Book Release: 'The Art of Asking', by Amanda Palmer

Around 2007, I was invited to go to a small caberet-ish concert with my ex and some others. The event was going to be happening in the Corner Hotel in Richmond. Historically speaking, this has been one of my favourite Melbourne venues--along with The Forum which is in the city--due to the interactions I've had with musicians there. Liv Kristine was amazing. I still remember how diminutive she was when I hugged her after the show in which she'd been the operatic vocals of the metal band Leaves Eyes.

The other notable band I saw around that time was, of course, The Dresden Dolls. Their opening man was the unforgettable Jason Webley. Words cannot express how striking he is the first time that you see him on stage, and so to that end I will instead describe him through the visual sharing of this video:

I see now that this post has become a shameless music post, and cannot find it within myself to be sorry.

One part of the duo that made up The Dresden Dolls was Brian Viglione. This man is probably one of the nicest musicians you will ever meet. To me, when I met him, he seemed quiet, bordering on shy, though you'd never guess it when he gets into one of his drum solos.

It meant the world to me when he was the second musician I loved who flattered me with a hug after the show. I remember grinning like a moron, and yet having had the courage not to hide behind my friend's shoulder in nervousness at meeting him. Me and famous people = tied tongues and blushes that run from cheeks to toes. And yet I love these meet and greets at the end of gigs. Go figure.

Actually, it's really cool to have been able to find this particular video on YouTube nine years after the event, because it's the same one I saw on their Yes, Virginia tour in 2007-ish. Out of the screen, I can still see Amanda sitting behind her piano, avidly watching Brian as he went at it, likely looking for the opening to the beginning of "Half Jack". Oh, my god, the lyrics of "Half Jack". Even without Brian's amazing display of talent at the beginning of the live version of this song, it's absolutely mad.



I should probably say, as I'm typing up this post, that I pulled out my old copy of Yes, Virginia and started nostalgically swaying while glancing down at the cover of The Art of Asking: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help, by Amanda Palmer, AKA the Queen of the Internet.

You see, I remember the night of Brian's drums just like I remember Amanda's stripy stockings on the piano as she stood up, hair flying, sweat launching across the stage with the pure energy she puts into EVERYTHING.

The saddest thing about that night was that, while I was hugging Brian, Amanda was disappearing into the backstage area in what I later learned was a very uncharacteristic display. It was upsetting, over the years, hearing how engaged she was with all of her fans. Those stories made me feel I had missed out on something important.

Finally, I get to my review of this book:

Just over 100 pages in, I read the line, "I notice the difference if I don't sign after a show. It can feel deeply lonely." And it was like... acknowledgement. While I'd been hearing for years about the caring, sharing figurehead of this whole interconnected community of likeminded people the internet, here, finally, was an acknowledgement of my little moment "with" (around?) Amanda. And it felt reassuring to note that Amanda Palmer is human too.

A lot of this book is about getting the feeling that, despite the fame, and the TED talks, and the music, and the dating Neil Gaiman, and the general being Amanda Palmer, she's just a person too. And, I think, that's kinda why I love this book so much. Because it could be written by anyone. It's self-deprecating in all the right places, it's honest, and hilarious.

February: Out of the Blue

The month so far:

I have had the slowest month of reading I think, ever, due to one whole week waiting for glasses to be made after massive eye strain occurring on the Australia Day weekend and (unfortunately) public holiday.

I’ve never had an eye test before, but there’s nothing like sitting down with a complete stranger who asks you to shut your left eye and you going, “Ah. So that’s the problem.”

Three hundred dollars and one astigmatism later, and I am back to reading at normal pace again. Everything is so much clearer, colours are brighter and, when my eyes get used to it, apparently I’ll be less tired from strain and my mood may be better. Also, funky new face accessory:

It’s two years since the optomitrist thinks my eye sight deteriorated. It’ll be interesting to see if my mood picks up as significantly as it’s dropped in that time.



As for what I've actually read, the only thing of note I've come across is The City and the City by China Mieville. I felt a little bit, on reading this, like when I read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. It's like books I usually read, but for some reason I just couldn't stop turning the pages.

At first, the only thing I knew about this book was that it could be seen as a metaphor for the way homeless people are 'unseen' on the streets, even though they inhabit the same city as everyone else. But it's so much more than that. There's detectives and crime and international hijinx due to the nature of two cities geographically occupying the same physical space.


And, like King Rat when I read it years ago, reading this has convinced me that there is something very interesting going on in China's head that makes me want to read more now I'm done.


As well, since my last post, I started on writing Out of the Blue a little earlier than February. Just before Christmas, a friend of mine was telling me about how I needed to get into the habit of writing 1000 words before breakfast, 1500 before first tea refill, 2000 before lunch, etc. And, of course, I have the words of Ms. Aaron's 2k to 10k keeping me motivated.

It's been three months since I finished writing for Nano, and I finally feel refreshed enough to start again.

Currently, it's at 19,000 words approx, with the first part posted here.

A couple of tracks have really grabbed me and kept me writing. Last year, I was working for Ticketek in Melbourne and had the opportunity of going to a couple of concerts I wouldn't have otherwise seen.

The Fray came out as a support act with Kelly Clarkson, instantly becoming one of my favourite bands. Their song, How to Save a Life, has often come to me and made me want to write something along to it.

I still remember going to the Pink concert with a friend of mine. Neither one of us were really fans, though we'd both heard that she was a pretty good performer. We said to each other that it was totally alright to leave early and grab a cup of coffee instead, and then Pink exploded out of the stage in Rod Laver Arena and floored us both. 

There was no more talk of leaving after that.

Months later, I was sitting in my car and happened to hear this song on my iPod. I don't actually remember whether it got played at the Melbourne concert. If it did, it was before this story idea came to me. This time, when I heard it, it gelled with my character Magenta so much so that I immediately added it to my playlist, where it's been on repeat every morning.