Tuesday, November 19, 2002     12:53 AM - ExistAngst

Dave McCormack has been nothing if not busy since the break up of his last band, The Titanics. Since then he's released an album of odd electronic bits and pieces, the Matterhorn, and now with his new band, the Polaroids, comes his lattest effort: Candy.

One gets the feeling that the happy go lucky young lad from Brisbane, once concerned only with making quirky rock music for the masses, has grown up into a slightly older, slightly more jaded rock musician at the height of his artistic genius...... yet doing it now entirely for himself.

Where do you go musically after you've become a household name for fronting Custard: if not the most succesful, then one of the most influential australian bands of the 90's? What do you do? Is their anything left to accomplish? After a soul destroying tour of America, a messy break up with his Custard buddies, arguments with bossy BMG Music execs, yet ANOTHER band break up with friends and loved ones (the Titanics)........ a lesser man would have just thrown his hands in the air and said:

"Fuck it. This isn't worth the trouble. Music, truly is, Crap"
(excuse the pun).

But not Dave McCormack. He's not so easily burnt out.

The formula that produced Candy seems to have been equal parts, determination to do something different for each passing DMc record, growing distaste for and increasing observation of all that is fucked up in the world (or just Sydney in particular?) and a sense of that fact that Dave McCormack is at the stage where he writes music purely for himself. In many ways, a truly Dylanesque approach to making music.

ExistAngst is listening to...
David McCormack and the Polaroids - The Inner West 211kbps, 4.33mb
David McCormack and the Polaroids - No Imagination 185kbps, 3.75mb

Its not the quirky rock and roll of Custard, and its a long way from the catchy, calypso-pop of the Titanics. Its best described as melancholy, inner-city, rock-ballads. It wont move units like Loverama did, but then again..... its all the more interesting for that very fact. Its all the more intriguing and honest as an album for the fact that, perhaps for the first time ever, Dave doesnt care if you don't like it.

Sunday, November 17, 2002     10:25 PM - Alarmed

These two guys on the left are Blackalicious. The guy with the cool hat is MC Gift Of Gab, the other guy is DJ Chief Xcel.

Now I've never been much of a fan of hip hop, mostly because of the moronic gangsta-posing and seemingly total lack of dignity of most of the commercial artists, but Blackalicious' album Blazing Arrow, and the J5's Power In Numbers have changed all that (incidently, the two groups are good friends; Blazing Arrow even features J5 members Chali 2na and Cut Chemist). Blazing Arrow is joyous, free of the irritating ego-fuelled self-promotion of gangsta rap.

Blackalicious - First In Flight 192kbps 6.4mb
Blackalicious - Make You Feel That Way 192kbps 4.8mb

Other than these two songs also check out 'Release'; it's an epic track featuring Rage Against The Machine's former frontman Zach De La Rocha.

This is one of the best albums I've heard so far this year. Everyone should own a copy.

    7:42 PM - cog

Remember watching Vanilla Sky, and feeling moments (especially towards the end) where a certain peace passed over you, no matter how harrowing the storyline seemed? You wouldn't have realised it, but at those moments the Vanilla Sky soundtrack probably contained the dulcet tones of Sigur Rós.

With their latest album, simply named "( )", as with their last, "ágætis byrjun", you can almost imagine yourself sliding along an abandoned glacier in a Country that actually has glaciers, preferably Iceland, because that's where Sigur Rós happen to be from.

Even better still, why not take a special "friend" with you and "slide" along the "glaciers" while listening to Sigur Rós - I guarantee you won't be dissapointed. It also makes great study music, for those of you out there inclined to work rather than play.

Each song on "( )" is named Untitled (some may attribute this to lack of imagination, others may say it's because Sigur Rós simply wish to defy convention). They're also all incredibly long (ranging from about 6 - 13 mins), so instead of putting two mp3's here as I originally intended, i've only put up the one. Never fear though, more mp3s are available here.

Sigur Rós - 03 - Untitled 192 kbps, 8.99mb

    6:53 PM - Waddo



The new album from UK singer, song writer Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, is not just a collection of songs. It is a musical experience. A collaboration of brilliant songs, which take you on a journey. With great music and brilliant lyrics "have You Fed The Fish?" is an outstanding album. Stand out tracks include the title track, "Have you Fed the Fish", and the first single off the album, "You Were Right".

If you've seen the video for "You Were Right", you'll know of the journey I went on listening to the album. The video clip is a ripper. Think "Yellow Submarine" and your almost there. This creative video is a stand out in anyones mind. The song too is great, with beautiful sounds and brilliant lyrics. Some snipets out of the song include the 2nd chorus:

And I Just had a dream the other night
I was married to the Queen
And Madonna lived next door
I think she took a shine to me
And the kids were all grown up
But I had to turn her down
'Cos I was still in love with you

and the 3rd chorus:

I remember doing nothing on the night Sinatra died
And the night Jeff Buckley died
And the night Kurt Cobain died
And the night John Lennon died
I remember I stayed up to watch the news with everyone
And that was a lot of nights
And that was a lot of lives
Who lost the tickets to what they need?

Absolutley brilliant.

Badly Drawn Boy - Have you fed the fish? 192kbps, 6.21mb
Badly Drawn Boy - You Were Right 192kbps, 7.00mb

regski gives "Have You Fed the Fish?" 4/5

Tuesday, November 12, 2002     8:52 PM - ExistAngst

The music of continental Europe has been getting quite a good running in the ExistAngst CD/MP3/MiniDisk playlist lately. The album from Escobar (Sweden) was a ripper. Then there is the young guns, doing the old school rock thing: The Hives (Sweden again) and The Cato Salsa Experience (Norway). Then there's Notwist from germany and Java from france.

Millionaire are from europe too. Belgium to be exact: the land that my limited imagination tells me has lots of chocolate, beer, and short tubby children wearing suspenders and a bowl hair cut. With chocolate smeared over their lips. (I get all my stereotypes from the Simpsons.)

Where was I?

Oh yess... Millionaire. A band unafraid to play around with some crazy experimental sounds, some cheezy 80's pop guitar and some very disturbed lyrics. On some tracks from their new album, "Outside the Simian Flock", Tim Vanhamel, the vocalist and creative force behind Millionaire, comes off sounding like he's been reading from the Trent Reznor book of "Totally Fucking Disturbing Music". On other tracks (for example the 2 ive included for your enjoyment) he doesnt come off sounding as heavy... but throughout the whole album the tone that lies just beneath the surface, is fairly dark and morbid.

ExistAngst is listening to...
Millionaire - Come With You 171kbps, 5.49mb
Millionaire - She's a Doll 177kbps, 3.86mb

As you can see the comments are gone for the time being. One moment they were working fine, the next moment, where once sat a perfectly healthy perl script, sat a smouldering heap of b0rk. It was odd. Usually my toys get broken cause i break them (the way i like it). But this time it truly wasnt my fault. At anyrate, now that uni has quietened down to a dull roar, i can spend more time on this site; and that includes putting comments back up. I might look for a php script some place.

Much love j0.

    8:32 PM - Tyler

OK people, get ready for rock.

The question is:

Is Perth the new Seattle??

With so many great bands coming out of the west it could be argued so. With established acts like Jebediah, Eskimo Joe, Lash, and up and coming acts like The Sleepy Jackson, The Fergusons, Cartman, Adam Said Galore, Halogen, John Butler Trio, etc.

Eskimo Joe - Half Price Back Packs(Live).mp3 128 kbps, 3.5 mb

Enjoy!!

Sunday, November 03, 2002     10:04 PM - Alarmed

Andrew W.K. has made headbanging fun again.
His album I Get Wet rocks relentlessly for 35 minutes, featuring some of the most inane, cheesy lyrics ever heard outside of the top 50. So inane in fact, that's it's hard to believe that Andrew W.K. isn’t partaking in some kind of huge joke. But the songs wouldn’t be nearly as amusing without choruses like:

So let's get a party going, let's get a party going
Now it's time to party and we will party hard
Let's get a party going, let's get a party going
When it's time to party we will always party hard

I should hate everything about this album: it's big, it's loud, it's unoriginal, and it reeks of the 80's. But for some reason, I can’t stop listening. It’s just big stupid fun. Angry white boy music hasn’t been this entertaining since.... ever.

Andrew W.K. – Party Hard 192 kbps, 4.2 mb
Andrew W.K. – We Want Fun 128 kbps, 4 mb

Is it a joke? Who knows. It's hard to believe anyone could write a song called 'We Want Fun' and keep a straight face about it. But anyway, you CANNOT play either of these tracks loud enough. So download, turn up the volume, and rock out like you're 14 again.