Musica Thoughts - Procession - New Order

Now here's another rocking song - I recently purchased "Substance" - the first New Order compilation (1987), and I'm enjoying this song - I wonder if New Order were working their way through Joy Division lyrics, and maybe abandoned that approach at the time of Blue Monday...

I've also been listening to Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the music is great, but what she sings about seems quite remote and - dare i say it - pop song-ish, in that it seems to me that the lyrics don't transcend the years (whereas the music does). Make sense ?

I have abandoned the Fall as irrelevant 30 years on - I'm not into cults of personality (Mark E Smith)


There is no end to this
I have seen your face
But I don't recognize all these things
You must have kept behind
It's a problem, you know
That's been there all your life
Tries to make you see the world without you
That's just some black and white
At night it gets cold and
You'd dearly like to turn away
An escape that fails
And makes the wounds that time won't heal
Hello, hello, hello, hello

There is no end to this
I can't turn away
Another picture would deceive
History'd say
There is no room to move
Or try to look away
Remember, life is strange
And life keeps getting stranger every day
A mass of harmless attitudes
All tied up all subside
No matter what they say
You knew your heart beats you late at night
Your heart beats you late at night (3

The eyes and hands have it

The concentration is almost palpable...a viscous liquid of mental energy....

The Chess Club

Out of the Play Centre Camps has come the new Chess Club.
Here are the boys at our house, and we're trying to meet once a month.
L-R - Me (note cool T Shirt), Ian, Bob, Chris, Greg (leaning forward), Shawn, and Geoff in the foreground. Geoff is the Man to beat!
I'm doing okay, about 3rd-4th on the very informal ladder...next outing is at Ian place at the end of June.

That Division...

I've been having a Joy Division back catalogue session for the last month or so, and thoroughly enjoying it! I went to see the documentary about the band (not "Control" - the docu-drama) and loved it - great review of all that went on. Interesting to see the other band members not creating an idol, but the commentators (such as paul morley) going a bit gaga over how fantastic he was etc...

Here's New Dawn Fades, off Unknown Pleasures, one of my all time faves (along with Dead Souls, Ceremony, and Atmosphere)

Change of speed, a change of style
A change of scene, with no regrets
A chance to watch
admire the distance
Still occupied - though you forget
Different colours, different shades
Over each mistakes were made
I took the blame
Directionless, so plain to see
A loaded gun won't set you free
So you say

We'll share a drink and step outside
An angry voice and one who cried
We'll give you everything and more
The strain's too much,
can't take much more
Oh I've walked on water,
run through fire
Can't seem to feel it anymore
It was me - waiting for me
Hoping for something more
Me - see me in this time -
Hoping for something else

This is Alex and his friends at Tree Adventures, a tree - climbing / aerial obstical course / flying foxes type of thing, for his birthday. L-R is Jason, William, Alex, Grayson, Logan and Anton in froint. The boys loved the flying foxes, and found some of the sections of the course very challenging.

Alex is 10 Years Old

This is Alex with his Birthday Cake, plus all his Piha mates singing that well known song.

Weetbix #2