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| Bad Note For A Heart | |
| Man, I love the rock and roll! I love
the sheer coarseness of it all, the sweet rambling mayhem that a standard
guitar set-up and Marshall amps stacked to the roof
can generate. The audacity of it. The messed up, cat strut that every
singer worth their rider will turn on when there’s more than handful
of goggle-eyed, half-trashed punters in the room. So hit that power chord,
my friend, raise two fingers to the heavens and send me soaring far,
far into the stratosphere - free, unhinged – a rock and roll time
bomb just waiting for that moment of pure sonic catharsis. Sure I’ll
probably be deaf by the age of 40. But I ride the volume on my stereo
low, and the sucker still has a long way to go. Eleven? Ha! Mine goes
to twelve. And you ain’t heard nothing yet. Yes, it seeps into
my skin like the smoke from an hour-long bonfire, shattering my mind
with every numbing crack of a 16-inch snare. I talk it, sing, play it,
swagger it, living at least part of my life vicariously through music’s
most iconic figures. Eric Clapton, Angus Young,
Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Keith
Richards. Now there’s a face that tells a thousand stories.
If only his wrinkles could talk. For those about to rock, I salute you.
Just remember to wear your earplugs. |
|
| Try Anything Twice | |
| I've been getting into ‘Catherine’s’
online journal this week. There’s all sorts of interesting
musings on life, music and art up there along with a tasty little selection
of her work. Speaking of which, anyone know a good recipe for a flan? Hmmm. You just never know when
it will come in handy. Really! I do know that there's some beautiful
illustrations on Jillian Tamaki's website. She's a Canadian
illustrator with a very distinctive style. She takes a few risks with
her work and I'm a big fan because of that. We're using one of her
illustrations on the next cover of Riot Magazine.
I also love Yuko Shimizu's work.
Her unique blend of traditional Japanese styled illustration with
American pop cultured influenced visual hooks is truly amazing. She sits
in that upper tier of the new crop of illustrators who are pushing the
parameters a little in terms of the high profile editorial work they
do. Locally, there's a group show supported by Jeremyville called - 'Plastic Pimps' - on
at the China Heights Gallery in Surry Hills, Sydney. Jeremy has a few
works on display including a 60-inch Quee and
a 6 metre long painting. Also worth checking out are the latest illustrations
by Linzie Hunter and
some very impressive fashion and illustrative work by Eugenia
Tsimiklis. |
|
| Alternate Cuts | |
 |
Ani DiFranco’s sound is so unique and her
instrumental base so minimalist that she runs the risk every album
of merely repeating the same songs with different lyrics. She has two
speeds – the upbeat bouncy tracks that showcase her dexterous
and rhythmic guitar playing and the minor key songs that tug at the
heartstrings as she lyrically purges her soul. Such is Knuckle Down – a winding narrative
of an album full of snappy acoustic guitar hooks, subtle basslines
and DiFranco’s half-spoken, half-sung vocal delivery which flits
dramatically from angry diatribes ('course, you’re the kind of
guy who doesn’t lie, he just doctors everything … but
you can’t fool the queen baby') to gentle pathos ('tonight with
every breath, I can feel my death') with a touch of the confessional
thrown in for good measure. DiFranco is nothing if not honest. And
here she’s as prickly and acerbic as ever.
|
| Giveaway | |
 |
Although they hardly knew each other, the impact that Tim Buckley had on his son Jeff’s music is indisputable. Tim crafted meticulous, yearning songs that tapped deep into minor key sentiments and captured poetically the sense of mental and physical unease that he felt with the world. Jeff Buckley was equally as restless - a tortured soul whose most direct means of expression came in the form of epic falsetto driven songs that arched melodically through great highs and lows. This tribute album from some of the alt-music world’s brightest luminaries is a fitting tribute to a legacy which still carries on in the output of many of those featured here – Sufjan Stevens, Micah P Hinson, The Earlies and others. Thanks to Inertia we have five copies of Dream Brother to give away to random emailers with the album title in the subject heading. |
| And Finally | |
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| A couple of great photos by my brother, and Lost At E Minor partner, Zac. These were taken during one of his many spells living and working in London. The boy sure has an eye for it. Till next time, Zolton | |
