Glenn Mercer's band is a little miracle of the eighties. One of these cult bands that helped people remember what rock music could be (among the horror vacui of 80's stadium rock bands or synth pop music criminals), much like what Big Star did in the 70's. Both Big Star and The Feelies were outsiders: Alex Chilton & co. were in love with british bands of the sixties and califonian rock (of the same decade), pretty much like The Feelies sounded as sons of late period Velvet Underground or Modern Lovers's devotés: go and listen to the album's first song, "The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness" and see if it doesn't sound like a track from Modern Lovers' debut.
E in italiano:
I was talking to a friend about this album, and it came to mind that I hadn't posted it yet. Which is something I should be ashamed of. Because Wall Of Voodoo's second LP, "Call Of The West"is one of the most original new wave records ever. I mean: there were not many bands that felt like playing country 'n' western music with synths. It is something that the mind can barely accept, actually. Yet it exists. Which is something that has always amazed me about music: you think there is some music, some crossover, that could never ever work, and then some band jumps up, doesn't give a care, and they do it anyway. And you just listen to it and think: "Yeah, why not?".
This is step 2 in my mission of digging into british folk(rock)music. After step 1 (Shirley Collins some weeks ago. And that one won't be my only post on her) this is on one of England's most talented songwriters, the late Lal Waterson. She was co-founder of the Watersons (altogether with her siblings Mike and Nora), a band that mostly sang english tradionals acappella.
As I promised here's another Go-Betweens' bottleg, in this case a showcase performed in Brisbane to launch their 2005 album "Oceans Apart" (and, among the boots that I haven't posted yet I chose this because I see that very few people voted for OA as their fave LP in our poll...which kind of suprised me since it is considered by many one of their best ones).
In these last days I have tried to dig into british (and irish) folk music. I've been a Fairport Convention/Sandy Denny/Richard Thompson for a long time and I've decided to search for more (and then comes to mind a great song by the Who, The seeker, with its character -the seeker, of course- who is alway looking for another band, for more music), when I accidentally stumbled into a little italian manual on that. That's how I discovered Shirley Collins. Her first release dates back to 1955 (a compilation called "Folksong Today"), and then her carreer flourished, also thanks to the collaboration with her sister Dolly, that went on until 1995 when she passed away.
Ok, I couldn't resist. The thing is: songsfordirtylovers posted it some days ago, but I don't like its version so much (there is some annoying noise, some kind of buzz, at the beginning of each song), so I realised that my version (although it's only @ 160 k) sounds a bit better to me (at least it has no buzz).
I'm a big KCRW-Morning Becomes Eclectic fan. I have podcasts and every now and then I check their site for new radio showcases.
This is a beautiful showcase broadcast by some danish radio (ergo the excellent quality) of Robert & Grant performing as an acoustic duo after the Go-Betweens' split-up of the eighties: the songs are both from the GB's repertoire and from the two's solo careers. And that's one thing that still amazes me: how these two old friends never stopped being friends, and how when they got together to play (no matter if on seldom occasions during the GB's 90's Intermission or during the band's comeback after "The friends of Rachel Worth") they could easily play each other's "solo" songs with no problem at all. Just think if there ever is going to be a comeback tour for Pink Floyd with Roger Waters: no way Gilmour would agree to play something out of "The pros and cos of hitch-hiking" or "Amused to death", I'd say.
