Mental Health Break

Dear readers; as you might have surmised, I've come down with a case of Weltschmerz. Normal service will resume in the fullness of time. In the meantime, looking at the Outlook for Thursday, what with some bloggers marooned already and everything, here's a bit of music therapy while everyone battens down the hatches.

Nice weather for the Mutton Birds:







And back to the Mutton Birds, dedicated to Busted Blonde and Brunswick:

A Different Drum

 One of the most enjoyable threads I have ever taken part in is happening over at Public Address. Russell Brown has asked What Song Makes You Want to Self Harm? The result is a wonderful experiment of pain, pleasure, pluralism and circumstance.

Kick Beck

Stream of consciousness idiot Glenn Beck has been kicked off cable TV. Jon Stewart rejoices on the Daily Show. Here's the good Beck & co with Never Tear Us Apart:



More INXS covers from the real Beck here.

Our girl Friday

Rebecca Black's Friday:

Annabel Fay's Show Me the Right Way:

Best reax to the Friday thing? Charlie Brooker. Best reax to our NZ girl Friday? Simon Sweetman:

Malcolm McLaren has signed off

Alas, poor Malcolm. I met him once.

Song and dance

Awesome busker mashup, Killing in the Name of Frosty. Just the right amount of festive anarchy. HT Offsetting Behaviour:



I hate The Sound of Music as much as the next blogger, but this flash-mobbing in a Belgian railway station contained the right amount of headfucking. HT Poneke:

Back to Zippy's

Lazy Sunday:

Pretty Good

Fly My Pretties is back:


Christchurch: Fri 22 May - Isaac Theatre Royal
Dunedin: Fri 29 May - The Regent
Auckland: Thurs 4 June, Fri 5 June, Sat 6 June - Sky City Theatre
Wellington: Fri 12 June - St James Theatre

Would love to go, but at $61.50 plus booking scalp (book here), I'll wait for the CD. Hat Tip Loop.

Where Westies come from

A somewhat unscientific poll has been conducted on what music mothers play to babies to put them to sleep. The most popular bedtime tune is Take That's Patience. The Top Ten features other pop ballads such as GnR's Sweet Child o' Mine and Oasis' Wonderwall. Where's all the traditional lullabies? "The poll also revealed 13% of mothers thought lullabies were too old-fashioned, while one in 10 said they could not remember the words to any of them."

I'm no baby expert, but the whole point of lullabies is to lull the sprogs to sleep. Words, no matter how inspiring, don't matter to babies. Otherwise Rock a Bye Baby would have more psychologically damaging consequences. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall? Guaranteed anxiety in youngsters. A bassline and rousing chorus might go down well with the chav Mums, but something more ambient is better for the wee blighters. If you must play pop music at them, try the range of twinkling rock and pop covers from Rockabye Baby (Hat Tip Spare Room).

Scotch Mist

Radiohead performs all the songs from In Rainbows, most of them live.