STACK Jun #128

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G reetings STACK music lovers! It always seems that come
the sunny months I am running off at the mouth about how
Australia is a music lover's paradise, but on reflection, the
winter months aren't too bad either! Splendour in the Grass sold out
in record time (again), so if you got tickets to that dream live music
bill, well done you! But Sydney's Vivid Festival looks equally
remarkable: not only is Morrissey making a relatively rare live
appearance (I'll even tolerate his habit of always taking his shirt off),
Daniel Johns is showcasing his long-awaited new album, Flume is
presenting his always spectacular live show, Squarepusher and
Herbert make anticipated appearances, and The Drones are
presenting the 10th anniversary of the album Wait Long By the River
and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By. Speaking of Morrissey
(kind of), his ex-Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr is also returning to
Australia to make up some shows cancelled earlier in the year, and
tours July 18-22. I also caught the Kurt Cobain documentary
Montage of Heck which I thought was a very unique and also faithful
look at the man and his art (and made me dig out my old Nirvana
albums). After seeing Courtney Barnett at Laneway, I had to see
her again this time at The Forum Theatre on May 14 (still a great
room to see music). Lastly, I caught The PeepTemple at Howler in
Brunswick: absolutely a band to see. The JB Listener
The JB Listener
On the
JB Stereo
The Platters That Matter
Florence+the Machine
How Big, How Blue,
How Beautiful
Major Lazer
Peace Is the Mission
Melody Gardot
Currency of Man
Ryan Adams
Live at Carnegie Hall
Muse
Drones
Leftfield
Alternative Light Source
Alpine
Yuck
Wolf Alice
My Love is Cool
Oh Mercy
When We Talk About Love
Of Monsters and Men
Beneath the Skin
Steve Harris, inventory
manager at JB Hi-Fi, is a
music nut who's been with
the company 21 years. "Our
philosophy hasn’t changed,"
he says, "it's about the broadest
range across all genres; we offer
the music purist a great place to
shop." The ongoing resurgence
of vinyl isn't lost on JB HI-Fi
customers: Harris says that while
new releases do well, classic
rock is "the bread and butter"
of the format's resurgence.
"It’s down to music lovers and
collectors. And from a personal
point of view, the quality of the
music." Harris loves The Rolling
Stones (obviously, see left) but
Pink Floyd are his favourite act.
"I just love collecting: I couldn’t
tell you how many versions of
Dark Side of the Moon I’ve got.
I enjoyed The Endless River: it
might not go down as a classic
but it was good to hear new
music from them, good to hear
David Gilmour’s playing and his
tone." To Harris, the resurgence
of vinyl is very much about giving
fans something new to hear. "It’s
a great vehicle to dig into the
archives. If there’s previously
unheard stuff, you just soak it
up. The gatefold sleeves and the
booklets are great to have; sit
there and flick through them as
you listen." After the excellent
Exile on Main St and now Sticky
Fingers reissues from The Stones,
Harris knows what he wants next.
" I’d love to see a reissue of Goat’s
Head Soup, but as a music lover
you take what you can get!"
092 JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
visit THIS MONTH at MUSIC
Xxxxxxxxx
1. Faith No More
Sol Invictus
2. Silverchair Frogstomp
(20th Anniversary yellow vinyl)
3. Courtney Barnett
Sometimes I Sit and Think ,
and Sometimes I Just Sit
4. Alabama Shakes
Sound and Color
5. The Wombats
Gitterbug
6. Chet Faker Built on Glass
7. Blur The Magic Whip
8. Ed Sheeran X
9. Flight Facilities
Down to Earth
10. Fleetwood Mac
Rumours
11. Pink Floyd
Dark Side of the Moon
Don’t forget, you can always order hard-to-find vinyl via the JB Hi-Fi website
Chart Vinyl
Nirvana
JB Hi-FI's Steve Harris displays
another use forThe Rolling
Stones' Sticky Fingers.
Stay tuned to STACK's Facebook page
for regular vinyl chart updates!