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Instructions: 1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." 2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions. 3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions. 4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. 5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. I asked  gths to interview me; here are my answers to his questions: 1. What's the best thing and worst thing about London compared with Melbourne? The best thing: probably the fact that there's so much going on. As Disraeli said, London is a roost for every bird, and one realises the truth of that when one realises that there are two monthly shoegazer nights, regular electropop band nights and more indie nights than you can shake a stick at (albeit most of the "we play Franz Ferdinand/Bloc Party plus better-known/fashionable old bands" vein, though there are some decent ones too). Either that or the fact that London has a decent public transport system (it breaks down a lot, but even then, it's comprehensive), and plans to expand it even further (something that happens very grudgingly in Melbourne). The worst thing: the taste of the tapwater; it has a vaguely soapy quality to it, and forms a slick layer on top of one's cup of tea. I've actually gotten into the habit of lugging bottles of water home from the supermarket. 2. Have you observed any kind of prejudice against Antipodeans in the UK? (This is a dumb question, but I'm just wondering because my impression is that snobbery against the colonials seems to be the last socially acceptable form of bigotry there.) I can't say I have, though perhaps I don't come across as being stereotypically Aussie. I've heard anecdotes about Australians who go to London on working-holiday visas using the fact that they're far from home as an excuse to turn into Barry McKenzie, drink a slab of Fosters every night, try to crack onto any woman they encounter and so on, though I've avoided the Australian-specific watering holes (Walkabout and such) partly for this reason. 3. Who's your favourite typeface designer? I must confess that I haven't really followed many of the new fonts recently. I rather like Neville Brody's geometric fonts from the 1980s, and going further back, think that Eric Gill's Gill Sans, and Johnston's London Underground lettering on which it was based, are classics. 4. You are suddenly imbued with the necessary chops to form a fair dinkum rock band with other similarly skilled performers. What's it called and what kind of music does the band play? The Random Numbers; we play a sort of angular art-pop (not to be confused witn NME/Xfm/Carling art-rock), with equal parts 1960s film scores, Stereolab, post-C86 indiepop and shoegazer. Lots of layers, angular keyboard melodies, odd time signatures, and such, and possibly some incisive lyrics too. 5. Reform the UK electoral system. That's easy. Preferential voting, and a proportional upper house. Lower-house electorates may remain preferential one-member electorates or have multiple representatives elected proportionally. If the latter, replace the proportional upper house with a chamber of citizens selected as for jury service, as Charlie Stross (I think) once suggested.
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Oh go on... I need chearing up/distracting... The worst thing: the taste of the tapwater; it has a vaguely soapy quality to it, and forms a slick layer on top of one's cup of tea. I've actually gotten into the habit of lugging bottles of water home from the supermarket. Soapy?!? Whatever... Prehaps you need one of these... (Cheaper in the long run than mineral water). Oh yes... that was one of my first purchases. Well, my housemates bought it. You get an OK cup of tea with it: much better than I get with the unfiltered water at work. Eeeergh. Scum floating across the top. Gotta drink it quickly or it sticks to the sides. OK, here goes 1) What are the places in the world where you have always wanted to go sometime, and why? 2) Name three artists (of any sort) whom you find creatively inspiring. How do they inspire you? 3) Which is your favourite Belle & Sebastian album? Why? 4) If you could suddenly have any talent in the world, what would it be? 5) What would you say the differences between relationships with men and with women are? Re: OK, here goes 1) Oh goodness, do you have all day? I suppose Japan the most, as the culture seems so different, yet so similar in many ways – I would like to find out the differences for myself. 2) Photography – Jill Furmanovsky - The way she uses lighting is fantastic. Music – Jarvis Cocker – I love his very descriptive style; it’s all in the details. And the fact he can be so seedy yet pull it off with class at the same time is great. Film - Wes Anderson - The long takes that he does are gorgeous, and he has a great taste in music as a director. 3) Gahhhhh!!! That’s too hard. If I had to choose one it would have to be “Dear Catastrophe Waitress”. The harmonies are fantastic. And I suppose “If She Wants Me” is my signature tune of the first six months of this year. 4) Apparition. I spend far too much of my life just getting from A to B. 5) A) Women are much more communicative about what they want in bed, B) Men never notice whether you have matching underwear on or not. |
