Aztec music

R.I.P. AZTEC MUSIC

What a great reissue label with fabulous packaging and liner notes on each release. I'd never heard a lot of those records. I'd heard tracks by Buffalo, Kahvas Jute, Spectrum, Tamam Shud, Madder Lake etc. from the fantastic Golden Miles Comp on Raven Records.

But it took Aztec to reissue the full LPs. It made it cheap to hear Coloured Balls (I wasn't gonna fork out $100s of dollars for these 2nd hand). Buffalo's 2nd and 3rd LPs are particular faves Volcanic Rock and Only Want You For Your Body. I couldn't believe that every 2nd suburban household didn't have copies of these.

Buffalo: The original hipsters.

The cultural cringe is still in full effect in Australia. Aztec helped redress the balance a little. The X and Died Pretty reissues were great. Great stuff from the 60s as well, The Masters Apprentices and The Twilights. The 70s was their thing though and I guess the biggest revelations for me were the reissues of Tamam Shud's Goolutionites and The Real People and Kahvas Jute's Wide Open. Clinton Walker in The Next Thing pretty much wrote off everything Australia produced including AC/DC until punk arrived, how wrong he was! (didn't he end up writing a book about Bon Scott?! Fuckin twat). I was amazed at these 2 incredibly unique rock statements from early 70s Sydney, Australia. So it's a shame that Aztec has died. I thought I still had much to learn from them.


Gold

apocalyptic gold

feedtime - feedtime (1985)

GLARING OMISSIONS PART I

I don't know where to start with these guys, but this has to be one of the great unheralded classics in the history of Australian Rock ( the only time I've come across them being discussed is by Americans). I've been thinking how the hell am I going to describe this record and do it justice?  So it's been weeks since I was originally going to include it. Suffice to say I don't think I've come up with much apart from 'This is a truly fuckn' unique record!'  They could be influenced by X (the great Australian band) or Wire, but I don't know for sure.  So they were a 3 piece from Sydney in the Eighties and this record was their first LP.  feedtime's hypnotic harsh minimal approach could perhaps be considered post-punk but maybe not. I see them more on the outside of everything. By the sounds of stories I've heard they might have been. There is definitely something menacingly about feedtime's music and it could be one of the greatest drivin'/bikin' records ever made, along with Snapper's records, Loop's Fade Out or ZZ Top in their prime. Whereas Loop were hairily over the top psychedelia, feedtime were a tight monolithic machine of a band with tinges of psych and blues (bottleneck on the guitar). Sometimes their music reaches such machine-like states I wonder whether it's still music at all.  I can't not think of Chuck Berry when I hear the lyrical dexterity of a track like Fastbuck: "I got a Pontiac, gasoline, grab the cash, split the scene."  They also had that serious/funny thing goin' on too. This is an unrivalled original of an LP.  Let the good times roll!

RE: Grr........

* I used to rate Midnight Oil highly. It was to such an extent that it was a battle between 10,9,8... and The Birthday Party's Prayers On Fire for my favourite Australian album of all time.  Ever since Peter Garrett joined the Labour party and become quite a shite politician I've lost all my respect for the man.  He just seems to be a Muppet. This makes me wonder 'Was he also a Muppet in Midnight Oil?'  Anyway I can't bring myself to listen to those albums from the 80s I loved so much back in the day.  Should activists become politicians or would they be more effective remaining an agitator/lobbyist ? What does he actually stand for? Hero to Villain! Stll love the sleeves though.

Shoulda' been in the book part 2

Ron Peno & Mick Medew

* I didn't realise the connection at the time of writing the previous post.  I knew both Screaming Tribesmen and Died Pretty had origins in Brisbane.  I did not know that Ron Peno co-wrote Igloo.  You learn something everyday.  So Igloo was recorded in 1982.  What a tune! Anyway it's all a little bit confusing but I'll try and explain the connections.  Ron Peno (lead singer of Died Pretty) was in a band called The Hellcats circa '77 whose drummer was Mark Kingsmall (later of Hoodoo Gurus fame).  The Hellcats would sometimes support Radio Birdman in their heyday in Sydney.  Ron then turned up in a band in Brisbane circa'79 called The 31st who included Mick Medew (later of Screaming Tribesmen) on guitar.  This is when the two wrote Igloo and A Stand Alone.  Before Peno left they played their last couple of gigs under the name The Died Pretty circa early '81.  Peno left they became The Screaming Tribesmen.

There was another band in Brisbane called The End who contained Brett Myers (future Died Pretty guitarist/songwriter).  apparently Ron loved em and used to say you need a frontman ie. Ron Peno. Myers and Peno became friends.  To cut a convoluted story short The End broke up in Sydney.  Myers started a collaboration with keyboardist/music journo Frank Brunetti (future Died Pretty keyboardist) doing Suicide-esqe tunes they eventually became a band called Final Solution with Peno out front.  Ron then revived the name Died Pretty and the rest is history.  Clear enough?

Anyway the early singles, eps and first 2 lps Free Dirt and Lost are quintessential 80s Sydney rock.  When Brunetti left they were never quite the same in my opinion.  The convoluted prehistory of the band is explained in more detail in the liner notes of the Aztec Music deluxe reissue of Free Dirt (which pretty much contains everything they did from 84-86 ie. pure fuckn' gold!).

Shoulda' been in the book part 1

This is beginning in my series of albums that should have been in the top 100 Australian albums book published a couple of years ago.  As stated above pure fuckn' gold.  Mars Needs Guitars by The Hoodoo Gurus was included over this ?  That record was so disappointing after Stoneage Romeos, one of the greatest debut albums of all time.  I remember thinking at the time 'a coupla great tunes doth not maketh a good follow up album!'  Don't get me wrong it's ok but...... 



Errr....couldn't resist

Everybody Moves

Died Pretty

Classic!

Invasion/Australia Day

Happy Invasion Day.

Igloo

Screaming Tribesmen

Legendary.
When I first heard leaked demos of nevermind on the radio I thought fuck this reminds of that old Australian band.  That being The Screaming Tribesmen.

Also Legendary.

Died Pretty

Next to nothing

Alert! This one is an actual performance and a cookin' one at that!

Both tracks from when Sydney used to rock!

Just one more 60s Aussie classic, you say.

The Elois

By My Side

That's it for the 60s Aussie classics, coz none of 'em have bloody clips!

Anyway this is a bewdy!
Rock on Maryborough!

big ups to the Bondi possie!

ALMOST WITH YOU - THE CHURCH

ALONE WITH YOU-THE SUNNYBOYS

Both of these songs became staples on 3MA in the early Eighties, thank God!

Sometimes regional radio had it's charms!
Like when they played 'This Charming Man'
for my friend's birthday on 3MA.
The Smiths
Hearing that at 8 in the morning was fuckn' priceless!

best song ever

The Church

Bel-Air

According to my computer this was my most played song of 2011.  This really is the best ever (along with about 40 other Church tunes) song.   Thirty years later it still sounds grouse!