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the words ...
we live in fast changing, seemingly crazy times. more than ever i feel the need to connect to what is real. to what is truly important. self, family. community. the veggie garden.
i think most of us have a sense that most of what we see around us and are confronted with every day is a distraction from what is real. an illusion of sorts. entertainment. food. politics. how real? how true?
i wrote "give me some love (not 1984)" to encapsulate my feelings about our world, with george orwell's classic book "1984" as a reference. i read "1984" years ago and remember being struck by the bleakness of the police state world he imagined. i was fascinated and horrified by the destruction of the individual and the demonization of individual creative thought, which seems to me to be the basis of what we are. unique expressions of the whole. and when those unique expressions are allowed to flourish in an environment of love and support, then the self and the family and the community can all benefit.
i've always been intrigued by history. and now more than ever the lessons of the past seem to be calling to us. as a father of young children i think about what sort of world they will inherit more and more.
let it not be 1984 ...
lyrics ...
I'm a tourist not a terrorist
I can tell you what i'm here for
I'm looking for a good year
Not 1984
Yeah a tourist
Not a terrorist
See me coming in the front door
Looking for a good year
Not 1984
I'm not an alien
I'm Australian
I know I sound a little strange, yes?
But don't we all want the same thing?
A little bit of happiness
Give me some love
Give me some love
Not 1984
It's all a distraction, guaranteed satisfaction
But only for now, not for long
Yes it's all an illusion, all the confusion
But right now we're singing a song
Yes it's all in the view, so how's it looking to you?
It's a wild ride but don't get me wrong
It can be amusing, but what are we choosing?
Well right now we're singing a song
I'm a tourist
not a terrorist
I can tell you what i'm here for
I'm looking for a good year
Not 1984
I'm not an alien
I'm Australian
I know I sound a little strange, yes? Yes.
But don't we all want the same thing?
A little bit of happiness
Give me some love
Give me some love
Not 1984
Give me some love
Give me some love
Not 1984
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the music ...
from the beginning, i knew i wanted to keep the song simple and trancey. and that i wanted the main guitar motif pulsing thru most of the song. the addition of drew's perky percussion loops enhanced the trance perfectly and gave the tune a distinctive liveliness.
what i talk about in the song is dark and, at the end of the day, serious. but i really wanted to say it in a way that felt hopeful. in these times i believe that focusing on feeling good, on giving and receiving love, is a key - however we can do that.
and for me, that is making music ...
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the video ...
i hadn't shaved for a good half year and was looking pretty different. and so other people's perception of me was changing too. i was abe lincoln, grizzly adams, ned kelly, a civil war general and, among other things, a homeless man. it was about this time i realized that the beard, an entity unto itself, should have a mission. the first line of "give me some love (not 1984)" gave me the answer. "i'm a tourist, not a terrorist".
i really liked the idea of questioning identity. do you really know me? or i you? do we presume someone guilty by their appearance? so i had the 'shaving me down, live on camera concept', but it was still several more months before i could arrange the shoot. and so it was finally, that on a particularly chilly new york winter's eve, i had 15 months of beard removed from my face. would the real angus please stand up?
filming the extra footage i wanted also proved to take longer than expected, especially with us on the road so much this past summer. but at last it all came together - at sundown on an oregon country railroad one recent summer's eve.
mongrel brother bob cahill then worked his magic in the editing suite and a video was born ...
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available at BROTHER's mongrel marketplace ...
 click on the link above
or the graphics below
4" vinyl sticker
featuring the "give me some love" graphic |
 digital download
"give me some love (not 1984)".
download the song for free or
set your own price
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 men's short-sleeve t-shirt
featuring the "give me some love" graphic |
 ladies' short-sleeve deep v-neck t-shirt
featuring the "give me some love" graphic |
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 i'm a tourist, not a terrorist
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we are thankful for ...
alex the barber, little joe's barber shop, milan, bob, dez, dave, ross, lichen, asa, lew lew, leels and james, grandma and james, dawnie and dave, featured mongrels didgeridrew and jacob ransom.
our heartfelt gratitude also to our PAs shannon, matt and monty for going above and beyond the call of duty and friendship on a bitterly cold new york night and early morning.
special thanks to bessie, monty and griff for giving safe harbour to a country boy in the big city.
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credits ...
music production - milan nikolic
video editor - bob cahill
video producer - dez ryan stewart
new york DP - dave brick
oregon DP - ross williams
concept/direction - angus richardson
PAs - shannon brown, matt greenberg, monty stewart, james kendle
graphics, website and promotion - leila dalton
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