Sitting Under A Tree with Aidan Jones

Ep 396 - Dra Meg Baklengs I Fuglekassa

The title of the pod this week is Norwegian, it's a really funny phrase that a Norwegian person I met on Friday night taught me and I've committed it to memory so that I can impress any Norwegian people I meet in the future, such is my commitment to ingratiating myself to strangers. I'd love to tell you what it means and why I love it, but I guess if you want to find out you'll just have to listen to this 40-minute podcast.

Ep 395 - They Just Don't Get It

This week my football club Tottenham Hotspur fired Ange Postecoglou as manager after he led us to win the Europa League a few weeks ago. There are arguments for and against this decision from a footballing perspective, but ultimately it feels like a complete failure on behalf of the decision-makers at the club to grasp the entire point of following a football club, or of life in general.
 
The reason I follow the club is because it's a big part of the friendship I have with one of my mates back in London, and the feeling I had when we won the trophy was shared with him. Everyone who follows the club and shares that with people in their life got to have that experience when we won, and if you believe what Ange was saying after we won, there's every chance that he could have led us to more of those moments. The people in charge took that opportunity away from him, from us, all because of some cold pragmatism, and finding out for certain that this is where their priorities lie has made me really sad.

Ep 394 - New Bit

I did two gigs tonight, and got out an ending to a bit I've been working on for like six months - exciting! I talked about the story around it a bunch on the podcast today, which is a day late I'M SORRY! But it wasn't nearly as shambolic and unfocussed as I would expect after the long day I've had.
 
Here's the video btw:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKZ5X2HRLuZ/

Ep 393 - South Australian Sunset

I've just finished 2500km of driving from Brisbane, to the South Coast of NSW, to Melbourne, and then Victor Harbor to visit my grandparents. I forget how flat South Australia is - as soon as you go West of Ballarat it's just flat in every direction. It's really beautiful. This afternoon I traced the sunset from mid-afternoon and watched it the whole way down, stopping the camper van in a car park for the last 45 minutes or so to record this podcast.

Ep 392 - Energised By The Performance

I saw a wonderful band called FERLA on Saturday night with some friends. The lead singer was bald with his hair completely gone up top, but at the back where it still grew he'd let it go out into a mullet! Awesome. His voice reminded me of the singer from that band Future Islands who did the incredible spot on Letterman like ten years ago.
 
Then on Sunday morning I went to an 11am performance of Chopin's Piano Sonata no. 2 and a few pieces by Ravel, at Tempo Rubato in Brunswick. That was also a magical performance and has had me humming the Funeral March from the Chopin Sonata all week. I had a great show in Bendigo on Thursday, and have another one coming up in Brisbane this weekend!

Ep 391 - This Fucken Sucks

Bit of a dramatic title this week, I'm feeling pretty good about things and blah blah, but I guess I'm just in a grumpy mood because I sat down this morning to try and do a bunch of things, and try as I might, none of them are completed. There's always more bullshit isn't there. Right now I'm torn between getting back on the emails and trying again, or just fucking all of it off and going to the piano. As always, I think I'm going to try to do both. Ho ho ho.

Ep 390 - Peter Dumbcunt

I try not to engage with politics too much because I feel it's a part of life that only leads to anger and frustration, and I think our time is much better spent working hard (and the work is VERY hard) to be good to the people around us. Having said that, when something beautiful happens like a horrid little scumbag of a man being destroyed in a Federal Election, I do absolutely love it.
 
I don't talk about that too much on the podcast, but I do talk about my brother's surprise birthday, getting my money from the Melbourne Comedy Festival, and workshopping realistic poems for the side of tea cups.

Ep 389 - Australia

I'm annoyed that I have to leave Australia to keep pursuing my dream in stand up comedy. I'm scared, and excited, and all of that other stuff, but at the core of it, I am annoyed. By which I mean, heartbroken.
 
Also it's late and I'm really tired right now.

Ep 388 - Thankyou

I took MDMA on the last night of comedy festival and it really brought the emotions out of me. The mixture was strong, and I'm glad I got to feel it all at the festival club, surrounded by my community of comedians all at the end of this beautiful thing we do every year. I'm proud of everything I've done with this show, excited for what's to come with it, and also slowly beginning the process of writing the next one. I'm committed to my aim of making work that prioritises final quality over any financial concerns, and I am grateful for this moment right now.

Ep 387 - Last Week

It's the last week of the Melbourne Comedy Festival and I'm feeling reflective. The show has been a dream, and with seven still to go I've smashed my goals for attendance and profit. I've got an idea for the next show, which I'll keep nurturing, but for the next three months, all my focus is on the rest of the tour in Australia, and getting ready to leave Melbourne and move to London. Terrifying!