Issue 2 2014 - Fads
Serpentine Falls
It is deadly silent.
Tranquil. The water trickles
innocently down the rock face, slipping down quietly and leaping from the
rock’s edge into the pool. Bright
mixtures of turquoise, green and bluey water is contained by thick red rock; a
natural beauty. A group of girls lay on
the sloped rock face in the second pool, another perch at the base of the
waterfall, letting the water rush over their backs and into their hair. Some float on blow-up toys, others lounge in
the sun on the flat, safer rocks. A
couple and their small toddler play at the edge of the man-built steps that
lead into the water; inviting you in.
I’ve always wanted to go to Serpentine Falls, and it seems
that lately, I am not the only one. More
and more people are travelling the 55 kms South East of Perth to visit this
tourist attraction. Once upon a time,
the falls were a little unknown hideaway, but these days it has become an
extremely popular place to go for all ages, but especially the 18-30 age brackets. Groups of friends make a day out of visiting
the pools, taking lunch to have in the picnic area and being greeted by
friendly roos. The falls are only a
short walk from this area, strolling along a dirty gravel path. The cool water is refreshing and clean, and gliding
under its surface, I felt at peace.
You wouldn’t want to think about the 12 odd people that have
died here. One moment jumping off the
rocks, laughing with their friends, the next hitting their heads; blood spilling
into the clear water. Panic. Desperation. Drowning. Have I scared ya yet?
Chances are, I haven’t.
There are about seven signs that warn patrons that swimming is not
recommended, that dangers are involved and that there should be no diving or
jumping from rocks. You are at your own
risk. But when does your own risk become
the responsibility of the government?
Yes, there are signs, yet there are man-made paths that lead to the
falls and concrete steps delving right into the water. It isn’t exactly difficult to enter.
Despite the amount of deaths in this dangerous yet beautiful
setting, people continue to swim in the waters; myself included. Similarly, people continue to swim in the
ocean given the risk of shark attacks.
Of course, shark attacking is something out of our control, whereas
those who die at Serpentine are stupid enough to climb, jump and dive off the
rocks; increasing their risk of injury. I’m not going to go into the diverse shark-culling debate, but I will
say this. In the past 40 years, 13
people have died from shark attacks in Western Australia. That’s just one more than the 12 who have had
their lives taken simply from frolicking in a tiny waterhole. You have to wonder when the government are
going to become involved.
The price to enter the National Park has continued to rise
over the years, along with the risk factor.
What would once have cost you two or so dollars many years ago, is now
costing $12 just for the day, but that won’t stop people from entering. With the amount of deaths, this popular place
we are blessed to experience could very well become untouchable. Will there soon be a day when we are no
longer allowed to swim in the crisp fresh water? Will it become ruined or polluted first from
our interference, or will the Government simply take a stand against patrons
swimming in such a high risk area? How
many people have to die before the risk assessment becomes too high, simply
because the public cannot evaluate levels of safety or control their own behaviour? I can’t help but wonder. It’s a sad thought, really.
Even more so, is humankind’s tendency to ruin, or to attempt
to ruin, the tourist attractions that nature gives us. The use of fertiliser
polluting the Great Barrier Reef, proposal for gas fields at James Price Point,
logging in the Amazon, mining on Barrow Island and palm oil plantations wiping
out Borneo Rainforest; to name but a few.
I am yet to travel the world; it would be nice to have some natural
tourist attractions left to see.
(Apologies for getting all environmental-political on you).
I think that Serpentine is an amazing spot to visit; almost
everyone is doing it. I went, I
survived. I chose not to climb on rocks,
to instead frolic and play in the water with my friends, enjoy the serenity and
the beauty and leave with a smile on my face.
It’s all about what you choose to do, and if you haven’t been, I suggest
that you do, because one day you might not have the opportunity. Be careful, take advantage of the beauty that
is Serpentine falls, refrain from make life threatening decisions, and perhaps
we can preserve it for a little while longer.
The Night Party - Get To You Album Review
I had no idea what to say about The Night Party’s newly
released CD Get To You and instead of writing about it, like I should have
been, I sat on my iTunes, listening to the twelve songs on repeat. There’s rockin electric guitar, longer
accented notes and short quick riffs, the grunge of the drums and vocals that
in one instance are soft and slow and in the other are sung with passion and
gut. I don’t know a lot about music, but
I do know what I like. And I like
this.
Making their debut, Rick Sands and Buck Lexton’s track has a
mixture of slower harmonies and bouncier, upbeat tracks. This funky duo has brought forth an array of
sounds which can be compared to the likes of The Stones (in their Little Red
Rooster days), The Beatles (with their 80’s stuff) and Creedence Clearwater
Revival (mainly the guitar riffs rather than the vocals).
Most of the vocals on the tracks stick true to the musical
roots, with an old style vocal effect that gives the sense of listening through
an old record player on a lonely Saturday night. Along with groovy distortion, their sound has
the grunge but complimentary slow style of bluesy roots.
Derived from Melbourne and destined to be after meeting in a
trek in Tasmania, The Night Party are ready to combine their musical talents
and share a sound filled with mood and atmosphere. Their songs are soulful and their mystique
has the potential to bring about a sparkling new fan base. I’ve listened to the songs inside and out,
and I won’t be hitting the pause button any time soon.
Villain Protagonist Trop
He’s
sprinting down the street, desperation licking at his heels. Gun in one hand, he flicks his head from side
to side to see if they’re chasing him.
You can hear footsteps, pounding against cold pavement. His breathing is heavy, panicked, and
urgent. There is blood on his right hand
and smeared across his white t-shirt that isn’t his own. It belongs to the man he just killed. They’re gaining on him as he runs, getting
closer and closer. He hears gunshots and
ducks once, and then twice. There is
yelling. He runs faster. You see his face, panicked and familiar. He comes to a bridge, black murky water
beneath. He takes one look back, then
steps up and takes the leap. He plunges
into the water and kicks and splutters to the surface, before swimming as fast
as he can to safety. Relief.
The man
in this story is a killer. You might
even go as far as to call him a villain.
Yet, despite this very fact; you want nothing but for him to get away. Where is the logic in that? Well, as a matter of fact, the logic lies in
the character himself. They are the
Villain Protagonist; a phenomenon becoming a more prevalent twist to
conventional storytelling. It places the
villain, the antagonist, as the leading or one of the major characters; making
us more inclined to like them.
Ever
watched a television show, or read a book, or seen a movie, or read a comic
strip where the main character is the bad guy, and despite this information and
their wrongdoing, absolutely loved them?
Then don’t worry, you’re not a complete sociopath. We all would have seen one at some point or
another, perhaps without even knowing it.
Take Walter
White, for example, a once soft and shy man who evolves into a fearless and
cunning “villain”, alienating his own family and caring solely of his own
survival, yet we root for him the entire time.
He lies, he breaks the law, he kills people to protect himself, but
there we are, sitting on the edge of our seats, praying he does not get
caught. Another likable villain would be
The Joker in Batman. Yes, he’s the bad guy, but everybody loves
him because of his cheeky grin, his cunning jokes and cackling laugh. Or even the Coyote in Road Runner. Wouldn’t it be
great if in one episode he just caught that god-damn bird?
Perhaps
a more complex example would be Game of
Thrones, where all the perspectives of war are depicted. Sometimes you actually like and have sympathy
for the bad guys, and you also see the flaws in the good guys. In this case, there isn’t just one main
character but many; however it still bodes as a perfect example of liking those
that are ‘evil’.
The most
obvious one I can think of would be Dexter, who works for the Miami Police
Department while leading a secret life as a serial killer. We follow the story from his point of view,
even though he is the antagonist. He
claims to have no feelings, divorcing himself from humanity and kills to feel
alive. Creepy, huh?
So the
answer is yet to be found: Why do we like them so much? It’s a fair question. I don’t know about you, but when I watch the
news I don’t exactly turn around and say “hey, I hope that murderer doesn’t get
caught.” So why do we open up a soft spot for these types of characters in
television shows, movies and books? It’s
not because of their charming looks – Walter White, Dexter and The Joker aren’t
exactly Channing Tatum lookalikes; but rather something much more.
These
characters often possess qualities that we are able to relate to. Now I know what you’re thinking – I’m not a
villain, I’m not ‘evil’, and I certainly would never be the ‘bad guy’, unless I
consume a little too much alcohol one night…But believe it or not, we can be
very similar to these villains. Since
the story is often told from their point of view, we begin to believe what they
believe. In a way, we justify their
actions with excuses. It is because we
get to know them. We know the reasons
behind their actions.
We see
that while everything Walt does is wrong, his underlying motive is his love for
his family. We see that while killing
people is brutal, Dexter abides by his own moral code; only allowing himself to
kill people who he can prove are murderers themselves. Dexter likes children and treats them with
care and respect, and shows his connection and loyalty to family throughout the
series. We like Dexter because while he
does bad things, he has good reasons.
We see
in Game of Thrones violence and
crudeness, but underlying honour and protection of family. It’s hard to pick just one character, but if
I had to comment, it would be on Jaime Lannister. A major character that is in love with his
twin sister, murders countless people and even maimed a child, but beneath all
of that holds passion for the things that he cares about. He will literally do anything to protect his
honour and those things that mean the most to him.
These
characters are bold, they are strong and they always have the upper hand. They do bad things, but there is always a
good reason. They murder, they deceive,
they have no conscience; but they can love and they can care. They are the bad guys; and we like them. And in the end, there is nothing wrong with
that.
Southbound Gig Review
The 10
year anniversary of WA’s only camping festival, Southbound kicked off the New Year
with an array of talent likely to become more famous after the 12 000 odd people
who attended the festival in the state’s south-west.
It was
a big weekend for music lovers who spent the two days filling their eardrums
with a variety of music, feasting from various food stalls, purchasing hats and
headdresses and clothing from mini markets, tattooing their bodies with henna,
sipping on overpriced drinks and cooling off in Murdoch and HBF tents in
beanbags and hammocks. Transforming
ordinary house owners into happy and pampered campers, the festival creates a
community with an abundance of diversity, bringing different kinds of people
into the one venue.
With headliners MGMT, Violent Femmes, London Grammar, Chet Faker, Flight Facilities, Hermitude and even solo artists James Vincent McMorrow, Johnny Marr and Hanni El Katib, to name but a few, there is no doubt that the music was an abundance of fresh and differing sounds, splashing the crowd with elements of indie, rock, pop, electronica, alternative and even some comedy fuelling a rush of laughter induced endorphins. Born and bred Australian artists brought new flourishing talent to Southbound. Sydney rock and roll band The Preatures took to the stage with their hit ‘This Is How You Feel’, Isabella Manfredi’s nonchalance and subtlety making the band easy to connect to. Hers and Gideon Bensen’s combined voices were not shy on stage and had those on the fence grooving along as though they were friends who’d known each other for years.
James
Vincent McMorrow slowed things down with intricate guitar and careful, long
wavering notes. Violent Femmes took the
crowd through a journey of the acoustic punk from the 80’s. Kicking off their set with the famous single
‘Blister in the Sun’, they had patrons running in all directions to literally
‘go wild’ in front of the stage. Even Beyonce’s sister Solange made an
appearance, busting out some of her sister’s tracks with sassy confidence.
MGMT
brought forward the favourites ‘Time to Pretend’, ‘Kids’ and ‘Electric Feel’
with a psychedelic backdrop lighting up the stage and the crowd before
them. Surprisingly, though, it was the
acts I didn’t intend to see that captured me the most. Bombino was extremely comfortable on stage,
despite looking wildly out of place.
Grooving along to his own beat, the Tuareg guitarist and his band mixed
up electric guitar riffs with bouncy drums, allowing people to dance at a first
listen.
Some people
pressed up against the barriers, reaching out towards their idols, others happy
to stand and sway, and onlookers lounged luxuriously on the grassy ground, all
enjoying everything the event had to offer.
Is it worth going again next year?
I certainly wouldn’t miss it.
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