Then

I came home
carrying a present
for you
in my hands.
And found out you
were gone.

'Accident'
I saw them say,
but I heard nothing.
My eyes glazed over,
my ears blocked
their voices.

And now
I know
they were right.
The eulogy,
the flowers,
the dirt.

I gave my present
to you.
To the earth
that now belongs
to you.

Photos bring
extremes of sobbing
then numbness
then sobbing.

Memories remain strong.

Your cheeky smile,
all that laughter,
the friendship-
I carry it
in my heart.
Its all I can do.

But wait, there's more!

Today I am supplying you with more amazing solo female music artists for your listening pleasure, why? because I can.... ENJOY!
Santigold= FAB!


Bjork a true love of mine!


Adelaide-born, Sia


The lovelyRegina Spektor

There are women that do more than shake their butts

Last week Video Hits had a special set of clips- 'women in music', their picks were dubious. Shakira rolling around in mud talking about her breasts is not my idea of a strong female in music. Women do not have to be your typical sexual objects to be successful in music! Maybe you can be hot and smart? Sure, I know Shakira and alike have done well for themselves but I think Video Hits could have done better....
like these strong, independent women:
Amanda Palmer with 'Leeds United'


They did throw in 'Good Fortune' by Pj Harvey, which was a pleasant surprise. Here is 'Man-size'


Feist 'I Feel it all'


Cat Power 'Crying, Waiting, Hoping'


The Beautiful Aussie, Sarah Blasko 'Always On This Line'


MIA 'Sunshowers'


Bat For Lashes 'Moon and Moon'


One of my old faves, the very cool and clever, Annie Lennox
That should be more than enough to prove my point....

GAYNGS- Relayted

GAYNGS is a collective of some today’s major indie names.
“Another ‘supergroup’?” I hear you cry. Yes, another supergroup but this one has much more to offer and is much more experimental than the others formed of late. It all started with the combination of trio Ryan Olson with Solid Gold’s Zack Coulter and Adam Hurlburt. The musical family then grew to include over 25 other indie heavy-weights, including Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), P.O.S (emcee of Rhymesayer) Jack Luke (Leisurebirds) and Ivan Howard (The Rosebuds). Relayted is the debut album from the collective and was released in Australia just last week through Jagjaguwar.

Opening track ‘Gaudy side of town’ draws you in with slick beats and smooth vocals, but maybe a bit too smooth as reminded me of George Michael for a split second. Once I could get passed that brief resemblance, it is really cool and enjoyable listening; would suit a Sunday morning chill out and/or rolling around in bed naked with that special someone.
Following that is ‘The Walker’ featuring the hot, deep, gooey honey-like voice of Ivan Howard on lead vocals. Accompanying the talented Howard is wiry, winding guitar, and sweet, eerie backing vocals that make this a stand-out track. Although it must be noted that the ending of it (the last minute or so) is a little weird, with the deep voice rapping all of a sudden then a rather eighties melody leading us into the next track. Strange indeed, but not at all unpleasant, and somewhat to be expected with so many different musical minds involved on the album. It is refreshing. Another highlight of this album is ‘Faded High’ featuring lovely vocals of M. Vincent Vaughner Noyce, Katy Morley, and Maggie Wander. Also the cruisey ‘Crystal Rope’ and ‘Ride’, again perfect for a chilled and/or hung-over state.

Expect rap, beautiful vocals, jazz saxophone, some slide guitar, impressive drummers at times producing almost tribal beats; you name it this album has it all collected and collaborating! It could’ve been messy, but they have pulled it off. With their musical powers combined they have succeed in creating something genuinely exciting and some crazy, unique sounds. Listen out for P.O.S, leaving behind his hip-hop rapping antics for a moment and switching to a striking soul-inspired tenor.

Relayted is a varied, at times strange, positive experience for listeners. Ones that are indie, soft rock, R&B, and/or hip-hop fans, or those that just need a quality chilled out record to kick back to.

See www.JAGJAGUWAR.com

This week....

I am craving a return to Europe, so am going to focus on some French goodness like

the beautiful and unique, Charlotte Gainsbourg. I have been listening to singer/actress Gainsbourg's new album IRM and really dig it, especially the tracks 'Trick Pony' and 'La Collectionneuse' just to name a couple.




Brisa Roche, she's not very well known in Aus but is making pretty cool, cute music....



Then ofcourse there is the LEGENDARY Serge Gainsboug. I love the fantastic "Bonnie and Clyde" featuring Brigitte Bardot!

More Splendid Sideshows!

Broken Social Scene will play their Splendour sideshow at The Corner in Richmond, Tuesday 3rd of Aug! Tickets on sale Friday 14th May. The Corner is not my favourite Melbourne venue, but is not the worst and this band is not to be missed!


The Corner will also have US band, Surfer Blood grace them with their presence Friday 30th of July, tickets on sale for that one Friday 14th also!

Tracey Thorn 'Love And Its Opposite'

Love And Its Opposite is the third solo album from English singer/songwriter Tracey Thorn. Thorn is the familiar voice of the once huge UK band Everything But The Girl (1982-2000). Remember they had a hit “Missing” back in the day? Now Thorn’s previous success and talent has landed her with Berlin’s talented Ewan Pearson, (known for his work with Goldfrapp, Ladytron, Delphic and M83) as producer for Love And Its Opposite.

This album is about as personal as it gets. It appears to feature songs that are the confessional stories of Thorn’s life in recent years; including marriage with the track “Long White Dress”, divorce, growing older, love and loneliness. The loneliness Thorn has clearly endured is depicted in the dark and gloomy cover of Lee Hazlewood’s “Come On Home To Me”, featuring fantastic guest vocals of Jens Lekman. There is also a great cover of little known band, Unbending Trees lovely “You are a lover”. You know you have some music-world cred’ when you’re working with Lekman. Despite these serious topics and mellow moments the overall feeling of this album is somewhat upbeat, or at least optimistically hopeful. The track entitled “Why does the wind?” sums up the feel of the album perfectly; while there is no doubt some loneliness and pain, there is still pulsating beat pushing on and the lyrics in this song end with the simple line “Why not just kiss?”.

Thorn’s voice is as strong, warm and enchanting as in the dozen albums released with Everything But The Girl and couple with Marine Girls, if not better as its much more openly highlighted here. At times in this album Thorn’s voice reminds me of Annie Lennox, strong, feminine, deep and earthy (or perhaps its just the cool British accent?). The beautiful closing track of the album “Swimming” is a definite highlight. This poppy track features a Nashville cool cat by the name of Cortney Tidwell on drums and sugary sweet backing vocals. It ends the album on a positive note and expresses the poignant point of the album; things will always be changing and ending but “let’s carry on”, from what I can gather her sentiment for this album is to look forward to swimming, even though right now life may be making you tread water.


Love And Its Opposite will be released 14th of May through Strange Feeling and Inertia.
See www.traceythorn.com

(I did this review for www.thedwarf.com, if you dont know it check it out for reviews, photos and upcoming gig info!)

Thanks to the late and great Byron!

My dear friend, Byron had SUCH eclectic music taste and would constantly surprise me- from Jack Johnson to Johnny Cash to Evanescence to Kings of Leon to Bob Marley! And one band he got me onto was the New York-based sisters The Pierces! I had never heard of them and am grateful for him sharing them with me, now I'd like to share them with you!


This is a video clip:


And this is them live (camera hand is a bit wobbly, but alright):

See http://www.thepiercesmusic.com/ if you like how they roll xx

get some Money For Rope

I strongly suggest people check out up and coming Melbourne band Money For Rope. Having recently completed a very successful residency at Cherry, the lads' popularity is growing rapidly and they are now on the lineup for Splendour 2010!


They will play at the Espy's Gershwin Room tonight (Fri) alongside the fab Fearless Vampire Killers,on at 9pm!
If you cannot make it tonight, they are also set to play with Chromenips at Yah Yahs on Smith Street, Friday the 4th of June! I saw one of their shows at Cherry and was very impressed by their raw (drunken) rock power, shirtless thrashing of guitars, and musical talent!


See: http://www.myspace.com/moneyforrope

This week....

is all about the Splendour lineup! Everyone I know is either desperate for tickets (which went on sale this morning) to Splendour and the cheapest flights possible to Byron Bay, or those who cannot afford it are jumping on to the sideshow tickets!
So here are some clips from a few of the amazing acts headed our way!

The Strokes



Hot Chip


Ben Harper


Pixies yes they were just here and theyre all set to return! great news for fans!

Splendid sideshows announced!

Sideshows have been announced for some of this year's Splendour In The Grass acts!
Including an amazing double bill of LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip. They're to play Festival Hall in Melbourne on July 29th! Limited presale tickets are available today and the rest will be on sale this Friday morning from Ticketmaster.com.au! Get on to it!

Also (the very hot lads of) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will have a sideshow at Billboards on July 28th. Tickets on sale this Thursday 6th of May!