Listen:10 Albums

Because i missed the ABC cutoff here we go


Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys

Nothing i had ever heard before. Hoping they invent waterproof earphones so i can listen to this while bodysurfing Sandy Beach.

Surfa Rosa - The Pixies

The only band i have left to see so i can die happy. Surfa Rosa is The Pixies at their best

Crowded House - Crowded House

Children of the sixties have Bob Dylan. Children of the eighties have Neil Finn.

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 - Midnight Oil

The diesel and the dust before we knew what i was.

Hourly Daily - You Am I

Thankyou boys. Where would i be without you?

Some Kind Of Blue - Miles Davis

Yes it really is this good.

Abbey Road - The Beatles

And so is this

London Calling - The Clash

And i can hear it every minute of every day.

Bert and Ernie Sing A-long - The Sesame Street Gang

The forgotten classic that belongs on evey list.

Fear of a Black Planet - Public Enemy

Who knew a white guy from Australia could appreciate something like this?

32 Songs - Track 26

Seems Twice - The Cruel Sea

No lyrics here buddy,
just driven rhythm.
Yeah!

Couldn't think of any better way to blow away the dust bunnies and pull this whole thing from under the rug where it got lost than with Tex and the boys. And let's get one thing clear right here, right now. Tex may be sex, but as far as I'm concerned the real movement in the trouser region happens when Tex gets the fuck off stage and Ken, Dan, Jim and James get goin. The instrumental tracks are what cemented the band's place in my heart.

In my usual fashion i was either just in front or just behind the pack. A girl i knew handed me a tape during a lazy Friday afternoon history class in early 1993. On it was This Is Not The Way Home. Not only did i fall for the band but it probably had something to do with me falling for the girl too. Of course it was completely unrequited and that just made the dirty bluesy sounds so much better. It's perfect while relaxin on the lawn, driven in the morn, stayin up to greet the dawn or feelin forlorn. I've driven the road from Canberra to Adelaide and back maybe a dozen times and every time I've had the boys keep me company.

The Cruel Sea, like Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Men At Work and The Go-Betweens, sound like this wide brown land.

While This Is Not The Way Home was my introduction to the band it was the song Seems Twice off the massive follow-up The Honeymoon Is Over that remains the quintessential Cruel Sea experience. It is, surprise suprise an instrumental, with a slide guitar and a percussive beat that seem to be coming from many directions at once. The track rolls along like the Hay Plain and then the organ kicks in to bring it home. It's just under three minutes of pure listening pleasure and a worthy addition to my list of 32 songs.

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so that's what that key on the top left hand of the keyboard does.

awesome.

Look:




Any guesses?


Go here for more.

Then come back so i can tell you "How cool is that?".

Hmmm:

Scary

Watch:

From the blog of Joel Trussell comes this image. Which is one of the coolest things i've seen all year.



And then i downloaded this.

Thought

I’ve just read on the Sydney Morning Herald website that the legal team of David Hicks is “confident” that the British Supreme Court will grant Hicks British Citizenship within the next 24 hours. This will, hopefully, fast track his release from Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay where he has been held since the end of 2001. Why? Because Tony Blair condemned the USA’s detaining of British citizens at Camp Delta, declared it illegal and demanded that all British citizens held without charge and without legal proceedings being commenced should be released. The USA did as asked. John Howard has done no such thing and instead seems quite happy that a foreign power detains a citizen of his country without charge (Hicks was not charged until December 2004).

I’m not sure what disgusts me more, Howard’s total disregard for his country’s citizens or the Australia people’s uncaring attitude towards the whole thing. Convicted drug smugglers are seemingly more deserving of this nation’s sympathy and I hope someone can explain why that is to me one day because I fail to comprehend it at all.

Musical Moments of 2005

By Jeezus i love my sounds. Running off of a conversation last night with my beloved and Sean, Nick and Eliane here are my favourtie musical moments of 2005. Albums, songs and gigs.

I am a bird now - Antony & the Johnsons

This album just got under my skin after the record label sent it into the office. It sounds like nothing else i know and is simple beautiful.

Thunder Lightning Strike - The Go! Team

Even dead people jump up and down to this album.

The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

Just so good.

Demon Days - Gorillaz

Damon gets a big push from Dangermouse and creates maybe the most perfect album of the year. And it's got Sean Ryder and Dennis Hopper on it!

Dangerdoom - Dangermouse + MF Doom

Dangermouse can do no wrong. Hip-Hop superhero concept album in which Space Ghost makes a guest apperance. Totally off the planet, but great fun

The Ouch. The Touch - The Grates

Snap, crackle and pop.

Get Behind me Satan - The White Stripes

What can you say. Have these two made a dud album yet?

Funeral - Arcade Fire

I've only had the album a week but it's something i'm enjoying the heck out of. Maybe it's because i'm dying for a new Pixies album and this fills the void.

In case we die - Architecture in Helsinki

Love it!

Employment - Kaiser Chiefs

Sure they may be a Clash rip-off but the Clash ain't done nuthin in years.

LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem

Daft Punk can play at my house any day!

Takk - Sigur Ross

Sigur Ross are my discovery of the year.

Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Massively hyped and actually worth it.

One Thing - Amalie

A pop song that goes to number one in this country with just drums and a single guitar chord. Infectious, fun and a musical oddity in the ARIA charts.

Middle of the Hill - Josh Pyke

A song that just got under my skin from the first listen. Great potential but why do i get the feeling he will just end up as the next Big Fat Lloydy?

Flame Trees - Sarah Blasko

One of the Chisel's best done as a torch song.

Clare Bowditch @ ANU

What a voice!

Wolfmother @ ANU

What a show!

Big Day Out

What a day, the Spree and The Chemical Brothers!

Darren Hanlon @ Tilleys

The last show i'll see there and what a way to see it out.

Let it all out:

I've spent the last three days trying to work out why the work interwub wasn't loading certain websites. One of which was our payment gateway which is currently churning through ticket sales. The ISP was, to put it bluntly, no bloody use and when i got really stroppy and told them to pick their arse up and walk across the road to us from their office i was told that the whole office got relocated to Grafton.

Thanks to Karl's patience and knowledge i finally solved the interwub problem. I changed the settings on the server and the office machines. Then the email server stopped.

For the last hour i've been trying to work out why this is and then trying to fix it while swearing quite loudly. At which point my boss walks in and says "if you didn't have such a big brain we wouldn't expect you to fix these problems so it's your own fault really". I'm now searching for a do it yourself lobotomy kit.

It seems our mail server can't do more than two things at once. Tell it to manage the interwub and it stops the mail, tell it to manage the mail and it can't handle the interwub. I've since told it to worry the mail and let the office computers manage the interwub. Problem solved. I hope.