1)  Died Pretty- The Factory Theatre - It had been a long wait for the return of Ron Peno and co to the stage. They reminded us how great they are

2)  Rubbernecker- The middle band at Marrickville Bowling Club last Thursday - I’ve always been a fan but they’re improving in leaps and bounds. Catch them soon.

3) Kim Salmon's Haunted Grooves - The Great Club - A great night of story and song.

4) Underground Lovers- Brunswick Ballroom . So lucky to be in Melbourne to catch the matinee gig!

5) Albums - Chimers debut; Reverse Light Years- Even; Deadly Decoupage - Boxing With Ghosts; Strange Flash - Lipstick Killers.

 A 2021 Top Ten of albums and documerntaries from Sim Li, Sydney singer, songwriter and member of Lethal Mercenaries and Phringe Dwellers. 

Lipstick Killers - "Strange Flash" (compilation album)

Sherry Rich - The Divine Crimson V (album)

"Big Name No Blanket" - Documentary, screened on NITV

"Chuck Berry" - Documentary, screened on NITV

"The Go Go's" - Documentary, screened on ABC TV

Steve Earle - "J.T." (album)

Son Volt - "Electro Melodier" (album)

WWE Legends - Bret "The Hitman" Hart, screened on SBS TV

WWE Legends - Mick Foley, screened on SBS TV

Dark Side of the Ring - Jake "The Snake" Roberts, screened on SBS TV

RIP: Nanci Griffith, Tom T. Hall, Dusty Hill, Hans-Erik Dyvik Husby (aka) Hank Von Helvete, Charlie Watts

Greetings Rockers and Goomers! It’s the end of another weird year. How many is that now?

Here are my Top Ten releases - mostly Australian artists - and venues, in no particular order of preference. Not all were released in 2021 - but close enough. These releases and venues kept me sane in 2021.Merry Xmas and a free and Happy New Year!

My name is Marcus Fraser and I'm the singer in Sydney band STARCRAZY.

In another rollercoaster thunderfuck of a year, these are the tunes that kept me grounded and positive. Some of these artists I'm proud to call my friends and I'm SO stoked on all the amazing music coming out of Australia, Oi Oi Oi!

In no particular order:

1. Molly & The Krells - Silver & Gold
2. Pond - America's Cup
3. Arianne Gozzing - The New Queen
4. Thunder Fox - Not For Sale 
5. Smoke Stack Rhino - Ultraviolet 
6. Alpha Goose - Why Not
7. Amyl and The Sniffers - Guided By Angels 
8. Geese - Low Era
9. Astrodeath - Invasion 
10. Lucid Hoops - Kinder Company 

Jade Felicia photo montage

Top Ten albums from Joey Bedlam, vocalist for Melbourne-based garage band DollSquad.

10. Shutdown 66 – ‘’Come on girl gimme half a chance’’

9. Le Beat Bespoke V9 (compilation by New Untouchables)

8. Rough n Tumble – ‘’Eyes on the Road’’

7. The Smoggers – ‘’Funeral’’

6. The Laissez Fairs – ‘’Curiosity Killed the Cat’’

5. The Seeds – ‘’Butterfly Child’’

4. Calidoscopio – “Get Ready’’

3. The Chevelles – ‘’Steve McQueen (I wish I was)”

2. Sonny Vincent – ‘’Snake Pit Therapy’’

1. Steve Lucas – ‘’Joshua Tree’’ (because it’s a great song about The Joshua Tree and because it’s a Christmas song!!!)

If like me, it was hard for you to get out of the house this year and experience live music, I found myself sitting on the couch watching too much TV… It wasn’t until I put together this list I realised I watch w-a-a-a-a-y too much TV…

Anyway, here’s a list of some of the music and music related documentaries I managed to consume in my COVID-19 lockdown. Let’s hope we can get some more gigs in next year.

To give you all a break I excluded every politics documentary I consumed, and didn’t include any of the hundreds, and possibly thousands, of music technology-related YouTube channels I’ve been glued to. I hope you can find something on this list you haven’t seen before...