New Ariel Pink

Just noticed this was released. It's taken from his new album Pom Pom. Sounds like The Byrds or an 80s jingle jangle facsimile. Not sure if that's a good thing or not yet. Slightly reminiscent of The Church at their 80s best, musically anyway.  Both Ariel Pink and Steve Kilbey are complete vocal and wordsmith talents incomparable to anyone really.

What I'm Diggin!

Antipodean reissue of the year without doubt! The long out of print Derry Legend from 1989. The best band to come out of New Zealand in my book. This was originally released on Flying Nun!? Although they seem to get written out of Flying Nun's history and most histories of NZ music actually. More on this later ie. a full write up, when I've fully convalesced. Check out these previous posts for Axemen genius.

Don't know much about this dude but this is some of 2014s best rap/ratchet. Apparently there's another volume.

King Kev's 2014 By Any Means is not as immediate as his Stranger Than Fiction from last year but I'm startin to really dig this a lot. What a fuckin talent! That voice! What a badass!

Lovin this. What a team Bloody Jay & Young Thug. Bloody Jay has a new solo one out as well, I can't keep up.

My favourite LP to listen to while me and my dog sit by the fire with our feet up. Hey I'm an adult! .......well sometimes.

Not Really Diggin

10s Hardcore continuum soundz. Hey I really enjoy Kid Lib but the rest I dunno?

???

A new Rustie album how excitement! Now, I'm not so sure. It's early doors yet though.

RIP Alexander Shulgin

Simon Reynolds tribute to Alexander Shulgin here. Well I didn't know much about him until today. He rescued MDMA from historical obscurity in 1976 and is now a legend. Somewhere along the way MDMA became known as Ecstasy. I'd like to thank him for the hits and the memories. In my teens I remember first reading about Ecstasy in The Age (Melbourne equivalent to The Guardian/New York Times) in an article that featured S'Express and 70s fashion. I recall being fascinated by this drug and the subculture surrounding it. I'd probably only ever been pissed previously and never even been stoned. I think I cut this article out. Then a few months later there was an entire expose on Ecstasy and it's effects on its users in like The Age's weekend magazine (probably sourced from The Guardian actually). It had all these great modern fried psychedelic graphics of people being wasted on E. I cut that one out as well. You'd think I was well on the way to being a total E head but I reckon it would have been five years at least until I tried it. Maybe Shaun Ryder and Bez, from The Happy Mondays, put me off trying it any earlier. I was a very infrequent user of the substance but I gotta say I enjoyed it every time.

Then there's the music it helped create. Wow, Shulgin couldn't have foreseen such a flourishing musical movement being created for and by this drug. Ecstasy has been the catalyst for some of the greatest genres of the modern music era of the last 30 years and still continues it's influence today. MDMA was revolutionary and that's an understatement. I've possibly listened to more music created for and by Ecstasy than anything else. It's a testament to the drug that you don't even have to be on it to enjoy this music. Rest in Ecstasy Mr Shulgin.

I could go on probably forever posting E related tunes. Oh hang on this captures something about E-ing. That moment when you think you've been ripped off and bought a dud. Then minutes later it kicks in big style.

Grip It! On That Other Level - Ghetto Boys (1989)

HIP HOP I IGNORED PART 2

Now this is some hip hop I can really get behind. Once I put on this cd I instantly started liking it. Ghetto Boys sound is not unlike their peers Public Enemy, NWA and Ice T, so I guess it had an immediate familiarity. Grip It! On That Other Level has that classic late 80s old school sound, so damn funky and full of great stories that are masterfully delivered. So this album is quickly heading up my hip hop classics list, with the bullet. Now, I remember reading about Ghetto Boys in the NME and Melody Maker in the late 80s. They were described as the most morally bankrupt bunch of thugs in hip hop. That statement should have had me running to my local record shop in Grafton to order a copy of this album ASAP (gee I was a sensitive lil' youngster). Still it wasn't hard to avoid them with no national JJJ radio at the time and I don't recall them getting played on Rage or The Factory which was the home of all things rap back then. The press led me to believe they were arseholes of the highest order. Some of the themes included rape, murder and even cannibalism. I do recall some journos being conflicted though because their beats were so damn good, they're songs were undeniable. A couple of years later living in Melbourne I remember talking to a friend and she asked me 'Should I keep going out with this guy? All he listens to is Geto Boys and it's all bitches and hoes.' I don't recall what my response was though. Anyway this was the first time I'd sat down to listen to a Ghetto Boys LP and I wasn't sure if I'd heard any of the tunes or not.

Grip It! On That Other level was their second album and it was issued in 1989. This album is usually considered their best. They were from Texas which was pretty different from the usual New York and LA. I guess they put southern rap on the map. In many ways they helped pioneer gangsta rap and horrorcore. Some of the samples here had already been around the block a few times such as Curtis Mayfield, Incredible Bongo Band and Dennis Coffey. They also sampled stalwarts Parliament and James Brown. Surprisingly they also sampled such white rock as Pink Floyd and The Steve Miller Band. Not forgetting a smattering of dialogue samples from the movie Scarface. I don't think Grip It! was particularly successful upon its initial release but became a sleeper hit, eventually selling hundreds of thousands of copies. In retrospect it has become a canonical album appearing on many lists of classic rap records. It was also repackaged with some trax remixed and released under the title of Geto Boys, put out by Def Jam the following year. This also must have coincided with the spelling change from Ghetto Boys to Geto Boys

It starts off in classy stylee with Do It Like G.O. The beats are gold with samples of Superfly, Apache and Scorpio (all staple breaks from the original NY street parties). Niggas, KK, bitches, guns, politics, mo-fos, racism and black history are all mentioned in this opening tune so they pretty much lay it all on the line from the beginning. Gangster Of Love is next and its a filthy tune that's perhaps a little misogynist. It comes with a pro condom message though with much bragging of how many chicks he can do in one night. There might event be a little romance amongst the nastiness. The sample of Steve Miller Band's 'Gangster Of Love' line from The Joker, as well as the guitar part, is genius and makes this pornographic tale so damn catchy. Gangster Of Love has got to be one of the greatest hip hop tracks ever recorded. Talkin Loud Ain't Sayin Nothin is a bleak ghetto tale. Its rapped with great aggressive gusto about having integrity and hating bullshit artists and pretty much everyone and everything. It also contains a choice James Brown sample. Read These Nikes is pretty self explanatory. Its a violent thug anthem  'Remorse what the f*%# is that? I'll beat your your mamas ass then go and get a six pack!' Size Ain't Shit is a brag about being scrawny but having a big dick, a big gun, a jail history etc. with a brilliant keyboard line that wouldn't be out of place on an an acid house or bleep and bass tune. Seek and destroy has the funkiest of beats with fabulous def rhymes like something from a rap battle. As stated several times during the track this is a dope jam and they even mention peace a couple of times?!

So that's halfway but I don't even think this was ever released on vinyl. Anyway the second half starts with a defence of Public Enemy. No Sell Out is a conspiracy theory about black music being kept down by the industry. I recall at some stage in this era Public Enemy's Prof Griff being accused of antisemitism. I can't recall if this claim was true or not. They even sample their hero's Fight The Power. Let A Ho Be A Ho could be a feminist manifesto or most probably misogyny of the worst kind. Scarface is like an ultra violent 80s movie in rap form. This is rap story telling in excellis with great minimal beats courtesy of James Brown I think. Life In The Fast Lane has a sweet Parliament sample. Harmonica really suits this funky disco jam.  There should be more harmonica in rap it really works well. This tune is a real old school 'day in the life of the ghettto' jam, reminding me a little of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and it's absolutely brilliant. Trigga Happy Nigga is a party jam complete with exciting band intro and Al Pacino Scarface samples galore. Its funny how offended people were by this kind of thing when these kind of of stories were all over the tv, movies and the news. I always looked at rap as similar to movies like Westerns, Gangster films, Horror flix, blue movies etc. but for some reason people thought this was real (some of it was I guess), I assume because it's usually sung in the first person. People were quite willing to watch something like Rambo but were frightened by hip hop tunes with similar themes. People are strange. Mind of A Lunatic is like an aural video nasty. This track with its themes of insanity, mass murder, rape, attempted suicide and asylums is dark and horrific but it's set to a beautiful funk track. This was probably The Geto Boys at their most controversial. When you compare it though to some of the mid 90s underground Memphis rap is almost seems quaint now.

In the end they're nowhere near as morally bereft as I was led to believe. There's Black Power, advocacy for contraception, integrity and even mentions of peace. Geto Boys are also hilarious and compared to some of today's rappers they are nowhere near as amoral or wasted. There was militaristic aggression about them. Not forgetting these are some of the dopest hip hop jams ever committed to tape. I gotta say this is a bloody classic album, one of the best hip hop has to offer. I'm glad I had this idea for this series just to hear this gem.

VHS Head

A new VHS Head album Persistence Of Vision is on its way and I'm looking forward to its release. His first record Trademark Ribbons Of Gold was released in 2010 just before I started my blog. I couldn't believe it wasn't all over the Internet and in end of year lists. I guess it didn't fit anywhere in particular. It was 2010 and it didn't fit into its genres of the time like dubstep or whatever else was hip at the time. Its a frantic and experimental album. I understand it was made from samples and snippets of his 80s VHS video collection. In particular VHS Head was fond of the video company logo tunes or as they call them in the biz idents The effect was a bit like having the history of 80s video culture condensed into 64 minutes then thrust at you like an aural assault weapon with barely any time to think. This be not for the faint of heart. It's not unlike something Jon Oswald might get up to but much cooler. It's kinda funky and has an 80s disco vibe with a 2010 flava and I reckon some tunes could even get played out (on the dancefloor). While the sounds aren't arranged in an orderly pastiche 80s fashion, they are meticulously arranged. God knows how long Trademark Ribbons Of Gold took to make but it may be some indication that it's taken VHS Head nearly 5 years to release a new LP. It's A rush for sure and you might recognise bits and pieces here and there, particularly if you loved your 80s VHS trash. Sounds don't really hang around long enough they just fly past you. It does have a nostalgic vibe though. Probably the closest relation to it in current music is the music released on GhostBox (theoretically more than anything). Its retro but its also presented in a futuristic audio blaze. It has become one of my favourite records of the 10s, the 2010s or whatever no one has bothered to name this decade.

I Know nothing about Persistence Of Vision but let's hope
 its just as compelling as Trademark Ribbons Of Gold.

Pseudo Echo

Pseudo Echo have joined in the retromania and have a new album out. Will I listen to it? Probably not. I only ever had that first LP Autumnal Park taped off someone. There weren't that many memorable tracks really. I wonder if it's a return to their more electronic/new romantic days or their later more rockified funk sound that gave them their transglobal hit, their cover version of, Funky Town?

I always liked this tune Don't Go from 1985. Had the 7" I do believe. Still sounds alright I reckon. They were a bit more talented and original than say I dunno Geisha. I remember seeing one them at Melbourne's Queen Vic Market in like 86 and thinking that was something but also thinking he's just a guy in the street like the rest of us.

Liked the goth/post punk type guitar in this one from 84 and those keyboards ofcourse. Funny 80s videos eh?

Skinny Puppy - Worlock (Rated R Version)

It's too hot to think up words to say about stuff........it's 43 degrees at the moment..... air con failing, sitting in the lounge with the curtains drawn watching things like this.......Uh oh.....this is the banned version of this classic 80s splatter video....great tune too.

The 80s Again....

It doesn't get much better than this.

Here's a Top 100 LPs of the 80s list that isn't the usual rock-crit consensus. FACT certainly do their own thing and good on them for that. Good to see one of my all time favourite records Julee Cruise's Floating Into The Night getting some recognition, although I thought it came out in 1990 but no the date on the label on the vinyl says 89. Steve Roach's ambient masterpiece Structures From Silence, which is an endlessly listenable LP, doesn't usually make these lists so that's a pleasing surprise. Rapeman's LP makes another 2013 appearance which has surely pushed it into cult LP territory. The Cocteau Twins and Felt make it but AR Kane and Siouxsie And The Banshees miss out. The cult of Coil continues its ascendancy, with Horse Rotorvator making an appearance. This list is so hipster it doesn't include This Heat but has a This Heat side project! The same goes for Swans, no Children Of God but (World Of) Skin's 1st LP makes it. This is definitely a 2013 look at the 80s which FACT acknowledge. It's funny what's seen as hip or worthy from the 80s by the kids of 2013 (some of these writers were maybe there in very mini form). Virgo come in at no. 2 with their self-titled LP. Who the fuck are they? More music to discover from the 80s who'd have thunk it? Hang on no Birthday Party! What? No MX 80 Sound! Perhaps it's a joke list....

Ministry over this?! Naye.
Ministry over Pat Benatar?! No Way!

Meat Puppets - Lost

Meat Puppets - Lost

Another theme tune for me and my life. This is the 2nd in the series see the 1st one here.

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!