Tuesday, August 07, 2007

But how does it know?

Years ago, ten or more, there was an advert for a type of chilly-bin that took the piss out of Australians for being stupid. I don't recall the full script however it included a claim that the chilly-bin kept food warm or cool... the Australian, sitting astride the chilly bin, looked confused... "but how does it know?".

How does my iPod know? Know when I'm most susceptible to the calls of home? Walking back home today, my iPod queued-up the Muttonbirds You Will Return (where the f**k is McGlashan getting strong strong coffee from, not bloody Sydney mate) followed by Dave Dobbyn's Loyal... I almost cried... but then, as if to ensure I understood, Greg Johnson's Don't Wait Another Day and Shihad's Home Again... I shit-you-not!

I'm particularly susceptible because Mrs backin15 and I are once again looking to buy and, quite apart from the fear associated with Sydney-sized debt, I'm struggling with where I want to be? NZ or Australia? Home or this foreign land I quite like?

Either way, I'm not watching any significant Rugby World Cup games with Australians. It's not like they're unpleasant or particularly unreasonable... it's just that I may wish to be and I don't want to feel in any way restricted if, for example, I need to question George Smith's technique, moral fibre or parentage. I also want to be surrounded by fellow kiwis, rugby tragics and hopeless optimists. I want to feel the camaraderie and warmth of fellow devotees and need to know that they too experienced the devastation of '91, '95, '99 and 2003. I don't want to have to hear how good Gregan, Larkham, Giteau are. I don't care if Sharpe's a top bloke or that Staniforth's a try magnet. I want to be enveloped by blackness, by flattened vowels and a shared belief in Richie McCaw's virtue. I don't even want to have a token Australian to mock and bait. I want to drink DB, eat Rashuns and Pixie Caramels and hear only Keith Quinn, Murray Mexted and Grant Fox calling the game.

And at the end, when we've won and William Webb Ellis is held aloft and we are all drunk on relief and exaltation, I want to to be hear...
Ringa pakia
Uma tiraha!
Turi whatia!
Hope whai ake!
Waewae takahia kia kino!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"we are all drunk on relief and exaltation" - not even, e hoa! I never heard of any beer called relief or exaltation?!

Anonymous said...

Well, it could be your evil ipod -- but just how many Kiwi sound-of-home songs have you LOADED onto it, hmm?

backin15 said...

"relief and exaltation" is a Chardonnay crass.... and yeah maybe Dave's got a point, a quick count reveals around 30% of music on my pod is antipodean...

Godless Kiwi said...

Dragon...Howard Morrison Quartet...Blerta....BI15's covering the best. He's on to it.

crasster said...

Blerta?!!!!!

Godless Kiwi said...

Look it up...(Go2CHT...nxt 10)

backin15 said...

I saw Bruno post Blerta, post Crocodiles in fact, play a tiny little pub in Ponsonby (that's no longer there) with a small jazz quintet - he was a damn fine drummer as well as being a hell of a character.

I like your choices godless.

The song that still has me blasting out accompaniment, regardless of the situation or location, is Be Mine Tonight...

"Eights and cigarettes,
a long talk, a few cans if you can
be my bare-skin friend baby.
Where in for a long night a strong night.
You look what you've done to me
you licked me you kicked, I wrapped,
you licked me you kicked, I wrapped,
be mine, be mine tonight..."

Actually, the other stuff that I can't get enough of at the moment is both Dimmer and Fly My Pretties. Fantastic stuff.

But all that said, the best song to ever come from the antipodes is an Aussie song, Throw Your Arms Around Me by the Hunters.

Cheezy said...

I get your point about not wanting any Aussies around during the World Cup... but that's only if Aussie are winning, surely?

I was in a pub in Auckland with the Barmy Army during the WC Final in 2003, and we were pretty glad to have a few Aussies around by the end :)

So, in London now, I should think I'll be accompanying some of my kiwi mates to a Walkabout Bar (the only time I'll step into one) if it comes down to a ABs v Oz game at any point. And I'll be pretty confident too.

Anyhow, here are my favourite kiwi songs:
- Expecting to Fly (Headless Chickens)
- North by North (The Bats)
- Burn it Up (Straitjacket Fits)
- Pink Frost (The Chills)

It's fairly obvious what my era is then, I guess!

backin15 said...

North by North is a dead-set classic. The Bats were fantastic live - them and the Able Tasmans were particular favourites.

But I don't know about having any Australians around - I don't want to mock them, I need only to know we've beaten them. It's the warm aroha I crave and I'd hate it to be spoiled by any strangled nasal inflection however well intended....

Trust you and I will both be celebrating come late October!

Anonymous said...

Why will you be celebrating cum? (BTW you misspelled it).

backin15 said...

Very droll.