bevester

My next favourite band (dot com)

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:06:05 +1100

Found this great website which has been written using the Last.fm API. It's called 'Your Next Favourite Band', and it predicts, well, what your next favourite band will be based on the scrobbling history of you and your neighbours. Mine will be... wait for it....

Judas Priest

Which is really weird and cool because I've been thinking of giving them a go. Give the site a go yourself, all you have to do is type in your last.fm user name.

I love this kind of extension of last.fm awesomeness, there are more that were developed on Last.fm Hack Day, which I wanna look through when I get a chance.

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On Holly Throsby

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:58:16 +1100

I watched this video of the amazing Holly Throsby the other day, performing one of her songs on one of many pianos that have been setup around Sydney as an art installation. Anyone who wants to play can sit down and have a go, which is a really cool idea. They've evidently filmed some performers doing their thing, Holly Throsby being one.

Holly Throsby

Which led me to writing about Ms. Throsby, who has been one of my biggest musical obsessions of last year. Her newest album, 'A Loud Call', was released in 2008 and is the best thing she's done. It's struck a massive chord with my wife and me, culminating in us ditching the kids for a night and seeing her live late last year in a really intimate show at a bar.

Hard to describe exactly what separates her from other acoustic-based female singer/ songwriters, but at the same time, listening to her she's actually unlike anything you've heard. Her whispery vocal style is really unique and truly soothing. It envelops you and takes away your cares for a brief time, even though she's often singing about fears of her own. I've read that she's not a big fan of her "odd" voice, but to me it's that oddness that makes it so engaging. Hendrix didn't like his voice, Dylan probably didn't like his, but it's about the feeling and delivery, and more than anything else, the songwriting. In the end, loving the stranger stuff is more rewarding anyway.

Lyrically she writes some beautiful, thoughtful stuff, with one of my favourite passages being this from 'Now I Love Someone' (makes me think of my wife):

"Because my wins are your wins
In the sleet, in the spring
And your losses are my losses when you're opposite me only
Now we love somebody"

'A Loud Call' has songs that have stepped up a notch from her previous albums (which were amazing in themselves). Holly uses her voice to her advantage more than before, sounding a bit more versatile. It's richer and even more intimate in its sound and production, being recorded in Nashville, probably with a bigger budget (though that's not always a good thing). This thing is a near perfect album for any occasion, any time of the day, any mood. It slotted seamlessly into my life almost every day for a while there, and I haven't got sick of it yet -- I'm not sure that would be possible. It'd be like getting sick of dreaming or chilling out on the couch -- great things that you just take for granted that always bring you joy.

The Time It Takes

Holly Throsby

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15 years in the life of W. Axl Rose

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:00:39 +1100

W. Axl Rose

Classic Rock magazine has done the hard yards and cobbled together an account of the 15 year creation of Guns 'N Roses' Chinese Democracy album. It's an absolutely fascinating read, going through the many lineup changes as the original guys slowly exited, making way for most of Nine Inch Nails at one point, and even including Brian May who recorded some guitar parts that never made the final album. They went through multiple producers (including Moby), multiple A&R men who were all offered huge bonuses by the label if they could get the album done "within the year". At one point (around 2000) Bob Ezrin, renowned producer and album "finisher" came in at what was thought to be the final stages before release just to give his thoughts on the final mix, only to tell Axl that he only had 3 good songs. The album was scrapped. From what I can tell, the album was scrapped maybe three times. It got weird at the end where Axl was taking his unfinished album to clubs with him and playing it over the PA, making outrageous claims as to the release date and that it's going to be a triple album etc. It seems in the last few years before it came out in 2008 there was not a lot of anything done, just no release.

Our W. Axl had major hangups about the relevance of the album. Not that there were any doubts from anyone concerned with the process most of the time, with reports of utterly contemporary, relevant and engaging music emerging. His many sneak peeks at clubs etc garnered ecstatic reception for the material. Classic Rock magazine even gave the unfinished album "album of the year" in 2007 based on leaked demos. Many reports that he just didn't know how to finish it emerged, and accounts of songs that never had lyrics. One guitarist worked with Axl for 2 years and never played a song with lyrics or a proper title. The Nine Inch Nails version of the band re-recorded Appetite For Destrction when they first got together rather than write new stuff, just to "get into the right headspace". That's not a minor undertaking.

Essentially he's extra strength crazy. All his procrastination served to do was increase expectation and make his hangups all the worse. Since the album came out he's done no media at all and the album has sold comparatively poorly. In he US you can only get it from Best Buy stores apparently, which is so weird (though AC/DC just did this too with WalMart). I reckon most people wouldn't even know it's out.

Myself, I've yet to get into the album. I've tried a couple of times and got bored, I'm trying again as I write this. Seems OK maybe, stil a bit boring, has promise. It doesn't seem 15 years good though. If Axl had released it 8 years ago he could've had 3 albums out by now and put the whole sorry saga behind him.

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Bad start

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:57:20 +1100

Ok, this is not a good way to ease back into blogging. A post about Black Sabbath that I've been writing over the past 2 days has mysteriously vanished from my PDA. Gone. I am very quickly getting sick of the dodginess of Windows Mobile... I can see an iPhone or this new Palm Pre in my future...

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nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:47:46 +1100

Hello dear reader. I haven't blogged properly in almost a year, and therefore have deprived you of... well... nothing. Of course it doesn't matter and no one cares but me. I haven't had time to do it, but I also haven't really wanted to. I wanted to at first, thought about it a bit, but was way too busy. Then I didn't care much anymore, thought it was a complete waste of effort. Then later, when I occasionally thought about it again, the thought of blogging seemed difficult because I didn't know what i'd say to start to kick this off again. This past couple of days has seen me with a bit of time to myself and it's been on my mind again.

I like doing it, I like writing because it's cathartic. It sometimes gets me to think more deeply about things than I may do otherwise, to sort out and clarify what I really feel about something. I work it out in my head as I type. My favourite reason to blog, though, is to get down my thoughts about music. I don't apportion as much time speaking to people about music as I do thinking about music (not many sane people do) so it's great to get it down somewhere, to get it out of my head. It's like a conversation with myself. No arguments, only complete agreement that my taste is brilliant and that thinking in minute detail about a record is actually a useful way to spend one's time.

Problem is, I don't have anything specific I want to write about right now. I don't even have anything I necessarily want to listen to right now. I've been shuffling heaps of music insead of listening to whole albums, which I never do. In various ways my life is in limbo right now, waiting, lamenting recent changes, which is probably the cause of this empty feeling. This post is a way to get that first one out of the way and see what follows. Maybe nothing, but that's ok, then i'll know i'm done with this for now.

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I'm not here, this isn't happening

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:01:22 +1000

What the fuck are we all doing on this bus? What makes us persist with this drab demeaning dehumanizing routine day after day? It's dark, has been since I clocked off. When I left my kids this morning it was barely dawn. I think my face has seen about 15 minutes of direct sunlight all day, most spent in half-light at the bus stop this morning awaiting the first act of the day's cattle train express. It is all an act. A sick show. A sideline to real life, awaiting real life to begin, to be won, to be earned (literally). Have any of us seen this real life, or did we miss it? Did any one of us on this state sponsored conveyer belt enjoy even 5% of what we did today? I mean really enjoy. Even kinda enjoy. It's a trap, a ploy, a ruse. We're all making money for someone, all being dangled enough of a carrot to keep us "happy". All up to our scared skinny necks in debt, all waiting 'til it gets easier. While we wait we get comfy and dig our selves a bigger hole. Hard to leave when it's so nice in. Just stay a while longer, a repreive from the tyrants, a reward for our suffering, a chance to just stop. C'mon, stay. It's so nice in.

I'm not here, this isn't happening

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What is this, norway?

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:17:15 +1000

Headin' to work, bit before 7, fuckin' dark and fuckin' cold. This is what the daylight savings naysayers are on about... They're wrong of course, i'll take light at night over light in the morning anyday. Too sleepy to appreciate the stinkin' morning anyway.

What is this, norway?

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Daylight Savings blues

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:16:31 +1000

Do you think Last.fm is struggling with the revised daylight savings end date in Australia this year?

Daylight savings blues

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Last.fm: ghosts, crowes and shooting sherrifs

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:37:56 +1000

Top Artists this Week (see more)

23 Mar 2008 – 30 Mar 2008

4	1	Nine Inch Nails	151
1	2	The Black Crowes	100
1	3	Eric Clapton	86
	4	The Raconteurs	38
1	5	The Beatles	33
3	6	David Bowie	12
2	7	Eddie Vedder	11
	7	Dead Meadow	11
12	7	Iron Maiden	11
10	7	Radiohead	11

It's been too long since I had time to put my weekly chart up, or indeed, felt it was interesting enough to do so. It's been a bit samey for a while. I really enjoyed my music this week, so here's how it played out.

This week sees the atmospheric, creepy, totally instrumental 'Ghosts I-IV' from Nine Inch Nails grab the top spot, with a bit of 'Year Zero' thrown in the mix. 'Ghosts' is the new album that Reznor has released totally online without a record company. Building on the Radiohead model, he lets you download 'Ghosts I' for free (about 9 tracks) or the whole 36 tracks for $5. You get a PDF booklet plus plenty of wallpapers too. That's a good deal. I paid $5. I don't regret it, and I have a warm fuzzy for not downloading it illegally.

Black Crowes. Seeing them live this week. Love the new 'Warpaint' album, and have been throwing on the old ones too in preparation. They simply are one of my favourite bands of all time. They're cool, their influences are cool, they do what they want and they in turn do things to me. Never seen them live before, they haven't been to our shores since the early 90s I believe, so it's gonna be one spiritual evening (thanks Axeman).

Clapton. Those 86 plays are entirely due to '461 Ocean Boulevard'. Had it on vinyl for ages, but my vinyl lives out in the garage due to too many children vs not enough rooms in the house, so I don't play them much. Got a digital copy of this one, and I simply can't get enough. It surely must be second only to his Derek & The Dominos album in amazingness, although, that's a big call I know. And I love the song title 'Willie & The Hand Jive' ;-)

New Raconteurs seems good, loving Bowie's 'Aladdin Sane' all over again, Beatles have got a running mainly with 'Rubber Soul' and the White Album.

Good week, good tunes.

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20/03/08

nobody@vox.com(bevester) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:27:44 +1100

20/03/08

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