STACK Feb Issue 124

64 / 90

John Ferguson, Jeff Jenkins, Emily Kelly,
Simon Lukic, Chris Murray, Denise Hylands,
Michael Dwyer, Billy Pinnell,Doug Wallen,
Simon Winkler, Ellie the Wonderdog
Contributors
pg 4 The Music Room
Electro punks Enter Shikari return with
The Mindsweep, Carl Barat releases an
album with his band The Jackals before
The Libertines reunion, Dylan does Sinatra
(really), and more.
pg 8-9 Cover Story
Mark Ronson’s new album Uptown
Special features Tame Impala’s Kevin
Parker, Stevie Wonder and a Pulitzer
Prize winning novelist.
pg 13 JB HI-FI NOW
JB Hi-Fi’s music streaming service: how
to get the best from it, and what’s new.
pg 14–20 STACK Music Reviews
New releases from Marilyn Manson,
Sleater Kinney, Perry Keyes, Fall Out
Boy, Ryan Bingham, The Punch Brothers,
Dream Theater, Seasick Steve, The
Mavericks, Purity Ring, Belle and
Sebastian and more.
pg 22 Reissues
Michael Dwyer on the striped sunlight
sound of The Go Betweens and more.
STACK MUSIC
FEBRUARY 2015
DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
02
The Decemberists
What a Terrible World,
What a Beautiful World
Another richly imbued set of
rootsy, emotional rock songs
with touches of country,
loads of harmonies and great playing.
Make sure you spend time with it.
Father John
Misty
I Love You
Honeybear
Mining a rich vein
of songwriting tradition,
Josh Tillman explores the
complexities of manhood, singing
like a bird the whole time.
THIS MONTH
TOM SAYS!
Most of us are an
original painting, and
it’s a mystery to us what
is learned and what is
borrowed, what is stolen
and what is born, what
you came with and what
you found while you
were here. On My Speakers...
The cover of STACK Music is a promotion for Mark
Ronson’s new album Uptown Special by Sony Music.
Pop Goes ‘Pop’
A fter all the furore
surrounding Taylor
Swift and the
question of her inclusion in
Triple J’s hottest 100 last
month, it strikes me that the
line between popularity,
commerciality, and so-called
hip indie credibility is more
blurred than ever. Because
of Swift specifically? No.
Social media was predictably
alight with waves of ‘ayes’
and ‘noes’ on the matter,
and while debate raged, the
arguments were predictable
enough. No, the blurred line
is broader. In ye olde days of
the music industry,
mainstream acts got their breaks via commercial radio airplay, and so indie or
alternative acts, who didn’t get on the radio, battled away trying to build a profile
through gigs, fliers, friendly press and word of mouth. But fast forward to the
post-web 2.0 era, and everyone is playing broadly the same media game – it’s online,
it’s about direct audience engagement and getting people to see shows to help invest
in music – and there are more bands (or more to the point, VISIBLE bands) vying for
the same crowded media corner. Our cover star this month, Mark Ronson, had often
left me ambivalent; some great taste in music was obvious, but his clothes were a little
too expensive, his drinks cabinet probably just a bit too exclusive, and his haircut just
a little too styled for me to relate to the guy as a fan. And while Uptown Special has it’s
broadly commercial moments, it draws no line in the philosophical sand. In Ronson’s
world there only seem to be two kinds of music: good and bad. Well, I’m with him on
that one. If you want a deeper look into Ronson’s world and his take on music, check
out his TED talk from 2014 (see above)on sampling – it’s very clever, and very
provocative. And those are two things anyone’s music needs to be.
Jonathan Alley, Music Editor
Jeff Austin
The Simple
Truth
Americana
the way you
love it: horns, soul, humour,
southern grit and earthy as
hell. Funny, too.
CONTENTS
Image: Courtesy of TED.com