counterfeit

Counterfeit Retrospective

2009-06-29T14:42:00.011+10:00

To celebrate the glories of Counterfeit, we have put up a collection of the interviews that featured on the programme. We have also included some other surprising bits and pieces for your furtive listenership, so get clicking and leave us a comment!

Sons & Daughters (Week Two)(Transcript)
During her band's recent Australian tour, bassist Ailidh Lennon of brooding Glaswegian band Sons and Daughters took a few moments to speak to Counterfeit about the influence of blues and classic Americana, that urgent girl/boy vocal interplay and the process of recording their second album, The Repulsion Box.

Download
Interview - Sons & Daughters (12 MB, 13m17s at 128KBS)

The Departure (Week Three)
Hailing from Northampton, the Departure were a post-punk revivalist revelation, together a total of only four months and ten gigs, before signing a five album deal with Parlophone Records. Counterfeit jumped at the chance to accost and interview lead singer David Jones to discuss songwriting, production and how they saw themselves within the wider British indie scene.

Download
Interview - The Departure (8.45 MB, 8m43s at 128KBS)

Editors (Week Four)
Chris Urbanowicz of Editors chats to Counterfeit, coinciding with the placement of their single Munich in the British Top 10 charts. Counterfeit rejoiced in a fascinating discussion about the band's success on an independent label, their collaborative efforts with Elbow and their b-side ethic.

Download
Interview - Editors (11.6 MB, 10m41s at 128KBS)

Dirty Little Secret (Week Five)
One moment speading down the coast of California, the next conversing with Counterfeit, James Bairian of Dirty Little Secret mused about his band's production values, the decline of the music industry and those all-important TV-synchronisation opportunities.

Download
Interview - Dirty Little Secret (20.2 MB, 17m57s at 192KBS)

The Libertines (Week Six)
Counterfeit were honoured to talk to one of the most revered icons in British music: former Libertine, occasional Likely Lad and sometime Dirty Pretty Thing, Mr Carlos Barât. The discussion explored his method of songwriting with and without Pete Doherty, adventures on the London DJ circuit and even his first mixed tape for a girl.

Download
Interview - Carl Barât (6.8 MB, 7m23s at 128KBS)

Kings of Leon (Week Seven)
Following their second headline appearance at the Big Day Out, Counterfeit were cordially invited to Melbourne's Grand Hyatt Hotel to interview drummer Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon for Channel 31's SYN TV. In this interview, Nathan discussed his late exposure to rock and roll, life on the road with a band of brothers and the significance of the band's sexually explicit lyrics.

Download
Interview - Kings of Leon (9.52 MB, 10m18s at 128KBS)

Pretty Girls Make Graves (Unaired)
A post-Counterfeit rarity: an interview Jay Clark, the guitarist of then-intact Seattle based group Pretty Girls Make Graves. A discussion of matters relating to the band's forthcoming tour, developments in the band's sound and origins of the band's name.

Download
Interview - Pretty Girls Make Graves (7.31 MB, 8m05s at 128KBS)

Annie (Unaired)
Annie, multiple Annies, Annie the musical and Radio Fat Head. All this and more transpired when Counterfeit scored the opportunity to chat to the Norwegian pop-princess herself.

Download
Interview - Annie (12.2 MB, 13m27s at 128KBS)

Guilty Pleasures - Awfully Good in a Really Awful Way (Unaired)
A radio documentary investigating the shame that comes with being a devoted lover of pop music. This piece not only uncovers the reasons why pop music is so commonly dismissed, it also explores why we feel compelled to defend music that has long been shunned from popular endorsement.

Download
Radio Documentary - Guilty Pleasures: Awfully Good in a Really Awful Way (2.1 MB, 4m31s at 64KBS)

Counterfeit Week 8

2006-02-17T19:10:00.000+11:00

Quite an eclectic playlist this week, which was fun, but the show lacked a certain spark due to the lovely Elle being away this week. Never fear, she'll be back this coming week, but with the departure of Amanda, who will be enjoying a lovely week in Sydney.

So we were the show that was to welcome Valentines Day for 2006, and although none of us in the studio really think to much of the day at all, we did a mix tape of love, and for the more cynical amongst you, hate. So it was Nick Cave and The Postal Service VS The Walkman and Joy Division. 'I am thinking it's a sign that the freckles
in our eyes are mirror images and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned' VS 'You've got a nerve to be asking a favor, you've got a nerve to be calling my number I know we've been through this before'. OR 'I don't believe in the existance of angels but looking at you I wonder if that's true' VS 'Why is the bedroom so cold, turned away on your side'. Which one do you side on??

Thanks again to Greer and Michael for keeping my company in the studio. I had a blast guys.

Playlist for Monday February 13th:
Radiohead - Everything in its Right Place
The Strokes - You Only Live Once
Built to Spill - Center of the Universe
Shout out Louds - I Wish I was Dead part 2
Bluebottle Kiss - Women are an Army
Cat Power - The Greatest
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (live)
The Velvet Underground - Rock n Roll
Children Collide - Frozen Armies
The Modern Lovers - Road Runner
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Relative Ways
Daft Punk - Robot Rock
The Avalanches - Electricity
LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk is Playing at my House
The Futureheads - Hounds of Love (Phones remix)
The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
Nick Cave - Into My Arms
The Walkmen - The Rat
Joy Division - Love will Tear us Apart
Les Savy Fav - Hold Onto Your Genre
At The Drive In - Pattern Against User
Sleater-Kinney - Entertain

Counterfeit Week 7

2006-02-09T13:58:00.001+11:00

This week's show really began last Tuesday, when we gracefully stepped into the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel and gasped for breath as we saw Caleb Followill, singer of Southern USA rockers Kings of Leon stride past us (although Amanda missed this moment as her bladder begged her to go to the toilet). After overcoming this excitement (and disappointment) we caught an elevator up to the 32nd floor and waited patiently to interview Nathan Followill, drummer of the band. Our hearts were pounding by the time we were introduced to the man himself, all dolled up in tattered jeans, a white wife beater, thongs and perfectly painted black toenails. And to our surprise the hairy King looked damn fine, might we even say quite hot. So we proceeded to ask him our questions in front of a window overlooking Melbourne as Nathan tried to fight off the effects of marijuana...

And so we featured this interview on Monday night. We were very proud of this interview, and even though it was quite flippant and we were hoping for more in depth answers other than rubber duckies in bath tubs, we enjoyed ourselves so much both in the studio and as it took place in the Hyatt. If you missed the interview, which of course most of you would have missed at least part of it due to the crap state of the syn studios deciding to play the backup music as it failed to recognise we were playing an interview and thus the music of Faker drowned out Nathan's slang, then you can watch us tonight on SYN TV, channel 31 at 5pm. Don't miss it! (He's really hot!).

Once we overcame one of the biggest moments of our lives we decided to feature a mix tape of songs that you play to pump yourself up before going out on a night on the town. Quite a contrast to last week's morning after tape, but that was the point. We hear the likes of Le Tigre, Tom Vek, Franz and The Kinks, the latter of which sends Elle into a frenzy.

Playlist for February 6th:
Kings of Leon - Red Morning Light
The Rakes - Retreat (Phones remix)
Elastica - Connection
David Bowie - Fashion
Modest Mouse - Broke
Gerling - Death to the Apple Girls
The Cure - The Thirteenth
My Disco - 113 / In the Benelux
Blur - Girls and Boys
Joy Division - Shadow Play
Cars - Shake it Up
Kings of Leon - King of the Rodeo
Kings of Leon - The Bucket
Low - California
The Strokes - NYC Cops
Le Tigre - Deceptacon
Franz Ferdinand - Michael
The Kinks - All Day and All Night
Tom Vek - I Aint Saying my Goodbyes
Kings of Leon - Wasted Time
Weezer - This is Such a Pity
Okkervil River - All the Latest Toughs
Cut Copy - Bright Neon payphone

Counterfeit Week 6

2006-02-06T08:36:00.000+11:00

Last Monday's show aired on the threshold of what proved to be a very busy, very exciting and very expensive week of gigs and interviews. It was perhaps ironic, in view of this, that we named the Counterfeit Mixed Tape "The Morning After Tape" in honour of the post Big Day Out come down. As well as playing many of the best artists of the festival, our mixed tape featured tracks reflecting the moods of the very burnt and disheveled. That aside, our activites post Big Day Out hardly be termed as a "come down". But more of that a little later ;)

Week Six also featured an interview with one of my musical icons, Carl Barat, formally of the Libertines. Before I go any further and melt into a hyperbolic puddle describing my love and awe for Mister Barat, I must convey the utmost gratitude to Amanda for putting up with me during the stressful question preparation. I do admit that during this time, I reduced Amanda to a teary-eyed exasperated mess even in the mere theme contemplation session. I admit, I do feel a little silly in retrospect. But then I listen to Up The Bracket and wonder why I didn't freak out more.

ten minutes with a likely lad. how would you react?
Despite these stresses, our interview with Carl Barat was among the most enjoyable we've recorded so far. But I don't know if I'm just saying that because I had been reduced into a hyperbolic puddle of gush. In our few moments with Carl, we explored his method of songwriting with and without Pete Doherty, "getting so hammered DJing it would take 4 days out of his working week" and his first mixed tape for a girl, which featured Erasure! Hands off everyone. He's mine!

Playlist for January 30th
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Kings of Convenience - I'd Rather Dance with you than Talk with you
Cut Copy - Time Stands Still
Richard Ashcroft - Break the Night with Colour
Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass
Fischerspooner - Emerge
Soulwax - NY Excuse
The Strokes - Reptilia
Iggy Pop and The Stooges - I Wanna be your Dog
Adam Green - What a Waster (Libertines Cover)
David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things
The Libertines - Don't Look Back into the Sun
The Jam - This is the Modern World
The Clash - Remote Control
The Libertines - France (Demo)
The White Stripes - My Doorbell
The Cribs - Hey Scenesters!
The Go! Team - Huddle Formation
Iron and Wine - Such Great Heights (Postal Service Cover)
The Beatles - I'm Only Sleeping
Manitoba - Bijoux
Sleater Kinney - Wilderness
The Magic Numbers - Crazy in Love (Beyonky Cover)
Kings of Leon - Taper Jean Girl (Live)

Be sure to listen in tonight to this week's show where Amanda and I will be airing our interview with Nathan Followill, drummer from Big Day Out headliners, the Kings of Leon. To prove this really happened and we are not making it up, the footage of the interview will be aired on Thursday SYN TV, 5pm on Channel 31. We must thank Ally Murphy, Andrew McDonald, Sony and our own tripod girl Greer for organising this and generally helping us so much! All this AND documenting our rollercoaster week, be sure to tune in!

Counterfeit Week 5

2006-01-26T18:48:00.000+11:00

Halfway through the Counterfeit block on SYN FM and wow, its going so fast! Guess it's cos we're having so much fun. This week on the show we featured an interview that we had with up-coming Californian band Dirty Little Secret. We spoke to the bass player James Bairian, who was more than happy to reveal all of his secrets. Speaking from a mobile phone as he was riding along the beach on his Harley, James talked to us about the production of the band self-titled EP and forthcoming album, his drawn out views on the music industry, and getting a spot on popular TV shows. James was extremely pleasing to chat to, by far the most fun interview we've had so far, and we wish his band all the best in the future.

On the Counterfeit Mix Tape this week we had some fun with Guilty Pleasures. Whether it was a band that the music press has deemed unpopular (Razorlight), a band with cheesy lyrics and synths (The Bravery) or 80s cornball dance and romance (Aha and Yaz) we had it all going in the CD player this week. The disco lights in SYN studios also got a bit of use too.

Thanks a bunch to Greer, our special guest this week who DJ-ed some of her favourite songs on her trusty I-pod! Go technology! We had heaps of fun with you Greer, it's always a pleasure to have you on air.

Playlist for Monday 23rd January
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Get Ready for Love
Blur - Beetlebum
My Morning Jacket - Wordless Chorus
Beck - Heaven Hammer (Missing remixed by Air)
Phantom Planet - First things First
Kelley Stoltz - Prank Calls
The Knife - Heartbeats
Dirty Little Secret - Gune Gun Guns
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
The Fakrays - You're not a Star
Broadcast - Blackcat
Wolf Parade - Grounds for Divorce
Aha - Take on Me
Yaz - Only You
The Bravery - Honest Mistake
Razorlight - Golden Touch
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
Dirty Little Secret - So Long
Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Whirlwind
Youth Group - Lillian Lies
Calexico and Iron and Wine - He lays in the Reins
Gang of Four - No Great Men

Coming up: Gush about the Big Day Out, Kings of Leon interview taking place on tuesday and Carl Barat featured this Monday!

Counterfeit Week 4

2006-01-20T21:19:00.000+11:00

Amanda and I had a great time presenting Counterfeit this week in SYN studios. This week's show featured an interview with Editors' guitarist, Chris Urbanowicz, coinciding with the placement of the single Munich in the British Top 10 charts this week. We had an interesting, if not slightly tense, chat to Chris about success on an independent label, their collaborative efforts with Elbow and the band's b-side ethic. Look out for this band when they tour Australia in May!

Talks with Chris from Editors fed into our featured Counterfeit Mix Tape: a tape of bootlegs and b-sides. Inspired by Eddie Argos' description of his little brother who just discovered rock n roll, Amanda and I explored the consequence of bootlegs and b-sides to music-lovers everywhere. We also played some great obscurities from The Arcade Fire, The Smiths and The Cure. Swoon.

For me, at least, b-sides provide some kind of insight into a band's fundamental approach to music. You know, it's the kind of music the band would produce if they knew their fans would accept almost any musical off-cut, just for obscurity's sake. In an ideal world, our favourite musicians would produce consistently great music, despite its a or b side status.. but as interesting as b-sides are, my lazy, smacked up, ridiculous musical heroes rarely match a-side quality to b-side quality. Except for The Cure's Halo. That song is sublime.

Amanda has different theories on this topic but I'll leave it to her to post a comment.. as for YOU, reader. I invite you to do the same.

Playlist for Monday 16th January
Moloko - The Time is Now
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Radio 4 - Beat Around the Bush
Out Hud - It's for You
Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around the Block
Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer
House of Love - Shine On
Editors - Bullets
Editors - You Are Fading
Art Brut - My Little Brother
Arcade Fire and David Bowie - Wake Up (live)
The Smiths - Some Girls are Bigger than Others (live)
The Cure - Halo
Daft Punk - Digital Love
Nine Inch Nails - Only
Q and not U - Tag Tag
Editors - Fingers in the Factories
Elbow - Forget Myself
The Infadels - Jagger 67
Pet Shop Boys and David Bowie - Hallo Spaceboy
Ian Brown - Fear

Coming up on Counterfeit: Next week, we talk to James from California's Dirty Little Secret. Also, look out for our interview with Big Day Out headliners, the Kings of Leon and our chat with ever-dreamy Carlos Barat, formally of The Libertines. Enough? Enough! x

Counterfeit Week 3

2006-01-11T18:59:00.000+11:00

The keys were in the ignition and we were ready to start this show long before we hopped into the studio on Monday night...

It was the interview that kick started the collection of Counterfeit interviews for this grid on SYN way back in August last year; the somewhat awkward chat we had face to face with David Jones from UK band The Departure. Face-to-face interviews are always slightly more confronting than phoners; you can actually see me being really nervous. And rocking up sober on a weekday morning to the Punt Hill hotel on Flinders lane felt like miles away from the drunken talks at Ding Dong convincing David to have a chat with us post Departure gig at the Corner. We were fired up for the interview, absolutely stoked that we were talking to a British band signed to Parlophone. Unfortunately, David didn't really live up to all our expectations. Perhaps it was the hangover he was nursing, perhaps it was us being slightly condescending and not as tactful in our approach, but we didn't sense a great deal of passion coming from David, instead getting the obligatory answers and a sense of him retracting whenever he got excited about his band. Nonetheless, it was an experience to note, and one I hope you all got a lot out of on the show.

This week on the Counterfeit Mix Tape were songs that are perfect to drive to. It's summer and you do a lot of driving to friends houses to get drunk before going out to party, driving to gigs, to festivals, down the beach. It can be filled with romanticism or just plain rockin fun. So we opened with the rather appropriate Cars by Gary Numan and ended with a crash thanks to Vitalic's My Friend Dario. What do you like to drive to? Post a comment and share the goodness of the mix tape.

Thanks a lot to Michael who decided to put his voice to air this week, talking about the importance of supporting local independent music. We played an Eddy Current Suppression Ring track to spread the amazing talent of this up-coming band. He'll be posting an article soon about this very topic.

And thanks to all the listeners and sms's! We had great fun. Tune in next week to hear our interview with Editors Chris Urbanowicz and more mix tape fun!

Playlist for Monday 9th January
Beck - E-Pro
Broken Social Scene - Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)
The Brunettes - Cotton Candy
Air - Kelly, Watch the Stars
The Cure - Jumping Someone Else's Train
Stephen Malkmaus - Pencil Riot
The Strokes - Juicebox
The Departure - All Mapped Out
The Departure - Only Human
Television - See No Evil
The Kinks - Till the End of the Day
Death From Above 1979 - Blood on our Hands
Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Precious Rose
Arctic Monkeys - Red Light Indicated Doors are Locked and Secured
The Clash - Rudy Can't Fail
Gary Numan - Cars
The Smiths - There is a Light that Never Goes Out
Iggy Pop - The Passenger
The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down
Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again
Vitalic - My Friend Dario
The Departure - Be My Enemy
Death Cab For Cutie - Title and Resignation

Counterfeit Week 2

2006-01-09T04:20:00.000+11:00

So here we are..

Counterfeit this week featured a round up of our musical highlights of 2005. We celebrated the emergence of some great new bands with some equally great releases, as well as some of the most memorable shows we've seen to date. Each track of the evening represented a fantastic gig, a chance meeting, a drunken dance in the trashiest of indie clubs.. and an odd soundtrack to a great year. Here's to New Order in Hyde Park. Here's to talking to Carl Barat. Here's to musical soulmates, jesus.

Playlist for Monday 2nd January
Death Cab For Cutie - The New Year
Bloc Party - Staying Fat
The Futureheads - Hounds of Love
Le Tigre - TKO
The Dears - Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe
Bright Eyes - Lua
Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
Sons and Daughters - Broken Bones
Queen and David Bowie - Under Pressure
New Order - 60 Miles Per Hour
Art Brut - My Little Brother
Sigur Ros - Saeglopur
Interpol - Slow Hands
The Shins - Caring is Creepy
Sons and Daughters - Taste the Last Girl
Guster - So Long
Maximo Park - Going Missing
The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love
The Cloud Room - Hey Now Now
Tom Vek - I Aint Saying my Goodbyes
M83 - Don't Save us From the Flames
Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco
Ryan Adams - Let it Ride
The Cribs - You Were Always the One

The Counterfeit Mixed-Tape of the evening featured all matters of Love and Confusion. I do know that it is nice to construct a tape, describing the most euphoric, romantic sentiments. I know that although driving around with a lovelorn chap around Salford is all well and good but it's hardly realistic. In fact, it's fairly inaccessible when you live nowhere near Manchester. It's perhaps more interesting to make a tape that is more complicated and awkward. For instance, there is a variety of songs that tend to delve into something more sinister than a romantic car ride.

Take your pick of sinister emotions here:
- jealousy, choose The Beatles - Run For Your Life
- infidelity, Interpol - NARC
- temptation, Franz Ferdinand - Tell Her Tonight
- desperation, Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
- rejection, Brendan Benson - Metarie
- anything else, The Stills - Love & Death

Songs like these are rife. Negativity is rife. Complication is rife. What happened to the days where you could just listen to music and something could be as easy as two verses and a chorus? Is music becoming needlessly complicated? Is musical appreciation becoming needlessly complicated? Are relationships just stupid? Or maybe I should just stop with the rhetorical questions.

Next week's show will feature an interview with one of the biggest acts of 2005, The Departure, another Counterfeit mixed-tape for your walkmans and a few other surprises. See you, 10pm on Monday.

Interview with Sons & Daughters: Just Dance Me In

2006-01-05T10:22:00.000+11:00

During her band's recent Australian tour, bassist Ailidh Lennon from brooding Glaswegian band, Sons and Daughters took the time to talk to Counterfeit about the influence of blues and classic Americana, duelling vocals and recording their album, The Repulsion Box. Below is a transcript from the interview which aired on Counterfeit on January 2nd 2006.

Genuine kids with a guilty smile: (L-R) Scott, Ailidh, Adele, Dave.
Counterfeit: It's a great pleasure to be interviewing you!

Ailidh: Aw, thank you.

C: So how are you going?

A: I'm fine, I'm a wee bit spaced out still!

C: Aw, we hope you're feeling better. So how did you guys form and were you attracted to any particular types of music at the time that may have influenced your sound?

A: Well we formed quite a while ago really cause it took quite a long time to get started, if you know what I mean. Adele was in another band with David and she kind of wanted to start her own band so she spoke to Dave about it and he said he would drum. She came back home and the two of them started writing songs in my flat. We were at a show one night and Scott was kind of doing his own solo thing and we kind of asked him to join. We all sat about talking about it cause we were all friends and we all hung about together so it was a while til we had a proper practice. Then we started playing shows in Glasgow. I mean, we were all into kind of similar music but also quite diverse music between the four of us. At the time in Glasgow there wasn't very much happening cause it was at the end of all the post-rock stuff. We just wanted to be in a band that just had short songs?

C: Yeah, the press had said that you guys were perhaps a reaction to the whole post-rock movement?

A: Well, I suppose in a way it's true. We wanted to get back to having short, traditional songs and structures, so I suppose that's the opposite to what the whole post-rock thing was about.

C: Did growing up in Glasgow have any sort of cultural effect on the band?

A: I don't know, I guess in a way Glasgow's a great city for music and you're exposed to it from an early age. There's a lot of great touring bands that go there and there's a lot of great local music. There's a lot of dark music, but I suppose Glasgow can be quite a gothic type of place? It can be really dark in the winter and a lot of Scottish literature which me and Adele are into is also quite dark.

The Sound of the Band

Counterfeit: Listening to both your mini-LP, Love the Cup and now, The Repulsion Box, at certain times there seems to be a bit of a country tinge to your music especially with songs like Johnny Cash. I'm just wondering how this came about because it seems a bit far removed from what might have been happening in Scotland.

Ailidh: Well we're all really quite big fans of Smog, Palace and that kind of Americana stuff, but also we're kind of into American folk music as well. At the time we were also quite into Johnny Cash as well so I suppose that was an influence as well. It's hard to say because we were more slower and introverted at the start and we had the song. One day we just sped it up and added that scuffle kind of drum beat. We were just like, yeah this is what we want to sound like.

C: Well you play mandolin and bass in the group. What does a mandolin bring to an indie group, particularly with this blues influence?

A: Well the mandolin is usually quite a pretty instrument and when it's on it's own it sounds quite pretty.. but with the kind of music we play, I think it adds a bit of a sinister edge. We didn't intentionally start using a mandolin, like I never learnt to play a mandolin. I just got one for my birthday one year and I brought it in to practice one time and we started messing around with it. I guess we really liked the different range it brought us.

C: Is it harder to incorporate it into songs?

A: Yeah, in a way it is. Cause there's a traditional way of playing it that I never really learnt how to do so it's hard to play things on it that don't sound like an old country record! But I suppose that's also quite a good thing because you have to be more inventive?

C: Yeah, it really brings a unique element to the band. I also really like the duel vocals that Adele and Scott share on the record. I think it's effective, that contrast of a guy and a girl's voice. So how did that idea of having a guy and a girl's voice come about and do you think they share a good chemistry?

A: Well, yeah they definitely do. When it started, it was just going to be Adele singing and Scott would sing backing vocals but it just got more "equal" I suppose. I mean, Adele's always been interested in the male singer/songwriter that has female backing vocals and so she thought it would be quite interesting to reverse it. They just sing what they write but it's just been kind of a natural thing.. and a more interesting thing too.

C: Oh it definitely is. I really enjoy it, particularly in Taste the Last Girl, I think the track worked really well with Scott's vocals rolling in the background, during the chorus. *general clamor and agreement* Was it very hard to strike a balance between the two? Is there a general assumption that Adele is the main lead vocalist?

A: Well, that was the way at the start, because we all had to assume a role before we started rehersing. We just kind of sat about and talked about it for a long time before we started playing, so it would be the Adele would sing, I would play the bass, Scott would play the guitar and Dave would play drums. But as we developed as a band, everyone took on slightly different roles. We weren't sitting around, then, figuring out who was doing what, it just happened. Like when we're writing songs, if someone has a particular idea to do something, we just start doing it and so it's a pretty natural process.

C: So it's not a territorial thing! You don't have people fighting over the vocals - NO! It's MY vocal line! Get away!

A: Haha! No, it's very democratic.

Recording

Counterfeit: So did you approach the recording of your latest record, The Repulsion Box and your mini-LP, Love the Cup any differently?

Ailidh: Yeah, it was quite a bit different. I mean, with Love the Cup, we weren't signed or anything. We had got a grant from the Scottish Arts Council to record so we had really limited funds and really limited time and that was in a small studio near Glasgow. So we had like, four days to record and two days to mix it. So we set up everything as quickly as we possibly could and played through everything we could live - and that's why it's so short as well! But when we came to The Repulsion Box, we had more of a budget to spend so we had two weeks to record and maybe ten days to mix it. We actually went to Germany to record in a residential studio in the country and we got to have producers.. I mean, we approached in a similar way because we recorded it mostly live, but we had more time to spend and experiment with techniques and also time to write in the studio as well. It seemed like a total luxury in contrast. I know by a lot of people's standards, two weeks seems kind of short!

C: Yeah! Some bands take YEARS to record a record!

A: But for us it was a total luxury for us to have that sort of time to spend on it.

C: You said the album was recorded mostly live, do you prefer that live process as opposed to the whole digital thing now?

A: Well, a part of the reason that we decided to record the album mostly live was because we felt that Love the Cup was a bit of a restrained record and it didn't really represent how we were live. So we tried to make The Repulsion Box a truer representation of how we are live so that was the reason we tried to make it sound as live as possible.. but maybe it might be a good idea to approach our next record in a different way so we won't produce the same kind of sound. It really just suited what we wanted at the time. But it is good to be open and use proper analog desks and put on digital effects that make it sound like you're playing a big room!

C: Well me and Elle are quite a big fan of the whole analog process anyway! *giggles like nerds*

Performing Live

Counterfeit: Your live shows have been described as being quite intense and extremely energetic, how does the band feed off eachother on stage and produce such a sound?

Ailidh: I think Adele and Scott feed off eachother quite a lot, I've only just started to get a wee more animated on stage! *giggles* But Adele and Scott are really the focal points of the performance and they really interact quite well on stage and everything. I just generally look at Dave *we all laugh*

C: Is that hard? Because before you were talking about how all of you were quite introverted kind of people.

A: Well, at the start, kind of the first six months to a year that we were playing shows just around Glasgow, we were really quite new to it and quite nervous.. but I don't think we're really quite as introverted as people.

C: Well, you're playing Meredith soon, as I mentioned at the start so that brings the question, do prefer to play at festivals more that intimate pub gigs?

A: I think generally I would say no. I mean, there have been some festivals that have been great but it kind of really depends on the festival. Cause in the UK there's a lot of festivals that are just like carbon copies of eachother and they're just being corporate conveyor belts of bands, y'know? There's nothing particularly special about it. But we've played a lot of festivals in Europe and also Glastonbury in the UK which have been quite different sort of festivals with different surroundings. I can kind of imagine that Meredith would be much like that.

C: Ah, well it's out in the middle of the bush and it's in this natural sort of ampitheatre. The festival really prides itself on having very diverse acts so hopefully you'll enjoy it!

A: Well I've been looking at the website and it looks like it'll be one of the ones we'll really enjoy playing. We're really looking forward to it!

C: We hope so. Thanks for talking to us today!

A: Thank you!

Sons and Daughters - Dance Me In

Sons and Daughters - Johnny Cash

Rock band, fashion brand

2006-01-03T00:02:00.000+11:00

I've just discovered a an article from Melbourne's The Age on the tragic fashion trend that is the designer band shirt. The story is called Rock Band, Fashion Brand and predictably explains the horrible downfall of the iconic merchandise tshirt into supposed hot clothing item. The Ramones have now apparently sold more T-shirts than records.

An interesting excerpt:

Not so long ago, band T-shirts were only available at specialist music stores and exclusively worn by die-hard fans. Invariably, they came in black and a men’s size XL. Now, the band T-shirt has been reworked into tight little tees and tank tops that come in all colours: pink, yellow, white. Chartreuse.

Arturo Vega has been the Ramones’ creative director since the band formed, and he's now in charge of their licensing. Says Vega: "it’s unfortunate that the people buying the shirt don’t know the band. It’s sad for the Ramones.” Wouldn't want to tarnish their legacy of course - among items he’s licensed are pillowcases, shot glasses and shoes, which the band surely enthusiastically endorsed when they were together (and, mostly, alive.)

It's a sad situation all round when those who want what can only be described as a quick buck are willing to market a slice of portable, no-strings-attached nostalgia to people who don't know any better.

- Ryan

Counterfeit Week 1

2006-01-01T19:46:00.000+11:00

Well first week into Counterfeit on SYN and things went very smoothly indeed. I had an awesome time and it was great to be back in the studio, particularly with my musical soulmate, the lovely Elle. It was very refreshing to finally do a radio show with someone who shares the same taste and passion in music as I do. So get ready for another 7 weeks of this guys, we hope you all enjoyed it.

Apart from some really good quality tunes, me and Elle introduced what will become a weekly segment called 'mix tape'. We are encorporating our love of receiving and making mix tapes into the show by having a mix tape theme each week and playing a few songs under that theme which would be included if such a tape was made. This week was approriately themed the Christmas mix. You would be surprised how many indie bands get into the Christmas spirit. We played Sufjan Stevens 'Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance', Death Cab For Cutie's 'Christmas (baby please come home) and The Raveonettes 'Christmas Song'. Here's some links to Christmas mix tapes on various blogs and if you guys have any suggestions for future mix tape themes and song please don't hesitate to post!!

http://www.stereogum.com/archives/001047.html
http://www.stereogum.com/archives/002146.html
http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/2005/11/gorilla-vs-bears-holiday-mixtape.html
http://www.morecowbell.net/2004-12-07/have-yourself-a-merry-indie-christmas
http://theindieconnection.wordpress.com/2005/11/25/sufjan-stevens-hark-songs-for-christmas/

Tune in this Monday to hear our interview with Scottish band Sons and Daughters. Me and Elle spoke to Ailidh Lennon, the bass player for the band. We chatted about Meredith, the roots of the band and the recording of the latest record The Repulsion Box. The show will also be themed the best of 2005, month by month, so tune in and sms us your best of's.

Playlist Monday 26th December 2005:

The Strokes - Vision of Division
The Rakes - Terror (Extended mix)
Clap your Hands say Yeah - The SKin of my Yellow Country Teeth
The Libertines - Good Old Days
Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
Suede - Drowners
Cut Copy - Zap Zap
The Presets - Are you the one?
The Faint - Psycho Killer (live)
Depeche Mode - Here is the House
Sons and Daughters - Dance me In
Black Box Recorder - Kidnapping an Heiress
Les Savy Fav - Yawn, Yawn, Yawn
Sufjan Stevens - Come on! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance
Death Cab For Cutie - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song
Phoenix - If I Ever Feel better
Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa
Bloc Party - Helicopter Allen Breakneck mix)
Annie - Chewing Gum
The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers
Expatriote - The Spaces Between
The Smiths - Handsome Devil

Radio, my transmission.

2005-12-22T05:51:00.000+11:00

A few years ago, I was watching the Beatles Anthology with my brother. I remember a moment in the story where they were up to the Ballad of John and Yoko - just shortly after the pair embarked on their famous bed-in at the Amsterdam Hilton in 1969. I can't exactly imagine it would have been the most ideal honeymoon but you know, people do all kinds of heroic deeds in the name of bed/hair/world peace.

A few days later at a press conference in Vienna, John concealed himself and his new wife with a bedsheet and revealed a new philosophy called Bagism. Its application in society was rather redundant but needless to say it struck a chord with me. According to John and Yoko, if you had something to say, Bagism allowed you to communicate your message without unfair judgement. The theory was that prejudice could be eliminated by covering your physical features and attributes, whether it be the colour of your skin, the clothes you wore, your age or even the length of your hair. That idea (and the prospect of staying in bed for a week) has always appealed to me.. and it has become a fundamental basis of my love for radio.

As soon as I started my course at Latrobe Uni in March 2003, I started radio at SUB FM. I was thrilled at the prospect of actually broadcasting my thoughts about the music I love. I was equally startled at the irony that I could only suppress such feelings at school. In retrospect, I can't tell whether these judgemental girls feared difference or whether I feared judgement from different girls? Regardless. I shut my mouth and did what the others did.

Radio allowed me to be protected by my proverbial bedsheets and in truth, my insecurities could be washed away by the fact that I could communicate without any physical prejudice. But like any ideal, Bagism didn't work out the way it was meant to. Despite this creative freedom, I still had a frightened, unforgivingly unconfident on-air persona. Needless to say, I was, am and always will be haunted by the inability to describe the significance of "my" bands. Because occasionally, words are too patronising to describe love.

After nearly three years and eight radio shows, I'm fully prepared to present Counterfeit with Amanda this Monday night without any fear of unfair judgement. Although I will always the embrace the very fundamental ideal and intimacy of this medium, I will not shy away from the challenge of radio. I will not hide in my proverbial bedsheets.. that is, unless, of course, I'm having a bed-in.

The Decemberists - The Engine Driver
The Rakes - Terror (Extended Mix)
Depeche Mode - Barrel of a Gun (video)

So the penny drops...

2005-12-03T20:50:00.000+11:00

After going to a small up and coming indie night "Heads down thumbs up - Old soul music and twee indie songs", I began exploring some of the artists played and it suddenly dawned on me that Twee/ C86 and Indie Pop are all pretty much the same thing.

The penny had suddenly dropped. I now wonder how I never reached this conclusion prior to this moment of revelation that has spurred this post; it's one of those bizarre music truths taken as gospel and so happily accepted by everyone except me. I seem to have a brilliant ability to completly miss the brass tacks of musical classification despite writing about, thinking about and researching music everyday for the last 250-odd days since I started writing about music. Maybe it's because I don't actually read the interviews, spending more time flicking through the picture's in the magazines, not actually learning anything.

My musical naivity is a great example that popularised generic labels are good things for the casual music listener - they allow you to discover bands that would have past you by had common characteristic not been picked up, developed and used consistantly by music writers. It's obviously fruitless to try to describe a piece of music in writing but we can try our best. It's never going to be a flawless process but reading about music has allowed me to find out about and explore so many more bands than I'd have been able to if I was just downloading scores of mp3's so I try to do the same in my blog.

Writing about music may be like dancing about architecture but if you really loved a building and wanted to tell the world about it with the only form of communication at your disposal being a twist, loop and a swift Demi-plié that whats wrong with that?

Taking A Ride On The Indie Bandwagon

2005-11-16T23:00:00.002+11:00

Here's a revelation:

The ... who?

2005-11-15T21:18:00.000+11:00

According to the Washington Post (via the awesome Stereogum) the latest new music craze for kids is... old music. Yes, that's right - Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Who, Jethro Tull (ok, maybe not the last one.) But apparently it's all making a comeback and they have some sort of figures involving radio listenership and iTunes downloads to prove it.

I'm most likely one of the demographic the Post is talking about - my last two CD purchases were the following excellent albums:

One was made this year. The other is approaching its fortieth anniversary. Forty years! Think of the things that have happened in forty years. Why on earth would I buy a CD that has no relevance to my time and space at all?

The answer is pretty simple really - good music will always be good music.

Mix Tapes: Between Love and Ego

2005-11-11T16:57:00.000+11:00

The mix tape is an integral part of any music lover's culture. I perceive the making of a mix tape as an utterly romantic gesture, be it for your boyfriend or girlfriend, your best friend, male or female, music fan or non music fan. It doesn't have to be romantic in the same sense that you'd buy your partner a bunch of flowers to express your feelings to them, although this can certainly be the case, and quite often is. It's romantic in that you're openly and willingly giving someone a piece of you; the songs that are imprinted in your soul and have had a part in shaping you as a person. The mix tape can be a portal into your soul. And it resides between two things: love and ego.

I must point out that firstly, although its sort of implied when you make a mix tape, I did not actually come up with the essence of the love and ego idea. I stole it from an amazing book that I recently purchased for my special boy, called 'Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture' edited by Thurston Moore. It is absolutely incredible. Thurston basically collected a whole bunch of experiences of people he knows that are in some way culturally and/or musically relevant and has placed these experiences, pictures and photos of real mix tapes and mix tape tracklists in beautiful collages to make this book. I recommend purchasing it, and if you don't get it from Polyester books on Brunswick st soon you will be ordering it from America and will likely wait 2 months like I did.

So, one of the sections in this book is 'Love and Ego' and I think that that beautifully sums up the essence of the mix tape. I cannot remember the exact quote that is pulled from the introduction to this section but basically you make someone a mix tape for one of two reasons. Either 'I'm in love with you or I would like to pursue some sort of romantic interest with you so here's a whole bunch of songs that express how much I like you' or 'I have great taste in music. You should listen to this to make your music taste as good as mine'. Hence, the love or ego derivatives. Now, for those who have had the pleasure in making a mix tape, you can't really deny either of these. They can even be a combination of the two: 'I love you and I think you should love me and then we'll both have great taste in music!'

Now mix tapes were a thing of the 80s and early 90s and then computers and digital media took over. I think that the mix CD has pretty much claimed dominance over the mix tape now, which I think is a real shame. There is a real art to making a mix tape, and yeh you can still go through a lot of pain to get the track listing in the perfect order when you burn a CD but the mix tape has so many more elements to it. There's the whole process of making it in real time, sitting next to your cd or record player and pushing record and listening to the song as it gets transferred onto the reel of tape. Making sure the last song doesn't cut off half way through and if it does, needing to re-order the tracks. Making art work! something that I think has been lost with the mix CD. Where's the fun in watching a CD burn??

There's a thrill in making a mix to give to someone special, but there's also a thrill in receiving one. Thinking about the time and effort that the person has gone into making one for you. And if it's a new potential romantic interests, the possibilities and hidden messages within songs is endless! And even when they are your current romantic interest, it's just as good. What made me finally write this post is that my lovely boyfriend made me a mix and gave it to me before he went overseas to New York. And the song's on the mix are either related to us and have some sort of significance to us, or they are a message from him. The one that really gets my heart going is Yo La Tengo's 'Don't have to be so sad'. It's sort of hard not to when your missing him so much it hurts and you have a tape full of songs that reminds you of him. But the message is there, all the same.

Ultimately, music is something that should be shared. Its kinda hard not to share music with the people who are special to you. If you did it would be like supressing love.

http://www.artofthemix.org/index.asp

- amanda

Heavy Metal Memories

2005-10-26T03:15:00.000+10:00

Hard Rock. There's a genre that gets no respect. Not from people who don't wear leather pants and do that devil horn thing with their hands anyway. But what if I told you metal needn't be all about goat slaying and the ritual sacrifice of virgins? If I said that it provided what must be, with all apologies to Moscow by Genghis Khan, the greatest videoclip ever produced? You'd say I was crazy - and I probably am. On that note I present to you the epic that is Judas Priest's Breaking The Law

Security guard of major bank is asleep at his post.

Priest comes out of a porn shop. He may very well be up to something dodgy. Who are we kidding? He's a priest!

Suddenly Ian Fitzgerald, bank employee, sees something that troubles him. Is it Ronnie Biggs wielding a shotty and demanding all the cash in small unmarked notes?

Bollocks to that, it's Judas Priest and they've got electric guitars.

Hostages are forced, at Fender point, to listen to the band’s manifesto on why sometimes you have to break to law.

The vault is then located (via a giant door that says BANK), the plastic bars are ripped away by the rock behemoth that is Rob Halford and the gold records are liberated.

Yeah, just look at those bars go. This is sensational. Rob is the hardest man ever to come out of Sheffield.

Security guard wakes up and is so inspired by the raid that he rips out his wooden guitar and ROCKS OUT LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER.

Anyone can spend $10m on a video and not have it come anywhere near the quality of this. I’m calling for the return of plastic bars and wooden guitars to the music video of today. As an added bonus we present the song (alas not the video) in it’s entirety,

Download: Judas Priest - Breaking The Law

This song ranked #225 in the TSP 1000

Immerse your soul in love

2005-10-19T00:03:00.000+10:00

It's no secret I utterly adore Radiohead. There's a Radiohead sticker on the pickups of my guitar (an instrument I got into because of the Oxford lads) and the OK Computer poster takes pride of place on my wall.

Like any good fan, I've been known to frequent the occasional Radiohead site in search of meaning behind the songs. Perhaps the most interesting is the immaculate closer to The Bends album, Street Spirit (Fade Out.) The song that speaks of cracked eggs and dead birds and blue houses touching the petrified protagonist had an unusual birth. Below are the words of singer/songwriter Thom Yorke speaking candidly about the track, transcribed from a long-lost interview and once-hosted at the now-defunct Follow Me Around:

'Street Spirit' is our purest song, but I didn't write it... It wrote itself. We were just its messengers... Its biological catylysts. Its core is a complete mystery to me... and (pause) you know, I wouldn't ever try to write something that hopeless... All of our saddest songs have somewhere in them at least a glimmer of resolve... 'Street Spirit' has no resolve... It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end. It represents all tragic emotion that is so hurtful that the sound of that melody is its only definition. We all have a way of dealing with that song... It's called detachment. Especially me... I detach my emotional radar from that song, or I couldn't play it... I'd crack. I'd break down on stage... that's why its lyrics are just a bunch of mini-stories or visual images as opposed to a cohesive explanation of its meaning... I used images set to the music that I thought would convey the emotional entirety of the lyric and music working together... That's what's meant by 'all these things are one to swallow whole' (sic) ... I meant the emotional entirety, because I didn't have it in me to articulate the emotion... (pause) I'd crack.... Our fans are braver than I to let that song penetrate them, or maybe they don't realize what they're listening to.. They don't realize that 'Street Spirit' is about staring the fucking devil right in the eyes... and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he'll get the last laugh... and it's real... and true. The devil really will get the last laugh in all cases without exception, and if I let myself think about that to long, I'd crack. I can't believe we have fans that can deal emotionally with that song... That's why I'm convinced that they don't know what it's about. It's why we play it towards the end of our sets. It drains me, and it shakes me, and hurts like hell everytime I play it, looking out at thousands of people cheering and smiling, oblivious to the tragedy of it's meaning, like when you're going to have your dog put down and it's wagging it's tail on the way there. That's what they all look like, and it breaks my heart.

I wish that song hadn't picked us as its catalysts, and so I don't claim it. It asks too much. (very long pause). I didn't write that song.'

Deep, indeed. But is this Yorke being serious, or just acting facetious and wily as he often can be in interviews? If it is indeed a song that represents no light at the end of the tunnel, and mere darkness and hopelessness, it seems to be out of place on the album as a whole - an album that, whilst bleak at times, is ultimately fairly upbeat. Consider the case of title track The Bends, which Yorke has openly stated is a joke song and not meant to be taken seriously. The song features the line "I wish it was the Sixties/I wish I could be happy/I wish, I wish, I wish that something would happen" - a line Yorke discredits with the quote Do I you wish it was the Sixties? No! I don't wish it was the fucking Sixties - Levi's Jeans wish it was the Sixties - I certainly fucking don't".

Couple this with (Nice Dream), a song about a half-drunken dream Yorke experienced and wrote a song about. The opening lines are positive and (in admittedly a strange turn for Radiohead) happy, with Yorke crooning:

They love me like I was a brother
They protect me, listen to me
They dug me my very own garden
Gave me sunshine, made me happy

The second verse of the song is perhaps darker, with its imagery of an angel being unable to help Yorke for fear the sea would "electrocute us all." But maybe there isn't much to these words as what you'd think - the demo version of the track, which is floating around on the Interweb somewhere, has the second verse replaced with something much more in-line with the positivity of the song:

You cannot melt or unwrap me
I'm a sweet man made of chocolate
Your liquorice eyes will enrapt me
Will be creamy, soft and milky

The Bends is much too upbeat to finish with a song that is pure in darkness and so deeply depressing; so are Thom Yorke's words on it true, or just another in-joke victory on the blindly devouring musical press? Keep in mind, this is a man who wore shirts to interviews with the slogan 'Presse Nes Pas Avaler' - French for "Do not swallow the press" or literally do not believe what the press says, and has had high-profile spats with most of the top music magazines in the UK, including NME.

As is with most music, the only one who knows the true answer is probably the artist himself. A satisfying answer? Of course not. But that's part of the artform - the best music makes you bring something of yourself to it, rather than laying bare its visceral carcass for all to see.

Ryan

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (live at KRCW)
The Clientele - Since K Got Over Me

Hype killeth the fan

2005-10-11T22:13:00.000+10:00

I used to believe that your love of a band is largely dependent on your personal attachment to music. I suppose it has happened to anyone who has fell in love with a band. You hear a guitar riff, a lyric stings you, the drumming is so tight, you fall in love.. and there it is, just you and the music.

The story varies somewhat if a band is only just emerging from the ranks. At the beginning you do your best to promote the band as best you can. You make mixed tapes, lovingly brag about them to friends, crossing your fingers they'll finally make it down to Australia. You know they will be huge. You know if only people knew about them, they could think about them in the same way you do.

Although it is frustrating to a degree, there is occasionally a moment where you embrace the idea of a band being largely your own. It can be a personal entity. The band can look to their small mixed collective of fans. There would be a feeling of requited excitement when an extremely oblique reference is cited in the commercial music press. You are proud because they deserve it. You are proud because you found them "first".

Then something changes. Your band is everywhere, somehow. In supermarkets. Clothes stores. Their songs are played twice, sometimes three times when you go out. They become so common and unspecial. People know about them and your space is somehow invaded. You notice a change within the band too. A feeling of jaded complacency in their performance. A sense of arrogance in their interviews. An impression that they really couldn't give a damn anymore.

Is it not strange that such an affinity should change upon worldwide exposure? In the end, it's just you and the music, isn't it? Perhaps the love of a band extends far beyond what you listen to in your bedroom. It is the entire appeal of a band, it is their image. Their attitude and approach towards music and performance. It's difficult to ascertain why a band's appeal would be cheapened upon wider recognition. Maybe it's just ironic that the love for your band would ultimately be crushed by the masses of teens who claim to feel the same as you do.

Arctic Monkeys - From Ritz to Rubble
The Faint - Worked up So Sexual
The White Stripes - My Doorbell (videoclip)