These don't come in heels

Detroit's Queen of pop art massacres, Niagara, has extended her striking artwork into a line of Vans footwear. The ex-Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival vocalist recently launched her line of Vans-commissioned art-on-sneakers in Los Angeles. More here.

If you missed Niagara fronting the Hitmen at their once-only February gig in Sydney, we might have news for you in the next few days.

It's Official: Losing your mouth is a sign of being drunked

Australian bureaucrats who have nothing to do have devised a list of the 39 Signs of Drunkenness, no doubt to help the Nanny State wage its holy war via its campaign against binge drinking. Trouble is, the list probably does more harm than good when it includes "the inability to find one's mouth with one's drink" as one of the signs. I mean, that one has to be a good thing because it stops a drunk bingeing, right?

Anyway, this is as good an opportunity to plug the latest I-94 Bar podcast Drunk & Disorderly. Episode 15 is downloadable/streamable here or streamable from that thingie on the right of the blog.

But wait, there's more...

Another I-94 Bar endorsed and sponsored event. "Beijing Blitz" refers to the fact that this is the same night as the Olympics opening ceremony. Since the Greeks invented that shit, Zeus says it won't be an issue. 

Just in case you haven't noticed

Legendary in death but now walking the earth again, The Visitors are playing a select series of Australian gigs in August and September, including their first-ever Melbourne show.

The Visitors arose from the ashes of Radio Birdman in 1978, providing a musical outlet for that band's guitarist-songwriter Deniz Tek, keyboard player Pip Hoyle and drummer Ron Keeley. The original lineup featured Radio Birdman sidekick Mark Sisto, on vocals and teen prodigy Steve Harris on bass

The band left behind a self-titled EP - drawn from demo's - that drew rabid reviews and now changes hands for $500 on eBay. The full sessions were later released on LP by Australian label Citadel, and remixed/remastered on CD by Red Eye / Polydor Records.

The Visitors returned in 2005 for shows in Newcastle and Sydney. Two more sightings occurred in February this year, including a Brisbane support to American punk-and-soul sensations The BellRays.

Tek, Hoyle and Sisto remain at the core of The Visitors with former Tumbleweed and Deniz Tek Group drummer Nik Rieth and ex ME-262 bassist (and teenage Visitors fan) Andy Newman now filling the engine room. Saxophonist Jack Shanley (Vindicator Smooth, Detroit Actual) is part of an expanded line-up.

To mark the Return to Earth Tour, the band's original long-out-of-print album will be re-issued on Citadel.

And in a special coupling, ex-Screaming Tribesmen band leader Mick Medew will join one of the bills with his Brisbane band, The Rumours, for his first appearance in the Harbour City in nine years. That show - Saturday, August 30 at The Empire in Annandale - will be the only city gig for The Visitors and The Rumours and will be opened by locals 25th Floor.

Ticketing details soon.

Now for the Aussie independent Top 50

Hot off the email:

Over three months the Australian Independent Record Labels Associaition (AIR) consulted musicians, songwriters, journalists, radio announcers and music industry folk in order to create a shortlist of 50 nominated albums. The resulting shortlist is a snapshot of our musical heritage. Five decades of independent music in Australia has influenced the social and cultural fabric of this country and others. We're proud to call them all independent and even more proud to call them Australian.

The Top 50 was presented to the music loving public for voting and after collating thousands of votes over the past month, here we announce the winners of our poll. The Greatest Australian Independent Albums of All Time, from one through to 50.


1. The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional
2. The Saints - (I'm) Stranded/No Time
3. Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos
4. The Go Betweens - Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
5. Midnight Oil - Midnight Oil
6. The Avalanches - Since I Left You
7. Ed Kuepper - Honey Steels Gold
8. Radio Birdman - Radios Appear
9. Sunnyboys - Sunnyboys
10. AC/DC - Back In Black
11. Died Pretty - Doughboy Hollow
12. The Go Betweens - Before Hollywood
13. INXS - INXS
14. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call
15. Dirty Three - Horse Stories
16. AC/DC - Highway to Hell
17. The Drones - Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By
18. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Good Son
19. Silverchair - Diorama
20. The Whitlams - Eternal Nightcap
21. Ed Kuepper - Electrical Storm
22. The Birthday Party - Prayers On Fire
23. Gotye - Like Drawing Blood
24. The Laughing Clowns - Mr. Uddich Smuddich Goes to Town
25. The John Butler Trio - Sunrise Over Sea
26. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
27. Flowers - Icehouse
28. The Go-Betweens - Send Me A Lullaby
29. Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road
30. Magic Dirt - Friends In Danger
31. The Necks - Sex
32. X - X-Aspirations
33. Beasts of Bourbon - The Low Road
34. Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Eddy Current Suppression Ring
35. Mondo Rock - Chemistry
36. AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Cheap
37. Archie Roach - Charcoal Lane
38. Cosmic Psychos - Go the Hack
39. Cog - The New Normal
40. AC/DC - High Voltage
41. AC/DC - TNT
42. The Loved Ones - Magic Box
43. Died Pretty - Free Dirt
44. The Hard Ons - Yummy!
45. Tumbleweed - Tumbleweed
46. Snout - Circle High And Wide
47. Scientists - You Get What You Deserve
48. Jeff Lang - You Have To Dig Deep To Bury Daddy
49. Spencer P. Jones and The Last Gasp - Last Gasp
50. Kim Salmon and the Surrealists - Just Because You Can't See It. Doesn't Mean it Isn't There


AIR would especially like to thank everyone who left comments and suggestions. We received a lot of love from a lot of people and it made us feel great. We also received some vitriolic abuse which was hilarious, informative and occasionally downright insulting, but thanks for that too... Love it.

We won't mention any names, but anything by The Ramones and Nirvana wasn't in contention. Sorry. Midnight Oils 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 isn't independent and INXS's first two albums were indeed independent. AC/DC are independent and have been on the family owned Alberts record label since Angus Young actually belonged in his school uniform. General consensus says that Bon Scott was a far superior vocalist compared to Brian Jones but why has Back in Black smashed it's nearest AC/DC albums?

For those interested. Born Sandy Devotional recieved 10% more votes than The Saints - (I'm) Stranded. The top two were streets ahead of their nearest competition. Positions 3 to 13 were seperated by only 3 percentage points. In some cases the albums were seperated by one vote! Clearly the 1980's was a golden era for Australian music, with more than a third of the nominated albums being released in that decade and 7 of the top 10 coming from the 80's.

A lot of voting ran along state lines. Queenslanders love anything that Ed Kuepper has ever touched (although he's entered the top 50 with 2 bands and a solo artist, he's in the top 10 twice! He's pretty damned popular everywhere). Victorians dig Eddy Current Supression Ring... a lot. The Avalanches represented for the Dance/Electronic/Sample based acts coming in at an incredible 6th while the oldest album on the list, The Loved Ones - Magic Box, made 42nd.

Also, special mention should go to non - Australian fans of Australian music. Lime Spiders are big in Austria and Germany!

Also, please continue to help AIR support the Australian independent music by checking out the Independents Day 2008 Auction on eBay. We've received some generous donations in the lead up to July 4th, they're online now. Items include rare vinyl and CD's, signed merchandise, unlimited entry into some of Australia's premier music venues, recording time at Australia's best studios, mastering with our leading mastering engineers as well as vinyl pressing and CD manufacturing. Get yourself a bargain and some music history! All proceeds will be shared by AIR and Worldwide Independent Network an funnelled directly back into independent music.

See that my grave is kept clean

The international newswires are giving wide play to this story, generated by a South Australian funeral home:

While hymns will ring out in Sydney as the pope celebrates Catholic World Youth Day this month, Australians are increasingly choosing irreverent songs for their funerals, undertakers say.

Among popular rock songs played to say goodbye to friends and relatives are Highway to Hell by AC/DC and Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, leading funeral provider Centennial Park said in a statement.

Other offbeat choices include Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Monty Python, Ding Dong the Witch is Dead from The Wizard of Oz and Hit the Road Jack by Willie Nelson.

I'm leaning towards the Ramones' "Glad To See You Go" myself. Leave your own choice in comments, if you care.

"Night descends, daylight ends..."

Further to yesterday’s post about the 3rd Day of the Seventh Month and various events to do with that date including the passing of Doors singer Jim Morrison: Visitors vocalist (who doesn’t do a bad version of “Hyacinth House”), Radio Birdman alumnus and general conspiracy-theorist-about-town, Mark Sisto, points out that it was also the anniversary of the de-commissioning of the USS Bon Homme Richard, the aircraft carrier skippered by Jimbo’s dad, Admiral George Morrison, which makes it a doubly sad day for him. Admiral Morrison spoke at the ship's de-commissioning, 12 hours after his son's death and no doubt unaware of what had gone down in Paris.

While I knew that Morrison senior was, for many years, the US Navy’s youngest-ever admiral, I wasn’t aware his career may have been stymied by politics rather than his son’s psychedelic profile. Read more here.

This is the shit you need to know if you're doing serious business on the burgeoning trivia night circuit.

Rock the Casbah: Muslim punk rockers

Strange but true. Newsweek reports: "The Prophet Muhammad was all about smashing idols," says Michael Muhammad Knight, a Muslim convert whose 2003 novel "The Taqwacores" is a manifesto for the Muslim punk movement. "And what's more punk rock than that?" More here.

"The 3rd Day of the 7th Month is when we'll ride the highway..."

...this being International Hand of Law Day, as dictated by the late Radio Birdman.

It's also the day Jim Morrison took one bath too many (although there is an alternate version of the story)...

...and friends of Brian Jones rued not knowing CPR.

Iggy + Jet = Shite

Johnny O'Keefe was a seminal and colourful early Australian rock and roller. Originally a Johnny Ray impersonator, he rode to local fame with his co-written "Wild One", which years later was covered by Iggy Pop on his Bowie-esque, grossly over-produced commercial comeback album "Blah Blah Blah." Now the Pop has teamed with Australian band Jet to re-do the song to coincide with a major label marekting push to exploit - sorry, commemorate - J.O.K.'s recorded legacy.

If you want to watch it, the link is here. It's vile shit and I won't indulge Jet or Iggy by embedding the video. You'd think Ig would know better at his age.

"Why do people think Bob Dylan was a great lyricist? That creep couldn't even write doggerel"

So says Germaine Greer in The Guardian. It must have been a long time between headlines for Germaine, who suffers from a special condition. It's called Relevance Deprivation Syndrome. She has it bad. Not that I regularly read The Guardian, mind you. Regarding Ms Greer and the 70s: In short, the best thing Germaine did was Mick Farren - and apparently becasue they both had an Afro she thought he was the MC5's Rob Tyner.

Kid Rock and his musical dildo

Why should it be a surprise that arse clown Kid Rock prides a musical dildo someone sent him in the mail? Go figure.