Friday, January 31, 2003 ??? 12:12 AM - bo||e

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you would have known that a lot of Alt'ers have been after this little beauty from Brisbane outfit Genshen. Well don't ask where I managed to find it but i did.

Genshen - Nothing Quite Like This 192kbps 5.79mb

While I’m here I might as well give a big thumbs up to a few things I’ve downloaded this week. To start with, VERY BIG thumbs up to the new the new Godspeed You Black Emperor! lp., Yanqui U.X.O. If I had to describe godspeed's sound in less than 10 words I’d go with "a great hollywood suspense movie...without the vision". If you like your avant-garde sounds rich and juicy, well godspeed are just that.

If i could, i'd post a track, but the average length of a song on Yanqui UXO is 35 mins, so yo'll have to be contempt with a track off their previous lp.

Godspeed! You Black Emperor - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven 128kbps 5.9mb

Think The Donna's are h0t shit? Experience a lusty one night stand with the Sahara Hotnights.

Sahara Hotnights - Alright Alright (Here's my Fist Where's the Fight?) 128kbps 2.0mb

Thursday, January 30, 2003 ??? 5:00 PM - Pooyan


Ok those who have been in the channel over the past few weeks have prolly heard me asking about a song that goes.

‘oooooo all my waves are breaking so slowly’.

3 friggin weeks it took me to find out. Twice it came on whilst had just pulled into my home and I sat in the boiling heat of my car, just to find out who played it. And they never told me. I was spewing considering I listened all the way through the next song just so I could find out. Anyway after searching through 3 IRC networks and multiple aussie music channels, I finally managed to find out the name of the song. I even emailed Mel and Charlie to ask the name. Here was Mel’s reply:

Lifetime is the name of the song, from the album 'Superstructure'...Aussie r n r at it's best!

Have a top one
Mel.

I was quite stoked that they replied. Anyway, any song that I spent that bloody long looking for deserves to be put up on the site. It’s a cool song. Kinda stoner rock with a bit of a ‘Reef ‘sound to it.

Rollerball - Lifetime 192kbps, 5.8mb

Saturday, January 25, 2003 ??? 3:09 PM - Pooyan

I grew up with Smashing Pumpkins. Siamese Dream was one of the first albums that I really listened to properly. I play guitar and when that album came out, I memorized every song, because they were all so beautiful. It taught me that for music to be good, it didn't have to have a catchy chorus, 4 verses, a bridge and a chorus. I could go on for ages about that one album, and I am sure there are many of you who would agree with me. I consider that album to be one of the greatest albums of the 90's. Wait stop! If you're thinking in your head oh yeah that 'Today' 'Disarm' album, then you need to go back and have a proper listen. Start with a little 'Mayonaise' if you want to hear some of the best alternate tuning of a guitar ever. 'Hummer' need I say more is good year 11 physics lesson. Remember learning what happens when you get two waves exactly opposite? They cancel each other out and if they are identical they compliment each other. Well 'Hummer' does this. There are 2 guitars bending the same notes in and out of each other and you can actually picture the sound waves. Who says you can't see music :). 4 minutes 30 into 'Hummer' you get a completely different song with some of the most beautiful guitar ever. Anyway if that doesn't make you a fan then maybe you should take a listen to 'Soma', a song written about the drug that they take in the book 'Brave New World' As you listen, keep in mind there are 40 guitars in the final recording.

I remember seeing The Smashing Pumpkins play during their 'Pisces Iscariot' tour. Their intro went like so; The whole place was pitch black and all you could hear was James Iha's guitar playing the intro to 'Landslide'. You knew they were on stage somewhere but you just couldn't see them. Just as the music built up a single spotlight shined right at the tip of the stage. Billy was standing with one foot on a monitor amp, leaning out and handing a rose to a girl in the front row. He had been there the whole time and nobody knew. The crowd roared so loud you couldn't hear the music. I remember getting that tingly feeling as your eyes begin to smart. Billy Corgan is a perfectionist. There is no doubt about it; The Smashing Pumpkins were Billy Corgan. Billy would disappear into a cave for 12 months and would write the guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and lyrics come out and say "Ok guys this is what we are playing".

ok, Now that I have given you a brief history lesson in the greatest band in the world (this is not a tribute bah), its time to link it to this posting. Billy is back from his cave! and Zwan is Billy Corgan's new band. Although it seems to be 3/4 of the original Smashing Pumpkins lineup. Jimmy is out of jail from his cocaine possession, and is back playing drums and James Iha is still the guitar wingman. Zwan is like old Smashing Pumpkins. Back when Billy sung properly and almost sounded like an instrument. The guitars are twangy, melodic and have that trademark hum effect.

At a first listen to the album the first few songs didn't do much for me, but from track 5 the album becomes 'Siamese Dream part II'. The first single is 'Honestly', which on a first listen I honestly didn't pick it (bah). However, it has grown on me quite quickly. I do however really like 'El Sol', 'Endless Summer' and 'Yeah'. Basically just buy the album. It comes with a 35 min DVD with cool stuff about the band and all up it one of those albums you can listen to the whole way through and want to hit play again when its done. Zwan is set to become one of the biggest bands of this year. More Billy Corgan primordial soup!

Zwan - El Sol 192kbps, 5.2mb
Zwan - Honestly 192kbps, 5.4mb

Thursday, January 23, 2003 ??? 9:28 PM - lukeiyo-e

i'm only slightly motivated to be posting on here.. i'm more motivated to gets me some sleep, but here goes..

three one g (31G) is a label out of San Diego that's putting out some really neat stuff. none as neat as Moving Units. the song actually sounds like it could easily have been penned during the same period that saw Squeeze ooze out the classic "Cool For Cats".

moving units - i am 128kb/s, 2.4mb

D34THFR0M4B0V3 R0XOR! download and be blown away by the sound of two people thumping it - ache records

death from above - dead womb 192kb/s, 3mb

this robot kills... or killed.. now defunct - so what? enjoy this song from their debut 7" from 1997

this robot kills - 101 192kb/s, 3mb

Wednesday, January 22, 2003 ??? 8:39 PM - thirtysix

I admit it - listening to The Streets is my guilty little pleasure. I grew up listening to hip-hop pretty much exclusively, though I could not stand Mike Skinner when I first heard his first track "Has It Come To This" in about May. Fast forward to the end of the year when I had told everybody that they had to buy it. What happened? Well JJJ kept playing songs from it and all of the songs were brilliant. "The Irony Of It All" dealt with a drug versus alcohol health question and he dealt with rejection, love (mostly with himself), drugs and a Human Traffic like lifestyle. Witty and incisive lyrics about topics that people can relate to together with phat beats that he created in his Mum's place in the UK. MY favourite album of the year from the best newcomer of the year.

Electric Soft Parade. If you like your radio-friendly alt-pop, then this group from Brighton in the UK is for you. The Mercury Prize nominated brothers had two great tracks, "Silent II The Dark" and "There's A Silence" from the album Hole In The Wall. These youngsters (20 and 18) prove that the UK is such a great breeding ground for indie-pop, continuing a tradition that has seen bands like Idlewild and Coldplay come up with Indie classics. Can't wait to see these kids live.

Other great newbies included The Vines, who polarised music fans on the Alt and around the world, had an average album but extra props goes to Craig Nicholls for fucking up Jay Leno and Letterman's stages. Good work. Also good were Spoon , who had a cool album "Kill The Moonlight" (not their first but they were new to me) which EVERYONE should get. I just hope 2003 has some great newbies too. Cheers to Gongboy for the webspace and have fun kids. Thirtysix.....

The Streets - Don't Mug Yourself 192kbps 3.6mb
Electric Soft parade - There's A Silence 192kbps 3.9mb

??? 3:05 PM - secret pint

Obituary of the week goes to Washington DC's The Dismemberment Plan, who announced their imminent split on Sunday. The Plan were, in case you didn't know, one of the best and weirdest guitar bands to have emerged this last decade, welding Pixies elements (ie the classic weird verse/poppy chorus cliche) onto just about every genre of music known to man.

Unlike most indie rockers, The Plan were actually capable of writing interesting lyrics too. Lyrical themes ranged from having sex with the ghost of a dead girlfriend to setting up drug cartels, without the smugness of other bands who deal in quirky subject matter (I'm not going to name any names here. Unless you ask nicely). Singer Travis Morrison displays a similarly varied vocal style to complement the diversity of their songs.

In tribute to their sheer genius, I present two songs from their magnum opus of 1999, Emergency & I, regarded by some as the definitive emo album (despite the fact that The Plan were quite obviously worlds apart from your typical emo bands). "What Do You Want Me To Say?" received regular JJJ airplay a few months back, while album highlight "I Love A Magician" showcases their talent for catchiness interspersed with general weirdness.

The Dismemberment Plan - What Do You Want Me To Say? 160kbps, 4.91MB
The Dismemberment Plan - I Love A Magician 160kbps, 3.02MB

And for more Plan mp3 madness, check this out.

Monday, January 20, 2003 ??? 4:01 PM - bo||e

AM/FM are a duo out of the states lead by singer/songwriter Brian Sokel (formally of Franklin) and Mike Parsell (ex Blue Monday) on drums/keyboard.

AM/FM started when Brian, still with Franklin at the time, started writing songs that were not in the mould of what was, by then the Franklin sound.

After Franklin released, what was their final album, Sokel was left with these cassettes of 4 track demos he recorded, so he called on the talents of Mike Parsell to add an extra dimension to what was then still only acoustic songs. By 2002, the band has released two LP's and three Ep.'s, along the way using the help from bands such as Aspera Ad Astra, Franklin, and Ink & Dagger to help fill in the blanks.

Its hard to describe their sound. Its like Pavement meets Guided By Voices meets Beulah in a mountain music, sunny California pop, discordant post-punk kind of way. Do yourself a favour download the tracks and find out for yourself.

bo||e is listening to...
AM/FM - Gone In Three (The Sky Is The New Ground Ep 2002) 128kbps 3.3mb
AM/FM - Virgins! Virgins! (Getting Into Sinking 2001) 128kbps 4.8mb

Friday, January 17, 2003 ??? 10:29 PM - ExistAngst

I love a good musical conspiracy.

The Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage! 256kbps, 6.62mb

Who's voice is on that? Jack White perhaps? Or some complete unknown that the Electric Six boys found during a competition run on their website? That's certainly the official line from the band. But ask just about anyone else and they will tell you that Jack White was seen having breakfast in downtown Detroit with Electric Six guitarst Surge Joebot and that, yes, the White Stripe himself appears as guest vocalist on radio hit, "Danger! High Voltage".

Which would be all well and good, except for the fact that it doesnt sound anything anything like Jack White. Well not to me anyway.

The song itself is great (regardless of which star might have their voice on it). Driven by a simple anthemic lyrics belted out with chaotic gusto and an even simpler guitar riff (that lends the song its real electricity), I look forward to someone taking this track and mixing it up for the dance floor. It might be the only way anyone will get me to dance anytime soon.

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 ??? 12:39 PM - Alarmed

I wanna fuck your mother
It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it well
This is a line from The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster's song "Celebrate Your Mother". It's the first single from their new (and only) album Horse Of The Dog which is decent, but not spectacular indie punk rock. This single is the real standout, along with the previous single "Morning Has Broken".

This song rocks long time. The brief bit of feedback at the start, the choppy guitar that kicks in after the first chorus, and the obscene lyrics are highlights. Checkit.

The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster - Celebrate Your Mother 192kbps, 3.7MB

Friday, January 10, 2003 ??? 12:49 AM - ExistAngst

We are moving the channel.

It is now on Undernet. It is still called #themp3alt

/server undernet
/join #themp3alt

---

UPDATE: Undernet turned out to be a dud. So were using altnet instead. Its a nice cosy little network that wont be plauged by DDoS attacks and huge netsplits.

So....
/server irc.altnet.org
/join #themp3alt

Wednesday, January 08, 2003 ??? 12:27 AM - ExistAngst

Know where you should be this coming Saturday night, the 11th of January? At the Indian Ocean Hotel. It's in Scarborough WA. Specifically 23-27 Hastings Street (comes off of Scarborough Beach Road). Be there by 9pm, cause thats when the good stuff starts.

The Belts - Decide 160kbps, 2.24MB

You get that.

(You also get to see me in the front row, skanking like there is no tommorow. Come say hello.)

??? 12:17 AM - Matthew


While everyone's been making their best of 2002 album lists, I'd like to start off 2003 with a brilliant album that didn't make it to the australian airways. I'm talking about Jason Loewenstein - At Sixes and Sevens . Jason Loewenstein who'se been a guitarist in Sebadoh since there inception has created a solo album that makes you wonder why it took him so long to step out on his own. For those not familiar with sebadoh they're a lo-fi indie band from the states that grew a cult following from their unique style and garage recordings. Just listening to one song from Jason Loewenstein's solo album isn't enough to do it justice. Check him out.

Another group from the states set to release an album early this year is The Fire Theft . They are a three piece band consisting of ex-members of Sunny Day Real Estate Jeremy Enigk, who has also done a solo album called Return of the Frog Queen, Nate Mendel , whose currently playing bass in the Foo Fighters, and Will Goldsmith who has a project going on with Billy Dolan of 5ive Style and Heroic Doses . After 4 studio albums and some label hopping and legal issues with subpop records, Sunny Day Real Estate disbanded and The Fire Theft was born. Promising an album full of "heart, soul, and deep deep thought" with a focus on healing and helping people, i will be waiting patiently for this release in 2003.

On the local music front, I was semi-awake the other night watching rage when a clip came on that caught my ears in a big way. The group is called Dappled Cities Fly and the track posted is off their debut double A side called Be Engine / Sputnik . They're a sydney band just breaking out onto JJJ with "Be Engine" so check them out and if you live in the sydney area go check out their performance. Support our local music!

Mattsurbate is Listening to...
Jason Loewenstein - Casserole 160kbps 3mb
The Fire Theft - It's Over 128kbps 3.8mb
Dappled Cities Fly - Be Engine 128kbps 2.8mb

Tuesday, January 07, 2003 ??? 12:40 PM - bo||e

Way way back in 1999 I went to my first gig to see a then cool 28 days and bands such as the Resin Dogs and the Alice Springs outfit NoKtUrnAl. It was a funny little gig, maybe because it was all ages (I was underage at the time), packed into the small metropolis in Fremantle with 800 15 year olds screaming out "28 days can fuck off" for 5 hours (one kid even had the courage to bring in a bong). Music wise it was promising but ended up being pretty lame, especially a little hip hop trio called downsyde.

I really didn’t know what to expect let alone anything about hip hop culture back then, the closest I ever let myself to the genré was kris kross and we all know that gets messy. So from then on downsyde became the punch line of me and my friend's jokes about baggy panted people. I never thought my feelings would change until I heard the sweet sweet candy flavoured sound of Amy Nicholson's voice used in one of their latest singles on high rotation on triple J. Maybe it's just her voice that really attracted me to this track? I don't know/care. All i know is that it rocks out. I really hope downsyde have turned the musical corner when they release their second LP Land of the giants in early February 2003! Seriously, how can you not rock out when your mc is named after a transformer?

bo||e is listening to...
downsyde - gifted life 128kbps 3.4mb
downsyde - el questro 128kbps 3.8mb

Sunday, January 05, 2003 ??? 7:26 AM - Craggles

I was quick to dismiss Local H when "High Fivin' MF" and "Bound to the Floor" were doing the rounds on the radio. I thought they were just another one of those alt rock bands suffering from a little bit of Nirvana envy. It took a trip down to the 21st Century Dance Club in Frankston just outside of Melbourne to change my mind. Let me back up a little.

The year was 1996, I starting Year 12 and just starting to discover aussie bands. Sure I heard them on the radio, but I'd never been to see anyone live before. The time had come for me to tread the ancient path that many had before, sneaking in to your first overage show. The band of choice was The Superjesus, the venue the Espy. The room was smokey, the floor sticky and I was pretty certain the guy next to me hadn't bathed in a month. But when the band came on and that music started it all faded away, it was a near religious experience for me.

After that The Superjesus became a staple for me. I went to see them whenever they would play. I followed the band intently and when they ventured overseas to crack the US market I was sure they'd succeed. It was on their US tour that they got picked up to support and a two piece rock band from Chicago called Local H. The bands got along well and when it was time to return to Australia Local H followed and returned the favour by supporting The Superjesus on their Ashes to Ashes tour.

So there I was November 98' at the 21st Century Dance Club in Frankston waiting to see The Superjesus for the first time in 6 months when Local H came out and ruined every other live performance I would ever see. Scott Lucas and then drummer Joe Daniels came out on stage and launched into a blistering set that never let up for a second, literally. One song would end then the next one would merge in. They didn't stop playing. Occasionally another dude would come out and sing a couple of lines or play a bit of bass but for the most part it was just the two of them. It was the heaviest performance I'd have ever seen. I picked up all their albums that night from the souvenir stand and all the way home my mate and I marvelled at the greatness that is Local H. "All Right (Oh, Yeah)" became our anthem that summer.

So in March last year Local H released their fourth album Here Comes The Zoo. Ok so why am I telling you this now in January, well firstly I didn't write for the site back in March and secondly I think it may just be last years best album. Tis the season for best of lists and here's mine.

1. Local H - Here Comes The Zoo
2. Idlewild - The Remote Part
3. Beck - Seachange
4. Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
5. Badly Drawn Boy - About a Boy
6. Phantom Planet - The Guest
7. And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
8. Foo Fighters - One By One
9. Darren Hanlon - Hello Stranger
10. Moby - 18

Here Comes The Zoo has sadly not yet been released in Australia, but you can probably get it as an import down at your local record store. Ok the mp3's "All Right (Oh, Yeah)" is from their last album Pack Up The Cats, "Hands On The Bible" and "Keep You Girlfriend Away From Me" are from Here Comes The Zoo.

Local H - All Right (Oh, Yeah) 128kbps, 3.00MB
Local H - Hands On The Bible 128kbps, 3.61MB
Local H - Keep Your Girlfriend Away From Me 128kbps, 2.90MB

Friday, January 03, 2003 ??? 2:47 PM - Pooyan

These days its hard to find a U.S band that makes it onto Australian airways and sounds original. Think about how many Blink 182 or Limp Bizkit clones there are now. Need I mention the Nickleback - Creed - 3 Doors Down style that seems to have taken over US rock (Alternative would be pushing it). Finally something new. Why? Because the producer, is the drummer. OURS have a unique sound and the album "Precious" is the first U.S album I have heard in yonks that I can listen to over and over. The guitars are sweet and the singer Jimmy Gnecco is the fire. No computers. No sequencing. Everything was recorded in their own studio in single takes. The first single is "leaves" although I chose to upload the track, "Realize". Its my personal favourite mainly because I love the sound of guitars with compression and that catchy little chorus

"Down on the floor with the radio song... your crawling... your crawling."

Each song on the album has a different style from Jeff Buckley to At the Drive In to The Tea Party to Velvet Underground (they do a nice little remake of "Femme Fatale"). The CD comes with a bonus DVD with 3 videos. Well worth the 30 bucks.

Pooyan- is listening to
OURS - Realize 192kbps, 4.97mb