Kentucky Cocktail

Just thought I’d mention how good the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival is looking this year.

The Melbourne date is 24th of February and features a bill including Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Okkervil River, Gotye, Feist, The Panics and more.

Not to mention the fact that the festival is finally overflowing onto Lonsdale Street which will hopefully allow a bit more breathing space. (There’s only so much garbage smell you can take).

Tickets are on sale now so get a move on!

When the weather heats up, as it’s doing now, there are always a few old staples that I pull out of my collection. A lot of them I should have grown out of by now, but there are a few, more current potentials as well.

So I thought I’d do a warm weather recommendation list for Spring/ Summer:

1. Who among us can go pass Beck. Since ‘97 he’s been my go to guy for all things summer music. There’s just something about the great samples and hispanic references that do it for me. For summer, I think Odelay is where it’s at.

2. Keeping in the vein of nostalgia, I’m gonna say a bit of Pavement- in particular Slanted and Enchanted. I mean, it has a song on it called “Summer Babe”. Need I say more?

3. For something slightly newisher, I’m going to say Matisyahu. Probably the Live at Stubbs album. You just get a feeling of warmth from listening to that, I’m not sure how.

4. The Avalanches are no stranger to good times, and I always find this album puts me in a better mood when I’m walking to work.

5. The Hives. It’s not just that they have a new album out (which perfectly coincides with good weather) but I always feel like listening to a bit of Ven Vidi Vicious when things heat up.

6. The Unicorns, great great band. Not sure what really happened there but as far as I know they are kaput. It’s a real shame though cause Who will Cut our Hair When We’re Gone is a great album.

7. A bit of a favourite in all weather, but for me, The Shins’ Oh Inverted World is definitely a summer album. I think Wincing the Night Away is also a fair contender this year.

8. When it’s really stinking hot and I kind of want to feel sorry for myself, I tend to put on a bit of Wilco. Probably Being There due to the more country slant, but last year I was really into Kicking Television. It’s a good one for a lazy afternoon. 

9. It’s a shame about Pete Doherty, but The Libertines were awesome weren’t they? Like everyone else, I stopped paying too much attention after PD left, but Up The Bracket is a great album.

10. I don’t tend to listen to this album much in the cooler months,probably to avoid depression, but The Magnetic Fields’ 60 Love Songs is always a good summer listen.

11. Pinback, in particular Summer in Abbadon is a good one to listen to around about now, but since their new album, Autumn of the Seraphs is equally good, I would recommend that.

12. Back to a bit of nostalgia, summer wouldn’t be complete with a bit of the Blue Album. Weezer before they went a bit off the wall is always a treat.

13. Iron & Wine are always good, really no matter what temperature, but in particular the album they did with Calexico, In the Reins, is a winner.

14. You’ll forgive me, but I can’t help but gush more about Jens Lekman.  Currently, Night Falls Over Kortedala  is my spring album.

15. Finally, I’m gonna go with a bit of The Beta Band. Though I think the Best of Album is good for an overview, their self titled album is probably my favourite.

Also, as an afterthough, Andrew Bird’s The Mysterious Production of Eggs is definitely a good one for around about now, possibly because I saw him last summer, or possibly just cause it’s a good album.

Take it or leave it, they’re just a few suggestions that I have found myself already thinking about for potential sountracks.

Any other suggestions?

That’s right, everybody’s favourite Christian is finally heading down under at the start of next year.

Check out Sufjan in January 2008 as part of his Australia/ Japan tour.

Dates are:

10th – Brisbane, Australia – The Tivoli
12th – Sydney, Australia State Theatre (Sydney Festival)
13th – Sydney, Australia – State Theatre (Sydney Festival)
14th – Sydney, Australia – State Theatre (Sydney Festival)
16th – Melbourne, Australia – Forum Theatre

All tickets are on sale now so hop to it!

In 2002 when the White Stripes turned down a million dollar deal with McDonalds, no one seemed surprised with their decision, because that would be selling out, right?

Only five years later, the act of ’selling out’ seems to be par for course for any number of successful bands.  The White Stripes themselves have given in, with Jack White recently penning a song for Coca Cola.

When the practice started to become regular, I didn’t know how to feel about it.  My first instinct when seeing an ad with music I like in it, such as Jose Gonzalez’s famous Canon ads, was surprise, coupled with a bit of confusion, followed by a sinking feeling.  Over time however, I’ve accepted it as standard, just another avenue for a band to make money, especially with the popularity of downloading.  The merging of credible singers/ bands and advertising makes perfect sense.  The product being advertised gets a sort of edge it didn’t previously have and the band gets another form of income.  

I digress… here is an interesting article from the New York Times in regards to this topic.