Were you at the Queen gig at Wembley in 1986? If so, I hate you.
Freddie Mercury. What a performer.
After spending a fair chunk of my evening lamenting the fact that I wasn’t born a decade or two earlier, I came across George Michael’s version of ‘Somebody To Love’, played live with Queen after Freddie’s death. I’ve always adored this version, and I think this is close to one of the best covers out there (is it a cover even if the rest of Queen were involved?) I’ve never actually seen the footage though, so I was stoked to happen upon it tonight. The jacket! The hair! The gold hoop earring! Magic.
Listen to these songs, and then tell me they don’t go together. Listen to them under the influence of a couple of tumblerfuls of gin, and you won’t even notice if they don’t.
I’m about eight years late to this party apparently, but I still think this video of ‘Since I Left You’ by Melbourne’s The Avalanches is worth a look. I caught it on Rage this morning and was quite charmed! Make sure you stick with it til the end, won’t you? It’s really quite gorgeous.
Another video I came across was ‘A Community Service Announcement’ by Sydney’s Jonathan Boulet. The video itself didn’t stick in the memory, but I have been enjoying the song this past week – it’s damn catchy, make no mistake. Jonathan has a few December dates booked, including Homebake, and you can find more info at myspace.
(Quick summary for those who haven’t seen it, lifted straight from wiki because I’m lazy… The plot of High Fidelity centers on Rob Gordon (John Cusack), a self-confessed audiophile whose flair for understanding women is less than par for the course. After getting dumped by his current girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle), he decides to look up some of his old flames in an attempt to figure out what he keeps doing wrong in his relationships.
He spends his days at his record store, Championship Vinyl, where he holds court over the customers that drift through. Helping Rob in his task of musical elitism are Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), the “musical moron twins,” as he refers to them. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things musical, they compile “top five” lists for every conceivable occasion, openly mock the ignorance of their customers, and, every so often, actually sell a few records.)
While I’m not really a John Cusack fan, and the brief yet irritating appearances of Catherine Zeta Jones do nothing for me, I still really enjoy this movie and it’s because of all the record store scenes. I love the mockery and open hostility that Barry (Jack Black) displays towards their customers and how he refuses to sell records to those he deems unworthy. It’s mean and elitist but also bloody hilarious.
While I like the whole movie, the part I’m always hanging out for when I watch it is the record launch at the end, an event that Barry and his new band muscle in on, despite Rob begging them not to participate, fearing that they’ll be awful and everyone will leave. Barry turns up looking all snappy in a suit and they immediately launch into a great cover of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ and blow the crowd away. It’s a fantastic scene.
I’m a bit of a Song By Toad fan and have been haunting its pages since the beginning of It All Started. Not only is Matthew’s writing funny, irreverant and informative, his taste in music is excellent and I’ve come across quite a few gems through my daily visits to Toad Hall.
In addition to the blog, Matthew has spent the last year or so developing his own record label, mainly releasing the records of Scottish bands, particularly those from Edinburgh, but he’s recently expanded to international acts with the UK release of a split 12” record featuring several songs from Portland bands Loch Lomond and The Builders & The Butchers. Only available on vinyl, each order will be shipped with a CD-R version of the tracks as well.
So, onto the music. It took me a little while to warm to Loch Lomond, not for any particular reason really, but it wasn’t an instant connection. They are definitely a band that are worth persisting with though, and with continued listens I really started to appreciate their intricate and often haunting songs. There are subtle undercurrents scattered throughout each track – a quick little pluck of a string at an otherwise quiet moment, a drum beat that begins so softly that you don’t notice it until suddenly it’s all you can hear. Oh, and there are strings. Lots and lots of strings.
Highlights from their contribution to the record include ‘Elephants and Little Girls’ and ‘Field Report’, which features a gorgeous melody played out on strings, and repeated again on chimes. It’s all really quite lovely.
Loch Lomond also have a new EP out called Night Bats – I’ve not heard the whole EP yet, but I have checked out ‘Wax and Wire’ and I love it. More chimey accents and a waltz beat punctuated by beautiful strings.
The Builders And The Butchers are also pretty fantastic, with ‘When It Rains’ and ‘Vampire Lake’ being my favourite tracks from the record. These guys are folky Americana I suppose and I can’t help but think of the words ‘barn stormer’ when I listen to them. Don’t ask me why, they are not words that are usually a part of my vocabulary, but it just has that feeling of being the kind of music played on a rickety wooden platform in an old barn that people would thump and dance about to. This is a compliment, by the way – each track has this dark undercurrent beneath it, but enough fire and movement to make it a really fun listen.
Want to find out more about Song By Toad Records? Head here, and if you haven’t already, make sure you check out Meursault’s Nothing Broke EP, also out on Toad’s label. It’s one of my favourite releases of 2009.
You know that point in your life when you realize the house you grew up in isn’t really your home any more? All of a sudden, even though you have some place where you put your shit that idea of home is gone.
You’ll see one day when you move out. Just sorta happens one day and it’s gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It’s like you feel homesick for a place that doesn’t even exist.
Maybe it’s like this rite of passage, you know? You won’t ever have that feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself. You know, for your kids. For the family you start. It’s like a cycle or something, I don’t know. But I miss the idea of it, you know? Maybe that’s all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place. Garden State (2004)
Ok, this is fun. The Guillemots Fyfe Dangerfield has gone solo and this first taste of his debut album Fly Yellow Moon is the perfect antidote to this grey and muggy morning. I love the sketchy opening beats, those rasping scratchy vocals and the countless ‘oooooh oooooohs’. Totally infectious stuff.
Totally random photo: Moulin Rouge, Paris May 2009
I’m house sitting this week, and for a little while earlier my laptop refused to hook up to the wireless setup here. You can imagine my despair as I pictured the week stretching before me, a barren wasteland. Just imagine! I’d be forced to resort to other ways to pass my time, like talking to people and reading books and interacting with the outside world. Perish the thought.
Anyway, the internet here is behaving now, and so I thought I’d offer up a few links that I’ve come across lately that are worth a look.
I’ve been cooking quite a bit lately – real cooking – and there are a few food blogs I use for inspiration. The Pioneer Woman (food/photography/homeschooling/confessions of a ranch wife blog) is a favourite, but I also like recent discovery Spork Or Foon? (check out those molasses spice cookies!). You might also like to check out 10 Great Blogs For Food Lovers.
I’ve also become a tad addicted to a few book blogs over the last few months, including Baby Got Books (great reviews and informative links to other book related sites) and Book Addiction (written by an avid reader who posts reviews and opinions on up and coming books, along with well-known novels and even her childhood reads).
Speaking of book related pursuits, Literary Rags make t-shirts featuring the quotes of well-known literary figures. My favourite is the Samuel Beckett shirt “What do I know of man’s destiny? I could tell you more about radishes.” I think I may have mentioned this site before, but they’ve updated it to include quotes from ‘Founding Fathers’ and ‘The Epochs’. Each month they also have a ‘shirt of the month’ available at a reduced price. This month it’s Truman Capote “Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.” Be sure to check out Well Dressed Reader as well, which features some cute book related jewellery.
Changing the subject totally now… Australian Jessica Watson is currently a month into her attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. I must admit I did think she was a bit silly when her last attempt ended abruptly after a collision with a bloody large ship and she didn’t seem too perturbed about it, but something led me to her blog the other day and it’s a pretty good read. It’s full of interesting technical info about how things around the boat work and how she passes each day alone on the open sea.
To wrap up, I’ve saved the best for last. Insound is currently offering free mp3 downloads from their top 50 albums of 2009. Here’s a couple I nabbed the other day – I really like the Cymbals Eat Guitars tune but I have to admit that I’m still struggling to get into Grizzly Bear.
The wonderful folk over at Hear Ya have another stellar Live Session available for your enjoyment. The raspy foot-stomping album My Son’s Home by the Roadside Graves has been a firm favourite here at It All Started this year and it’s fantastic to check out some vision of them doing their thing in the intimate atmosphere of the studio.
Watch the video for ‘Ruby’ below, then head over to Hear Ya to check out the rest of the session. Make sure you come back here over the next few weeks though as I begin to count down my pick for this year’s Festive 50. ‘Ruby’ makes an appearance somewhere in the countdown, but you’ll have to wait til later to find out just exactly where it ended up!
And thanks to the wonders of Twitter, I discovered last night that Roadside Graves are currently locked away in a lakeside cabin recording a 6+ track EP titled You Won’t Be Happy With Me. I’m sure the less than cheerful title won’t take anything away from what’s sure to be another stunning collection of alt-country goodness.
