Broken Social Scene @ Manning Bar (28/2/2008)

Broken Social Scene played the Manning Bar last night. There isn’t any structure to this, just a series of notes off the top of my head. Nevertheless I hope if you’re reading this you get a sense of the show out of it. (SPOILER) It was sweet ass!

Okkervil River @ Manning Bar (27/2/2008)

 

Here’s the review, 45 minutes right after the gig:

It was AWESOME.

Guillemots – Get Over It single

Guillemots have a new album – Red – coming just around the corner. It is slated for release on 24th March (Polydor). Apparently the single “Get Over It” is slated for a 17th March release, but all things internet makes that a stupid idea. And Youtube comes to the rescue.

I am not entirely sure as to whether or not I like the new ‘direction’ – as shown in the single but I suppose we shall see very soon as to whether or not the entire album is like this almost brainless, cheesy single. (Not that brainless is a bad thing – but it just feels like there is nothing there). Maybe I am just in a weird mood.

Anyway, decide for yourselves.

They also performed the single on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. It’s up over at the big tube in the sky, to very very mixed responses. Click me.

By Konrad Overdrive.

Interpol @ Hordern Pavilion (21/2/2008)

The last time I saw Interpol was their last visit to Sydney back in 2005. In that time a lot has changed for the band: they released a new album, signed with a major label and Carlos D has a new hairstyle. They are clearly moving on up in the world and now playing the larger (and detested) Hordern Pavilion rather than the Enmore theatre. They even have fancy new lights as part of their backdrop.

Sonic Youth @ The Enmore Theatre (18/2/2008)

Sonic Youth played one of two of their Sydney dates on Monday night as part of the Don’t Look Back series. This series, if you haven’t already heard is part of an initiative where influential artists revisit cornerstone albums from their back catalogue – in full and in sequence. That is, their set is literally the album Daydream Nation, from intro to outro. There is a lot of interest in this positively monumental series, both negative and positive, but as far as Sonic Youth is concerned, I doubt you would find anyone who did not appreciate the time-warp.

Underbelly: What’s it about?

There’s a new television show down here in Australia called ‘Underbelly’, a 13 part miniseries about the recent Melbourne gangland wars. It’s been critically acclaimed with many critics even going so far as to call it one of the finest Australian crime dramas ever produced.

As someone who has been living in a cave on Mars with my hands over my ears I had no idea what the Melbourne gang wars were actually about, and Underbelly in our house was often derided as “that show starring dudes with magnificent abs”.

However after reading this very lengthy article on The Age (dated March 2007) you will know why television producers quickly jumped at the chance to tell this story on the television screen. In fact they jumped so quickly the Supreme Court has prevented it from being shown in Victoria to avoid prejudicing an upcoming murder trial directly related to the subject matter of the TV show. In any case after reading that article I am intrigued, shocked and totally sold on Underbelly as a concept for a television series, not to mention just a little bit frightened of going outside ever again.

By Jonathan Codfour.

Japanese Correspondent: Mo’some Tonebender

I don’t want to slag it off before it’s had a chance, truthfully its barely had time to struggle out of bed and get a glass of water, but I’m not very excited about 2008 yet. I’m hoping something will come along and knock my socks off, but who isn’t? Well, I’m talking specifically about music here. There are games on the horizon (and movies) but those are all subjects for another post with a different pointlessly long introduction. So in response to my lack of excitement I decided to be more proactive and find out more about Japanese music. Which should be easy, because I know absolutely nothing.

Playstation Store Rant Update

Apparently there are some internal talks at SEE Australia going on at the moment to fix the problem of delays between the US and Australian stores. Somewhat annoyingly however, they have slated the next 6 months to do this. 6 months? Okay. I am not exactly going to hold my breath.

Get the story here @ videogaming247.

By Konrad Overdrive

Playstation Store and Australia

NextGen and Regions. It’s pretty much like having Pizza, but because you live in … well, wherever, you can’t have Pizza with cheese. Because you are a stupid ass consumer.

The whole idea of NextGen, or Next Generation gaming consoles is that they have entered into a technological realm where the personal computer is no longer the centre of your entertainment, work or multimedia needs. The computer has long held this status, being so comprehensibly able to play games, listen to music, work, watch movies and browse the internet. In fact, I myself had never owned a console before buying a Playstation3. I had of course played games on them through friends etc, but I myself never saw the need, especially when the PC would undoubtedly always have the lion share of the gaming releases, and if something was released on a console first, it was a given that it would, sooner or later, be ported. For better or worse, and thus I never saw the need to buy an expensive console.

Arrested Development movie!

Apparently an Arrested Development movie is being shopped around. For reals. Who knows if it will even get off the ground and considering how the series ended, who knows what they will do in it if it’s actually made. All I know is that I’m excited that this might be happening. Hella excited.

If you don’t know of what I am talking about, shame on you. :( Click here to buy the three seasons of one of the best television shows ever created and to no longer live with that burning shame. Hey it’s not like you have anything else to watch.

Oh and Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz will have a lesbian sex scene + threesome with that guy from No Country For Old Men in the new Woody Allen movie. Golden age of cinema is dead my ass.

By Jonathan Codfour.