Well, several months have passed and a whole lot of crap has happened, but I'm back. I'll finish off the 100 albums... one day. After I graduate or something. Been studying, protesting, trainspotting, and maybe writing a novel. Got a friend who actually agrees with my musical opinions, so I don't really have to vent here anymore, but I'm procrastinating.

Gigs:
Robyn Hitchcock: Saw him at the Newtown Social Club. Got to sit right up close, which was different. Enjoyed it a lot. I should go to more small shows.

ACO + Presets: Went to Timeline with a friend. Presets crowd were asleep in the first half, and classical snobs were judging in the second half. Surprised by how much I liked some of the pre-classical stuff. Never knew how much I needed to hear five pop songs played on top of Philip Glass. Would've liked some of the mash up bits to go for longer.

Neil Finn: Went with same friend. Great, but wish he'd played Private Universe. Loved the piano version of Don't Dream It's Over.

Listenings:
Kimbra: Thought 90s Music was pretty messy at first, but it grew on me. Pre-chorus of the year, I reckon. And "after all these years it just felt different". But it does sound like she wants to be sampled for a radio bumper.

Tori Amos: New album that nobody seems to care about, unfortunately. Wild Way is really the only song I'm bothering with at the moment, though rym suggests there are other good tracks too.

Ed Kuepper: New album of new versions of old songs. Brisbane Security City is pretty relevant this year. Can't believe I'd never heard it before.

Double J: Loved the Robert Forster bits last month. But the rest of the music selection seems to be declining in quality. They shouldn't be playing Jet. When it's bad, it's worse than any other station, but it's the only place that has a chance of playing something I really love.

Castanets: Why isn't You Are The Blood more popular? The Sufjan Stevens version seems to get more love, but really, they're quite similar, and the original isn't as pointlessly long.

Regurgitator: Tried getting into them after it was suggested that a piece of Brisbane infrastructure be named after them. Don't really get it to be honest. Will check again later.

The Angels: RIP Doc Neeson. Saw the tribute show on Rage, realized they were responsible for the cover of We've Got To Get Out Of This Place that my high school librarian played to signal the end of lunch.

Lana Del Rey: New album just leaked. Only listened to it once, but was disappointed that there were no upbeat tracks. West Coast and Shades Of Cool are alright, and I think it's probably a bit better than her first album.

Megan Washington: Well, I was wrong about her doing an Lana Del Rey sound. I'm a bit disappointed, really. She just sounds like she doesn't care, and I don't get why they double track her voice in recordings. Sounds like eating cold rice.

Angus & Julia Stone: They've got a new song! There is buzz because they've got a big name producer now! Still the epitome of suburban middle class white people.

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?

The Drones at Sydney Opera House: Yeah, it wasn't the best venue for them. It's really weird to watch these guys thrashing about on the stage, while the middle-aged guy next to you calmly sips his wine. I still enjoyed it though. Really, really like "Why Write A Letter That You'll Never Send" and was very happy that they finished with it. A bit random, maybe, but I also liked the choice of pre-concert music.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: I have decided that I don't like the album. (4/10) I don't like it when people call things pretentious, but that's what I'm inclined to think of this band. 41 Strings, Stop The Virgens? Meh.

Charli XCX: True Romance is pretty decent. I like "Black Roses". It seems like the kind of thing I'll tire of quickly though.

Daft Punk: Spotify Stalkee keeps playing "Get Lucky", so I've been listening to it as well. Got tired of it last week though. It's okay. Not particularly exciting.

Lana Del Rey: "Young and Beautiful" is a bit of a step up from the Paradise tracks. I just wish they'd get someone to write better lyrics for her.

Ben Salter: Not new music, but I just bought his 2011 album, The Cat. I found this video ages and ages ago, and recently rediscovered it through a railfan forum. Good ol' Ipswich line. The warm, fuzzy nostalgia feeling was enough for me to cough up for the CD. I love it. (8/10)

Spotify: I hate how it knows when I turn the volume down during the ads and stops it. Also, remember that showtunes and Minaj guy that was attempting to convert himself into a hipster? He's now listening to Debussy. I kind of want to follow him, but the new Spotify follow system would make it awkward.

Glee club: A first year econ student scraped together some audition rejects (including me) to form a vocal group. So far, he's doing a better job than my high school music teacher.

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.

Dirty Projectors
I bought the tickets ages before and I had no idea why, since I didn't even like them much. I didn't even know that they had a whole bunch of albums before Bitte Orca.

The first support act was awful. They started promisingly enough, with a guy playing a bass clarinet, before a girl walked on and started singing some terribly generic piano pop. Fortunately the second was a nice indie-classical group that played Nico Muhly and St. Vincent, though by that point a lot of people had gone outside to buy drinks.

I'd read some criticism where people were saying that the male singer was off-key and "Using women as back-up singers is sexist!" but it really didn't come off that way to me. Longstreth is a better singer than most other wimpy indie frontmen I've seen, and there were plenty of female-lead songs. The bassist was not a woman for once!

I walked away thinking, "Hey, that was great!" while people around me were like "That was weird, where was the melody?" like a lot of other concerts I go to, and I know that a lot of them are just going to these things to pretend to be smart.

Also, I saw a guy wearing Crocs.

David Byrne & St. Vincent

I appreciated the songs from St. Vincent's 2nd album, which I thought was better than her new one. 

I didn't expect any Talking Heads because musicians are often like, "This is the new me, stop making me play old hits". And that's fine, but everyone leapt out of their seats at "Burning Down The House" and they finished with "Road To Nowhere". Unsurprising, since the audience looked pretty middle-aged.

Um, I'm not sure where I was going with that. It's been more than a month, so I don't remember much. However, I will always remember that old guy sitting and reading his phone while everyone was jumping and dancing to "Burning Down The House". But I won't complain anymore about other concertgoers...

Radiohead: Went to the concert. I learned that if you don't like Radiohead, you're not listening to it loudly enough. Hipsters were reluctant to dance, despite the amount of beer I saw them with. The stage lighting was great, with The National Anthem being particularly seizuretastic.

Spotify: Some person has been playing the Radiohead setlist on repeat since the concert. I guess they went too. I know that feeling; most of the 2000 plays I have for Muse were racked up the week after the concert.

J Awards: Tame Impala for AOTY, obviously. I'm surprised that they've actually heard of Kirin J Callinan. Of course, The Rubens will win Unearthed.

Sarah Blasko: The new album is... meh. It's okay, but it's not the step forward that everybody says it is. Everybody's all "OMG orchestra!!1!", but it's mostly string section, and strings are used in everything so it's not particularly special. I feel like a lot of people shout "innovative" when they enjoy a work but can't think of anything insightful to say about it.

Lana Del Rey: Paradise EP is out. They're sticking with the dark, heavy production, which is a shame. A lot of people who are fans of her actually seem to see "Video Games" as her worst song, so I guess they'll be sticking with this direction.

Of Monsters & Men: "Little Talks" sounds like Edward Sharpe's "Home", and it's now popular enough to get played on Nova. Is it going to top the Hottest 100? I'm not sure if it's any better than Mumford & Sons.

Violent Soho: Still can't decide if they're too much of a Pixies ripoff to be good. Like what Silverchair were to Nirvana.

Courtney Barnett: I am really enjoying History Eraser.

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.

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.

Three straight nights of shows has really screwed my sleeping pattern. I woke up at about 3PM today. Then again, a guy said "g'morning" to me as I was walking home at 7PM. So I'm not alone.