The Smith Street Band Give Us Their Playlist, and Some Goodies For You
Melbourne rockers The Smith Street Band are to play Beijing this week off the back of a bunch of sell out shows in Australia. There's a lot of buzz about them back in Australia at the moment, and their new record Sunshine and Technology looks set to fire them into the big time.
We had a chance to catch up with lead singer Will Wagner and put our regular set of "Playlist" questions to him.
Which five songs would make your all-time favourite playlist?
- "A" by Restorations
We just finished a tour of Australia with these guys and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten along with another band so well. They are five of the most loveable, funniest characters and an absolutely mind-blowing live band.
- "Short Term Memory Loss" by Astronautilis
I’ve never been a fan of hip-hop, but thanks to Will, I’m starting to come around. Astronautilis creates/plays an alterative style that is really thoughtful and lyrically driven, which I love.
- "Metaphysics" by Milhouse
Currently my favourite Australian band. Every single one of their songs is clever, catchy and hooky, which means I am a complete sucker for it. More people should know about Milhouse!
- "Red Sky" by A Death in the Family
Two nights ago this Melbourne band played their last ever show. They are basically our big brothers and have taught us everything – from how to play well, to how to party, and just how to be a real band. RIP ADITF.
- "Living in Colour" by Frightened Rabbit
When I get stuck on a band I usually listen to them over and over and over for months until eventually I am sick of the songs and can’t stand them anymore. Frightened Rabbit have been that band for probably the last six months and I’m still not sick of them yet!
What would be your dream cover of a song?
This is always changing depending on what I’m into at the time. In terms of The Smith Street Band, we’re about to do a 7” including a cover of one of our favourite Australian bands. We’ve also talked about doing live covers of either a Built to Spill or a Desaparecidos song, which would be killer!
What is your favourite music video?
This was not an easy decision, but I’m going to say the video for "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters. Michel Gondry (who directed it) is a creative genius and has done a mountain of inspiring and kooky clips. There’s so much cool, weird stuff that happens in all the dream sequences in this video – like when the double bed becomes a drum kit! Awesome!
What record are you most embarrassed about having on your iPod?
Fitzy (our bass player) generally gives me sh*t for listening to too much soft, "emo" music – like Ryan Adams, for example. I’m not really embarrassed about that though. I love Ryan Adams!
What is your favourite TV theme tune?
The show Weeds has a really cool intro tune. It’s an old song written by Malvina Reynolds called "Little Boxes," but throughout the seasons they’ve had a bunch of different bands put their own spin on it. It’s super interesting to hear the unique ways it gets interpreted. Our friends, Bomb the Music Industry just did a version of it that sounds amazing!
Which character from a song would you most like to meet?
I absolutely love the Hold Steady. Craig Finn’s storytelling and extensive amount of referencing and interweaving of characters is beautiful. I’d love to meet Holly or Charlemagne, the two main characters in a lot of their songs.
Which artist would you most like to go for a drink with?
I’d love to go for a drink with Paul Kelly. He is a musician I’ve listened to for the majority of my life (thanks to my parents) and one of the reasons I love music and songwriting as much as I do. He has led somewhat of a checkered life and would definitely be an interesting man to have a conversation with.
What song would you want to be played at your funeral?
I don’t really have an answer for this one. I never have. Tastes in music changes so much, that being able to play only one (or a few) songs to commemorate your entire life seems a little unbalanced. I would probably let whoever is closest to me choose a song or have a gig and get all my favourite bands to play!
If you were a boxer, what would be your entrance music?
“The Champ” by Ghostface Killah. True story – We genuinely wanted this to be the song we came on stage to on our recent album launch tour, but never got around to actually making it happen. We should do it next time we tour!
The Smith Street Band have kindly given us some goodies to give away. We have a pair of tickets, a signed CD and a signed t-shirt to give to one lucky winner. To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer this question: What was the name of The Smith Street Band's first album? Email your answer to paulryding@thebeijinger.com by midday tomorrow (Tuesday Oct 2), and we'll let the winner know shortly after.
Good luck.
