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Lists

Essential Happy reading of 2015

We’re on the cusp of switching over to the 2016 calendar. It’s been one heck of a year, and if you have your doubts this listicle here will alleviate such feelings. We know, it’s been a busy year. Between the leadership spills and planes disappearing into thin air, it’s understandable if you may have missed some essential Happy reading. That or you’re suffering from severe TL:DR. Make sure you haven’t missed out on the good bits with the essential Happy reading list for 2015

7 Aussie bands that should really have their own cartoon show

The idea for this was simple. After many hours of avoiding work watching Redtube YouTube videos the glorious trailer for Major Lazer appeared. Yes, that is in fact a cartoon show based on the name of dance act Major Lazer. It literally is a show about a Major with a laser for a hand, done in homage to shows like Thundercats and He-Man. So that got us thinking, what would a cartoon starring Aussie bands be like? The result is gold, especially when you have this image of Tame Impala in Scooby-Doo mode.

Tame Impala_ScoobyDoo style

The shameful nature of sexism in music and sexism the music industry

Sexism is a shameful, ugly thing. While it rears it’s head in almost all facets of life, the way it has run rampant through the music industry is nothing short of appalling. Can we stamp it out for good? Realistically no, but it’s a dialogue worth having to weed out the bullshit.

sexism in the music industry infographic

7 Kiwi bands you need in your life

While Happy is dedicated to finding and covering the best new Aussie music, every now and then we like to pop our head over the neighbour’s fence and see what’s cooking in their backyard. And damn, they have a stew going. The link above will take you to Part 1 of the list and you can find Part 2 here. While it’s hard to pick just the one band to represent here, at least once a week this song was hummed by someone in the office.

The monster that is mental illness and its place in the music industry

Mental illness is a true monster. The way it sinks its claws into a person and dismantles their life. It’s hard to see someone you care about go through such a thing, and it’s worse when you’re the one in the grips of it. There are many myths in the music business, and when it comes to mental health such things are convoluted. The idea of ‘suffering’ for art is a trivial one, so if you have a creative friend who seems depressed be sure to help them out.

depression in musicians

Femme Fatales who are killing it right now

This is a series of three features we did to celebrate the chicks who rock, and quite frankly do it a lot better than the boys. This is in all honesty a male dominated industry, so this is our way of showing off a few dozen ladies who kick some serious ass you may have overlooked. That’s Part 1 in the title, you can find Part 2 here and then saunter over here for Part 3.

Happy’s BIGSOUND scrapbook

BIGSOUND was a lot of fun. We gave one of our sub-editors the task of scrap-booking the event via Instagram, even though he’d never used it before. The result? Well, there was a lot of bands, sunny Brisbane weather and the start of ‘Chambord Tuesdays’. Man, the guys from Darts sure know how to drink.

#chambordtuesdays with @dartsmusic @bigsound @riceisnicerecords

A photo posted by Happy (@happymusicblog) on

7 Bands you love but should never Google

Our other sub editor (not the Insta noob) plays in Upskirts, so naturally his stories of pervy dudes accidentally finding his band online got our dirty minds working.

Band you shouldn't google

How Not To Be A Dickhead At A Gig

We all have that moment. You’re at a gig having a good time when some dickhead barges in and kills the vibe. There are many types of dickheads at gigs, and hopefully this info graphic will help you identify the 8 worst offenders. And who knows? Maybe you’ll realise you have a little dick in you too.

The Pervy dickhead

Dave Le’aupepe talks life, literature and Gang of Youths

We’ve interviewed a lot of folk over this past year. Just a couple of cold brews and a few 20 somethings chatting about the important things in life. While all of our interviews are pretty rad, it’s this one with Gang of Youths front man Dave Le’aupepe that stood out. Does it help that he’s the most friendly, genuine, lovely dude on the planet? A little bit.

happy essential reading