Hey DJ

As most of you have probably heard Silverchair (the band) recently broke up.  I know, I know.  I took it pretty hard, too.

Alright, so maybe none of you heard about that.  It wasn't very monumental; Silverchair's last album came out while I was still in college.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a newly released book the last time their tour brought them through Atlanta... They were known to take long hiatuses between albums sometimes even forming other bands for a season (I Can't Believe It's Not Rock, Tambalane, and The Dissociatives).  Even though it had been years since they were last in the studio, I always held out hope for a sixth album.  Alas, they moved on and so should I.

Oh, Leah, let not your heart be troubled.  Silverchair front man Daniel Johns is so full of music that there is no way he'd retire entirely.  I came across The Ship Song Project that features him and a number of other Aussie artists (and maybe a kiwi).



It gets pretty nice when that opera singer comes in.  This song is fun, but it wasn't enough to quell my sense of loss over Silverchair.

I was informed by my little sister that Daniel Johns composed the score for the film My Mind's Own Melody.  The movie may be no favorite of mine; from what I gather it is The Wizard of Oz meets an industrial dystopia a la George Orwell or Ayn Rand.  The hero works a thankless job and has a loveless marriage in a colorless world.  A work-related injury puts him into a coma.  When he awakes, he discovers a whole new world full of color and music.  It doesn't scream originality to me, but whatever.  It may not even be the greatest concept for creating an album~ didn't Pink Floyd do that or was it just an accident with Dark Side of the Moon?  I know with some certainty that the Mars Volta's De-Loused in the Comatorium centers on coma-induced visions.

I'm glad to say that just because the theme may be cliche, this original score is not.  The good folks at TEDtalks put this video together on the filmmaker's collaborative process with Daniel Johns.



Less jibber jabber about the story and more impromptu DJ compositions!  While most of the music is original, this Silverchair fan was delighted when he wove in melodies from their fourth album Diorama.  Daniel Johns is one of Rolling Stone's 25 Most Underrated Guitarists, and he may also be undervalued as a pianist and songwriter. 

I am a dork, but I just couldn't resist sharing.

Revelation

Normally I don't indulge in lots of naval gazing and self-examination in this blog.  However, there are occasions where the rules must be thrown out and the truth must be brought to light.  Today I'm talking about 1997.  This was a pivotal year in my life~it was the year that I made the switch from pop boy band fascination to crazy rock and roll.  I attended my first concert in Atlanta in 1997 (Veruca Salt & Bush at the Omni).  It was just the beginning of my love for rock shows and walls plastered with posters of my favorite bands.

Today I realized that I may have unconsciously transitioned due to something as petty as a crush.  Not a crush on any boy at school who persuaded me to drop Star94 for 99X.  No, I am ashamed of what I'm about to reveal.  I think my deeply rooted love for Silverchair (as most of my close friends and family know, they are and have been my favorite band for years), yes, my deeply rooted Silverchair love comes from....

TAYLOR HANSON!!!!! (cue dramatic music)

My sisters can attest that the summer of '97 was a harsh summer where each morning they were awoken to the vocal styling of Taylor, Isaac, and Zac Hanson.  Mmmbop sometimes repeated for thirty minutes straight at the break of a July dawn.  I was obsessed.  Behind the clothes in my closet I had fashioned a small shrine of photos and posters of Taylor and the brothers as I had collected them from Tigerbeat and other teeny bopper magazines.  

1997 is also the very same year (I believe) that I traded my Nutcracker cd for Frogstomp (Silverchair's first album).  That's right, I lacked so much class that I valued Daniel Johns musical skills higher than those of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  My big sister KHud capitalized on this exchange and I don't think she ever looked back.  For me it was the inception of a lifelong adherence to all things Silverchair.

How did I conclude that Hanson brought me to Silverchair?  Let me show to you some photos I've collected from the interweb (all of which are in black and white for an artistic effect).

Daniel Johns of Silverchair is the line leader

Taylor Hanson again

Daniel Johns looking crazy with his Chuck Taylors

Awesome fan art of a youthful Taylor Hanson (he looks like a lady)

I even found some fan art of Daniel Johns (btw~Miss Foo, it'd be awesome if you could give me your rendition of DJ... just saying.)

Even as adults they look the same!

I think the photos reveal how my girlish crush on Taylor Hanson opened the door for me to instantly find Daniel Johns cute when I was all of 13 years old.  If it hadn't been for Silverchair, I may still be crazy for those Hanson brothers and their sugary pop variety of hits.  Think of the ridicule I've escaped.  I can hear them now, "She's 26 and she still loves Hanson?  Are they even still a band anymore?"  And yes, they are.  Thankfully Silverchair is way more obscure to the U.S. audience so most people don't have the ability to say whether or not it is sad that I've been hooked on them for over a decade.  

Their similarity in appearance also probably explains why I was reduced to middle schooler fascination with Silverchair when I actually met them.  How shameful.  I'll leave you with several of my own pictures of Silverchair.  Promise the next entry will be about France.  This was just too big to not share...

 They are behind the girls...

I should have tried harder to get a better shot.

That's right!  His guitar is behind his head.  He can also play it with his teeth.

Farewell for now friends!