Gotye Stays on Top of Singles Charts

Gotye has now achieved a massive eight consecutive weeks on top of the Aussie singles charts with his monster song “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The track, which features Kimbra on guest vocals, is now an impressive four times platinum. It’s also the only Aussie song to sit inside the top ten, or even the top twenty. I’m not sure what’s helped Gotye cut through in this chart which is generally dominated by international acts, but I’m impressed.

His album Making Mirrors has fallen a few spots to sit at number four, but with impressive debuts from Blink 192 and Tony Bennett, not to mention the staying power of the seemingly invincible Adele, this is still a fair effort. All that new chart action has also seen The Jezabels slip from number two to nine with their debut Prisoner.

Click below for all the action in this week’s ARIA top ten.
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Q & A with Myles Mayo

Things are on the up for Myles Mayo. After earning critical acclaim with his self titled debut album last year, he’s preparing to release a new EP and head out on the road with Skipping Girl Vinegar. I caught up with the Adelaide muso recently to chat about his latest release, the upcoming tour, and what makes Radelaide such fertile musical ground.

You’re just about to release a new EP Leave the Party. What can you tell me about it?
It’s got five tracks. Leave the Party is the second single from my debut album that I released earlier in the year and the track has been re-mixed by Australian producer Paul McKercher (You Am I, Eskimo Joe, Hoodoo Gurus, Augie March, The Cruel Sea, Pete Murray). Also on the EP are two brand new recordings and several other cuts from the album.

Once an artist releases a full-length album they don’t often go back to recording EPs. What attracted you to going back to that short recording form?
It is mainly a promotional tool EP/single because I’m doing some touring in Oct/Nov 2011 and we wanted to release something for this period.

You’re heading out on the road with Skipping Girl Vinegar to promote both the EP and the debut album you released last year. Are you looking forward to that?
Yes, very much looking forward to playing up the east coast again. The new band have been really enjoying the live shows over the past six months or so.

It looks to be a pretty cruisy tour, with weekend shows and lots of time in between. What do you plan on doing in your downtime?
With these sorts of weekend hop style tours we all come back home to our respective day jobs, study, families etc. and get on with slowly trudging through this existence.

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Meat Loaf Performs Train Wreck Medley at AFL Grand Final

The Cats might have taken home the crown, but just as many people are talking about Meat Loaf’s woeful performance at yesterday’s AFL grand final. As a league girl I missed it live, but I really shouldn’t have bothered with an internet search.

On paper it looked like a winner. Sports fans have always loved The Meat, and with a medley of his greatest hits all the fans could sing along. Sadly though, they probably sang better than the big man himself.

Frankly I couldn’t make it more than a few minutes through this video. The tuneless performance just made me sad, and hurt my ears. I actually predicted this kind of disappointment way back when his Aussie tour was announced in June, but I didn’t anticipate just how poor his vocals would be. You’ve got to wonder why he’d put himself out on stage when he just can’t deliver. He can’t be hurting for dollar, and while I understand the desire to be on stage doing what he loves the fans deserve better.

I’m thrilled that I decided to err on the side of caution and give his Guilty Pleasures tour a miss. I’d much rather keep the memories I have of his amazing ’94 tour, which still rates as one of my favourite shows, rather than have them tarnished by this sort of thing. To anyone who does have tickets to the upcoming shows, I’m sorry. I have a feeling you’re in for a long, excruciating night.

Kellie Clarkson and Eskimo Joe must be feeling pretty good right now. Whatever they bring out for the NRL grand final today, it’s going to run rings around this train wreck.