Cover Version: Nick Cave's songs @ Community Cup 2011, Elsternwick Park

OK, I been wanting to do some blog posts of my favourite cover versions but haven't yet. Over this weekend in Melbourne there was a footy game called Community Cup which is local bands/artists vs local radio and the Espy Rockdogs thrashing the RRR/3PBS Megahertz. Also happening at this footy game is some bands play some covers and this year it's songs by Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard. Someone video taped them and I love them all unlike the two new Nick Cave songs with Unkle and Neko Case, both really do sound like they are not in the same room, maybe this is his new thing. So the new Bad Seeds album will be done by email so no one has to be in the same recording studio together. Anyway here are four of the best as recorded by Carbie Warbie plus go to ToneDeaf for lots more, you just wish you lived in Melbourne.

The Rebelles


The Rebelles and Dan Sultan


Tumbleweed


You Am I


By the way, Triple J this is what Dan Luscombe looks like. They have got his top ten Aussie albums on their website but they have a photo of The Drones line-up pre-Dan, the pic is from around 2004. It's most likely some I.T. idiot but Triple J should know this if you're going to select him out of 175 people voting in their hottest 100 Aussie albums industry poll. He's picked some great albums and Rowland S. Howard's Teenage Snuff Film coming in at his number one. If you check out their website in the first day or so they had Gareth Liddiard's top ten but changed it to Dan for some reason. Luckily I've written it down, I should post it up on my blog, eh?

Great Read: Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy? by Stephen Cummings

Well, I read this last year but I was re-reading it the other day so I thought I'll write a blog post about it. So to start with this is the most enjoyable rock music memoir since Bob Dylan's. It was first published in 2009 but I picked it up at a book shop sale and read the first page and with sentences like this in the first paragraph: "The past smells like rotten eggs and apparently you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette." and second paragraph: "I had protracted periods of anxiety, migraines, hysteria and dread." so I knew I would like it but in the end I loved it. To be honest I didn't even have any of his albums but did buy Good Bones, his latest album after I finished reading it. I really had only a vague idea who he is but now I'm a fan and would like to get some more stuff by him. I would recommend this book to anyone, it's that great.

He's brutally honest about the music industry. Why would anyone want to be a rock star but of-course he is one - this is a perfect example of what this book is like, he likes to contradict himself. He's got a few too many could have been story's too. He tells a story about a school trip to Alice Springs and being bitten by a dog and what happens next which sets up the rest of the book absolutely splendidly in the first few pages. He writes about growing up in Melbourne in the 60's, so many Aussie bands people have long forgotten but should be remembered and why he loves music so much which leads to starting a band. One of the early chapters is about his first bands residency in Perth which is where I'm from so extra special and funny too. This is not the band he's remembered for but if you don't know who that is they were called The Sports maybe I thought because Aussies love their sport more than anything else really but to quote Stephen Cummings it's because "Being Not much of a sportsman, I decided to call it The Sports." They signed to Australia's biggest major label, Mushroom Records and one of England's biggest indie labels at the time called Stiff Records. Then recorded four or five albums, E.P.'s and a hand-full of of hit singles. Michael Gudinski got shot down in flames but then again he does that to himself throughout the book too.


I'll not tell you everything that happens in his book because I want you to read it yourself. A few bio details just to finish of after The Sports broke up Stephen Cummings has had now sixteen solo albums and two novels but has kept a very low profile as a solo artist which is fair after what he writes in this book. The last thing I'll say is he's worked and toured or just some name-dropping of some great Aussie artists The Church's Steve Kilbey, Neil Finn, Paul Hester, The Go-Betweens, Paul Kelly, Kim Salmon, Don Walker, David McComb all make cameos plus the chapter on Nick Cave is the reason why I haven't written anything more about him after finishing my top 50 songs last year, it's so completely perfect about Cave nothing more needs to be said or written. Plus after that new song "I'll take the money and run, rabbit" rubbish why bother. Anyway stop reading this and go out and find Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy? by Stephen Cummings, you'll find out who Billy is too. I would give it 5 stars or 10 out of 10 and tell you to read it yourself today or tomorrow.

Here's an old song from youtube video of classic Sports' Who Listens To The Radio track.

So than was Stephen then and the middle photo is now by Fred Kroh and the top image is the front cover of Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy?

Stay tuned for more soon...

Video Tape: Gareth Liddiard & Dan Luscombe @ Forum Theatre and Gaz @ St. Kilda Festival, 2011

Right, to start with Hooters are in China (I'm not making it up) with four locations around the country. The above photo is from The Drones myspace's photos with the quote under the pic as "The only person in China who would talk to us. Hooters, Shanghai." It's just a really, really funny photo to go with four of his most daunting and melancholic songs below. God knowns who took this photo but they toured China a few years back. Anyway this post is to be filed under my continuing The Drones and Gareth Liddiard database which is what I should have maybe called this blog.


Gareth Liddiard & Dan Luscombe with Jezebel @ Forum Theatre for the Stephen Walker Benefit on Monday 31 January, 2011.


Gareth Liddiard with I Don't Ever Want To Change @ St Kilda Festival Sunday 13 February, 2011.


Gareth Liddiard with Strange Tourist @ St Kilda Festival Sunday 13 February, 2011.


Gareth Liddiard with Shark Fin Blues @ St Kilda Festival Sunday 13 February, 2011.

Well, I have not posted anything for this month, I've started full-time job now so I've been a bit busy but I've got two other Gareth Liddiard related posts I'm currently writing. One is very short but the other is really long, too long, maybe. So hopefully I can publish them before the end of February but with only one day left I might not finish them off before or is it going to be for next month? I'll see what I can do in the next day but just more Gaz posts to come.

Photos: Gareth Liddiard & Dan Kelly @ The EG Awards, 2010

Well, here's an quick post of a couple funny photos of Gareth Liddiard and Dan Kelly messin' about at The Age newspaper EG Awards 2010 with Paul Kelly's new book (above). If you didn't know Paul Kelly is now a member of their Hall of Fame. Gareth Liddiard later played two songs. The first a Paul Kelly cover "The Executioner" (below) with Dan Kelly. Then he played his own song "Stange Tourist" solo but he didn't win any awards but who gives a shit about that.

These four photos are by Robert Carbone which can be found at Photos: EG Awards 2010 : Mess+Noise. Sorry, I couldn't help reposting them here so hopefully no one minds too much.

Photos: Dimitron Benefit with The Drones @ The Corner Hotel

Hello and welcome to another post one and it's more about The Drones again. I just found some great photos of the last gig The Drones are and will play this year. I did NOT take these photographs these were taken by Matthew Harding and can be found on the Mess + Noise website. I just really love them, brilliant photos. Also if you didn't already know, I totally adore The Drones and will go as far as calling them the greatest band going currently and maybe of all-time too.

Gareth Liddiard releasing his debut solo album would have to be the highlight of the year, for me. The album of the year no doubt at all, it's still mind blowing even after a couple of months listening. I've also heard the news that Mike Noga, The Drones drummer but singer-songwriter in his own right has done his follow-up to his 2006’s Folk Songs album, March next year he will released his new solo album. The "new" Drones DVD will be releasing some time over this summer (no date as yet). I have also read Gaz is helping Ben Salter from The Gin Club doing his solo album which will be another thing to look forward to next year. I'm hoping for a "new" The Drones album maybe late next year or is that pushing it a bit but I have to guess it's got to come sooner or later at some stage, doesn't it?

It's been a quiet year really for them as a band with only nine gigs this year in total. So just to go over it here from the start of the year was Last drinks at the Tote finishing with Joel Silbersher doing the the last song of his old band's GOD classic track My Pal on 18th January. Then a run of three shows at East Brunswick Club Hotel with Gaz blowing up his amp in the very first song. All of these shows were filmed and recorded for the "new" DVD too. The gigs were on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of February then it was up to Sydney at The Annandale Hotel on 4th and 5th March. Off to England for ATP festival curated by Pavement on 14th to 16th of May. Then back to Melbourne at Forum Theatre on the 22nd October. Then to finish of with this show (that the photos are from) at The Corner Hotel on the 1st of December 2010. I wish I lived in Melbourne and could have seen these concerts but if you went could you tell me about them? I have no idea if this little run through of their gigs is interesting to anyone but me but I do like to keep track of these things and it's my blog plus if you enjoy all this too well that is bonus.

As for any new recordings from The Drones the closest we got this year is on the Maurice Frawley tribute album. I've bought the whole three CD's album but you can listen to the song they did which was the title track Long Gone Whistle; linked here). In the liner notes it only credits Gareth Liddiard and Dan Luscombe as The Drones members but has Augie March's Adam Donovan on Pedel Steel Guitar plus backing vocals and noises. Before that the one I'm missing from last year is the FBI radio's The Live Feed compilation album which I think I'll have to get now, a bit late but it's the only thing I'm missing (I think) so writing it down here reminds me to get it. There are some more great Aussie bands and artists on it too plus a few others from overseas. They're a few other discs from last year which Gaz and The Drones are on, my recommendation would be triple J’s Like A Version Vol. 5 with The Drones' cover of the TV show M*A*S*H theme song Suicide Is Painless. Also Gaz was on Magic Dirt's White Boy EP singing and playing guitar on Love Is The Armour. Plus Adalita and Liddiard did a cover and duet of early The Saints' classic song Messin’ With The Kid on Rockwiz TV show as well. Maybe I should put together a complete discography some time because I like doing stupid shit like that.

Anyway here are the photos below. Did I not tell you they're awesome photographs?















This was a benefit gig for local artist Dimitra Bucolo who suffers from lupus and has been hospitalised due to serious complications. Hopefully this gig will help and hope they get well soon.

All sixty photos for the night can be found here: Photos: Dimitron Benefit Feat. The Drones, Love Of Diagrams, ZOND : Mess+Noise but I've puttogether my favorites in this post because it's well, my blog and as someone said in the comment on their page "the M&N photo gallery format needs a total overhaul. it's completley un-viewer-friendly" which I totally agree with. There are some beautiful and wonderful photos but, you know what he said pretty much says it all.

All photos by Matthew Harding. Unfortunately I can not find his website to link back to other that the Mess + Noise site because I do like to show other peoples work here so if it is problematic for some reason please let me know. Did I already say how much I love these photos. I totally adore them and I would like to thank you personally for such great photos but the internet is at times unlike that. I hope it's all fine reposting the photos here on my blog.

On a final note: I deleted my last post because was unhappy with it, sorry if you liked it I'm going to re-do it sometime soon. Thank you for looking and even reading. I think I'll go back to the 50 Nick Cave songs next and just finish it and be done with it.

50 Greatest Nick Cave Songs: the Intro & from #50 to #46

Hello again and welcome to my third blog. Today I'm going to start the beginning of my 50 greatest Nick Cave songs. I saw Uncut magazine just the other day with their top 30 tracks which was very predicable and even boring at times so I didn't buy it but maybe will later on. Off-course the number one song was The Mercy Seat and number two is Into My Arms which does seem right I guess. An interesting thing is both songs where written at different times but he was in rehab. It just makes you want to get him addicted to drugs and booze again just you can throw him into rehab and get another truly great song out of it (that's a joke).

Grinderman's new song Heathen Child even made it into uncut's top 30 which I have to say it's not that good. So for the above reason and few others I'm going to do my own. It's going to be fifty tracks too, sorry but I couldn't cut it down to just thirty. Also I've not included anything from The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds because I've heard all these songs hundreds of times and that would be a good place to start but this blog is kind-off for where to go next. It's going to be alternative, or different kind-off greatest songs. I never really liked the hit singles anyway of course these are my choice, so you whoever you are, reading this might disagree but this is my blog and nothing stopping you doing the same or just commenting below. I'm going to break them into the next few or more blogs because I'm going to write a little about each song like with the reason why or just a bit about it. Writing out a big list would be a bit boring and this is supposed to keep me writing.

50. The Boys Next Door - Sex Crimes
To start with is one of those totally forgotten, or was it ever remembered in the first place? But it was his earliest song to be recorded, it was rejected by the time of their debut album but really this could be a Grinderman song if you know what I mean. Sex Crimes is a 1978 demo on this double CD Inner City Sound which seems now to be deleted. Also included on this is Rowland S. Howard's first band Young Charlatans original previously unreleased Shivers, plus 45 other early Aussie punk songs, so it's worth trying to find a copy of it.
Find it on: Inner City Sound: Australian Punk & Post-Punk (Compilation) 2005

49. Nick Cave - Shine On Me
I going to included three covers at this point before I really get going. Cave has a long list of songs he's reworked to make his own but these can't be higher because they're just covers. I only got three more cover songs after these too cause he's such a prolific songwriter there is no reason to have anymore so these half a dozen are my all time favorites. The first is the oldest song going all the way back to 1930 originally on Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music and preformed by Ernest Phipps and His Holiness Singers. Cave's version was recorded at his Meltdown Festival in 1999 but not released until mid-2000's.
Find it on: The Harry Smith Project: Anthology Of American Folk Music Revisited (Box-set) 2006

48. Nick Cave - Here Comes The Sun
Well magazines like Uncut have The Beatles and their members on their covers with stories and write-ups about them until the cows could all be arrested for home invasions. Surprisingly this is Cave's only time he's been on the cover of this magazine. So with that in mind the greatest Beatles cover in my opinion is by you guessed it, Cave. In the early 2000's he recorded two Beatles covers Paul McCartney's Let It Be and George Harrison's Here Comes The Sun from Sean Penn's film I Am Sam but you could get both songs on the single, or if you could find the 20 track European edition with more Beatles covers than you could possibility want.
Find it on: Here Comes the Sun (Single) 2002


47. Nick Cave, Julie Christensen, Perla Batalla - Suzanne
He's recorded and preformed more Leonard Cohen covers than anyone else from his debut album as Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds to various tribute albums and shows. These songs have been Avalanche, Tower of Song, I'm Your Man and he also did Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On with Lou Reed and Jarvis Cocker one time and with Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson another time which both those versions remained unreleased. But the best has to be Suzanne which was the first track on Cohen's debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen way back in 1967.
Find it on: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (Soundtrack) 2006


46. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Idiot Prayer
Right, now back to his own songwriting with one of the last songs on the album which critics dub his greatest, I wouldn't because it's good but not his best. For most of the album the band The Bad Seeds as a whole don't play together on these songs, it could be his solo album, almost. They're on Idiot Prayer with all seven members playing here with only Jim Sclavunos missing out which is no great loss really. You could say this is the first of many of Cave's depressing songs I've picked here which could really be the sub-title to this list. Not that that is a bad thing to me it makes him even better or should I just say the greatest songwriter of our time.
Find it on: The Boatman's Call (Album) 1997


Top photo by Jason South, Nick Cave at Melbourne Art Centre's Nick Cave — The Exhibition in November, 2007.

Stay tuned for more...