jebz's Last.fm Journal

30 questions about my top 30 artists

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:13:19 +0000

This meme seemed like a good way to explain why I'm into my top artists on last.fm... should you really care :)

1. How did you get into #29? (The Dillinger Escape Plan)
I think I found them via Battles somehow. They seemed like another math-y artist that I'd like. Despite how most fans seem to be polarised between the old and new material, I'm actually a fan of both.

I'd probably have seen them live anyway at some point - a firebreathing frontman? How could I have passed that opportunity...

2. What was the first song you ever heard by #22? (Birds of Tokyo)
I suspect Off Kilter, like many at the time, when Triple J was starting to notice them... (gosh BOT are big now! I'd have never thought they'd overshadow Karnivool like they are at the moment)

3. How many albums by #12 do you own? (Celldweller)
His sole album based around original material, and all four hundred thousand of the remix albums. Okay, I jest, but sheesh does he love his remixes. (I was amused when he released a preview track from the forthcoming album, to have someone immediately comment on his last.fm page: "So where's the Switchback remix of this track?")

4. What is your favourite song by #5? (Deftones)
Gosh. This is tricky, but I'll say Digital Bath - that song, despite its simplicity, unpeels like an onion with every listen. (A drummer mate of mine pointed out how awesome the drums on this song are, they're a little more complex than you may think unless you actually listen to them...) It's definitely not the most Deftones-y song out there but it's always a fave.

Hmm, I'm just thinking I might try and learn this song on guitar as I listen to it, writing this :)

5. What is your favorite song by #15? (Reuben)
Keep It to Yourself. It reminds me of Nirvana a bit...

6. Is there a song by #6 that makes you happy? (The New Pornographers)
Stacked Crooked. The end of that song feels like you're flying through time.

I just noticed I've rated every single song on that New Pornographers album 5 stars in iTunes... I very, very rarely do that :)

7. What is your favourite song by #10? - (36 Crazyfists)
Bloodwork, and it's a crying shame that song didn't make them a breakthrough artist. It's such a killer riff, I always want to throw my chair out the window when I hear it.

8. What is a good memory you have involving #30 (Shooting At Unarmed Men)
They were playing at a warehouse party I went to, and I think the dress theme was "undead"? Or maybe just zombies. Anyway, the drummer was wearing a hospital smock and seemed pretty drunk, he kept flashing his balls at the crowd. Which was pretty awesome.

9. Is there a song by #19 that makes you happy? (Ash)
Oh my gosh yes! Walking Barefoot is a song I save for when the first day of summer really arrives. If I wake up and it's really warm instead of chilly, the sun is shining through the window properly for the first time in months... this song goes on volume 11 as soon as I wake up. Bit of a tradition :) Ash is such a great summer band...

10. How many times have you seen #23 live? (The Automatic)
I'm not sure that they've ever toured Australia... hopefully they will with the new album out this week :)

11. What is the first song you ever heard by #26? (Nine Inch Nails)
Probably Closer, like most angsty teenagers at the time.

12. What is your favourite album by #11? (Incubus)
You know what? Light Grenades. There. I said it. I'm probably the only person on the planet who feels this way, although I absolutely DESPISED it when I first heard it. Don't think I've had such a 180 on an album in recent times :)

My opinion was solidified when I saw them live for the first time earlier this year... against my expectations, they really pulled off a killer live performance. Brandon Boyd even kept his shirt on!

13. Who is your favourite member of #1? (Rabbit Junk)
Well, it's traditionally been a one-man band, so JP Anderson. That one was easy :P

14. Have you ever seen #14 live? (Cyanotic)
No, but you know what? When I visit the US next year I'll be trying my damnedest to see them, 16Volt and Rabbit Junk live in the one trip if the stars align... it would be killer to see them live.

15. What is a good memory involving #27? (The Blood Brothers)
Hmm. Listening to their "Burn, Piano Island, Burn" album on repeat got me through an average customer service job and also introduced me to good screamo :)

16. What is your favourite song by #16? (Angelspit)
100%. So dirty and sexy... like all good Angelspit!

17. What is your favourite album by #18? (Battles)
I'm going to sound like the most pretentious arsehole ever here, but I was really into the "EP C/B EP" collection of their EPs well before Mirrored was released. Honest guv! And I prefer the non-vocals sound of those EPs to Mirrored... but Mirrored is still damn awesome.

18. What is your favorite song by #21? (Fightstar)
Sleep Well tonight

19. What is the first song you ever heard by #25? (Fear Before the March of Flames)
Mouth. Which is a great introduction to an excellent thinking person's hardcore band, if you want to give it a crack... (also, the Excel nerd in me loves the fact that they incorporated a 3D bar graph on the cover of this album. So sue me)

20. What is your favourite album by #2? (Biffy Clyro)
"Infinity Land". I think every crazy little nuance of that wonderfully twisty-turny album is permanently burnt into my brain.

21. What is your favourite song by #3? (Billy Talent)
Despite my last.fm stats saying I listen to Fallen Leaves the most, I reckon Standing in the Rain is actually my favourite...

22. What is your favourite song by #8? (Muse)
Hysteria, and if I can ever play that bass line it'll be the musical equivalent of, well... doing what Marilyn Manson used to be rumoured to have removed ribs to do.

23. How many times have you seen #17 live? (Boards of Canada)
Well, none. Do they even do live gigs? I'd be willing to try all sorts of new drugs if they came to town just to compute the sounds they were blurting out :)

24. What is the worst song by #12? (Celldweller)
Tragedy. I'm sorry, but covering the Bee Gees... it never works.

25. What was the first song you ever heard by #27? (Hundred Reasons)
If I Could. And they only got better after that!

26. What is your favourite album by #7? (Andrew W.K.)
Oh, come on, there's only one that matters... I Get Wet!

27. What is your favourite album by #24? (Idlewild)
"100 Broken Windows". Embarassingly, there was a period where I could barely listen to Let Me Sleep (Next To The Mirror) without wanting to bawl. Then again, I've cried to Natalie Imbruglia at a time in the long distant past, so go figure.

28. Is there a song by #9 that makes you happy? (16Volt)
Feel It Through is such a damn fun bouncy song!

29. What is your favourite album by #4? (Mindless Self Indulgence)
"You'll Rebel To Anything (As Long as It's Not Challenging)", although I've listened it to death, so "If" gets more of my attention lately.

30. How many albums do you own by #20? (In Flames)
The four latest albums. Which, in In Flames fan terms, makes me a johnny-come-lately. But, eh, I really like them...

Gig review: Dead Letter Circus and MM9 @ Corner Hotel, 6 June 2008

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 16:36:29 +0000

Dead Letter Circus and MM9 - Corner Hotel - 6th June 2008

I'm not normally one to write up gig reviews, but tonight's gig has seemed to ignite something in me :)

First up, I must highlight the fantastic performance that Many Machines on Nine contributed as tonight's support act. I've long been a fan of Daniel Sutherland through his solo project Switchkicker, but have always followed MM9 with a slightly lesser level of enthusiasm. Frankly, I don't know what the hell was wrong with me. My love of industrial music could be tainting my opinion, but MM9 came damn close to trumping the headline act tonight.

There was a lot of new MM9 material played tonight, and it was simply at an entirely new level compared to the material they've already released on their two EPs. In fact, it sounded like an entirely different band! What I heard tonight seemed a lot harder and far more melodic - and when those beats dropped, goddamn did the entire postcode region know about it. All up, it was incredibly accessible industrial rock without compromising anything, which can only bode well for their debut album next year.

I had a ridiculous grin on my face as they trashed out their set - MM9 are now firmly one of my favourite bands and I can't wait to hear their next release. It now seems clear to me that they're one of those bands that are near impossible to capture their live presence on record - you've simply gotta witness the magic live.

I'm absolutely kicking myself that I was so blase about seeing MM9 live previously - consider me a new hardcore fan! Goddamn, did they sell me tonight.

Of course, we had Dead Letter Circus to enjoy as well. The majority of the set was - pretty much by force - constructed of roadtesting new material. My memory could be foggy, but it seemed like a really different mix of new songs to what I've heard played live at their other recent gigs. In any case, there was a definite expansion of their sound - admit it, when you heard their latest single Reaction, you could tell it was a track that didn't make it onto the EP ;) As great as it is, it still fits the mould of that EP.

Well, it definitely sounds like they've been pushing themselves incredibly hard to create new diverse material - there was a really sonically varied range of material aired tonight. Everything from really hardcore thrashers to deliciously melodic anthems. The new album should turn out to be a corker.

But once again, I was astounded at the sheer number of people screaming out the lyrics to a band who have only released one EP. The last time I saw this band headline at a major venue, most of the front rows were screaming the lyrics back at the stage. On this occasion, the entire freaking pub was bellowing the choruses out. This is seriously impressive stuff for a band who have yet to release a debut album and bodes well for their debut album - due in November, they assured us.

I'm still unsure which band I was more impressed by tonight, but it was great to hear some solid new material from both acts.

Now if you don't mind me, I'm going off to turn into a bit of an MM9 fanboy...

Biffy Clyro setlist - Melbourne, Australia - Tuesday 29th April

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:26:13 +0000

Biffy Clyro - The Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne - Tuesday 29 April, 2008

I managed to get a photo of this gig's Biffy Clyro setlist before I left, so the running order is definitely correct.

Saturday Superhouse
Who's Got A Match?
Justboy
A While Child Ago (Simon's guitar started playing up during this song and they stopped halfway through to fix the power)
As Dust Dances
My Recovery Injection
The Kids From Kibble and the Fist of Light
All The Way Down
Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies
Love Has A Diameter
Hero Management
Get Fucked Stud
9/15ths
Now I'm Everyone

(encore)
Machines
Christopher's River
Glitter and Trauma

It looks like two last minute changes took place to the setlist. They originally had Eradicate the Doubt between As Dust Dances and My Recovery Injection, but replaced this with Kids from Kibble. Questions And Answers was originally slotted between Hero Management and Get Fucked Stud, but was replaced with Christopher's River.

Well, that's the end of the Australian tour. What a happy little Biffy fan I was, following them around the country! Hopefully they'll be back again in the future.

Biffy Clyro setlist - Brisbane, Australia - Monday 28th April

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:48:09 +0000

Biffy Clyro - The Zoo, Brisbane - Monday 28th April 2008

This setlist is definitely correct, because I got the setlist from the stage :)

This gig was probably the only chance I'll ever have to see Biffy Clyro at such an intimate venue. There would've only been about 200-300 people there, and only about a third of those up the front towards the stage. Good to see Kids from Kibble get an outing!

Saturday Superhouse
Who's Got A Match?
Justboy
A Whole Child Ago
As Dust Dances
My Recovery Injection
The Kids From Kibble and the Fist of Light
All The Way Down
Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies
Love Has A Diameter
Hero Management
Get Fucked Stud
9/15ths
Now I'm Everyone

Machines
Glitter and Trauma

Biffy Clyro setlist - Sydney, Australia - Sunday 27th April

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:44:46 +0000

Sun 27 Apr – Biffy Clyro, Yves Klein Blue

I can't quite remember where Justboy and Joy. Discovery. Invention popped up in the set, but I think they're about right. The other tracks are all definitely in the correct order.

I have a feeling Hero managment was played too, but I can't remember where.

This was my first time seeing Biffy Clyro live - met Simon by accident out the front of the venue which just topped off a great evening :)

Saturday Superhouse
Who's Got A Match?
Joy. Discovery. Invention
A Whole Child Ago
As Dust Dances
My Recovery Injection
Justboy
All The Way Down
Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies
Love Has A Diameter
Hero Management
Get Fucked Stud
9/15ths
Now I'm Everyone

Machines
Glitter and Trauma

Follow Biffy Clyro Around Australia Fest '08

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:50:51 +0000

So... it seems I'm the only person on Last.fm following Biffy Clyro around to every gig on their inaugural Australian tour. For shame, Australian Biffy fans! I know there are more of you out there!

Anyway, it's going to be an intense four days. As a precursor, I'm seeing Porcupine Tree's upcoming Sydney gig after some of my mates have raved at me about them for some time now. Then the very next day, I have the first Aussie Biffy gig in Sydney! My brain might explode at the excitement of seeing them live for the first time!

The very next day, I'm flying to Brisbane for the first time in at least 10 years. I can barely remember the city so I'm definitely up for partying on with any Brissie Biffy fans! I reckon I have my best bet at meeting the guys themselves at the Brisbane gig, on the assumption it will be the smallest venue. Here's hoping they notice me at the front of every Australian gig going schizo!

And rather perfectly, the Aussie tour finishes in my hometown Melbourne. I'm planning on dragging as many mates as I can along to the event. It will be a perfect finish to four nights of musical awesomeness!

I'm suspecting the Australian setlists will be rather similar to the recent US tour - in other words, very heavy on the Puzzle tracks. The recent UK tours seem to be much more of a best-of affair. In any case, I'm just over the moon that the band I listen to most (according to last.fm, anyway) are finally about to touch down in the country.

I still want to see them live in the UK though - those YouTube videos I've seen of UK gigs are amazing. I just don't think we'll ever get an entire auditorium of people inexplicably clapping in time to Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave like you do in the UK!!

MON THE BIFFY! All you lucky international folk who've seen them live recently, go ahead and tease me with stories about how awesome they are live, to whet my appetite!

Cool website - generates a daily magazine based on your last.fm taste in music

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:03:51 +0000

I've been playing with a site called Idiomag over the weekend. It monitors your last.fm listening habits, and uses this to create a daily "magazine".

The content consists of news, live reviews and a spattering of album reviews from related artists. It looks like the content is mostly grabbed from all sorts of blogs... it's presented really nicely though, and the articles always seem freshly written. It's in the format of a print magazine, but has a soundtrack of music related to what you're reading, or videos. This is much more impressive when you see it in action - reading about a new single release on one page while the music video itself plays on the opposite page is really cool.

In my first few issues the site has generated so far, I've had stories on the new Deftones album, a live review of a recent Biffy Clyro gig, an article on Muse's plans for 2008, and a report on the pending new albums from 36 Crazyfists and In Flames. There's also been a few recommendations in the form of album reviews. The balance seems just right - as Idiomag themselves explain:

5 articles are chosen for you everyday you based what we know about your music tastes. idiomag first chooses articles about artists which we definitely know you're interested in, it then moves on to related artists and then finally fills any remaining article-slots with articles we predict you will like based on your genre interests.

I know how gimmicky it might sound, but I'm finding it really cool. I've found a lot of really interesting reading on my favourite bands, and that's considering I am pretty thorough with official band blogs and newsletters anyway.

Anyway, you can enter your last.fm username on the Idiomag website to see a sample issue (or if you're feeling lazy/suspicious, you can see my Idiomag).

Go check the site out and let me know what you think...

Don't you be messing with my girl Lennon

Sat, 9 Feb 2008 15:27:28 +0000

In 2001, I read an album review about a female artist described as Nine Inch Nails in a car crash with Tori Amos. This would lead to Lennon's album 5:30 Saturday Morning becoming one of my all-time favourite albums. She's so honest and when she's singing about an emotion, by god do you feel the soul behind it; but she used industrial tinges to her advantage on that album without it ever becoming too harsh. This song, Brake of Your Car, is from that album:

Her album really connected with me, and many other people at the job I had at the time. I couldn't help but thrust that album on everyone whether they liked it or not. I guess I find her history absolutely heartbreaking, but she just seems so genuine and zero-bullshit in her music and career at large.. she can really pen a tale and the music that perfectly accompanies it.

Over the years she's really developed as an artist. Although departing from the more industrial-tinged aspects of her music (not such a bad thing, industrial is pretty stagnant nowadays); it's become really clear that acoustic guitar and piano are her forte - but don't assume that she's any less hard-hitting. Even in her most delicate piano-based moments, this girl is hard-hittingly brutal in her lyrics and musical progressions. Here's one of her more recent singles, Where Do I Fit In:

So I feel like I have somewhat of an emotional attachment to Lennon's stuff... she really hooks me in, no matter what style she's trying out at the time.

This is why it really upset me this week to see that Yoko Ono is suing Lennon over her name. Lennon is her birth name, for crying out loud. And this isn't just some fanboy love, it really does seem like a shitty lawsuit - Lennon posted this blog entry recently:

Yoko waited 8 years until 2 days before the statue of limitations ran out to file this complaint. 5 lawyers including 2 trademark experts we have spoken with agree that Yoko has no grounds for these claims and is just trying to push Lennon around and make her spend money she doesn't have. Yoko seeks to gain the rights to the Trademark "LENNON" which Lennon Murphy has owned since 2003. This lady is a scum bag and so is her lawyer Peter Shukat who first became aware of Lennon in 2000 when approached by Arista records for consent by Yoko and the John Lennon estate to release Lennon's debut 5:30 Saturday Morning CD under the name "LENNON." They made no objections at that time, nor did they for the next 8 years. Now everything Lennon has worked for is on the line.

It does sound kinda scummy that Yoko has waited 48 hours before the expiration of rights to file the case. But in any case, I see Lennon's point: she has worked so hard as an independent artist over the last few years, it would seem awful for her to be forced to use a new name and, in many ways, start from scratch.

That said, Lennon has also recently expressed a desire to start a hard rock band - apparently her next album is extremely heavy (I love that she tries so many genres!) if things don't go her way, she could use this as an opportunity to relaunch herself as the lead singer of her own hard rock band under a different name.

Either way, I know whatever she achieves, under whatever never name she choose - it's going to sound powerful and awesome. I hope you'll check out some songs from 5:30 Saturday Morning as it's one of my all time favourites... and if you like that, check out her most recent release Damaged Goods.

Page Hamilton of Helmet is 47 - WOW.

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 06:12:09 +0000

WOAH, I just learnt that Page Hamilton of Helmet is 47 years old! I had him pegged at late 30s! Just goes to show you can start a genre-defining band at age 30, so there's hope for me yet :P It's so awesome he is still active in the scene at that age.

WOW. And what a nice frontman he is too... most hardcore gigs I see, the frontman is all arrogant testosterone. Page is just a totally nice dude - I can't think of any other band I've seen live recently who are so catering to their fans (maybe Pearl Jam, although I'm not the biggest fan of them).

The two Helmet gigs I've seen, Page engages the audience for the last half of the show and lets the ticketpayers dictate the setlist - obscure b-sides or whatever. He is so fucking selfless, respectful and a refreshing change in the hardcore scene. I mean, it's cool to see Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta do his thing, and they're kinda a fan-friendly band too; but Page is just a DUDE! If he sees someone in a really, really old Helmet tour t-shirt screaming out for the most obscure b-side ever, he'll play it above anyone else crying out for a request.

Now I've discovered Page's age, I'm actually much more forgiving of the fact that Helmet today is really just Page Hamilton with a bunch of backup musicians.

That said, what's with the dude-fest at hardcore bands which hit their peak in the 90s? At my last Helmet gig, I only saw one female at the entire 1500-person capacity venue, and that was the girl who came along with me. There's like this entire audience of dudes (often stuck in their 90s music collection) obsessed with these bands - it seems weird there's there's almost zero females at these gigs. Female Helmet fans, where are you? (Although I'm not really complaining THAT much, my last Helmet gig was a delightful sausagefest).

Well, Page, we need more blokes like you to carry the torch.

Speaking of that kind of crowd - I find the same thing happens at The Mark of Cain gigs. They're two extremely similar bands, and it's criminal TMOC isn't bigger internationally - if you're a Helmet fan, I guarantee you'll love TMOC. (You might have already heard them - Helmet's original drummer Jon Stanier drummed for TMOC after leaving Helmet, before progressing onto the awesomeness that is Battles). Here's a sampler:

The Muse IT Helpdesk Manager

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:05:42 +0000

Fresh back from tonight's Muse gig... it was just as amazing as you'd expect a Muse arena gig to be. I may have even had a little bit of a tearie at some points, it was very overwhelming for me, so I'm sort of glad I went on my own :P (plus they played Micro Cuts! I've been dying to hear that live, and wasn't sure if they even played it live in the first place, it sounds pretty hard for even Matt Bellamy to sing).

Anyway, I won't ruin the surprises for anyone still yet to see them on the Aussie tour.

What made me laugh tonight is something I'd forgotten about since my last Muse gig. If you've ever seen them live, you'll notice there seems to be a fourth member of the band looking after the loops, samples, bleeps and bloops on what appears to be a rack of servers.

It just makes me laugh how he carries out his stuff - he's stooping over this server rack fiddling and playing with buttons like an IT consultant, almost oblivious to the gig going on behind him. I've dubbed him the Muse IT Helpdesk Manager. It's as if Matt's texted their IT guy between songs: "THE MICROSOFT EXCHANGE SERVER SEEMS TO HAVE CRASHED, CAN YOU REBOOT IT PLEASE?" and he's rushed out to take care of it in the midst of Plug In Baby.