Saadiq

Good Man - Amazing clip & amazing song

2010 Triple J Hottest 100

This countdown has made me SO happy, but also utterly disgusted. So much so that is has gotten me out of my 4 month blog silence.

I don't mean to burst everyone's Angus and Julia Stone bubble, but Number 1 spot?! While Julia may not be featured too much in 'Big Jet Plane,' something that always irritates me is that is definitely NOT her natural voice. I'm sure she doesn't always sound like a quivery child on the brink of tears. Also, who forgets to wear shoes when they're playing a live gig or turning up to the ARIAS? It doesn't hurt to show people you're putting in some effort! Even a pair of thongs.... that's all it takes.
Not only have they used pure cliche dressed up as sentiment, they haven't even bothered to fill in some lyrics, instead using 'hey hey' over and over.
Maybe they're perfect for the Indie kids of Australia as their lyrics are completely unchallenging and meaningless, they're musically cliched and show absolutely zero effort on stage. This makes them somewhat immune to Tall Poppy Syndrome, however maybe now after taking the #1 spot on the Hottest 100 and the ARIAS, they'll finally be cut down to size.

I'm quite disappointed with Kanye's 'Monster' being No.88 - that is a fucking phenomenal song. Long, hectic and a career starting verse from Nicki Minaj. BUT, I'm super glad that Runaway managed to make No.14. People may think he's a douche, but for me, his music surpasses his douchy-ness.

Another positive - Boy & Bear at No.5! I've read comments that people are unhappy with a cover being in the Top 10, but the way I see it - Boy & Bear were asked to do this cover and probably didn't intend it to be a single but it happened to be fucking incredible! (Better than the original...)

A friend of mine recently posted this on my wall
The muppets doing 'Monster' - ENJOY!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKIvEVkAfW4&feature=player_embedded#!

The Wilderness Downtown

On a little bit of an Arcade Fire theme... this is phenomenal.

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

The Arcade Fire

Do yourselves all a huge favour...

Watch this clip of Rococo and then go and buy the album.

Love

A few of my friends and I went to the art gallery the other day to see the Archibald Prize. We stopped by Art Express on the way out, and as it turns out, I enjoyed the year 12 major works so much more than the Archibald exhibition.

Here's my favourite sample... Loved this quote.

"I had a lot of dates but I decided to stay home and dye my eyebrows."
Andy Warhol

It's Universal...

I began my internship at Universal Music close to 2 months ago now. Working in the A&R (Artist & Repertoire) Department - and I couldn't have asked to be around nicer people.

The last few weeks have been full of film clips. Gyroscope was the first week, for their single, 'Baby, I'm Getting Better,' from their new album, Cohesion. So many fun people working on set - although the 13-hour day can get tedious, at least you're sharing it with great people. It was the first time I've properly encountered real fans of these Australian bands. There was one guy, who won a competition to be an extra in the film clip - he flew down from the Gold Coast for a 7am start, and flew back up that night. Keep in mind... he wasn't getting paid and he cancelled all his patients for the day (he is studying to be a dentist)! Now that is total dedication, and I imagine Gyro must count themselves so lucky to have fans like that.

The shoot was completed over 2 days at about 8 locations all over Sydney. Instead of being filmed, there were thousands of photos taken - I imagine looking like a bit of a flip book once they are all put together. I'm thinking similar to this White Strips clip, The Hardest Button to Button.
Stay tuned for the release! It will look awesome...

The second week was filming a couple of songs for The McClymonts - a country, sister group. It was good to see the contrast of your Aussie rock band filming these gritty scenes, compared to these glamorous women dancing and lip synching in front of a green screen.

I was never sure about working in a label, but it's fantastic working in A&R where everyone is so passionate about what they do. I used to think that these industry people were selling their souls, but it turns out, you just have to pick the right department! Fingers crossed I can stay on - I think I may have found my calling....

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

"I think that music, for him, had taken the place of image. He had no body-image, he had body-music: this is why he could move and act as fluently as he did, but came to a total confused stop if the 'inner music' stopped."

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks