Australian brother and sister duo Angus and Julia Stone have been off the radar for most of ‘09 working on a follow-up album the aria award nominated debut, A Book Like This.

Now with inspiration under their belt, the forthcoming album will be called Down The Way and it will be released in March 2010 with a coinciding Australian tour.

The first taste from the album comes by the way of a track called And the Boys. Check it out below!

NL2T Rating: Song: 3.5/5

Video: 3.5/5

Adorable Australian brother–sister duo Angus & Julia Stone return at the end of March with their second album, Down The Way, a 13-track collection co-produced with Martha Wainwright’s husband Brad Albetta. It’ll be preceded on March 1 with the download-only single ‘And The Boys’, which comes with two non-album B-sides, ‘Change’ and ‘Take You Away’, if purchased through iTunes. The tracklist includes the Julia-penned live favourite ‘For You’ and ‘Big Jet Plane’ an Angus track that originally appeared on Smoking Gun, the 2009 debut from his solo project Lady Of The Sunshine. A UK tour will soon be announced for April.

Down The Way
01 Hold On
02 Black Crow
03 For You
04 Big Jet Plane
05 Santa Monica Dream
06 Yellow Brick Road
07 And The Boys
08 On The Road
09 Walk It Off
10 Hush
11 Draw Your Swords
12 I’m Not Yours
13 The Devil’s Tears

Alan Pedder

‘And The Boys’

I have been a loyal fan of brother and sister duo Angus and Julia Stone since their EP days….They were the ones who got me all interested in folk music … 

Angus has also performed under the name of ‘Lady of the Sunshine’ and released an album last year (I dont think a tour has ever happend though).

Saw them at the Metro with an orchestra and later at the Enmore …

This time, they are back at the Metro and three of us will be there….

To visit their myspace page, click here.

Just last week we reported the brother and sister Stone had just premiered a brand new track from a forthcoming  album, and now they have released a video for the same, and, unbeknown to most of the outside bloggin world, they have a new EP out, check out the Aussie dynamic duo in this steaming hot new video of Julia as well the spankin new 3 track EP out on iTunes

myspace

Angus and Julia Stone delivered their brand new single “And The Boys” to the triple j radio Australia this week and are streaming it today on their myspace player.

It’s the first new music they’ve released in a while, as they’ve spent the past couple of years touring the world off the back of their successful debut album A Book Like This.

The pair reported that they’ve been working hard getting their second album ready for release.

“We’ve been in Cornwall recording about a year ago. Then New York about six weeks ago and then Coolangatta so the whole thing’s just been quite a long process. When there’s been a gap between touring for the last couple of years, wherever we are we find a studio.”

They’ve now finished recording the new album, which is titled Down The Way. It’ll be released in March.

Angus explained to Dools that it’ll be a varied relesae in terms of musical styles.

“All the songs were written so far away from each other that the styles and moods are really different.”

You can listen to the full interview here.

Angus and Julia Stone will tour nationally next March to support the album release. We’ll let you know the dates when they’re confirmed next week.

Recently in Vancouver BC they played a new song, not sure if it will end up on the album?

Noossaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Xonei! Descobri os fofuxos num blog e viciei! O site da dupla também é uma graça com fotinhos, loxinha, vídeos e por aí vai. Dá para ficar escutando por horas…parece que nunca vai enjoar! Dá uma olhada na Just a Boy :

“I figured one instrument per song would be the way to go.”

When I ask BRIAN CAMPEAU whether or not his Canadian roots are to account for the imagery used in the video for the beautiful song Montreal and for the artwork of new album Mostly Winter Sometimes Spring, my naivety shows like an American in Paris. After Brian reveals that the director of the video was essentially trying to swindle him into giving money he never had, he adds, “on the outset I think [the director] put a lot of stereotypes in, with the idea in mind that Canada is like a fridge, and that we’re all lumberjacks.” I’m also told that the album artwork was “by an Australian and I just told him that I wanted the artwork to be stark.”

Though the wintery artwork successfully portrays “stark,” Brian’s music is anything but. Greatly impressing the likes of people like triple j’s Vijay Khurana with his 2006 debut, Two Faces, Brian has once more produced an album with experimental finesse; this time conceptually performed one instrument per song, including melodica, glockenspiel and even a sitar, among others. Brian explains, “the last album was a lot more electronic and what I was trying to get across to people was that I wanted to make things differently. For this album again I wanted to do something different (and different from what I do live) but I didn’t want to recreate the electronic aspect. I figured one instrument per song would be the way to go.”

Beyond the conceptual and experimental approach, Brian has a talent for writing emotive melodic songs. Comparisons with Nick Drake, Bon Iver and Angus and Julia Stone are made fairly. Whether or not this makes Brian a “folk-type” musician is debatable, as he contemplates. “I don’t think I fit into any sort of category apart from experimental. In terms of comparing myself to say, José González, I don’t really consider myself folk. I would say I’ve got more in common with jazz, even though I wouldn’t call myself a jazz instrumentalist in any way.”

Since the multi-instrumentalist performs with a number of bands and musicians (his cover of Björk’s Army of Me, with Elana Stone, is an accomplished slow rendering of the original), it’s understandable that he would consider himself experimental before anything else. Brian adds that he’s just as experimental on stage as he is in the studio. “I approach the guitar from a very think-outside-the-box angle; I’ll scratch the strings, hit the guitar percussively, rather than just strumming a few chords.” He has also encouraged drummer, Nicola Ossher, to hit pots and pans.

Brian is currently touring for his Mostly Winter Sometimes Spring tour.

Author: Peter Rosewarne

Brian Campeau – Cain and Able

Lavagem cerebral do “Acorde Itapema”.

Prometo postar quelque chose sexta.

KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mixed NPR news, talk radio and freeform music format. A network of repeaters and broadcast translators allows the station to serve the Los Angeles metropolitan area and other communities in Southern California. The station has also become widely known because of nationally distributed programming, streaming Internet radio broadcasts, and podcasts.

KCRW is known for broadcast of cutting edge music, as well as originating numerous news-talk-information and cultural programs that are distributed nationwide.

Sebastien Tellier – Sexuality

Une heure

Divine

Fingers Of Steel

La Ritournelle

L’amour et la violence

Vidéo : Emission (22.09.09) with Sébastien Tellier

Lykke Li - Youth Novels

Hanging High

Dance, Dance, Dance

Vidéo : Emission (04.08.09) with Lykke Li

Angus and Julia Stone – Just A Boy

Hollywood

Silver coin

Private Lawns

Mango Tree

The Beast

What you wanted

Wasted

Just a Boy

Here we go again

Vidéo : Emission (09.03.09) with Angus and Julia Stone

I remember that the last musical Merryville and Saint Gabriel did, back when I was in grade eight, was My Fair Lady; it was hosted by Merryville. I didn’t audition for it but Madison loved the movie so we went to see the school’s production. The English accents were a little laboured but overall I was impressed. Every two years our schools do a musical, exchanging hosting duties. The auditions for this year’s musical, based on Robin Hood, are on after school in our hall. I’ve convinced Carl to audition for the chorus with me. I thought Kevin would try out for the orchestra but he backed out. Nick didn’t even consider it.

Carl and I meet up after homeroom and walk to the hall. We were in the vocal ensemble last year because they needed people but we didn’t go back this year. We can sing in tune but we prefer our respective instruments. I sing in baritone mainly because that was where the teacher placed me, “We have too many tenor twos already.” Carl’s bass. He likes it. It makes him feel large and strong. Kevin plays the violin, has been since he was eight, but he plays best when in a group. Nick started learning the guitar last year (outside of school) but that’s as far as he wants to go with music. He says he can’t really find a good time to schedule a normal practice time.

Mr Lobegeier gave us the sheet music during orchestra rehearsal a few weeks back so Carl and I are very prepared to sing a verse and chorus of Straight as an Arrow, most of the songs have such lame names.

We’ll definitely get into the chorus. These auditions are just a courtesy really. They want as many students as possible involved, though it’s mostly the members of each school’s choir and orchestras. Percy, a grade twelve tenor two with a strong voice, is most likely to take the lead role. He usually gets the lead in anything the vocal ensemble arranges. Ernest from our grade, the grade ten equivalent of Percy, will probably get a lead role as well.

We’ll have to wait for the Merryville girls to arrive from their school, which is only about a ten minute drive from here. The official auditions time is at 3.30 p.m. with the boys starting off.

The first girls, there are five of them, to arrive look so out of place. They smile and seem at ease in here even though it’s male-only environment. They wear plaid skirts and light green tops. Three of them are blondes and the other two brunettes. The blonde with cropped hair wears glasses and looks familiar. I can’t decide if she reminds me of someone I’ve met or someone I’ve seen on television. A few of guys go over to greet them. The girls hug them and one of the brunettes kisses a guy whose face I’ve seen so many times but never found out what his name is.

Over the next ten minutes more girls arrive. The light blue shirts and grey pants intermingle with the green tops and plaid skirts in the hall. There are a Merryville girls and Saint Gabriel guys who keep to themselves so Carl and I are not the only ones without friendships on the other school. Carl and I keep close to the stage and wait for the music teachers to call us.

I look around and realise I’m going to be spending a lot of afternoons and weekends here.

The girl with the glasses comes over to us. “Hi,” she says to me. “Remember me?”

Carl stares at me waiting for my reply. Her face is familiar but I can’t quite make out where I’ve seen her.

“No?” She takes off her glasses. “How about now?”

I smile awkwardly. “Sorry. I don’t remember.”

“Genevieve Haniver. We were at East Brisbane State School together but I left in grade six.”

The name jogs my memory and I finally find some point of reference in her face. We were together from grade two through to grade six. She had long hair back then. We didn’t speak much to each other but we weren’t “enemies” like some of the other girls and boys were.

“Oh, yeah. I remember. Your hair’s much shorter now.”

“Yeah, it’s a new thing I tried last year and I really liked it so I’ve kept it. I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been?”

“Good. How about you?”

“Great, yeah. You haven’t changed since primary. You’re taller but.”

“Yeah.”

She turns to Carl. “Oh, sorry. I’m Genevieve or Jennie.” She gives Carl her hand.

“Hi, I’m Carl,” he says as he shakes her hand.

“So, are you two auditioning for the orchestra or the musical?”

“For the chorus section,” Carl says.

“Just the chorus? Don’t you wanna be Robin Hood or something?”

“No, the chorus is good enough for us.”

“We just wanted to try something different since we’re already in the school orchestra,” I say.

“Oh, cool. I’m an alto in the Merryville choir. I’m going out for Maid Marian.”

“Really? Good luck.”

The three of us stand there with polite smiles on our faces. I have no idea what to say to her. The last time I can remember us speaking was when we had to do an assignment on an Australian explorer and we both chose George Evans.

“It was good to see you again,” she says. “I’ll probably be seeing a lot more because of this.”

“Yeah. Good to see you too.”

“Okay, see you later.”

“Nice to meet you,” Carl says.

“You too. Bye.”

“See ya,” I say.

She walks off and rejoins her friends. She’s readily accepted back into the circle.

“So that was interesting,” Carl says.

Mr Lobegeier and a woman, probably a music teacher from Merryville, step on the stage and tell us the auditions are about to commence. The woman, whose name is Ms Alsop, leads all of us in some vocal warm ups: Laughter is contagious and it’s also advantageous. Ha ha ha ha Ha ha. Ha. We repeat this four times, adding a couple more ‘ha’s with each progressive chant.

All the boys go up on stage and take turns singing, the chorus people go first. We go alphabetically by surnames so I’m the fourth person to sing. Mr Lobegeier accompanies me on the piano, lowering the octave to suit a baritone. When I’m done singing everyone claps, as they do for everyone else. Carl’s a few guys after me and his performance is better than I thought it’d be. He must’ve practiced more than he said.

The girls are up next; their song is The Maids of Sherwood. They have the same arrangement as us but theirs seem more fluent, with more purpose. A couple of the girls have really beautiful voices; they don’t just sing in perfect pitch, they seem to actually believe in the music. Genevieve comes up to sing. She places her hands her stomach and waits for her cue.

Her voice is louder than I expect it but not as good as the other girls. She has the sound of an Australian Idol contestant: a technically adept singer but nothing unique. When she’s finished some Merryville girls clap and cheer for her. As she leaves the stage she looks to me and waves. I raise a hand to wave back but she turns away. Genevieve could become a good friend of mine if I try hard enough. She already broke the ice so the hard part’s over.

Mr Lobegeier rises from the piano and talks closely to Ms Alsop so as to not give anything away. She replies in kind and they both nod.

“I just want to congratulate you all for auditioning today. We’ll have the results in a couple of days, they’ll be posted in each school’s music office,” Mr Lobegeier says.

“Thank you all for coming. All your support will make this a great musical,” Ms Alsop says. “Girls, please thank your Saint Gabriel hosts.”

The girls clap and cheer in an unusually high tone, quite foreign to the hall. I’m not used to their screams so the sound pierces my ears. I turn to Carl and see he’s having the same problem.

*

Two days later, during morning tea, Carl, Kevin, Nick and I go to the music office. There’s a sheet with the cast for Hood: a musical. Percy Robertson is Robin Hood, no surprise there. Ernest Knevitt is Will Scarlett. Genevieve didn’t get Marian, she’s Isabella but I don’t really know who that is. Under the chorus section we see Jason Carter and Carl Fredell. Of course.

“You two should’ve tried out. You’d be the chorus with us,” Carl says.

“No thanks,” Nick says.

“The one playing Isabella is Jason’s girlfriend.”

Nick and Kevin turn sharply to me, faces full of surprise.

“What! No, she’s not.” Carl laughs. “We went to primary school together that’s all.” The other two seem disappointed with my explanation.

“Aww, I thought you really had a girlfriend. I was gonna say ‘good on ya’,” Nick says.

“She remembered Jason from primary. He was just standing there with a dumb look on his face trying to figure out who she was.”

“Shut up. It’s been about four years since I last saw her. She had long hair in primary, now it’s really short.”

“That’s pretty funny,” Kevin says to Carl. “I believed you. I was wondering why you hadn’t told us about her.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“You could. Just be friends with her and let the love grow.” Nick says love in a deep voice trying to add some sensuality to the word. But Nick has never gone out with a girl and only has television and movies as a point of reference.

Just like me.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll get right on that,” I say.

“When do you start rehearsing?” Kevin asks.

“I think they begin during the mid semester break, in a couple of weeks.”

“The musical’s on the first week of semester two so there’s gonna be a lot of long days here,” Carl says.

“It’s probably worth it,” I say mostly to myself.

The warning bell sounds.

“What’ve we got next?” Nick asks.

“English,” Kevin says.

“Yay,” I say aloud by accident.

The three of them look at me strangely.

Carl even shakes his head. “I don’t understand why you like English so much.”

“I grew up with books, okay?”

“Nah, he just wants to talk about sex with Mr O’Connell,” Nick jokes.

“Or have sex with him,” Carl adds.

“You two should be more like Kevin. He actually knows the meaning of respect.”

Kevin doesn’t say anything. He knows by now that if he gets involved with sex jokes the tables will most likely turn on him. We like to tease him about it because he becomes anxious quickly. The warning bell rings.

We head for the quadrangle, Kevin and I in front. “He didn’t deny it.” I hear Carl whisper to Nick and they both laugh. I turn around and give them a death stare. They laugh even more.

*

He walks around the classroom as always but now I think I figured out why. No other teacher I’ve ever had circles the room as much as O’Connell. He’s nervous. Being put at the front means everyone will be staring at him. He talks confidently and seems to know everything about Shakespeare but his hand shakes a little. I never noticed it before because he gesticulates when he talks. Today he reads from a book and I see the quiver in his hold. It’s eight weeks into the term, two more to go, and he’s still not used to us.

For most of the lesson we just read key scenes of the play aloud. We’ve all supposedly finished it by now so it’s basically just recapping so that we know what’s going on. No one has taken up O’Connell on his offer to talk about the sex jokes yet. He tells us the basic gist of the conversations that focus on sex and is probably relieved he doesn’t have to talk about it any more than that.

“Sir, where at the sex jokes you told us about?” Mitchell, Brad’s friend, says.

“Yeah, I couldn’t find any,” Brad adds.

“They’re not painfully obvious but they’re there. Does anyone have any examples?” O’Connell asks.

Nick pokes me. “Here’s your chance.”

“You do it.”

“Anyone?” O’Connell scans the room but no one is brave enough. “Don’t tell me no one read this.”

Nick pokes me harder.

“Stop it,” I say softly but harshly.

“Jason.” Everyone turns to me. “Did you say something?” O’Connell smiles. I can’t disappoint him.

“Um, well, the one I thought was quite clear was in act two scene four. Mercutio mentions how Romeo left them the night before without saying anything and they exchange comments about why, which hints that Romeo went to see a woman.”

“Yes, what do they say specifically?”

I can feel my face becoming warm. “Uh, they talk about pink flowers and Romeo’s pump.” I look down at my copy of the play.

“Thank you, Jason. Very good. That scene is showing the character’s personalities and masculinity. We see Romeo as the lover and Mercutio as a sort of comic relief. As the play develops we know that they are much more than this.”

“Wait, what’s with the flower pump thing?” Brad asks.

O’Connell looks to me but thankfully he doesn’t make me say it.

“It’s insinuating the male and female genitalia,” he says.

Brad pauses. You can actually tell he’s thinking about it.

“Ah,” he says at last and laughs. “Pink flower, I geddit. Nice.” He turns to the other two and chuckle and somehow manages to make it sound perverse.

The warning bell sounds. I think everyone is relieved. At least I am.

“Remember your assignments are due next Wednesday,” O’Connell says, “so if you haven’t started it I suggest you begin as soon as you get home.”

Everyone moves towards the exit. As I pass by O’Connell he says, “Sorry to put you on the spot like that. I appreciate your input. I’m glad someone’s paying attention.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good one.” He winks.

Out in the corridor, Nick sniggers at me. “That was hilarious. I can’t wait to tell the others.”

“I hate you,” I say and elbow him softly as we go to our next class.

*

Mum sent me a text asking if I could go to the bookshop after school because she needs to step out for a while. She told me Jarvis was going to be there. I replied saying it’s fine and that I’ll be there before 4pm.

As I cross the road to catch a bus to the city, I see a couple of guys talking to Peter. He stands there with his arms folded and doesn’t reply to anything they say. David gets picked up so he doesn’t have to put up with that.

The bus is full and I have to stand up. I don’t mind though, it’s only about fifteen minutes away. I listen to music so Tegan and Sara keep me company for the ride. Their voices remind me of one of the Merryville girls whose name I can’t remember.

When I arrive at the bookshop Mum’s already gone. Jarvis talks to an elderly woman looking for a children’s book for her grandchild. He waves at me as I head for the storage room where I keep a spare shirt. I change out of my school shirt but keep the shorts and socks.

A guy wearing torn jeans and a shirt with ZERO written across it and a star just under it comes in. Jarvis is still busy with the woman so I go over.

“Hello, can I help you with anything of are you just browsing?”

The guy looks at me and it takes him a moment to realise I work here.

“Uh, yeah. Do you have a copy of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut?”

“Yes, we should.” I go to the ‘modern classics’ section and find it there. I read it a few months ago because I loved the title. It was strange but really well written. “Here it is. It’s a great book.”

“You’ve read it?” He says it like I’m just trying to sell him the book.

“Yeah. Billy Pilgrim’s awesome.” He still doesn’t seem to believe me but I don’t care. “It’s sixteen dollars.” I hand him the book so he can examine it. It’s in very good condition, almost new if not for the slight crease in the spine.

“I’ll take it.”

I go to the counter and complete the transaction. He says “cheers” and walks out. A minute later the woman and Jarvis come up to the counter. She holds a copy of Wombat Stew in her hands. I feel sad to see it go. It’s one of my cherished childhood titles and I don’t have a copy at home. Why couldn’t she just take The Hungry Caterpillar instead?

“That’ll be fourteen dollars.” She hands me a ten and a five.

No one else is in the store so after she leaves Jarvis and I talk.

“How’s it going?” He asks.

“Good. How about you?”

“Yeah, alright. Thanks for your feedback on my story. ‘Preciate it.”

“No worries.”

“How’s school?”

“Not too bad. I got into the musical this year. Carl and I are both in it actually.”

“Cool. I was in a musical in high school too. Cloudland. About some disco that was demolished in the eighties. What yours about?”

“It’s called Hood: a musical. Robin Hood, obviously.”

“What part do you have?”

“The chorus. I didn’t want to have a speaking part, just wanted to be in it.”

“No, that’s cool. Is it just Saint Gabriel?”

“No, we’re doing it with a girls’ school. Merryville College.”

“Oh, okay. You’ll get a chance to meet some girls.” I smile politely. “Or whatever.”

“I’ve met a few of them a couple of days ago. One of them went to my primary school. Her name’s Genevieve. She has a nice singing voice.” I find myself saying it defensively.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. Just have fun. You know, it’s good. Dumb stuff like that make for great memories. I’ll be sure to come see it. When is it?”

“It’ll be the first week of semester two so a long way away. I’ll keep you informed.”

“Yeah, do.”

A few more people come in before we close but no one else buys anything. Jarvis offers me a ride home but I tell him the bus will be fine. I need to listen to music anyway.

My sisters have always listened to music that was in style at the time (though they both had their particular genres) and which I mostly hated. However, it was through this that I decided to find my own style. Sometimes I wonder what my sisters and I would sound like if we had formed a musical group. We’re not a musical family but with our different and at times conflicting tastes it may have given us an advantage; we could’ve defied some genres, experimented with techniques. Or, most likely, we would’ve sounded dreadful. Really dreadful. Here is a list of some siblings who collaborate as musicians (either in groups or duos) and who, in my opinion, got it right. Click on band’s name for more info.

The Spinto Band

Members: Jon Eaton, Nick Krill, Sam and Thomas Hughes, Jeffrey and Joey Hobson
Origins: Delaware, USA
Album/s:  The Analog Chronicles (1998); Digital Summer (1999); Roosevelt (2000); Mersey & Reno (2001); Nice and Nicely Done (2005); Moonwink (2008)

Named after Nick Krill’s grandfather (guitar player Roy Spinto), The Spinto Band is an Indie rock group hailing from Delaware. They’ve been at it for over a decade now having released Analog Chronicles in 1998, and have toured with many big named bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Mystery Jets, The Kooks and The Strokes amongst others. Their song Oh Mandy has also been used in the 2005 film Four Eyed Monsters. Here are their individual roles in the band: Jon Eaton – guitar; Nick Krill – vocals, guitar; Thomas Hughes – vocals, bass; Jeffrey Hobson – drums; Sam Hughes – keyboards, vocals; Joey Hobson – guitar, vocals. I first saw them in Later with Jools and I really liked their style. They have a very upbeat (and offbeat) sound to their songs, the videos are quirky and colourful. And yes, I am aware the video below is in black and white. Still, the quirkiness is there.

~~~

The Pierces

Members: Catherine and Allison Pierce
Origins: Alabama, USA
Album/s: The Pierces (2000); Light of the Moon (2005); Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge (2007)

Alabama duo The Pierces have an interesting beginning. Born to self-described hippie parents, the two were surrounded by music and art since they were kids. They were home schooled  and were encouraged to perform at parties and the like. They officially came into the music industry while they were attending Auburn University. A friend of them send a tape to a Nashville record company, which eventually resulted in their debut album in 2000. The album wasn’t as successful as it could have been due to “no label support” as stated by Allmusic.  In 2007 the sisters went for it and had fun with their third album, Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge. The songs Secret and Three Wishes have been featured in Gossip Girl, which is where I first found out about them. Their Indie pop/alternative style is fun to listen to. At first, they may sound like another pop duo but the two complement each other nicely.

~~~

Where’s Jerome

Members:  Jeremy Smith, Alexandra Sebastian, Todd Cetin
Origins: Sydney, Australia
Album/s: Dreamboat (EP, 2008); Where’s Jerome? (2009)

Where’s Jerome is one of Sydney’s newest great bands. Jeremy Smith comes from the band Altona, while his sister Alexandra hails from Midnight Hysteria. They are joined by Smith’s best friend, Todd Cetin. The trio are the “beginners” of this list but are by no means lacking in experience. Their self-titled debut album is a collection of strong vocals, playful keyboards and almost hypnotic drums. The songs are catchy and stay with you for days (when I first heard Sneakers I could not get it out of my head! It was great). I have recently been writing some freelance music reviews for Scene Magazine, which is how I found out about Where’s Jerome. They are currently doing some touring in the New South Wales/Victoria area but will surely tour Brisbane and the rest of Australia soon. And I’m definitely going to be there to see them.

~~~

Angus and Julia Stone

Members: Angus and Julia Stone
Origins: Sydney, Australia
Album/s: A Book Like This (2007); EPs include: Hollywood (2008); Chocolates and Cigarettes (2006); Heart Full of Wine (2007); The Beast (2007); Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) (2009)

Angus and Julia Stone are a Sydney duo whose voices are so distinct from one another. He has a young, smooth and warm tone while her vocals sound aged and fractured. That may sound insulting to Julia but it’s actually a very, very good thing. It gives them a beautifully distinct sound. They take turns at being the lead vocalist, which works quite well; I love the contrast in their albums. Their lyrics are also well-crafted and wonderfully sung. There’s an art form in the way they package and advertise themselves too. You only have to look at their album covers or music videos to see that they are very expressive. I first encountered a poster of them that promoted a concert they were about to do in Brisbane. I didn’t know who they were or what they sounded like but I loved the poster (their portrait in particular). I walked past it often and one day I stole it from the message board and then looked up their music. I was very pleasantly surprised. It was hard to choose one YouTube video for this because they both have such great voices. However, I have chosen Just A Boy because it’s one of my favourite A&J Stone tracks. And because of Angus.

Click here for Wasted led by Julia’s vocals.

~~~

Tegan and Sara

Members: Tegan and Sara Quin
Origins: Alberta, Canada
Album/s: Under Feet Like Ours (1999); This Business of Art (2000); If It Was You (2002); So Jealous (2004); The Con (2007); Sainthood (2009); EPs: I’ll Take the Blame (2007); Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) (2008)

Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin pretty much encapsulates everything about this topic for me. They are identical twins with a very strong musicality. They are also the ones I’ve known the longest in this list. This Canadian Indie rock/pop duo have been in the music scene for some time and have established quite a fanbase. They began by using their school’s recording studio (my school built an entire music building but we didn’t have a recording studio!) to record two demos, and in 1998 they won the Garage Warz Battle of the Bands held in their hometown of Calgary; they competed under the name of Sara and Tegan because that was the name their mother had registered the two. After establishing a name for themselves they toured extensively and produced several albums. There’s a childish tone in their vocals but that doesn’t hide the lyrical and musical prowess they hold. Their songs are catchy and mostly upbeat. I found out about them when I saw their music video Walking With A Ghost on ‘Rage‘ in 2006. Their newest album Sainthood will be available from October 27th 2009.

YouTube – The Con Music Video
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Friday: Tuna casserole

Oh my God, Friday’s here. It’s time to tell them. It’ll be fine; I shaved again this morning. As soon as I get home, I’ll see how my parents are feeling, check out the atmosphere and just act naturally. They’ll see me and not think anything’s wrong and it’ll give me more time to gather my thoughts. Or maybe I should look a little preoccupied so they notice something. No, that might make them uneasy and they should be comfortable.

I’ll just pretend they’re Scott and Maddie. They’re already my faux-siblings; they can be my faux-parents as well. Right after dinner—tuna casserole tonight, not so exotic but gets the job done—I’ll look them in the eyes and say those horrifically hard words. It’ll still be early so they’ll have time to fully digest what I’ve said before going to bed.

I arrive home just before five thirty, half hour before dinner’s supposed to be ready. Mum’s in the kitchen cooking and says hi to me; she wears a relatively new skirt she got on discount at Myer. I say hi back. Then I hear Dad’s voice greeting me from their room. I follow his voice and see him ironing his good pants.

“Are you going out?” I ask him.

“Yeah, we’ve decided to go to the casino tonight,” he says.

“Oh…”

“Hope you don’t mind.”

“No, no. It’s good you’re going out. It’s been a while.”

Mum comes into the room, humming a tune known only to her. “I’ve cooked you some tuna casserole for dinner. Eat it when you’re hungry.”

“Thanks.”

“What are you going to do with us gone?” she asks.

“I have to watch Rebel Without a Cause again for my assignment.”

“I don’t understand how you can like that movie and hate Platoon,” Dad says.

I consider telling them right now but I don’t want to ruin their evening. It’s been months since they’ve gone out to the casino. They deserve a fun night out. Dad’ll be driving and I don’t want him to not be concentrating on the road. Tomorrow’s the day. Saturday is just as good. Better actually because it won’t be tuna casserole.

I see Mum take out a blouse from her drawer. I leave for the kitchen so they can change into their casino clothes.

Minutes later Mum comes into the kitchen with a grin on her face.

“Guess what, Jason?” she says. “I’ll be making a lasagne tomorrow so you’ll get the recipe then.”

“Yay, my collection will finally be complete.”

“Yeah, and then it’ll be your turn to cook for us. I’m not giving you these recipes so you can sell them or just forget about them.”

“I’ll cook something next week. I promise.”

Yes, lasagne! My coming out dinner will be Mum’s lasagne. Maybe I will invite Scott and Maddie over.

“Your Aunt June’s throwing Greg a birthday party before he sets off to Europe so I’ll be making a large lasagne for everyone but I’ll give the recipe for a smaller one.”

Crap. I can’t come out to everyone at once. But then it’ll be Sunday and I’ll have to wait until next Friday. Damn Greg. Maybe I should tell them now. No, I can’t ruin their evening. Okay, it’s okay. It’s just one more week. It’ll give me more time to prepare what I’m going to say.

Mum picks up her purse and turns to Dad. “I’m ready,” she says.

“Okay.”

“We’ll be back late so please leave the kitchen light on when you go to bed. Do you want us to bring something back?” Mum says.

A slightly-too-drunk-and-overly-happy attitude that comes with a big win would be nice; that way the words ‘I’m gay’ might mix in with the inebriated euphoria.

“No thanks,” I say.

“Have a good night’s sleep. We’ll see you tomorrow morning,” Mum says. She walks over to me and kisses me on the cheek.

“See you tomorrow,” Dad says.

They both wave to me and then walk out the door. I stand alone in the kitchen and decide to eat the tuna casserole while it’s still warm. I’ll have to log on to msn and tell Maddie and Scott what just happened.

The two figures of the msn logo waltz back and forth before logging me on. Sure enough, my faux-siblings are on:

*July August September October November*
Hi u 2!

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
Hi!!!!!!!!!!!

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
hey wats up

*July August September October November*
not much. thought id waste time b4 studyin

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
yeh me 2

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
so did you do it???

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
yeh how was it

*July August September October November*
… didnt do it

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
WHAT?!?! Why not??

*July August September October November*
they went out to the casino. its been a while since theyve done that. i didnt want to ruin their night

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
whys it so hard for u to tell em

*July August September October November*
im scared ok

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
GEEZ!! We get all excited and you dont even do it! do I have to come over and tell em myself?!

*July August September October November*
would u pls?

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
BE A MAN!

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
tell em tomorrow ok?

*July August September October November*
cant. got a family thing and i dont wanna come out to every1!

*July August September October November*
BTW mums making lasagne

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
WHAT! SAVE ME A PIECE

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
Me too!!!!

*July August September October November*
we’ll see

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
ANYWAY, you’re going to wait another week then??

*July August September October November*
hmmmm… yeh

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
wat r u gonna say? have u thought about it

*July August September October November*
i dont have a specific speech but i want em to know ive accepted what i am and i hope they do 2

♥ Lè Madisón Avenuè ♥
that sounds good! Whatever you do we’ll be here for ya. But I think you should have a little intro or something just in case you dont know what to say

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
yeh i agree

¡¡Scottie Doesn’t Know!!
might make it easier 4 u

*July August September October November*
hmmm… i’ll come up with sumthing

I’ve thought so much about what I want to say, what I think they’ll say and I just don’t want to think about it anymore. When I do come out it’ll a simple conversation with a realistic response probably not like the melodramatic scenes in my mind.

I spend about an hour and a half talking to Maddie and Scott about nothing in particular. I send them a YouTube video of Angus and Julia Stone’s “Just A Boy”.

*July August September October November*
ive got a HUGE crush on Angus!!!

As I read the words I’m amazed at how incredibly comfortable I am around Scott and Maddie. I want the same thing at home. I need it.

————–Links to other parts————

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Today is a remarkable day; I actually found new music on Pandora! While listening to a station based on Noah and the Whale, this Australian brother-sister duo caught my ear with the song ‘Just a Boy‘.  From there, I explored their website, projectplaylist and the ever-reliable Wikipedia.  Apparentely, the pair is already quite popular in Australia and in the UK, their debut album A Book Like This having gone gold.  Though Angus Stone released a solo album entitled Smoking Gun under the name Lady Of the Sunshine earlier this year, the two currently tour extensively in both their homeland and the UK.  With a little help from Nippard Productions, the band even directs their own music videos, one of my favorite being  ’Mango Tree‘ [the artwork is so cool!] In case there weren’t already enough links in this post, be sure to check out their Myspace.

Ciao,
Hannah.

“From her lips I heard her say, ‘Can I have you?’
Caught up on what to say, I said, ‘You do’ ”

I’m a bit of a scardy cat about flying – being a Capricorn I like my feet firmly on the ground. But there’s no denying some of the pleasures of traveling by plane: the first glimpse of a new city at night, the first breath of unfamiliar air… and did I mention the complimentary movies?  But, let’s face it, its getting harder:  If the never-ending security checks don’t take the last bit of glamour out of air travel, then the eco-guilt will.

This is where music’s power to create magic from the mundane comes in. Who wants to hear a song about removing your shoes at the X-ray machine, or choosing between chicken and beef? Music reminds us that soaring above the clouds, despite all the irritations and anxiety, is a pretty amazing thing.

Back in 1957, commercial air travel was still radiant with romance, particularly, I imagine, if you were Frank Sinatra. Buoyed by Billy May’s breezy arrangement, our opening track COME FLY WITH ME invites us to join the good life. Unfortunately, I doubt that it will ever be as glamorous again.

Another aspect of air travel that you can’t escape from, especially if you live in Australia, is jetlag and The Specials capture those jetlag jitters beautifully on INTERNATIONAL JET SET. Jack Johnson reckons that the safest way to travel is in the air, as he shamelessly promotes NORTHWEST AIRLINES while Billy Bragg and Wilco have booked to travel on an AIRLINE TO HEAVEN.

The Foo Fighters win the prize for the funniest video clip with LEARN TO FLY. Having TENACIOUS D, (Jack Black and Kyle Gass), guesting wasn’t a bad move either. Check it out:

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. Relax….

Time to take a listen to the Boxtops who don’t have time to take a fast train, they need a ticket for an aeroplane. Their baby just sent them a LETTER. The Beatles are keen to tell us all about a “dreadful” flight to the USSR from Miami Beach in the opening track from their White album, BACK IN THE USSR.

Prince is addicted to air travel. After all, without it how could he call himself an INTERNATIONAL LOVER? Jonathan Richman, bless his little cotton socks, likes nothing better that to imagine that he’s A LITTLE AIRPLANE. I think they’ve both got a little bit of explaining to do!

In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite.

It would be impossible to choose between the talented siblings, Angus and Julia Stone. Their song, PAPER AEROPLANE,is dedicated to the best way to send a letter. Take a look at this clip. 

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The Byrds wrote the song EIGHT MILES HIGH about their first trip to London. Lyricist Gene Clark suffered badly from a fear of flying. Roger McGuinn’s Coltrane-inspired guitar solo led some radio stations to ban it because they thought it was a drug song. Silly people.

With AMELIA Joni Mitchell turns to the ghost of vanished aviator Amelia Earheart to confide the regrets of a life ruled by wanderlust: “I’ve spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitude.” That girl certainly knows how to write a lyric.

I love  AIRPLANE SONG by Scouting for Girls. Here’s the original 2006 demo for you to look/listen to. Yeah, get yourself on an aeroplane, ’cause its been too long since you went away.

We now need to lock our trays and put our seats into the upright position. Turbulence ahead with the Steve Miller Band singing JET AIRLINER, Hoodoo Gurus with I WAS  A KAMIKAZEE PILOT,  HELICOPTER by Bloc Party and Red Hot Chili Peppers with ZEPHYR SONG.

We can’t forget the humble flight attendant and there’s no better song to do it with than the Hall & Oates number LAS VEGAS TURNAROUND (otherwise known as the, non-PC, Stewardess Song).  

We followed with Goldfrapp singing  FLY ME AWAY. Now if you listen to the show or read the blog, you’ll know that I’m a film/video freak and especially like good animation. Take a look at this fantastically quirky video clip for Goldfrapp’s song.

To finish the show: Susan Raye’s  one and only hit, L.A. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

Now, as you exit the aircraft, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed amongst the Theme Park cabin crew and, as the captain, I’ll get first pick.

Next week: AUTOMOBILES when I’m looking forward to playing Mic Conway’s National Junk Band’s tune, WHO GAVE YOU THE LICENCE TO DRIVE ME CRAZY?

Drop me a line if you have any requests!

Here’s this week’s playlist:

Come Fly with Me - Frank Sinatra

International Jet Set - The Specials

Northwest Airlines Blues - Big Jack Johnson

Learn To Fly - Foo Fighters

Airline To Heaven - Billy Bragg & Wilco

The Letter  - The Boxtops

Back In The USSR - The Beatles

There goes the gal, yeah the pretty bird, on the golden mile that made you feel real // She took withon to the stars, she don’t make no big deal // There she sits with them big old fields of daisies and rusty mills // And when the sun, it shines on her, hair of gold // She’s beautiful.  She’s beautiful.

- ‘Bella’ Angus and Julia Stone.

I’m counting down til April for the release of ‘Smoking Gun’ from Lady of the Sunshine, an Angus Stone solo project. If you know what’s good for you, you too will be sitting on their myspace listening to repeats of ‘Jack Nimble’ – oh it is great!

In the meantime, an old Angus and Julia favourite of mine…

 Setting - two lovely young people, in a beautiful backyard, next to a mango tree..

Laura: ‘Can I have you?’

Angus Stone: (Caught up in what to say) ‘You do.’

—–

So that little scenario hasn’t yet happened, but lets just say that if it did, I think Angus would make a lovely son-in-law for my dear mother.