10(ish) Influential Albums

..but with some explanation and not on facebag.

Never an easy task coming up with a list such as this but hells yeh I’m going to try. Some cheating in that golden year of music, 2005 and the years around that era, and as always, this list will be in chronological order.

1993.

’Siamese Dream’
Smashing Pumpkins

Timeless hooks and the perfect soundtrack to my angsty teenage years, somehow tinged with bubble gum.

1994.

‘Grace’

Jeff Buckley

You gave me more to live for, more than you’ll ever know.

1996.

’No Code’
Pearl Jam

Eddie and band went from great to transcendental with the release of their 4th studio album. No wonder The Last Dance chose to end with a track from ‘No Code’. Still got it. Still got it.

2001.
’Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’
Wilco

Tweedy at the absolute height of his powers with exotic layered melodies and how is it possible that it gets better every year?

2004.

’Funeral’
Arcade Fire

It quite literally changed everything.

The 2005 Bloc.

‘Silent Alarm’ | Bloc Party
’Black Sheep Boy’ | Okkervil River
’Gimme Fiction’ | Spoon
’Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’ | self-titled
’Twin Cinema’ | The New Pornographers
’Apologies to the Queen Mary’ | Wolf Parade

2007.
’Shut Up I Am Dreaming’
Sunset Rubdown

Be careful what you wish for.

2007.
’Mirrored’

Battles

Rhythm and maths.

2007.
’Boxer’
The National

Tired and wired, we ruin too easy.

2007.
’Sound of Silver’
LCD Soundsystem

Did music stop 13 years ago? It certainly appears so.

Vivid Memories

Vivid Memories

Ever since Love Police announced that folk-maestros Big Thief will be touring in May, I have been looking out for any signs of Vivid 2020 news - since there is currently a big Sydney-shaped hole in their schedule (they’ve since added 2 more shows in Melbourne making it 4 times at the Corner Hotel!).

So when I received the email from Sydney Opera House that the first announcement is imminent, it took me down a path, down memory lane if you will, to this cool microsite that SOH put together back in 2018 to celebrate its 10th year - https://vividlive10.sydneyoperahouse.com/

When I think about Vivid and all the amazing artists that have performed in the House over the years, I can’t help think that us Sydney-siders do take it for granted that we have this wonderful venue and setting for this form of art to inspire and flourish.

It all kicked off in 2009, of course, with Brian Eno curating the festival of light and music. That year, I was fortunate enough to witness Battles for the very first time, and Tyondai Braxton was still part of the rotation. I still say this in my top 5 shows of all time and thank you Mike Evans for keeping this memory alive on YouTube.

2010 was Holly Miranda in The Studio where she covered Jeff Buckley’s Lover You Should’ve Come Over and mesmerised us with her sultry vocals.

I must’ve missed the years when the likes of Janelle Monae and Odd Future tore it up but in 2013, I made it to German legends Kraftwerk performing 2003’s Tour de France, with 3D glasses and all.

Kraftwerk - Vivid 2013

2016 was rather special with Justin Vernon (@blobtower) of Bon Iver fame retweeting me for some reason after their rather beautiful ‘Cercle’ show. 4 nights of it at The House and the kids are probably still talking about those run of nights. So many for us, indeed.

Cool pic. Best hang thanks https://t.co/SImsVdVd9s

— blobtower (@blobtower) May 29, 2016

Fast forward to 2018 and we made some noise for Ice Cube and then Sydney’s own Middle Kids wowed on back to back nights. A homecoming or sorts for Hannah and band, and the whole evening felt triumphant and I was especially pleased for introducing them to some of my dearest friends.

Middle Kids - Vivid 2018

Which brings us to 2019.

Ethereal is one word that springs to mind when describing Grouper and she was certainly that in the most intimate of settings in the Utzon Room one rainy evening with the harbour as the backdrop. Just beautiful.

And to round out my Vivid experience so far is The Cure and the 30th anniversary of Disintegration. They had just been inducted to Rock ‘n Roll’s Hall of Fame just a month earlier and it was just one big celebration of music.

Bring on Vivid 2020.