NOTE, BOBBYSIX HAS MOVED. PLEASE VISIT OUR NEW SITE INSTEAD, WHERE YOU WILL FIND SO MUCH AWESOME CONTENT THAT YOUR EYES WON'T KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FIRST: SOMETHINGYOUSAID.COM
Having split her year between the UK, The States, Europe and Australia, Celeste Macdonald is well-placed to give her opinion on what's been the best of 2011. Check back on New Year's Day for
the overall winners of best album, song, film and gig, as voted for by
you:
Top 10 albums
El Camino – THE BLACK KEYS
Making Mirrors – GOTYE
Prisoner – THE JEZABELS
To The Horses – LANIE LANE
Come On Board – JEFFREY LEWIS
Bad As Me – TOM WAITS
Let England Shake – PJ HARVEY
Bon Iver – BON IVER
Rain On A Humming Wire – THE PANICS
I Want That You Are Always Happy – THE
MIDDLE EAST
Top
10 songs
Video
Games – LANA DEL REY
Lay
It Down – THE RUBENS
Run
Right Back – THE BLACK KEYS
What
Do I Do – LANIE LANE
Somebody
That I Used To Know (featuring Kimbra) – GOTYE
Golden Revolver – SAN CISCO
I Follow Rivers – LYKKE LI
Brother – MATT CORBY
Second Chance – PETER, BJORN AND JOHN
Tongue Tied – GROUPLOVE
Top
5 Gigs
JEFFREY
LEWIS - Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, Brighton
DARK HORSES - Concorde2, Brighton
THREE TRAPPED TIGERS - Sticky Mike's Frog
Bar, Brighton
PURITY
RING - The Green Door Store, Brighton
CARL BARAT - The Prince Albert, Brighton
Highlight
of the year Having the privilege of spending nearly nine
months of 2011 traveling around Europe and the United States, I
stumbled upon maybe the greatest place on earth, Budapest. Added to its
greatness, I had the pleasure of being there with Bobbysix himself.
2011
in words Fantastically amazing year for music,
incredibly disappointing year for Hollywood.
Prediction
for 2012 After 2011 came out with the highest number
of Hollywood sequels ever, (yes, EVER) Hollywood decides to stop making
sequels and instead take a chance on original, independent and
thought-provoking cinema...fingers crossed.
Celeste Macdonald - Contributor
Celeste likes to travel to world. She knows her stuff about music, movies and TV. She is deadly with a pool cue.
We called up our dear old friend Kimya Dawson for a chat about her
new album and her upcoming tour of Australia:
“It just sort of happened.”
Kimya Dawson's seventh album, Thunder Thighs, is an unexpectedly expansive affair. Covering everything from gentle acoustic folk, big choral numbers, ten-minute epics and some rapping, it lands a long way from her initial vision. “My original plan was to do a home-recorded four-track album, just like my first three records. It didn't work out that way.”
In fact, at one stage, it looked like it might not work out at all, as Kimya found herself suffering a serious bout of writer's block, which occurred after she had given birth to her daughter, Panda, “I made [kids' album] Alphabutt and The Bundles' album with Jeffrey [Lewis], but I was really struggling for a while with writing my own stuff. It was like I was clogged.” This led to her assuming that she would have to put down the guitar once and for all, until everything became clear. “It took me a couple of years to realise that's supposed to happen when you have a kid; your brain is supposed to just focus on them. Then, as your child becomes more independent, your brain starts to work again.”
So, gradually the words and the melodies started to flow once more, and it became apparent that they were taking a different shape. Kimya explains how certain songs felt loud to her when she played them and that there was something bigger about them in her mind that she couldn't really place. Many of these new compositions grew to the point that they would no longer make sense were they recorded at home alone. So she got others involved, including the Olympia Free Choir, Aesop Rock, Nikolai Fraiture of The Strokes and even Panda, who is now five. “There are so many parts of the album which are about coming together with, and leaning on, your friends. I had all of these people, both in the Olympia community and the wider music community, available to be a part of this project. It was really a gift. The first song (below) and the last song on the album are recorded alone on the four-track, and I figured they would be good bookends because that was the original intention, but in between, the whole process just got way big. It felt really good to let all these different elements that co-exist in my life right now come together. I have this choir stuff and there is this quiet, alone stuff and then there is, you know, getting to know people in the hip hop world. And I have a kid, so some of the songs feel really kiddish.”
However, along with its fun elements, Thunder Thighs still contains the kind of raw emotion you would expect from a Kimya Dawson record. Indeed, Walk Like Thunder finds the songwriter at her most vulnerable ever. The tough, ten-minute journey deals with her near-overdose ten years ago and the tragi death of two of her friends to illness. “Some of the songs were really hard on my soul. I had to just push through. As I was writing Walk Like Thunder, I didn't think I would ever play it. Admitting that kind of vulnerability was one of the only things that I had left because I've told people everything about me. Admitting to feeling like I wasn't taking care of myself was a really hard one.”
While she says she avoids writing love songs, there is little else she won't address. Another subject that the softly spoken and wonderfully friendly Kimya touches upon on her new record is the inverted snobbery she has experienced since Juno. “I don't give a shit what people think about me,” she shrugs. “But people were badmouthing kids who were just getting into me after they'd seen Juno. I'd get emails saying, 'I was a fan before Juno. Not like all these fake fans. You must hate your new fans.' And I was like, 'Really? You think I would hate them?' It's weird, the elitist 'I liked this before you did' attitude. People get into what they get into. Once music enters your being, you can't change how your brain responds to it. Today I posted on Twitter saying 'I feel like listening to Dave Matthews,' and someone replied, 'Dave Matthews sucks. I'm really disappointed in you for saying that.' I was like, 'What? So what if I like Dave Matthews? My brain might like Dave Matthews. Is it not cool to like something that you like?'” To qualify this point, she adds, “I listen to Phil Collins all the time. You can't control what you're into.”
If you happen to be into Kimya Dawson and you live in Australia, then the good news is that she is heading there soon for the first time since 2008, and is looking forward to being fully fit this time round. “I was having a really hard time with tendinitis in my wrist,” she says of her only other visit. “I was in a lot of pain. So I'm excited to come back and to feel like I am really there. There are a lot of new songs and the shows are a little different.”
Ah yes, that brings us to the rapping. Kimya will be performing with American rapper and producer Aesop Rock, who she worked with on Thunder Thighs. Along with their mates Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz, they'll spend much of the evening sharing a stage. “There are songs where I'm playing guitar and singing and he's rapping. Then I play my acoustic set and he comes up for one of the songs from my album and one of the songs from our collaborative album [set to be released next year]. Then he does his set and I come back out and we do some more songs together.”
The lust for life and energy that is displayed throughout much of Thunder Thighs suggests that Dawson is absolutely loving working together with Aesop Rock. When she talks about it, she does so with unabashed enthusiasm. “I haven't felt this way about writing with somebody since Adam [Green] and I started writing together [in The Moldy Peaches]. Adam and I evolved and the feeling wasn't there any more. I didn't necessarily miss doing it with that person, but I did miss having that connection with somebody artistically. You almost have the same brain. Where one person stops, the other begins.”
Catch Kimya here:
Oct 14- Sydney Australia - Manning Bar
Oct 15- Melbourne Australia- Melbourne Arts Festival- The Forum
Oct 16- Brisbane Australia- The Hi Fi
Interview by Bobby Townsend. It was first featured in Sydney's Drum Media. Click the below picture of Kimya and Bobby to read their previous interview from 2008.
Alongside regular feature, Getting To Know... BobbySix.com is launching an occasional series called A Few Of My Favourite Things. It's pretty self-explanatory and, to get the ball rolling, Bobby Six's head honcho, Rob Townsend, has a stab at it himself:
My Favourite Band
In the early 1990s I fell head-over-heels in love with an indie/pop/dance band from South London. Named Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, they were a two-piece who played guitars and sang over a drum machine. Sans bassist. Sans drummer. I went to every tour they played, bought every T-shirt, copied singer Jim Bob's flamboyant haircut and even sneaked into the MTV studios in Camden to get their autographs. Combining social and political commentary with pop-punk sensibilities to create big, singalong tunes, there was an honesty and integrity to Carter that wasn’t in the slightest contrived and could not be doubted. Regardless of where they stand in the grand scheme of things - whether they are important or nothing more than a footnote on the 90s scene - there is always one band that makes a difference to a person’s life and Carter was that band for me.
My Favourite Gig
There are so many sweat-drenched moments of magnificence to consider. The Flaming Lips brought an incredible kaleidoscopic party to Brighton, while Kitty Daisy & Lewis got Sydney dancing. What else? Well, Regina Spektor at the Opera House, Morrissey opening his show with How Soon Is Now?, The White Stripes and The Strokes playing onstage together at the Reading Festival, the first time I ever saw Bridezilla and had the realisation I had discovered something amazing, singing Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise onstage with The Late Greats at Latitude... the list could go on and on. I think that experiencing Pulp play at Brixton Academy just after Different Class was released tops the lot. I have never seen a performer have such a command over the audience as Jarvis Cocker on that night. He is my hero. In terms of an overall line-up, seeing The Cribs supported by Jeffrey Lewis and Giant Drag was pretty much my indie dream come true.
My Favourite Song There is a Light That Never Goes Out and Do You Realise?? come a close second and third to this:
My Favourite Album
While I love pretty much anything Tom Waits has ever done and I'll never, ever grow tired of listening to Pet Sounds and The Moldy Peaches, once again Carter USM triumph in this category. I can sing every word of their standout album, 30 Something (which was awarded 10/10 in the NME). They told us about life as it was and constantly conveyed the social deprivation around.Ballad Falling on a Bruise is the absolute jewel in its crown, telling a downbeat tale of dejection (“Some you win and some you lose, I’ve spent my whole lifetime falling on a bruise, and if I had the chance to do it all again, I’d change everything”). Followed on the album by the heartbreaking lullaby The Final Comedown(“I’ve been cut, I’ve been stitched, I’ve been buggered, bewitched and abandoned”) this was Carter’s finest hour.
My Favourite Destination
Sometimes a place and a person just connect. In 2006 took the plunge and ventured to Sydney with no idea whether I was going to be there for a week, a month, or forever. Within a few days, I had found work as a music critic and discovered a network of wonderful, like-minded new friends. Five years on, I'm still ensconced within its warm embrace. When I am attending some awesome party, reviewing a gig at the Opera House, or just bobbing around in the cool sea underneath unblemished blue skies, Sydney feels like the greatest place on God's green earth.
My Favourite Book
I have recently become more that a little obsessed with Cormac McCarthy. There is so much atmosphere to his words. Whether he is recalling the Old West or conjuring harrowing images of an apocalyptic modern America, you can almost reach out and touch the landscape he has created. Also, the sense of impending peril he brings keeps the tension at a consistent and near-unbearably high level. Take, for instance, All The Pretty Horses. Nothing much happens until over halfway through the story but there is never any doubt that it will happen. It's just bubbling under the surface, waiting to grab you by the throat.
Honorable mentions also go to War and Peace, Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Schindler's Ark, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Fever Pitch.
My Favourite Item of Clothing
With my wonderful girlfriend Emma running Dear Pluto, a whole lotta lovely vintage clothing passes through our place. With such a high turnover of awesome threads at my disposal, I often wear something for a while before growing bored of it. However, I am still just as in love with these shoes as I was when I first chanced upon them. They're beautiful.
My Favourite Film
In my humble opinion, This is Spinal Tap and Bottle Rocket are about as perfect as it gets. I love how the comedy and narrative in these films are driven by a completely natural dialogue and a sense of love and brotherhood amongst the lead characters. Elsewhere, my boat is floated by Life is Beautiful, Shaun of The Dead, The Wizard of Oz, Back To The Future Trainspotting, Toy Story 3, Juno and anything by Almodovar and Hitchcock.
My Favourite TV Show
I am an absolute situational comedy nerd. There is rarely a day when I do not relate a real life occurrence to something that happened to Jerry Seinfeld or to Mark and Jeremy. The lines between reality and fiction tend to blur in my head.
It's hard for me to settle on a favourite show but, if you're looking for pure genius, then you don't need to venture much further than The Office. The thing I especially like about it is how, on first glance, you think it is about David Brent, whereas to dig deeper is to find the sweetest love story based around Tim and Dawn. I have never managed to watch the Christmas special without crying.
My Favourite Memory
As I rummage back through my cluttered brain, there are lots of images that present themselves, like a montage from a slightly-less-cool-than-usual John Hughes movie. Playing cricket in the hazy English morning sunshine on my friend Max's stag weekend was joyous in its simplicity, as were the seemingly endless summer days I spent playing football on the Old Town recreational ground in Eastbourne as a kid (above). Meanwhle, drawing faces on balloons and throwing them from the roof of Hibernian House in Sydney with Emma and watching them dance with the breeze before being swallowed up by the vastness of the city is a happy memory that is as vivid now as the day that it happened.
My Favourite Food
Eggs are the greatest invention of all time. Okay, so they're not actually an invention, but if they were, they would be the greatest invention of all time. Although potatoes would probably give them a run for their money. They are both so versatile. Meanwhile, the most underrated food in the world is spinach. Yum. Contrary to what my skinny frame suggests, I like to eat. A lot. I'm generally into savoury stuff but, to be honest, if I could coat everything I eat in caramel, I probably would.
My Favourite Photo
This forever changes. At the moment, I have two. The first is of me on stage with David Ford as part of his choir at the Corbury Festival a few years ago (above). There was something amazing about looking around the stage and realising that every person there was one of my best friends and had been for many years. The other photo (below) is one of Emma and I that amazing photographer Daniel Boud took when were mucking about playing dress-up at our old place in Sydney. It was a fun afternoon.
Kicking off four days' worth of posts relating to BobbySix.com's End Of Year Review is the Top 10 live gigs of 2010. Still to come over the next few days, top albums, top movies and top songs:
1. REGINA SPEKTOR, Sydney Opera House
"Heartbreaking tender ballad Samson remains one of the best songs of the last ten years and commanded hushed awe from the audience but, on this occasion, the highlight was Apres Moi. For someone so softly spoken, Spektor has a massive vocal range and when she ended the song by belting out couplets in Russian, it was jaw-dropping.
Though, on record, her edges seem to have smoothed a little, live, she was as weird and leftfield as ever, using her vocal as an instrument and singing ditties about how “Someone next door’s fucking to one of my songs.” In taking the step to this next level, Regina Spektor proved that it is possible to make intelligent, beautiful music that is accessible while still remaining daring and oddball." (Full review...)
2. JEFFREY LEWIS & THE JUNKYARD, Oxford Art Factory,Sydney
"There were punky rock outs and gentler - really wordy - acoustic numbers that showcased his writing talents, as themes of self-doubt, lost love and depression were treated with sincerity and humour. He told fantastical stories about various ways he could commit suicide... while suggesting that Pitchfork would only give his death 3.6 out of 10." (full review...)
3. LAURA MARLING, The Famous Spiegeltent, Sydney
"The use of cello, keys, drums, mandolin, guitar, bass and banjo offered a round sound, yet the set really dazzled when Marling stood alone with just her voice and acoustic guitar... This was a truly enchanting evening from one of the finest young talents around." (full review...)
4. DANIEL JOHNSTON, Monster Children Gallery, Sydney
"Life doesn't often make sense. Plug A rarely fits nicely into Slot B. People conflict and contrast, friction prevails. Sometimes though, very, very occasionally, everything comes together. And, as I stood on the steps, looking over Johnston's shoulder onto a crowd that were hanging on his every word. It was clear that these were my people, and this was my soundtrack. If only life were always like this." (full review...)
5. THE CRIBS, Manning Bar, Sydney
"Even four albums in, The Cribs' raw energy and vivacity hasn't abated, and to combine that with tunes to die for is to be in the presence of one of the most thrilling live bands around." (full review...)
6. KLAXONS, Enmore Theatre, Sydney
"The hour-long set flew by, and, as they wrapped things up with It’s Not Over Yet, Surfing The Void and Atlantis To Interzone, the band seemed genuinely taken aback by the fervent reception they received. “I’m not joking,” said keyboardist/vocalist, James Righton (above) with a look of bewilderment. “You’re the fucking best audience ever.” True, the crowd were going absolutely mental from start to finish, but that’s largely to do with the fact that the Brits practically ripped the roof off from the get-go." (full review...)
7. ANGUS & JULIA STONE, Metro Theatre
"What better way to celebrate your record going gold, than by playing three sold-out shows over two days in your home city? Following Friday night's gig, the siblings played a matinee performance to an under-age audience on Saturday afternoon. Cue a Beatlemania-esque frenzy from the crowd as fourteen-year-old girls took time out from screaming every word of every song to yell requests for impregnation from Angus. If it was all a bit much for the shy, unassuming Mr Stone, then the evening was happily a more chilled-out affair." (full review...)
8. PARADES, Enmore Theatre, Sydney
"Sydney’s Parades looked like a bunch of high-school misfits who had been rounded up from the loneliest corners of the playground and ushered onto the stage against their will, but, behind their Breakfast Club aesthetic was an awesome, layered soundscape so huge that it’s hard to believe any venue smaller than The Enmore could cope with such epic noise. As is their wont, the quartet bolstered their numbers for their live show and with five boys and one girl offering four vocals and all manner of percussion and effects, their set was diverse and their songs experimental and enormous. This is a band with a really exciting future." (full review...)
9. CABINS AND BRIDEZILLA, Changing Lanes Festival, Sydney
"Cabins' performance drilled its way relentlessly through the audience's bodies. Their bone-shaking set - which included a cheeky cover of Edwin Collins' A Girl Like You - was loud with a capital L.O.U.D. and their catchy indie with alternating vocalists was the highlight of the day...
...Bridezilla (above) performed a handful of promising new songs in their 30-minute set, the last of which really showed the band's desire to push themselves in new directions. This set-closer, Hey Girl, saw Millie Hall put down the saxophone and take centre stage, playing keys and sharing lead vocals with Holiday Sidewinder. Written by Hall, the poppy number was infectious enough to suggest it will soon be quite the crowd-pleaser, with Hall, Sidewinder and guitarist Pia May delivering some 60s girl-group singalong harmonies." (full review of festival...)
10. FLORENCE & THE MACHINE, Laneway Festival, Sydney
"Florence Welch ripped through the headline slot with gusto. By the time she ended with a winning trio of Dog Days Are Over, You've Got The Love and Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - all of which showcased that lung-busting voice - she had the crowd going apeshit (full review of festival...)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Ineligible, to be honest (largely because representatives of BobbySix.com made up part of the performance), but still worthy of a shout is David Ford's Milk and Cookies gig in December. Also due a mention are Kate Nash and Lily Allen's performances in Sydney.
Sydney-based artists that are well worth a look the next time they are playing in your neighbourhood are The Laurels, who - with their shoegazey post-grunge wall of noise - are Australia's most underrated band. Elsewhere, The Preachers put in an outstanding performance at Oxford Art Factory - they are fast becoming one of BobbySix.com's favourite bands. Similarly, Cameras played a stunning show at the same venue. Meanwhile, Melbourne's Howl at the Moon played a winning set at King's Cross' World Bar.
One of the most unique and exciting artists in Sydney remains Kirin J Callinan . His boundary-pushing afternoon show at a warehouse in the iconic Hibernian House (above, photo courtesy of Emma Daniels) was the perfect example of how he brings something genuinely different and interesting to the table. Yeah, so it actually took place at the back end of 2009, but we didn't get a chance to mention in last year's review and, anyway, who's counting?
There are probably loads of other really awesome shows that we have overlooked, or that have been lost in a drunken blur, but these are the ones that have jumped to mind. Have we forgotten anything? let us know...
The Bundles’ eponymous debut album may have only taken a few days’ studio time to record but, in reality, it was over eight years in the making. Beginning with a get-together between Kimya Dawson and Jeffrey Lewis in 2001, The Bundles became a full band a year later with the inclusion of Anders Griffen on drums and Jeff’s brother Jack on bass. However, due to the growing success of their individual projects, it took until 2009 for the quartet (along with troubadour Karl Blau) to record an album.
The Bundles sees those original Dawson and Lewis’ demos tidied up and given depth with extra instrumentation and some rather nice choral singing at appropriate junctures. There are a few new tunes too, which were written on the spot by all five artists in the studio. A mix of sweet, slow acoustic ditties and lo-fi garage, the album’s ten songs often have a Moldy Peaches-style structure to the vocals, with Lewis and Dawson alternating or singing different lines on top of each other at the same time. This sense of ordered confusion layers the songs, as different snippets of each lyrical thread take prominence randomly.
While possibly only for existing fans of the anti-folk genre, this DIY, raw and ramshackle album has warmth and charm without the slightest hint of pretension and is another example of the honesty of the individual members of The Bundles. As Dawson herself puts it on Over The Moon, “Everything that I am doing isn’t the means to an end/It’s the means of creating a meaningful existence/And I just wanna sing with my friends.”
JEFFREY LEWIS & THE JUNKYARD
WIFEY
LITTLE LOVERS
Oxford Art Factory
10/03/10
The first of two Sydney-based support acts, Little Lovers played upbeat indie rock with an occasional country feel. The trio’s songs were unpretentious and often rather catchy. Wifey’s set was slightly less vivacious but the grown-up melodic tunes were a nicely dreamy way to take the edge off lyrics about frontman Andy Calvert contemplating chopping his penis off.
Three-piece Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard (of which Jeffrey’s brother, Jack, is the bassist) took to the stage minus set-list and treated the audience to a hugely entertaining 90 minutes. Purists may scoff at Lewis’ beaten up old guitar and his less than perfect vocal, but they would be missing the point. Disarmingly affable, the New-Yorker was recently described by none other than Jarvis Cocker as “The best lyricist working in the US today,” and he soon set about proving this with a collection of varied songs that ranged from touching to hilarious while always connecting with the audience through everyday truths.
There were punky rock outs and gentler - really wordy - acoustic numbers that showcased his writing talents, as themes of self-doubt, lost love and depression were treated with sincerity and humour. He told fantastical stories about various ways he could commit suicide (while suggesting that Pitchfork would only give his death 3.6 out of 10), played old classics like The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane and sang simple ditties about things like moving house (“You’re not sure, but you’re going to claim the blinds were busted like that when you came,”). He even gave a lecture called The Complete History of the Development of Punk Rock on the Lower East Side Of New York City from 1950-1975, which was performed entirely in rhyming couplets interspersed with snippets of covers from the likes of The Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. There were also projected slide-shows set to music, most notably the genuinely interesting history of the legend of Native American, Sitting Bull.
So all this begs the question, why was the venue half empty? No wonder the Sydney live scene is struggling if people won’t part with $25 for a show as inventive, intimate, intelligent and downright feel-good as this. Still, those who were there left happy in the knowledge that they had been in the presence of a genius. And a humble, self-deprecating genius at that.
It's that time of year again where I revisit everything musical from 2009 and point my thumbs up or down. Here is my judgement on what was hot and what was not:
TOP TEN ALBUMS
1. Lungs - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE You might think this is a surprising choice, but I was really impressed by the ambition and energy of Lungs with its piano, strings, harps, handclaps and massive drums, and the way Welch’s voice jumps seamlessly from a sultry whisper to an awesome, lung-busting chorus and back again. Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), is the best example of her stunning vocal. Her delivery at the crescendo of this unapologetically grand pop anthem doesn’t so much ask for your attention as pick you up and fling you across the room. This album’s inventive juxtaposition of dark, gothic lyrics and rousing tunes blows away any burden of expectation with a flourish.
2. Em Are - I JEFFREY LEWIS It doesn't lose anything from being more polished than his ramshackle early efforts, and his storytelling is still up there with the best.
3. Conditions - THE TEMPER TRAP Considering how hard it was going to be to match their mesmeric live show, this debut is great, and filled with anthemic tunes.
4. The First Dance - BRIDEZILLA The First Dance is an album of intelligence, depth and genuine beauty, and Bridezilla’s ability to create intriguing and unique music to this high standard at such a tender age suggests that they have the wherewithal to go on to be one of Australia’s most cherished musical exports.
5. Dark Days/Light Years - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS Bouncing between beautiful, melodic pop and delightful insanity, Dark Days/Light Years is SFA’s best record since 2001’s Rings Around The World and is perfectly representative of a prolific body of work that makes them one of the most inventive and intriguing bands that Britain has ever produced.
6. It Walks Like Love - LOENE CARMEN A truly outstanding record, and Loene Carmen's finest piece of work to date.
7. Waxing Gibbous - MALCOLM MIDDLETON Paradoxically sad and uplifting, this is an intelligent, fragile and really lovely record that finds beauty in the bleakest places.
8. Dance Mother - TELEPATHE Because of the avant-garde approach to song structures and sound, initially it all seems a little disorientating but everything soon starts to make sense. Equally atmospheric, serious, intelligent, confusing and challenging, Dance Mother is a visionary and intriguing album, and how often can you say that nowadays?
9. Far - REGINA SPEKTOR Regina Spektor remains a wonderfully weird treasure, even if her edges seem to be getting smoother.
10. Kings & Queens - JAMIE T All the fun, madness and Englishness of a night’s binge-drinking. Only with Kings & Queens you don’t suffer a hangover and you want to do the whole thing all over again as soon as you’re finished.
TOP TEN SONGS
1. Sweet Disposition - THE TEMPER TRAP
2. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
3. Broken Broken Broken Heart - JEFFREY LEWIS
4. Daniel - BAT FOR LASHES
5. The Fear - LILY ALLEN
6. Emily's Heart - JAMIE T
7. And The Boys - ANGUS & JULIA STONE
8. Lying Around - CASSETTE KIDS
9. Ballad Of Fuck All - MALCOLM MIDDLETON
10. Inaugural Trams - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
TOP TEN ARTISTS OF THE YEAR
1. The Temper Trap 2. Friendly Fires 3. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis 4. Florence and the Machine 5. Jeffrey Lewis 6. Bridezilla 7. The Cribs 8. Kirin J. Callinan 9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs 10. Sarah Blasko
TOP TEN GIGS
1. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Manning Bar, Sydney
It’s not an exaggeration to say it was one of the most amazing gigs I've ever seen and to attempt to sum it up with mere words seems strangely futile. Superlatives have yet to be invented for how great this was, but the guy in front of me said it succinctly enough in a text message that he sent mid-gig. It simply read: “This is the coolest thing I have ever seen.”
1. (Joint first place because I couldn't decide between the two), Camille, Sydney Recital Hall The crowd, who started the night reserved and reluctant to embrace the singalongs, demanded three encores, which included Ta Douleur and a cover of Yes We Can Can. I'd be happy if Camille was still encoring now, as the experimental 90-minute show was moving, funny, intriguing, mesmerising and a triumph for innovation and vivid imagination. Absolutely mind-blowing.
3. Jeffrey Lewis, La Maronquinerie, Paris Not only can he pen evocative lines, but he knows exactly how to put on a live show. The gig had pensive moments, laugh-out-loud humour and sweat-drenched punk magnificence.
4. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Latitude Festival It's safe to say he blew every other performance at Latitude 2009 out of the water. The sound that emanated from the stage from the first moment to the last was an absolute aural attack
5. Kimya Dawson, Komedia, Brighton Typical of Kimya, she played until the venue basically kicked her off stage long after the curfew had passed. 6. The Streets, The Forum, Entertainment Quarter, Sydney Regardless of the general lack of diversity or of how relevant The Streets remain in 2009, the night was really all about Skinner’s interaction with the crowd. He made the gig fun. Proper fun.
7. Jamie T, The Metro, Sydney If You Got The Money almost ripped the roof off and every word of Sheila was roared back at the stage. By the evening’s finale, Sticks ‘n’ Stones, the crowd was going absolutely mental.
8. Bridezilla, The Hopetoun, Sydney It seemed obvious to everyone in attendance that Bridezilla's time is almost here.
9. The Temper Trap, Magnet, Berlin A typically tighter-than-a-duck's-bumhole performance.
10. The Pretenders, Latitude Festival Chrissie Hynde owned the entire field. I'll Stand By You and Bob Dylan's Forever Young were particularly memorable.
TOP FIVE PODCASTS 1. The Ricky Gervais Audiobooks 2. The Adam and Joe Podcast 3. Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Review Podcast 4. The Guardian Football Weekly 5. The Jon Richardson Podcast
TOP TEN FILMS
1. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
As well as being laugh-out-loud funny, this film made me cry more than once and was as touching a love story (obviously in a slightly unconventional sense) as I've ever seen.
2. Let The Right One In A beautiful and fragile story that raised the bar for vampire movies.
3. Moon It drew an extraordinary performance from Sam Rockwell and dealt with its themes of mortality and false reality really intelligently and subtly.
4. District 9 For a political (its message is incredibly thinly-veiled) sci-fi thriller with a brain in its head, then District 9 takes some beating. Funny, thought-provoking and with audience loyalties constantly shifting, this film had me gawping at the screen in wonder.
5. Paranormal Activity Unbearably tense throughout and clever in its use of normality to produce well-contextualised fear.
6. Where The Wild Things Are I don't think it could have evoked children's excitement, imagination, confusion and fear any better.
7. Zombieland In the vein of Shaun of The Dead, Zombieland is a genuinely funny movie, made with a love for the genre that ensures it never becomes a pastiche. Real fun stuff and one of the surprise hits of the year.
8. Gran Torino Clint Eastwood's film-making continues to be intelligent and methodical.
9. Star Trek Cracking sci-fi action which won me over even though I grew up very much on the Star Wars side of the fence.
10. Of Time And The City Marvellous documentary about growing up in Liverpool.
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES AWARD (MOST OVER-HYPED) Lady GaGa. Not fit to lace Madonna's corset.
QUOTE OF THE YEAR “To those who did not believe in us - and ladies forgive me - they can suck it and keep on sucking it.” Diego Maradona isn’t especially magnanimous towards his critics after Argentina eventually scraped through to the world cup finals.
PREDICTION FOR 2010 Angus & Julia Stone's new album to be universally adored.
HIGHLIGHT(S) OF THE YEAR I thought that singing an acoustic version of Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise onstage at The Latitude Festival with The Late Greats was pretty much the highlight of my entire life until, just ten days from the end of the year, I got to hang out with Superhans from Peep Show at a friend's birthday party. Best night ever.
I'd prefer not to live up to the stereotype of us Brits always talking about the weather but, okay, let's start by talking about the weather. I've never known anything like what was thrown Latitude's way and, with more than a few English 'summers' under my belt, that's saying something. Having arrived in blissful sunshine on Thursday evening, the entire camp-site awaited the predicted storm with trepidation. When it arrived in the early hours of Friday, it didn't disappoint. Thank God, then, for a sturdy gazebo, which I only ventured away from mid-storm to assist three poor girls who were trying to erect their tents in the ensuing monsoon (by 'assist', I actually mean that I stood under a brolly, issuing advice before slying back to my tent before my feet got too wet).
For the remainder of the weekend, the weather went from torrential rain to boiling sun and back again at ten minute intervals, making it impossible to select a suitable outfit to venture to the arena in. The t-shirt/shorts/wellies/raincoat-either-tightly-done-up-or-tied-around-the-waist-depending-on-the-weather look proved popular throughout. Never mind though, the site remained remarkably mud free all weekend, so the affluent middle-class lefties and their irritating kids that made up the majority of the crowd didn't need to summon the kind of Dunkirk spirit that somewhere like Glastonbury thrives on in times of inclement weather.Onwards and upwards then, and Friday began with a great set by Eastbourners, The Late Greats, (above) with two frontmen sharing vocals over intelligent, interestingly crafted, lo-fi post-punk indie noise. Australia's The Temper Trap's sound seems to get more and more imposing and impressive with every show. On this occasion they filled the Uncut stage with movement and the large tent with soaring anthems. Over on the main stage, Ladyhawke offered the first anthem of the weekend in Paris Is Burning.
Under black skies, The Pretenders put in the performance of the festival so far. On a stage that had, earlier in the day, been frequented by some completely unworthy bands (hello, Amazing Baby), Chrissie Hynde owned the entire field. It was refreshing to see a real band playing a back catalogue of greatest hits (I'll Stand By You and Bob Dylan's Forever Young were particularly memorable) and putting on a proper show. Outstanding.
Next, Russian-born New York beauty Regina Spektor cut a teeny, tiny figure at her piano, so much so that half the crowd had to watch the big screens to catch a glimpse of her (above). Her set started slowly but got more and more awesome with each song. New songs Laughing With and Machine were highlights, as was a ramshackle, bashed-out-on-a-guitar rendition of That Time which she didn't know how to finish. "Sorry. I can't play the guitar," she shrugged with a giggle before sitting back down at the piano and playing one of the greatest songs ever written (seriously), Samson. Behind me, a man proposed to his girlfriend mid-song. She said yes. Tears and cheers all round. Even the rain couldn't spoil such a perfect moment.
While Golden Silvers, Little Boots and Bat For Lashes were headlining various stages that night, this reviewer was onstage in the Bafta-sponsored film tent as part of a choir for an acoustic version of Gangsta's Paradise (really), before dashing off to dance like a twat for the magnificent last twenty minutes of the Pet Shop Boys set.
Saturday at midday saw a secret show by David Ford (above) and his band down by the river. He played old and newies to a large crowd (some of whom were made aware of the event via twitter, others who just happened to be wandering past and stopped for a listen), before handing out champagne and ending with his singalong set-closer Cheer Up (You Miserable Fuck).
The rest of the day's line-up was patchy to say the least, and highlights had to really be sought out. While Patrick Wolf was dressing as an owl on the main stage, Dave Gorman chatted about magic poos in the comedy tent. Later Jessica Delfino started badly but was increasingly funny with each ditty at the comedy tent, ending with the brilliant Don't Rape Me. An acoustic show from New York's Jeffrey Lewis (below) was next, during which he tried out a bunch of new songs "for the first and maybe the last time". They showed typical lyrical genius in the very understated way we have come to expect from the artist.
Over in the Uncut tent, Newton Faulkner's arms were flying everywhere in a blur of motion in a crowd-pleasing set as the festival geared up for the arrival its wild card.
Grace Jones. Oh dear, oh dear, Grace Jones. Despite being a weird choice to headline a major festival, hopes were high that she would wow us with an amazing show. Sure enough, there was a costume change after pretty much every song, and the lighting was great, but where was the substance to back it up? "We finally have some new songs for you," she told us, (as if any of us know any of her old songs except for those two), before singing something instantly flat and forgettable. Indeed, once the costume changes lost their ooh factor, the show was only worth watching for the between-song banter, which was intriguing as it was incomprehensible. "Me Grandfather was a killer," she informed us. It was a car-crash of a headline set and not at all comfortable viewing. But then what would you expect from watching a 61-year-old woman with eyes totally vacant draping herself over onstage railings?
The sound of beautiful acoustic guitars woke campers from their slumber the following morning. It turned out to be Thom Yorke sound-checking for his midday solo set, which included the odd Radiohead song. After the biggest crowd of the weekend had stood in reverence at the great man, last night's hero, Jeffrey Lewis, reappeared, this time in the film tent, with his band to play a full set of folk-punk in place of the absent Lightspeed Champion. It was a more than welcome substitution, and those who attended would have struggled to get the chorus of Creeping Brain out of their heads for the rest of the day.
Following The Late Greats and David Ford earlier in the weekend, further Eastbourne representation came from newcomers Capital, who, either side of a power cut, played big pop anthems that seemed to pay a debt of gratitude to The Killers. Rain clouds hovered ominously as Lisa Hannigan began her set, and how disappointing it was that the heavens opened midway through, causing two thirds of the crowd to run for shelter. Still, those who stayed for the whole thing would surely have been dazzled by the breathtaking vocal of Damien Rice's former sidekick.
While, somewhere where I annoyingly wasn't, Javis Cocker was making an impromptu guest appearance, Tricky created a quite an intense atmosphere in the Uncut tent, but while it was nice to hear classics like Black Steel from his magnificent debut album, his set did seem a bit stale. Conversely, Phoenix were all about upbeat indie/disco/guitar pop. Their songs were bouncy and bright enough to banish the rain - even if they did neglect to play crowd favourite, Too Young.
Over on the stage hidden away in the woods, !!! were nicely funky but with paper-thin vocals, and on the Lake Stage, Slow Club's boy/girl tweeness found the middle ground between The Magic Numbers and The Moldy Peaches. Okay, so they weren't anywhere near as good as either of them, but still fun, even if they were a little drowned out by a polished yet uninspiring set from Editors on the main stage.
(I was collared by BBC7 on Saturday afternoon)
And so, to the main attraction of the festival. Sunday night was headlined by Nick Cave (who had already wowed the crowds here last year with his grubby side-project, Grinderman) and his Bad Seeds. It's safe to say he blew every other performance at Latitude 2009 out of the water. The sound that emanated from the stage from the first moment to the last was an absolute aural attack. Songs from the universally acclaimed latest album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! came at the audience like they wanted to beat the hell out of their eardrums and leave them sobbing in a gutter. Cave, an unbelievably intense frontman, pointed out individual members of the audience and stared them straight in the eyes as he delivered lyrics with venom. Of the older tracks, There She Goes My Beautiful World and the deliciously nasty Stagger Lee sounded as fresh as anything all weekend. Devastatingly brilliant.
Aside from the main stages, there were plenty of other things to entertain; movies were shown, celebs like Vivian Westwood spoke in the literary tent, there was a cabaret tent, a kids area, and lots going on down by the lake, like a classical orchestra, a man playing flute inside a bubble floating on the river (below), a robot dancing between the trees, coloured sheep to ahh at and a charity shop selling second hand clothes.However, while these things continued the tradition of Latitude being a laid back, eclectic, family-orientated festival, nothing could paper over the cracks of the line-up. Sure, there were some good acts and a couple of truly great performances, but generally there just wasn't enough depth of quality, especially for a festival that thinks that it can charge £150 a ticket and get away with it. Okay, so there were some big names and some of the little bands did themselves no harm, but where were all the decent middle-range bands; your Mystery Jets, Jamie Ts, Laura Marlings and Late Of The Piers? Any single day's line-up at this year's Glastonbury was a million miles better than the entirety of Latitude.
So, in a nutshell - Latitude 2009: great vibe, shame about the line-up.
JEFFREY LEWIS CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE
La Maronquinerie, Paris
10/05/09
The first noticeable thing about watching support band, Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, in the small downstairs room of a venue on the outskirts of Paris,was just how respectful the audience was. There was none of this chattering business you experience during warm-up acts in London or Sydney. The crowd was completely attentive throughout. There was plenty to pay attention to as well, as the Americans played a set that sounded frighteningly reminiscent of Digital Ash In a Digital Urn-era Bright Eyes. And there's nothing wrong with that, especially when it's done as well as this.
New York-based singer/songwriter Jeffrey Lewis chatted with fans as he sold copies of his albums and comic books from the merch stall (and made me blush like a schoolgirl by telling me he liked my T-shirt) before taking to the stage with his band, The Junkyard (which included brother Jack on bass). The 90-minute set was a mixture of old and new, asArtland and Posters rocked the shit out of the room, Heavy Heart and Bugs and Flowers were sweet and acoustic and The Upside Down Cross (written by Jack) was a woozy psych jam. As is the way with Jeff Lewis shows, he employed a projector to give a lecture about the history of Communism (it's way more fun than it sounds). This was episode five, and was about Korea. Similarly to when I've seen him before, I learnt more about Communism in those five minutes than in my entire school life.
There were other slide-shows too, including Jack's tale of a horse that was sent to the electric chair, and the show ended with the story of a creeping brain that took over the world. Don't worry, it all made perfect sense at the time.The old songs sounded great, but the highlight of the night was one lifted from new album 'Em Are I (which, while being as well-produced a record as he has put out, still retains the lo-fi, anti-folk charm of his previous offerings). Broken Broken Broken Heart was such a shimmeringly catchy combination of country-pop and doo wop that the crowd were bopping along within a few bars. Were English their first language, they would have been singing along too. I was.
It only takes a couple of spins of any of his songs to discover that Jeffrey Lewis is, unquestionably, one of the greatest lyricists of his generation. His songs are often breathlessly wordy and packed full of countless truths. Tonight's show also proved that, not only can he pen evocative lines, but he knows exactly how to put on a live show. The gig had pensive moments, laugh-out-loud humour and sweat-drenched punk magnificence. He might not sell millions of records, but Jeffery Lewis is an absolute genius and should be cherished by anyone who cares about honest, intelligent music.
