Luke ‘n’ Kim

choonz

so i went a bit nuts with buying music this month, just thought i’d catch up on a bunch of stuff i’ve been meaning to get for a while… still, i didn’t break my own rules and pay more than $20 for any one album, and in most cases paid less than $15!

• motion city soundtrack - even if it kills me… something newish that i’m really getting into, kinda like the hippos crossed with weezer, very cool, and quite clever lyrics in places, which i’m always a sucker for!
• hard-fi - once upon a time in the west… probably the best “2nd album” i’ve heard for such a breakout band, really dig the horns in “can’t get along (without you)”, and they’ve retained that sort of anthemic sound while resisting the urge to add drama. i also really like that the NO COVER ART cover art is followed up inside the case with a large spread reading INSIGNIFICANT PHOTO SHOOT
• alicia keys - songs in A minor… can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get this one, and it only cost $10! they’re all good but the standout track has to be “rock wit u”, it grates on me to type the spelling like that, but the sound is just that good…
• nirvana - unplugged in new york… i used to have my brothers copy of this and think i almost wore the laser right through the disc, haven’t listened to it since, yet, the mood will grab me again sometime soon, and when it does i’ll be ready.
• gomez - how we operate… this album has taken forever to grow on me, unlike a previous one of theirs “in our gun” but “notice” gives me goose bumps now and the album just gets better from there.
• the white stripes - get behind me satan… another one that has taken me forever to get, the album is full of excellent songs but better than that it flows really well. “my doorbell” is my personal favorite.
• jebediah - of someday shambles… i went through a stage of hearing this album far too many times a week and even still the lead singers voice annoys me a bit; i steer well clear of bob evans… that said, this album is just full of really good songs, it’s inescapable. plus there’s the whole rewind before track one starts thing.
• herbie hancock - the essential… ahh the classic… i rarely buy albums for one song, but since he won that grammy i couldn’t help myself, maybe i’ll discover more of his listening to this… or maybe i’ll just skip to rockit everytime…
• norah jones - feels like home… dinner music, albeit pretty high standard… compared to… i guess elevator music? gotta say though, i love the dolly parton duet… “humble me” has to be the stand out track.
• jose gonzalez - in our nature… maybe my only regret of the month? i find it preachy and annoying, probably the opposite of what he was going for… and do we REALLY need someone else doing massive attacks “teardrop”? damn. teardrop is an amazing song, leave it alone, i’m looking at you wendy matthews, House MD, and of course you Jose.
• the music - welcome to the north… ahh back when emi was releasing crippled media, don’t call it a CD because it isn’t. the album doesn’t comply with the standards that make compact discs, compact discs. anyway, the music were probably the loudest act at the gold coast BDO when i went, beating out slipknot, the beastie boys and system of a down… and this album rocks, my fav i guess would be breakin’

so yeah, massive month for me huh, have you bought anything this month?

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tangible belief

i heard about a great idea for the music industry this morning…

log on to the site, download 3 songs for free per band, pay $10 to the band you like and back your belief, once the “belief” reaches $50000, the band uses the money to record an album, and the profits are split 3 ways;

-the band,
-the believers,
-the website that brought them together.

cool huh.

especially since i read the article in wired about that big record exec… the way he contradicted himself, blamed the consumer (his customer) and was still so aggressive about increasing profits, so annoying…

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brand new - the palace

so, the brand new concert last night… um, firstly i ended up selling the 2nd ticket i had to someone who replied to a gumtree ad had submitted earlier in the week, so that was cool, i didn’t end up wasting too much money, and she even turned out to be pretty cool… the palace was selling two types of beer; corona at $9 or VB in a can at $6… damn, what kind choice is that!

the mystery 2nd support act was jesse doing an acoustic set… which was very cool, and led really well into the full show, they opened with “welcome to bangkok“; 5 guitarists and 2 drummers at full tilt… super loud and absolutely amazing… the 2nd drummer and other 2 guitars made several more appearances during the night always adding weight to the sound… i wonder what their show was like at the bdo the other day? surely they couldn’t have been this intense (and loud) at 5 in the afternoon…

yet again, i’m amazed at the level of dedication in the audience, the majority of people in the place were yelling the lyrics for the full show… see below for obligatory phone/camera picture.

 

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melbourne bdo 2008 - top heavy

hmm, i’ve got a couple of points to make about the bdo just gone, not really sure how to get post this started… my day started at a friends brothers place, sitting on their deck in the sun; champagne cocktails, doritos and general banter about music and whatever…

a combination of excitement and impatience had me leaving the “warm up” with the brothers housemates… and after a short walk found flemington to have the same downfall as princess park!

NO GENTLE SLOPE

…just a flat dusty expanse… portable fences and people as far as the eye could see. i don’t understand why the organisers can’t find a better location, with a slope the crush to get to the front wouldn’t be any where near as big… you could actually just relax behind the D, instead of standing on tippy toes, occaisionally hoping to get a glimpse… anyways… my day panned out like this:

something with numbers

caught the very end of their set while i was coming through the gates and getting a 18+ wrist strap, they sounded excellent considering how far away i was, it was probably that they were playing a few of their singles towards the end of their set that i recognised them, but yeah, very impressive…

british india

very tight rock, i’ve never heard them before but liked it

operator please

well what to say? they aren’t everyones cup of tea, but they certainly had the “crowd” going; i’m pretty sure there was nobody older than 21 in their audience, in any case, going on previous experience, at least they weren’t just screaming the whole time…

anti-flag

my first trip into the D that day, easy as, just walked straight in, anti-flag just rocked, sort of like rancid mixed with surf punk? they were enthusiastic, political and didn’t care… excellent…

faker

i’ve always liked faker but had never seen them live… previously i’d heard their frontman is a tool, and he didn’t do much to disprove that on the day… prancing around and expecting riotous applause before even playing a song… hmm… it gets better, in between songs, he says “hi everyone, we’re FAKER”… **cricket cricket**… “um we made a sign in case you didn’t know”, he says pointing to the stage set **cricket cricket**… and it went on and on. i guess credit to them, they played a lot of their more popular older stuff…

gyroscope

heavy rock, i didn’t recognise any of their songs but liked it. they look really young?

dizzee rascal

kind of funny? i’m not really into hip hop but it wasn’t how i expected… the first song was one long name check, but was pretty funky, then there was the song that focused completely on his new sneakers… again funky enough, but, umm, yeah… jones and i wondered aloud if the moves that all the kids were doing bothered him at all… seemed like everyone except me had been an extra in 8 mile…

regurgitator

we got some food and listened to the gurg, they were excellent, playing stacks of old stuff and some new stuff, dressed up like divo, and cracking jokes between songs… nice

hill-top hoods

after dizzee, the hoods were such a welcome change, the guys were out to have fun, and the crowd was loving it… they even brought a string quartet! midway through their set, i had to bite the bullet and commit to being in the D for the rest of the day… but even in the crush, with everyone singing along, they were great.

grinspoon

…i’m still stuck in the crush… grinspoon are playing, meh, finally we get let in and the band stops so an announcer can tell everyone they the lights probably won’t go green for the rest of the day, i’m glad i made it in… grinspoon? well, phil looked out of it, and his dancing? mincey at best… yikes. at one stage he twirled, tripped and almost fell over at the back of the stage… weird. but their set was solid, and they finished with “champion“, obvious but still good.

arcade fire

so unexpected, so so good, it’s like the cool kids escaped from the cult of the polyphonic spree, and started their own traveling band… one of them even played a hurdy gurdy!! (?) check them out. now.

silverchair

ok so, i am naturally cynical and hard to please, but, me and most australians won’t clap because of who you are, we will clap if you actually put on a good show and get us into it… breaking EVERY song down into solos with your head stuck in the effects board doesn’t get us into it… and then telling us we are your favorite audience doesn’t get us on your side. ben and chris looked bored and/or amused most of the set, i felt sorry for them.

bjork

ok, after the ordeal that was silverchair, i was quite testy, nobody was being let into the D for the rest of the night, so i only had to wait another 80 mintues for rage… so picture for a moment, a mosh pit full of people waiting to see rage against the machine, having to stand through a bjork set… interesting… as good as it was, i’m not sure i’ve ever checked my watch so much! hyperballad was obviously the standout, goosebumps and everything… and she would always say a quiet little “sang-chu” between songs.

rage against the machine

so after so much hype, here they were, the band most people came to see, and they delivered in spades, i was very happy to be so close to the action, the whole D was jumping and swirling… all the great songs, strange to think they only really have 3 albums of originals… while the band was offstage waiting for the inevitable encore, some guy got on the mic and told everyone who had climbed onto the roof of the beer tent to get off before it breaks, and then someone fired a flare into the crowd, terrific, just what we need, a riot. but luckily nothing eventuated, they played “killing in the name of” last, not my fav song, but the crowd loved it… excellent finale with every single light in the place turned on.

so after such a huge day, some things have struck me;

with rage being so anticipated, and the lineup being so top heavy, having to go into the D before 5pm to see a band that kicked off at 8.50 sucked, and it certainly didn’t stop kids from drinking in there, i saw people with plastic hip flasks of smirnov red! i think the whole event should be 18+ and reduce the security around the bars… i guess the whole point isn’t to drink, but the way it is now, there are a lot of people sitting in the “corners” drinking and watching it all on the big screen, and others who are busting for the toilet but are “stuck” in the D and won’t leave for fear of not getting back in…

and my last point? **phew** just as the crusty demons learnt in brisbane all those years ago, the average australian audience won’t respond well if you come out on stage and don’t do what you are there to do, FIRST AND FOREMOST.

Daniel Johns and that guy from Faker should take a lesson from RATM and Anti-Flag, rock out first, that is all.

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hard work at hanging rock

on a spur of the moment, kim and i decided to have a night away for the australia day weekend, she found a place that was throwing in a 3 course dinner AND country breakfast in the price of accommodation so we signed up… nice peaceful drive in the country on saturday, stopping at some some towns, browsing antique shops and the like, all with the hottest 100 for a soundtrack… excellent.
we went for a stroll around the vineyard at dusk and managed to see a couple of rabbits hopping around, i want one! hehehe

on sunday we visited hanging rock, and did the bush walk associated with it… turns out i’m not very fit, especially carrying an 8kg liam the whole time. it was interesting though, it was about 9.30am and kind of eerie, it would be very easy to get lost in the rocks at the top…

i still think it’s kind of weird they can charge for entry? …why, because it’s so popular? damn

and finally on the way home we visited daylesford, the markets there were packed, it was crazy, we picnic’d and walked around the spring water lake, amazing how many fruit trees there were in the park…

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is it about the money? hmm

ok so, there is an absolute overabundance of web2.0 social networks around the place, duh…

i was asked the other day what web browser i predominantly use, i replied “flock, opera and IE” (of course), the good thing about flock is it ties four sites into your browser, which is very handy… but flock is by no means the only app doing this.

the problem with these sites

the thing is, there are always compromises… i would like to use these sites for what they do well, and then have the useful information available without actually having to go to the site to get it. problem being, i don’t pay to get access to these applications, resources or databases, so how do they pay their bills?

traffic (banner or text ads) or by dangling extra features for paying members

leaving people who care stuck in the middle… i’d just like any stream of information to have it’s own RSS feed , like for instance;

• my facebook mini-feed
• my last.fm weekly top 10 albums
• my youtube favorites
• etc

…and it’s not that it’s hard to create, especially when feeds already exist for very very similar information on the same site, i just get the impression they want you to have to visit their site.

google has a conduct page that includes the widely quoted “don’t be evil” line, i like that… but then it gets all depressing, there will never be a silver bullet, they will never all play friendly, it’s just not in their best interests is it?

then there is the networking sides of things

ahh… “friends”, “followers”, “following”, “favorite”, “shout”, “poke”, and so it goes…

sites like facebook and myspace sneak up on you a bit, all of a sudden you are “friends” with people you haven’t actually spoken (you know, out loud) to in over ten years… and maybe you weren’t planning on speaking to them again, not because there’s bad blood or anything, just because, you grew apart?

writing this here is probably going to ruin it , but as a bit of an experiment, i was thinking about writing and sending a separate, at least 100 word, meaningful and genuine email to everyone i’m “facebook friends” with… just to see how long it takes to do and maybe actually connect with these people rather, than just seeing their picture pop up whenever they challenge someone to a ninja-pirate-vampire-werewolf-jedi fight…

…to be continued…

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define me!

i read in an australian rolling stone magazine a couple of years ago that the reason that overseas bands struggle to break into the US scene is because some have a hard time being defined and pidgeon-holed into a “genre” so they can be marketed… sounds horribly business-like doesn’t it…

anyway, i’ve been listening to a couple of fairly new albums recently and liking them (almost against my better judgment) for very different reasons….

• wuss rock:jimmy eat worlds “chase this light”, i don’t know why, but the way he seems to channel a cross between an ackward 15 year old boy at a blue light disco and a very wordy twenty something explaining why he would’ve broken up with that girl anyway… it always amazes me. good album, not too annoying or theatrical, just… good.
• glam rock:coheed & cambrias “no world for tomorrow”, well, only ten minutes ago i found out that their… “…albums are concept albums; they are all part of an epic sci-fi storyline entitled “The Amory Wars” and set in a fictional universe“… right, very metal, hahaha! the album is actually pretty good, surprising… considering…

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the suspense is killing… you?

hey, so not much is really happening, our boy is growing and changing every day, it’s amazing… seriously.

so because i’ve been so busy at work recently, i didn’t get around to buying a BDO ticket and once i tried, they’d sold out from ticketek and any city resellers… even though the lineup isn’t great i was still annoyed, after all, RATM are going to be there!

i got a tip off about a surf shop at philip island that sells concert tickets, and sure enough they were able to post me a ticket and now i’m sorted for next years australia day weekend!

sah-weet.

in other non-news, i’ve started using flock at home, it’s not bad, pretty integration and what not, i think i’d still prefer opera if it wouldn’t chew so much memory over time…

oh also, i’m growing a mo (for “mo’vember”), kim said i could only do it if i raised some money, so please sponser me! i’ll put a picture of my excuse for a mo up on wednesday afternoon… i’ll understand if you want to wait until after that to sponser me, but just remember, the entertainment isn’t free… please help support the Prostate Cancer Foundation and beyondblue, for more info click the “sponser me” link above…

thanks and talk to you wednesday…

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little victories

so obviously, things change, probably three weeks ago farts and burps were rude bodily functions, best excused or kept private, but now, when liam burps, it’s cause for a mini-celebration, because it means that getting him to sleep will be quicker and easier, who’d've thunk…

that said, some things are still “gross”, like being thrown up on, i’m not sure that’ll ever change.

in other news, i’ve been given seven meemix invites, if your interested to try it, comment on this post and i’ll email you! …but be warned, it’s still in beta and even though my profile says my style is “metalcore” (wrong!)… all it is playing at the moment is paul mccartney & wings, eagles, and david bowie … how weird is that?

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round ball? that’s just weird

so hi, yeah, all is going well, liam is feeding well and putting on stacks of weight… it has sort of occurred to me that there seem two sorts of reactions to babies, it’s either “wow, awesome” or “wow, your life is going to change”… and i guess obviously, both are true…

we’re still adjusting, and, i doubt that’ll ever stop… i can report i’m taking more notice of advice from other fathers now that it’s real…

otherwise things are going ok, work is nuts, really busy with lots of pressure, and it’ll get worse before it gets better…

i’m glad the AFL is over, i don’t dislike the sport, just the way the media here are blind about anything/everything else… plus channel ten can now stop ruining “thnks fr th mmrs“… the promo they were running was trying to accentuate the chorus where the line

“thanks for the memories” is, but it is followed directly by
“even though they weren’t so great“…

FUNNY… and was especially true when you’re talking about the grand final, i’ve even heard geelong fans say it was great, but boring…

and lastly, i’m stoked about this saturday night (sunday morning), depending on time zone… in case you’re wondering, it’s the rugby world cup quarter finals!

aus vs eng 1am AEST
nz vs fra 6am AEST

c’mon!

i was treated (in a roundabout sort of way), last saturday night, up watching tv at 1.30am with a wide awake baby, stumbled upon the wales vs fiji match, it was excellent, but you knew that…

anyways, got to go, talk to you later….

OH, again, THANK YOU to everyone that has wished us well, sent us gifts, cards, flowers…

everything is very much appreciated, THANKS.

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meemix? i’m trying!

so while we’re on the subject of web2.0/social networking stuff, kind of, i finally got an invite into meemix the other day… there was much elation at the receipt of the email, let me tell you, i thought pandora was back under a different name, so was very chuffed at the thought of discovering new music while i was just surfing around…

however,

to setup my profile, i gave it a few hints at the sort of music it should play;

brand new, bloc party, lily allen, fall out boy, mylo, chemical brothers, and incubus.

not drastic, not outlandish, but meemix has different ideas, probably 70% of the music i’m being “recommended” is death metal!

so yeah, not the pandora replacement i was hoping for, but it is still in beta, and hopefully their catalogue is being added to daily… and really, i don’t have any other options… don’t say last.fm, the free version doesn’t offer much

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cold toast and weak coffee

did you get breakfast in bed?

i didn’t

fathers day on the weekend, weird.

my family hasn’t ever really done, fathers day, we would have lunch together or call, and that’s about it… but, since i’m going to be a dad, kim was very naughty and bought me a nintendo wii! she did the whole wake me up early-ish on sunday morning too, awesome huh… we have used it a couple of times, and she’s beats me fairly thoroughly at “sports” and “play”, humiliating and fun, i didn’t think that was possible…

what else is happening? not much… i heard a guy at work say his wife gave birth 3 weeks early… umm wow, we’re almost there hey… we were also thinking if our baby comes on AFL grand final day, seeing as how we live in st.kilda east, and the hospital is in carlton we’d, crazily enough, probably be better off catching a train or ambulance there… yikes… a project manager at my work is almost convinced our boy is arriving early, but we’ll see…

…instead of talking about nufc or the victory, let me say, the other day on the train on the way home my mp3 player randomly selected two tracks that seemed to fit traveling home from work so well it was freakish, i felt twittering about it just wouldn’t suffice…

incubus - echos
mylo - otto’s journey

the last.fm snippets don’t do them justice (obviously)

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