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...