The Greatest Show on Earth & Van Sheezy in the Heezy

I don't feel there is a need to recount how good Daft Punk although I will say I don't know how I will ever be able to go to a dance gig without comparing it to the religious experience that was Neverever Land. If you ever get the chance make sure you don't miss it. The first track for a little reminiscing, the second for some inspiration (the boys really did a good job on being faithful yet different to the original).

Daft Punk - Da Funk / Dadftendirekt (Live)

Nicky Van She & Dangerous Dan - Around The World Again

(Thanks to Willis The Chop for the photo)

After seeing Van She with kindegarten scenesters Operator Please a while ago I have been getting rather anxious and excited about the release of their debut LP. In the meantime we have The Cat & The Eye (d-load here and here), a great laidback 80's synthpop tune that is growing and growing on me. I recently picked up the TC&TE single and discovered the delightful B-side Danny. A bouncy synthy vocoded anthem with sweet guitars and real drums. Also a couple of more obscure remixs to add to your Van She collections.

Van She - Danny

Melinda Jackson - Fall In Love (Van She Tech Mix)

Tiga - You Gonna Want Me (Van She Remix)

Love Yous All

Gold: Pre Settled Tracks in anticipation for DP on Sunday

Holy Shit!
Daft Punk is playing at my park, my park!
In just two sleeps Perth forshore is going to erupt into surely one of the best shows ever to be put on in Dullsville. With a lineup beyond belief (Daft Punk, Cut Copy, Presets, Sebastian and Kavinsky, Muscles, Van She) to say that Perth is more than just a little excited would be a drastic fucking understatement. To celebrate I am posting some newish Presets and the post after this will be some new Van She

I was going to post most recent single My People but that can already be found here, here and here. So instead I thought I'd post a few remixes (all Aussie) and a remix of My People. The Silvershair remix is an interesting one, I really tried to like Silverchair's last album Young Modern, but just couldn't. It's pretentious, dispassionate and I couldn't believe how many fucking ARIAs it won, but who cares about them anyway. The remix is certainly not their finest work but interesting none the less.

Silverchair - Straight Lines (Presets Remix)

Architecture in Helsinki are a good pop band and I have enjoyed all of their albums to date and this take on Heart In Races makes it almost unrecognisable from the original. Gone are the twee pop musings with kettle drums, replaced by heavy encapsulating presetness. Like it, a lot. Not sure if it's as good as the original but this is almost like a completely new song.

Architechture In Helsinki - Heart It Races (Presets Remix)

Lastly is the Kris Menace remix of My People, I chose this one out of the other two on the single as it is the most interesting and is just a bit more original than the other two that are kinda Ed Banger electro and Gameboy/bleep electro, well maybe this is a little too. Anyway, enjoy

The Presets - My People (Kris Menace Remix)

(All in 320kbps) Love Yous All

Faster Louder Live (Local Extravagnaza!)

Apologies about lack of postage, I don't really have an excuse


First post is a gig review for the Faster Louder show put on @ Amplifier last Thursday.


The lineup was all local bands, 4 of Perth's finest I might add and it was a really good night.



First up on the lineup was the Oasis/Beatlesesque harmonies of The Silents. With their good EP getting good rotation on the J's these boys are on the way up. I really like The Silents and their 23 single/EP that they released last month has some great tracks on it, I am certainly looking forward to getting their debut album, due for release sometime in the not-too-distant future.


The Silents - 23


The Silents - Nightcrawl





Second on the bill were one of my favourite bands floating around the West, Institut Polaire, even though they like so many others are soon to be departing our sun-drenched shores for the bleak grey of Melbourne, hopefully they will do as well there as they have done in Perth. Their recently released standout EP The Fauna And The Flora has as my girlfriend puts it, a little like a country/folk Arcade Fire (there are seven of them) feel to it. I really like these guys and thought they thoroughly desevered to win WAM Song Of The Year prize last year.

Institut Polaire - City Walls & Empires

Institut Polaire - The Flora and the The Fauna Are Too Closely Allied

Next up were Vio-Punkers Streetlight. Streetlight are a band that polarises opinion throughout Perth. You really either love them or hate them with debate often raging about trilby wearing, marracca brandishing frontman Le Craft. I haven't quite made up my mind yet but Streetlight are definitely my least favourite of all the four bands playing on the evening.

Streetlight - Attack That Gentleman

Streetlight - The Poet's Paper Boat

Headlining the night (after flipping coins that morning on radio) were the newest and one of the most quickly rising bands in Perth, Sugar Army. Sugar Army's signatures are constantly changing tempos and time changes with surging guitars and Patrick McLaughlin howlings are going down a treat with local fans and recent EP Where Do You Keep Your Toys kicking a lot of goals with some Triple J play.

Sugar Army - ...And Now You're Old Enough, I Think That You Should Know

Sugar Army - Maybe The Boy Who Cried Wolf Was Just Paranoid

Love Yous Locals

Purple Sneakers DJ - EXCLUSIVE!!

It's a special moment in any blogger's life when he/she gets their first exclusive. I don't really think you've made in the blogging world until you've had a first release and, thanks to Purple Sneaker Head Honcho and one of FHM's most influential people under 30 PhDJ, Highlighter now has their's. This is a track that is a special remix of a Wons Phreely track Another Thing that features on the spankingly new Purple Sneakers Mixtape of Indie Joy (Available soley on iTunes).

Here at Highlighter we are big fans of the mixtape and Martin has done a stirling job of mixing up a storm of Oz Indie goodness. Starting slow and moving the BPM's up towards the end, PhDJ has chosen some of my favourite tracks floating around New Holland at present. Here is the tracklist with a few goodies filled in for you

Yves Klein Blue - The Streetlight

Rivo Crew - Smash a Kangaroo

Gotye - Thanks For Your Time

The Paper Scissors - We Don't Walk

I Heart Hiroshima - Punks

Dappled Cities - Vision Bell

Teenager - Pony

Wons Phreely - Another Thing (Mailer Daemon & PhDJ remix) - EXCLUSIVE!!!

Urthboy - We Get Around

Soft Tigers - Mr Icecream (Kato & DJ Spruce Lee remix)

Melanie Horsnell - Like Love

British India - Tie Up My Hands

Muscles - One Inch Badge Pin

The Beautiful Girls - Thought About You

The Mares - Biscuit Tin

bLuejuice - Vitriol

Regurgitator - Blood & Spunk

Mercy Arms - Kept Low

Horsell Common - Good From Afar

Cut Off Your Hands - Closed Eyes (Kiwi Bros)

Being a Perth boy I have only heard stories from my mate's cousin's stepdad's dog about how fucking good the shows that these guys put on at the Abercrombie. Not only do they have an exceedingly good party in Sydney on New Years Eve (Dappled Cities, The Tongue, Young & Restless) but they have their own label Boundary Sounds that is supporting awesome Aussie up-and-comers. They are currently making their way around the country and after playing the Newport last night, tomorrow night is the big one with Purple Sneakers vs Death Disco on @ Amplifier and if you're in Perth, Highlighter encourages you to clear your schedules and get your ass down for some Purple partaying

Love all round to PhDJ and the Purple Sneakers Crew

And as an added bonus, the You Am I track the team adopted their name from

You Am I - Purple Sneakers

Ministry Of Sound Mixtape

Its only 11 sleeps until Ministry Of Sound Annual All Day Outdoor Festival @ Supreme Court Gardens to launch off our Summer festival season (I know Parlife but that was Spring). And, as I'm aiming to do for all the festivals this summer, I thought I'd throw together a Mix Ceedee of all the artists involved in the festi'. It is a good lineup for MOS and I'm particualrly looking forward to seeing Bookashade for the first time and Midnight Juggernauts again (As is evident from the doubles on the Ceedee.)

Without Further Ado.....

Highlighter Presents..... The MOS AADOF Mix Ceedee

Booka Shade - Night Falls

Sneaky Sound System - Tease Me

Midnight Juggernauts - Twenty Thousand Leagues

Trentemøller - Moan (Trentemoller Remix)

Fedde Le Grand - F to the F Wheels In Motion

Pnau - Come Together

DJ Mehdi - Steed Lord 'Dirty Mutha'

Paul Harris - I Love You Revolver

Infusion - The Only Thing I Know

Booka Shade - Numbers (DJ-Kicks)

Smokin' Jo - Sausage Dog

Goodwill & Tommy Trash - It's A Swede Thing

Electrofunklovers - I Dont Think You Know

The Aston Shuffle - For Everyone

Midnight Juggernauts - Raised By Wolves

Love yous all

NME: Love Music Hate Racism

The good folks of NME have initiated a program to counter the recent actions of the British Nationalist Party (A 'White Power ' political group) of distributing racist mixtapes of white power music outside British primary and high schools. How fucked up is that. Anyway, NME decided to make their own mixtape called Love Music Hate Racism, that promotes multicultural love and tolerance, something the world needs a lot more of. The mix CD has a range of British acts from many different cultures and many different styles. Here are a couple of the better tracks both of a reggae mood, the first is a guy I hadn't heard of Natty, from London who has a very good rhythm and vibe and a dubby Babyshambles track that I do quite like, even though i still think Pete can't sing.

Natty - If I . . .
(If you like it go to his Myspace to download a free mixtape of his new stuff)

Babyshambles - Stone Me - What A Life!

You can download the whole double CD and artwork/CD covers from the NME wesbsite but they are a single mp3 for each CD, not broken down into tracks. Very frustrating. Anyway here are the links anyway.

Download Disk 1

Download Disk 2

Download CD1 artwork

Download CD2 artwork

Get 'em while they're hot.

Also here is the 2007 NME Cool List, it's a load of wank but humourous (Quoted from the NME website)

1)Frank Carter, Gallows (new) 2007: the year punk broke again. One man led the charge. It was blood at first sight…

2)Jamie Reynolds, Klaxon (last year 13) Broken-boned new rave mongrel

3)Lovefoxxx, CSS (last year 10) Three XXXs, two catsuits, one fiancé, zero holiday time

4)Ryan Jarman, The Cribs (re-entry) The enemy of generation Razorshite

5)Lethal Bizzle (new) Most sought-after grime star since Mr Muscle

6)Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys (last year 32) Fluorescent adolescent

7)Kate Nash (new entry) So cool she’d much rather be with your friends, mate

8)Amy Winehouse (last year 50) Was there any question of her not being on the list? We say, “No, no, no (etc)”

9)Beth Ditto, Gossip (last year 1) Last year’s Number One

10)Keith Richards (last year 26) Who the fuck is Mick Jagger?

(Thank fuck Pete Doherty didn't make it, cuz heroin just aint cool)

The Panics

Last Friday night Highlighter braved the cold to go and review my favourite Perth expats The Panics for FasterLouder. The Bakery was playing host and as it was filthy weather you knew it was gonna be a packed house inside. They played a really, really good show besides a few minor letdowns that you can read on the review if you like. I recently purchased their new LP Cruel Guards which came with a bonus CD of covers. There are a couple of Bob Dylan's, a Rolling Stones' and Leonard Cohen, but the standout would have to be their Happy Monday's cover of Lazyitis which is simply brilliant. I have also posted the title track from the album which is a standout for the album even if it is a little mellow. And lastly a fan favourite from their last album Sleeps Like A Curse. Go and get the new album its fantastic, and in fact go and grab their other 2 LP's while your there, you won't be disappointed

The Panics - Cruel Guards

The Panics - Lazyitis (Happy Mondays Cover)

The Panics - My Best Mistake

Cut Copy Rarities

After being so excited by the new Cut Copy track that Binny posted last week. I thought I would dig around and post some old and rare Cut Copy tracks that you might not have heard. I am really quite worried that Cut Copy will release five singles (like Muscles did) before their album comes out and then only have 10 songs on the album. Anyway i'm sure they won't and i'm not gonna complain too much if they keep giving us tracks the quality of So Haunted. So without further ado.

Cut Copy - Stars

Cut Copy - Future (!!! Remix)

VHS or Beta - Night On Fire (Cut Copy Remix)

Control

A week and a bit ago I went to a preview screening (Thanks JJJ) of the new Ian Curtis biopic, Control. I can't profess to be the biggest Joy Division buff but I was really impressed by the film. Director Anton Corbijn has done a terrific job with the mood of the film, which is black and white, really echoing what I would imagine late 70's Manchester to be like. It gives a really quite moving account of the tragedy that was Curtis's life with his battles with depression and epilepsy. Sam Riley who plays Curtis (and kinda looks strangley like Pete Doherty in my opinion) does a really good job, including the singing he does. I would recommend it to anyone who likes music, not just Joy Division, as it really helped me to get grasp a better grasp for the band's music. Here are two of my favourite tracks from the movie.

Joy Division - Digital

Joy Division - She's Lost Control

Also I have been stumbling across a few Joy Division tributes and covers, I thought the Killers cover was OK and I love the Wombats tribute track and then I stumbled across this Nouvelle Vague track, I generally like Nouvelle Vague but this track completely strips the song of any original emotion that was intended and in my opinion cheapens it greatly, anyway feel free to disagree.

Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Also I have two FREE in season tickets to any Control showing in Perth and if you want them leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Newly Single

Some fresh meat recently out of the recording abattoir and right onto the musical weber- so grab those steak knives and get stuck in.

† Hot Chip - Shake A Fist.mp3
To be honest- these guys weren’t an immediate favourite of mine- that was until I saw them live. They seem to do electro in a way that I’m not quite sick of yet. Describe as electro-pop with a neo soul it's just a little more mellow and a whole lota fun- and their new release 'Shake A Fist' (off their forthcoming 3rd album Made In the Dark)- which they have been dropping into their live shows for a while now, is the perfect example, so “If you have a pair of headphones you better get them out and get ’em cranked up cos they're really gonna help you on this one".


† Cut Copy - So Haunted.mp3
So some pretty mixed reviews on this one… And with their nu LP on the way (In Ghost Colours, due Feb 2008 on Modular) it’s a bit of a tasters of what’s to come. To be honest I didn’t even recognise their sound at the beginning of the song but then around the 47 second mark it kicks in and all Cut Copy uncertainties are dismissed. The sound is a little less synthy with some hard angular guitars, this may be the effects of their new co-producer for the album- who is none other than Tim Goldsworthy (of the famed NYC Label DFA). So- on a scale of 1 to 10- it’s a grower.

† Tokyo Police Club - Your English Is Good.mp3
Tokyo Police Club should have been on your radar for a little while now with their insanely good 2006 EP- A Lesson in Crime. And this non-album single, released in early July, carries on their trend of summery guitar pop and catchy chorus shouts. To say I cannot wait for their LP is a colossal understatement.


And because you might need something to wash down that meat you’ve just consumed- have a sip on this- the RAC remix of Be Good. It’s probably the best thing since the invention of grandpa mix (if you don’t know what that is I feel profoundly sorry for you). This is taken off their forthcoming 4 track EP titled Smith.
Bon Appétit- Tokyo Police Club - Be Good (RAC Remix).mp3



Oh you didn’t think I send you off without dessert did you..? Here’s a few slices of Pavlova aka Aussie singles-

The Panics - Dont Fight It.mp3
Faker - This Heart Attack.mp3
Cut Off Your Hands - Still Fond.mp3 (yeah I know they’re not from Aus- hmm but they can be like the kiwi fruit on top of the Pavlova..yeah that works)

†rash Out ■