In Review: The Bedroom Philosopher Diaries
Justin Heazlewood AKA musician/comedian The Bedroom Philosopher packed in his regular BMA Magazine Struth Be Told column back in 2009 to focus on his music and wider writing, and it’s been a joy to see his career take bold strides forward since. With his Northcote (So Hungover) musical dig at Melbourne hipster culture hitting 320,000 views on YouTube and counting, and amassing over 1,500 Twitter followers since “joining the conversation” a mere two months ago, it’s clear the man is hitting his stride. So with years of touring stories under the belt and fandom at an all time high it seems no better time to show off yet another string to the bow with a book. And despite Heazlewood being a prolific writer, with regular contributions to Frankie, The Big Issue and Mess + Noise, The Bedroom Philosopher Diaries is his first. The world, it seems, is his oyster to shuck.
Although he wouldn’t have you believe it with this deeply funny and brutally self-deprecating piece. The ...Diaries track Heazlewood’s various treks across Australia over the years, from his tour with Tripod in 2005, through his time spent with the Comedy Festival Roadshow, children’s entertainer Peter Combe, the Big Day Out and Falls Festivals, and on to the present where he grapples with the controversial notion of using indigenous comedy in an attempt to break down the cultural barrier.
Heazlewood has always been an intelligent and talented man and his ability to articulate difficult emotions make this book a hugely entertaining read. Unsurprisingly given his gift for comedy it is hilarious, filled with witticisms (“He was curt, both in name and attitude”), amusing anecdotes of life on the road, and the kind of cunning wordplay for which he has become famous (“The 40 strong crowd clapped with the intensity of 50”). Heazlewood also uses the diary medium to be unflinching in his self flagellation, breaking up the humour with surprising bouts of frustration and anger, as well as ruminations on depression in comedy, the lonely rigours of the gigging circuit, gigs (and women) that fall flat and the pang of never feeling successful enough. It is these moments that give the book its real heart and Heazlewood’s frank honesty allows the reader to form an instant bond.
The publication is a deliberate DIY job and with the charmingly lo-fi hand-stitched look comes a slew of spelling errors that need to be overcome. But in the context of a diary it almost works, and sticklers should not be deterred from this lively tome that is as revealing about life on the road as it is about the man himself.
The Bedroom Philosopher Diaries is out now through A Small Press. $25 from Electric Shadows Bookshop along Mort Street in the city or by contacting justin@bedroomphilosopher.com .
