Pleasure Notes

It’s not what you think.

A few nights ago, I was lucky enough to venture through the gates of Hollywood Forever, a gorgeous cemetery in the heart of Hollywood. I meandered my way past gravestones, caged peacocks and an antique Rolls Royce, climbed the stairs of an old Masonic lodge, and bore witness to such glorious, inspired creativity that I am compelled to share my new musical obsession… Angus & Julia Stone.

If you’ve never heard of them, take a moment now to listen. PLEASE.

Their music is ethereal, idiosyncratic, poignant, profound, and just hell o’ gorgeous.

In addition, they are the most charming, Australian, brother-and-sister sensations I’ve ever heard. Not to mention, more talented than my simple mind can comprehend.

photo by Jen Castle

During the set to which I raptly listened, Julia blissfully played guitar, harmonica, piano, and trumpet in addition to singing with a clarity and emotional integrity that left me envious of her talent, honored by her willingness to share her gifts and hungry for more. Her brother, Angus, was equally mesmerizing while displaying his vocal abilities and skills on the guitar, harmonica and trumpet. He was charmingly bashful about the trumpet playing, since he normally plays the trombone.

SERIOUSLY.

via Jen Castle Photography

The concert was held in a high-ceilinged hall within the Masonic Lodge. Wooden beams criss-crossed above our heads, huge chandeliers dangling from their intersect points. Intricately carved, high-backed chairs lined the back of the stage. Lit candelabra augmented the magical essence of the space. Together, these details created an ambiance of suspense and intimacy that perfectly matched the energy of Angus and Julia. Three supporting musicians ably filled out their sound with drums, base and electric guitar on many of the songs, but the Stones earned all of my attention.

Julia told honest, amusing, rambling stories about a few of the songs. She also did this thing with her hands, as she grooved to the sounds she so transparently adores, that had me equal parts spell-bound and wondering why I don’t have the courage to do that when I dance in public. I completely understood her impulses. And I’d be shocked if fewer than half the audience members didn’t consider, at one point or another, whether they could bundle her up and steal her away to make her their best friend or lover. Any time spent with one or both of the Stone siblings would be utterly delightful – a flat out GOOD TIME. They were just that damn likable!

On a night when much of America was watching the outcome of the nation’s feverish 1-866 dialing skills and Simon Fuller’s marketing magic, I sat with a friend and a few hundred eclectic music fans to experience a level of talent and unbridled joy that uniformly took our breath away. I must thank my favorite (and only) radio station for making tickets available to KCRW members. And my lucky stars for letting me win them.

Now, I hope you take some time to explore Angus and Julia Stone’s music. I expect you just may fall in love with it as quickly as I did!

February is the shortest month of the year, and there’s a Holiday Weekend stuck in there, so you’d think it would be the busiest and best month too. Unfortunately, February is also the rainiest month, at least in Southern California, and prolonged rain makes me go stark raving mad. Clinically. Then, there’s that little economic problem to deal with. Unless you were on a cruise to Antarctica for the past 28 days, you already know the Stock Market decided to commit seppuku, and the Dow is down 11.72% for the month. Don’t you wish you’d spent February getting sea sick and taking pictures of penguins? So, this month, perhaps more than any other, it is vital for me to highlight some moments that brought me pleasure.

1. New Glasses. I was one of those kids who sported braces and fish-eye glasses, which then morphed into very classy, graduated-shading, bug-eyed lens, and finally to the social status-reviving freedom of contacts. When I got Lasik about 10 years ago, it was the coolest thing ever. I could see the alarm clock from the bed. I could recognize people on the street before I walked past them. I could distinguish the difference between dolphins and sharks prior to inducing a panic attack. So, when my Optometrist recently recommended that I get myself some prescription lens for night driving and movie viewing, you’d think I’d feel dismay. Instead, I got super excited. I successfully ignored the fact that this purchase would be an expense for which I hadn’t budgeted, and that the need for lens might be construed as indicative of my advancing age. Instead, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to play dress up. Since I don’t have to wear them all the time, these new glasses get to be an accessory… I decided to go with the sexy geek look. It works for me. And, yes, I can see the traffic at night now too. Lots of cars out there.
2. Scrabble with Dad. My pops made an appearance in Hollywood to spend some quality time with me. A short but sweet visit. And, as usual, he beat the pants off me at Scrabble. I rarely win the damn thing – for which I convincingly blame bad luck letter draws – but I still love this word game. So much, in fact, that if Scrabbulous was still around, you might find me on FB more often. Those cute little wooden squares are simply irresistible.
3. Duncan Sheik. If you’ve heard his music, and listened to the lyrics, you’ll know this munchkin of a man is clearly the love child of David Lynch and Tim Burton. The dude goes to some seriously dark and twisted places, surrounded by beautiful melodies. His latest concept album, Whisper House, is about a little boy who is dumped at a lighthouse to be terrorized by ghosts after his father dies and his mother has a breakdown. Cool shit. He played at the Echoplex in Los Angeles recently. I won tickets to the show – how fantastic is that! – from KCRW, my fave music dispensary and the sponsoring radio station. Damn, but there’s not much better than listening to good music, live, with a Newcastle in hand, and money still in your pocket.
4. Sycamore Cove. About 15 miles north of Malibu on the PCH, this pristine beach is just far enough away that I’d never visited it before. A travesty! On the late February day I finally went, dolphins frolicked just outside the break, huge pieces of driftwood made me ache for a camera, and only five other people were visible along the entire stretch of sand. Great hiking trails were waiting for us on the other side of the road, in Point Mugu State Park, but I’ll be going back to get my toes wet.
5. Abandoning Arrowhead. This may seem like a random event to highlight as particularly pleasurable, but it’s sort of a big deal for me. You see, I’ve had Arrowhead Water delivered to my house for years now. There is a myth in Los Angeles that the tap water will kill you, or at least make you look your age. Increasingly, however, I’ve been wanting to do my part to curb global warming, etc., and it’s been harder and harder to ignore the facts about how much damage the bottled water industry creates. But I’m a creature of habit. And I prefer to drink my water out of bottles – yes, I know Freud would have a field day with me but, really, the bottle issue is only the tip of the iceberg. So I’ve been very reluctant to try anything else. In addition, the last time I got a bee in my bonnet about all this, I went out and bought a Brita Filter for my faucet and the damn thing didn’t fit. But the Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water Company did for me what I could not do for myself. They screwed up on two consecutive deliveries. So I kicked them to the curb, got myself a Brita Pitcher, and crossed one more expense off my “potentially expendable” list. Yippee for me!

As I said, it’s a short month. It’s fitting, then, that this be a short list. Many other truly pleasurable things happened this month. And the torrential rain finally stopped. Honestly, looking back, I wouldn’t have wanted the last 28 days any other way than the way I got them.

So that’s my February. How was yours?