I heard the news today, oh boy...

At 7.30am (AEST), Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by the Los Angeles coroner, after what appears to have been complications following a cardiac arrest.

It is hard to describe the loss that the music world feels on this historic day. Very few artists have revolutionised music in the way that Michael did, and his influence has permeated through every facet of music since his humble beginnings with the Jackson 5 during the glory days of Motown.

Having sold over 50 million records in the 1980's alone, MJ was not only one of the most prolific artists of all time but one of the most idolised. He transcended what it was to be a musician and broadened the boundaries of stardom, his progressive dancing setting a new standard in music videos and his music was, and in many minds will always be, the epitome of pop music. And while the debate between whether Off the Wall is a better album than Thriller will continue for generations to come, his claim in creating two of the most perfect records is only part of his legacy.

A generation of musicians, whether fronting a hardcore band, trying to make it as an MC or learning acoustic guitar are indebted to Michael as he created a love of music for so many people. In sharing with them the gift of his music he influenced and inspired people across the world, a seed the world is now reaping a generation later, as we now enjoy a generation of musicians who cite Michael Jackson as a primary reason for their success.

If there is any justice in this world, the crass, debasing accusations against him that have lowered his public status in the past decade will be forgotten, as will the pointless and inconsequential controversy over his skin colour and his merits as a father. Michael will be remembered by those who loved him as the biggest superstar of the 20th century, the moonwalking, invincible man who gave us some of most beautiful music ever created.

Personally, Michael was with me throughout the first ten years of my life. Growing up with older siblings i fauned over their copies of Bad and Dangerous, I remember my sister making me watch the Thriller video on 'Rage' on a Saturday morning. I was mesmerised. His ability to move was unlike anything i'd ever seen before and it was a truly significant moment in my musical awakening. When i was 14 i bought a second-hand copy of Off the Wall and subsequently used Rock With You on every mix-tape i made for a girl in the next four years. I believe his music was so universally loved simply because it was life-affirming, and he injected his positive, utterly optimistic view of the world into every one of his songs.

I realise my own imposition that it is impossible to give worthy credit to such a man through this medium, his effect on the history of music is mammoth and cannot adequately be expressed in brevity. It is clear however that today the world lost a beautiful man and a musician who has few rivals. Like Lennon, Elvis and Cobain before him, he was taken from this world unexpectedly and prematurely, but his legacy will live as long as his music does.

Rest in Peace,
The King of Pop
1958 - 2009

Some of Australia's Best Work

You see the beauty in having a blog is that it allows a person to make incredibly subjective comments and state them as fact. So without further ado, (clears throat) The Whitlams are the most under rated and under appreciated group in Australia.

As I have mentioned though, this might be a slightly bias opinion because I hold a very personal connection with The Whitlams, they were my introduction to music. I have vague memories from my childhood, flashes really, of sitting in the passenger seat of my brother's midnight blue '93 Prelude, driving around South Yarra with Triple J on the radio.

These memories are some of the happiest I have, my brother made me feel cool and grown up, he would let me do all the things my mum wouldn't let me do: drinking chocolate milkshakes, eating as much McDonalds as i possibly could and listening to songs with swearing in them. And whilst my age prevented me from consciously knowing and singing along to many of the songs that my brother loved, one song stuck with me like no other had before.

This song in many ways was my musical awakening, had grown up on The Beatles and U2, but somehow I knew this song was different. It was vibrant and obtrusive and everything about it was strange to me; the vocal delivery, the chord progression, and even the piano melody played inside my head, sound tracking my many road trips around Melbourne with my brother.

This song was No Aphrodisiac, a song that would go on to win the 1997 Triple J Hottest 100. Now before I go further, I believe it is important to note that I was 9 years old at the time, and I'm pretty sure I didn't even know what an erection was, let alone something someone would take to get one...but the pure phonetics of word affected me and I fell in love with the song's lyrical style. It was melancholy but also contemplative, passionate but yet with hints of anguish and despondency at a life of loneliness and sexual frustration.

It catapulted the pub band from their residency at the Sandringham Hotel to gigs around Australia, with their album, Eternal Nightcap earning them plaudits at the 1998 Aria Awards. What it got me was a copy of the Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 5 on double-tape from my brother that Christmas. This present would do extraordinary things to my early musical development, introducing me to bands that to this day are personal favourites of mine, including The Verve, Blur, Blink 182, Ben Folds (Five) and of course Radiohead.

These two tapes were the only thing that got me through a disgustingly boring road trip through Tasmania with my parents, as I listened to the aforementioned classics on repeat and tried to grasp the shocking nature of Marilyn Manson and The Prodigy. I remember thinking to myself that I didn't like the man screaming on that song Monkey Wrench.

But more than anything it was Track 1 on Side A that hypnotised me, the lyric, "I'll be asleep at my brother's house" reminded me of my regular sleep overs in South Yarra, and the song quickly became a symbol of my growing independence. For once I was listening to my own music as opposed to whatever my parents had selected, and whilst I relished our sing-alongs to ABBA, there was a raw and new sense of adulthood that came with having my own walkman and music that my parents were not privy to.

The overwhelming commercial success and media interest The Whitlams received for the chart-topping single and its album were never to be replicated again, spiking briefly once more, two years later upon the release of their controversial plea against the government's radical gambling regulations, Blow up the Pokies. This cry is The Whitlams at their most impassioned and most articulate, damning a government that allowed the financial destruction of its people for profit, as Tim mourns, "Cause they're taking the food off your table, so they can say that the trains run on time." To this day it remains one of Australia's most culturally relative songs, sitting along side The Oils's Beds are Burning and The Finger's Like a Dog.

These songs illustrate and epitomise the eclectic brilliance of the leader and sole survivor of the original lineup of The Whitlams. Tim Freedman's talent as a song-writer and musician is a result of his personal connection to the subject of each of his songs, and it is obvious that there is a story behind every one of them. Whether it be told in the first person like No Aphrodisiac and his ode to an old girlfriend and her city, Melbourne or in the third person like Blow up the Pokies and the polka jangly-pop mess of You Sound Like Louis Burdett; Tim Freedman is a storyteller, he wraps his songs in vivid imagery and his characters absorb his listener into the narrative. He resonates with the state of the nation like other great raconteurs gone-by, commenting on both its innate beauty and the despair of its people, a quality that results in a deeply personal feel in his songs but also a larger and much broader appeal.

The Whitlams, like all of the great storytellers in music including the likes of Springsteen and Neil Young, have no defining or all-encompassing album (Eternal Nightcap if i had to choose) because their catalogue is essentially a journey through Tim Freedman's life. More than anything it is Tim Freedman's ability to find the personal in the general and beauty in the mundane that has led me to associate and characterise many important times in my life with the songs of The Whitlams, a quality in their music that I believe epitomises the importance of their contribution to Australian music.

Now its probably time I got to the point in this self-indulgent rant, The Whitlams launched my 11-year campaign to explore as much music as possible, one that continues to this day in all of its money-draining glory. In all honesty I have probably spent more money on them than I have on any other band, and considering i recently forked out a good $300 for a Simon & Garfunkel ticket, that's a pretty big call; especially considering a 3-hour booze-fest with The Whitlams at The Corner Hotel sets you back around 35 bucks.

On the 7th of August, I shall be seeing The Whitlams for the 8th time, not that I'm some crazy obsessive or anything, I just think that for the cost of a few jugs of Mountain Goat, a 3 hour set from a great Aussie band is pretty damn good value. But there's one problem, in the roughly 24 hours that i have spent watching The Whitlams perform live, i have never heard them play my favourite song. This really, really, really shits me. And it's not as if my favourite song is a dud, it was the second single from their album Torch the Moon and peaked at #35 on the Aria Charts, so I'm guessing a few other people in Australia must like it as well.

Best Work is a lovelorn paean to the broken-hearted; and it is pulled off with delicacy and heart-crushing honesty that lifts it above most of the pseudo-break-up songs that are produced. There is a pain in his voice that tells you Tim has lived each one of his words as he admits to his ex-lover, "i still don't wanna know if you're moving on." So while this song treads a well-worn path of the man as a post-relationship trauma victim, Tim manages to evade the usual clichés through the use of his personal idiosyncrasies to bring originality and honesty to his subject matter, confiding, "I never dreamed about you, when we were never far apart, and now that i'm without you, you're here all through the night." But despite the gorgeous sentiment of Best Work, Tim has left it off all of his set lists and drunken encores I have ever witnessed, I do not know if this is just some random coincidence in omissions or if there is a reason for this decision, but i am definitely hoping for the former.

What a way to ask for a favour huh...(awkward laugh) So here is my official request for The Whitlams to play my favourite song when i see them in August. So with a bit of luck, the curse stops here.

Rapper's Delight

DJ Shadow explained on his seminal album Endtroducing, "Why Hip-Hop sucks in '96."
However 2 years in the bussiness is a mighty long time and the Jonathan Levine film, The Wackness shows that Hip-Hop definitely did not suck in '94.

Set in urban New York, the film is an obscure coming of age story following loner and pot-dealer Luke Shapiro through his Summer after graduation, the development of his first real friendship, and his first love. With edgy, unique direction and strangely endearing character development; the film's poetic charm is aided by brilliant acting and an inspiring soundtrack.

Weaving through many of the film's sub-plots, including Luke's escapism from his parents and his romantic pursuit of Stephanie, the film's soundtrack is a showcase of everything there was to love about hip-hop in the early 1990's. From the emergence of Notorious B.I.G to Faith Evans and A Tribe Called Quest, the soundtrack represents the connection between this music and its people, who treated it as life philosophy.

Now that might sound very wanky of me, but the music in The Wackness perfectly encapsulates the naive and innocent journey the protagonist Luke goes through in discovering himself. The music of Ice Cube and LL Cool J was part of a modest hip-hop culture where thier insignificance in the industry next to the grunge heavyweights of the day accentuated the personal nature of their music. Their music was cathartic for the communities they were a part of, the communities that they were writing about and the people who listened to this music knew that the people themselves and their lyrics were not far removed from their own lives.

This connection hip-hop held in society in the early 1990's was not contaminated by the aesthetically excessive and superfluously glorified culture that would consume it in the later half of the decade as the successes of Biggie and Tupac transformed the sub-culture into a stratosphere.

The growing sub-culture is beautifully portrayed through The Wackness, as almost the mirror image or doppelgänger to Luke - without pretensiousness, without arrogance and without the fasçade of worldly wisdom. Just like Luke, the hip-hop culture in '94 was still learning about itself and still accepting what it is, and what its purpose in the world is. This fascinating use of music through out the film is something that sets it apart from the 'indie film with a heart' niche that is becoming so very populated recently; and the way that both the film and its music are beautifully characterised as modest and undeveloped is what makes this quirky coming of age story all the more moving and entertaining.

The Wackness - A
The Wackness OST - A+

Cooler Weather Ahead

After impressing the musos in London and New York for the past few years, our forgotten homespun talent Daniel Merriweather is on the verge of becoming the coolest dude on the planet. The padawan learner of Mr.Mark Ronson who helped him hit the Top 10 last year with the souled out version of The Smiths's Stop Me (if you've heard this one before), Daniel is now about to release his debut solo album Love & War.

Earning his scout badges on the road for the last 18 months with Ronson and The Dap-Kings, which saw him return to our shows last December briefly on the haunted Global Gathering tour, Daniel returned to the studio early this year to put the final touches on what is tipped to be the debut record of the year. Speaking of his influence of The Dap-Kings and their even dapper frontman, Daniel admits, "I brought them a whole bunch of songs that they wouldn’t naturally play on and their amazing musicianship really helped those songs evolve..."

Fusing funk and soul with his natural pop sensibility, Love & War, which is on Ronson's own Allido label, features a collaboration with Adele, Water and a Flame and the first single Change, which is already getting heavy rotation on Triple J. Release date is May 25th in the U.K and hopefully we'll be getting one close to that because this guy is going to be cooler than The Simpsons in 1994.

P.S - keep your ear out for two classic covers:
Golden Skans - Klaxons
You Don’t Know What Love Is - The White Stripes

No Forthcoming Story

Yesterday i lost one of my earliest musical influences. In the same classes at high school, the boisterous and rambunctious Nick Buttifant, known affectionately as Butterz, was as inspiring as he was determined. Defiantly suffocated by the conservatism of our private boys school, he found solace in music and our bond was quickly formed. As a musician and a music critic, we did not always see eye-to-eye, (as we shouldn't) but his passion and talent for his craft, both as a guitarist and songwriter was evident, and impossible not to respect. Through Myspace, both of his bands, Forthcoming and later Passendale found legions of fans who followed his constant touring schedule leaving an everlasting legacy to the amount of people whom he touched through his personality and music.

Charismatic, ambitious and fiercely competitive, Nick's self-promotion of his bands earned them gigs and well earned praise, bringing their blend of punk/pop/rock to the Espy, Ding Dong Lounge, Revolver and many other venues around Melbourne and Australia. Nick's self-assurance was infectious and when he told you that his band were "going to be huge", you didn't doubt him, you couldn't, because in his mind he could do anything. One of the strongest and most dedicated people i've ever known, Nick lived for the music he played and the people he played to.

Sadly, the turning of the world was too much for him, and this lovable and gifted man took his own life, ending the story of a person who had so many more chapters to write for himself. What I found today was a promo-paper I wrote for him and his band Forthcoming as they were about to release their first EP. We were the ripe old age of 15 and i still remember the excitement and happiness on the boy's face when he saw that i had (illegally) posted more than 400 of these promotions around the school and train station urging people to buy their CD. So out of respect for someone who i held dear as an accomplished musician and as a loyal friend, here is one of my first ever pieces of music writing, dedicated to a man who i will never forget telling me that we were going to be the best in the world at what we do...Rest In Peace Nick, i'll miss you mate.




Nick Buttifant, Liam Jenkins and Michael Landers, who make up the St. Kevin’s contingent of Forthcoming have had to put up with a lot of doubters in their time, a lot of nay-sayers who have told them at various times that they didn’t have what it takes to make it in this savagely competitive music industry. Now in their final year at school, this three-year-old garage outfit have finally got their act together and are ready to take on the world, one doubter at a time.

Produced at the prominent Studio 52 here in Melbourne which has borne such artists as Jet, Missy Higgins and Alex Lloyd, Forthcoming have transformed their trademark scratchy garage sound into a solid, clean, polished six-track EP, which aims to put the heart back into garage Rock ‘n’ Roll. The band’s post-grunge structures are complimented perfectly by riffs obviously influenced by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Metallica while reaching the minds of listeners through Nick’s thoughtful and often damning lyrics.

Pop/Rock opener ‘One Boys Life’ jumps along, and with the aid of Jules Zuliani’s persistent drumming, pounds away at the narrative lyrics that make this sing-a-long anthem as catchy as it is up-lifting. ‘Forthcoming Story’ an older song by the band has become an almost biographical introduction to their young rock and roll lives as Nick sings with an epic notion of ambition in his voice, ‘this is the forthcoming story…’ as a sonic crash of guitars proceeds to blow the nostalgia-lined chorus away. EP standout, “Tonight’s the Night’ showcases the boys’ range of musical influences as they toy with the post-Nirvana Seattle music scene contrast of louder metal and finger-plucking effects to enhance a guitar-solo Slash himself would be proud of. Though the maturity of Forthcoming is not seen through their catchy hooks and metal riffs but in the thought-provoking lyrics that speak not only of the boys’ life experiences but grapple with issues in a way that far outstrips their years. Most notably seen in ballad/rocker ‘Don’t Push Me Away’, Nick’s piano accompanying a more melancholic side of Forthcoming which serves to highlight their musical diversity and growth from a young garage band to an important, serious band on Melbourne’s local music scene.

Forthcoming’s debut EP succeeds in expanding their sound while also polishing their catchy garage tunes to a point where any doubter can feel free to adjust their hair in the reflection. An extremely professional and mature record, Forthcoming have grown up and for such a hard-working and determined band the taste in their mouths must be oh so sweet.

For Karz

One music critic, who shall remain nameless, recently said that Lady Gaga is quote unquote, The Future Of Pop Music. Personally, and i think i speak on behalf of the poker playing community of the world when i say this, Lady Gaga is the future of everything shit in the music industry. This observation aside, i would rather give this honour to a lady much more deserving of the title. My pick of the week, flavour of the month, one to watch and every other journalistic cliché you can think of is Sia Furler. Some People Have Real Problems, released in January has already gathered the Chinese whispers kind of hype achieved two years ago by Miss Leslie Feist. And if there is any justice in the music world, Sia will be Miss 2009. She has created a unique and refreshing blend of pop and soul music and her voice has an amazingly unexpected range that can at times have hairs on end with tingles down your back.


Depth and intensity are the two things that set this girl apart from the rest of her whispy, female singer-songwriter clan. Sia well and truly wears her heart on her sleeve, to the point that at times when she sings you think it might slide off. (sorry for the gross mental image there...) Emotionally intense, her lyrics are as cathartic as they are intelligent but are by no means weepy or overblown. Her accomplishment lies in her subtly, these are her dark little thoughts, insecure and brash, regretful and worried; sung in a voice that is as vulnerable as it is softly delicate. There is an attachment to the words as she sings them, as if you can almost hear her insecurities as she confides in you, worried about what you will think of her.


It is easy to see Sia's influences, Death by Chocolate echoes the early greatness of Miss Keys, as Lullaby does Miss Norah Jones, while one can see the song writing shimmer of Tori Amos weaving throughout the entire album. But comparing Sia to these renowned mistresses of pop fails to stress the originality of this album, something that raises it above the recent efforts by most, if not all of the above mentioned artists. Sia is by no means a cover-artist, the depth of her lyrics showing a woman who has matured long before an LP has been put to her name.

The production on the album is lush, but never outplays her voice with the majestic, sweeping strings and minimal percussion, obviously an influence left over from her time spent collaborating with space-pop maestros Zero 7 and trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack. The track The Girl You Lost to Cocaine jumps along with the same amount of nervous energy as the drug itself while Beautiful Calm Driving is an epic serenade that floats like a crisp night wind coming in through the window of your car. The cleverest moment is provided on Academia, a track with welcome guest vocals by Beck that over analyses the breakdown a relationship using academic equations:


"But to you I’m just a novel that you wish you’d never wrote

I’m greater than x and lesser than y,

so why is it that I still can’t catch your eye?

a cryptic crossword, a song I’ve never heard

While I sit here drawing circles I’m afraid of being hurt"


The songs are dense and complex, with several listens needed to fully appreciate their unique blend of sarcasm, melancholy and disturbing honesty. But they are also immediately catchy and memorable; a pretty rare quality these days that gives the album Van Morrison-like longevity. The Australian born lass has definitely found her direction in adult contemporary pop music, and while she may have Feist for competition it's a promising sign that she didn't spend her album telling us that she knows how to count to four.


A

The 2008 round up

So after receiving an equal amount of praise and rocks thrown at me this time last year for my 2007 round up, why wouldn't i take the chance again to piss off some of you with my terrible choices and inspire others to listen to what i think has been the best 25 albums this year. As the Chemical Brothers once said girls and boys...Here We Go!

25. Little Red - Listen To Little Red

I'm pretty sure this album was on the jukebox in that Happy Days diner Fonzie used to always hang out at. Unashamedly pastiche, these guys avoid being turned into a joke by their ability to put a heartwarming smile on every face in the crowd and get you tappin' those toes like Buddy Holly would've wanted you to. Johnny B (very) Goode.
Key Track: Misty Eyes

24. Children Collide - The Long Now
The debut album from these Aussie alternative rockers nearly make it cool to wear flannel shirts again. Nearly. Combining an outer-space theme with a punk/grunge aesthetic, Children Collide deliver the goods with just plain old fashioned rock 'n' roll, with catchy melodies that will stick with you like herpes. Lyrics about distant planets and meteors have never had such romanticism and their songs are amazingly eclective for a debut, experimenting with different sounds, from dizzying 2 minute punk rockers to stadium anthems. Fun for the whole family.
Key Track: Farewell Rocketship

23. Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
The one thing that sets this young woman apart from the plethora of other indie-folk beat poets is her stupidly high IQ. Taking pages from the gospels of The Decemberists and Fionn Regan, Alas, I Cannot Swim is so immersed in nuance and dense beauty that it is near impossible to take it all in at once. But patience is rewarded, as her lofty Kate Bush-like voice tells of the million and one skeletons in her closet in the most intelligent style since Conor Oberst.
Key Track: My Manic & I

22. Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
The latest diamond from the quarries of the seemingly endless Canadian music scene, TCP impressed with their debut mini-album A Lesson In Crime but fell short of the greatness of their two most obvious influences, The Strokes and Bloc Party. Thankfully they found 4th gear on their first full-length LP and it shines the brightest due to its brevity. This might be an odd achievement for a band to put on its mantle at home but the catchiness and quirks of the songs come and pass through your headphones without ever out-staying their welcome. A lovely surprise considering the amount of self-indulgent assholes making music these days who have never heard of the word 'edit.' The album may have a similar sound radiating through-out but hey! that's just cause it's obvious each member of the band has listened to Is This It? a billion times, escaping punishment by keeping their entire album under 30 minutes.
Key Track: Tessellate

21. Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

Orchestral hip-hop anyone? Atmosphere confirm their importance in the genre with their most outwardly focused record to date. Tired of rapping about his own life, Brother Ali paints various portraits of the hard lives of those struggling to get by. The LP can almost be seen as a concept album, a homage to the less fortunate, with the socially important lyrics balanced by funky and creative sampling. The album also confirms that there really isn't anything cooler in hip-hop than rapping over a string section.

Key Track: Puppets

20. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Yeh. look. Good album. Mercury Prize worthy though? Hmm, something doesn't sit right with that one. Nevertheless, this is probably one of the best in that vague 'adult contemporary' genre that has sprung up in the last few years. It is however one of those double-edged swords that nobody likes because the downfall of that genre is that it is more boring than Miley Cyrus's underwear. Elbow is at its best when they are pushing the boundaries of conventional pop/rock music, creating unique sounds and structures that make me hope that The Panics are taking notes.
Key Track: Dead Heat: One Day Like This vs. Grounds For Divorce

19. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Yes, i realise i took them to the cleaners earlier this year. But i was right wasn't i? They sucked live. Didn't they? Admit it. Alright whatever, you still gotta hand it to them for coming up with some disgustingly catchy tunes on a debut effort. Over-rated and over-played as they were, they did show promise for the future. Is it possible to ban them from the radio?
Key Track: Weekend Wars

18. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky, the Hot Chip Family! Music's biggest pack of weirdos return after the glorious dance/pop album The Warning with an even more left-field floor filler. Made in The Dark offers many surprises and even more melodic hooks as the boys push the definition of 'pop music' to the limits of space disco and back again. In a league of their own with no contemporaries, all hail the captains of one of the most progressive ships in the galaxy.
Key Track: Ready For The Floor

17. The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement

Well it wouldn't be a top 25 albums list without an appearance from Mr Alex Turner would it? Turning out his third #1 album in 3 years, the arctic monkey teams up with his buddy from The Rascals, Miles Kane and they escape to the South of France to write this orchestral, brooding and eloquent album. At first sounding like a series of possible James Bond themes, the album's dark intricacies are lured out on further listens and contains what possibly could be Turner's finest moment. Side-Projects should not be this captivating.
Key Track: My Mistakes Were Made For You

16. Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust (With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly)
I must say i am bias because i have been scarred forever by this band. If i had been reviewing this CD last year it would have said it was mind-blowing, but after their life changing set at Splendour in the Grass earlier this year, listening to their music through my shitty Sony speakers just does not do the experience justice. And that is precisely what Sigur Rós is, an experience, like Pink Floyd back in the days of your dad wearing tie-dye ponchos; this band is an acid-tripping, mind-altering exploration of the soul. Wow i just sounded like an NME hack didn't I? I should stop now. Put simply, their music is as perfect as Mozart's, and I'm pretty sure if you analyzed it closely enough it would be just as mathematically precise. Genius amplified.
Key Track: Goobledigook

15. Santogold - (Self-Titled)
Following in a long line of party albums that started with the naughtiness of Licensed To Ill by The Beastie Boys back when i was in nappies, Santogold uses her mentor Diplo to create the soundtrack to every party in 2008 had by someone in between the ages 17 - 25. In keeping with his Afro-beat fetish that orgasmed with Bondo-De-Role, Diplo triumphs behind the decks laying the alley-oop for Santogold to dunk like Jordan back in the 90's. Combining afro-beat and hip-hop, Santogold has an album that is addictive as crack and a reputation that is soaring with the likes of M.I.A.
Key Track: Creator

14. Josh Pyke - Chimney's A'Fire
Sending hearts a flutter with his boy-next-door charm on his debut Memories and Dust, Joshy (as his mum calls him) returns to satisfy society's recent tizzy infatuation with pop/folk music. Balancing his string swept arrangements around his multi-layered melancholic voice, Josh story-tells and serenades effortlessly, remaining proof that all you need to get into a woman's underwear these days is an acoustic guitar and a soulful, sensitive voice box.
Key Track: New Year's Song

13. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

A party jukebox on cocaine. On Night Ripper, Gilles made his mark on the scene, this year's Feed The Animals blew his own genre out of the proverbial water and onto the nearest dance floor. He is every pop-culture fiend's wet dream mashing everything from Snoop Dogg and Westlife to Enya and 50 Cent. Chaotic is the understatement here as Girl Talk runs through snap shots of the last 60 years of music in under one hour. It will make you wonder how you partied before you heard of him.

Key Track: Shut The Club Down

12. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
The kings of melancholy return with a set that confirms their place among the indie-elite. Experimental production from guitarist Chris Walla gives the standard DCFC themes of love-loss and despair a new and unexpected twist, the eight and a half minute song about stalking a girl being one such delight. Thankfully such new tastes do not take away from the quality of Gibbard's masterful lyrics, forever twisting his words into a labyrinth of meaning. Narrow Stairs, while not being the highlight of their career, maintains the band's significance for all of the sensitive souls out there that prioritise intelligent rock music over oxygen.
Key Track: Grapevine Fires

11. Adele - 19
She might not be as good as Amy Winehouse but she wipes the floor with Duffy. That pretty much where Adele fits into this musical hemisphere of 'music you can put on to impress a girl.' This album is an incredibly mature debut from a girl telling us about her world as a 19 year old girl and how becoming a woman sometimes is a pretty shit thing to go through. Production guest-spots by Mark Ronson help and a voice that rivals Ella Fitzgerald will mean that this beautifully heavy-set lass from London will be around for years to come.
Key Track: Best For Last

10. Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
The English-U2 didn't so much as make an amazing record this year, but rather did an amazing job at convincing everyone that they did. I'm starting to think Coldplay's PR manager is even more talented than Chris Martin. This album is great in relativity, that is to say it's better than their previous effort X & Y, but if we are to be honest with ourselves, it's not as good as everyone says. It has a few good tracks, including first single Violet Hill, but even the catchiness of the title track became grating on that iPod ad. And don't even get me started on their whoring off the French Revolution, I'm all about bands trying new directions and images, but what the fuck has a nerdy English rock band got to do with Robespierre and The Terror? I'm looking forward to when Coldplay just want to be Coldplay again.
Key Track: Strawberry Swing

9. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
Yes, I specifically placed it above Coldplay. How can the public diss this band so much while sucking Chris Martin's cock at the same time? Bad mental image? Good. You deserve it, because you've probably said bad words about Snow Patrol at one time or another and I'm guessing you've never even listened to one of their albums. Serves you right. These guys spent 8 long years in indie-purgatory before finally receiving critical acclaim (and a Mercury prize nomination) in 2004 for the amazing LP, Final Straw. They've done their time, and all it took one stupid, fricking song on Grey's Anatomy and radios decided to destroy them, dig up the corpse, and then all embrace necrophilia. Do you think Snow Patrol asked for their songs to be played 8 times an hour on radio? The answer is No. The truth is that the fickle nature of this industry ruins the reputation of hard working bands like these Glaswegians by saturating society with them until no one wants to see their faces anymore. And you know what, their album this year was actually better than Coldplay's, but no one listened to it. Shame.
Key Track: The Lightning Strike (Parts 1, 2 & 3)

8. Sia - Some People Have Real Problems
Totally original, totally catchy and totally smart. There's not much more we can ask for from this Australian song mistress. Nearly condemned to one-hit wonder status when a little show called Six Feet Under used her morbid song Breathe Me on the series finale - she will soon be famous for probably being our best up and coming songwriter with everyone from Christina Aguilera and Beck Hansen wanting a piece of Sia's pie. With a penchant for emotive and intelligent lyrics and a talent to carve melodious noises out of asbestos (if she had to), it seems this veteran of the industry is only just hitting her stride now, all i can say is thank god for late bloomers. Attention Miss Blasko, I think you have some competition...
Key Track: Soon We'll Be Found

7. Fleet Foxes - (Self-Titled)
A wood cabin at sunset in the middle of America's north-west wilderness. That is the feeling i get from this spectacular 1-part Simon and Garfunkel, 1-part Harvest-era Neil Young five-piece. Gorgeous harmonies over lush musicianship, Fleet Foxes provided the sleeper hit of the year with the skinny black jean wearers finally coming round to these bearded folk masters. Debut albums rarely sound so mature and accomplished.
Key Track: Blue Ridge Mountains

6. Cut/Copy - In Ghost Colours

Wow. Modular have really stepped up their game recently haven't they? Pnau, Ladyhawke, and these guys...the stargazing tripsters come good. Making the change from the come-down music for your Sunday morning to the night-club bangers that draw you to the d-floor at 3am when you should be getting in a taxi home - Cut/Copy turned up the volume on their amps to find they were shining brighter than neon love. Four anthemic singles before the album release is always a good sign of things to come and when In Ghost Colours slid into our stereo, it was the sound of every memorable and not-so memorable moment of our weekend. Well played boys. Well played.
Key Track: Far Away

5. The Presets - Apocalypso
The beginning of the end or the beginning of something great? The Presets second outing begins with a dominating frazzle of bleeps and falsetto vocals that even Soulwax would be proud of. Whoever said a band's second album is supposed to be 'difficult' obviously do not know Kim Moynes or Julian Hamilton. Unleashing singles of devastating glory not seen since Mylo dropped the pressure, the ripple effect in society was crushing...believe me, I saw librarians lose their shit to this music. Walking the tightrope between gorgeous electronic harmonies and disgustingly dirty beats; The Presets found their winning formula, giving them enough confidence to throw church organs and whatever the fuck else they wanted into the mix. But this was nothing compared to their piéce de résistance. 7 words. 8 syllables. That was all it took for these classically trained musos to change the history of Australian electronic music forever. And we were all here with all of our people...

Key Track: (apart from above mentioned classic) Talk Like That

4. Vampire Weekend - (Self-Titled)

Time for honesty. When i first saw this band, i wanted to punch them squarely in their FCUK'n preppy mouths. Then i heard them play. I heard their catchy, off-beat, afro-indie blend of pop music and i was hooked. They look like campus wankers but that's okay with me now because they don't pretend or claim to be anything else. In fact, they own it. The wankiest band since The Dandy Warhols they may be, but no one could say that they didn't create one of the most unique albums of this year. Oh yeah, and they fucking rock live.
Key Track: Oxford Comma

3. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

"The best bar band in the world" give hope to the post-Bush trauma victim that is the United States of America, delivering a surprisingly direct message. Stay Positive is a homage to the American wasteland, telling stories of those lost and disparaged by the state of the nation. But rather than dwell on such tragedies, The Hold Steady in their rousing rabble style of bar rock rally the troops (figuratively) and deliver a gorgeously human and uplifting album. The perfect musical watermark for the beginning of a new administration as their Americana belies not only the inherent despair for their home country but more importantly their resolve for a better future. Music with such purpose has not resonated so loudly since Springsteen was Born To Run.
Key Track: Stay Positive

2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

An album of such intricate and delicate beauty is created so rarely that it makes you feel like you're desecrating it by placing your grubby fingers on the immaculate disc when you prize it from the plastic teeth inside the cover. Such is the effect Bon Iver has on his listener, his multi-layered falsetto has the ability to raise the hairs on your neck and if you happen to be several bottles of red down, perhaps bring a tear to your eye. The entire album is an emotional punch to the face as we follow our man's recovery from what must have been one helluva breakup. His lyrics and voice contrast beautifully with the rustic production of the album, something which just adds to its gripping romantic sentimentality. By the end of the rollercoaster you just want to give him a big hug and tell him everything's going to be okay, either that or crack open another bottle of red and play the album again...
Key Track: Skinny Love

1. Bloc Party - Intimacy
Who would have thought someone's emotional heartbreak and torment could be so rewarding and fruitful? Anyone who has ever bought an album by The Smiths I guess...Evolving the subtle beauty of their debut, Silent Alarm and combining it with the ferocious electronic rock mash of their early 2006 release A Weekend In The City, the third album from the Brit rockers is the perfect metaphorical progression of our relationship with the band...on the first album when we first met our front man Kele, he was nice, pretty cool but kept everything on a superficial level. Second time around we saw a bit more emotion, a bit of anger, a bit of darkness, something behind the veneer of indie aloofness. We thought he was becoming quite an interesting person. Now, in 2008, in our third meeting, he lets us into his head, sharing with us his deepest fears, regrets and joys. Intimacy is a ride of emotions, both the most tempered and most fragile Bloc Party release yet, and my gosh is it captivating. On Signs, a song written about a deceased lover, Kele whispers, "I see signs now all the time, that you're not dead you're sleeping, I believe in anything, that brings you back home to me." This record marks the first where our beloved front man openly talks about his sexuality and themes regarding his homosexuality are spotted throughout the diary-come-album. Refreshingly honest and at times shockingly brutal, Bloc Party surpasses all previous efforts and expectations, proving they cannot be pidgeon-holed as another upstart riding the Renaissance wave of Britpop. This crowning achievement makes its title all the more apt, how much closer do we feel to Kele now?

Key Track: Ion Square