Oh! Gravity

"Why can't we keep it together?" "Oh! Gravity"

"We've always used music as a vehicle to explore our own questions and frustrations," says Switchfoot singer/songwriter/guitarist Jon Foreman of the band's new album, Oh! Gravity. Oh! Gravity. is Switchfoot's sixth studio album, their third for Columbia Records. After 2003's double-platinum selling, The Beautiful Letdown, and another two gold selling albums, Nothing Is Sound and Learning To Breathe, Foreman sums it all up by saying, "I'm in therapy and I write songs. It's all an attempt to try to come to terms with reality."

The San Diego-based band has often combined a spiritual bent with a critique of some of modern society's hypocrisies on songs like the Top 5 singles "Dare You to Move" and "Meant to Live" as well as such tracks as "Politicians" and "Happy is a Yuppie Word" from their last album, 2005's Nothing is Sound.

Produced by U.K. vet Tim Palmer (Tin Machine, Pearl Jam, The Cure, Mother Love Bone, U2), Oh! Gravity. expands Switchfoot's sonic palette while at the same time dealing with social issues on songs like the alt-country blues of the song, "Dirty Second Hands," in which Foreman sings of the dehumanization that comes with technology ("With an army of me/We invent our own enemies/Man versus machine").

"Although it ends up pointing the finger at us, rather than the iPod or the combustion engine," laughs Jon.

Other politically motivated tracks include the title track's generational appeal for love, peace and understanding ("Sons of my enemies/Why can't we seem to keep it together?"), "American Dream," with its biting truth, "When success is equated with excess/The ambition for excess wrecks us" and "Awakening," about trying to recover the innocence of a child in the midst of an ever-harsher reality. Their A&R exec, Grammy-winning producer Steve Lillywhite, helped the band achieve the song's Police-like world beat and epic, wide-screen scope.

"I feel like I get born-again a lot," says Foreman about the song. "I feel like I can easily drift into being dead as well. There's a crusty shell we get as we get older that shuts us off from being blissfully oblivious. We've all been hurt. It's a way of portraying the thing we often try to protect and hide—our innocence—as a strength."

The group was founded in 1996 by Jon and his brother Tim, along with Chad on drums as Chin Up. After only a handful of shows, they were signed by Charlie Peacock to re:think Records as "Switchfoot," a surfing term meaning to shift your feet on the board to take a new stance facing the opposite direction.

The band released three independent albums, The Legend of Chin ('97), New Way to Be Human ('99) and Learning to Breathe (2000), which turned out to be their first gold album, selling 500,000 copies. The band was signed by Columbia Records, which put out 2003's The Beautiful Letdown, selling two million albums in the U.S. alone and producing two Top 10 pop and Modern Rock singles, "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move." Last year, the band put out Nothing is Sound, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, and promptly went gold, yielding the radio hit "Stars."

Coming off three hit records in a row, the band approached their new album, Oh! Gravity., with a quiet confidence and a desire for musical growth. Their first move was hooking up with veteran U.K. producer Tim Palmer.

"He was just a great person to come along and assist us with the goal we were attempting to achieve," says Jon. "A good producer doesn't project his dreams upon you. He's a good listener more than anything else, and that was what Tim brought to the sessions."

Switchfoot's expanding musical scope can be heard on the sawing alt-country of "Head Over Heels," the exotic instrumentation and Middle Eastern flavor of "Circles," the REM-esque pulse of "4:12," the lush Brit-pop melodies of "Yesterdays," the Echo and the Bunnymen/Smiths influenced "Burn Out Bright" and Motown sound of "Amateur Lovers."

"We were listening to a lot of Motown Records at the time," explains Jon. "I guess whenever white guys try to play soul music; it comes out sounding like the Stones."

After all the success and the rewards, Foreman insists he's not feeling any pressure to top his band's superb track record, but is coolly confident about the new album.

"It can kill the art worrying about how a record's going to do," he says. "For us, success is making music that is gratifying to you. The break-even point for the record that my band made back in high school was selling 300 copies. To us, that was success."

With new songs like "Faust" and "4:12," which question the world's material obsessions, Foreman admits rock stardom is a double-edged sword with which he's still grappling: "It's that mixed drink you have to pour out so you can start with the pure stuff. And go back to the reason you loved music to begin with. We took a chance on this record, not to sound selfish, but to make something for ourselves. What other people think can't change our minds about these songs. And that's a good feeling. Because either you believe in it or you don't."

Oh! Gravity. is good enough to make a true believer of anyone.

yesterday...

Boxing Day - for most people, that means either watching the cricket, or doing some crazy shopping. Usually, I would be the former, but so far 2006 has been one of surprises and of things most unusual.

Woke up at 7:30 and got to Ben's house by 9am, left around 40minutes later to farewell Charissa at the airport. Afterwards, went back to his place and played chess (the first time in YEARS) and I looked like I knew what I was doing, but in reality I had no idea. So, I gladly went to lunch seeing as my (brave? myriad? futile?) attempts to save my king were doomed to failure from the start. Haha...

After lunch, we just bummed around, took silly photos of Joey, and were willing guinea-pigs for Vanessa's culinary experiments (jkjk - the muffins were very very good!) until Sam came over and we all got back into the car to drive all the way to Chatswood where we'd be having dinner with their newly-married cousin (Elaine) and her husband (Matt).

It was a very memorable evening, with games played like SuperSmash Mario Bros, EyeToy, Jenga, Texas Holdem Poker (woohoo I finally know how to play) and some crude game from Matt's childhood years consisting of shooting down your opponent's castle with counters, catapults, dinosaurs and I think Luke Skywalker made an appearance also. Confused? Haha we were still finding counters buried in all sorts of places at the end of the night.

Funniest memories include:
- Ben winning all the chips in poker, then on the very last round, lost it all! (but actually he won, coz the "prize" for the winner was to sing a song on Singstar)
- Jono gaining a Superstar reputation for singing the girl's part in 'Shut up' by Black Eyed Peas (you know how it goes: "shut up just shut up shut up" etc etc)

merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

eragon movie review

With high production values, several esteemed actors, and stunning CG effects, Eragon should have been the next Lord of the Rings. But the rushed character development, lackluster screenplay, and a starkly plagiaristic plotline prevent it from even becoming the next Narnia. In concept and visualization Eragon's delusions of grandeur may not have been so farfetched, but apparently something was lost in the translation to screen and it falters and dies like the dragon who's lost its rider.

In a galaxy far, far away, a young farm boy is granted mysterious powers and becomes the only hope left for a group of rebels to overthrow an evil emperor. When his uncle is killed by a dark lord’s troops, the young man flees his home, and with the aid of a wise old man who teaches him the ways of the force he has gained, attempts to rescue a princess from an enemy stronghold. His mentor slain in the ensuing fight against the dark lord, the young man continues recklessly onward to the hidden rebel base, and upon his arrival joins forces with them to fight off the dark lord's army in a final epic battle. Oh, wait...is that Star Wars? Apparently it's Eragon too.

I never would have thought I'd want to see another epic fantasy trilogy movie to actually be longer, but clocking in at well under two hours, Eragon could have used a beefier running time. Everything happens in the blink of an eye; a farm boy becomes a hero, a princess is rescued, an evil sorcerer is vanquished, and a baby dragon becomes a full grown dragon in, well... actually that does happen in literally the blink of an eye. Faster than Simba can walk across a branch and become a Lion King, characters are introduced and then killed off, villains appear and are then vanquished, and a band of rebels battle an army and emerge victorious. But there is no victory in the torpid character development and the plot truly suffers from the rushed feel. If the filmmakers wish to involve the audience emotionally as well as visually, they will have to allow characters a chance to fully develop before they are dispatched and never heard from again.

The strongest point of Eragon is its visuals, but CG effects alone cannot carry a film. The dragon Saphira (voiced by Rachel Weisz) is simply stunning in every scene in which it appears, blending seamlessly with its backgrounds. From grotesquely rotting henchmen to the billowing smoky demon that Durza commands, the talented animators at WETA and ILM never cease to amaze. Unfortunately not all the character designs were as insightful and unique, as the dimwitted Urgals and even Durza himself was quite bland in comparison to the villains in Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. The final battle at the end of the film was brimming with potential as a fire-breathing dragon joined in the mayhem, but perhaps the PG rating stifled the visceral impact of any carnage finding its way onscreen. But that's really no excuse for a languid showdown as the rather tame onslaught in Narnia was still more exciting.

The actors all did a fine job with their performances, but they had very little to work with as the oftentimes downright miserable script created several scenes of cringe inducing dialogue and unintentionally hilarious remarks. Conversations between key players did little to further the story or enhance character development and extremely predictable dialogue lessened the visual impact. Djimon Hounsou seemed miscast as the rebel leader with his heavy accent, while John Malkovich and Robert Carlyle laid on the evilness with enough cheese to feed the cast of Flushed Away. Lines like "you'll have to do better than that," and "let's finish this!" in climactic moments made me wonder if I was watching a bad Star Wars fan film. Even Rachel Weisz couldn't save her majestic character from an audience outburst of immature laughs when she mentions something about Eragon needing to ride her.

It's hard to imagine what went wrong with the first part of this trilogy, but I can't honestly recommend seeing the film to find out. Suffice it to say that the rushed character development, atrocious screenplay, and unabashed imitation converge to create a paltry effort that pales in comparison to fantasy epics like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia. As Jeremy Irons' Brom would say, "it is better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission," and the creators of this contemptible film may be doing a lot of the former to the legions of fans of Paolini's novel.

[link] (Emphasis mine)

it's Christmas again!

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free:
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art,
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child, and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever.
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.

-- Charles Wesley

uai!

WE'RE GETTING A PUPPY!!!!!!!! =D

hsc results

I thought it was coming out at 6am! but actually i logged on at 5:45am just to see if it would work, and TADA - the results popped up.

I'm quite pleased with the results, probably the most surprising thing was that my best subject was biology! ohh and i'm most excited about the fact that i just scraped into Band 6 for English! hehe seeing as i knew it was my worst subject - and my reports for the past few years always came back to be 89/100!

okay here they are:
Biology - 97
Eng Adv - 90
Geography - 95
Maths Ext 1 - 95
Maths Ext 2 - 93
Software - 93

oh and plus Chem from last year - 93

now just have to wait for UAI to come out...!!

new zealand dec 2006

Auckland (Saturday and Sunday)

Departure: 11:50am EST from Sydney Airport on 9th December 2006
Arrival: 4:50pm NZ time at Auckland Airport
Weather: Cloudy/overcast around 16 degrees (freezing compared to Sydney)

We walked around Auckland a little bit on Saturday afternoon, but it was raining a bit so we didn't go very far. Besides, we discovered Auckland only has one main street (Queen St) and it was surprisingly quiet - a lot of shops were closed even on a Saturday night!

Sunday morning dawned bright and fair though; and we took a stroll down in Parnell Village - the only touristy bit of Auckland City we could find. It was such a quaint little village; and had an interesting number of shops including a lot of art galleries and boutique stores like chocolate shops and selling other fascinating things.


vintage phone box! :: coolest Starbucks sign I've ever seen

We then spent the afternoon driving down 230km to Rotorua, also known as Sulphur City (for good reason) I must say the stench is very... strong! But you soon learn to breathe through your mouth, or at least quickly block your nose when the smell wafts along.

Rotorua (Monday to Wednesday)


wall carvings... at Maccas! :: yummy breakfast

Monday morning we visited the Agrodome - after having driven through much of NZ without seeing many sheep, we decided that since we were in NZ after all, we might as well go see a sheep show! As a matter of fact, it was really good!


19 breeds of sheep on show :: feeding the cute little lambs

After that we decided to try one of the more adventurous things on offer to do at the Agrodome. The Bungy - no way. The Swoop we were considering, but after watching someone do it, and even though I was just watching already I was shaking I decided it was not a good idea. And though the Zorb looked cool, they only had the wet version and we hadn't come prepared for wet activities. So we settled for "Freefall Extreme" - the winds push you upwards so that it's like you're flying!



It was the craziest fun! But falling down hurts - not really physically, but to feel the weight of gravity again is strange. It was $45 for 2 minutes; which doesn't sound like a lot - but if you have the posture right, you get a lot of air time!

We then went to the Skyline Tower for lunch - rode the cable car all the way to the top of the mountain, and then luged back down! (kind of like at Jamberoo except you have to steer it yourself and the tracks are a lot wider) The views overlooked Lake Rotorua and were beautiful!


beautiful view :: family photo

In the afternoon we drove 80km down to Lake Taupo - the biggest lake in the Southern Hemisphere (I think?) and visited Huka Falls. Wow, the scenery in NZ is absolutely breathtaking.


Lake Taupo :: Huka Falls

On Tuesday, Bea and I went white-water rafting!!! This was sooo much fun; and after I got used to the way the boat moved, it was so easy!


getting ready to head off :: practising paddling


rafted down 10km of river :: we loved it!

In the afternoon, we rested from such vigorous exercise (aching muscles everywhere) by going to the Polynesian Spa - natural hot springs! It was definitely a new experience and very relaxing indeed. Dinner was absolutely delicious - the seafood was very fresh!


half crayfish with white sauce :: seafood mornay

Wednesday we drove back west over 100km to Waitomo Caves. We took two tours; one of Aranui Caves, and the other of the Glow-worm Caves. Both were equally amazing in its own right. Unfortunately cameras were strictly not allowed for the glow-worm caves - but it would've been hard to take photos anyway. We sat on a boat, and glided silently underground and looked up at the millions of little glow-worms up on the roof of the cave. It was like looking at the stars in the sky, except that these were a lot closer and glowed a fluorescent green. Amazing!


Strange and surreal cave formations formed over millions of years.

In the afternoon we drove back, but stopped over at the Hamilton Gardens. They were exquisitely planned, designed and maintained. I really recommend anyone who goes to North Island of NZ to make a stop here because photos just don't do it justice.


Hamilton Gardens :: Japanese Garden


English Garden :: Indian Garden


Chinese Garden


Italian/Renaissance Garden


Rose Garden


Red red rose :: Turtle Lake

Whitianga (Thursday to Saturday)

Thursday morning along the way to Whitianga we stopped at Matamata for a tour of the movie set of the LOTR - the Shire. Even though most of the set wasn't there anymore, once we arrived it was so cool recognising the different locations and knowing that when we watch the movie again, we can point and say "I was there!"


the Shire! :: the curly tree where Gandalf's cart rolls by


exactly where Gandalf and Bilbo sat and smoked their pipes :: looking out from Bag's End (Bilbo and Frodo's home)


Under the Party Tree :: On the road again with her sheep

The trip to Whitianga took another few hours; but this was a bit worse than the others because the road was very winding and we had to cross a mountain range. Poor Bea almost got carsick from all the turns, but by late afternoon we had arrived in quiet little Whitianga on the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula. The motel we were staying in was less than 50m away from the beach with 180 degree views.

on Friday morning I got up really early to see the sunrise. And took about a million photos =P





Then when I had properly woken up, we went on a water jet scenic tour of Whitianga and the Mercury Bay coastline. There are so many sea caves and unique rock formations along the coast including the famous Cathedral Cove. Apparently a lot of people get married there, though I wonder how because the nearest road is a 45min walk!


titanic? :: islands rising up out of the water


champagne rock :: another sea cave


untouched beauty :: cathedral cove

lunch was at a local place called the Fireplace. But it was such nice gourmet food! Like GPK except 10 times better!


cajun chicken, banana, cashew nuts, mango chutney and yoghurt pizza :: scallops, smoked salmon, and lychee! very light and refreshing

and finally, we went horse riding for 2 hours in the afternoon. There was the most gorgeous scenery as we rode across plains, through forest, over mountains, crossed rivers, passed lakes and waterfalls and we even had an ocean view! it's like everywhere you look in NZ it could be on a postcard!


Twin Oaks riding ranch :: my horse was called Amigo

I can't finish off this post without mentioning the adorable pictures that Bea drew, depicting the different experiences we had =)













Rest of the photos here!

*yawn* it is now 12:00am and this has possibly been the longest post I've ever written. But it was a really good holiday and I'm so glad I was able to spend it with my family. =)