Schadenfreude – a German term for the joy in observing others’ misfortune, and perhaps number one on the list of wanky words that overly verbose bloggers have murdered through constantly vomiting it up at inappropriate linguistic junctures. Introducing the opposite: mudita – a Buddhist notion of sympathetic joy, the concept that happiness can be achieved when observing that others are happy, regardless of whether they have been made happy through some altruistic action of your own or some fateful alignment of planets. For some 12 years, Bluejuice have been the kings of mudita, and nowhere has this been displayed more than in the latest video for I’ll Go Crazy.
Bluejuice’s latest video for I’ll Go Crazy is a mashup of all their previous work. Almost as if it were some sort of retrospective.
If you’re down in the dumps, and you aren’t the kind of guy to be afflicted with sour grape syndrome (those Germans have a word for everything, don’t they?), then this three minute supercut of Bluejuice’s film career will paste your face with a grin, even in light of the sad news that the band are hanging up the jumpsuits, the tighty-whiteys and the moonhoppers for good come October of this year.
Composed of a mix of live footage and those famously ridiculous video clips, you’ll be reminded of all those times you rocked up early for the band you actually wanted to see at Big Day Out and had a guilty chuckle at Bluejuice’s stage shenanigans. You shouldn’t have felt too superior though – you were probably there to see MUSE or The Living End, you poor misguided 00’s teen.
Now, if you’re the kind of guy or gal who wants to read deeply into Bluejuice videos* then you might also grasp a hint of tragedy to the mish mash of hairy legs and seedy moustaches on display here. The band’s fun times are over – an era of neon clad men in jumpsuits having fun and making you cringe is officially coming to a close, and yeah, I guess that’s a little sad for those whose nights involved jumping festival fences and taking a whole Creamfields worth of pingers to watch said neon clad men.
Fans and live reviews alike were consistent that Bluejuice are one of the best and most energetic live bands in the country and their shows proved his time and again. Like aquatic creatures that puff themselves up to look intimidating, or the vivid eye-like tailfeathers of the Peacock, Bluejuice’s entire existence was very visual, a grand distraction from the fact that they never quite nailed that hit song. But we don’t care about hit songs on Happy! Their energy will be sorely missed.
Perhaps a little more tragic is the image of Bluejuice fading into nothing. Beyond Vitriol and maybe one of their other songs, there was no huge internationally recognised hit, no experimental and moody third album.
Anyway, you probably won’t hold such negative views because you won’t have to watch the video ninety times desperately searching for something meaningful to say about a party band named after the goop Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru slosh out at the beginning of episode IV (not true). Anyone who has been through tertiary education will know that a piece of writing is 50% information, 50% imagination and 50% trying to reach the required word count (I didn’t major in mathematics), so in conclusion, you should probably watch the video and listen to their music and give them some money.
Bluejuice are conducting a farewell tour starting next month – dates below and tickets are available from the usual outlets.
24th Sept | Uni Bar, Adelaide (all ages)
26th Sept | Capitol, Perth (18+)
27th Sept | Red Earth Arts Festival, Karratha
1st Oct | Sol Bar, Maroochydore (18+)
2nd Oct | The Hi-Fi, Brisbane (18+)
3rd Oct | Coolangatta Hotel (18+)
4th Oct | Great Northern, Byron Bay (18+)
8th Oct | Federation University, Gippsland (18+)
9th Oct | Hi Fi, Melbourne (18+)
11th Oct | (afternoon) Hi Fi, Melbourne (All Ages)
11th Oct | (evening) Village Green Hotel (18+)
12th Oct | Barwon Club, Geelong (18+)
17th Oct | Waves, Wollongong (18+)
18th Oct | ANU Bar, Canberra (18+)
23rd Oct | Bar On The Hill, Newcastle (18+)
26th Oct | Metro Theatre, Sydney (All Ages)
6th Sept | Movidas, Mackay (18+)
7th Sept | The Venue, Townsville (18+)
8th Sept | The Jack, Cairns (18+)
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*In which case we’d like to offer you a job.
