Adrian Pedic BODY of WORK

Home , Chuck Treece, Gang of Youths, Gareth Liddiard, Kevin Parker (musician), Lou Barlow, Shark Fin Blues

Adrian Pedic

BODY OF WORK A small selection of my efforts to date

Note: The Conceptional Media website is currently down for maintenance.

All articles were written in accordance with the Tone Deaf style guide.

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/469354/dinosaur-jr-lou-barlow-ive-never-achieved-what-i-wanted- to.htm

‘Dinosaur JR’s Lou Barlow: I’ve Never Achieved what I wanted to.’

By Adrian Pedic

“I’ve never really achieved what I wanted to achieve yet.”

3 You wouldn’t think to hear that from Lou Barlow, a founding member of Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh, two of the most influential and highly praised independent acts of all time.

He’s released a plethora of music throughout his 30-year career, enjoyed critical praise, commercial success and was once referred to by Thurston Moore as having pioneered ‘lo-fi’.

Yet his work has never been occupied with his successes, but rather with the times he hasn’t succeeded. Barlow’s focus on the trials and challenges that we all endure have often laid at the centre of his work, and his recent solo record, Brace The Wave, continues his introspective musing into the struggle.

Yet he doesn’t think of himself as a ‘personal’ songwriter.

“The music I’ve always listened to and the music I gravitate to is personal in nature, and the really aggressive, noisy punk rock that I loved when I was a kid was very personal. And then when I got a little older, and started listening to older music, like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, I find that stuff very personal, so I guess I find it very natural to do that in my own music,” he said.

“It doesn’t feel particularly personal to me, like I think these days, people are much more extremely personal in their music than I am.”

Indeed, Barlow’s music is personal only in the sense that he relays his trials and struggles in a way that a wider audience can relate to.

“Last year that Sufjan Stevens record came out, which was an incredibly personal acoustic record, and it was just kinda spellbinding. When I heard it I thought ‘Well, this easily surpasses my entire body of work’, so I have a lot to do. And it amazes me how much music has come out, and continues to come out, that you’re always playing catch up with. You just never know the extent of all the amazing music that’s been made, and that’s being made.”

“So I guess I don’t get too caught up in my own particular journey. Like, I’m very interested in my own story, and keeping it going, and filling in the blanks for myself. Hopefully I just always have that urge to do that,” he said.

Lou Barlow’s growing maturity and progression as a songwriter is also evident on Brace The Wave. While his earlier work with his band Sebadoh was quite aggressive, and equal parts internal and external loathing, his work on Brace The Wavespeaks to both an artist, and a human being, that is much more in tune with their emotions.

“I guess in the past I used to be pretty explicit about who the songs were about. And I’ve found that maybe now I wouldn’t be so explicit- now I would probably say less. I wish I had said a little less, I wish I’d just let the songs speak for themselves,” Barlow said.

“For whatever reason, I thought I had to fill in biographical details in order to make the songs more interesting, and I wish I hadn’t, I kind of regret doing that. I think maybe now, I would be a little more tight-lipped about the specifics of songs. I write in a very general way, like I’m not talking

4 about names or mentioning places. There’s a lot of music that’s very specifically biographical, and I write in a more general way, that I feel is a lot closer to country music.”

The album speaks for itself, especially on tracks like ‘Lazy’:

“Take my life turn it around 55, learning to breathe know I’ve got no right to be down but I’m so lazy it’s true simply addicted to you but it’s over and done with, we’re through”

Despite the clarity and honesty that Barlow infuses his music with, he doesn’t see himself or his music as being revelatory.

“I don’t know, I guess I feel like I’m just part of a larger flow of music. I’ve heard music described as a river, to be pretentious, and it’s like this great flowing river, and so many people are a part of it, and what you do is try to add to that. What people take away from music is what I take away from music, so to be a part of that, and to actually have people take something away from my music is incredibly flattering. But in the end, I’m just mostly concerned with making better music.”

“I don’t really get too caught up in what I do, or what it means to people, because I’m more concerned with what I’m gonnado, and what I might be able to do. I’m mostly interested in potential, how I can make things better,” he said.

While Barlow’s fixation on the future, and “potential” is the fuel that drives many true artists, Barlow’s body of work is already impressive- intimidatingly so, given his vital role in Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh, as well as his equally important solo output. Despite such decorated work, Lou Barlow insists that he still has a lot more to do.

“I’ve never really achieved what I wanted to achieve yet. Maybe I’ve come close, here and there. But I always hear things that amaze me, by other people.”

This seems to be the case with both his solo output, and his work in Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh, which he views as distinctly different, yet equally rewarding.

“It’s cool to be part of a rock band that’s got a real reputation, and a real vibe. I guess when I was a kid, and bands like the Ramones seemed so appealing to me, it’s because they were a group of like- minded people, there was so much energy in these groups.”

It also doesn’t come as a surprise that after the turbulent and admitted “dysfunctional” dynamic within his bands, that Barlow views his solo work as a valuable release.

“It’s just more liberating not having to ask anybody what they think. I’ve worked with a lot of people with really strong personalities, with great tastes, great opinions and great players, but sometimes

5 it’s just good to listen to myself. To just not step on anybody’s toes or worry about the politics,” he said.

Regardless of who he’s playing with, Lou Barlow has truly cemented himself as one of the most dynamic and creative minds in music. Particularly for his early embrace of ‘lo-fi’, which as well as being an aesthetic choice, has also been widely utilised in more current times to accompany music of an honest or personal nature. Sound familiar?

Ultimately, Barlow himself described the concept of ‘lo-fi’ in the most suitable way.

“A raw capture of something.”

‘2015: The Year Australian Albums Broke and What it Means for 2016.’

By Adrian Pedic

While I’d hate to disagree with Courtney Barnett, it seems we were wise to put her, and many other Australian acts, on a pedestal this year. With her debut LP Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit scoring consistently high on the lists of 2015s best albums, it is also unsurprising to see the same lists dominated by Tame Impala’s Currents.

7 However, while these two albums pushed Australian music to the forefront of the musical conversation in a way that hasn’t been since in a long time, there was also a wealth of other home- grown releases that were received highly this year.

Gang of Youths‘ and Szymon’s releases this year, The Positions and Tigersapp, respectively, also sent big waves around the country, and also the world, with their highly emotive and clearly resonant narratives. Gang of Youths in particular seized their day, with three national tours in the latter half of the year, and a growing and naturally rabid fanbase.

What’s interesting to note is that despite the lack of natural overlap between the genres and sounds played by these acts, there was a trend of highly personal storytelling, and an undercurrent of self- doubt and deprecation present in all of these releases. With Bad//Dreems, Parkway Drive and British India also releasing well-received albums this year, it seems the “Australian spirit”, and ability to cut through bullshit, is performing on an international level.

There is an obvious appeal to this mode of songwriting, and while it isn’t always so blatantly obvious or advertised in such a way, there nevertheless is a body of work that the world identified as Australian music, and something about it was just so quintessentially ‘Australian’, in whatever abstract and subjective terms that word means to anybody outside of the country.

There was also a beauty in the mundane that was explored in many of these releases; from Kevin Parker singing about running into an ex during his trip to the dry cleaners, to Courtney Barnett singing about lattes and the process of moving in to a new house, to Gang of Youths terrifying illustrations about hospitals and quiet car rides.

Again, while these fall into personal moments, rather than a consolidated national effort, it reveals the underlying insight that some our very best and brightest could place and order into a song.

It’s understandable, and also infinitely strange, that millions of people around the world could find peace from their own doubts in the voices of our own, whether they be a high falsetto, a quintessentially Australian twang, or a quiet boom.

Regardless, Australia is now a ‘scene’ within itself. This was the year the efforts of many disparate artists were recognised as a whole, and that voice rang throughout the world. Its recognition and it’s a promising sign of things to come.

It’s a well-deserved focus on the musical efforts of a country that consistently produces excellent artists, who are sometimes not met with the reception they deserve. From this point in, let’s hope that next year shows the world how much more we’ve got to offer.

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/467291/the-most-iconic-music-moments-in-modern-film- history.htm

‘The Most Iconic Music Moments in Modern Film History.’

By Adrian Pedic

Often film and music buffs are one of a similar ilk, so no doubt we can agree that there’s nothing better than experiencing the synergy between a iconic movie scene and its perfect audio accompaniment.

Though there will always be an ongoing debate as to whether a soundtrack ‘makes’ the scene or whether the scene in which its used make the song iconic, but one thing is for certain, and that’s when combined properly both can transcend the film experience to create something much bigger than the sum of its parts.

9 To celebrate great music and film partnerships we’ve collated a list of what we believe to be some of the most iconic musical moments in modern film history.

PULP FICTION (1994): ‘GIRL YOU’LL BE A WOMAN SOON’ BY URGE OVERKILL

Pulp Fiction features many violent and shocking scenes, from Marvin’s unexpected demise to the brutal scene in Zed’s dungeon. However, this scene, where Mia Wallace overdoses to the tune of Urge Overkill’s ‘Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon’ is one of the most unsettling scenes in Tarantino’s entire filmography.

The anticipation and dread that begins to escalate from the moment she finds the bag of heroin, right until the final shot of her bloodied face is an absolutely wrenching moment.

LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003): ‘ALONE IN KYOTO’ BY AIR

This scene will be immediately familiar to anybody who has ever travelled; for anybody who has experienced a culture shift, and been left puzzled and perhaps isolated by an unfamiliarity with not only their surroundings, but the people themselves. Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation is a film that largely focuses on such an experience.

This scene, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) wondering alone in Kyoto, is a near perfect summary of an experience that many people have gone through themselves. The song, appropriately called ‘Alone in Kyoto’, scores this experience with the perfect mix of quirkiness and gravitas, and perfectly mirrors the train of thought of not only Charlotte, but countless others.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985): ‘DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME)’ BY SIMPLE MINDS

Fact: Everybody loves The Breakfast Club. Fact: The Breakfast Club is awesome. Fact: The Breakfast Club owes much of its awesomeness to the use of this song.

While it’s been parodied countless times, it’s impossible to forget the first time you saw this classic, and felt moved by the way these characters moved and slowly bonded.

The culmination of all this in the ending, as they leave detention and seemingly triumph over the labels and identities that have forced upon them, is a wonderfully rewarding moment, and that final shot of Judd Nelson triumphantly fist-pumping, while quintessentially ’80s, still packs a heart- warming punch. As Fry from Futurama said so eloquently of The Breakfast Club soundtrack: “I can’t way till I’m old enough to feel ways about stuff”.

THE DEPARTED (2006): ‘SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON’ BY THE DROPKICK MURPHYS

The Departed’s depiction of Boston is one of Martin Scorsese’s most accomplished feats. As the home to gangsters, corruption and a lot of violence, the cinematography of the film draws the viewer into the location so completely that it helps render the events of the film completely believable. “Yes, this could happen in a place like this”.

10 ‘Shipping Up To Boston’ by the Dropkick Murphy’s is a perfectly selected song, and is heard throughout the film several times: it’s got the grimy toughness that is mirrored in the location, it’s got a huge Irish influence, and it’s just undeniably a badass song.

Watching mentally unstable characters whirl their way around Scorsese’s Boston in a hail of blood and drugs is amusing, to say the least. However, to the tune of ‘Shipping Up To Boston’, it’s downright legendary.

CONTROL (2007): ‘ATMOSPHERE’ BY JOY DIVISION

This is undeniably one of the saddest moments in any film, given that it is of course based on the life of Ian Curtis, frontman of Joy Division.

Beginning to play after Curtis’ wife finds his body after his suicide, it is an almost unbearably haunting tune; from the moment the first lyric is sung by Curtis, it is hard not to think about the pain that informed so much of his music and life: “Walk in silence, don’t walk away, in silence”.

It’s a poignant end to an inherently sad film, and it doesn’t get much sadder than watching his band mates and friends silently grieve his death, before watching the smoke from his cremation rise into the black and white sky.

AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000): ‘HIP TO BE SQUARE’ BY HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS

Watch the video. There’s not much you can say about this scene that Christian Bale doesn’t do better, and with dancing.

DONNIE DARKO (2001): ‘UNDER THE MILKY WAY’ BY THE CHURCH

While it may not be as iconic as some of the previous choices, ‘Under The Milky Way’ in Donnie Darko is a perfect match.

With the film proceeding in a darkly humourous, morbid, existential and foreboding manner, the use of the song in the beginning of the film’s climax manages to evoke the same themes of mystery and disaster.

When the two lines “And it’s something quite peculiar” and “It leads you here, despite your destination” are sung, they land with heavy, anxious thuds, as they communicate the sense of hopelessness and dread that speak to what’s for come for Donnie Darko.

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/457429/10-years-on-a-retrospective-look-at-the-drones- breakthrough-album.htm

Wait Long By The River And The Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By 10th Anniversary Feature

By Adrian Pedic

“If you don't like it, then go home. I remember thinking, 'This is really cool'. But at the same time, I remember we were trying new things, and us thinking we didn't know what this is. It's all pretty hazy back then,” said Gareth Liddiard.

Wait Long By The River And The Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, the Drone's second studio album, opens with the greatest Australian song of all time.

12 'Shark Fin Blues' is a brutal stab of Australian rock, with Gareth Liddiard's bruised and bruising vocals scraping every high and low, amidst a backdrop of crashing guitars and cymbals. It opens with a foreboding prophecy that feels suitable for the album that would launch the Drones' career:

“Standing on the deck watching my shadow stretch.”

Ten years on and it's still a landmark Australian release, though front man Gareth Liddiard remembers things quite differently.

“You could have something that you think is the best thing ever, it doesn't mean anyone's gonna like it. Or you could have the worst piece of shit, and it'll make you a million dollars. So yeah, I didn't see it coming,” he said.

“It's kinda weird that it's ten years old, but it's cool that people still like it or get it.”

“When I listen to stuff we've done, I like a lot of it, but a lot of it too, I go 'Yeah, fuck, could've done that better', you know? Just a lot of mistakes. Like we're not reinventing the wheel, but we're pretty weird. And when you're weird, and looking for the weird angle, sometimes you wonder past it, and you've gotta double back.”

Given that the Drones are reissuing their entire back catalogue, Liddiard has also been spending a lot of time with old releases, while the Drones are also due to release a new album before the end of the year.

“I like the really old ones, the mid-2000s ones, like listening to them I can't remember what I was going for, and that's good. It's good for me, because I can actually listen and enjoy it for what it actually is. With the more recent stuff, I can still remember what I was trying to do, so I can hear every time I overshoot or undershoot. It's not as much fun.”

“In hindsight you can see what you're capable of, but we didn't have that back then. We were pushing into the unknown, and now you see, what we were capable of, what are the limits, what we should be concentrating on. We're not gonna become a jazz-fusion band anytime soon, because that's beyond our capabilities,” he said.

“The way we see the world hasn't really changed. Nothing really changes, except you don't fly off the handle as much, and you just know your limits.”

While the re-issue of their back catalogue, including Wait Long..., is being handled by the Drones and their record label, Tropical Fuck Storm (TFS), its initial release was delayed by over a year due to a legal dispute with their original label, Spooky Records. Liddiard has always been vocal in his disdain for the music industry, and obviously their history played a role in their decision to begin handling their own material.

“Record labels are still real cunts, because now everybody is desperate for money. Even the 'indies' aren't really indie anymore. We've been backed into a corner, really. They're just making music to make money, so it's all bad, and it's a conservative time, it's something like the 1950s I reckon, in a different sense,” he said.

13 “In the 1950's there was heaps of money, so they were just doing the most banal crap ever, because it would sell, whereas now there's no money, and it's the mirror image, you've got the same problem. Just because everyone's really desperate to sell something. They'll wrap something up as 'indie' and 'alternative' and 'fresh' but there's so much retro going on. What could be more conservative than taking something as based on 'fresh' and basing it on retro?”

“Like new rock n roll, and I'm only taking about rock n roll, but new rock n roll died around the early, mid 2000's. Now everything you do, you have to pretend you're in the 60s or the 70s or the 80s, because any of those eras, if you're copying them, you're not copying them. Like the 80s, whatever it was, was really fucking original, there had never been an 80s before, and we've lost that. That's been lost.”

Given that the Drones have maintained a reputation as a progressive and well-respected Australian band, as well as one of the best live acts in the country, it's not surprising that the tenth anniversary of their breakthrough album would be so highly celebrated. However, in such a “conservative time”, and given that “weirdness” is Liddiard's professed musical signature, it's still somewhat of an anomaly within the current music landscape, with our perpetually diminishing attention spans and whole libraries of music within easy access, that a band as admittedly strange as the Drones could be able to re-issue a back catalogue that started barely over ten years ago.

“We're not that successful, people seem to think we're bigger than we are. I mean, we just always thought that there was gonna be a niche, or a gap in the market, for weird music, and weird music played with an Australian accent. Lo and behold.”

“We thought you could marry something like The Stooges or Led Zeppelin with something like Bob Dylan or Randy Newman, so you have all this inventive music with inventive lyrics, and we just figured 'Fuck, there's gotta be somebody out there who'll listen to that',” he said.

“That's what it's been forever: surely there are more people like us. We're not original, but if I wasn't in the Drones, I would probably buy their records. It's moved on, and I won't call it a niche, but we are very strange. Like people say things like 'pub rock', but we're probably the weirdest band in Australia.”

While it's hard to label The Drones as anything as straightforward as “pub rock”, they're constantly being mentioned as a candidate for the best live band in Australia, and have been for their whole career. Having just played a very-well received show at the Opera House for Vivid Festival for the tenth anniversary of Wait Long..., the band have expanded this into an entire tour of Australia, after which the band will release their new record.

“It was a bit strange when we were asked to do that, for Vivid. They asked us to come play and all that, but they said 'You'll need an angle to play the festival', so somebody said 'Wait Long's ten years old', and we thought that'd do- any excuse to play the Opera House.”

“We finished our record, the new one, and then did a few rehearsals for the Wait Long stuff, and I didn't know what to expect but we were all really surprised. We'd been pulling our hair out, trying to make a new record, so playing the Wait Long stuff was really cool because of it, it just played itself,” he said.

14 “It was really fresh, paradoxically enough, you know? You'd think playing something that's ten years old would be as boring as batshit, but it turned out 'Wow, this is actually quite fresh'. We'd been stuck in that studio for six months, desperately trying to make something weirder than our last bunch of weirdness.”

While “weird” seems to be the watch word for Gareth Liddiard and the Drones, their appeal is undeniable. As a live unit, they are known for their sonic assault, for wrenching their melodies and chords out of each instrument with reckless glee. However, it's mostly Liddiard's intense dedication, bordering on physical punishment, which has kept the fans coming back.

“If you're aware of what you're doing, you're not having a good show, that's the thing. A good show is you've played a bunch of shows, and then you're running on auto-pilot. You kind of don't think, it's a very odd thing,” he said.

“It's a really good feeling. Because I sing and play, and I know drummers know the same thing, I'm doing that 'patting my head and rubbing my shirt', doing two things at once. And that's a really good feeling, because your brain's ripped in half. So you can be totally shredding away on guitar in one half of your brain, and in the other half, you're singing words, or ad libbing.”

“It's really hard to explain. It's like being on drugs, it's really good. Then you walk off stage and you have to try to remember bits of it. You can't remember a good show, because your memory wasn't engaged, it was just happening. It's really strange.”

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/461183/20-years-on-looking-back-at-oasis-whats-the-story-morning- glory.htm

20 Years On: Looking Back At Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?

By Adrian Pedic

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? opens with a trick; the opening chords of ‘Wonderwall’ are strummed loosely, before the opening track begins proper: ‘Hello’ is a bold, ballsy gesture, complete with an unintentional prophecy that is true of many great albums: “And it’s never gonna be the same”.

Indeed, they never were. In the 20 years since its release, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? has become arguably one of the most important releases in pop music, as well as pop culture.

16 It’s been copied relentlessly, with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Snow Patrol and even Sydney’s own DMA’s taking (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? as both a gospel and a blueprint for their own music.

However, this wasn’t always the case. Upon its release, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? was unfavourably compared to Oasis’ previous album, Definitely Maybe.

While Definitely Maybe is a great album in its own right, the deviation on their second album to a more pop-focused style was met with the same reaction that we’ve come to expect when bands in the 90s transitioned to commercially successful music: “Fucking sell-outs”.

Critics slated (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? for lacking the rawness and attitude of their previous album, with David Stubbs of Melody Maker (now defunct) calling it “…laboured and lazy. On this evidence, Oasis are a limited band… they sound knackered”.

It’s all too common for landmark releases to be met with critical backlash. It usually occurs because, within the social and cultural context, there isn’t an immediate comparison or anchor point for the album.

While alternative pop music reached some lofty peaks in the 90s (Nevermind, Ten, Bandwagonesque), an alternative band hadn’t yet crafted such a pure statement in pop music like (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?.

Like their spiritual predecessors, The Beatles, Oasis managed to blend intelligence, emotion, and massive appeal onto a rock ‘n’ roll record. It’s fair enough to see why nobody expected it.

All of this is perfectly captured in the most successful of the album’s six (!) singles: ‘Wonderwall’. While not the best song on the album, it is the most emblematic and known. Its uplifting chorus, arrangement, strings, and instrumentation crystallise what makes (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? so appealing.

The song is perpetually rising to a climax, the lyrics sound good but aren’t too committal (see Nevermind, again) and it finds its emotional hook and successfully rallies the song around it.

‘Champagne Supernova’, ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and ‘Some Might Say’ are all similarly brilliant examples of the same methodology. However, even the lesser-known songs on the album were noteworthy.

‘Cast No Shadow’ is a genuinely heartfelt sentiment, featuring more substantial lyrics than the rest of the album: “Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say, chained to all the places that he never wished to stay”, and ‘She’s Electric’ is one of the most underrated songs of the decade.

It’s fitting that (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is one of the highest selling albums in UK history, and was globally successful on a similar scale. It wouldn’t be a mistake to call it one of the most definitive albums in history.

Twenty years on, it still sounds as fresh, as appealing, and as enduring as it did when it was released. There’s just one question: what the hell is a champagne supernova?

http://somethingyousaid.com/2015/08/10/album-review-wilco-star-wars/

Wilco- Star Wars Review

By Adrian Pedic

There's a lot to be said about Wilco releasing a new album completely out of the blue, with a novel name and matching album artwork. The irreverence could be easily interpreted as a marketing stunt, but anybody that's familiar with Wilco will know that at this point in their career, they have no need for such gimmicks. Instead, the irreverence is simply an illustration of their songwriting and production choices on their new album, which veers wildly and swiftly away from the careful so- called 'dad-rock' (a terrible phrase) that they had been cultivating since the release of Sky Blue Sky in 2005. While across that and the following two albums, Wilco progressively moved away from the mellower sound, Star Wars is such a departure that it could have only come from the mind of a master songwriter such as Jeff Tweedy, armed with arguably the greatest musicians of any current line-up. The result is a lean and loud affair, where Tweedy drives a firm wedge between 'pop' and 'accessible'. While every Wilco album is an intensely self-contained affair that seems to reflect Tweedy's intent at the time, Star Wars makes a self-aware decision to embrace Tweedy's eclecticism, and his intent here is ironically more focused than it has been in a while.

20 “EKG” opens the album with a misunderstanding; the instrumental track, while providing some great interplay between lead guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche, is an awkward and uncomfortable opening to an album that contrasts this by passing with great ease. While jarring, it's the punchline before the joke, in that it's speaks for Star Wars as a whole.

Speaking of Glenn Kotche, not since his debut on 2001's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has he been in such fine form. Listening to his drumming across the whole album, but especially on highlights “Random Name Generator” and “Pickled Ginger”, it gives the impression that he's been holding back for the last few albums; likewise for Nels Cline, for whom the fuzzy soundscape proves a smart move- rather than having the space for an extended solo or jam, he works his way through every song, contributing to the frenzied and chaotic sound of an album that is a masterpiece of precise instrumentation and restraint.

“You Satellite” could just be Wilco's new masterpiece, which features such a subtle build-up and progression through its five minutes, that the journey from a typically elliptical Tweedy tune to a beautifully expressive wall of sound is impossible to chart. While this provides a clear high point, there's really not a bad song in sight, not even a misstep. “More” opens the album in a more fitting manner than the actual opener, and primes the audience for what's to come. “The Joke Explained” is a wonderful instance of straight-faced humour that works wonderfully well with Tweedy's droll delivery and the equally lackadaisical music. “Taste the Ceiling” and “Where Do I Begin” provide a nice change of pace and allow Tweedy to insert some emotional backbone into the album. “Cold Slope” and “King Of You” seems like two halves of the same idea, yet provide two of the album's most heavy and rewarding moments- or as heavy as Wilco are ever going to sound, anyway.

Closer “Magnetized” is another standout, which closes Star Wars out in an appropriately ambitious manner; from the magnet strip keyboards in the opening to the soaring guitars in the chorus, to some refreshingly straight romantic sentiments from Jeff Tweedy, it sees the band accomplishing in a little under four minutes what would have once stretched beyond six, as a minimum.

Star Wars has come at a perfect time. Jeff Tweedy isolated the prime motivating factor behind the album's sudden release as “it felt like it would be fun”, and indeed Wilco haven't been this much fun to listen to in almost a decade. While their previous work stands on its own merits, Star Wars is just so deceptively simple that it's impossible not to enjoy it. It might just be the Wilco album that everybody deserves to hear, if not for any other reason than for how much fun it is. For fans, it might be divisive, but when Jeff Tweedy sings “I kinda like it when I make you cry/ a miracle every once in a while” on “Random Name Generator”, you know that he's doing it with a grin on his face. Six years after the release of Wilco (The Album), they finally live up to the promise they made: “Wilco will love you, baby.”

http://somethingyousaid.com/2015/05/27/album-review-max-gowan-big-people/

Max Gowan- Big People Review

By Adrian Pedic

Incoming sensation Max Gowan makes the most of his 18 years of experience on this Earth with his debut LP, Big People. His songs shine at the seams with an inexpressible youthfulness, and even in his more sombre moments, there's still a wistful naivety to his work.

Big People is surprising in many ways. The melodies graft themselves to the songs with ease, and his vocals and guitar tracks are always pleasantly in tune. The arrangement of the songs is supple and suggest a mature musical sensibility. There's also the fact that he wrote, recorded and produced the whole album in his bedroom, by himself. This isn't just “an album that's really good for an 18 year old”. This is a deep, rewarding and welcoming piece of music in every regard.

Gowan cites his influences as Wilco, Elliot Smith and Deerhunter, and seems to have treated his influences as simply that: influences. There are never moments when these encroach upon the song,

22 or remind us uncomfortably of a similar moment of another band's discography. What is consistent with his influences is the attention to detail, the restraint present in the songwriting, and above all else, the lyrical style, which often occurs in paradoxes or ironic sentiments: “I knew it all along/ Everything I was is gone/ But that's ok” he muses on closer, “Everything Is Cool”. Perhaps the closest point of reference is Real Estate, in that the deceptively breezy sound is compact, and the music has certain seasonal elements- an autumn drive, the classic spring sunlight- that underscore a deeper sense of unrest.

This is especially true of standout track, “Snow”, that feels shut-in, and “Face” feels like the cold beach breeze that is described in the chorus. It's these almost subconscious moments that have the most vivid imagery. I feel compelled to once again remark upon Gowan's age, and how disproportionate it feels when listening to his music. With a consistent tracklist, the end result is a rarely strong debut release. The longing for direction is purely a lyrical, and rather more personal, consideration.

While Big People will no doubt be under-looked simply due to the circumstances of its release, and many others will dismiss it because of Gowan's age, it nevertheless stands as one of 2015's best releases thus far. It might lack the cultural event of a high profile release, but 'self-assured' is a concise description of the LP. That's not very common praise for a debut album, and makes it all the worthy. Expect big things to come from Max Gowan.

http://somethingyousaid.com/2015/04/20/interview-bam-margera-is-back/

Bam Margera Feature

By Adrian Pedic

“I wrote that song as a complete joke, but you know, you read Interweb comments, like ‘Bam’s lost it, he wants to bend his dick back to his ass and fuck himself!’ It’s a fucking joke song you idiots,” said Bam Margera of “Bend My Dick To My Ass”, one of his older tracks that will be making a return on his upcoming Australian tour.

However, even though his sense of humour is still thankfully intact, Bam Margera is back, and wants to be taken seriously.

After a few quiet years following the passing of his best friend, Ryan Dunn, Margera seems intent on making up for lost time with a variety of new projects, which include a new band, a film, a cartoon, and a new clothing line.

24 The new band, Fuckface Unstoppable, have just added Andy McCoy, the guitarist from Hanoi Rocks, who’s also played with Iggy Pop. He’s also one of Bam’s personal heroes.

“Now we’ve got a legendary guitar player rocking with us. He’s been banned from the US, for like 20 years, for having counterfeit money back in the day. So we’ve gotta go to Finland first before Australia to practice a little,” he said, laughing.

He’s also starting a new band with McCoy called Irve Rocker, which will focus more heavily on McCoy as the guitarist.

Bam admitted to wearing his influences on his sleeve- literally.

“My arms are covered with people that are still alive and friends that inspire me,” he says, before rattling off a list of names- including Andy McCoy.

Along with McCoy, the album with also feature Chuck Treece from Bad Brains and Brent Hinds from Mastodon.

As well as touring with Fuckface Unstoppable, Bam Margera also has a film that he’s been working on for “a long, long time” that will chronicle the story of his life.

“Started skateboarding at age 8, turning pro at age 17 and Jackass happened, turning pro to a millionaire at age 18, then Ryan Dunn got in a car accident. After Ryan died I went into a little booze slump there, snapped out of it, started a band,” he said.

The film, called I Need Time To Stay Useless, will feature “everybody”, including the members of Jackass, the CKY crew, rock bands and skaters, including Tony Hawk. As is expected, there’s also going to be a fair amount of their patented brand of bad behaviour.

“I cut a hole in the top storey of my house with a carpet over it, and I had Novak walk in and he fell right through it, all the way down to the next storey below into a big pile of steaming hot trash. That was a recent one,” he laughed.

Given that his sense of humour seems to be intact, it’s hard to be surprised that his next project will be a cartoon.

“We’re all cats, there’s a Bam cat, a Novak cat, you know, and it’s called Cautionary Tales,” he said, once more laughing.

Coming from the man who once branded a penis shape onto his ass, it’s going to be interesting to see what his take on ‘cautionary tales’ will be.

On top of all that, he’s also got a clothing line coming out, named Irve Rocker Clothing, with a line for females called Princess Paranoia.

“Where’s he been lately?” was a question I heard a lot coming into my interview with Bam Margera. He seems to be intent on reminding everybody why he’s famous in the first place.

25 Not for the stunts, but for the work ethic, that same entrepreneur spirit that made him buy a camcorder and start filming his stunt videos and skating. The edge that made him a star on MTV, and an inspiration to countless kids around the world.

With his new projects on the horizon, Bam seems intent on making a name for himself once again, though this time he’s pushing into new fields entirely.

Who’s surprised though? The man has always worked best while taking risks.

http://somethingyousaid.com/2015/04/10/music-review-gang-of-youths-the-positions/

Gang of Youths- The Positions Review

By Adrian Pedic

Sydney’s Gang of Youth’s debut LP, The Positions, probably isn’t what you’d expect of the group. The album chronicles front-man David Le’aupepe’s relationship with a woman who had a terminal illness, and his thoughts and feelings towards it. Combining elements of 90s pop and folk rock with a heavily rhythmic approach, the group has created an album with a story, and importantly, with significant emotions and thoughts circulating throughout it.

Opening with the highlight, “Vital Signs”, the album kicks off in a brief ambient haze before the drums and matching guitar line guide us into the song’s centrepiece: the lyrics. Indeed, the vocals are the nucleus from which many of the songs attain their orbit. They are often the sole melody, and thankfully, Le’aupepe proves his worth, with performances ranging from moody and atmospheric to outright frustrated. It’s this easy symbiosis between singer and his band that proves so effective in gaining a recognition of the album.

The band seems to understand this dynamic well- there are two songs that are simple progressions that hone the focus solely on the vocals. “Kansas” and “Knuckles White Dry” are two of the album

27 highlights, with the latter feeling as exposed as an open wound, and the prior feeling confused, like Le’aupepe can’t find his way out of the song. It also highlights the geographical shift of Gang of Youths from Sydney to Nashville, USA. The whole album rings with a similar visual palette; of dusty roads and the hot Western sun. These moments see the group embrace their admitted Bruce Springsteen influence even more so, albeit with the distanced perspective of a stranger in the land. You can take the boys away from the VB, but you can’t take the VB out of the boys.

While every song on the album has been crafted with a meticulous attention to detail, it is the larger framework that ultimately proves to be contentious. Depending on your level of involvement and investment with the album, the tracklist will either successfully convey the story of Le’aupepe’s relationship and how much it subsequently fucked him up- or you’ll either be bored by how it divides the record into two distinct halves: all of the upbeat, more pop-inclined songs comprise the first half of the album, while all of the slower and more wondering songs are on the second half. Before I knew what the album was about, I was put off by the sequencing of the songs; when listening to it afterwards, there were certain moments that were too hard to ignore: “If I hear another ‘I love you’, ‘Get well’/ from someone we don’t know or that I didn’t tell/ I swear that I’ll show them a vision of hell/ It gets tiresome, you know.” It’s one of many breathtaking moments from the waltz of “Knuckles White Dry”, which acts as the album’s climax. There are other moments of potent honesty on the album, though you have to be listening to hear them.

Gang of Youths have truly exceeded expectations on this album. While their profile in the various media is sarcastic at best, on The Positions, they took the risk of opening themselves up emotionally- specifically David Le’aupepe, whose vocals and lyrics were often too effective; it’s easy to get the feeling that he means exactly what he says, and that he’s describing reality instead of fiction in some of the album’s darker moments. However, it’s a feat in and of itself that the album can bring a listener to care so much. From the rousing and tingling opening to the exhausted and resigned close, The Positions was best described by the band themselves: “EMOTIONAL-ASS, 10-TRACK CONCEPT ROCK”.

Album Highlights: “Vital Signs”, “Radioface”, “Kansas” and “Knuckles White Dry”

http://somethingyousaid.com/2015/06/11/interview-death-bells-do-it-themselves/

Death Bells Interview

By Adrian Pedic

We had the chance to catch up with Sydney's Death Bells before their support at Gang of Youth's last show of their tour. If you read our review, you'll know that they nailed it. Maurice, Remy, John and Will discuss some of their upcoming plans, their attitude towards their music, and whether “pop” is a dirty word.

You guys have just released a single, which came out about a month ago, “You, Me And Everyone In-Between”. What can you tell us about how that's been going so far?

Will: So it's been going pretty well. We've had a few shows since the release, I guess we sat on it for a little bit. There were a lot of responses to it though, like it was really intense, a lot of people responded. It's been going well, we've continued to record and write new songs, and just try and scope out something we've got.

So you guys have actually been doing pretty well since the single was released. Tonight you're opening for Gang of Youths, so what do you see in the band's future from this point onwards?

Maurice: Just smash it up the east coast of Australia, play for like six months, then hopefully get on the festival circuit, and potentially go over to America or the UK around this time next year. Obviously with the release of an album at the end of the year, we can just ride off that for the whole of next year and just play shows. We released the single, with no songs out, the second week it came out we got asked to play a show, we got the Gang [of Youths] show without ever playing a show. It just happened so quick, so I would like to be in a position to be able to predict what's coming, but I really don't know. It's exciting.

With moving forward so quickly, is it hard to keep track of the band itself, and putting out material and keeping on top of it?

Remy: It can be a bit difficult, because I live in Byron Bay, practice wise. But the boys have been writing these songs for about a year now, so we have material. We have an album, with all the songs ready to go, so hopefully that will be released around summer time. Then, once I graduate uni at the end of this year, I'll move to Sydney, so logistically everything will be a bit easier, but right now I'm just flying down every weekend, every two weekends, and we have shows and practice.

So with the decision to move overseas, in around a year's time, what do you see as the benefits, or the reasoning, behind that?

Maurice: Just for a wider audience. I don't wanna just stick to one audience demographic, you know what I mean? Like a lot of Australian bands don't make it overseas, not because they're not talented, but just because they don't have the motivation. We're all young, and motivated, we're willing to make this work, and to juggle it with other things- so I feel going over to Europe and America is the next logical move, because there's so much opportunity to work with record labels and management.

John: It's also so much cheaper and practical to tour the US and the UK and Europe. Here, you have no backing, everything costs an arm and a leg, like simple things like hiring vans and shit like that.

Remy: Of course, we want to be established in Australia, and lock down Australia.

Maurice: We don't want to rush in.

Yeah there's actually a really significant history of Australian bands being successful overseas, going back all the way to the 80's. Even now, a band like DMA's are still really low key in Sydney, where they're from, while they're selling out the Brixton Academy in the UK. Remy, you lived in the UK, how do you think that'll help if you guys decide to re-locate over there?

Remy: I moved to Leeds around this time last year for university, I was there for a semester and ended up staying nine months. I met lots of great people, and got inspired, musically, by people around me, by friends I made who were doing all different types of music; notably, hardcore bands and everyday practising, you know, working on their musical ability. That was really inspiring. Hopefully by the time we get back over there, I've networked with a few booking agents, and

30 hopefully a few bands to tour with, who have a similar sound to us in Europe. Yeah, hopefully when we get this record out, and we're established over here, then we can get over there and smash it out.

From what I can see, it seems like while your musical sensibilities might not be hardcore, there seems to be a strong DIY, hardcore ethic in the band. What does that mean to you?

John: We've done everything ourself- put out the record, getting out there, making all the posters ourselves, putting them up ourselves, booking the shows, setting up.

Remy: Literally the first money we invested into this was hiring a van to go to Melbourne, before that we hadn't paid money for photos, for recording, for press. We literally have done it all ourselves, and yeah those roots are all with us three, and Will as well, being into music; it's been a bit more underground that the stuff we're doing now, where we've had to do everything ourselves- if we don't, nothing happens. You wanna get it done, you do it yourself.

Maurice: Even like this gig. We haven't even loaded in yet, we dropped all out shit in the main room, and they go 'You guys can go, we'll set it all up'. Having played shows, you always set up your own gear. I've played in hardcore bands for three, four, five years of my life, and I can tell you that even US, international touring bands always set their own gear up. It's just a huge cultural shift.

Remy: It's a new world for us. We're excited to get stuck in, for sure.

Along with that, do you think approaching music- or any creative art- with a DIY attitude, with that mentality, do you think that affects your ambition and your approach to the music itself?

Maurice: I think it keeps you more humble, man. I think it keeps you grounded, you won't get such a big head, like get lost in the whole personality of the band, and thinking you're better than everyone else. It keeps your roots in where you started, how hard you worked for music to try get where you are now, from the bottom end of a scene that's catering towards you. You still want to make the effort to do things by yourself to show initiative.

Remy: Don't forget the ethos of why you started the band, we started this band because this is the type of music we wanted to play, and we wanted to do something a bit different, and this is a new creative outlet. Because we've started out DIY, it's always been us. The music is what really matters to us, not fucking selling 300 t-shirts at a show or whatever.

Yeah, well given that you're keeping the music at heart, what can you tell us about the upcoming record?

Will: A lot of contrast. Really slow, simple songs, but also really upbeat, energetic songs that we personally feel would go down well at a show. We have that really happy, energetic sound, but at the same time a lot of the lyrics are kind of sombre. Even as far as the aesthetic, with the DIY approach, the music is really polished, and there's a contrast in that as well. So I feel like that's an element that's really driving the project.

Remy: Yeah, there's also a bunch of different influences, we all listen to so so many different types of music, and being over in England, like the songs we're writing, the leads I'm playing. I'm listening to

31 the Stone Roses and the Smiths, all those Manchester bands from the 80s are kind of where I'm taking my guitar hooks. Maurice has got a bunch of different influences, and Will as well.

Maurice: I think the way a good album is structured is like, it starts off slow, sort of energetic to keep people listening, it gets to its own peak as an album. We can get slower, then pick it back up again. You don't want songs that all sound the same, the same energy; we want that layered energy that picks up and drops, and keeps you wanting to listen to the album.

Remy: Yeah, the album sounds good.

So obviously you guys have a lot of different influences. How prominent would you say the Australian influence is?

Maurice: Oh, so much dude. So much.

In what ways?

Maurice: What did Johnny Marr say? “If you're not playing music that sounds like where you're from, you're doing something wrong”.

Remy: To not play music from where you're from, you're faking it.

Maurice: People can compare us to bands from Northern England, and say we sound like that, and while I like those bands, 100% this band is based on bands like The Go-Betweens, You Am I, even Screamfeeder, Jebediah, Custard. Even songwriting sensibilities like Crowded House and stuff. Even Paul Kelly. We want to use so many instruments on this record now, like we could have stripped it back to just guitars and drums and just had a punk record, but because we had acoustics, synths, pads and different shit, it gives it that sensibility of like The Go-Betweens, which is really what I want it to sound like.

So from just a few of the bands you've cited, would you describe yourselves as a pop group, or a group with pop sensibilities?

Will: We play music with a lot of different influences, but at the same time we don't want to overstate it. We don't wear it on our sleeves, like yes, we write to different preconceptions of genre, of what we want the band to sound like, but at the same time I feel like it's hugely original, especially as a step away from all the other bands that we've played in.

It seems like when people talk about independent music, or underground music, that it's exclusive from anything that's pop-oriented. So how do you feel that you guys are tackling that as a band? Does pop music and indie credibility have to be mutually exclusive?

Will: I think there's a massive difference between pop music and catchy songs. We play catchy songs.

John: I was gonna say, define pop. Like what's pop?

You can't really.

John: Exactly.

32 Maurice: Like with tonight, I've been saying it to so many people, don't just judge us based on the single, it's the most held-back song on the record. On the songs that Will sings on, there's full on screaming and stuff. I feel it's like- dude, the Dandy Warhols [they are playing over the PA of the pub]. It's a pop song, but it's still got that heavier aesthetic.

Remy: At the end of the day it's electric guitar music, but we think it's pretty catchy, and we hope that other people do too.

Maurice: I think it's the way you carry yourself as a band as well. I think it goes back to how we've done everything ourselves, up until this point. And we're gonna do it for as long as we possibly can, until, if, we get to that point where people say “We'll do it for you”. We always wanna do it ourselves, because no-one can do it better than ourselves.

The Glory of Ego

By Adrian Pedic

Kanye West and Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) are two of the most creative and well-respected figures in music. Any new activity they release sets the music press and the public collectively frothing. However, as two important figures in music, there’s a key difference between them. And as examples of two opposites, it encompasses everything in between.

Kanye West declares that he is God - on radio and in song. Kevin Parker is an admitted introvert who writes songs like “Solitude Is Bliss” and “Why Won’t They Talk To Me?” They seem to have a very different understanding of themselves.

Obviously it’s a matter of ego. Kanye’s ego has its own ego that will inevitably detach and metamorphose into human form that also puts out revolutionary music. While Kevin Parker plays it low key, you can’t deny that to produce the sort of music he does would require strong conviction of his own genius. So obviously Kevin Parker is nursing an ego that at the very least informs his ability to keep on putting out music. Tame Impala dropped a new song this week, and it was what nobody expected. An 8-minute long funk jam? If Kanye did that, he would make sure you knew how ballsy it was.

35 Even someone like Kendrick Lamar must have the kind of ego that allows people like Kanye and Kevin Parker to make such transgressive leaps in music. Kendrick’s been releasing new information about his upcoming album, and it’s looking to be no less ambitious than Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

My point: ambition is directly tied to ego. Just by having the sort of ambition that these musicians do, it already elevates their work- it’s almost self-fulfilling: having such high ambition is already ambitious in itself.

Now, I can understand that not everybody is a fan of these artists- Kanye West in particular. You could say that he’s divisive; there’s the Next Great Musician camp, and there’s the Megalomaniac Asshole camp. I guess it depends on your appreciation of the music, but we’re all familiar with the “I like his music but I hate the person” sentiment. So the ego is to blame for Kanye’s divisive public image?

I can understand his sometimes abrasive behaviour- being married to Kim Kardashian certainly doesn’t do him any favours- but is his (possibly justified) belief in his greatness so off-putting? Or is it just how public he makes it?

I think it’s a matter of shame. An ego is something that you keep private; something to keep to yourself. We’re not taught to be ashamed of it, but we’re taught not to flaunt it. The tension arises when people are expected to hide their ego even if they have the talent to back it up. We all know that cocky guy who’s so sure of himself, yet never really displays any sign of true skill. That’s different. I’m not defending pride as a means of belittling others. I’m defending the right for someone to know their own value, and to not hide it from others.

That’s why Kanye’s antics don’t bother me- because if we try to take away his right to be in love with his own talent, we also lose his talent. Ego is the foundation that his achievements are all laid on. He is only as good as he is because he knows he can be. The same goes for Kevin Parker and Kendrick Lamar, and these are only two examples. All throughout history there have been brilliant men who have displayed vanity. The two go hand in hand for a reason: one begets the other.

I guess we can blame it on social media. Everybody with a keyboard and half-baked opinion gets a voice. Or maybe we can blame ourselves: Kanye makes an easy target of himself because it’s easy to hate him for genuinely not caring about what we say.

Either way, next time you want to criticise a musician or artist just for their ego, think about it again. Noel Gallagher is an egotistical monster, but nobody cares because he was in Oasis? Some of the greatest achievements in not only the arts, but human history, have been the result of men driven by their own belief in themselves. Anybody with self-worth shouldn’t have to hide it. Achieving in spite of others shouldn’t be a reason for success.

My name is Adrian Pedic, and I’m an egoist. Deal with it.

Breakfast In Fur- Flyaway Garden

8/10

This album from New York band Breakfast In Fur is an enigma. A highly instrumental, melodic enigma. As an album, it has tremendous momentum that makes it fly by; as a series of songs, there are some weak links that threaten to derail this- a threat that never comes fully true due to the album's overall consistency.

The outstanding track “Lifter” comes in halfway through, and sets the stellar last half of the piece in motion; the following tracks transition into each other and help close the album in a thoroughly ambitious and fitting method.

However, it is nevertheless the weak tracks (“Portrait”, “Ghum”) that cause incongruence throughout the work. Not that they are bad- they are in fact typical songs that sound like a colour- by-numbers for the band. Despite this, Flyaway Garden is a promising start to 2015, featuring some truly great songs, and more importantly, a consistent final product.

Swervedriver- I Wasn't Born To Lose You

9/10

37 Swervedriver's first album in 17 years sounds straight out of the 90s. Except the production makes it sound like the best album from the “90s”, and the song writing pulls together some of the best elements from the era.

With the guitars right on front of the mix, I Wasn't Born To Lose You sounds like a combination of Screaming Tree's, Teenage Fanclub and Soundgarden. The shoegaze is kept minimal, with the force of each song's melody keeping the audience attentive throughout. Standout track “A Day Like Tomorrow” matches it's powerful lead riff with impeccable arrangement and the perfect mix to accompany the song. Melancholy never sounded so uplifting.

However, while it presents some stadium-ready material, the album truly shines in its more contemplative moments- 17 years is a long time to mull things over. Regardless, I Wasn't Born To Lose You sounds like 2015's first truly great album- ironic considering it's essentially a reunion album.

Courtney Barnett- Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit

8/10

It’s both misleading and hilarious that Courtney Barnett’s first single from her debut album is called “Pedestrian at Best”. In one way, it’s the best representation of her humour and much of the album’s style. In another way, it’s horribly untrue. Barnett has crafted a wonderfully limber release, featuring some of her now trademark jangly riffing, as well as some quieter moments. Her other single, “Depreston”, is a more sombre affair; regardless, she still makes writing a good song sound easy.

Not only is none this ‘pedestrian’, it’s quite the opposite. The album has a great pace, and works well as its own package.

However, while it all comes together with style to spare, the songs do begin to have uniformity towards the end. Not to say that the songs aren’t fine on their own- it’s just that they can be too punchy to sustain an entire album’s worth.