The Triffids: In The Pines (Reissue)

Some months ago I posted this same album, I know, but now on my hands I have the brand new reissue, a beautiful one, with several bonus tracks, so I've decided to upload this one too. But in case you do not them I guarantee you that the Triffids were one of the best bands (some could call them a post punk band, and yeah, they'd be quite right, except that the triffids had a violin and a pedal steel guitar among their instruments, which wasn't very common at the time) of the eighties, and they shared the stage with one of my fave bands, the Go-Betweens; in fact they were fellow aussies. "In the pines" was their third LP, released shortly after their peak, the masterpiece "Born Sandy devotianal", and unlike that one In the pines is laid back, somehow quieter, but always mesmeric.

Listen to the waltz of In the pines (but with a melody à la Leadbelly), or to Born Sandy Devotional (curiously both carry the name of an album but Born...should have been on their previous one but didn't make it), or to Kathy Knows. They should be enogh to convince you. And in case you need more go see the great post written here, where you can also download some glorious bootleg tapes (go ahead! Do it!)

In the pines

Death Proof OST

Need to say anything?

Death Proof

And now I've re-uploaded also disc 2.

I've just re-uploaded the link to disc 1. It should be fine now.

Robert Forster - Grant McLennan : Intermission (The Best Of The Solo Years)

I have just bought this yesterday and I am as happy as a man can be (for buying a CD). The Go-Betweens have been much like my band in these last years, meaning that I have listened to their songs lots and lots of times, so many times that I can easily recall each one of them only by hearing 2 seconds of it, so many times that I must have learnt by heart almost their whole repertoire. In a few words: what I used to do before the internet revolution, before "listening to music" meant listening to a new album a couple of times and then -very often at least- lose it in your hard-drive or in some CD/DVD-R. And that's the reason why I have decided to buy this one: to give back something, to show (to myself, I suppose) how important Forster and McLennan (The Go-Betweens' founding members and writers) have been to me.


Robert Forster - Baby Stones

It still makes me sad to think of how eager I was to wait for another GB's album after "Oceans Apart" and after the last (and only, alas) concert of theirs I had seen and then the shock of hearing the news of McLennan's death last year. And yeah, I know Forster...oh, what the heck (as he would say)...I know Bobby has started working on Grant's demos to give birth to the album they both had planned to do, but I find it hard to believe a new Go-Betweens' album can truly be called so without Grant's voice (the demos, as you can read in this interview here, have no words), so "Intermission", the best of their works as solo artists during the GB's intermission (most people would call it break-up) in the nineties could be the last release with Grant's voice, his beautiful, melodious voice.


Grant McLennan - Easy come, easy go

I'll stop now because I'm getting too emotional, but trust me on this: if you have loved Bobby's and Grant's work go (run!) and buy "Intermission". The songs (more Grant's ones than Bobby's, I have to admit) are great, and then the packaging is simply awesome (two separate discs, and a 28-page lyric book at a very low price).

The Go-Betweens @ Wiki

Intermission Disc 1 -Forster
Intermission Disc 2 -McLennan

Robert Forster - Grant McLennan : Intermission (The Best Of The Solo Years)

Concert Vault

I'm back from a little hiatus just to tell you of a great site I've just bumped into: Concert Vault (from now on you will be able to find the link here on the right) allows you to listen to dozens of concert on streaming (you just have to subscribe first, but that's quick and easy). Examples? I'm now listening to Pink Floys live at Fillmore East, April 29th, 1970. Highly recommended.

Carla Bruni: Quelqu'un m'a dit

Initially I had some about Carla Bruni: former mannequin, beautiful, kind of trendy. It all just didn't seem my cup of tea. So I first snobbed her first LP, but then when the second one got released I read a very good review about it (it had comparisons with Bob Dylan, old bluesmen and alikes), so I decided to give her the benefit of doubt.
And she did surprised me.
I've listened to "No promises"for a long time before getting back to "Quelqu'un m'a dit" (mainly becuase her first LP is in french and I 'm not very used to french music, except Sebastien Tellier and some old ones, like Jacques Brel), but I have to admit it got to me anyway: simple (and sometimes bluesy, sometimes more french-chansonnier-like) chord progression, most of the times with arpeggios, tender vocal melodies (and if you don't like her hoarse voice, well, that's easy to understand, but still what she does with it is haunting, charming).
Here is also the video of my favourite one:

Carla Bruni @ Wiki
Carla Bruni's Lyrics

Quelqu'un m'a dit