This blog is supposed to be about the question Is there a God?, but one of my indulgences is to talk occasionally about another love in my life – music. And it is no secret that one of favourite bands is the now lamented Aussie band, The Middle East.
The band apparently formed when a bunch of musicians, each with their own songs, styles and bands, got together one summer to enjoy themselves creating interesting and diverse music. That appears to be all they intended, but some of their music was so good that they were tempted to go professional, do a grand tour and make an album. But it all proved too much, and they gave it all up. It was no longer fun.
But there are some wonderful leftovers from the good old days, the 12 songs on their first two albums and a bunch of Youtube videos.
Just recently I came across, on a fan site devoted to the band, a 55 minute video of a 2008 concert in Townsville where they were joined onstage by a choir and string section, and performed for and with their friends seven and a half of their sprawling, inventive, chaotic, evocative and imaginative songs.
For a fan like me, this is a gold mine, a memory of when I saw them live in 2007, and a reminder of what was great about this short-lived band. Enjoy them, in all their imperfect but wonderful best, before it became a job rather than fun.