Loving: Taking 'One Less Tangle' To The Streets

Last week some of the BudTrap staff helped organize the Darlinghurst Madmen (aka Team BudTrap) to hit the streets of Darlinghurst as part of Clean Up Australia Day. Through an advanced process we have affectionately dubbed 'macro detangling' we scrubbed 5 blocks spotless over a 2 hour window, followed by a trip to the local to rest our weary knees.

These pics prove that tangles are indeed everywhere (what is rubbish/mess if not a tangle waiting to be straightened out?) and that adopting the mantra 'One Less Tangle' can make a small difference in everyone's life :-)

 

Listening: Placebo @ Enmore Theatre 24/02/10

I had to think long and hard on how to blog about my Placebo experience. Its often hard to express a live show to someone who wasn’t part of the audience, so I had an idea, why not express this experience in the form of something that people may be relate to, via the inception, development and the ultimate end of a relationship, complete with the inherent volatility of emotions?

The Search Begins:
The genesis of any relationship begins with the search, not knowing what to expect but prepared to accept the possibilities that what lie ahead; almost like the support act of the main event - The Vasco Era. It’s always great to see local support for international acts and that’s the way it should be. These guys played a great, tight set and entertained the increasing crowd as they continued to pour in from the multiple entrances at The Enmore. They sounded great and certainly produced some great sound for a 3 piece and bassist ted O’Neil seemed to be rocking in his own world, all in all a solid performance and they certainly fulfilled their duties in building the anticipation of seeing the main act.

The First Date:
The first date is where all initial expectations are either fully realised or fall disappointingly short, it’s the time where you take full advantage of showcasing any new belongings that will electrify and impress with underlying charismatic prowess and create an aura of heightened awareness.

This is exactly how Placebo opened their set, the anticipation was instigated via a huge video screen that acted as their backdrop (which not only complemented the Placebo sound but added a visual body to their music, almost acting as a form of catharsis for the melodic sound) and as they entered the darkened stage the audience erupted, the first date has begun. Brian Molko dressed in his usual black attire, very smooth and dressed for the moment, Stefan Olsdal impressive in his silver, almost metallic, shining suit and Steve Forrest took the more casual route and was clad in tattoos.

Placebo opened with their new material, “For What Its Worth”, ‘Ashtray Heart” and “Battle For The Sun” which sounded as every bit as good as the album versions, in fact Brian’s vocals seemed to have more depth in a live setting. The crowd was certainly in a state of frenzy by now and judging by their vibrant reaction, all expectations were well and truly exceeded. Next came that candle lit moment, a little breathing room after all the initial attempts at impressing were completed, a time where the pace slowed down, Placebo delivered “Soulmates”, “Speak In Tongues” and “Follow The Cops Back Home” in an emotionally wrenching form that captivated the ever so attentive audience, with that huge video screen visually expressing all the feelings that were evident.

Consummation:
With the dating rituals and formalities well and truly completed, the relationship transcends into a more intimate form coupled with a progressive build up of unbridled passion waiting to be released. When Placebo played the first opening chords of “Every You Every Me” the crowd absolutely erupted, you could sense the built up expectations waiting for this song to eventually be played in the well-crafted set list; this was the moment of release. Just when I thought we were done, Placebo pulled out another classic “Special Needs” which simply continued the furore being expelled and then “Breathe Underwater”, from their current CD, followed, sounding even better than in its recorded form. Approaching the half way point, it was slowly becoming evident that Steve Forrest added that extra spark, that additional level to Placebo’s rhythm section. Don’t get me wrong former drummer Steve Hewitt was great but held a totally different beat to Steve Forrest and its quite evident upon listening to past and current songs.

After the storm of activity comes the relative lull, some breathing space required after expelling all of that stored up energy. Placebo played a series songs that gave us all some time to reflect on what we had just experienced; “Julien”, “The Never Ending Why”, ”Come Undone”, “Devil In The Detail”, “Meds” were thoroughly enjoyable and gave us an extended period to reconnect with the band before being subjected to their next well planned and delightful stratagem.

Commitment:
The mutual stage when the stars are aligned, the perfect moment; despite any prior minor disagreements or misconceptions, when you find that missing piece and are finally content. This moment came when Placebo opened with “Special K”, those first notes produced a sea of adoration in the form of hands and fingers all raised and swaying in unison, a shadow like backdrop to the bright lights emanating from the giant video screen and upon its completion, Stefan motioned to the crowd to quieten, then as the noise dropped for an ever so brief moment, Stefan opened with the riff to “Bitter End” (yes, he alternated between bass and electric guitar all night ) the crowd were showing their commitment in the form of another flurry of hands, fingers and one huge mass of gyrating bodies all perfectly swaying in time to this all time classic.

This is the end:
All relationships ultimately end in one way or another; the reflective period begins. Placebo’s encore gave us a gamut of emotions in their own way of saying goodbye, “Bright Lights” and “Trigger Happy” transpired into a uplifting farewell, a mutual understanding that all things come to and end, it was loud and it was eruptive, it left us all wanting more. “Infra-Red’; the ultimate end evolves due to a period of growing apart and a feeling of disconnect. “Taste In Men”; the demise as a result of infidelity the ultimate relationship killer; a sense that all was slowly coming to an end was felt as the encore drew to a close. One song that was played during the end of the main set, but I have placed it at the end of my blog (sometimes poetic license is a necessary option) as this should have been the last song played; “Song To Say Goodbye” – a emotive song that captured the feeling of the unavoidable end, the anticipation, the personal encounter, the exhilaration and the bittersweet farewell; “we'll both end up, with just your song to say goodbye”

About this column:

BudTrap was born out of our love of music - and the frustration of having to deal with headphones that kept getting tangled up. Nothing's changed. We still listen to an awful lot of music - and go to a stack of gigs - it's our passion. So each week we like to share a little about what we've been listening to - good or bad - and spread that passion. Yeah we get a bit opinionated and worked up, that's what it's all about. We encourage you to bite back, join the discussion and let us know what's been rocking your world.

Loving: 2,500 hours to build houses, don lycra or do the moonwalk!

You may have noticed the small counter at the bottom of each page on budtrap.com. It tallies the total amount of time saved through the use of BudTrap - time that would otherwise have been spent untangling headphone cables (you can find out more about how we calculate this figure at the end of the article). Recently, we hit another milestone - 2,500 hours saved!

This got us thinking, what could be done with this time our customers have back in their day?

1. Building houses.
The world record for 'speed building' a house was set in 2003 by the fabulous Habitat For Humanity. They built a house for Bonnie Lilly in just under 3.5 hours (granted, it was pre-fabricated). Amazing. Check it out:



If we assume 100 people worked on the house (which looks about right), and put in the full amount of time each, then we could have built more than 7 of these homes (for people who really need it) with the 2,500 hours up our tangle-free sleeves.

2. Andar en bicicleta (on your bike)
Alberto Contador finished last year's (2009) Tour de France in just under 86 hours. Cycling mad BudTrappers could have completed the entire race 29 times if they could keep up with the flying Spaniard!

3. Fly me to the moon...

It took the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission (the first to land on the moon) 3 days and 4 hours to get there. If we assume equal time to get there and back (and I'm no rocket scientist), we get around 6.5 days. I'm not sure how zero gravity affects the tangling of headphone cables (we do believe there to be a universal constant of annoyance), however we could have journeyed to the moon 16 times with our 2,500 hours and still have had some change left over.

Can you think of some more?
Let us know your thoughts on how you would use the 2,500 hours saved through BudTrap. Would you throw it into work or study, your favourite hobby or cause, or would you just use it to spend more time with your friends and loved ones? Either way, it really is extraordinary how much can be done when you save a little time from your day by eliminating an annoying time-waster like tangles. For the record, 2,500 hours is approximately 104 consecutive days - so you have quite a bit of time to work with!

How we calculate the total
Every time someone orders a BudTrap, we add that person to our ongoing tally of saved time. Each day from the day that order was placed, we add a very small amount of time for each BudTrap ordered to the total, representative of the amount of time, on average, a person spends untangling their headphone cables. We calculate the amount conservatively and have spent a mind-boggling amount of time studying tangles and testing BudTraps - so, we figure if anyone knows, it's us! It's all part of the science of BudTrapology. Beep.

Listening: Sia, Homebake and a couple of Irishmen

Sia - Some People Have Real Problems

Welcome to 2010 at BudTrapology! We have been working pretty hard these last 2 months to bring some exciting new stuff to the table (more on that in future posts). As usual, we couldn't have done aforementioned work without listening to some great new music, which we can't wait to share with you in the coming weeks.

In the meantime though, I wanted to briefly rant on about my muse of the summer - Sia (and, specifically, her 3rd solo effort,  Some People Have Real Problems). Yes, I know its been out since 2008 - I am, after all, hopelessly late on most trends (though, in truth, I have been getting into her since the mid-2000s). But this summer - the summer of classical music, French gypsy jazz, and Pimms - she cut through like a knife that sings sweetly in your ear.

If you haven't listened to her peculiarly crafted pop ditties, then you are one of the 'some people' she reckons have real problems. It truly is thoroughly recommended listening. Having said that, I think what got the summer beach ball rolling was seeing her live at Homebake.

I had meant to buy tickets, can't remember why I didn't - and I felt like the kid who failed the 'you have to be this tall' test for the roller coaster at the theme park. I had visions of storming the gate or jumping the fence - something very rock'n'roll - when I spotted a couple of guys standing on a small rock wall outside the gates and made my way over. You could just see Sia's head and a couple of her band. A brief introduction (they were Irish backpackers) and offering of beer (which I gratefully accepted) and we settled into quiet appreciation of singer's blonde bob as it floated over the sponsor's banner clad security fencing.

Here is that exact moment, captured from within:

We acknowledged each song with muted nods. I think we may have swayed a little. At least mentally we were holding hands. Music can do that to you. Draw strangers to a park, bring them together for a moment and leave them altered ever so slightly for the experience. In my case, it shaped the summer.

So, as we gear up for a big year at budtrap.com, bring your best music and moments into 2010. And, of course, your BudTrap!

About this column:

BudTrap was born out of our love of music - and the frustration of having to deal with headphones that kept getting tangled up. Nothing's changed. We still listen to an awful lot of music - and go to a stack of gigs; it's our passion. So each week we like to share a little about what we've been listening to - good or bad - and spread that passion. Yeah we get a bit opinionated and worked up, that's what it's all about. We encourage you to bite back, join the discussion and let us know what's been rocking your world.

Loving: Humorous tangle anecdotes

A snappy little article by the 'Modern Guru' Danny Katz in last weekend's 'Good Weekend' (page 11, The Age, Melbourne) - something we can all relate to. Someone get the guy a BudTrap!

"I keep getting my wires crossed and it's left me all mixed up
Is there a foolproof way to stop earbuds tangling?
M.G., Geelong, Vic

Enough worrying about the 2012 Mayan apocalypse, we've still got two years to prepare for that - there's a much greater global calamity facing us next Friday. In households around the world, normal people will be opening Christmas presents containing digital music devices and will initially be thrilled with their gift because it's something they've been wanting since their old digital music device became obsolete, which happens about every 45 minutes. Bt upon using this digital music device, they will be immediately stricken with a crisis of tsunamic proportions: earbud tangling or, worse, earphone-snaring or, most diabolical of all, headset grannyknotting. What mysterious forces are behind this dire wire-intertwining enigma? Some claim it's an ancient Mayan prophecy pertaining to the earphone equinox. Other believe it's technology getting smarter than us and trying to destroy us with rudimentary cord strangulation. Still others say it's just that we're yanking too much when we should be tugging gently, just generally in life. Whatever the reason, our immediate concern is urgent unilateral disentanglement, so here's some emergency solutions: you can try winding up your earbud cords neatly when you're done, coiling them around your finger like a roadie after a very small U2 concert... ...Or just be patient and wait until earbuds become wireless, which will most likely happen the day after Christmas."

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Listening: Interpol - Angst in Suits

Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights

It was always going to be hard choosing between two CD’s of equal relevance and quality. I refer to Interpol’s debut and sophomore releases “Turn On The Bright Lights’ and ‘Antics’, respectively. In the end, I chose “Turn On The Bright Lights”, arguably one of the finest, defining and musically poignant debut releases of the post punk era. Interpol are often referred to as the “best dressed” band in the business, (hailing from of New York I guess it's understandable) but it’s their music that sets them apart.

Interpol’s music is dark, broody and full of angst (as are most of their lyrics) yet paradoxically melodic. Carlos Dengler’s deep driving bass, harmonized by the intonation of Daniel Kessler’s rhythmic guitar layered with the lead vocals of Paul Banks, whose low deep voice has often been compared to the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division (then again which singer hasn’t?) rounded out by Samuel Fogarino’s ubiquitous snare drum beat, characterise and define Interpol’s, critically acclaimed, sound and style.

TOTBL, effectively and articulately introduces the distinctive sound of these Indie rockers, with the opening title track, aptly named “Untitled” challenging us to absorb and process the music, without the requirement for an actual track name (effortlessly aided by the extended guitar and drum intro). “Obstacle1” follows next; a favourite track played live, openly expressing an emotive quality to Paul Bank’s low vocal range. “Say Hello To The Angels” (a perfect opener to any mixed tape compilation) instantly delves into a flurry of grinding guitar riffs, which not only lay the song’s foundation but also immerse you into its melodious appeal.

“NYC”, an ode to their city of residence, an introspective reflection on life in the big apple, sometimes bittersweet and fastidious but always becoming and nurturing.” Roland” an accelerating and explosive piece, with obvious lineage to the punk genre, powers through and doesn’t disappoint those who like their music fast and loud. Then there is the somewhat ambiguously titled “Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down” – take time and ponder its meaning. My favourite track, “PDA”, is an appealing song that captivated me very late one night and incited my appreciation of Interpol; containing a fantastic instrumental bridge that serenades the subconscious.

The Australian release contained a bonus track “Specialist” which lyrically, is every bit as moody as Interpol can conjure musically. So as PDA claims, there are “200 couches”, so, pick one, lock and load TOTBL, assume the horizontal and assimilate in this highly enjoyable musical moment.

About this column:

BudTrap was born out of our love of music - and the frustration of having to deal with headphones that kept getting tangled up. Nothing's changed. We still listen to an awful lot of music - and go to a stack of gigs - it's our passion. So each week we like to share a little about what we've been listening to - good or bad - and spread that passion. Yeah we get a bit opinionated and worked up, that's what it's all about. We encourage you to bite back, join the discussion and let us know what's been rocking your world.

Listening: Bridezilla & those Casablanca moments

Bridezilla - The First Dance

Finally, something new to talk about. Two reasons; one, because, by my own admission, I have been lost in nostalgia-dom - helplessly indulging with the ghost of albums past, and two, nothing new has really grabbed my attention.

That's not to say I haven't been trying. I listen to a lot of music (one of the perks of working at BudTrap) - my headphones get a solid 8 hour workout. Mostly it flows in and out of consciousness, a backing track to the thought process - and then, every so often - kerpow! - something hits you in the 'wow - who's that?' lobe/cortex.  It's a "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" moment.

I had one of those moments this week, listening to Bridezilla's aptly titled debut The First Dance. I'd briefly listened to the Sydney quintet's 5-track EP a year or so ago and, while impressed, had promptly reformatted the brain-space for something else. Not so this time - packing an impressive reputation for formidable live performances and coming off All Tomorrow's Parties appearances in both Aus and the US, The First Dance caught me pleasantly by surprise. Kerpow.

The Bridezilla sound is part ethereal, part classical, part eclectic rock. It is entirely beautiful; the seamless interplay of violin and saxophone (compliments of the annoyingly talented and classically trained Daisy Tulley and Millie Hall respectively) yielding an unusual yet strangely seductive aesthetic - an experimental eclecticism not unlike the instrumental excursions of Arcade Fire. Its music to have a moment to; turn the lights down and the stereo up and let the rich, textured melodies wash over you.

The First Dance is both expansive in vision and daring in execution, creating a unique fusion of classical musicality and modern pop sensibility. It reminds a little of Mercury Rev, softer Goldfrapp and Dirty Three - lofty company indeed. Yet the album flows with such understated effortlessness that you suspect this was no fluke - Bridezilla have staked their claim as enchanting and supremely talented craftsmen. Keep an eye on them. 

About this column:

BudTrap was born out of our love of music - and the frustration of having to deal with headphones that kept getting tangled up. Nothing's changed. We still listen to an awful lot of music - and go to a stack of gigs; it's our passion. So each week we like to share a little about what we've been listening to - good or bad - and spread that passion. Yeah we get a bit opinionated and worked up, that's what it's all about. We encourage you to bite back, join the discussion and let us know what's been rocking your world.