Giving a demo at the MySpace Music press conference October 1st 2009

It’s been a hectic few days, in fact the last couple of weeks have been somewhat of a blur. This is largely due to spending excessive hours @ work, in preparation for the launch of MySpace Music in Australia and New Zealand.

On October 1st, key media players across Australia were invited to come down for the great unveiling and celebrate it’s arrival at the press conference. From the major record labels (who have equity in the venture) through to established news outlets such as SMH, News Ltd, to industry coverage from the Music Network and support from the ever dependable ABC, everyone, who is anyone in Australian media, was there.

As you’d expect, there was a tremendous amount of excitement, fanfare and relief on the day. The product had been in development for over a year, with on-going rumors raising the expectation levels each and every day, however, I’m delighted to say they’ve been met & even exceeded with it’s launch. It really is a fantastic avenue for musicians and there’s little doubt in my mind, that it’s a massive step-forward for individuals who are fans of music and want free, quick and easy access to it.

As a result, Australian and New Zealand MySpace users can listen to songs & albums from over 5 MILLION artists on the site, including their extensive back catalogues.

It’s mind-boggling trying to even begin to comprehend that isn’t it

To give you an example,  Elvis Presley alone has 121 albums available on MySpace all of which you can stream in their entirety, unlimited, legally and for free.

(I’ve been listening to Daft Punk’s 2007 Alive album religiously recently).

Plus you can create your own playlists and share them with friends – just like you did with those old-skool mixtapes back in the 80′s & 90′s. Even Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has put together his own personal playlist on the site, respect!

Those two quick examples alone, should demonstrate the reach, influence, impact and potential MySpace Music has. It truly is instant and free access for everyone who is a fan of music. Come and try it out.

Exciting times ahead

Speaking of exciting times, in under a week, I’m heading down to Melbourne to go and see Marilyn Manson play two shows there, how is that for dedication hehe, I seriously can’t wait, my version of a mini-holiday.

I’m actually seeing him twice in Sydney, so all up 4 times in 5 days, and if I’m really lucky who knows, I might even get to meet him again. If I do, rest assured I’m going to send the world the photos! His new record ‘The High End Of Low’ just keeps getting better and better with each listen.

I’ll be updating and using Twitter whilst I’m down there, so please do stay in touch if you don’t already. It blows my mind that I can take a photo from my Blackberry, send it to Twitter, which then syncs with my MySpace and Facebook accounts, allowing you guys to all view it.

I used it today actually.

I found this chap, around the back of Oxford Street, left for dead on the side of the curb, after a big night out. So I took it upon myself to prop him up and arrange him in a manner the locals would approve of….

I left him there like that, so here’s hoping he gets lucky tonight.

It’s true, I rarely fail in finding ways to amuse myself haha!

Follow @alexwain

p.s. Today I watched my beloved Sydney FC return to the top the league, Arsenal hammered Blackburn 6-2 and EVEN Norwich City won 5-1. Talk about a great weekend of football!

I’ve been laughing at lot this morning.

It’s all thanks for my recent discovery of a band called “Millionaires” who have pretty much hands down got my vote, for worst band of 2009. A shocking mish-mash of Photoshop solar flares, fluro animated GIFs, embarrassing attempts at make-up, plastic props and lyrics so inane, they make Britney seem like a wordsmith.

And I haven’t even begun to describe what they sound like. It’s probably best that I don’t, for fear of scaring you off actually. Or you could summon the strength to check out their clips below, I promise it will make your day.

I’m a fan of a well-crafted pop song, I have nothing against the novelty and inherent obsolescence that pop music bring to the world of music. But even so, there is fun light-hearted catchy pop and then there are those horribly mis-guided attempts at being credible and semi-talented. This is the latter.

Now before we get started,  these are the ACTUAL lyrics for their song called “ALCOHOL” (Which I might add, they very thoughtfully spell out for you during the song).

Ladies, take it away :-

MILLIONAIRES – ALCOHOL LYRICS:

Friday night it’s time to party
Drop it down and get real naughty
Girls talk shit, we don’t care
We’ll take off our underwear!

Come get fucked up!
Give me my alcohol
Let’s get fucked up!
A-L-C-O-H-O-L

All these boys are drinking ale
And we bust out White Zinfandel!
Yeah we’re getting pretty trashed
But these boys ain’t gettin any ass

Drink every drink that could be tasted
Look at us, we’re fuckin wasted
We stumble, mumble, no one cares
Just cause we’re the MILLIONAIRES!

Teen binge-drinking never sounded so enticing did it? And just in case you think this is actually all I joke (I admit it, I did originally) here is the video they made to accompany the song.

(If you can’t see it below, watch it here)

“ALCOHOL” Official Music Video by The Millionaires

They have over 200,000 friends on MySpace, which is rather frightening to me – I for one didn’t think it was possible for 200,000 people to have such shocking taste in music haha.  They even make The Veronica’s seem credible in comparison.

But it doesn’t end there, a few days ago they just posted a BRAND NEW VIDEO for their new single ‘Just Got Paid’ and guess what, it’s the ‘Directors Cut’ .

Now, as you can imagine, I could hardly contain my excitement. The photo above, complete with the fake monkey, plastic dollar signs, cheap-ass binki’s and fake chalice (encrusted with top of the range plastic diamonds) only served as a mere preview of the utter atrocity set to unfold.

And just when you think it couldn’t possibly get any worse, well it just did. Here’s their second attempt at a music video. (If you can’t see it below, watch it here)

Millionaires – Just Got Paid – Director’s Cut

MILLIONAIRES – JUST GOT PAID LYRICS:

Cause I just paid!
Lets get laid!

I dropped 2 stacks on this dress & it’s comin off later
With a pro skater or maybe with this waiter
And he said we’ll head home popping bottles of Patrone
With my tone on his phone all the callers unknown

Can you believe I get paid to shake my ass on stage
We’re getting drunk errrrrryday you’re makin minimum wage
We live the life you wish bitch don’t say shit!
No talent just lucky but they stilllll wanna fuck meeEEH!

So what have we learnt today? That 3 talent free girls, enjoy getting utterly inebriated and desperately seek to get laid when it comes to payday. Awesome.

Strangely enough, those two scenarios are often connected. You can always tell when it’s payday in the city, people go out, get drunk and in doing so (and with beer goggles in full effect) tend to hook up with other blurred eyed randoms.

Maybe I’m underestimating the “Millionaires“? Maybe it’s all part of an elaborate ploy on their part? A social commentary on the effects of alcohol, cash in your account and unattractive people having sex? Broken down into two horrifying videos and a wave of ridiculous photos?

Who knows? But one thing I am sure of, there will be few bands in 2009 able to knock them off their lofty status as frankly THE worst band of the year.

Follow @alexwain

36 CRAZYFISTS & DEVILDRIVER // THE FORUM SYD // 25 FEB 09

My ears are still ringing, having just seen one of the most epic line-up in recent times, All That Remains, 36 Crazyfists, Lacuna Coil & the mighty Devildriver!

I don’t want to bore you with all the tracks and setlist information, lets just say all the bands went off. Personally I wasn’t a huge fan of Lacuna Coil (European metal has more than a hint of campness and pantomime about it I find) but respect to the lead singer, who crowd surfed in nothing more than a bra and skirt during Devildrivers’ blistering set! I’m sure the 18 year olds though Christmas had some early haha. Oh by the way, this is her….

Exactly!

What I really liked about the show was the real sense of community and camaraderie between all the bands, 36 Crazyfists came and did shots with everyone in the crowd after their set, there was no egos, everyone was there to just have a killer time. At one point during 36CF’s set, the crowd parted right down the middle, like a rugby match prior to kick off. And when the drums hit – BOOM everyone ran into each other, wall of death style. Bad to be in it, awesome to watch haha.

I ended up going by myself, but it was great, I forgot a little bit what live music is about (sitting in an office with a stack of CD’s next to you will do that), but this show reminded me why I love gigs, it’s real people connecting with each other, loosing their minds and being totally passionate about their favorite artists.

To see two of my favorite bands (36 Crazyfists & Devildriver) on the same bill on the same night was amazing and it sure as hell didn’t disappoint.

You can see photos from the show right here

Watch the latest single from 36 Crazyfists below (can’t see it? clicky click)

Enjoy!
Alex

Occasionally, when you’re out with friends or at a gig, people ask you what your top 10 or top 5 albums are of all time. It’s always a really tricky question to answer because your tastes change and there are millions of ground-breaking records out there.

But for me, whether it’s a Top 5 or Top 10, one record which will always be somewhere in my list, is a self-titled record by a punk / metal band called Amen.

It’s the work of a cult hero called Casey Chaos, who formed the band in 1994. The band has an almost constantly rotating lineup, with founder Casey Chaos remaining as the only constant member throughout. He writes all the music and lyrics, and performs all vocals and instruments (bar drums, since the debut album) for studio recordings.

So why do I like Amen and specifically their debut record back from 1999? Why would it always make my Top 5 or Top 10?

It’s one of those records, which sounds real and raw, it has a virbancy and quality about it, which I’ve never heard since. You really feel the music hit you, no bullshit, auto-tune, slick production, effects – just a guy venting his demons in one take and capturing it in a blistering record. It’s a powerful album, it doesn’t get lost or second-guess itself, its never pretentious or tedious – instead, it bristles and snarls at you with an intensity few can match.

If you’ve not heard it, you are missing out (in my mind) on one of the most under-rated records from the 90′s.

Here’s some interesting info you might not know about this true legend of rock n roll. Firstly, he has worked with legends such as Henry Rollins, Iggy Pop, Rikk Agnew, Sex Pistols, Rozz Williams, and many others. Secondly, he has recorded side projects with: Faust (drums – Emperor/Blood Tsunami), Samoth (guitar – Emperor/Zyklon), Happy Tom and Euroboy (bass and guitar – Turbonegro) called SCUM; Josh Homme (QOTSA) and Nick Oliveri (QOTSA/Mondo Generator) called HEADBAND; Daron Malakian (System of a Down) and Zach Hill called SCARS ON BROADWAY.

Amen have released albums via Roadrunner Records, SonyBMG and Virgin Records, and are now independant.

I firstly met Casey @ in-store signing event, when Amen came to play as part of the Big Day Out Festival in Australia. Just to give you some idea of how amazing that tour was, check out the video filmed live onstage below. (If you can’t see it click here)

Check out from 2.15 onwards!!

AMEN – Mayday (Live att Big Day Out)

We kept in touch via e-mail for about a year, he even put me on the door for the side show with System Of A Down that night (which I already had tickets to obviously haha, so I took an extremely grateful friend).

At the time, a mate of mine back in the UK, had a brother who was really sick in hospital and who was an equally MASSIVE Amen fan. So I told Casey about it and asked him if he could send him an e-mail, just a few lines, some words of encouragement to help him through one of the most difficult periods in his life. I can’t remember exactly what was wrong with the kid, but it was just horrifying reading about all the pain his body was in at such a young age. Truly and utterly heartbreaking.

A few weeks later my friend told me that his brother was in the intensive care ward, when he got a pacakge from Casey, which had a personal note, signed CDs, merch, posters and all this other cool stuff, which had been sent to him direct.

How awesome is that? Now THAT is caring about your fans. Not only is the guy a musical genius and punk icon, he’s also a genuine human-being as well – I have so much respect for the guy for doing that.

Casey Chaos – Official Site
Listen to Amen on MySpace
Watch Amen Videos Here
Wikipedia Amen_(Band)
AllMusic.com Amen

Enjoy – afterall, it’s good to broaden your musical horizons
Alex

I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness

I was lucky enough to see these guys play at SXSW Festival in Texas a few years ago. Not many people have heard of these guys, but they are seriously under-rated in my opinion. If you’re a fan of the likes of The Cure, The Church, Interpol, New Order etc you’ll find something to enjoy in ‘I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness’

You can listen to more of them here

Check out the clip below (click here if you can’t see it), 

I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness – According To Plan

Hope you like,
Alex

Listen to Bon Iver here

Bon Iver is currently touring Australia as part of the Sydney Festival, he was one of the most talked and blogged about artists of 2008.

I was lucky enough to see him last night at the Sydney Recital Hall, and it was truly one of the most expansive and epic gigs I’ve been too. It sounded ethereal due to the location and his stunning voice (it sounds unlike anything you’ve heard before). Swirling synths, blasts of white noise, fragile melodies, intricate rhythms and genuine heartfelt lyrics.


The highlight was when he walked right to the front of the stage, no mic and just sang this beautiful melody (you could honestly ear a pin drop.) and as if by magic everyone started singing it back to him – no amps, no band, just him and the crowd, in this amazing Sydney Recital Hall.

I think he was truly touched by the response he got and as you left that gig, I think everyone really felt like they had just witness something special, a gig which years into the future people will still reference.

If you’re not familiar with the band, watch this exclusive MySpace Transmission’s performance, it features live tracks, interviews and live performances – everything you need to get acquainted with one of the most talented artists in 2009.

Alex