Hiya - Chris had a crap week last week. Near seizures & feeling grotty. Blah.

Hi - Yeah I've seen 'District 9' Barry - I enjoyed it but maybe it's a touch overrated? I'm not sure if Chris has seen it. We dragged him along to iMAX 'Avatar' in 3D but he was pretty sneering - which is fair cos it's an amazing moment in technology along with a  completely crap film but, on the other hand, he made me watch iMAX 'U2 in 3D' - and who really wants a thirty foot 3D Bono gesticulating to them? I tried to smuggle whiskey into the theatre to ease the pain but Chris stopped me. Horrible experience.

What has happened in film land ya gotta ask - it's crapped out worse than music land! 'Prince of Persia'!!!??? 'Robin Hood'?????!!!!!

And ...... Chris had a small seizure on Friday so there goes our hopes of the medication stablilsing ....... darn. He's ok & didn't need hospitalisation but a bit woozy.

Hey - Oh I thought I had posted about the compilation album (my memory is sliping too Barry!). With the encouragement of the ever-great Pete Baker from Rhythm Method we thought it was time for a compilation of Chris' work from over the years - Toy Love, Tall Dwarfs, solo, & The Nothing. A few months ago Chris & I went through the process of whittling down his c450 songs to around 40 for a double CD. Shayne's helped out too - but they're all of Chris' choosing. We've got the track listing pretty much sorted but now we need to get all the tracks together & look at mastering. It's not a big job but there are some questions around mastering that are hard to communicate with Chris about at this point.

Even being a Chris fan, I was floored by the breadth & quality of the 40 tracks. I've heard the criticism made that Chris did not self-edit enough - and it's certainly easy to miss some gems in his catalogue due to fatigue. It's odd to think that the person I consider NZ's best & most diverse song-writer is really only known locally for a bread ad/love song.

Going through the 40 songs is a real adventure & brings out many sides of Chris as a composer & artist. It's a bit like when I was going to be playing bass with the Tall Dwarfs for the MGMT show & Chris gave me a disc of songs to practise - listening through the songs & getting to know them was more like watching films & cartoons than listening to music; the tracks struck me as very visual & vibrant, each one it's own small universe.

I'll be very curious to see the response to the album from people that are less familiar with Chris' output.

Cheers

Roy

Hiya - Chris was a bit perkier on Tuesday night. He had a glass of wine and we watched PT Anderson's 'Hard Eight' (1996). Who knows, maybe we're turning a corner with the medication? It's been a while since Chris has felt ok so that would be nice. I'm still itching to get the compilation album together, but Chris still feels too groggy to do any work.

Roy

Ah actually Joy comes the closest & wins the second CD of 'A Warm Gun'. Chris wore jandals cos he has smelly feet. Some fun guesses though!

Morning!

No one has got the right answer to the jandal question yet - well at least not the answer that Chris once told me, which is of course what I'm after. Some nice tries though James.

Chris was in a medium mood yesterday - he'd been photgraphed for a Metro mag article. We watched the rather disturbing film 'Keane' (2004) directed by Lodge Kerrigan. Good film if ya like 'em dark & slightly impenetrable.

Ha - Paddy you are right. Buffy St Marie would be the female fave (I sent you an e-mail but haven't heard back from you) - Yoko is great, sure, but that wouldn't get Chris salivating like Buffy. And the reason Chris wears jandals is NOT cos he hates socks .... so that one is still open.

PS Hey Barry, my picks from NY are in place now if you scroll down.

Rob

Hiya - Chris was improving when I saw him a few days ago. It's a bit premature to think that the medication issue is resolved but it's nice to see him a bit more lively & perky. Sorry Barry, the pictures haven't been inserted yet - hopefully soon (am a tech retard).

We're coming up to a year from the stroke - sheesh what a year! I don't suppose it's the sort of thing you 'celebrate' exactly, but we can be thankful he hasn't had any more strokes & that he can walk & communicate. He's also had a huge amount of support from many people near & far. So thanks to everyone who has helped or supported in any way.

....... so I'm in the mood for a quiz - a free copy of 'A Warm Gun' by The Nothing to the first respondent who can tell me .... (ummm can't be too easy & WIKI-checkable) ..... the name of Chris' favourite female singer.

...... and another copy to whoever can tell me why Chris wore jandals most of the time.

All the best.

Rod Merkin