A Benz with the doors that lift up from the floor

My Mariah Carey enthusiasm has reached impeccable heights lately. Something that needs special attention with heavy sleep, Mariah deprevation and antibiotics. Even at this moment, I'm downloading audio files of her performance earlier this morning on Good Morning America. Tragic. When I see bill posters of her new album in alley ways and on the streets I get giddy. I'm justifying this obsession by the fact that "The Emancipation of Mimi" has truly impressed and delivered me everything that Ms. Carey promised. Songs such as "We Belong Together" (which is sure to become a Carey classic), the soaring ballad "Mine Again" and the Nelly-esque "Get Your Number" featuring Jermaine Dupri, all enforce Mariah's strong return to the music scene. Def Jam/Monarc Island are doing well with their marketing campaign for the album as well. With a billboard in Times Square, appearances on David Letterman, a TRL Video premiere, an instore signing and a Good Morning America performance all on the first day of the album's release, they are doing well at letting America know that Mariah is back. With American sales now predicted to topple 300,000 copies and debut at No.1, does this mean America and the rest of the world can forgive her?

Here's hoping.

Dress code : Skinny Black Tie

Last Friday saw me running around Melbourne looking for a skinny black tie, a pair of graffittied Dunlop Volley's, a plastic sword and a mask a la Lucy Liu's henchmen in Kill Bill Volume 1. The reason being a 21st Birthday party that I was asked to by a close friend. Little did I know how hard it would be to find a skinny black tie in Melbourne. I was forced to look on Brunswick street, through the op shops and the vintage stores. No luck there either. In the end, I just borrowed a co-workers. Along my trip from the city to Brunswick Street, the tram I was travelling on passed the 2005 Melbourne International Flower Show. Something that hasn't sparked my interest in the past. But this year I knew I was going.

On Saturday night, it was all about the Flower Show at Twilight. Upon entering it was like a rave party for the elderly. People strewn across the gardens digging into stall food and catching their breath. It was amazing to see and to realise how hard people went at these shows. There were grandmothers pushing and shoving, trying their hardest to get a glimpse of Jamie Durie (not that hot, really) and trying to take a visual snippet of what was the next big thing in garden landscaping.

The pinnacle of the evening was the light show in the central garden area, where a dance troup were elevated high in large white balls on tall flexible stilt like devices which allowed them to sway from side to side. Lights were shone onto the white balls while the dancers were inside to create an interesting ambience in the area. Slowly the dancers emerged from the balls. It was quite spectacular. The musical choices were brilliant. Taking me back to the days of RMIT Union Art shows such as "Meat Market" and "Drown".



OnAir with BlackPunk : Mariah Carey - We Belong Together

Sex is all right

I'm in a new internet cafe on Swanston Street (help me!)....trying out the new digs... Seems so good so far. Today's 'Hit' liftout in the Herald Sun contained an article about Shirley Manson and her band 'Garbage'. It included a little part which I found blogworthy.

Sex Is All Right

One track on the Garbage album, 'Sex Is Not The Enemy', is partially inspired by the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident.

"When Janet Jackson's breast fell out at the Super Bowl, she was on the front cover of USA Today three days in a row, literally. Front cover," Shirley Manson recalls.

"With each successive newspaper she was IN more and more distress until the third cover was Janet Jackson sobbing, begging the American people to forgive her.

"Meanwhile, America was invading another country, men and women and children were being killed in the street, and could I find mention of it in the newspaper? Nothing. But God forbid that woman bringing out her beautiful titty. It was insane.

"Steve's wife invited me to a meeting by Planned Parenthood, who are a huge advocate for women's reproductive rights, and I found it very inspiring.

"I got educated. I did some volunterring in the run-up to the election. I was getting educated in what the Bush Administration was trying to do to women's rights and it was absolutely outrageous.

"The song comes from that and the discrimination against days and refusing to allow them the honour of marrying someone they love and feel connected to. Who are we to judge anyone?

"Why would you want to rob someone of that desire? I really truly see it as persecution, I find it unacceptable. When you say to people, 'This is like the discrimination against blacks in the '50's, they're like, 'No it's not'. Yes, yes it is.

"It makes me crazy. So it's a party anthem song, dealing with something quite serious."

Party on Shirley, party on.