Sunday 12 February 2012

RE: What ever happened to Ducktails?



Anyway diggin' on this now.
III: Arcade Dynamics
Ducktails
(11)

Anyway I was listening to this thinking 'Who does this remind me of?'
I started recalling my original thoughts on who their influences might have been from
back then. New Order/Galaxie 500 came to mind as well as Dif Juz and Durutti Column
which in 2008 was hard to believe that the later two groups were being
referenced by a young group from America.  This guy was probably not even alive when
Vini Rielly and Dif Juz released those records in the early 80s.
It made me think what a breath of fresh air they were back in 08.
When I say fresh air I also mean it as a description of their
lovely music.  Anyway they reminded me of Ducktails.
I realised they'd released a bunch of top records while pretty much
flying under the radar of most people.  This was the sound of hazy sunshine,  
the gentle rippling of waves and wasted summer days being wasted.  
Ducktails along with Dolphins Into The Future
will forever remind me of a holiday I spent in Fiji a few years back. In the barmy
evenings I would listen to them while drinking vodka after spending a hot day
in and by the water. It was like I was still floating in the water
or lazing on a boat in the middle of the pacifc ocean.

Anyway track down these classics and break out the drinks with umbrellas, along
with whatever else you might want to imbibe.


 

II
Ducktails
(08)





Landscapes
Ducktails
(09)





Ducktails
Ducktails
(09)

Saturday 11 February 2012

Alan Partridge



Golden Partridge

Just watching the DVD today.
This had me in Stichers.

funny

Early 90s Nostalgia?



Saw this on Letterman the other night.
Can't explain why I like it.
Same reason I like that Rustie LP I suppose.
Is it early 90s nostalgia?
Who cares?!
Just dig on it.

Friday 10 February 2012

Geneva & Ducktails


Why isn't she as big as Ga Ga?
How can you not love Geneva Jacuzzi?
Actually a lot of people probably don't like her.
Not me though.
Love Caboose
from the compilationLamaze
as is this next one.



Clothes On The Bed




Ducktails
Hamilton Road
awesomeness!
RE: What happened to Ducktails?
This track is from an album they did last year,
III: Arcade Dynamics
I totally missed that.
I'll have to check it out.
Love the tune.
err...the video however....



Beer

I always thought Henry Lawson was a bore but here's a quote I like from him: "Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer."

*What about Scotch, Sparkling Wine & Vodka?

**I will endeavour to find quotes for these passions of mine.  If poets did not write about the attributes of such things I will come up with the words to match their qualities.

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Best Song..again



I was in Sydney a few weeks ago when I was writing those posts on best songs ever.  At a BBQ I asked my two sisters what theirs would be.  To my suprise my older sister picked this.  I love it too!

FOX
S-S-S-SINGLE BED

I also remember a great cover version of it by some of the people from Box The Jesuit.

Talkin Shit

* Is it just me or does every 2nd Drones song sound eventually like it's going to break out into Cortez The Killer?

*RE: Grr... Would Dead Can Dance have qualified to be in that book.  I mean they are a Melbourne band right?  What about Olivia Newton John's Xanadu? We claim all the other British born people and New Zealanders too. We're not claiming Livvy ? As far as pop goes that could be in the top 3 or 4.  What too much Jeff Lynne ? Not enough Jeff Lynne as far as I can see.

*The title of this post has made me remember this scenario -I was at a pub a couple of years ago with my wife and met some new people.  Anyway they asked what I did and I told them finishing with of 'Jack of all trades.  Master of none.' One of the guys possibly 10 years my junior replied 'Don't say that you never know who's listening.'  This struck me as very odd.  I thought that sounds like something an American might say.  I thought whatever happened to the great Australian National pastime of self deprecation.  God as far as self deprecation goes it was quite soft as it contained a positive statement along with the negative.  Did this guy think there was someone lurking around the corner about to give me a million dollar contract.   Now I was no longer going to get the job for being down on myself.  Anyway I thought fuck where is this dudes sense of humour? What? Are  they being brought up so confident they couldn't possibly dare to not take themselves too seriously even when they are at the bloody pub.  What would happen if I said something negative to this guy about him?
Would he be able to cope or would he be a delicate snowflake and be crushed.  What a turd!  Just for him I say 'What a load of bollocks this paragraph has been.  Not worth the electricity it used up! or the time it took me to type it and you to read it!'

Miserable/Funny Songwriters

I was going to bang on about New Zealand music and why the 80s to about 91-92 were a golden era etc. and not just the popular Flying Nun bands but the weirder ones plus xpressway etc.  Another time perhaps or maybe look elsewhere on the net for such information.  I remember a pretty good article on Flying Nun at the Stylus Website. There is also a good doco on the youtubes about Flying Nun RecordsPopwatch fanzine once had a terrific piece on the xpressway label. 

I was thinkin' about funny singers and songwriters.  It used to be, people would say 'Nick Cave was a bit dour.' and not see the funny side in the 80s into 90s, but now he's almost a fully fledged comedian so people are comin' round to the idea.  There also used to be "How can you listen to The Smiths? They just moan!" Of course as soon as anyone said this you knew that they hadn't truly listened to the band.  Morrissey was fucking hilarious!  Those Smiths albums still make me laugh.  Leonard Cohen too, what a laugh he was. Then there was the more obvious funny dudes like Robert Forster, Mark E Smith and Dave Graney. As well as hardcore like Flipper and Angry Samoans.

I had another category as well where it all seemed so serious surely they were havin' a laugh.  Maybe they were, maybe they weren't.  It didn't matter to me I thought they were a laugh a minute.  First example being Swans.  The darkness, the impotence, the serious delivery, the sickness etc. what a hoot!  Michael Gira possibly the funniest man on the planet.  Jarboe a bit funny too.  Joy Division were funny.  Add in Ian Curtis's dancing you got yourself a good time.  Primitive Calculators were great fun to me and my little sister when I was in my early teens.  Still one of the good time bands for me.  It turns out in recent interviews that indeed they had great senses of humour.  Einsturzende Neubauten with their crumbling architecture, wanting the world to end, the harshness, the screaming the mental illness etc. all good comedy fare.  Liabach, pretty funny as well.  Rollins too but I had to love the music as well so I don't know if he counts.

Funny songwriter or just a funny guy?



Anyway the whole reason I was thinkin' about this was because I was listening to The Drones for the first time in years and wondering where Gareth Liddiard fitted into this.  Sure on the telly he's a funny guy (RockQuiz a couple of times) but do I find his songs funny? I'm still not sure.  Steve Kilbey a recently hilarious dude was something nobody saw coming, well not from The Church's music anyway.  He might have always been a private card but I like the idea of him flowering late with his comedic prowess.  Gettin' loose in his old age.

Maybe all of this says more about me than anything else. Who knows?  Any thoughts out there ?


**That's a great painting of Gareth Liddiard (from The Drones)  from last years Archibald Prize Exhibition, which I managed to catch in The Yarra Valley.  That painting was also one of the strongest in the competition.