I Just Called... To Say...

Have you ever found yourself quoting songs in conversation?
Lyrics are just one of those things that will stick in the back of the mind forever and ever. Whether it be ”Can’t touch this” by MC Hammer or ”If I die before I wake. At least in heaven I can skate.” by OPM, once someone gives you an imaginary queue, you will without a doubt start thinking of that song.

Just today, a friend of mine text me in response to something I said with the simple words ”No sex for Ben”.

Naturally the question popped into my head ’who on EARTH is Ben?’ to which said friend simply responded “it’s a song by The Rapture”.

I put the question to the people. What lyrics always pop out of your mouth? This is the response:

Kristy Coulcher from Hunters Hill has a bad case of just saying yes

”i always have ‘just say yes’ by the cure in my head”

Oliver Munson from Colchester, UK is notorious for replying to any complaint one makes with the simple Jack Johnson lyrics

“Where’d all the good people go”

Alex Badran from Wollongong admitted the ultimate in crimes - lyrics as pick up lines. He can be found smoothly seducing the ladies with the Arctic Monkeys line

"I bet that you look good on the dance floor"

 

 

 

 

General consensus among my peers admitted to using

"Tonight's gonna be a good good night"

... CRINNNNNNNNNNNGE

And it’s not only in conversations. Check your facebook feed. More often than not, you’ll have people expressing every emotion under the sun through lyrics:

 

Give me some feedback guys!!! When have you been able to express yourself more easily with lyrics than your own words? - Heck 9/10 of you would have finished the title of this blog without even knowing it. Thankyou Stevie Wonder

Black Eyed Peas

From Pop Star to Mother Theresa

It’s amazing how one singers performance of a hit song can leave an entire stadium with weepy eyes. When you listen to lyrics on the radio, it often doesn’t cut through to the heart. When a song is dedicated to someone, that is when the lyrics can often take shape and form into beautiful meanings.

Beyonce was recently in Australia on tour and when in Sydney, brought a young cancer patient up onto stage and dedicated the song Halo to her. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Sure, Beyonce wasn’t starving herself to understand poverty, nor was she walking around in rags to be equal to those less fortunate. But what she did was something so unique and so powerful, not even young Chelsea could contain her emotions.

Beyonce isn’t the only pop star doing something sweet. Miley Cyrus (Yea... I went there... I’m using her as an example) had a similar experience, singing to a young girl recently at one her of gigs. Although not as passionate, but rather more of a performance, the concept was still there.

Then I could go into the spiel about Live Aid... But I’ll save it for another blog :)

Hunger Pains

So you’re at the festival and you are super starving. What to do what to do?
There will always be an abundance of options to stop the hunger pains coming along. The massive issue is actually choosing. Here are the do’s and don’ts of Festival Foods.

Don’t
*try the sushi
Don’t even think about it! Particularly if it is past 11am.
Raw fish + Scorching hot sun + No refrigeration = FAIL

*attempt curries
You are probably thinking ”what is this girl on? Curry is DELICIOUS”
WRONG!
Think about the bathroom lines when you’ve only drunk water! Imagine what would happen if you by chance received a bad curry. Just think about it.

*eat the kebabs
Although delicious at 4am in the morning stumbling along the streets of Kings Cross, a kebab is not a particularly wise choice at a festival. They are surprisingly quite messy at times if your paper cover fails on you plus, similar to the sushi, that meat has been hanging out in the sun for far too long!

Do

*Find a Lemonade Stand
As cheeky as it is, lemonade stands are ideal for a long day in the sun... especially when you accidently stumble across a flask of vodka to mix it in with. Not an overly safe option for measuring quantities of alcohol (please do not drive home from festival!), it is safe in the fact that no one will think of asking to have a swig of your drink because who wants just lemonade ;)




*Get some hot chippies
Yum yum writing about them makes me want to go get some. An absolute winner in safe option, hot chips are always fresh(ish) and taste delicious. You can share them around without getting too many germs and they are quick to eat so you won’t miss a beat!,

*Grab a hotdog!
Another safe option. Bread may be slightly stale however won’t kill you plus the hot dog part would have to be in boiling water before being served to you which means minimal disease.

*Search down a bacon roll
Overnight festival? Head straight to the egg and bacon rolls first thing in the morning. It will fill your tummy up and keep you going for the day plus they are D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

Have you guys got some faves?

*Warning*

After having a chat to some English friends of mine about festivals such as V Festival in Chelmsford, it came to my attention that some disgusting shenanigans can endanger all music festival fun.

I feel it is my duty to warn you all of... the dreaded Pee In Cup Syndrome that is drowning the worlds music festivities.

It’s all rather simple to understand.

1. Take one intoxicated male
2. Ensure intoxicated male doesn't want to leave mosh to use bathrooms
3. Find cup, bottle or any other holding material on the ground
4. Urinate in said holding material
5. Throw backwards to your heart's content
6. Multiply by all intoxicated males at festival

No... that is not rain you are experiencing. It is indeed a golden shower.
Apparently these are far more common in the UK than they are here.

So if you stumble across something like this

Do not be fooled fellow friends... this is not your lucky day and no, you have not just scored gold flake vodka.

Have you ever experienced anything like this?

*Just a word of warning :)

The Gig Viewer

Casually watching the television with my brother last night and this hilarious ad came on. It was an infomercial for The Gig Viewer .

At first I thought this was a complete joke. My brother who is not the tallest man on the planet however thought it was absolutely brilliant!

Don’t you hate it when you can’t see the band performing because you are squished up against the large rolls of fat infront of you? This will solve all your problems!

 

No surprise the ad is actually for Dunlop Volleys. Watch the ad again, see how they feature throughout? I thought this was an absolutely brilliant way to break through the advertising clutter. Well done Dunlop!

On a side note, will anyone get me the Dish Jockey for Christmas? Anyone? Anyone?

You've Got The Love

Described by The Times as “the most peculiar and most highly acclaimed female singer of the moment” there is no doubt on why I want to share this clip with you all. "a bundle of nerves and passion, of darkness and pure joy.”

Suffering from both dyslexia and dysmetria, Florence Welch is the front woman and supernatural voice of Florence and the Machine. Explaining that she does most her song writing when drunk or hung over, her pure motivation is emotion .

Lungs was released this year, with Welsh explaining the eclectic lyrics as “about love – and pain. People see my lyrics as crazy, but to me it’s an honest, heartfelt album. I didn’t set out to be wacky. I just want it to be emotive.”

By far my most favourite artist of now
(I am probably a few months behind some of you)
please enjoy...
Florence And The Machine

 

Florence and the Machine goes from one extreme to the next,

Television Will Never Be The Same Again

It’s always a surprise when artists make guest appearances in television shows, especially when they are your favourite programs.

Having the two mesh into one can be a memorable occasion. Scrubs is one of the greatest programs when it comes to pulling token artists in to perform during an episode (and boy oh boy do I LOVE it)
Here are a few of my favourite guest appearances by artists

Britney Spears - How I Met Your Mother
Brit already had an acting background thanks to her stint with Disney back in the day so she was no stranger when it came to the camera (and her crazies must make her that much more comfortable in strange situations).

Colin Hay – Scrubs
Colin Hay hasn’t appeared performing in scrubs once... but twice! He is a mysterious man following JD around. It’s rather funny and the song is so perfectly fitted into the story line.

Peter Frampton, Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill and Sonic Youth – The Simpsons
Hilarious! This episode shows all these guys cranking it at music festivals with Homer... can we recreate this somehow for My World Tour? There’s been heaps of other artists appear on The Simpsons including Aerosmith.

Johnny Cash – Seasame Street
The legend sings to Oscar the Grouch!

And the greatest would be (in my books)...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

The Polyphonic Spree – Scrubs season 3

PS: These guys will be playing at Playground Weekender in 2010.

Cover Me In Honey v2.0

From my blog Cover Me In Honey, I have had an abundance of people leaving me their favourite covers via my facebook and I thought they definitely deserve to be shared with you all.

Scuba Steve

Guitar loving, cancer research supporting friend of mine Scuba had this input:

“i read your thing about covers... was disappointed to see no mention of Guns and Roses (for live and let die - Wings OR knockin on heavens door - Dylan) Bowie (let's spend the night together - Rolling Stones) Joe Cocker (a little help from my friends - beatles) or the greatest cover artist of all time Johnny Cash (hurt - NIN, mercy seat - Nick Cave)”

Ryan ‘Pimpin’ McKinnon

Fellow coworker and campaign activist for ErinO, Ryan wanted to share the following:

"This was my fave when i was in london."

Miss Jessie B

Finally, friend JessieB thought of this gem:

"Sarah Blasko's Flame Trees cover. So lovely :)”

Cover Me With Honey

There is something about artists covering each other’s hits that gets me oozing with excitement (No, I’m not talking William Hung covering Ricky Martin’s ‘She Bangs’).

Perhaps it’s the illusion that all musicians are in a special secret club together and by listening to these tracks I’m being accepted in?
Or perhaps its the sound flowing between my eardrums that is sensationally familiar yet eerily different.

Whatever it is, I am a massive sucker for it. I think the fetish for covers started back in 2002 when I heard Reel Big Fish’s version of Boy’s Don’t Cry (originally by The Cure). From there I have graduated to becoming friends with British Citizens purely so they can send me BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge volumes at each release.

Here are my current ultimate faves:
Katy Perry covering Electric Feel (Originally by MGMT)
There has been an abundance of covers by many different artists for Electric Feel however Katy without fail takes the cake with this one. Her sexy, strong voice gives every lyric passion.

Newton Faulkner Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh) (Originally by Pixie Lott)
I didn’t even realise this was Newton Faulkner! He hits every note as if he wrote the song for himself.

2009: Year Of The Regroup

While listening to John Butler Trio’s new single ”One Way Road”, I found myself pondering what makes a band decide to keep pushing on after members go through “creative differences” and leave. Not a musician myself makes this hard to fathom.

Many bands go through the grueling divorce that can result in the end of an era however 2009 was the year of not giving up but rather Regrouping

In April 2009, John Butler announced that bass player Shannon Birchall and drummer Michael Barker were to depart from the group. Together since 2003, John Butler wasted no time in replacing and moving on with the announcement of bassist Byron Luiters and drummer Nicky Bomba in June of this year. Looking back on the history though, this isn’t the first reshuffle these guys have done. What would happen if John Butler left John Butler Trio? What would happen if they added another member? Would they rename to become John Butler Quartet?

But don’t judge John. He isn’t the only one! Chili Peppers have gone through an abundance of different band members due to death and destruction. Anthony Kiedis talks about the song writing process and how it differentiates between different members in his book ”Scar Tissue".

Then don’t forget Wolfmother’s regroup with the original trio of Andrew Stockdale, Chris Ross and Myles Heskett transforming into similar sounding new band comprising of Andrew Stockdale, Ian Peres, Aidan Nemeth and Dave Atkins stating

"irreconcilable personal and musical differences,"

 for the departure.


I want to know... How do you feel about bands ripping apart and being glued back together with new members? Does it hurt a little? Do you feel as though your parents have divorced? Tell me about it!

I Got Rogued

Thursday 10th December was my work Christmas party. My work love to go all out and this year the ‘surprise’ act (It’s never a surprise when you have Brendan on the party committee) was Rogue Traders.

This a British-Australian electro band has been around for quite some time. Recently joined by new front woman Melinda 'Mindi' Jackson(pictured below), I had no massive expectations for the evening (to be honest I only knew these guys as Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s band) so was pleasantly surprised. Automatically coming to the assumption that these guys would rip out some new hits that I wouldn’t know, I was shocked and a little excited to find myself singing along to all their hot hits such as “Voodoo Child” and “In Love Again”.

 Although a short set (I think... bring on the vodka), Mindi had such energy that you didn’t want to take your eyes off her. They interacted with the crowd in a very grateful manner plus kept the vibe of the room intact.

Proud to call them an Aussie group :D and am super excited for their new track 'Love Is A War' to be released by digital download on Christmas Day

Feed My Edgar

Feeding Edgar

Radar Radio has an abundance of awesome new acts filling the airwaves for your listening pleasure. One of the stand out bands currently on Radar Radio is Feeding Edgar.

Last night I headed to one of their more intimate gigs at Bar Me – Kings Cross. The venue was small, clean and a little romantic (dim lighting, grand piano in the corner, lots of deep reds and candles). I managed to catch the end of an acoustic set by Johnson Jay . This guy has talent. On the stage, this bloke has presence. Sure he’s a wild haired, passionate guy that doesn’t have much luck with the ladies (His words, not mine), but boy of boy do you not want to take your eyes off him while he performs. Not only was his voice smooth and melodic, but he interacted with the audience with such ease and familiarity. Very cool stuff.

Then it was onto Feeding Edgar. I’d seen these guys once before and knew I had to check them out again to share their stuff with all you bloggees. They’ve had radio play on Triple M before and it’s easy to tell why. These guys are so easily marketable. I can picture massive things for the northern beaches boys thanks to their looks, catchy yet unique sound and diversity they displayed in their set.

Their only downfall last night was the stage. I couldn't check out the drummer doing his thing as the piano was in the way and bass player Mickey wouldn't come out of the shadows... COME OUT MAN!!!! WE WANT TO SEE YOU!

If you get a chance, you should definitely go see these guys perform. The girls will swoon, the guys will attempt to dance and the crowd will go wild. Stay tuned... the boys won’t be disappearing anytime soon.

An Unlikely Gig With A Killer Reunion

Friday 4th December and Saturday 5th December was the Sydney Telstra 500. Why am I telling you about car racing you ask? Well did you see the unbelievable line up they had for the two nights?

Hosted at the ANZ stadium in Sydney, the guys from V8 Super Racing really brought the goods to the stage. Friday night consisted of all the aussie acts you love, including DJ Bzurk, The Potbelleez, Sneaky Sound System and The Presets. Unbelievable you say? You’re not wrong! But wait, there was more.

Not only did they have all the young favourites on the Friday night, the Saturday night raised the bar even higher. Focusing on a more rock based set of talent, the rev heads all got to watch MM9, Grinspoon, The Living End AND Cold Chisel! That’s right guys – Cold Chisel got back together for this one event. Every one of the Cold Chisel crew came back together last night for a reunion which was the first show together since a one-off benefit gig they did back in 2005 in Melbourne.

Barnsey announced (sort of) this reunion back in September to The Grill Team on Triple M. Check out how he cheekily spoke about it to the guys here.

Last night the over 50s showed no signs of their age as they rocked out in front of thousands, with the crowd singing along to all the bands legendary hits. Will this be the start of something that could once again be Australia’s answer to The Rolling Stones?

Baking At Home

Well today is the day in Sydney – HOMEBAKE day!

For those of us not lucky enough to have tickets (yes, I did go through a poorman stage of life which meant no purchasing of tickets... it’s too soon for me to talk about...too too soon) today will be a cranky day filled with thoughts of “I hope it rains” and “whatever, it wasn’t a good line up anyway” LIES!
If you are like myself and won’t be attending the festivities featuring Powderfinger, Jet, Hilltop Hoods, Eskimo Joe, Sia, Daniel Merriweather, Midnight Juggernauts, Sarah Blasko and Paul Dempsey, Here is a nice tip of the day... Turn it into your very own Homebake! These are the ingredients you will need:

1. A 'best of' CD which should include the following tracks –
   • Powder Finger – These Days
   • Powder Finger – Save Your Skin
   • Powder Finger – All of the Dreamers
   • Sia – Drink to Get Drunk
   • Daniel Merriweather – Water and a Flame
   • Midnight Juggernauts – This New Technology
   • Midnight Juggernauts – Raised By Wolves
   • Sarah Blasko – Don’t You Eva
   • Sarah Blasko – All I Want
   • Paul Dempsey – If It’s Chocolate
   • The Middle East – The Darkest Side
   • Gin Wigmore With The Cardinals – Oh My
   • Bumblebeez – Black Dirt
2. Then you need to employ my best friend Betty. Purchase one pack of cookies and start baking
3. Once cookies have been baked and cooled down, make yourself comfortable on the couch, and at 1.25pm tune into Channel [v] for their Playing @ Homebake.

By doing this, you have successfully Baked at Home :)

Enjoy!

ps: if it makes you feel any better at all, Homebake announced that the anticipated performance of the iconic and legendary Rowland S Howard (together with Mick Harvey & JP Shilo) has been cancelled due to sickness.

Festival Romance - How Far Is Too Far

When it comes to a great summer festival, you know there’s going to be a lot of buff bodies about the place. Although it is about the music, for some it is also about romance <3. There must be something about the air that day that makes some kids go coo coo.

These newly found couples are hard to pick. Just like couples who have ventured to gigs together, newly found gouples (gig couples) are just as cosy with one another. They speed the relationship up to a ‘her on his shoulders for a set’ by sun down and will be best buds with one another’s friends by moon up. The reasoning behind needing a partner in crime at a gig is beyond me. How does it all happen? From going stage to stage, how does anyone even have time to ignite a romance!

Have you ever met your partner at a festival? Do you know someone who has? What drew you to them? Was it the giant glasses covering their whole face; was it the lyrics to the song playing in the background? Or was it a simple case of Hello hottie with no shirt on! Tell me about it!

 



Pictured is Sam I Am & Jessie Red. So loved up, they proceeded to show me at a festival where their 'couple shot' will be put in the wallet after the event. SO cute!



Sunset Sounds '10

Brought to you by the makers of Falls Festival, under the blissful Brisbane sun comes Sunset Sounds.
Held over two days at the gorgeous Brisbane Botanic Gardens & the River Stage, you will be packing in the sounds of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hilltop Hoods, Grizzly Bear, Moby, Sarah Blasko, Seasick Steve and Jamie T.

Get raged and ecstatic with Yves Klein Blue, and drag yourself out of the shade and to the front of the stage to hear the Sweet Disposition of The Temper Trap. After all, they’re big in Europe.

If you missed out on a ticket to Falls Festival, this is the next best thing... possibly even better. With the sweet vocals of Lisa Mitchell and Sarah Blasko all day long, you will be on a two day rocking fest with arts and crafts to boot.

Tip: Keep cool with delicious homemade lemonade from one of the stalls

Festival Fashion Fails

The Hawaiin Shirt
You remember it. It was the late 1990’s and your Dad would be heading out for the weekend. He would chuck on his Hawaiian shirt and no doubt your little brother would have one in clashing yet oddly matching patterns. Well the Hawaiian shirt has surfaced again! Pictured here is a group of wonderful blokes I went to uni with. These guys never say die, and chose the standout shirts for this years Village Fair. Needless to say, they were easily spotted all day.

Shaped Sunnies
They were a hit in 2006, but are now a miss. The heart shaped sunnies aren’t sexy, they are simply shocking, especially on the male race. My mum bought a pack of star shaped sunnies...a whole pack... for $2 not long ago. Do I need to say anymore?

The Character Backpack
I don’t care how cool you thought Elmo was at age 5, wearing him as a backpack to a festival later in life is creepy and crazy. My mate Jason thought it would be hilarious this year for some festival fun but I had to keep my distance as it was definitely a FAIL...awwwww.

Knee High Gladiator Sandles
Now this may not be a complete fail. But it sure does look uncomfortable. What about those smoking hot days? Having your legs wrapped in leather is the last thing I would tolerate. However... each to their own.

Leopard Print Knickers
Actually... I should rename this “Seeing your knickers in general”. Keep it to the bedroom kids! If you are wearing a dress short enough to expose the world to your nether regions, then at least chose a bloch colour that could be swimwear. Nobody wants to think the leopard escaped the zoo at a festival. Check out what I had to face at Homebake 2008.

 

Stereo-FLOP-ic

Saturday was the long awaited Stereosonic festival. Line up included Deadmau5, Fedde Le Grand, Crookers, Bloody Beetroots, Emoh is Dead, and Grafton Primary . If you did make it to the festival, there was a massive clash in artists tearing patrons apart by making them chose between their favourite acts.

 

This year Stereosonic had a ‘tops on’ policy. They claimed

“Anyone inside the event not wearing a top will have their wristband removed and will be ejected from the event.”

Before the event I spoke to my trainer Jes about this. I asked her thoughts on the policy and she was all for it and had a valid point. Who really wants a sweaty dude rubbing his sweaty back fat all over you? Point and case!

 

However this rule didn’t seem to be followed. Endless pics have been popping up of all the boys and allllll their skin (not that I’m complaining).

 

But why was the festival a flop? Here is what some sonic-goers had to say:

Alice from Hunters Hill said:

"It was full of shirtless guys with bad tattoos and girls in denim shorts that looked more like undies. The worst layout for a festival from indoor to outdoor being hot and overcrowded you couldn't move, with outdoors being so dusty people were snorting it up."

 

The theme of a bad layout didn’t end there. Glenn from North Sydney said

"Terribly set out. Really bad sound. Too many people. Too many shirtless munters. Pretty shit really. Beetroots were good. Deadmau5 would have been good if you could hear it properly”.

 

Did you go to Stereosonic? What did you think?