Memories

I got to listening to favourite, old, music tonight.

I will always waste endless hours defending The Juliana Theory from all allegations of boy bandishness, egotism and all other criticism of a mighty band.

I had to reorder a copy of Understand This is a Dream, 10 years after its release, and when I unwrapped it the first song I clicked to was the euphoric Duane Joseph with it's demand to "tell your mum you need the day off". It's naive, it's cynical, heart breaking and ultimately this was the best definition of emo in the late 90s.

And onward I pushed through the, what seems now, mushy and very Chris Carrabba sounding August in Bethany. A teenage tune of the finest angst which astute readers will notice is inspiration for more than this sentence. Right now, living on death row, it is beautiful. Singer Brett Detar's oh's and woo's become resplendent in the lightly strummed minor chords and when he pines "don't go" I begin to cry. I don't want to go. I'm quite happy just here, in my study at my grandfather's desk, headphones on, wife upstairs, books neatly stacked to my right, blinds down to keep the cold out.

Now onwards to the silly pop-punk of Musicbox Superhero. It's classic genre blending with Sunny Day Real Estate and Green Day heard in equal measure and, of course, Detar wading his way to the front. That point leads to the man and his ego. Sure he has one, seemingly larger than most in a similar position. But the problem was he knew how good he was and was mainly wondering why TJT never quite "made it".

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Cancer

Apologies for the no show for months.

I have been diagnosed with cancer. It appears it is in both my brain and my spine.

I have struggled to listen to music lately although the new Decoder Ring album had me excited, just a little. I really want to listen to Emotion is Dead but I can't find it in my collection.

I hope you're travelling well.

A Justification

So much of Dear Science's brilliance hangs on a single song.

Family Tree guts me. Listen to Adebimpe the first time that faltering, flickering piano falls out of the mix. How many layers are there? One syllable behind himself with each layer, it sounds so insecure, so vulnerable. It sounds genuine. Maybe he was reluctant about such a seemingly personal, wrenching song appearing on a plastic disc so many would buy, so many would "identify with". How did he force himself to sing the words in front of friends in a studio, let alone live.

That it sticks out like dogs balls on an album so obviously filled with funk, soul and jazz grooves makes it even better, even more bald. And beyond the centrepiece there is almost too much to digest.

I initially thought there was plenty to support the idea that Golden Age was the obvious core of Dear Science. Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant song and here's why.

A) Lyrics like this: "Some light being pulled you up from night's part/said, clap your hands of you think your soul is free/and the silence was astounding."

B) It's a dance song that makes you dance. In a time when so much dance music does nothing more than bore the shit of you this music revitalises, it captivates the heart, the mind and the feet.

Folk of theory and prediction like the idea of being able to see around the corner. That is what TV on the Radio does so well. They seemingly capture tomorrow's zeitgeist.

A List

Ten albums, in order, from 2008.

10: Fucked Up - THE CHEMISTRY OF COMMON LIFE

9: Hercules and Love Affair - HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR

8: Willard Grant Conspiracy - PILGRIM ROAD

7: The Mountain Goats - HERETIC PRIDE

6: Death Cab for Cutie - NARROW STAIRS

5: No Age - NOUNS

4: The Hold Steady - STAY POSITIVE

3: Portishead - THIRD

2: Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - GURRUMUL

1: TV on the Radio - DEAR SCIENCE

Day & Age

I always wondered how The Killers were so instantly brilliant. Brandon Flowers seemed to be born at his zenith, as if it was a constant state of evangelical fever that owned him. There was no early indie-EP, just a blaze of promotion and pop - as if manufactured at Island HQ.





It's unfair using a word like manufactured when Flowers is so interesting a rock star. Last time he sighted Springsteen for the black and white, fuzzed guitar of Hot Fuss, this time, on Day & Age it's surely The Pet Shop Boys - who for too long have been ignored by indie-scensters who've already gone through the Beach Boys, Depeche Mode and Fugazi.

The opener, Losing Touch, should be a single but won't be. Horns backed by thumping rhythm let Flowers begin with "console me in my darkest hours". It's safe to say his lyrics have rarely made any sense at all but it doesn't matter overly. Lennon and McCartney wrote some truly nonsense words, good pop has never relied on the lyrics but on the hook.

While we're talking hooks it's obvious to consider the lead single - Human. It's cracking radio pop that even manages to apparently reference Hunter S Thompson with it's refrain "are we human or are we dancer". And its bridge is perhaps the most obvious Pet Shop Boys reference across 10 tracks. There's plenty of air in the mix thanks to producer Stuart Price and that allows the psuedo-spiritual Flowers to fill the song.

Elsewhere A Dustland Fairytale shows off a classic Elton John piano ballad resplendent with an actual story - supposedly about Flowers' parents.

I dig The Killers because they're pop, because they're rock and most importantly because they're led by a charismatic rock star who makes it all matter even when it so clearly doesn't.

The Contenders - A List of 2008 albums

A long-list ahead of the short-list.

Portishead - Third
The Black Keys - Attack and Release
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
No Age - Nouns
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Gurrumul
Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
The Dodos - Visiter
Opeth - Watershed
The Donkeys - Living on the Other Side
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Willard Grant Conspiracy - Pilgrim Road
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
The Lucksmiths - First Frost
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
You am I - Dilletantes
Augie March - Watch Me Disappear
Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Danielson - Trying Hartz

Steve Earle - Live

Usually I hear an album, love for it is rarely instant. I usually spin it once while wandering aimlessly between the kitchen and my study - the music is in the lounge room.

Four weeks before seeing Earle a friend gave me a copy of his Washington Square Serenade and a bunch of songs tacked on the end of the disc. I ignored it for three weeks then decided I'd best get familiar. It appeared a solid folk-rock album with a dash of country and funk in the catchy and seemingly mindless Satellite Radio.

I heard the LP again on the roadtrip to the gig, set between live Neil Young bootlegs and a dodgy bluegrass compilation. But it didn't register as anything glorious.

Earle walked on to the Enmore Theatre's stage about 9:30. Just a guitar and his greying beard to keep company. And he unleashed a phenomenal canon of songs that ranged from the now spiritual yelp of Satellite Radio to the fever of Transcendental Blues. It's rare for me to be won over by a live performance but Earle was and is undeniable. He is the rare singer-songwriter that plays alone. Too many seeming solo artists seem afraid to play on their own. Maybe they're afraid the songs won't stack up, maybe they know the songs are shit and need the protection of instruments. Earle knows his songs stack up. Part of that comes from playing for decades but it also arrives out of hard work - in every song the 30 songs that didn't make it can be heard.