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It was the bizarre name that intrigued me. The singles I heard and saw on Triple J and Video Hits intrigued me even further. Even still, Snob Scrilla (real name Sean Ray) never really struck me as the kind of act that made me want to rush out and buy their album.
It was earlier this month that I chanced upon the album when I picked up a copy for free from the office of FasterLouder. Man, I feel like kicking myself for having missed out on these songs for so damn long!
There's such a versatile range of tunes to be found here. "Houston" targets the degradation of hip-hop via "dirty south" ringtone rap, "Heartbreak Scorcese" sees Scrilla lamenting over failed relationship (a sentiment echoed in the brilliant "........") and "Alienation" is a political romp satirising the terminology of "aliens".
The highlight of Day One, however, comes in the form of "King John". A passionate seven-minute opus with spacey synths, racing rhythms and Ray himself at the forefront with a perfect blend of vocoder singing and fired-up rapping in the chorus. The song deals with human tragedy and treachery, referencing the Shakespearean tragedy to make its point.
There's a lot of very interesting and powerful material on here from an underrated musician.
For the cheap ones out there, you can listen to Day One start to finish at Snob Scrilla's MySpace page. I highly recommend doing so.
Big songs are fun. The kind you can pump up on the radio, the ones with the billion dollar production and wall of sound that not even Spector himself could climb over. But what happens when you, the artist, want to show "a different side" to you and your music? Simple. You go acoustic and see what happens.
Sometimes, you can be presented with a different song entirely. And this, depending on what song has been stripped to its core, can either be a very good or very bad thing.
The idea came to me recently when flicking through channels on Austar. The dreadfully unfunny Merrick and Rosso presented their musical guests for the evening - W.A.'s own aspiring arena rockers Eskimo Joe. The trio (performing as a vocalist two guitars trio) gave a rendition of Foreign Land, the polarising first single from their Inshalla record. I was about to change the channel, as I had become very sick of hearing the song, but in this context the song had somehow become darker and more captivating.
Perhaps it was the lower key of the chord progression and Kav Temperley's vocals that gave the themes of heartlessness, distance and introspective complexity a new lilt? Well, yes; but it was the removal of the layer upon layer of studio treatment and overproduction that gave the song an entirely new sound. Gone were the big triple guitar sounds, the cheesy piano, the kick-stomp drum rhythms and - of course - that fucking annoying Eastern bagpipe sound that loops throughout the song. It only kept the good aspects of the song - the solid vocal performance, the harmonies on the bridge and the swaggering guitar parts. I enjoyed the performance so much, I'm now even considering listening to Inshalla from start to finish, despite having no interest in doing so previously.
Unfortunately, there is no video of the performance currently available.
Of course, taking everything but the bare necessities from a pop song won't always work in your favour. Last year, Weezer released their first hit single in years with Pork & Beans; a song that garnered millions of views of its infamous video clip that consisted of cameos from countless internet celebrities and memes. As a special extra, Chocolate Rain singer Tay Zonday performed a cover of the song with Weezer's Brian Bell on guitar. Sure, it was meant as a joke (Tay Zonday always brings the lulz with whatever he chooses to do), but the performance falls very flat. The catchy percussion, tinkling verse guitars and the ultimate feeling of kick-arse when the chorus hits all, unfortunately, die in the arse with just vocals and guitar. The song needs everything but the kitchen sink in order for it to reach its full potential - simple.
It works for some songs, and it doesn't work for others.
Ultimately, it's all about seeing if it's a risk worth taking; and if you are capable of compacting your expansive sound and doing something a little differently.
Here is your TBOA homework.
Great acoustic versions:
Metric performing Help I'm Alive
Chris Cornell performing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean (R.I.P.)
Lady GaGa performing Poker Face
Ben Folds performing The Postal Service's Such Great Heights
Crappy acoustic versions:
Jesse McCartney performing Leavin'
Tina Arena and Craig David performing The Beatles' Come Together
Puddle of Mudd performing Control
Breaking Benjamin performing The Diary of Jane
Off you go!
What do you say on a day like today?
The king is dead.
I was woken up at 8 this morning with a text saying "Shit, Michael Jackson". I didn't know what else to think. I thought I'd dreamed it, so I checked the news this morning just to make sure.
I felt sick. I didn't know how to think or feel for a matter of minutes there.
The first feeling was sorrow and shock. Naturally. The man was planning a huge comeback tour and had been hard at work on new material. To have this taken from him and his legions of fans, especially at only the age of fifty, seemed a real travesty.
At this stage, I find myself in a state of reflection over the legacy that was left behind. Decades of pop hits, transformations, huge-budget video clips, joy, eccentricity, controversy, that Simpsons episode...what a life this man lead.
The only thing that truly infuriates me is that the generations growing up now will only remember MJ for the allegations and court cases against him. As a matter of fact, it makes me sick. Nothing but respect and admiration should be shown for this amazing pop icon.
There will never, ever, be another Michael Jackson.
Despite her attention-grabbing persona and image, I wasn't entirely interested in GaGa to begin with. I had partially heard Just Dance and wasn't entirely interested. Single after single invaded the airwaves and my collective conscience to the point that she was inescapable. At this stage, you'd usually have me pulling out my hair and rampaging down the nearest street
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My father first gave me this record when I was about fifteen years old. I didn't think much of it at the time, apart from thinking The Needle and the Damage Done was a hell of a song. It all seemed a bit daggy, a little middle-of-the-road for my too-cool-for-school sports-montage-metal mind. And what was with this guy's voice
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Welcome again to This Business of Art.
Now, for my first trick, I would like to discuss an upcoming countdown that Australian radio station Triple J will be holding in July. Every year, the station holds an annual Hottest 100 countdown, but this year a second countdown is being held
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