Why I will never understand the mental processes of some drivers

What kind of person revs their engine at the lights and takes off with wheels squealing so they can be first in line to follow a slow bus through a lengthy stretch of roadworks?

Thrill 4-18: Mary Magdalene Superstar {Marys of the Sea}

(Yes, it's been a while.)

Tori Amos' obsession with Mary Magdalene has been building for years now, and I feel like it's finally come to fruition here. Although I could quibble with the accuracy of Elaine Pagel's version of the legend of two Marys arriving in France (note: only because I watched a documentary about The Da Vinci Code that followed a few side paths), it's clear that Tori has found the legend to be a good 'jumping-off point'. It's also one of the few tracks on The Beekeeper that clearly has a connection to the supposed 'theme' of Gnostic gospels and the lost place of women in the Biblical story.

Musically, Marys of the Sea starts with a real bang. I know very few pieces of music that open with this kind of force and determination. Beethoven's 5th symphony immediately springs to mind, but not much else. I think it's a big part of why this song has become something of a favourite with many fans - it's something fresh, direct and unapologetically not part of the mainstream.

It took me quite a few listens to realise that it's also theatrical. Ultimately, I think the reason that Marys of the Sea sounds so much more radical than most of the album is because of the genre it represents, which is not pop music at all. It's musical theatre. You could drop this song into the middle of a certain Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical and it would not seem the slightest bit out of place.

It's a significant point, because I think it could point to a whole new direction for Tori. There's often one song somewhere on an album that points the way forward, and in the past she has indicated an interest in doing a musical. So maybe, just maybe, Marys of the Sea represents the first working out of that interest.

Whether it leads to an actual show, or just a theatrically styled album, or nothing much at all, only time will tell. But it's one of the thrilling things about this artist that I never can quite guess where she might be going next.

Garden update

There are two trees - a small one on the back fence and much bigger one right in front of the house - that are completely covered in purplish-blue flowers.

The bees are going nuts.

*chortle*

Really, you will. Reading this article just about guarantees it.

Parallel universe

Not surprisingly, the medium-sized shopping centre that's a couple of kilometres from here was pretty empty at 9pm on a Tuesday night. In the central area, only the supermarket was open.

So what would be the perfect song to make you feel like you'd walked into a spooky yet magical alternate reality, one more like a film set moving in slow motion? One where everything outside the doors - all the billions of people - simply didn't exist anymore?

If your answer was Gary Jules' version of Mad World, as heard in the movie Donnie Darko, go to the top of the class.

It really was the most freaky experience. Inside the supermarket itself, there was something altogether more mundane and appropriate to a suburban shopping experience playing on the speakers. But the cavernous space I had to walk through to get there was, for about 30 seconds, on a plane only the elves know about.

A little odd, perhaps

If you had to come up with a list of the things one is most likely to encounter as graffiti in a public toilet (say, at your local cinema), I'd be prepared to place a bet that a calculus equation would not rate a mention.

And yet there it was.