playlist was all Australian music from the 1960’s up until about 2000 or so. It’s Thursday June 20. Some autist had uploaded about 700 songs to the internet and being the autist that I am, I downloaded them and put them on my phone. Sometimes I have to drive 200 miles at a stretch and having a lot of different music to listen to is helpful. When I’m not listening to ‘crazy talk’ on NPR, I listen to music on my phone. I have to say there was a lot a garbage produced in those years, but it’s interesting to compare then and now, and also the decade shifts in between.
JOK. I saw him in the street one day with a chick on each arm. He asked me the way the Forum cinema
Starting with Johnny O Keefe and the Delltones, all the way through to Leonardo’s Bride, and Wolfmother, it’s weird listening. Most of it to me is unlistenable garbage, but then my first ep is right there in the same category. I would have pressed play for the next track too. One of the worst excesses of the 80’s and 90’s was the over use of reverb and echo. Almost every fucking track recorded during that time is drowning in it. A song like Paul Kelly’s ‘Before Too Long”, isn’t a bad song, but it’s defeated to a large extent by the feeling that it was recorded inside the Jenolan Caves. By contrast, New Zealand band the La De Da’s 1971 recording of ‘Gonna To See My Baby Tonight’ is a masterpiece of restraint. You can hear everything clearly, and it’s all good. I think this was one of the few tracks without any flaws at all. I’ve always liked the recording anyway, so maybe I’m biased.
Before too long, drinking coffee will do that to your teeth
Cold Chisel, who seemingly hold the crown for most Aussiest of Aussie pub rock bands, had a couple of quite good songs. The band itself could kick ass, however too much echo is in play as was the decree back then. Jimmy Barnes’ singing (screaming) is kept in check most of the time, which is a good thing. He really starts to grate on his solo projects. I can’t tell you why, you’ll have to figure it out. Don Walker on his Tucker’s Daughter solo tune, sounds almost identical to Barnes, quite an achievement. If we only knew who Barnsey was trying to sound like, the mystery would be solved. Like some of today’s lauded songstresses, a lot of these early pop stars struggled to hit the notes. They should have waited 50 years and these obvious flaws and limitations would have been applauded as brilliant. Most of it is throw away rubbish, but that’s what pop music is all about innit? Hear it today, and it’s in the trash tomorrow, where it mostly belongs.
What’s your excuse for being fucking annoying?
The cat who uploaded all of this stuff, left a lot of stuff out. It was his collection after all. There wasn’t anything derivative that I found that I was wanting to hear in that lot anyway. Half the singers in the 80’s were trying sound like David Bowie, I don’t need to hear it. One of the last tunes I listened to before I pulled into my garage this morning was Matt Taylor’s “I Remember When I Was Young”. I was quite liking it for it’s idiot savant, almost retarded lyrics. It’s a song about a kid growing up in the 50’s I guess. The “chorus” goes like this…
“Sometimes I think about it
It happens every day
I should think of the present
Cause the present’s now”
The whole thing sounds like it was written during an acid flashback if you ask me. The first verse has the immortal lines
“Well, I remember when I was young
The world had just begun and I was happy
I used to wonder about the earth
And how it moved around the sun so snappy.”
“So snappy” ? No worries Matt. Anyhoo, it was all very entertaining until it wasn’t. A lot of these groups were not very authentic, and many of them are aping overseas trends. I don’t care anyway.
This is live. Sounds pretty much like the recording.
Bonus video. Climate Change religion lunatics spray private jets thinking that one of them belongs to Taylor Swift…The hugging at the end says it all…haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!