Tuesday, 18 February 2025

Changeless · The Windbreakers


[1985]
A southern more twangy take on the paisley underground sound. All these ingredients were becoming cliche by this point but somehow Mississippi's terminally underrated Windbreakers absolutely kill it here driving windswept lost highways with their ghostly melodies and duel guitar interplay. 

Saturday, 15 February 2025

Friends Of The Future · Translator


[1985]
These guys had previously been pretty new wave-y but by their third record, the minor triumph that was Translator (1985), they were laying on the dark jangles and psych tinges to their melodic power pop. I mean if someone told you that was Marty Wilson-Piper rockin' out in a blistering fashion from the 2:58 minute mark you'd believe them. 

Despite crafty songwriting, fabulous musicianship and a great sounding production they just didn't have enough to get them over the line. They didn't have the strong cohesive identity or cool image of say your Dream Syndicate, Smiths, REM or XTC.


New Song - Translator [1985]
Here's the trippiest, most paisley moment on the record. All hallucinogenic and kaleidoscopic backwards guitars sounding a lot like a Rain Parade or Church tune from 1983. 

Pretty cool.


Fall Forever - Translator [1985]
This fan favourite is catchy power pop with angsty post-punk interludes. 

Friday, 14 February 2025

Fell From the Sun - Clay Allison


[1984]
More Peak Paisley underground. 

After Rain Parade and Dream Syndicate and before Opal Kendra Smith and David Roback formed Clay Alison. On their one and only single they had Terry Graham from Gun Club on drums. Pretty cool psych-pop sound with Dave laying down some pretty hazy sweet lonesome fuzz. 

Tuesday, 11 February 2025

Rain Parade - This Can't Be Today


[1983]
Peak PAISLEY underground. 

Tripped out fuzz, jangles, cosmic bass, swirly sideshow alley organ, narcotic electro hand claps, Kendra Smith on backing vocals all reverb-ed to the hilt for a maximum daydream haze-y buzz. 

The druggiest neo-psych.

Every coupla years I put on Emergency Third Rail Power Trip and go hang on... isn't this one of the greatest records of all time? and not just in the dreamy jangly psych field? Why doesn't this show up in the retarded lists and cannons? 


[1983]
1 Hour 1/2 Ago
All the cool influences: Syd Barrett, Yardbirds... wait for the 1:05 moment. That could be peak "the bottoms fallen out of the song" abstract shenanigans that The Church's Wilson-Piper/Koppes were so fond of. Fragments, interludes, playback slow downs, backwards tapes and volume shifts creating great 80s psychedelia. 


[1983]
I look Around
Who's ever heard so many Byrdsian jangles then incredible backwards guitar stylings outside of a classic 80s Church tune? Here they were the contemporaneous Rain Parade before guitarist Dave Roback went on to form the sublime Opal and 90s legends Mazzy Star

Na na na nannana

Monday, 10 February 2025

The Beaux Jens - She was Mine


[1967]
V creepy organ led slow burning garage tune. It's intense moody and broody teen misery all the way down with added menace and mayhem.

More psychotic teens from Michigan bringing the drama on, you guessed it, their one and only 7 inch single.

Excellent.

Sunday, 9 February 2025

Aardvarks - I'm Higher Than I'm Down


[1966]
I posted a whole bunch of garage sides maybe 18 months ago but here's one I missed. It's one of the greatest singles ever to come out of Michigan which is the premier state for garage, psych and teen-beat innit. When I first heard this i went "Oh yeah this is ok but whatever" then 30 listens later it's in your all time garage top 20. Funny singing, driving guitar goodness, aah aahs and in the lead break they unexpectedly chuck in some fucking bells and you gotta love bells... 

Friday, 7 February 2025

The Barracudas - I Can't Pretend


[1981]
The heatwave continues so here's this supreme catchy power-pop tune featuring frantic driving surf guitars. Nothing says surf culture more than four patsy English blokes. 

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

The Last - Every Summer Day


[1979]
We're going through an insane heatwave here in the north-west of Victoria so here's a banger for your long hot summer. I'm dreaming of the cool sea I was swimming in just a coupla weeks ago as I listen to this slice of new wave surf power pop perfection. Every Last Summer is from their debut LP LA Explosion! which is one of these great lost records that a certain set of aficionados seem to know about while many seem oblivious to it ever existing.   

Thursday, 30 January 2025

The Green Pajamas - In This Castle


[1984]
An infectious lo-fi psych-pop gem. It's idyllic and euphoric yet slightly haunted. I mean that's the acid experience right there - elation with a slight possibility of everything going pear-shaped. In This Castle's from the acid fried teenage classic Summer Of Lust tape by the legendary yet terminally unknown and underrated Green Pajamas. I guess you'd say they were paisley underground adjacent as they weren't from California but Seattle.  



Green Pajamas - Green Pajamas (1984)
Wrote the theme tune, sang the theme tune. Gotta love a band with a theme tune. "It's a psychedelic thing" This is their answer to tunes like All You Need Is Love except this a song about seeing a top bird in her green jarmies. They invited a bunch a girls to the jam to do a singalong crowd chorus with hand claps creating this great fun party atmosphere. You'll be singing "I Love her in her green pajamas" in no time.

Psych teens captured in all their four track in the bedroom glory!

Wednesday, 29 January 2025

I'm Only Asking · 28th Day


[1985]
Paisley underground latecomers 28th Day featured Barbara Manning and the still unknown legend Cole Marquis (Sunbirds/The Downsiders). The dark jangles conjure a hazy Californian twilight haunted by the ghosts of psychedelia and cosmic Americana.  

Tuesday, 28 January 2025

Dumptruck - The Haunt


[1983]
Guitars, guitars, guitars. Beautifully crafted cosmic paisley underground goodness. The shadowy flow motion of the dual guitar interplay here is mesmerising. 

*This bootleg demo is a hundred times better than the version on their excellent debut record D Is For Dumptruck

Saturday, 25 January 2025

Close Lobsters - Mother of God


[1987]
When the indie janglers went epic with this rock-out to close their debut LP Foxheads Stalk This Land  which is a jangle masterwork. Mother Of God though is a euphoric slab of neo-psych shogaze-y noise pop. A few years later many groups would incorporate a similar contagious upbeat swagger into their world dominating guitar pop aesthetic. 

The best.

Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Jan Terri - Losing You


[1993]
How the hell has this escaped me for over 30 years? It's obvious to say but this sounds a bit like a James Ferraro production circa 2007 but hey Jan was 14 years ahead of that hypnagogic chancer. This video has gained viral notoriety with over 6 million views since it was uploaded in the early days of youtube with the title "worst music video ever" We all know this was wrong as it's one of the greatest music videos ever. Jan's got a touch of the outsider pop magic. Rock'n'roll, Phil Spector, British beat, bubblegum, glam, punk, new wave, synthetic 80s pop: It's all in here swirling around in this classically crafted infectious pop tune. 


Jan Terri - Baby Blues [1993]
Jan's pretty versatile. Here she goes country but in a purely Jan way of course. How this video isn't from 1983 is a mystery. 


[1994]
Jan Terri - Journey To Mars
This one's a bit more rock. Jan with her gang of space age ladies. Futuristic. 

Sunday, 19 January 2025

The Widdershins - March Of The Green Men


[1988]
More forgotten VHS gold from my teenage years. This might be the ultimate Rage cult classic. Me and my little sister thought this was the best back in 88/89. It's so funny, so Australian... so excellent.

Green Men might be the most important Australian short film in history. An intimate, insightful document of Strayan 20 something gen Xer's mindset and lifestyle.  

He's in his undies, his Reg Grundy's, in his shizenhausen pigsty of a share house, he eats awful slop out of a can, his urine is turning green, his clothes are not too clean, he's desperate, his confidence has been undermined, he's not good enough for you, there's spew - look out cat and dog, VB cans, a George Michael poster, a trip to the milk bar and much much more.

Also contains the greatest verse in all of rock music history:

"Take all my money up to the shop. 
Buy a can of Coke and some Barbecue chips.
I'll get you anything.
Anything you want.
As long as it's under 95 cents."

Wednesday, 15 January 2025

DYNAMITE PARTY - Roddy Ray'da


[1989]
Here's an old school Rage classic I'd forgotten about. Roddy was a mysterious minor cult celebrity in my house at the time. Here was a guy who'd been in The Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, The Johnnys, The James Baker Experience, The Dubrovniks etc. but he always seemed to leave these bands after their first single, just before they became successful. I never knew if he was just a loose cannon so they fired him or if he chickened out or he thought the bands had sold out or he was just unlucky. He was probably just a mercurial maverick, definitely a catalyst, a true rock'n'roll outlaw and a fucking deadset legend. 

Dynamite Party takes the Aussie 80s garage rock sound towards an obnoxious almost glam metal junction with an insanely dodgy drum sound. The free good time rock'n'roll spirit shines through though.  

*Video also features legendary Radio Birdman guitarist Chris Masuak.


Le Hoodoo Gurus - Leilani [1982] 
Le Hoodoo Gurus were three guitarists and a drummer. This was their first single on the indie Phantom label. By the time of their second single they'd drop the "Le" and two of their guitarists Roddy & Kimble and become a conventional four piece rock group. Ready to become Aussie rock icons.

*The sound on this video is absolutely shite but worth watching for historical purposes. Roddy's up the back in a blue suit sporting a short hairdo.


Hoodoo Gurus - (Let's All) Turn On [1983]
Whilst Roddy didn't play on The Hoodoo Gurus debut album Stoneage Romeos, four of the tunes on the record were co-written by him including Arthur, Death Ship, Leilani and this the barnstorming classic that opens the LP (Let's All) Turn On. 


The James Baker Experience - Born To Be Punched [1985]
Roddy co-wrote and played guitar on this, the B-side to Baker's one and only single I Can't Control Myself. This was a supergroup 80s Sydney style with Salamander Jim members Greg 'Tex' Perkins on bass and Stu Spasm on the other guitar and piano. 


The Dubrovniks - Fireball Of Love [1988]
A driving dreamy pop tune with a sublime wall of sound. This is great stuff, almost shoegaze-y and unlike most things Roddy played on. 

Friday, 3 January 2025

Sharon O'Neill - Losing You


[1983]
Actual hits and memories for Aussies & Kiwis. 

Haven't heard this since 1983 when I was in grade 6. My girlfriend had this exact haircut. How could you not be a spunk with that do.

In the best film clip of the 80s our spunk Shazza sings into a chicken, empties a garbage bag of rubbish, which includes a can fosters, onto her cheating boyfriend's waterbed, tries to garbage disposal his shoe and much much more. Sharon's acting prowess knows no bounds.

Losing You is a synth-rock pop anthem including some choice 80s saxophone and a singing synth robot at the end.