The Sad Clown

I’m sitting around at work. I’ve spent most of the day ‘networking’ or trying to figure out my current madcap research task, which involves a lot of foraging through the internet and putting stuff into Endnote.

Anyway. Last week at band practice we were discussing going into the studio on January 2nd to do demos of our supposed new album. There was a lot of debate. We’ve been practicing the songs, making up new songs, Matt was getting feisty about trying to book a date and the rest of us were all being elusive. But it sorted itself out. Then we started arguing over what the album is going to be called.

Those of you who know one or more of us will, of course, be familiar with our last album, which was originally released featuring a picture of Matt’s huge, fat head on the front cover. We asked him if he thinking of going in the same direction this time. He was elusive. Later, after he’d passed out, I found a ‘design brief’ he’d drawn up. From what I can tell his idea for the album cover is a picture of him dressed as a clown. He had a list of the potential album names he’d like to use:

The Sad Clown Frowns
Frowning with the Sad Clown
Revenge of the Sad Clown
Turn that Frown Upside Down
Confessions of a Sad Clown
Clowning Around with the Sad Clown

The list goes on. I can’t be bothered typing it all out. I’m going to confront him about it tonight. Updates to follow.

Rocket Bar and a history of Hipsters

We played a show Friday night with Wagons and Skeletons. Both of whom were far, far better than we were. Damn. We were terrible. Partly I blame this on Rocket Bar. I hate Rocket bar with a passion. It reminds me of The Picture of Dorian Grey. Incidentally, did you know the expression 'Hipster' (descriptive of Rocket Bar's clientele) originates from the phrase 'On the Hip', which relates to the practice, when smoking opium, of laying on one's side, thus being literally 'on the hip'. It's been around since at least the 1890s, and took on today's meaning during the 1950s with the Beat Generation.

 

At band practice the week before Nic also confirmed that he named his daughter 'Charli' specifically so he could use the nickname 'Chip'. He spent most of the pregnancy boasting about how he was going to call his firstborn 'Chip' but he faced strong opposition from so many quarters he had to find a more covert way of going about it.