Mark Seymour’s Thirteen Tonne Theory
You want blunt self assessment? Try this from the lead singer, Mark Seymour’s tome about life in the Australian rock juggernaut, Hunters and Collectors: ‘it’s a hard sell. It’s about a rock band with no image’. Seymour certainly begins Thirteen Tonne Theory behind the eight ball, yet it is this refreshing take on the struggles of being in a group that make the story more endearing. ‘(The band) was not that much different to a trade union: useful while the work was around, but a straightjacket once people lost faith in the notion of collective bargaining’. Brutal honesty that you don’t often find these days.
Tagged: Australian bands, pop music
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Producing a string of international hits without releasing an album in the space of four years isn’t the norm for most artists. But Australian electro-pop outfit Miami Horror aren’t your average musicians playing by the rules. The band started off as a solo endeavour turned augmented four-piece live incarnation who incessantly test the boundaries of electro territory. I chatted with founding mastermind Benjamin Plant about their recently released debut album, Illumination Read more
The music behind the new Howling Bells album, Radio Wars
The last time I caught up with London-based, Australian band, Howling Bells, was in New York in early 2007 when they played a show at one of the many seedy Lower East Side bars. Since then, they’ve recorded a new album, the aptly named Radio Wars [listen to their song, Treasure Hunt, below], a remarkable follow-up to their 2006 self-titled debut. I checked in with guitarist Joel Stein to find out what music the four-piece had been listening to around the time the album was written: ‘The Byrds’ Eight Miles High always sounds so futuristic to me. It has one of the best guitar sounds ever and really moves me with its color and power. Every time I hear the Tortoise track, I Set My Face to the Hillside, I instantly get transported to the ocean. Beautiful! Joy Division’s Isolation is incredible. I love the intro keyboard riff, in particular (the keyboard was self-built). It expresses urgency and truth. And then there’s Neu!’s Hallogallo, a truly inspiring instrumental track that I always want to go on for longer. Its fuzzy guitars are so warm and vibrant. Perfect!’ Read frontwoman Juanita Stein’s Playlist of inspiring songs.
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Oh boy, this song reminds me of the misspent years of my early-twenties, living large within the cloistered, sweltering surrounds of Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Marvin The Album was a typical Saturday morning soundtrack, a bouncy kickstart to the weekend ahead, as I dusted off the mental cobwebs from the night before and looked out over my balcony onto this vast beckoning expanse of sun-kissed sand. Yes, beam me back Scotty! To those days of relative innocence, where the subtle swing of a feel-good song was only ever a couple of hotsteps away. Frente! were like the icing on a lush chocolate cupcake: a little sweet, kind of gooey, but always concealing something a little darker just beneath the surface.
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Also by STUART MCPHEE
Full-time writer, part-time maker of dioramas, New Yorker Sloane Crosley has released a collection of her witty essays entitled I Was Told There’d Be Cake. Recounting tales of plastic pony collections, wanting to raise her unborn kids in Belgium, and locking herself out of her apartment twice in one day, Crosley’s stories will make you think of Larry David if he was a cute thirty year-old woman. No wonder HBO snapped up the rights to the book.
Teddy Thompson’s fourth album is the reason why I have been ignoring this year’s other new releases. A Piece Of What You Need is teeming with sophisticated pop tunes, such as the first single In My Arms, a song that’s so memorable I may need to go into therapy if it isn’t out of my head by year’s end.
Until recently Trent Reznor has been the Terrence Malick of music. Now he is releasing albums like it is nobody’s business. And free ones at that. Read more
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I’ve been a longtime fan of Jill Greenberg’s stunning and subtly manipulated photography for some time. Her incredible talent for accentuating her subject’s true personality, whether they be celebrities or animals, is uncanny. Unfortunately her latest work might find her in the midst of a lawsuit, but for now we can still enjoy these while photos they last. Read more
Remember those days when eating candy bars meant nothing more than stuffing your face with delectable, delightful chocolate? No guilt; no shame. Just innocent childhood adoration. Well, those days are gone, and we have the evidence to prove it. [via College Humor] Read more
Having originally sprung from the Shaky Isles (otherwise known as New Zealand), I can appreciate the humour in the New Zealand cartoon series, Bro Town, the first homegrown animated series to screen during local prime time. It’s simply brilliant, a real play on the ‘thuck’ accent and small town ways of our Kiwi brethren.
Along with San Francisco and Barcelona, New York is arguably the modern street skating city, both in reality and image. Because of the unique background, experience and perspective of the film’s creators and the decision to “cast” the city of New York as one of the main characters, Deathbowl to Downtown promises to be an unprecedented, seminal film. Read more
Google recently demonstrated their ability to predict flu outbreaks across America weeks in advance of the outbreaks themselves. It would seem that they are more than just a pretty search engine. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve now teamed up with Life Magazine, what was the cornerstone of photojournalism for the Twentieth Century, to digitize 95 per cent of their image bank that never saw the light of day. Now millions of photos stretching from the 1750s to the present day are available on Google Images at the click of a button. Read more
Milwaukee’s Neon Hunk make spastic, synth-and-drum madness that is likely to trigger seizures in the uninitiated. Their psychotic, candy-colored aesthetic — complete with terrifying masks and stuffed animals — gives no quarter to the faint of heart, but for those whose retinas and ear canals are sufficiently fortified with scar tissue, the duo’s glitched-out dance attack should provide ample cause to bounce around. Read more
Whoa, check out these sweet jackets by Natalie Rae Richardson that are embroidered to look like fur and feathers. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.
Honest Food Preparation Instructions
Yes, we’ve all been there: the chinese food from last week that still looks edible amongst the bare surrounds of an empty fridge. But really, we shouldn’t. Just let it be. Or College Humor will expose you! Read more
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
This Powder Necklace features a pearlized Turbo Cinereus shell with tiny holes drilled into the bottom, filled with a sparkling silver-colored powder that when gently tapped, sprinkles a light dusting on the wearer’s chest. Designed by Stephanie Simek. Read more
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