Video Hits says goodbye
If you think the News of the World closing was big news, it’s nothing compared to the announcements we got. Saturday morning in Australia will never be the same after Murdoch owned Channel Ten announced Video Hits is to be axed. Running for 25 years, it is the second longest running music show only piped by the evergreen Eurovision music contest.
Years of camping out on the lounge with some Corn Flakes while watching the video clips and furiously entering the weekly competitions will be a distant memory and something talked about to the grandkids.
The show is being axed as part of a brutal cost savings restructure by Channel 10 bosses who are also threatening to cut the iconic Sports Tonight. Staying up late with Bill Woods to hear the day’s latest sports news was almost as good as getting up early on Saturday morning for a serious sesh of Video Hits. Farewell dear friend, we will remember you.
Cold Chisel bring it to the technological age
Still squeezing the beer from your mullet after Jimmy’s big gig at the SheBu Empire last week? Hungry for more Aussie pub rock but stressing it’s not at your fingertips? Fear not. Cold Chisel have recently decided to digitally remaster all their classic work.
Before you shrug it off as some marketing ploy to sell another box-set consider this. Cold Chisel have held off making this move meaning a lot of their music is unavailable online for all us fans over here. And when we say all their music, we mean all of it. Studio albums, scratchy live recordings from years gone by and even fans submitting bootlegged copies of obscure shows.
The band have been trawling through hundreds of hours of back catalogue and archives to give it the modern work-over so you can listen to it on your Ipod. They will also release unseen live footage dating back to 1977.
To top it off they’re working on a new album. Should keep you satisfied for now.
Angry Boys not winning any American friends
Comedian Chris Lilley’s latest offering, Angry Boys, is halfway through and as usual Lilley’s genius work is causing lots of controversy and lots of laughs. We don’t think it’s up there with Summer Heights High but it’s still pushing the right buttons and the characters cringe worthy activities are growing on us.
During the week the Sydney Morning Herald interviewed American hip-hop industry figures including journalists, musicians and producers on their thoughts of one character ‘S.mouse.’ A hopeless, wannabe gangster, S.mouse isn’t going down well. Lilley, who plays all the main characters in the show, has decked himself out in dark makeup and parodies a clichéd black hip hop artist. An Australian taking the mickey out of one of their own didn’t rate very well with the Yankee industry figures.
As if Australian hip hop didn’t already have a hard enough task being taken seriously, this probably won’t help. But we still love Mr Lilley and you can catch him and his Angry Boys phenomena on BBC3 on Tuesday nights or check out the ‘offensive’ S.mouse songs on iTunes.
And the winner is…
**Stop press: We’ve been following it closer than the UK paps and Pippa Middleton’s bum. Announced on Sunday evening (Aussie time), Triple J’s Hottest Australian album of all time has had tongues a wagging. The controversial winner is: Powderfinger’s Odyssey Number 5.
Next week we’re going to talk the good, the bad and the downright WTF of the countdown plus ask the question, what does this poll say about the listeners of Triple J?