Regarding Michael Jackson, my view is that the kids slept in his bed and that the relationship was probably creepy, but it's difficult to prove he penetrated them. From Leaving Neverland, I remember that the cops got a semen sample, and they still struggled to prove that he'd fucked them. That's always the sticky wicket, whether it's Bernstein, Britten, Woody Allen or Michael. Most of the cases that have gone ahead, like James Levine, had A-grade evidence and B-grade lawye

It's not your job to get people gigs in reality TV. It's your job to fund shorts and features. While you've been unsubtly bullying me over my script, I've made another two features. I'm keen to produce some shorts, but I'm not coming to you. - NZ on Air should be getting people into TV gigs, not the Film Commission. If you're wondering why we think you're corrupt, this is why. - Just because Ainsley is likely to face a charge doesn't mean I'm wrong. She was smelling Outr

That's what Taylor's about. That's why she tries on all the stereotypes in her songs. She's showing us how we perceive her differently in the disguises, but s(he)'s still whole. To her, gender is part of the celebrity thing. It's glamour, not identity. That's why s(he)'s not non-binary. - That's her world. In my world, gender is a spiritual thing and a social role. Even non-passing people can be MVPFAFF+ They don't have to dance the siva perfectly; it's a social expectati

The video has a slightly different meaning to the album, but it's self-explanatory. Adding The Taliban! was an idea I got from the news, but Golriz came up with the idea. She thinks I'm funny: that's what she likes about me. Dawn is a Britten transcription. Yes, it's available: look at my portfolio. Something for MPL to publish. The other three interludes require multiple guitars. Imperfect Love is the official homage to Taylor Swift. After Midnight is an improvisation I

This thing that was previously classed as psychic has more to do with the physical. All these intrusive thoughts and visions are about knowing bodies, not minds alone. It comes with physical sensations, so it's not just some mental exercise. In our case, we all have our music, which tells us a lot about other people's bodies. - With rare exceptions, the McCartney/McGlashan visions are closed-eye visuals. My ancestor was overwriting my reality. As I said, the mental image

Working for Each Other couldn't have existed before AI. The songs are entirely human, and I wrote the incidental music. - Seems like sour grapes: Disney and Pixar are going down the tubes in terms of quality, while Paul and I made a decent animated film on a budget of under $50,000. Probably under $10,000. The Queer Fantasia/Transtasia only cost a few thousand too. - It's not like we made a scripted movie and pretended as if the animation was human. The film was experim

It relies on a mix of AI, keyframe animation in Adobe Premiere + live film of my guitar, so it's not entirely animated by AI. Nevertheless, that's how it felt to watch it. Sir Peter and I have always used AI subtly, rather than all this Hollywood/Bollywood stuff that I'm reading about.

Had a brainwave: overdub opera. Beatles Invade New Zealand! is a lot like a ballad opera (that's a real thing).

I read that John set a string off so that his mother would know it was him. I also suspect they used another A than 440hz. Listening to an album in 430hz, and it sounds closer (I didn't tune up for my demos). Paul says that it was A = 434hz.

Fancypants answer: it's called the iconosphere. Read about that in a Chagall book. ChatGPT: The iconosphere is a concept from visual culture and media theory. It refers to the total environment of images that surrounds us—paintings, photographs, films, advertisements, religious icons, digital media, etc. Think of it as the “atmosphere of images” we live inside, shaping how we see the world, remember things, and construct meaning. https://lexicon.mimesisjournals.com/inter

The song began life as I Rely on You, then other people told me to change the title. I thought it was too pretentious, but eventually gave in. The imagery was South Island stuff, as I miss the frosts and the cold. - As far as I'm aware, I've never said "I love you" in a song. Why? At a New Year's party in the 2010's, my brother and I met an Estonian bloke. He told us that most Estonians are fluent in English, but they never use those words, as they have a power that does

Is one of my obsessions as a writer, particularly in a pop lyric. The second person is underrated as a narrative mode. John and Paul were all about that in their Beatles lyrics. Wrote a high school story in second person that would make a neat Fable. Waiting to exhume my hard drives.

Notwithstanding that the only way I could enter most English-speaking countries is if the promoters bribed their governments, I think most tours are invented by parasitic leeches that live off the income of other people's songs. All the things that make live gigs magical are taken away if you do stadium rock. Paul and I are talking about the kind of tour that his solo gig is suggesting. Exclusive, in theatres where amplification is tasteful (when necessary). 700-2000 seats.

A: ML was used in the Te Kore video sequence (Runway), and in the synth tracks that accompanied some of the films (NotePerformer). I write them out like I would for real musicians, then NotePerformer generates a convincing output that articulates the music using ML if articulations aren't provided. Deep Dream Generator was used to bring stills to life, and for generative AI, such as the little skits about the eggs frying on the stove, or the No Disguises loop. Those are ju

That's a common reaction to the films. Working For Each Other is similar to my oeuvre. It makes me think of a sci-fi book: Beggars In Spain. We're hoping that it will improve voter turnout in Te Riu-A-Māui. - I call them psychedelic films: they're soul-revealing. When people tell me how they felt, that's when I get to read their mind. The loops entrain people, and the images provide a meditative focus (yantra). All the clever channel inverts paint the lyrics and add a se

People keep focussing on the theatre part of musicals; let's focus on the music. - Scores that are as good as the old warhorses. An expectation that actors and singers should know a thing or two about music. Pit bands with 20 musicians. Singers that can phrase the music rather than singing notes. Conductors that can balance the demands of the pit and the players. - How do the scores improve? By forgetting the last 40 years of gentrification. Songs that aren't written by

When reading music became a default. In Italy and Spain, it isn't. Until after World War II, opera was usually in the language of the country it was done in, rather than surtitles. As a result, people didn't need to read. Conductors and repetiteurs were able to focus on tone rather than diction. Vocal training can be done by ear, and most rock singers do it that way. Ezio Pinza couldn't read. Neither could lots of the star Broadway singers. - I'm a fluent reader and comp

That's an interesting analysis of The Perfumed Garden. It's actually a slightly different minor second. k-Ni (Kumudvatī). It's a bit flatter than the equal tempered note, so it sounds loving. Think of it like an alternate tonic. - In my string quartet, the note is more like Tīvra (flatter minor second). The limma is the 90 cent interval which makes Scorrevole distinctive.

You all know Steve Barr blackmailed me, but you helped him escape a trial. The reason I'm readying myself for court is tens of thousands of dollars of lost income. VUW, Red Scare and Mr. Barr are the people responsible for this lost income. My expectation is that you will deny them income in a similar fashion. - I want to see some clear wording from the NZ Film Commission regarding IP. It must state that there have been a number of projects with uncertain provenance being