It’s that time again, Music Feeds-ers — it’s the end of the year, when the news cycle slows and we get to look back at the year that was with a little bit of nostalgia and some slight cringing. Without further ado, here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the music world’s 2015 escapades.
That Time Taylor Swift Was Banned From Triple J’s Hottest 100
Things got off to a dramatic start in January when triple j hit back against the Buzzfeed-driven #Tay4Hottest100 campaign by banning Taylor Swift’s track Shake It Off from the Hottest 100 of 2014, citing that “people just wanted to prod some ‘hipsters’ for the lulz”.
That Time Tonight Alive’s Jenna McDougall Saved A Fan From Being Choked By Security
Tony Abbott was still Australia’s fearless and onion-loving leader when Tonight Alive frontwoman Jenna McDougall managed to catch some attention (and our hearts) by defending a fan who was being choked by security at the Brisbane leg of Soundwave 2015. The fan apparently “just wanted a high five”.
So messed up, you’re the absolute best for sticking up for that guy! @jenalive11 pic.twitter.com/xrX1Knfc23
— kristynpvris (@kristynoliver_) February 28, 2015
That Time Future Music Festival Called It Quits
In April, Future Music Festival announced it would not be returning in the foreseeable future. It was a sad day for music fans and sellers of novelty rave gear, but there was nothing left to do except let Future become the past.
The Rise And Fall Of Tidal
Jay-Z and his wealthy muso mates pooled their dollars and launched Tidal, a streaming platform intended to compete with Spotify which didn’t pan out too well. Pretty much everyone wasn’t having a bar of their ‘support the artist and pay more’ pitch, with Spotify actually seeing a boost in subscriptions following Tidal’s launch. The Tidal spoofs came rolling in, and this one in particular caught our eyes.
#splendourinthemud
Barnaby Joyce threatened to kill Johnny Depp’s dogs as the year rolled on through May and June, until Splendour in The Grass arrived and got so rained out it set social media afire with many mud-scape insta-arts. It’s amazing the kind of behaviour mud will inspire in the average Aussie festival-goer.
That Time Azealia Banks Said Splendour Was “A Waste Of My Fucking Time”
While everyone else seemed to enjoy themselves despite at #splendourinthemud, Queen La-Beef-ah Azealia Banks wasn’t happy at all with the festival, blasting away wildly with her beef cannon, calling it “a waste of my fucking time” while also making time to call Aussie crowds “violent” and “belligerent”.
That Time 7 News Copped It After Calling Nangs A “Dangerous New” Festival Craze
In August, Channel 7 News got slammed for broadcasting a hilariously misinformed report calling “Nangs” a “dangerous new” craze, which set social media into work lampooning the network’s coverage.
That Time Shane Warne Unveiled A Painting Of Himself Smashing VB’s With Music Icons
Shit continued to get weirder when cricket legend Shane Warne treated art lovers to a peek at his private collection by unveiling a verrrrrrrry strange mural of himself with some of music’s biggest names. Featuring a topless Angelina Jolie in the foreground, not to mention Elvis and Bruce Springsteen, Warney is (of course) portrayed smashing VBs in the corner of the masterpiece.
That Time The World Got Its First Ned Flanders Themed Metal Band
The discovery of the first-ever Ned Flanders themed metal band, Okilly Dokilly, was a moment to behold, and it all came to a brilliant peak when footage surfaced of the band’s first-ever gig.
That Time Kanye West Announced He’ll Run For President
For some reason, 2015 saw Kanye West tell the world he’s going to run for US President. The news came at the end of a characteristically sprawling acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, and Yeezy soon received advice from President Obama and an actual response from the White House.
That Time Two Festival-Goers Were Captured Casually Rimming
Speaking of the US, two punters at TomorrowWorld festival who decided to get rimming at the event were snapped in a very NSFW photo. Despite the very wet conditions at the festival, something tells us these two didn’t mind.
When Eagles Of Death Metal Spoke After The Paris Attacks
Tragedy struck in November when terrorists attacked Paris’ Bataclan Theatre during an Eagles of Death Metal show, leaving dozens of people dead. The band later released a statement speaking out for the first time since their Paris gig, saying that “love overshadows evil”.
While the band is now home safe, we are horrified and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France. Our…
Posted by Eagles Of Death Metal on Wednesday, 18 November 2015
That Time The Original Wiggles Lineup Announced A Pub Show
Longtime Wiggles fans like us rejoiced at news that the original members of the band, seemingly called by a higher power (aka the music gods), announced they will be playing a one-off over-18s pub show in January, which is pretty soon. We better start practicing our Hot Potato dance moves.
That Time Soundwave Died
Music Feeds lost a dear old friend in December, with Soundwave 2016 being officially cancelled and “definitely” not returning in 2017.
Going down in a blaze of glory — not to mention quite a bit of debt — Soundwave came to an end after having been run on fumes for some time.
With promoter AJ Maddah owing millions to bands and the Australian Taxation Office, Soundwave’s fate was decided after some finger-pointing between Maddah and Soundwave’s ticketing company Eventopia over who was going to pay refunds, with the ticketing company eventually agreeing to refund ticket-holders.
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It’s been a crazy year in music, now bring on 2016.
