Hey DJ

As most of you have probably heard Silverchair (the band) recently broke up.  I know, I know.  I took it pretty hard, too.

Alright, so maybe none of you heard about that.  It wasn't very monumental; Silverchair's last album came out while I was still in college.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a newly released book the last time their tour brought them through Atlanta... They were known to take long hiatuses between albums sometimes even forming other bands for a season (I Can't Believe It's Not Rock, Tambalane, and The Dissociatives).  Even though it had been years since they were last in the studio, I always held out hope for a sixth album.  Alas, they moved on and so should I.

Oh, Leah, let not your heart be troubled.  Silverchair front man Daniel Johns is so full of music that there is no way he'd retire entirely.  I came across The Ship Song Project that features him and a number of other Aussie artists (and maybe a kiwi).



It gets pretty nice when that opera singer comes in.  This song is fun, but it wasn't enough to quell my sense of loss over Silverchair.

I was informed by my little sister that Daniel Johns composed the score for the film My Mind's Own Melody.  The movie may be no favorite of mine; from what I gather it is The Wizard of Oz meets an industrial dystopia a la George Orwell or Ayn Rand.  The hero works a thankless job and has a loveless marriage in a colorless world.  A work-related injury puts him into a coma.  When he awakes, he discovers a whole new world full of color and music.  It doesn't scream originality to me, but whatever.  It may not even be the greatest concept for creating an album~ didn't Pink Floyd do that or was it just an accident with Dark Side of the Moon?  I know with some certainty that the Mars Volta's De-Loused in the Comatorium centers on coma-induced visions.

I'm glad to say that just because the theme may be cliche, this original score is not.  The good folks at TEDtalks put this video together on the filmmaker's collaborative process with Daniel Johns.



Less jibber jabber about the story and more impromptu DJ compositions!  While most of the music is original, this Silverchair fan was delighted when he wove in melodies from their fourth album Diorama.  Daniel Johns is one of Rolling Stone's 25 Most Underrated Guitarists, and he may also be undervalued as a pianist and songwriter. 

I am a dork, but I just couldn't resist sharing.