Thanks for this, EH - and now I’m listening to it too.
I’m utterly perplexed by this: first - punk developed independently in Australia?? In my mind the model is well established, with interplay back and forth across the Atlantic, the key moment (I would argue) being when the Ramones heard Dr Feelgood (at a CBCGs gang party - ref is a documentary, can’t remember the title). And with that the fuse was lit. And yet, at exactly the same time in Australia… it beggars belief. Research is urgently needed.
Secondly, they moved to the UK and had a (minor) hit here - and I have no memory of them whatsoever. They obviously didn’t go unnoticed - from the referenced wiki page:
I do not know them at all. I cannot explain this.
j
PS: of course I didn’t read Sounds. Everyone I knew read NME. But still.
The soundtrack for Mona Lisa Smile. A lot of my favorite albums are modern hipsters doing standards, and this collection from 2003 is one of the best. Not all the contributors’ careers have aged well, but a surprising number have:
1 “Mona Lisa” by Seal
2 “You Belong To Me” by Tori Amos
3 “Bewitched” by Celine Dion
4 “The Heart Of Every Girl” by Elton John
5 “Santa Baby” by Macy Gray
6 " ‘Murder’ He Says" by Tori Amos
7 “Besame Mucho” by Chris Isaak
8 “Secret Love” by Mandy Moore
9 “What’ll I Do” by Alison Krauss
10 “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by The Trevor Horn Orchestra
11 “Sh-Boom” by The Trevor Horn Orchestra
12 “I’m Beginning to See the Light” by Kelly Rowland
13 “I’ve Got The World On A String” by Lisa Stansfield
Gamma 2. Ronnie Montrose got into a real groove on this album, especially with the blues. It is on my short list of CD’s that I take with me on road trips.
Lullabies to Paralyze by Queens of the Stone Age is solid metal pretty much from start to finish. Favorite track has got to be “Everybody Knows That You’re Insane”, which starts with some gorgeous wailing guitar and takes a right turn into full headbanger territory. There’s enough variety of style across the album to keep it interesting though.
Mike Patton is a mad genius. Mostly mad. It’s charitably described commercially as “experimental,” and it is extremely unlike you will enjoy it. It is challenging to listen to, not quite Metal Machine Music, there are actual instruments and songs, but it’s probably unlike anything you’ve ever heard. There is a high level of musical virtuosity on display, but intentionally arranged in the oddest way possible. My best description of it would be “musical cubism.” Standout tracks would be “Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw,” “Violenza Domestica,” and “Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz.”
Mermaid Avenue, vols 1 and 2 by Billy Bragg and Wilco.
When Woody Guthrie died, he left behind over 1000 sets of complete song lyrics, with no music for any of them. Woody’s daughter took the lyrics to Billy Bragg to see if he could make an album of songs out of them with new, modern music. Bragg felt an American band should be involved, so he reached out to Wilco, who agreed to collaborate with him. The result was one of the best two volumes of Americana/folk/alt-country music to come out in a long time. Natalie Merchant also performs on it.
Here’s some songs to give you an idea of the diversity of great music here: California Stars
I know everyone who knows them says it, but XTC are hugely under-rated.
I came to say the 2 album set of Apple Venus and Wasp Star by XTC. A kind of one acoustic/one electric sets but written over the same time.
Alright, I’m cheating but only a little.
Easter Theatre with lyrics. 'Gold sun rolls around, chocolate nipple brown'
Andy Partridge who wrote and sings it, said that he cried on writing the ‘Easter in her bonnet’ section - and then again on hearing the final mixed version.
I have all his albums, including very early stuff, along with Salif Keita, Habib Koite and others. I saw Toure live in Bamako, Mali and have been a fan of West African music ever since.
This a great example of a great album from an artist that I don’t particularly like. This album is really good start to finish but every other Steve Earle song that I’ve heard does nothing for me.
I actually flew to Liverpool from the US to see this in live performance a few years ago. (The live performances did not tour the US.) It was totally worth it.
PS - They were originally going to perform it in Dublin, so I flew there. But a change in the ferry schedule led them to cancel the Dublin performance. Fortunately, I was able to change our tix to the Liverpool performance and we hopped on a flight to see it there instead.