Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Discuss upcoming, current, and previous song fights.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

mholland wrote:
Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:19 pm
Phlebia: I admire your dedication to the project of documenting the trials, tribulations, and especially deaths of the cast of characters of Grey’s Anatomy. Almost blew out my eardrums, though.
For what it's worth, grey's has a habit of killing characters when the actors' contracts expire. I can think of at least 5 major cast members that have been killed.
"There's a lot to be said about a full-on frontal assault on the ear drums" - Pigfarmer Jr.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by lichenthroat »

add—Very smooth. Nice mix, too. There may be a bit of a mismatch between the sound of the music and the lyrics; it sounds too lighthearted to be a heartfelt song, but the lyrics are too serious for a lighthearted song. Maybe the problem is simply my inability to take this kind of old-fashioned country seriously enough. The overall sound, irrespective of interaction with the lyrics, is really good, though.

Alchemy feat. Copernicus—I think either the music or the vocal needs to be more lively or complex; they both have fairly simple melodies without a lot of variation. The vocal delivery is pretty good, however.

Balls To Monte—This feels very comfortable, like a classic rock staple I haven’t heard in a while. Your songwriting seems skilled and experienced. Nothing super innovative, but good execution of a solid concept. Nice guitar solo.

Bear Rider—I like the echoey atmosphere. The mix seems a bit loud. I’d be interested to hear this with a stronger rhythm component. I like the timbre of your voice.

Brown Word and the Big Whine—The intro is good. From an aesthetic, intellectual perspective, I like the chaotic feel of the song. This feels like a work of art; I can imagine it as part of an avant-garde stage production.

Deadnettlez—This one is a little hard to review, since I have trouble literally hearing it, and I’m not sure I understand the concept you’re going for. I do like the sawtooth-sounding background instrument, however.

Evermind—The rhythm is innovative. I’d like to hear another instrument playing a sustained melody, but maybe that would spoil the atmosphere you’re trying to evoke. As is, it feels very ominous, and the lyrics mesh well with the instrumentation.

Future Boy—I think the mismatch in instrumental tone and lyrics is okay, since it contributes to a sense of irony that seems quite deliberate. It’s often hard to pull this off, but I think you’ve done it pretty well, even incorporating a portion of a traditional song.

Glenn Case—I didn’t find the song to be all that interesting, but all the performances are good. The doubled-but-not-identical vocals are cool.

Hot Pink Halo—The two opening chords make an excellent start. I like how the song swells along (if that makes sense). I’m not wild about the sound of your drum machine; I think something that sounds more expansive and echoey might fit the song better. Overall, however, I like this, and I think it’s among your best work. As usual with your songs, this one improves over multiple listens.

JP Nicholas—You have a good voice, but I’d like to hear a more confident delivery. I’m intrigued by how you’ve incorporated two styles into one song in a way that is novel but not too weird. This feels like a mostly successful experiment.

Ken’s Super Duper Band ’n Stuff—The chord progression is great. I think the keyboard might be better with a more complex melody, but overall, this is really good. Top tier this week.

Lichen Throat—This mix is terrible, but not for lack of trying. I feel like this one is barely held together with Scotch tape. I was trying to capture the childhood excitement of going to the best pizza place in town, but let’s just say this didn’t live up to my vision for it.

Nick Soma—Good use of the kalimba. You are always very good at transitioning from one section of a song to the next, which is evident here. Nice work. This has already found its way to the permanent collection on my hard drive.

Night Sky—This is outside the kinds of music I usually listen to, so I’m not sure how to evaluate it. It seems like you know what you’re doing, however, and I get a vision of a band playing this in a cool little club in New Orleans. The vocal doesn’t sound like it’s in the same space as the instruments.

Paco del Stinko—Okay, lots of wah. I guess it was the unofficial optional challenge. The tension really builds in the opening section. I find myself liking this despite its oddness. It kind of reminds me of one of those weird songs on the back side of early Van Halen records.

The Pannacotta Army—Okay, I’m bobbing my head to the rhythm already. This is perhaps a bit on the old-timey side for my taste, but the execution is good.

Phlebia—You have a talent for making songs I kind of like in this nu-metal style, which I ordinarily hate. I think you may be—genuinely—the world’s best practitioner of the genre.

Pigfarmer Jr—The straightforwardness of this is refreshing and fun. I’m bopping along. One of your best songs, I think. Nice job.

rackwagon—I’m not sure what you’re doing with that guitar, but it sounds great. I tend to like songs that are slow but still intense, and you’ve pulled that off very well. Two thumbs way up.

R. Mosquito—I don’t like Led Zeppelin, but if I did, I think I’d like this song a lot. I’m impressed by this even thought I wouldn’t want to listen to it all that often.

Robyn Mckenzie—This is very good, and I think you hit the bullseye of what you had in mind. The vocal fits perfectly with the atmosphere. The oscillating mix sounds a little disconcerting on headphones, but not nearly to the level of the Magnetic Fields’ “Abigail, Belle of Kilronan,” which is my benchmark for this phenomenon. I definitely enjoyed this one.

Sweeney Toad—I like the steel drum or whatever that is—oh, is it a kalimba with lots of reverb? The simple rhythm is pretty effective, but I could do without that static click instrument. The lyrics are clever, but I have to admit I find the subject matter off-putting.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by jpnickolas »

Evermind wrote:
Fri Oct 23, 2020 1:20 pm
JP Nickolas:
I would love to see you collaborate with another songfighter and bring that guitar heat. Actually, wanna collaborate? :)
Anytime! As long as you're willing to help this noob through the process. I haven't collaborated since I was in a garage band in high school.

Reviews:

add
I like the doubled vocals, this gives me a real "smores by the campfire singalong" vibe. The guitar solo is very nice and chill, and I dig the soundscape you paint in the background.

Alchemy feat. Copernicus
The quiet cymbals in the background do a great job of making this feel like you're deep in a haze.

Balls to Monte
Solid classic rock sound. I really like how the tension of the chorus is broken with the crunchy guitar at 1:06. I think you could have gone bigger with instrumentation just before then, or maybe something feels a bit scooped for me.

Bear Rider
This organ takes me right back to the music in the haunted mansion level of Banjo Kazooie. The heavy reverb blends very nicely into the organ.

Brown Word and the Big Whine
Nice thumb piano right off the bat! I''m really digging all the digital sounding transitions, and I'm getting an industrial mayhem vibe that plays well with stereo. The spaghetti western sound feels a bit too loud when I'm wearing headphones, but wasn't a problem through my speakers.

Deadnettlez
You know

Evermind
This pretty pretty please is real catchy and has been stuck in my head all week. I get solid Marylin Manson vibes from this. The bassy synths give a big ominous vibe when they come in, same with the very stilted drums. It feels like the audible version of the uncanny valley, and I think you nail it perfectly.

Future Boy
Well put together. I know the "Saints go marching in" is contentious here, but I think it's an overall positive. The instrumentation is like a densely layered cake, and the flute near the end shows that it can have yet another layer. This got a vote.

Glenn Case
I'm a sucker for the fuzz in this song. Chill and easy listening.

Hot Pink Halo
Real clever lyrics here. I'm living for the delay during the "when they were up they were up" section. Your use of the space between the notes is excellent.

JP Nickolas
As others have pointed out, my vocals could really use some work here. I think the places where I double my vocals are sloppy and I can improve that technique. I'm happy with how the guitar complements the vocals during the verses, and the build up before the solo turned out nicer than I'd expected. Probably should have made the guitar doodly doops a bit quieter during that section, since it's a lot of sound at once. Outro solos could have been shortened by a few bars as well.

Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
I dig the keyboard, and the way they make the chord changes sound extra smooth. The multiple rhymes with the word "in" also makes the chorus quite memorable.

Lichen Throat
Probably my favorite incorporation of "the smoke is rolling in" out of all the lyrics. The synth gives this a retro feel that's on point for a pizza parlor. The midi guitar sounds a bit out of place, but I think would have sounded good as a different instrument with the same notes.

Nick Soma
This was my favorite use of thumb piano. It had great depth, and the vocals feel well balanced. This also got a vote.

Night Sky
Wah on the sax is fun. Could have maybe used one more layer to fill in some of the space between the sax parts since it's a bit more staccato in the lead. The solo was swanky.

Paco del Stinko
Interesting psychedelic use of the wah. Not something I'm normally into, but the backing vocals and tension resolve shortly after with the wah is good. I dig the chaotic dissonance towards the middle.

The Pannacotta Army
Nice easy listening. I'm very jealous of your guitar tone and the way it sneaks into the mix. The horns are nice touch, and remind me of the Meatloaf's verses in Kickapoo. They nicely fatten it up. This got a vote from me.

Phlebia
Screaming does a great job adding emphasis especially when it overlaps with the singing for just a handful of words. Gets across panic pretty well. I think you could have used something to break up the longer screaming parts near the end since it felt like sitting at 11 for a long time.

Pigfarmer Jr
Cool (bass?) solo! Gives me "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" vibes. I like the playful chorus starting right off the bat. The vocals are real clear and easy to follow along with.

rackwagon
You're being gaslighted USA is another lyric that really wriggled its way into my brain for the week. The high notes on the guitar sound exceptionally nice against the slow singing.

R. Mosquito
This really brought it with the vocals. I was expecting something a bit faster after the intro to match the energy of the vocals. I like the heroic storytelling which remind me of Tenacious D in format.

Robyn Mckenzie
The guitar strumming matches the drums quite nicely. I also love the harmonizing vocals especially on the "oohh's". It feels very polished. Another vote from me.

Sweeney Toad
Your name makes me chuckle every time I see it. I like the use of the typewriter sounds. The imagery here is excellent, and the frat werewolves are unique. The "and frankly it was kinda rude" line felt out of place, like not quite as upset as someone being teabagged by a bunch of werewolves would be. Overall fun to listen to.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by Toshiro »

lichenthroat wrote:
Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:07 pm
rackwagon—I’m not sure what you’re doing with that guitar, but it sounds great.
Thank you. It's an e-bow.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by gizo »

All that rackwagon music sounds that people are digging is Toshiro.

He turned some silly lyrics into loveliness. Like a wizard.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by Toshiro »

gizo wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 2:57 am
He turned some silly lyrics into loveliness. Like a wizard.
Image
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by Lunkhead »

We've got another three way tie folks! Future Boy, Nick Soma, and Robyn Mackenzie all win.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by gizo »

Massive, what a bunch of heroes!!
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

Congratz to all three of ya.
Evil Grin bandcamp - Evil Grin spotify
T.C. Elliott bandcamp - T.C. Elliott spotify

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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by WreckdoMelle »

Whoa! Great job all!
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by owl »

Phew, got my votes in this afternoon just under the wire! Congrats x3!
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by Future Boy »

For some reason I didn't vote the first time I listened to the fight, so I missed the voting! Turns out I would have taken away my "win" by voting for both Nick Soma and Robyn Mackenzie.

add - this is a really lovely little tune, i'm glad someone else did waltz type thing. my favorite parts are the guitar solo sections and the bridge, particularly the lyric "the choice is staying asleep or staying alive." i think i would have liked the harmonies in the verses to be a little bit more coherent, there are sometimes dissonances that don't feel entirely intentional.

Alchemy feat. Copernicus - everything is so smooth about this track and i love it

Balls To Monte - i like how clear and crisp the mix is here and i'm especially enjoying your vocal delivery this time around.

Bear Rider - this is good and spooky. too much reverb? no, just enough.

Brown Word and the Big Whine - excellent use of the thumb piano. not a huge fan of the drum beat, gets better around 0:40 when you add additional layers. section at 1:41 is great, such a nice switch up.

Deadnettlez - the volume level is so incredibly low I find it hard to believe it was accidental? there's a weird song down in there though.

Evermind - i would add some subtlety to your drum beat, just some variation in velocity for each drum hit. it sounds very "canned" as it is (says the guy that uses casio beats). i feel like you are doing the kind of sardonic 90s thing pretty well, but i wonder if it would work better to sing this in a more natural tone, gentle even, for higher contrast with the "pretty please" sections. love the distortion on the power chords.

Future Boy - I still like this song, so that's a good thing.

Glenn Case - it is really amazing how consistent you are with your songs, another catchy tune with nice harmonies and some nice chord progression surprises. my only gripe is that i feel like the performances could have been a bit tighter. it's kinda like i want a Glenn Case album with Steely Dan precision.

Hot Pink Halo - the drums are really fun in this one. i want like a stereo tremolo effect on the guitar so it feels like i'm really swimming in it. or maybe a nice warm pad backing up the whole thing. love the bridge.

JP Nickolas - toms at the beginning need more bass/oomph, maybe it's just the entire drum track. surprised at what feels like a big style change at less than a minute in! vocal performance doesn't live up to the guitar playing and drum programming. generally speaking the mix just feels really muffled on this, which sucks the life out of the song for me, but I'm not sure how to address that with this kind of music.

Ken's Super Duper Band n Stuff - the synth line is really really nice and makes me wish you'd put some auto-tune on your vocals. also think you could have added some electronic drums to augment the acoustic kit. hell yeah synth solo. this is a good tune and deserves more votes than it got!

Lichen Throat - all this general midi really speaks to me and who doesn't love a song about pizza?

Nick Soma - yes really good mood at the beginning, nailed tone on the thumb piano and drums. i would bring the vocals further forward to give a really intimate close-mic'd feel. but overall this is really well done!

Night Sky - like the use of reverb in this track and the mix of instruments, maintains a pretty good groove throughout and has a great little sax solo.

Paco del Stinko - oh very nice wah guitar. can't say i'm a huge fan of the vocal delivery, but the backing harmonies are nice. i do like the overall dramatic structure of the song, that feels handled really well.

The Pannacotta Army - such slick production, damn. everything handled and placed so perfectly. it is like a little piece of candy.

Phlebia - the screaming startled me.

Pigfarmer Jr - well produced and i appreciate the upbeat nihilism. nice guitar distortion thing at the end.

R. Mosquito - i think you nailed what you were going for, but i found it difficult to listen to. it would probably be fun if i was high though.

rackwagon - so many lovely guitar drones and here's the stereo tremolo thing i wanted in Hot Pink Halo's song. for me right at this moment, the dynamic range is a bit extreme, where I want to turn up to really soak in the quite parts, but then the loud guitars are way too loud. vocal delivery is great.

Robyn Mackenzie - everything is basically perfect. it does remind me a couple classic rock songs i am having trouble putting my finger on, but i don't really mind that at all. this one should've won the fight uncontested.

Sweeney Toad - this is an incredible concept for a song and you really delivered on it, congrats on that. the glitch out at the end is fun.
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by crumpart »

I always like a good tie. Congratulations winners, and also everyone else who made great songs that I’m not going to get around to reviewing this time!
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by the panna cotta army »

Well done for the win to Robyn Mackenzie, Nick Soma and Future Boy
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by vowlvom »

Congrats, a fine trio!

Also sorry to Ken, I missed your late entry in my brief reviews. Listening belatedly now, excellent synth action!
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by robynmackenzie »

Thanks, y'all, and congrats to Nick Soma and Future Boy!
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by owl »

I didn't get a chance to edit my notes into real full reviews, and now I should probably spend that effort writing reviews for the current fight, but I figured I might as well share my rough notes from this fight. Sorry if they're not generally very helpful:

add -- i like the frog, this is very nice
alchemy -- this is smooth, but feels like it was over before it started
balls to monte -- solid bluesy performance, well done
bear rider-- atmospheric and i dig the vocals, but the song itself doesn't really go anywhere
brown word -- the frantic energy is cool, but the kind of discordant melody makes me feel uncomfortable
deadnettlez -- turn up! I had this on max volume on my speakers and still couldn't really hear it so unfortunately i have little to say
evermind -- very creepy but the descending bassline in the chorus reminds me of "brain stew" by green day and i couldn't stop thinking about that song
future boy -- a lovely listen, I like the little piano ornaments, great lyrics. I didn't love the interpolation of "when the saints come marching in" bc it didn't feel like it added much artistically/conceptually to me
glenn case -- the sonic palette is cool--I like the fuzziness on the guitar. Solid as usual
hot pink halo -- sounds great, this is one of my favorite HPH songs so far, nice production, strong vocals, has a sort of cranberries meets crowded house vibe
jp nickolas -- i like the general feel and mood of this song, the mix and performances are kind of messy, vocals seem kind of loud and dry and guitars don't have the sense of space i'd like to hear. kind of long
lichen throat -- nice intro, the vocal performance is decent but i feel like the song loses the cohesiveness a bit when the vocals come in. the lyrics are great but don't seem to match the feel of the song
nick soma -- excellent song, very appealing. melancholy, lovely melody and i like the feel of the instrumentation, seems kind of 80s without being pastiche, wonderful use of the kalimba
night sky -- this is let down a bit by the production and mix, it feels like a demo but i think the song would sound great with a bigger production. sax sounds excellent but the rest feels small.
paco del stinko -- forgot about the wah optional challenge till this song, guitar sounds awesome. good dynamics but feels like it was over too fast
pannacotta army -- lovely production, performance, and mix, this sounds warm and inviting. i like the funk guitar bit and the solo is really nicely done
phlebia -- ah this is noisy and aggressive but doesn't hurt my ears this time, i dig it. crunchy and intense but not shrill.
pigfarmer jr -- dark subject matter that seems to contrast with the almost jaunty feel to the music
r mosquito -- sounds appropriately heavy
rackwagon -- this is lovely, i dig the dreamy feel and dynamics between the sparse bass sections and noisy guitar sections
robyn mackenzie -- gorgeous melody, this is so pretty
sweeney toad -- memorable plotline, doesn't do much for me though
ken's super duper band 'n' stuff -- i really like the synth sound and the melody
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Re: Hold your breath for (The Smoke Is Rolling In reviews)

Post by crumpart »

Thanks for all the comments on my Smoke Is Rolling In. Very much appreciated. I wasn’t going to talk about this one, but hey, I’m avoiding doing something else so why not.

I recorded all the instruments before I had any idea what the song was going to be about. I already made a song this year about literal fires, so I wasn't quite sure what to write about this time. Then Giz texted us his first draft of the Rackwagon song and it was really good, so I thought I should just get something down, and set the magic drummer onto a drum machine setting and recorded some shoegazey guitars. I'm actively trying not to have just one guitar or instrument go through a whole song, so I recorded my Mustang on the verses and choruses, then capoed up Toshiro's semi-hollow Epiphone so I'd have different voicings with chimey sounds and used it on the choruses, pre-chorus and bridge sections. It still wasn't enough guitars, so I grabbed Toshiro's Telecaster and did some washy reverby stuff under the intro/outro, pre-choruses and choruses. I used an arpeggiated marimba as bass on the verses and bridge, and a very subtle synth thing as the bass on the choruses. The bridge also got a couple of layers of arpeggiated kalimba. There's one main vocal down the centre, and two doubles panned left and right that are narrower in the verses and go full tilt wide in the choruses because I wanted them to have more space. I knew the bridge would be contentious, so I'm pretty pleased that people either love or hate it. I was originally planning to sing all the echoes as harmonies, but was getting some stick from a certain someone about not being finished yet and decided to just make the echo through processing instead. In retrospect, I don't think singing the echoes would have improved it, and I really like the "shouting into the void" vibe I got there.

I spent probably more time on the lyrics than I have for any song so far. I got the chorus really quickly, but the verses and the bridge were difficult. I think I rewrote them three times. The first two versions were super wordy and literal, and with such a long chorus they just dragged. I ended up writing them side by side, playing on opposites to a degree (all in/all out, etc.). The "my my" pre-chorus quotes Abba's Waterloo, as this song centres around one of my favourite paintings, 'The Battle' by John Brack. It's a painting that depicts, in detail, the Battle of Waterloo, except all the soldiers are pencils, pens and playing cards. Not a lot of people know The Battle, but one of Brack's other paintings, Collins St, 5pm is probably the most famous painting in Australia. John Brack talked about how difficult it was to really show the all encompassing horror of war in a painting; either you ended up with a really zoomed out painting that became too general and lost any impact, or you zoomed right in close to see very detailed and individual events that then didn't show the whole reality. He noticed (after returning from the war himself) that lots of people who'd been soldiers would often re-enact the strategy of battles they were in with inanimate objects, so he thought that using that level of abstraction might be a way he could successfully recreate the reality of a battle in an image.

These quotes I found from a great interview with John Brack back around the time he was painting The Battle help illustrate the approach. The way he talks about paradox, stability and instability is also what I wanted to try and illustrate in the song.
JAMES GLEESON: John, is there any symbolic significance in the pencils and the walking sticks? The picture looks to me as though it has a meaning and yet I can’t—

JOHN BRACK: Yes, I understand that. At this point the paintings entered a relatively new field—they became more visually metaphoric. The idea of using pencils was simply because they were the nearest things to hand in the studio, which for me could represent figures. That is, they are a general representation of figures in paintings like the Collins Street picture, for instance, or in any others where figures have been used. They have been particularised—that is, they are figures, but that tended to confine the meaning to those individuals, and I was looking for something that would provide me with a means of making a more general, more universal statement. So you could say that the pencils symbolise figures and, in this case, figures in precarious balance—a balance, though, which I intend the composition to counteract. Although there seems to be the sense of falling, the structure of the picture locks it in, in such a way that it does not collapse.

JAMES GLEESON: So it is to do with this feeling of insecurity, but held at a point of equilibrium so that there is no—

JOHN BRACK: That is right. You cannot put these things in verbal terms, but roughly speaking it is a comment on the condition of life, which at any moment seems to be collapsing—anybody who reads the newspapers can see that—but yet does not collapse.

JAMES GLEESON: John, I am interested in this concept of the pencil as a symbolic form for the figure, or for the individual. Throughout child art and primitive art this sort of matchstick image of man has been constant. Children’s early drawings have a matchstick form and in a lot of primitive art there is this very simple, linear, matchstick quality. Is there any subconscious linking between the matchstick image of man and the pencil as an image of man?

JOHN BRACK: There could well be. As well as pencils I use pens, and even knives and forks—anything that represents a vertical line. After all, if you see a human figure at some distance you see a vertical line.

JAMES GLEESON: Yes, I see.

JOHN BRACK: But it also can be taken by anybody who wants to take it that way as a still life which is not very still.

JAMES GLEESON: There is one additional one, which we do not have a photograph of and which has only recently come into the collection. It was called The tower, or Study for the tower.

JOHN BRACK: Yes, quite near where I live is a little shop which sold wheelchairs and walking sticks. They were all tumbled together. The walking sticks had a sign on them that said, ‘A walking stick makes a good companion’. These sorts of things interest me. The idea of walking sticks as good companions and the idea of these chrome walking aids all tumbled together themselves suggested both security and insecurity.

JAMES GLEESON: Much as the theme of this one does?

JOHN BRACK: Yes, very much the same. So I put them all one on top of the other so that they formed a tower which was in imminent danger of total collapse, but which was locked by the composition.

JAMES GLEESON: So this was the paradox working again?

JOHN BRACK: Exactly.

JAMES GLEESON: Stability and instability, caught at just the moment when they balance each other out.

JOHN BRACK: Yes. This is a theme that is still going on.

JAMES GLEESON: So it is becoming a very important theme in your development as an artist?

JOHN BRACK: Yes. In general it is a gradual progression from local subject matter and particularisation to universal subject matter and generalisation. In other words, to multiply the levels of meaning it seemed to me that greater generalisation was called for so that it did not make any reference to a particular subject. It was a generalisation which could apply not just in Melbourne but anywhere.

JAMES GLEESON: Yes, I see, and this is the direction that your work is taking at the moment?

JOHN BRACK: It seems to be, yes. It is trying to comment on the zeitgeist, on the spirit of the times, without being local.
I thought about how I could represent that same metaphor in sound, and decided on nursery rhymes and playground games as the vehicle. I haven't written many of them, but for me this is a Covid song, although I also wanted to try and write about that specific thing in a very general way, so it's not obviously a Covid song. From one perspective, it's through line is "one day this will be over, and we'll be able to go back to the art galleries again and literally stand before The Battle", but it's also "this is a fight, and we're frozen in this moment right now, but when the smoke clears, we need to be ready to go out and fight again". I’m just so fucking furious about how us people working in the arts have been hung out to dry by our governments. Considering how much money Australian artists in particular raised for bushfire relief just prior to the whole pandemic saga, and how royally they’ve been fucked over by the government is really something else. Seeing this come out of the UK a few weeks back was the icing on the cake.

There’s more to the song than that, I think, but those were my starting points. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Devil’s got me Lindt! Devil’s got me Lindt!
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