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Midnight Oil - Earth and Sun and Moon

November 19th 2006 12:22

'Earth and Sun and Moon' is, what I think, a highly underrated Midnight Oil album from 1993. Usually 'Blue Sky Mining', '10 to 1' or 'Diesal and Dust' gets all the praise, but this later album is pretty grand.

I don't really know what it is exactly, the instrumentation just seems to be at a point where the Oils are straddling the line between subtlety/understatement and outright pop-sensibility. There are some really good bass-driven bits, their iconic use of percussion, sparse guitars and harmonica, and - of course - Peter Garrett's warbling ocker vocals. It's a more laid-back and even-paced recording than some of their earlier and more urgent efforts, but I think it shows their growing maturity as a band during the early 90s, and it's definitely before they jumped the shark (which can probably be pinpointed with the mediocre albums 'The Real Thing' and 'Capricornia').

Standout tracks would have to be the uplifting and typically-subversive single 'Truganini', the heartfelt 'My Country', the folksy 'In The Valley' and the catchy 'Outbreak of Love'. That isn't to say the other tracks are filler, they're all good efforts too.

Midnight Oil rule the school. Do you like them? If not, what's bloody wrong with ya? They're awesome.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Rock

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Baltic interview

November 13th 2006 08:42

This is an interview I did with Sydney rock band Baltic about a year and a half ago, answering the questions are Dave (bass) and Ari (vocals)

MP3s...
Baltic myspace - click to hear songs

Baltic is a kind of abstract sounding name, any particular reason for choosing that?

ARI: When I suggested the name to shogun I felt that it had a very dark or cold feel to it, like some fucked up grey, chaotic sea with a kind of indifference attached to it. Shogun agreed so we were like "yeah that'll do". Also at the time I was really into excessive, powerful names like Boston and Chicago so I thought Baltic was sweet. The main charm of the name for me was, like you said that kind of abstract thing. The name just exists and it doesn't mean anything, it defines itself. I guess I like that sort of shit as long as it doesn't get too wanky.

You guys sound like you like to rock out, was it a conscious decision to try and aim for that retro-ish sound?
ARI: I doubt that it was a conscious decision, I just think we do whatever comes out and let people see what we are for themselves. I think when bands think about how they should sound too much they ruin the music for themselves and in turn for everyone else, once you avoid what comes naturally you risk sounding like a fake arse. However, on my part it was a conscious decision to deliberately avoid the sound that is "in" right now... but I won't go into that.
DAVE: I think we’re a perfect combination of retrospect and progression. There’s really no one doing what we’re doing. I guess the only conscious decision we made was to do a rock band, and anything else has just flowed from that.

What are your influences?
ARI: Alchohol is my biggest influence, however recently cannabis has been a good one too. Amphetamines go alright as well but not much recently cause I don't have a job.
DAVE: Husker Du, Cheap Trick, Gunners, Judas Priest… We draw on so much, I think without sounding fragmented or derivative.

You've all been in other bands before, and some of you are in other bands now, how do you think this would reflect on/effect the estimated lifespan of Baltic?
ARI: I certainly hope Baltic lasts. I always tell the other guys it's sweet that I get to sing in my favourite band. I could play with these guys til I'm a filthy old man! All the stuff I have done in the past has been much more light hearted and easy. Baltic has a lot more depth and effort put into it so we have way more to lose if we break up.
DAVE: The old stuff is history and the side projects pale away in comparison. Baltic is gonna release 10 albums, do a greatest hits, then work on our solo projects, and return 20 years later for a reunion tour. By then Ari will be completely bald and my tits will weigh 100 kilos each.

Any plans to tour anywhere?
ARI: Dude I would love to go down to Melbourne and up to Queensland but I don't think we will until we get a record out which will hopefully be soon. We have this one problem though, we are dirt fucking poor, so we need to beat ourselves into financial shape before we even consider recording and touring. Shogun doesn't even have his own amp after all these years of playing, we still have to borrow or hire or steal someone else’s amp to play a show.

How far do you plan to take Baltic?
ARI: To the top man...haha
Where ever it goes man. If in five years we're playing in the gutter I'll be happy if the band is still fun and sounds good to me.
DAVE: Far enough for me to bitch slap Usher backstage at the Grammies. Maybe smoke a spliff with Dre… go home with Beyonce.

Where can people check you out? (webwise, livewise and otherwise)
DAVE: www.baltic.live.com.au has all the info about shows. I guess we’ve just been doing the usual Sydney circuit, playing with all different kinds of bands, from indie to metal.

What do you think the number 1 perk of playing in a rock band would be?
ARI: Oh definitely free booze, when the bar isn't too stingey to give it up!
DAVIE: Money. Fucking heaps of money.

Any final words or shit you would like to stir?
ARI: Listen to Journey.
DAVE: Download our demo tracks from the website. The music is what’s gonna stir the shit.

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Slimey Things - Australia's Only Sci-Fi Rock Band

October 30th 2006 05:15

Yeah okay I went to Supernova this weekend (an anime/sci-fi/fantasy convention that happens in Sydney once a year) and I was wandering around just checking stuff out and I came across this table that had been hired by Slimey Things, a band who bill themselves as 'Australia's Only Sci-Fi Rock Band'.

A Song to download (right click and save)
Space Toast

The guy at the desk, who was dressed in business clothes and had a strange contraption on his head that resembled something out of 'Ghostbusters' or 'Explorers', was giving me the hard sell and trying to get me to come to his band's show... that's pretty dedicated, hiring out a desk at a geek convention and cold-calling everyone who walks past in the hope that they'll come to your show. They had merchandise and CDs and had a DVD of themselves playing live broadcasting from a TV on their table... it was great, you have to admire that kind of dedication.

This is the guy who was sitting at the desk.

Anyway, they sound kind of cool... kind of like the B52s meets Devo, weird schlocky b-grade sci-fi sounds and a bit of surf rock and avant-garde pop. Judging from the DVD they look like they put on a fun show too.

Oh, and the guy claimed that the DVD was actually a recording of their show from a week in the future and that they brought it back in time so we could see what kind of show it would be next week. So yeah - sci-fi as!

They've been playing together since 2001, and have an EP out called 'Space Toast' (2005). They also put out an earlier EP in 2001 called 'Brainiac'.

Slimey Things - website.

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What is your favourite AC/DC song?

October 26th 2006 10:54

AC/DC are an Australian institution. No other Australian band has made an impression on the world as big and longstanding. No other band has survived the death of a legendary singer as resolutely. No other band has a guitarist as iconic as Angus Young (see picture

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101

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Midnight Oil - Species Deceases

October 24th 2006 09:06

Midnight Oil
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Grinspoon

October 19th 2006 10:28

For some music

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Paul Kelly - Gossip

October 18th 2006 05:39

Gossip is a double-album initially released by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls in 1986. It has subsequently been re-released a couple of times. Probably because it's really good.

'Gossip' contains the hit classics 'Before Too Long' and 'Darling It Hurts' but all twenty-odd songs contained on the album are just as strong. From the atmospheric build up of 'Last Train to Heaven' to triumphant heraldry, and the smooth melodies of 'Randwick Bells', there are a lot of memorable moments to be found in these superbly written songs

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'Bad Boy For Love' - Rose Tattoo cover featuring members of Grinspoon, The Living End, The Vines and Hoodoo Gurus.

October 17th 2006 13:53

Pete Wells and Angry Anderson

Bad Boy For Love - The Wrongs - click to watch

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Bazooka Joes

October 16th 2006 13:34

This is an interview I did a while ago with The Bazooka Joes, a young psychobilly/rockabilly trio from the Blue Mountains. I don't think they're around anymore, they've moved onto other more lucrative music projects

Some songs

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