Rebecca Campbell, Author

Clever Helpful Bitter

cook • scientist • writer • reader • a little bit punk

Monthly Musings.

I was chatting with a friend the other day — it was her birthday and I phoned to serenade her with my particular brand of off-key singing — and we got talking about music. Specifically, how we listen to music.

I realised I have, for the most part, reverted to listening to entire albums from beginning to end. I credit this in part to my rediscovery of vinyl after having my Nonno’s 50-year-old record player repaired. You see… you can’t really skip a song on vinyl.

And maybe the bands and artists want you to listen to the album in that particular order. Are they telling us a story with a beginning, middle and end? Will we mess up a subtle message if we skip or shuffle? After all, Adele famously asked Spotify to remove the shuffle features from albums. Maybe we should be paying more attention to the artistry of the music and listening with intention rather than simply drowning out the noise in our open-plan offices.

In recent years, my husband got me thinking about the concept of appreciating the value of the whole album, rather than just a few “good” songs. We share a lot of similar tastes when it comes to music, and we also have many differences, but he has really reignited my passion for finding great albums rather than individual songs. I still find myself weighing up the songs on an album and I often but not always settle on a favourite, however, I don’t skip or shuffle.

But do the “youth of today” even listen to a whole song from beginning to end (let alone an entire album) in the era of Tik Tok and Instagram reels and mashups? Or do they head straight to their favourite sound bite, or favourite 15 seconds, or the hook, or the bass when it drops, often ignoring the rest of the song in favour of discovering the next trending audio? Hearing the way my 11-year-old stepson listens to music makes me think kids’ attention spans are limited. If a song doesn’t capture their interest immediately it’s quickly discarded in favour of the next one and so on.

How do you listen to music? Are you a skipper? Do you have a favourite band or artist?

Some of my vinyl purchases in the last couple of years include, in no particular order:

• Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party - Wine Lips

• Talk Talk Talk - The Paranoyds

• Exile on Main St - Rolling Stones

• Beast - Pussycat and the Dirty Johnsons

• The Evil Powers of Rock ‘n’ Roll - The Supersuckers (who, incidentally, I’m going to see live in a couple of weeks!!!)

• The Devil in Berlin - The Cutthroat Brothers (+ Mike Watt)

• Miami - The Gun Club

• Fire of Love - The Gun Club

• The King is Dead - The Cutthroat Brothers (+ Mike Watt)

• Taste for Evil - The Cutthroat Brothers

• The Cutthroat Brothers (self-titled album)

• Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) - Tom Petty

Have you listened to any of these albums?

Writing Wrap-up.

This month, I got back into my 5:00 a.m. Writers’ Club groove. It was hard. I’d just got back from a three-week beach holiday at the end of January, so I gave myself a week to recalibrate and then started setting my alarm at five in the fucking morning and dragging my sorry arse out of bed and into my office. At least it’s summer here in Australia. My two cats sleep in my office at night, so I have to feed them first, otherwise, I’m sure they’ll start gnawing on my fingers while I’m typing. Little murderers.

My first attempt resulted in only 337 words since I was working on just four hours of sleep. My second attempt resulted in about the same, after about seven hours of sleep. (I’m starting to think sleep isn’t the issue.) It’s been months since I’ve written properly — I’ve been procrastinating like an expert — so all-in-all I was ecstatic, despite the slow start.

Here’s a little taster:

‘When you work for yourself, it never stops.’

Sarah sighed. ‘Ugh. I envy you. People want you. You’re important.’

I knew there was an element of truth to her whimsy. My heart ached a little.

She was the epitome of a Sydney socialite. Apart from her rich husband paying for her to be patron of a few museums and galleries, Sarah hadn’t had to work a day in her life. Her waking hours were more often than not spent with a personal trainer, being needled and peeled by a beauty therapist, having her hair done, shopping, or appearing at all the most glamorous social events across the city.

Tom threw money at her almost as fast as he made it. He wanted a beautiful, spoiled wife to have on display, to impress his colleagues and bosses, to trot out at industry functions, to prove how successful he was.

All Sarah wanted, though, was a baby.

I hated Tom.

Reading Round-up.

Here are some of the books I’ve read or reviewed recently:

• Dream in the Wind by Tamara McWilliam

• The Bonehead Resistance by Narelle King

• In Quest of a Mermaid by J.H. Williams

• 138 Dates by Rebekah Campbell (no relation)

You can read my reviews by clicking on the links.