Arcade Fire: The more I listen, the less I like. So I think I'm gonna leave it here. They're doing a sideshow here next year, but it's on a weeknight, at the damned Convention Centre, and I have no friends, so blah. It'll probably be full of the kind of people I don't like.

St Vincent: New song is surprisingly fun. I didn't care much for the previous album and I was set on not caring about this, but now I'm going to be cautiously interested. Has it stopped being shocking for female singers to talk about masturbating?

Jenny Hval: Innocence Is Kinky came out ages ago, but I'm revisiting it because one of the songs came up in shuffle and I distinctly heard the lyrics, "Do you remember, in Brisbane in December? It was raining..."

RCO: Saw them at the Opera House at the beginning of the month. Mariss Jansons had to pull out halfway through, which made for some awkwardness at the end when the audience threw streamers at the orchestra. Especially since they'd advertised it as his last concert with them. But I still enjoyed it, I guess.

Television: Went to the concert ages ago, but I somehow neglected to mention it here! They were impressively tight, and one of the few bands where I wasn't even slightly annoyed when they jammed and drew out songs. Ed Kuepper of The Saints was the support act. I really like Sleepyhead, and now it's on my high rotation playlist.

ARIA Awards: I wasn't really paying attention. Tame Impala won a bunch of things and I'm pretty OK with that. I'm not even sure Nick Cave should count as Australian anymore. The Flume guy seemed annoying. Resolution has to be the meh-est song to get Song Of The Year ever, I'm glad Matt Corby just said, "I don't have much to say" and walked off the stage.

Youtube: Keeps recommending me terrible Youtube singers because I keep clicking on things that people post on my Glee Club's Facebook group. They can sing well and all, but oh the overproduction! Oversinging! The worst thing is amateurs imitate and add stupid affectations to their singing when they haven't even got the basic "singing in tune" thing right.

Tumblr: I'm gradually unfollowing all of the music writers, because I just don't care anymore. They're all clambering over each other to say stuff like, "I liked Taylor Swift back when everyone else hated her!" and it's just stupid and annoying.

Lana Del Rey: Tropico is... something. I still listen to Driving In Cars With Boys a lot. Looking forward to her new material.

The Whitlams: Yeah, people say they're terrible. But I just rediscovered You Gotta Love This City, and I'd never noticed the disparaging lyrics before: "You've gotta love this city for it's body, not it's brain. My city's a whore..." Absolutely perfect. I'd kill to hear Tim Rogers sing it.

Darren Hanlon: Manilla NSW is one of my favourite discoveries of this year. I've been looking for Sydney/NSW kind of songs because The Go-Betweens' perfection was making me want to move back to QLD. Alas, this guy is from Gympie!

This is what I get for choosing advanced-level subjects as electives.

You Am I: Saw them at the Enmore in August. That was cool. Surprised that they did Berlin Chair, since they didn't in Brisbane, and I'd assumed it was like their "Creep". Tim Rogers did make a bit of a joke about "Berlin Chair Heights".

John Adams: Conducted the Sydney Symphony last Friday. Comments from the crowd indicated that they were not entirely sold on him being a conductor. I enjoyed it well enough, though I couldn't really get used to the idea of a saxophone concerto. It doesn't sound right!

Julia Holter: New album, BNM'd. I listened to it twice. It's pretty and makes for nice background music, but I'm yet to find any standout track. That comes with time, I guess.

King Krule: First thought was "British Gareth Liddiard." Then I looked him up and found that he's a weedy redhead kid five days younger than me. Shit, I've accomplished nothing with my life. (If only the album didn't sound so... overproduced?)

Rainbow Chan: "Skinny Dipping" is damn catchy. Also, omg an Asian-Australian musician.

Speedy Ortiz: Vocalist described on Triple J as sounding a bit like Fiona Apple, which was odd since the station pretty much never plays her. My first thought was Liz Phair. Seems like the kind of thing that will be forgotten before the year is finished.

The Dismemberment Plan: Two new songs! Not particularly enamoured by either though. I will still be cautiously excited about their album.

Temi Dollface: "Pata Pata" was featured on The Singles Jukebox with some Janelle Monae comparisons. I really like the video.

The National: Concert apparently sold out while I was having a breakdown on the train about forgetting my wallet. Oh well, the new album hadn't grown on me, and I'm content to wait for them to play some hipstery highbrow seated show in a concert hall.

Blargh, been busy with exams and I'm going to Brisbane next week.

Kraftwerk: Not in June, but I wen to Computer World and loved it for reasons outlined in every other review on the internet.  Isolating 3D glasses, technology, etc. Okay, I really loved not having to see people sip champagne in the periphery. Sydney Opera House is a awkward as hell venue for everything.

Charles Ives: Been listening to his 4th symphony while studying. It's terribly distracting, which means it must be good. Also, Richard Tognetti said it was his favorite symphony in an interview.

Witold Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto is the other classical thing on rotation. I remember earlier in the year being asked if pieces evoked visual images in my head in a music psychology experiment and answering "no" all the time. This piece would get a "yes".

The National: I'm starting to think that the good reviews for The National's album are from people not wanting to seem late to the praise party like with their previous, "grower" albums. I've listened to it a fair bit and I'm still not getting much from it, to be entirely honest. Pink Rabbits is going on my holiday playlist for it's terrifically clunky lyric, "I was a television version of a person with a broken heart."

Vampire Weekend: On the other hand, I was initially dismissive about Step, but now it's one of my favorites from the album. This band isn't very popular with the Australian critics I read, but screw them, Robert Forster covered one of their songs so they can't be that bad.

The Go-Betweens: Which brings me to this band! I was looking through a "Cityrail in Pop Culture" thread on Railpage, and one of the linked videos was "Streets Of Your Town" (which I was already familiar with). In the sidebar was "Cattle and Cane", and I've racked up like 40 plays of that in one day. Hoooly shit those meter changes. No wonder there's a bridge named after them. I'm going to listen to it on the Brisbane Airtrain and cry. I also like "Dive For Your Memory", and "Here Comes A City".

Powderfinger: I can imagine a future Brisbane having a "Powderfinger Tunnel" or something, oh boy. I still don't feel much for them, and I don't understand why they keep topping polls. I guess I was born too late for them (though I like You Am I somehow). Even so, "My Happiness" is way better than "These Days". Apparently its music video increased slinky sales.

The Church: Giving Starfish a go now. It's a bit of a difficult listen at the moment, but it takes me forever to get into things. "Under The Milky Way" is basically Lovesong but earlier, which is pretty cool.

Easybeats: This is just a note to myself to try and find one of their albums or a best-of. They were recommended to me back in 2011, with a caution of it being "very commercial-sounding". "Friday On My Mind" is great. I can't sing those "dododododo"s in the chorus.

Lorde: Spotify friends love "Tennis Court". "Swinging Party" is what Lana Del Rey's songs wish they sound like. Possible ARIA nomination?

Wilco
Faster, louder, more exciting than I expected after reading all of that NPR stuff about "adult contemporary indie". They didn't play "Jesus Etc." the night I went, but I didn't mind because it wouldn't have fit in anyway. Jeff Tweedy vs the heckler was pretty funny too. "It's a lot more exciting outside... I've never played on a filthier stage!" The night that was streamed was a bit more subdued, so I guess I got lucky.

The Composers: Arvo Pärt
Hmm. Not sure what to say about this one.

Audience applauded loudly after fast movement, then fell asleep in slow movement.
— Cd Chai-whatever (@amusiastic) April 7, 2013

Dude next to me has been napping through the whole concert though, occasionally clapping too enthusiastically.
— Cd Chai-whatever (@amusiastic) April 7, 2013

Interval: people taking about how they want to search for coffee. Mixed reception.
— Cd Chai-whatever (@amusiastic) April 7, 2013

Conductor picked up the score and made it bow, haha.
— Cd Chai-whatever (@amusiastic) April 7, 2013

Some bits were good, some were boring. I thought that maybe I was just tired, but other people seemed to think the same. A lot of people didn't come back after the interval, and there were even some who left during Fratres (which was Four Organs kind of painful).

I don't think it was that bad overall. The choir sounded great, Tabula Rasa was good. I guess I'd never think of walking out of a concert that I'd paid $50 for.

Lorde: Apparently "Royals" has been No. 1 in New Zealand for a while. I love the "I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies" line, and the pre-chorus thing is catchy, but something about the song makes it feel like it's twice the length it really is. Might be because it peaks so early. (7/10)

Passenger: Meanwhile in Australia, "Let Her Go" is topping the chart. Father borrowed the album from the library some time ago, and the most interesting thing I got out of it was that a member of the ACO played the violin on it. Worse than Ed Sheeran. (3/10)

Classic FM: Final Fantasy soundtrack came 3rd in their Hall of Fame poll. That's like saying the complete works of Beethoven count as one piece. I don't think video game music is any worse than film soundtracks. Might even be better, since you have to put up with it for a much longer time. (Canon in D is there at 18, and that's something I definitely don't need to hear again.)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: New album leaked in terrible quality, so I can't have a proper opinion on it yet. "Sacrilege" is average and I think the gospel choir is gimmicky, "Mosquito" is kind of annoying, and one of the later tracks has a random rap that doesn't quite fit. (6/10)

Spotify: The random Australian sportspeople/D list celebrities that Spotify suggests I follow seem to have better taste than most of my friends. Except for Johnny Ruffo. I like that Bernard Fanning has a "Whip Cracking Songs" playlist.

By the time I got around to actually posting this, I forgot what all the links were.

Haim: Whenever I hear their song on the radio, I wonder, "When did I change to the oldies station?" Not the best response to a song. They're probably this year's Friends. Ugh, buzzbands.

I'm  tired  of  "alt"  pop.

Well, not really. More tired of music writers. I spent all of 2012 following new releases and I didn't enjoy it much, especially at the end when everybody started declaring Call Me Maybe to be the year's highlight. It seems like they're trying too had to prove that they don't only like "serious" music and that they don't agree with the consensus. There's even this article about both of those things!

Whatever to those people. This year, I'll stick with Australian stuff that never makes it overseas and classical.

Compare with last year's chart here. Won't bother talking about what I talked about there.

Sydney Opera House, 2:45PM

A lady is sitting across from me. Says she's from Melbourne. She's chatting with a friend who is apparently here for study, and funding it hard to "accept it as music." Speech On Nothing is running overtime so they're handing out programs. I wander over to the CD stand and buy Music For Airports.

Last.fm: Upon hearing an incredibly irritating track on the radio, I Googled it (Mystery Jets - Greatest Hits) to see if anybody else hated it and its egregious name-dropping. Apparently not, but I discovered this Last.fm account, whose usefulness makes up for having to listen to that song.

Triple J: Oz music month or something happening. I'm ready to tut tut at the J Award. Here's a somewhat worrying article that pretty much confirms my theory that they promote Australian crap that just sounds like better overseas bands. Edit: Yay, they're playing a Royal Headache song.

Spotify: A guy in my feed seems to be listening to some kind of "A-Z of Pitchfork". In alphabetical order, even. Sometime last week he started listening to Arcade Fire, then Bon Iver, Cults, Death Cab, and Grimes. After that, it seems that he gave up and listened to Marina and the Diamonds. More entertaining than my Facebook feed!

Philip Glass: I listened to Music In 5ths. I don't think I will ever need or want to listen to it again.

Ben Salter: His album won Album of the Year at the QLD Music Awards. I finally got around to listening the whole thing, and yes, it deserves it. (I feel like I don't say that often.)

Homebrand 1: Hey, remember them? They released a new song. No oohs + no Mumford = a step in the right direction. But the glock reminded me of another song by a guy who went to our odd network of schools. He's doing pretty well now, with this song winning a QLD Music Award.

A very, very old draft.

Messandnoise & Crikey on Melba Records, and Crikey on performing arts audience stagnating.

Lots of people wondering why classical music gets government funding while pop/rock doesn't.

I don't think popular music should be funded. It just doesn't need to be. There are middle-class kiddies all over the place who are able to save up enough money to record their own material and release it. When pop music does get money (like through various awards), it goes to artists who don't really need it because they're already popular. I assume the same would/does happen with government funding.

A huge issue would be who is going to decide who gets a grant. One could argue that Triple J already serves as a government funded leg-up for pop acts, through their Unearthed program. The hit rate for that is dismal, with most winners not even making it far enough to have a Wikipedia article.

Funding classical is a bit like spending money on preserving artefacts in museums or saving endangered animals. That crap is going to disintegrate from exposure to oxygen/die out because it refuses to have sex. But we still make an effort, right? Right?

ABC Classic 100: 5 out of eight predictions correct, 7/10 if you count the "other things by those composers". Cool. Suite Bergamasque (ie. Clair de Lune) juuuust missed it at no. 11, Massenet and Delibes at 14 and 15 respectively.

Spotify: Spotify is horrible and seems to pick the worst things you've listened to to put in your top artists/tracks. The Pitchfork disciples therefore have theirs hidden, but I can still see using Swarm.fm. You can't win. Amusingly, the flamboyant Nicki Minaj fan is now listening to Bon Iver. That's what uni does to you, I guess.

CDs: Counted my CDs and marked them as owned on RYM. There's a few I haven't marked, but I don't know what they are! I also felt a bit sad looking at Pixies and Talking Heads albums, because I doubt that I'll want to touch them again for a while.

Festivals: My white, upper-middle class, Triple J listener friends always complain of drunk bogans at festivals. Looking at photos though, they could easily be mistaken for drunken bogans. I bet the people they complain about are just other middle-class kids.

Identity: I have learnt from conversations in my chemistry lab that people actually do use the term "Triple J" to describe their music taste. A lot of information conveyed in one word and one letter. I am not ignorant enough to say "everything", so I guess I'll go with "elitist", like one guy in this article.

Kyle Quarles - Indictment of the designation of classical music as “relaxing”
"It’s because when we use the word relaxing, we’re describing the effect of listening to non-sensical syntax." THISTHISTHIS. It applies to other kinds of music as well, of course. I used to fall asleep to Kid A because it sounded like nonsense to me. I know people who can't sleep with any music at all because they absolutely must analyze it.

James Rhodes - At last: the Classic Brit Awards exposed as a sickening crime against classical music 
Interesting to see that awards shows are crap for all kinds of music. I tried listening to some of that popera stuff, and it made me realize that I've been too harsh on everything else. I'm sorry, ARIAs. You're all right. (And apparently my dislike of Einaudi is not unreasonable.)

ABC Classic 100 - Music of France
This is happening this week. I think I've missed all the good stuff that normally hangs around the lower end of these countdowns.

I don't have many feelings about classical music, but I'll post my prediction for the top ten, based on past polls.

• Ravel - Boléro
• Faure - Requiem
• Massenet - Meditation from Thaïs
• Saint-Saëns - Symphony 3 
• Satie - Gymnopédies
• Debussy - Clair de Lune
• Bizet - Carmen
• Delibes - Flower Duet
• and two other things by one of the aforementioned composers, probably Debussy.

These sorts of things always end in a mess. According to Wikipedia, Chopsticks was actually no. 7 in the piano countdown. Surprisingly, Fur Elise was no. 15. 4'33" was no. 40, despite not really being for piano. It didn't even place in the 20th Century countdown. What.

Not a review. 

Almost everybody else there was an old white person. The attendant had to look long and hard at my ticket to make sure I wasn't some teen up to no good. Apart from the old people, there were some fathers and their young children, and maybe a few Asian families. Didn't see any hipsters. I think they're only into minimalism and Mahler.

I've read a bit of arguing about clapping and classical music lately. They're essentially saying that people don't like going to concerts because they're not allowed to clap between movements, or cheer at solos, etc. and that this tradition contributes to the perception that the culture around classical music is elitist. I'd never even thought of this before.

I agree that the elitism is a big deal. If you don't like someone, you're not going to try and get into something that they like. (See also: hipsters and indie rock.) In fact, I'm into contemporary classical just because the annoying classical elitists I knew didn't like it. However, not clapping isn't snobby or anything. It's common sense that you wouldn't want people to be noisy while you're trying to listen to quiet music. If you're an interested newbie, you should probably realize this.

This argument is probably happening because it's getting old to say that kids these days have no attention span. But as a young person, I seriously think that is the main reason. Who gives a crap about clapping? The issue is, people don't want to listen to something that goes for an hour. It all sounds the same to them because all of the instruments are the same. There are no lyrics to be posted on Facebook, and dynamic range isn't practical with iPods on public transport.

What will make people go to concerts? The generic answer is education, but look at Asians. That isn't working (though they are pretty great business for music teachers). I am Asian, and I can confirm that compulsory instrument lessons will not make you like music. I like the idea of free public performances. Free samples are always great. Play more than just those same snippets that everybody already knows, because that isn't going to win new fans. Okay, I just want to see things for free, can you blame me?

(For the record, my first concert was the Vienna Philharmonic playing Bruckner 4 last year. I confess that I went just so I could say that I did. There was an Asian family with a kid that fell asleep. People clapped between movements. Bloody Queenslanders.)

I was listening to the radio today. The station that I happened upon was doing an "Australian countdown", which was the top 20 songs with Australian artists. A lot of them were the "So-and-So Ft. Sia" tracks. There was some terrible, mediocre dance pop from reality TV alumni. One mediocre faux-indie track from an Idol alumnus. That Gotye. I'd say I wept for humanity, but really, I didn't expect any better.

Never mind finding someone with similar musical taste; that's not too hard. I started with the Pitchfork lists, and I bet many other people did the same. The important thing is the attitude.

I was honestly relieved to learn that everybody knew, but I'll say it here too:

I want nothing more than to be tracing the triangles and lines of annotations, pencilled on a Lovelock score in quintuple time, while basking in the artificial light of a Monday afternoon.

"Yes, I do like Philip Glass."
"Oh, thank God, I thought I was going to be judged for that for some reason."

My old piano teacher came over for dinner last night. I didn't talk much, because I had just woken up from a nap on the sofa.

She talked a lot about how awful the people were at wherever it was that she was working. Somewhere north, I think. She had also been studying religion. All of our family friends are always a bit irritatingly religious. She also complained about her neighbours, in the same way that my mother complains about her co-workers. That was dull. I think a lot of women have nothing to talk about except to complain about other people they know.

Playing in the background was a carefully curated playlist of well-known, influential, critically acclaimed, etc. songs designed to elicit some kind of response (e.g. wtf is an Arcade Fries?). That did not work in the way that I intended, so I tried playing a Pixies album. No response, so I gave up politeness and put on Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which is practically impossible to ignore. She made a face, and asked if I actually liked this kind of thing. Yes, I got the side-eye for liking Stravinsky. I don't even...

She was unfamiliar with the Vienna Philharmonic, didn't know anything about Bruckner, didn't recognize Arvo Pärt, and didn't seem to approve of Mahler. I expect better from teachers. I learnt everything I know of music just this year, and just from hanging around the music classroom. For free.

Then again, the first music teacher at QASMT bought Maroon 5 and Jet music books. Ha.