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Howzat! with Jeff Jenkins

HOWZAT!

2009: WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?

 

Leo Sayer became an Australian citizen. John Farnham made a comeback. And our queen of soul, Renee Geyer, battled breast cancer. 2009 was not all good. But, then, the Community Cup came back, Paulie Stewart docked again at The Age EG Awards, and the Skipping Girl Vinegar sign returned to life – and the band did a wonderful residency at the Northcote Social Club. So what do we make of 2009? It was certainly bittersweet. Wagons delivered Howzat!’s favourite album of the year, but were shunned by Triple J. Music director Richard Kingsmill reportedly didn’t like Henry’s voice and also dismissed the band as “a live thing”. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald about Daniel Merriweather, Bernard Zuel stated: “Radio? Please. They haven’t cared about music for years: the commercial stations can’t tie their shoelaces without doing a phone survey to find the least offensive knot, while Triple J is a commercial enterprise in all but name where the remit long ago moved from music to marketing.” Thank God we live in Melbourne, with RRR, PBS, 3CR and SYN. Sydney also suffered with the loss of the legendary Hopetoun Hotel.

 

 

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

He mentored Henry Wagons, telling him to write a boogie (“Everyone loves a boogie”). He confounded Glen Campbell fans when he supported the Rhinestone Cowboy at year’s end. He’s never been played on commercial radio, and Triple J hasn’t touched his music in the past decade. But he delivers a thrilling playlist on his RRR show. Even when he was an insider, he was an outsider. He’s been making music for more than three decades. He’s a volunteer – nobody asked him to be so great. He’s a Heavy Entertainer, a self-styled King of Pop, Mt Gambier’s Mr Magic. As a concept, incredible. But he’s a reality. The world deserves something great once in a while. Dave Graney is Howzat!’s Artist Of The Year.

 

 

GIG OF THE YEAR

It was a festival of festivals. All Tomorrow’s Parties came to Australia for the first time, curated by Nick Cave. The Big Day Out got even bigger. Homebake turned 15. A new festival was a Blueprint for disaster. Festivals come and go, but legends last forever. Two legends celebrated their 45th anniversaries in 2009. In his memoir, Stephen Cummings wrote of Joe Camilleri: “He was solid, powerful and never panicked.” Stephen also delivered the line of the night at Joe’s 45th anniversary gig: “There’s a big group of single mothers here tonight, Joe – they’ve all come to collect their maintenance.” Three months later, Ross Wilson did his “5 Decades of Cool” show. “Where are the white pants?” a crowd member asked. “In the closet,” Ross replied, “I pull them out every now and then … for bowls.” But there’s plenty of life left in these two legends. In fact, Joe Camilleri at the Palais on May 9 and Ross Wilson at the Palais on August 14 are Howzat!’s Gigs Of The Year.

 

 

ROCK IN PEACE

“We’re lucky we’ll always have Maurice’s songs: rough around the edges, but also stylish, and well put together. Ringing in our guts.” So wrote Dan Warner in his tribute to Maurice Frawley, who died of liver cancer in 2009. He was 55. A road warrior, Maurice did his time with Paul Kelly and the Dots (co-writing Look So Fine, Feel So Low) and Olympic Sideburns before forming his own band, the Working Class Ringos. In 2006, his new band, Maurice Frawley & The Yard Hands, released the wonderful album, Good Things. Cancer also claimed the life of Magic Dirt founding member, bass player and great bloke, Dean Turner. He was just 37. Gary Rabin, the passionate former manager of Ross Wilson, died in America of a suspected heart attack. He was 57. Meanwhile, after more than 15 years together, Bodyjar called it quits, with “The End Is Now” tour. The Stems broke up again after a farewell tour. Chrissy Amphlett declared “Divinyls are dead” in the updated edition of her autobiography. And, inexplicably, The Getaway Plan broke up after just one hit album.

 

 

READ ABOUT IT

Steve Kilbey called him “a fucking blabbermouth” and warned: “Beware of falling singers.” But Stephen Cummings delivered the music book of the year, Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy?, a tragicomedy that savaged Steve Kilbey, Nick Cave (“It was Karl Marx who observed that history repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce. The same could be said of Cave’s career”) and Michael Gudinski, “an offensive and abusive bear of a man”. Cold Chisel’s Don Walker also delivered an array of anecdotes. And his book came with a moral: “If you’re gunna wear the blame, at least maybe do yourself a favour and get in there for a slice of the crime.” Shots is an intriguing collection, but ultimately unsatisfying. Don doesn’t mention Chisel by name, and he makes just one passing reference to a Chisel album (East). Stephen’s Billy is the better read – more accessible and entertaining. Steve Kilbey didn’t like his depiction in Stephen’s memoir, threatening revenge. “Maybe I can chip in with Gudinski and get Cummo’s kneecaps done,” Steve wrote in his blog, adding: “Don’t forget, I got an autobiographer’s mind, too, and you never know when I do my own book how you gonna appear.” That didn’t happen in 2009, but an excellent Church biography arrived, No Certainty Attached, written by American fan Robert Dean Lurie. The year concluded with two brilliant “mix tapes” – Craig Mathieson’s Playlisted and Robert Forster’s The 10 Rules Of Rock And Roll. Craig’s book had the year’s most striking opening line: “Is Kylie Minogue human? On the basis of her music, that’s not an easily answered question.”

 

HOWZAT!

 

Howzat!’s 2009 wrap continues …

 

 

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

 

1. WAGONS – THE RISE AND FALL OF GOODTOWN

As Henry Wagons declared on his band’s fourth album, “I always bring the shit”. Goodtown plays like an unfolding adventure, filled with melodrama and menace.

 

2. SPECIAL PATROL – THE STRANGER’S DOZEN

It’s a mystery why Adelaide’s finest band is not massive. Their fourth album might be a masterpiece.

 

3. STEPHEN CUMMINGS – TICKETY BOO

Stephen reckons “the battle’s already lost”, and claims that this is his final album. If it is, he’s going out on top.

 

4. BERTIE BLACKMAN – SECRETS AND LIES

An artist who never stands still delivers her most intriguing album yet. Intoxicating electro pop.

 

5. NICK BARKER – BLACK WATER BLUES

Breaking up is hard to do, but Nick Barker gave us a break-up record that’s raw and real.

 

6. D. ROGERS – SPARKS ON THE TARMAC

Dave Rogers ranks alongside Special Patrol as Australian music’s best-kept secret. Deceptively sweet classic pop.

 

7. PAUL DEMPSEY – EVERYTHING IS TRUE

Robert Forster says great bands don’t have members making solo albums. But Something For Kate are a great band and Paul Dempsey delivered a great solo album.

 

8. OH MERCY – PRIVILEGED WOES

They survived being compared to The Go-Betweens. 2009’s best debut.

 

9. DAVE GRANEY – KNOCK YOURSELF OUT

“The world deserves something great once in a while,” Dave declared. Knock yourself out!

 

10. THE CHEATS – HATS OFF TO THE CHEATS

The year’s best party record. Melbourne’s finest two-piece gave us a glorious racket with their thrilling debut.

 

11. JACK HOWARD & THE NIGHTBIRDS – LOST HORIZON

After a brief Hunnas reunion, Jack Howard delivered a world-class jazz-pop record.

 

12. THE PICTURES – KICKING INDIFFERENCE

The Pictures’ second album was met with indifference. But it’s a genre-busting hi-fi adventure. We loved Davey Lane’s description: “It’s the sort of record Queen would make – if they were making it in Ferntree Gully.”

 

 

OUR FIVE FAVOURITE SINGLES OF 2009

DAVE GRANEY – Knock Yourself Out

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE – The Last Day On Earth

CAITLIN HARNETT – Throwaway

CUTHBERT & THE NIGHT WALKERS – Pace Ourselves

PRINCESS ONE POINT FIVE - You

 

 

 

CHART NEWS

No blockbuster homegrown hits in 2009. Three Australian singles topped the charts (compared to two last year, and six in 2007). Meanwhile, six Aussie albums went to number one (compared to seven last year, and nine in 2007). Powderfinger equalled Silverchair’s feat of five number one albums. No band has had more. And Barnesy scored his ninth solo number one album he’s had more chart-topping albums than any other Aussie act. Hilltop HoodsState Of The Art became the first local album to spend more than one week on top since Silverchair’s Young Modern in 2007. Internationally, The Veronicas became the first Australian act to sell one million copies of a song in the 21st Century, with Untouched, which also became the first Aussie song to hit the US Top 20 since Kylie’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head in 2002. Untouched also went to number one in Ireland, and number eight in the UK, where Daniel Merriweather and The Temper Trap also had Top 10 hits. Missy Higgins’ Steer hit the Top 10 in Canada. Stan Walker’s Idol single, Black Box, failed to top the local charts, but hit number one in NZ. And Keith Urban’s Defying Gravity entered the US charts at number one. Putting AC/DC aside, Keith is the first Aussie act to have a number one album in the US since Men At Work 27 years ago.

 

NUMBER ONE SINGLES

Jessica MauboyBurn (one week)

Guy SebastianLike It Like That (two weeks)

Vanessa AmorosiThis Is Who I Am (two weeks)

 

NUMBER ONE ALBUMS

Natalie Bassingthwaighte1000 Stars (one week)

Eskimo JoeInshalla (one week)

Hilltop HoodsState Of The Art (two weeks)

Short StackStack Is The New Black (one week)

Jimmy BarnesThe Rhythm and The Blues (two weeks)

PowderfingerGolden Rule (one week)

 

 

 

HIP HIP

2009 was a major year for milestones. Spooky Records turned 10, The Fauves and Shock Records turned 21, Delta Goodrem turned 25, PBS and Daniel Johns hit 30, Bernard Fanning, Tim Rogers and Russell Morris’ The Real Thing turned 40, Daryl Braithwaite and John Farnham sang “Do Ya Think I’m Sixty”. Billy Pinnell celebrated 50 years in radio. And Barnesy became a grandfather when his daughter Mahalia had a daughter, Ruby. Midnight Oil, Hunters and Collectors and Split Enz re-formed for the Sound Relief concert at the MCG; Underground Lovers and Tumbleweed reunited for Homebake’s 15th Anniversary. The Painters and Dockers docked one more time, at The Age EG Awards, and Cold Chisel got new managers and played at the V8 Supercars in Sydney.

 

 

BRING ON 2010

There’s a lot to look forward to in 2010, including new albums from Sydney’s two best acts, Perry Keyes and Lazy Susan. Ron Peno’s eagerly-awaited solo debut will also arrive, and hopefully we’ll also get solo albums from Adalita and Fiona Lee Maynard. There will be new albums from Ross Wilson, James Reyne, Hoodoo Gurus, INXS, GB3, Even, You Am I, Silverchair, The Badloves, Marcel Borrack, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Charles Jenkins and a new lineup of Geisha. And we’re looking forward to debut albums from Georgia Fields, The Hello Morning, Ryan Meeking, Rushcutter, The Verses and Caitlin Harnett, and the second albums from Skipping Girl Vinegar, Tobias Cummings, Michael Meeking and Leanne Kingwell. And we can’t wait to hear the new Airbourne album, No Guts, No Glory. And will we finally get to see the second album from the Spazzys?! Another wish for 2010 – Stephen Cummings inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. It’s time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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