OH. MY. GOD! (and i don't even BELIEVE in god!) i don't want to be a pain in the arse to anyone by bragging, but i know anyone reading this is here because they are musically inclined, and tonight was one of THE BEST nights of music i've seen. EVER. every band was completely different, but the were all amazing in their own right. certainly i have never lost my faith in music, but if anyone ever did, a night like tonight would clearly prove to them how wrong they are. same with any notions of punk being dead. HA! not one of these bands followed any kind of "punk" musical formula, and coming from all around the world they all sounded very different to each other, but if you believe at all that punk is an attitude rather than a style, then you should have been there tonight. the thaw come from sydney, and were a kind of atmospheric, soft, spacey band, with some screamo (in the best tradition of saetia, i hate myself, circle takes the square, etc) thrown in to make sure you understand the importance of what they're doing. then came sabot from the czech republic, laying down some hard, fuzzy instrumental bass grooves for a solid half an hour with only two pauses to catch their breath. then ni-hao! from japan (yes, ni-hao is chinese, but perhaps one of the best quotes of the night was "konichiwa, we're ni-hao from japan"). two basses and a drumkit, it was oh so cute japanese music, until they just decided to switch to rock-the-fuck-out mode, with no warning, and then back again. and then baseball. guitar, bass, drums, violin, singing, screaming, and a general whirlwind of intensity. seriously. OH. MY. GOD! the whole thing was filmed for a dvd too. i hope i can get a copy. i just went along to see baseball and for a bit of a laugh thinking that if the bands had come that far they'd at least be good for interest purposes/novelty value, even if i didn't enjoy them, but i got one of the best musical nights you could ever hope for. and all for entry by donation. i LOVE melbourne (even though the bands didn't all come from here, i love that we can attract them and get them to play in some weird upstairs area with dingy couches and a p.a.). i will write a proper review when i'm less drunk/tired, but i just wanted to share how excited i am by what i just saw. and saturday night at pony, ni-hao! and the thaw. i think i'll be there.

ooh, ooh!  i found it! 01. m83 - moonchild 02. refused - tannhäuser / derivè 03. murder by death - killbot 2000 04. isis/agorophobic nosebleed - boris (melvins cover) 05. sleepytime gorrilla museum - 1997 06. liars - if you're a wizard then why do you wear glasses? 07. the books - s is for evrysing 08. richard harris - macarthurs park 09. the blood brothers - 1,2,3,4 act two: now you're the bitch 10. melt banana - everybody wash 11. atreyu - demonology and heartache 12. my chemical romance - vampires will never hurt you 13. the dwarves - better be women 14. jello biafra and the melvins - we are the locusts 15. thursday - tommorrow i'll be you

i kinda gave volume 3 away without thinking to note down what was on it.  but it was pretty good.  but here's the newest mix (which is also pretty good): 01. the cure - fascination st 02. the grates - sukkafish 03. david bowie (with maynard james keenan & john frusciante} - bring me the disco king (loner mix) 04. the dandy warhols - love is the new feel awful 05. architecture in helsinki - the owls go 06. the blood brothers - while the party was kissing 07. the dillinger escape plan - honey bucket [the melvins cover] 08. team sleep - ever (foreign flag) 09. joanna newsom - sadie 10. catherine - milkshake 11. zolof the rock 'n' roll destroyer - don't mope 12. sinatra's eyes - cut me 13. the dillinger escape plan - phone home 14. coheed and cambria - apollo i: the writing writer 15. every time i die - guitarred and feathered 16. marilyn manson - the bright young things 17. bullet for my valentine - hand of blood 18. my ruin - rid of me [p.j. harvey cover]

go here: http://pitcairn.globat.com/~punknetwork.net/ampt/amptpoll/ and vote for sinatra's eyes, so we can play at ampt festival, cause that would be fun. please.  that would be very awesome of you and make you awesome too. also talitha took some kick ass photos of us last night cause she is awesome.  she is my luvurrr.* see more HERE. * note: it has been brought to my attention that just because i think talitha is awesome, does not make her my luvurr.  should she wish to discuss this situation, she knows where to find me.

at the moment i'm working in the next suburb over from where i live.  both of these being very inner city suburbs of melbourne.  being nice weather, i've been walking to and from work and found the best little walking track for getting home that makes it feel like you're completely in the bush sometimes.  there's even.... ARGH!! IT'S A SNAKE!!!! SNAKE!!! so far the only snake i've seen was a dead, rather flattened one on a road side nearby.  but on monday there was a big black rat ran across my path.  speaking of the path, how cool is this: does YOUR route to work look like a quest through the forest? or have real life dangers of snakes on the way? i thought not...

i thought i should post a new blog finally.  and then i thought i should make it music related.  and then i thought i should make it local music related.  and then i remembered how i was listening to uisce last night, and how much i enjoyed it.  and how it reminded me how i always think it's a shame that not enough local bands in musical styles i'm interested in really try to make their own style and make an impact rather than just sounding like international bands. this may also have been influenced by reviewing the new butterfly effect single the other day, and my growing feeling that most of the well known bands in these feilds are given support because they're considered the best aus bands we have, but when you put them in an international field, they're not that far up the list at all. so here are my seven favourite australian albums.  albums that i think have done something original and have found really enjoyable, and most importantly, exciting: the grand silent system - gift or a weapon silverchair - neon balroom theredsunband - peapod non-intentional lifeform - uisce (ish-ka) architecture in helsinki - in case we die regurgitator - tu-plang disclaimer: why six?  because i limited it to one per band, full length albums and tried to make it only stuff that is fairly readily available - cutting off a lot of bands like twitch, tirany, behind crimson eyes, pyramid, sydonia, young love, a ghost devotion and many others who have all put on a great live show/released a great ep/self-released a great recroding/all of the above.  if anyone wants to make any criticisims of this list, just know that i wont respond to anything that concerns the following issues:  first and most importantly, it has to be something i've HEARD (and prefferably have in my possesion).  second it has to be something i ENJOYED and got a response from ME.  this list is completely subjective, and i make no apologies for that.  you make think X album belongs on there, but if i haven't heard it, or if i have and it wasn't my thing, i'm not gonna put it on MY list.  plain and simple.  also i know they're all albums from the last 10 years (or less), but remember, i'm still in my early 20's.  i'll readily admit that i'm far more excited by music that i grew up with or is emerging now than by things that happened before my time.  i'm not trying to make a definitive all time most important and influential list.  just things i think are really fucking cool.  ok?  good.  any other suggestions, i'll listen to, as i'm always extra excited when a local band excites me.

so having set up headquarters in brisbane (see last entry), it seems batman is trying to franchise his crime fighting services out to even more cities now.  a friend pointed me towards this advertised job description today: WANTED: Night Auditor   Location - Melbourne - Inner: Batman`s Hill Night Auditor - Part time position night auditor?  surely that's business language for a nocturnal crime fighter.  especially when you work from BATMAN'S HILL! now i've always said that should i one day grow up to be a man, i want it to be batman. my application is on the way. da na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na -WYSHT!

brisbane is a weird place. yuuuuuumm. dinosaur.  RAAAAAARGH! these turtles are "hugging". batman's house.

i just submitted my review of the billy corgan show on tuesday night (<a href="http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/2718/">it's now published here</a>).  i tried to mostly not talk about what happened after the show since it wasn't really relevant to the performance (which was good enough to take me from being bored at first to having sore cheeks from smiling at the end), but the way he ended things kind of ruined it for everyone.  and since a blog is for expressing opinions, that's what i'm going to do here. for anyone who hasn't heard, at the end of the show billy came back out and had a talk to the crowd, which was really cool, but then he had to ruin it all by cracking it at the few stupid people who were heckling, throwing down the mic and walking off stage.  it was by no means as bad as <a href="http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2005/jul05/20050727_billycorgan.html">this article</a> makes out, but it definitely left most of us with a sour taste. i can see why the heckling would be annoying.  but there's a few things about the way he handled it that bugged me.  first, people yell out stupid things at every gig, so it's just something you need to expect and ignore really.  as for people calling for pumpkins stuff, yeah most of us knew there was no chance of them being played, but he's also gotta expect that in that if he'd never been in the pumpkins, none of us would have been there.  and then when he came out at the end to tell us he wanted to tell us some things, someone yelled out "tell us about the pumpkins billy", to which he replied "can i just live my life for today?".  but he was the one who took out a full page ad in the chicago newspaper on the day his album came out, and the day the tour started, to say he wanted to get the pumpkins back together.  he brought this issue back into the spotlight, and was kind of vague about it, so why be surprised when people want to know more?  but aside from all that, the thing that i really think he handled badly, was to get annoyed at the whole crowd just because of a few people.  there were probably under 20 things (i think it would be closer to 10) yelled out that could be considered negative or about the pumpkins (and i recorded his speech if anyone wants to hear this), which means a maximum of 20 people yelled stuff.  the palais holds how many people?  i'm gonna guess (very conservatively) at least 1000.  so out of that you've got 20 people being dickheads, and 980 who are really appreciative to be there and hanging off your every word, booing at people for saying stupid shit and telling them to shut up.  20/1000 = 2%  so why focus on 2% of fuckheads instead of just enjoying the fact that 98% are having an awesome time and pretty much worshipping you? if you got 98% on a test, you'd be fucking psyched.  you wouldn't consider you'd failed the subject.

1. Sonic Youth - Bull In The Heather (3:04) 2. Catherine - Make Me Smile (3:53) 3. Team Sleep - King Diamond (3:45) 4. Refused - Liberation Frequency (4:08) 5. The Dresden Dolls - Bad Habit (3:01) 6. Nirvana - Drain You (3:43) 7. Interpol - Slow Hands (3:04) 8. Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterfly (3:25) 9. 1000 Homo DJs - Supernaut (Black Sabbath cover) (6:40) 10. Nina Gordon - Straight Outta Compton (1:49) 11. A Gun Called Tension - Treason (3:16) 12. Black Sabbath - Paranoid (2:53) 13. The Icarus Line - On the Lash (4:00) 14. Katastrophy Wife - Busiest Shopping Day Of The Year (3:47) 15. At The Drive-In - One Armed Scissor (4:20) 16. Liars - Mr., You're On Fire, Mr. (2:27) 17. Autolux - Robots In The Garden (2:05) 18. Tomahawk - Capt. Midnight (3:14) 19. Tweaker - It's Still Happening (3:16) 20. Tori Amos - Talula (4:10) 21. theredsunband - Take Down (7:05)

1. Dwarves - Bleed On (2:43) 2. Queens Of The Stone Age - Little Sister (2:54) 3. The Cure - Close To Me (3:41) 4. Nine Inch Nails - Only (4:23) 5. Death From Above 1979 - Blood On Our Hands (2:11) 6. The Grates - Message (1:57) 7. Bloc Party - This Modern Love (4:25) 8. Murder by Death - Until Morale Improves, the Beatings Will Continue (3:57) 9. The Blood Brothers - Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck (3:16) 10. The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Capitalism Stole My Virginity (3:38) 11. Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl (2:37) 12. Bright Eyes - At The Bottom Of Everything (4:34) 13. Le Tigre - Deceptacon (3:04) 14. Ramones - The KKK Took My Baby Away (2:31) 15. Mark Lanegan Band - Methamphetamine Blues (3:16) 16. Modest Mouse - the ocean breaths salty (3:44) 17. pretty girls make graves - bring it on golden pond (2:56) 18. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Rich (3:36) 19. The Shins - we will become silhouttes (postal service cover)(3:01) 20. Auf Der Maur - I'll Be Anything You Want (2:57) 21. tirany - Jeapordy (3:15) 22. Interpol - Slow Hands (3:04) 23. Spoon - Something To Look Forward To (2:17) 24. Sleater-Kinney - Entertain (4:55) 25. The Postal Service - Clark Gable (4:56)

this is a question for people who have had their wisdom teeth taken out. how long did it take you to feel human enough to walk out of the house again? i'm going into hospital at 7am, and with waiting time/operation time/waking up and recovery time, i'll probably end up leaving in the afternoon i guess... the big question is, should i buy a blood brothers ticket for the show at the corner that night?  i'm really worried that this may be my only chance to see them ever.  i can't really change the operation date though, because my teeth are getting painful and i hate them. so if anyone's had their operation done, can you give me a suggested timeframe/recomendation on whether i should buy a ticket?

Mudvayne + 2 x NIN + Billy Corgan + Team Sleep + theredsunband + Blood Brothers (which I may not even be able to go to) = OMG... where the POOP am i gonna get this money from? (or perhaps more importantly, once i spend this money, where am i gonna get more from so i can still do other things?) anyone wanna come to team sleep or billy corgan with me? also, if anyone in melbourne knows a drummer who can commit to rehearsing to make a band which draws pretty strongly from all those above artists (and respective other bands they all might be involved in), can they let me know? ta. ;)

not much news to report today as i must be doing homework. but the following are bands i have cds by that more people should listen to: 36 Crazyfists - when i got their debut bitterness the star i thought it was great (and it is), but when their second album a snow capped romance came out, i went for months just wanting to make a band that sounded exactly like this.  they'd completly hit upon the style i was aiming for in my music, and i love it.  (now i'm trying to move onto something else so i'm not just copying them, but i'm still pissed they beat me to it). Circle Takes The Square - i still can't understand how these guys write their songs, but i wish i could make music like this.  it's like a more punk/indie version of DEP, without the aggression (which really makes no sense but is the best i can come up with).  the self titled ep is cool, but as the roots undo is a masterpiece.  it's more like one long peice of music with different movements and recurring motif's than a collection of songs.  or to borrow a metaphor from one of the tracks, it's like the tracks are all woven together into one big tapestry. Murder By Death - another band who's first album, like the exorcist... but more breakdancing , i loved, but whose second album has just gone to a different level altogether.  it's called who will survive and what will be left of them? it's a crazy mix of indie rock, western soundtracks (ie saloon bar music), concept album and cello.  if you want an introduction to this band i recommend their performance on the hellfest 2003 dvd, the sound is horrible and they're a huge contrast to every other band on it, but you'll get a strong idea of the combination of wild passion and restrained musicianship they rely on. also, i just found out billy corgan is touring.  cool.

seriously, could today get any better? nine inch nails tickets on special presale.  second row? no problems.  AND i'm gonna go see them in brisbane too with much thanks and love to rooney for doing the hard work there and zero for helping me decide it was a good idea.  i'm looking forward to spending some time with you guys. and then i walked out to check my mail. oh what's this?  why, i believe it's the 5.1 surround version of with teeth i ordered. and just to stop the day from getting completely NIN-ed out, the blood brothers tour has been announced.  thank you to fakeplasticme for providing details on that one. and i'm talking to talitha about going to sydney for a birdman gig in late june. (basically, people are cool today).  i'm bouncing around to blood brothers (too exciting to put on nin yet, haha). you'll never see, your wife and children again, so tell us what was going through your head when you looked into their eyes and said "no thanks, i'll take the hooker again". (oh yeah, it's the first day of my holidays too.  i'm so gonna enter all the competitions i see today, i'll win everything).