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WHERE HAVE ALL THE BANDS GONE?
It's like a vacant heavyweight title: the belt is up for
grabs, but who will take it? With the departure of Powderfinger
and Silverchair, who is the biggest band in the land? There
is no obvious answer. Announcing their new album, The Ending
Is Just The Beginning Repeating, last week's press release
proclaimed, "The biggest band in the land, The Living End
…" They just might be. Not many modern bands are still going
strong when they hit album number six.
A hip hop buddy argues, "You could mount a case that the
Hilltop Hoods and Bliss N Eso are now our biggest bands.
I mean, how many rock acts are selling out Festival Hall?"
It's a fair point. Clearly, the local scene has evolved.
Maybe a dance act is our biggest band: The Presets or Sneaky
Sound System. As for our biggest rock bands: Jet, You Am
I and The Vines? Their big days might be behind them. The
Drones and Eddy Current? Critical acclaim, but limited sales.
The Temper Trap? Definite contenders; their second album
will tell the tale. If doing big shows is the gauge of success,
The Wiggles might take the title. Or perhaps Short Stack.
They get no respect, but they're doing Festival Hall on
July 2. And let's not forget The Cat Empire, who have done
a Myer Music Bowl.
The music scene is obviously fragmented, which is not necessarily
a good thing. Can you name the lead singers of all the above
bands and would you recognise them if they walked into the
room right now? Tim Rogers is one of the few genuine rock
stars we've produced in the past 15 years. When Howzat!
was at high school, the big bands included Australian Crawl,
Cold Chisel, Men At Work, INXS, Midnight Oil, The Angels,
Divinyls, Mondo Rock, Dragon, Models, Mental As Anything,
Hunters and Collectors, Icehouse, Uncanny X-Men, Pseudo
Echo and the Hoodoo Gurus - all of 'em household names.
Chisel are working on a new album. Maybe they see an opening
and will soon reclaim their title. God knows, we need them
- or any other band - to step up.
REYNE FORECAST
Jaime Robbie Reyne launches his debut solo single, Remember
To Breathe, at Revolver on Saturday. Catch him while you
can - this is also a farewell show, with Jaime relocating
to New York the following day. "The time is right to make
the move," says Jaime, who will record his debut album in
the US with producer Niko Bolas. Jaime was in fine form,
fronting a rootsy trio, when Howzat! caught him at the Thornbury
Theatre last Thursday. He even covered Springsteen's I'm
On Fire - a hit the year Jaime was born. Jaime is pursuing
a music career against the good-natured advice of his dad,
James. "I'm going, 'Why would you do it? Don't do it,'"
James said, "but he doesn't listen." Of course, James became
one of our biggest rock stars in the '80s, but in an Adelaide
interview he revealed "times have changed". He no longer
drinks, preferring to jog while on tour. James delivered
one of the lines of the year: "I've got a route in every
city."
COVER ME
A highlight of the D. Rogers' residency at the Builders
Arms is the punters suggesting a cover for Dave to perform
the following week. Last week's winner was Dr Dre's The
Next Episode, which Dre Rogers will be performing tomorrow
night (Thursday).
AN AVALANCHE OF LISTS
We love a good list, especially when it helps promote Australian
music. Triple J has launched a public vote to find the Hottest
100 Australian Albums of All Time. To kick things off, the
network issued an "industry list", drawn from the 175 votes
of station presenters, industry people and band members.
Coming in at number one is The Avalanches' 2000 album, Since
I Left You. Word is the follow-up will finally be released
early next year. Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust - which
took top spot in last year's book The 100 Best Australian
Albums - is at seven on the Triple J list, while Howzat!'s
pick, Skyhooks' Living In The 70s, is at 100. Controversially,
the industry list includes just four female singers - Sarah
Blasko, Sia, Kylie and Magic Dirt, with Sarah's As Day Follows
Night leading the way at 31. Public voting for the Triple
J list concludes on June 26.
OSCAR MAYO
Congratulations to Howzat!'s favourite Adelaide artist,
Myles Mayo, the proud dad of a son named Oscar, who was
a whopping nine pounds 13 ounces. "Wow, what a day," Myles
said, "no one can prepare someone for that." Myles returns
to Melbourne to support Micah P Hinson at the Toff on June
30.
CHART WATCH
We're nearly halfway through 2011 and just two local releases
have reached the Top 10 - Guy Sebastian's Who's That Girl
and Havana Brown's We Run The Night.
We Run The Night HAVANA BROWN (number seven)
Loud STAN WALKER (18)
From The Music THE POTBELLEEZ (22)
The Seeker Lover Keeper supergroup has the week's highest
new entry, arriving at three.
Seeker Lover Keeper SEEKER LOVER KEEPER (number three, debut)
Roy DAMIEN LEITH (11)
Aphrodite KYLIE MINOGUE (14)
Future Primitive THE VINES (24, debut)
Destination Now THE POTBELLEEZ (26)
Rrakala GURRUMUL (27)
Midnight Remember LITTLE RED (35)
The Life of Riley DRAPHT (37)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
Remember To Breathe JAIME ROBBIE REYNE
Leave The Party MYLES MAYO
Chase The Sun SKIPPING GIRL VINEGAR
Baby Don't Cry CATHERINE TRAICOS
Buyer's Remorse D. ROGERS
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