Wednesday, November 14, 2007 HAI OMGZ!11! NEW VAN SHE!!1!
THIS IS EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD (song and clip) AND HAS BEEN FRONT RUNNER FOR MY SINGLE OF THE YEAR NOW FOR ABOUT A WEEK.
It's called Cat & The Eye, and is not Nu-Rave, even if the clip would suggest otherwise.
I spoke to Nicky from Van She on Saturday night and he told me the album is expected to drop around February. Finally, my near two-year-wait for it is almost over... I am more excited about this than I am Madonna next year to be honest with you. I've just been waiting so bloody long...
PS: A(nother) change is coming. Hopefully over the weekend I can reveal more...
I am completely in love with Miss Connie from Sneaky Sound System. Isn't she just one of the most staggering pop stars in the history of music? My love for this woman runs incredibly deep, so I'm quite excited by the news that work is sending me off to see her and the Sound System crew put on a nice, pretty live show this Saturday night at the god-awful Festival Hall in Melbourne. Even the venue cannot bring down my high! What I'm even more excited about is seeing Van She - one of my most loved Australian groups of all time - play as the Sneaky's support on the night, making this my fourth time seeing them do their thang. Viva la Van She!
The picture to your left is photographic evidence of the best dress at last weeks ARIA awards, worn by Miss Connie. It is also photographic evidence of the best performance of the night.
I'm sure most of you will take my word for it, but you should still watch it for yourself.
Magic. When I grow up, I want to be just like Miss Connie.
Speaking of live shows, this coming Thursday night I'm off to see Robyn AGAIN in Melbourne. She just cannot get enough of us sexual (guffaw!) Aussies it seems! For those keen, she is playing at Roxanne, which is behindBillboard Nightclub in the CBD. I'm very excited, as Roxanne is a slightly bigger venue than the incredibly intimate feel we had the other month for her gig at the tiny Miss Libertines. Will have a full report on that next week.
Stop whatever it is you're doing right now (unless the only thing you are doing right now is reading this post, in which case I'd advise you actually keep doing it.) There is a new remix of a Sugababes song which I think you should download. Remember the cheesy Ultrabeat remix of the underrated and completely ace Easy from last year? Well, Ultrabeat have managed to top that effort with a completely popperific version of About You Now. It's cheesy, it's loud, it's probably going to be seriously offensive to most of you - but I love it. I was driving down the highway last night at an ungodly hour, alone in my car and on the road, with the windows down and this turned up ridiculously loud. It made me very happy. Now you can maybe be as happy as I!
Just quickly, because I cannot be bothered reviewing them just yet; New albums from Young Divas, Celine Dion, DanniiMinogue, Freemasons and Seal are all EXCELLENT. Am about to listen to the new Duran Duran and Leona Lewis long players before bed and am very excited about both.
And finally, if you're in or around the Geelong area tomorrow night, tune into 94.7 The Pulse from 8pm till 10pm for my radio show Inside Splinters. On the musical menu tomorrow; Young Divas, Trash Fashion, Bloc Party, Kylie Minogue, Sneaky Sound System, Robyn, M.I.A, Daft Punk, DanniiMinogue, Justice, The Toxic Avenger, Bertine Zetlitz, Cut Copy, and many more. Hopefully I won't fuck up too much...
Anyways, I'm on a mini-break until Tuesday so, unless something incredibly dramatic happens and I desperately need to blog about it - I won't be back till then. (Apologies for the long break in between posts of late - I've been so busy with uni and family stuff - it's been a bit crazy down at the residence of Adem. Back to norm next week, I promise. Kthxbye.)
Can someone please explain to me why the new Young Divas single, a cover of Loverboy's Turn Me Loose, contains some dickhead RAPPING halfway through it? THERE IS NOTHING OVERTLY HOMOSEXUAL ABOUT RAPPING UNLESS IT IS DONE BY MISSY ELLIOTT YOU STUPID SLAGS, SO WHY IS THIS BEHAVIOUR CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE FOR YOUR OTHERWISE BRILLIANTLY CAMP NEW SINGLE?
I cannot even begin to explain how angry this has made me. Listening to the song; all was going well until that annoying man, who makes absolutely no sense with that jibber-jabber of his, pipes in with that bloody rap. Is this their way of trying to develop more street cred? THERE BETTER NOT BE ANY ADDITIONAL "FEATURING'S" ON THE NEW ALBUM UNLESS THEY ARE OF AN OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN VARIETY.
It is obvious that the blame lies with the Hillsong Church.
Here is a possible sample conversation that never happened (BUT LET'S JUST PRETEND IT DID) between the Young Divas just before the recording of Turn Me Loose:
MAGILLA GORILLAPAULINI: You know what, I reckon we should make a song that even Maya Jupiter would like!
LAVINA'S SISTER: Yeah! Let's make something kind of gay, but completely not so our families can actually listen to our music, rather than just pretend they do.
JESSICA: I r...
PAULINI: We didn't ask for your opinion Siobhan.
JESSICA: My name's not...
LAVINA'S SISTER: For god's sake Siobhan, shut up.
CAKE DEROOGE: Fuck I feel like sucking on some pussy, but I'll just have to settle for eating this lamb on the spit instead. Any of you cunts want some?
PAULINI: Sorry Cake, I don't speak in your Ballarat native tongue, I can't understand what the fuck you're saying. OH-EM-GEE, I HAVE AN IDEA! I will call the priest at our church Lavina's Sister, he'll know what to do.
*PHONE RINGS*
REV. FRED NILE: Hello Paulini!
PAULINI: Father, can you tell us what we can do to up our street cred, making us look more like a straight-persons band, but somehow still convince those dirty, sinning poofs to buy our new single?
REV. FRED NILE: You will need to employ a man of Urban variety to rap on your next single. Make sure it's still a cover and still a disco romp so those awful people who practice faggotry put their sinful money into your pockets. I don't condone you marketing your product at the Devil's Children, but at least they'll be buying your CD's instead of buying lubricant to rape children with.
PAULINI: Thanks father, you're the best!
*PHONE CLICKS*
PAULINI: We're gonna get someone to rap on the song! That will be so awesome and not at all desperate in any way, shape or form.
LAVINA'S SISTER: Woo! Girl Power! Let's just get some random guy from the train station, I'm pretty sure Levi from Idol Season 1 still chromes around Flinders Street.
PAULINI: LAWLZ, AWESOME!
CAKE DEROOGE: Oh bloody hell. My cunt's bleeding, shit guys, I reckon I got my period! Oh man, this timing SUCKS, we've got that bloody interview with Tracy Grimshaw tonight too. I was really looking forward to her...
JESSICA: Can I just...
PAULINI: Seriously Mutya, you were not employed to speak!
CAKE DEROOGE: Mutt? Where?
Can someone please edit the rap version of "Turn Me Loose" and make me an Urban-less version of it, ASAP? Kthx.
They can easily reverse my horror by recording a cover of this IMMEDIATELY...
In addition to that, as the amazing Will from Fop said several months back, they should also get onto recording this for the new album...
I am not apologising for the outburst, even though I probably should.
Saturday, October 20, 2007 Love's An Electric Storm
The new Delta Goodrem album, imaginatively titled Delta, is as marvelous as I had hoped it would be.
Nothing excites me more than hearing an act I admire and enjoy listening to grow as an artist, reaching new heights as every record is released. Three albums in, Delta continues to impress, and even wow me.
Next single and album opener Believe Again is an epic way to kick things off. Delta herself has said the song was heavily inspired by Madonna's Frozen - one of her favourite songs of all time from one of her favourite artists of all time. I'll come back to Madonna a bit later on... Believe Again actually starts off with Delt's sounding a lot like Celine Dion; her pronunciation of words and vocal whisps in the first minute are strikingly similar in fact. As the song builds, slowly making its way to the first chorus, it suddenly all rips into an eruption of piano and violin strings. The chorus and verses that follow are magical, and the middle 8 is revolutionary. One of the best songs of her career, up there with the awe-inspiring Electric Storm from 2004's Mistaken Identity album.
Current single In This Life follows, still managing to strike a chord with me. When I first heard this single, I was not convinced at all and was worried as to where the new material would take Goodrem. I think about 8 listens of the single soon changed my mind, and it is now one of my favourite songs of the year.
Mistaken Identity offcut Possessionless finally sees the light of day on this new album, a track which Delta told the Herald Sun Newspaper she had written whilst undergoing chemotherapy. The track is incredibly moving, with an infectious chorus; it's easy to see why Delta wouldn't let this song go. More depression hits in the form of God Laughs, a song which - in great detail - sees Delta tell the story of her parents divorce. Whilst Pink's Family Portrait documented the feelings a child may endure amidst a parental divorce, Goodrem's God Laughs is an anthem for the adult having to go through the ordeal. "We're all walking on quicksand/and when we think we understand, god laughs."
Delta's most UK-sounding pop moment comes in the force of the FIERCE You Will Only Break My Heart. FIERCE vocals, FIERCE chorus, FIERCE verses - third single choice thank you! Ace music journalist Cameron Adams wrote in the Herald Sun that he thought it was "reggae beats over Sugababes-style pop." On the money with that comment Mr. Adams.
There are two tracks on Delta which the singer did not have a hand in co-writing, The Guardian and Woman. Whilst they are both absolutely brilliant, you can almost tell just by listening that these aren't Delta originals. The Guardian tries to reach the heights of Goodrem's classic Not Me, Not I, but doesn't quite make it. There is a phenomenal key change though which still makes this a spellbinding song. Woman's absolutely great, but I wouldn't have been upset if it had been used as a b-side instead or as an iTunes bonus track. Especially seeing as the actual iTunes bonus track for this album is the second best song out of this new batch. I'll come back to that (and the Madonna thing) later on though.
Bare Hands is the closest you'll get to Delta doing electropop. At least on this record. This subtle, techno-ballad is also another throwback to Madonna's Frozen and, in places, The Power Of Goodbye. Just as you think things couldn't get any better, the middle 8 storms in and sends the song to new levels. Complete brilliance. I Can't Break It To My Heart, another ballad, sounds like the kind of thing Reba might throw her vocals into; a lush blend of big-chorus pop meshed with a tinge of country. Angels In The Room, another strong, powerful ballad, is a musical thank you to Delta's fans, and is another fine moment.
Channeling Human League in places, Brave Face is a stunning tale of the love shared between Delt's and her main man, Brian McFadden, who is quite a dish these days indeed.One Day is a staggering mid-tempo piece in which Goodrem announces "One day I will learn to like myself/one day I'll make the perfect wife, and I'll change my name just for him."
Frustratingly, iTunes have an exclusive track available for download as part of the new Delta album that is not on the physical CD release. The track is Right Here In My Heart, and is the second best song on here. What was she THINKING not adding this to the proper album release? This is an absolute MONSTER of a track. An uplifting and intoxicating chorus, fused with chemical verses - I cannot believe such beauty has been relegated to being an iTunes bonus download. People buying the physical release will have no idea what they're missing! I'm buying a physical copy (I collect Delta discs,) but have happily forked out the $1.69 for this masterpiece. Australian residents, you should do the same. International folk - search through those illegal places and you shall find.
Finally, I'll close by going back to the Delta/Madonna reference. I like the fact that a singer with a voice as big as Delta's will cite Madonna as a favourite artist. It's rare - the girls in Australia with big voices (read that as "the girls on Australian Idol over the years with big voices") always claim they love the Whitney's, the Mariah's, the Christina's... These girls (the Australian Idol types, not the big-voiced divas) never seem to find it 'cool' to admire Madonna, maybe because her voice is not exactly strong in comparison to the aforementioned ladies, or maybe because of Madge's overt sexuality. Not surprisingly, most of these girls - as popstars - are as fucking exciting as a crusty plank of wood. So it's definitely nice - for me anyway - to see Delta can appreciate that there's more to being a popstar than just having a strong voice. Being a Madonna fan myself, I guess if she can see and commend the path Madonna has taken musically, it says a lot to me about the kind of artist Goodrem is. And that's why I believe this woman will continue to have a prosperous future in music. This album is a fine testament to that; here's a strong, growing young woman with a multitude of great songs and three powerful albums, with a keen eye (and ear) for really good, classy pop music. Her reverent love for the genre shows in her own music, and I can only admire the woman more for that.
So this is a section of text that will be published next fortnight in my Inside Splinters column for Forte Magazine. It's about the death of Smash Hits Magazine in Australia. I wanted to post it here because I felt an online presence detailing the Oz edition's death was necessary, as there is nothing (other than Wikipedia) which documents this news.
In news that will only sadden those of us who treated the magazine as their bible through the 80's and early 90's, the Australian edition of Smash Hits Magazine seems to have closed its doors, for good. In fact, the final issue, which was due for release on the 9th of May this year, was cancelled and never saw the light of day.
The Australian leg of the magazine, whose first issue hit Aussie newsstands in November 1984, was given the chop by publisher Emap due to low readership. Just over a year ago, the United Kingdom publication of Smash Hits was also given the axe for the same reason. Smash Hits was, once upon a time, an iconic publishing figure both here in Oz and in the United Kingdom. When its UK office packed it all in, a country mourned. Journalists across the nation were throwing in their 2 cents on where it all went wrong, and music website Popjustice launched an online condolence book. To say it received media coverage would be an understatement. This was news in the United Kingdom.
Not surprisingly, the closure of the Australian edition barely gets a mention on the magazines Wikipedia page. Good luck finding a piece in any Australian publication that discusses the demise of the mag prior to this one. This news, something which should have been mentioned somewhere at the very least on an Internet news site, is nowhere to be found. Which explains why it took Inside Splinters five months, from an industry insider, to find out it had even happened.
Looking through an issue as recent as February this year is a telling way of noticing the magazine was nowhere near what it once was in brilliance. But that doesn't make the news any less upsetting. Many will argue that in a world of digital downloads, YouTube and music blogs, there is just no room for a publication like Smash Hits, especially in Australia. Teenagers do not read magazines. They look at pictures in the New Weekly, and they read gossip sites like Perez Hilton. Gone is the time when you were given an option to hear a new pop song by calling a 0055 number published in Smash Hits Magazine; these days you can download music illegally from private internet forums, Limewire, and torrent websites sometimes up to several months before their release date, in full quality and at absolutely no cost to your bank balance.
Smash Hits - both in the UK and Australia - began tumbling down a spiral of horror when it began changing its format. In the mid to late 90's, the magazine went from being a pop music publication, to one that celebrated general celebrity. In place of the razor-sharp journalism and hilarious interview techniques, came free pencil cases, posters of the cast of Beverly Hills 90210, and, in more recent years, sloppy writing.
Obviously, times had changed. Pop music had to share the spotlight with television, understandably, but was dumbing down the content all that necessary? An awe-inspiring question like "What colour is Thursday?" from a 1980's issue would soon be replaced with "What's your favourite colour?" in the late 90's and 2000's. How did they expect to live on? If that had been me as a young teen reading the most recent issues of the magazine, I would have felt like it was an offensively patronising read.
Not all is lost though. Music websites such as Popjustice, xolondon's Middle Eight, The Zapping, Don't Stop The Pop, Chart Rigger, Poster Girl and the like all carry the flame of clever, well written pop commentary into the digital age, albeit minus the 0055 numbers and the classy rip-out pin-up's.
I always dreamt of writing for Smash Hits one day. And whilst it died as a completely different type of Smash Hits to the one it used to be, I cannot help but mourn its demise.
The greatest Rock & Roll star in the history of music, Divinyls vocalist Chrissy Amphlett, will be playing (as apart of the newly reformed Divinyls) a live show at Melbourne's Forum Theatre on December the 15th of this year. Tickets go on sale October the 30th from Ticketek, and the band will be supported by The Church on the night.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Divinyls were (and, now that they have reformed, still are) the greatest Australian Rock & Roll band in the history of recorded sound. FACT.
Their first single in over 10 years, Don't Wanna Do This, hits radio next week, and was written by Amphlett and Rogue Traders drummer Cameron McGlinchey, who is also known as Mr. Natalie Bassingthwaighte. For anyone who buys a ticket to their December Melbourne show, you'll be pleased to know you'll receive a copy of the new single on the night of the concert, which you can pick up at the venue. A new album will follow in 2008, released through Universal Records.
To say I am fucking excited would be an absolute understatement. Oh my god. Mega Divinyls appreciation coming up over the next few weeks; some mp3's even...
I've always been under the impression that not many of my readers actually like Rogue Traders (commentsville is usually a dead-town when they're mentioned,) which is disappointing, yes, but is not going to stop me from posting about them at all...
Next Tuesday marks the two year anniversary of the Rogue's second album release, Here Come The Drums. It's also two years since my review of that very album appeared on IAR. You can read that here (opinion on the songs I didn't think much of back then has changed, by the way.)
So now it's time for album number 3. Here Come The Drums was ridiculously huge here in Australia, hanging around the Top 20 in the albums chart for well over a full year, so I'm quite keen to see how this more mature-in-sounding album fares with the fanbase.
But, even more importantly, what do *I* think of it? First of all, no one can accuse them of playing it safe. No samples this time around, goddess Natalie Bassingthwaighte has had her hand at co-writing five of the twelve tracks, and the record definitely boasts a more mature, refined direction in sound.
CALLING ALL LOVERS A solid start to the album; big on broken beats, but definitely not single-worthy material. 7/10
DON'T YOU WANNA FEEL First single to be lifted off this album, not surprisingly one of the best on here. Channeling Transvision Vamp with a dash of Chrissie Amphlett, this is one of the best Oz singles 2007 has delivered. 10/10
I NEVER LIKED YOU Bitchy Natalie! The verses bare a slight resemblance in sound to Split Enz's I Got You - the whole package is very a bright homage to new-wave, with a killer chorus ("Hey! Surprise! I never liked you, even when I tried to... I never liked you and I won't pretend to. Can't you see the curtains falling, uh-oh! Is there a reason you're still hanging around?...") This is the kind of song I could imagine Nicola Roberts singing. 10/10
CANDY COLOURED LIGHTS Track's that totally hint at you they are about getting on it in a nightclub are fine by me. This is a hypnotic, synth-heavy track with a chorus whipped up in heaven. Gorgeous. 10/10
SPEAK AND DESTROY It is like listening to Veruca Salt... remember those bitches?! It even sounds like Natalie says "seether" at one point. This is a classy stab at that very 90's rock sound, meshing it together with the new-wave feel this album seems to be generating quite well. 8/10
CHILDLIKE Moody ballad time! Usually I'm left unimpressed by the 'ballad section' of an album, but this is actually pretty good, once again keeping that heavy guitar and new-wave thing going. 7/10
ON YOUR WAY TO THE DISCO James Ash's "Oh yeah!" vocals through the chorus are DYNAMITE and totally make this song. 9.5/10
8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD It sounds a bit like We're Coming Home, doesn't it? Not as good though. This is the only track on Better In The Dark that hasn't really gelled with me at all... 5/10
BETTER IN THE DARK One thing I love most about Rogue Traders tracks is - and this includes their first, Natalie-less album - the lyrics are always clever. "I don't know your name. But I'll kiss you just the same. Holding hands, that's a start. Cos you'd look better in the dark." This is an attitude-filled rock throwback whose lyric content sums up what most of us have thought about many, many people we've seen in a nightclub. 9.5/10
WHAT YOU'RE ON This is what I like to call the record's best moment. What You're On is such a gorgeous, luscious pop song with sublime, dynamic lyrics. ...On is this album's In Love Again. Never a bad thing. 10/10
THROW YOUR ARMS AROUND ME SUMMER SINGLE ALERT! SUMMER SINGLE ALERT! Christ on a treadmill, everything about this song screams 'second single'. Rip-snorting guitar riff (which sounds a tiny, tiny bit like Mel & Kim's Respectable,) strong vocals through the verses, and an absolute rocket-fueled chorus - this is bonza stuff people. The clever thing to do would be to release this as the next single, thus making it a prominent part of the soundtrack to everyone's upcoming Australian Summer... 10/10
THE PRICE WE PAY It sounds like Take That's Wooden Boat!! Cute ballad with sweet vocals, returning things to that Veruca Salt sound I mentioned earlier. The unexpected appearance of an army of violins in the last 2 minutes is a very, very welcomed surprise. 9/10
This is their most cohesive album to date. Definitely a strong progression from Here Come The Drums. In fact, this album works and flows better as a whole than ...Drums did. I always thought the order of Drums was a bit out of whack in places but this - this has been set out perfectly.
Definitely a contender for Album of the Year. As someone who is a fan of the band, a lover of Natalie, and a long-time follower of James Ash since his career in radio at Hitz FM, this record makes me incredibly proud.
Thursday, October 04, 2007 I Want To Be With The Macho Man
This is the front cover for the brand new Muscles album, Guns Babes Lemonade.
I listened to this for the first time on Saturday afternoon and was so overwhelmed with emotion in doing so, it's taken me five days to write about it. I smiled from ear to ear for the duration of all 11 numbers on this disc. The songs are FUN (I'll use this word a bit over the next few paragraphs,) but, more importantly, the person who made this album had more fun than I ever will listening to it; and it really shows. That's what really got me, I don't think I've ever heard anyone having THIS much fun on an album. That's just pure bliss for me.
For those of you in the dark as to who Muscles is, his real name is Chris Copulos, he's a young Aussie boy, and he makes incredibly fun electronic music. FYI: He's also really, really cute/hot in that naive country boy kind of way.
But this album, which was released this week (and was the first record I'd gone out and bought on the day of release without actually hearing it online as a leak first - I think it's actually been a couple of years since that's happened to be honest with you,) is a fiery ball of good times and fun, fun, fun.
I must warn you; this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Muscles' vocals aren't amazing, but they don't need to be; it's part of the charm and beauty of all the songs. It gets a bit shouty but, again, it's all in such good fun that it doesn't bother me. The best way to describe his voice is to say he sounds quite like Gavin Rossdale. A LOT, actually. The voice is an acquired taste, and while I will completely understand where people are coming from when they tell me they cannot stand it, I won't agree with them. This peculiar voice, atop of quirky, electro beats... I say, I reckon you've got a winning debut album.
The tracks on here simply deal with things Copulos is obsessed with in life; ice cream, drinking lemonade in hammocks (it's my new favourite thing to say; "Lemonade in hammocks!",) eating marshmallows, being with friends, partying, being young, that sort of thing.
Essentially, quite a few of these songs discuss being apart of the dance scene, in particular Sweaty, in which Muscles replicates a conversation held between two pill-popping ravers. "I'm getting tired and I'm sweaty, but I still wanna touch ya if you let me. Because we hugged a few time and it was special... My hand slipped into your hand, and it was awesome, and you were special." Mashing genius lyrics up with loud, happy synths; this is the kind of thing that makes my day.
The whole album is a goldmine of electronica. One Inch Badge Pin contains yet another legendary, local-industry related line which tickled me pink. "Last night I met a girl, who says she has connections, in the Melbourne Independent Music Community... who says she has connections." Maybe this will go over non-Aussie's heads, but as someone who sees what goes on and how this "community" operates (and how many people claim to have these so-called connections,) it's an absolute gas. Maybe that's why the rave references sit well with me too; I spent a good portion of my teen years through to my early 20's working as a door bitch and, later, in publicity for several 'rave' parties and nightspots in Melbourne. So I can relate to the story told in Sweaty because I've seen that very story unfold around me countless amounts of times. That cliche of people loving each other stupid when they've induced MDMA, it's an ongoing joke amongst ex-ravers and people who've worked in the industry, which may explain why that song especially struck such a chord with me.
Both The Lake and Lauren From Glebe incorporate proper trance music melodies, something that is normally looked down upon by electro enthusiasts. But it's just so pretty...
Without sounding like a juiced up raver (which - just for the record - I am not, and have not been for quite a few years,) this record really is the pants. It's totally life-affirming stuff that has reignited my passion for Australian dance music.
The new Rogue Traders single is, as previously reported, total brilliance. "Don't You Wanna Feel" is released in Oz on the 29th of September, with the album "Better In The Dark" (which is an EXCELLENT progression in sound for the guys) following shortly after on October 13th.
The song is now all over Australian radio and has probably no doubt already leaked somewhere on the internet, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to check it out.
Guess next month is all about releases from the Rogue's and Sugababes then.
d) An impressive progression from the previous album and its singles.
e) Dark & Moody brilliance.
f) A possible contender for single of the year.
g) All of the above.
or
h) Absolute rubbish.
If you answered either a), b), c), d), e) or f); congratulations, you were almost correct, but not quite there.
If you answered h)Absolute rubbish, you may wish to rethink your answer and study the song in question in a more positive/productive fashion. Then you should come back and provide me with an IAR-Approved reaction to the song; ie: one that I will find satisfactory.
The correct answer to this question was, of course; g) All of the above. If you answered this correctly, congratulations, you deserve a pat on the back.
Pay some serious attention the young faces in the photo to your left. Taylor, Ashley, Amandah, Tim & Sarah make up Operator Please, and they are the newest home grown Aussie band to take over the world with their superb blend of hyperactive indie-pop.
New single "Just A Song About Ping Pong" is sitting very comfortably on the ARIA singles charts this week at Number 13, after climbing two spots from 15, following their gig last week supporting the Arctic Monkeys. These guys are a set of absolute pocket-rockets. Seeing them live last week for the first time was an absolute thrill; particularly putting stage presence to the faces and voices I'd previously heard and seen through a MySpace profile and a promo EP. Lead vocalist Amandah is an absolute riot to watch, violinist Taylor is incredibly sweet and magnetically focused, keyboardist Sarah (who reminds me SO much of a cuter version of Jacqui from Girlfriend) is--without a doubt--the most energetic and fun dancer you'll see part of any band, and the two boys are a bit great too. The new single (watch the very fun video,) along with all four tracks from their previous E.P. "Cement Cement," are all worthy of purchase. Prior to spending money, visit the MySpace for a listen to their other stuff if you must. Then, go to iTunes or Sanity and throw a bit of cash towards some splendid Aussie pop music. Oh, these guys are heading over to the UK this month for some live gigs, after they complete their support tour of Maximo Park, so keep an eye out for dates near you.
* I'm a mere hour away from discovering whether I'll be penning a column for a music rag... and getting paid for it...
* 4:55PM UPDATE - Got it. :)
* The new Babyshambles single, "Delivery," is absolute brilliance. There, I've said it.
* The live performance of it from Glastonbury however, is not.
* That new Darren Hayes album is very good indeed. Xo's write up on it is a bit brill too.
* I am still obsessing greatly over Alex Turner & Co after the events following the Monkeys' gig last Tuesday. Speaking of Turner, seems like he actually is teaming up withMiles Kane for the recording of a side project, and the album will be produced by one half of Simian Mobile Disco. Totally exciting stuff... more info here.
* This is NOT a blogerati post! That's coming Thursday.
Just a quick post with news on the upcoming Rogue Traders releases. New single, "Don't You Want To Feel" is an absolute CORKER, and will be hitting radio in just under a months time. The new album is due to 'drop' October 13th, and is called "Better In The Dark."
There are two albums from Australian artists I have been dying to hear; the forever-in-the-making debut from Van She, and the debut from Midnight Juggernauts. My infatuation with the Juggernauts began last year when they supported Norwegian pop goddess Annie during her first live Melbourne gig. It was such an electrifying performance that I ordered their EP "Secrets Of The Universe" right away online and, to keep me happy until the disc arrived, bought the tracks on iTunes so I could have my fix. Now that their debut album has finally arrived, the excitement is too much for me to contain. Everything I thought I would get out of a full length album from the Juggernauts, I got within my first listen of Dystopia. "Ending of an Era" is an absolute euphoric exercise in moody electro, whilst new single "Into The Galaxy" does its job in providing all round brilliance over a 5 minute time frame, a track which is destined to set fire to the disco, and maybe even the Taco Bell.
But let us talk about this records pinnacle moment. This pinnacle moment has a name, the name being "Road To Recovery," Dystopia's most wondrous exercise by a long shot, which is saying something seeing as previous hits "Tombstone" and "Shadows"--all ace beyond words--are included on this albums track listing. The verses are phenomenal, the production is astonishingly offtap, and that divine chorus is like an ode to Madonna's "Get Together." Then, just when you think things cannot get any more spectacular, "Twenty Thousand Leagues" comes in like a bat out of hell, sprinkling about the best bits of Stuart Price, Blondie's "Rip Her To Shreds" and the Human League through a wind machine on a sunny day. If you are not down with the status of wind machines, they are seriously brilliant, underestimated, and are an item which should be a non-negotiable requirement for every nightclub dance floor in this country. Just as virtually every track on Dystopia should be too.
"Dystopia" is out on Monday and you can purchase your copy from here.
* Had an exam this week for Uni which will explain why I've been absent since last week.
* Still, I'm sure it's been an absolute thrill to load this page and still see a collection of Ron Weasley photography.
* Speaking of Ron, how's about that Potter book leaking? I'll admit, I totally looked it up and sought out the spoilers. I haven't read any of the books and simply couldn't wait till 2010 to find out what happens, so yes, I cheated. But there are so many people who don't want to cheat and may feel the burn of cruelty this Saturday when they pick up their copy of "Deathly Hollows." Turns out there is a group of nasty people who've printed up pamphlets to give out to children in line at random bookstore launches, containing all the important spoilers disguised as a pamphlet of guidelines before purchasing the book. Fucking ridiculous.
* I was lucky enough to receive the long awaited Midnight Juggernauts album in the mail today, which is released through Inertia next month. Will review it sometime this week.
* Frustratingly, I am still waiting for news on the Van She album. Popjustice have made small mention of the boys once again thanks to their remix of Feist's "1234," which is good, but has nothing on any of the original stuff they churn out.
* I'm going to the Arctic Monkeys Melbourne gig on August 7th much to my excitement. Unfortunately I am going alone, so if anyone is keen on tagging along, email me. You'll have to source out your ticket on ebay though (there's heaps of them on there, ps), I don't have a spare.
* Victoria Beckham's TV special was fun, regardless of what 98% of the television viewing public would have you believe.
* Sorry for the half-arsed post. I'll try and concoct something a little more adequate later on today.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007 GENIUS ADVERTISING ALERT!
How was I completely unaware of this? One month into the campaign and I only just found out about it 10 minutes ago... and all my thanks must go to the divine Will from Fop, everyone's favourite, most loved and most missed Aussie-cum-Londoner. Sophie Monk, she of Bardot fame, she of Benji Madden love and, more importantly, she of "Come My Way" brilliance (DOWNLOAD IT), has covered Salt 'N Pepa's "Push It." FOR A BRAND NEW PUSH-UP BRA RANGE THROUGH MYER DEPARTMENT STORES!!
WATCH!
I can, quite literally, barely hear myself think.
"Sale starts Friday."
It's totally fabulous without actually being any good. I have been listening to this absolute gem for a good 35 solid minutes on repeat so far. Why not do the same?
At the moment, this isn't available for purchase, though there is talk it may be getting an official release due to in-store demand. CAN YOU BELIEVE OUR LUCK?!
MORE YOUTUBE SOPHIE APPRECIATION:
Sophie's first debut single, "Inside Outside," quite possibly the worlds most adorable video clip ever.
Sophie's shining moment in Date Movie is the Kill Bill/Paris Hilton homage to cheeseburgers.
Sophie and the girls from Bardot covering "Go West" at the 2001 Goodwill Games. I KNOW.
Sophie in some Blink 182 video clip.
Bardot's video clip for the OUTSTANDING "I Need Somebody." Watch out for Soph's motorbike inspired dance.
Thursday, April 05, 2007 Mutya vs Madonna, Dannii & Tina Arena.
Welcome to Music Video studies, hopefully you will enjoy this class. To begin, let's take a loot at a former Sugababe and her latest latest video. Mutya Buena's latest single - like most singles - has its own video clip. Take a close look at this video, it shall be important for the next three clips you are to observe.
All very good. But does this clip not look quite similar to the Australian eye? Why, yes it does!
Look!! It's Tina Arena! Her home country of Australia doesn't like her, but golly those French think she's a bit of alright. Let's take a moment to actually reflect on how absolutely amazing this song was (especially the Filterheadz and Tiesto Remixes), before returning ourselves to being alarmed at the similarities between this and Mutya's new clip.
Awwww... it's Madonna and that pretty song that is played at funerals. It comes from the movie about baseball which Madge starred in with Rosie O'Donnell and that NASTY Tom Hanks. Obviously Mutya has borrowed Madonna's photo album with video capability for her new clip. Who knew they were friendly?!
Now, let's watch some Dannii.
I hope todays lesson has proved informative. Now move along kids, nothing to see here.
...I've been waiting five years for this. And on March 31st, the wait for a brand new album from silverchair will be over. I don't know about you, but I'm really very excited.
No, seriously. The COMPLETELY forgotten about "Reality Television", er, "stars", seem to still have some kind of a record deal with SonyBMG, even after their first single "Party Girl" managed to sell half a copy last year. For those of you that don't remember what "Party Girl" sounded like, think of the Aloud's "Sound Of The Underground" the morning after a night on Speed and Heroin. Let's throw in a lethal dosage of GHB as well for "good measure". An absolute mess of a song, with a chorus that was not far off from being similar to the sound of nails down a chalkboard, rather than one of the underground.
The girls were introduced to no more than 7 people on a television show in Australia, imaginatively titled Girlband, which aired on Sunday Nights for about 2 weeks, and was then moved to Sunday Mornings at about 4am 10am for the remaining few. In the very first episode, the people behind this masterful creation pretty much said "We liked the success and overall package of Girls Aloud in the U.K. - we wanted to make something like that here." They even showed a clip of the "Biology" video. I was all for this happening, and when the press releases hinted at it being a bit of Rogue Traders-esque sound, I thought the girls would do really well. But as the show progressed, the poor girls who'd been roped into this job were meek, boring and very dull shadows of the Girls their Management were trying to turn them into. Girls Aloud or Rogue Traders they were not, in fact, nor were they even close to Clea. These were four girls who just didn't fit together. It didn't help matters that the songs heard on the show and first single were all nothing short of terrible.
But things seem to have continued for them. The Girls have just returned from India after recording the theme song for an upcoming Bollywood Movie horrifically titled "Heyy Babyy". Still no word on if they'll ever be releasing that album though, which was news I searched for on their MySpace (which if you go visit, you'll actually find a fairly good track called "Stand Up"). So whilst I was snooping around, I noticed their latest publicity shot. It reminded me of something, so I thought I would share it around.
Look familiar?
For the first time ever, Nicola is not the one who looks out of place.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 Van She working with Cassius
Outstanding Synth-rock Sydney boys Van She have announced that they're collaborating with amazing French House act Cassius on some "sweet rockin' music", presumably in time for a new album.
Indeed, it really does feel like this album has been about 26 years in the making, but with the exciting news of French minds getting together with the 'She, it's quite obviously a strong indication that it should only feel like another 26 before we get it.
In all seriousness, this is going to be the Australian release of 2007. Permitting it's actually released in 2007.
The boys will be posting a demo of a track on their MySpace over the next couple weeks. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, take a look at the blog post in which this news has been extracted from (with photos), or just visit their MySpace and listen to the greatest piece of Australian Made music in the year 2005, "Kelly".
It's been brought to my attention that parts of the site seem to have, er, disappeared. Half of the Archive pages don't work and - strangely enough - for some reason the Archives have not updated past August of last year. All of this will be remedied at some point over the next couple of months. The site's being redesigned as we speak, a logo of sorts is being thrown together, and a new name for the site is being pondered "quite carefully". And by "quite carefully", I mean that I've already thought of it and am mere days away from registering the new domain. The finished result? All in good time, but I'm hoping to have it all complete by late March/early April.
MEANWHILE...
*PING* "You've got 'Guess who? Don't Sue' Mail!"
APPARENTLY... A certain Australasian four piece act who are in the process of losing one of their members, are apparently feuding so terribly with the leaving member, it has resorted to Sugababes v1.0 status, where the other 3 are not even talking with them. Will it only be a matter of time before they begin gibbering in their own made up languages? Then again, two of them are already well skilled at speaking Gorilla, so they'd just have to teach the other one the basics of it.
Former member of now defunct Aussie Girl Band Bardot,and one-time Undercover Angel on Channel 7 Katie Underwood (pictured, right), has become the first high profile (hem hem) Victorian to have her roadside drug testing come back positive. Katie was pulled over in Southbank, Melbourne, on City Road at about 11pm Saturday evening, and has since confirmed that a second test (which goes to the Victorian Police Lab with results returning in two weeks time) had been performed, and that she is not convinced that "anything will happen".
Katie, who the Herald Sun Newspaper labelled a "dance diva" in today's edition, also refused to comment to the media on whether she'd been sucking down a pill or ten, or whether she'd had her drink spiked (which, in this situation, would be the only way to go really, don't you think?), simply stating she had "nothing else to say", before bursting into a chorus of her 'hit' single "Danger".
OK. Maybe that last bit wasn't entirely true. Full story over at the Herald website.
This is the brand new video clip for Stephanie McIntosh's upcoming third single, "So Do I Say Sorry First".
As you can see, Stephanie seems to be slightly more serious about this whole pop star thing these days. Not only is she wearing a nice, tight fitted, short & stripey dress, she is also sporting some VERY NICE INDEED high heel shoes AND VERY LARGE SUNGLASSES. This is all quite a brilliant thing.
Then there's the whole issue of her actually releasing the best song from her debut album, "Tightrope". This is all a VERY clear indication that Steph "means business". Let's just hope she's bothered to get some vocal training after her slight mishap - the "slight mishap" being that her voice was pretty much non existent - on The Footy Show Grand Finale last year. Especially with the news that she's given Neighbours the flick to concentrate on her music career. Maybe 2007 will be the year she also gives the flick to her vicious, homophobic boyfriend Nick Rewoldt?
This week it is all about the new Rogue Traders album. We would have previewed this for you on Friday but the amount of server bullshit we had to sift through to get our bloody Australian Princess update online was enough of a headache, so we convinced ourselves to stay very clear of the site until at least Sunday evening.
So this new Aussie release. It's really quite good. No, reeeaaally quite good. All up, 12 tracks, with only one of them being a dud filler, and only one being a crazy Janet-like interlude.
The Rogue Traders, who consist of James Ash, Stevie D and recent addition, Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaite (and their nameless drummer is strangely on the cover as well), have been filling the ears of Australians with good quality dance music for more than just the last 24 months. They may have indeed come far since their rather annoying INXS sampling "One of my Kind" from a few years back, or since their amazing first few singles "I Need You To Show Me" and the 'shoulda-been-number-one-for-months' "Give Into Me", but do any of you remember an act by the name of Union State? They had some corker tunes including "The One", "Out To Getcha" and "Retrosexual". Remember Thunderchild? Anyone who owns a Wild FM Compilation CD will surely fondly recall such anthems as "B Boys To The Dancefloor" and, er, "Thunderchild". These were all the masterworkings of James Ash and Stevie D.
The boys began their reign of dance when they worked over at Melbourne's 89.9 Hitz FM (R.I.P.), where the two were on-air jocks. Cut a long story short, they've pushed and worked ever-so hard on getting their sounds heard, they are now probably the biggest pop band in the country and will, hopefully, take over the world very soon.
But onto the album. It's called "Here Come The Drums"...
BELIEVER Quite the ferocious opener, with a dirty guitar intro which leads Natalie into singing "Just come on and say you love me/One more time what you waiting for/I just got paid I won't be lonely/So take my hand, what you waiting for?/I'm a believer". Strong and solid way to open an album filled with potential singles... 9.5/10
VOODOO CHILD First single that introduced Natalie the vocalist to the world. Not only one of the bands stronger moments, but probably the best Australian release this year by a longshot. 10/10
WAY TO GO! Second single (which has debuted at number #15 on the Aria charts) which boasts the legendary line "Fake it baby, they won't even know". Charmingly good, with Nat almost breaking into a feisty rap. 9/10
WORLD GO ROUND Sounding like a vocally gifted Holly Valance, Natalie coo's and aah's about not being "That type of girl, but you're my type of guy/Come a little closer darlin', and I'll show you why". This is what the Bodyrockers only dream they sounded like. 8/10
RESCUE ME Unfortunately, no, this isn't an electro-pop cover of the Madonna classic. Instead it's a rather wishy-washy ballad that sounds more like a bit of an after-thought rather than a solid album track. Still, it's a lot better than most of the shit in the charts at the moment, ballad or not. 6/10
WATCHING YOU Will be a big favourite when played live, and within the first 10 seconds, it's easy to see why. Heavily sampling The Knack's "My Sharona", as great as it is - sounds a little too much like 'Voodoo Child'. However hearing Natalie sing "I need a little edge with my electro-pop" makes up for any disappointment found within the song. 8/10
CHANGE THE CHANNEL Interlude. Which has some great 2 second beat samples through it that we'd like to hear more of. 7/10
WE'RE COMING HOME The first track that really screams "Possible single release", the heavy use of guitars is still laced through out this number, but sounds unlike anything on the whole album. Quite possibly what the last Garbage album should have sounded like. 10/10
FASHION Another one that's all a bit like "Voodoo Child", sounds like a Cheyne Coates album off-cut rather than something that should have ended up on the Rogue Traders album. But once again, in comparison to other things out at the moment, it's really quite good. 7/10
WHITE LIGHTNING Possibly a bit too obscure to be a single, but with an infectiously arse-shaking electro-breakbeat groove like this, it probably should be. Not only does Natalie sing "The doctors say it's over/They think I've gone insane", but she has a few amazing screaming moments. Divine really. 9.5/10
IN LOVE AGAIN If there were any justice in the world, not only would this be the next single, but it would be Number #1 in ever single country in the universe. Swapping the heavy-rock guitar sound for a keyboard-synth, this is not only the most club-friendly moment on the album, but probably the best. Natalie's voice is intensely sharp and on-the-ball through the entire 5 minutes, and the vocoder background vocals supplied by Mr James Ash add to the electrifying mood of this song. Surely this must be shared with the world. 10/10
CASTING ASIDE Natalie does not sing on this one. Instead it's Rogue Trader James Ash who takes to the microphone for this rather filler-ballad. A bit of a disappointment to end the album this way, but at least we can safely say the man sounds alright on vocals. This will grow on you after a few listens... 6.5/10
So overall, this is a very strong album. The Rogue's prove they're here to stay for a few more years, and Natalie shows us an exquisitely remarkable display of being the most exciting pop star the country has seen in years. Mark my words: This is probably going to be the 4th most important album you buy this year.
Overall trading cards out of 10? I'll say 9. Close to being a full 10 but not quite.
"Here Come The Drums" out nationally tomorrow through SonyBMG.
