Sorry Julia Gillard – this one trumps our Paul Dempsey novelty item from last week:

Australian artist Stuart Hall has painted this beautiful portrait of Paul Dempsey and his acoustic 12 string for this year’s prestigious Archibald Prize.

Definitely one to see up close in the gallery! If selected as a finalist, the artwork will be on display at the Art Gallery of NSW from 16 Apr – 26 Jun 2011. Fingers crossed.

Easily my favourite thing on the internet today.

The Finn Brothers may have a global legacy, but every Aussie and Kiwi holds at least one Crowded House song dear to our Southern Cross branded hearts…

OK, all schmaltz aside, the Finn Brothers have concocted some of the most iconic and stunning tracks in living memory.

To honour the legendary Tim and Neil, some of the nation’s most diverse and favourite talents have pulled together to create He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn… and it’s freakin’ stunning. He Will Have His Way is the male sequel to 2005’s universally acclaimed She Will Have Her Way and features the likes of Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Dempsey, Chris Cheney, former members of Midnight Oil [as The Break] and Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele [as The Sleepy Jackson]. They are joined by more recent acts such as Boy & Bear, Art Vs Science, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Angus Stone, Dan Sultan, Oh Mercy, Artisan Guns and more… here’s the full tracklisting:

1.   I Feel Possessed – Oh Mercy
2.   Distant Sun – Chris Cheney
3.   Fall At Your Feet – Boy & Bear
4.   Four Seasons in One Day – Paul Kelly & Angus Stone
5.   She Got Body, She Got Soul – Glenn Richards
6.   Addicted – Paul Dempsey
7.   Message To My Girl – Jimmy Barnes
8.   I See Red – Art Vs Science
9.   I Got You – Philadelphia Grand Jury
10. Better Be Home Soon – The Sleepy Jackson
11. Private Universe – Artisan Guns
12. Not Even Close – Darren Hayes
13. Shark Attack – The Break with Dan Sultan
14. Poor Boy – Perry Keyes
15. Better Be Home Soon – Busby Marou
16. Kiss The Road To Rarotonga – Kody Nielson
17. Angels Heap – Perry Keyes [Bonus Track for iTunes]

You can read testimonials from each of the contributing artists on the He Will Have His Way facebook page.

And don’t you worry that there are two versions of Better Be Home Soon. In true Luke Steele fashion, The Sleepy Jackson’s version is pretty damn unique. In fact give all the tracks a whirl here!

We’re thinking this album is probably the Best. Christmas Gift. Ever. It’s available from iTunes, JB Hi-Fi, The In Song, and Sanity. Go, go, go!

We are very excited to announce that our favourite tall, dark, handsome gentleman Paul Dempsey, is releasing a brand new track, We’ll Never Work in this Town Again. A boisterous bar- room style country rock song penned on tour and recorded live in the studio with his touring band in the haze of post-tour blues.

The digital package also includes three live video tracks recorded live on the final show of the Burning Leaves Tour in front of a full house at Melbourne’s glorious Forum Theatre. It’s  available exclusively from iTunes TODAY!

The tracklisting is: 1. We’ll Never Work in this Town Again (audio) 2. Bats (live at the Forum Theatre video) 3. Fast Friends (live at the Forum Theatre video) 4. Have You Fallen Out of Love? (live at the Forum Theatre video) Coincidentally, Paul is no longer working in this town… he has moved to New York, but is making another fleeting visit back home to open for Powderfinger on their final tour, and play sold out solo shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

October Australian Tour Dates:

• Oct 3 – Mackay – Showgrounds (with Powderfinger)
• Oct 7 – Rockhampton – Showgrounds (with Powderfinger)
• Oct 8 – Melbourne – Corner Hotel
• Oct 10 – Sydney – Annandale Hotel
• Oct 12 – Canberra – University Of Canberra (with Powderfinger)
• Oct 13 – Albury – Albury Sportsground (with Powderfinger)
• Oct 15 – Bendigo – Showgrounds (with Powderfinger)
• Oct 16 – Ballarat – North Gardens (with Powderfinger)

Way back in 1998, during some Something For Kate downtime, Paul Dempsey pulled together a few friends and fellow musicians to work on a ’side solo project’ which became known as Scared Of Horses.

The subsequent album release, titled An Empty Flight, featured music written and played entirely by Dempsey, and was set to the lyrics and vocals of some pretty innovative musicians (including Heinz Reigler of Not From There; Jamie Hutchings of Bluebottle Kiss; Glenn Richards of Augie March; Stephanie Ashworth of Sandpit at that time, but who later joined Something For Kate). The album sold out it’s initial pressing pretty darn quickly, and it’s been almost impossible to get hold of ever since. Now, 12 years later, it’s available on iTunes… making my copy of the initial pressing much less valuable than it was last month…

Little known fact: Josh Pyke named one of his early bands after the album An Empty Flight.