To blog or not to blog?

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Crowded House, Fleetwood Mac, Headlights, Matthew Ryan, mp3, Music, Romany Rye

That is, as they say, the question and I’ve been pondering it this afternoon as I’ve been cleaning out my cupboards and madly searching my kitchen for minute holes in the walls because my state has been beset by mice in plague proportions this last month or so, and the little buggers are STILL finding ways to get in.

So as I threw out and rearranged and wiped and scrubbed and cursed, I wondered whether or not this post was going to be my last. I’ve hardly listened to any new music in the last couple of months, but have been flogging the same 60 track playlist since January, with a few old favourites thrown on the stereo every now and then – The National, Sigur Ros, Withered Hand, Frightened Rabbit, Mountain Goats… and I find myself without a lot to say at the moment.

Big changes are going on away from the blog, and somehow, without realising it, I’ve moved on.

I don’t think this is my last post ever, but it seems that the need to blog has left me for a while and what was once an almost daily need is now something that I don’t find myself missing at all.

I’ll still be checking in but for now, consider the blog on the back burner. Thanks for reading and commenting and for enjoying the words and music you’ve found here. I can’t tell you how wonderful it’s been.

~ Agnes

Can’t leave you without some tunes now, can I?

Here are a few tracks that kept me company this afternoon. Enjoy.

Untitled (Love Song) – Romany Rye

Cherry Tulips – Headlights

Your Museum – Matthew Ryan

Everywhere (Live) – Fleetwood Mac

Distant Sun – Crowded House

Hottest songs of all time?

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Augie March, Crowded House, Hilltop Hoods, mp3, Music, Powderfinger, The Living End

Last week Triple J announced its most recent Hottest 100 Songs of All Time countdown, as voted on by the public, and as is always the case with such things, I read the list with varying amounts of dismay and incredulity. And a large amount of “I shouldn’t care about this so why am I allowing this foolishness to piss me off?”

I won’t bore you all with my pithy shallow analysis, but I will say this – while I don’t mind Nirvana and I quite like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, I certainly don’t think it’s the ‘hottest song of all time’, even though it also came in at #1 in 1991 when the last one of these things was held. And I’m not sure that Red Hot Chilli Peppers or the Foo Fighters belong in the top 10 either.

I was glad to see some Aussie talent featured on the list (well I should hope so!) but I was slightly disappointed to see that the highest Aussie placing was at #17, with the Hilltop Hoods ‘The Nosebleed Section’. I was also quite horrified to read that, apart from two guest vocalists on Massive Attack’s two tracks, no female artists made the final list. I think that really sucks.

Now that I’ve made those totally trivial and unimportant observations about this trivial and unimportant event, I would like to add that one of the wonderful things about music is its subjectivity and it would be pretty boring if we all liked the same stuff wouldn’t it?

Still.

Here’s the Top 10, and you can head here to check out the rest.

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
2. Killing In The Name – Rage Against The Machine
3. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
4. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
5. Paranoid Android – Radiohead
6. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
7. Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley
8. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
9. Everlong – Foo Fighters
10.Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin

And here’s a sample of the Aussie artists that made the cut:

#17 The Nosebleed Section – Hilltop Hoods

#21 These Days – Powderfinger

Download:

#34 Prisoner Of Society – The Living End

#50 Don’t Dream It’s Over – Crowded House

#59 One Crowded Hour – Augie March

See even here I have problems. ‘Prisoner Of Society’ and ‘The Nosebleed Section’ better than ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ and ‘One Crowded Hour’? I don’t think so!

Absence of Light

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Arcade Fire, Ben Lee, Crowded House, Everlast, Leftovers, mp3, Music, Santana, Sarah McLachlan, Sleeping at Last

We’ve had all kinds of nasty weather here in the last few days. Storms, rain and high winds, falling trees, bridge closures in the city, traffic lights down and hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity, with many not expected to have their power restored for another 48 hours. Search and Rescue volunteers are working overtime to clear up the damage. Luckily we’ve only caught the edge of it where I live and haven’t suffered any real effects. Let’s hope it’s all cleared up soon and that everyone gets their power back. Then they can then come and check out the tracks below. Is that too frivolous a lead-in? Probably.

Put Your Lights On – Santana Feat. Everlast

Levels of Light – Sleeping At Last

Into The Dark – Ben Lee

Cold Wind – Arcade Fire

Fallen – Sarah McLachlan

Weather With You – Crowded House

Good Friday On My Mind

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Chuck Berry, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crowded House, Jewel, Leftovers, Leroy, mp3, Music, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Kinks, The Maccabees, The Notwist

It’s an obvious theme, sure. But that don’t mean it ain’t no good! Enjoy the Easter break, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing.

Some church bloopers found while scouring the net for Easter jokes (ahajokes.com):

1.This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

2. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What is Hell?” Come early and listen to our choir practice.

3.Thursday at 5PM there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to become Little Mothers, please see the minister in his private study.

Good Lies – The Notwist

Good Old Bill – The Maccabees

Good Time – Leroy

Good Day – Jewel

Good Golly Miss Molly – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Where Have All The Good Times Gone – The Kinks

People Ain’t No Good – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry

Brought To You By The Letter B

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Brought To You By, Crowded House, Ditties From Down Under, Kavisha Mazella, mp3, Music, Regina Spektor, The Waifs

It’s a simple idea, where I post songs that all have one thing in common – the letter that they begin with. Original? Not at all. Pointless? Probably.

Having said that though, every song is highly recommended and should be checked out by your good self immediately! 

Better Be Home Soon – Crowded House

Classic song from a classic band.

Big Blue Above – Kavisha Mazella

Featured on the excellent Australian drama series ‘SeaChange’.

I saw you cast your net up to the sky

You’re catching the words as they fly

Spray ‘em with black ink upon a white page

Wrap ‘em and bind ‘em with your joy and rage

Braille – Regina Spektor

A track from the wonderful Regina Spektor, who inspired the naming of this blog. Go here to check out the full lyrics – they’re excellent.

Brain Damage – The Waifs

Adding to the mainly Aussie flavour of this post are folk outfit The Waifs. I’m going out to damage my brain…

Check out the rest of the alphabet here.