Space Debris Theme

The Mrs just wrote the Space Debris Theme
I can't figure out how to put it up.
This is the cover though it's 1minute 10 seconds
of vistas from the stars.
Errr...does anyone know how to put something from your i-tunes onto a blog?

Lists.......

Ok I was gettin a Sunday burger and chips with the Mrs today and there in the magazine racks for your perusal was another fuckin' list. This time it was The Rolling Stone top 50 alternative records of the 90s and I'm pretty sure it was you know the Australian version. What kind of Australian version has 3 Australian records in its top 50??? What does alternative mean and who gives a crap?! Anyway I've got list fatigue suffice to say no Rowland S, Dave G, Nick C, Spiderbait, The Moles, The Church, The Chills, The 3Ds, Kim Salmon etc.....I've got list fatigue and can't waste any more energy on complaining that twits run magazines and fuck knows who buys them! Even bigger twits I suspect. You am I turned up of course they obviously like chugging! Anyway my burger was fantastic mustard and pickles with like home made chips with a touch of salt and rosemary. Yum! Well worth it. The Mrs had a lovely satay & coriander burger, apparently v nice. Will be making return visit for sure. I'll bring my own reading materials though next time, I don't need to get angry/bored at Sunday lunch.

DISCLAIMER:
Not actual burger that I ate but v similar looking

Rolling Stone Australia what a fucking joke!

London Retromania!

The Arctic Monkeys at the Olympics doin' one of their own songs which was about 10 years old. Then there was the singer's look kinda Teddyboy/Beatles in Hamburg and why didn't they get Paul McCartney to play bass on their version of The Beatles Come Together? The Beatles Hamburg look though was long gone by the time the Beatles recorded Come Together, so The Monkeys were fucking with the temporality of things. Weird. Most recent song was a Dizzee Rascal track from 2009 and it was actually him singing it. There was some horrible thing with strange choreography set to British music through the 60s to now well 2009. They did a weird mash up with like The Who, Stones, Sex Pistols?, The Kinks, Bowie, Fuckn Blur, The Jam, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Eurithmics?, Soul II Soul, Prodigy, Underworld, Sugababes, Adele, New Order all just records then Dizzee  actually came out and sang live with an old track Bonkers. Does London have anything new to offer? Is the future over? The present doesn't even exist!! Oh and there was Mr Bean.???? Is it still 2009 in London?

Blur

Tip for young players see picture below. Alex James ???????!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Mature Themes Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

So I think they have or are going to release Baby as the first single. Disappointingly it's not Tina Turner on backing vocal but an impersonator. I liked not knowing and having that fantasy of Tina and Ariel gettin down and dirty in some seedy studio in LA.  Baby is a fuckn great song and may even get airplay. It's a cover apparently. Anyway I was listening to the album again and thought 'What else could be a single?' Only In My Dreams has already been a free download. The catchiest song on the record and really should be the next single in the perfect world would be Symphony of The Nymph. That is a classic pop song but I just can't see it gettin commercial airplay with mentions of lesbians, nymphomaniacs, colonoscopies  and Ariel referring to himself as a lesbian, a MILF or a Nymph or whatever...... We live in a sad world if this cannot be a hit! But you never know Lou's Walk On The Wild Side was a hit. Katy Perry can kiss a girl and we liked it. Fingers crossed!

Just another normal night in with Ariel

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Here's the only track off the new LP that I can find on the youtubes, it reminds me a little of The Go-Betweens well instrumentally anyway because nobody sings like Ariel does. Just listening to the album again and is it Tina Turner on Baby? I'm thinking now these tracks could've been recorded anywhere between The Doldrums and Before Today. It's more upfront in it's new waviness ie. not swathed in so much hiss or noise but also not as overtly Hi-Fi or reverby as Before Today.

*What I meant by it not being his In Utero (Nirvana's follow up to Nevermind) is that he wasn't trying to go back to street cred/noncommercial roots due to a loss of nerve ala Cobain Stylee. You know second guessing himself and all that and being torn between mainstream and indie culture. I don't think Before Today sold that many units for Ariel to be having such an artistic/existential dilemma of this kind. It was probably good in the end that it wasn't his Nevermind (Before Today that is) now.

*And what I meant by it not being Ariel's Dirty (SYs 2nd major label LP) Sonic Youth's follow up to Goo their first  LP for a major label. On Dirty is where Sonic Youth went off with budgets and production and everything. They went OTT and it was a brilliant move but a hard one to come back from. I think at the time time Thurston was calling it their Aerosmith LP. They had the opportunity to make a massive budget album so they just said why the fuck not?! Ariel going way more Hi-Fi would have been good too or ending up with something like a Tusk (Fleetwood Mac's follow up to the multi-platinum Rumours) which was great but weird and well Mr Pink already ticks those boxes.

*I had this whole theory a couple of years ago now that Before Today was his Nevermind. But instead of him pilfering from ten years of the whole of the American underground you know Flipper, Husker Du, Sonic Youth, Wipers, Mission of Burma, Black Flag, Scratch Acid, Big Black, Dinosaur Jnr, Meat Puppets, UK Post Punk and Metal, that Ariel Just pilfered from his own 10 years (at least) of underground activities as he really was the only happening thing in the US in the 00s bar a couple of misc. artists. I really thought that's what Before Today was his very own Nevermind. You know a cleaned up radio friendly version of the past 10 years for the masses to consume in vast quantities. Then when he was on Jimmy Fallon I thought yeah he's gonna do it! It was weird after like 8 or 9 records that all of a sudden someone was willing to throw money at him. He was nearly forgotten then all these acolytes turned up, swarms of them, and putting out good records as well (just before the signing/recording of Before Today). I had all these other parallels that I can't remember now something about gender issues Rape Me/Menopause Man similarities, the effeminate, being a female identified male heterosexual........... was the gist of it. So maybe it was happening in reverse-now there's going to be ten years of other groups underground activities inspired by A.Pink (we'd already be in our 4th or 5th year anyhow) I don't know how many units he shifted of his last LP. I suppose he got halfway......well probably not even that far. You know what they say in showbiz 'better to be lukewarm than hot.' He's always been hot with me but you know what I mean?

There were even image parallels. That's Ariel not Kurt!

*When I said his other classic 8 I meant from The Doldrums onwards including Oddities Sodomies Vol 1. & The Holy Shit EP. Haunted Graffiti 1:Underground is good but it's not in the same league as the rest.

Night Of The Wolverine - Dave Graney & The Coral Snakes

GLARING OMISSIONS IV

Mr Graney was going to be Glaring Omission #V and a certain Sydney via Canberra band was supposed to be #IV anyway whatever. I just had to double check The Age's Top 50 Australian albums list because I cannot believe this record and/or some of his others are not included. This is the LP I'm most surprised didn't make it into either list. You Know feedtime and The Primitive Calculators are not that commercial so they weren't surprises just overlooked gems. Less is More by fucking Even gets a guernsey in The Age 50 over this? In that freakin' book Baby fuckin Animals get an entry over this iconic Melbourne via Mt Gambier, Adelaide, London etc. singer/songwriter and his team of crack musicians. Maybe Dave was right that he was the invisible rock singer hiding in full view that everyone just took him for granted. I mean this guy was King of Pop, won ARIAs and shit and uh oh... he had a great fucking personality. This is Australia Bland Please!

The Moodists
Couldn't find pic from
the book with Mick Turner

Robert ford on stage look

So I was a country boy (boy was I country) and I must have been in about year 8 or 9 when I discovered the school library and they had some Rock books, you know, like the encyclopedia of rock with Jagger on the cover etc. There were a couple of Aussie ones as well and the one I flogged (no security buzzers in those days) was The Next Thing: Contemporary Australian Rock by C.Walker. It became my ozrock bible and I still have it to this day, school stamps throughout, contacted and with a Dewey no. 780 (was that Dewey for ozrock) WAL. Anyway it was this photo of the band The Moodists that just stayed with me. They looked so normal maybe even a bit daggy, this was the 80s the time of Real Life and Pseudo Echo and at the other end of the spectrum punky/goth shit. Yeah they were like dressed down way before grunge. This book was from 1984. I mean Mick Turner in this photo in the book was wearing the same clothes I was wearing. Dave was wearing something quite unique though.  Anyway I don't think I heard the band until they'd broken up. I have this tape, can't recall where it came from possibly a friend or a friend of a friend or an op shop I dunno. It's a Sony HF90 containing 3 Moodists classics Engine Shudder, Moodists & Thirsty's Calling. I'm listening to it right now and it's in fine condition. I prefer it to the CD compilation which came out in the 00s, things in the right place know what I mean? The Moodists were good at kinda building momentum from their  minimal repetitions that tended to swirl into some kind of intensity. Sometimes they had pop songs though didn't they? Influenced by the Velvets, The Stooges, The Birthday Party, PIL and maybe even Flipper. Some tunes are similar to other artists at the time Like The Gun Club, Dream Syndicate and maybe even The Triffids at their roughest.

Then it was this film clip on Rage (Australian all Night Music show), in around 1990, Robert Ford on Stage where Dave had a twirly mo and a beard. He looked like something out of Deadwood. This was very very strange at the time. Now walking through Northcote can be a bit like the set of Deadwood. I was showing my friends and my little sister the clip saying 'how fuckin great is this song?!' People couldn't get past the image, you know, they didn't look like the Stone Roses. I still love that song. By the time I was living in Melbourne in 1991 he was back from London I think and sometimes I could go and see him for free. Wasn't this guy a legend? I was seeing him for free on a week night at The Espy. Also up in the old piano bar at the Prince Of Wales, I loved that place. By 92 there were some records finally floating around and he was gettin played on the radio finally. He was really finally becoming a Melbourne cult thing. Everyone loved him.

The cover I originally had.

I guess what happened next was a little unexpected. In 1993 he had a top 40 hit with You're Just Too Hip Baby a beautifully soft and funky Doors influenced tune. Then the fabulous LP Night of The Wolverine was unleashed onto the public. JJJ had the single in their end of year top 100 and he was nominated for best alternative release at the ARIAs for the album. The LP is fuckn great from start to finish. Tracks like Mogambo, I Held The Cool Breeze, 3 Dead Passengers in A Stolen 2nd Ford, Maggie Cassidy, You Need To Suffer, I Remember You etc are all classics. Not one dud on the whole record! His songwriting was peaking and the band, man they were cookin. Beer, Scotch, death, cows, movie stars, country, city, Beat poets, cars, loneliness, dwellings, drunkenness, Grace Kelly, Jazz in 1950s Paris, Ava Gardner, Dope, Football, Serge Gainsbourg, Clarke Gable, outlaws and even the Beatles, it was all here and much more. Clare Moore on percussion, vocals and drums, Rod Hayward on guitar, Robin Cassinader on keys and other stuff and Andrew Picouleau on bass. Tex Perkins guesting on the centrepiece of the album Night of the Wolverine 2 which was in 3 parts and was 8 and a half minutes of pure pop heaven. This was a group recorded at an absolute peak of their powers. It's hard to desrcribe the music an almost Euro/Hotel Lobby Band/AOR/MOR feel with some kinda acoustic Australiana/Hollywood/Beatnik vibe played by the best band in the country who you felt could do anything and possibly would. It had an air of timeless sophistication and it was addictive as hell. That record's been played hundreds of times by me and I love it more each time I hear it. The melodies, the words, the band, the backing vocals, the arrangements......so cool!

I guess he also introduced me to some cultural icons like Serge Gainsbourg and now one of my favourite actors Warren Oates. After reading his terrific book 1001 Australian Nights I thought I'll have to dig out those CDs My Life On The Plains, Night Of the Wolverine, Soft & Sexy Sound but they were gone (too many share houses, robberies etc.). So he is one of the few artists I have bought their same record twice (rare company indeed only Beefheart, My Bloody Valentine and Roxy Music are in this category). Still can't find the first couple of records anywhere though. I'm not an E bay type of human yet. Other Graney records also could have made it here and certainly would be in my Aussie 100 list like The Soft & Sexy Sound, Hashish, Knock Yourself Out, We Wuz Curious etc. I am also diggin on the new one You've been On My Mind!

The cover of my 2nd copy.

   *I used a Dave Graney tongue ie. 'I was a country boy (boy was I country)'

 **There was a Coral Snakes tongue throughout the entire post actually.
***Interview with Clare more here at messandnoise

So long Blogs...

Two more blogs have disappeared without trace Know Your Conjurer which was a bewdy and Stolen Lynx which was pretty self explanatory. Gone! Is it the FBI or somebody else spoiling the fun? I think perhaps an Internet era is starting to end well I guess it started earlier this year when they nabbed the Megaupload guy in his bunker in the Antipodes. What ever happened with him anyway?

Bow Ties/Fashion Retromania

They were never comin back ever and hello every tool under 25 & actually over (hello host of The voice) has got one. Another clear example of the last thing you would have expected to be in fashion and then bang it  happens! People should hire me as a some kind of  consultant!

Stereeolab/Ariel Pink

I just noticed on the blogosphere some group claiming Stereolab to be a big influence on their new LP wow was I ahead of my time by 10 seconds or what? Well I didn't mean it. I'm not sure of the move here with Ariel, this new LP could have been recorded anywhere between House Arrest & Worn Copy really. It's neither his In Utero nor his Dirty. There are no coordinates with Mr Pink and who needs em. I'm loving this great new LP as much as the other great 8. Particularly Nostradamus & Me, Schnitzel Boogie, Symphony of The Nymph and Farewell American Primitive er......and the rest.

Ariel Pink/Gary War

Just scored these two it's like fucking Christmas! Let's hope it's a good Christmas. Very Excitement!

Gary War's new LP! I loved his previous one and this years

collaboration as Human Teenager. Cant wait to hear this!

Jared's Lot is its title

Mature Themes is the most anticipated LP in living memory, probably since Before Today (for me anyhow). 3/4 of the way through my first listen it sounds very good. Perhaps not as Hi-Fi as Before Today and on some tracks his vocals are quite upfront. Can he do it? Can he top the best LP of 2010s?.....er.....that being the one he released before this one. I've gotta get up early but now I'm too excited. How old am I? Is that Tina Turner guesting on the last track Baby? I think he Ariel and his Haunted Graffiti have done it again.

Stereolab

Just been gettin reacquainted with Stereolab quite obsessively. At the moment the period of 1992 - 1996. What a run they had going. Space Age Bachelor Pad music, Refried Ectoplasm, Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements, Mars Audiac Quintet, Emperor Tomato Ketchup etc. Nothing to say that hasn't already been said by the groop themselves really. John Cage Bubblegum, French Disko, Nihilist Assault Group,Tomorrow is Already Here, Metronomic Underground, Avant Garde MOR, Analogue Rock, Tone Burst, Exploding Head Movie, International Colouring Contest, Farfisa etc. They made reviewers redundant. Pop perfection. I wasn't sure I would still dig. Me dig! Me dig more than ever, I do believe!

The long version of this still astounds me to this day 18
years or so later. A Mind blowing Peak!

It all started withe the reading of that Pulp book by Owen Hatherley. I went back to The Smiths, Sex Pistols, Roxy Music (first 3 LPs) and then onto at one time contemporaries to Pulp- Stereolab. In the early 90s they were using a similar sonic palette and funny archaic instruments which Pulp started to use less of later in the 90s which was kind of a shame. I mean they were still good and all but imagine if they'd gone more arcane and retro futuristic. Moot point really just a thought to entertain you know how it is? When I first heard, well I saw their video clip on Rage, Stereolab I thought man they Sound a bit like NZs Snapper who I knew were into Suicide, maybe Neu and The Velvets obviously but I thought that maybe for Stereolab they may have been inadvertent influences, know what I mean. I guess heaps of groups had that whole Velvets/Stooges/Roxy/ Kraut/Hawkwind/Suicide axis of influences at the time. Anyway they were much more than that. That was just one facet of a multifaceted band. I love that artwork too, the only others in the league of artwork being the equally fab Broadcast and the Ghostbox label. I think they are all in someway connected anyway, the Ghostbox guys were originally cover designers I'm pretty sure. It's been a surprise rediscovery.

Life On Earth

Finally got my hands on this and quite timely too as I'll be seeing the great man Sir David Attenborough in person next month doing a show in Melbourne called A Life On Earth. I scored the book as well last year, with the price still on it from 1979 8 Pounds 95, which is ace. Diggin' the tunes on this fantastic soundtrack thanks Mr Trunk and Edward Williams. Very cool! V excited about the show too.

Beards A reprise

Early Joy Division early beard

The Original beard king even before I got into Dennis Wilson was of course the legendary Peter Hook. Jim Morrison, The Beatles etc. all had them during trend times as did Dennis but it was Peter Hook in the coolest band of the late 70s and then another cool one throughout the 80s who stuck with it in the non trend times. It did stick out like a sore thumb. Of course now it seems normal. I think though in recent times he's even been shaving. He just seemed to not fit. He shoulda been drivin a truck or something. My brother and I used to find it hilarious. I dunno if we appreciated his contrariness or his out of time naffness. Anyway in tribute to the great man we made a fantastic collage of about 20 photographs all with beard in different phases of growth. It really was quite foreign particularly to have facial hair in the post-punk/indie/dance scenes. Clean shaven was the go and really only went indie in the 00s and has now gone corp/fashionista/sportsman/knob etc. In the late 70s & 80s it only belonged to science and geography teachers. A hipster wouldn't have been caught dead with a hair on his chinny chin chin! I wish I still had that collage, it used to take pride and place in our flat. Hooky Monster Respect!

This is his classic beard and hair look for most of the 80s in New Order.
Not that dissimilar to Dennis Wilson.

Transmission
Joy Division
Best bearded bassline ever!

Yardbirds & Husker Du

OK I've just realised Eric Clapton played on some of The Yardbirds Having A Rave Up With The Yardbirds that came in at 353 (RS 500 list) and was some kind of American compilation. Anyway I dig The Yardbirds a lot. Funnily enough it was on one of their greatest tracks that he got angry and eventually ended up quitting. He hated For Your Love (like it's only one of the finest tunes from the 60s) so much he would only play on the middle 8 (whatever that means). Then along came Jeff Beck to replace him for a string of top tunes.

For Your Love

The Yardbirds

Worth watching this ridiculous video....pretty funny!

* In that Rolling Stone 500 the only Husker Du entry was New Day Rising at 495 just scrapping in. Funny really for a band that pretty much influenced a whole generation/genre. They had other classics too Flip Your Wig & Zen Arcade for starters. RS staff what the fuck? No I'd rather listen to a Jackson Brown album thanks!?????????????ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Us influential? What are you talkin' about?

Lou Reed Walk on the Wild Side

Lou Reed

Walk On The Wild Side

Well how could you go past this iconic bassline with a little bit extra thrown in on the jam. Lou's group are fuckn cookin' right here (not Velvets as stated). That's Robert Quine on guitar dunno the other two but they're also awesome. Live in 82, rude form!

A Tribe Called Quest
Can I kick It

Then it was sampled here to great affect! Tribe kickin it to Lou in the goal square!

The Original LP version. Gotta give Herbie Flowers his due. He played two basslines on it, one double bass the other electric so he could get paid twice or so the legend goes. I still haven't read the Wire bass issue, there could be an article on him for all I know. Anyway who cares this has been an FM staple since it came out and with good reason. It's probably where I first heard about givin head. Double the bass pleasure!

The Last Top 10

OK one more from the Rolling Stone 500 then I promise that's it.

• Remain In Light - Talking Heads (126)
• Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys (156)
• Loveless - My Bloody Valentine (219)
• Something Else - The Kinks (288)
• Rain Dogs - Tom Waits
• Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix (54)
• Off The Wall - Michael Jackson (68)
• Beggar's Banquet - The Rolling Stones (57)
• Pink Flag - Wire (410)
• Nuggets - Various Artists (196)

Another Top Top Ten. This one seems a bit odd. I think I just wouldn't wan't a mixtape made from it. All those records are all fucking great though!

The Shite 10/Ear Poo

I enjoyed doin the better top 10s from the Rolling Stone list I thought I might as well do the shite 10 and fuck me I had to rake through some shtincas and there are probably many more but I've been lucky enough to avoid hearing their Ear Poo. No Particular Order and I know some are gonna be obvious but there's a reason for that.

• The Bends - Radiohead
• So - Peter Gabriel
• Ten - Pearl Jam
• London Calling - The Clash
• Rush of Blood to The Head - Coldplay
• Dookie - Green Day
• Tracey Chapman - Tracey Chapman
• Blue - Joni Mitchell
• Pearl - Janis Joplin
• Any LP by Eric Clapton

There you go imagine having to sit through that! If you do by any chance make sure you're wearing some kind of pastel coloured, hopefully light blue, jumper in tribute to Eric Clapton! Was he fuckin with me?

Another Top 10

I loved doing the different top 10 for the 500 best albums list so

 I thought i'd do another one in no particular order.

• For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music
• Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart
• Forever Changes  - Love
• Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
• Autobahn - Kraftwerk
• Entertainment - Gang of Four
• White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground
• The Stooges - The Stooges
• Surfer Rosa - The Pixies
• The Doors -The Doors

Why can't this be the top 10? This is actually a good game to play, I was going for a white vibe on this but ofcourse Love's Arthur Lee was African American. But c'mon Love are such a white band. My wife only realised the other day (and we've been together for 14 years)  that he was not white. She didn't beleive me until I got out a book and showed her a photo of him sporting a short afro. Anywaay what a great top 10 that is! 10 of my all time favorite records.

Something to make you angry

Oh fuck no! There's a new Wes Anderson film out. Maybe I should stand outside the cinema where it's playing and confront the turds attending the film and ask them what his contribution to cinema is? You think this shit is Quirky? Funny? Interesting? You Like Sofia Coppola as well don't you. Fuck me did you see her in Godfather 3? Oh right you weren't born then. By the way those shoes are they ironic or are you seriously wearing them?


Is this hipster bashing? I hope so! Have to say I loved Hal Harley films when I was impressionable in my teens & early twenties. I wonder if I'd like him today? You think it's all cool, meaningful, different and fun. Then later realise it's bullshit (anti)marketed at you when you are able to accept this shite ie. anyone under 30. If you're over 30 you're probably still living with mummy so we'll let you off the hook there.

Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums

The Last truly Great rock band if not the greatest.
Nirvana wish.

Fuck me Rolling Stone have put out a Best 500 albums magazine and geez I'm gonna boil over & end up in the Loony Bin. I've just skimmed through it in a hurry and it's the sane old jive. I thought 'wait I'm gonna spend $10 on something I'm gonna hate, no I will not'. Now thinking that would have been worth it just to write about. God I think I've still got 6 records to go in my Glaring Omissions (on Australian Rock) series at least. So The fucking Clash make top 10 but where are The Smiths, somewhere way down the back. Nevermind is better than Doolittle yeah sure. I even believe they had The Bends and OK Computer above Loveless??? That's pretty funny!  The Clash over the Sex Pistols, I didn't realise Americans were so hilarious. Hotel California over The greatest LP of all time Love's Forever Changes. A Moby Grape LP over The Byrds at their absolute peak on Younger Than Yesterday. Highway 61 Revisited I like but you know what Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation is way fuckin better than that. Pavement's Fall tribute LP Slanted & Enchanted but no Fall albums. Nine Inch Nails but no Skinny Puppy haha... These yanks need to loosen up. Sly's There's a Riot goin on at 99, what about at 9.

Like RadioFuckhead are anywhere near as good as this!

It is quite a skewed list when you get further down. The Velvet Underground's Loaded LP comes in way higher than the two more superior records White Light/White Heat and The Velvet Underground (or 3rd). Who knew Eric Clapton had so many projects and that Americans (well RS writers anyway) loved every single one of them. Tracey Chapman's there, but seriously who's listened to that LP in like 20 years. I am coming from an Australian perspective so maybe there's some cultural thing I'm missing. Anyway who really likes Van Morrison or Randy Newman? Oasis made it in somehow but other great British 80s into 90s bands missed out. No Happy Mondays, Pulp, Spiritualised or Stereolab here. Then there were the fab America 90s psych/pop bands like Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips who don't appear. The 2 strangest entries are The Zombies who come in very high with Odyssey and Oracle who I really like and Peter Wolf with his record Sleepless (who outside The US even knows what this is? Was he the dude from J Geils band?). Things like Alexander Skip Spence's OAR or The Monks: Black Monk Time don't turn up let alone other great stuff like Karen Dalton, Silver Apples or The United States of America. Electronic music forget about it, There is one Kraftwerk LP as a token.

I remember a list like this in the magazine, maybe from 1988 and the first 50 have not changed bar about 3.It's like it's been set in stone and they have to have a Vatican council meeting for the slightest change to be made It's weird, old, way too rigid and no fun. U2's Joshua Tree comes in ahead of The Doors first LP. The anomalies just keep coming. Weezer's debut ahead of the Pixies Surfer Rosa. Here's a ripper Guns and Roses Appetite For Destruction comes in ahead of these 3: Led Zeppelin II, ACDC's Back in Black and Zep's Physical Graffiti. Then there's 3 inferior later Roxy Music LPs that come way ahead of their all time classic For You Pleasure. Joy Division's Closer makes it but where's Unknown Pleasures. Green Day come in ahead of Lou Reed's Transformer with Dookie. They've got token country, jazz Reggae & even trip hop. The most recent LP I think is The strokes debut. It's not like it's all shit music quite the contrary. Maybe they shouldn't number them, you know it's not sport, just put 'em in alphabetical order or chronologically. Oh but then they have to have a secret ballot and get the pope to smoke his pipe through a hole and then a cardinal will have to interpret the smoke for the decision to be made.

Some bands that missed out that perhaps should have been considered - The Residents, The Ventures, OS Mutantes, The Insect Trust, Comus, The Incredible String Band, The Seeds, America, Goblin, Pere Ubu, The Gun Club, The Saints, X-Ray Spex, The Feelies, The Wipers, Can (but they're not American or British uh oh), Cluster, ESG, The Meat Puppets, Burzum, The Dream Syndicate, Vanity 6, Throbbing Gristle, Chrome, Cabaret Voltaire, The Birthday Party, Cocteau Twins, Scott Walker, Donna Summer, Gong, The Groundhogs, Jimmy Castor Bunch, Booty's Rubber Band, Chic, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Flipper, Talk Talk, Dinosaur Jr, Boredoms, Slint, Royal Trux, Aphex Twin, Marc Acardipane, Boards Of Canada, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Burial..........I could go on forever.

I've made up a different top 10 from the top 500 just off the top of my head and in no particular order.

ZZ Top's lunch. That cheese is gonna be a problem

• Tres Hombres - ZZ Top 
• Dirty Mind - Prince
• Marquee Moon - Television
• Suicide - Suicide
• Double Nickels On The Dime - Minutemen
• Stand - Sly & the Family Stone
• Paranoid - Black Sabbath
• The Queen is Dead - The Smiths
•  Look-Ka Py Py - The Meters
• Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye

Now that's a bloody great top 10 and it's not the same old SGT Pepper, Blonde on Blonde etc. These records are just as good if not better than the actual top 10. I'd rather listen to this one actually.So why is this not the top 10 then?

Is there a need for this list now in this day and age of access all areas and Internet flux? No and we're not buyin it. We make our own top 500s now It's 2012 the times belong to the Ariels, Gang Gangs, Ferraros, southern hip hop etc. Then there's 70s Afro psych/beat/funk, Indonesian 70s rock, Chica/Cumbia from Peru, 70's Hungarian Funk, Swedish psych from the 60/70s, Thai genres like Luk Thung & Molam, 60/70s Anadolu pop from Turkey etc. to listen to so why the fuck would I want to listen to Radiohead, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Eurythmics, No Doubt or Coldfuckinplay!  It's kinda a little bit sad that the old farts (nothing too modern here please, like from the last decade or anything unless it sounds like something from a previous decade and keep it American or British, nothing too exotic please. Where did I leave my walking stick? Christgau have you seen it anywhere?) at RS are hangin onto their James Taylor's, Janis fuckin Joplins, Linda Ronstadts & Vans.  Who cares?

In a word redundant!

Dolphins Into The Future

A Star maker, Strange Dreams & Clairvoyance

Also very diggin this. This could be my favourite Dolphins Into The future tape (well i-tunes download) ever. All sorts of alien bird calls and some kind of spectral communication via song. I don't know if it's coming from the depths of the earth's deep ocean or I'm hearing some intergalactic language. I can picture scuttling electric sea creatures from the darkest depths of an alien deep sea. Sometimes its eeriness is almost cute. I reckon kids would love it. The bands name for the first time makes perfect sense to me. At the start of side b there is some lovely soothing music of what sounds like Aboriginals or South Pacific Islanders with just their voices looped, which is three minutes of pure enchantment. Then it's back to the music of aquatic neon creatures having fun and games in the endless night. This is Dolphins most sparse, clear recording so far and an absolute peak. Bliss.

BEBETUNE$ aka Jimmy Ferraro

BEBETUNES

Inhale C - 4 $$$$$

This is another pseudonym for James Ferraro. I'm diggin this way way more than his LP as Bodyguard Silica Gel which I am struggling to like at all. As one of the tracks says on this record 'It's everything time'. That about sums it up. All channels open, whatever blows in, passes by, nothing off limits, an endless sea of flowthrough. Quite a trip. This is crazy there's track that sounds like I dunno Usher or someone of that ilk and prime Jarboe in band era Swans.  Fucking deranged but Jimmy does it again and remains an enigma. I don't read interviews by musicians, I find them tedious-let the music do the talking. Which makes me think he must be pretty interesting. I don't wanna ruin it by finding out he's a big tool but sometimes you have to be to create/channel art. Also lovin that cover. Track this one down it's a gas man.

Larry David Moments

I've been having a few recently. I was in a very good restaurant the other day and right in my eyeline was a guy sitting across from his lady friend but every time he bent slightly as he had a mouthful of something I could see his bum crack. It was putting me off my very expensive lunch! I was in a fragile state (family stuff) so lucky for this guy coz he was get an earfull from me Larry David Stylee.

I've had some real Larry moments, best not to go into those as I don't want to incriminate myself. I'm nice really well............It's something I strive for.

There is an episode of Curb Your enthusiasm where Larry goes mental trying to open packaging. Nowadays some things are like Fort fuckin' Knox, particularly electronic objects which are so sealed I don't think you are actually meant to get into them. Today it was Premium crackers you cant get into them now without some implements. Actually most packaged foods require scissors now. Even the humble footy card can't be opened by hand, scissors required. uuuuuuurrrrrrrrgggggggg!!!!

You didn't need scissors back in those
days plus you got a stick of bubblegum!

How good is the episode of Curb of the last series with Ricky Gervais? Gold! It makes me wish Steve Coogan had played himself in the episode he was in.

Myf Warhurst & The Elephant & Beards & The 60s &..

Shhhh it's the ABC we can't acknowledge we live
in a capitalist society! It's not nice..

Don't get me wrong I love Myf (Australian TV peronality in her late 30s), she's a very nice unpretentious person and a self confessed dag. But the tv show Nice and Trendy last night had me perplexed. where was this show sitting? Somewhere between a Sunday magazine article, something a little more intellectually in depth or just a bit of nostalgic fluff where she got to meet some famous people. I was getting frustrated at the beating around the bush of why fashion is cyclical. She nearly got there by asking 'Aren't we going to proverbially eventually disappear up our own fashion arses? Meaning where is the new? how many times can the 20s, 60, 80s even 90s keep returning How the hell are they gonna rehash  the 00s? Anyway are people too scared to hear the truth? It's the ABC (Austaralia's Government owned Broadcastor ala BBC) for Christ's sake, nevertheless the real answer wasn't forthcoming. It was a bit like the Elephant in the room, but we're all too apathetic to acknowledge our own complicity so we just ignore it. People in fashion need to keep making money so predict, go random or rip off the hipster setting trends on the street and then convince a lot of us 'this is what's happening now'. It's an massive industry - the magazines, the models, the designers, the sweat shop owners, they're all in it together. If you have 6 pairs of skinny jeans how are they gonna make money from you next season? They need to tell you that the flared pant is fashion forward. We're not all blind Freddy though but most of us seem to just follow along.

Alistair O'Neill in his book London-After A Fashion said "the demand forever evolving newness forced a distraction from innovation & invention towards a plundering and interpretation of historical styles". So apparently retro/pastiche/postmodernism in fashion started in full around 1966/67. So is this when modernism died? apparently in 1966 A shop opened in London Called Granny Takes a Trip (what a fucking great name) that sold antique clothes as well as new clothes inspired by the past. There were other shops too Cobwebs, Past Caring, Biba, Antiquarius et al. They all sound like shops that could now be in Brunswick St, Gertrude St, Greville St, North Melbourne, Northcote, Brunswick and enter new hip new hip Melbourne suburb here___________. I love those names of the shops. Anyway it looks like we've been disappearing up our proverbial fashion arses since at least 1966.



There is a granny! She's probably more likely to be trippin' over
 than droppin' acid but you never know?



Interior of biba Art Deco met the 60s

Here's my theory - Think of the worst item in fashion (that's not been revived for at least 10 years) in living memory or the living memory of your Mum or Gran and it'll be back sooner than you think. It works with music as well. Many years ago I thought there was never gonna' be any redemption for Elton John then BANG Almost Famous came out as did the Scissor Sisters & other acts that were influenced by him.

He was not so bad after all.

 Here's a personal example around 1999/2000 I decided as a tribute to my idol Dennis Wilson circa 1970s to grow rough beard and sport grown out short hair. Let me tell you people thought that was weird people didn't know how to react to me. The only other beards at the time belonged to old men. A few years later some groups and singers started doin the same. Now bloody footy players are doin' it and people whose heroes don't even have that look.



Didn't go as far as the overalls though.

Another music example is house and techno. About two years ago I thought that was finished and never coming back. I said it to a friend I'll never listen to that stuff ever again. Now it's all the rage again. I'm even listening to a bit of myself admittedly mostly of the vintage variety but I like some of the new old stuff. This is ridiculous!

Breaking Bad

Pretty funny!

Sad thing is I don't have cable!

Great Plains

The Way She runs A fever

Great Plains

From The Mark, Don & Mel EP

Why wern't they as Famous or as popular as REM or Camper Van Beethoven,  their songs were just as good and probably more catchy. Anyway what a great unknown band of the early to mid 80s. They were a rockin' unit of  pop distinction. Highly talented legends from Ohio! Pop heaven.

Letter To A Fanzine

Great Plains

From Naked At The Buy, Sell & Trade

More joy from Ohio. This one all about haircuts. There should have been more songs about stupid hair doncha think? Pretty funny probably the only song to contain these subjects in one song - 4AD, New Wave Girls, Nick Cave, SST Records and Homestead Records.

70s USA Film

Where's Mr Oates?

There he is!

Kowalski

Vassilieff

Theoretical Matter
Neil Taylor

I like discovering new things I know nothing about. Anyway me and the Mrs went to Heide Museum of Modern Art the other day. There's cool stuff there like the sculpture (particularly Rings of Saturn and Theoretical matter),

Rings of Saturn
Inge King

gardens, architecture and of course great Australian paintings. So there was a lot to see but the main exhibition wasn't so great I liked half of it the other half was well...... shite, The Mrs didn't like any of it one bit. I've even forgotten his name Willdon or someone. Next was some great photos by Albert Tucker of his friends, artists, bohemians and family. Including one pic of a young Mirka Mora being v raunchy Then we went into the modern architectural house which is incredible in itself then I started noticing the art on the walls and was loving it. I was thinking it was probably by all sorts of different famous artists but no it was all by one Danila Vassilieff a Russian guy who came out to Australia to live in 1935 He spent some time in Sydney doin urban pics in Surrey Hills and some bush paintings then by 1937 he started painting Melbourne urban street scenes in Fitzroy & Collingwood many with people in them. It was all soap box derbys, corner shops, school playgrounds, paperboys and even a great one of Victoria Parade. This was the world that my great grandad, grandpa and my Dad were part of. I was lovin it. Then in another room I noticed in the corner of a painting the Avoca Paddle Steamer which meant he'd spent time in Mildura and by the looks of things he didn't dig it too much. I was really starting to feel this guy. He got a job in the mid 50s at Mildura High School. Some of his most disturbing work comes from this era as well as time spent in Swan Hill. By the 70s & 80s when I was living there I don't think it had changed much from when he spent couple of years there. There was a creepy and violent vibe of conformity. Anyway I bought his book can't wait to read it all. I think maybe he was torn between urban life and the bush. It's good to see that Mildura Arts Centre owns some of his pieces. I wonder how well his art went down at the time? So it was a great discovery for me and a little excitement. Oh and the food was great too.

Blue Shop
1938
I'm guessing somewhere in Fitzroy/Collingwood

Mildura Wedding 1954
I've been to a few. Not as dramatic as this though.

I walked down there today
Victoria Parade 1937
Hasn't changes that much really.