Welcome to The Soundtrack, a column where we plumb the depths of our musical knowledge to bring you the best* (subjective) music to listen to for very specific life situations. This week, we tackle a loaded situation: introducing your partner to your family on Christmas.
It is Christmas, my dudes. Well, not quite, but it’s only a couple paychecks away (so if you haven’t shelled out for presents yet you better get cracking). For many of us, Christmas is less of a religious holiday and more of a chance to visit your family and eat ridiculous amounts of fresh fruit and ham on the bone. It’s the only day of the year where it’s socially acceptable to regress deep into the safe memories and rituals of your childhood while simultaneously getting completely sloshed before lunch. Of course, there are pratfalls to watch out for – racist grandparents, the unbearable sticky heat, and most notably, the dreaded litany of “soooooo how’s your love life?” enquiries. Let’s be honest here, that question isn’t really a comfortable one to chat to your Aunt Rachel about even if yours happens to be going well. But maybe you’ve decided to grit your teeth and jump right into the deep end – by introducing your paramour to your clan. On Christmas Day. Sure, love makes you do crazy things but this is downright tumultuous. The mood has to be just right – comforting for all parties, interesting enough to be a point of conversation if all else fails, showcasing your partner’s ultra-cool tastes but still something your ‘rents are going to dig. We gotchu!
Summer Flake – Son Of A Gun
Summer Flake, aka Stephanie Crase, makes wonderful washed-out music that is both 1) very cool and 2) beloved by Double J listeners, so this one is neatly appropriate for all involved. You want to be able to set a tone that’s breezy and unchallenging for your parents, but still something you and your babe would listen to, allowing a comfortable first introduction for everyone. Son Of A Gun is sonically quite timid, so it won’t encroach on your space while you’re making all the rounds upon arrival. Crase’s lofty vocals, a floaty guitar – it’s all extraordinarily lovely despite its quite emotional lyrics. It’s like taking a nap in the sun, which is, as we all know, what you’ll be doing once you’ve all sufficiently stuffed yourselves with mum’s patented potato salad. If you’re feeling a little uncomfortable or have some trepidation about this introduction, you can hold onto the chorus hook like a handy little mantra: Don’t turn on me, members of my family who have been known to say exactly the most inappropriate things at precisely the absolute worst time. Hum it under your breath while praying nobody brings up anything untoward, like your wild younger years or that time you peed your pants way past the age that’s actually ok.
BadBadNotGood – Time Moves Slow
If you’re like me, maybe you shamefully grew up thinking that jazz was weird and boring and liking it made you Lisa Simpson. By now, you should realise that jazz is weird and AMAZING, and that being Lisa Simpson is an actual #lifegoal anyway. If you haven’t arrived at this true conclusion yet then BadBadNotGood will take you there. Subdued and ambling, Time Moves Slow isn’t unlike something the older members of your family would have listened to on the radio way back when. Its unmistakeable modernity reveals itself a little more as the track progresses, but things never get too out-there, making it a great salve – a marriage of two worlds. Plus, Samuel T. Herring’s voice is as entrancingly silky as they come. By this point, it’ll likely be lyrically appropriate as well: time certainly does tend to move slow when you’re anxiously watching everyone’s body language and internally begging with some universal force that this is going well.
The Goon Sax – Anyone Else
This one might skate right on the edge of what your family would be into, but just preface it by saying the frontman is Robert Forster from The Go-Betweens‘ son and they’ll be chill about it. There’s something to be said about the perfect amount of jangle in a song, especially if you’re going to play it in a romantic or romance-adjacent situation. It lends a Wes Anderson-esque touch that’ll help you gloss over any foibles that occur with a deadpan blank stare and a long sip of your drink. Bonus points if you’re wearing bright yellow or heavy eyeliner. See, it’s not so bad that someone just asked a super awkward question. It’s quirky! Your life is full of misadventures and idiosyncracies! In all seriousness though, The Goon Sax are a national treasure and have so much crossover appeal when it comes to different ages that you’re actually being musically irresponsible if you don’t play them for your family.
Crowded House – Weather With You
This is what I call an intergenerational banger. I’d like to say something to the effect of “if you don’t know the words you’re unaustralian”, but as Flight Of The Conchords pointed out at the ARIAs, us Aussies have a very annoying habit of claiming successful NZ musicians as our own, so I won’t. I’ll just say that if you don’t know the words you probably suck as a person. There. Much less inflammatory. Anyway, your parents probably gave Into Temptation and have their buzz on a little by this point and so do you, so now is the time for a nice, bonding sing-along, creating your own little Private Universe. Something So Strong like music really works as a social unifier, and the older people at the table will just adore that “the youths” are still fangin’ Crowded – although, let’s be real, It’s Only Natural. As you sit there on the porch under the sweltering yet Distant Sun, eyes twinkling with the effects of too much bubbly and paper hats lopsided, you’ll relax, knowing this day can only improve because your grandma totally brought her famous Chocolate Cake.
Wham! – Last Christmas
If you try to make a Christmas playlist without either this or Mariah Carey in it, Santa gives you coal in your stocking, and I’d much prefer normal things like sunscreen, socks and a new toothbrush. I guess you could sub in Mariah for this if you wanted to, but I guarantee you that more of your family will appreciate Wham!, unless you have some homophobic relatives. I’ll let you be the judge on this one. Honestly though, for this Very Specific Situation, the whimsical drama of this one works better than the grandiose begging of All I Want For Christmas. But hey, I don’t know your life.
Image: Universal
Had enough of this week and its shit already? Wanting it to be the weekend but its only crappy old Thursday? Does making your way in the world today take everything you’ve got and taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot? Well The Foundry knows your name has got you covered tonight with the massive I Life Factory party presenting some of the best artists currently kicking around Brisbane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANLhUtwvYAk
From the tremendously named The Dollar Bill Murrays getting the evening’s proceedings off to a rocking start to thunderous punk n’ roll noisemakers Makeout Creek doing their darndest to deafen everyone, to synth ballad 80s businessman karaoke God Simi LaCroix (who blew us all away with his set just gone at The Blurst Of Times) putting the room in a to ‘cute boys’ Caroline and, now that the cat has been let right out of the bag, mega-headliners and a couple of Brisbane’s best up-and-comers in The Goon Sax to end your night on a jangly feelgood high, it promises to be a night of unadulterated whimsy.
On to brass tacks though, how much would you pay to be allowed anywhere near this amazing experience? $50? A lifetime of servitude to the Dark Lord Guy Fieri? How about the wallet-friendly admission price of absolutely on the house? Yep, it’s free entry to this so you’ll have plenty more of your hard-earned scrill to hand politely to the lovely Foundry bar staff in exchange for very affordable refreshments.
All of it gets underway tonight at The Foundry at 7:30. Wear your snazziest shoes and bring your snazziest vibes.
It’s video roundup time! Once again, Howl And Echoes are coming in hot with the freshest, most eyeball stimulating music videos to be dropped by the artists you love and some of the artists you don’t know you love yet, of this week. We do all the dirty work and herd them all into one convenient, web-based location for you to enjoy every Friday so that you don’t have to. Have yourself a good old gander at the latest offerings from:
Bob Moses – Tearing Me Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=73&v=T4oUeqOkb90
Coming straight from their wildly acclaimed debut album Days Gone By is the latest single from Bob Moses, Tearing Me Up. The Vancouver-via-New York electronic-pop duo have made some waves this year with their infectious sound. The video was shot in Paris and the smoking lounge feel of the track, soft crooning over an off-kilter backbeat and some beautiful keys thrown in, blends perfectly with the gorgeous after dark urban shots of two lovers making their way around the very city of love. Real nice stuff.
The Retroaction – Little Strange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w360BXmJibo
Staying with Canada for this next one, which may be one of the more creative and fun music videos I’ve seen all year. Shot using a 360 camera in the band’s living room, you can watch this little jam session from every angle conceivable. Most importantly though, WHAT DOES THE SIGN ON THE ROOF SAY, The Retroaction? Because I can’t read it but I absolutely need to know.
The song’s a cracker too, some old time rock and roll done nice and shouty, just the way it should be. There’s running through the motions with music videos just trying to make something that’s aesthetically pleasing and then there’s doing something wacky and enjoyable like this that really involves the listener. The Retroaction nailed it.
Kali Uchis – Ridin’ Round
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUANL9WoB90&feature=youtu.be
Colombian (via Virginia) singer, songwriter and producer Kali Uchis is a tender 22 years of age, but she’s already appeared at Coachella (alongside Kaytranada), supported 21st century soul man Leon Bridges on tour and even found a guest spot on Tyler The Creator‘s Cherry Bomb LP. She’s a talent on the rise for sure, and track/video combinations like Ridin’ Round, off her upcoming album Rinse, are only going to shoot her to stardom faster.
The song is a wicked summery blend of reggae, neo-soul and RnB, featuring Kali’s sugar-sweet pop vocals. The video sees Kali with the sass turned up all the way as she returns to her roots to capture a snapshot of life in her home of Colombia. There’s apparently minimal acting going on in the video, with a lot of family members used for the scenes in the streets, the aim being to provide a real and authentic look at her origins. The perfect visual accompaniment to a song that showcases Kali’s multitude of talents to near perfection.
KLP – Recover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d06RcWW10Fo&feature=youtu.be
If you’re an avid Triple J listener, you’ll know KLP, aka Kristy Lee Peters, who serves up good vibes on the weekly hosting House Party. She’s also a talented vocalist, songwriter and producer in her own right, but to add just a bit of extra spice she has enlisted the artful flow of Remi for her brand new single Recover. It’s an upbeat party track arriving just in time for a long, hot summer, and the music video accompanying it is one hell of a celebration.
With cameos from some of KLP’s contemporaries in the Australian music scene like Peking Duk, Art Vs Science, Set Mo, L-Fresh The Lion and Remi himself, the clip also features an appearance from Triple J colleague and all-around legend breakfast host Alex Dyson, actress Sophie Lowe and a stack of others, all attending the type of party we simple folk could only dream of. A great watch.
The Laurels – Zodiac K
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ggzQdbYfs0
If you’re looking for something a little more psychedelic, we have the latest offering from Sydney’s Inner West, a track entitled Zodiac K by quartet The Laurels. The clip is a triptastic montage of chopped up photographs of the bands’ 2013 tour of the US, where they played the Austin Psych Fest. It’s so pleasing to the eyeballs and the accompanying track does the same for your ears.
Catch The Laurels at Newtown Festival this Sunday and supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacre at The Factory on the 18th!
The Goon Sax – Sometimes Accidentally
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANLhUtwvYAk
Brisbane trio The Goon Sax, apart from having a killer band name, also put out one of my favourite songs of the year a little way back with the foot-tapping, shoe-gazing, contagiously jangly Sometimes Accidentally. I’ve listened to it that many times that I feel like Rainier Wolfcastle when Jay Sherman told him his loafers were untied. It’s a great track, and the video partners up with it marvellously. It’s a trip through some sunny suburbs as the band act out the narrative lyrics to the song and it .
Another great band out of my hometown. Can’t wait to catch them playing their well-deserved slot at next year’s Laneway Festival.
Sofi de la Torre – London x Paris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1_wCBjurGM
Spanish singer-songwriter Sofi de la Torre is something else. Her shimmering, hazy electro-pop has been well-received with every release and the haunting London x Paris, a track off of upcoming EP Mess from her, is no different. Full of dreamy synths and the smoky, enchanting voice of Sofi hypnotising the listener, it’s here accompanied by some deliciously lo-fi shots of the streets of both titular cities. Sofi directed the clip herself, capturing London and Paris, both cities she has spent time living in, in an amazing light.
Visually and sonically captivating, we’re looking forward to Mess thoroughly.
Bad//Dreems – Bogan Pride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoRTcEog5lk
I love absolutely everything about Adelaide outside rockers Bad//Dreems. Their debut album Dogs At Bay was released this year and blew everyone’s fur so far back it wasn’t funny. Bogan Pride is one of the hardest rocking songs to make the final cut of that album and the Baddies put out an equally hard-hitting music video to match it. The footage is as grainy and raw as their sound, some of the highlights include a dude in a Mal Meninga-era Canberra Raiders jersey opening bottles with his teeth, another dude with pink-eye, speed dealers, missing fingers, the neon lights of the pokies, a shirtless wrestling match, durries at every turn and all of it spliced in with footage from one of the band’s raucous gigs.
Just watch and tell me this isn’t the most Australian music video of 2015.