myspace is stupid, facebook is worse, but twitter is truly retarded....what next?
— The Drones (@thedrones) April 16, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Well, surprise I got both the verisons released of The Drones this year, both are totally beautiful and beyond words.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gareth Liddiard on Toumani Diabaté:
Toumani Diabaté is a, and probably the, master of the Kora. The kora has 21 strings, it's very old and it's very difficult to describe. (Google it. Or Bing it. Don't know what Bing is? Google it.) The sound Toumani makes is one of the most beautiful and moving on God's green earth. It really is extraordinary. His first record Kaira was made in the late '80s when he was about 23 and it's one of my personal all time favorite records (along with "Raw Power", oddly enough. Yay to Matt G and ATP.). Toumani's about the 73rd generation of kora player in his family, which is insane. What are you the 73rd generation of that doesn't somehow involve eating or drinking yourself into an early grave? But, he is the first of his ilk to be influenced by folks like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. This I find really interesting considering that when West African slaves were brought to what is now the centre (not!!! center) of the West they surely left their instruments behind. And you can bet that after being robbed of anything like spare time these new slaves soon forgot the finer points of their musicianship (from the supreme dexterity that comes from playing all day to the studied Moorish overtones that come from living in the African North West). Yet they evidently never lost their love for stringed instruments of the portable, neck bolted onto a hollow wooden body variety. And a direct consequence of that is the existence of folks like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. It wasn't George Washington who invented playing the fuck out of a guitar and therefore invented most of the West's 20th century popular culture. It was in all probability Toumani's great great great granddad. Toumani's music, although it has modern elements, must somehow be close to what African music was before Colonialism dragged it away, beat it up and dumbed it down into the original, pre Robert Johnson style blues. Thus!!!!!!!!! Toumani's music can give anyone interested a new perspective of where and how things sit in a historical and cultural sense. But most importantly, it will blow your mind.
So the above photo is Toumani Diabaté with his Kora but I'm not to sure who took this photo so I can't give credit, which I like to do on my blog. The only other things I'd like to include are few details about the recording which Liddiard didn't talk about, if you buy the CD you'll read this yourself but if you just downloaded it you wouldn't be able to read the back and I did Google like Gaz said so here is a few bit and pieces I now know:TOUMANI DIABATE in series Live At Other Music from Dig For Fire on Vimeo.
Kaira by Toumani Diabaté tracklisting
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.
THE DRONES - A THOUSAND MISTAKES - LIVE DVD TEASER from Natalie van den Dungen on Vimeo.
1. Kim Salmon & STM – Hey Believer
"When I was a young snapper I did all sorts of work at and for Kim Salmon shows. I was too young to drive a hire car but I had to drive the Surrealists around ‘cause they were too drunk and their promoter hated that about them. No one told me about Tarago handbrakes so the van always stunk of fishy hot brake pads and I was henceforth mocked. The Surrealists were amazing but STM was another story all together. The band was made up of Kim, Warren [Ellis] and Jim [White] from the Dirty Three and a double bass player called Andrew [Entsch] who died a long time ago. They only did one tour and made one album. One of the best bands I’ve ever seen live. And in true Australian fashion, no one gave a fuck because they weren’t from some other country run by white people."
2. AC/DC – Let There Be Rock
"As far as guitar sounds go, you can’t really beat this recording. It’s intense. And interesting considering that everywhere except Australia they’re known as the biggest rock band ever. Bigger even than the Beatles and Pink Floyd. They didn’t do a lot of compromising considering. But they didn’t come from somewhere else that’s run by whites or something so forget that. And Rupert Murdoch and Julian Assange don’t run the planet right now either. And Peter Singer isn’t usually right about everything and Les Murray isn’t one of the greatest three or four living poets right now. Elsewhere in the west is always best, remember that. Pretend you’re them."
3. Rowland S. Howard – Teenage Snuff Film
"This is Rowland’s masterpiece. He was the greatest, most original guitarist Australia has ever had. On the break up of the band that brought him fame he went on to record 10 or so records solo and with various bands that were mostly overlooked. Probably because his original singer appealed more to record companies that needed to make a buck, though Rowland was always, at least, equally as good. You never see him on those “greatest Australian album” lists which is nuts. He’s not alone though, Rowland and Spencer P. Jones are the most underrated songwriters on the planet. Everything on this record is perfecto, the tunes, guitar playing, production, Mick [Harvey], Brian [Hooper] and Rowland’s voice which was as jocular as it was jaundiced."
He dropped by the triple j studios just before the start of his national tour with Dan Kelly to play five songs that remind him of different places - and not surprising he picked five fantastic Aussie tunes. He talked about how he visited Sydney just to buy a copy of X's Aspirations, why Kim Salmon & The Surrealists blew his mind and his love for the Dirty Three.
Here's what he played:
1. Kim Salmon & The Surrealists - Redemption For Sale (Perth)
2. Laughing Clowns - Song Of Joy (Brisbane)
3. X - Good On Ya Baby (Sydney)
4. Dirty Three - Red (Melbourne)
5. The Mark Of Cain - Summertime (Adelaide)
Gareth Liddiard - Strange Tourist from Two Fish Out Of Water on Vimeo.
So above is his new video for Strange Tourist which was re-recorded for this in his home in the Victorian mountains. The video directed by Jasmin Tarasin who is the same person who did the one for the Blondin Makes An Omelette video last year. I'm still slowly writing that big post but not finish yet. I've been sick this week but I did get to see him last weekend and it was a great live show too. The top image is a new painting for the Archibald Prize 2011. It’s not all Henry bloody Lawson is the title and it's painted by Jason Benjamin.
Stay tuned for more soon...
Gareth Liddiard - Strange Tourist from Mess+Noise on Vimeo.
Gareth Liddiard - Blondin Makes An Omelette from Mess+Noise on Vimeo.
