Amanda Palmer

Monday Night Tegan and I went and saw Amanda Palmer (from the Dresden Dolls) at the Spiegeltent.

We went because Tegan's friend Peta was part of the "Danger Ensemble" that perform with her.

I hadn't heard very much of her music before, but I was very impressed, particularly with the song "Ampersand". The Danger Ensemble 'performed' during various songs throughout the night which involved moving around the tent in a sombre mood or doing strange interpretive dance. It really added to the theatrical nature of the show, but I may have been biased because I knew one of them. Not to say that they weren't good, but I was eager to see them come on, whereas such shenanigans could be seen as a distraction from the main performer for others, however I think they complemented Amanda's show perfectly.

The Spiegeltent is a beautiful venue, very intimate and theatrical, which really suited this show.

The finale was an incredible lip sync version of Umbrella (see below, Peta is the blond).

If you get the chance, I recommend catching this show!

Top 50 Songs

Once again I have set down my Top 50 Songs (old list here)

I have noted the previous position of songs and there relative movement for people to study and consider.
(The number in brackets after the artist name is how many songs that artist has in the Top 50)

Rank Song / Artist / Change / Previous

1 Imagine / John Lennon / Beatles (6) / ◄ / 1
2 Bad / U2 (9) / ◄ / 2
3 Beautiful Day / U2 (9) / ▲1 / 4
4 One / U2 (9) / ▲2 / 6
5 Paranoid Android / Radiohead (7) / ◄ / 5
6 Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad / U2 (9) / ▼3 / 3
7 Lose Yourself / Eminem (3) / ▲4 / 11
8 Last Goodbye / Jeff Buckley (2) / ▲1 / 9
9 October / U2 (9) / ▲1 / 10
10 God / John Lennon / Beatles (6) / ▼3 / 7
11 Exit Music (For A Film) / Radiohead (7) / ▲29 / 40
12 Hallelujah / Jeff Buckley (2) / ◄ / 12
13 With Or Without You / U2 (9) / ▲9 / 22
14 Bohemian Rhapsody / Queen / ▼6 / 8
15 All I Want Is You / U2 (9) / ▲4 / 19
16 Stairway To Heaven / Led Zeppelin / ▼2 / 14
17 Where The Streets Have No Name / U2 (9) / ▲18 / 35
18 Shady Lane / Pavement / ▲3 / 21
19 Bittersweet Symphony / The Verve / ▼2 / 17
20 Seven Nation Army / The White Stripes / ▲3 / 23
21 Tribute / Tenacious D / ▲4 / 24
22 You And Me Song / The Wannadies / ▲5 / 27
23 Heroin / The Velvet Underground / ▲14 / 37
24 Street Spirit (Fade Out) / Radiohead (7) / ▲12 / 36
25 Wish You Were Here / Pink Floyd / ▲8 / 33
26 Strawberry Fields Forever / John Lennon / Beatles (6) / ▼13 / 13
27 Island Home / Christine Anu / ▼1 / 26
28 Kill You / Eminem (3) / ▲1 / 29
29 Hurt / Johnny Cash / ☼ /
30 Real Love / Regina Spektor / ☼ /
31 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away / John Lennon / Beatles (6) / ▼15 / 16
32 Under The Bridge / Red Hot Chili Peppers / ◄ / 32
33 Just / Radiohead (7) / ▼5 / 28
34 Falling At Your Feet / U2 (9) / ▼19 / 15
35 Breathe Me / Sia / ☼ /
36 Creep / Radiohead (7) / ▲5 / 31
37 Kim / Eminem (3) / ▲1 / 38
38 Smells Like Teen Spirit / Nirvana / ▼4 / 34
39 Working Class Hero / John Lennon / Beatles (6) / ▼21 / 18
40 Space Oddity / David Bowie / ▼15 / 25
41 The Tracks Of My Tears / Smokey Robinson & The Miracles / ▲1 / 42
42 Every Time I Try / Spain / ▼12 / 30
43 A Day In The Life / John Lennon / Beatles (6) / ▼23 / 20
44 Yesterday / The Beatles / ▼5 / 39
45 Karma Police / Radiohead (7) / ▼1 / 44
46 Wake Up / The Arcade Fire / ☼ /
47 No Suprises / Radiohead (7) / ☼ /
48 Good Riddance / Green Day / ▼1 / 47
49 Today / Smashing Pumpkins / ▼1 / 48
50 Song 2 / Blur / ▼4 / 46
x Like A Rolling Stone / Bob Dylan / ▼>1 / 50
x In My Life / John Lennon / Beatles / ▼>9 / 41
x Norwegian Wood / John Lennon / Beatles / ▼>1 / 49
x What A Wonderful World / Louis Armstrong / ▼>7 / 43
x Space Moth / Stereolab / ▼>5 / 45

Survivor Fiji

Survivor Fiji just had its finale here is Aus the other night.

It was an awesome season.

The hidden immunity idols were an awesome addition, especially the fact that the had to be played BEFORE the votes were read out.

Dreamz deal with Yao was obviously the big story of the season.

I think Yao should NOT have made Dreamz decide to give up the idol or not. He should have struck a deal with him to boot out Earl or Cassandra. It would have made him look much better to the Jury (as compared to taking his idol then booting him out) and he at least still would have been around to face the Jury!

I am not a fan of the 9 person Jury, 3 finalists. I hate the idea that there could actually be a draw (3,3,3 or 4,4,1). What would they do then???

I think that when they get down to 3, the next peron voted off DOESN'T become part of the jury.

I am glad Earl won, it seems that recently the good people have actually been winning!

Anyway, Survivor China looks really good, hopefully Nine puts it on at a reasonable hour!

Numbers 1 to 10

Once again I have spent too much time organising playlists on my iPod.

So here are the best songs ever featuring the Numbers 1 to 10:

1: One - U2
2: Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad - U2
3: Three Marlenas - The Wallflowers
4: Four Seasons In One Day - Crowded House
5: 2+2=5 - Radiohead
6: 6th Avenue Heartache - The Wallflowers
7: Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
8: Eight Days A Week - The Beatles
9: Revolution 9 - The Beatles
10: Ten Days - Missy Higgins

Yes, some of them have more than 1 number in the title.

Suggestions for better songs with numbers in the title are welcome.

People Like Us

I was watching People Like Us on DVD today.

It's still hilarious

One of my favourite lines is from 'The Managing Director' episode:

Woman: "It's a pretty young staff here. I must be one of the longest serving now. I came here straight from school."

Roy: "Did you imagine staying here this long?"

Woman: "No I really have, really."

Gold.

My favourite all time episode was The Airline Pilot, which was on Season 2. Unfortunately, now that presenter Chris Langtham has been charged with child pornography, it seems unlikely that Season 2 will come out on DVD. But he denies all charges and hasn't been found guilty yet, so I guess you just have to assume he is innocent until proven guilty.

Anyway, besides that ugliness, it is a great show. Worthy of writing out all the scripts, if I ever get the chance.

Best Cover Versions Ever

The other day I tried to make a list on my iPod of all the cover versions I had (because that's what I do with my iPod).

It was quite a surprising process - there were lots of songs I discovered were covers that I didn't know about, like; Dazed and Confused (Led Zepplin), Cocaine (Cream) and It's My Life (No Doubt)

I tried to pick out my Top 10 covers - based on how good the song was and also how much the new artist had succeeded in making the song their own.

My Top 10 are:

10. Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinéad O'Connor (Prince)
9. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Eddie Vedder (The Beatles)
8. With A Little Help From My Friends, Joe Cocker (The Beatles)
7. I Will Survive, Cake (Gloria Gaynor)
6. Easy, Faith No More (Lionel Richie)
5. Hurt, Johnny Cash (NIN)
4. Respect, Aretha Franklin (Otis Redding)
3. All Along The Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan)
2. One, Johnny Cash (U2)

And the best cover of all time is:

1. Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley (Leonard Cohen)

It really is beautiful - and it's much better than the original!

I still haven't heard the John Cale (of the Velvet Underground) version but apparently his version inspired Jeff's version.

Check out another covers list here.

Icky Thump

The new White Stripes album 'Icky Thump' came out last week and as I am a big fan of Jack and Megs sound I bought it straight away.

The single 'Icky Thump' is fantastic - I love the wailing guitar - sometimes I feel like Jack could fell a tree with his guitar sound. In fact the wailing guitar is (as always) quite frequent in the entire album which I love. It seems to actually be overtly ABOUT something, which is a change of pace for this pair.

There are some quirky numbers in there, like Conquest and St. Andrew, which help break the album up and give it that unique White Stripes feel.

My favourite tracks apart from the title track, are 'You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)' and 'A Martyr For My Love For You'.

Overall it is not as strong as Elephant, and about equal with Get Behind Me Satan - but it is still early days and I'm sure, like all good things, it will get even better over time.

***

Science Of Sleep

Tegan and I went and saw "Science of Sleep" the other day.

It is written and directed by Michel Gondry, who also directed the magnificent "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and many video clips including The White Stripes "The hardest Button to Button" (which was reproduced quite well in a Simpsons episode).

Anyway, this movie is awesome. Gondry loves his low tech special effects which he uses to perfection in this playful, funny and touching masterpiece.

Makes you want to go out and keep living your life to the max ;-)

*****