2007: End of year review

I recently contributed to the Drum Media end of year poll in Australia. Here is an alternative version which takes into account the UK as well. Please feel free to add your own lists in the comments section: Top 10 Albums (released in the UK or Australia)
1. Myths of The Near Future - Klaxons
2. Panic Prevention - Jamie T
3. A Book Like This - Angus And Julia Stone (above)
4. Neon Bible - Arcade Fire
5. Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever - The Cribs
6. Because Of The Times - Kings Of Leon
7. Made Of Bricks - Kate Nash
8. Fur And Gold - Bat For Lashes
9. Songs For The Road – David Ford
10. Tonight At The Arizona - The Felice Brothers

Top 10 Tracks (released as part of any single/EP/album)
1. Be Safe – The Cribs
2. Golden Skans – Klaxons
3. Sheila - Jamie T
4. Ballad Of Lou The Welterweight – The Felice Brothers
5. Umbrella - Rihanna
6. Foundations – Kate Nash
7. D.A.N.C.E. – Justice
8. Brown Paper Bag – Bridezilla
9. What’s a Girl To Do? – Bat For Lashes
10. Commercial Breakdown – The Sunshine Underground


Best Gigs in Australia
1. Angus and Julia Stone – The Great Escape Festival
2. Bridezilla - Beach Road Hotel, Bondi (above)
3. Pet Shop Boys – V Festival
4. Lou Reed - The State Theatre
5. Muse – Big Day Out

Best Gigs in the UK
1. Carter USM – Brixton Academy (below)
2. Arcade Fire – The Latitude Festival
3. David Ford – Shepherds Bush Empire
4. Laura Imbruglia – Monkey Chews, Camden
5. Kings Of Leon – Brighton Centre
Top 5 Films
1. Superbad
2. The Science Of Sleep
3. Knocked Up
4. American Gangster
5. Hot Fuzz

Top 5 TV Shows
1. The Mighty Boosh
2. Peep Show
3. The Biggest Loser (Australia)
4. Extreme Makeover
5. America’s Next Top Model

Top 5 Websites
1. Youtube
2. Wikipedia
3. Boudist
4. Myspace
5. WWTDD

Top Podcasts
1. Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews – BBC Radio 5 Live
2. The Ricky Gervais Podcast

The Emperor's New Clothes Award
Facebook. Listen, I haven’t seen you for about 10 years and you didn’t talk to me at school anyway; why would I want to add you as a ‘friend’ now? And stop inviting me to be a vampire.


Best Media Moments
1. The Chaser’s War On Everything getting themselves arrested in the name of comedy (above).
2. Britney Spears’ terrifying ‘comeback’ at the MTV Awards. Yikes.
3. The Biggest Loser, Australian finale.

Highlight Of The Year
The glorious, long overdue ousting of Mr John Winston Howard.

Prediction For 2008
A new buzz band to appear on the scene approximately every 3 days, each with increasingly skinny jeans and ridiculous hair. Same as 2007 then.

Quote Of The Year “Rob Townsend is inane and out of touch.” An angry reader of The Argus writes in to tell it like it is.

A Personal Review of 2007
As with 2006, I was lucky enough to split my year between Australia and England and therefore witnessed the best of Britain in Sydney and vice versa. I saw great shows from English acts such as Jamie T, Plan B, Muse and Lily Allen in Sydney. In London I was delighted to spend some time with the beguiling Angus and Julia Stone as their star continued to ascend, and also caught a couple of Laura Imbruglia’s marvellous shows in London (above). I’m a big fan of Imbruglia, and I hope that 2008 brings her the recognition she deserves as an artist.

In Sydney, my favourite new band, Bridezilla, continued on their inevitable road to greatness. Seeing them grow from unsigned opening act to headliners and festival stars with an EP in the shops gave me great pride, especially as I have been championing them from the very first time I laid ears on them at Candy’s Apartment in 2006. Hopefully, they will take on the world next year. If the reception that fellow Aussie teens Operator Please received is any guide, England will welcome them with open arms if they get the opportunity to head that way.It was a year of festivals for me, as I took in Big Day Out, Laneway, V Festival, The Great Escape, The Essential Festival (in Sydney as opposed to Brighton), Cornbury (where I even took to the stage) and Latitude. Aside from the already listed highlights, there were great performances from Pixies, The Killers (who I saw two days in a row and, surprisingly, loved both times), NYPC (above), Ghostwood, Mercy Arms, Magic Numbers (twice), CSS, Jarvis Cocker (twice), Damien Rice (twice), Erin Marshall, The Young and Restless… the list goes on.

Elsewhere, I queued for 11 hours overnight to see Lou Reed, got a late, late call to review The Pretenders and was lucky enough to be in the front row of The Famous Spiegeltent for M. Ward in the beautiful Sydney summertime.Of the many interviews I was part of this year, my fascinating chat with Dolores O’Riordon (above) in a Sydney hotel is the one I am most proud of. Elsewhere, I swooned like a love-struck schoolboy when speaking down the phone from Melbourne to the exquisite Regina Spektor and laughed heartily with Caleb from Kings of Leon as he regaled me with tales of love and lust. I listened intently to the ambitious and terrifyingly intelligent Perry Farrell and, as always, enjoyed chatting to Klaxons.

I continued to pontificate in my own column in The Sports Argus every week, which continues to be compiled into a book, which will see the light of day this year after a self-imposed postponement.

Roll on 2008.

Merry Christmas everybody

Festive greetings from Eastbourne (below - although this shot was actually taken a couple of years back. No snow so far this year).Thanks very much for reading all of my nonsense again over the last year. Keep an eye out later in the week for my End Of Year Poll, including my top 10 albums of 2007.

I hope you have a restful holiday period.

Merry Christmas,
Bobby

Milk and Cookies 2007

David Ford's annual charity shindig took place around the country last week:The long-running event this year visited Lewes, Manchester, Birmingham and London and, astonishingly, considering it was organised and performed by a small network of hardworking friends, fans and family, it raised thousands of pounds for good causes local to each gig.

The shows included charity auctions and two-hour sets from Ford comprising his own tunes and some unexpected cover versions. Here is a potted example, which I filmed in Lewes and London:

John Sundry and The Speedos live in Eastbourne

Alabama's John Sundry and The Speedos played a triumphant set at TJs, Eastbourne last week:A big crowd enjoyed the usual levels of funkiness, with old songs and new provoking much ass shaking. Their forty-minute performance included old favourites like Fags and Booze and Bo Rhap, as well as new hits such as The Ace Of Spades.

Kings of Leon interview

I went to see Kings Of Leon on their UK tour the other day. I wasn't reviewing, but still took my camera along (see pictures below). Their outstanding performance prompted me to revisit my fun interview with lead-singer Caleb from earlier in the year:AS THEY PREPARE TO RELEASE THEIR MOST OPEN, BRAVE AND EXPERIMENTAL ALBUM YET, KINGS OF LEON FRONTMAN CALEB FOLLOWILL ENTERTAINS ROB TOWNSEND WITH HIS BEST BOB DYLAN IMPRESSION.

“If I want to write a song and say ‘Jesus’ in it, then I’ll say it, and if I want to open the album with a seven-minute track then I will.” The overtly friendly and witty Caleb Followill is in a particularly candid mood as he talks about his band’s forthcoming album, Because Of The Times. “We wanted to take things to the next level. We’re sick of being considered an indie band that opens for other bands. We feel we have got something to show and something to prove and just wanted to throw it all out there.”

Kings Of Leon’s third long-player is another absolute gem, and represents a change in direction for the three garage-rocking brothers [and one cousin] from Tennessee. Let’s get things straight though, this isn’t a departure on the scale of Bob Dylan going electric, and is still very much a Kings Of Leon record, but it unquestionably demonstrates the band’s development. “We’ve always tried to show where we are,” Caleb tells me. “We didn’t have a lot of time between the first record and the second record, so there wasn’t as much growth as there is with this one, where we got the chance to take a break. We were no longer happy with having a direction. We want to experiment with music.” I ask him if that might be considered risky, considering the overwhelming success of their first two records. “No, it’s exciting to me,” he says. “I never realised we were changing direction. It was never a conscious decision, and it’s not like we’ve got millions and millions of fans to piss off.”Included in the band’s creative wing-spreading is Caleb’s aspiration to open up a little more in terms of storytelling. “My songs are often puzzles. It’s kind of a confidence thing, as I’m scared of people critiquing me too much, but I want to really intrigue people and tell good, old-fashioned stories. People might hate me for writing obvious songs, but I’ve started to on this record.” Indeed, Because Of The Times shows a heightened coherence to his tales and in the way he conveys them. “With this record I’m opening up a little more. It’s the first time I’ve sung,” he admits. “I’ve been able to sing since I was a kid, but I would alter the way I sang so people wouldn’t understand it. I even hear the guys in the band singing our songs and getting the lyrics wrong and it cracks me up.”

Much of the inspiration for the band’s songwriting comes from a lifetime on the road. “We’ve always travelled our whole lives, and it creates a lonely feeling of knowing it’s gonna end, and you’re gonna have to say goodbye and go somewhere else. That was how it was when we were kids and that’s how it is now. It kinda makes you a little bit hardened.”He may be hardened, but there is clearly still room in the songwriter’s heart for a spot of romance, something which is illustrated by the fact that one of the tracks on the new record [the jaunty My Party] stems from his crush on The OC’s Rachel Bilson. “It’s kinda funny. I don’t know her, but I’m hoping word will get out,” he owns up with a chuckle. “I had a birthday bash, and they are always a big deal. Everyone was asking what I wanted to do. I said I didn’t mind, but I requested Rachel Bilson was there. I was deadly serious but no-one believed me. I told them: ‘You can make this happen, I’m Caleb Followill’. Anyway, we had a party and just hung out with friends, but the next night we had another party and as soon as we walked through the door I saw her. I was like, ‘Holy shit’. She looked up and the thing was, she recognised us. She was telling her boyfriend who we were. I didn’t get to speak to her though,” he says, audibly disappointed.

Caleb goes on to regale me with another lament on a missed opportunity to introduce himself to Miss Bilson in an elevator at The David Letterman Show, which prompts me to ask whether it is a surreal lifestyle for the son of a preacher man from a sleepy suburb of Nashville to be mixing with all these hot celebrities. “I’m a sucker for beautiful women. Especially if it’s someone you see on the TV or in magazines. When you see that person in real life, it’s like ‘Wow.’” After briefly pausing, he adds: “Well, sometimes it’s more like ‘Whoa! You look better on the billboards.’”It’s not just hanging out with hot, famous women that has been floating the Kings’ boat of late, as last year they were afforded the opportunity to support one of their heroes, Bob Dylan, which is an experience that Caleb recalls with glee. “There were three legs of the tour and he said he’d let his people decide who the other two bands were but that he wanted Kings Of Leon. Just to be acknowledged by him was a dream come true.” Launching into a surprisingly passable impression of the great man, he continued: “On the last date he came into our dressing room and said: ‘Man, I’m depressed.’ We asked him why and he said: ‘Well, I just want to call those other two bands and tell them to stay home.’” To hear Bob Dylan bemoan the end of his time touring with them was a wonderful moment for the band. “We were inspired by him for years and years, and there he was giving us his stamp of approval. He asked us: ‘What was that last song you played?’ We told him it was Trani [a track from Youth And Young Manhood about small-town transvestite prostitutes]. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘That’s one hell of a song.’”

The Followills also supported Pearl Jam last year in a tour which brought them to Australia. “We love the beach, the sun and the beautiful girls – there are a lot of them,” Caleb drools. “We’re always on at our manager to get us to play over there. The people are so kind to us, and we’ve just learnt how to surf, so I’m sure we’ll be embarrassing ourselves on your shores sometime soon and running away from sharks.”

And what does the long-term future hold for a band that continues to impress with each new album? “We’ll always make music. This isn’t something we’re doing while it’s fun. I have to write these songs while they’re in me. Maybe one day they’ll run out.” However, this possibility seems to be a long way away, and Caleb Followill admits that, even before this album has hit the shelves, he is already planning the next one. “I’m always thinking. We can’t wait around for two years like the rest of the world wants us to. I’ve already started writing new songs.”

You can read my review of their latest album here

An undeniable stench of pompousness and gluttony

My latest Sports Argus column inevitably reacted to the England football team's failure to qualify for Euro 2008:The second half of last week’s Carlisle game offered some of the most entertaining football I’ve witnessed at Withdean for a long time. The guile and determination shown by the Albion was the complete opposite of what was on display at Wembley a few days earlier when the England players pathetically blew the opportunity to qualify for Euro 2008 even though it had been handed to them on a plate.

I never thought Steve McClaren was the right man for the job. He made some dismal decisions and didn’t get anywhere near the best out of players like Gerrard, who would walk into almost every international team, but it is all too easy to lay the blame for England’s failure solely at his door. Similarly, while the players must shoulder their share of the blame, it would be foolhardy to simply make scapegoats of Scott Carson, Wayne Bridge et al and then blindly hope that they will play better under a new manager. To get to the very heart of the matter, English football needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Okay, so considering that we’ve only won one major trophy (nearly half a century ago), maybe we should accept that England isn’t as great a footballing force as we imagine it to be, but when supporters are asked to pay extortionate amounts for tickets while players take home a hundred grand a week and a hopeless manager can pocket a £2.5m pay off, is it any wonder that the country is fuming at a team that can’t even beat the likes of Macedonia?

The feeling of disillusionment will continue until the English game learns a little humility. In a culture where Premiership players seem to be celebrities first and footballers second, English football is eating itself from within. The Premiership is certainly pretty to watch, yet it carries with it an undeniable stench of pompousness and gluttony.

I don’t completely buy the popular notion that foreigners are ruining the English game (I’m sure that playing with and against the likes of Dennis Bergkamp for all those years can only have been of benefit to England’s players), but it is worrying that, according to FA Director of Football Development, Trevor Brooking, the academies aren’t bringing through much home-grown talent. Will we do any better when trying to qualify for the next world cup?

It will take a cleverer person than me to come up with a solution to England’s woes, but if the FA is keen to appease a disgruntled nation, it’s going to take more than just a new manager. English football needs a complete overhaul - from the very top down to its grass roots.