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I'm sure most of us have either held or been to a "yay my parents are in Europe, let's get trashed"  type of party. Yes, they have been wildly fun and all the more naughty, but hey, at least cop cars haven't been smashed as a result of our crazy antics! Above is ACA's story on the kid who was too 'scene' to put a shirt on or take off his 'famous' sunglasses on air. He was publicly attempting to apologise to 'who -really -knows -who'  for copping a $20 000 fine for acting like a total tool. Not only is this an absolute scream, it's actually really really embarrassing. So fella's if you want to plan a great open house party, humiliate yourself on national television and be grounded for the rest of your life, take advice from this kid; he is clearly the hottest thing around...... NOT.

A good friend of mine (who's musically taste I trust implicitly) has thrust upon me a band that he reckons will become my new favourite in the '08. The Portland, Oregon origins of Glass Candy kind of betray their music -  which I will describe to you as weird ass, swoony Euro- Disco by way of The Knife, Indeep and Lucky-Star era Madonna. Glass Candy are signed to music label Italians do it better who, going from the other acts on their roster, appear to specialise in this kind of mind-f**k electronica.  And while I'm no authority on this particular genre (or any dance genre for that matter) club favourites Simian Mobile Disco are apparently all about it – citing Italians do it better, and Glass Candy in particular, as a major inspiration behind their new work. The fashion world has also caught on (always a good barometer for a musical trend  - Nu-Wave/ anything produced by Pete Doherty anyone?) with Chloe using GC single "Broadway Girl' to open their most recent runway show. So maybe the music of Glass Candy will become the soundtrack of 2008? You can always determine that for yourself when they tour here with CSS in March. Are they my favourite band yet? Well, they're growing on me.

                                    GUARDIANS AGAINST HORROR - see fig 1, above.

As one of those ‘people’ who, instead of dirtying fingers in the job section will go straight to the horoscopes and pray the new moon will usher in a promising new career while I sit on my arse - Yes I would rather rely on the mystic waxings of ancient practice than face hard facts and reliable sources of faceless advertisements - I was dumfounded when no horoscope section was to be found!! I could hear my exes’ harsh Virgoean but fashionably monochrome voice in my ear: “What do you expect, Tiffany? It’s the Guardian.” But I thought they were left..? “Yes, but not that kind of left…”

Oh. So…facing the reality of the hunt, here’s what I thought triumphed:

Apply your intelligence: work with MI6!
Exciting opportunities in Medical Communications.
Hyperion Product Analyst.
Online Journalist wanted (promising…) To work at The Daily Mirror and The Sun.

Right. So back to those national horoscopes then…

Hey guys just wanting to give you all a heads up for a new program on the SBS called Skins. It’s from the same people who made Shameless and Dirty Tricks so it has plenty of that sly humor, as well as some brilliant young actors. It follows the lives of a group of friends attending a government school in Bristol, England, and their experiences with sex, drugs, drinking, partying, unattainable and unrequited love, music, rebellion, sabotage, reckless behavior, freedom, and paralyzing fear. Each episode focuses on one character in particular, all of which will simultaneously make you laugh, and break your heart. To say it is an accurate depiction on youth today may be a slight exaggeration, but it’s certainly more realistic and thought provoking then the poor-little-rich-kids so often depicted in today’s teen dramas. By juxtaposing the ‘daily struggle’ of drug dealers, eating disorders, half-wit parents and strange nipples, to the reckless abandonment of all inhibitions at their decadent parties, the show encapsulates adolescent life; it’s no party, but it’s certainly what we live for. The second season is about to kick off in the UK, but in Australia the first season is just starting up 10:00pm SBS Monday nights. Get onto it!

When you first hear of the band, The Wombats you might quite rightly think of some Australian kids band, but no, this band couldn't get anymore English if they tried.

The Wombats are a three-piece set from Liverpool, who are dominating the airwaves with their song, Let's Dance to Joy Division (slightly outdated however, their newest song is  Moving to New York). Their accents are clearly defined in the songs, and the guitar riifs will have you tapping along even if you're not normally a 'tapper-alonger.' One newspaper desribed them as the next Artic Monkeys if that gives you an idea of what they sound like!

However, reviewers have claimed that stardom beckons for these 'mighty marsupials', so get into them quick before everyone else does and 13-year-old teeny-boppers get too attached!

Soooo, in case you haven’t already heard, the enigmatic and amazing cat power (a.k.a the object of my major girl-crush) is touring Australia in March. OMG. This will be Chan Marshall’s first national tour since 2003 and the very first time she has brought her full-time band, Dirty Delta Blues, with her (the band named after it’s member's musical lineage: Dirty Three drummer Jim White, Greg Foreman of Delta 72 and Blues Explosion guitarist; Judah Bauer). Having put a well-publicised battle with alcohol and depression behind her - and found herself a glove-like band arrangement - Miss Marshall is said to be connecting with her audience better than she ever has (with none of the mid-set walkouts that fans had witnessed on previous tours). Cat Power has also become quite the fashion plate recently; with Unkle Karl announcing her as the face of the new Chanel campaign and inviting her to perform during the label’s fall runway show (Well known as a music fan, Mr Lagerfeld apparently modelled the show’s hair and make-up on that of another female performer: Amy Winehouse). But anyway bla bla bla, the point is: CAT POWER is coming to AUSTRALIA. So get in there when tix appear on the 21st of January.

So, as 2007 ran to a close I was lucky enough to attend a string of amazing free-wheeling Black Lips shows here in Melbourne. Those guys rocked my world. Big-ups Atlanta! Anyway, it was while hanging at the legendary Tote for their penultimate show when their bass player Jared pointed rather drunkingly to a poster and said, "See that band there Josh? They are the reason we exist. You HAVE to go see them". And see them I did. How could I not?!

Last night, amongst one of the most hardened rock scene crowds I've ever seen - think hoary beards, long unkempt hair, leather vests, sound engineers and psychedelic flashbacks - Pierced Arrows ,  a three-piece featuring the husband and wife duo from rock institutions Dead Moon, killed it. Toddy, the female vocalist/bassist, looked like she had lived life the hard way, though her smile of pure enjoyment cut through that tough countenance. Sounding and acting like the consumate rock goddess - think Patti Smith, Deborah Harry and Joan Jett rolled into one firey ball of zeal - she was more than ably backed up by a thumping giant on the drums and her partner, Fred Cole - a Grateful Dead-meets-Slayer-meets-Johnny Cash vox/guitarist - who churned out non stop swamp-blues pearlers.

At any moment these originators sounded like The Pogues, Bad Religion, The Stooges, MC5. Man, you name it, they had it covered. These guys are the real deal.

Thanks for the tip, Jared!