Some of the pieces have been there for a number of years.  Most of these ones are a few years old.

Happy Halloween from Sim Two:

Mishap:

Oksep:

Itch:

More Itch:

Not sure…

Sim Two:

Mishap:

Mishap and Sim Two:

Oppy:

There’s a couple that aren’t labelled as I can’t think of whose they are; though I recognise them from around the streets.

And here’s a piece of “installation art” to end with:

x Kitten of Doom

Larundel is currently being redeveloped… it will take a couple of years for the remaining buildings to be renovated for residential and commerical use; currently they are as trashed as ever.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Larundel was a mental hospital that opened in the 40s and was eventually closed for good in 1999.  I recommend reading ‘Glimpses of the Past’ by Iliya Bircanin and Alex Short (the latter worked as the pharmacist at Larundel for many years).  It gives a history of Larundel and it’s fellow psych hospitals Mont Park and Plenty.  It’s more a general history of how the institutions came to be, going back to the 1880s; if you’re after stories about patients and their experiences at Larundel, you won’t find anything like that in this book.

I have heard mixed reports about what went on there… The hospital was open during a time where a lot of experiments were carried out in psych hospitals – some bad, some good.  Most of what I’ve heard seems to be rumour, passed on like Chinese Whispers, because people really only want to know about disturbing tales.  But there was definitely some groundbreaking work carried out there, such as the discovery of lithium as a treatment for bipolar mania by Dr. John Cade (watch ‘Troubled Minds: The Lithium Revoltion’ for more information on this).

Larundel, along with many other hospitals in the Western world in the 80s and 90s, shut down because deinstitutionalisation came into favour.  Helping those with mental illness as outpatients, so that they could live a normal day-to-day life whilst still receiving treatment, was seen as the preferred method.  However, I wonder just how many of those patients would have been better off living in a place like Larundel.  How many of them ended up homeless or relapsing after Larundel closed because they couldn’t – or wouldn’t – look after themselves in the outside world?  At least in a mental hospital they wouldn’t have to worry about being judged, or have to hide their illness.

I am still interested in hearing any stories from people who were once patients or who had relatives who were patients at Larundel.

x Kitten of Doom

This school wasn’t as interesting as Lakeside High was, there was no science equipment or darkroom prints strewn around.  There were some really creepy pictures of a kid getting checked by a dentist (pictured below) and a doctor and some others.  Creepy stuff is always good.

x Kitten of Doom

Field of dreams.

x Kitten of Doom

When you pay regular visits to the same abandoned sites over the years, you see them change – the graf, the people living there, etc.

I wish I’d documented more of the old graf from years ago… it’s all changed now, quite a number of times over.  Well, in places that can be easily reached, it has… Sync’s tag down the side of the silo wall is still unchallenged.

x Kitten of Doom

You need to download it in three parts.  It’s 50 songs.

Bit 1

Bit 2

Bit 3

List

Let me know what you think.

x Kitten of Doom

Here is their new video for their single Her Love is a Mountain, Truth in Her Fountain, filmed around the Fitzroy/Collingwood area:

They are currently supporting Planet Love Sound in Sydney for PLS’s EP launch.  Hopefully they will have some more Melbourne gigs soon.

x Kitten of Doom

I have been listening to her music for about 15 years now and I can’t believe this is only the first time I’ve see her perform. Slack!

x Kitten of Doom

So there are a lot of bands in the Hot 100 this year that I know I’ve heard tracks from, but I don’t know the names of.  There are bands that I probably should be including, previous faves of mine such as City and Colour, Beastie Boys, Gotye, Elbow, Justice, PNAU, TV on the Radio, among others (some of whom I did see live last year too) and if I’d given all their new stuff a proper listen to, my list might look somewhat different.

But here it is:

• Agnes Obel – Riverside
• Bon Iver – Perth
• Graveyard Train – Dead Folk Dance
• Jay-Z & Kanye West – Why I Love You
• Northeast Party House – Embezzler
• The Panics – Majesty
• Radiohead – Lotus Flower
• Sietta – No Longer Hurt
• Sietta – What Am I Supposed To Do?
• Skrillex – First of the Year (Equinox)

I highly recommend checking out local artists Sietta, The Panics, Graveyard Train and Northeast Party House, if you haven’t already.

And I’m not going to apologise for voting for Skrillex. I like that song!

x Kitten of Doom

Performing at The Toff last night to mark the launch of their EP Part 1, PLS played a dynamic and energetic show, mixing their new songs in with different variations of their older songs from last year.  I loved that they changed up their older songs a bit.  I’d have to say it’s probably my favourite show of theirs yet!

The vinyls aren’t quite ready yet, but you can preorder them here, or just purchase the digital download.

Also check out the mural that Melbourne artist Matt Adnate did, it’s a recreation of the cover of their EP.

Not sure when their next show is going to be yet, but definitely check them out if you can; I really can’t recommend them highly enough!

x Kitten of Doom