Impossible

I'm really into the song, "Impossible" (on the Christina Aguilera album "Stripped") at the moment . Its written and produced by Alicia Keys (you can definitely hear her influence and style in the song). Its a really soulful piano ballad - hehe of course there has to be a piano involved somewhere in the song - and I like the way Christina sings it. I also like the arrangement of the song. Mainly chordal work on piano, with a bluesy/jazzy feel, a tight drum/bass rhythm section, with subtle electric guitar work in the background, plus touches of wind/brass instruments (I think I hear flute & sax?) in the right places.

Hm. I can't believe I just musically analysed a pop song. What is the world coming to? :P

"It's impossible
It's impossible to love you
If you don't let me know what you're feeling, babe
It's impossible for me to give you what you need
If you're always hidin' from me

I don't know what hurt you
I just, I wanna make it right
Cos boy I'm sick and tired of tryin' to read your mind"
more..

Current listening :: "Impossible" - Christina Aguilera (ft Alicia Keys)

Updates

Don't know if you've noticed a few minor updates around the joint. In the nav bar, Gallery has changed to Photos, which leads to a page with links to my various photo pages (including my current gallery, some old photo pages, and my photologs).

I've also added a Downloads page which will contain stuff I'm into at the moment, maybe some lyrics I like, or my current wallpaper.. whatever! :) Recently, I've noticed a heap of searches for The Bens hitting my site, so I've put up lyrics of "Bruised" (which happens to be my favourite song at the moment). :)

Oh, if you are new to my site, please take the time to sign the guestbook or make a comment, and let me know how you got here! Thanks! :)

Current listening :: "Beautiful" - Christina Aguilera

Asterix.. Obelix.. Dogamatix.. Getafix.. Bruce Willix??

On Sunday night a group of friends and I saw Asterix and Obelix : Mission Cleopatra at the French Film Festival. It was great! No, it wasn't an animation (if thats what you're thinking), it was a movie movie, with Gérard Depardieu as Obelix. Some other known actors in the movie were Jamel Debbouze (from Amélie) and Monica Bellucci (who will be in The Matrix Reloaded).

The movie was hilarious! Soo funny! There were many references to other things, such as a Star Wars reference (which was a cack!) :D It had that sorta self-aware humour, a little like "The Emperors New Groove". I'm glad I went and saw it. I'd never read much Asterix before (I was more of a Tin Tin fan in school), but I think I might have to read a few now. :)


In other news..

It's been quite a few days since I last blogged. *gasp* :P My weekend was pretty jam packed - did lots of planning and shopping on Saturday for my bf's 21st party (which is in two weeks time). On Sunday I met up with my youth group co-leader to prepare a study (though I think we probably did more chatting than preparing!) and then had music practice and church.. plus the movie afterwards.

I think I'm gonna have to start writing down everything that needs to be done in a big to-do list. I'm getting so busy with everything that I'm forgetting all the bits and pieces I need to do. Too many things on my plate! Ugh.


Jazz class

I realised I haven't posted much about my Jazz Performance Group class at the Con. I forgot to do last weeks update. My class last Thurs was really good. I felt that my improvisation solo's were really getting somewhere.. like, I was in control and not just scrambling to get the notes, or figure out what scales went with what chords. Even my teacher said it really sounded like I was making music as opposed to just playing scales. :) The class was really small, because our drummer, vibaphone player, and flute player were all away. So there were only 4 of us including the teacher! Me on piano, the guitarist, bass player and teacher on sax.

We were playing together quite well as a result of the small class, bonding quite solidly and really listening to each other. There was a moment at the end of "Little Sunflower" when we were ending the piece by just jamming on Dm7. We were really together, listening and answering each others playing.. getting quieter, till we tapered off into silence. *Ahhh..*

Current listening :: "Gangsterland" - Bluebottle Kiss (this song goes off! Love the guitar solo/jamming/thrashy bit at the end!)

"Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry"

Feeling depression setting in. Not really sure why. Maybe I'm listening to too much depressive music. I've been listening to "The Scientist" by Coldplay. Such a beautiful song. For some reason, listening to it makes me wanna cry.

Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said that it would be so hard
Oh take me back to the start

Ah, stuff it. I'm gonna go have a shower.. and maybe sit in the sauna for a bit.. still very sore. :(

Current listening :: "The Scientist" - Coldplay

Photos of The Bens are up!

I've finally gotten around to uploading my photos from The Bens Rock Over Australia gig. Enjoy. Sorry about the bad quality/blurriness of some of the pics. I didn't take alot of them as I couldn't see much coz I was too short. :( I got a taller friend to take them. (Thank you Paul!)



Current listening :: "Reckless boy" - Ultra Suite
(yes, Leo, if you're reading this, I listen to your band's stuff every now and then. I'll even plug you guys for free. :) Everyone, check out Ultra Suite - their debut album is coming out in the middle of this year.)

That familiar feeling..

Have been feeling that familiar old feeling of soreness today. The ache of my back muscles, legs, and neck (and other odd places) that result from only one thing. Dance class. :)

It was great! I've really missed going. I'd forgotten how strenuous it could be, but it probably is not as bad as it could have been since I'd been exercising. My choreography wasn't too bad. The lyrical was quite alright (but then I think I've always found lyrical jazz easier than funky jazz) - and my technical stuff seemed still intact. I can still do an axle, jette, barrel turn/jump, kicks, and even an odd double turn (though I mostly stuck with single turns in the routines.. didn't wanna press my luck!) I felt a bit stiff and awkward when we started the 2nd routine, naturally, but eventually got back into it. The routine was really fast, so I had a bit of trouble keeping up in some sections, but I managed to pretty much master all the steps and do them in time. I gotta say, doing a quick chasse with a head roll really puts you off balance! Probably the reason my neck is so sore today!

Anyway, enough ranting about dance class and usage of technical jazz terms that probably only 1 or 2 of you will understand. :P I'm off to another jazz class.. of a different variety - my jazz performance group (piano) at the Con. Yay! :)

Current listening :: Army - Ben Folds

Spew-worthy

Eww... Ack... Gaa... Ugh...

*violent shuddering*

That would have been my reaction as I gulped my mum's health (read: evil) concoction of freshly juiced celery, cucumber, capsicum, green apple and bitter melon. Do I hear a collective "ewwww"? The only reason I drank it was coz of health reasons. Think of it as pain endured for good, much like doing stomach crunches.. or push ups.

Current listening :: "Xfire" - The Bens

The Bens

The gig last night was awwwwesome! :) I managed to get myself a cool "The Bens Rock Over Australia" t-shirt and their tour only EP. I can't be bothered writing a blow-by-blow account of what happened. Visit Larissa's blog for a fairly accurate description. :)

Highlights for me were Ben Folds (duh!), Ben Kweller's adaption of "Ice ice baby" (so funny), the suprise appearance of Jimmy Barnes during "Khe Sanh"(!!), Ben Folds and Ben Lee's cover of "I touch myself". I loved how they played musical chairs, demonstrating their (well Ben Folds anyway!) fine ability to play more than one instrument. They really looked like they were having fun on stage, eg when Ben Kweller's guitar strap broke, to stall for time they started up some impromtu jamming and making up of silly lyrics. I also liked the "Chopsticks" influenced little ditty of Ben Folds.. heh.

Not sure what I think of their new stuff yet I like their new stuff, after having a good listen to the EP today. The "Xfire" performance last night was a little wierd, with Ben Folds going off on the synth (sounds alright on the cd though). The low frequency synth section during that song was almost powerful enough to shatter a glass. It certainly felt like a physical blow to my body, not to mention my ears!

Oh, I've got pics, which I will get around to uploading soon. A few didn't turn out too well, but I took enough to get at least a few decent ones. My friend also brought his (much better) digital camera, so I'll be getting his pics to upload too. :)

[Updated: 5:27pm]
Oh, I forgot to mention meeting Larissa at the gig. That was kinda cool. Its always a bit of a novelty meeting "internet friends". :) I had a feeling I might bump into her there coz she blogged about going. I had just finished buying my t-shirt and cd's when a uni friend, Xtn, came up to say Hi, and with him was Larissa, whom I recognised straight away (coz of her cam shots I spose!) She was a tad shorter than I'd expected. :)


In other news

I'm gonna go to dance class tonight! For, like, the first time in 2 months. I'm gonna be sooo rusty.. :( I think my fitness is fine coz I've still been gym-ing regularly, but I bet my choreography is gonna suck. I hate the feeling of being so lost that I have to copy the person in front of me the whole time, and be subsequently half a step behind the whole routine. Still, I'm looking forward to it... I miss dancing..

On another note, check out this cnn screen capture. Heheh.

Current listening :: "Bruised" - The Bens (such a pretty song.. definitely my favourite on the EP)

Rockin' the suburbs

Tonight I'm going to The Bens Rock Over Australia gig. Woohoo! :) I'm really looking forward to seeing Ben Folds live again. He's soo awesome. I've been listening to nothing but Ben Folds all day today in preparation. :D I'm also gonna be a real groupie and wear my Ben Folds t-shirt too.. heh.. yes I'm sad.

I will be bringing my digicam to take some pics, so check out my gallery in a few days time. Hopefully I'll get close enough to the stage to get some good shots. Anyway, better start getting ready to leave soon.

Current listening :: "Ben Folds Live" - Ben Folds

Homeless blueless

Geez I'm tired today. Am feeling kinda... listless... & weary. Even lacking motivation to go to the gym. I think I've been listening to too much Bluebottle Kiss. Arg. Perhaps they should be taken in moderation.. otherwise it just gets too darn depressing.

The BBK gig on Saturday night was pretty good! I took quite a few photos, which I've put up in my gallery. The first support act, Oblique, were alright. They looked so very young, like they'd just come straight out of their dad's garage or something. But they weren't bad. Andrew reckons they sound heavily influenced by The Cure (which is a good thing. :)) The second support act was called "Big Heavy Stuff" (they
didn't really have big, heavy sounds though.. hah, I'm too funny.. not). They were ok. We were anticipating them coz they supported Radiohead once. But by that time I was getting a bit tired. I always seem get tired during the 2nd support at a gig, and then wake up for the main act.
		So anyway, around 11ish Bluebottle Kiss came on. It was a very interesting set. After the first song, Jamie (lead guy) rushed off stage. He'd developed a bleeding nose! A few minutes later, he came back on with a tissue stuck up his nostril, and starting playing again. During the song the once white tissue slowly turned red.. and then blood started dripping down his mouth and chin. Yet he kept on singing.
Gotta give him points for sticking by the "the show must go on!" mentality. Soon there were drops of blood on his shirt. Eww. It was pretty gross.. but kinda amusing at the same time. Midway through the set, he rushed off to clean up a bit, and apply some ice. To stall for time, Ben Fletcher (2nd guitarist & vocals, photo below, on the right) came on and entertained us, singing a song from his band "The Devoted Few". He was pretty good. Anyway, by the end of the set, Jamie's bleeding had nearly stopped, and they managed to get in some thrashing about and breaking of guitar strings, finishing up with 2 encore songs, "Last Cinema" and "Gansterland".
I also bumped into an old family friend, Leo, at the gig. That was pretty cool coz I hadn't seen him for ages. He's joined a band, called Ultra Suite, playing the bass. The lead guy of that band (John) used to play with Bluebottle Kiss, so I guess I shouldn't be suprised to see Leo (and his friend Richard - who plays 2nd guitar in the band) at a BBK gig. Heh. Anyways, Leo tells me they've finished recording their debut album, which is going to be mastered, and then released around July. Looking at Leo's info page on their website, I gotta say, I like his taste in cd's! (I know he'd get the Andrew stamp of approval!) :)

Oh, I've updated a few things around the joint. My links page (I'm trying out blogrolling.com for my blog links), the about page, the nav panel, and of course, the gallery. Note that the pictures in this post were taken by me. Please do not take without asking permission first.

Current listening :: "Helping you hate me" - Bluebottle Kiss

"Boredom you are breaking my heart"

Not much time to post at the moment. Just a quick update coz I gotta leave soon to go shopping. Tonight I'm going to see Bluebottle Kiss play at the Gaelic Club (with Big Heavy Stuff and Oblique supporting). I soooo can't wait. Should be awesome!! :)

People, I definitely recommend you check these guys out.. you can even download a few mp3's on their website (of old songs, not from the latest album "Revenge Is Slow", which you should buy to support Aussie music!)

Anyway, gotta dash! Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

All that jazz...

Just came back from my jazz impro class at the Conservatorium of Music. Ahh.. I love music.. and I love playing music. :) Particularly jazz.. its so.. beautiful (but so damn hard to play!) At the moment, we're doing "Little Sunflower" by Freddie Hobbard. A wonderful piece.. its modal, with a bossa beat. I *like* modal pieces... it means I can play without stressing over chord changes and what notes to play. :D A modal piece is, I think, where there are very few chords, which are sustained for ages, and u can basically play any note in the scale of that chord when 'comping because the root of the chord is so obvious and you're in that key for ages, so you just play around it to make things more interesting. (eg "Impressions" by John Coltrane is a classic modal piece.. only two chords - Dm7 and Ebm7.. so its basically all white notes.. then all black notes on the piano. Hee. Love that piece.)

After my class, I decided to sit in on Nick Fowler's jazz fusion class (I did this class about a year ago, which culminated in my first jazz performance, at the Con no less!) My teacher, Alan Webb, told us we were free to sit in on any class we liked. I wanted to see how what Nick was doing with his fusion class, and it just happened to be right after my class, so I went in. It was cool being in his class again, he pulled out the keyboard for me to play along (rather than just sit and listen), which was nice of him. I definitely found his class a lot more challenging than my current one. I think my skills lie somewhere between his class and mine. Though its a bit disheartening to be so very lost when you're supposed to be soloing, I find it is good to be pushed and challenged the way you are in his class. And I love his warm ups - we do scales, scale patterns, and modes in all 12 keys - this *really* pushes you to improve your skills. Anyway, I might go back to that class next term.. or maybe go up a level in jazz performance groups.

Oh, and did I mention that Nick is an absolutely brilliant pianist? When it's his turn to solo, he just blows us all away.. it's breathtaking listening to (and watching) him play, solo, comp.. whatever! I wish I could play like that.. *sigh*


Mirror mirror on the wall...

A friend recently introduced me to The Mirror Project, suggesting that I upload the mirror photos I took whilst doing that tour of the office photo blog. I'd never heard of the site, so I checked it out. It's really cool! It's basically a "community of like-minded individuals who have photographed themselves in all manner of reflective surfaces". I had a look around the site, and some photos that grabbed me were this, this, this, this and this one.

For some reason, I really like seeing photos of people in everyday situations and places around the world. It opens a window to a different part of the world, you're seeing what they're seeing, and you don't even have to be there. I love getting that glimpse into their life, which is so different from mine, for just that brief moment. Thats why I started a photo blog (well, I've only done one so far, but I'll add more as I get more ideas, and time). My mirror photos were totally.. well.. crap.. compared to some of the photos on that site. But hey, I uploaded them anyway.

Current listening :: Internationalist - Powderfinger (for some reason, Powderfinger particularly suited this day.. maybe it was the beautiful sunny autumn weather we had today, or I was just feeling laidback)

Long time no post

Gee its almost been a week since my last post. So what have I been up to.. well, my jazz performance group course at the Conservatorium has been going well. In my class, we have me on piano, a drummer, bass player, guitarist, a vibraphone player (!) and my teacher on saxaphone. Its pretty fun jamming together. I think I'm one of the more knowledgable ones in the area of jazz theory (because I went down from intermediate to elementary), but in terms of playing ability, we're all pretty much on par - probably coz I took a break, and didn't practice.. :(

My weekend was alright. I went to my bf's close friend from primary school's 21st on Sat night. It was cool to meet his old childhood friend. :)

Anyway, I'll post more later. I gotta leave now. Am meeting a girlfriend for a girly dvd and dinner night tonight! :) We're gonna watch Emma on dvd and cook ourselves a yummy chicken pasta with tomato and bechamel sauce .. and apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Mmmm.... :P~

Photo blog entry #1

Phew. That took a while. I decided to go with the cool and snazzy slideshow layout using lots of javascript and css. Things may change if this method becomes too much of a hassle.

So for the moment, let me introduce... A day in the life of Kazzart @ work. :)

Meh.. feeling rather braindead at the moment. Am very overdue for lunch!

Current listening :: "Moondance" - Van Morrison (Awesome stuff... gimme more Van Morrison!)

Webcam fun

I've been having lots of fun with my webcam today. Hm.. I must be bored. Anyway, I got an idea from another blog that I occasionally visit.. and that is to do some "photo blogs" with my digicam. So the first one is gonna be a tour of the office (since its already been asked for!)

But important matters first... lunch... hrmm.. what should I have today...?

Friday Five - Literature Edition

Man its been aaages since I've done one of these... I've been too lazy to lately, but these questions caught my interest.

1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?

Novels definitely!!! Fantasy novels, to be more specific.. I'm hooked on them!

2. What is your favorite novel?

Hmm.. I think I will still stand by "Magician" by Raymond E Feist, though other books/series are starting to encroach on that number one turf.. like the Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A Salvatore and David Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean (yes I know, they're brainless, light and fluffy, but thats part of their charm.. that and all the witty repartee!)

3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!)

Hm I don't know many poems, other than ones I learnt in high school. We did Kenneth Slessor for our HSC, and I actually liked his poetry, my favourite was "Country Towns":

Country towns with your willows and squares,
And farmers bouncing on barrel mares
To public-houses of yellow wood
With "1860" over their doors,
And that mysterious race of Hogans
Which always keeps General Stores.

At the School of Arts, a broadsheet lies
Sprayed with the sarcasm of flies:
"The Great Golightly Family"-
Of Entertainers hear To-night"-
Dated a year and a half ago,
But left there, less from carelessness
Than from a wish to seem polite.

Verandas baked with musky sleep,
Mulberry faces dozing deep,
And dogs that lick the sunlight up
Like paste of gold - or, roused in vain
By far, mysterious buggy-wheels,
Lower their ears, and drowse again.

Country towns with your schooner bees,
And locusts burnt in the pepper-trees,
Drown me with syrups, arch your boughs.
Find me a bench and let me snore,
Till, charged with ale and unconcern,
I'll think it's noon at half-past four!

I also quite like "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".. its cool!

It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
`By thy long beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

I'm not gonna quote the whole poem, coz its just so darn long, but another stanza I particularly like is:

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

4. What is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?

Hmm.. I wish I had more time to read the bible and christian literature. Or rather, I wish I set aside more time and made it more of a priority to read the bible (and christian books). Otherwise, I also want to read from start to finish, The Silmarillion. I read it ages ago in like year 6 or 7 after LOTR, but found it so dry and boring that I only skimmed through and read bits of it (like the tale of Beren and Luthien.. *tear*).

5. What are you currently reading?

I'm glad to say I'm back into reading again (I drifted off for a few years around the uni/work transition period). At the moment I'm reading The Tamuli trilogy, by David Eddings. Just finished "The Shining Ones" last night, and am about to start "The Hidden City", 3rd and final book. I also have on backburner, "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams, which I was about a third of the way through, but got distracted by David Eddings' Belgariad, Mallorean, Elenium and Tamuli! I'm also in the middle of LOTR, and a few christian books like "1st Century Answers to 21st Century Questions" from the SMBC Press, and "If I were God, I'd make things clearer" by John Dickson.


In other news..

I saw advanced screenings of "Maid In Manhattan" on Saturday night with my bf. It was really sweet.. and romantic. *sigh* I'd say its more a romance than comedy, though there were a couple of funnies. I'm still trying to decide where I'd place it on my scale of romantic comedies (I refuse to use the word "chick flick" because I do not believe romantic comedies are strictly for "chicks" - actually I'm quite adamant on that point - I know of guys who aren't afraid to enjoy a good romantic comedy, and they have my utmost respect.. as opposed to guys who dismiss any romantic movie as a "chick flick" (usually said with dismissive and superior tone) and classify any guys who enjoy them as a pansy)... aanyway.. meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I was saying, I'm not sure how highly I'd rate this movie yet, because I saw it with Andrew and I think that colours my perception of the movie (only to a small degree). Its really quite strange, I find that I enjoy my girly movies more when I watch them with my girly girlfriends, because when I watch it with people that I know are highly critical and somewhat cynical, I worry about what they're thinking of the movie at any point in time, and my brain starts working overtime, thinking as they think, noting the points of inconsistency in the plot etc etc.. and that really spoils the movie for me. I actually really dislike watching those kinda movies with critical/cynical groups of people now.. I think this is partly due to a bad experience of watching a soppy romance with a group of overly critical friends. As a result, I no longer like that movie quite as much because of the feelings/memories associated from that experience. Even watching it a third time with a girlfriend couldn't quite erase the memory.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Blame it on girl troubles. :) I'm not really all that bitter about this stuff.. some things just get to me more easily when I'm not in the best of moods, in other times I would be able to just shrug it off and be more laid back about it.

Current listening :: This Is Me Then - Jennifer Lopez (I don't care what people say about her, I really quite like J.Lo! She's sexy and classy and not afraid of it! :D)

A career change..?

Well, that was interesting. I just managed to break into my house after locking myself out. It was, scarily, a feat too easily accomplished. *Kaz idly wonders if its this easy at other houses.. mwahaha* J/k. :D

Anyway, last night was my first time leading a bible study in our youth group (I'm leading the year 7 - 10 girls group). It went fairly smoothly, though I feel like I'm in very unfamiliar territory. I guess I'll learn as I go. I'm still trying to decide how strict to be with them in terms of them getting distracted during the study. I want to be hardlined-ish with them, but I don't wanna come across as mean and thereby alienating them from me. *sigh* It was kinda funny though, I had to near shout at times to be heard over their chatter!

Anyway gotta go.. am going to watch Maid In Manhattan now with my bf. (Adv screenings!) Yay!! :)