A New (Years) Music Resolution

A friend of Bawley recently pointed me to Andre’s Resolution 2010. In short, Resolution 2010 is a positive commitment that in 2010 you only listen to music released in 2010.

The rules (exceptions to):

• Re-issues and re-masters released in 2010 count as 2010 releases.
• For the month of January you are allowed to listen to anything from 2009. (edit: I suggest the Bawley 100 – 2009)
• I will probably come up with more rules as I think of them because not listening to Bad Brains for a year is starting to make me sad.

This got me thinking, could I do this? What would I miss? Would 2010 be a better year for new music than 2009? Such negative questions are not really in the spirit of Resolution 2010 so I turned the question on its head: if only listened to music released in 2010, what would I have to look forward to?

There are the already released albums from Vampire Weekend (Contra) and Charlotte Gainsbourg (IRM). Contra is more of the same preppy afro-beat indie-pop that made Vampire Weekend’s debut album so enjoyable, while IRM (sung by Gainsbourg but written and produced by Beck) is as good as anything Beck has done since Sea Change (2002).

On February 9th Hot Chip will release One Life Stand. With great reviews so far and the title track sitting on the high rotation list at triple j, BBC Radio 1 and 6Music, One Life Stand could be the album that sees Hot Chip break into the mainstream (without losing the their status as a critic’s favourite).

Daddy G returns for Massive Attack’s first album in five years, Heligoland, also set for a February 9th release. The album drops a lot of what made 100th Window pants and picks up a massive list of guest vocalists and collaborators including Damon Albarn, Hope Sandoval, Guy Garvey, Martina Topley-Bird, Horace Andy, and Tunde Adibempe. If the Splitting The Atom preview EP and last year’s live shows are anything to go by, Heligoland should be brilliant.

Back in September The Knife provided the soundtrack to a Danish opera based on the life of Charles Darwin. The opera was called Tomorrow, In A Year and a studio version of the soundtrack is due for release on March 1st. I doubt anything stranger will come out all year.

After some time spent writing Chinese operas and fronting the re-formed Blur, Damon Albarn is back with Gorillaz third album: Plastic Beach, out March 8th. Once again the list of collaborators is impressive, drawing big names from hip hop (Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, De la Soul), rock (Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Mark E Smith, Gruff Rhys) and soul (Bobby Womack). Albarn is promising it will be Gorillaz "most pop album".

No dates yet, but LCD Soundsystem are also due to release a new album in March. Sadly, it may also be the band’s last album. Main man James Murphy told NME "I know I said (LCD Soundsystem was over) last time and things changed, but I don't like to repeat myself."

Tipped for an early 2010 release is the next album from Interpol. Drummer Sam Fogarino has said it will be more Turn On The Bright Lights than Our Love To Admire which is a good thing.

Later in the year, details of upcoming releases get sketchier. But there are some exciting albums on the horizon: The National and Band of Horses are both suggesting they will have new releases, as are The Avalanches and The Panics.

Despite the retirement of Nine Inch Nails as a touring band, Trent Reznor has said “2010 has a number of things planned including new material from nine inch nails and something else that isn't nine inch nails.”

I know I could not go a year without listening to The Cure. Luckily they also have a 2010 release planned, the 21st anniversary remastered re-issue of Disintegration. Due in the first half of the year, the release will be a three CD set, containing the original album (remastered) , twenty previously unreleased b-sides and demos from the era, and a remixed and extended version of the Entreat live album.

While 2010 looks like being a great year for new music I still don’t know if I am up for the Resolution 2010 commitment, what about you?

What are you looking forward to in 2010? What would you miss if you were to take up the challenge?

Best acceptance speech ever.

(Doing the Sums 2009) Are You Joe Average?

The Bawley crew love the triple j Hottest 100, the only thing we love more than the Hottest 100 is our own (Doing the Sums) Are You Joe Average quiz. (2007, 2008, Hottest 100 of all time)

Here is how it works

1. Write out a list of the songs you voted for in the triplej Hottest 100.
2. Write down the position each of these came in the triplej Hottest 100
3. If a song did not make the list put down 101.
4. Add up the scores, and divide by the number of songs you voted for.
5. Post your results as a comment to this blog entry.

Here is how to interpret your score

1-13: Either you are the lovechild of Bernard Fanning and La Roux or you are actually Mumford’s Son.

14-27: Parlez Vous Austereo?

28-40: Very vanilla

41-52: "Meet Me on the Equinox" is your signature song in more ways than one.

53-65: Pretty pedestrian, but you probably have one weirdo friend who is rubbing off on you more than you realise.

66-77: Kinda quirky in a cute way.

78-89: Kinda quirky in a "slowly back away..." way.

90-100: You're a f***ing freak, man

101: Did you vote for songs, or flavours of ice cream????

The Bawley 100 scored

Fleet Foxes – Mykonos - 101
Super Furry Animals - Inaugural Trams - 101
The Xx - Heart Skipped a Beat - 101
Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More - 101
Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart - 101
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Hysteric - 101
Camera Obscura - Away With Murder - 101
Phoenix – Lisztomania – 4
Danger Mouse and Sparkle Horse - Revenge (ft The Flaming Lips) - 101
The Xx – Crystallised – 101

91.3 You're a f***ing freak, man (our worst performance ever!!)

How did you score?

Triple J Hottest 100: The People Have Spoken

I Despite the leaks the 2009 Hottest 100 managed to pull out a few surprises (Foo Fighters still relevant in 2009?!), is this further proof (2007, 2008) that musical democracy does not work? I am not sure?

Full list below (Bawley rankings in brackets)

100 ( - ) Foo Fighters - Wheels
99 ( - ) Tegan and Sara - Hell
98 ( - ) Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang
97 ( - ) Regina Spektor - Laughing With
96 ( - ) Deadmau5 - Ghosts N Stuff
95 ( - ) Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch
94 ( - ) Regina Spektor - Blue Lips
93 ( - ) Bertie Blackman - Thump
92 ( 26 ) Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
91 ( - ) Manchester Orchestra - I've Got Friends
90 ( - ) Florence and the Machine - Kiss With A Fist
89 ( - ) Jay-Z - D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
88 ( - ) NOFX - Creeping Out Sara
87 ( 23 ) The Middle East - The Darkest Side
86 ( - ) Flight Of The Conchords - Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor)
85 ( 87 ) Kasabian - Underdog
84 ( - ) Muse - United States of Eurasia
83 ( - ) Basement Jaxx - Raindrops
82 ( - ) Miami Horror - Sometimes
81 ( 84 ) Mumford & Sons - The Cave
80 ( - ) Dizzee Rascal - Holiday
79 ( - ) Yves Klein Blue - Getting Wise
78 ( - ) Tame Impala - Remember Me
77 ( - ) Jet - She's a Genius
76 ( - ) Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension
75 ( - ) Wolfmother - New Moon Rising
74 ( - ) Art vs. Science - Friend In The Field
73 ( - ) MSTRKRFT (ft. John Legend) - Heartbreaker
72 ( - ) Sia - You've Changed
71 ( - ) Bertie Blackman - Byrds of Prey
70 ( 33 ) Animal Collective - My Girls
69 ( - ) Death Cab for Cutie - Meet Me on the Equinox
68 ( - ) The Prodigy - Omen
67 ( - ) Washington - Cement
66 ( - ) Illy - Pictures
65 ( - ) Eskimo Joe - Foreign Land
64 ( - ) The Middle East - Blood
63 ( - ) Karnivool - All I Know
62 ( 64 ) Bloc Party - One More Chance
61 ( - ) Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
60 ( - ) Lily Allen - 22
59 ( - ) Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone
58 ( 65 ) The Temper Trap - Love Lost
57 ( - ) Philadelphia Grand Jury - The Good News
56 ( - ) The xx - Islands
55 ( - ) Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls
54 ( - ) Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning
53 ( - ) Miike Snow - Animal
52 ( - ) Vampire Weekend - Horchata
51 ( 22 ) Kasabian - Where Did All The Love Go?
50 ( - ) Sia - Buttons (CSS Remix)
49 ( - ) Powderfinger - All of the Dreamers
48 ( - ) The Temper Trap - Science of Fear
47 ( - ) Karnivool - Set Fire to the Hive
46 ( 62 ) Bon Iver - Blood Bank
45 ( - ) Florence and the Machine - Drumming Song
44 ( - ) Florence and the Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
43 ( - ) The Bloody Beetroots (ft. The Cool Kids) - Awesome
42 ( - ) British India - Vanilla
41 ( - ) Simian Mobile Disco (ft. Chris Keating) - Audacity of Huge
40 ( - ) Angus & Julia Stone - And the Boys
39 ( - ) The John Butler Trio - One Way Road
38 ( - ) Passion Pit - Little Secrets
37 ( - ) Hilltop Hoods - Still Standing
36 ( - ) Weezer - (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
35 ( - ) Muse - Resistance
34 ( - ) Little Birdy - Brother
33 ( - ) Kid Cudi (ft. MGMT & Ratatat) - Pursuit of Happiness
32 ( - ) Paul Dempsey - Ramona Was A Waitress
31 ( - ) Seth Sentry - The Waitress Song
30 ( - ) Flight Of The Conchords - Hurt Feelings
29 ( - ) Sarah Blasko - All I Want
28 ( - ) Sarah Blasko - We Won't Run
27 ( 35 ) La Roux - In for the Kill
26 ( - ) Metric - Help I'm Alive
25 ( 21 ) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
24 ( - ) Flight Of The Conchords - Carol Brown
23 ( - ) The Bloody Beetroots (ft. Steve Aoki) - Warp 1.9
22 ( - ) Vampire Weekend - Cousins
21 ( - ) The Temper Trap - Fader
20 ( - ) Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
19 ( 81 ) Muse - Undisclosed Desires
18 ( - ) Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars
17 ( - ) Kasabian - Fire
16 ( - ) Gossip - Heavy Cross
15 ( - ) Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home
14 ( - ) Jamie T - Sticks 'n' Stones
13 ( 40 ) Phoenix - 1901
12 ( 98 ) Dizzee Rascal and Armand van Helden - Bonkers
11 ( 25 ) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
10 ( 17 ) Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over
9 ( - ) Muse - Uprising
8 ( - ) Lily Allen - Not Fair
7 ( - ) Lisa Mitchell - Coin Laundry
6 ( 63 ) La Roux - Bulletproof
5 ( 51 ) Bluejuice - Broken Leg
4 ( 3 ) Phoenix - Lisztomania
3 ( 38 ) Hilltop Hoods - Chase That Feeling
2 ( 31 ) Art vs. Science - Parlez Vous Francais?
1 ( 56 ) Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man

I think I like it, what do you think? Was Little Lion Man the Hottest song of 2009?

Another Version of the Truth: The Gift

Back in January 2009 we pointed you to some 400GB of raw HD footage captured during Nine Inch Nails' 2008 Lights In The Sky tour.

A year on and things have come along more than anyone could have imagined.

Fans have edited thousands of videos from the footage, assembled their own DVDs and live albums, even held theatrical screenings of their creations. And now, the ambitious and well-organised group known as This One Is On Us (remember this) have released their massive, highly-anticipated creation, Another Version of the Truth: The Gift.

Created by a team of dozens of NIN fans spanning the entire globe have pooled their efforts to create this professional-quality 1080p 5.1 concert film, and it has been released on just about every format from Blu-ray to DVD, iPod to YouTube.

That something of this scale was produced entirely by fans, on their own time, purely for the sake of giving something back, is absolutely unprecedented. You can read all about the project and find all the download links here, or watch it immediately on YouTube here. Theatrical screenings are already being organised, you can find more info about those here.

"Nine Inch Nails fans kick ass." – Trent Reznor

"We did it for fun and stopped before it stopped being so"

I was listening to 'The Broken Family Band' on my way in to work this morning. Having Remembered again how brilliant they are (were), I checked their website on arriving at work to see if they had anything new coming out soon. Alas, it seems they called it a day back in November.




Shame. They were great. A Cambridge based alt.country / indie band who wrote funny, tender songs and didn't take themselves too seriously (their website proudly quotes the NME's description of them: "A dickless Radiohead" ). Their extensive back catalogue is well worth checking out - start with 'Balls' or 'Cold Water Songs'.

What better way to start the new year than with a bit of LAMBCHOP news?

Lambchop surprised their fans at the end of 2009 with their second live album in as many years.

Filmed at the band's American record label Merge's 20th anniversary party and released as an MP3 download (with an optional SD or HD video download) or as a limited edition CD with a voucher for HD video download (it's a chunky 1gb file), it's a world away from the band's previous live release.

While 2007's 'No Such Silence' beautifully captured Lambchop, in front of a polite Belgian crowd, at their most restrained and delicate, 'Live at XX Merge' sees the band at their most euphoric, tearing through their more raucus moments ('Your Fucking Sunny Day', 'Hey Where's Your Girl', 'Up With People'...) with a rare zeal.

It's an awesome performance which concludes with an epic version of 'Give It' - the track that lead singer Kurt Wagner released in collaboration with dance act X-Press 2 - with a bit of Talking Heads chucked in for good measure. It's well worth checking out:

LAMBCHOP LIVE AT XX MERGE: GIVE IT / PROMO from Show Cobra Productions on Vimeo.

Bawley (hearts) 2009: Top 5 Concerts of the year: Nick

2009 wasn't a vintage live music year for me, but it was a bunch of older, established acts who have honed their live show over hundreds of hours of performance who impressed me most. And The Metro continued to impress me as Sydney's best live music venue, with three of my favourite shows of the year taking place there.

5. The Hold Steady, Metro Theatre (04/02/09)
The Hold Steady seem to play every show like it's the most important one they've ever played, and despite poor sound (backing vocals and keys too low in the mix), and a less than full venue, they stormed through a great set of bar room rock and roll with bucketloads of energy and personality.

4. Elbow, V Festival Sydney(29/03/09)
I Wouldn't normally put a festival set in a list like this, but Elbow seemed to be having the time of their lives in Centennial Park on a perfect March afternoon, belting out songs like 'One Day Like This' and telling stupid jokes. The crowd were having the time of their lives too.

3. Gomez, The Metro Theatre (23/10/2009)
10 years and 6 albums into their career, Gomez know exactly how to work a crowd. Their back catalogue is big enough and strong enough to play almost entirely different sets over two consecutive nights at The Metro without diminishing the quality of the material. I was there on the second night and had a blast. But my foot is still sore from dancing too much.

2. Basement Jaxx, The Enmore Theatre, 03/03/09
Still the best live dance act in the world. (FasterLouder review)

1. My Morning Jacket, The Metro Theatre, 22/01/09
Last January I doubted I'd be going to a better gig than this one for the rest of the year. And I didn't.

The Bawley 100 - New Years Eve 2009/2010

When you or someone in your family suddenly begins to experience the symptoms – fever, blandness, aches, chills, tiredness, miley cirrhosis, u2-itis – you have just moments to take action. Trust BAWLEY FLU, the most frequently prescribed antiviral top 100 song list of 2009.

With NYE listening parties spreading from the backyards of Braddon and beaches of Bondi to the baths of Budapest, the 2009 Bawley 100 is everywhere you wanna be.

The 2009 Bawley 100:

111 Radiohead - Harry Patch

99 Karen O And The Kids - Worried Shoes

98 Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

97 Them Crooked Vultures - Nobody Loves Me & Neither Do I

96 The Maccabees - No Kind Words

95 Datarock - Give It Up

94 Dappled Cities - The Price

93 Jason Lytle - Yours Truly The Commuter

92 Yeasayer - Ambling Alp

91 Idlewild - Readers And Writers

90 Hot Chip - Transmission

89 Ian Brown - Stellify

88 Gomez - Little Pieces

87 Kasabian - Underdog

86 Editors - Papillon

85 Thom Yorke - The Hollow Earth

84 Mumford and Sons - The Cave

83 Bat For Lashes - Daniel

82 Wild Beasts - Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues

81 Muse - Undisclosed Desires

80 The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea

79 Phoenix - Girlfriend

78 Eels - In My Dreams

77 Jarvis Cocker - Angela

76 Books feat Jose Gonzales - Cello Song

75 Fever Ray - When I Grow Up

74 The Dead Weather - Will There Be Enough Water?

73 Mariachi El Bronx - Slave Labour

72 British Sea Power - No Man Is An Archipelago

71 Young And Restless - Creeps

70 The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Higher Than The Stars

69 Little Boots - Remedy

68 Cornershop - The Roll-Off Characteristics (Of History In the Making)

67 Lily Allen - Fuck You

66 Karen O And The Kids - All Is Love

65 Temper Trap - Love Lost

64 Bloc Party - One More Chance

63 La Roux - Bulletproof

62 Bon Iver - Blood Bank

61 Massive Attack - Pray For Rain

60 The Big Pink - Dominos

59 Doves - Kingdom Of Rust

58 Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone

57 Girls - Lust For Life

56 Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man

55 The Xx - Shelter

54 Dave Sitek - With A Girl Like You

53 Jeffery Lewis + The Junkyard - Roll Bus Roll

52 Brakes - Two Shocks

51 Bluejuice - Broken Leg

50 Health - Die Slow

49 The Horrors - Who Can Say

48 Fever Ray - Triangle Walks

47 Massive Attack - Splitting The Atom

46 Decemberists - The Rake's Song

45 Camera Obscura - James

44 Art Brut - What a Rush

43 Bridezilla - Beaches

42 God Help The Girl - Come Monday Night

41 Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

40 Phoenix - 1901

39 The National - So Far Around The Bend

38 Hilltop Hoods - Chase That Feeling

37 Hungary Kids of Hungry - Scattered Diamonds

36 The Duckworth Lewis Method - The Age of Revolution

35 La Roux - In For The Kill

34 Thom Yorke - Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses

33 Animal Collective - My Girls

32 Fuck Buttons - Olympians

31 Art vs Science - Parlez Vous Francais

30 The Cribs - We Share The Same Skies

29 Gomez - Airstream Driver

28 Camera Obscura - Honey In The Sun

27 Danger Mouse and Sparkle Horse - Just War (ft Gruff Rhys)

26 Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy

25 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

24 Doves - Outsiders

23 The Middle East - The Darkest Side

22 Kasabian - Where Did All The Love Go?

21 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

20 Mariachi El Bronx - Cell Mates

19 The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Contender

18 Washed Out - Feel It All Around

17 Florence and the Machine - Dog Days

16 Art Brut - Am I Normal?

15 Hot Chip - Take It In

14 Radiohead - These Are My Twisted Words

13 Portishead - Chase The Tear

12 The Horrors - I Only Think Of You

11 Danger Mouse and Sparkle Horse - Little Girl (ft Julian Casablancas)

10 Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

9 Super Furry Animals - Inaugural Trams

8 The Xx - Heart Skipped a Beat

7 Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More

6 Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart

5 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric

4 Camera Obscura - Away With Murder

3 Phoenix - Lisztomania

2 Danger Mouse and Sparkle Horse - Revenge (ft The Flaming Lips)

1 The Xx - Crystallised


If symptoms persist please see a doctor.