Strange Behavior

Silverchair made music history today with the chart topping debut of their new release Young Modern. They have become the first Australian band to ever have five #1 albums.

This eclipses the achievements of Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil who each enjoyed four Australian #1’s over the course of their extraordinary careers. A number of other legendary Aussie bands have had three #1’s including INXS, Crowded House, Powderfinger and AC/DC.
It’s also Silverchair’s fifth consecutive #1 debut – a feat that’s obviously also unmatched by any other group.

In more good chart news, their single “Straight Lines” remained at #1 on the national singles chart for the fourth consecutive week. Both releases have already been certified platinum.
“We’re overwhelmed by the reaction we’ve had to Young Modern”, said Silverchair’s singer/guitarist/songwriter Daniel Johns. “It’s been a long time since we’ve released a new album and we put a lot of time into making this one so we’re really grateful that it’s getting embraced in such a big way. Ben and Chris and I would like to thank everyone who’s helped make it all happen.”

In addition to its commercial success, Young Modern, has also been warmly received by the critics with a raft of four and five star reviews around the country. Rolling Stone Magazine called it “a towering triumph”, Drum Media said it’s “a melodic powerhouse” and the Sunday Herald-Sun described it as “Silverchair’s Masterpiece”.

It's Like Jimmy Sharman's Boxers

FOOTY greats Kevin Sheedy and Michael Long are leading a call for racist Victorian place names to be consigned to history's waste basket.

Sheedy, Long and pop singer Deni Hines have joined a powerful lobby of Aboriginal leaders who denounce the names as offensive relics of Australia's colonial past. Offending place names in Victoria include Mt Niggerhead, The Niggerheads, Niggerhead Aquaduct, Niggerhead Creek and Massacre Bay -- where hundreds of Aborigines were slaughtered in the 1800s.

Road names include Blackboy Lane, Black Charlie Track, Nigra St and Black Fellah Camp Rd. The lobby is calling for the Bracks Government, which first looked at the issue of racist place names in 2000, to rid the state of the names immediately.

"These names are not needed," Sheedy said yesterday. "Let's get rid of them and move on in life. They are offensive. There's been bridge-building for 200 years and we've got to get smarter and better now." Michael Long said: "Anyone would have to agree the word Niggerhead is derogatory." Deni Hines described the names as "just wrong".

"Names such as Mt Niggerhead have got to go. Massacre Bay, too," Hines said. "I don't feel nice when I hear them -- I'm blown away that they still exist.

"I'm not sure how aware people are of these names, but I hope people become aware and I hope there is a change because it shouldn't be like this."

Full list of offensive names.

I Wish We did That At My School

Wampy from The Wampy Portal has started up a new blog dedicated to
Weird, Obscure, Twisted & Bent tunes. He is sharing songs and taking requests.

The most bent and twisted song I could think of was Ben Folds' version of the Dr Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit"
Wampy took my suggestion and uploaded it to here.

I went to Mr Folds' website today and found this little gem. It's an absolute classic.
But listen to his version first.

THE CHAIR

'Straight Lines', the first taste of Silverchair's forthcoming album 'Young Modern' will debut on the band's website and MySpace page this Friday.(Thats friday just gone)

The album is in the final stages of production in Canada. 'Young Modern' is being produced by lead singer Daniel Johns and long time collaborator Nick Launey.

David Bottrill, who mixed 2002's Diorama, is also working on this record.

The CD version of the single will be released in March. It will include their cover of Midnight Oil's 'I Don't Wanna Be The One' as a bonus track.

The video for 'Straight Lines' was directed by Paul Goldman and Alice Bell, the pair behind the movie Mayhem. Sydneysiders may recognize the location. It is the Olympic Park railway station.

And The Hair Is Getting Longer.

After more than a year away from the spotlight, Missy Higgins is set to release her new album at the end of April.
She spent much of 2006 in Los Angeles recording the as-yet-untitled follow-up to her nine-times-platinum debut, 'The Sound Of White'. The first single, 'Steer', will undoubtedly be previewed when Higgins performs four festival dates in April.
Higgins also appears on the upcoming Kev Carmody album, contributing vocals along with Paul Kelly and Augie March's Glenn Richards.

Straight From My Inbox

Beware! this was a terrible experience.
Be careful when shopping at Bunnings!! A "heads up" to you and any of your friends who may be regular Bunnings customers.
Over the last month I became the victim of a clever scam whilst out shopping. Simply going out to get hardware supplies has turned out to be quite traumatic.Don't be naive enough to think it couldn't happen to you.

Here's how the scam works:
Two seriously good looking 18 or 19 year old girls come over to your car as you are loading your stuff into the car.
They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and Windex, with their breasts almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. It is impossible not to look. When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say "No" and instead ask you for a ride to another Bunnings. You agree and they get in the back seat.
On the way, they start having sex with each other. Then one of them climbs over into the front seat and performs oral sex on you, while the other one steals your wallet.
I had my wallet stolen January 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, three times just yesterday and very likely again this upcoming weekend, as soon as I can manage to buy some more wallets.

Who Can Stand In The Way

Where is John Howard’s plan to address climate change?
Today’s reports of research for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the most comprehensive scientific global analysis of climate change ever, shows the extraordinary threats accelerated climate change poses for Australia.
The likelihood of a two and a half to three and a half degree increase in global temperatures, along with a 20 per cent reduction in rainfall in southern Australia suggested by the science, puts John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull squarely in the climate change spotlight.
Labor supports the Howard Government’s water plan. However global warming will increasingly affect our water resources and common sense says you can’t have an effective water plan unless you have a climate change plan.

Want to read more?

Don't Dream It's Over

Crowded House are doing a new album called 'Time On Earth'.

Lead singer and founder Neil Finn announced the title this week from Melbourne, where he and Nick Seymour are auditioning drummers for the reformed band.

In an official statement, Finn says "After spending most of last year making music and hanging out with my friend Nick Seymour we are now announcing our intention to reform Crowded House with a new record entitled Time On Earth".

Crowded House broke up one year after original drummer and co-founder Paul Hester left the band in 1994. Finn says "We are conscious that Paul Hester was above all a great drummer and we are currently auditioning to find someone special to take that role."

The band will engage a world tour for most of 2007, with the first officially announced show being Coachella in California in April. About the comeback, he says "It feels right to us that the band should re-emerge at this time and together with Mark Hart we look forward to reconnecting with the audience that we established and for whom we still hold a deep respect. We aim to make the upcoming shows and the new music every bit as vital and spirited as what has come before".

Finn and Hester formed Crowded House with Nick Seymour after the demise of Split Enz. They recorded four platinum selling albums between 1986 and 1993.
by Paul Cashmere

Scenes Of Passion And Delight

Peter Garrett will be bounding out of bed when he wakes up this morning as Labor's new spokesman on climate change and the environment.

"I have had 25 years of strong commitment to the environment," he told the Herald last night. "And I will be absolutely waking up [today] to roll my sleeves up to continue that work."
The former Midnight Oil frontman has been criticised for his lack of pronouncements since his election two years ago.

But no longer. In his first utterances as Labor's top man on the environment, Mr Garrett called the Prime Minister, John Howard, "laggardly", saying his Government was "slipping in and out of denial" and was "addicted to process rather than action".

The former president of the Australian Conservation Foundation and one-time board member of Greenpeace International said his priority was to take "urgent and immediate action on CO 2 reductions". This included "setting targets, increasing investment in renewables and moving immediately to a CO 2 trading system, including ratification of [the] Kyoto [Protocol] and medium-term planning for those likely impacts" that climate change would have on rural infrastructure.

"Mr Howard's laggardly approach defies logic given that eight years ago former minister for environment [Robert] Hill was suggesting the necessity for a national CO 2 trading scheme to be established," he said.

"Mr Howard seems only to be able to initiate taskforces, reviews and reports but fails to ever act resolutely."

But the Greens leader, Bob Brown, said: "Frankly, I doubt Peter Garrett will be let off the leash to take on the coal and uranium industries."

I found this article via The Pen