Music Talk

Listening to obscure bands is great. It may be harder to get your hands on their stuff, but it is usually much more rewarding. There is also the advantage of being able to go to gigs where people are actually there to enjoy excellent music, instead of just get drunk, push people around and ruin everyone else's night.

However, sometimes when I talk about a band I listen to, it gets mistaken for a different band with a similar name. Sometimes even iTunes gets confused and recommends me hardcore bands based on a case of mistaken identity. I have taken this opportunity to compile a list of bands I listen to, and the similarly named bands people think I listen to.

Band I Like: This Is Ivy League, an acoustic folk band known for their sweet lyrics and beautiful harmonies.

Band People Think I Like: Ivy League, who are apparently some kind of punk band?

Band I Like: Those Transatlantics, an obscure indie pop band whose music I always have trouble finding.

Band People Think I Like: The Transatlantics. I am not sure who they are, but I keep seeing their name in local gig guides, getting excited and then disappointed when I realise what has happened.

Band I Like: Band of Horses, a fairly popular indie rock group.

Band People Think I Like: Horse The Band, a metal group.

Band I Like: The Clientele, a lovely indie/chamber pop group from Britain.

Band People Think I Like: Client, an electronica band also from Britain.

Band I Like: Deerhoof, an unpredictable and wonderfully bizarre band from San Francisco

Band People Think I Like: Deerhunter, a not-that-bad "ambient punk" group that I just can't manage to get into.

Band I Like: Elixir, jazz side-project of Katie Noonan.

Band People Think I Like: Elixir, a British heavy metal band. Also, Elixir, a trance project of some description.

Band I Like: The Minor Leagues, a seemingly little known, but wonderfully clever American pop band. Check out their upbeat, light-hearted ditty "The Pestilence Is Coming".

Band People Think I Like: The Major Leagues, some kind of Pennsylvanian rock band?

Band I Like: The 1900s, a wonderful "psych-pop sextet"

Band People Think I Like: The 1990s, a Scottish rock band, who are not that bad, but are no the 1900s. I only know them because I keep mistakenly downloading their albums while looking for the 1900s.

-Smackie Onassis

Being A Ridiculous Person: A How To Guide

Ok. Anyone who has known me for more than a couple of days will be able to tell you that I am a fairly absurd person. I have been for the majority of my life. There was a time when I suppressed it because I wanted people to take me seriously, but that didn't end well and now I have gone back to full-time amusing myself in stupid ways. Here are some of the things I have done, usually for no reason other than to amuse myself.

Texting Random Numbers: The first time I did this I used the simple 'Don't do it!', sent to a randomly chosen number that I saved in my phone under the name Henry Soundsystem*. Since then, I have taken pleasure in sending messages of a more confusing variety. The other day I sent the message 'All my insides are made of someone else's hands'. Of course, when they ultimately respond with 'Um, who is this?', I respond with silence.

Winning Arguments: Normally, I like to win arguments by conventional means, but sometimes I am just not in the mood. I have found that an easy way to win arguments without really trying is to state your case, wait for the other person to reply and then, no matter how vehemently they disagree with you, say "Yes, that's what I'm saying." At the very least, they will be disoriented and you can kick them in the shin and run away.

Taking a random thing someone has said and implying it is part of their name:

For example:

Harrison: Wow, how about that global warming, huh? It's really hot today.

Me: Harrison "how about that global warming" Smart

For optimum effect this should be the only thing you say. As always, if they question you, deny you ever said anything. It is also worth pointing out that writing this entry allowed me to fulfill my hobby of both starting and ending a sentence with a three letter palindrome.

Being a Walking Sight Gag: This started unintentionally when I was about 14. I was in a suburban shopping mall when I felt a tad peckish. There was a farmer's market there and I noticed a large, tasty-looking mushroom. As it was probably going to be the cheapest edible thing I would find, I bought it and proceeded to wander around the shops eating it raw. I will never forget the looks I got. The most pronounced double takes I have ever seen in my life. It felt fantastic and from there, I never looked back. Currently, I am enjoying buying the teensy tiny apples that the organics shop near me sells. Seriously, they are smaller than an egg. If people see me eating them and ask about it, I say that I buy them because I am so tiny that next to me they look like a normal apple.

Encouraging People To Name Drop: This is not so much an act of encouragement, but I really struggled to find a short, coherant name for this. Basically, what you do is whenever someone starts telling a story, you do the following:

Friend: So I was talking to my friend Steve the other day...

Me: Was it Steve Buscemi?

There is a celebrity for most names, so this is one that hypothetically works for every conversation, but I cannot guarantee that you won't get slapped if you do this all the time. Unfortunately, if you are like me and have no real knowledge of pop culture apart from obscure experimental folk bands and cult indie films starring Clea Duval, this may not work as well as you might expect.

The Emperor's New Slogan: I have only done this once, but oh man was it worth it. Some friends and I were going to a peace protest, back when the Iraq war was a thing that might not happen. For some reason, we decided to make our own slogan shirts, but with a slogan that naturally didn't make any sense whatsoever. The slogan we chose was 'Now THAT'S a big bag of cheese!', inspired by a recent trip to Coles. However, people at protests don't want to look stupid. We saw person after person squinting at our shirts trying to figure it out, but then when we made eye contact with them, they would smile and give us a thumbs up. It was sensational.

Now, you have all the information you need to start a career of your own in the lucrative absurdity field. Good luck with that!

-Smackie Onassis

*When Buglustre and Vegatrain found out about this, they got the number out of my phone and promptly started sending Henry Soundsystem a few messages of their own. Somehow they managed to convince the poor girl whose number it was that they were a friend of hers. She still texts Buglustre sometimes.