It's still Christmas. And it's still boiling.

And I really wouldn't recommend playing this collection in front of yr family, but...

It's Christmas. Even if it is boiling

So I've got a Christmas compilation to download for anyone who wants.

How Bands Form (parts 1-14)

A recent attempt at humour. On Twitter. Late at night. Probably a bad idea.

One-minute reviews - 13: Hum, Christy & Emily, Death To Trad Rock, Knight School

It's nearly Christmas. Of course that has no relevance to anything I'm about to write whatsoever. Just thought I'd lay a little context on you. I have four minutes to spare, so I thought I'd write you four reviews.

Kitty Daisy & Lewis live @ The Zoo

Say what you like about rockabilly. It's always been fucking great live music.

Patrick Wolf live @ The Zoo

Animal Collective played Brisbane recently.

Buzzcocks live @ The Zoo

Buzzcocks were the first band I ever saw - Chelmsford Odeon, 1978.

some more Christmas playlists

My hard drive's gone down, taking all my iTunes playlists with it. Here's what I rescued.

a Polish pop party

Many thanks to Kevin Pearce for posting the original links.

Greek music

(from Facebook)

My new favourite blog - The London Nobody Sings

Actually, it's long been one of my favourite blogs, if not THE favourite. The London Nobody Sings is an absolute gem of a blog: words and passion and images and music and videos all put together with deceptive, disarming simplicity. If someone at a high-up record company had any sense, they'd even now be compiling a box-set from all the songs Kevin has unearthed...and a video...and a book (both words and pictures)...

24 More Songs for Christmas

No one demanded it, but here it is anyway. 24 more songs for Christmas. This mix CD was marked "friends".

Hugs And Kisses (September edition)

This is the first in the series of columns I wrote for Playground. I hope they commission more. I've been really enjoying writing them.

Hugs And Kisses (December edition)

This was written for Spanish website Playground a couple of days ago. I dutifully sent it off, and received a return email stating the column had been pulled, financial considerations. Damn. They could have told me that before I wrote it! Anyway. Thought it was too good to waste.

ET Recommends - 43: Peepholes

Again, I'm reminded of the section in the infamous Steve Albini article/tirade against major labels, originally printed in The Baffler, wherein he wishes that bands would try to sound more like Metal Urbain instead of The Beatles. Because, as I've written before, it seems that we've turned full circle - at least in the circles formerly known as "underground" - and bands like No Age, Crocodiles and Vivian Girls are way taking the side of the late 70s French punk experimentalists.

My Last FM (week 14)

Yep, Trio Los Panchos. Respect.

some girl bands

My research for my latest Bust column threw the following up. I only have space to feature four per issue. It seemed a shame not to share them with you...

ET Recommends - 42: The Thin Kids

Just go give them a listen.

Death To Trad Rock (faster! louder! harder!)

I scuppered the first draft of this review. Too personal, too tangential. It mentioned ancient rivalries that could only be of interest to fading music critics. It touched upon the fact that control of the past becomes increasingly important, the less one does.

doubts

I'm giving up my blog. It's got dull. Any suggestions for new ones?

One-minute reviews - 12: MV + EE, Butcher Birds, Hawnay Troof, Junior Boys

Actually, I'm a little out of practice right now, and these reviews are running closer to 90 seconds from the moment I first listen to the music to when I type the final word but...One-minute-and-a-half reviews doesn't really have the same ring to it, does it?

One-minute reviews - 11: Loene Carmen, The Millipedes, Los Campesinos!, Puerto Muerto

Absolutely no feedback whatsoever from the last crop of four. Undaunted, the bloodied and ignored critic battles on...

My Last FM Top 20 (week 13)

Bit of a strange chart, this one. I've been trying to put my iTunes library in some sort of order, and think it might have got skewed cos of that. Whatever. Can't deny I adore everything and everyone in it. No work on, so nothing present cos of that.

One-minute reviews - 10: Joker's Daughter, The Drones, Giants Of Science, YACHT

And so it continues... I was tempted to make this installment Brisbane-centric but realised it would lose me the three friends I have left remaining.

One-minute reviews - 9: SA Rawls, Mathew Sawyer, Wet Dog, Karen O And The Kids

I don't see anyone else stepping up to the plate and taking this challenge.

I don't see any web editors lining up to syndicate this series either.

One-minute reviews - 8: Bo Ningen, Lonelady, To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie, Tap Tap

Anyone can write about music, sure.
But can you write about music when the clock's ticking down, you know nothing about the artist in question and you've never heard the album before?

And you only had a minute to start with.

One-minute reviews - 7: Goran Bregović, Katsen, Secret Birds, King Creosote

Life is complicated, but brief. Why spend longer writing than someone will spend reading your words? Or indeed, listening to the music? Bring on the One-Minute Review!

24 Songs for Christmas

These are the songs that got left off my other seven Christmas compilations. Oddly, I think this might be my favourite one of all...

Loene Carmen vs Betty Davis

I've been meaning to write about this awesome Light In The Attic reissue for some time. Still haven't got round to it. So I thought I'd welcome in a guest blogger, Sydney's own Loene Carmen, to talk about it. The following is reprinted, with permission, from her MySpace blog, with a note from the lady herself that Betty Davis' fourth album was actually recorded at a "studio in the country", not at Muscle Shoals as stated below.

ET Recommends - 41: The Tielman Brothers

Damn, but this is just about the greatest pair of videos I've seen today. No, wait. This week. No, wait. This month. Etc. Etc. The Tielman Brothers! They're like the Dutch Indonesian rockabilly Monks! From 1960.

My Last FM Top 20 (week 12)

Ah but my entire being has been destroyed by the immaculate compilation A John Waters Christmas - in particular, the uber-cutsie 'Santa Claus Is A Black Man' by Akim & The Teddy Vann Production Company - and I can barely function right now, but damn it. Here it is anyway. Hope you can dig it. (The R means I was listening to it for work-related reasons, and clicking on the hypertext will take you through to the review - usually.)

Christopher Walken vs Lady Gaga

To paraphrase Ian Dury, "There ain't 'alf been some clever bastards..."

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Oh, and if you were wondering how to celebrate Christmas this year, then look no further than the incomparable John Waters...

My New Favourite Blog, pt 4

Well, I'm not going to be able to resist this for long. Now am I?

what I bought today at Rocking Horse

Iñigo at Spain's awesome Munster Records indicated the other day that he thought it was unusual for music critics to actually purchase CDs. So I thought I'd share my buying habits with you once more.

Nirvana anecdote

I made $1.71 from coins thrown at me on stage, the night that new Nirvana bonus live CD was recorded.

ET Recommends - 40: Mika

Listen, don't act so surprised, I have form here - OK?

ET Recommends - 39: 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.

two news items

For Brisbane residents, I guess...

ET Recommends - 38: Songs

Yep, Songs.

Mika vs Beth Ditto

See what you miss when you keep your eyes shut? Listen, I know I'm about 389 Internet years too late, but I think I've got a new favourite pop star...

Wolfmother, the new album

I reckon this to be one of the best reviews I've written in a while. But I could be wrong.

Letters from Rosie, 3

The third in the series from my coolest correspondent. (Although I'm pretty chuffed at The Gossip saying they reckon me to be the "most important and interesting critic of all time" - I'd be even more chuffed if I believed they were being remotely serious.)

Incidentally, the criteria she's applying to Vampire Weekend - whose bassist once invited me to perform oral sex upon his penis, following this Village Voice column - I applied to The Vines a few years earlier.

Rosie follows...

My Last FM Top 20 (week 11)

Been away up north for a few days, so this chart is even more random than ever...

not watching Pixies

Everett True Not watching Pixies play live either. Bloody amazing.

not watching U2

Everett True I'm not watching U2 play live. It's incredible!

i hate

Everett True i hate

ET Recommends - 37: Bitter Springs

...and just when I'm feeling low - lower than I have for weeks - Simon sends me through the video for the new Bitter Springs single.

Reasons Why I Will Never Be A Mainstream Music Critic, No 2

This. (The convention, the blog itself and the folk who run the Australian music industry. The unquestioning acceptance of all this among my 'peers' is the most disheartening of all.) (There's a lot of blokes in that photo. Presumably females don't exist within the Australian music industry.)

Reasons Why I Will Never Be A Mainstream Music Critic, No 1

This. (Both the band, and the idea of a fucking corporate award ceremony.)

The Legend! + The Deadnotes, live at the Troubadour

Thanks to Matt.