hello you lot,

well,the sun is out , the sky is blue and life is beautiful so i thought i'd sit hunched over a computer keyboard and write a few words when i should be out canooing or something.

first up that irritating fake post on some website.i'd like to think that the more perceptive amoung you would realize that it was a crass forgery and would expect me break my silence with a little more elan.. pur-pleeze people... oh well, whatever....

i read a recent post on here asking me about my top tens for 2007 and being the smug, 40 something, list-obsessed prat that i am i thought it was just the simplistic, linear thing i could excel at. .
my album of the year by a country mile was Midlake's The Trails of Van Occupanther. it was the soundtrack to the happiest , most romantic summer of my life and my favortite record since Grandaddy's Software Slump. if you still haven't heard it i kind of envy you. it is a minor masterpiece and you need it in your life.
the best book i read this year was MacEwan's On Chesil Beach. the guy always comes up with the goods and what's not to like about a book dealing with the consequences of sexual failure? Audrey Whatsname's The Time Travellers Wife was also excellent ( yes, i know it wasn't released in 2007). sad, strange, profound and compelling, i am looking forward to re-reading it on a beach in Jamaica in a few weeks time.
my art event of the year was finally being able to visit the Musee D'Orsay in Paris and seeing some of the most beautiful paintings ever created.countless masterpieces by my two favorite artists; Gaugin and Manet were awe-inspiring to say the least but it was the work of Lautrec that really took me by surprise. well worth the endless , de-humanizing queuing.if any of you know what Stendhal's Syndrome is i think i experienced it there.
i gave up watching tv last year so can't comment on anything relating to the small screen but did see some great films . my fave was probably Half Nelson with that Ryan Gosling dude. i was always going to enjoy a film about a crack-addict teacher but it was particularly excellent.


well that's it for cultural lists. some of you may be interested to know that i recently sung a duet with the French actress/singer Emmanuelle Seigner for her band Ultra Orange and Emmanuelle. the song is called Simple Words and is a real cinematic spine-tingler. dunno when/how it is gonna be released but i will keep you informed. it's very good.
speaking of getting off my arse and working, you might be pleased to hear that i'm starting work on the new album tomorrow. i plan for it to be the most minimal thing i have ever done, heavily influenced by my recent acoustic shows but who knows? i've had strict blueprints for records before and they have inevitably deviated so it might end up sounding like Van Halen.

ok, well that's your lot for now. hope 2008 is beautiful and inspiring for you. i am off to Hyde Park to drink in all the love and poison of London . stay lovely... x

Sorry if hurting your feelings by going for that fake. I always thought you had the wildest sense of humour... But thank you a lot for this post of yours! We will be coming out of our socks for it.:)

The new album sounds interesting. Will it be much of a departure from your first solo album? To me, that sounded minimal too, especially compared to Here Come The Tears and Suede albums. I liked the minimal sound of the acoustic gigs, so I hope that translates well to record. Happy new year.

i am
> looking forward to re-reading it on a beach in
> Jamaica in a few weeks time.
>

Have fun in Jamaica and have one for me. And one more, for the fans.

Oedipa

The new album update shouldn't have been in the last paragraph. It's the wrong order and you are not Tarentino :)

As for "The Time Travellers Wife"- F**k, I held it in my hand last week in the book store and finally decided to go for Michel Houellebecq cause I don't trust female authors- a trauma of mine.

Take care and I'm happy to hear about your future plans.

T82 xxx.



SEINFELD: "Vomitting is not a deal breaker. If H*tler had vomitted on Chamberlain, Chamberlain still would have given him Czechoslovakia."

GEORGE: "Chamberlain...you could hold his head in the toilet, he'd still give you half of Europe."

The new album sounds good, I like the simple acoustic approach.

brett anderson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> first up that irritating fake post on some
> website.i'd like to think that the more perceptive
> amoung you would realize that it was a crass
> forgery and would expect me break my silence with
> a little more elan.. pur-pleeze people... oh well,
> whatever....

lol watch out Brett, you'll have may have hurt a few feelings with that one. 'the more perceptive' among us indeed ;-)

But thanks for the update, looking forward to album 2!

If the new album's going to be influenced by the recent acoustic shows, does that mean we'll hear some demented banshee screaming "I wuv you Brett" between each track?


I came here today because I thought this was a session on how my wife could learn to communicate, how to answer a question without a question, which I thought, given your wall of fucking diplomas, you could easily fix, or if you couldn’t, you could give her a pill that would either fix it or make her a mute.

2-J Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lol watch out Brett, you'll have may have hurt a
> few feelings with that one. 'the more perceptive'
> among us indeed ;-)
>
> But thanks for the update, looking forward to

Can't say I didn't warn them!


I came here today because I thought this was a session on how my wife could learn to communicate, how to answer a question without a question, which I thought, given your wall of fucking diplomas, you could easily fix, or if you couldn’t, you could give her a pill that would either fix it or make her a mute.

cheers to you, Brett! xx
thank you for the update :)

that much? wow, I envy you enjoying art that intensely...

Stendhal Syndrome: "Stendhal Syndrome or Stendhal's Syndrome is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly 'beautiful' or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world."

I think I'm going to have to find that Midlake record to see what the fuss is about, I don't expect it to be less than magnificent with that endorsement of yours. If that was the soundtrack of a happy summer, make sure that you keep it forever. xx

DKav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Stendhal Syndrome: "Stendhal Syndrome or
> Stendhal's Syndrome is a psychosomatic illness
> that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion
> and even hallucinations when an individual is
> exposed to art, usually when the art is
> particularly 'beautiful' or a large amount of art
> is in a single place. The term can also be used to
> describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice
> in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with
> immense beauty in the natural world."
>

Is anyone else likening this to the moment when you're just about to blow your baby beans?


I came here today because I thought this was a session on how my wife could learn to communicate, how to answer a question without a question, which I thought, given your wall of fucking diplomas, you could easily fix, or if you couldn’t, you could give her a pill that would either fix it or make her a mute.

Oh, are you always about to faint, when doing that, Yo Blair? Yeah, there could be a relation to it.

The theory behind Stendhal Syndrome is that one gets overwhelmed at the awesomeness witnessed. This is the equivalent at a state of trauma, except that it is a very happy one...

DKav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh, are you always about to faint, when doing
> that, Yo Blair?

Only when I'm doing a Hutchence, y'know, for the buzz 'n that....


I came here today because I thought this was a session on how my wife could learn to communicate, how to answer a question without a question, which I thought, given your wall of fucking diplomas, you could easily fix, or if you couldn’t, you could give her a pill that would either fix it or make her a mute.

then I have something for you - here is Ultraorange and Emmanuelle
[www.youtube.com] It's not the song that Brett mentions, but I'll be keeping an eye for it.

enjoy!

DKav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh, are you always about to faint, when doing
> that, Yo Blair? Yeah, there could be a relation to
> it.
>

Hahaha!

brett anderson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Audrey
> Whatsname's The Time Travellers Wife was also
> excellent ( yes, i know it wasn't released in
> 2007). sad, strange, profound and compelling, i am
> looking forward to re-reading it on a beach in
> Jamaica in a few weeks time.

haha, I don't want to belittle your fantastic, big intellectual culture and literature tips of the last months, but this one is the first I really agree with. One of my all-times-faves in this literature genre.
But beware not to fall in love with "Henry". This guy is poison himself! ;)

Thanks for the post Brett, i knew you wouldn't let us down ;-) Hope we'll be seeing and hearing a lot more of you in 2008. Can't wait to hear your new duet i'm sure it'll be amazing! May check out that first book you mentioned as well! Sounds quite interesting! Enjoy your drink! x x

"i read a recent post on here asking me about my top tens for 2007 and being the smug, 40 something, list-obsessed prat that i am i thought it was just the simplistic, linear thing i could excel at. . "


Since I asked for the list: thank you Brett for telling us your recent tastes. I know that artists always hate this kind of things but, you know, it's a sort of a joke we like playing.
By the way, Midlake's record is very good indeed and Emmanuelle Seigner is very very very beautiful, how could you breathe next to her?
And please, don't tell us you're going to Jamaica or our envy is going to ruin your holiday! ;-)

Jamaica's so 1980's.... the Dominican Republic's the caribbean place to be these days....


I came here today because I thought this was a session on how my wife could learn to communicate, how to answer a question without a question, which I thought, given your wall of fucking diplomas, you could easily fix, or if you couldn’t, you could give her a pill that would either fix it or make her a mute.

brett anderson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> well,the sun is out , the sky is blue and life is
> beautiful so i thought i'd sit hunched over a
> computer keyboard and write a few words when i
> should be out canooing or something.

Well, I actually heard a bird singing at the railway station :)
Brett thanks for the update and I hope the work on your new album will go well :)


Eternal you - a beautiful thing.....

Thanks for the update Brett!
I'll definitely give Midlake's album a listen!
Great news that you'll start work on your new album so soon! Looking forward to hearing it and hopefully a lot of live shows will follow!
Take care:-)

Midlake - a cross between Fleetwood Mac and America, MOR rock.

Dear oh dear Brett, thats what love will do to you.

astrababe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Midlake - a cross between Fleetwood Mac and
> America, MOR rock.
>
> Dear oh dear Brett, thats what love will do to
> you.

I know... I thought that album just sounded like the Blue Oyster Cult.

It's alright, but by no means a minor masterpiece.

Yo Blair! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jamaica's so 1980's.... the Dominican Republic's
> the caribbean place to be these days....
>
>

....particularly if you want disentery....the pontin's of the caribbean...

dunno what's that thing with fake stuff, guess i missed things in my absence..., but nevermind :)
and yeah, i was glad to see england welcomed us, migrant workers with this beautiful sunny and warm weather :D
and i actually ended criss-crossing hyde park with sis the whole afternoon :)
well, apart from that bit when we sat down on a bench to have some lunch and got few weird looks from fellow hyde parkers. what? is it forbidden to eat in london?
ah, well, anyways, you must be glad we missed you, aren't you?
we actually thought we saw chris martin from coldplay, but couldn't be arsed to ask him if it's really him and anyway if he was, it wouldn't be nice to tell his music is rubbish and we don't like him, would it? :)

aw, i made my sis read time traveller's wife over xmas, she's (annoyingly) still on it, cos the talking about the book made me want to re-read it too. she likes it. well, she makes me proud... :) hahaha

midlake, midlake, think we've heard of him from u b4, didn't we? maybe i'll try it. i believe you.

p.s. what's van halen?



*joking!*


xxxxxxxxxxx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'everybody's got wings you just gotta find them and open them' dave gahan

hi brett.

1000 tak for the info.

see you in 2008.


//\\//\\artin

thank you so much for your post, Brett. It's always a pleasure reading your posts.

> my art event of the year was finally being able to
> visit the Musee D'Orsay in Paris and seeing some

wow, there's sth. I know from your list too. ,o) Usually I don't have much time to read books these days, but I have been to the Musee D'Orsay, too, a few years ago and these paintings were the items I enjoyed most. Big VanGogh fan I am (also like Manet, lautrec etc. of course) I was also sooo impressed by these paintings. They are so impressive. And seeing the original paintings where you can see the paint strokes and the true colours.... they radiate so much and are so expressive. I remember some of these paintings being in a smaller and kind of dark room, weren't this manet's or lautrec's paintings? really atmospheric.

> with the French actress/singer Emmanuelle Seigner
> for her band Ultra Orange and Emmanuelle. the song

I bet it's great. I know her from "the ninth gate" and have seen a report about her band. now this makes me really curious. I will welcome every little info on it. this should be really interesting. :o)

> most minimal thing i have ever done, heavily
> influenced by my recent acoustic shows but who

this sounds good. really looking forward to it, esp. after I was so impressed by your acoustic show in Dortmund which was really breathtaking. if the new album is only half as good, I'll be the happiest person on earth. wish you all goes as you wish with your new album. all the best. xx


"Didn't I buy the ocean for her"
*sigh*

Software Slump!!!

Also one of my favorites...GREAT ALBUM.

[www.youtube.com]


//\\//\\

I also wanna go to Jamaica!!
Guess I'll check out 'Half Nelson' then. Thanx for the tips Brett.