Foo, Foo, and more Foo!

Ok, I've decided that Tuesday is going to be my blog day. So tonight I'm going to catch up a bit.
Firstly, my Foo adventure!

As you know, I'm a bit of a Foo-natic. That is, a big, slightly obsessed, fan of the Foo Fighters. I've already seen them once this year, as I blogged about way back in March.
They came back here in December and, having bought the tickets way back in July, I was definitely not going to miss them!
My wonderful brother-in-law James sent me a message about three weeks before the show saying that he had a spare ticket to the Gold Coast show. And I thought - why not? I never do crazy, impetuous stuff like that, so I decided that I was going to go.

So on Thursday the 8th of December (good god! is it really that long ago? So much to catch up on!), Anthony and I drove to Sydney for the first gig. We stayed in a lovely room at the Radisson Darling Harbour and a lovely 3km stroll to the Sydney Football Stadium, where the concert was held.

Our seats were waaaaaay back, but it gave us a good opportunity to just sit and enjoy the music/atmosphere. This was their biggest gig, with about 40000 people crammed in - what an amazing atmosphere!

Tenacious D were the support act. That would have made a great gig on it's own. Jack Black was in great form!

But of course, the Foo Fighters were amazing, as usual. They know how to put on a good show, and included some of my favourite songs. There's nothing like hearing 40000 people singing along to the same song!

So on the Friday we went home, and then on Saturday morning I jumped on a plane to Brisbane. James and Michael (his best mate) picked me up from the airport, and after a Hard Rock lunch (well, where else would we go??) we headed to Metricon Stadium, to wait near the front of the line.
When they finally let us in, I did something I haven't done for years. I ran!
With all the other die-hards, I ran to the stage so that I could be near the front. And I managed a nice spot right next to the catwalk that Dave used throughout the show (I've put my camera down somewhere in the house...will put up some better photos when I find it!).

It was so much fun! Despite staying in the same place for about 7 hours, with people pushing up against me, I had a great time! Singing, bouncing up and down, and shouting myself hoarse (knowing full well none of the band could hear me)!
They played pretty much the same set, but it was so different being right up near the stage. I used to do it a lot when I was younger, but hadn't lately. I'm glad I did!

Early Sunday morning I flew back to Canberra. The connecting flight from Sydney was particularly horrible; a Dash-8 flying through a thunderstorm. At one point we had one of those huge turbulence drops and by the time I got off the plane I was feeling decidedly nauseous! Not the best way to end my Foo-venture!

Still, to cap off my crazy-busy weekend, Anthony and I went along to the Spicks and Speck-tacular, which was amazing! A great live show that included some of the games from the show and lots of really funny stuff. When we came outside, the carpark was flooded:

Yep, that's Anthony in the car. He waded through the water for me. What a man!

So that was my wild weekend. Lots of fun, some great memories, and some awesome music!

The Second Year

I've had a week or so of really missing Sam. Not constant melancholy or anything like that, but strong feelings of loss.

It started with the usual stuff - last Saturday we watched the broadcast of the Foo Fighters gig, which brought back those feelings of 'wish you'd been there'. Then on Sunday night we went over to my brother-in-law James' house to watch the DVD of the Green Day tour that he and Sam went to, just before Sam died.

Even though the DVD was shot in Tokyo, it still gave me a really good sense of what it must have been like, and I know that Sam would have loved it. It was his first major concert, one of his favourite bands, and it was a pretty awesome show from what I can see: lots of great songs, a real presence on stage, fire and special effects, sing alongs - everything you want from a good concert experience.
 As I said a while back, his main reaction was 'it was good, yeah', but I know it was a lot more exciting to him than he made out. Despite getting home from Sydney quite late, he still went to school the next day to tell everyone about it!
The concert DVD ended with 'Time of Your Life', which as you know was played while Sam's coffin was lowered at his funeral. So it was a bit of a sad moment for all of us.

Despite a busy week, there have been lots of little moments when Samuel was right at the front of my mind. I'm also seeing lots of comments from his friends about learning how to drive, which starts that ache again. I hate all these reminders that Sam won't get to do those things. Not that I begrudge his friends, it just hurts.

Then, on Saturday night, we watched the movie 'Tangled', which (of all things) set me off. As you probably know, it's an animated Disney movie about Rapunzel, so not they type you'd usually associate with grief. But there's a scene towards the end where the town sends a big bunch of lanterns up into the sky, an annual thing that marks the birthday of the lost princess (i.e. Rapunzel). For some reason, all I could think of was Sam, and the tears just flowed.

I've mentioned before that I've found this second year harder than the first. That's not to say that I am spiraling into misery or anything like that - I'm definitely in the 'testing - acceptance' stages of grief - but I am experiencing many more of the feelings now, that I expected, but didn't feel in the early days.

My best friend Sally and I were talking about it yesterday, and we decided that during the first year, we were so busy getting used to things, and going through 'firsts': the first Christmas, first birthday, first Mother's Day etc; that we didn't have time to think of the permanence of this. Not as much as we do now, anyway.

It is permanent. I'll never see him again. That's hard.

Don't worry about me; there are plenty of things to make me happy, and to keep me going. But it's important that I still document these things. Because I do miss him. So much.

Worshipping the Foo

I know you probably don't want to hear any more about the Foo Fighters, but I simply must document my awesome evening (mainly because I want to remember it past today!).

So I'm going to write a (probably long) post about my day yesterday. Feel free to skip if you like, I'll be back on the weekend with something about my boys...

Anticipation

Anthony and I arrived in Sydney long before the registration started. But that was OK; we had a nice walk through Darling Harbour and did some serious people-watching as the crowds arrived. Everybody was extremely well-behaved (throughout the night too) - no yobbo-ing or pushing and shoving, which was nice. There were all sorts of people there, from young kids who were toddling when the Foo Fighters released their first record, to folks much older than Anthony and I.

When the boat finally arrived (a very comfortable three-story one), Anthony and I climbed up to the top floor and grabbed a seat. I'm not great on boats, but I needn't have worried, the short trip was calm and the butterflies in my stomach came more from excitement than nausea.

After a short trip, we disembarked at Goat Island, and walked around to what turned out to be a very intimate and scenic venue.
The small stage was set up with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background, and the ground space in front of the stage was tiny. But that was OK, because there were only about 300 of us there anyway (later on, the balconies on the building behind us filled up with 'VIPs' - or people who had some connection to the radio, record company or TV channels, many of which obviously had very little interest in the Foo Fighters, more the prestige of being there...)


Showtime
Finally, the band came on stage:

They ripped through their new album, one after the other, with no breaks to chat or even take a breath. The new songs are great - fast, loud and rocking, like their first album. Lots of chances for Dave to roar his trademark scream.
We were about 6 people back from the stage, and stayed there all night, with none of the crushing and shoving you'd get in a 'regular' mosh pit. Everyone there was on such a high, and so busy loving the band (and loving being so close to the band) that there was none of that stuff.

I loved being able to lock eyes with the guys in the band, getting lovely smiles out of Nate and Pat,

and even managing to look the wonderful Dave Grohl in the eye...*sigh*.

I know, I know, it's a silly thing to get excited about, but realistically, I'm never gonna meet these guys. I never know where to 'stalk' anyway, and always have someone else with me who probably wouldn't want to hang around for hours waiting for that 'chance' anyway. Not that I resent that, I love have someone I love with me at these gigs, especially 'cause I can't take Sam. James waited for a couple of hours with me, after the Them Crooked Vultures concert, with not much of a result, and Anthony probably would have last night, but he had to drive the three hours home anyway (it was OK, we had a lovely beer and a burger at Grill'd, then a nice drive home, reminiscing all the way). So I'm happy that I got that close to them.

After they played the whole new album, from beginning to end, they started in on all their hits. They started with 'All My Life', which got everyone in the (downstairs) crowd jumping up and down and going crazy. They then proceeded to play song after cool song, with yours truly jumping up and down like a mad thing, screaming and singing myself hoarse.

All in all, they played more than 30 songs (I think 38 was the final count). As you can see on the set list (which a fellow Foo fan graciously loaned me for a photo - he even took the photo!), all the hits were covered. Some highlights for me were 'My Hero' (as always: it's a great song, and it reminds me of Sam - we even have 'There Goes My Hero' on our concert shirts), which got everyone singing (even some of the wet blanket VIPS!); 'Stacked Actors', in which Dave leaped into the crowd, ran upstairs and stood up on the balcony for a while, dangling his guitar over the edge; 'Monkey Wrench', which never fails to get everyone up bouncing and singing; 'Everlong' (of course, one of my favourite songs); 'Up in Arms', where Dave dedicated it to a lookalike fan Jim (who had been standing next to us all afternoon), who proceeded to jump up on the stage, chug Pat's beer, and sit down while they sang the intro.

Lucky guy.

More!
In the encore (which was more than the four songs on the set list), they played the lovely 'Butterflies', an old, rare track, and one of my highlights for the night, a truly fabulous cover of 'Darling Nikki' by Prince. Pure gold.
Dave promised us 10 songs in the encore, but by about the 8th one, the powers-that-be were looking at their watches and tapping their feet, because they'd hit the noise curfew. They probably could have gone on for another hour (at least, that's the impression they gave us), but were kinda struggling to find songs to play anyway, or at least struggling to remember how to play them.
They finished off with 'This is a Call', which, as their first hit, was a very loud and fitting way to end the night.

Dave was his usual funny and charming self, Taylor pounded away on the drums (apparantly he could be heard all around the harbour!), Nate and Chris were totally immersed in the music, and Pat alternated between big smiles for the fans and eyes-closed blissful music making.

All in all, 3 hours of musical yumminess which I would gladly do again tonight, and every night. (I found out this morning they're putting on another gig in Sydney tonight - it's times like these I really wish I lived in a big city). The cool thing is, it was all filmed for Channel V, and will be screened on the 2nd of April. Now I've just gotta work out how to get a copy!

By the time they finished, my whole body was stiff, and I had lost my voice. A sure sign of a great night.

A great, great night.

Oh gee, I'm supposed to be studying but I just can't concentrate! Check out the photos on the TripleM website. If you look at photo #48, you'll see me on the top of the boat with both arms in the air. :)

Winner!

I won!!!

The other day, I posted about the new album by Foo Fighters, and Sue, one of my wonderful readers, told me about a competition that Channel V was holding.

Well I spent a day coming up with an entry, which included a poetic ditty and this fairly dumb YouTube video, of course getting to the end of the day thinking about how I'd wasted the day.

Well, turns out the day wasn't wasted, 'cause I won some tickets!

I'm very excited and happy. It was a great day anyway (the student summit was today, I'll tell you about it later), and this totally topped it off!

So Anthony and I are going to drive up to Sydney next Thursday, get whisked off on a boat to some secret location, and treated to a cool show with a heap of serious Foo fans and lots of new songs. Yay!

(and thanks Sue, for the tip!)

The Entertainer

I'm in rock mode at the moment, so please forgive the rantings and ravings of a rock tragic!

I go in phases though, I wonder if anyone else does, or if it's just my crazy personality?
I mean, I can go for a couple of weeks without listening to anything more than what's on the radio (my station of choice? Triple J. Not necessarily because the music is better - though they don't tend to play the really annoying top 40 stuff - but because they have more music than chatter. That's what a radio's for, dammit!). Then, something will come over me and I'll have to listen to music all day and most of the night.

I'm in one of those 'music all the time' phases, so yesterday, as we pottered, we watched a count down of 100 'Most memorable Videos'.
I love music videos. And I have ever since I can remember. I used to fight with my brother every Saturday morning over control of the TV: he wanted cartoons, I wanted Video Hits, or Rage or whatever else was on.

There were a few years that I obsessively taped them too. I built up hours of carefully cued and time videos; sometimes taping whole shows, then going over the ones I didn't like, other times cuing up a spot on the tape and then waiting for that moment to press record. Sad, I know, especially to those of you that haven't known the wonder that is tape. it's so easy to just watch the video on YouTube now!

Anyway, I digress (how unlike me!).

I really think that to make a good video, you have to be an entertainer. You have to be able to ham it up if necessary. There are a few bands that do that really well, so I thought I'd point a couple out.

Queen

One of the videos in yesterday's countdown was 'I want to break free' by Queen:


It's not my favourite Queen song of all time, but it's a corker of a video!

In the years of music videos where most were bands jumping up and down on stage, Queen came up with some great stuff.
This video borders on obscene in places, and is very bizarre, but they pull it off because they just know how to play their parts.
I love how Freddy Mercury keeps his moustache while he's in drag, but has shaved it off for another part of the clip. Gold. He's got pretty nice legs too!

Red Hot Chili Peppers

There are any number of videos I could choose for these guys. Californication is one of the coolest videos ever, and I also love Dani California and Can't Stop, which all totally demonstrate the whole 'entertainer' thing. I've decided to share 'Give it away', which is an older chili song, but a goody:



Again, possibly bordering on obscene in places (hmm...what does this say about me??), but showcasing some true entertainers!

Fat Boy Slim

Ok, I know this one technically doesn't count, because he doesn't actually appear in any of his videos, but he manages to get people doing very cool things in them. Like Weapon of Choice (sorry, they wouldn't let me embed this one). If you like Christopher Walken, you'll love this.

And of course, the Foo Fighters

I know what you're thinking; she just put them in because of that insane fan thing. But no, the Foo Fighters make truly awesome videos. it's because they are fabulous musicians that understand the value of a good video, but it's also because they're quite good at hamming it up.

Everlong is a very cool video (if you've ever seen Evil Dead, you might see a couple of familiar scenes), and coincidentally one of my all-time favourite songs. Long Road to Ruin is a very funny clip, and there are many more that are just awesome. Learn to Fly is one of my favourite videos, just because everyone's hamming it up (once again, embedding disabled, you'll have to go to the site if you want to see them). Oh, and dressing in drag. Is that a right of rock passage or what?

Just wanted to add: Oliver and I were just watching some Green Day videos on Channel V, and it reminded me of Sam. Every time American Idiot came on he'd say 'mum, check this out: one of them is moving at normal speed and the others are moving in slow motion!'

It didn't matter that I'd seen the video many times, or that he'd said it to me every time it was on, he still pointed it out! So cute!

I could go on for hours! What are some of your favourite videos?

Fan Time

So, you may have guessed by now that I have a little crush on Dave Grohl, and consequently love everything Foo (Fighters, that is).

I've even recovered from the disappointment of Dave not replying to the email I wrote to him about the impact music (such as the Foo Fighters among others) had had on Samuel's life, when the lovely Chris Cheney did - what a guy!

I'm a little excited at the moment, as they've just released a new single and video:

Rope Get new music videos and MTV show videos on MTV.COM.AU. www.mtv.com.au More from Foo Fighters Watch New Music Videos Watch New Music Videos | Music News
Embed

Which means that a new album is on the way, and possibly a tour! Anthony and I have seen the Foo Fighters 3 times now, and they always put on a kickass show. So I'm looking forward to that!

**Sigh**

Melology

I need a break from the heavy stuff. I found this on another blog and it reminded me of how much I used to love filling out these types of things, and reading other people's responses. When I had penfriends (I had lots of them between the ages of about 16 and 24) I used to send them these types of surveys all the time. So here's mine...

Rules: YOU! Yes, you, reading this. You're tagged. Now that you know more about me than you ever wanted to know, play the game, it's fun! Let others know a little more about yourself, repost this as your name followed by "ology."

FOODOLOGY:
What is your salad dressing of choice?
I quite often have my salads undressed. But if I had to choose, I'd say good ol' Italian.

What is your favourite sit-down restaurant?
I don't get out much, but La Porky's is always OK. Well, except for the time I got food poisoning after I ate there. But I've learned not to eat the seafood there.
Oh, Sammy's Kitchen, Sunny Kitchen and Chairman and Yip are all pretty nice Chinese.

What is your favourite fast food restaurant?
Sumo Salad.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Ice Cream. There are so many yummy flavours you could eat a new one each day for two weeks.

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Lots of vegies and CHILLI!!

TECHOLOGY:
How many televisions are in your house?
3, but only 1 of them is ever on with any regularity. Usually tuned to Foxtel's music channels.

What color mobile phone do you have?
Black

Mac or PC?
Mac. Love my Mac!

Could you live without it?
Yes. Actually no. I'd need music (and maybe the internet!) But I could live without TV! Does that count?

BIOLOGY:

Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right. I always wanted to be a lefty 'cause it's different. My mum is and my grandma was (along with some other relatives).

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
My wisdom teeth. Oh, and my two lovely babies. Sad to say I didn't push either of them out by myself.

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Oliver. He's at least 25 kilos these days. Feels like twice as much when he's sleeping.

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
Nope.

Have you ever fainted?
Nope.

Active or Couch Potato?
When I'm in the mood/habit: active, though I still seem to manage to pack on the weight, even when I'm exercising madly/daily.

BULLCRAPOLOGY:

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Not sure. Yes, so that I could tie up loose ends. I have resolved to live a full and happy life so I'm hoping I wouldn't have to suddenly run out and do all the things I'd always wanted to do (OH goodness, I can tell this will be a future post) but no because I'd always be anticipating it.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I wouldn't. Actually I already kind of have. Nobody really calls me Melanie any more. Except maybe my grandpa.

How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
3. My goodness, that's extravagant for me!

Last person you talked to?
Anthony and Oliver (simultaneously).

FAVOURITOLOGY:

Season?
Late Spring/Early Autumn. I love it warm enough to sit outside at night and go to the beach, but cool enough to be able to do stuff.

Holiday?
I guess that means 'celebration'. Not a big fan of any of them, but I do like birthdays.

Day of the week?
Sunday. Especially now that people come over and have drinks with us in the afternoons.

Month?
Used to be December. Now I'm not so sure.

Color?
Purple.

Drink?
Bourbon, Vodka, Beer. Oh god what does that say about me?? I do love mango smoothies and I do drink a lot of water. Really I do!

Alcoholic?
Oh whoops. Already answered that.

Music?
Foo Fighters (I think you all knew that!)


CURRENTOLOGY:

Missing someone?
Yep. You're familiar with that story.

What are you listening to?
I'm not good at doing one thing at a time, so at the moment I'm listening to/watching 'Grand Torino' while I'm writing.
Currently as in not right at this minute - a lot of Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, Led Zeppelin.

What are you watching?
As above.
If I'm not answering about this minute, I don't really 'watch' anything. The only show I really try to watch regularly is 'Spicks and Specks', but I haven't even got my act together enough to watch that every week. I'm not a big fan of TV. Will watch it if it's on, but don't go out of the way.
I do like watching music videos and movies.

Worrying about?
Going back to work. Actually I'm not worried about that, more about all the things I was going to do (but haven't) while I have been on leave.

What's the last movie you saw?
At the movies? Avatar.

Do you smile often?
A qualified yes. I am renowned for my smiley disposition, It's just been missing a little bit of late.

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
Hmmm...No. Well, maybe green.

What's on your wish list for your birthday?
Not sure how I feel about my birthday now. I'd like a nice little block of land (or perhaps 20+ acres) near the coast.

Can you do a chin-up?
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Excited I guess. Things can't get much worse.

Have you been in a car wreck?
No, only a couple of small accidents.

Have you caused a car wreck?
No.

Do you have an accent?
An Oztrayan one perhaps.

Last time you cried?
Friday.

Plans tonight?
Watch (sort of) this movie. Bed. My life is a thrill a minute.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
Yep.

Name three things you bought yesterday?
I actually didn't buy anything. That's not bad for me.

Have you met someone who changed your life?
Yep. Samuel. I think I've explained how.

For the better or worse?
Better.

How did you bring in the New Year?
I've posted about this. Down the river with Sally, Jack and my boys, then here.

Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
Yep. To the 21st of December 2009.

What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don't, but Oliver does a great job:

Have you held hands with someone today?
Yep. I like that Anthony and I hold hands almost every day. After 15 years that's not bad.

Who was the last person you took a picture of?
My very clucky son holding my lovely (nearly) 4 week old nephew.

Are most of the friends in your life new or old?
A little bit of both. I have wonderful friends that I have known for around 20 years, and others I have known 2-5 years.

Do you like pulpy orange juice?
Yes. The pulpier the better.

Last time you ate peanut butter and jelly?
When I went to the U.S in 1990. I like bananas (or honey) with my peanut butter.

What were you doing at 12 a.m. last night?
Sleeping. I was a little tipsy (OK, I was more than a little) when I went to bed, so it's a good bet that I was sound asleep.

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
I wonder if I have a hangover. (No, I didn't).

Thanks Pundelina for this little bit of fun.

Celebrating Sam's Life. Part 2

This is the second post about the day we said goodbye to Sam (the first is here). It may be upsetting to some people. But I've gotta do it. I want to remember it. Don't read it if you will get upset.

When we went into the chapel to sit down, I noticed just how many people were there. All the seats were filled, and so was the foyer, and there were also people standing outside the foyer and in the courtyard to the side. I can't explain but it made me feel good to know that Samuel was so well thought of. We'd assumed there would be a few people there, but it was also 4 days after Christmas, so we knew that many people wouldn't be able to come.

Teenagers shouldn't have to go to a funeral
I was really pleased to see so many of Samuel's friends and school mates there. I know it must have been very hard for them, but we had really wanted them there. We deliberately included certain parts of the service to make them feel more comfortable. Right from the start we were so aware of the impact Sam's death would have on them. We were of course devastated, but to a teenager, your friends are your life. To have one suddenly die with no explanation must be such a blow. When you're a teenager you're supposed to be invincible!

As we sat down, 21 Guns by Green Day came on. We hadn't planned it at all, it was pure coincidence. This was a song that Sam loved, and it brought almost everyone to tears before the service had even begun.
John stood up and began his introductions. Then Anthony and I stood up to read the eulogy. I hadn't known until about 1 minute before I stood up that I would actually be able to. But I was surprised that we actually managed to get through it without breaking down.
Then my Dad spoke, giving all the thanks to everyone (I can never repay some people for what they did for me, especially on that day, but I did want to thank them publicly). He spoke very well too (I don't know where we found the strength!)
Then Anthony's brothers got up. James shared his memory of the concert trip, and reminded us of Samuel's love of a good steak, Tim talked about tickling Sam so much that he vomited (well, Sam did try to warn him), Phillip talked about their trip to the zoo where Sam got to feed the tiger and then 'tamed' the llama. There was apparently a llama at the zoo that would never come anywhere near people, but he walked up to Sam and ate out of his hand. Sam got his Dr Dolittle-ishness from Anthony I think. He always loved animals and was very gentle. I'm not really all that surprised about the llama.
Christopher got up and tapped the microphone. "I've always wanted to do that" he said, and everyone cracked up, which was nice. He then read "Do not stand at my grave and weep" (beautifully I might add). He then decided to go off on a bit of a tangent about space travel and such, but because we're all used to that, we were able to head him off without too much trouble (Christopher has autism and occasionally doesn't realise when it's time to stop talking).

Then they played the slideshow. I'd put together a slideshow of photos of Sam (many of them I have put up here). It was set to three songs:

• Last night on Earth - Green Day
• I miss you - Blink 182
• Home - Foo Fighters

We chose the songs very carefully. We wanted them to be songs that Samuel liked from bands he liked. These three bands were right up there with his favourites (as you know Green Day were his 2nd favourite after The Living End, but we just couldn't find one by them that we thought fit the occasion, and that wouldn't be too loud for some of the 'oldies' in attendance).
One evening - I think it was some time around Christmas, I can't remember - Anthony, Oliver and I went for a drive in the jeep; out the back of Tharwa where Anthony used to take the boys (and me sometimes) driving. We listened to a CD James had made for us, and thought about which songs would go well. The Green Day and Blink 182 songs were on there. I had always found the Foo Fighters one very poignant (I think I'd even like it played at my funeral), and as I've mentioned before, Samuel, Anthony and I (and even Ollie a little) shared a love of the Foo Fighters.
As you can imagine, after the slideshow there wasn't a dry eye in the house, so Lorraine (nanna) did pretty well to get up and talk. She passed on a message from Jonathon (Anthony's son from a previous relationship) and then passed back to John. While they were speaking (John read a message from Jake, Samuel's best friend), the big group of teenagers (Sam's friends and school mates) filed past the coffin and wrote lots of lovely messages on it. It was such a nice moment. A few of our other family and friends came up and wrote messages too.

Then John gave the committal and the coffin was lowered while they played the song 'Time of your life" by Green Day. This song was one of Sam's favourites anyway, and it kind of fit the day. We were also pretty blown away when we found the chords for it (and nothing else) in a folder in Sam's guitar case. I'd heard him playing "Fire Water Burn" by the Bloodhound Gang on the guitar, but not Green Day. I think we made a good choice. Some of the kids were writing "hope you had the time of your life" on the coffin, and they have been on the mural too.

After that we went outside and it was just like before the service. Lots of people, lots of hugs, lots of tears. It was nice but I was tired and shell-shocked and just wanted to stop. So when everyone had sort of filtered off, we went down to the wake. There were a few people there, and I was pleased to see a few of Sam's friends. They were very nice and made my cousin Sarah (who was almost exactly one year older than Sam) feel welcome.

It was only when I got to the wake that I felt myself relax. I had a beer (the first in a week - believe me, I hadn't felt like drinking at all up until then!), chatted to people, at some point had something to eat, and had a few more drinks. We had Sam's music and there was a really good vibe (well, as good as it could be). We shared stories about Sam and drank (and even laughed a little) and I felt a little bit of the tension ebb away.

They say the hardest part is the days leading up to the funeral (the business end, as a dear friend called it). I think they're right. I certainly felt a little better when it was all done. And I was even able to sleep a little that night (just a little).

Wow!

My email's been playing up lately, and I haven't been able to access all of them.
So when I finally got it sorted out today I had a heap of unread messages.

Among the messages was a lovely email from Chris Cheney. For those of you who don't know, Chris is the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for Australian band, The Living End.
As I have said before, The Living End was Samuel's favourite band. He had all their albums and DVDs, and knew a lot about them. I was hoping to take him to see them live one day. I've seen them a couple of times and they put on a great show.

Anyway, a while back, I sent an email to the management of The Living End, as well as Green Day and Foo Fighters. This is what I wrote:

It would have been nice to get a response of any kind, but realistically these are big stars.

So imagine my surprise to find an email from Chris. I'm not going to share it just yet, but it was lovely, personal and heartfelt.

So thank you Chris Cheney, I've always liked your band, but I now have lots of respect for you as a great person as well.

Thank you for the music

Not that Samuel would touch Abba with the proverbial barge pole...
No, Samuel had pretty good taste in music. It's a weird thing for a parent to be proud of, but there it is. And it's the subject of today's post.


Sam and I had a lot of things in common. But the thing that we shared the most was a love of music.

Sam started life like any other 'normal' little kid. He loved the Wiggles (I still remember taking him to see them when he was about 3. It was in this little hall in Queanbeyan and it cost about $8), Hi-5 (in their original form) and dancing at discos. They used to have this awesome kid's disco on every Sunday afternoon at the Lanyon Valley Club and he loved it! He'd be up there on the dance floor, having a great time, winning prizes, you know, disco stuff. I know, I know, you're saying "that's not the Sam I know", but I swear it's true. Once he hit about 5 he somehow got the message that this kind of behaviour was terribly uncool, and that was the end of it, but it was nice to see while it lasted.

But there were still some daggy moments
Mind you, this coolness epiphany was not final. At various times throughout his early years, Samuel developed a taste for: The BeeGees (particularly their 1997 hit 'Alone'), Hanson (yes, Mmmm Bop) and even **Cringe** the Hampton and the Hampsters.

Again dad, again!
When he was quite small, Sam developed a passion for the opening credits of "The Drew Carey Show". For a while he was content with seeing it each week, but after a while he'd ask for it specifically. So one week we taped it. Possibly a mistake, from then on he would often watch it over and over again. I think the tape (yes my young y and z genners, video tape) wore out before he did!




But things did improve!
Those of you who know me know that I am a big fan of music. Generally the louder the better. Anthony is pretty much the same. From very early on we used to play our music quite loud, especially on housework mornings or at parties. For a while we were a bit worried, as Samuel would often say 'it's too loud'. This coupled with his love for the above-mentioned daggies was - as you can imagine - cause for some concern.
We started to see signs of a more positive change when Samuel was about 4. About the time that The Offspring released 'Conspiracy of One', Samuel he decided he liked them. I was pretty happy, because I had a few of their albums. Thus began Samuel's education (under my expert tutelage of course!)

A little bit later, I played Samuel a Public Enemy song (the only one I had at the time) He really liked them and bought a couple of their albums. This time he was teaching me. When he was about 7 he really got into Outkast (before Andre 3000 decided there was more money to be had in the acting game), and a little bit later, the Black Eyed Peas (around the time they released Monkey Business). Again, I was a little concerned, as he didn't seem all that interested in 'my music' at that time. But I needn't have worried.

I found this song on iTunes...
When Sam started year 6, I gave him my old computer. I had left all my music on there, but didn't really think he'd get into it. For a while he didn't, his friends were a big influence then, particularly in year six, and he got into bands like Fall Out Boy.
The first band he discovered in my old iTunes was The Living End. They have been his favourite band pretty much since then. I will talk about them another time.
After that, he'd come up to me every few days and say "I've found this song/band on iTunes that I really like", and we'd talk about the music. He'd tell me which songs he liked, I'd suggest more to listen to. They were some great conversations, and one of the things I'll miss the most (Woah, here come some tears).

The favourites?
By the time Sam died, he had a firm list of favourite bands. Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters (those of you who are aware of my -slightly unhealthy- Dave Grohl obsession will know how proud that one made me!), Faith No More, Ben Folds and Powderfinger were ones he shared with me (among others), but there were also ones he went out and found on his own: Green Day (his other favourite), Metallica, Tenacious D, Rage Against the Machine, Wolfmother and Korn.

And a proud moment for me?
Samuel came home from school one day and told me his music teacher had said he had great taste in music. He said when she asked why he thought that was, he had said 'it's because of my mum'.

Sam at the Green Day Concert. A story for another day.