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- 07 - 05 / no.27 :: SUBSCRIBE HERE :: Last week's issue |
| You Are Now Tuned In | |
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Not that I'm one to gloat but I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with Jez and Andy Bell from Manchester band Doves last week and a nicer, more down to earth pair of lads you wouldn't find anywhere. I interviewed them for Australian music magazine HOTPRESS, playing them a random selection of songs by other artists and getting their feedback on each one. They were particularly effusive in their praise of the 'Godfather of Northern Soul', Paul Weller, citing him as a major inspiration and revealing that the reason he hasn't played in Australia for ages is because he can't smoke on the flight over here. Poor bugger. That's one hell of an addiction. More impressive though was the ease and charm with which they deflected the rather enthusiastic advances of the hotel waitress. And, yes, to all you lads out there, I did the honourable thing and attempted to pass myself off as frontman Jimi Goodwin - thus alleviating the heat off the duo. But she saw right through my flimsy disguise, my Manchunian accent sounding more like that of a Norwegian shipping magnate. Oh well, it was worth a crack. But I digress ... there's some hot work up on the site of jewellery and glass designer, Zara Collins. Elsewhere, the Hedonics window gallery on Cleveland St is featuring the work of Susie Rugg in an exhibition entitled Kaleidoscope: Beautiful Form Watcher, which makes the whole experience of crawling down Sydney's most decrepit artery that much more pleasurable. |
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| Legs Of Bees | |
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There are some great photos on Robert Clark's
website
charting his travels through Middle America. Clark's visual
commentary on the state of the nation is reminiscent of Robert
Frank's 1954 road-trip across the US which resulted in the book,
The Americans, and changed the language of photographic narrative.
Meanwhile the wonderful Blender Gallery in
Paddington is featuring the work of photographers Marco Bok,
Dean Dampney, Tamara Dean, Dean Sewell & Lisa Wiltse as part
of an exhibition called Five Vignettes, which presents different
views of the human existence within Australia. 'The photographers
are interested in the play of the people, in both the socio-economic
environment and the landscape that we see through our open eyes
and feel beneath our feet'. It runs until August 9th and is
worth checking out. As is this promise of a better life.
Oh well. Ignorance is bliss. something my goldfish Plato
would no doubt agree on. The little fella only has a three second
memory span. No wonder he's so damn wide-eyed and innocent:
as far as he's concerned every breath is a rebirth and skinny
leather ties never, ever happened.
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| Alternate Cuts (music to dream by) | |
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With
their low-fi pop feel and street weary lyrical bent, Death
Cab For Cutie were pioneers for the legion of shoe
gazing indie acts that have emerged over the past few years.
Since their debut release, Something About Airplanes,
the group have resolutely toiled beneath the radar of the FM
conglomerates, earning their kudos (and paychecks) from their
pitch perfect live sets and a string of excellent ep & album
releases. Stomp have just re-released some
of the better Death Cab moments as part of a wider appreciation
of their unique, albeit revisionist, sound. Under the direction
of mainman Benjamin Gibbard, the band create ethereal pop music
full of discordant and sunken melodies which shimmer over a
simple backbeat. We Have The Facts And We're Voting
Yes is the standout album, but the unpolished goodness
of their live John Byrd ep reaffirms the magic
that six strings and a deftly moving bassline can produce. |
| And Finally | |
Nothing Is Easy |
Scribble City |
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