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The Sunshine Coast has a dearth of quality live music. Very few respected artists travel to what is generally considered ‘the geriatric capital of Australia’ for there is a general lack of demand, much less a decent venue that could stage many credible artists. Thankfully though the Lisa Mitchell gig at the Sands Tavern last Saturday proved to be a notable exception to this rule.

As usual given my four wheeled status I was first inside the venue. Having not been before I was surprised at what I found. The ‘stage’ (I use the term loosely) was smaller than my old high school gym. I began to <span style=">Wonder</span> how on earth they would fit the crowd of 300 the security guards expected, without breaking several fire codes. No matter, as I was content firmly ensconced in the front row, protected by amorous couples in all directions.

The supporting bands were decidedly mixed. New Zealand expats <span style="font-style: italic;">White Birds and Lemons</span>…

I’ve been absent from Last.fm for a while, due to a lack of wireless at home, so I thought an accounting of my listening during the break might be worthwhile. I’ve mostly been making use of my CD/record/tape archives, which has meant mucho 80s synth-pop. When I was browsing through my records, I almost fainted when I discovered Marquee Moon, Before and After Science, and Squeezing Out Sparks, but then I remembered when and where I got them. Ah, the pleasures of being among one’s things. I may update this reckoning later, but without further ado:

I’d like to belatedly bestow Best Album of 2007 honors upon The Mary Onettes’ self-titled debut: a lovely set of Swedish synth-post-punk, with nary a non-excellent track. Like the other best debuts of the decade (A Certain Trigger, Oh Inverted World, Internal Wrangler, Lost Souls, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, Guitar Romantic, Scribble Mural Comic Journal, Fleet Foxes, the list goes on), the band’s influences (in this case: Duran Duran, The Lucy Show…

I just completed the pointless and extremely geeky project of rating all the music in my mp3-collection. Using Mediamonkey's rather sophisticated statistical functions, I calculated the average scores of each of the albums in my collection. Now, this is a completely non-pitchfork-politically correct rating based solely on the merits of each track (as judged by me). The only criterion I used was when grading my tracks was: How much do I want to listen to this song again?

In the unlikely event that someone actually gives a damn about my taste, here's the annotated top 100.

1. Beck: Sea Change.
Favourite track: Lost Cause.

The only album in my collection without a single weak track. Provides unlimited opportunity to wallow in self-pity and depression.

2. Damien Rice: O
Favourite track: Amie

I realize many people find Damien Rice whiny and too emotional in the androgynous way everyone seems to fear so much these days (cf. …

Busted..-.[A.Present.For.Everyone]
Busted.-.
McFly - Just My Luck
McFly.-.[Motion.In.The.Ocean]
McFly.-.
McFly - Room on the 3rd floor
Of.Montreal.-.[The.Sunlandic.Twins]
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer
Paolo.Nutini.-.[These.Streets]
花儿.-.[幸福的旁边]
Descendents
Mika -
De-Phazz.-.[Natural.Fake]
John.Mayer.-.
Death Cab For Cutie – Plans
Bonobo - Days To Come
Someone.Still.Loves.You.Boris.Yeltsin.-.
Panic!.At.The.Disco.-.[A.Fever.You.Can‘t.Sweat.Out]
彭坦.-.[少年故事]
Feeling.-.[Twelve.Stops.and.Home]
Linkin.Park.-.[Minutes.to.Midnight]
MAZARIN - We're Already There
Muse - Inspirations Part II
Muse.-.[03 Hullabaloo Soundtrack]
Muse.-.[Black.Holes.and.Revelations]
Muse.-.[Inspirations.Part.I]
Olam.Ein.Sof.-.
SPEED – Moment
The.Hush.Sound.-.[Like.Vines]
The.Hush.Sound.-.[So.Sudden]
The.Shins.-.[Chutes.Too.Narrow]
The.Shins.-.[Oh.Inverted.World]
The.Shins.-.[wincing.the.night.away]
American Pie 2
Air Traffic – Your Fractured life
Boys like girls – boys like girls
…

sorting my library by year I thumbed through it to make a list of my faves for each year (keep in mind some stuff might not be tagged right so I might have forgotten it!
I consider all of these to be the cream of the crop, so if you are a close neighbour of mine and have the chance give some of these a good listen.

2006
What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations

2005
Belladonna
First Impressions of Earth
Another Day on Earth

2004
Marbles
Dissociatives
Seven Circles

2003
Hail to the Thief
Room on Fire
Lovers

2002
Scarlets Walk
Polyserena
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

2001
Oh Inverted World
Amnesiac
Ocean Machine - Biomech

2000
Kid A
Lightbulb Sun
100 Broken Windows