I'm in love again. I can't tell you how many times I've fallen like this but it is at least in the hundreds. Most of the time, this is a fairly one-sided affair. Before any of you reading this start tutting and shaking your heads, I must confess this love is directed towards bands and/or musicians. This habit of falling in love with the virtually-unattainable began when I was about 7 or 8 and first started wanting to play guitar. I fell for Elvis Presley big time. But very soon after, I also fell for Bill Haley and The Comets collectively. Since then, I've fallen for The Beatles, AC/DC, Cold Chisel, Led Zepplin, Sublime, Kiss, Cheap Trick, The Clash, The Jam, Elvis Costello, The Beastie Boys, Bob Marley, Weezer, Jeff Buckley, The Stone Roses, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Pavement, Mazzy Starr, Gorillaz, P.J. Harvey, Inspiral Carpets, The Sleepy Jackson, Superchunk and Nations By The River. This is by no means the end of the list. In fact, its barely a beginning. I simply love just about all forms of music. I've never been particularly enamoured with one genre of music either. I guess in some circles I'd probably be called a music-slut. But I don't care. My love knows no bounds and won't be tainted by the opinions of others (particularly critics who pan a new love of mine).
My latest love is a relatively new Australian act called Little Birdy. The album is Big Big Love and it is a classic (okay, purely subjective, I know, but what the hell). Led by the sister of another love of mine, Luke Steele from The Sleepy Jackson, Little Birdy have a depth and substance that will ring out for many years to come. As well as I know the Australian music industry (I wrote for street press for quite a number of years), I really hope this band takes their act overseas as soon as possible. The appalling state of the music business in Australia doesn't bode well for any new acts starting out, regardless of how talented he/she/they might be. So if you get a chance, have a listen. And get back to me and let me know whether you think I'm full of it or not. Maybe my listening is not as subjective as I think...