Big Thief Live Archive

Big Thief (website, Wikipedia) is one of my favourite indie-folk rock bands and, like many excellent bands, they are fantastic when they perform live.

Happily, they release a lot of their live performances on their YouTube channel.

But they also have the Big Thief Live Archive, which is a website with full, mixed concert recordings going all the way back to 2019.

Screenshot of the Big Thief Live Archive website showing cards spread across the desktop, one for each concert recording

To quote from their email about this:

Every show we play holds a different energy. The songs are always changing and sound different every night, and we spend so much more time on the road than in studios, and so we felt a desire to create something that captures the ever-undulating aliveness of our music through time. Around 2019, we started recording all of our shows. There are 10 shows up on the Archive right now and we will be adding new ones on the second Tuesday of every month hopefully forever. It’s all free. We made the website interactive so that you can choose tracks and make your own playlists.

So if you’re also a fan of Big Thief or you’re curious about the various ways in which a band performs its tracks live, give this live archive a listen.

On repeat: new single from The War on Drugs

I can’t stop listening to “Who’s That”, the new single from The War on Drugs (ie the fantastic rock band out of Philadelphia, USA).

Not only is the song itself gorgeous, its release suggests a new studio album is on its way – which is super exciting news because the band hasn’t released one of those since 2021!

Their last release was the live album, Live Drugs Again, in late 2024 – for which YouTube gave me a ‘Top Listener’ badge in January 2025 :)

Graphic showing top-listern badges received on YouTube Music. These include badges for Elderbrook, St. Vincent, The War on Drugs, The Goo Goo Dolls, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Madonna, and Charli xcx.

Here’s hoping they release a new album soon and then come back to tour in Australia in 2027. *crosses fingers*

In the meantime, I guess I’ll just keep listening to this song over and over again!

Albums on repeat: Madonna, Charli XCX

Following on from my ‘Music album long list, 2026’ post from May, there are two albums that came out in July that I’ve been listening to from start to finish all month.

Madonna – Confessions II

Cover image for the Madonna album Confessions II

The first album I’ve had on repeat is Confessions II from Madonna, which is a follow-on to her 2005 Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Confessions I, as I guess we should call it now, I also an album I listened to on repeat when it was released; and ‘Forbidden Love’ and ‘Isaac’ from this are among my all-time favourite tracks of hers.

Confessions II is a gorgeously produced, intricately-layered, intimate-yet-universal concept album that is great to listen to from start to finish – especially since each song transitions so perfectly into the next.

I don’t have any favourite songs from this album yet, but I have had bits from ‘Bring Your Love’, ‘Danceteria’, ‘Love Sensation’, and ‘Love Without Words’ stuck in my head on-and-off all month.

If you want to get a feel for the album, check out ‘Confessions II - The Film’ (14 min), which is basically a six-song music video mash-up.

Charli XCX – Music, Fashion, Film

Cover for the Charli XCX album Music, Fashion, Film

I stopped listening to nothing but Confessions II on my work commute only when Charli XCX released Music, Fashion, Film on 24 July – and now I have that on repeat :)

This album is a super smart follow-up to 2024 Brat because it goes in a completely different direction: more guitars, fewer synths, and a move away from the club sound. Of course you wouldn’t expect anything less from Charli because she is hugely creative and constantly evolves her music from album-to-album.

I think this album is great, and if you think so too, check out its accompanying film: ‘Charli xcx presents Music, Fashion, Film’ (42 mins). Charli is an astute cultural observer and this film explains some of the “why” of this album.

Charli is also someone who invests in making consistently excellent music videos, and I particularly love the one for ‘Camera’ starring the fantastic Vincent Cassel. (There’s also a bit in ‘Charli xcx presents Music, Fashion, Film’ in which she pitches the idea of this music video to Vincent via voice note.)

I highly recommend you give this album a listen.

Other albums

Collage of album covers

Other albums I’ve been listening to over the last couple of months, though not on repeat, have been:

In case you were wondering…

You may have been wondering why I’m suddenly talking a lot more about music on this blog. I feel I don’t talk enough about the things that I love and that I’m enjoying reading, watching, or listening to. So I’m hoping to do more of that going forward.

How lucky are we?

How lucky are we that some artists now proactively release multiple version of their songs.

Like Peter Gabriel who, since his 2023 album i/o, has been releasing “Bright-Side” and “Dark-Side” mixes of all his songs.

And Dua Lipa released regular and extended versions of Radical Optimism in 2024 – though the extended versions were on digital and streaming only.

There have always been multiple versions of songs, of course – album, radio, live, remix, 20th anniversary, etc – but releasing multiple studio versions from the get-go is a new and very cool development.

Album art for the Peter Gabriel song Been Undone

Also, I know Peter Gabriel’s “Been Undone” was released on 3 and 18 January 2026 – the Dark-Side and Bright-Side mixes, respectively – but I think this is going to be my song of the year.

Music album long list, 2026

I love music singles and mixtapes, but at heart I’m an album person. I love listening to entire LPs and EPs from start to finish, over and over again.

Screenshot from the YouTube Music smartphone app showing the badges received by this listening. The most recent badge is from 3 May 2026 and is titled, “Top Listener of U2”. Text below this reads, “You were in the top 0.25% of their audience of 15 million in April 2026”.

Here are the 36 albums I’ve listened to on repeat over the last five years or so, listed in alphabetical order by artist name.

I did listen to lots of other albums, of course. They didn’t make it to this list because I only liked a handful of songs from them.

Take Lady Gaga’s Mayhem (2025), for example. I listened to that from start to finish a few times and then I picked the songs I liked the most (seven of them, it turns out) and added them to my ‘Current’ playlist. But this wasn’t an album I listened to on repeat all the way through.

Same with albums from Aly & AJ, Cannons, The Chemical Brothers, Folk Bitch Trio, FKA Twigs, Kesha, Kita Alexander, London Grammar, Mammoth, Miya Folick, Moby, Neil Finn, Nine Inch Nails & Boyz Noize, Robyn, Rosa Damask, Sabrina Carpenter, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Taylor Swift, Xani, and Zoe Keating, to name a few.

What albums have you had on heavy rotation over the last few years? I’d love to know.

Easter Lily is *excellent*

If you’re a U2 fan but you’ve been less than whelmed by some of the band’s newer music (eg the “Songs of…” trilogy) you must check out their two new EPs.

Days or Ash is good, but Easter Lily is excellent. And both are a true return to form.

In fact, I think maybe 80% of the music I’ve listened to since Easter Lily was released on 2 April has been this EP played from start to finish!

Album cover of the U2 EP titled 'Easter Lily'. The artistically glitchy cover depicts a lily (the flower) that is glowing because of the bright light shining on it. This is set against a yellow background on which the flower's shadow can be seen.

Linkin Park in Melbourne, 2026

After attending the 8 March Linkin Park concert with Nadia, I attended the 10 March concert by myself. A lot of the folks around me had done exactly the same: attended the first show with their partner and were now attending this second show on their own :)

Since I’d already seen most of this show once – there was a six-song difference between day one and day two – I took more photos and videos during this show than I normally would. Here are some of them.

tl;dr

I only recorded small bits of some of the songs that Linkin Park played because I wanted to spend the rest of the time in the moment. I’m much happier listening to these songs being played live in front of me than focusing on what I’m capturing my phone’s comparatively tiny screen. Anyway, I’ve compiled those clips into a single video.

LPU early entry

I’ve been a member of Linkin Park Underground (LPU), the Linkin Park fan club, since 2010, skipping only the 2022-23 year because that was when we bought a house and got a mortgage, and so I cancelled literally all my subscriptions. (Including my other long-term subscription to Feminist Frequency, which I’d had since 2012.)

One of the benefits of an LPU membership is that, if you have a General Admission (GA) ticket, you can apply for early entry to Linkin Park’s concerts. Only the first 100 LPU members with verified GA tickets who apply are selected and, because I was a little late in applying, I was #74 on the list.

Still, that meant I got to queue up with VIP ticket holders and other early-entry LPU members at 5pm on Tuesday. Doors opened for everyone else at 6:15pm, openers Polaris kicked things off at 7:30pm, and Linkin Park’s set started at 8:45pm.

Waiting in the early entry line at Rod Laver Arena

Photo of a pull-up banner outside of an arena that reads, “LPU early entry”.

We were escorted into the empty Rod Laver Arena floor at 5:30pm, a full 45 minutes before gates opened to the general public at 6:15pm – which was super cool.

Empty Rod Laver Area floor, before doors open to the general public

Photo of a large arena prepped for a concert that that is currently completely empty of attendees.

The Linkin Park team makes an effort to recognise its fan club members so, while we went about arranging ourselves along the barricade at the very front of the arena floor, our LPU avatars were being displayed on the big screen at the back of the stage.

Avatars of early-entry LPU members on display

Photo of a large screen at the back of a massive concert stage. Displayed on the screen is a logo, the text, “Welcome LPU”, and twenty stylised avatars of members of the Linkin Park fan club.

In case you’re wondering, mine is the blue one in the bottom-right corner of this photo :)

Early-entry LPU member avatars on display behind the stage

Photo of part of a large screen at the back of a concert stage. Displayed on the screen is a logo, the text, “Welcome LPU”, and ten stylised avatars of members of the Linkin Park fan club. In the bottom-right corner is a blue-skinned character with a beard and eyeglasses who is wearing a khaki-and-orange industrial-looking hoodie.

A new era for Linkin Park

One of the coolest things about the latest evolution of Linkin Park is how their audience has evolved right along with them. When I attended their show the last time they were in Australia, which was in December 2010, I think around 40% of concert attendees were women. In this new era of Linkin Park, easily 50% of attendees were women or non-binary. That was true on the arena floor as well.

There was also a difference between the Sunday and Tuesday shows. When Mike Shinoda asked for a show of hands on Sunday, about one-third of the crowd indicated they’d attended a Linkin Park concert before, while two-thirds were attending their first one that night. He didn’t repeat this question on Tuesday, but it felt like those numbers were reversed and we had a greater proportion of long-term, die-hard fans in attendance. (Tuesday being a school night also meant there was fewer children there.)

The vibe was different enough on Tuesday that there was a good amount of crowd surfing going on. Even Emily Armstrong crowd surfed for a bit :) I hadn’t noticed any crowd surfing on Sunday, thought that might have just been me not paying enough attention.

Concert etiquette, behaviour, and security practices have come a long way since 2010 because, when Linkin Park performed in Melbourne back then (which was also at Rod Laver Arena), there were clear signs telling us that, “Moshing and Crowd Surfing is NOT PERMITTED”!

Photo of an area with seats rising up to the back wall. A sign attached to the barrier at the front of the seating area reads, “Moshing and Crowd Surfing is NOT PERMITTED”.

Fast forward to 2026 and concert security were constantly making sure folks on the arena floor stayed hydrated at all times – regularly passing down water in paper cups, for example – and they were super efficient at helping crowd surfers get down safely once those folks had made it all the way to the front.

Before the event kicked off, tour management also came by and talked to us about what to expect during the show – like the mosh pit that’s formed during Two Faced – and what to do if we weren’t feeling well.

All told, it was an excellent experience on the arena floor. But then – much like the members of the band itself – Linkin Park’s fans are, on average, more considerate and, frankly, nicer people. At least in my experience.

Video show-and-tell

Speaking of how things have changed from 2010 to 2026, I made a video to show some of the differences between the two live performance.

Aside from the permanent line-up changes – with lead vocalist Emily Armstrong replacing the late Chester Bennington and drummer Colin Brittain replacing Rob Bourdon – their songs are now played in a different key to suit Emily’s vocal range and Alex Feder is their touring lead guitarist because Brad Delson prefers not to go on tour.

Just like the band’s concert technology, my filming technology has also received a massive upgrade. Back in 2010, I was recording video in 720p resolution on a 2000s-era Canon IXUS 120 digital camera. In 2026, I’m recording in 1080p using my Google Pixel 6 Pro smartphone.

The 2010 audio from my Canon camera was completely unusable, by the way. Its tiny microphone could not handle the concert volume and absolutely could not handle the bass! Fortunately, back in the day, LPU members who could show evidence they’d attended a particular concert were able to purchase an audio recording of that show. This was audio recorded straight off the mixing console. This approach obviated the need for any bootlegging recordings and also made the band a bit of additional revenue. I’d bought this recording for the show I attended in 2010, and so I was able to used this in my video instead of the crappy in-camera audio :)

One of the best shows I’ve attended

Here, finally, are some of my photos from Linkin Park’s performance.

Mike singing

Photo of musician Mike Shinoda on stage with a guitar slung across his back while he sings into the microphone that he is holding.

The massive video screens directly above us

Photo of two massive rectangular lighting rigs attached to the roof of an arena. Along the side of these lighting rigs are massive video screens that are showing members of the band that is performing on the stage below.

The joy of standing so close to the confetti canon

Photo of an arena showing a wall of pink and purple confetti that has just been blown out of confetti canons arranged in front of a massive stage.

Those canons really do launch that confetti across the whole arena!

Photo of an arena showing a wall of pink and purple confetti that has been blown out of confetti canons arranged in front of a massive stage. The confetti is floating above the thousands of people standing on the arena floor.

Emily and Mike encouraging fans to sing along

Photo of musicians Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda standing on platforms built on top of a stage at an arena concert. Emily is singing into the microphone she is holding while Mike is pointing his microphone at the crowd in front of him, encouraging them to sign along.

Joe taking photos of the crowd

Photo of musician Joe Hahn taking photos of the crowd while his fellow band members perform on stage at a arena concert.

Me in the background of Joe’s photo

I only took a couple of selfies at the show but neither turned out very well. Happily, you can see me (wearing the black face mask) in the top-left corner of this photo that Joe Hahn took and then posted on his Instagram account.

Photo of a woman screaming in delight while wearing a Linkin Park hat. The woman is standing at the barricade at the very front of an arena floor. Directly behind this woman is a bald man wearing glasses and a black face mask who is looking up at musician Mike Shinoda as he raps into his microphone.

The main focus of Joe’s photo is Irene, the LPU member who was gifted a Linkin Park hat signed by the entire band. I was right behind her when this happened and took a video of it, which I later sent to her and she posted on her Instagram :)

Mike rapping while standing on the barricade directly in front of us

Mike is the one who presents this gift to a fan every night, and here’s the photo I took of him rapping to start the next song. Yes, he is standing on top of the barricade that’s directly in front of us.

Photo of musician Mike Shinoda rapping while standing on top of the barricade at the front of an arena floor.

The whole band in one photo

Photo of musicians Mike Shinda, Emily Armstrong, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, Alex Feder, and Colin Brittain performing on stage at an arena.

Fantastic laser light show

Photo of a three-dimensional laser and large-screen light show around the stage at an arena concert.

Dave doing his thing

Photo of musician Dave Farrell playing his bass guitar on stage at an arena.

Emily doing her thing

Photo of musician Emily Armstrong singing as she looks down into members of the audience from an arena concert stage.

Bass, rhythm, lead guitar

Photo of musicians Dave Farrell, Mike Shinoda, and Alex Feder – bass, rhythm, and lead guitarists, respectively – performing at the front of an arena stage.

Emily connecting with at a fan

Photo of musician Emily Armstrong pointing at a fan as she walks towards her during an arena concert.

Lights turned all the way up after the end of the show

Photo of a massive arena stage with all its white lights turned on. The concert has ended and all the musicians have left the stage.

The crowd behind me, right after the show ended

Photo of thousands of people standing on an arena floor at the end of a concert, with several thousand more seated in chairs all around the arena. Rod Laver Arena can hold over fifteen thousand attendees during concerts.

Confetti’s gonna confetti

Photo looking down at an arena floor that has no people on it, but is full of pink and purple coloured confetti. The photographers shoes, legs, and shorts are visible in the bottom of the photo frame.

So that’s that.

I’ve been in GA crowds several time over the years, but this was probably the most fun that I’ve had in one. It helped that all of us early-entry people were avid, even nerdy, Linkin Park fans and we quickly made friends with the folks around us. When you’re jumping up and down, squeezed between your neighbours, with the bass pounding and confetti flying, it’s good to know the names of the folks around you and that you’ll all look out for each other over the course of the night :)

Summer 2026 events round-up

Like I’ve mentioned before, I don’t take many photos and videos at events like concerts, talks, and comedy shows because I prefer being present in the moment.

That said, I do like to take at least a couple of photos for posterity. So here are some of the event photos and videos I’ve taken over the last few months.

I’m going to skip over one event I attended because this was a rare exception to my take-very-few-photos rule. I’ll cover that in the next post.

Garbage

12 Dec 2025. Garbage is one of my all-time favourite bands. I had to travel for work when these folks toured Australia in 2016, but this time I made sure I was there. Nadia and I attended the concert (and went out for dinner before that) with a whole bunch of friends and we had a fantastic time.

Garbage performing at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne

Photo of alternative rock band Garbage performing on stage.

Elderbrook

14 Jan 2026. Elderbrook is one of my favourite electronic musicians/DJ. He toured Australia as part of the summer music festival circuit and we got to watch him at the Australian Open concert series. (Yes, the AusOpen tennis tournament is about a lot more than just world class tennis.)

Elderbrook playing the drums during his set

Photo of electronic musician and DJ Elderbrook performing at a medium-sized outdoor festival-like stage. Elderbrook is drumming on some electronic drum pads set up on the stage next to his DJ rig. The super wide, wrap-around video screens behind him are displaying a fiery orange pattern.

Here’s a super short video from this concert too.

Gianmarco Soresi

24 Jan 2026. Gianmarco Soresi’s stand-up material ranges from very personal to very political. Your face won’t hurt at the end of his show because you laughed too much – his shows aren’t like that – but your brain will be full of zingy thoughts and unhinged imagery that you were absolutely not expecting.

The Capitol is such a gorgeous theatre

Photo of the a large theatre with a layered, three-dimensional, rectangular roof with hidden white, blue, and purple lighting.

Wet Leg

10 Feb 2026. I’m not hugely into post-punk revival, but I do love Wet Leg. We didn’t have the best spot from which to watch this show, but it was a fun concert nonetheless.

Wet Leg at Northcote Town Hall

Photo of indie rock band Wet Leg performing on stage.

Nerd Nite #67

11 Feb 2026. Since this is probably the first time you’re hearing about this: Nerd Nite is “evidence-based entertainment” – a series of informal talks given at a pub by nerds, for nerds. Started in Boston, USA in 2003, the concept spread all over the world, though I believe Melbourne Nerd Nite is the last chapter still running in Australia.

I’ve watched a lot of these talks online, but this was the first time I attended in person. It is so energising being around that many nerds! Nadia and I will try to attend all these talks going forward.

Nerd Nite at the Howler in Brunswick

Photo of a stage with a cinema-sized projector screen at the back. The screen shows a graphic of a stylised Melbourne tram with ‘Nerd Nite 2026’ written in graffiti on it.

Linkin Park

8, 10 Mar 2026. Linkin Park is one of my all-time favourite bands and the group were performing two shows in Melbourne. Nadia and I attended the first of those concerts together.

Selfie from Linkin Park’s From Zero world tour

Selfie of a man and woman wearing glasses and black face masks sitting in the crowd at a concert.

I’m a Linkin Park Underground (ie fan club) member, so I get access to ticket sales really early. That meant we got excellent seats: right in the centre and just four rows back from the mixing desk :)

Seated right behind the mixing desk at Rod Laver Arena for Linkin Park

Wide-angle photo of a large sports arena with a currently empty stage. Thousands of attendees, especially the ones on the floor of the arena, have their smartphones out and are filming what is about to happen on the stage. In the foreground of the photo are production techs standing in front of dozens of screens and control boards that make up a modern concert sound and lighting control set-up.

I attended Linkin Park’s second show by myself (this time in General Admission) and I’ll show you the photos and videos I took there in my next post.

Laura Ramoso

13 Mar 2026. Unlike Gianmarco Soresi, you do come out of Laura Ramoso’s stand-up shows with your face hurting from laughing so much. Laura did a fantastic job at transposing and translating her online skits and characters to the stage.

Waiting for Laura Ramoso at The Palais Theatre in St Kilda

Photo of an empty stage with text projected on the curtain at the back of the stage. This text reads, “Laura Ramoso” and “Calm Down Tour”.

This has been a really fun summer, and though we have fewer events planned for the rest of the calendar year, I’m looking forward to all of those as well.

I LOVE the new Garbage album

I switch between music discovery (when I add songs to my ‘current’ playlist) and music listening (when I listen to that playlist).

This happens super rarely, but in my most recent discovery run I ended up adding ALL the songs from the latest Garbage album ‘Let All That We Imagine Be The Light’ to my current playlist. It’s that good.

I also immediately bought and downloaded the whole album in FLAC so I can listen to it in high resolution :)

Garbage is one of my all-time favourite bands, by the way.

Album cover for “Let all that we imagine be the light” by Garbage. The cover is a depiction of a blue octopus that is underwater and is being illuminated by a light shining into the water from above. The water is tinted a deep red. The album title is written evenly spaced out across the entire square image in an elegant typeface using white, all capital letters. The band’s name is written in lighter red, just below the octopus.

Attend all the events!

After a few, quiet, post-pandemic years during which Nadia and I didn’t attend many events, the start of 2025 has been quite busy for us!

I’ve already shared photos from the Australian Open tennis tournament we attended in January and the Avalon Airshow I attended in March. So for completeness’ sake, here a photos from the other events we went to.

These photos aren’t great, but that’s on purpose. When I attend concerts, plays, and comedy shows, I don’t make an effort to take good photos and I deliberately try to take as few photos as possible. I realised several years ago that focusing on photography and videography at events like these takes away from the overall experience of being there and makes the events less fun to attend. So now I just go there to have a good time :)

Bryan Adams

This was a huge, fun, straight-up rock concert that was gorgeously produced and a joy to attend with thousands of people who were happy to sing out loud with you.

Rocking out with the band

Photo of a four-piece rock band performing on a large stage with a massive video projection behind them.

Inflatable convertible steered by drones – because why not?

Photo of a rock band performing in a stadium. Above the general admissions crowd (the people standing in front of the stage) is a large, inflated, white convertible car with the words, “Bryan Adams” written in black market along one side. This inflatable is being steered by drones attached to each corner.

Getting closer to the folks at the back

Adams ended the concert by walking to a mini-stage set up at the very back of the stadium and performing a couple of acoustic songs from there.

Photo of musician Bryan Adams standing on a small stage that’s been assembled at the very back of a stadium. Adams is playing an acoustic guitar and is singing into a microphone on a stand. Many of the attendees are taking photos and videos as her performs.

Hania Rani

Both the opening act (Xani Kolac) and Hania Rani were fantastic. Being enveloped in layers of sound and light is a magical way to spend your evening :)

Hania Rani doing her thing

Photo of a woman on stage surrounded by an upright piano, a grand piano, and two large electronic keyboards. Several small spotlights are arranged in a curve around this set-up. A dynamic visualisation is being projected on massive strips of curtains hung at the back of the stage.

Anna Akana

I’ve been following Akana and her YouTube, stand-up, film making, and music career for a very long time, so it was great to finally see her in real life.

Stage is set for Anna Akana’s stand-up routine

Photo of a mostly empty stage with just a microphone stand with wireless mic and stool with canned drink on it. Projected on the screen at the back of the stage, in all capital letters, is the name, “Anna Akana”.

Goo Goo Dolls

I haven’t kept up with the Goo Goo Dolls over the last few years, but they were a massive part of my university years. Unlike the high-production Bryan Adams concert, this was a stripped-down, classic rock show. It wasn’t any less fun, of course, and how can you not be moved by thousands of people around you singing Iris along with the band?!

The Goo Good Dolls doing their thing

Photo of a five-piece rock band performing on stage.

Roxette

This was possibly the least impressive of the concerts we attended, though it was still fun. Roxette isn’t the same without Marie Fredriksson, but Lena Philipsson did an admirable job. And again, it’s difficult not to be feel something when you have thousands of people around you singing their hearts out with the band!

Roxette doing their thing

Photo of an eight-piece pop/rock band performing on stage.

Dua Lipa

On the opposite end of the spectrum from the stripped-back Goo Goo Dolls concert was this Dua Lipa performance spectacular. In spite of the massive production that it was, Lipa has a way of connecting with her audience that made the event feel much smaller and more intimate than it was – while still being hugely impressive to watch!

Dua Lipa, her band, and her dancers doing their thing

Photo of a singer and several dancers performing on a large, multi-level stage in a stadium. There is a catwalk in front of the stage that leads to a circular performance area in the middle of the venue. Massive screens above the stage show a close-up of the dancers and the singer.

Dua Lipa and her band performing in the middle of the crowd

Photo of a singer and her band in a circular performance area in the middle of a stadium. This performance area is connected via a catwalk to the main, multi-level stage.

Dua Lipa rising to the occasion

Photo of a singer on a circular platform that’s been elevated above a circular performance area in the middle of a stadium.

Favourite music in 2024

I also have three honourable mentions, two of which were released at the end of 2023 (though I listened to them mostly in 2024) and one of which is an EP:

Songs

These are the songs that got stuck in my head most often and for the longest time in 2024 (in alphabetical order):

Shout-outs

Production

I can’t remember the last time I listened to a song on a constant loop as much as I listened to St. Vincent Sweetest Fruit. The layers, the soundscapes, the loops – there’s so much to unpack, enjoy on its own, and then repack and enjoy as a whole in this song. Phenomenal. (Here’s a production breakdown of that song, in case you’re interested.)

I love that Dua Lipa released two versions of her Radical Optimism album: a regular version and an extended version. It’s great having access to longer, more groovy, more atmospheric, and less radio-conforming versions of all her latest songs. (Reminds me of Peter Gabriel releasing two versions of his i/o album in 2023 – a Bright-Side Mix and Dark-Side Mix – each produced by a different mixer.)

Live versions

Half of my favourite albums this year here live albums, which is great to see. I love a good live album.

Chris Stapleton and Dua Lipa performed a live duet of Stapleton’s Think I’m In Love With You that at the 59th Academy Of Country Music Awards. I also love a good live duet :)

Haniya Aslam

One of my favourite people died last night. Haniya Aslam was a friend and fellow musician, and I can’t believe she’s not going to be around anymore.

I’m not one to grieve in public, but today is difficult. So let’s celebrate instead.

In 2005 a bunch of us in Islamabad got together to form the F-10½ Acoustic Project. We jammed at our place for a few weeks and then, over two weekends, performed a bunch of covers and originals at Civil Junction.

A flyer that reads “On Saturday 27th August at 9:00 PM in the first of two performances at CJ the F-10½ Acoustic Project presents original material by: Zeb & Haniya, Sheheryar Mufti, Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor, and Natasha Ejaz. And pays tribute to (among others): Suzanne Vega, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, Alice in Chains, U2, Coldplay, Crowded House, Blind Melon, Beach Boys, John Mayer, Simon & Garfunkel, Lisa Loeb, and The Beatles.”

We don’t have any photos from those jam sessions, rehearsals, and performances, but fortunately Sarmad Ghafoor recorded the entirety of our first show :)

Here’s some of what we performed that night.

This is Haniya Aslam performing Aitebar, with me on drums, Sarmad Ghafoor on lead guitar, and Shehryar Mufti on bass guitar.

Aitebar (Live at Civil Junction)
Haniya Aslam

And, on a more celebratory note, this is us performing Simon & Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson with Haniya Aslam on vocals and rhythm guitar, Natasha Humera Ejaz on vocals and tambourine, Sarmad Ghafoor on bass guitar, Nadia Niaz on shakers, and me on drums :)

Mrs. Robinson (Live at Civil Junction)
F-10 1/2 Acoustic Project

Music discovery and listening

How do you keep up with the latest music releases? More generally, how do you discover new music to listen to? (At least music that’s new to you.)

Are you beholden to whatever Spotify and commercial FM radio stations are paid to promote to you? Do you get recommendations from people whose taste matches your own? Or maybe whose taste doesn’t quite match your own? Do you let your streaming music provider’s algorithm decide?

Or do you just not listen to new music?

Here’s how I do it: every few weeks I switch between music discovery mode and music listening mode.

Screenshot from YouTube Music’s music discovery playlists. There are songs and albums listed under two headings: ‘New releases’ and ‘Mixed for you’.

Music discovery mode

In music discovery mode I listen to lots of songs I haven’t heard before, regardless of whether they’re old or new releases.

I do that by actively seeking out music from a range of sources, like:

  • YouTube Music’s various discovery, new-release, ‘mixed for you’, and auto-play playlists,

  • commercial FM radio stations in Melbourne (only when I’m in the car),

  • David Byrne Radio,

  • recommendations from podcasts (like the Women of Rock Oral History Project),

  • music from the movies and television shows I’m watching, and

  • full album listens based on whatever random song I’ve heard or music-related thought I’ve recently had.

That last one is possibly the most fun, by the way. I love listening to full albums and this lets me listen to both old and new albums, from both current and past artists.

Like recently ‘I’m Not Over’ by Carolina Liar popped into my head, so I went and listened to their whole ‘Coming To Terms’ album. And most recently I listened to Michelle Branch’s new album, ‘The Trouble with Fever’, which I really liked.

Anyway, if I like any of the songs I hear – or I at least want to give them a second listen – I’ll add those songs to my ‘current’ playlist.

Screenshot from the website of musician David Byrne, showing his radio station page – where he compiles and publishes playlists on different topics, mood, and type of music.

Music listening mode

After a period of discovery I’ll move into music listening mode. That’s basically me listening to my ‘current’ playlist, usually on shuffle :)

Eventually, when/if I get tired of a song, I’ll remove it from my playlist. And, if I really liked it, I’ll add it to my YouTube Music ‘library’.

So that’s what works for me.

What system do you use? Did you put much thought into it? How have you tweaked it over the years? And how is all that working for you? I’d love to know.

Musical mash-ups with cats

I love musical mash-ups with cats! Here are some of my recent favourites.

Meredith Bull

The first person I saw making these types of mash-ups was Meredith Bull on TikTok back in 2020. These are my two favourites from her.

Sick of this empty cup

I don’t want to embed the original TikTok video in my blog, so here’s the YouTube version. She’s since released a full-length version of this that’s available from all music streamers.

I don’t wanna be touched

Here’s her initial mash-up (again, not the original TikTok).

This one she first developed into a full song and then just released a music video for!

The Kiffness

The other person who’s been doing fun mash-ups for a while is The Kiffness on YouTube.

Alugalug Cat (International Symphonic Mashup)

His original version of ‘Alugalug Cat’ is nice, but then he collaborated with a bunch of musicians from around the world to create this international symphonic version — which I adore.

Alugalug Cat 2.0 (Please Go Away)

This week he’s back with a follow-up.

Sherzod Ergashev

Finally there’s Sherzod Ergashev, who has done two mash-ups I love.

Barchaga a’lo kayfiyat (good mood for everyone)

This song certainly puts me in a good mood every time :)

Funny Cat cover

I love both The Kiffness and Sherzod’s mash-ups with this cat :)

Let me know if you have any favourite musical cat mash-ups. I’d love to hear them!