I was there the first time (before it was neo). He name dropped many of my 80s icons such as Madonna, Andy Warhol, MJ, Duran Duran as well as “future music” makers such as Daft Punk.
Some references: Susan Sontag, dada, surrealism, “perspective – master of infinite space” and he’s making a zine of this preso if you are keen to re/visit.


Fecal Face – this preso wasn’t so thrilling, I think he ran out of things to say. He showed his early work/influences – skateboarding, Thrasher Magazine. He did give some good advice.

Get a job not doing what you want to do, so when you get home, you really want to do it.

Glue Society – a short presentation, he showed lots of ads and documentaries of ads they have made. They did The Chaser promo where they bought billboard space in remote countries for hardly any money but received crap loads of publicity. They made an ESPN Fantasy Team ad but I didn’t get it. Maybe something for my teenage Canadian cousins to appreciate.
Some references: Metal on Metal music video, The Gamekillers, 42 Below Because We Can campaign.

Ashley Gilbertson – this photojournalist dude was intense, he looked older than his years because of the shit that he’s seen. His talk was very serious, very intense, the subject matter of war images were disturbing. (His voice reminded me of Sideshow Bob though) It was very moving when he spoke about the series he photographed of dead soldier’s bedrooms. He was so passionate and expressed a sense of responsibility to tell the soldier’s stories.

and that concludes day one of Semi-permanent 2010…
oh there was also an exhibition to co-incide with Semi-permanent at Darling Park called Brought to You by the Letter T – a collaboration with Sesame Street and a a bunch of artists and T World Magazine. What I haven’t/couldn’t work out is if the t-shirts they designed are available to buy.

Hey guys, I’ll be at Central station on Friday morning helping out with Bandaged Bear Day 2010. From lunchtime, I’ll probably be at Martin Place. Come and visit, buy some merchandise, feel good.

The Bandaged Bear Day Appeal is the major merchandise appeal for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Merchandise is on sale at a variety of outlets throughout NSW and the ACT for the month of March.

Help celebrate Bandaged Bear’s 21st Birthday on Friday 26 March! Buy merchandise, donate money or hold your own “When I grow up I want to be…” party during March and raise vital funds for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Friday 26 March, Bandaged Bear Day, is the highlight of the Appeal, with hundreds of volunteers on the streets selling the bright and colourful merchandise. The Hospital relies heavily on the support of the community to make this day an overwhelming success.

Bandaged Bear Day Appeal funds will help care for sick kids needing a range of medical treatments. Donations will be allocated to areas of the greatest need within the Hospital including research into childhood diseases, the purchase of vital equipment and the provision of patient services. Community support contributes significantly to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead being a world-class centre of healing for sick children and their families, where fun and laughter line the road to recovery.

Here’s a brief rundown on the rest of January this year.
The last 2 weeks were spent on holidays in NZ. Dave went to the total geek fest (Linux Conference) and I hung out in Wellington with Martin, Gabby & Ruby for the first week. Activities included: Visiting the Weta Cave, eating, shopping, record shopping, art galleries, making cards and hanging out with the small children of Wellington. See a truckload of Wellington pics here
For the second week, we flew to Auckland and hired a cheap and nasty car (that didn’t have a cd player) and drove to the Bay of Islands. We ended up buying an iTrip type thing so we could have some decent music for our road trip. Unfortunately, Dave was in a lot of pain because of his wisdom teeth. Luckily we were staying in some really nice accoms, so we got our money’s worth. As soon as we got home, Dave had all 4 wisdom teeth taken out. Photos from Northland and Auckland here.