Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Lyre Of Orpheus/Abattoir Blues

Nick Cave is quite prolific in terms of music in Australia in the contemporary era. He challenges the conventions, in Australia there is a dug-in deep musical scene, where if you don't abide by the norm, you are cast out as challenging things. Nick Cave has an attitude of not the norm. He is a prolific writer and written the music for several films including with Warren Ellis the score to plays like an adaption of Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis that I witnessed in Hobart many years ago. He has the odd great song, there are two on here; ''There She Goes, My Beautiful World'' and ''Nature Boy''. His recent endeavours like a tour of Israel certainly raised eyebrows.

Stephen Malkmus - Face The Truth

Stephen Malkmus was the integral songwriter of the band Pavement, probably famous- or infamous-for being slackers and not having a single recognisable song to their back catalogue. For a band like Blur for instance- they had ''Song 2''. But with Pavement, I am struggling to think of a one-hit single they had. There is ''Cut Your Hair'', but seriously, not many people know that song. They are infamous for being raucous and loud and the music that indie kids - warring with metal kids would listen to. But listen to a Stephen Malkmus album and it really grows on you. It is because Malkmus is a master songwriter.

Pavement - Brighten The Corners

Every lo-fi fan must have a set of the first Pavement album, Embryonic by the Flaming Lips and the entire 4AD Ariel Pink discography. John Maus would veer into the chillwave, but the guitar-based lo-fi are those albums. The chillwave sound is a bit mainstream for my liking, akin to the sounds of Washed Out and Neon Indian which is merging into mainstream. Guitar based lo-fi is those first albums. They are all classic albums that Pitchfork has given stellar reviews that prove highly influential in times to come.

Pavement - Terror Twilight

Pavement were existing in a world where it was dominated by rock bands obsessed with success. They were not grunge and they were not metal, they were lo-fi indie. Which proved incredibly influential not just in their time, but later in time. They were laying the style and approach for many bands to come, and it prove pivotal in the emergence of a lo-fi scene out of California headed by Ariel Pink. In lo-fi there is a sense of harking back to the past, and a sense of doing things how they were meant to be done, an antique style like the 70s, before MTV and in a way that was meritable and pure. Not overdone like the toxic music being released in the 90s.

Pavement - Wowee Zowee

This album showcases Pavement's range of different styles, not just the typical noisy punk sound, but incorporating other instruments, and would prove to be the way, Stephen Malkmus would veer into in his solo years. Pavement experimented with a range of different instruments. Malkmus would play lead guitar. They had a percussionist and a ''hype man'' like hip-hop. They were completely unique and unorthodox in their approach to music. They really appealed to outsiders and people who did not want to abide by the conventions of metal and grunge. Pavement were different. 

Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

The indie sound is not really a sound, it is a type of label. It rejects the mainstream in search of community and not the big faceless names in music that profit and just release music for profit. Pavement are probably the greatest band true to the sense of indie, where the Flaming Lips veered away to a major label, Pavement stood strong as being proudly indie. The question arises, ''why make music only for money? why not change the world with your music, not just make a profit.'' Music should not be about money and should be universally available to help people through tough times and unite people.

Pavement - Slanted And Enchanted

Pavement shook up the scene with this release way back in the nineties. A pioneering album which sounded like nothing else. It is reportedly known that they recorded it in a matter of days, and the bass was actually guitars. Great songs, innovative and unique sound, but lacking chart hits. The song ''Summer Babe'' appeared in the rock & roll magazine, Rolling Stone's best songs of all-time list. Stephen Malkmus has always been a darling of the critics, for that ability to match the humorous with the serious like a truly gifted writer. This is no mean feat, in a world that was dominated in the grunge sound, Pavement shone a light.