Sorry for the absence this week, I've been feverishly busy putting together a mammoth assignment for my New Communications class at Uni on music piracy. My brain is incredibly drained but my essay completely kicks arse (fuck it, I've worked my butt off on this one so I reckon tooting my own horn is completely justified,) so now I can concentrate on faffing about on here, planning the upcoming shows and taking a well earned 3 WEEKS OFF BEFORE EXAMS.
First of all, RSS FEED. I finally have that all sorted out so you can now add it to whatever it is you add it to: http://www.imalwaysright.co.uk/rss.xml
Very good.
On another note, I'll put up the Inside Splinters Dance Classics Edition MP3 up on Monday. My uploading schedule seems to be going in this direction so I figured I'll just keep it going that way. After each show on Friday, 10 days later it'll be up on here. Make sense? No, not for me either.
I've been watching Private Practice during my time away from the hollows of study. I'm no Grey's Anatomy fan (never watched it, never will,) but this is GREAT. My imaginary boyfriend Chris Lowell stars in it (pictured) along with Judging Amy and a few other interesting people. But now I'm disappointed, simply because I've watched all five episodes that are available of the show and now have no interest in watching anything else. Ho hum.
Did any of you (fellow Australians) see The Librarian's which started tonight on the ABC? Absolute hoot, I love it. There's nothing more entertaining than uncomfortable and completely offensive comedy. Filling the shoes of Summer Heights High is quite a task, but this is certainly shaping up to be one of the best Aussie shows this year...
The new Divinyls single, Don't Wanna Do This, is a triumph and DOES NOT SUCK. Thank Christ for that. I'll be playing it this Friday on the show so if you're around Geelong/Melbourne, tune into 94.7 for a listen. Speaking of, that promised Divinyls mega-post is on its way.
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.
EDIT! PHEW, Crisis OVER. Thank Marcia-god that Dale still has the best hair in football, as displayed in the photograph below.
According to the Herald Sun Newspaper, Collingwood Footballer/God Dale Thomas has CUT THE TRADEMARK LONG CURLS RIGHT OFF HIS HEAD. I would like to say that there is no need to panic, but I've not actually seen the new do, so I'm worried. Thomas has the best hair (and arms) in the AFL... I have not been this shocked since that fugly slag Felicity chopped off all of her hair back in the 1800's.
I - stupidly - missed catching this weekends match when we defeated the Swans, which would have been an obvious way for me to conclude to a final verdict on whether this unexpected visit to the hair salon was in fact a good decision or not. Had I known prior to the match of his hair alterations, I would have made more of an effort to get out of bed and watch the bloody game.
Anyone with relevant information should email me immediately.
Apologies to those of you who are more than likely incredibly offended that I've blogged about sport.
GOD ALMIGHTY. That is The Feeling's Dan Gillespie-Sells. Seriously, that man actually becomes more and more attractive as the days go by. DISHY stuff, he's even working that hair-above-lip thing I usually hate. Picture taken from D'Luv's ace new column for Towerload, which also has some VERY. EXCITING. NEWS. about the upcoming Celine Dion album.
Proper update tomorrow. If you want to know what I think of the newly leaked Madonna song then click here and have a read of the comments area. I doubt I'll discuss it much further than that. xo gets it in one when he declares it a "C effort."
So on Friday night I trotted off to the cinemas to see Harry Potter V for the second time. The only difference this time around was that it was at Imax, and it was in 3D. Well, the last 20 minutes were in 3D anyway. We were celebrating my best friend Ben's birthday, but it may as well have been mine how excited I was. First of all, I've never experienced cinema 3D. I've watched a couple of videos with those pesky red & blue 3D glasses, and unsuccesfully saw absolutely NOTHING life-like during that stupid supposed 3D episode of Medium, but never on the big screen. Let alone Imax. So I wasn't sure what to expect; I definitely wasn't expecting the enormous screen (I later found out that Imax are quite proud of their claim to housing the worlds biggest cinema screens), but certainly wasn't complaining.
Anyway, the seats were shit, it was very cramped and my knees were virtually up to my neck, but I barely complained which is highly unusual for me. And whilst the sight of Rupert Grint on a larger than life screen may not have added any comfort to my sore back, legs, knees and neck, it certainly made Mr. Penis quite comfortable and very happy indeed. Which is a shining explanation as to why I barely mumbled about my pain.
The whole 3-Dimensional experience was as good as I had hoped. It all looked about as real as a movie could look, and seeing Ron in the virtual flesh was actually too much for me to handle, something everyone in the cinema was probably aware of when I accidentally let out a giant sigh the first time he popped up in 3D. Then a further four more times.
Got a couple of plans for this week/fortnight, I'll finally get around to telling you what my favourite dance albums of 2007 are so far, chat a little about UK & OZ Big Brother, and maybe even commit to a long overdue blogerati compilation. Also, the whole My Favourite Pop Record project is not dead, I am merely being a cunt by not getting started on the editing and what not until this crazy period of university is out of the way. But I do promise it's coming; D'luv - you have permission to smack me over the head with a sledge hammer if it's not online by the end of August.
Am also thinking about--here and there--posting a couple of the album reviews I churn out for work; not all of them as I think some of them are shocking, but a couple when they seem coherent to me, wha'dya think?
Welcome to Ultimate Redknob 101, our first class; a history lesson.
The above collection of snap photography is a glimpse into the evolution of impeccable hair. Much like the art-form that is the various stylings of Dougie Poynter's locks, over the years Rupert Grint's ginga-mane has improved in quality at a progressive rate.
Whilst the evidence--naturally--speaks for itself, some of you may need a smidge of guidance. So. Let us take a closer look into each of these historical hair cuts.
A. HARRY POTTER I (2001) Not an obvious glimpse into a future of styled brilliance. It alarms me that parents all over the world feel the need to revive the bowl cut upon their innocent children who are not old enough to object to such debauchery.
B. HARRY POTTER II (2002) A little more floppier, and a slight bit shorter. A less offensive take on the bowl cut.
C. HARRY POTTER III (2004) Now we are getting somewhere. The rebellious 'flick' atop of Rupert's head is the first real indication of god-like hair. Whilst the styling is not entirely right, the length is almost perfect, leaving a very positive impact on the retinas.
D. HARRY POTTER IV (2005) Bitch, it is ON. Whilst the hair situation was somewhat lacking through out the fourth installment of the Potter films, the promotional period for the film--which this shot comes from--is the first enormous leap for Grint into legendhairy status. A little too long, but practically there.
E. DRIVING LESSONS (2006) After a small trim, a scruff here and there and a bit of wax to keep it all together, you wouldn't be the first to feel it was the hair on Rupert's heads finest hour. It also helps that puberty had well and truly treated Grint very kindly by his 18th birthday.
F. HARRY POTTER V (2007) Miraculous. This is the kind of beauty that could provide sight to the blind, sound to the deaf, and the sprout of a fresh leg to the Mills-McCartney. A truly breathtaking example of follicle perfection.
In conclusion, not since the importance of Rob Lowe's locks (and--in its own right--accompanying saxophone) in the mid 80's has there been a more influencial set of stylised tresses as those found upon the equally as admirable head of Rupert Grint. He truly is the Ultimate Redknob.
Another photo then.
(BTW: Harry Potter V was ace. Not enough Ron but, as I said, his hair was so divine that his screen time didn't matter too much. I was totally fizzing-at-the-slit over the definition of his arms too; is it wrong that his obvious visits to the gym of late excite me?)
Thursday, June 21, 2007 BBUK's Liam epitomises everything that is good and decent about life.
AND YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT.
Where on EARTH of have they plucked this LOVELY YOUNG MAN FROM? Isn't he just DIVINE? Not only is he ridiculously wonderful to watch in a wifebeater, he's also incredibly charming and full of nice manners. Can we clone him? I need one of these here in Australia, whether it be in the Oz Big Brother house or MY house. Did you see him crying after he won the £100,000 prize giveaway? WAS THIS NOT COMPLETELY ADORABLE?! Did you not want to hug him, stroke his hair and FONDLE EVERY INCH OF HIS BODY? It surely cannot just be me who feels this way.
The best thing about Liam winning the £100,000 is that the rest of the housemates THINK he's won the actual shows prize money. So now there might be a few more upsets within the house - possibly some shifts in personality? Isn't it all very exciting!? Sitting through two nights of the Australian Big Brother is torture for me now, especially knowing that the kitchen sink in the UK house has more personality than any of the people left in the Oz house.
Let's talk Charley. I hate the woman but I'll be disappointed when she goes. She's ah-mah-zhing to watch. I have a feeling she may think she's this years Nikki, which is ridiculous because not only did I enjoy watching Nikki, but I actually LIKED her. Whilst Charley may be an absolute riot to watch, I do hate her with a hefty amount of passion. Regardless, I'm happy she's not up for nominations again this week. I have a feeling there's even more classic moments to spew forth from Charley's mouth/arse like an incredibly forceful spray of gastro.
I'm still enjoying Carole & Nicky, regardless of their whinging. As for the new guys, I'm enjoying Brian - he seems quite lovely, I don't *really* need to form an opinion of Jonathon seeing as he is most definitely going for Friday's eviction, and as for Billi? Aside from appearing in Jamelia's "Beware Of The Dog" video clip, I'm not really sure what his purpose on earth actually is. Maybe I'll find out later in the week.
THE TWINS. I cannot believe I am about to say this BUT... I AM QUITE LIKING HAVING THEM AROUND. Dear Mr Hotstufffiles, you were right, they are brilliant! I've gone from despising them, to loving them SICK. They have also infiltrated YouTube in the form of a dance song. Let's take a look the video clip which is an easy contender for Song Of The Year. To quote Not Another Teen Movie, those bitches represent.
Barbie's, Pink, WOO!
Chaniggy: I adore them. They make such a sweet couple do they not?! I'm still finding Ziggy rather charming even if he has gotten uglier as the weeks roll on. There's just something about him I find quite delectable. And as for Chanelle, excuse me, weren't the suspenders she had on for eviction night FARKING HAWT?
Obviously though, my favourite is most definitely Liam, and very special thank you to Paul for allowing me to indulge in this new attraction through The Zapping as well. At this present stage (though it's too early to say), he's who I want to win the actual competition... Just to rub it in Laura's face. She'd just HATE it if he walked away with £200,000 at the end of it all, wouldn't she?
Monday, June 18, 2007 Big Mc (and a little Girls Aloud story)
WARNING. There are times when I talk about McFly that I make complete sense and sound like I am quite aware of what I'm relaying. Other times, I make absolutely no sense and sound like a 5 year old girl. The following post may contain traces of nuts.
I'm having a heavy McFly week. I've been watching and listening to them at a full pace for the last 7 days. This will probably be followed with a Girls Aloud week, which always progresses onto a Madonna week, then a Dannii Minogue week. That then turns into a Kylie Minogue weekend, which closes with 3 days of Bjork/Tori Amos obsession. There is a method, it seems to happen twice, maybe three times a year, and that is how it operates. I like it when it pops up because I don't have to worry about what CD's to take in the car. But back to McFly. Their music has the ability to make me laugh, cry, dance, sing, get up and do my thing. I discovered them in the early stages of 2005, shortly after having some life-changing lung surgery, so they - alongside the Popjustice forums (which I had also just discovered) and Girls Aloud - played a giant part in my recovery process. There are four acts I "collect" and "scrapbook" things of. Madonna, Girls Aloud, Dannii Minogue and McFly. If you were to ask me who my favourite acts of the last 20 years were, Madge, GA & McFly would be the top 3. Dannii's top 10, don't worry. One day I may divulge the others. Erm, anyway...
A couple of weeks ago I finally received my copy of the re-released edition of McFly's "Motion In The Ocean" album, which contains a brand spankin' new DVD of the entire Motion In The Ocean Tour 2006 show, Live from Wembley. There was a confusing uproar from a lot of the fans over the re-release. People were claiming it to be "cynical marketing," and feeling they were being "ripped off." The confusing part about all this was that, only a short few months earlier, these very fans were complaining about the news this tour was NOT going to be released on DVD at all. There were complaints it had not come in a proper DVD casing (!!), and "I've already got the Motion In The Ocean album!" The fact that they were getting the show in full didn't seem to register, or the fact that they were going to be paying CD price for the package rather than a DVD price (which, by the looks of it, is more expensive than buying CD's in the UK!) So after all that, it's nice to finally have the disc in my hands.
The show begins with "Please Please," which you may recall is "loosely" (such an appropriate word to associate with her, too) based on turbo-slut, lover of knives and friend of the Minnillo (ugh), Lindsay Lohan. Easily one of their better video clips, however the song hasn't aged well. But then again, most novelty songs wear very thin on me after a couple of months, and "Please Please" really IS a novelty song. There is, however, an incredibly healthy amount of boxer shorts-shots through this opener. There's also a shot of a nice-looking-indeed teenage emo-esque boy singing the lyrics in the audience. Which is an exciting change to all the screaming girls they show in the crowd.
There are highlights galore, including a cover of "Ghostbusters." Their cover of the Beastie Boys classic "Fight For Your Right" just doesn't cut it when compared to the ace late 90's dance remake by NYCC, but really, what does? These guys are a talented bunch of musicians and songwriters (I'm leaning towards "Wonderland" being my favourite McAlbum of all time now by the way), regardless of what a lot of pop fans might think. Tom Fletcher is a musical genius, and that Danny Jones has the greatest pipes in all of man-land. Danny's solo of "Not Alone" on the DVD is earth-shatteringly good. You know that wave of euphoria you get when you hear something really special in a song or a performance? It's the feeling I got when I saw Madonna crucified on a cross for the first time. That very same feeling ran through me whilst watching this. If you ever wanted proof as to why Danny Jones is one of the greatest male vocalist's of the 21st century than this IS IT. Watch out for the harmonica action, which almost evokes an internal combustion every time I hear it.
There's also some ex-Busted action, as Matt Willis makes a very welcome guest appearance during "Don't Stop Me Now." Though - quite alarmingly - there are a total of ZERO boxer shorts-shots. Tsk Tsk Matt, Tsk Tsk.
Danny's hair is exceptional through out the show. Whilst most people seem to focus on charming young Dougie's hair, ever since Danny ditched the hair straighteners, I've been a solid Danny Jones boy. Early 2006, it was always Dougie or Danny. My moods would change, and so would my preferred McFly totty (like Lindsay, I've been through them all), but I have been a Danny Jones boy for a strong 8 months now. We're soooogoing steady... There's alsothat smile which will probably result in my very first heart attack were I to see it in the flesh. Combine that with those curly locks... Christ alive...
But back to the show. Overall, this is a vast improvement on the Wonderland Tour, even if there was no "Silence Is A Scary Sound" this time round. I would have given an arm, leg, and vital organ to have been at either (or both) of those shows. I've no fucking idea why they've not attempted to crack the Australian market yet. What is going on there boys? How else am I supposed to stalk you around Melbourne until I get a photograph with you unless you actually come to this country? Though, if I ever did get to meet them, it would probably just end up exactly the same way it did when I met Girls Aloud last year* in Melbourne. But seriously, they've got a fan base down here so why not give it a go? If Girls Aloud were able to do it then they can too. Come on Camp McFly, chop chop.
DOWNLOAD: Danny Jones & George Karalexis - Forget All You Know Last year Danny recorded some stuff with a guy by the name of George. A few of the songs appeared on his MySpazz page recently, and this is probably the better of the selection. It's a ballad; it's not brilliant, but it is nice to have in the collection if you're a fan like I. Quality is pretty medium-to-low, sorry. Special thanks to the ace boys and girls over at McFly Media for the rip.
*Have I ever told you that story? My best friend Ben & I drove at some ridiculous time in the morning down to the Channel 10 studio's in Melbourne, hoping we'd somehow convince reception to let us into the studios to watch the girls perform (I had a Girls Aloud t-shirt on! Why wouldn't they let us in?!) We were walking up to the studios through the car park of the hotel next door. Just as we were walking closer to the hotel, who should exit the revolving door but (in this order) Nicola, Kimberley, Nadine, Cheryl and Sarah. I froze, Nicola pointed at me (massive "Girls Aloud" logo on a t-shirt and about 37 of their CD's and Vinyl in my hands was obviously not very hard to miss) and they began walking towards me. ME! They spoke (Nicola was incredibly chatty. I seriously think she's not spoken that much in any interview before. It was amazing, seriously) to me whilst I shook, trying to speak and failing miserably at asking them any of the questions I had planned to on my drive up. They were incredibly sweet, Nadine gobbled something about my McFly baseball cap, we got photo's with them (which I look HIDEOUS in) and stuff was signed, then they were off. Within 5 minutes Girls Aloud - the people - had come in and out of my life. It was the most surreal experience ever. I spent the following 24 hours ecstatically happy. It was a really good day folks, a really good day.
Some photography to accompany this large post all of you have probably not bothered reading...
Would you believe I plan on spending my ENTIRE WEEKEND* BLOGGING?! From Friday there will be a review of the McFlyMotion In The Ocean Tour DVD, UK Big Brother chat, another Vesna Snatchcast, my long-overdue scribblings on the Australian Next Top Model final, and - time permitting - something else.
In the meantime, let's admire this photograph of Dermot O'Leary resting on a pillow.
