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What: Torpedo
Where: Online
here
How
much: $21 for tree lovers, $20 for people who hate
trees.
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Torpedo, the first offering from independent
publishing house Falcon vs.
Monkey, Falcon Wins, is very pretty. And, unlike a human,
it gets prettier when you look inside it. The pretty things
inside Torpedo are provided by Melbourne drawing
types Eirian
Chapman, Pat Dalton and Tim
Molloy. However, not only is Torpedo packed with
glorious illustrations, it is packed with similarly luminous
short fiction.
Falcon vs. Monkey's aim is a simple, yet admirable one: to
support fiction writers by remaining true to a genuine love of
the short story... and a genuine love of mulled wine. Because
of this, Torpedo is only available for purchase
through the website, where you can be confident that
50% of the cover price will go to the contributors, and where
paying an extra dollar will aid replenishment of the leafy
beings that give their lives that we may read. And read we
must, for Torpedo marks the dawn of a new age for
local fiction publishing. Bombs away.
By Kirsten
Law
Win: We have one copy to give
away. To enter, email /external.html?link=mailto:@win@fourthousand.com.au with the
subject line ‘the falcon may have an unfair advantage'
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What: Cloverfield
When: Out
now
Where: Everywhere
Watch
the trailer: Here |
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Blockbusters suffer from the tyranny of low expectations.
How many times did you hear someone dismiss the gaping flaws
of Transformers with “yeah, but it had giant robots
fighting, so who cares?” We care,damn it. We want mass
destruction with some thought behind it.
Thank
Godzilla that Cloverfield is everything
Transformers was not. You’ve got the gist already. A
colossal monster attacks New York, all captured in shaking
street-level handicam by a panicked group of friends - but
this is more than just the sum of its gimmicky parts. It’s
visceral, fun, frightening, and pretty much
note-perfect.
Viral marketing got old fast, huh? Unlike
producer JJ Abrams’ other TV work like Lost, the deluge of cryptic Cloverfield clues scattered
online don’t matter in the least - except that perhaps
transforming backstory into internet puzzles lets the film do
away with all unnecessary information. It’s streamlined at
just 90 minutes, no moment wasted, avoiding the
two-and-a-half-hour blockbuster
bloat.
Cloverfield is Godzilla,
Blair Witch, Saving Private Ryan, and
playing Half-Life at 3am with the lights off. (It is
not, however, Voltron.) Still not convinced? Stay
through the credits. The rousing final overture is called
“Roar!”
By Martyn Pedler |
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What: Is Not
Magazine
Where: Brother Espresso, Watson's Building, 127
Margaret St, city The Outpost Store, 5a Winn St, Fortitude
Valley
When: All the time (well
actually during their opening hours)
How
much: Free to look, $20 per issue
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If the guy sitting behind you on the train reading your
magazine over the back of the seat pisses you off then Is
Not Magazine is not the mag for you. Mind you, at a
whopping 1.5 meters high and 2 meters wide we'd pay money to
see you try to read it on the train. And with a wax coating
over the paper, it won't even go mushy if you spill your
coffee on it.
This aesthetically-atypical,
mentally-challenging, poster-sized 'editorial experiment' is
designed to be consumed standing up, preferably in groups.
Navigate the articles, poetry, SMS submissions, illustrations
and the crossword using the handy grid referencing down each
edge. And it only uses fonts created by Underware.
Street cred and Euro cred! Whoo!
You can check out
Issue 10, 'The Kid is/not My Son', now wheat-papered up on the
wall at Brothers Espresso's Margaret Street cafe and the
driveway next to The Outpost Store in the Valley. Oh, and it
has no advertising. So if you like it, buy back issues on http://www.isnotmagazine.org/.
By
Elliott Bledsoe |
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What: Quick Be the Feet That Run to
Mischief
Who: Snawklor
On: Outer
MySpace: Here
Related links: Nathan
Gray, Dylan
Martorell Download prior Snawklor albums here |
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Rivaling, maybe surpassing, the natural world in terms of
dimension and mystic order, Snawklor's work unfurls in blooms
and retractions akin to living organisms. At fascinating odds
to most groups' approaches to music as a tool for personal
expression, this decade-running Melbourne duo seems less
interested in capturing sounds than in setting them free; less
in representing themselves than in re-birthing their natural
environment. For this, they're 'Sound-Art' for sure... but of
a spiritual and joyous kind, anathema to common sado-Modernist
techniques.
Like a child learning to talk,
transcendentally lost in an open loop of speaking and
listening, Quick Be the Feet That Run to Mischiefis a
single, forty-minute track that seems somehow, and
beautifully, in communication with itself. The fifth Snawklor
album proper, it finds Nathan Gray and Dylan Martorell in
familiar electro-acoustic territory, live-processing countless
microphoned sounds that are worked-up into swirling,
high-definition arrangements.
Combining plucked
strings, found percussion, trumpet, whispers, synth tones and
pure electronics, Quick Be the Feet... pulses with
the hidden, omniscient force of an ecology.
By Mark
Gomes
Win: Thanks to Nathan and
Dylan, we have one copy of the album to give away. To enter,
email win@fourthousand.com.au with the subject
line 'set the sounds free' |
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What: Art as
Art
Where: Here
How much: From
$4.50
Contact: sales@thirddrawerdown.com 9534
4088 |
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As Susan Sontag posited (and Cloverfield
proved through the experiment of a giant fish monster attack),
most of us feel we can only experience life by photographing
it. Similarly, we can only truly experience art by buying
stuff in a gallery shop. Do you see a branch of the NY Museum
of Modern Art in Brisbane? No dude, but who cares when there's
Gallery Store Modern?
Art as Art - the latest project by Third Drawer Down - faces this simple fact
by cutting out the middle man and creating artworks to be sold
as souvenirs in gallery shops. Launched in December at Colette in
Paris and the New Museum
in New York, the range features Fountain Toilet Note Paper
(in memory of Marcel Duchamp), a ‘This is not a Work of Art'
rubber stamp (inspired by Marcel Broodthaers), a Temporary
15-Minute Watch (in celebration of Andy Warhol), plus quote
marks sticky tape (respect, Derrida).
Actually, you
don't even have to go to a gallery shop to buy them. So save
the tram fare and buy online at Third Drawer Down.
By Penny
Modra |
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What: Dealextreme
Where: Here
When: All the time
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What's not useful about a 100-pack super mini die set? Or what about a
USB Sim Card reader?
Dealextreme is a
site for all the things to make your life easier that you
didn't even know you needed. For example, if you are tired of
holding your mobile to your ear like some sort of square, why
not purchase a trendy, old-school receiver that plugs right
into your mobile to wow passersby?
That's just a small
sample of what is on offer from Dealextreme. Questionably-practical items at
an ultra-practical price. Why not bring childhood stories to
life with some magic beans (they come in brown and white). You could also exterminate pests
with the digital mosquito repeller, which includes an
armband, or the bug zapper tennis racket.
Dealextreme
also cares about your health and well being. We have all seen
the images of diseased arteries adorning cigarette packets.
Well Dealextreme have taken it one step further and stock a
realist lung replica ashtray, that coughs and screams, to help
you kick the habit.
Some may say that the delightful
treasures available are strange or useless, but those cynics
clearly haven't given their threads the once over with the
hand-held electrical clothes shaver. Other joys
include the breast-shaped stress ball with nipple,
digital buddhist jukebox and MP3 playing Sunglasses. What more could you
want really?
By Stephen Gregory |
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What: Han Woo
Ri
When: Ask them when you get
there
Where: 70 Mary St,
city
Contact: Um, yeh. Let your
feet do the walking for once. |
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With Australia Day upon us this week it may seem we have a
bit to celebrate (other than the end of Sam Kekovich's tirades about some
nationalist eating binge involving lamb). Really though, who
cares? We get a public holiday two days after the event and,
for the most part, none of us knows what the freaking occasion
is (and no, it's not federation).
But instead of
celebrating an event from over two centuries ago, an event
that would later go on to produce such political high points
as the Stolen Generation and White Australia Policy, maybe we
should celebrate a time more recent. What about an event from
just under a year ago: namely the announcement by North
Korea's Kim Jong-Il on 17 March 2007 that the country would
stop their nuclear program?
How does this relate to
food? Wait and you will see, for this fact allows us to segue
into our main point. On the basis of one less place in the
world arming themselves to the teeth with mutually destructive
weapons, let's celebrate them! And we feel that the best way
to do that without international travel is by eating their
food. And a great new Korean restaurant right in the city is
Han Woo Ri.
Sure, it has a strange name, and we aren't
sure of its meaning, but the food is great. And it also offers
the chance to learn Korean and Hangul with its bilingual
menus.
So this Australia Day, give the forks to the
nation that gave you your democratic freedom and salute the
Stalinist Dictatorship that's not going to bomb you any time
soon. You know it makes sense.
By Anton
Crace |
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What: Australia Day Cockroach Racing
Where: Story
Bridge Hotel, 200 Main St, Kangaroo
Point
When: Sat Jan 26 (Australia
Day, you fools) Gates open 11am, first races from
midday
How much: Free to get in.
Buy a roach for $5 on the day or bring your own and pay $5
roach entry fee.
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How does one define this great sunburnt nation of ours? Do
we define ourselves in clichés, like Akubra hats, backyard
cricket, pink zinc on our noses, convicts, or strong hard
thirsts that deserves many good cold beers? Nah. It's all
about the cockroaches, mate.
Twenty-six years ago, two
old blokes at the Story Bridge started arguing about whose
cockroach was more robust. Zip forward to now and somehow it
turned into an Australia Day celebration. Now you too can take
part in the world-famous Australia Day cockroach racing at the
Story Bridge Hotel, Kangaroo Point.
Racing rules are
simple: all the cockroaches are put into a bucket that is then
upturned in the centre of a circular track. First cockroach to
cross the edge is the winner.
Things are made a little
more difficult in the steeplechase events, where a circular
fence (read: garden hose) is used to "enhance the spectacle
and test the roach talent".
Entries are accepted on the
day, so either bring your own little buggies along or buy one
on the day. Oh, and don't forget to name it. But good luck
trying to top the name of the 2002 winner: Osama Bin
Liner.
By Miss Ward |
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What: I
Heart Hiroshima / The Rational Academy and 15 minutes of fame
talk by Thea Basiliou (Blonde
Venus)
When: Fri Jan 25, doors
5pm
Where: Gallery of
Modern Art, Queensland Art
Gallery, Queensland Cultural Centre, Stanley Pl, South
Brisbane
How much: $20
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Description: Local indie kids gone
minor superstars, I Heart Hiroshima headline this week's Andy Warhol Up Late event, ready to perform
their stripped back indie rock alongside fellow Brisbanites
The Rational Academy. Speaking beforehand as part of the
event's "Famous For 15 Minutes" segment, Blonde
Venus founder Thea Basiliou will talk about her beginnings
in the industry, her rise to success and the journey along the
way. Set against three free short film screenings and Andy
Warhol's notorious art works, its going to be a night of
diverse entertainment. |
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What: The
Zebras / Greg Brady And The Anchors
When: Fri Jan 25, doors
9pm
Where: Ric’s Bar,
321 Brunswick St (Brunswick St Mall), Fortitude Valley
How much: Free
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Description: Making a welcome return
to The River City’s banks, Brisbane-via-Victoria indie rock
act The Zebras once again provide the Friday night
entertainment at Ric’s. A twirling glimmer of infectious
sun-soaked guitar pop will help conclude Australia Day eve and
prepare revellers for the long weekend ahead, with both the
headline and support acts providing the musical equivalent of
a lazy summer’s day. A great night to just sit back, chill
out, get ready for a day of patriotism and listen to some
quality music at Ric’s. |
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What: Josh
Pyke / The
Zebras
When: Sat Jan 26, doors
8pm
Where: Suncorp Piazza, South Bank Parklands, South
Bank
How much: Free
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Description: If you'd like to
celebrate the birth of our nation with patriotism that doesn't
involve wearing flags as capes (and assuming you haven't
passed out by the time this event commences), mosey along to
South Bank and watch two great Australian acts perform for
free at the precinct's disappointingly underused amphitheatre.
Industry darling Josh Pyke will intersperse his set with
ballads ranging from upbeat songs of joy and celebration to
tales of forlorn and loss, all carefully interwoven within a
catchy acoustic fabric. And Brisbane expats The Zebras will
showcase their summery pop anthems to an eager
crowd |
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What: Sounds Boutique 08
When: Sat Jan 26, doors
12pm
Where: The
Tivoli, 52 Costin St, Fortitude Valley
How
much: $70
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Description: Presented by the
forward-thinking Zero Hour Collective, this jamboree pools
together some of the most innovative and hip beat music acts
ever assembled on Australian shores and puts them all on
display. Housed within The Tivoli's classical era-inspired
confines, three stages, an outside gourmet barbeque, and a Moet / Hennessy lounge are all on offer to sustain
the nonchalant atmosphere and keep that modish vibe alive. And
with acts like Miguel Migs, Marques Wyatt, Julius
Papp, Groove Diggerz, Tayo, and Micah,
amongst a slew of other insanely competent performers, you
know for sure this is going to be one uber-cool party. If you
prefer to dance without the risk of developing sunstroke, this
is the perfect opportunity to bust out and enjoy the
festivities. |
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What: Hear & Now Festival
When: Sun Jan 27, doors
12pm
Where: Riverstage, Botanic Gardens, Brisbane
CBD
How much: $65
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Description: First-rate Australian
dance acts are the focus of this event, with Sneaky Sound System, Butterfingers, The Potbelleez, Bumblebeez, Van
She, Ajax, and The Stafford Brothers all performing, plus a
handful of other talented local artists, as well as the UK's
very own breakbeat master Krafty Kuts for good measure. Presented by
Parklife and Summafieldayze promoters, Fuzzy, this
event is sure to be hawt, so we suggest that you spend the day
basking in the rays, drinking with your mates and going crazy
for this line-up of accomplished dance artists. With the first
allocation of tickets sold out and only the final release
left, you best get your tickets quick
smart! |
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What: Aoi / Lawrence English
When: Wed Jan 30, doors
9pm
Where: Ric's Bar,
321 Brunswick St (Brunswick St Mall), Fortitude
Valley
How much: Free
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Description: Jack of all trades, master
of none artist Matthew Johnson tries his hand at an intriguing
variety of electronica mixed with ambient, breaks, noise,
chillcore, and a whole bunch of stuff which no one in their
right mind would attempt to define. The thing is though, it
works... and quite well we might add. Shifting from Twilight Zone-esque soundscapes to
Ratatat vs Monster Zoku Onsomb! style ditties, Aoi
breaks the mould of the current raft of electronica acts
emerging on the scene. The evening will be a night filled with
original, somewhat groundbreaking material as the Melbourne
lad teams up with local cutting-edge genre-defying maestro
Lawrence English (the guy who runs the ::ROOM40::
events), so if you're feeling experimental, Ric's will provide
the perfect midweek entertainment. |
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Andy Warhol has had waaaaay more than his 15 minutes in
this town by now. But that hasn't necessarily cured our
pop-art fever. Rather than attempting to explain our obsession
with a certain ego-maniacal nightclub native with a fear of
sunbeds, we've got ourselves a bunch of Andy Warhol
15-minutes-of-fame temporary watch tattoos by Third Drawer Down. This is part of their Art
as Art project, which you will know about if you didn't
scroll too fast. We have 10 tattoos to give away, just
answer the following question...
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This week's question: Andy Warhol was
famous for
a) fifteen minutes
b) riding into Studio 54 on a white horse
c) getting sued by Campbells
d) being named after Asteroid 6701
To be in the
running send your answer, name AND postal address to win@fourthousand.com.au. Winners will be
notified by email.
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FourThousand is a weekly snapshot of Brisbane's
subculture(s), flung into into your inbox from a slingshot of
love, for the people who realise that the best things in life
are often hard to find. It is compiled by a gelatinous gaggle
of writers, stylists, designers and photographers embracing
under that big umbrella we like to call creativity. Without
editorial independence FourThousand has nothing. All editorial
you read is featured because it's worth it - not because it's
paid for.
Advertising Partnerships: FourThousand
is funded in full by one advertising partner per issue. We
warmly invite advertisers who see the benefit in speaking to
Brisbane through a trusted and targeted medium to contact
Francesco at frunch@rightanglepublishing.com
Got you covered: Know something coming
up that we should know about? Then tell us by emailing tipoff@fourthousand.com.au
Contributions: Want to write for us?
Send us an email to contribute@fourthousand.com.au
Feedback: Have something to say? Tell
someone who cares by emailing talk@fourthousand.com.au
Disclaimer: We don't run the show on
things we report on, so the info in FourThousand is subject to
change. Although we attempt to ensure that the content at the
time of publication is correct, we do not guarantee its
accuracy or currency. Right Angle Publishing accepts no
responsibility to you or anyone else arising from any use or
reliance on the information contained in FourThousand or any
inaccuracy in the information. The views and opinions
expressed on material included in FourThousand may not reflect
those of Right Angle Publishing.
Copyright: FourThousand is
distribution-friendly. We've licensed it under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative 2.5 Australia License. So share the love.

If you want to reuse FourThousand for anything beyond the
scope of this licence, get in touch with Right Angle. |
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Contact the Mother Ship: Right Angle
Publishing Level 6, Curtin House 252 Swanston
Street Melbourne, 3000 + 61 3 9662 1657
Contact the Escape
Pod: FourThousand PO Box 1505, Fortitude Valley
Q 4006 0433328462
Make OurSpace YourSpace: myspace.com/fourthousand
Group Publisher: Barrie Barton barrie@rightanglepublishing.com
Editor: Elliott Bledsoe elliott@fourthousand.com.au
Assistant Editor: Malcolm George malcolm@fourthousand.com.au
Arts Editor: Hayley Ward hayley@fourthousand.com.au
Visual Editor: Shannon Luk shannon@fourthousand.com.au
Sounds Editor: Scott Mehaffey scott@fourthousand.com.au
Contributing Monkeys: Penny
Modra Nadia Saccardo Kirsten Law Martyn
Pedler Mark Gomes Anton Crace Stephen Gregory Miss
Ward |
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