Dear Enemy - Computer One

[1983]

Melbourne hits and memories keep coming. I don't think I've heard this number 16 chartbuster since 1983 when I was in grade 6. Actually I think I thought Dear Enemy and the previous post's The Little Heroes were the same band until today. 

Anyway here's some more synth-rock for your 80s FM radio. Mullets with the left ear pierced was the awesome trend of the day for these fellas who packed out Victorian pubs and clubs four nights a week for a coupla years. 

Before chat gpt we had blokes singing to their computers asking it questions about love.

These guys are a lost band. What the hell happened to them? They had Men At Work's producer here but Computer One failed to crack the American top 40, only reaching #58. They only had one more single just scrape into the Aussie top 40, then they were gone.

...but we still have this forgotten futuristic synth anthem from the bogan Kraftwerk. 

One Perfect Day · The Little Heroes

[1982]

Actual hit and memory!

One Perfect Day is a classic synth-y pop rock ballad. Emotional then and emotional now for very different reasons.

This was peak Australia when everyone seemed confident and everything seemed possible and you belonged here in amongst it. Even really shonky commercial music was tops.

Melancholy adult themes designed to sound great on the FM radio dial.

MEO 245 - Lady Love

[1980]

3XY ROCKS Melbourne.

The upbeat synth-rock of Lady Love was a regional hit in Melbourne but surprisingly only made it to number 43 on the national charts. A triumphant blend of prominent synths and loud guitars are the order of the day here. Legendary Antipodean producer Peter Dawkins captured MEO 245 at an inspired peak during this recording. It's got a certain immediacy and contagious bounciness to meet all your new wave needs. 

It' a shame this didn't get released outside of Australia because let's face it Lady Love had Canadian top 10 hit written all over it.

Boys - When You're Lonely

[1980]

More classic non-hits and non memories.

This time we've got Aussie group Boys from Perth with this youthful burst of new wave power pop. How was this not a top ten smash I do not know, only scraping in at number 52. Wait... according to my book When You're Lonely was actually a regional number one hit in Perth. So there you go it's a number one hit and memory to many people over there in WA.

Fashion-wise these guys were regular new wave in black or stripes just like The Pretenders or Blondie but the singer made an interesting choice with his blue singlet. Perhaps it was a strategic marketing ploy as he had teen idol good looks, looked like he could probably put in four quarters of good footy, maybe lay a few bricks, get stuck into a slab, smoke some Winnie Blues and be nice to your mum. Mass appeal assured, well in Perth anyway...

Grain of Sand · The Saints

[1988]

Chris Bailey's post Ed Kuepper Saints shouldn't have been called the Saints because they could never compete with that original band and those three classic LPs. However they were called The Saints and you know what? They had some great tunes and this may have been the last of them.

Grain Of Sand is the sound of 80s Australia. 

The Heats - Remember Me

[1980]

Still bringing you all the misses that you missed and all the memories you never had.

Here's one from forgotten Seattle power pop legends The Heats. Remember Me was surprisingly not released as a single. It appears on their one and only LP Have An Idea which is on the edgier side of new wave power pop. Irresistible pace-y hook laden tunes drenched in harmonies are the order of the day for this album which is the connoisseurs choice for greatest lost power pop record. 

The Smithereens - Behind the Wall of Sleep

[1986]

Bass players named Kim for a thousand. Kim Gordon, Kim Deal and this Kim from some forgotten 80s Boston band, she had hair like Jean Shrimpton and a stance just like Bill Wyman.

Nifty lyrics, crafty tune and a pretty legendary 80s alternative sound. Power pop had spent five years in the wilderness when it was brought back by The Smithereens in a new incarnation that was much darker and heavier. The dude who co-produced REM's first two LPs, Don Dixon, twiddled the knobs to great affect here.

Some albums you taped off your friends and I can picture a TDK D-90 with Especially For You on one side and 1988's Green Thoughts on the other. 

Shoes - Boys Don't Lie

[1977]

More golden non hits and memories. The opening tune to the debut Shoes record Black Vinyl Shoes and it's another crackin' tune.

I hate it when all a critic can say about a band is who they influenced. However when you hear this tune it's hard not to go "oh surely Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and The Pale Saints were into this" but I don't recall any of these bands back then ever citing Shoes as an influence in interviews during the late 80s otherwise me or my mates would have had some shoes records in our collections. Shoes got on my radar a few years later though, in the mid 90s via the Rev-ola reissue of Black Vinyl Shoes. It's fitting then that Rev-ola was a Creation Records sub label.  

Do You Wanna Get Lucky? · Shoes

Do You Wanna Get Lucky? · Shoes [1977]

Before indie, paisley underground, noise-pop and shoegaze you had the low key buzz of the thin fuzz of Shoes. Their lo-fi power pop with occasional neo-psych overtones was distinctly not particularly new wave-y here. They were doin their own thing. The impeccable diy four track recording of the Black Vinyl Shoes LP was released on Shoes own record label Black Vinyl Records before Bomp signed them the following year for the Tomorrow Night single (see previous post). Do You Wanna Get Lucky?'s got mellifluent melodic charms, ace chugging riff-age, the spectre of Phil Spector and that little surreal guitar break of tripped out noise is something else.   

8675309 Jenny Jenny · Tommy Tutone

[1982]

Wait, actual hits and memories! 

Crank this melon farmer up and you'll be chanting Jenny's phone number at the top of your lung in no time. 

Here's another one I haven't heard since I was ten. Only made it to number twenty two on the charts here. 8675309's got Canadian hit written all over it though and guess what? Surprise surprise it was a number two smash in Canadia that went on to become the the twentieth biggest selling single of 1982! Only kept off top spot by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder's fucking awful Ebony & Ivory. 

If I ran a golden oldies radio station this is the type of thing I'd be programming. Tunes that were in the lower regions of the charts for one or two weeks as well as good tunes that just didn't quite make it instead of the same thirty songs they've been playing on repeat for forty years on Australia's airwaves.

The Someloves - The Singles 1986-1990

The Someloves - Sunshines Glove (1990)

Bringing you all the non hits and memories. These Someloves singles got nowhere near the Australian top 40, I mean these guys were incredibly successful at being unsuccessful. Here's four of the greatest pop non-hits you never heard.

My Favourite LP in 1987 was At First Sight, Violets are Blue by The Stems. By the time Dom Mariani left The Stems and came out with these tunes in 1990 from a reactivated Someloves his time, in my eyes, was up. We'd been into The Pixies, JAMC, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, SY as well as the whole indie-dance thing for a year or two by then and these jangly melodic retro throwbacks seemed a bit fusty. I thought Sunshine's Glove was a bit of dad rock that had escaped from the Kingswood's car radio in 1981. I mean it kinda was but that was no bad thing. You can't deny a good tune and it seems that's all Dom and his partner in crime Darryl Mather had: Crafty, affecting and infectious pop tunes. Timeless.

The Someloves - Know You Now (1988)

As far as second half of the 80s power pop goes this is up there with The Smithereens' Behind The Wall Of Sleep and Crash by The Primitives. Know You Now is possibly Dom and Darryl's crowning achievement. An undeniable sherbet bomb of pop tune. 

The Someloves - Melt (1990)

Their third single rocks a bit harder. I mean that could be Joey Santiago doin that nifty lead. 

The Some Loves - Don't Talk About Us (1986)

It's crazy to think Dom Mariani was in two great bands at the same time ie. The Stems and The Some Loves (later renamed The Someloves). He also had great songwriting partnerships in both groups. I guess The Stems were a bit more Garage-y while The Some Loves were more on the power pop tip. It's all gloriously timeless guitar driven pop music. 

Anyway guitarist, co-songwriter and producer of The Someloves Darryl Mather had been a founding member of Lime Spiders and he met Dom in the 80s while The Stems were still going. They recorded their debut single It's My Time for the legendary Citadel label in 1986 of which Don't Talk About Us was the B-side. 

Shoes - Tomorrow Night

Shoes - Tomorrow Night [1978]

More great non-hits and memories. Here's another slice of lo-fi power pop, this time with more of a garage/freakbeat influence. Shoes achieved a pretty incredible sound on this single considering it was a do it yourself in the basement job. The mellifluous vocals and crunchy driving guitars are perfect for each other like other stuff that's perfect for each other. 

Unsurprisingly when Shoes later signed to Electra Tomorrow Night was re-recorded, in a plush studio with a producer, for release during power pop's premier year of 1979 but it still failed to crack the top 40... Shoes are undoubtably the most legendary coulda-been group of the era. I mean these tunes just belong on the radio... 

Other Boys Do · The Toms

The Toms - Other Boys Do (1979)

Fuck yes! Bringing you all the olden days jams and non hits and memories. 

1979's the golden year for new wave power pop and the new wave of power pop innit. Other Boys Do is from the lo-fi cult classic album The Toms. Tom Marolda was the Ariel Pink of his era: He sang, played all the instruments and recorded the entire thing on his own in his New Jersey home, coming up with the most charming record of 1979 in the process. 

20/20 - Out Of My Head

20/20 - Nuclear Boy [1981]

Back again with 20/20 and this their second LP. They up the new wave ante here for a blistering guitar driven pop classic. Ace guitar, large harmonies and even larger bass and drums all delivered with great gusto. We're all nuclear boys living in a nuclear world. 

20/20 - Out Of My Head [1981]

Now for the other absolute banger from 20/20's Look Out record. It's got that bass line from The Supremes that's also been recycled by the likes of Iggy Pop, The Jam and er... Jet. This is the best usage though innit. Try not to dance around your lounge room to this one. These guys are right on the money with their youthful exuberance, enthusiastic harmonies and smokin' rhythm section. Hard to believe this wasn't a worldwide smash hit. 

1981 Baby!   

Phil Seymour - Precious To Me

Phil Seymour - Precious To Me [1981]

A song with a memory hidden in the deep recesses of my mind. 

I am sure I haven't heard this since 1981 when I was 9. When heard yesterday my mind went "Fuck yes I love this" Then I thought this must have been a hit here in Australia and yes indeed it was a number 6 smash that went gold. I even enjoyed the key change which had me thinking that it was probably Stock, Aitken and Waterman's overuse of this songwriting trick that made me averse to such things, actually this might be the greatest most affective key change in a pop song ever... anyway Phil Seymour played drums and bass in the Dwight Twilley Band and also contributed a guest appearance on the debut album by 20/20 featured in the previous post.

Precious To Me's got layers and layers of nostalgia, history, tradition and meaning. I think this is the greatest 80s rediscovery I've made this year. I just can't believe how fucking infectious this tune is. You can have your Badfingers and Big Stars, Phil Seymour's the real deal baby!

Yellow Pills · 20/20

[1979]

Yellow Pills is at that perfect intersection of power pop and new wave. Chucking an unruly and abrasive synth into a slice of pure melodic guitar pop  is a genius manoeuvre.  

20/20 - Sheri [1979]

Also it's hard to deny this hook laden anthem. Melodic. Energetic. Electric.

 

20/20 - Tell Me Why (Can't Understand You) [1979]

This one's more on the mid tempo tip. So Beatle-esque it reaches ELO-like proportions. The infectious stuttered "T-T-T-T-Tell Me Why" chorus is peak new wave gloriousness. Concluding with lengthy psych interlude that includes spacey bass, backwards guitars, synth, spooky backmasked vocals and an epic fade out.

It's Friday night, Rewind Baby!

Jungle Rot · George Brigman

Jungle Rot - George Brigman [1975]

I think I bought the Jungle Rot cd reissue cd in the 00s mainly because of this photo accompanying the review which caught my eye in a magazine. It pictured three young burnout dudes hanging out in an abandoned house in nowheresville USA during the mid 70s. 

If someone told you this opening title track was a Chrome demo from 1977 you'd believe them, with its fantastic acid fried fuzz guitars and snarling vocals. 

Most of the rest of the LP doesn't really follow this style. There's a couple of tunes in a similar vein but the rest is more low key, comprising throwback 60s garage, some blues and stoner psych noodling with hints of of Velvets circa 3rd LP, The Stooges, Blue Cheer, probably The Groundhogs... anyway, an eclectic curio it definitely is.

It's Misery - George Brigman [1975]

It's the creepy stoner fuzz jamz that this teenage three piece from Baltimore excel in though.

Modern Eon - Fiction Tales

[1981]

One of the great post-154 albums. If you like your post-punk nice and gloomy yet sometimes uplifting, the incredibly dreamy Fiction Tales LP is for you. Along with Alex Johnson's inventive idiosyncratic vocal style & melodies we get serious post-punk drummage, classic goth bass lines and an array stellar dreamlike guitar textures. Chuck in weird atmospheric sound fx, a bit of piano, synth waves and some sax on a coupla tracks and that's your lot. While similar smaller bands of the era, Chameleons, The Sound, Sad Lovers & Giants etc. now have huge cult followings this Liverpudlian group still seem to get overlooked surprisingly.   

Laura Branigan - Self Control

80s, 80s, 80s! 

More tunes about adult concerns with darkly glamorous themes. 

"I'm living in the forest of a dream"

When being sexy was all about hair in your eyes and wearing an off the shoulder oversized jumper sans pants.

Shonky dancing alert! The daggy Branigan shenanigans begin at the 1.48 minute mark.

I totally forgot this song existed, I don't reckon I've heard it since 1984. . . This tune is way better than I recall. The state of the art 80s pop production is fucking sensational. It's synth-y, it's funky, it's disco, it's rock... it's 1984 baby.

*Things I didn't know in 1984: 

Self Control had Harold Faltermeyer on the synth. 

The video was directed by William Friedkin. 

Laura Branigan had no Italian heritage whatsoever which is surprising... we probably all assumed she was half Italian as she did a whole bunch of covers of Italian pop songs including this one.  

Don Henley - The Boys Of Summer

Still love this... probably still the best song of the 80s since I bought the 7" in 1985. 

Your Love · The Outfield

[1986]

Your Love is like the Monopoly man's monocle. Did it even exist in the 80s? I don't recall this band at all. Not on any music video shows or in music magazines or in the record shops during the 80s. This song was not a hit here in Australia or any soundtracks that I I know. The Mrs who grew up in Wales was a Smash Hits reader, TOTP viewer and all round pop music fan also does not recall the song. Yet when I heard it the other day I sang along like I'd known it all my life. So I'm guessing it's just been played on radio since the 80s. Maybe it's just so generic that I could just predict the lyrics and where the melody would go. Who knows? 

Anyway this is a great little power pop tune that was a big hit in America and Europe. Interestingly Your Love became a gold record in the UK despite the fact it only ever made it to number 83 on the British charts. It's all rather mysterious. It's a non existent monocle of a song. 

"You can put these songs on while you're driving or play them at a high school dance. They makes you feel good." Said the Outfield dudes who were surprisingly from the East End in London and not heartland America. The only English band from the 80s that were so uncool they looked like they were either from Canadia or Australia. When wearing a singlet with a matching mullet in your film clip was heroic.

They outdid The Cars, Foreigner, Mr Mister and Bryan Adams at their own game and created THE anthem of the era. I'm pretty sure the world agrees with over a billion plays of Your Love on spotify and 800 million views on youtube of the music video. 

Sniff 'n' The Tears - Driver's Seat

[1978]

One of the coolest songs ever.

The appeal of this tune is pretty mysterious. I mean when this song comes on the radio you go "Fuck yeah!" but just what is it? What even is the genre? Who cares I suppose... it's a vibe... it's one of a kind... it's all about restraint and what it ain't which makes the keyboard and guitar flourishes so much more, that constant nerve-y beat, the blip of the synth and these hidden little hooks all permeating the tune, insidiously add to the pop magic of Sniff 'n' The Tears' Drivers Seat.

Rewind!  

Young Turks · Rod Stewart

[1981]

Check out this supreme synthetic synth-y production. Production duties by none-other than Rodney himself. Not only that but Mark Knopfler is on guitar here! People talk about great tunes like Boys Of Summer but maybe this is the true national anthem of hypnagogic pop. 

 

When being a teenage mum with a pierced eared boyfriend who drove a pickup like a lunatic was heroic. Live the dream kids!

"They held each other tight as they drove on through the night they were so excited. 

We got just one shot of life, let's take it while we're still not afraid. 

Because life is so brief and time is a thief when you're undecided. 

And like a fistful of sand, it can slip right through your hands."

Osé - Computer Funk

(1983)

Strange electro jam written by James McCauley of Maggotron (in)fame from the previous post. How is this not an out and out stone cold cult classic of electro? This sort of bassline is maybe pretty unusual, is it? The same style perhaps not really being used again until the 90s with Drexciya as well as some hip-hop and drum and bass tunes, am I wrong? Wait for the 5.49 moment when it goes intergalactic then dissipates. 

Hey all you pac mans it's party time!

Maggotron - Computer Pop

Maggotron - Computer Pop (1984)

Here we go with the electro jamz once again... a whole lotta funky fun including on trend vocoder vocals and scratching. It's the Future and you're in it!

More On Movies... The Return Part VI

House On Straw Hill aka Trauma aka Exposé (1976)

Mostly notable for being on the video nasty list and for featuring Linda Hayden, the controversial star of Baby Love (1969) and Blood On Satan's Claw (1971). Rural horror with much onanism, deranged sex, violence, sexual violence, bad acting and a terrible script. Along with the splendid rural depiction of 70s Britain the other saving grace here is the top hauntological score from Steve Gray, this guy apparently played piano on soundtracks by John Barry, Lalo Schifrin, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith amongst many others.  

Cherry Falls (2000)

A 90s teen slasher with Twin Peaks vibes directed by the dude who did Romper Stomper. This gets insane and insanely hilarious by the end. Much maligned at the time but for post-Scream irony teen slashers it isn't that bad. Perhaps it was a bit of a hack gimmick to make the victims virgins instead of the usual punishment of promiscuity but that was a red herring anyway. The main star is the troubled now dead Brittany Murphy and she appears to be off her face on drugs in every scene and this definitely wasn't part of her character's mo. A lot going on here, this movie is a bit of a mess, like three unfinished films in one. A real curio of the era. Future cult movie if it isn't already one.

Live & Let Die (1973)

It's hard not to like Roger Moore as this incredibly fun Jim Bond in 1973. This one's all about the magnet watch unzipping the dress of the incredibly cute Solitaire (Jane Seymour), the insane virtuosic speed boat/car chase and the brilliant alligators as stepping stones sequence. There are elements of blaxsploitation and hick-sploitation amongst the usual Bond action, super villains and of course underground bunkers. Peak 20th century pop culture. 

The Black Windmill (1974)

A Don Siegel movie that maybe not everybody's seen. It's definitely not top tier Siegel, this ain't no Dirty Harry or Charley Varrick. Worth a watch if you're a Michael Caine or Donald Pleasance fanatic though. MI6 agent Major Tarrant's (Michael Caine) son is kidnapped and held for ransom. Will he get his boy back alive or die trying?  The best thing here is the cinematography of 70s Britain and Roy Budd's excellent brooding score. Be warned Michael Caine ditches his cool 60s black rims for a pair of what would become known as classic serial killer glasses. I'm a fan of both spectacle designs so it doesn't bother me but some may be triggered by this fashion choice.

The Ipcress File (1965)

Now we're talking... a proper cold war spy thriller depicting a rather drab and incompetent British bureaucratic intelligence agency. This is dingy-London and these spies are not really all that swinging. The recalcitrant cockney Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) might be just what this ineffectual department needs to solve the case of the missing scientist Dr Radcliffe. More importantly can the form guide checking Palmer's skills at plunging a coffee and cracking an egg help snare him the foxy bird (Sue Loyd) at the office? 

 

The Mummy (1959)

The tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka is opened by some British archeologists. Soon those involved end up murdered by Kharis, a very muddy mummy, the revived boyfriend of the princess. He's a wee bit upset that her tomb was desecrated. Indestructible monsters are compelling viewing even if they're kinda ludicrous and Christopher Lee brings a particular gravitas to the role in his brief portrayal here. Surprisingly atmospheric and melancholy. 

Get Carter (1971)  

Jack Carter (Michael Caine) infiltrates the seedy gangster underbelly of early 70s Newcastle to get revenge for his brother's death. He chucks Alf from Coronation Street off a high rise building. Grime-y, gritty and grim. 

The Steel Trap (1952)

A boring bloke who works in a bank decides the mundane life is no longer for him. He plans to take a million bucks from the bank vault and head to Brazil. Excellent nail biting stuff.

The Loophole (1981)

An unemployed American architect in England finds himself unwittingly applying for the job of masterminding a bank vault robbery. They end up using the storm water drain as the access point to the bank. What could go wrong? Good lil' heist movie starring Martin Sheen, Albert Finney, Johnathon Pryce, Susannah York...

Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)

Baron Frankenstein goes to deadly lengths to assemble a monstrous creation from an array of body parts. Curse Of Frankenstein was the beginning of a new gothic strain of British cinema, Hammer Horror, now for the first time in glorious Eastman colour starring the immaculate Peter Cushing and the imposing Christopher Lee. All the sickly science and murderous mayhem is supremely entertaining stuff. Historic.

The Revenge Of Frankenstein (1958)

Spoiler alert Baron Frankenstein didn't actually meet his demise by guillotine at the end of the previous year's movie. Here he reinvents himself as Dr Stein so that he can once again play the mad scientist and create another monster. Uh oh... things start going awry again. Can Stein get away with with his depraved ethics and monstrous human experiments or will the authorities finally catch up with him. Peter Cushing personifies Stein with aplomb. I think if you're an aspiring thespian the go to role model would still be Peter Cushing. He's just impeccable in everything he does, his mannerisms, inflections, restraint etc. He's the best. 

Crazy Horses · The Osmonds

[1972]

Insanely heavy Page/Iommi damaged guitars, obnoxious synth hook, drivin' rhythm and ace r&b horn arrangement. I always assumed The Osmonds were probably like a white Jackson 5 who played pale saccharine bubble gum slop for pre-teenyboppers but Crazy Horses is an undeniable (head)banger for anybody of any age! 

The Breakup Song · The Greg Kihn Band

[1981]

Indeed they don't write 'em like that anymore. 

Even though there's a jolly defiance about this song there's also an underlying melancholy aspect which just grows and grows the further in time we go. 

The further in time we go the more the song by the live band and the song on the juke box in The Breakup Song become this actual song. 

It's the song we used to know. 

It's the song they don't write anymore.

Joe Jackson - It's Different For Girls

[1979]

More sounds from the adult radio world from before I was a teenager.

I never knew what Joe was ever specifically on about in his songs. I still don't. All I knew was he was searchin' for something and possibly not always coming up with right answers. It felt like there was something taboo about his disconcerting perceptions, maybe even more so today in the post-liberal era.

Maybe I'm giving him too much credit perhaps he's just a self serious po-faced c*** who probably deserved a punch in the face. I mean...