Washington - Straight Lines (Silverchair cover) 

I am particularly conscious of this becoming some kind of Washo fandom tumblr — I swear that’s not what this is about — but she happens to make some of my favourite covers and it’s not my fault. 

Young Modern gets a bit of a bad rap, and I get it, it’s not Neon Ballroom, but I have such a weakness for Straight Lines. The clicking plosives of ‘washed the sickened socket’ hit me hard (oh man, am I conditioned to love them from having a [k] name?) This video is really well shot, and I like that it features this halfway-Megan after her short + blunt crop grew out a little but she was still sporting those glasses. 

(ALSO, this is where I fell in love with those gold-plated AKG-K121s because DAMN they’re hot.)

Butterfly Boucher “5678!” LIVE with Missy Higgins (1 of 10) (by thebutterflyboucher)

I had trouble deciding between posting this song or None the Wiser, which also features Missy + Butterfly being generally adorable; I prefer 5678! as a song, but the vid for None the Wiser has a lot more “I sincerely hope you two are boning” moments. I got very into Butterfly Boucher in high school after I heard her cover of Changes on the (yeah I know stay with me) Shrek 2 soundtrack, then found Flutterby and was ultimately pretty chuffed to see a girl with short hair like me making powerful alt-pop. Similarly, while her accent sometimes grates on me, I’m glad there is a Missy Higgins still (or again) making music.

Lissie + Washington - Everywhere I Go

Sometimes when I see Megan Washington perform I completely understand fandom and stalkers; she treats every person she shares a stage with as her best friend, and who wouldn’t want to be best buds with Washo? This is a Lissie original they’re duetting, but the moment Washington comes in gives me mad frission — it’s beautiful. I’ve posted Lissie before, and she can tear a stage down with her music, really, but this video above, for me, is all about Washington. 

Erlend Øye is this completely adorable and handsome anthropomorphised Norwegian bespectacled Kermit, and you can skip to around 3:10 of this vid to see him covering Se a vida é (That’s the Way Life Is). 

I got to see Erlend support Jens Lekman, with a new friend, and this Pet Shop Boys cover was my favourite (ooh, close second favourite was a similarly pared-back acoustic cover of Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms [which I’m not going to link since I’m not into low-res shitty handheld camera vids from the 7th row] because I am a sucker for anything Knopfler.) I remembered the original; it was one of those songs that was kind of floating in the air through the 90s but I have never loved the Pet Shop Boys before I loved this cover. 

At the end of this clip, he kind of pauses and remarks incredulously on something out of shot. The night I saw Erlend, Jupiter was visible below the Moon, and he pointed it out, saying “Wow, we’re seeing something quite incredible tonight” or something like that. It’s such a tiny anecdote, but I really dig the shit out of the little things artists do to make a show memorable and intimate. 

Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (by modularpeople)

When I first moved to Perth, it was a time when you couldn’t go to a gig or a festival or a street without sighting at least one Tame Impala; they’re an iconic, tight-jeaned piece of this city. Nostalgia completely aside though, this song is so fucking good. The bass is perfect. The drums are perfect. Parker’s vocals are perfect. And no matter how many NME lists or Pitchfork interviews they crack into, their songs will always feel quintessentially Perth to me. 

The Voice Australia: Laura Bunting sings Wuthering Heights (by TheVoiceAustralia)

Mind the obnoxious reality TV squeals, but I can’t stop listening to this girl sing Wuthering Heights. Laura Bunting, who I believe played Elphaba in a number of the Aus shows of Wicked (though not the one I saw? I’m sure our night’s was Jemma Rix), has some cute YouTube videos up and is performing in our country’s incarnation of The Voice (which I never thought I would watch let alone get hooked on, but here we are.) This is a TOUGH song, and an excellent song and I’m surprised she didn’t get more of a reaction from the panel because I thought she was perfect. I love that she has a distinctly feminine voice without playing up the submissive, breathy sound that I hope is going out of vogue. Soon. (Lisa Mitchell is the only woman of that ilk who I can stand to listen to, for the record.) Laura’s voice is very Kate Bush-esque; strong and a little bit weird. Don’t care how far she goes in the series, I’ll buy all her things. 

Feist - I Feel It All

I was always kind of impartial to Feist, but thought 1,2,3,4 (co-written by Sally Seltmann aka New Buffalo whom I LOVED) was a good pop song. Then I was directed to ‘I Feel It All’ and ‘Mushaboom’ which I felt were lot more delicate and less pop-structured and a lot more Feist-y, and they changed me and my opinions. She sounds like a bit of an introverted homebody in her articles, which resonates with me, and gives me hope that one can be a fantastic and successful musician without having to give up the comfort of being an introverted homebody. ‘I Feel It All’ is the security blanket to my Linus. 

Kimbra - Settle Down (at SXSW)

The last time I caught Kimbra was at the Astor around about when Cameo Lover was huge and before she won those ARIAs.  She got the hits out of the way early then exploded into an evening of fiery nu-jazz, much to the dismay of my mid-life crises-laden gig brethren.  The band was hot, but god damn, Kimbra is incredible on her own.  I wish I had caught her earlier long-haired Melbourne gigs, solo with her guitar and a loop pedal, because I think that’s the core of Kimbra. The Kimbra-core.  This SXSW side-gig is my new favourite of hers; this time armed with an iPad and a TC Helicon Voicelive. The band’s absence doesn’t detract from her performance.  There’s nothing missing, it’s not your typical stripped-down barebones set — there’s just enough. Kimbra Kimbra Kimbra.  Love Love Love. 

Moby - We Are All Made Of Stars (by emimusic)

It blows my mind how many celebrities are in this video. And Moby is the perfect centrepiece with his outsider/vacant/spaceman character. I love the 2001 allusions, I love Sean Bean in a Delorean, and I love the truth behind “We Are All Made of Stars”, that every atom in our body is the remnant of a star. Songs like this, and similarly The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” and reading anything by Carl Sagan, make me sit in awe and wonder of the universe, and that’s neat. 

Lissie - Kid Cudi live cover - Pursuit Of Happiness (by lissiemusic)

I hear Lissie supported Washington on tour last year but I foolishly decided not to go without even listening to Lissie’s stuff because I presumed I wouldn’t be into it (based on silly things like blonde and girl, I expected her to be timid and have one of those submissive breathy voices). But I was wrong and her cover of Pursuit of Happiness is exactly why; her voice is strong and powerful, and her braless, loose-jeaned, tousled appearance is wonderfully refreshing amongst her black black and more black, spindly-legged cohort. Given another chance, I’ll definitely jump to see her play. 

High Fidelity - “Babe, I Love Your Way” w/ Lisa Bonet

I think Marie De Salle (by Lisa Bonet) in this clip completely embodies the kind of music I’ve been craving recently; meaningful (almost mournful), mature, soulful songs - just lovely music. And the romanticism the men muse over of living with a musician is also beautiful. One day, I’d hope to have the perfect apartment set up (like Marie’s) for nurturing buzzing inspiration, for writing and recording, and bouncing demos and ideas off nearby friends inside that romantic idea. 

Bat For Lashes - Pearl’s Dream (by parlophone)

I love Natasha Khan and her mystic goddess aesthetic. This video, more than Daniel, totally smacks of all I love about Bat For Lashes - neat synths, feathers, and cosmic motifs - and I’m so in awe of a musician with such a clear idea of their own style and sound. Love. Just so much love. 

Ahh, Kathryn Rollins. She’s a local girl, currently recording her EP with the help of Kav Temperley, and I can’t wait to throw all my money at her when it’s done. I have a rather inarguable lust for smoky, sultry voices - “Losing Friends” is a beautiful head-sticker. 

Lianne La Havas - Age (Later with Jools Holland)

Brooding, easy nu-soul from a beautiful English girl who’s younger than me so makes me rethink all of my life’s decisions. Her hair is fantastic and she’s performed backing vocals for delightful weirdster Paloma Faith, now her EP is cruising my iTunes xx

Washington - Neatly Stacked (by getmusicaustralia)

A short film accompaniment to Washington’s new “Insomnia”; an eight-track exploration of the themes born from “I Believe You, Liar”. Beauty starts happening at around 7 minutes in.