Hi - The lyric that won out in the end for postering is 'Becoming Something Other' - there were several contenders but, in a totally uncharacteristic moment, Chris vetoed all the others. I had to type them out first thing this morning so, if yer in the mood, I pasted them in below.

Chris & I have started selecting tracks to go on a new anthology. There are about 485 songs to choose from & so far we've whittled the list down to 117 but we need to get closer to 40 - it's not going to be an easy job folks, it's a pretty impressive catalogue. We're hoping to get the anthology out in shops within 2 months or so. Chris is going to do the cover artwork.

'Becoming Something Other'  by Chris Knox (from the album Beat)

I gotta call - I got a phone call from my mother

Your dad is changing - he is becoming something other

& you may not recognise him when you come

& he may not realise it's you

There's part of him that is completely numb



He'd not been well - his eyes & legs were almost useless

He'd been depressive - he hated looking so damn foolish

& the cat-scan showed his brain was losing mass

& he didn't know each morning

Where he was or how he'd come to this impasse



He took the phone - his voice was querulous & distant

I heard an old man - & I knew it in an instant

& he told me how it was to be so blind

& he told me how it was to know

Precisely how it felt to lose his mind



I asked my dad - how much his vision was impaired

He said he sees things - but that the things he sees are things that are not there

Then he paused & quietly spoke these words that chilled ...

He said 'I have my own small thoughts about that'

& I felt the air around me grow quite still



For my dad was telling me that he was dying

He was telling me in such a gentle way

& I couldn't stop from softly crying

As he formed the mindless words that had their say

Hiya - Yeah Lotta it's a shame Jeff Mangum's track Sign The Dotted Line isn't on the NZ release of Stroke. We had made the album here & then Jeff completed his track in time for the US pressing (which is just about to be released). You can go the Merge website & download it for a US buck.

Had a chat with Chris about movies last week & 'The Night of the Lepus' is the only one he wasn't sure about - so I'll hafta try & track that one down.

So far lyric wise it sounds like What Do We Do With Love? is winning (by a glorious margin of 1 more vote than My Only Friend & Nothing's Gonna Happen which received only one each). So hopefully those posters will be up soon.

Happy Baby to blog regular Barry!

From Rod, Ray & Roy

Hi Folks - Hey we have a friend staying in the States at the moment called Jim Wilson (Phantom Bill Stickers) who has kindly offered to put up posters of Chris' lyrics around America & NZ. So what we wanna do is find out which of his songs appeal to you & would be cool to see plastered up on lamp posts & the like . Suggestions?

Roy

Evening - It's been busy for me lately what with getting back into working & teaching so Chris & I still haven't had a chance to go through those movie suggestions that were posted recently - but we will get there.

There have been adjustments to Chris's medications again recently which left him feeling pretty zonked for the early part of the week. He seems to be coming right though. He has a basic routine of hanging out at home during the days with Shayne & going to therapy when it is scheduled, then dinner & a DVD to wind down with.

Stroke gets its US release on the 23 Feb & it's looking like the media there will be supportive. The Pitchfork review has already gathered quite a bit of attention.

We're thinking about doing a vinyl pressing but boy is it going to be expensive! It may wind up retailing for US$100 as it would take 3 discs to include all the tracks & the packaging Alec designed ain't gonna be cheap to get done either. We're curious to know what kind of market there is out there for it so I'll ask Hayden to put a counter on the main page where you can register your interest. Obviously we don't wanna make them if we can't sell them - so please let us know if you're keen.

After the Lane Way set going so well I'm trying to book another show for The Nothing in the not-too-distant future & signs are looking favourable. I should be able to confirm the show in the next few days.

Hi All - Been back at work so haven't had much time for movies this week.

Chris is well & there don't seem to have been any negative consequences of the Lane Way gig - we were a bit concerned for his well-being as over-exertion during the week of the Stroke release party may have been a contributing factor to his seizure.

The feedback from Lane Way has been really positive & Chris had a great time. We'll have a think about future gigs over the next few weeks.

We've just been having a BBQ at Chris's with Ira & Georgia from Yo La Tengo who are playing Monday night at the Montecristo room in Auckland.

Hi All - Yesterday went well. Lane Way sold out so there were around 5000 people present for the experience (not sure how many were watching The Nothing but it looked like an awful lot). Chris got a fantastic response from the crowd & thoroughly enjoyed himself even though our slot was moved back an hour & he was getting tired. Hopefully there will be no negative consequences of the gig on his health. We did 4 songs but were cut short due to the evening running behind shedule. Shayne had a great time playing with us too.

Lane Way seemed successful so hopefully it will continue as an annual event. There were the usual festival issues - queues for beer, food, some sound problems - but with a little tweeking all should be fine. Great spot for it too - particularly as night came - the buildings around us were beautiful. Congrats to the Lane Way folks & to Rosie & Ben in particular for helping us organise The Nothing set.

Stefan & I loved the Dirty Three set the most though what we heard of Daniel Johnson was good too. The Black Lips are a good fun live band who aren't above stealing from the Beatles & Stones.

I've asked IT chap Hayden to put some pics in the Knox Box & hopefully some live footage will emerge soon which we'll put in there.

Chris had such a good time that we will probably look for other opportunities for The Nothing to play in the not too distant future.

Roy

Hi All - Thanks for those movie suggestions, I'll run them past Chris tomorrow. We're getting ready for the Lane Way gig on Monday & feel in good fighting form. I'll let those of you who aint gunna be there know how it went on Tuesday & maybe see if I can get some footage to add to the Knox Box.

A bunch of us are really pleased to find that The Mountain Goats are heading this way for a gig on April 8th at the Kings Arms in AK (and on the 9th at the San Fran Bath House in Wellington). Chris is keen to go along. If you're not familiar with them I heartily recommend The Sunset Tree - it's not quite as accessible but I'm slowing falling in love with last year's The Life of The World to Come too. The common difficulty upon first listen is John's voice, but if you give the disc a couple of spins it quickly becomes about as addictive as any substance you've had problems with. Great stuff that sticks in yer head like mad! Wahoo.

In my internet trawling I just came across a glowing review of Stroke in Pitchfork which gives it a highly respectable rating of 8.2. What sort of sales in the US this is going to translate into I have no idea - we were unsure enough about NZ!

Best

Rod

Hi All - Chris was in good spirits yesterday - he annoyed me & Shayne by trying on shorts in our presence; not a sight for the faint of heart. We're watching lots of old so-called B (& lower) movies at the moment. Last night I was introduced to the joys of Reptilicus (1961) which iMDB rates a mere 3.5 & a reviewer claims as one of the worst movies ever made (after Plan 9 From Outer Space) - what's wrong with these people haven't they seen Stone's Alexander: Director's Cut ? - nigh on 3 hours of unrelenting misery! Reptilicus was much more fun. It's Alive (1974) was another goodie that I'd never seen. But one of my faves of recent days was The Giant Claw (1957) - where a severely distorted turkey from another galaxy attacks. Anyone out there got any suggestions for films Chris might like?

Chris also played me a couple of Danger Man episodes, where Patrick McGoohan stars as a Bondesque figure in a sixties telly program. Good stuff.

We had to cancel yesterday's practise for Lane Way as Stefan (drummer) was taken ill, but we should be up & running again tomorrow.

'Stroke' is doing well in Australia, getting good reviews & reaching the top of several Album of the Week lists. We're really curious to see what happens when it comes out in the States.

Best.

Rod Merkin