Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Sod Art! Let's Prance

Some of my favourite pop bands have released new albums this year, like The Lucksmiths and Would-Be-Goods. The latter's Eventyr nearly breached my top 15 of this year's best albums. It's a brilliant album, as any new material from Jessica Griffin's pen is bound to be. It's also a big event as it's now been four years since The Morning After spoiled our collective ear. It would have come as a complete surprise as well, had it not been for the uncommonly tasty taster "Temporary Best Friend" that we heard on The Matinée Hit Parade, and now features on the album as its best song (and one of the best in the band's whole catalogue actually).

I've been keen to get Would-Be-Goods over to Sweden to play ever since putting on another band that Pete Momtchiloff plays in - Bid's mysterious Scarlet's Well outfit - last year. He seemed very enthusiastic, so it was saddening not being to able to help them out when they finally made it over to Sweden for the first time earlier this year. And I couldn't even go see them up in Stockholm!

I'll console myself by playing Eventyr on these dark winter evenings, letting myself be drawn into its beguiling atmosphere of swinging chandeliers and fading Edwardian tapestries. Eventyr is Danish for adventure, and I'm not surprised to read that it's the name of a H.C. Andersen anthology. Several of the songs have an almost Grimm-like air and it's easy to see similarities with Scarlet's Well, whom Momtchiloff is now contributing songs for as well as Would-Be-Goods. They cannot lose Griffin's unique mark however, and even though Momtchiloff wrote "Temporary Best Friend", some of my other favourites on the album like the opening classic "Sad Stories", "Melusine" which is playing in the sidebar here, and the lilting "Baby Romaine" are all Griffin's compositions. Bass player Andy Warren also joins the game with the closing track "A Professor Momtchiloff Mystery", which could've been The Monochrome Set's "Andy Leaps In". Warren once played in The Monochrome Set along with Lester Square, you see, which probably makes him Jessica's most enduring band partner since her backing band on both the él-released The Camera Loves Me and Mondo were the then-disbanded Monochrome Set. That leaves drummer Deborah Green as the only non-contributing member, but considering her past in Thee Headcoatees I think she could really add something to the band's appeal if she tried. Any excuse for another album! Or at least some more gigs. Perhaps they'll come to Auckland... and we'll all live happily ever after.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

們團隊「大軍」(以下簡稱軍)在特戰單位的同梯,那種磨練的情況下,酒店兼職造就他們的革命情感,也是退伍後少數有聯絡的朋友,但因軍在八大工作,時間與地點和大多數人不搭,所以平時聯絡大都是簡單的問侯,畢竟男孩子這年紀就是拼事業。有一天“慶仔”突班最OK!】酒店打工前要思考的事情之一「我一周要報幾天班?!」除了完全沒經驗的新人外,在入行1~2月後,建議可穩定報3~4天班(可採隔週方式輪替)。原因如下:
1.低於此上班天數,相對收入變少,無法減輕經濟壓力。酒店經紀2.多少要喝酒,加上日夜顛倒,體力上無法負荷太多。3.天數太少,會讓幹部或熟客找不到妳,因而影響節數高低。4.畢竟是服務業,多少會接收到客人的負面能量,因此適當的休息是必要的。(真心體會!)5.休息時間可以陪伴家人,或學習第2專長,盡可能填補進入酒店工作的得失。常見到剛入行或個性急的公關,會連上5~6天班,其實這都只是「借明天的時間與身體」,往往這周上六天,下周身體狀況撐不住就休檔,相對酒店薪資收入並沒有提高,
然來電,1.酒店幾乎全年無休,所以沒有颱風假。
2.酒店大都在精華區,除了暴雨造成淹水,否則一律營業。
3.雖然外頭狂風暴雨,但只要安全進室內,酒店工作KTV是當下最可以狂歡的環境。
4.因為白天突然放假,也造就如假日前的生意量,滿包再滿包。
5.因為日夜顛倒,加上以往沒有網路查資料,所以過去「氣象報告」對八大少有參考價值。
6.八大在數年前,早已不成文規定,颱風過境時,請假可以選擇補班,而不會硬性規定到班喔!
說臨時要招待客戶有接大案件要來消費,軍回雖然在八大,但我專職經紀,業績部分原則都不碰,也討厭複雜。因“慶仔”說有位老大哥非常照顧他,一定要介紹。許多朋友都知道我們團隊上班時間決不碰酒與應酬,但人情義理與盛情難却,當下就勉強答應,席間酒酣耳熱之際,軍直覺那位老大哥非正派人物,很像來“敲盤子”的,也提醒“慶仔”這桌洋酒猛開,公關也亂喊框,眼看單越來越大,軍便提醒“慶仔”是誰買單,軍十分清楚剛退伍又是白天班,“慶仔”著實無法負擔,但心想就挺同梯也就不再多問了,況且他們也許正談生意,軍心想也不必太小家子氣。當天5萬多“慶仔”就先用現金回單了,想說之後再處理即可。果不其然,據“慶仔”說那位老大哥講了一堆理由就是拒不付帳,連那天他自己框2位妹的檯費也不出,最後“慶仔”只匯6000給軍,軍不想為難他,就自認差額了。