Ernie O’s 2023 Top 10
10. River of Snakes live at Northcote Social Club (supporting Chris Masuak & Dog Soldier) on 26 May. It takes a lot to make my jaw drop, but this tight and gritty 3-piece achieved it flawlessly and with ease. Raul (Magic Dirt) on guitar and vocals, Elissa (The Loveless, RnRHS) on bass and vocals and Dave (Grindhouse, Drifter) on drums wove a tapestry of love, loss and lust that draws you in and leaves you wanting more. Check out their goodies here!
9. Stu Wilson – As Yet Untitled Mini-Album. Still a work in progress, but (Loose Pills, Aberration, New Christs, The Crisps and more) has gone next level with his solo material, taking advantage of his Stu Stu Studio to lay down some tracks that wouldn’t sound out of place on a 1980’s Citadel release. We’re having a lot of fun with this! Check out a teaser here.
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- By Ernie O
- Hits: 2811
He was a music writer, lawyer and most of all he was a family man, and a celebration of the life and times of Patrick Emerywill be held at Fitzroy Town Hall in Melbourne on Wednesday at 3pm.
Patrick was the biographer of Spencer P Jones and a reviewer for many media outlets, including the I-94 Bar. He collapsed on December 24 and doctors diagnosed an inoperable brain cancer.
After four days on life support, Patrick passed away in hospital, surrounded by his family, aged 52.
Wednesday's memorial service is open to all and a livestream will be active
There’s also an online fundraiser to help his family cover the costs of his funeral, and you can make a donation here.
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- By The Barman
- Hits: 2156
Top Ten Time in Ten Town! Four gigs – five albums – one book – by Garry Gray
The buzz.
Garry Gray is winging his way in like a true angel to deliver his Top Ten Commandments for the I-94 Bar for 2023 – formerly of Sacred Cowboys, Negatives and Garry Gray & The Sixth Circle – and recently with Ed Clayton – Jones – without G.G. there would be no Chainsaw President ….
’The truth is I never left you, All through my wild days, My mad existence, I kept my promise, So keep your distance.’’ – now read on!
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- By Garry Gray
- Hits: 2401
Viva La Revolution – Black Bombers (Easy Action)
Yeah, alright, it took a little while to get to me.
And yeah, by now you've heard they've broken up.
Which, if there were any justice in the world, would've been more worthy of a spot on the ABC than that meeting between two psychopath grifters in New York a couple of weeks back.
(Sorry? well, one of them was on trial and spouting lies and misinformation every time he turned up, and the other is yet to be on trial but absolutely should be but hey. She'll be right, mate.)
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- By Robert Brokenmouth & The Barman
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Top Ten in no particular order
1. Iggy Pop – Every Loser
After the WTF-was-that-all-about of 2019’s “Free”, Iggy is back doing what Iggy does best – fronting a small combo and letting it rip.
We get a taste of most of Iggy’s personas, including the punk god to the dodgy philosopher to the Sinatra-influenced sleazebag. Standout tracks, well, pretty much all of them, but “Strung Out Johnny” turned into an earworm that went for weeks.
At 76, he still shows that he’s got plenty to offer and plenty to say and this would be a fitting record for him to go out on. Compare it to the doggerel the Stones put out recently. Sir Michael sounds like he’s singing through a vocoder FFS.
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- By Chris Virtue
- Hits: 2064
Stories To Tell – The Hangmen (Acetate Records)
There’s a timeless quality about the music of The Hangmen that can’t be touched by many. Swagger meets roots rock on a seedy Los Angeles backstreet, they’re now up to Album Number Seven with no signs of the fire diminishing.
Formed in 1984 around singer-guitarist Bryan Small, signed by major labels (twice), they’re (yet another) American band chewed up and spat out by an industry that panders to the lowest common denominator. Always has, always will. Drugs got in the way, too. Raise a glass to little labels like L.A. imprint Acetate for giving them a home.
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- By The Barman
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Another year of almost zero fun in Sin City (if not the rest of Oz/the rest of this mortal coil/earth) for most of us/those in the lower/working class, some relief could be found through the following Top 10...
Margo Price - "Strays" album
Lucinda Williams - "Stories from a Rock-n-Roll Heart" album
Eilen Jewell - "Get Behind The Wheel" album
Lydia Loveless - "Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again" album
Cable Ties - "All Her Plans" album
Leah Senior - "The Music That I Make" album
Pat Todd / Mad Macka @ Golden Barley Hotel, Sydney
The Mezcaltones (CD launch) @ Marrickville Bowling Club, Sydney
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- By Simon Li
- Hits: 1905
Sean St Leone. Keith Claringbold photo.
10 things that made me hoppy this year (in no particular order)
Mudhoney at Wollongong Uni
A band I’ve wanted to see for many, many years and every time I’ve been close to seeing them, something has gone wrong, so I was stoked just to make it to this show. I was even more stoked when they played an amazing set, chock full of classics. Not showing their age in the slightest.
Descendants at the Metro, Sydney
Another band I’d always wanted to see but always missed - been a fan ever since someone put "Everything Sux" in my hand sometime in the late ‘90s. Didn’t know what to expect given Milo had a heart attack less than two months before the gig, but i needn’t have worried. They started and just kept going till the end - pretty much no breaks - just one killer song after another. Tight and more than alright.
The Mark of Cain at the Metro, Sydney
Playing their album "Ill At Ease" from start to finish (and throwing in a few from “Battlesick” and “This Is This” to close out the night). Tight as a fishes arsehole. One of the best things I’ve seen in years. crowd loved it and every song was spot on. Brutally good. If there was any justice in the world this band would have been huge.
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- By Sean St Leone
- Hits: 1974
THE DAMNED
PAT TODD AND THE RANKOUTSIDERS
REV. PAUL S. CUNNINGHAM
Rev. Paul S. Cunningham's YouTube channel
BILLY MOTHERFUCKING IDOL & STEVE STEVENS
I just love those guys with all my little black heart, exactly what I set out to do with my own little rebel rock amigo,s before they got seduced by the dark side of the force! They still write killer songs from the heart and can rock with anyone. Hope to meet 'em before I die!
BOOTSEY X & THE LOVEMASTERS
THE CULT
THE GOLDEN RAT
I was pen pals with Hiroshi The Golden Arm way back in his Remains days, he is the Johnny Thunders Of Japan. The World Famous Mister Ratboy has been one of my guiding lights since we first met at a Thunders benefit when I was about 21. I love the guy. He taught me a lot.
HANGMEN
Bryan Small and Jimmy James from the Comatones are like, the coolest motherfuckers in the world. Comatones are my #1 soul brothers.
MIKE MONROE
So Lordsy, little bit goth, little bit new wave, right up my alley!
HOZAC BOOKS & RECORDS
This label or publishing imprint is a juggernaut of non stop cool as fuck rock 'n' roll action. Book after book, record after record, few people are delivering this much dynomite goodness in this ever darkening age.From Jeff Drake of The Joneses autobiography to Bebe Buell and James Calvin Wilsey books. i loved their essential history of Floridian underground music scene,"Punk Under the Sun". Every little thing they do is da nazz!
GUERILLA TEENS
The highlight of my own personal, long dead rock ‘n’ roll misadventures was when one of my many set-to-sel-destruct-before-our-fifteen-minutes, suicide and glam rock punk gangs opened for The Humpers on their "Positively Sick On Fourth Street" tour, way back in the day. They taught us lowlife hoodlums a thing or two about how to rock the shit out of a namby pamby poseur college bar. You know Scott “Deluxe” Drake from a long procession of badass punkroll bands like Suicide Kings and Vice Principals. His latest, the Guerilla Teens finds him in his second or third angry youth, he is as punk rock as it gets, and a fearless frontman, like few others.
CAITLIN JOHNSTONE
,,,is an amazing artist and my favorite contemporary writer, she comes from Australia - like so many of my favorite things like the Divinyls and Cosmic Psychos and Rowland S. Howard and Beasts Of Bourbon. An absolute treasure, poet, truth teller and flat out soulful, motherfucking public intellectual. FREE ASSANGE!
Caitlin Johnstone - YouTube
GENE LOVES JEZEBEL
As a notorious local yokel new wave fag fronting some glammish garage bands in the long gone ‘80s, I took boatloads of shit from dumb redenck assholes for being way into Gene Loves Jezebel, Prince, the Cure, and Flesh for Lulu. They are still absolutely holy, in my book.
MY FAVE MODERN NEW WAVE SINGER
Laur, from Veglam, is so talented and I love all his bands!
RICHARD DUGUAY
Most talented rocknroll motherfucker in decades. If you like Lou Reed, Thunders, Bowie, the Dolls, old Alice, or even Jim Morrison, this dude is the black cat. heroic! He's so good at everything! When I reunite the band and my ship comes in, I'ma get him to produce me.
BLACK BOMBERS
Featuring ex-members of The Godfathers, Gunfire Dance and Dave Kusworth's bands! They kick a lot of ass.
ROLLING STONES
England's Newset Hitmakers! One of my most cherished old collaborators turned me on to this!
THE LOVELESS
Marc Almond, another childhood role model, joins forces with my guitar hero, Neal X from Sigue Sputnik. One of my best hairdays was in 1988 when a chick named Mickey McCarcken sent a limo to pick me and my old guitarist up to attend her graduation at one of the many high schools I was expelled from, primarily for "chronic dresscode violations" and where they pressed charges against me for, get this: "Malicious Destruction Of County Property Felony 4"...for drawing new wave logos in my history book and challenging the wrestlling coach's racist whitewash settler colonial narratives. He used to put me in the classroom closet as an expample to the squarse. Fuck you, Mister Heimer.
Oh yeah, the hair! I achieved maximum Neal X like glory with a blow drier and a whole can of Aqua Net that day, and got to sit in the bleachers with the love of my new wave youth, who was there to see the trendy soccer kid she had ditched me for while I was in juvenile detention. The Loveless are like Spiders From Mars in an age of Fascism, censorship, and genocide. i love 'em to tears.
SHANE MACGOWAN FOREVER
SINEAD O'CONNOR FOREVER
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- By JD Monroe
- Hits: 2056
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