Powderfinger gives 'the man' the finger

I bought the new Powderfinger album two weeks ago. Despite what I wrote a little before that about the censorship= of the song ‘Black Tears’ it appears to not have happened. I came home, and put the album on and was loving my way through it. And when track ten came on, sure enough, I heard the words that supposedly were to be removed. 'Island watchhouse bed, a black man lying dead'. Bravo Powderfinger for sticking by it. Incidentally, the court case in question was last week. The officer charged with the murder finally conceded that he may have ‘accidentally’ injured the prisoner, but was still found not guilty.

Great Album though, with that touch of powderfinger politicalness, and some good rocking songs. Head in the clouds leads us in to it nice and gently, the guitar riding over the top of Don't Remember has a really memorable riff, as we look back ona relationship. Lost and running seems to be a bit deeper. Not lyrically deeper. Just the singing. I'll need to listen more (or check the liner notes) and see if it is Bernard Fanning singing. Who really cares (featuring the sound of insanity): well, forget about the song - it has a guiatr effect they call the sound o insanity - does it say something that I like the sound?. Okay, let's not forget the song. It's good. Great lyrics, nice piano, cool guitar effect. Long way to go is a great song, and the final track, drifting further away is a sweet finish, the closest thing on this album t a ballad. Long, drawn out vocals, the guitar singing. It reminds me of Powderfinger 3 or 4 years ago.

Dream Days at the Hotel Existence is definitely a great Finger album. Fanninf has come back from his solo work with an album that sist alongside Internationalist as a great album to sit back in the shade on a Summer Aussie afternoon, drink a few beers and chill out to.

Gotta go back in time

I love Back to the future. I bought the box-set the other day. Cruising around in the 50’s? a blast. So the other night, I asked my girlfriend to dress ‘like Sandy from Grease’, got out my Jeans, jacket and loafers, and we took a night back in time. It was so much fun, starting out at the 50’s diner Soda Rock in South Yarra. Burgers, Fries and sodas were tasty, the music was in even better taste. We were playing songs from the jukebox which had a cool little thing on the table that let us choose the songs from there. We then headed to an AMF for a little Bowling action. She nearly beat me. I still suspect she let me win. I didn’t even break 100. Close, but not there. We finished off the night at the Drive in, in Coburg, where we got to see the end of one movie, the whole of another, and then an awesome lightning storm come in across Melbourne.

It was pretty cool fun, doing the whole ‘theme date’. I did borrow the idea from a mate (Thanks Jim), but yeah, dressing up, listening to the music, and getting into something not so conventional – a pretty nice night out.

Mac Beats PC: Die Hard 4.0

Last (Thursday) night I pleasure of Die Hard 4.0 (Which should still have been called Live Free or Die Hard, like it was in America).

John McLain was back at his best, the NYPD detective who never gives up. In this 4th instalment of the Die Hard series, they have cleaned up his image a little – he was neither hung over or on suspension. Just a senior detective for the NYPD out harassing his daughter’s boyfriend.

The basics. Cyber terrorist Gabriel wants to tear down the US social structure and send it into the Dark Angel era (and, just like :with a vengeance, rob a bank or two while everyone is distracted) . He hires hackers to do the codewriting, then has them all killed off. He shuts down U.S. computer networks: transport, finance, power. A ‘fire sale’.

Mclain is called in by the FBI to transport one of the hackers to Washington. Now here’s the fun – the hacker, Farrell, is played by Justin Long, who we know from Ed, Dodgeball, and of course, he’s the laid back and cool ‘Mac’ from the Mac and PC ads. When the FBI snub their noses at Farrell, it stirs something deep inside McLain’s heart. Actually, it just stirs his disdain for authority, and he makes it his mission to protect Farrell from further assassinations, teach him a thing or two about being a hero, and kill as many henchman as he can with his usual style and wit.

All in all, it was great. Not a shred believable. That’s not what Die Hard is about. One slightly gruff hero. A ‘I shouldn’t be here’ sidekick. And lot’s of unbelievable shootings and explosions. He kills a guy with a fire extinguisher. And with a fire hydrant. A helicopter with a car. He drives a car though a computer lab at a power plant. And then down an elevator shaft. He outruns an F-35 jet with Semi (and its not Optimus Prime). There’s at least ten explosions. Mclain kills at least ten bad guys. And he makes at least ten wisecracks.

Oh, and it’s the beast Kevin Smith appearance since Silent Bob threw a guy off a train. Warlock, an overweight, Star Wars loving geek who has a fortress in his basement? Life imitates art.

It is also great watching Mac learning to be a hero. And proving for once and for all, that he can beat PC.

If you like big explosions, ridiculous overkill (emphasis on the kill), see this movie.