Jackson On - Aussie No. 7

This time I'm talking about a woman. Now this girl is a star, featured in a recent Australian musical movie. She is Missy Higgins. Now Missy Higgins is a favorite of both mine and Laura's, and I'm pretty sure Laura likes her more than I do, but I'll do my best here. Missy Higgins is a soft sort of artists, with light music that has a lot of soul and meaning to it. Her lyrics are really powerful and her voice is unique but outstanding. I suggest listening to the album "The Sound Of White" and my personal favorites are "Scar", "Special Two" and "Nightminds."

Jackson

Laura On Tina Arena

Sitting in the car on the way home from the most amazing concert ive ever seen in my life: Tina Arena at Haimer Hall with an Orchestra.

Hats off to the moonee ponds girl Tiny Tina who went to school around the corner from me. She, at 44 sang for over 2 hours straight with an orchestra and still managed to be awake by the end. Forget about Katy Perry or Rhianna. I'm moving to Paris where Ms Arena is the biggest star and become more like her.

My vision on what i want in music has changed. No big concert in Rod Laver Arena or Madison Square Gardens. Just Haimer Hall. Then we can worry about the rest last

Laura

Laura On Languages

People have a barrier stopping them from communicating due to foreign languages. People can't understand one another when they try to talk.

Music can be in any language and it still gets the message across to people even if they can't understand it. The music evokes emotion and even just the tone in the artist's voice allows people to connect and understand their feelings.

Laura

Laura Pain is Beauty 2

To continue an old post, pain is beauty, it was come to my attention that lyrics can really make people think about their action. It's like the bee sting that really wakes you up, or that one dish that really packs a punch and punches you straight in the mouth.

Lyrics can make you think about a few things: what have i done, what can i do better, how can i help etc

Have any lyrics really stood out to you?

Laura

Jackson On - Aussie No. 6

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've been fairly busy.

Anyway, let's get back into those Aussies. So today I'd like to talk about Australian Crawl. Now as far as I know they only released one album, but I love them, a sort of grunge style, and their biggest hit "Boys Light Up" but I personally like "Reckless... (Don't Be So)." So yeah, check out the album Phalanx see if you like it.

Jackson

Laura The Fashionista

Music is like fashion: forever changing. Once music is old enough, it becomes cool again, just like a trend in clothing! take the Bee Gees! big disco era stars who in the 90s plumeted and weren't heard of. Now, people listen to their stuff all the time! Like the black leather jacket: was a big hit in the 80s, never to be worn in the 90s and early 00s and in about '09, it was 'back in black.' even today, it's still out in many lighter colours.

Music, is fashion for the ear drums. It changes and every generation thinks of it differently and likes different types of it: just like the oldies now wouldnt let their daughters or granddaughter wear anything above knee length and teens these days have dresses up their asses and necklines down to the floor. Music is fashion for the inside of your body. Clothes make you feel good on the outisde, music makes you feel good on the inside.

Laura

Jackson On - Australia No. 5

A more modern artist is Pete Murray. He plays guitar and sings and most of his songs feature a backing band, with added brass. He has an awesome voice and a sort of indie style, and he is actually a favorite of mine. I love "Better Days" and "Opportunity" from his older album and "Free" from his most recent one, but there are some more great songs on both albums. So yeah, check him out, because he's really good.

Jackson

Laura On Accidents

You learn from your mistakes. That's what they all say. It's true! I don't mean with silly things like breaking a bone or something, but say you are experimenting with some chords and something sounds weird but good. Something you didn't mean to stumble upon. Accidents. ACCIDENTS! They are meant to happen. Not just to idiots who need to learn lessons, but to artists who need to learn more about themselves.

Laura

Laura On The 21st Century

Nowadays, its so easy for us to access the internet, social networking etc. But it also can get us into more trouble. When you download illegal music, it benefits you but it affects the artists because they arent getting any of the royalties they deserve. If you love and artist's music, buy their album or song. dont download it because you will end up hurting yourself when they dont have enough money to make more music.

Laura

Jackson On - Aussie No. 4

Another great Australian Band is Crowded House. They are a more soft rock style, and a favorite of mine. In the band - Neil Finn, former member of Split Enz, a band with his brothers and friend, and most of the members of Split Enz went on to form Crowded House, and Nick Seymour, brother of Mark Seymour (Hunters and Collectors, check out a previous Aussie Blog) and formed Crowded House. It's sort of an Indie Rock style, and I suggest checking out these songs to get into them: "Better Be Home Soon," "Don't Dream it's Over," and "Weather With You."
Check it out :)

Jackson

Jackson On - Aussie No. 3

One of Australia's most iconic singers is Jimmy Barnes, with his rock style with his soul voice. As well as a solo career, he was the lead singer in Cold Chisel, a fantastic band, my favorite song is "Khe Sanh" and they have a "greatest hits" album which is full of, well, their greatest hits :P So I suggest you check that out.

As an artist, he was great, releasing many albums, "Soul Deep" shows more of a soul side of his style, but albums like "Freight Train Heart" show his rock sort of style. His greatest song, probably one of the best Australian Ballads/ Anthems, is Working Class Man, a fantastic song, and once you listen to it, you can't get it out of your head :) So check that son out, and if you like that, then move on to his other stuff.

Jackson

Laura On Pain Is Beauty

Everyone always says pain is beauty. This relates to me in a few way: bracers is one. But something came to mind when my ortho mentioned this saying to me; when an artist writes and singings about pain, it is beautiful. it shows the beauty within the artist shining through the hardship they write about. When all celebs say 'ohh i was bullied as a kid' most of us dont believe them, we think they just want attention. They dont try to glamourise the fact bullying occurs but when artists write about pain its shows beauty. I'm not trying to say pain is beautiful but, maybe that saying has more than one material meaning?

Laura

Jackson On - Aussie No. 2

Music is more than just a series of rhythms and pitches. It's a way of communicating, a way of telling a story, making a statement, sharing an opinion. The Australian band Midnight Oil are a perfect example of this. Though they are now retired as artists, in their glory days, they we Aussie icons, and lead singer Peter Garett is known for his unique voice and his shocking dance moves. He is now a politician, not the best, but he is playing his part. He is truly a hippy, associated with Green Peace, and other work. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Midnight Oil came out on stage with t-shirts saying "Sorry" after our country's leaders wouldn't apologize to the Indigenous people of Australia for the terrible events their ancestors went through.
He is somebody to look up to, and amazing artist, a good band, but also gives his opinion and isn't afraid to try to make a change. So I recommend listening to Midnight Oil, his voice is a little wierd, but you can get used to it. My favorite song would be "One Country", or "Beds Are Burning"

Jackson

Jackson On - Aussie No. 1

Ok, this is the first of my Australian blogs. First up, Hunters and Collectors, more specifically Mark Seymour, the lead singer, who went on to have a solo career as well.

Mark is an idol of mine, an amazing rock voice. He was first part of the band Hunters and Collectors, who released a few albums, and I suggest starting off with Cut, then moving on. They broke up eventually and Mark is currently still performing a solo career. He released the album Daytime and the Dark, which I love, and has all the best hits from Hunters and Collectors and a few of his own. In my opinion his best song is Holy Grail or Throw Your Arms Around Me, both Australian classics. Get into this music, Australia has so much to offer!!!

Jackson