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Urban Train - October 2006

Flaunt @ Saphire

October 31st 2006 09:26
Flaunt @ Saphire


Week After week Flaunt has become the home for the sexy...

Thursday nights is the only way to get your weekend started right. With the beautiful surroundings that only Sapphire can offer. Be sure to get it started @ Flaunt.

They also have $5 spirits and Free champagne till midnight for the ladies. And for the men? Well, there are ladies to feast your eyes upon.


All this plus the hottest sounds provided by an A-list of Sydney's DJs.

When? Every Thursday Night

Where? Sapphire Suite: 2 Kellet St Kings Cross.

Time? Whenever clubs usually start.
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ARIA awards round up

October 30th 2006 12:09
Arias
Image courtesy of www.duncancumming.co.uk


It’s been a great year in Australian music (excluding that group with Izzy from ‘Neighbours’)

The awards opened with an Eskimo Joe performance. It’s a shame they were nominated for the same awards as Wolfmother. They did win ‘single of the year’, however Wolfmother weren’t nominated for it. I guess victory wasn’t so sweet after all.


The Veronicas’ performance was sub-par. I expected more from the twins who, last year, sang a crafty acapella duet while presenting an award. This year, they were bland and vocally strenuous. Is it me or was the emo one lip-sincing like a sock puppet? Congratulations, anyway, for picking up ‘best pop release’.

Urban music represented with the Adelaide trio of the Hilltop Hoods, who won ‘best urban release’ and ‘best indie release’. They did great on stage, though it would be nice to see the production crew bother to test their mics before the performance. Or are sound tests only reserved for Aussie rock bands?

Speaking of which, Wolfmother - who won too many awards to bother mentioning - were awesome. They showed us what rock ‘n’ roll is all about, ie. swinging a keyboard like a child on ADHD and jumping like Michael Jordan. Who said white men can’t jump?

Bernard Fanning was absolutely sublime. His ARIA remix of the touching single ‘Say you’ll watch over me’ included vocals from a tall, hot, redhead chick, and Casey Chambers. I’m not a big fan of Chambers, though I have to say her interpretation was great. Props to the heavenly harmonies and Fanning’s alternate arrangement. More importantly, congratulations on winning ‘ALBUM OF THE YEAR’. Snatched right under Wolfmother’s nose; that’s what we like to see.

Pete Murray teamed up with John Mayer for a bare yet pleasing performance. The two performed together well, though I was disappointed that Mayer didn’t sing a verse. His guitar solo was great though wasn’t it?

I’m sad to admit I missed the Silverchair performance. Shame on me!!! I’ll slap myself in the face, don’t worry.

Congratulations to Midnight Oil who were inducted into the ARIA hall of fame.

Here are the winners of the main awards:

Album of the Year:
Bernard Fanning - Tea And Sympathy

Single of the Year:
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine


Best Adult Contemporary Album:
Bob Evans - Suburban Songbook

Best Group:
Wolfmother

Best Male Artist:
Bernard Fanning

Best Rock Album:
Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Breakthrough Artist - Album:
Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Breakthrough Artist - Single:
Youth Group – Forever Young

Take care and peace out…
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ARIA's Tonight

October 29th 2006 08:13
The ARIA Awards, Ausralia's version of the Grammy's, is just about to start.

Tomorrow I will give you a run down of what happened and who won what.

Here are the nominees for tonight:

Album of the Year:
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
The Sleepy Jackson - Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird)
Augie March - Moo, You Bloody Choir
Bernard Fanning - Tea And Sympathy
Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Single of the Year:
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
Augie March - One Crowded Hour
Bernard Fanning - Watch Over Me
Wolfmother - Mind’s Eye
Youth Group - Forever Young

Best Adult Contemporary Album:
Bob Evans - Suburban Songbook
Human Nature - Reach Out (The Motown Record)
Tex, Don & Charlie - All Is Forgiven
The Whitlams - Little Cloud
Various Artists - She Will Have Her Way (Songs Of Tim & Neil Finn)

Best Group:
Eskimo Joe
Augie March
Rogue Traders
The Living End
Wolfmother

Best Male Artist:
Bob Evans
Bernard Fanning
Ben Lee
Dan Kelly & The Alpha Males
Pete Murray

Best Rock Album:
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
Augie March - Moo, You Bloody Choir
The Living End - State Of Emergency
Wolfmother - Wolfmother
You Am I - Convicts

Breakthrough Artist - Album:
Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road
Rogue Traders - Here Come The Drums
The Grates - Gravity Won’t Get You High
The Veronicas - The Secret Life Of…
Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Breakthrough Artist - Single:
Gyroscope - Fast Girl
Hilltop Hoods - Clown Prince
Sneaky Sound System - I Love It
TV Rock feat Seany B - Flaunt It
Starky - Hey Bang Bang

Enjoy the ARIA's.

Take care and peace out...
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Soul to Rock: Guy Sebastian's new sound

October 28th 2006 10:36
Guy Sebastian, the first winner of Network Ten’s Australian Idol, has not lived up to expectations.

Well, maybe he has. His first album went six times platinum, but that does not take away from the fact that the first RUNNER-UP of Australian Idol, Shannon Noll, has enjoyed more commercial success.

Sebastian’s mix of R&B, soul and funk seemed to grant him many fans on the TV series, though that did not translate into record sales in Australia.

Guy Sebastian
Guy Sebastian doing the good, Christian (so to speak) thing in Uganda and Rwanda.


This harks back to the notion that Australia is, and always will be, a rock nation. I personally believe things can change, though the talent-less, throat cancerous Shannon Noll reaffirms Australia’s musical love for everything grainy and distorted.

So what does Sebastian do to combat this? He releases a live, rocky, poppy album. His third album, ‘Closer to the Sun’, is apparently a very raw sounding record.

Let me lay down the gauntlet and say I haven’t heard the album; so this is, by no means, an album review, but more a rant than anything else.

What I’m concerned with is the reaffirmation of rock music in Australia, and the faint stain that urban music leaves behind.

Guy’s first single, on the new album, is ‘Taller, Stronger, Better’. It’s Guy going back to his roots. Can anyone say angels brought me here? No I’d say angels brought themselves back in a taller, stronger and better incarnation.

No rock music here right? What about the next single, ‘Elevator Love’? It sounds to me like Shannon Noll with some Malaysian soul.

Here's a clip of him performing 'Elevator Love' on Dancing with the Stars.


That’s not necessarily a bad thing. To tell you the truth, I think ‘Elevator Love’ is far better than any song he’s released as a single. That’s the hypocrite in me I guess.

But hey, I’m Aussie, I love my rock right?

Take care and peace out…
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Ras Kass replies to criticism involving Steve Irwin

October 26th 2006 10:13
As you may remember, I recently posted an entry regarding Ras Kass’ lyrics that were intended to diss The Game. What ended up happening was a diss against Steve Irwin: The Crocodile Hunter.

Ras Kass
Ras Kass replies to Australia
Ras Kass has come out with a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald (the paper that reported the lyrics).

Here's a few quotes straight out of the horse's mouth:

"Every person should be treated with an equal brushstroke, or no one should, and everything must be considered in context,"

"I am a hip-hop artist. Hip-hop is like any other art form; nothing is sacred, nothing is off limits ... At other times, I myself, have been referenced - be it in a positive or negative light. That is part of the creative process and the nature of what rap music is. I in no way have, or have had, any ill will towards the late Steve Irwin,"

In response to Irwin’s manager, John Stainton - whose comments are quoted in my other post a few days ago – Kass said:

John Stainton with Steve Irwin
John Stainton (Irwin's Manager) with the late Croc Hunter himself
"What strikes me as hypocritical is that in a six-minute song that literally starts out with gunshots the only thing that stood out in Mr Stainton's mind was a one-bar reference to a current event,"

"Mr Stainton doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned with other references that one could misconstrue as homophobic or misogynistic, let alone is he concerned with the potential violence in hip-hop or black-on-black violence. He only seems to be bothered by one line. I am just saying that consistency would be nice.”

"If you aren't from the hip-hop culture and are not familiar with it then you are not qualified to judge it. Whether American or Australian, every human life is valuable; otherwise it makes it appear that Mr Stainton thinks that only one man's is."

Kass is absolutely right with those comments, though I have to wonder why he openly admits the potential for his lyrics to be homophobic or filled with violence. It’s these sorts of themes that make commercial rap so shallow and bland.

Take care and peace out…
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Album Review: Food and Liquor

October 25th 2006 12:09
Lupe Fiasco is hip hop’s new kid on the block, and he’s turning heads. Everyone is talking about him, and for good reason. His debut album ‘Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor’ is a fabulous piece of social commentary.

Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor Album Cover
The devout Muslim’s debut single: ‘Kick Push’, catapults Fiasco to the top of the game. The skater’s rap anthem instantly gives him a large following


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Lyrics Born @ The Metro

October 24th 2006 09:04
Lyrics Born


Tom Shimura aka. Lyrics born is a Californian MC who is heading down under


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Steve Irwin's death exploited in rap lyrics

October 23rd 2006 11:43
Steve Irwin with Croc
R.I.P. Steve Irwin
Many Aussies out there felt the sorrow when one of Australia’s most recognisable icons, Steve ‘The Crocodile Hunter’ Irwin died from a stingray wound.

One and a half months later, an artist from the hip hop world is already using his death as a punchline


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Underground: Horrorcore rap, gross in a cool way?

October 21st 2006 09:33
Horrorcore is an underground form of hip hop music that deals with themes you’d usually find in gore and death metal. It is hip hop at its most hardcore; it’s cool in a twisted sort of way and because of that, it will stay underground forever.

Russel Simmons (founder of Def Jam; and the man behind the horrorcore group ‘Flatlinerz’) defines horrorcore as "hardcore rap with some horror movie themes


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Album Review: Game Theory

October 20th 2006 09:38
The Roots are the World’s premiere live hip hop band. They have 16 years of live experience up their sleeves, and 11 years as recording artists. Their latest album, ‘Game theory’ is nothing short of great hip hop.

The Roots - Game Theory album cover
It’s not their best album, though you can’t blame The Roots for that. It’s a teeny weeny bit unfair to compare this latest release to ‘Phrenology’, which is one of my favourite hip hop albums of all time. Sorry, I don’t own ‘Things Fall Apart’ which is apparently even better


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Fabolous and Telfair in a criminal coincidence

October 19th 2006 09:42
Fabolous has been hit with a weapons charge; he also got shot.

Fabolous
John Jackson aka. Fabolous
The rapper, whose real name is John Jackson (not to be confused with Jack Johnson), was shot in the thigh outside P. Diddy’s restaurant: Justin’s, on Tuesday morning


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Apologies

October 19th 2006 09:03
Apologies guys, My internet was down yesterday for some mysterious reason. It is working fine today. Aaaaahhh, the problems with broadband.

Take care and peace out...
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Artist spotlight: Akon

October 17th 2006 13:16
Aliaune Thiam, or Akon as he is popularly known as, is climbing the ladder in the R&B/Rap industry as a singer, song writer, and producer.

Akon
Akon: convict to superstar
It’s great to see a man with life experiences like his achieve his dream


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Jake Shimabukuro brings sexy back to the ukulele

October 16th 2006 09:41
Most musically inclined kids grow up wanting to be the best guitar player in the world; but not Jake Shimabukuro. The Japanese-American, who grew up in Hawaii, loves the ukulele like it were his own flesh and blood

The 29 year old is the world’s greatest ukulele player. In fact, he is often called the Jimi Hendrix of the pint-sized instrument. The only problem is that it’s not the most respectable instrument in the world


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The Reggae Block Party

October 14th 2006 09:54
The Reggae Block Party


The Reggae Block Party, also known as "Reggae at the Block" is an afternooon of live reggae music performed by some of Australia's most popular Reggae bands


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Opinion: Is Hip Hop really dead?

October 13th 2006 08:09
Not too long ago, 50 Cent released a mixtape entitled ‘Hip Hop is Dead’. In fact, I first heard of this from a fellow Orble Blogger, Trina. Check out her blog: http://www.hiphop.com.au

In fact, 50 Cent stole the idea from Nas who’s first album under ‘Def Jam Records’ is also entitled ‘Hip Hop is Dead


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Opinion: Idol Judge's outburst - Too much censorship?

October 11th 2006 08:13
Idol judge, Kyle Sandilands created outrage once again.

Kyle Sandilands
Kyle Sandilands: Australian Idol Judge (the big, ugly, nasty one)

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CD vs Online music: Which do you like?

October 9th 2006 14:01
In a ground-breaking, yet very predictable move, ARIA decides to merge the CD singles Chart with the digital chart. I saw this one coming, but now that it’s here I guess it’s still big news.

ARIA’s move shows us how times are a changin’. In 10 years time, beloved stores like HMV and Sanity will disappear like Houdini


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Jay-Z's comeback album leaked

October 8th 2006 08:49
Allhiphop.com reports the leak of Jay-Z’s comeback album ‘Kingdom Come’.

Jay-Z
Before I get into the nitty, gritty stuff; I want to know what the hell is going on with these comebacks


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Fat Freddy's Drop @ The Forum

October 7th 2006 13:39
Fat Freddy's Drop is, currently, one of my favourite acts full stop. My love for reggae is undeniable, but when a band can take it and mesh it with a little jazz and a whole lot of soul, you've got one delicious recipe of music.

Fat Freddy's Drop

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New Beatles Album

October 6th 2006 08:37
I don’t care if The Beatles are as urban as an albino camel living in Alaska; they are still music gods.

Beatles

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA'S FREEDOM FESTIVAL @ The Metro

October 6th 2006 08:23
The Amnesty International Australia's Freedom Festival is a great cause. Your support would be appreciated around the world. Several great Aussie hip hop acts will be performing. They are mentioned below.

Here's some details straight from moshtix.com.au
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MC Exposition

October 4th 2006 08:31
I just thought it would be good to get a few underground artist name's out there. I've plucked this little feature out of undergroundhiphop.com about a Boston MC called 'Exposition'.

Audible Mainframe
Exposition (with the afro) and his band, Audible Mainframe

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Artist Spotlight: Frankie J

October 3rd 2006 09:35
Now here’s an artist with a wealth of experience. Okay, so Frankie J might not seem like your typical seasoned veteran. In fact, most people outside Latin America wouldn’t have ever heard of him before 2005; but I insist he’s been around.

Frankie J
In fact, he’s been releasing music for almost 10 years now, and has gone through several sonic makeovers to get to the cool, acoustic-flavoured R&B that we hear him croon over the radio


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