you're just ink


And in other news, I have been banished from my hotlinkfiles account. That is why you will find a few of the older posts with the intense and ugly strikethroughs. If you want me to reupload anything, just give me a yell. I was given a lovely surprise today also, as you may have noticed, my blog and I decided to break up our relationship last week when the hit counter told me I was getting around... zero hits for this place. Basically I took it out to dinner at a nice chinese restaurant, dumped it AND made it pay the bill. But turns out I just forgot to re-install it when I rearranged the template. Hah. We're back together now and I tell you, wild times.

How good is the photo above by the way? I thiefed it from some woman's flickr, all hail Children Collide playing their newest single 'Social Currency'. There isn't much I can say about the single apart from that it seems to be a little more commercial than previously. In other words, less nasty yelling. Indie rock at it's pinnacle, for me at the moment anyway. I shall also upload two other tracks I have been giving a spin a fair bit. Wonderfully Wonderful, think of it of a mixture of Children Collide and Shitdisco, it seems Elle Milano can't decide whether they want a slice of indie or electro rock. And finally for your complete fucking mess of spastic, whiny Australian rock this week I present the Minotaur, the Drones' new single. To make up for the lack of yelling in Children Collide this week, the Minotaur makes up for it in complete lack of control. But what a ride it is. "A half-salute to modern-day sloth, and the painful decisions our future leaders face, between holding the destiny of the world in their hands, or holding another X-Box controller."

Children Collide - Social Currency
(myspace)

Elle Milano - Wonderfully Wonderful (All Of The Time)
(myspace)

The Drones - The Minotaur
(myspace)

Also, a yell and a shout back over to acloudofstarlings from Thrash Mountain.

say no to porno


XX Teens were previously named Xerox Teens, until the photocopier company made them change it. They went from sounding like an office equipment apprenticeship firm to a porn production. They still make nice music though, fortunately. Electro-rock always goes down well with a decent cowbell. And ohh, I wish that bassline actually was in a porn production, it's saucy as fuck.

XX Teens - The Way We Were
(myspace)

Also, here's some solid jiving remixes of some Australian bands for you to enjoy, some of them have been getting quite a listen of late. If you're really dance/house intolerant, I would recommend giving these a skip. They're a bit different to what I would post normally, but they're all solid remixes.

ACDC - Thunderstruck (Crookers Remix)
Presets - This Boy's In Love (Losers vs. Presets Remix)
Midnight Juggernauts - Road To Recovery (Miami Horror Remix)

paint it black


Thrash Mountain has dimmed it's lights and it's not just because we can't pay the electricity bill. Here's a small selection of tracks I've been digging lately with a common theme of blackness in track titles. Because I'm sophisticated like that.

British India are an Australian indie band creating waves at the moment. I find a few of their songs irritating, but this one's neat. Plus, everyone loves a chorus that includes a million 'go go go gos' in all of its two and a half minutes of glory.

British India - Black and White Radio
(myspace)

Same genre, but on the other side of the globe, Arcade Fire make my ears swell up, and shortly after, melt. They also swap instruments regularly during their live sets which is no doubt impressive . Show ponies. Here's a reasonably dark, dirty and grunge/electronic remix of their debut single.

Arcade Fire - Black Mirror (Andrew Maury Remix)
(myspace)

Back to Australia, I present a hip-hop track based around a foundation of little neat guitar riffs, and it's probably about as close as you'll get to a rap ballad. It's gloomy and haggard. But what else were you expecting from a song about depression? A good listen with a story to tell, metaphor galore.

Urthboy - Black Dogs
(myspace)

Lastly, we arrive at Radiohead frontman's solo project, one of my favourite songs of '06 past. It's a tangle of minimal electronic beats, carefree guitar picking and steady yet distinctive vocals. There's certainly something appealing about how casually he can build a chorus around the phrase 'fucked up'. We really are going down the drain in the way of keeping a positive tone about the tracks posted here, so I'll cut it off it here before we unwillingly merge into the area of black fringes and razorblades.

Thom Yorke - Black Swan
(myspace)

one without the other and you just don't care


One of my favorite local Australian bands happens to be the Mess Hall, raw bluesy rock that draws you in within its eerie haze and steals your handbag. Annoyingly enough, they are constantly compared to the White Stripes out of the US. I would like to think if there were six Jack Whites on stage live at one time, they would all still struggle to match the energy of the Sydney duo. Even if the guitarist was in a wheelchair. Yeah, big call. Here's two tracks, one from their debut Notes from a Ceiling, and another from their second record, Devil's Elbow.

The Mess Hall - Buddy
The Mess Hall - Metal and Hair

(myspace)

Oh, and to all ye scurvy dogs. I give you a track from quirky electronic artist Metronomy. I get an image when listening to this one of an accordion wielding sailor with a doo-rag. You'll only understand by listening.

Metronomy - Black Eye/Burnt Thumb
(myspace)

i am shit hot, so what do you think about me?


Late of the Pier. Surely you've heard the name before. Their sound is practically so catchy it hurts. UK based frenzied electro-rock can't exactly be said to be unique, but LOTP manage to coat it with a metaphorical fresh coat of paint that even tastes like a mixture of bourbon and glowstick juice. Perhaps. Their debut is due to be released August 11, if the live photo above makes you dizzy, you're in for a treat.

Late of the Pier - Space and the Woods
(myspace)

Now for a change in pace. From something very much alive and kicking to something very much dead, Mclusky were arguably one of the best punk slash rock bands around in its day. Not many other bands did it better. In a world of commercial production and dreams of superstardom, Mclusky were keeping it real. Oh, and any song with the lyrics "Let's have Abraham for breakfast" is alright with me. This one comes with a warning of some shouty bits and some nonsense lyrics.

Mclusky - Undress For Success
(myspace)