Girls & Menda

The Year My Voice Broke (1987)
Menda (left) and Taylor (right)

Menda in Girls

Noah in Game Of Thrones

I just watched the second season of Girls and hey that was weird wasn't it? Way less laughs in this season. It had me thinkin of Woody Allen doing Interiors after his early comic hits ie. Girls season 2 was really quite bleak and disturbing. Then in maybe the second to last episode my continuity/disbelief suspension was totally ruptured. Great Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn shows up as Jessa's dad! My viewing then switches from identifying with the kids/20 somethings to then having to readjust to relating to Mendelsohn's character's situation as he's only a couple of years older than me. Funnily enough it was not that dissimilar to mine as in he'd moved to the country and was watering the grass, something I'd never done until 2 days ago. I guess I relate to the characters in Girls in a retroactive kind of way. I watch them and see what they're up to and mainly think 'Thank god I'm not that age anymore'. I still relate to their more universal human characteristics though. Just like when I watch The Simpsons I still relate to Bart on a lot of levels but I'm also surprised how Homer-like I can be. Is this navel gazing? Anyway seeing Ben Mendelsohn put me in mind of a time in the early 90s when late at night after boozing on there he was in the same St Kilda kebab shop as me. I remember thinking 'He's from one of my all time fave movies (The Year My Voice Broke) and here he is just as drunk and in need of late night lamb sandwich as me'. Noah Taylor from that same movie turns up in Game Of Thrones but that wasn't nearly anywhere near as jarring as Menda being in Girls makin me feel well old. I guess also Taylor's appearance doesn't jar because Game Of Thrones is fantasy while Girls almost feels like Cinema Verite. Oh shit I'm in trouble now with the pretentious police for saying C..... V.....  Judy Collins, yes the singer from the 60s, makes an appearance too, looking quite frightening. Lena Dunham, Girls creator, has created some exceptional characters including Hannah played by herself. One wonders/worries how autobiographical Hannah actually is with her escalating OCD and Hypochondria. In Girls the boys are especially brilliantly acted. Ray, Charlie and Adam are confusing, complex, frightening, stupid and real. Then there's the ladies, Jessa is fabulous, Shosh is just weird and how much do you hate Hannah's mum and bloody Marnie? It's one of the few telly shows right now worth watching.

Ray. Service with a sneer.

Australian Landscape

 Classic Australian Landscape (I-phone pic, no fx).

RIP LOU REED

What can I say? You either know what this man means to music or you don't care. One word from me will do: Legend.

Jesus Christ, I forgot how good this tune is!

Rihanna-Pour It Up

Love this tune. One of her best ever no doubt.

Loving this too. I've never paid much attention to this dude until I saw this video today. It's kinda like 70s Rod Stewart meets Prince (er.....that's meant to be a compliment). It's pretty pretty good.

Other observations after watching the top 50 on channel V today.

*Why do people insist on using ye olde microphones in their film clips? Its like they have to give us a visual representation of the fact that they are influenced by ye olde music. They've been doin this in music videos since at least the 80s. Anyway there was a slew of ye olde microphones in the top 50, I'm lookin at you James Arthur.  Which is funny coz all the songs in the top 50 pretty much sound the same. If one of these (see below) turns up in a video you know the song's gonna be shite. MK20 have 2 antique microphones doubling the shiteness of their song. Then there's 2 more in the Capital Cities video. James Arthur went for a triple shite threat!  Retromania gone wild.

*Bruno Mars also has a vintage microphone in his video but its kinda cool (late 60s/early70s, not like the above) so he gets away with it. 

*Ham's The Wire has got to be the worst thing I've seen/heard in a long long time. I can't even begin to describe that attempt at a song.

*Britney's new track has got a riff like a UK 'ardore tune from 92!

*I was shocked by all the Mumford wannabes.

*The dude from One Republic looks like Australian cricketer Michael Clarke a lot, it's weird.

*All you fogeys complaining about sex in videos need to redirect your outrage toward the Arcade Fire. Words like vile should be saved for discussions on the artistic merits of such a pop group.

*Who buys all these Jason Derulo tunes? He had like 3 in the top 50 but I can't remember how any of them go.

*Has GaGa run out of steam?

*Do they make pants for ladies in the 21st century?

Arcon 2 - Liquid Earth

Loving this track. The opening 1 minute 15 seconds is Burial ten years early. The weird thing is I was listening to Burial's Untrue on my phone while I was surfing the net (that's a quaint term now innit?) and the album finished. 7 or 8 minutes later this tune came on. I thought 'er..this must be a secret track that I've never noticed before.' But I went to now playing and it said nothing was playing. I thought 'Gee that Burial is freakin me out with his ghost trax that aren't even playing.' Anyway by the time the drum and bass breaks arrive I realise something's up. So I scroll through what I was looking at on the interweb and it turns out I'd accidentally hit play to start this mix over at blog to the oldskool.  Coincidence or not?

Luke Vibert's Nuggets 3

Just discovered this on i-tunes today and couldn't wait for the vinyl so I downloaded it. This is Luke Vibert's 3rd volume of selections taken from various library music archives. Volume 3 is material taken exclusively from the Bruton Library vaults I believe. Volume I had tunes from Chappell, Southern, IM and PIL music libraries and was where i discovered such luminaries as Roger Roger and Nino Nardini. Further Nuggets was the second volume in this series and was my introduction to the likes of Eric Peters, Bernard Fevre and Roger Davey. Since the release of those two compilations over 10 years ago now, we are all a lot more informed about music libraries thanks to the many blogs that popped up specialising in this music. Many library classics and not so classics (there's a lot more of those) have been shared and heard thanks to the likes of Funky Frolic, Dusty Shelf, Val Verde Music, Retro-Teque, Library Music Rarities et al. Many of these blogs though have now closed down. Anyway thanks to those legendary bloggers I am well aware of the Bruton catalogue. Having said that many of the tunes on Nuggets 3 I've not heard.  Down-tempo crime funk, space age disco and car chase themes are the order of the day here. However there are some anomalies. Scratch City is as the title hints a scratching hip hop jam!? Adrian Baker & Ray Morgan give us the Beach Boy-esque In Close Harmony while Bill Campbell & Aaron Harry throw up (apt word for it) Galaxy a Reggae tune! Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett both make several excellent contributions ensuring that this collection's status goes beyond mere novelty. The discovery for me though is these five tracks from Francis Monkman (The prog guy of Curved Air/Sky fame). These top synthetic noir funk jams sound like they could be coming out of today's underground. Now where are all those library music files.....

Scarecrows

Those three are actually quite scary but this next one is just awesome.

Foo on the farm.

Goodbye Hello

From here 

So Long Melbourne

to here

Scarecrow competition at the Cardross
show.

Still Life-Oneohtrix Point Never

Has Oneohtrix Point Never become some kind of born again fundamentalist using propaganda videos to get his point across?

Either that or he's havin a laugh at the expense of others. Roll up roll up ...A modern day freak show for you all to see. No exploitation here folks just good clean healthy fun.

*Uh Huh, here's an essay on this video right here. This is what xxxxxxox says in the comments at Rouge's Foam about the essay

 "Its clear that the only point of this smug little uni grad zero books clique is self aggrandizing. You all police culture like your petty little incoherent screeds are remotely interesting to anyone."

I thought that was hilarious and pretty on the ball. Couldn't help but think though 'did xxxxxxox's manuscript get knocked back by Zero Books?' Also couldn't help thinking he was being a culture copper himself.

Back to that video, just look at reality tv though and you'll see how much people love exploitation. People want to be exploited, exploit and watch others exploit and be exploited. Nothing much has changed since the days of freak shows has it? We still love to see the freaky shit don't we? Shows like Embarrassing Bodies and that one about the guy with the massive balls* are popular for a reason. X-Factor, Idol et al have a fair bit of laughing at the unfortunate and the mentally ill. There's big bucks in this shit.

*Was AC/DC's Big Balls the theme tune for that?

Mutant Ideology - Dopeski & Jakes

This is where my head's at right now. I can't get enough of this shit. Choice darkside tune from back in the day (1993) but new to me this week.

Nick Cave Tribute Concert

One of the weirdest things is happening on my telly(ABC2) right now as I write. It's some kind of tribute concert to Nick Cave by indie and ...ugh!.. roots artists from like over a year ago. Its like the kids get to dress up and play Nick Cave for a night. It's truly horrible. Some of these artists should know better ie. Kram from Spiderbait who's holding down the drum spot and a bit of singing. I can't see the point at all. Nick Cave usually tours Australia once a year so you get to see him do his stuff regularly. The thing is none of these people are makin it their own, you know like what a worthwhile cover version is all about. Funnily enough Nick Cave is very good at doing this as heard on his excellent LP of covers from 1986 Kicking Against The Pricks. Some jock just did a Chuck Berry style version of Deanna. I guess Lisa Mitchell the former Australian Idol contestant turned The Ship Song into a Lisa Mitchell song, make of that what you will. Also guess what kids? Nick Cave's not dead! Hang on Paul Kelly's shown up and whatever he sings can only ever be a Paul Kelly song. He's turned Nobodies Baby Now into a song you would believe he wrote. Not only that it sounds like one of his best songs ever and it coulda been on his classic LP Comedy. Now that's how you do a cover! Is the singer from Magic Dirt tone deaf? She's turned Straight To You into something truly horrid. Very bad indeed. I want to go home now. Oh but I am at home. Hang on, you thought it couldn't get any worse but now some dude's doing a reggae version of The Weeping Song. Wow! This is comedy gold! You know what else is strange? There's bloody thousands of people at this concert. What are they doing? There's way better things to spend your time and money on. For instance chocolate, drugs, helping the needy or I don't know watching DVDs of Melrose Place. Wait more comedy! Some Aussie hip hop guy has taken the stage and is doing Stagger Lee, not really a Nick Cave song but whatever. They've turned into some lame rock opera of truly cheap proportions. Hey that's entertaining but that doesn't mean it's good. Now some bird in terrible red pants, no hang on, the worst pants ever worn is covering The Mercy Seat. This is so awful it's almost good. Abbie May plays guitar on Jack The Ripper and there is no doubting her talents on the axe. She's fucking incredible. Blixa wouldn't hate what she's up to. Then the footy player in the C & W shirt is back singing Get Ready For Love making me feel sick. Now Blixa would hate this as would Nick I reckon and as do I. Some time in the mid 90s I was drunk in the front bar of The Punters Club and Up Jumped The Devil came over the stereo. I proceeded to do a legendary performance and so memorable it was that many weeks later someone in attendance presented me with a Bad Seeds T-shirt (which I still have to this day). What I'm sayin is you shoulda been there for that and not at this absurd display.

Good cover.

The House In The Woods-Bucolica

Whilst still in the 90s & 00s I have visited now a couple of times I must admit. Didn't really know what to expect with this record. It's the dude from Pye Corner Audio doing some stuff that's pretty different from the music he does under that moniker. We're still in darkly atmospheric territory but this time its more of an organic blur. Only one track has anything resembling a beat. This album is more in line with mid 90s isolationism than haunted slasher soundtracks. Bucolic is a funny word isn't it. I always have to stop and think 'bucolic no its not some hideous disease or poison. Its about idyllic country life.' So it's a word that sounds like it should have the opposite meaning than the one it has. A bit like this record really. This is the sound of wind and rain amongst the trees and mysterious lights off in the distance. I can smell the air and feel the temperature. But I can also feel the melancholy.  There's bliss too particularly on Sunlight On Rusting Hulk, which reaches MBV-like blissed out proportions. Then sinister vibes arrive, but are they though? Or is your mind playing tricks on you for a moment.  Are we just projecting fear onto a lull or stillness. This is a fascinating record. Rural psychedelia lives.  

The 90s Again....

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

I didn't see anything wrong

Sam dressed up as a woman again.

Audrey Horne

Just to cleanse your eyeballs after that last post 

here's the one and only Audrey Horne.

Miley Cyrus' Disney Sex

First we were made to imagine  Miley being penetrated by a giant finger (did I have to imagine that? She pretty much was!).  I read a great quote about this performance at the vmas, which was along the lines of "Unfortunately I can't unwatch that performance." I'm not sure I need to be upset or outraged by it though. It is what it is.

Then we were made to watch her playing with a giant anal bead. "Oww My Balls!" I'm not sure what her intentions were but its definitely not sexy, perhaps the opposite actually. In a way it kinda fits with Disney (who I assume she is trying to distance herself from) as its all a bit cartoon. Courtney Love thinks its punk. What's next?

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..

I was in Ballarat the other day.....
Ballarat Bitter...never had it, didn't even know it existed till I saw this.

Not big on the iphone camera. This is just random effects. They should call this hipstamatic effect The Boards Of Canada. I hate the way it framed this one. I liked my $50 phone better, at least I'd mastered that. It used to give me the vision I wanted. I was in synchronicity with that device.

90s Nostalgia

Am I gonna get swept up in nostalgia for the great 90s 60s nostalgists Mazzy Star and their new LP? Probably. Which is a bit weird considering I never bought their 3rd album. I mean I loved those first two records, She Hangs Brightly & So Tonight That I Might See, played them to death. By the time of the third record it seemed their time was up but 17 years later it seems perfectly acceptable to give Mazzy Star's Seasons Of Your Day a listen. That says more about our relationship to time in 2013 than it does about me. Mark Fisher has some interesting thoughts about time over here.

Now here's some more nostalgia but this time for the future, well when 'ardcore was like the future in the 90s. Manix have a new record out called Living In The Past as pointed out here at Blog To The OldSkool. Pete from said blog is swept up in the nostalgia and has ordered a copy. Now why does Manix's comeback seem more naff than Mazzy Star's? I guess because Mazzy Star were always living in the past and you never thought Manix would ever be. In their time Manix, 4Hero, Reinforced Records et al were the antitheses of nostalgic revivalist culture. Like the Sex Pistols reunion Manix's comeback seems contradictory to their original intent. Living In The Past though is guaranteed to be more modern than Seasons Of Your Day.  We've all gotta eat I suppose.

Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus 7

Remember when you just wanted to play Daniel Lopatin's records over and over again because they were lovely, atmospheric, epic and sometimes anthemic. Rifts (Oneohtrix Point Never), Days Of Thunder (Skyramps), Artificial Midnight (Infinity Window) and Returnal (Oneohtrix Point Never) were all classics and you thought they'd never stop coming. Now his records are just ok and interesting. But are they though? If a record was interesting I'd wanna keep dropping the needle on it wouldn't I? I want to love R Plus 7 (and the previous album Replica) more than I can. When S Club 7 is on its fine I don't wanna smash the stereo in but at the same time it doesn't fill me with the desire to rewind or add it to my I-Pod. There was a good few years where Oneohtrix was the sound in my eardrums. Particularly in the morning on the train, on the platform, on the escalator and walking the windswept and rainy streets. But he's moved on and Lopatin is not giving me what I need any more. Lovely has turned to slightly irritating, serene to jittery (not in a good way) and neo-kosmiche to pretty much vapourwave.  Then towards the end of R Plus 7 with tracks like Chrome Country and Still Life there's a flicker of the Oneohtrix I once knew which keeps me hangin on a little longer hoping for a full blown return to form next time.

These tunes also included on
the compilation below.

Artificial Midnight-Infinity Window
Serene Atmospheres. Lopatin in
collaboration with Human
Teenager's Taylor Richardson.

Essential compilation. Includes
the above record.

Days Of Thunder-Skyramps
Scintillating collaboration with
Mark McGuire from Emeralds.

Melbourne IV - Primitive Calculators/Whirlywirld/The Little Bands...

Is this the best song ever to come out of Melbourne? It doesn't get any better! 

'I had a boyfriend, his head was ugly.....'

But hang on...This is surely the best version of Hey Joe ever recorded. Fucking brutal!
"I'm gonna head through Gippsland, down to Omeo,
I'm gonna go where a man can be free!

Ain't gonna hang from no Coolabah tree!
Ain't nobody gonna make no Tom Dooley outta me!
Ain't nobody gonna push too hard on me!

Melbourne III - Real Life

Melbourne II

AC/DC in Melbourne goin up Swanston St!
There's even a lane in Melbourne called AC/DC Lane.
I know they're not a Melbourne band.
Didn't they live here for a couple of years though?

Melbourne I

I'm leaving Melbourne soon which is a place I have lived for the last 22 years!  I thought I'd give the world a little hint of what Melbourne is like in regard to pop culture. I have a list inside my head about this city which will make all you internationalists realise either shit Melbourne what have you done? or thank you for the music Melbourne

Let's start with the 60s

My fave Aussie song of all time! Produced by Molly Meldrum & written by Johnny Young!

 I am the Real Thing!

Into the 70s

A much shorter version than the one on the Ball Power LP.
Ball Power being the best Australian Rock Record ever recorded.

Tim Hecker - Virgins

Was It Hemingway or Forster who said 'I write so I know what I think.' Anyway I feel I've got nothing to say but sometimes putting pen to paper reveals what is really going on in my brain. It's not like I'm not listening to a lot of music, maybe I'm listening to too much. I'd like to just focus on one or two records to write about but maybe nothing is outstanding enough. I am enjoying Tim Hecker's new album Virgins. Its got more exquisite drones that sometimes go berserk. Virgins is a fine proper follow up to his 2011 classic Ravedeath, 1972. I feel like this is music about architecture, skyscrapers and progress. Is it a paean to the 20th century's man made technological triumphs yet tinged with sadness that those heady days are behind us? It could be about nothing. I don't know maybe its about poverty in the 3rd world or mobile phones. It might be holy I mean check out the title. Perhaps this music is made for the joy of its own sonic delirium. Anyway its definitely monumental, its big, its urban and full of vibes I can't quite put into words. There are pianos, other acoustic instruments, synths and electric currents. Occasionally I'm put in mind of Maryanne Amacher along with other drone-ologists. Do I have to use the word decay somewhere in this paragraph? I don't want to! Abstract is a much overused term in music discourse of the last 20 years but on Virgins and Tim Hecker's other work it actually fits like a glove. This is a sound world I want to be part of again and again. Play it again Sam!

There you go who knew I was gonna write a review of that album.

Children Of The Sun

Heard this in a restaurant the other day and thought it was like 60s Scott Walker doing a lost Doors track. It took me a while to find what it was but here it is!

Don't forget this bewdy from the 80s.

And this one! Wow.

The Drowners - Flying Saucer Attack

Played this the other day and couldn't believe how fresh it sounded 20, can you believe that?, years later.

The original is not bad either. The only Suede song I liked I think, well it's the only one I remember. Brett Anderson: Turd or Hero? It's a fine line innit?

Faye Dunaway

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!

MX-80 Sound - Crowd Control

I've just realised that some of you out there have not heard or even heard of perhaps the greatest, definitely one of the coolest, certainly one of the most absurdly thrilling records of all time. 'What you on about?' I hear you say. MX-80. Sometimes they were MX-80 Sound. They were art punk metal prog cyborgs from the underground (well Indiana actually). Genre discrepancies are absofuckinglutely meaningless (aren't they always?) once this record is playing. Then all you know is its greatness.

Hello America

Hello France

 Hello Australia

Just another microbe....

A question for the ages

I can feel it...beyond my control....

Yes Yes Yes More, Refuckinwind!

There's more to life than being good

There will be stories in all the papers

You can go astray, do it your way



....I remember....

Everything is great baby

He's got fingers for eyes....

For those of you who just listened to Crowd Control for the first time I know what you are saying. "Wow, how has that LP not been part of my life until now?!!! It's the fucking greatest!! Thank you Space Debris." Now you can go tell all your friends, parents and pets that they should be into MX-80! Write into your favourite website to tell them you can't take them seriously because Crowd Control isn't in their top 10.

IX Tab

Here's an excellent video from IX Tab. Looking forward to his new record.  An interesting link here!

On The Hi-Fi Part 62.5

Lou Reed (1972)/Rock N Roll Animal (1973) - Lou Reed

I've always been led to believe that Lou Reed's self-titled debut solo LP was a bunch of crap. Someone went so far as to say it was 'ineptly played.' So when this record finally got a spin in my presence I was pleasantly surprised. Lou's set free to become 70s Radio Reed. He does stormin versions of some old VU leftovers and some ace new tunes. This is another case of don't trust the rock-crit consensus. I think I like this album more than Reed's last Velvet Underground LP Loaded!

This year I was lucky enough to experience the opening of Rock N Roll Animal for the first time. Those familiar with the record know what I'm talking about. The album opens with this excellent powering guitar instrumental that eventually after 4 minutes effortlessly moves into a scintillating version of the riff to Sweet Jane. The crowd goes wild and so do I with chills goin up and down my spine. This is one of the greatest recorded rock moments. The rest of the record is just as exciting. Rock N Roll Animal is a metallic maelstrom of epic proportions. Reed even gets downright funky at the 5 and a half minute mark of a 10 minute version of the old Velvets tune Rock N Roll. This made me think that maybe it wasn't Orange Juice who were the first to funkify The Velvet Underground blueprint and that it was the main man himself who did so. The influence this record had can be heard right across the punk/post-punk milieu.

Down To The Silver Sea - GASP! 01LP

This is a promo for a new compilation LP on the new Goephonic sub label Geophonic Audio System Productions which is the label run by the dude from Moon Wiring Club. This fantastic video is a collage artwork in its own right.  Looks good. More here.

Daft Punk/Sherbet

I was reading the credits on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories the other day and noticed one D.Braithwaite as a co-writer of the last track Contact. I thought cool these guys really know their cheez. I thought they may have hired Daryl Braithwaite to write with them but it turns out they just sampled his former group Sherbet. By the time Sherbet made this track We Ride Tonight in 1982 they'd changed their name to The Sherbs to break into the US market. I assume the lolly co. had something to say about their old name. Anyway I don't even recall this being a hit in Australia but it was a hit in America. Aussie Rules fans take note the drummer is wearing a Geelong Football Club guernsey, trendy!

Daft Punk? Daft Cheez!

I always liked the tune below from 1988 which was a big hit. As The Days Go By was a comeback single for the (then) now solo Daryl Braithwaite.

Here's the original Sherbet from 1976 with their massive Antipodean and British hit Howzat!

*This track was used to incredible effect in a scene from the NZ movie Rain (2001).
** Also I once saw Daryl Braithwaite down the beach.