Bleached Black - Self-titled LP

Bleached Black - I Was In Your Life [1985]

Then some bands were in a zone somewhere between REM and Husker Du. I Was In Your Life is hard edged power-pop, hooks and harmonies plus excellent backwards guitar solo. It's all done and dusted in a brisk two minutes. These guys missed out. Bleached Black had the electrifying tunes but sometimes notoriety just doesn't happen and their potential was never fulfilled. Forty years later this 7 inch single is going for sixty bucks on discogs.

Bleached Black - Morning Sun [1987]

This one's sorta somewhere between Died Pretty and Grant Hart. Morning Sun goes along splendidly in a harmonising, drumless  and acoustic manner. The production on this is fantastic so it's no surprise producer Lou Giordano later went on to produce many Alternative bestsellers of the 90s like Bob Mould, Lemonheads, Julianna Hatfield, Belly, Sugar, Live, Goo Goo Dolls and many more.   

There isn't a hell of a lot of info out there on New Haven, Connecticut's Bleached Black but it seems their self-titled LP from 1987 was dumped with little promotion, no singles and no videos, then they just drop off the face of the earth. It all seems very bizarre considering how promising they were but I guess there's an untold story that we just don't know. Anyway that's how the cookie crumbled...

Bleached Black - Let Me Take The Time [1987]

This time Bleached Black get dark and noisy. Let Me Take The Time is hard driving yet melodic post-punk with added feedback that's got a bit more of neo-psych flavour like Rain Parade crossed with mid tempo Husker Du. 

Bleached Black - Crisis [1987]

More driving buzzsaw neo-psych with surreal guitar interludes, intense lead and top harmonising. The hard hitting twin vocals of Stevo and Greg Prior are pretty infectious, right up there with peak Stipe and Mills and future legends Staley and Cantrell.

fIREHOSE - For The Singer Of REM

[1987]

More REM worship... well this not so much a rip off as a tribute. This is a pretty fantastic impersonation of an REM song too. Stipe and co were absolutely mythical in the 80s before they did terrible shit like Radio Song that destroyed all of that delicious mystique. 

P - Michael Stipe [1995]

Even Gibby Haynes of Butthole Surfers was dazzled by the great man, so much so that he wrote an excellent song about meeting him. Others name checked in the song include River Phoenix, Sophie Coppolla, Martin Landau etc.

REM - 9-9 [1983]

You tend to forget that REM were pretty fucking peculiar on those early records. I mean what the fuck are they up to on this tune? This ain't no radio friendly schlock à la Everybody Hurts. These southern eccentrics were incredibly inspired and distinctive. 

Another Place To Hide - Even Greenland

[1986]

Heading further into obscure territory here with more long lost paisley jangling from down south. There's some uncommon lo-fi haunted psychedelic magic going on here. The strange tonal shifts of the insane bass passages on this create a pretty discombobulating sensation! This band from Tuscaloosa Alabama are right in an inspired zone on Another Place To Hide creating the perfect mid 80s one and done 7 inch single. Recorded by Tim Lee from Windbreakers (see previous post). 

The Ivy Room EP - One Plus Two

September Nights - One Plus Two (1985)

Now for some REM mimicry. If I'd heard this at the time I would have been irritated and thought this was just pale imitation but now I'm fascinated by it. It does have a nice boy/girl chorus which is pretty sweet and the whole thing is pretty darn catchy. I guess there's elements of other jangle and strummers too like The Feelies, The Bats and their ilk. The biggest surprise here is that Mitch Easter is not the producer, surely that can't be right.

Secret Question - One Plus Two [1985]

More REM worship from the terribly named One Plus Two from North Carolina. They did a single, this EP and an an LP and surprise surprise Homestead Records was their label. 

Promise - One Plus Two [1985]

The Ivy Room EP would be a mere historic jangly curiosity if it wasn't for this fabulous track. Songs about leaving small country towns in your youth are close to my heart and Promise does not disappoint. The whole defiant optimism of leaving your town because of a relationship disaster is so darn infectious. This time honoured theme pops up in other classics like Pavement's Box Elder and Gene Clarke's I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better by The Byrds.

Color Appreciation · Plasticland

[1981]

Some early 80s garage-psych complete with OTT intergalactic acid guitars from Milwaukee group Plasticland. I guess it's some kinda precursor to the paisley underground. I vaguely recall Matt Piucci saying, on a podcast, that Rain Parade were influenced by them and that perhaps he ripped off certain elements of this tune for I Look Around one of the great songs on Emergency Third Rail Power Trip.

Flying Color - Dear Friend

Flying Color - Dear Friend [1985]

Pretty choice slice of jangly power pop . Everything's in the right place. Right up there with The Someloves and The Plimsouls. A love song that's in that sweet spot of emotive yet restrained making it not too cheesy.

Nice.

Actually the more I think about it, the more I think it's one of the great lost guitar pop songs of the 80s that hardly anyone knows. This version is a re-recording of their ramshackle 1985 single for their one and only self-titled LP from 1987. 

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 reverbed to the hilt twin guitar trip-out. 

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 psycho bits. 

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. 

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. 

Hallucinatory hypnotic neo-psych at its finest. Get mesmerized!

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

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.

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... 

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. 

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 most music fanatics seem oblivious to it ever existing.   

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. This is their answer to tunes like All You Need Is Love except this a song about how cool your bird is 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!

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.  

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. 

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 (The Stone Roses, The Verve, Oasis) would incorporate a similar contagious upbeat swagger into their world dominating guitar pop aesthetic. 

The best.

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. 

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."

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. 

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.  

The Numbers - Five Letter Word

[1980]

More barely hits and memories gold. Five Letter Word was the only Numbers tune to crack the national top 40. 

Annalisse Morrow had the hair, clothes and attitude. Our nonchalant bass playin power pop princess shoulda been a national icon. 

The Numbers were on the Deluxe Records label along with INXS, The Dugites and Toy Love. 

Sorta effortless, pretty minimal and seemingly simple. Kinda cool and kinda naff. 

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.