'And we don't care about the young folks, talkin' bout the young style/and we don't care about the old folks, talkin' 'bout the old Swedish group Peter, Bjorn and John highlighted the year, Young Folks. It was irresistible, and the sentiment was relevant, because 2006 will be remembered as the year the kids reclaimed the music.
online networking site MySpace, video sharing website YouTube, and other music-sharing sites and blogs.
By placing their music and videos directly in the net, artists middleman.
Middle-aged executives in pin-stripped suits, fast-talking lyrics and catchy tunes. Fresh young artists such as Lily Allen, the Arctic Monkeys and Sandi Thom were the heroes, and they visited our shores.
in the past 15 years," sassy 23-year-old Allen (pictured right) being fed by the music-hype machine."
When it came to the best gigs of the year, young guys playing old music won out over the old guys playing young music.
This writer's gig of the year was the band TV on the Radio, at the Hi Fi Bar.
It was akin to a gospel soul review. The Brooklyn r'n'b, '60s harmony-driven pop, doo-wop, a capella, house music, dub and free jazz, but they manage to repackage it as a singular, urgent and startling fresh sound.
Meanwhile, it was thrilling to finally catch Detroit proto-punk transcendental experience we'd hoped for.
Playing a set comprised in the late '60s, pumped up on cheap liquor and nervous energy erupting on the streets of many US cities. They rejoiced at playing spends most of the year kicking back in Florida.
On the other hand, Radio Birdman's first album in two decades, Birdman's sound has never been particularly youthful.
And then there's the Rolling Stones, who despite their ages, didn't sound or look ridiculous because they have always mimicked old bluesmen.
snapped up to see the biggest names in music - the Stones, Coldplay, U2, Kylie, Robbie Williams, Elton Joel, Billy Joel and Pearl Jam.
Southern Stand.
Alas, closer inspection revealed it was a stuntman. the ceremonies, but local hero Paul Kelly provided one of the greatest moments of the year playing his song Leaps and Bounds.
Gen X-ers, meanwhile, were taken back to the '80s with the Countdown Spectacular.
another eclectic line-up with Buddy Guy, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Los Lobos leading the way, and New Orleans soul diva Festival. Dynamite vocalist Lisa Kekaula brought her band the Bellrays to Australia for the first time, and Jimmy Cliff played a cultural festival.
In another free concert at the bowl, some of Australia's most popular groups joined for the Make Poverty History concert.
A cameo from U2 with Pearl Jam stole the show.
EG's 21st Birthday Bash raised $12,000 for the Australian rallied behind Pete Wells, Ian Rilen and Robbie Watts, who all died this year.
bar, while hundreds were stranded out the front.
But organisers summer shows.
was only announced on the site the day before. But MySpace then got a bit too clever for its own good with the secret Sandi Thom show, Prahran Chapel off Chapel, where the likes of Wolfmother, Dallas Crane, Jet, Augie March and Noel Gallagher provided near-religious experiences in the converted church.
Festivals continued to sell out. Next year, St Jerome's Laneway Festival will take place twice in Melbourne. Meanwhile, the Meredith Music Festival organisers will start a spin-off festival, Golden Plains, in March.
Organisers of the East Coast Blues and Nepean at Easter, but the new V festival will bypass Melbourne and only be staged in Sydney and the Gold Coast.
But there's plenty to keep us busy. Dallas Crane and Airbourne summer in the On the Beach tour, and V headliners the Pixies and Gnarls Barkley will visit in late March.
And the big guns just keep on coming, with Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, the Pretenders, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Wilco and Mark Lanegan all touring before Easter. But the Sydney Festival already has dibs on the gig of 2007, with performed outside of his native New York City. The Sydney Festival make a trip to the harbour city, so come on Melbourne Festival, lift your game!
1. TV on the Radio at the Hi Fi Bar 2. The Rolling Stones at Rod Laver Arena 3.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at the East Coast Blues and Roots 4. Pearl Jam and Kings of Leon at Rod Laver Arena 5. Buddy Guy at the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival 6.
The Bellrays and Radio Birdman at the Corner Hotel 7. Iggy Pop and the Stooges at the Big Day Out 8. Clutch at the Corner Hotel 9.
U2 and KanyeWest at the Telstra Dome 10.
Keywords: Hi Fi, Fi Bar, East Coast Blues, Coast Blues, East Coast, Hi Fi Bar, Pearl Jam, Rod Laver Arena, Dap Kings, Laver Arena
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