The A to Z of Pop - Z is for Zombocalypse

The A to Z of Pop

by Jo Michelmore

Finally, here we are at the last letter in the A to Z of Pop and what have we learnt in the previous letters of the alphabet, dear readers? Amongst other things, we have learnt that Ed Sheeran is not very good, contrary to popular opinion the 90s had some bad bits as well as good bits, sometimes I can get a little political, personal and a little bit Cher, sometimes even I can make a Simpsons reference and sometimes being a blogger is really hard work, which is why I used the same idea twice. WTF?


We're going to end the A to Z with a little advice, because, well, we all know it's gonna happen sooner or later and my fellow bloggers, friends and I have a lot of theories about what we're going to do when it arrives. I figure since pop music can give us the answers as to how to mend a broken heart and how to party like it's 1999, it can give us the answers as to how we survive the impending zombocaplypse as well.

Surviving zombocalypse part one: if we take the advice of Robbie Williams, we simply dance in front of said zombie girls. We also have to strip. Not just our clothing. I'm not sure the advice of Robbie will help.

Surviving zombocalypse part two: If we take the advice of RIP Michael Jackson, we simply engage with said zombies and dance. With them. 'Cause they can't resist the catchy beats, apparently. I'm not sure the advice of RIP Michael will help.

Surviving zombocalypse part three: Ask our Korean friends what to do. I'm not 100% sure, but with a song called 'Lovey Dovey' I'm thinking T-ara would like us to seduce said zombies. Either that or we take them to a club and dance. I'm not sure the advice of T-ara will help.

Surving zombocalypse part four: Of course, how obvious. When all else fails, turn to Kanye. Do we offer Kanye as some kind of zombie sacrifice in order to save us all? Maybe. Sorry Kanye, but you know, zombocalypse and all. And the sacrifice of Kanye saves pop music in general. Well, I know at least one of my fellow bloggers who would agree. I'm not sure my advice will help.


Kanye sacrificed and that brings us to the end of the A to Z of Pop, but you know he'll appear somewhere else again, 'cause it's just the way things are around here. Thanks y'all for sticking with me through a whole heap of letters, a whole heap of pop and a whole lot of my ridiculous thoughts, opinions and words. Join me next year for another A to Z?

EP Review - Millar Jukes and The Bandits

MILLAR JUKES AND THE BANDITS EP

by Millar Jukes and The Bandits

We were first introduced to the music of Millar Jukes in February when our good friend Lou did a review of the track 'Maryanne'. Lou loved the vintage party starting vibes and the, "sexy guitar and thumping drums." Now, I'm not the blues-iest of fellows, but I was definitely digging Jukes' voice and the music The Bandits as a whole were selling so when we were informed of the release of the Millar Jukes and The Bandits EP, I was keen to see what else this talented group of musicians could come up with. 

"I can't feel this heart of mine, left me reeling when you left me behind. I couldn't believe that you could do me wrong, I couldn't believe that you could up and gone." Let's start at the end, the last track 'You Ain't Mine.' This is one mighty fine alt-country ballad that provides the perfect showcase for the vocal talents of Scottish-born/now Melbourne's own, Millar Jukes. The story is suitably heartbreaking, a requirement for country music since it's the music of pain. While it might not exactly cover any new territory (love lost, love is now with another dude dang nabbit), Jukes' emotional performance, the subtle accompaniment and flashes of Jasmin Fiske's voice on back up makes 'You Ain't Mine' a song you won't soon forget. This would have to be a standout moment at one of the band's live shows. It's certainly the standout moment on the EP. 

It's not all about the ballad though. We've got four upbeat, energetic tracks on Millar Jukes and The Bandits as well; 'Love Me All Night', 'Maryanne', 'Be Mine' and 'Out of Time'. There's harmonica breakdowns courtesy of Jukes, some truly excellent guitar work from Matt Sandilands and there's just a whole lot of fun. Lou was completely right in describing Millar Jukes and The Bandits' music as exactly what you'd want playing when you're surrounded by a group of friends and a bottle or five of whiskey. I've adapted that, slightly, but you're picking up what I'm putting down.

Let's apply the five songs on the Millar Jukes and The Bandits EP to those five whiskey bottles at the party, shall we? 'Love Me All Night' is the excitement of the night beginning. Everyone arriving, first drinks poured and all the catch up conversations getting done and dusted early. Whiskey bottles consumed... 1. 'Maryanne' is when the music gets cranked up a whole lot louder and this means there will be dancing. It's all about the fun. Whiskey bottles consumed... 2. 'Be Mine' is when the very best of friends start reminiscing about all the good times from days gone by. There's a cute couple slow dancing because this is a pretty cute love song. Most of the group is sitting down and getting comfortable because they're beyond tipsy. Whiskey bottles consumed... 3. 'Out Of Time' is getting that second wind. Your house is suddenly hosting a hoedown. The dancing might be terrible, but no one cares. You're having too much fun again. Whiskey bottles consumed... 4. 'You Ain't Mine.' You're drunk. Go home. Your friends have heard your sad stories way too many times. No more whiskey for you. Whiskey bottles consumed... 5. 

Of course, you can't compress a whole night into 25 minutes. Nor should you and a small-ish group of friends drink five bottles of whiskey in such a short time. That's crazy talk. What you should do though, is give the Millar Jukes and The Bandits EP a listen. That's what we call not crazy talk. And you get to enjoy some great music too. 

Matt Bond gives Millar Jukes and The Bandits four Beatles heads out of five... 

Video Review - Under The Tide

Under The Tide

by Chvrches

Album: The Bones Of What You Believe (available now)

Well, well, well, what do we have here then? This certainly wasn't expected this week. After the release of Chvrches newest single 'Get Away'; taken from the re-worked Drive score (yep, I'm not sure what that's about either, but it can't be denied that the song's quite good) and the announcement that they will be featured in the next Hunger Games soundtrack (which I predict will be yet another bland dose of Hollywood in the series of what I personally consider the most snore inducing films of all time....but that's another story), the last thing I thought I'd be writing about would be another piece of Chvrches brilliance, but I'm never going to complain about being forced to watch more of one of my favourite bands.

Directed by Sing J Lee, the same talent responsible for two other Chvrches clips in 'The Mother We Share' and 'Lies' (as well as a couple of clips from another of my fave UK electro babes; Avec Sans), the clip for 'Under The Tide' is a journey into an anime space inspired wonderland. This is somwhere I actually don't venture often, so the four and half minutes it takes to tell the story of two characters making their way through the stars, interspersed with shots of Martin Doherty singing his little heart out in his typically adorable button up shirt and cap uniform is the perfect amount of anime + band member + music + addictive lyrics to keep me interested. Combine that with one of my favourite tracks (but honestly, I love them all) from their 2013 release The Bones Of What You Believe and you have yourself another side of Chvrches, but then, every side of Chvrches career so far has been brilliant in my eyes, so this clip just adds to the list of brilliance.

Jo Michelmore gives 'Under The Tide' three and a half The xx heads out of five...

Gig Review - Shihad

Shihad

Live @ The HiFi, Brisbane (25 October 2014)

Words by Jo Michelmore
Pics by Cordell Sanders

It's kind of funny to think a band like Shihad have been playing their brand of rock for twenty-six years. Twenty-six years! 1988 was a lifetime ago, but in all those years, Shihad have faced some massive crowds, some ridiculous controversy (hello 'Pacifier'), some line up changes and a whole lot of rock related activities. All of those years and all of these things lead to a whole lot of experience which led to a whole lot of what was simply a goddamn good rock gig last Friday night.

At the Hi Fi in Brisbane, they played through tracks from all portions of their (so far) nine album career and while concentrating on some of the incredible tracks from their current release FVEY, they proved that this is a band with a lifetime of experience who are comfortable with their sound, confident in their ability to entertain and incredibly friendly with their fans. There was an impromptu marriage proposal by two die hard fans midway through the set (how romantic,  maybe?) and the packed venue was given the opportunity to meet the band members after the gig. That's dedication to fans and that's kind of awesome. There's no denying the rock in the room on Friday night, from a band that will hopefully be happy to still be rocking twenty-six years from now.

Top 25 - 26 October, 2014

Heeeeeey, ladies!

1. Hey Lady! - My Head, My Heart





2. Tkay Maidza - Switch Lanes





3. San Cisco - Run (NEW)





4. Dear Plastic - Epic Delay





5. Jessie Ware - Pieces





6. Little May - Bones





7. Foo Fighters - The Feast and The Famine (NEW)





8. Foo Fighters - Something From Nothing





9. Howling Bells - Original Sin (NEW)





10. Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders - Her Hands





11. Fractures - It's Alright (NEW)





12. Tanzer - That's Why Darling





13. Marina and The Diamonds - Froot





14. Gwen Stefani - Baby Don't Lie (NEW)





15. Jasia - Safety





16. Son Lux ft. Faux Fix - No Fate Awaits Me (NEW)





17. Julia Why? - Just One Night





18. Chvrches - Get Away (NEW)





19. Cold Clinic Love - Bullet Youth





20. Sleater-Kinney - Bury Our Friends (NEW)





21. Lurch and Chief - Keep It Together





22. Iggy Azalea - Iggy SZN (NEW)





23. Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat





24. Sean O'Neill - I Know You Worry





25. slacksmiths - Slotmachine

The A to Z of Pop - Y is for #yolo

The A to Z of Pop

by Jo Michelmore

"I hate old people, why don't they all just f-off" was what one of my previous work colleagues used to say when dealing with anyone of an elderly demeanour. Unfortunately, I could never quite get my colleague to admit what they considered 'old' because whenever they said that sentence, I would always be busy thinking to myself; "well, I hope all your dreams come true and you don't get old then...." which was probably a little harsh, but whatever, paying jobs can sometimes do that to you.


Having had a birthday myself recently, it got me thinking about what 'old' is anyway. To a five year old, anyone over the age of five is old, right? And anyone under the age of five is a baby. Easy. These lines start to get blurred as time goes on. They're even more blurred in pop music, because what is age in pop? As I said way back at T, Madonna is old as something about 56 years old, but that doesn't mean you can take away her Queen of Pop crown. I've decided that pop music is ageless. Some pop is really good and some pop is really...average and some pop stars are super young and some pop stars are super old. For example, 5SOS are all under 21, but that doesn't make them musical geniuses, does it?


Perhaps you should decide that for yourself.

"I wish that I could wake up with amnesia and forget about the stupid little things" - you don't get to decide what you forget with amnesia, 5SOS. You forget the big things too. Oh well, at least someone told you how to spell amnesia, I guess. But wait, there's still hope for pop with people like one of my faves who released a new song this week.

Ms Gwen Stefani. She's 45. This week, she released a new song after eight long years. I like it. Lots. Someone I know (hey editor) said it sounded very Rihanna-ish. I agree, but Rihanna is 26 and Gwen is rocking a Rihanna sound better than Rihanna has in a little while. Where is that eighth album Rihanna? Which brings me to Pitbull, who is one that confuses me, because how old is he anyway?

He looks like he's 50, but apparently he's 33. I beg to differ. Old eyes are hiding behind those suits of his. Mr Bull just wishes he was more like someone else who's way older than him but seems way younger.

I know right? Jay Z is 44. All I can say is, thankfully he hasn't taken the advice of Pitbull's ol' mate Kesha (who by the way, is 27). And for the record, at 27, I don't want you to follow your own advice either, Kesha.

What have we learnt here boys and girls? Pop music and our mainstream media in general might be focused on the 'young', but pop music is good. At any age. You should just enjoy it, at any age, because after all; #yolo.