I’ve never had any problem admitting my love for late 90s pop music. Even after I reached the point where I was too old to actually enjoy the music, I was still fascinated by the process of using the same formula to churn out band after band after band, knowing that as long as you had cute boys or sassy girls (or both), you were on to a winner. I also liked the fact that grunge and post-grunge bands were existing in a market alongside New Kids On The Block, Take That, and Nsync. Apples and oranges indeed.

I’m moving house next weekend, and as part of the packing I came across a stack of old VHS tapes containing performances, video clips, interviews etc of a whole bunch of bands spanning from approximately 1997 to 2001/02.  There were a million and one music shows on free to air telly during those years, these days it’s only video clip shows if you don’t have Pay TV. The tape that I popped in the VCR had a few songs from these guys, Blue. After all these years, I still knew the words.

This particular song encompasses pretty much everything I like about pop music. Plaintive love theme? Check. Multiple-part harmonies? Check. Easy to learn lyrics? Check. Simple melody? Check. Larynx-bursting emotion at some point in the song? Check. I dare say growing up with this sort of music still has an influence on my tastes today. I’m still drawn to the ‘clean’ sounding tracks, clear vocals, and I always prefer the classic (formulaic?) melodies before anything else.

And of course, being a teenage girl at the time, I did have a favourite. The one on the left with the major league fake tan and frosted tips.

Enjoy

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There are very few songs out there where I can specifically remember the very first time I heard it. On Sunday nights in late 2004, Nova had a ‘local’ music show, hosted by Chris and Kev from Jebediah. To be fair, they played the more accessible radio friendly stuff that was out there, but it was all the bands and acts I loved, like Eskimo Joe, Autopilot, Carus, Nathan Gaunt and Fourth Floor Collapse. One night they played a song by a band I hadn’t heard of before, and I stopped whatever it was I was doing, and I listened. It was like the clear chime of a bell through the fog. I was hooked.

Rough Diamonds as a song has been tinkered with a fair bit since I heard this demo on the radio, but I still find I much prefer this version over the EP and album versions, as I guess it’s more about the memory of discovery than it is about anything else.

The first time I saw them live was when this photo was taken, back in 2005. I caught them again on Friday night, and it was funny how much had changed. I took the photo with a little point and shoot camera from my seat, which is a far cry from the brute gear I have now. They had only just released their debut album a matter of days before this show, and since then have won ARIAs, had a top 5 album, toured nationally by themselves and as part of the country’s biggest festivals, and last year released their follow-up album ‘Book of Lies’. What once was a band with a couple of EP’s and a bit of hype, has now become one of Perth’s best-known.

Music is a true tranportation device, and every time I hear this song, it’s 2005 all over again.

Enjoy.

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Elephant – Damien Rice

Damien Rice will change your life. There. I’ve said it.

You think you’ve heard emotion in songs before, you’ve think you’ve heard ‘love’ songs sung from every perspective, but you ain’t heard nothing til you’ve heard Damien Rice. His still remains the only concert where I’ve welled up. The pain in his face as he sings every song, like he’s re-living every shitty relationship he’s ever had, would be hard to watch if it wasn’t so enthralling.

This particular song is an early version of a song that appeared on the ‘9’ album, called ‘Elephant’. The MP3 was titled ‘The Blower’s Daughter Pt2’, and other than that, I don’t know much else about it. It’s live, but I don’t know where or when (apart from the fact I obtained it long before ‘9’ came out). It’s like being stroked with a feather, punched in the face, and then stroked with a feather again. But you’re much more wary of the feather the second time round. Just makes you realise the power of song, when you let out the breath you’ve been holding for the last five minutes.

Enjoy

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These preview posts are more or less just a reminder to myself not to slack off and to actually get these writeups done. So you’ve got full license to tut-tut me if I take too long.

Music Club is taking a break this week, I was at Rock-It all day Sunday and couldn’t be bothered once I got home. I know you’re all waiting with baited breath. Really. After the decidedly emo flavour of the last two, I promise the next one will be something completely different.

Jack’s Mannequin

I’m pretty chockers for the forseeable future, so it might be a little while before I get a chance to get the full writeup for this one done. So, in the meantime, here’s a little sample of what I got up to. The thing I love about Soundwave is that I turn up knowing hardly any bands, but walk away with a whole bunch that I want to listen to further.

Forever The Sickest Kids

Nine Inch Nails

Milk and Honey – As Tall As Lions

I’m off to the Soundwave Festival tomorrow, to experience the best that the emo, screamo, pop punk, alternative, hardcore, and metal genres have to offer, so this week’s MP3 is from a band I would never have discovered if not for Soundwave.

As Tall As Lions formed sometime in 2001, somewhere in New York, and have four rather excellent releases to their collective name. Fast forward to 2007, when I was at Soundwave to photograph a friends band while battling a raging headcold. They were one of the first bands of the day, my job was essentially done, so I took a lazy wander around the showgrounds while I decided to stay or go. On an out-of-the-way stage, playing to a handful of people, were As Tall As Lions. I’d never heard of them, but they were very different to the ‘yelling bands’ on all the other stages, and much easier to listen to. I stayed to watch them for a little while, but the cold got the better of me, so I cut it short.

A year later ATAL returned to Soundwave, albeit in acoustic form with just Dan Nigro and Julio Tavarez. I was so determined to experience them properly that I didn’t even take any photos (thus the stock-standard press photo up there). Again on an out-of-the-way stage, again to a handful of people, but again simply hypnotic and beautiful. They opened with a stunning cover of ‘Hallelujah’. If I wasn’t 100% sold before, I was after that point.

It was hard to pick one song to define As Tall As Lions, but the song I chose has a similar vibe to the songs of an Australian band which I absolutely love, Epicure. They’re very much an ‘album’ band as opposed to a single band, so if you like this one, please check out their self-titled LP.

Unfortunately they’re not on the lineup for Soundwave tomorrow, it seems to be a much heavier vibe this year, but I’m looking forward to their return to Perth.

Enjoy.

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