Random Thoughts On Pop Culture

How fucked up is American pop culture? For an example of this look no further than the family entertainment of the Disney corporation. Talk about Babylon burning. What happens to all these child stars who were once mouseketeers. It seems like you'd be an outsider if you came out of Disney as a child star into adult life and weren't fucked up (more on this in future blog).

Why have Mumford & Son been allowed so deeply into toady's pop culture? What the fuck is wrong with the kids? The re-release of Devo's Hardcore Volumes 1 & 2 put this in perspective for me. I thought why the fuck would you want to listen to this Mumford shit when you could buy those two LPs? Would it be a bad starting point for an anti Mumford manifesto? C'mon kids. Mr Agreeable is on board as well here.

Why didn't more records sound like Iggy Pop's The Idiot? You can hear the air on that record. Has there been a more singular sounding record ever? Speaking of Mr Pop surely his next step in his retro career replay project is to get the gang from The Idiot/Lust For Life era together and do some concerts then maybe a record and perhaps start using heroin again. Is anyone looking forward to when he gets around to Blah Blah Blah and American Caesar again? What happens when he gets round to The Weirdness again does he start the replay again? He might as well just keep the loop going till he dies. Imagine if he never dies? That got me thinking is there anyone whose career was so awesome you wouldn't mind it being replayed over and over again? It's just not a very good idea at all is it? Leave a comment if you can think of someone.

Is pop culture as we know it dead or dying? Catching an episode of Letterman a few months ago I was struck by how uninterested Dave was in his alleged pop icon guests. He's sometimes been like that in the past but he was having fun with it. He seems to get that talking to actors or whoever is a waste of time and why would anyone care? He lights up more when he gets to talk politics. The talk show format does seem to be moribund. Watching the Australian talk show Adam Hills Tonight or something like that I just thought it was tired and a completely pointless.  Everyone- Hills, the guests and the audience know this but they don't want to admit to it because then what? There's no new paradigm. Why did people ever think talking to actors or musicians was interesting? Name me a recent episode of a tonight show where you thought 'Gee that guest was great!'

Morcheeba & Woob are the latest couple of groups who are returning from the 90s in 2013. Who's next? Well I saw Omni Trio's Rob Haigh has a record out as well. To be quite honest I can't recall a single Morcheeba track. They were like trip-hop johnny come latelys as I recall and the genre was probably past its use by date by the time they arrived. 1194 the debut LP by Woob however was a 90s ambient classic, which I loved. Still do in fact.

Chillin' out..

Ooga Boogas - Ooga Boogas

I was gonna write a review of Ooga Boogas by Ooga Boogas. But who cares about reviews anymore especially when they're writen about rock albums right? How passe!

Circle Of Trust starts off the LP in an uncharacteristically Wire-esque fashion but the drummer in Wire was never this fuckin good. This is the best Melbourne rhythm section since The Birthday Party and you know what they're probably better! Who cares right? rock is dead.

Archie & Me is next and well it's kinda close to my heart with lyrics like "We'll be pretty sore by the time we hit Red Cliffs. So we'll get Big Lizzie rollin again." Mentions of red sunsets and swaggys. Then there's "When we get downtime, When we get downsized, When we get out." Having lived just outside Red Cliffs as a child and planning a move back to the Sunraysia area I was shocked to hear those words. It was like did they just say what I think they said? Fuck yeah they know where its at. This song was speaking directly to me and urging me to use it as a manifesto or at least a theme tune for the big move from the big smoke, that doesn't want us, to the land of red sunsets where property prices aren't so offensive. I know this song is a fantasy and a pretty silly one at that but for me and the Mrs it's where we hang our hat, song or no song.

That drummer is fuckin cookin. This is real rock drumming like fuckin better than John Bonham. How does he get that sound like like he's a caveman bangin on the earth the most primordial beat ever. This beat is cavernous, it's gigantic. You gotta turn this right up and let your inner caveman/cavewoman out. And I've just realised they're called Ooga Boogas a very unPC nod to old ideas and visions native primitives. The funny thing is at the same time Ooga Boogas personify the urbane, the suburban, the hipster, the loser and the castrated.

FYI's next and this is some swingin noirish urban tale from the underworld with talk of coming back to the real world. Then Leon goes into this "fa fa fa for your information.." in a mock cockney tone and why wouldn't he? It's another nod to Wire but at the same time so Australian considering the cadence of the previous line.

Oogie Boogie is precisely what it purports to be. It's a fucking glam stomp with beats like axes to heads and filthy guitar licks that are loose and taut at the same time.

Mind Reader is a tale of male/female relationships and Stackpole is bringin the comedy in a voice occasionally reminiscent of Rob Forster of The GoBetweens. It's an urban, male & Australian voice and it concerns his condition. He's pissin off his woman obviously but he's not willing to see the clear as day reasons for this and snaps arguing back defensively "I can't read your fucking mind!" But this was a song about ice-creams right? That's what you thought!

It's a sign is a giddy love song about when everything's going good and you're happy and you're lovin it and you're proud you're not fucking up and your confidence is breakin through and it's about sex and your Mrs actually liking you and she's not puttin her knickers back on for a while and it's halcyon days and it's salad days and it's days of wine and fucking roses!

Sex In The Chill Zone is a creepy strut through what could be a dream or some kind of suburban spa party or just maybe being drug fucked and fucked at the same time. It's so damn hazy it's unclear.

Studio Of My Mind....and we're in Chrome territory or is it like a tribute to Whirlyworld or Primitive Calculators. I'm put in a very Melbourne soundworld but it could be San Francisco or Sheffield in 1979 or Iggy in Berlin. Then I'm thinkin this is definitely a nod to Ollie Olsen and a tune he did with NO, a forgotten late 80s Melbourne electronic rock band. They had a song about feeling "like a walking TV camera." Parallelling this tunes depersonalisation experience of being "locked in the studio of my mind." It's cold, scary and disturbing.

Ecstasy.... and then there's a country twang and your thinkin its The Captain by Kasey Chambers. Then you think that's fucked up having Chrome and Chambers conjured in your mind within the same minute on the same record and in this same sentence. The tune continues on with its strung out Sticky Fingers. It's a love song or a lament, probably for the drug and you're feeling the waste which is palpable in Stackpole's voice.

A Night To Remember....and it's a relief, it's good times. It's dancing into the void and spitting in the face of of it all with a laugh and a smile. The joy is put back into the meaninglessness and... it's a rock record!