Just Dann now...

Ball Park Music - Frank

Cub Sport - Come On Mess Me Up

Elliphant - Love Me Badder

Major Lazer - Jessica {Ft. Ezra Koenig}

Metric - Speed The Collapse

Nothing By Thieves - Amsterdam

The Rubens - My Gun

SAFIA - Paranoia, Ghosts & Other Sounds

Vampire Weekend - Step

The man is an artist.  The woman is a consultant of some kind contacted for police investigations.  They had met in unlikely circumstances but found themselves drawn together socially, despite their differences.  After his son goes to bed, the artist prefers to debate the nature of the universe over a glass of wine, admiring the sea views from his (barely) converted warehouse home curiosity.  The sometimes-detective would rather a more adventurous evening, her penchant for sports cars and fast driving often impressing or intimidating her dates.

After meeting professionally, they'd each tried to ignore their mutual attractions, but had easily fallen into a pattern of 'dating,' (although neither had ever used such a word to describe the relationship.)  Each found the other fascinating, delighting in each new revelation, none of them feeling like a complete surprise.

I don't remember how I became involved with the pair, but tonight I've been assisting the 'detective' in her investigation, my insight apparently unique and useful (a compliment which, I can't deny, I feel pride in.)  The artist's son has accompanied us for reasons I don't think were ever really explained to me, and he now sits in the passenger seat next to the detective on the driver's side.  From the dark back seat of the current-model Porsche 911, I watch the detective shift her eyes from the road to the boy from time to time, surprised yet impressed with how easily she has been able to connect with the boy, the first time she's had much reason to interact with someone so young.  I understand the look completely as she glides the car quickly through the sparse evening traffic, even though we are not in a rush.

As we draw nearer to the dock on which the artist's warehouse home sits, I notice the driver cast another glance at the boy, this time a brief one filled with concern, though she makes no comment and returns her focus to the road ahead.  A moment later, and I understand the cause of her expression.  The sight of flashing emergency lights becomes visible to me in the sports car's back seats.

None of us speak as drive closer to the lights and the car slows.  All three sets of eyes in the car are locked onto the distinctly human shape which has been covered by a tarpaulin, shockingly bright blue amidst the assemblage of police outside the warehouse.

An electronic tone draws my attention from the form beneath the blue sheet.  Loud but not obtrusive, it is distinctly not organic to the scene, and goes unnoticed by the other two occupants of the vehicle.  Taking one last look at the shape on the dock, I acknowledge the source of the sound, and wake up to switch off the alerm ringing on my new mobile phone.  I smile to myself at the potential of the dream I've woken from, and sigh at the knowledge that, like the last episode of a prematurely cancelled television series, this story will not be continued.

I used to have detailed dreams like this reguarly, and kept dated notebooks outlining their plots, should I need to refer to them for some reason - inspiration, perhaps, or curiosity.  The dreams didn't stop, but did stop being as detailed or easy to remember.  Based upon the dates of the notebooks, I theorised that I suddenly started remembering my dreams due to the use of Tegretol and noted that the notebooks have less entries after I ceased using the drug.

The content of the dreams could certainly be explained.  Themes have continued through my life to this day.  A recurring element is my missing some catastrophic event whilst being inside a building for work.  I could always tell I was working too many hours, and sacrificing too much time, when things like that happened within my dreams.  Obviously, since I haven't been working a lot, and variously at that, this plot hasn't been evident recently.

But something has changed.  I've started remembering my dreams, and dreaming vivid plots like I used to, in the last few months.  Perhaps my mind is understimulated.  I don't know if medication could be an influence - I haven't spoken to anyone about my dosage in eight years - but I am not dissatisfied with the symptom anyway.  A highlight was a dream in which agents Mulder and Scully were interviewing me about the sudden appearance of a second sun in the Earth's sky.

I guess I'll just enjoy this while it lasts.

Alex Lahey - Am I Doing It Right?

Harper Finn - Conversations (With The Moon)

Lana Del Rey - The greatest

PUP - Morbid Stuff

Rex Orange County - New House

Slowly Slowly - Creature Of Habit Pt. 2

Thelma Plum - Better In Blak

Tones And I - Johnny Run Away

Thornhill - In My Skin

100 - Weightless

A Day To Remember - Degenerates

Aitch - Buss Down {Ft. ZieZie}

Alex Lahey - Don't Be So Hard On Yourself

Alex Lahey - Am I Doing It Right?

Alex Lahey - Interior Demeanour

Ali Barter - Ur A Piece Of Shit

Ali Barter - History Of Boys

Alice Skye - I Feel Better But I Don't Feel Good

Alison Wonderland - Peace

Allday - Restless {Ft. The Veronicas}

American Football - Uncomfortably Numb {Ft. Hayley Williams}

Amyl and The Sniffers - Monsoon Rock

Angel Olsen - All Mirrors

Angie McMahon - Pasta

A•sgeir - Youth

Ashe - In Disguise

BABYMETAL - PA PA YA!!

BABYMETAL - Shanti Shanti Shanti

Bad//Dreems - Sonny

Bag Raiders - Lightning {Ft. The Kite String Tangle}

Baker Boy - Meditjin {Ft. JessB}

Bakers Eddy - Can't Afford It

Barrie - Clovers

Beautiful Monument, The - Deceiver

Bec Sandridge - EYES WIDE

Beck - Saw Lightning {Ft. Pharrell}

Beck - Uneventful Days

BENEE - Find An Island

benny blanco & Juice WRLD - Graduation

Big Thief - Century

Billie Eilish - all the good girls go to hell

Billie Eilish - bury a friend

Billie Eilish - my strange addiction

Billie Eilish - xanny

Birdz - Black Child {Ft. Mojo Juju}

BLESSED - Memoirs Of The Melancholy

BOI - Imaginary Boys

Boo Seeka - Rush

Boston Manor - Liquid {Ft. John Floreani}

Bring Me The Horizon - heavy metal {ft. Rahzel}

Bring Me The Horizon - mother tongue

Broods - Sucker

Butterfly Effect, The - Unbroken

Cage The Elephant - Ready To Let Go

Catfish And The Bottlemen - 2all

Catfish And The Bottlemen - Encore

Ceres - Me & You

CHAI - Choose Go!

Chance The Rapper - Ballin Flossin

Chance The Rapper - Hot Shower

Chats, The - Pub Feed

Circa Waves - Movies

Clairo - Alewife

Crooked Colours - Never Dance Alone {Ft. Ladyhawke}

Cry Club - DFTM

Cry Club - Two Hearts

Cub Sport - Party Pill

CXLOE - Devil You Don't

Dave - Black

Dean Lewis - 7 Minutes

Dean Lewis - Hold Of Me

Dear Seattle - Daytime TV

Dear Seattle - Try

Denzel Curry - RICKY

Dizzy - Twist

Dune Rats - Rubber Arm

DZ Deathrays - Year Of The Dog {Ft. Matt Caughthran}

Eat Your Heart Out - Carousel

Erthlings - Returning

Fergus James - Mistakes

FIDLAR - By Myself

FIDLAR - Flake

Foals - On The Luna

Foals - Black Bull

Foals - The Runner

Fractures - Chains {Ft. ROZES}

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - Anxiety

G Flip - Lover

girl in red - dead girl in the pool.

Gracie Abrams - Stay

Green Buzzard - I Don't Want To Be Alone

Greta Stanley - Kick

Haiku Hands - Dare You Not To Dance

HAIM - Summer Girl

Half Moon Run - Then Again

Harper Finn - Conversations (With The Moon)

Hayley Mary - The Piss, The Perfume

Hein Cooper - The Fear {triple j Like A Version 2019}

Hilltop Hoods - Be Yourself {Ft. Ecca Vandal/Nyassa}

Hilltop Hoods - OOFT (Ponda Baba)

Hobo Johnson - Typical Story

Hockey Dad - I Missed Out

Holy Holy - Teach Me About Dying

Holy Holy - Maybe You Know

I Know Leopard - All That She Cared About

I Prevail - Breaking Down

I Prevail - Paranoid

Illy - Then What

Injury Reserve - Jailbreak The Tesla {Ft. Aminé}

Jack River - Adolescent

Jai Wolf - Lose My Mind {Ft. Mr Gabriel}

James Blake - Don't Miss It

John Floreani - Echoes

Kat Edwards - Good Girl

Kevin Abstract - Baby Boy

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Cyboogie

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Planet B

Kingswood - Say You Remember

Kira Puru - Why Don't We Get Along

Lana Del Rey - Doin' Time

Lana Del Rey - The greatest

Lizzo - Cuz I Love You

Love Fame Tragedy - Backflip

LSD - Heaven Can Wait

Mansionair - Alibi

Meg Mac - I'm Not Coming Back

Methyl Ethel - All The Elements

Methyl Ethel - Ruiner

Mickey Kojak - Video Games

MID CITY - Fake Friends Forever

Milky Chance - Daydreaming {Ft. Tash Sultana}

Milky Chance - Fado

Miss June - Anomaly

Montaigne - Losing My Mind

Montaigne - Love Might Be Found (Volcano)

Murlocs, The - Comfort Zone

mxmtoon - Blame Game

Nilüfer Yanya - In Your Head

Ocean Grove - Ask For The Anthem

Ocean Sleeper - Light In My Dark

Of Monsters And Men - Alligator

Olympia - Hounds

Owl Eyes - You Don't Know Love {Ft. Tapz}

Palehound - Killer

Phantogram - Mister Impossible

Polish Club - Breakapart

Polish Club - Iguana

Pond - Daisy

Poppy - Scary Mask (feat. Fever 333)

Post Malone - Goodbyes {Ft. Young Thug}

Press Club - Get Better

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Hymn For A Droid

PUP - Free At Last

PUP - Morbid Stuff

PUP - See You At Your Funeral

Rapsody - Ibtihaj {Ft. D'Angelo & GZA}

RedHook - Paralysed

Rex Orange County - New House

Rex Orange County - 10/10

Rex Orange County - It Gets Better

Rich Brian - 100 Degrees

Rich Brian - Yellow {Ft. Bekon}

Rubens, The - Live In Life

Ruby Fields - Trouble

Ruel - Free Time

S.L.P., The - Favourites {Ft. Little Simz}

SAFIA - Resolution

SAFIA - Think We're Not Alone

Sahara Beck - Queen Of Hearts

Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles

Sam Fender - Will We Talk?

SebAstian - Run For Me {Ft. Gallant}

SKYND - Tyler Hadley

Sløtface - Telepathetic

Slow Pulp - High

Slowly Slowly - Jellyfish

Slowly Slowly - Creature Of Habit Pt. 2

SOAK - Deja Vu

Stand Atlantic - Hate Me (Sometimes)

Stella Donnelly - Lunch

Stormzy - Vossi Bop

Tame Impala - Borderline

Thelma Plum - Better In Blak

Thelma Plum - Homecoming Queen

Thornhill - Nurture

Thornhill - In My Skin

Thornhill - Lily & The Moon

Tones And I - Johnny Run Away

Tones And I - Dance Monkey

Tones And I - The Kids Are Coming

TOWNS - Safe To Stay

Tyler, The Creator - I THINK

Tyne-James Organ - Something New

Vampire Weekend - This Life

Vanns, The - Deranged

Voyager - Colours

WAAX - Big Grief

Washington - American Spirit

Wave Racer - AUTO

Wave Racer - This N That {Ft. Lunchmoney Lewis}

Weeknd, The - Blinding Lights

Windwaker - My Empire

Yeasayer - Fluttering In The Floodlights

YUNGBLUD - Loner

YUNGBLUD & Halsey - 11 Minutes {Ft. Travis Barker}

I always like the chance to try something new from Coca-Cola (and, it was their pre-summer release schedule that inspired the timing of the festival for August,) so I was glad to see something quite different from the brand - an energy drink version branded as simple Coca-Cola Energy.

I tried the regular version, with a sugar-free option available. (The can design for each is almost indistinguishable, so I didn't even realise I had choices to consider until later.)  The flavour was interesting, with the tang common to energy drinks, but less pronounced than in V or RedEye.  The cola flavour is not the distinctive Coke taste, but more of a vintage cola.  Overall it wasn't a bad addition to both the cola and energy drink market, though one that was hardly groundbreaking.

Soda Press Co. are another welcome addition to the apparently burgeoning DIY soda syrup game.  Whilst sitting alongside Soda King and even SodaStream syrups on the shelf Soda Press's syrups might seem a costlier option, the larger bottles seem as concentrated as Soda King's, so the difference is a wash.  Soda Press also produce more exotic flavours, though my first attempt, when I excitedly tried their pink graprefruit syrup, made me realise I mix a lot less grapefruit cocktails than I had thought I might.  A new flavour, Blonde Cola, arrived in time for this year's festival.

When I mixed it, I wasn't sure I had the dosage right.  I'd been expecting the liquid to remain mostly clear, like Bart Simpson's Clear Cola which was available in the early 1990s (peculiarly sold in a car, negating the product's novel clarity) or the new Coca-Cola Clear released in Japan.  Mixed at the prescribed dosage, the result is a pale, almost ginger ale colour.  The bouquet, though, is distinctively cola, almost like the flavour of those Japanese cola bottle lollies.  The flavour was refreshing, though not as distinctively cola as the scent.  I am excited to try the drink as a mixer, and especially curious about how it will work with gin.  It seems like a perfect match for Canadian whisky, being less dry than ginger ale, and not so strong as to neutralise the whisky's flavour.

I'd been looking forward to trying PepsiCo's (presumably) heritage recipe since I'd first spotted its appearance, but it took until the Festival to do so.  Unfortunately, I think the reduction in price is probably a sign of the discontinuation of the product line, rather than a generous celebration.

I tried the Original Cola flavour first, and was very impressed.  As expected, it had the base of what I tend to call a vintage cola, but was also more carbonated than these typically tend to be.  Beneath that, deeper flavours rose in the aftertaste, almost like the calm slowBurn of a spirit.  The cola taste was followed by nutty, spicey flavours that truly are quite unique in this market.  I even started to wonder if the drink, as well as being refreshing in the afternoon, might have the medicinal qualities of Pepsin as Brad's Drink had originally intended.

The following day, I sampled the Ginger Cola variant, pleased to find another Ginger Cola on the market after CCA's short-lived attempt.  I was even more pleased when I opened the can: the ginger scent is immediately apparent, but the taste was not overwhelming, as it was in Coke's ginger edition.  The result was an instantly refreshing drink, the perfect balance of traditional cola and ginger spice, added with the right amount of carbonation.  PepsiCo's 1893 varieties were a nice change, and it would be good if they could stay around.

Another syrup, this one is described, oddly, as being archival. Like the 1893 Pepsi, this was clearly reduced as a deleted product rather than in recognition of the Cola Festival (the entire shelf was marked 'Reduced to Clear.')  For $1 per bottle, I thought it was worth a try.  Mixed with soda water, the concoction didn't have a lot of flavour.  Even when mixing well beyond the recommended dosage, the result was mediocre, with slight hints of a Sunnyboy Cola taste, but it is so faint as to render it meaningless.

Billed as 'Naturally Refreshing,' Nexba Cola is one that I have seen and been tempted by at Festivals for at least the last few years, but have never actually sampled.  Something about the product never appealed to me.  Maybe it was the 1990s style graphics on the packaging.  Unfortunately, the flavour also had the same impact on me.  It wasn't bad, and was certainly a refreshing drink as advertised.  It was just kind of bland.  The cola taste was indistinct, and perhaps even closer to something like Creaming Soda.

Despite being surrounded by Kombucha in my previous job, where everyone seemed to drink variations of the drink at lunch time in my last couple of years, I had never actually tried it before this festival.  I had not realised the drink is promoted as a probiotic, I guess a more refreshing alternative to Yakult, and maybe something with health benefits.  I was not interested in that though, and was just here for the taste.

This was distinctly something with a cola flavour, rather than a pure cola, but the flavour was there nevertheless.  Combined with the flavour was a kind of dryness, like the texture of ginger ale, which was not unwelcome and did not make the drink any less refreshing.  I was also pleased to find that there was a slight carbonation, though not as much as I might usually like.  Still, the drink would certainly be a nice refreshment in warm weather.

Eric van Viele was an actor renowned for his work on stages throughout Germany.  Like many actors of the day, Eric was skeptical about the new medium film, in which some of his contemporaries were starting to dabble.  Hearing of the international attention being given to the so-called 'Expressionist' cinema of Germany, Eric reached out cautiously to F. W. Murnau.  Little is known of how the pair came to be acquainted, but Murnau granted Eric a role in his upcoming film Nosferatu.  Despite being a novice within the medium, and, in the role of 'Sailor' - a bit-part, little more than an extra - Eric van Viele became known as disruptive on set.  He questioned Murnau's creative and technical decisions, and the pair were frequently witnessed involved in increasingly volatile arguments.  Amongst the cast and crew, rumours were rife surrounding the exact nature of the pair's relationship, and even of off-set violence.  While Murnau was promoting his later film, Sunrise, Eric also spoke to the media, referring to the director as dummer hirnloser dummkopf. Finally, Murnau complained to his solicitor about what he described as Eric's slander.  Arrested on charges of defamation, Eric van Viele was executed three days later, despite charges never being substantiated.

Except that he wasn't.

I'd heard about the film Nosferatu, read articles about its deviations from its source material, viewed stills in film history books.  But I'd never been able to view the movie.  Channel 31 played old movies, but tended to stick to talkies.  Once I started university, I found that the library had a wealth of DVDs, purportedly for film students to draw on for precedent, but I don't think Man Bites Dog ever served as anything more than salacious entertainment.  Even with my CAVAL priveleges, I didn't find a copy of Nosferatu in any of the libraries.  Instead, in the summer before my final year of study in 2003, I found a copy of Murnau's film on a budget DVD produced thanks to the film's lack of copyright protection in a discount store.

Sometimes after anticipating a movie for a long time, I am disappointed when I finally watch, but this wasn't the case when I eventually viewed Nosferatu.  It was the style of the film that made an impression on me, in much the same way as 2001: A Space Odyssey had.  Unlike 2001 though, I made a note of several flaws in the copy of Nosferatu which I had watched.  The soundtrack chosen by the DVD's author to accompany the originally silent film seemed to be mismatched, and at times maybe chosen at random (though sounds like bells matched to vision on screen are less tacky in practice than I might have imagined.)  The caption cards appeared to have been translated too literally from the original German, and presented oddly in a typeface I recognised immediately as one I'd downloaded myself for an earlier project, a proxy of that used by Coca-Cola.

I vowed to produce my own, more faithful production of the film, but so far the project has yet to be realised.

A few months later, the ABC premiered Welcher & Welcher, Shaun Micallef's sitcom about a husband and wife law firm.  Possibly in preparation for the online interactivity for viewers to work with in the upcoming myster-comedy Fat Cow Motel, the series was accompanied by a website which evolved with each episode.  Rather than merely promoting the coming episode with a synopsis, the site purported to be the homepage of the real Welcher & Welcher law firm.  The site offered free legal advice relevent to the upcoming plot, which I presume from its style, to have been written by Shaun Micallef himself.  The information for episode six's release, dealing with a case of defamation, included the document 'So you've defamed a politician?' which included the following excerpt within its Common Questions section:

The joke, of course, is that such a specific question is unlikely to be asked commonly.  Nevertheless, it amused my brother and I, and inspired him to watch my copy of the aforementioned film.  I joined him for a repeat screening, this time with suppositions about which actor could be the fabled 'Eric van Viele' character.  The meddling locals in the pub Thomas Hutter visits in Transylvania were quickly ruled out.  They seemed too plain to be someone we had decided in the time between reading the Welcher article and the first quarter of an hour of the movie to be someone of some renown, perhaps a recognised theatrical actor?  The carriage driver was a possibility, but we imagined someone without lines, but with plenty of ambition.  The sailors were a possibility!

I rewatched the movie a few years later, and remembered the story of Eric van Viele, the ill-fated extra.  Searching for information online, the only article that came up was the Welchers' legal advice.  By this time, Wikipedia was five years old, and well enough known for its dubious reliability for my brother's university to have documented rules outlawing its use as a source in scholarly work. (An exception was granted for one of his classmates when writing on the impact of Myspace on the music industry, due to the lack of other sources available.)  I'd recently dabbled in editing the pages of Wikipedia, usually merely correcting spelling errors or citing sources. When I'd discovered that my former high school's page featured little information other than promoting the achievements of a friend, I decided to elaborate.  Perhaps intending to build upon what I guessed to be his self-promotion, I expanded upon his profile.  The information was not untrue, but also not anything with sources that could be cited.  It was not defamatory, but written in such a way as to appear deliberately far-fetched.

So whilst I saw that it was flawed, Wikipedia was a page I visited regularly as a starting point for topics I might like to find out more about (research being a kind of hobby I maintain to this day.)  One of the topics I'd been looking into at that time was cases where belief in something had made it become (or seem to become) real.  And so, whilst looking at the history of Nosferatu, with my current research obsession in my mind, I added a character to the cast, citing the Welcher article as a source.  Perhaps, at the time, I wondered if this couple of paragraphs of backstory for the fictitious character from a joke could lead to some kind of belief, but I moved onto other areas of interest and forgot about it.

Then, last week, I recieved a number of emails.  I didn't see them until the deadline within them had elapsed.  All of them were headlined with a notification that someone had left me a message on Wikipedia.  I might have thought them a scam of some kind had I not looked into the content.  Until I saw them, I wasn't even aware that one could be sent a message on Wikipedia.  The earliest of the messages invited me to be a part of a discussion on the validity of my article on Eric van Viele.  Later messages increased in their urgency, culminating in one inviting me to view a message regarding the 'speedy deletion nomination of Eric van Viele,' and the stern warning 'Please do not introduce inappropriate pages, such as Eric van Viele, to Wikipedia.'

I followed the link to view the message, and read through the discussion.  The users raised valid points, which I agreed with, and I admired that they seemed to have conducted some degree of research (though astoundingly mentioned seeing Eric's name appearing in the credits of Nosferatu.)  Following in their footsteps, I was surprised to find that an internet search on the exact phrase 'Eric van Viele' returns over four million results.  IMDb lists a second film credit in his name, and several websites include Eric van Viele in discussions of films of the era.  As well as the expected DVD copies of Nosferatu (and a two-disc set that I was initially curious about, until I saw that the second disc was merely a sepia-tinted copy of the same film as the first disc) Amazon advertises some unexpected Eric van Viele items.  At the end of the Wikipedia users' discussion, it was agreed upon by all that the article must have been created as a hoax, and that it should be removed.  They even went on to list it on an entry called 'List of hoaxes on Wikipedia,' though one user states this may be inappropriate as 'the guy was real but the story wasn't.'

And so, Eric van Viele, nothing more than a name devised as a part of a punchline of a joke which did not even appear in a television programme, has apparently, thanks to my ignorant actions, been recognised as appearing in a film he did not, and noted as the longest running hoax in the history of Wikipedia, at 13 years and 3 months.

Basement - Disconnect

Confidence Man - Try Your Luck

Hellions - Smile

I Know Leopard - Landmine

Olympia - Star City

Ruel - Dazed & Confused {Prod. M-Phazes}

Stand Atlantic - Skinny Dipping

Trophy Eyes - Friday Forever

YUNGBLUD - Polygraph Eyes

070 Shake - Mirrors
1010 Benja SL - Ultimaybe

A Perfect Circle - So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

A$AP Rocky - A$AP Forever {Ft. Moby/T.I./ Kid Cudi}

A$AP Rocky - Sundress

A. Swayze & The Ghosts - Suddenly

Aburden - To The Sky

After Touch - Six Feet Closer

Ainslie Wills - Society

Airways - Alien

Alex The Astronaut - Waste Of Time

All Time Low - Everything Is Fine

Amity Affliction, The - Feels Like I'm Dying

Amity Affliction, The - Ivy (Doomsday)

Amy Shark - All Loved Up

Amy Shark - Don't Turn Around

Amy Shark - I Said Hi

Amy Shark - Never Coming Back

Amy Shark - The Idiot

Angie McMahon - Missing Me

Another Sky - Forget Yourself

Antony & Cleopatra - Hurt Like Hell

Approachable Members Of Your Local Community - Semiotic Vision

Architects - Royal Beggars

Arctic Monkeys - American Sports

Arctic Monkeys - Four Out Of Five

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

Augie March - Bootikins

AURORA - Queendom

Baauer - 3AM {Ft. AJ Tracey/Jae Stephens}

Babe Rainbow, The - Supermoon

BABYMETAL - Distortion

BABYMETAL - Starlight

Bad Juju - Moving On

Baker Boy - Black Magic {Ft. Dallas Woods}

Ball Park Music - Frank

Ball Park Music - I Am So In Love With You

Ball Park Music - The End Times

Basement - Disconnect

BATTS - Shame

Bearcubs - Landslide

Bec Sandridge - Animal

Bec Stevens - They Don't Build Cars Like This Anymore

Ben Howard - Nica Libres At Dusk

Bene - Soaked

Beths, The - You Wouldn't Like Me

Billie Eilish - you should see me in a crown

Bishop Briggs - Baby

BLEACHERS - Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)

BOAT SHOW - Restless

Bob Moses - Heaven Only Knows

BØRNS & Lana Del Rey - God Save Our Young Blood

Boston Manor - Halo

breathe. - Are You All Good?

Bring Me The Horizon - Wonderful Life {Ft. Dani Filth}

BROCKHAMPTON - BOOGIE

BROCKHAMPTON - HONEY

BROCKHAMPTON - SAN MARCOS

BUGS - Glue

Burnout - Get Out

Cable Ties - Tell Them Where To Go

Canary - Two Step

Car Seat Headrest - Cute Thing

Carl Renshaw - Sence

Cautious Clay - Stolen Moments

Charli XCX - Don't Delete The Kisses {triple j Like A Version 2017}

Childish Gambino - This Is America

Christine And The Queens - Doesn't Matter

CHVRCHES - Get Out

City Calm Down - Joan, I'm Disappearing

CLEWS - Museum

Cog - The Middle

Columbus - Don't Know How To Act

Confidence Man - Catch My Breath

Confidence Man - Don't You Know I'm In A Band

Confidence Man - Out The Window

Confidence Man - Santa's Comin' Down The Chimney

Confidence Man - Try Your Luck

Cosmo Sheldrake - Wriggle {Mr Jukes Edit}

Courtney - Barnett Charity

Courtney Barnett - Nameless, Faceless

Cousin Tony's Brand New Firebird - Transient

CREO - Plasticine Mezzanine

Cub - Sport Sometimes

Darwin Deez - The World's Best Kisser

Dead Letter Circus - The Real You

DEAN FOREVER - Ease The Nearing

Dean Lewis - Be Alright

Didirri - I Can't Get Last Night Out Of My Head

Disclosure - Where Angels Fear To Tread

DMA'S - For Now

DMA'S - The End

DRAM - WWYD?

Dream On Dreamer - Let It In

Dream Wife - Hey Heartbreaker

Dylan Joel - Hollering Love

DZ Deathrays - Like People

E^ST - Blowjob

E^ST - I Don't Lack Imagination

Ebhoni - Opps

Editors - Hallelujah (So Low)

Eilish Gilligan - S.M.F.Y.

Emerson Snowe - If I Die, Then I Die

Emma Louise - Falling Apart

Everything Everything - Breadwinner

Faim, The - Saints Of The Sinners

Florence And The Machine - Hunger

Flowermouth - Gown

Franz Ferdinand - Lazy Boy

Fraser A. Gorman - Walking To Oman's

G Flip - Killing My Time

Gengahr - Before Sunrise

Ghost - Rats

Ghostemane - D(r)ead

Girlpool - Hire

Golden Features - Runner

Gooch Palms, The - Busy Bleeding

Goon Sax, The - She Knows

Gorillaz - Tranz

Gretta Ray - Time

Grimes - We Appreciate Power {Ft. HANA}

Haiku Hands - Jupiter

half•alive - still feel.

Hands Like Houses - Overthinking

Hard Aches, The - Happy

Hatchie - Sugar & Spice

Hellions - Smile

Highasakite - Out Of Order

Hilltop Hoods - Leave Me Lonely

Hinds - The Club

Hockey Dad - I Wanna Be Everybody

Hockey Dad - Join The Club

Hockey Dad - Sweet Release

Hopium - Leave

I Don’t Know How But They Found Me - Do It All The Time

I Know Leopard - Landmine

IAMDDB - Conjuring

IDLES - Danny Nedelko

IV League - Superstar

Jack Gray - My Hands

Jack River - Confess

Jack White - Connected By Love

Japanese Wallpaper - Fooling Around

John Butler Trio - Home

Joji - SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK

Jungle - Happy Man

Kanye West - Ghost Town

Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima

Kero Kero Bonito - Make Believe

Kimbra - Human

King Princess - Talia

Kira Puru - Molotov

Kite String Tangle, The - Give It Time {Ft. Aalias}

Kooks, The - No Pressure

LANKS - twentyseven

Last Dinosaurs - Eleven

Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers - China Beach

Leikeli47 - Hoyt And Schermerhorn

Leikeli47 - Mulita

Leikeli47 - Roll Call

Let's Eat Grandma - I Will Be Waiting

Lily Allen - Trigger Bang {Ft. Giggs}

Little May - Lover

Liza Anne - Small Talks

LOSER - Loser

LPX - Might Not Make It Home

LSD - Genius

LSD - Thunderclouds

Luca Brasi - Clothes I Slept In

Lykke Li - deep end

Mallrat - Groceries

Mallrat - UFO {Ft. Allday}

Mansionair - Falling

Manu Crook$ - Fuego {Ft. Anfa Rose}

Mark Ronson - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart {Ft. Miley Cyrus}

Meg Mac - Give Me My Name Back

Merk - LuckMGMT Me And MichaelDilemma

Methyl Ethel - Scream Whole

MGMT - Me And Michael

MGMT - When You Die

MID CITY - Old Habits

Middle Kids - On My Knees

Miya Folick - Stop Talking

MØ - Blur

Montaigne - For Your Love

Muse - Thought Contagion

Nicole Millar - Gimme A Break

Nine Inch Nails - God Break Down The Door

Nothing But Thieves - Forever & Ever More

Nothing But Thieves - Take This Lonely Heart

Nyxen - In The City

Ocean Alley - Corduroy

Ocean Sleeper - Save Me

Odette - Take It To The Heart

Olympia - Star City

Parcels - Withorwithout

Parkway Drive - Chronos

Parkway Drive - The Void

Peking Duk - Fire

Petit Biscuit - Suffer {Ft. SKOTT}

Phantastic Ferniture - Gap Year

Polish Club - Clarity

Pom Poko - My Blood

Post Malone - Better Now

Post Malone & Swae Lee - Sunflower

Press Club - Suburbia

Rich Brian - watch out!

Riton & Kah-Lo - Fake ID

Robert DeLong - Favorite Color Is Blue {Ft. K.Flay}

Rubens, The - Casper

Rubens, The - Freakout

Rubens, The - God Forgot

Rubens, The - Never Ever {Ft. Sarah}

Ruby Fields - Dinosaurs

Ruby Fields - Ritalin

Ruel Dazed & Confused {Prod. M-Phazes}

RÜFÜS DU SOL - Treat You Better

SAFIA - Freakin' Out

Samsaruh - The Beginning

Sarah Blasko - A Shot

ShockOne - Bleed Black {Ft. Cruz Patterson}

Skegss - Smogged Out

Skegss - Up In The Clouds

Sloan Peterson - New Direction

Slowly Slowly - Alchemy

Slowly Slowly - Ten Leaf Clover

SOPHIE - Immaterial

Stand Atlantic - Lavender Bones

Stand Atlantic - Lost My Cool

Stand Atlantic - Skinny Dipping

Steady Holiday - Nobody's Watching

Stevie Jean - Estranged

Story So Far, The - Let It Go

Superorganism - Everybody Wants To Be Famous

Superorganism - SPRORGNSM

Superorganism - The Prawn Song

Tapestry - Dark Shade

Tash Sultana - Harvest Love

The Gooch Palms - Summertime

The Story So Far - Upside Down

Thelma Plum - Clumsy Love

Thrice - The Grey

Tia Gostelow - Strangers {Ft. LANKS}

Tiny Little Houses - Drag Me

Tiny Little Houses - Team Player

Tonight Alive - Book Of Love

Tonight Alive - Crack My Heart

Tonight Alive - Disappear {Ft. Lynn Gunn}

TOTTY - Uncomfortable

Towkio - Symphony {Ft. Teddy Jackson}

Trophy Eyes - Friday Forever

Trophy Eyes - More Like You

Trophy Eyes - Something Bigger Than This

Trophy Eyes - You Can Count On Me

Two People - In The Garden

WAAX - Labrador

Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar, The - Pray For Me

West Thebarton - Stuck On You

Wombats, The - Cheetah Tongue

Wombats, The - Lethal Combination

Wombats, The - Turn

World Champion - Gun

Young Thug - High {Ft. Elton John}

YUNGBLUD - 21st Century Liability

YUNGBLUD - Polygraph Eyes

YUNGBLUD - Psychotic Kids

ZHU - Stormy Love, NM. {Ft. JOY.}

We arrived at Changi Airport after an awkward stop at Darwin, from midnight until six.am.  Local time in Darwin confused us for a while, and we considered going in to the city until morning, but we were disuaded by the fact that we couldn't check our luggage in until four o'clock.  The airport had the only duty free shopping I did during the trip though, a $2.99 bottle of vodka.

After an impressive and luxurious airport breakfast, we were on board another plane.  I vowed to sleep, since I'd been awake for around 24 hours, but as usual was less than successful.  As the plane commenced its descent into Singapore, Jax and I resumed an earlier discussion about how we'd reach the island from the airport.  We'd learned that taxis are affordable, but, since we were arriving at nine.am and couldn't check into our hotel until three, I insisted we try taking the train.

I picked up a network map as we passed through Arrivals and plotted a course to Sentosa whilst we waited for out overnight bags to emerge onto the baggage carousel.  It looked simple enough, and proved to be such, with the most complex part being finding the way to the airport station.  I'd won the case for the train with the concession that if anything went wrong, we could disembark and take a taxi at any time.  The only unexpected moment came when a pre-recorded announcement aboard the automated, driverless train reminded commuters that they could press the emergency button upon sight of what it described as 'suspicious individuals.'  A moment later, the train jerked to a slower pace, and another recorded message advised that the emergency button had been activated, and asked that we remain patient as investigators boarded the vehicle to determine the reason for the delay.  Luckily, it wasn't us.

A bus took us from the mainland to Sentosa Island, where I was pleased to find that our room was ready early:  I'd been wearing the same clothes since leaving home around 35 hours earlier and really wanted to shower and clean my teeth.  I had also thought a nap might have been a sensible choice, but instead we headed out to explore the island.

The clean, Vegas-y atmosphere of the first actual resort town I've been to was inescapable, but fun to move within.  Unashamedly artificial, we started by navigating our immediate surrounds - American and Asian franchises and upper-midddle priced casual dining - and gravitated, perhaps predictably, towards the casino.  Unexpectedly though, we did not enter.  Maybe it was an acknowledgement of our limited time.  Instead, we set about circumnavigating the island, vowing to stop at everything that looked interesting.

Emerging from an articifial cave and waterfall that was the habitat of some turtles, we decided on the Chili Café for lunch, and my first Singapore Sling (of this trip.)  Spreading a map on the table, we identified points of interest over our next round.  Jax suggested we stop at the hotel we'd first considered reserving, the Siloso Beach Resort, until a cheaper option - the Festive Hotel - had appeared.  So we headed from lunch to Siloso Beach.  I appreciated this style of beach, overlooking a shipping port, and dotted with fully serviced bars.  We found the Resort hotel and ordered some drinks from the modest menu, and felt glad that we'd found the Festive Hotel.  Though cheaper, it was much grander and more centrally located.  Looking over my drink to the jungle-like surroundings on either side of the hotel's bar, I wondered aloud if Sentosa is home to monkeys, and scanned the treetops for evidence of any.  As though in answer to my question, we heard scurrying footsteps over the the verandah's rooftop, and I was not disappointed to see that they belonged to squirrels rather than monkeys.

While we were finishing our drinks, we heard the bass sounds of a party nearby, so we followed it to the Asian DJ finals, taking place inside Wave House, a bar which was also home to a wave pool for surf practice.  I added fake-surfing to my to-do list, and we took a seat in a cabana to hear the finalists perform.

En-route, I'd convinced Jax to join me at street luge by buying two passes before he had a chance to object, entitling us to four rides each.  We'd taken two before going to explore the bars of Siloso, and decided to use the remaining passes after some drinks and nightfall.  After leaving the DJ finals disappointed - I've never enjoyed DJ shows, bar service was unavailble, and table service seemed slow to the point of nonexistance - we went to a beach club called Óla.  Exactly my kind of place, the Tiki themed club quickly served me an icy, yet burning cocktail as we watched a wicked thunderstorm brewing over the ocean.

We remained sheltered under our parasol as we watched the lightning and swimmers disregarding the increasingly urgent announcements of lifeguards to leave the water.

As darkness fell, we returned to use our remaining street luge tickets to find the chairlift to the top of the slope closed due to lightning.  I worried that we would miss out on our last two rides, but Jax remained stoic - we could check back after the next bar, this time 'Beerkini,' a Hooters rip off with ocean views advertising a frozen Bacardi cocktail special.  Whilst the waitress was unaware of the drink, I was deeply satisfied with whatever kinds of frozen drinks she brought me instead, and embarrassed both Jax and the waitress by asking a woman seated nearby to take a picture of the three of us together.

The woman turned out to be the bar's owner, seated with an Australian friend.  Noticing our accent, the friend seemed to feel an immediate sense of comraderie, and asked us what were were doing there.  Jax explained the long weekend trip, but was cut off by the owner's friend.

'No, no,' she snapped.  'I meant what are you doing here on Sentosa?  The drinking is much better at Clarke Quay.'

We took note of her point for our next day, observing that my mother had offered similar advice in a response to the email I'd sent her from Tullamarine Airport letting her know I'd be away.  After some more drinks, the luge circuit appeared to be operating again, and we took our last few rides.  Proving the impact of alcohol consumption on driving ability, I observed myself to be much more daring for these rides, though Jax had confessed to being surprised at my speed on all four trips down the mountain.

Our subsequent investigation took us back towards one of Singapore's famous Merlion statues, and, upon seeing it indeed unlit (my mother had also recommended seeing the 'Merlion Lightshow' on the island, though none of the locals we'd asked knew anything about it) we inevitably gravitated back to the casino.  Having ascertained our hotel's proximity to the casino, I agreed to a single drink and perhaps a meal - it was well after midnight, and we'd not eaten since the (mostly liquid) lunch.  The casino's security checks were noticably thorough, especially when compared to the nation's Customs check point we had sailed through earlier in the day, but we made it in.  We went in search of a bar.  It turned into an extensive search operation, which made us questions whether local customs were perhaps different to what we were used to:  observing the floor, gamblers were alone, smoking in some areas, but drinking nothing harder than the bottled water being delivered en masse by casino staff.  Could drinking and gambling in tandem be considered taboo?  It certainly seemed so, but we had during our investigation come upon the Casino Royale bar where a band called Uber Duber were performing - and taking requests.  We ordered a drink each, and stood out against the other patrons, all of whom had bottles of the finest spirits laid out on their tables before them.  On either side of us, we looked on in horror as barely-touched bottles of Hennessey and Grey Goose were cleared away to some mysterious back room, where I imagined and hoped staff might indulge upon them after their shift. 

Meanwhile, Uber Duber had demonstrated their style: chilled out takes on hits, cycling between and an English then a Chinese song, and Gavin asked what I thought the most difficult song for a band like this to play might be.  I considered their line up - drums, guitar, piano and vocals - and thought of slipping a request note for Chop Suey, but between us decided that a more realistic request would be Elton John's Rocketman.  I'd also slipped the band a request for something by Ben Folds but neither were played.  Before they finished, the singer looked over to me, lone Guero in attendance, and apologised for not playing what she presumed (accurately) to have been my requests.

We had a few spins of some old fashioned mechanical slot machines before I was overwhelmed suddenly with fatigue.  In fact, it hit me like a tonne of bricks, in a way I don't know that I have ever felt.  Jax was still hoping to eat, but my exhaustion must have been visible.  He sent me to the room despite my offer to escort him to find food, and I barely noticed when he returned.

I guess I've learned that the longest this device can operate is around 48 hours before a recharge is required.

During a pre-Halloween conversation teetering on drunkeness, Jax suggested a trip.

'Do you think four days is enough time to see Japan?' he asked.

With a (debatable) long weekend approaching, he was considering a whirlwind trip.  I state my doubt that four days was sufficient to see even Tokyo, but also that I would join him if he decided on going.  As our bottle emptied, other desitinations were suggested, including Singapore.  I recalled my parents telling me they'd walked from one end of Sentosa Island to the other within an hour.  Surely, with that trivia in mind, that would make four days ample time to explore the island.

We ordered pizza and watched Suspiria for the first time, though my mind must have been elsewhere, because I couldn't even begin to explain the plot today.  When I reaised the trip idea again this week as a more pressing issue, if it were to proceed, Jax seemed confused.  He checked the calendar app on his phone.

'Oh,' he said, still studying the results on the screen.  He had lost track of the proposed dates, and had not realised that next week is the one featuring a public holiday.  (Considering the minor nature of the holiday, and that so much alcohol was consumed during the initial conversation that he had repeatedly spilled whiskey onto my couch, I shouldn't have been surprised.)  Nevertheless, the fact remained that neither of us had plans for the weekend.

During my lunchbreak on Halloween, I flipped open a few travel websites, but found prices to be quite high - particularly for Japan, where flight times and durations also meant that the four-day trip would barely include two at the destination.  Jax had apparently undertaken the same investigation, and we exchanged some emails.  Watching for Trick-or-Treaters from my balcony that evening, I plotted a budget alternative:  A train ride to Ballarat, where one can stay at what is allegedly Australia's most haunted hotel.  The trip would come in at under a hundred dollars.  The hotel even plays host to an impressive and diverse line up of live music most nights of the week.

By morning - yesterday - the last-minute booking market had softened considerably.  By the time I'd sent Jax my haunted hotel itinerary, he'd identified a very reasonable rate at a hotel in the midst of Sentosa's casino and bar district.  This lead me to find an incredibly cheap airfare for a flight from Changi to Tullamarine.  Before lunch, we had found flights to Singapore, and were booked to travel.

Now I am en-route to the airport, leaving the conference I've been organising full-time for the past month or two to deal with itself for a few days, and hopeful the the stormy weather I'm expecting to fly in to won't cause any of Universal Studio's rollercoasters to close.