Blog • Love in Bright Landscaps - A film about David McComb and The Triffids

Poring over interviews for the umpteenth time.

Reading, re-reading and digesting Niall Lucy and Chris Coughran’s Vagabond Holes.

Listening to mixes from the corner show last year.

Watching many Dave related video clips from his various bands. It’s hard to tell if people know they’re super charismatic sometimes. But he knew, well enough:) fair play.

saw the susans again t’other night. they delved far back into their back catalogue and pulled out some nuggets I’d not heard in years. loved it.

Becoming acquainted with a whole new set of cicadian rhythms, aging processes, and reserves of stamina I thought had deserted me long ago that all become apparent between 1 and 3 am.

Going over Perth/WA footage at the moment. Not interviews, I’ve seen all those. Over and over again. And that’s par for the course; and I’m actually very happy to do so; it’s a litmus test in a way; if I can watch these interviews, moments and various perspectives ad infinitum and still find subtly new, different shades, they — or at least a healthy component of them — must have some fundamental value or weight. Sometimes with interviews, I even slip and have to remind myself I am supposed to be watching analytically.

“Oh hang on” I catch myself saying “this is MY film, that’s right.., this is actually quite interesting!” But, that applies to the odd moment, no the whole thing. (I’m not a complete egotist. Really) Or least I hope I’m not.

Where was I? Location footage. Yes…so , anyway. As usual with these sorts of ventures ; the things you think are fantastic (or going to sing) very often don’t come out as you’d hoped or planned, and the things you recall having reservations about often come out some what differently — ok, better — than expected.

The footage I’ve viewed is of a first light telecine from mainly super 16mm cross processed footage shot on a bolex camera, and a smaller but still significant series of shots on Super 8. There is also some b@w 16mm footage shot in a single afternoon that was an idea that come to me over some Emu Bitter (you know…when in Rome…etc,etc) in the Ravensthorpe Hotel one evening. I’m going through each and every shot and logging it , commenting on it, coding it, and then thinking about it.

It reminds me of mad old Bruce ‘Withnail and I’ Robinson ; “when you’ve written it over and over, and you just can’t bear to write it more time…do just that.”

Viewing , re-viewing, and generally delving into all these hours of interviews (that’s scores of hours, hundreds of questions, about 20 different shades of single collective memories, and one now seemlngly rather iconic songwriter) is like listening to an album. It’s can vary according to mood, mindset and setting. In February, we spoke (amongst a great many others) John McComb, one of David’s elder brothers. I’d met John previously in Sydney in January 2008, when he read some of Dave’s poems onstage. John seemed so quietly reflective on the day we spoke with him; and so very helpful to us. As with the shows, John read for us as well as answering our questions. Since we spoke , in ways I won’t delve into here, this impression has changed , then changed again. Not in any negative way whatsoever; just in varying shades ; viewing someone think, then speak, then react, reconsider and speak again is quite illuminating. Thankfully for us, who have to watch it all. :)

That’s it. I am over endlessly justifying the rationale for this story. It’s soon going to rationalise itself somewhere unpleasant. Has no one ever pointed out to the various ne’er-do-wells that appear to run the world that expression and stories are gut impulses and feelings, not a preset menu of carefully worded ideas polished for a select group of individuals for their tut tutting approval? No wonder artists get jaded and defensive about talking about their work. and worse, as we’ve seen. forgive me if I sound like some old lovey crapping on in a theatre foyer. I probably do. My current impulse is to write the entire film then lock it in a vault for about a year. Not everyone relates to Dave’s work the same way I do : this to be expected. And not everyone else finds the teetering balance between fan and documentarian so strange. why would they? That said: he’s both a wonderful and frustratingly difficult subject; a series of enigmas; he seemed to be several people and yet always himself. I’ve no idea of what some people would say about me saying that. but that’s what blogs are for I suppose; to express ideas and see if they can formed another way.