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THE WEEKEND PEOPLE ON THURSDAY
Two old school mates. One has been in a successful musical
comedy outfit, the other has seen Triple J jump on to his
solo work. Meet The Weekend People, who are launching their
self-titled debut album tomorrow (Thursday) at the Toff.
Mark Woodward from Man Bites God went to school with Nicholas
Roy, who recently released his debut solo album, ... in
a shoebox under the bed. "We were both heavily involved
in music and theatre," Mark recalls, "but it took us a while
to become good friends. I actually found him to be quite
loud and annoying when I first met him. I think, ultimately,
it was music and smoking that we really bonded over." Mark
was inspired by a host of Aussie acts, including You Am
I, Snout, Something for Kate and The Lucksmiths.
So what's behind the name "The Weekend People"? "It had
been kicking around for a while when Nick and I started
working together. I just really liked it - there's something
evocative and distant about it, which suits our style, I
think. When we started writing together, we were both busy
with other projects - Nick with his solo work and me with
Man Bites God - so we treated our work together as a bit
more of a side-project, so the name seemed appropriate."
How does the band fit in with Nicholas' burgeoning solo
career? "Not surprisingly, with his album taking off, things
have been a little hard to manage, and for the time being
we're playing as a three-piece. That said, we've been working
on some demos for the next album, so we're looking forward
to being able to make the two things co-exist a bit more
easily."
The album has been a long time coming - The Weekend People
did their first gig six years ago, at the Empress with Man
Bites God and Rob Clarkson. Has Mark had a favourite description
of the band's sound? "There was a review a while ago that
described us as 'distantly beautiful'. That sat pretty well
with me."
IN GOOD NICK
Also launching at the Toff this week is Nick Batterham,
who's unveiling his stunning solo debut, Second Lovers,
on Sunday. Even though Nick made the album at home, the
sound is big. "I was pretty spoilt in the '90s making expensive
records, so it's hard to be satisfied with anything less
for my own recordings now," Nick explains. He enjoyed self-producing,
but adds: "Sometimes it'd be nice to have someone operate
ProTools so I didn't have to run backwards and forwards
all the time. I'd love to train the dog to press the space
bar, but she's more interested in chewing my drumsticks."
ROCK NERDS UNITE
It's such a rock nerd thing to do - compile a list. As the
title suggests, The 100 Best Australian Albums by John O'Donnell,
Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson ($60, Hardie Grant) ranks
the best Aussie albums - with Midnight Oil's Diesel and
Dust at number one. The book will make you happy and angry
(Howzat! is pleased that Ben Lee made the cut, staggered
that Joe Camilleri didn't). An even nerdier thing to do
is to collate the stats. The results? The book confirms
Melbourne is the rock capital. By Howzat!'s count, 40 of
the albums come from Melbourne (followed by Sydney with
38, Brisbane 11, and Perth four). We love bands - 75 per
cent of the entries come from bands. Just nine of the 100
albums come from female artists or bands fronted by women
(10, if you count The Hummingbirds). The '80s were the glory
days, according to the authors - 34 of the albums come from
that decade, followed by the 2000s (24), the '70s (19),
the '90s (15) and the '60s (eight). Howzat! maintains that
1979 was music's greatest year, but that year provides just
three albums. The greatest year, according to this list,
is 1980 (six entries), followed by 1986, 1988 and 2008 (five
each). The list's biggest seller - AC/DC's Back In Black
(number two); the lowest - Beaches' self-titled set (95).
Twenty-four of the albums charted in the US. No act has
more than two entries, but five artists have three: Barnesy
(two Chisel, one solo), Don Walker (Chisel and Tex, Don
& Charlie), Neil Finn (two Crowded House, one Split Enz),
Nick Cave (two Bad Seeds, one Birthday Party) and Ed Kuepper
(two Saints, one solo). The book also recognises the work
of producers (take note, ARIA Hall of Fame). Mark Opitz
and Nick Launay lead the way with four entries each, followed
by Tony Cohen and Charles Fisher (three each).
CHART WATCH
Zoe Badwi spends a second week in the Top 10.
Freefallin' ZOE BADWI (number 10)
Planets SHORT STACK (17)
Plans BIRDS OF TOKYO (20)
Rock It LITTLE RED (27)
Choose You STAN WALKER (28)
Get 'Em Girls JESSICA MAUBOY (31)
Clap Your Hands SIA (33, debut)
Freak Tonight SCARLETT BELLE (35)
Addicted BLISS N ESO (40)
Billy Thorpe's posthumous album lands at number 14.
Jack JOHN FARNHAM (number three)
Down The Way ANGUS & JULIA STONE (six)
The Very Best Of CROWDED HOUSE (12)
Tangier BILLY THORPE (14, debut)
Little Bird KASEY CHAMBERS (16)
Birds Of Tokyo BIRDS OF TOKYO (17)
Gurrumul GURRUMUL (19)
Running On Air BLISS N ESO (21)
Midnight Remember LITTLE RED (23)
Immersion PENDULUM (24)
Marcia Sings Tapestry MARCIA HINES (28)
Rage And Ruin JIMMY BARNES (29)
Angel Without Wings CAM HENDERSON (29)
Hillsong Chapel: Yahewh HILLSONG LIVE (31, debut)
I Believe You Liar WASHINGTON (32)
From The Inside Out STAN WALKER (33)
We Are Born SIA (34)
Always & Forever MIRUSIA (38)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
Mascara THE WEEKEND PEOPLE
Everything You Need NICK BATTERHAM
Comfort Me THE AUDREYS
Save! CHARLES JENKINS
Nectarine GB3
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