Success is Uncool

I don't like that people are turning on Gotye just because the music has become popular.

So it goes with most artists that strike a patch of mainstream form, the masses tend to turn against them in some fit of counter-culture. Yes, it's annoying when every moron is singing along to a band you have been listening to alone in your bedroom since before cool, but that shouldn't taint the music.

A perfect example of popularity affecting an artist is of course the Kings of Leon fanfare sensation. These guys had been great (arguably greater) for some time, but with one album became a mega mainstream record company monster. Unfortunately in this case, the songs did deteriorate and yes we all got bullshit sick of 'Sex on Fire' but old fans begun to shutter at the thought of a band they once loved because of new admirers. I won't argue that I didn't roll my eyes at girls quoting "Whoooaaaaa! Your sex is on fiiiirrreeeee!" on my facebook feed. It's science, those people are annoying as fuck, that's not the point.

I have similar feelings towards MUSE. I used to stay up late listening to their B-sides and downloading bootlegs on the Internet (given I was 17) and would see them all the time in Sydney. However after Black Holes and Revelations I felt the music had changed and the average MUSE fan had changed too, finding the band a whole other demographic. Yes, it bothered me that every other MUSE fan was now a Ute driving tradie (pretentious, I know) but the main point here was the music had changed. It was not their popularity that deterred me. MUSE's songs were no longer raw like 'Hyper Music' or classical like 'Butterflies and Hurricanes' -- songs were now strange power-rock electronic shitstorms that I could no longer relate to. Bringing us back to KOL, its the same, the music had become more simple and more commercial. I like to think it's the shift in sound that loses us old fans, not the fact it's become popular.

What I'm saying is I hate to think I live in a world where being a Gotye fan is deemed "uncool" or relegates you to a moronic pack of Nova loving drones. Everyone can enjoy 'Somebody That I Used To Know' because it's a good song, plain and simple. The music hasn't changed -- if you listen to the record, all those Like Drawing Blood elements remain, only they've improved and grown. Also, maybe these new fans won't like the whole Making Mirrors record? But does it really matter to you and what you listen to in your private time?

I really don't want to believe that just because an artist produces a good song that everyone loves they become generic.

Hang The DJ - Parklife Wants Your Money

An eternal sigh filtered through music forums today as it was announced that there would be no sideshows to accompany this years Parklife line-up. Death From Above 1979 fans nationwide now have to bump and orally grind with the rest of the shirtless gimps on the green to see their one record heroes.

It appears with the current market saturation, festivals are literally clutching at straws to get punters to their events. Basically, they’re being greedy little bitches and not letting you have any of the international goodness for anything under $150. Splendour in the Grass are also familar with the ‘greedy bitch’ approach after they exercised the same deal with Coldplay and Kanye. Good Vibes started the trend back in February when they held Phoenix to a festival-only agreement.

If this is what it’s coming to then I believe the death rattle of the festival craze must be upon us. Plenty of international artists are touring in Oz because in layman's terms, our dollar gets you paper right now, so bands don’t really need festivals to get paid no mo’. With Soundwave Revolution collapsing only weeks before it was due to commence, the future of Australian festivals are on shaky grounds. My advice would be not to isolate your audience by forcing them to participate just for their money. Find the spirit of the festival again, much like Homebake. In this case it’s not better to burn out than to fade away in my opinion.

Leeds VS Melbourne - A Kaiser Chiefs Epic

Last night I caught Papa VS Pretty supporting cheeky English rockers the Kaiser Chiefs at the Palace in Melbourne. In a sea of Splendour sideshows, I was lucky enough to catch a show I wouldn't normally go to. I'm a massive supporter of Papa VS Pretty and have been since they were still in high school, so it's a given that I always catch them whenever they're in town.

Hot of the heels of their sold-out show at the Northcote Social Club, PVP where back in town in full support with the young and talented Stonefield. Now, I enjoy the Kaiser Chiefs like pretty much anyone who owns a radio and unknowingly hums along to their tunes.. but I don't know anyone who actively updates their status with: "Oh my god! Can not wait for the new Kaiser Chiefs album!" - am I right? In my opinion the Chiefs peaked in about 2005 and have been pleasantly meandering along since then, inoffensively. Good band, but you know, they just quietly do what they do but remain present. I took a friend along to the show and he claimed to not be a massive fan at all, but somehow he knew all the lyrics.. Impressive what repetitive radio does to you!

Anyway, PVP were great as usual, rocking a near full room at an early time slot and were complimented by a rather flashy light show. It was towards the end of their set that the room really begun to fill out, thick accents in tow. I had a feeling that the crowd would be heavy with expats but at one point, I was the only Aussie in a sea of poms and Irishmen.

Kaiser Chiefs exploded onto the stage after a big light show intro accompanied with the excessive amount of dry ice you'd expect. The lads opened with favourite 'Everyday I Love You Less and Less' which I have to admit, like the rest of the show, it was pretty damn energetic. The crowd were quite active themselves, some even crowd surfing througout 'I Predict a Riot' and 'Ruby.'

Towards the end of the set, front man Rick Wilson begged the question of how many people in the crowd were actually from Leeds, to this about 80% of the room erupted into hysteria. When Wilson asked how many Melbournites were present, a weak response lingered before the poms started rioting again.

I have to admit it was a pretty entertaining show, professional and exciting with the perfect amount of wanky stage lighting you'd expect from international artists. I'd probably see them again on a festival bill but maybe not a sideshow because it seems their set list hasn't totally changed since 2005. Still, enjoyable enough.

Band VS Fan - Playing All The Songs You Don't Care About

So last week I went to catch one of my old favourites Modest Mouse at The Prince Bandroom. On account of a lucky favour, I got to take my close friend to the show for free and even got to watch from the V.I.P bar. OK, enough about my lucky break and more on the show.
The last time I saw MM was in 2008 when the lads took to the V Festival stages one sunny Sydney afternoon. I remember being really excited to see them but as the band started up, the vocals never seemed to appear. All I heard were faint scratches of Isaac Brock's voice and even though I was listening as hard as I could, I couldn't audibly attend to the trademark raspy vocals.
For years I blamed this on a shitty PA and not the band even though I knew these vocals can sometimes come up rough live. So when I got the chance to see Modest Mouse in a smaller, more intimate setting I was willing and ready for round two.
The room was packed and in my excitement leading up I'd been traipsing setlistfm.com for ideas of what to expect this time. Modest Mouse only have a few staple songs they like to play and the rest is usually unpredictable. When the band appeared on stage the crowd erupted to the sound of 'Spitting Venom'. The song sounded great but when the set moved into my personal favourite 'The View', it was happening again. I couldn't hear a word. I know every lyric to that song but at no point during the verses could I even imagine where Brock was up to. My friend and I just looked at one another, puzzled.
The set dropped back into a mixture of less popular tunes and you could sense the crowd getting restless between the bands drunk and aggressive banter. At one point there was talk about kids with cancer and crowds were confused until hit with the ever celebrated 'Float On.' No complaints here, I could hear perfectly fine and morale was spiking once more.
Everything seemed to be going well again and my friend who works at Prince mentioned they only put one bottle of Jack in the rider this week after last weeks show. Apparently the band were so drunk at the previous gig, it was decided that for the sake of the patrons, the alcohol would be cut down this time around. Around this point in conversation, I started to hear the beginnings of 'Cowboy Dan.' The audience had been calling out song requests all night at which Brock would shout back some awkward refusal. As if he'd started to please with this crowd favourite, Brock launched into a tirade at audience members stating that if they wanted to hear it done well they should listen to the album. Warning us not to expect the best was a prolonged show and the mood was once again shifting, this was growing tiresome. People, me included started to worry the rant would chase away the song and maybe we'd miss out. Eventually Modest Mouse succumbed to our wishes and reluctantly played what we wanted to hear, a bitter sweet result.
On a good note, Modest Mouse did play a two hour set which is pretty generous and it was enjoyable to see them. My comments just stem from a dislike of the band vs fan situation. We're the reason you are where you are, we're the reason your shows sold out and your records sell well, why take it out on us? If you're tired of touring go start a record store in San Francisco and fade into obscurity, don't get shitfaced and take it out on a crowd of adoring fans. We love attitude and we know what we're in for with bands like this but get a grip! It was like Brock was channeling Anton Newcombe from the Dig! days.
Would I see Modest Mouse again? The answer is yes. Much like an abusive relationship, I will probably always go back to these gigs because I love the records so much and there's hope it'll get better.
Have you ever experienced a situation likes this at a show?

Why being an avid Smiths fan is an advocate for loneliness

Last night my friend said he knew the greatest pick-up line of all time. It went something along the lines of, “I’d love to listen to The Smiths and make you tea all night.”

Apparently this is foolproof and the bitches love it. However me, being the aggressive and pretentious elitist bitch I am, said it wouldn’t work. Yep, because instead of swooning, my follow-up question would be: “What are your top 5 Smiths songs of all time?” — I would unknowingly completely overlook the pick-up to make sure they were an authentic Smiths fan.

Yep, more on why I’m single..

The awkward moment when Ashton Kutcher tweeting your band means you've made it.

You don't want it to be real but it might be.
Today The Kutch tweeted to his 7 million or so followers the new Gotye ft. Kimbra clip for 'Somebody That I Used To Know'. The Australian media have since been salivating over the unexpected press making Gotye the new best thing he already was.

I'm not trying to be all 'counter-culture' but this shouldn’t mean you’ve made it by any means but we all know the truth. At the end of the day, good music should travel, no matter the vessel.

Homebake Returns To Take The Crown

In the Australian music festival kingdom there's a certain hierarchy. Much like the social ladder in a 90's cult teen flick, there's all kinds of cliques, and every festival has a place.

Splendour had been reining supreme as prom queen since 2009 however its popularity has dropped back considerably this year due to a seemingly tired line-up and price increase producing lackluster ticket sales. Maybe you could bake some spirit cookies to raise your popularity?

Now every social chain offers the abominable trend followers and that's where you'll find Future Music, Good Vibes and Parklife kicking it. These kids are draped in the latest trending sunglasses and retail apparel. They're usually loaded with an abundance of hipstermatic prints and some bad pills but have nothing to offer but a 'good time'. St Jeromes Laneway sometimes falls into this category. I give full credit for humble beginnings and an A for line-ups, but it's the followers that can sometimes taint the event. "Your mate just checked-in."

Then you've got Meredith, Golden Plains and Playground Weekender who are more like the chilled out burnouts that we got high with on the weekends but never talked to in school. These festivals reflect a careless weekend in a paddock where the line-up doesn't matter too much, it's all about the experience, man.

Like every scenario there's the cocky jock who spend most of their time effortlessly at the top of the social chain without having contributed an original idea since puberty. It's here you'll find Big Day Out tossing the pig skin. When the festival first started gaining momentum it housed one of the final Nirvana gigs and Australia had nothing to compare it to -- now days it bares the excitement of a bitter and tired old roadie. Picture the high school quarterback 30 years later, balding and beer bloated.

Most of the hipsters you know now, you never knew at school. They were smart, left of centre and didn't get their flare until they graduated. Whether it's this euphemism that suffocated their creativity or teenage angst, they found a way to blossom. They're on the precipice of being renown commercially but the quality is there and that's where you'll find Vivid and All Tomorrows Parties. A little bit of art, a little bit of music which makes a collective of wonder with these kids. It would be nice to watch them grow up and flourish.

This brings us to the 'friends to everyone' group where Splendour may find itself after losing the crown this year. On the grassy knoll of acceptance is Falls, Southbound and Homebake. It's an almost genre free collection of stuff everybody enjoys and no one would turn down a free ticket to.
However the times might be changing with this mornings Homebake line-up announcement. I haven't seen a Homebake line-up this good in years. After doing the sensible sit-out last year due to an over saturated market, Homebake have returned with the goods reuniting The Church and Icehouse on an exploslive line-up that merges both fresh and classic Australian artists.
Could Homebake be gunning for prom queen? Check out the line-up below!

Grinderman
Ladyhawke
Pnau
Gotye
Gurrumul Yunupingu
Cut Copy
RocKwiz (live)
Icehouse (playing Flowers )
Daniel Merriweather
Eskimo Joe
Drapht
The Triffids
Architecture in Helsinki
The Vines
The Church
The Jezabels
Kimbra
C.W. Stoneking
Hungary Kids of Hungary
Illy
Avalanche City
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Papa Vs Pretty
Killaqueenz
Kids of 88
Passenger
Noah Taylor and The Sloppy Boys (Ed Clayton-Jones from The Wreckery and Cec Condon from The Mess Hall)
Vents

*an honourable mention to those festivals who were not able to graduate this year