2008 - The Music almost lost

Sitting on a train the other week, reading through a music mag’s, Top 50 CD’s of 2008…and there was where the problem began, I just didn’t get it. At first glance, I thought I must have regressed a few years and after confirming the date on the magazine, I then succumbed to the realisation that, either my musical taste has become more obscure or I have been living in a musical void I guess that’s the beauty of music, to each their own, one mans meat is another mans poison, etc but I cant help but feel on the outer.

However, one thing is for certain, in my outer world, Nickelback and The Veronicas will always suck, the latter of which when asked to comment on “God Save The Queen “ by The Sex Pistols claimed it was an over sensationalised pop song. Obviously the old adage of it being wiser keeping your mouth shut and letting everyone think you’re an idiot, rather than opening it and removing all doubt, is lost on those two.

Dissapointment of the year was The Herd, there is an unwritten law in music, don't mix politics and music as there is no place for personal political viewpoint in music. Their song "The King is Dead" ignored the golden rule, almost as part of some depserate act to get noticed. Well 12 months on seems like The Herd are looking like complete tossers, as politcal deceit, lies and maniplulation win again.

In my opinion, some great 2008 CD’s I purchased not mentioned in my enlightened magazine and worthy of note were:

· Magic Dirt – Girl: Adalita at her raw , moody best in addition to a mind blowing show at the Annandale.
· We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery: Indie pop bliss and a new find for me in 2008, the complete antithesis to Emo music, upbeat music that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
· Hyske – Luna : Now here was a rare and unexpected find, a gorgeous sounding Sydney band who I saw at the Sando and to my surprise only about 20 people turned up but what a beautiful sound to behold.
· James – Hey Ma: Always did love the vocals of James, something solid, clean and unquestionable. It’s been a while since we heard something from these guys and this little gem didn’t go unnoticed by yours truly.
· Electro music of Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours and Van She – V were a delightful and refreshing sound in 2008, obviously speared on and led by the huge success of The Presets, the former two were a breath of fresh air and one of the surprises of 2008.

Towards the tail end of 2008 I was knocked flat by, I think, one of the biggest bands to watch in 2009, White Lies. Something lyrically dark but yet uncomplicated about these guys, the music is melodic but not over produced, avoiding in becoming deceptively uplifting. I am thoroughly looking forward to hearing more form the London based trio; their CD is due for release in January 2009.

Death - White Lies

Paul Weller - The Enmore 19/08/08

It took over 20 years, 2 hours and 2 encores to finally hear “Town Called Malice” live and it was well worth the wait. For a 50 year old legend, Paul Weller went about entertaining the sell-out crowd, the majority of which must have been lovers of warm beer and cucumber sandwiches, with the gusto and abandon of a guy half his age.

You could feel that the crowd missed the “old geezer”, some people I spoke to saw him in London last year and commented on the fact that this show was much better, he seemed to really connect with those that stood before him. I am still a little unsure about the semi toned mullet he was sporting but then again, I don’t really think he could care as much about what I thought, after all the night was about the music not retro hairstyles.

Musically, I lost contact with Weller when the Jam disbanded in the early Eighties and I wasn’t a huge Style Council fan, although I have always loved Weller’s work, kind of a contradiction in there somewhere. So, it was to great surprise I heard that he was touring Oz and would be playing in a venue like the Enmore Theatre. Luckily I work with a British expat and she was all over the upcoming tour and managed to purchase tickets.

As expected, the set list spanned Weller’s career ( from The Jam , Style Council right through his various solo projects ) there were many songs that were new to me but not to the hard core Weller fans, who knew each one almost verbatim. There is no doubting his talent but seeing him live really brings it to the fore, from acoustic sets, to the riff driven axe man, to the suave, cigarette toking piano man, there was something for everyone. I kind of lost count of the number of cigarettes he went through, maybe the roadie who was always at the ready with a lit cigarette, waiting in the midst of a dark corner, would have a better idea.

The highlight of the evening for me was the acoustic version of “That’s Entertainment”, its one of those live moments you will always treasure, like Steve Kilbey’s solo of “Under The Milky Way” and Interpol’s “Say Hello To The Angels” it’s a moment in time that will never be lost, many thanks to the “Mod Father” for bringing back over 20 years of music and memories

Magic Dirt - Annandale Hotel 15/08/08

If there is a more flamboyant, entertaining and energetic rock goddess than Adalita then let her be known! If Adalita is the Aussie Rock Queen then The Annandale must be her castle and the stage her throne. For a small thing, Adalita certainly packs a punch when it comes to her performance, incredible vocals and stage presence all delivered with an abundance of attitude.

Magic Dirt at the Annandale were, simply awesome and that is putting it mildy. These guys are the very antithesis of a ‘Boy Band’ or sweet pop group, they are loud and raw. To be honest, it’s the first time I have seen them live but it certainly wont be the last. If you like loud and hard guitar riffs then you would have been in complete admiration and awe of the night and the moment. The band is a very tight unit, and despite Dean being replaced on the night due to sickness, they didn’t miss a beat ( or any screeching amp feedback )

From the very first song ‘Get ready To Die’ to the last guitar grinding encore of ‘We Had Love’, Magic Dirt had the sell out crowd rocking away and a steady stream of heads rocking in unison.

Romy Video

There were some softer songs like ‘Friends In Danger’ ( a song that they haven’t played for over 10 years ) that lulled you only to snap you back to reality when the guitars grinded in. To their credit, even though they were promoting their new album ‘Girl’, Magic Dirt varied the set list, that included songs from most of their past albums and EP’s, they even pulled out some classics from their first EP.

Thanks Magic Dirt for a thoroughly entertaining and memorable night, the fact that it took me days to come down from the musical high, speaks volumes.

OK Computer ... Now What?

On August 1, 1981 MTV was launched and with it came a massive shift within the music industry, particularly on the sales and marketing front. Music Videos were now the central focus and method by which Record Labels would sell music to the ever consuming public. Revolution or evolution, a debatable subject, since music videos did exist prior to MTV’s inception but, to some point, were much more low key.

In 1997, Radiohead’s ground breaking album, “OK Computer” was launched. Its subject matter involved a world dehumanised by the rapid and constant growth of technology. Fast forward a decade later and isn’t this the world we live in today?

Mobile Phones, The Internet, iPods/MP3 players, Facebook, Myspace etc. Where once we all communicated, to some point verbally, today we seem to isolate ourselves, shielded by this form of technology and this very technology is responsible for the current huge paradigm shift within the music industry. Digital Music and the easy accessibility to it, via a portal called The Internet, has resulted in quick and easy access to music that can be downloaded and played on a MP3 player within minutes, so much more convenient and cheaper than going down to the local CD shop. This has also led to a monumental increase in record piracy, as not all of these music downloads are actually paid for. This poses many problems, the two most important being Musical Artists losing revenue and the record labels becoming obsolete or at very best expendable.

So what to do? Well, many of you would be aware of Radiohead’s retaliation to this by releasing there latest album on the Internet and exclusively available on the bands Website, at a nominal fee, based on what the fan was prepared to pay. There have been many bands to follow this method, amazingly at the begrudging criticism of some artists like KISS and Moby…jealously or ignorance?, you be the judge.

So, what of the Record Labels, well they are also adapting, recently Myspace MkII was launched, a huge revamp on its old format where Record Labels such as Sony/BMG, Universal and Warner are actually investing in Myspace's new venture. With this new agreement, revenue generated from music downloads is divided up between Record Labels and their respective bands and artists. This format is by no means the only one currently evaluated, there are other online revenue based schemes out there but as Prince said this is a ‘Sign ‘O The Times’.

I think it's all early days yet but there is no doubt that record Labels and Artists alike, are taking this seriously and are doing what is required to ensure their ultimate survival…..Watch this space …..

Interpol - Hordern Pavilion 21/2/08

Ok, you know how on occasion you’re watching TV and you slowly doze off only to be woken up in the middle of the night, TV still blurting away in the background and you’re totally dazed as you reluctantly go and turn it off? But I digress, what has this got to do with seeing Interpol at the Hordern Pavilion? Not much really, other than this is how I got into Interpol in the first place, the song was PDA and I woke the next morning with it still playing in my head.

Not even 12 months had passed since that fateful wake from my slumber and I was lining up outside of the Hordern, an hour before gates opened ..waiting…and waiting. Well we all know of the adage “well worth the wait” well it was certainly the case in that particular moment in time.

As noted earlier, my introduction to Interpol has been very brief, albeit they have only released 3 CD’s since 2002, but I have noticed that people either like them or they don’t. Their style of song and music tends to polarise people in their opinion of the band, so in a way the people that attended the concert that night “wanted” to be there…and it showed.

The band was amazing, there wasn’t a note played out of tune, very tight and very professional. The sound was spot on and the lighting was not too overbearing and strategically bathed the band in colours of intermittent Blues, Reds, Orange and Yellow, it was almost an interstellar look and feel and complemented the songs very well. Oh and the music, music, music…this is a band that truly lets their music do the talking, no fancy gimmickry, animation or stage props, just brilliant melodies and superb vocals ( Paul Banks is an example of being able to produce an outstanding vocal performance without the requirement of an extensive vocal range or the use of vocal theatrics, he was solid and on the mark the whole night ), a band that was completely in tune with one another and a thoroughly polished unit.

Although Interpol were touring Australia promoting their latest album ‘Our Love To Admire’, they played songs from all three albums, including my subliminal calling song "PDA", which they saved for the last song of the evening.

An absolutely brilliant concert by an equally brilliant band, one that seemed to actually enjoy the crowd and the opportunity in performing for us all.

Oh, and to my two Czech friends that I lost in the crowd on the dance floor “Já doufám že jste měli výbornou noc”

David

Steve Strange - The New Romantic

There weren’t too many “cool” things about the 1980’s and to most the New Romantic movement would be one of the more unpopular derivatives, a view that I definitely don’t subscribe to. The New Romantic movement was conceived in London’s nightclubs with its pioneer Steve Strange leading the charge accompanied by his experimental band Visage. From Steve’s somewhat outlandish appearance through to Visage’s new wave sound it spawned a genre in music that paved wave for acts such as Duran Duran, Ultravox and Spandau Ballet.

One of the first albums I ever purchased was Visages self titled LP, purchased with a gift voucher I had won in some school raffle. So it was off to Westfield Hurstville, and straight to the ground floor record shop to claim my prize. With my new Visage album wrapped in a brown paper bag, I sat on the 112 bus on route back home, eagerly awaiting for that moment to finally play my recent purchase. Now, Visage was not exactly acceptable music to be listening to in High School, not that I really ever cared what people thought about music I listen to, but I thought it wiser to listen to it in within the confides of my private surrounds.

With songs like the Fade To Grey ( probably the New Romantic anthem ) , Mind of a Toy and the instrumental piece The Dancer, it was an incredible album, one that would be played many times over, in fact it even makes an appearance on the turntable today.

Fade To Grey Video

I still remember driving to my Uncle’s farm in the Yarramalong Valley during my school holidays, with Visage’s album (which was by now transferred to tape) playing continuously in the tape player, ahhh …memories to cherish.

Steve Strange, as mentioned, pioneered a movement that was more than just about music, it was also a fashion style( often androgynous in nature ) and part of the general music scene around London’s night clubs but it was also relatively short lived, although it was revived several times during the subsequent decades in various forms, even recently by bands such as the Scissor Sisters

Steve Strange, thanks for the memories and the music, ones which will certainly never fade to anything.

David