myspace is stupid, facebook is worse, but twitter is truly retarded....what next?
— The Drones (@thedrones) April 16, 2009
Well, that is Gareth Liddiard's middle finger maybe blogger should be added too. I'm going to stop this blog now, I feel like I've been talking to myself for a very long time. Anyway thanks for reading but bye-bye.
Well, it's almost the end of January so if I don't post this now it with be a bit pointless but it's here now dear reader, whoever you are.
My Artist of the year: Adalita Well, she was everywhere this year after fronting one of the best rock n' roll bands in Australia for 20 years she went solo. She payed tribute to Nick Cave and The Wiggles, covered Madonna for triple J, played for the Dalai Lama and won A.I.R. award (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) and if I had an award she would win four today. If I did have an award it would look like a duck swimming in a coffee cup - anyway if you read this first it gives the rest away, oh well.
My Song and 7" inch 45 vinyl of the year: The Repairer by Adalita Just like last year's song of the year it's a 7" inch 45 vinyl I bought. Plus, after a couple of days ago I totally disagee with Triple J's Hottest 100 again, so my theory now is the more votes you get the more shit they can get just like politicians, ha.
My E.P. of the year: Bad Blood by River of Snakes I picked Adalita's Hot Air last year and this year another Magic Dirt related release, so if you don't know it's thier guitarist Raul Sanchez who's now a singer as well for River of Snakes in this new three piece.
My D.V.D. and the double gatefold 33 1/3 vinyl of the year: A Thousand Mistakes by The Drones Well, surprise I got both the verisons released of The Drones this year, both are totally beautiful and beyond words.
My live gig of the year: (Tie) Gareth Liddiard & Dan Kelly / The Drones & Adalita both @ The Bakery, Northbridge. OK, Well I really can't pick just one so I've picked both because well they were the greatest gigs of the year, that's the whole show including the support acts too.
My Reissue of the year: (Tie) Let Love In & No More Shall We Part by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds I wasn't going to buy any more of these reissues because I've already got them but somehow by the end of the year I've got two of them. The only thing dissapointing is reading the new liner notes about the demos he recorded with Rowland S. Howard (Let Love In) and Warren Ellis (No More Shall We Part) and the demo recordings are not on these reissues, why not?
My Albums of the year: My #10: Feel The Pain by The Painkillers The Painkillers new album is the first to be recorded in a real recording studio, unlike the debut album which was just made as a demo tape to get gigs but I still love them and it's a great way to start my top ten.
My #9: The Balladeer Hunter by Mike Noga The Drones' drummer's second solo album is pretty damn good, it's a pity really he's in a band who's singer-songwriter I consider the best at the moment because he would be higher in this list. Still he's at number nine which is not a bad number really too.
My #8: Hurtsville by Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders This is the third album by Jack Ladder and the one which finally got me. I never really got him before but also hopefully he will not sing any more Christmas unwear advertising again.
My #7: The Cat by Ben Salter Ben Salter debut solo album is wicked after years playing with too many bands to name here is just all his songs by themselves, even though it's a big afair with an all-star line-up.
My #6: Precious Jules by Precious Jules Or Kim Salmon and Michael Stranges' new band together, sometimes it's hard keeping up with all of Kim Salmon's projects/bands/works and this one is his most straight rock n' rock album in years.
My #5: Design Desire by Abbe May Can you call this her first "solo" album after albums going under The Devil & Abbe May and Abbe May & The Rockin’ Pnuemonia she is finally just Abbe May, she really came into her own on this album.
My #4: I Still Hear Your Voice At Night by The Paradise Motel Originally recorded in 2009 but finally out this year, it was shelved because of the death of drummer Damien Hill but it's great they released it now. After thier last album came in second in last years list, it's so amazing to have them back.
My #3: Absence by Snowman The end of this band was recording this album unfortunately but what a way to go out and even so releasing it after the band has broken-up was the right thing to do. I will miss you Snowman.
My #2: Work (Work, Work) by HTRK Well, just missing out on the number one spot. If I was to pick a band of the year it would be HTRK, there is now only two members left but it still counts as a band, just. Some say it was just more of the same but to me this so different to the early records, not just that Sean Stewart is missing but so is Rowland S. Howard who was like the fourth member really but now it's just Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang.
My #1: Adalita by Adalita Well, really it's Adalita's year for me and winner of four places in my best picks of the year. What more can I say about her now. Well, if you don't know it was on this album she payed tribute to her fallen band member Dean Turner and it' s prefect too, go out and buy the album if you haven't got it yet.
P.S. This is the fifth time I've made this kind-off list on the internet. My albums of the year, so far are: 2007: Jean Lee and The Yellow dog by Ed Kuepper 2008: Havilah by The Drones 2009: As Day Follows Night by Sarah Blasko 2010: Strange Tourist by Gareth Liddiard I'll get back to my 100 Aussie albums for the next post soon, thanks again for reading or just having a look.
OK, I really have to post this because someone sent me the link to the full gig filmed at the Metro in Sydney which is the last gig of the tour that finished last week so this is the last gig from The Drones for this year. I will not type very much because as you will see this is a very, very long video or it's a playlist but I'm going to just embed it in full just as you would be watching them live but off course it's not the same thing well, it's close enough. So thanks to Prettycrap for filming it all, cheers mate.
The setlist: The Best You Can Believe In I’m Here Now The Minotaur Jezebel Cold And Sober Luck In Odd Numbers River Of Tears Sitting On The Edge Of The Bed Cryin’ I Don’t Ever Want To Change Sixteen Straws Oh, Sister (Bob Dylan cover)
The photo above is really very silly but does look like Gaz is rooting the rest of the band, I've written a post called The Roots of Gareth Liddiard and The Drones so maybe I should have used this photo but it's very new. I found it on the latest mess+noise interview with him but god knows who took the photo.
OK, it's been a long wait for this DVD. It would have been at least early last year when I first heard about it and the filming for Melbourne's East Brunswick Club on February 20, 2010. Gaz has said it takes a long time in DVD land so I guess he's right but he's also done the reissue of Gutterville Splendour Six on vinyl and recorded/produced Ben Salter's debut solo album this year, plus of course his own solo album was released last year too. Mike Noga also put out his own solo album early this year too. Mike Noga and Dan Luscombe both joined Augie March's Glenn Richards for his debut solo album. Fiona Kitschin has been managing her boyfriend's solo career too, do you know who that is? If not just have guess, a clue his name is in the title of this post. So everyone has been busy, I guess but not the busy I would like. No really I have loved all the above projects but maybe I just missed The Drones.
This has been a long week too because I kept checking for the DVD since last Friday, 7th October which was the second release date which had changed from 16th September. I didn't get it until this Friday, 14th October. I always get this with anything on the Shock Records distribution, you could really place bets on how late they are. It's all great being independent and all but I wish it meant stuff arrived on the due date or why have one, fuck knows should be the release date but I do live on the arse end of this country, Perth.
So, now I have it I've watched it twice already even though I've worked a six day week at work, filling in for my boss who's gone on school holidays down south with his kids. The Fairfied Warehouse sessions are the quieter and in all color to the East Brunswick club session louder and in Black and White and is the first disc - both are from 2010. Then the second disc is 2005 to 2008 which is a lot of stuff recorded but never seen before or maybe just on youtube but you can now have it all in the one place which is so cool, I don't have to download it all the time now. I have read people saying four and a half hours is too long for any band but The Drones some songs are about ten minutes long and in the end it really is not too long. If anything, I wouldn't have minded another disc but maybe that is just me. I totally love this band, they're the greatest band in the world and this DVD has made them even more so.
In some interviews Liddiard has talked about a big box of live recording of mainly audio so I would love to hear them now too but this is mainly all the video recordings here. Of course a few years back they released their first DVD called Live In Madrid which is Spain plus extras, like videoclips of Shark Fin Blues and Jezebel so this one maybe should have had The Minotaur videoclip but that is really no great loss. That old DVD was really Rui Pereira time period on film and this new one is Dan Luscombe but The Tote footage on the second disc has Rui Pereira back on guitar. France and Germany is covered here, plus the last two shows are from Sydney shows but no England at all, which is a bit funny because their record label is English but who really cares about them anyway. What else can I tell you about it? Well, I spotted two Vincent van Gogh reproductions behind Mike Noga's shoulder. On his right is a very small Starry Night and Pink Peach Tree in Blossom on his left. Behind Fiona Kitschin is The Cricketers by Russell Drysdale. The tracklisting is here if you want to see what songs were played and on the DVD.
In the interviews over the last couple of weeks for this DVD and tour Liddiard has talked about how he's not really listening to any rock n roll anymore and how he's really gotten into all this African music which has got nothing to do with rock 'n' roll and the whole of English and American music at all. Plus it is somehow is going to influence new The Drones songs, he's going to write over this summer. He also says The Drones can do anything now on more than one occasion in these interviews. In one interview he said "he's broke-up The Drones and is now forming a new band which is going to be called The Drones" or something along those lines. The only thing I wished one of these journos would ask Liddiard was to put together a list of the best and/or his favorite albums from Africa.
The few below photos are from the first of three gigs at Melbourne's The Corner Hotel on Wednesday night. The first three photos are from tonedeaf and were taken by Andrew Briscoe and then the bottom five are from fasterlouder by katie_fairservice. So as a celebration that I finally got my hands on The Drones' A Thousand Mistakes DVD I'd like to throw them into this latest post. I can't complain now because I don't think I'll stop watching it now, I'm fuckin' lovein' it. I think I would rate it ten out of ten or hundred out of hundred or just million out of million, go and get it yourself.
OK, I went to see both gigs in W.A. at Mojo's in Freo and The Bakery in Northbridge last week because it's been so long since seeing them live and it was a treat. Adalita was a great opening act, she was joined by Raúl Sánchez so it was kind-of half a Magic Dirt reunion but playing songs from her solo album, plus the b-sides from the Hot Air EP, just different ones on both nights.
The setlist was the same on both nights to start with but maybe mixed up later but I love pretty much all The Drones songs so they could play any of their songs and I would love it. They played Stop Dreaming both nights which according to an interview with Gaz I read last week they never play or not for a longtime, or never since Mike Noga and Dan Luscombe have join the band - who asked where did that song come from?
Some highlights were: Starting the night off with The Best You Can Believe In and Locust and then later Sitting On The Edge Of The Bed Cryin’ but no Sharkfin Blues from Wait Long By The River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By album but then again I've seen that one heaps of times before. Luck In Odd Numbers, The Drifting Housewife and of course The Minotaur from Havilah album. Jezebel, I’m Here Now and of course I Don’t Ever Want To Change from Gala Mill. River Of Tears too so pretty much the whole night was full of highlights. Then at Mojo's they did a wicked version of The Miller’s Daughter and at The Bakery they did Sixteen Straws. But then Adalita came back on stage to sing with Gaz: Oh Sister, a Bob Dylan cover from his Desire album which was unbelievable, they really should record it together. As far as I know this is the only time The Drones have ever done a Bob Dylan cover, I know they name dropped Dylan a lot before but never a cover but then again I might be wrong. I still wish they would record that one, it was classic. It seems they did it in Melbourne the week before and in Adelaide the next night too. It was two awesome nights so if you have never seen The Drones yet before they finish their run of shows or just go buy the DVD.
Plus here is another very new videoclip just on youtube for the song Did She Scare All Of Your Friends Away from his great solo album Strange Tourist filmed by something called Sideshow Alley which was only uploaded a few days ago.
Right I better stop or I'll never finish this post, I've been writing all month, adding and adding to it. Maybe I should have broken it up but it's too late now. Stay tuned for the letter "E" very soon from my favorite 100 Aussie albums, I promise.
So just to break-up my 100 greatest Aussie albums posts, here is three new videos I've been watching a lot. The first from The Drones' new DVD A Thousand Mistakes with Fiona Kitschin's Work For Me
Well, Adalita is supporting The Drones on their 2011 tour. Here is a great new video, Perfection from her debut self titled solo album. Which I think is pretty much my album of the year, so far.
Ben Salter has also released his debut solo album out now too. It is co-produced by Gareth Liddiard so this is kind-off like join the dots. Anyway, his album is called The Cat and this song is called The Coward.
So there you go, my three favorite videos at this moment in time so I hope you enjoy them, it's really just for me so I can find these things easy by looking here, ha.
+ The Drones tour dates for October 2011:
Friday 7 October — ANU Bar, Canberra
Saturday 8 October — Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Friday 14 October — Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Friday 21 October — The Bakery, Perth
Saturday 22 October — The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide
Friday 28 October – Hi-Fi Bar, Brisbane
Saturday 29 October – Metro, Sydney
All the tickets you can get at their new website.
Well, what more is there to say other than it's going to be called: A Thousand Mistakes. Plus a tour coming later in the year which hopefully, fingers-crossed, will end up in some kind-off recording studio to do a new album too.
Fairfield Warehouse Session 1. Penumbra 2. Sixteen Straws 3. The Drifting Housewife 4. Careful As You Go 5. Your Acting's Like The End Of The World 6. Locust 7. Cold And Sober 8. Work For Me 9. Words From The Executioner To Alexander Pearce 10. The Best You Can Believe In 11. Stop Dreaming 12. I'm Here Now
Live at The East Brunswick Club February, 2010 1. Jezebel 2. Nail It Down 3. The Minotaur 4. The Freedom In The Loot 5. Sharkfin Blues 6. Hell And Haydevils 7. Six Ways To Sunday 8. She Had An Abortion That She Made Me Pay For 9. The Millers Daughter 10. Sitting On The Edge Of The Bed Cryin’ 11. I Don't Ever Want To Change
Bonus Disc:
2005 Live At The Tote, Collingwood, Australia 1. Motherless Children 2. I Looked Down The Line And I Wondered 3. From Black To Communist
2007 Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France 1. I Don't Ever Want To Change 2. Motherless Children
2007 Haldern Festival, Rees-Haldern, Germany 1. The Cockeyed Lowlife Of The Highlands 2. Sharkfin Blues 3. I Don't Ever Want To Change 4. I'm Here Now 5. She Had An Abortion That She Made Me Pay For 6. The Miller’s Daughter 7. From Black To Communist
2008 State Theatre, Sydney, Australia 1. River Of Tears
2008 The Metro Theatre, Sydney Australia 1. Oh My 2. I Am The Supercargo 3. Luck In Odd Numbers
Both the wicked photos are by Daniel Campbell with kind permission for his website called: Baker Street Photography. These two can be found in the galleries under The Drones DVD. Check it all out if you haven't yet.
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 songSuicide 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.
Right, I have to do something else other than this 50 Nick Cave songs list, it's going to drive me mad (if I'm not already). So, what can I write now? Well, who's far better than him? The Drones that's who. No doubt they would have be the band/artist of the the last decade, the 2000's. The four unbelievably brilliant albums, if not totally perfect albums in a row: Here Come The Lies, Wait By The River..., Gala Mill, Havilah. With each album quite different but still the same The Drones but building upon the previous record. Also just releasing all the kind-of out-takes album: The Miller's Daughter, in the middle of all that is brilliant as well. No other band has had such a perfect run and under the noses of most people too. We will have to see what's next for the band. Next week Gareth Liddiard lead songwriter and singer is to release his debut solo album Strange Tourist, in the true sense of the word, just all by himself.
You can not possibly find another band who ripped up the rule book, then set it on fire, pissed and shat on it, kicked it into a bloody mess then just flicked it into the corner. I can not possibly praise them too much. If you don't know it yet they have already changed the Australian music landscape forever. Everyone will ask you in the future did you see The Drones live? And if you can say "Yes" well, you and I are the lucky ones. You can hopefully forget about horrible bands like The Living End, Wolfmother, Jet now. Even now Nick Cave is getting too popular for my liking which maybe is why he's getting a bit of a bashing here in my blogs but I'm not the only one with what Mick Harvey said. Now Liddiard joins in on this too. In a paragraph in the Aussie Rolling Stones magazine Liddiard say America is on it's way out, Aussies don't have to do that anymore and names an old Cave song but really he could have said Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Why does Cave name drop U.S.A. cities in the last lead Bad Seeds single and title track for that album, other than to sell some more records to them. It's false, it's just as bad as like Molly Meldrum on Countdown in the 70's and 80's. Looking for validation in America is a waste of time (unless maybe you are one them) but that old mentality of the U.S.A. is the best place in the world, which should be shot between the eyes with a double-barrel shot gun, who better to do that that Gareth Liddiard and his band The Drones? So it's beyond doubt or should have been long, long time ago for Australians to stop mythologizing America. Don't get me wrong now, The Drones don't really have to get as stupidity big as the above bands or artists because they're already just as or more important that any of them in so many other ways and done it all their own way too.
So anyway this blog is called video tape because I'm going to link a youtube playlist I put together at the end of this blog based on a video tape (did I need to say that?) I've still got a couple of boxs in the back room which I recorded a television show called rage but too much about the past. I'm trying to catch up with the twenty-first century, I've got a mobile phone lately, started a blog here and joined facebook the other day. The last time I watched rage until the very end and started watching at the beginning and enjoyed it was a long time ago by the looks of it. It was of course when The Drones were on. Anyway here's what video clips they picked and played.
The Drones guest program rage on Saturday 21st February, 2009: Saturday morning guest programming, from 10:00 till 11:00: 10:00am THE DRONES - Shark Fin Blues LOW - Breaker TRICKY - Money Greedy MILES DAVIS - Decoy NINA SIMONE - Revolution CAT POWER - Cross Bones Style BOWERBIRDS - Ivy Climbing BOB DYLAN - Not Dark Yet 10:30am BOB DYLAN - Love Sick AUGIE MARCH - The Cold Acre TOM WAITS - Hold On THE GIN CLUB - You Don't See THE DRONES - I Don't Ever Want To Change (Live) Saturday night guest programming starts 23:20: 23:23pm N.W.A. - 100 Miles & Runnin' WU-TANG CLAN - Can It All Be So Simple? 23:30pm BUSTA RHYMES - Woo-Hah!! (Got You All In Check) MISSY ELLIOTT - Pass That Dutch CLARE MOORE - The Town Bike Song ALAN VEGA - Wipeout Beat IGGY & THE STOOGES - Loose PATTI SMITH - Because The Night LAUGHING CLOWNS - Holy Joe 12:00am THESE IMMORTAL SOULS - Marry Me STICKMEN - Without A Clue THE JESUS LIZARD - Puss DARLING DOWNS - Circa '65 KIM SALMON & THE SURREALISTS - I Fell LOU REED I Love Women GOD - My Pal 12:30am JOEL SILBERSHER - Flappin' On A Hook JOEL SILBERSHER - Through The Manoeuvres TEX PERKINS & HIS LADYBOYZ - I'm Not In Love DIRTY THREE - Hope PALACE BROTHERS - Ohio River Boat Song NEIL YOUNG - Harvest Moon NEIL YOUNG - Change Your Mind 1:00am DAN KELLY - Drunk On Election Night PAUL KELLY - If I Could Start Today Again BILLY BOB THORNTON - Angelina THIRTY ODD FOOT OF GRUNTS - Memorial Day BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Atlantic City THE MUPPETS - Ma-Na Ma-Na TEAM AMERICA - America, F**k Yeah! DRAGONFORCE Through - The Fire And Flames 1:30am THE MELVINS - Honeybucket EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN - Armenia THE DOORS - The End SPARKLEHORSE - St. Mary's MERZBOW - Minus Zero 2:00am PINK FLOYD - Astronomy Domine CAPTAIN BEEFHEART - Ice Cream For Crow SPENCER JONES - Execution Day FEATURED VIDEOS THE DRONES - River Of Tears THE DRONES - Shark Fin Blues THE DRONES - Locust (Live) 2:30am THE DRONES - I'm Here Now (Live) THE DRONES - The Miller's Daughter (Live) THE DRONES - Jezebel THE DRONES - I Don't Ever Want To Change (Live) 3:00am THE DRONES - I Looked Down The Line And I Wondered (Live) THE DRONES - Motherless Children (Live) THE DRONES - From Black To Communist (Live) THE DRONES - The Minotaur THE DRONES - Oh My (triple j tv) 3:30am THE DRONES - Suicide Is Painless(triple j tv)
Here's all the clips I found on youtube (full playlist here) and I've made into a this thing: