Amnesty International Domestic Violence Campaign
(click image for larger version)
This example of outdoor (or environmental) advertising includes the use of an ‘eye-tracking’ camera. When the camera senses nobody is looking at the poster the advert will display a picture of domestic violence. However, this will change to a photograph of the very same couple in a ‘happy’ couple photo.
Mixtape: Ryan Adams – Dancing in the Endless Moonlight
Ryan Adams is a prolific artist and as a fan it allows me to collect a lot of rare recordings. This collection is both a mix of rare, studio and live recordings from Mr Adams.
By no means is this a mix of my “ALL TIME FAVOURITE” songs, that would be extremely hard to put together and fit in some structure within a 60min limit too. Actually, that would be impossible. These are certain songs from collections, demo sessions and albums all put together in a 60 minute package for you to listen to and enjoy. It is about the structure of this mix, more so than the songs included. See this as a little journey.
It covers solo work, work with the Cardinals, some old school Whiskeytown and even a duet with Sir Elton John too. The mixtape is named and artwork inspired after one of my favourite lines from ‘Let it Ride’ off Cold Roses, yes this song is a personal favourite and that single line always gets me. I always have this vision of bright colours while listening to Let it Ride, it is one of the few tracks on Cold Roses that gives me that sort of visual when I’m listening to it. It is one of the bright moments in the album that is filled with sorrow.
Tracklist:
01. This is It (version taken from Follow the Lights EP)
02. Firecracker (version taken from The Suicide Handbook)
03. Monday Night (taken from Down to the Promise Land)
04. Dear Chicago (taken from Demolition)
05. Oh My God, Whatever, Etc (taken from Easy Tiger)
06. Come Pick Me Up (taken from Heartbreaker)
07. Dear John (version taken from Follow the Lights EP)
08. September (taken from Jacksonville City Nights)
09. Tomorrow (taken from Pinkhearts – Vol 2)
10. Beautiful Sorta (version taken from The Loft Sessions)
11. Let it Ride (version taken from The Loft Sessions)
12. Fools Gold (taken from Ryan Adams Sucks)
13. Dreams [Fleetwood Mac Cover] (Whiskeytown – taken from Those Weren’t the Days)
14. Rocket Man [performed with Sir Elton John] (taken from Crossroads)
15. 10 Seconds til the End of the World (Whiskeytown – taken from Those Weren’t the Days)
16. Fuck it … I Broke Your Cat (taken from Pinkhearts – Vol 2)
Download: Ryan Adams – Dancing in the Endless Moonlight
My Hottest 100 of all time list …
Well if you haven’t voted … YOU MISSED OUT! Voting ended. But if you were one of the organised, got in early and voted I would love to read your Top 10 list. So as they say in millions of primary school playgrounds ‘I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours’ … here is my list.
My criteria was simple. The bands that mean the most to me, songs that give that “shiver” you should feel when getting kissed by the one you love and the songs that introduced me to the bands that have – saved me, provided the songs to my life and have inspired me to do everything I’ve ever done. Yeah, I made it easy for myself huh?
The Smashing Pumpkins – Mayonaise
Will all the songs from this band to choose, my heart won out. There were votes made for more popular singles through Ozphoria … but I had to vote for this song. This is everything I love about the Smashing Pumpkins, if you EVER need to know why I love this band … listen to this song. The lyrics, the warmth of the guitar, the beauty and anger in Billy’s voice – it is everything about being a teenager discovering music for me.
fool enough to almost be it and cool enough to not quite see it
and old enough to always feel this always old, i’ll always feel this
Oh and yes, the song is meant to be misspelt … all you grammar kings and queens.
Foo Fighters – Everlong
This was a tough choice. I don’t listen to the Foo Fighters that much anymore but I couldn’t look over this song. I’ve often described it as the perfect ‘rock/pop’ song. It just captures your ears with that perfect tempo and lyrical mix. This song just builds perfectly, before climaxing at the right time … yeah I guess this song could be described as like having great sex. 4 mins of great sex.
Pulp – Common People
My introduction to the Brit Pop scene, I remember falling in love with the lyrics and that sigh Jarvis does. Being amazed this guy could sing and simply tell a story in a song, word for word … it was like a conversation. Since then it has turned into a song I simply adore … and love to dance to. <3 Pulp.
You Am I – If We Can’t Get it Together
If I had to say in one word why I love this song, it would be because the lyrics. Tim Rogers out did him self with the words in this song, they are so simple yet so powerful. It sums up being in a relationship and just thinking – if we can’t do it now, we’ll never do it. We’ve all been there and this captures it.
To get up the bond for an Inner-West flat - He’d work for anyone if he wasn’t working for Her dad
She’s practicing sayin’ “I’ll do as I will” - ’Cause she don’t know how to tell him that she’s goin’ off the pill
The curtain’s up ’till seven and He’ll talk about her ass - But she clings to his photo like a piece of broken glass
If we can’t get it together today - She looks for his heart while he stares the other way
The Smiths – There is A Light That Never Goes Out
Morrissey you magnificent bastard! This song symbolises everything about being young and wanting to escape your parents house to be with your friends or partner. “Take me anywhere, I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care”. Any time I hear this song it takes me back to 2002, driving around with this girl I just met of the internet (that girl I ended up marrying). This will ALWAYS be close to my heart.
The Beatles – Oh! Darling
I had to include a Beatles song – right? It was hard to choose 1 out of the 100’s … but Oh! Darling made it. I just have always loved the powerful performance of this song, it really captures what I love about the entire Abbey Road record. Like I said, this spot could have gone to Don’t Let Me Down, Two of Us, Helter Skelter, Julia, A Day in the Life … shit I could keep going.
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt.1
I knew these guys as that one hit wonder ‘She Don’t Use Jelly’ band. That was it. Then when Yoshimi started to get played on Triple J my ears pricked up … and they fell in love. This song, this album opened me up to so many new sounds and new bands. It is hard to describe, but I owe this song a lot. At the time I had just met Bree, so while I was falling in love I was also falling in love with new music. I was tempted to vote for Pt.2 also … just got the fun of it.
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
The story behind this song always captured my attention when I was younger. I always felt sadden by the news that Ian never knew the success of this song, never knew how many people it would inspire. It is one of those songs that I could just listen to, again, an again … without ever being sick of it. I have many memories dancing to this at Amplifier back in 2000-2003 … you know, before the place went to shit.
The Cure – Lovesong
This was for me, the first of many “our” songs I had with my wife. When I would hear it, I would think of her instantly. The lyrics are simple romantic words, combined with a fantastic bass line that just forces you to dance to. Much like the Beatles it was hard to choose one single The Cure song, but due to the personal connection – Lovesong won, mainly due to the album it is from too.
Manic Street Preachers – If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Writing this list, with my reasons Im realising that lyrical content seems to play an important part in what songs I picked. I can definitely say that is one of the main reasons I first got into the Manics through this song and is still one of the main reasons I love the band. Their ability to combine complex, powerful lyrics with beautiful / raw music. With opening lines like this, how could you not love this song.
The future teaches you to be alone – The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits – Then I can shoot fascists
The songs that *just* didn’t make it.
There were a few songs that just didn’t make it into the list, they were in, they were out … they all got shook about. For whatever reason I needed to picked 10, this was the 10. These were some that missed out:
Ash – Kung Fu, Smashing Pumpkins – 1979, Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Smashing Pumpkins – Thirty-Three, Smashing Pumpkins – Here Is No Why … ok there were a shitload of Smashing Pumpkins songs. Also I couldn’t pick a single David Bowie song, I just couldn’t. Same goes for Ryan Adams – I just couldn’t. Jesus and the Marychain – Just Like Honey, TV on the Radio – Wolf Like Me, Radiohead – Fake Plastic Tree’s, The Stone Roses – She Bangs The Drums, Jeff Buckley – Lover, You Should’ve Come Over, James Brown – Sex Machine, Pearl Jam – Rearviewmirror, Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over, Split Enz – Message to My Girl, Bon Iver – Skinny Love, Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love, The Church – Reptile, Beach Boys – God Only Knows, Violent Femmes – Add It Up, Pixies – Debaser … ok I should stop yeah?
Elvis died yesterday
To wake up and hear that Michael Jackson had died yesterday, was both a surprise and at the same time was something that I had expected to hear. It was an odd mix of emotions, but it is not up to me to speculate on health issues of somebody I don’t know. What I did want to start questioning is, will we ever see musicians like this in the future?
Will we see artists “create” a new sound, new move, new style, new act that single handily captures the entire world?
Growing up no matter your age, most people liked or at least respected Jackson’s talent. I was born the year Thriller came out, I know my parents played that record so no doubt my infant ears were exposed to its sounds. In my household growing up I remember the days of everybody in the car from me (the youngest at 6) to my Dad (the oldest of 36 at the time) wanting to listen to Bad – it was the first CD my family purchased – the future was then! My brother and I would mimic the dance moves, shout SHAMON! on the top of our lungs. It was pure fun pop music and will always be the clearest form of that genre.
It was yesterday while listening through my iTunes at work I began to question ‘who is left in this elite group of artists’. Im not just talking about your big name acts of now, Im referring to those artists like The Beatles, Elvis, Madonna, David Bowie, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, u2 and Michael Jackson to name a few. These acts changed music, created new sounds, spawned millions of “copy cats” and are still as popular today. To look at this list it is pretty clear to see though, they are all getting older. In decades to come these artists (that are still alive) will stop touring, stop recording and while they’ll still be in the eyes of popular culture – it will never be the same.
The generation below me won’t know what is is like to grow up and have an artist like Michael Jackson part of your childhood, creating that soundtrack that you remember that everybody listened too. An artist who appears in movies you watch, TV shows you love and even the great computer games like Moonwalker. If any artist did that now they would be deemed a SELL OUT! Why would anybody bother taking that risk, just to kill their career. There are those artists that try to do this now, but never with the same impact as the previously mentions acts.
The naive love of pop culture has changed, we have become more judgmental about new artists or even elder acts too. If anybody takes a risk, change their look and changes their sound – every man and his blog is updated with an opinion. (Yes, I see the irony of posting this on my blog). I remember an interview with David Bowie few years ago where he said that ‘if the internet was around when he was starting out, he wouldn’t have taken half the risks he did’. I always felt that was an interesting statement.
No matter what our industry we always want to know what others think of us and if you’re a skinny white guy in the 70’s who might drop a hint on his blog that he is saying goodbye to the folk music sound of his earlier work in favour of recording a disco album … you’d expect a public out cry. Just stop and think if Coldplay came out and said their next album was going to be a complete reggae album. Viva La Steel Drums!
Yet all of this is about something bigger, with this critical nature within society we will never let an artist blossom to their full potential. The money makers will take their cut, the artist will be cautious about taking risks that might end their career and most importantly you’ll find it hard to find an artist that is going to be popular and loved by people of all walks of life. Im not saying we’ll never hear good music again, there will always be new and exciting sounds coming out. Yet, they will never be as widely accepted or loved as the music from Jackson, The Beatles or Elvis.
I sat yesterday with some of my wife (@_pants_) and tried to think of a list of ‘current’ artists who eventually could make into the ‘elite’ lifetime list. While we had a few, we realised they’ve done nothing but continue on the path of their predecessors. An artist like Pink or Britney who has stayed popular for many years now, is just following the path of Madonna in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Radiohead and Coldplay are following along the lines of u2, they are popular to a certain level but they don’t transcend genres or generations. Even the “music visionaries” of Kayne West will never make the same impact, personally I don’t see the mass appeal with him anyway. Close friends of mine will expect me to say that artists like the Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam or Nirvana would be in this list, but when you look at the comparison to some of these main acts – they’ve hardly made a dent into the wider popular culture. While these ‘new’ acts have influenced, have sold million, have provided the soundtrack for a generation … they’ll never reach that same mass appeal level.
Yesterday the news of Michael Jackson’s passing reminded me we should take life, or our icons, for granted. It is sad to look back at the public scrutiny he was put under for the past 15 years, you can’t help but think that perhaps the timing was right. Leave now, just before the upcoming 50 concert tour and be remembered for the amazing work he created in the music world.
So to typically finish this off with a song, I’ll sign off with Michael Jackson and Michael Jordon with Jam. Song was pure awesome, my love of music and love of basketball came together as a kid.
-Sunky
Sharing: Paul Dempsey – Live at Corner Hotel 2000
This gets filed into the “I forgot I had this” basket. While I sort out my live recordings I found these Paul Dempsey (and some Something For Kate) recordings, done by a friend of a friend.
I was never a big SFK fan, but they are one of those bands that “on paper” I should adore. I tried, I liked a few tracks but I just never clicked to the level others have with their music. So uploading and sharing this recording is for “those others”, hope you all enjoy this recording. I guess it was at a special time for the band, and Paul, as the following year they would release Echolalia and the hit single of “Monsters” would change everything for them. Chart topping success.
This is one of a few shows I’ll eventually share and it is taken from the great venue that is the Corner Hotel in Melbourne. I received these in trade for some (surprise, surprise) Smashing Pumpkins recordings … more on those later. Over to Mr Dempsey at the Corner Hotel now … enjoy!
Sample: Say Something
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Download: Paul Dempsey – Live at the Corner Hotel (24.08.2000)
(This will only be available until for a month, so that is until the 25.07.2009)
Setlist:
Roll Credit
Stunt Show
All the things that aren’t good about Scientology
Prick
Hallways
In Return
The Astronaut
Man Made Horse
Anchorman
Captain
Say Something
Paintbrushes
Back to You
Break
Monsters
Born Yesterday
Strategy
East
Telescope
White
Whatever You Want
Sharing: Radiohead – Live In South Park 2001
I asked the question on Twitter and Radiohead won out for this week. So as I continue to share live recordings I find from the ’sunky vault’ here is this weeks addition.
Just after the release of their 2001 record, Amnesiac, Radiohead performed this one off show in their hometown in the UK. The concert was recorded live and webcast via XFM Live. It is a beautifully constructed setlist, taking fans through their entire back catalogue with the ‘new’ songs of the time sitting perfectly next to the new renditions of the older work.
The artwork for the show was create to tie in with the name of the concert, played in a large open park in Oxford and also tied into Radiohead’s appearance on the TV show: South Park.
Download: Radiohead – Live In South Park Oxford July 7th. 2001
(This will only be available until for a month, so that is until the 23.07.2009)
Some Strange Fruit, with a Revolver and a Wave
While hunting through old CD’s and recordings, I found a copy of Strange Fruit Recordings: a collection of John Peel recordings from 1992. It is something I haven’t listened to in a few years and I was suddenly reminded of a song that I clearly remember changing my listening habits.
I purchased this, on both vinyl and CD, namely for the 3 Smashing Pumpkins songs that appear on this recording. Even though I had these on the Peel Sessions EP that was released by Virgin/Hut in the early 90’s, this was another collectable for the collection (mainly because the vinyl is limited to 5000 copies).
I honestly didn’t care (or know) the other bands on the compilation. Verve, Moose and Revolver were unknowns. I remember as my ears ventured past Siva, Smiley and the Animals cover of Girl Named Sandoz I was met with the shoegaze sound of a little known UK band – Revolver. At the time I wasn’t that into “that scene” but I still put it down to this song being one of those songs that made me venture and explore this sound. I was really interesting with the simple and dreamy sound, mix with the strong vocals.
The song is simply titled, Wave and as the name suggests the song builds and builds just like the waves in the ocean before quietly fading off. It is these little songs, by little known bands that can sometimes be forgotten. So enjoy this little find, I suggest tracking down the rest of their work you might enjoy it.
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Revolver:
As for the band, Revolver were a London based guitar band in existence from 1990-1994, comprising of Mat Flint (guitar/vocals), Hamish Brown (bass) and Nick Dewey (drums). Flint and Dewey had been in school bands together, and when the two moved to London in the autumn of 1990 met Brown who completed the line-up.
The band, after attracting attention from several record labels, including Dedicated, One Little Indian, and Creation Records, signed to the Virgin Records subsidiary Hut Records in the summer of 1991. The band quickly picked up a following, supporting the likes of Chapterhouse, Slowdive, Teenage Fanclub and Blur, and gained a lot of press coverage, most notably in NME, Melody Maker and The Face. Their first single, “Heaven Sent An Angel” topped the UK independent charts, as did the follow-up “Crimson”, and the third single “Venice”. The band specialised in bright, abrasive guitar-pop songs with strong melodies, and were determined (but ultimately failed) to distinguish themselves from the other guitar bands of the era. The UK press lumped them in with the shoegazing movement, a tag that the band weren’t comfortable with.
A compilation of these first 3 singles was released in the States as “Baby’s Angry” on Caroline Records, and gained the band airplay on US college radio. The band toured America in the autumn of 1992, on a co-headlining tour with fellow Caroline Records act Drop Nineteens.
In 1993, Revolver released the single “Cradle Snatch”, closely followed by the album Cold Water Flat, and while the songs were more sophisticated than their earlier work, the sales weren’t as impressive, and Virgin dropped the band after a final single “I Wear Your Chain” failed to make the top 75. The band split up at the beginning of 1994, after failing to sign a deal with another label.
Mat Flint went on to play bass guitar for Death In Vegas from 1996 onwards, and has released a single “Commodity” with his new band Deep Cut in May 2007, on Club AC30 Records.
Sharing: Pulp live at Glastonbury 24.06.95
I have a fairly extensive live recording collection, so what is the point of having such a collection with out sharing it right? So here is the first of many shows to come.
It is hard to believe this performance is coming up to being 14 years old next week. The show has always stuck out in my mind because it really captures the mood of the mid 90’s ‘brit-pop’ scene.
Pulp were one of the main bands in that movement and it as always been said that ‘Common People’ is the anthem for Brit Pop. (well … while close contention from Oasis’ – Live Forever … anyway that is a different arguement)
The show was performed only a few weeks after the HUGE success of Common People and months before the release of the entire Different Class record. There is something enjoyable while listening to the show and hearing Jarvis introduce songs like ‘Disco 2000‘ or ‘Sorted For E’s And Wizz‘ as ‘new’ songs. Totally different to when you listen to recordings from later on in the year when Disco 2000 would receive a deafening roar. What a difference a hit single can have?
It is special to hear some of the older Pulp songs performed in this era of the band, for this fan … the performance of ‘Acrylic Afternoons’ is just fantastic. Its epic, its extended and has the usual Jarvis *sighs* throughout the song.
This show was my first exposure to Pulp live, I never was lucky enough to see the band perform live so this show (and the others I have) are as close as I ever got. So I hold this show very close to my heart, hence why it is first off the ranks.
I really hope you enjoy this recording, enjoy the banter and I hope it takes you back to a simpler time of music discovery, oh and I also included two extra TV performances of ‘Something Changed’ and ‘I, Spy’
Download: Pulp – Live at Glastonbury 1995-06-24
(This will only be available until for a month, so that is until the 18.07.2009)
V is back
HELL OF AWESOME!
My entire last weekend via twitterscribe
Using the web app @ twitterscribe I can back up old tweets to PDF.
