My fav five of triple j’s Hottest 100

I was galavanting in O’ahu on Australia Day during the annual triple j Hottest 100 countdown. Although I saw a tourist sporting an Australian flag towel as a cape on the streets of Waikiki, it wasn’t quite the same as tuning in to triple j for the nation’s top tunes. 

Since moving to Brisbane from Mackay, we haven’t listened as often to triple j, the staple radio station of our weekly road trips and evening meals. That being said, I’ve been checking out their hitlist on Spotify and live music podcasts for my daily dose of Australian and international music for the young or young at heart. 

This year’s Hottest 100 has many gems, but here are the five that stole my heart:

#3 Breezeblocks by alt-J

#59: Love This by Cosmo Jarvis

#24 I’m into you by Chet Faker

#23 Coming Down by Ball Park Music 

#31 Gasoline by Alpine

 

392 minutes of BIFF

I like watching movies. Chris likes watching movies. I like eating popcorn. Chris likes eating popcorn. Of course, the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) was made for us.

Our first taste of BIFF was The FP, which we saw last November before moving to Mackay. This year we bought a handful of passes and saw four festival films over four days, plus a bonus blockbuster.

The accidental film: Berberian Sound Studio

We arrived at Tribal Theatre, where the carpet is shredded, popcorn is more aptly called kernels and the cushions are curiously absent from seats. They did have bean bag chairs though.

Our electronic tickets were scanned by a friendly volunteer and we shuffled in with a small crowd. The opening credits rolled. I turned to Chris with silent question on my face. We had bought tickets to see Norwegian film Turn Me On, Goddammit! Was this the right film? Were we in the right place?

The we heard the Italian and my fears were confirmed. It turns out that our film was showing across town at Palace Centro cinema. We were seated in the middle of a crowded row and the film had piqued our interest, so we stayed put.

Berberian Sound Studio was slow moving but intriguing. Watching a Brit mix sound on an Italian horror film was culturally novel for me. I enjoyed seeing fruit and vegetables used to create gruesome sound effects.

The Manitoban ghost film: Keyhole

The longer we spend in Australia, the more patriotic we become. Keyhole was one of the very few Canadian offerings at BIFF so of course we were obliged to see it. It didn’t hurt that the film was directed by Guy Maddin, whose silent film and surrealist aesthetic is renown in alternative film circles.

Keyhole follows the gangster Ulysses who returns to his home with a motley crew and journeys from room to room looking for his ghost wife Hyacinth with a blind girl and rope-bound boy in tow.

The informative and inspiring documentary: Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry

“The difference between cats and human is that even if cats open doors, they never close the door behind them,” explained Chinese artist and activist Ai Wei Wei to a chorus of laughter in Palace Barracks Cinema 1. My friend and collaborator Ray Hsu first introduced me to Ai Wei Wei. He remained a vague figure in my mind for a couple years. Never Sorry was a comprehensive and compelling account of Ai’s life and art.

I was moved to tears when Ai explained the quote displayed in coloured backpacks mounted on art gallery wall in Munich: ‘She lived happily on this earth for seven years’. Ai and his followers were recording names of children killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, names that the government would not disclose. The quote above came from one of the parents who mourned the loss of their only child.

The sprouting plot film: Rust and Bone

Marion Cotillard is the primary reason we saw Rust and Bone, a gritty French drama about an orca trainer who loses her legs beneath the knee cap (Cotillard) and down-on-his-luck security guard/amateur fighter and irresponsible father. It was a film about healing and maturing. At first glance it seemed sexy but upon closer inspection, the film was more raw than arousing. Despite scenes of poor parenting, yelling matches, casual intercourse and whale jaws, Rust and Bone left me feeling that despite all odds, a better life is possible for everyone.

Bonus action film: Skyfall

While Judy Dench looked consistently 72, Daniel Craig went from 40 to 55 in Skyfall, the most localised Bond filmed of my tiny repertoire which only includes Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. I enjoyed hyper-hipster Q, flirty Moneypenny and Shanghai streets. And the more I hear it, the more I like Adele’s Skyfall theme song.

Seeing Mountains in Mackay

For one night only, the Banff Mountain Film Festival came to regional Queensland. 8 short films were screened as part of the festival world tour. Seated at the MECC among a couple hundred nature-loving Aussies, I was thrilled to see a slice of home.

It was the little things that really excited me: British Columbia license plates, mention of Fernie, seeing people wearing gear from MEC. I secretly wanted the festival organizers to ask if there were any Canadians in the audience. I would have gladly sang the national anthem in English and French.

My Festival Picks

ALL.I.CAN: The Short Cut

Watching ALL.I.CAN brought me back 8 years to when I would read skateboarding and surfing magazines at my boyfriend’s house down the road. The film was beautifully shot and set to music. I found myself grooving in my seat as freestyle skiers went from the slopes to the surrounding snow of a certain country town (*cough* Trail *cough*). It was the first film of the festival and it left me keen to learn to ski when Canada one day calls me home.

Kadoma

An incredibly moving film, Kadoma tells the story of  a kayak expedition along the Nile that ends tragically. I thought of my dear friend Carman Lam, who lived and worked in Rwanda last summer and of my colleagues who have traveled extensively through Africa. It’s truly amazing country. The film features two Americans and their South African trip leader who told an honest story about the joy and the risk of sport.

C.A.R.C.A

I giggled deeply for the entire 8 minutes of this film. It was kind of giggle where my whole body shakes and occasionally squeaks escape from my months.The  Canadian Avalanche Rescue Cat Association (C.A.R.C.A) film was so hilariously Canadian. A few audience members chuckled, but I had the sneaking suspicion that this wasn’t their cuppa.  It was something you would expect to come from the likes of Whistler film maker Robjn Taylor. At the end, when they ‘deploy’ rescue cats from a cannon, I couldn’t help thinking of the Royal Canadian Air Farce‘s chicken cannon. Needless to say, C.A.R.C.A is a cinematic gem.

At the end of the festival I came to a realization: I still haven’t been to Banff! Often when Australians learn of my Canadian heritage, they gush about the Albertan village/town/icon. I guess that’s the trouble with living in a country that spans 9.9 million square kilometres. So much to see, so little time.

Changing Landscapes

The sun is moving away from Australia. A cool breeze finds me in the morning. Without the high temperatures and humidity, biking to work is easier. Where one door closes, a window blows open. In place of heat we now have wind. The wind makes me pedal harder. The wind rattles everything outdoors, making it sound like my house is being attacked with a gang of aggressive walking sticks. The wind brings the big chill that sends Aussies to the shops in droves, searching for boots and coats while I wear flats and cardigans. It’s starting to feel like a lovely summer day…in Vancouver.

These my songs of the season, my summer winter:

To Rest in Peace On Righteous Tides by Ohbijou
We’ll Never Sleep (God knows we’ll try) by Rilo Kiley
Changing Landscapes by Zach Hurd
Imaginary Bars by Great Lake Swimmers
Grown Ocean by Fleet Foxes
Chelsworth by Little Red
Cap Diamant by Coeur de Pirate
Wash. by Bon Iver
Those to Come by The Shins
Bronte by Gotye

Autumn/Spring

March is my month of regeneration. It’s my birth month. In Canada, it was the first month of spring. In Australia, it’s the precursor to winter. These days the rain falls day and night, not unlike Vancouver. The difference is that here, the rain falls in sheets through a humid and warm sky.

Every March I reflect, re-evaluate, restore, simultaneously seeking novelty and familiarity. Here are the songs of my autumn/spring:

1. Deep Blue by Arcade Fire
2. Mission Bells by Armistice
3. Part Time Believer by Boy & Bear
4. Change the Sheets by Kathleen Edwards
5. In My time by Kurt Vile
6. Boomerang by Miniature Tigers
7. Embrace (feat. Fawn Myers) by Oliver Tank
8. Your Long Journey by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
9. About You by Royal Wood
10. It Will Sail by Sarah Harmer
11. Even Though I’m a Woman by Seeker Lover Keeper
12. Twigs And Stones by Siskiyou
13. Sun in an Empty Room by The Weakerthans
14. Orono Park by The Wilderness Of Manitoba
15. Marathon Runner by Yellow Ostrich

If you have any trouble finding these tracks, drop me a line.