2024

JFK’s Top Ten For 2024

As some here will know, I’ve spent the last year on the road in Spain. So when I was asked for a Rock and Roll Top Ten, I couldn’t really scrape together a list of ten concerts or records because I just hadn’t attended or listened to that many. I’d done a lot of rolling down the road. But the only rock I’d experienced was at Gibraltar.

What I had been doing had more to do with bricks and mortar than rock and roll. While I spent most evenings in my life enjoying music, I’d been earning a living by day as an architect. So my travels around Spain were full of visits to architectural wonders. I can tell you, I’ve been enjoying architecture more in the last year than I ever did working in architectural companies. So here’s my Top Ten list of Spanish architecture listed in the rough chronological order that I discovered them in:

1. The Ferreres Aqueduct, Tarragona. I love Roman aqueducts. Finding a structure that’s still standing  and in reasonable condition 2,000 years after it was built is just amazing. The simplicity and geometric perfection of the design are so impressive.

_{Murray Bennett photo.}

Made it through an intense year of behind-the-scenes, hatchet job betrayal, on constant alert with old stuff anxiety kicking in and an ADHD burn-out that sent me to a dark and desperate place. 

But despite all the amputations, my life was saved by Rock ‘n’ Roll….

1. The Cruel Sea
Made a new album with The Cruel Sea. Recorded in three days in a tin shed during a brutal Melbourne heatwave. A bunch of songs we barely knew and nearly all first takes with minimal overdubs and quick mixes. Relied on our old wits and it sounds pretty damn good! 

2. Robyn Hitchcock
Spent time with my dear friend Robyn Hitchcock as we both navigated dark waters, then played a wonderful show at The Great Club in Sydney with Samand Davey and Katethat steered us straight, and we stayed up grooving on my back deck until the birds and the garbage trucks joined us. 

Marcus' Top Ten Albums for 2024 (with Spotify playlist after the fold)

1. Bad Nerves - Still Nervous:
I'm hooked on this album ! Full-throttle garage punk but with an ear for hooks and melodies. They're from Essex and have lately been opening for the likes of The Hives, Royal Bloodand The Darkness. Billie Joe Armstrong has labelled them “the best band in England right now." This album is so much fun !
Fav Track: You've Got The Nerve

2. The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know:
These guys are absolutely brilliant ! With this album, they've really honed in on the 60's Pop/Baroque sound but also with elements of 70's power-pop. A couple of tracks on this sound like The Raspberries ! Amazing songwriting/performances and they look cool, what's not to like?
Fav Track: How Can I Love Her More?

 Ten musical things I dug in 2024.

• The Hard-Ons got to celebrate 40 years of ravaging the stage. Still as high-energy and still as true-to-form, brutally honest as ever. And a brand new doco to boot. Go see it. It’s great. Oh, and next year marks 40 years since the release of their debut EP, “Surfin’ On My Face” (ED: On Mark’s label Vi-Nil Records). Just sayin’!

• Middle Kids released an album that was completely hitsville from go to woah. Their previous releases all had a couple of great standout tracks, but “Faith Crisis Part 1” is their ultimate opus. Infectious indie pop that sits on the edge of mainstream and subsequently shits all over half of the commercial shit that has been released this year. 

• Elestial are a band that hails from Newcastle in Australia, and their nicely structured dream-pop is a beautiful shot of razored honey.  I was lucky enough to have them do a chunk of the INDIE SOUNDS launch tour throughout July, and they nailed every show. A nicer bunch you couldn’t meet. 

• Chamberlane are an indie pop punk band out of the Sunshine Coast. They jumped onto a last minute slot on the INDIE SOUNDS tour to help us out, and despite being hungover to the max from a festival the day before, they kicked the shit out of it. They’ve just finished a bit of an east coast tour and I was lucky to have them on board as part of the recent Vi-Nil Records showcase at The Recky Pacific Palms. Fun at a furious rate! 

Favourite Live Gigs in Sydney

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS (Metro Theatre):
It was a long time between drinks but
they finally made it back to our shores and gave the crowd an Alabama
ass-whuppin'for the ages! With 14 studio albums up their sleeves it's
impossible to hear all of your favourite tunes,but it was a wonderful
evening of top-shelf Southern Rock whichever way you slice it.



CHEAP TRICK/THE ANGELS (Enmore Theatre): 

A crackin' night of pop-infused rock'n'roll from the get-go. I loved The Angels back in high school but lost interest by the late 80s, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear a
solid set of classics by a rejuvenated lineup now boasting 4 x Brewsters
in the ranks! They'll never have a frontman as great as Doc Neeson, but
they're still a fun night out. Cheap Trick were in top form delivering
hit after hit - if you don't enjoy these blokes you may be in need for a
check-up from the neck up!



_{Antoine Nguyen photo.}

1. Radio Birdman - Manning Bar, Sydney
There was magic in the room that night: magic and love. Love from the audience who knew them as either family, friends, heroes, or all three. Everyone no doubt had different stories to tell but we were all there for the same reason - to bid farewell and to hear those songs played live one last time.

The songs that had formed a soundtrack to our lives. It led me to reflect on my own musical and life journey – is this really their last show? Am I heading that way too? I enjoyed being in the space and it brought back fond memories as I spent so much time in Manning Bar in the old days when I was studying at Sydney Uni with Louis Tillett. This show was so worth making the trip up to Sydney for! Great support from the Hard Ons too. Heartfelt thanks to everyone for a magnificent evening and beyond.

2. Mudhoney/Kid Congo - La Trabendo, Paris
It was a fabulous night at a cool venue in the beautiful le Parc de la Villette. I was staying in Paris and couldn’t believe my luck that two of my favourite bands would be sharing a bill. It was a stunning show, as you would expect. A crowded Mudhoney gig in Paris is much the same as one in Melbourne complete with t-shirts, leather jackets, jeans, boots, and slam-dancing, although the French seemed to have a certain je ne sais quoi about it all.

_{The Tommys on tour in a tuk tuk:  Robert Lastdrager, Jonathan Lickliter and Ollie Laurie.}

1. Getting the band back together after 20 years.
Playing numerous Melbourne inner-city bars in 2024 with The Tommys has been a blast.

2. Touring regional VIC and NSW with Cambodian Space Project on their April Oz tour.
A real treat to play beautiful venues like the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, George Lane and Memo Music Hall in St Kilda to such appreciative crowds.

3. Marrickville Bowlo
We flew into Sydney and out the next day. Played a rowdy loud evening of garage R&R topped off by sinking a flotilla of schooners with old mates I hadn’t seen in 20 years!

1. The Saints Live at Pig City
This is one hell of an album .I am a big Chris Bailey fan and I am pleased to be able to report that The Screaming Tribesmen played with Chris Bailey's Saints (not the original ones) many times back in the day. I feel he is very underrated as a singer although he is well celebrated as a front man/entertainer.  You just can't keep a good melody down and Chris Bailey can sing a melody that's for sure. I really miss him. 

2. Revelation EP by Los Revelators
This is a terrific recording featuring my long term partner in crime Chris Klondike Masuak. Some great guitar playing here and I love the keyboards too.

2024 TOP 10 THINGS OF A ROCK & ROLL NATURE -  BY FOX

1. “ROCANROL IN MONO” LP by PLEASANTS
This LP rocketed to my fave album of the year in March and has maintained its unassailable lead til now. The band first came onto my radar with their  adrenalin charged cover of the Troggs’ “A Girl Like You” a couple of years ago and the debut long player has transitioned me from keen listener to mega fan. Pleasants play up tempo pub punk along the lines of singer/guitarist Alex Patchings’ other (also great) band Dennis Cometti  but with a bit more of a llofi/egg punk flavour. What sets it apart for me is their ear for classic pop rock hooks - it really feels like high speed garage Cheap Trick or Status Quo at times which fuses it right  to my wheelhouse. Cruelly located in Perth and seemingly touring Europe more than East Coast Oz let me put on the record I am ready and willing to receive them here when they are. This album  fucken rules - I absolutely love it.

2. “BIG BREAKFAS”T LP by HANS CONDOR
I discovered this unhinged Texan rock and roll machine a couple of years ago courtesy of the greatest music video ever made and have been ride or die with them ever since. They play vaguely Motorhead-y, AC/DC-y gear but with big swings into classic Americana and country which completes a super authentic, honest and sweaty sounding experience I cannot get enough of. Kind of feral, kind of soulful, super duper fun.

3. THE STRIKE OUTS LP by THE STRIKE OUTS
If you live in Sydney and are remotely plugged into the underground rock and roll scene you would have come across these guys at some point. Awesome straight ahead no-nonsense two-piece and a great example of the embarrassment of rock and roll riches we have in Australia these days. Absolute gentlemen. too, which is a nice touch if you don’t prefer your rock stars to be utter arseholes. Their debut long player rips - recorded with the steady hand of The Pet Food Factory at the tiller.

A bit like last year, this one was pretty rotten.  Anyway, here's a short list of bands I saw that I rate very highly.

If you have the chance, the opportunity... don't be wedging your sweaty dewflaps to the couch and watch the cricket or footy or some TV series fuck up their “story arc” (ie, find more reasons to extend the season - will it ever, ever end?)... but do what I couldn't do this year... 

 Here's a Top Nine of righteous soul, blues, funk and jazz classics from Scott Morgan (The Rationals, Sonic's Rendezvous Band, The Hydromatics, The Solution, Scott Morgan Band and many more) preceded with one of his own.  

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Top Ten reasons why you should have turned off the "moo-zak" of Taylor Swift in 2024:

1. Tay Tay probably wouldn't have heard "Woodland" by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

2. Tay Tay probably wouldn't have had 45 minutes in a day to hear "Tigers Blood" by Waxahatchee.

3. Tay Tay probably wouldn't have tuned in to 3PBS FM show "Studio 5 Live" to hear Pat Todd and The Rank Outsiders.

4. Tay Tay probably wouldn't have given a toss about "Heavy Lifting" by MC5.

5. Tay Tay probably would have zero idea of "The Dictators" by The Dictators.

6. Tay Tay was probably never likely to come across the 'Rebellion Punk Music Festival' and the band Convict Class (from Warrnambool, Victoria) who performed there.

7. Tay Tay probably wouldn't have wanted to have been caught dead at The LangLangs playing at either The MoshPit (Sydney) and/or 'RnR Klub' at Petersham Bowling Club (Sydney).

8. Tay Tay was probably no threat of being spotted at Balkan Grillplaying at The MoshPit/Link and Pin (Woy Woy, NSW) etc.

9. Tay Tay probably had zero care factor for The Blistered Minds playing at Bar La Vida Loca (Newport, Sydney) and/or The MoshPit

10. Tay Tay probably never gave a single thought (or a flying f...) to Charlie Silky-Oak and/or Charlie Lethal playing at 'RnR Klub' at Petersham Bowling Club.

R.I.P.  Damien Smith, Dennis Thompson, Wayne Kramer, Slim Dunlap, Kris Kristofferson, Mary Weiss