Spotlight – 32: Mika
Don’t act so surprised, I have form here – OK? This is like Jarvis and ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ and Queen and Lady Gaga and Belinda Carlisle and Ladies And Gentlemen…The Fabulous Stains combined…and who’d have thought it?! THAT’S A GOOD THING!!! Listen to We Are Golden here. It actually makes way more sense if […]
Spotlight – 31: Bridezilla
They couldn’t play live for shit when I saw them at ATP in January, but neither could Mazzy Star back when I last saw them in 1990, now I think about it. Anyway, these Sydney ladies are way more Opal than Mazzy Star, and all the better for it. At least, they are when they forget […]
Spotlight – 30: Songs
Yep, Songs. Their debut album – due out in November – is quite honestly the greatest record I’ve heard all year. Full stop, end of story. It might well be the greatest record I’ve heard this decade but a) it’s still not a competition, and b) my memory does play tricks on me, and c) I’m […]
Letters from Rosie 3
The third in the series from my coolest correspondent. (Although I’m pretty chuffed at Nathan from The Gossip saying he reckons me to be the “most important and interesting critic of all time” – I’d be even more chuffed if I believed he was being serious.) Incidentally, the criteria Rosie is applying to Vampire Weekend […]
Spotlight – 29: Kitchen’s Floor
As I said somewhere else just now, I keep forgetting how much I remain in love with the thrill of live music. Blame it on my age. Whatever. At least I know my limitations. Oh maybe I shouldn’t. Or maybe I don’t. Oh maybe I just want to FUCK AND GET HIGH FUCK AND GET […]
Spotlight – 28: Blank Realm
I so rarely go out to shows any more, I keep forgetting how much in love I remain with the thrill of live music. Last night at the Troubadour; I mean genuinely in love. I can’t resist it. After Blank Realm finished I was back in love with the music I’ve always been in love […]
Elvis Costello live @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 18.10.09
So my shamelessness paid off. Hell. I was trying to remember during the show how many times I’ve seen Elvis Costello perform before. Once, in LA at the Hollywood Bowl (around ’98) where myself and the PR were shamelessly drunk and singing along bawdily to him and Burt Bacharach (on piano) as they ploughed their […]
Spotlight – 27: The Pepper Pots
Damn it, but I think I have another crush coming on… Some exquisite lover’s rock from Spain (I assume). And this one is like The Pipettes only… um… only… This one’s great as well. (Back to the ska.)
Spotlight – 26: Dum Dum Girls
This is a hot tip from NYC’s Bust magazine. And I am sure as hell going to be following up tips like that. Dum Dum Girls play fuzzed-up blissed-down beautifully harmonic sun-drenched femme fuzz… have I used that word yet?… pop. The ladies understand Joey and Dee Dee because Dee Dee and Joey always understood […]
Letters from Rosie 2
Hey J, I WANT to know what you think about certain records, because I’m INTERESTED in what you personally think. Our interests may be esoteric, but because of the democratising power of the internet, that doesn’t seem to matter anymore. I wanted to know if you’ve heard the new Gossip record, or what you make of the Beth Ditto […]
