Tom Hespe, Xavier Naughton, Jai Pyne and Ivan Lisyak are Sydney band, The Paper Scissors. They play rock music, taking particular notes from funk, hip hop production, Bowie, and Talking Heads. They sometimes pay homage to folk stylings, country music and Film Soundtracks, dabbling in gigabytes worth of music.
Broken Social Scene / 7/4 (shoreline)
This tune blows me away every time. Broken Social Scene really personify an amazing mix of artfulness and pop genius, being able to do a tune in an obscure time signature (7/4) complete with hooks and a beat that perfectly soundtracks highway driving. Killer! The way Kevin Drew and guest Feist sing together is beautiful — you can tell they were singing it at maximum lung volume with a tenacity not found in many vocalists.
Aphex Twin / 4
This is so ominous and playful, and Richard D James combines so many layers of lush melodic keyboards. It’s as if he gets inside the keyboards and gives the machines soul. When I was about 18 or so I was introduced to Aphex Twin, and he was a great bridge for a kid from Byron Bay who played guitar and didn’t really know much about electronic music. I love how he makes the melodies screech so high-pitched and just bearable, but yet they are so timeless.
Gillian Welch / Revelator
Miss Ohio used to be my favourite Welch song, but The Paper Scissors guitarist Tom reintroduced me to The Revelator album and particularly this, the title track, when we played it on Rage (ABC TV music program). The film clip is just Welch and her partner David Rawlings in the studio, all black and white, and the song is so beautiful, it makes me wanna cry. And, in fact, I think I have a few times listening to it (I am a sensitive rocker). Just something about the way Rawlings’ guitar plays under the melody and the way he and Welch harmonise together is so pure, playing with the lyrics full of pain and regret. The guitar playing is so tasteful, too. I generally have this weird cultural cringe about being a guitarist, passed down from years of big haired shredding, and guys like this make me feel better about playing the axe.
Animal Collective / Fireworks
Usually, being a nerdy songwriting kinda guy, it is hard to listen to pieces of music as a whole. You break it down into individual parts and techniques. But this tune bypasses that part of my brain somehow. Animal Collective, along with a few other bands, are really at the forefront of music at the moment. They make smart music without being smart asses. Smart, yet it is primal and sublime. I listened to this over and over again at the end of last year when I was in Indonesia. It was such a great anachronism, listening to this digital, weird Western music in such a hectic and different place, crazy unknown smells, mangy dogs and motor bikes. And it all went with my headspace at the time.
Sly And The Family Stone / Family Affair
Sly was such an amazing character, with all the stories of angel dust and locking himself in the studio, having one of the first bands with a mix of Anglo and African American members, and the way he came from producing psychedelic bands in San Francisco. His music was patchy as hell, going from drugged up nonsense jams to songs like this, Family Affair, that are so funky and tuneful, with such a soulful hook. It is one of the smoothest and stone-dest vocal deliveries ever. You can really sense the time and place, you can picture Sly leant over the mic, all fucked up and tired. It even sounds like he’s got a cold if you listen hard. And Larry Graham is the best bass player ever.
TV On The Radio / Staring At The Sun
These guys, like Animal Collective, as I said before, are part of the new avant-garde (for want of a better term) that really keeps me going. This song is so good, it is such a great mix of digital, dance based sounds, and then the patent mix of Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone’s lyrics and unison vocals. I really like the way that the beat never actually kicks in. It gives it a timeless, ballad like vibe that adds to the paranoic, claustrophobic atmosphere. The version on Young Liars EP is better, too. It has a longer vocal intro. The film clip is beautiful.
Fleetwood Mac / Dreams
I have only gotten into ‘The Mac’ in the last few years. They are kind of considered a guilty pleasure by many, and some people who were obviously tortured by commercial radio in the 70s and 80s cringe when I praise them. I just can’t go past their songwriting — such pure hits, so obvious yet crafted. I love this tune. Admittedly the lyrics are a bit naff: ‘And here I go again, I see the crystal visions’, anyone? But the vocal delivery and the harmonies are pretty amazing. And their production is actually quite interesting. Mick Fleetwood’s drums are rammed up the front of the mix, and there are bongos in there, too, and the vocals are really rich, such great textures, that keep building subtly. This is Cat Power’s version of the song.
Arcade Fire / Wake Up
Huge! They started their show with this song when I saw them last year, and it was massive. Everyone jumped up and there was so much energy in the room, it was palpable. They have such an amazing tenacity on stage. They commit to every single thing they do, all eight of them. As much as I loved The Strokes and all the rock revival that happened in the early 2000s, it was so nice when these guys came along. They made it ok, and not just ok, but cool, to be diverse and to not just be a guitar band. You could use strings and acoustic guitars and glockenspiels! It is just a massive song, it’s like Phil Spector producing an indie tune. And the ending is so great, the way it goes all Motown and double time is fantastic.
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