TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

12:26 AM
Posted by jodi rose

another crazy few days.

still decompressing from all that intense mental energy, conceptualising the myriad aspects of this global symphony caper. having a chance to talk about influences and new directions in music and art with julian day on his new music up late show - profiles of artists 'off the record'.
can't wait. tune in to abc classic fm, or listen online in the next week:

new music up late
'off the record'
sat 17 feb 10.30pm - 12.30am
or listen online

went to nigel's exhibition opening tonight, gorgeous work as always, using his sonic microscopic technique with tiny diaromas on lightbulbs...
excellent opening talk from tony mcg, referencing james joyce, talking about radio and memory. chatted with a very down-to-earth and funny art dealer about possibilities for transforming singing bridges into some kind of saleable commodity - get it on the wall, he told me. rethinking and reframing the work - another whole dimension of fabulous fun!

dropped into the abc to pick up my slovak experimental radio series of CD's for selection on the show next week, it's the closest thing to an ongoing professional environment I have. enjoy the random conversations there so much. danny told me about an article in the herald today about 'affluenza', based on the work of a visiting london pyschologist who called sydney 'the most vacuous of cities. The Dolly Parton of cities in australia.'

some of the comments on the blog are hilarious, one person saying, well, as long as we're the MOST vacuous, that's ok, others talking about their neighbourhood as being the only good one. (ooops, did I do that recently - guilty as charged maybe. not the best but the one I like to live. although the beach is nice, but all those people doing endless rounds of physical fitness really irk me). Luckily, not one of the following categories applies to me, or many people I know:

'When they are not working the longest hours in the developed world, they pursue perfect bodies through joyless fitness regimes, or obsess about property prices. And they are always looking around anxiously, in the hop that others aren't doing better.' (Oliver James, quoted in the article 'Vacuous, shallow city with no soul' by Brigid Delaney 27/1/07) although maybe if he'd hung out in the park more and talked to some random passers by, or people who are just going about their lives without worrying too much about how they look or maybe even some artists, he might have had some different insights.

mind you, I feel that way sometimes too, but having recently exorcised my demons about peoples expectations it doesn't bother me so much anymore. he compares sydney to new york, saying there is 'material wealth but terrible sadness at the core', 'alienation', and 'a life leached of meaning'. he also talks about the strain on relationships caused by this hunt for perfection and 'the one', and calls being in love an illness, 'it's like drugs'. his suggestions: be authentic, vivacious and playful.
read a book, make a daisy chain, help a friend move house.

...again I am reminded of the benefits to being broke but happy. time. time to do what I please, hang out with friends, enjoy life in a simple way. oh, and make art. reflect on the world, connect with people.

speaking of which, had a wonderful conversation with a friend from my misspent youth who I haven't seen in almost twenty years. gave me a vivid insight into all kinds of patterns I've taken for granted since - funny how you forget the effect people have on you over time. he's as bitingly intelligent, subversive, funny and kind as I remember, and has been doing wild international projects like setting up community radio stations in east timor (solar powered, as self-sustaining as possible).

on a completely different note, had a lovely evening last night at Hedwig, such a powerful rock'nroll show, full of passion, bittersweet regret and the desire for love and connection. Iota gives an amazing performance, the audience was spellbound every minute of it. An old friend invited me, and rocked up wearing a bright red t-shirt saying 'I'm your soulmate', which apparently girls on the street are very appreciative of. He told me he'd had it ironed - well, I'm going out with Jodi Rose, I had to make an effort. Cute. And very apt considering the subject matter of the play. We had fun, it was great to hang out with someone I know so well over many years, with absolutely no expectation or self-consciousness. And it's impossible to feel like you're being too loud or too much, as he is always dialled up a few extra notches in intensity - which I find strangely relaxing... other people may just find strange. in a good way.

anyway, after all that contradictory rambling, maybe time for sleep.
have been on a 3am cycle with all this writing, the nights are so lush. big full moon shining in the window now and a warm playful breeze.

'Art is never finished, only abandoned.' Leonardo da Vinci