Sunday 24 April 2016

I love sport.

Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a cool, diverse, hip young creature who likes to try out new things, and I will head to Suncorp Stadium to watch either the South Sydney Rabbitohs or the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs take on the Brisbane Broncos (as much as I love my Lions, I can't muster any love for the Broncos. Sorry Brisbane). I will say this right off the bat: AFL and NRL atmospheres are NOTHING alike. The closest you will come to an NRL atmosphere at an AFL game is when you go to a Giants game.

The first major difference is the aggression. NRL atmosphere is very aggressive for most of the game. They want physicality and aren't afraid to vocalise it. AFL crowds by comparison are more about barracking for their team - until either a) someone pulls a dog act (ala Steven May) b) the umpire really, REALLY stuffs up or c) there's a traitor on the field. Then the aggression of the NRL crowd looks like rainbows and cupcakes compared to how vicious an AFL crowd can get. Going back to the Steven May example last weekend, I have NEVER been a part of such an angry crowd before. We wanted him DEAD. Deader than dead. His blood smeared from one end of the Gabba to the other. Another time I've been at the receiving end of a vicious crowd was none other than one of the most passionate supporter bases, Essendon. It was back in 2013 when we beat them at Etihad. I was 100% certain that the Essendon fans surrounding me were going to kill me. I was truly terrified for my life. Even though I've sat with angry Souths fans before, I never really felt that sort of righteous fury.

Next is the noise. NRL fans just keep going and going and going and going...AFL fans on the other hand tend to be a bit quieter at points. It's the difference between the games, in NRL there are greater periods between scores, meaning the fans need to chant to keep themselves amused. They certainly have much longer and more interesting chants than most of the AFL fans (the exception being the GWS Giants - for such a young club, they've certainly carved an identity for themselves). The quicker pace of Aussie Rules means quick, repetitive chants that can be finished quickly in time for the next play are much better suited, thus less creativity.

I've mentioned the Giants twice already, but I think they prove an important point - the AFL and the NRL should NOT be competing against each other. I am watching a Giants game right now, and they've brought their Western Sydney Rugby heritage to their chants, which add an amazing flavour to the game (take a hint you Gold Coast Scumbags!). Can you imagine marketing a sporting weekend in Queensland if the AFL and the NRL got together? Go to a Titans game on the Gold Coast on Friday night, head to Metripong on Saturday afternoon for the scums game, then a trip up to the Gabba for a Lions game and then on Sunday off to Suncorp for a Broncos game. I can hear Queensland Tourism licking their lips already! They need to start working together - not just for the betterment of the individual codes, but for the betterment of sport in Australia in general. Think about how both codes could benefit from cross-pollination - faster-paced Rugby, more physical Aussie Rules!

In fact, why can't all sporting codes just work together? Or am I just using too much logic?

Friday 8 April 2016

Top Ten Songs to Dance to

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but I LOVE MUSIC AND I LOVE TO DANCE! And now that my body is on the mend, I was able to get back into some West Coast Swing last night and some dorky car-dancing on the way home from work! So to celebrate my returned health, here are my top ten favourite tunes to dance to - enjoy!

10. Unskinny Bop - Poison

The beat is just so incredibly laid back and, dare I say it, boppy, that it's almost lazy. It just feels so natural to just groove along to this tune that it's almost an automatic response every time I hear this song!

9. That's How You Know - Nico and Vince feat. Kid Ink and Bebe

This song is hilarious. The slow beat provides a funny counterpoint to the lyrics, not to mention it's just funky and easy to move to. Great for when you're stuck in traffic and need something slow and groovy to bop to while you're waiting for those god-forsaken lights to change. That's not mentioning how fun it is to sing along to. Loudly.

8. Pussy Game (JUSTiNB's Hyped Up Remix) - Bonnie Max

The SECOND this fast-paced dance-fest starts you are just zapped with instant energy, making you want to jump up and down and around and around. Then the sexy melody kicks in during the verses and it becomes just this powerful sex anthem - innuendo anyone?

7. God Is A DJ - P!nk

This song is just the perfect let-go-and-party song. The lyrics are deep and relatable, the beat is laid back with a solid energy that carries you while you just don't care. This song is just for you, letting you forget about everything and just enjoy the moment.

6. Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.

I make no apologies for this song at all. Like YOU don't dance to it and yell "Ghostbusters!" every time Ray Parker Jr. asks who you're gonna call. The only difference between you and I is that I'm not afraid to admit that this song is just plain funky - and I sing it in public. I ain't afraid of no ghosts!

5. Hot Chilli Woman - Noiseworks

Hearing that harmonica and everyone in the room is like "Ohhhhhhhh yeah!!!!!!" and the dancing is hot and frantic and sexy and rockin'. This song is the stronger, sexier "Unskinny Bop". Put it on and just watch everyone get hot and sweaty.

4. And We Danced - The Hooters

This sweet little number is all about that connection that you get dancing with someone - the vibes are right, the moves are sweet, the beat is rockin' and we're gonna dance all night and shake the paint of the walls.

3. All Night Long (Panik Mix) - J-Mi and Midi-D

Like "Pussy Game", this song just starts off with pure energy - and keeps it throughout. The ebb and flow of that amazing bassline makes moving along to the music feel so amazing and natural - you just get taken along on a magical musical ride and you don't want to get off.

2. I Can't Dance - Genesis

Okay, hands up everyone who KNEW this song was going to be on here? Now keep them up if you thought it was going to be number one? Ha ha! This song is my all time most favourite song of all time, of course singing and dancing along with it in the most dorky of fashions is going to be one of my favourite things.

1. Dancing in the Storm - Boom Crash Opera

Boom Crash Opera have to be one of the most unappreciated bands in the entire Universe. This song is that perfect rock song that is surprisingly deep, so perfectly natural to dance to, has a great beat and just captures you in its embrace and dances away with you. It combines the rock from songs like "Hot Chilli Woman" with the depth from "God Is A DJ" and the need to dance from "And We Danced".

For those of you on Spotify, I have made this top ten a playlist! Click here for a listen!

Friday 1 April 2016

Top Ten Songs to Listen to when you're down

So I'm currently laid up in bed with chest problems (which, thankfully are starting to ease up. Wednesday was HORRIBLE) which I suspect have been caused by stress and anxiety (thank you work). Hopefully by the time I return back to work on Tuesday I should be 100% okay again. That being said, I feel miserable. My mind is SCREAMING for at the very least a 5km walk, but my body baulked at barely 1km. I'm going stir-crazy, and I have writers block like you wouldn't believe. So I'm listening to what I like to call "downer music", which is what I listen to when I'm in a mood and the happy music I regularly listen to would just annoy the living daylights out of me. So Ima bring you all down with me, here are my top ten most depressing songs!

10. "Don't Don't Go Away" by Foxxie

I'm technically cheating here as both the Richardo Autobahn 12" mix and the Discowarp Main mix can be equally cathartic. The 12" mix though is better for those gloomy days where you just want to stare out of the window dramatically while the rain pours down.

9. "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel

If I ever do a top ten songs that piss me off, this song will be number one! I know I'm overreacting massively, but every time I listen to the lyrics (especially "Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes") I feel ready to slap someone. They just feel too condescending for me. Definitely one I listen to if I'm feeling miserable.

8. "Easier to Run" by Linkin Park

Linkin Park is definitely one of those bands you turn to when you're feeling down and sorry for yourself. This song is one for those days where every little mistake you've ever made decides to come back to haunt you. Isn't anxiety fun?

7. "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range

Even if you take the defeatist lyrics out of it, the melody itself is just so melancholy and depressing that you just want to do something drastic. Ugh, this song is downer.

6. "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" by U2

This is my "who gives a shit anymore" song. The music coupled with the subtle irrelevancy of the lyrics makes you feel a bit disconnected from the real world, especially if you're already feeling isolated. I tend to treat this song with a bit of caution.

5. "Throwing It All Away" by Genesis

Oh come on, of course Genesis were going to find themselves on here. They have some really depressing stuff out there and for me, this one is the worst, with "Since I Lost You" and "Driving the Last Spike" coming dangerously close. This song is so completely defeatist it's not funny. Just throw up your hands and give up!

4. "I'm Goin' Home" by Hootie and the Blowfish

A song covered in death and loss, and with a guitar riff that sounds like it's just about ready to give up too, this song is great for wallowing in your own misery. Actually, the whole album is depressing really.

3. "Jesus of Surburbia" by Green Day

This was a staple of mine back when I was trapped in Oakey/Toowoomba. Especially "City of the Damned", which encapsulates my feelings about that place perfectly. There's a reason why I refer to Toowoomba as the City of Lud and everything west of it as the Wastelands, that place just leaves me feeling so hollow and trapped and there's just nothing there.

2. "Flame Trees" by Cold Chisel

Oh I hate this song. I hate this song so much. If "Jesus of Surburbia" captured how I felt about living in the Wastelands, "Flame Trees" is how I feel when I have to go BACK to those god-forsaken hell-holes (which, thankfully, just got rarer as Mum is now off to Canberra and hopefully we can get Nanna and my sister out of there ASAP!). I hate going back there.

1. "Don't Believe Anymore" by Icehouse

The Whitlams did an okay cover of this song, but the raw anguish and emotion of the original cannot be beaten; that saxophone crying in the background to Iva Davis chilling voice just rips at you. Yes, it is a technically a breakup song, but no matter what your circumstance, I challenge you to find a phrase that encapsulates the feeling of being so dejected, so miserable, so lonely, so given up...you will find yourself screaming "I don't believe anymore!" alongside Iva if you're feeling vunerable enough.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to listen to "I Can't Dance" because man this was a downer! I can certainly be melodramatic when the mood hits me!