Why You Should Go to Rockinghorse Records This Week!!!!!!!!

Today I was pretty devastated to learn that the record store of all record stores in Brisbane, is on the brink of being closed. Rockinghorse Records has been around for at least 40 years, and is where I always used to find myself whenever I went into the CBD, and still find myself there often these days. If you were ever looking for something a bit obscure, chances are Rockinghorse had it, or could order it for you, and they have always had the best range in genres that you could hope to find in Brisbane. Not only that, if you were after a concert ticket there was a good chance they had it to sell you, not to mention their band shirts, books and dvd’s (many that you wouldn’t find anywhere else). It’s been host to many instore performances, a few I’ve luckily been part of, such as the Sleepy Jackson performance and the Killers instore signing, way back when "Somebody Told Me" was the day’s biggest hit. Rockinghorse is such a good record store, that Brandon Flowers and his fellow band members were still in there browsing hours after their signing, which meant I got to go in and get a proper good photo with them and this guy I was with at the time.

I’ve sold a bunch of my wares there when funds were getting low, and found local artists such as my uncle’s outfit Company Sin there nestled amongst the mainstream. Before a meeting with a girlfriend, on a gift expedition, after uni, a conference, or a lazy lunch, you can often find me there, usually with a mocha frappacino in my hand. … flickin’ through indiiie.

So learning that record sales demise due to online sales has lead to its’ possible closure, is really really upsetting to me. I’d be really motherfucking pissed off if Rockinghorse went the way of Skinny's: Classic iconic record store (my parents have old records with the Skinny’s label still on them) full of wonder and history and unique attributes, gone forever, due to lack of interest (?). How did we get here, when there are three JB HiFi's in the same one inner city mall, and they have to close Rockinghorse?

Well it's pretty clear how, and we all know why. Why would you go into a record shop when you can get all the music you want at home without having to move your buttocks one smidge? Online music sales are now the way music is being distributed, but with the invention of things such as Dropbox, and the remaining traces of the huge free music downloading revolution such as peer to peer networks (e.g. Napster, Kazaa, Bearshare, Limewire... and still kicking on, Soulseek), free music is still a big thing. I have to admit, I am a part of that free music bandwagon, and I think Dropbox is an awesome invention. You can share an album with your friends (of your choice) within minutes, making it a great way to transfer music without having to use a blank cd or USB or anything physical.

However, nothing at all beats the feeling of taking a CD, or record (although I don't own a player to do so), off a shelf, browse it, take it to a counter, bring it home with you, put it on the stereo, listen intently as you stare at the album art, flick through the booklet, read through the lyrics, and put it in your collection, alphabetically, chronologically, autobiographically, however you choose. Nothing in the world can beat that. If I've found something I really like through Dropbox, or any other means, I tend to buy it at some point. I also buy CD's more than I buy clothes, jewelry, some weeks even more than food. It's one of the things I love to do most in the world.

I realized the other day that my children will never come across, nor need to know, what a video is. So I understand, with great bewilderment, that times are changing, and always will be. New mediums will come and be old within years, waiting for the next one to come along to overtake it. And Ipods etc. are great for storing music and taking it with you for long trips, gym sessions and soundtracks to all sorts of situations.

But I think we can all agree that if you're a music lover, you're also a lover of the medium. You love that tactile sensation of putting that needle on the record player, that unique sound of the loop beginning on the vinyl, having that record sleeve in your hand. You love browsing through a shop to find something that will enlighten your senses, and not knowing what to expect by the cover until you load it up in your cd player. You take pride in having a cd/vinyl library of your own at home, to browse through while deciding what to put on that evening, and to display proudly to others what you've spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on to collect.

If our independent record stores disappear, our enjoyment of this medium is also threatened to disappear, in the not so distant future. As the empire of JB Hifi evolves (unless it goes down Borders-style), and threatens to overtake the country, it is up to us to keep the unique and personal stores, that cater more to our local musicians and lifestyle, alive. I'm making a personal choice from now on not to shop at JB HiFi, and I intend to go goddamn CD shopping apeshit crazy at Rockinghorse this week. They're having a 50% off sale, which is more of an excuse to do this, but it's sad that they're losing out on money they perhaps could have kept, had they just simply got the word out that they may be closing. From what facebook suggests, there is a huge community of people who care, and don't want Rockinghorse to go, and that's a great sign of hope. If you're in Brisbane, be one of them too! If you're not in Brisbane, go to your own local independent record store, and do what you can to prevent them from going down the same track. You'll definitely miss them when they're gone.

The inevitable blog post: What's your favourite Australian album?

If you're a listener, you'll notice that radio station Triple j have decided to mix things up this year and do a Hottest 100 Australian albums of all time countdown. I love making lists, I love albums, and fair chunk of the music I love is by Australian artists, so upon hearing this my brain immediately went into excited list making mode. I find it way too hard to keep to myself so I thought I'd share with you those albums that have stuck with me, and would be so chuffed if you could do the same. Also my page looks nicer with a bit of comment action. There are soooo many good ones so this is going to be hard. Oh the difficulty of making a top 10! Oh woe!! Oh my first world problems! F my L!

 1. Avalanches- Since I Left You (2001)

This one is an absolute no brainer, and I'm willing to bet my overseas savings that it will get the number one spot in triple j's countdown (provided the bogans stay away). This one is in every top whatever list, it's not just my no 1 Aussie album but my all time favorite. Every listen is a new experience. Every moment has layer upon layer of complexity and is unique in every way from anything any Australian or international artist has done. I've no information on this but I wouldn't be the first to suggest that this album inspired most of the indie- electronic- dance outfits that are making waves today. It's the definition of a classic, and you don't have to have a preference to any sort of genre it touches on to love it. I'll shut up now because I've ranted enough about it on another entry, but if these rants haven't convinced you to listen to it (if you haven't already), then you're just being stubborn, ya stubborn fool.

 2. Regurgitator- Unit (1997)

With the success of Tu Plang still fresh in their minds, when Unit came out, the various musical industry institutions had a field day. I was loving it, and in my 12 year old head, had decided that the best thing to ever exist and that ever would exist was Regurgitator, and that Quan Yeomans was of course going to marry me when I also became a rock star. While I was not old enough to actually purchase this album, having an R rated sticker firmly over the simple yet award winning cover, I did get a friend to tape my favourites off it (I don’t know WHY I didn’t just ask for the whole thing, kids those days), and I pretty much wrecked the tape with listens. The electrofizz slap in the face of songs such as "Black Bugs", "I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff", the Prince-y "!*", and their biggest hit, "Polyester Girl" harking back to synthical 80’s times, fit oddly perfectly amongst pure raw punkrock bliss of "World Of Sleaze", "Modern Life", and combines both in "Everyday Formula". 
There’s plenty of cheek with "I Will Like Your Asshole" and "I Piss Alone" (reminding us that they are, still, the 'Gurge), and then it all just comes together in a magnificent, opulent symphony called "Just Another Beautiful Story". Who knew a band who wrote about s-ing d’s and fortune cookies could touch on existentialism and philosophy in such a beautiful way while still retaining their characteristic style? The joke was on them though;while I loved '…Art', from 'Eduardo and Rodriguez Wage War on T-Wrecks' onwards, they lost their direction and freshness somewhat, and I sing along to the title track of this album with full awareness of it's irony.


 
 
3. Augie March - Sunset Studies (2000)


Augie March is a great example of an exceptional band gone wrong. It's not that they're particularly terrible now, but the level of excellence their later catalogue exudes is a pittance compared to the mind-blowing brilliance of their debut album. It's experimental, avant garde, delicate, shoegazey, folksy, pop, and all interesting and unique at every step of the album's journey. Glenn Richard's vocals are (as they remain), magnificent and eclectic, keeping it delicate where appropriate and then belting out powerful strong where necessary. His complex vocals fit perfectly his even more complex and intricate lyrics, and one of Augie March's continuing strengths is their poetry, despite their decline from (practically) perfection. There are stories of melancholy, hope, reflection, and regret, all with a very poetically Australian undercurrent, and like the vocals, the music reflects the intricacy of the verses.
 
It's an album with so much staying power; each listen reveals a new thought, element, layer of emotion. After a plethora of storytelling and emotional releases, my favourite moment is its final explosion of crescendos and
 descents in "Owen's Lament".
Glenn even admits himself that the band's first two albums (second being 'Strange Bird') are much better than their last two, so I don't feel bad for suggesting that something went wrong in their progression as an evolving central Australian act. Things got more commercial, simple, and much, much less interesting or sensually pleasing, with 'Moo You Bloody Choir' and 'Watch Me Disappear'. I was glad that they gained the commercial and critical recognition they deserved by taking out the number 1 spot of 2006's Triple J Hottest 100 with "One Crowded Hour", but oh boy they can write better songs than that. Or can they? Maybe the excellence of the first album just cannot be followed up as there is nowhere to go BUT down.


 4. Jebediah- Of Someday Shambles (1999)
I was in grade 9, and my friend and I would repeatedly listen to this album (along with Bodyjar's 'How it Works') recorded dodgily on cassette in appalling quality. But every time we put it on it and heard the opening chords of "Did you Really" it was the same level of excitement we'd always get. Each song is pop perfection, and as we tried in vain to decipher the lyrics, we discovered them to be clever, raw, and real, although we had a bit of growing up to do before we could relate to some of the themes. This album is a genuine, sweet sign of the band maturing, and if you ask me, the band at their peak, striking gold with "Animal" and "Feet Touch the Ground". There are still songs that maintain those alt-punk stylings, such as "Slot Car Racing" and "Trapdoor", but also beautiful songs of love and emotion, e.g. "Love at Last", and "Skin". My favourite part is the closer (this is becoming a trend), "Run of the Company" which gets a little complex and out of the box, even combining brass and strings to create the ultimate climax. This song alone suggested to me that Jebediah were more than a simple alternative rock band,
and predicted frontman Kevin Mitchell's later move into lyrical folk pop. Years later I'm still excited to hear this
 album and it is still solid and emotive. It's great that after his folk foray with Bob Evans, Kevin has brought the gang together to play that rocking gritty style they still excel at.

5. You Am I - Hourly Daily (1996)
Where Unit was Rergurgitator's tribute to 80's electropunk, Hourly Daily was You Am I’s tribute to 60’s pop and Beatles-eque sound. This album came out around the same time as Regurgitator's Tu Plang, and both albums dominated the Aria awards at the time, and I remember cheering You Am I on the whole time (not yet understanding the greatness of The Gurge). I became enamoured by the singles on this album, but only bought the actual album over a decade later, because I was a weird child, with no money. It is a classic along with Hi Fi Way, another standout You Am I album, but this one resonates with me the most as it signifies the time I absolutely fell in love with You Am I. Even then, I could tell the lyrics were something very special and intricate, and they still stand up today... I love the poignancy of songs such as the title track, Heavy Comfort, and Tuesday (but what was he doing in the bathtub!!), and cutesiness of Soldiers, Mr Milk, and Good Morning, three of their best released singles of their catalogue. Not to mention the way-too-fucking-cutesiness of the hidden track Forget It Sister. In my opinion, this album is one of Australia's best live and recorded artists at their sweetest. Strangely however, I didn't want to marry Tim Rogers then, despite his offer of custard trays and dinner at the pier. I think it may have been the chin scruff. 
 

6. Spiderbait - Grand Slam (1999)
Spiderbait was another great Australian band that followed in similar footsteps to Regurgitator... from very pop/punk beginnings, they struck mainstream appeal with electropop songs such as "Calypso" and "Glockenpop". The bands' similarities didn't end with the music- Janet Weiss of Spiderbait ended up shacking up with Quan (biatch!) resulting in the sugary pop punk collaboration album Happyland (good, but not a contender unfortunately). Grand Slam seemed to be influenced quite a bit by this direction, as it was a wonderfully effective combination of raw punk rock directed mostly by singer/drummer Kram (see "Cracker", the brilliant "Shazam!" and "King of the Northern"), and happy go lucky electropop and fuzz rock directed mostly by Janet ("Glockenpop", the Jackson 5 homage "Stevie", and "Dinnertime"). Amidst the volume of these styles, there are moments that venture off the usual path, such as the acoustic melody of "By the Time I Get To Howlong" and rather late 80's (almost Go-Betweens-esque??) style of "Jellybean Drifter". The album in its entirety is quite an eclectic collection, which flows surprisingly well. As a young teenager I enjoyed every moment of the album, every change of pace, even the instrumental "Tallygaroopna", and when rediscovering it recently I found it had not lost any of its spark and pleasantries. Unfortunately, while still a great band, in following suit to the 'Gurge, the 'Bait's later catalogue lost the creativity of their earlier work, and unfortunately their good stuff has become completely overshadowed by their "Black Betty" cover. 

7. Gerling- When Young Terrorists Chase the Sun (2001)
Another album I've already mentioned in this blog! Soooo original. Anywho, I'm sure that Gerling's first album, Children of Telepathic Experiences, will make many people's best of list, but this one is my personal favourite, and the first Gerling thing I decided to purchase. This album has some of Gerling's most commercial moments; "Dust Me Selecta", which is so commercial I wasn't even sure it was Gerling; Kylie Minogue lending her vocals to "G House Project"; "High Jackers Manual" being sold to channel 10 for one of their stupid blue dot commercials. So far I'm not selling it.. but the difference between something else going commercial and Gerling going commercial, is that Gerling is still releasing really good music. They are all top tunes that managed to give Gerling a leg up and helped them trade in their backpacks for briefcases (although I kinda missed the backpacks). And there really is no dull moment on this album; it's all so much light hearted, brilliant fun, which totally transferred on stage, during that period when I saw them about 3 times in 12 months. And as previously mentioned, their most obscure moment is kind of their best, during "Windmills" and "Birdbaths", which I heard was originally written for Björk to sing. Unfortunately they were just not commercial enough for that one.
   
8. Cut Copy- Bright Like Neon Love (2004)
Cut Copy are now MEGA popular as one of Australia's most loved dance music slash Joy Division tribute bands. I've had an odd time of tracking their journey, as they appeared to morph into a 'lets do the same song but call it a different name' type of deal with 2008's 'In Ghost Colours', then got back on the creative bandwagon with their latest 'Zonoscope', while still very much imitating the 70's and 80's new wave and disco stylings they are known for. Their 2004 debut however, pulls no punches, and at the time of first listen, it was quite a refreshing jaunt into electronic dance. As a whole it's an upbeat, danceable mix of catchy tracks which flow on from beginning to end without the energy fading an inch. Unlike their later albums, most of the songs don't follow a verse-chorus-verse lyrical pattern, leaving the emphasis very much on the music. There are moments of pure infectious electropop such as the "Saturdays", "Future" and "Time Stands Still", at other times a fusion of guitar driven rock with driving dance beats, e.g. "The Twilight" and "Bright Neon Payphone". It's my favourite of theirs, and a favourite dance album, especially suitable while getting ready for a night out (typically to a place that will not be playing anything like Cut Copy on the dancefloor) :(.   *cue noise that signifies the end of a cassette tape*


9. Sarah Blasko- What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have (2006)
When Sarah Blasko put out her critically acclaimed debut 'The Overture and the Underscore' in 2004, I took notice but hadn't decided how I felt about her at the time. She had a lovely strong voice accompanying effective pop songs with lyrical quality, but I wasn't in love with them. Then she released 'What the Sea Wants...' and I fell hard in love with it. There was something much darker and haunting about the tunes, her airy vocals, and the subject matter, which really grabbed me, and it all came together for me. The album is an immaculately produced sonic journey utilizing synth, at times eerie piano (especially in mega hit "{Explain}"), haunting harmonies, and attractive guitar licks, and going that one step further than her debut album, to deliver something much more personal, conceptual and creative. From the opening track "For You", which fittingly accompanied me across the sea on my own journey to find love, through the environmental undertones of "The Garden's End" and "{Explain}", to Sarah's own gospel, "Showstopper", nothing is amiss or out of place, and brings out the best in Sarah's uniquely gorgeous voice. Sarah is second perhaps only to indie pop queen Sia, in the fight to be Australia's Björk. That is, the fight that is going on in my head anyway. It's pretty entertaining.

10. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call (1997)

Ahh finally! Someone my parents listened to is in my list. I was feeling a bit young about my choices but Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds scrape through, a classic Australian icon. I grew up around his music somewhat, but it was one of his least heavy albums that really got to me. Someone I knew once described "The Boatman's Call" as Nick's "Sea Change", which I thought was a bit rude considering it was released way before Beck's album was. Nevertheless, it could definitely be seen as a significant departure from Nick's earlier work, as most of the album is a work of slow-paced, lush, beautiful piano and string works, detailing stories of love, lament, hope and loss, in Nick's typically exquisite poetry. It's the type of album that goes achingly well after a break up, a night of drinking, a lonely Sunday afternoon, or a boring train ride to work. What better to sing/cry along to than "People Ain't No Good" during moments of trying frustration (e.g. at work), "Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere" during times of relationship turmoil, and "Far From Me" during moments of unbearable, unwanted separation between yourself and a loved one. There are some beautiful love songs too, of course being the opener "Into My Arms", and the hopefully confused "(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For". It's worth being in the right mood for it, but when you are, it's amazing.

............

Because I've surely not waffled on enough- here's a top 10-20, because I would really like to tip my hat off to those australian albums that I love dearly but didn't make it into my top 10 list.

In no particular order:

Alex Lloyd - Black the Sun. Oh BOY was I obsessed with this one. Oh BOY did he go downhill after this one.

The Vines- Highly Evolved. Beatlesy rock bliss.

Sleepy Jackson - Lovers. Luke Steele is basically a genius.

The Loved Ones - Magic Box. YAY SOMETHING ELSE OLDISH. Classic 60s.

Sia - Some People Have Real Problems. COMPETING FOR AUSTRALIA'S ANSWER TO BJÖRK??

Custard - We Have the Technology. Dave McCormack is also a genius.

The Whitlams- Eternal Nightcap. Has kind of dated a little too much to be in my top 10, sorry Tim (I'm sure he's upset).

Friendly - Akimbo. Yeah that's right, that DJ that disappeared forever. It was damn ridiculous stuff and I f**king loved it.

Machine Gun Fellatio- Bring It On. Just too rude for a respectable girl to have in her top 10.

Gotye - Like Drawing Blood. Perfect except for the cheese at the end.

Looking over at this list, it is very 90's- 00's. Which is awfully sad. This is because while I have great love for The Go-Betweens, Paul Kelly, The Easybeats, The Church, The Saints, Hoodoo Gurus and other 60's-80's Australian bands, I don't actually own any of their albums! Loads of singles/ best of's, and none of their seminal works. I am a terrible music fan for this, and thus am now inspired to collect these pronto. Watch out West End Club record fair, I'm coming at you next time, early, with a wad of cash.