Greetings fellow compulsive list writers. Another year has arrived, and with it comes a whole new set of lists from us all (I hope). I have listened to an absolute shite-load of new (to me) stuff in the last month, so for the first time ever, the majority of my list is stuff I’ve discovered in the last month or two.
Following my usual list, I’ve added an extremely brief review section for the gig’s I’ve attended in the last while. This section is brief as I can’t write a coherant review without sounding like a complete toolbag.
Blur – For Tomorrow - Blur are a bit hit and miss for me. This is a hit. [download]
Bowerbirds – In Our Talons - This is my walk to work at 5am song. I’m not sure why. It didnt really hit me right from the first listen, but I’ve grown to like it a lot over the last month, as my lastfm account will show. [download]
Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin - I like this song heaps. I think because the guy sings about as high as I do when I sing *embarrassing*, so I can sing along to it. [download]
Horse Feathers – Falling Through The Roof - This stuff is pretty old news, but its new to me. I’ve been enjoying the whole album Words Are Dead for a long while now. [download]
Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro – Yellow Soul Force - I discovered this the night after they did a performance at the Basement for Sydney Festival *cries*. [download]
Lee Fields & The Expressions – Ladies - Yet another addition to the old school soul/R&B revival thats happening at the moment, and an excellent one at that. [download]
The Magnetic Fields – 100,000 Fireflies - I only heard about these guys recently. This track is from the album Distant Plastic Trees, which I feel is their strongest work. It may just appeal to my weakness for cutesy pop music though. [download]
Port O’Brien – I Woke Up Today - I just got this song (and album) the other day, but I really like this track. Sounds like it’d be super fun to sing live. [download]
Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move - This strikes me as something that pitchfork would jizz their collective pants over. I’ve been oddly drawn back to a few songs from the album Bitte Orca, this one more so that the rest. I think it is the single. I wouldn’t rave about the album, but I have to admit that it has some very good moments. [download]
Aimee Mann – Invisible Ink – I totally love Aimee Mann. She writes the best down beat pop songs. [download]
Billy Preston – I Wrote A Simple Song – Billy Preston (aka the 5th Beatle) is awesome. The evidence is here —> [download]
Rick Springfield – Jessie’s Girl - This is a last minute addition to my list. I heard it again after watching Boogie Nights again (an excellent movie btw – super funny and super depressing at the same time). This song is playing in the background when the main character and his buddies go to a dealers house to rob him of his cash and cocaine. This may be one of those awful songs that everyone else thinks is lame, I can’t tell anymore. I like it. [download]
Gigs Jan 2010
Al Green in the Domain (Sydney Festival First Night) – Al Green is king. At 65, he is more animated and sounds better than the bulk of the artists I’ve seen live. Ever. I’m so glad I saw him in my lifetime. A+
Grizzly Bear @ Becks Festival Bar – Not really my kind of thing. All the songs began to meld into the one formulaic noise about half way through the show, but all in all, quite a decent show. Good stage presence and performance. Harmonies were very cool. B
Mayer Hawthorne @ The Basement – Just about the best show I’ve seen. Certainly the best I’ve seen this year. Excellent vocals (I was worried that they would be sub-par), tight band, hyper animated performance and a Biz Markie song thrown in for good measure. A+
Camera Obscura @ Becks Festival Bar – The most disappointing gig I’ve seen this year. Dull as dishwater performance, no crowd interaction & again, after a while, the songs all seemed to blend into one formulaic mass of noise. Not even the singles or better songs from their various albums were played with any increased vigor. C -
Florence + The Machine @ The Metro – Quite a good show. Great interaction with the audience. Vocals seemed a bit weak, and none of the songs really hit the peaks of their album counterparts. Cost of the gig was quite high, considering it is a 1st album tour. B+
