Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Friday Music: More Finding

bob daktari

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 15:33:58 +1200

for them who've done the doco (so good) there's this wonderful 1 1/2 hour compile of live footage to compliment the series

"An archive celebration of studio performances from the British bands that broke through courtesy of punk between 1975 and 1982. Starting with Dr Feelgood and Eddie and the…

Julian Melville

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:10:23 +1200

Oh wow, I didn't know about Once Upon a Time in New York – thanks for that, amazing!

DexterX

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:07:48 +1200

I know – I have to go to a disco on Friday evening – at least they are serving "Jelly" – perhaps I will be able to stick my head in a bowl of it.

Life During War Time – is about Bryne living in Alphabet City.

DexterX

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:42:23 +1200

If you have the time, adn the inclination, this is pretty amazing – if you can plug the PC into your sound system and "vege" it is even better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wp2qhoop9U

Russell Brown

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:59:23 +1200

So a few people have kindly offered donations towards the cost of this week's upgrade of Public Address. I was going to give that a swerve, but have had some news that changed my mind.

If you're so moved — and don't feel obliged to — you can throw a…

Martin Lindberg

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:05:59 +1200

I was a bit too young to seek out or appreciate the 'true disco' that Simon and Russell are referring to. I was really just exposed to the top-40 watered-down versions, so punk came as a fantastic alternative to all that insipid stuff. Still, you couldn't really dance to punk…

Lilith __

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:02:30 +1200

Jonathan:
Rackets at Real Groovy, last Saturday

Wow, that's a great shot!

Jack:
a post entitled ‘The Winter of Our Disco Tent’. Maybe I should make it fly.

Fly it far away, dude. ;-)

JacksonP

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:55:16 +1200

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco,

I've been mentally preparing a post entitled 'The Winter of Our Disco Tent'. Maybe I should make it fly.

Rackets at Real Groovy, last Saturday. New track: Push A Man

Shot Jonathan.

Russell Brown

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:21:24 +1200

CBGB and the Mud Club probably – but what does it matter they and the Clash aren’t disco bands. In the words of Talking Heads:

“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco.”

The lines actually are:

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco,
this ain't no fooling around…

DexterX

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:55:06 +1200

what kind of clubs do you think they were hanging out in?

CBGB and the Mud Club probably – but what does it matter they and the Clash aren’t disco bands. In the words of Talking Heads:

“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco.”

I would have to ask…

Hebe

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:10:24 +1200

The thing I particularly loved about punk was the equal-opportunity attitude: one could be a female and still have balls. Patti Smith Horses did it for me; it was what I'd waited to hear my whole life. The "are you a proper punk" yattering was static to me; it was…

Jonathan Ganley

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:59:44 +1200

Rackets at Real Groovy, last Saturday. New track: Push A Man

Russell Brown

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:51:24 +1200

At this point, my favourite ever music documentary seems highly relevant.

Once Upon A Time In New York: The Birth Of Hip Hop, Disco & Punk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WfEZj1dK-o

Sacha

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:31:28 +1200

talking heads embracing the disco age

what kind of clubs do you think they were hanging out in?

bob daktari

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:06:57 +1200

is theaudience punk or disco?

Simon Grigg

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 05:16:54 +1200

The clash and talking heads embracing the disco age is just heresy and just plain wrong to say so IMHO.

The bassline from Radio Clash was pure disco with a direct line back to the great Philly bassists like Ronnie Baker.

Train In Vain was about as Disco as a…

DexterX

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:51:46 +1200

If any band embraced disco it was The Clash. Same with Talking Heads...

The clash and talking heads embracing the disco age is just heresy and just plain wrong to say so IMHO.

What The Clash and Talking Heads and lots of others sourced, was more funk, latin, reggae and…

Kumara Republic

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 23:47:55 +1200

Looks like the sequence is out of order...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3qKVIgJheY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJNEQlieRnQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Ge5gQV7XU

Sacha

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:46:10 +1200

damn fine

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:43:05 +1200

Oh good.

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:42:15 +1200

That was so weird I can't tell how well the player works. Let's try a Holy Ghost! clip:

https://vimeo.com/22252822

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:37:21 +1200

Modeselektor, from Vimeo:

https://vimeo.com/6804974

Simon Grigg

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:25:11 +1200

well that worked then didn't it :)

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:10:41 +1200

I'm watching it on my iPad!

Simon Grigg

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:23:22 +1200

And:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXMDCLni1t4

Simon Grigg

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:22:07 +1200

No one in a punk band could play that lead break.

No one in a British punk band could.....

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:22:36 +1200

Hang on, weren’t they all ‘New Wave’?

An insult like that would get you in trouble in 1978.

Kinda true for some, though. Graham Parker was an old pub rocker and the Only Ones weren't really punk. No one in a punk band could play that lead break.

Hebe

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:13:30 +1200

Hang on, weren't they all 'New Wave'?An insult like that would get you in trouble in 1978.

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:12:33 +1200

test

Simon Grigg

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:05:12 +1200

yeech: through at us ==> threw at us

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:45:48 +1200

That indefinable something...
Talking Heads, The Only Ones, The Members, The Undertones, Devo, Graham Parker and the Rumour...
Hang on, weren't they all 'New Wave'? That was the bin I always found them in at the record stores...
: – )

Simon Grigg

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:36:32 +1200

In the British Punk Doco I like how Mick Jones makes a point of saying he speaks of what it “it” was for “him” and what "he" was watning to do and not anyone else. His point is my point.

If any band embraced disco it was The Clash. Same…

Hebe

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:35:29 +1200

Speaking for myself only, punk was about saying up yours to old people and finding it ridiculously easy to annoy my parents ( a miniskirt, platic sandals and a pair of pink socks sent the old man incandescent). then you could go to the Gladstone (underage naturally) and watch Toy…

Kumara Republic

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:27:19 +1200

What killed disco was overkill, countless bandwagon jumpers coupled with a good old fashioned wave of racism in the United States where punk wasn’t even a glimmer in the mainstream.

Namely this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQfCcsqQ0E

Also agree on 70s music collapsing under its own weight.

DexterX

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:19:59 +1200

Dear Simon and Dearest Russell,

Ahem –if the Johnny Rotten,Sex Pistols brand is marketed as Punk being rebellion against bloated rockers (at a time in his life whilst he stays up for several days listening to Foreigner taking speed) and it gets bought as such then that is cool for…

Simon Grigg

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:17:05 +1200

The gift Punk Rock gave the world was that it killed Disco

Wot Russell said, plus punk didn't kill disco.

What killed disco was overkill, countless bandwagon jumpers coupled with a good old fashioned wave of racism in the United States where punk wasn't even a glimmer in the mainstream.…

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:14:10 +1200

The long goodbye...
...he moved to Brighton UK after Quays and hasn't been heard of since...
Thanks for that Simon, great gumshoeing...

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:25:45 +1200

Prog gnosis... grim...
Disco wasn't the problem. At all.
What rock music had become was the problem.
So, not what we were dancing to
but the way we were dancing to it?
'- )

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:03:21 +1200

Whatever happened to Gary?
and that club in Quay Street?

I have a fond memory of taking up a collection at a party in Mt Eden and being driven with Gary to Quays — by Hunters & Collectors' bass player — to exchange the cash for a disproportionate amount of booze…

Russell Brown

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:00:22 +1200

The gift Punk Rock gave the world was that it killed Disco.

Ahem.

Disco wasn't the problem. At all.

What rock music had become was the problem.

andin

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:04:06 +1200

slick, but soulless
Well they were destined for success then weren't they. And they certainly gave off that aura at the time. Eyes on the goal of success OSeas they didnt want to pay their dues gigging round OZ, I never went to one of their gigs.
But the live…

DexterX

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 08:58:55 +1200

Reminiscence is a fine thing; but seeing what "Punk" was encircled by makes one feel profoundly unsteady:
http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/1976.html
http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/1977.html
http://www.addlong.co.uk/UK-Hits/1978top.html

The gift Punk Rock gave the world was that it killed Disco.

Simon Grigg

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 21:23:22 +1200

We have news: Alan (Blondies – we used to all drink Irish coffees there late at night in those pre-licensed days if you recall) Lindley tells me he moved to Brighton UK after Quays and hasn't be heard of since....

Simon Grigg

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 21:12:13 +1200

I asked that question on Facebook, nobody knows. Went back across the bridge?

I was more an Alms For Children fan tbh – that EP on Ratbag's label was the biz.

Harry may know where Gary is.

Somebody else suggested Bob Sutton for that – makes sense.

Ian Dalziel

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 16:28:40 +1200

Wow – just wow.
I know!
Whatever happened to Gary?
and that club in Quay Street?
I still have and rate my This Sporting Life EP copies...
There seems to be a few Rumba bar clips on YouTube of various bands – I have a recollection of someone filming gigs…

Simon Grigg

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 19:51:53 +1200

presumably at Avalon.

Yep, it looks to be, and I'd (wildly) guess it was a Brent Hansen vid.

Making a video at Avalon would usually consist of standing around a bit of the Close to Home or Glide Time set and miming for an hour or so. When you you'd…

Russell Brown

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 18:05:29 +1200

The Gordons clip was done in Wellington, I think, by the NZBC — presumably at Avalon.

Love this comment on the YouTube page:

Brent rocks with or without hair. I married him because the only word he says is “drums.” -wife of Brent, Lizzy

Hebe

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 17:33:00 +1200

Great the visual record is there — and a bit surprising when you think back on how few people had devices that recorded moving pictures back then. Only my friends from the middle classes had access to movie cameras; we oiks had trouble affording to get still films developed. I'm…

Simon Grigg

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:33:46 +1200

The clips don't do the rooted-to-the-spot sonic experience.

No they don't come at all close – and neither really do the Toy Love clips (unless my memory is skewered) or the recent live album.

For all that, I'm thrilled we have both (and I know there's a lot more like…

Hebe

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:15:40 +1200

The GordonsI can't separate The Gordons' songs ; it was always a time and place for me. The clips don't do the rooted-to-the-spot sonic experience. (My best "one" was the Thistle Hall in Cuba Street in 1981-ish. )

Simon Grigg

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 15:46:49 +1200

This Sporting Life at the Rumba Bar 1982

Wow – just wow. I had no idea that was up there. Gary Rodent!

Ian Dalziel

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 15:22:25 +1200

Thought I best come back over here instead of clogging the Two Tales of a City Capture thread up with music (good though it is)...

The ones that got away...
This Sporting Life at the Rumba Bar 1982
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fY9usNQp-w&feature=related
(with dance floor 'cameos' by Roger Shepherd and Chris Knox)

Shoes this…

JacksonP

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:53:32 +1200

Watercolours has my vote

If you haven't already found it, there's a few more to listen to under Chelsea Jade name on Myspace.

Russell Brown

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 19:51:52 +1200

Can we have a “vote what you like” model, maybe with a rolling balance of say 30 votes, shared by percentage over the month?

You can vote once a day, every day …

Greg Wood

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 19:31:28 +1200

Done – Watercolours has my vote – but a single vote with no mechanism for intensity is barely scratching the surface on this one. Can we have a "vote what you like" model, maybe with a rolling balance of say 30 votes, shared by percentage over the month? What say…

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:33:33 +1200

Oz rock was born and INXS became megastars
Yeah, we used to play with them 2 or 3 times a week sometimes, same set list on the monitors everytime, slick, but soulless – the good stuff was happening with The Sheiks and Paul Kelly and The Dots and similar, at…

JacksonP

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:31:39 +1200

By all that's holy, that Watercolours stuff is GOOD.

And how! Just had one of those moments that is rare with music when you full in love with something in less than a minute of song.

Voted!

Russell Brown

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:50:28 +1200

By all that's holy, that Watercolours stuff is GOOD.

I've pointed out to her that she can put 'Night Swimmer' up on Bandcamp without making herself ineligible for the funding grab, so hopefully that'll happen soon.

Meanwhile, you can take a moment to register and vote for her.

Simon Grigg

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:49:19 +1200

Meantime, up here in Singapore: no iTunes Music Store, no Apple TV on the shelves – in case someone's Aunty has a VHS recorder, apparently.

Each of the SEA territories has it's own local stores, all licensed but with local pricing. Lets face it, nobody up here is going to…

Simon Grigg

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:46:59 +1200

There's a brilliant period interview in Punk Britannia where Wilko Johnson declares that rock 'n' roll isn't "songs about hobbits".

Wilko is absolutely great in that (as he always was) but I was taken aback by how he's aged (especially since the rest of us haven't at all).

I was…

Greg Wood

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:46:23 +1200

By all that's holy, that Watercolours stuff is GOOD.

Meantime, up here in Singapore: no iTunes Music Store, no Apple TV on the shelves – in case someone's Aunty has a VHS recorder, apparently.

hot_grits

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:45:26 +1200

Punk Britannia looks cool. Here's the... um... opposite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt6uWZpIiMY&feature=related

-judging by the first minute should be pretty funny.

I also very much enjoyed Soul Britannia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkZKEvoDTi4

And Metal Britannia looks pretty good, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7caeQdOUds

nothingelseon

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:34:59 +1200

Aussie pub rock had similar beginnings. Jimmy Barnes, Icehouse, Midnight Oil, Hoodoo Gurus, AC/DC, INXS – they all made it big starting out playing in pubs as much as the British scene did.

Australia's post-punk/indie scene was amazing for its diversity & breadth. All seemed to go horribly wrong once radio…

Peter Darlington

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:37:36 +1200

Doctor Feelgood fans and the idly curious alike should ring aunty for a copy of Oil City Confidential, Julien Temple's unbelievably great doco on these pub rock legends.

Ha, a mate and fellow Dr Feelgood fan was raving at me about this just last weekend so it's already on the…

Russell Brown

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:26:02 +1200

Nice to remember Charlie Tumahai, but based on the extract posted, I think you might be mixing Be-Bop Deluxe with Ducks Deluxe – something I suspect neither of them would have liked much (at least at the time).

I was wondering about that. Meant to go back and check I…

lloydois

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:57:15 +1200

Who would have ever thought the Scissor Sisters would be able to come up with this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOaqEnsl3u0

Geoff Lealand

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:58:09 +1200

Well, this is a pleasant surprise--to find the posting for sink/sink on PA. This is a venture by my colleague Gareth Schott, who finds time between teaching and family life with two young boys, to develop collaborative and experimental music-making across the globe, using Soundcloud.
He has given me a…

frank stark

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:51:22 +1200

A bit like Space Waltz vs Johnny and the Hurricanes.

JP Hansen

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:36:44 +1200

What I'm loving about Spotify is that I can read an album review – even a mixed one like Graham Reid's re: the new Beach Boys and instantly go and listen to the whole album and make up my own mind.

And I can give a spin to albums from…

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:31:08 +1200

Brilleaux's pad...
Took me back to my days as a 15 year-old poster boy in Hamilton, sticking up for Doug's tours of both a post-Wilko DF line-up and then Wilko himself with his power trio.
And then on to Rip it Up and Flying Nun and beyond – Paul…

paul mckessar

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:01:16 +1200

Doctor Feelgood fans and the idly curious alike should ring aunty for a copy of Oil City Confidential, Julien Temple's unbelievably great doco on these pub rock legends. Aside from an opening sequence that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as their supercharged r'n'b…

Russell Brown

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:57:43 +1200

Since it's Friday and to drag up a topic from a few months ago, The A.V. Club has A guide to the best (and a bit of the worst) of prog rock.

There's a brilliant period interview in Punk Britannia where Wilko Johnson declares that rock 'n' roll isn't "songs…

Martin Lindberg

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:54:21 +1200

Since it's Friday and to drag up a topic from a few months ago, The A.V. Club has A guide to the best (and a bit of the worst) of prog rock.

Vey interesting read. They conclude by listing:

The Essentials
1. Yes, Fragile
2. King Crimson, Larks’ Tongues In…

Russell Brown

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:51:23 +1200

Well, you can say that now...
Shall I raise you a
few Roxy Music covers
and an Electric Ladyland...

But they were both ... cool.

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:45:53 +1200

L’ Offender…
Highly embarrassing 70s sexist rock cover art though …
Well, you can say that now…
Shall I raise you a
few Roxy Music covers
and an Electric Ladyland…

That was then this now,
on we move…

Speaking of Sunbursts
you may have noticed
(ex punk musician) Rob Lamb’s…

Marcus Turner

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:42:59 +1200

The video and humour might not be to your taste, but the music's pretty good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV5_xj_yuhs

Russell Brown

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:49:57 +1200

Sunburst Finish great album (as I recall)...

Highly embarrassing 70s sexist rock cover art though ...

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:40:11 +1200

Also ‘Ships in the Night’ is a great song
Sunburst Finish great album (as I recall)...

RaggedJoe

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:33:37 +1200

Reckon you need to bundle these tunes that you discover up into an old fashioned CD and sell them at the local farmers market and online, here in this forum.
Put me down for one. All this streaming stuff is fine for you young city folks......

Russell Brown

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:15:49 +1200

One of the pub rock acts that gets namechecked a lot in Punk Britannia is Be Bop Deluxe. Killer fact: their bass player from 1974 to 1978 was Charlie Tumahai, who returned to New Zealand in 1985 and joined Herbs. He’s well funky in this clip.

Also ‘Ships in the…

Kumara Republic

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 22:19:16 +1200

Very much looking forward to the Punk Britannia doc when I fire up the VCR tonight. There's been debate about this, as ever, but it's good to see the pub rock brigade get some love for kind of making the whole thing possible.

Aussie pub rock had similar beginnings. Jimmy…

Jos

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:13:41 +1200

Been enjoying The Audience a lot I must say! Great stuff.

Christopher Dempsey

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:08:32 +1200

Reckon you need to bundle these tunes that you discover up into an old fashioned CD and sell them at the local farmers market and online, here in this forum.

Kebabette

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:50:45 +1200

Thanks for the Punk Britannia tip, been wanting to get my tiny hands on that. I loved Synth Britannia & got to see that via YouTube too. There is nowt like a splendid music doco.
Also, punk parents might like this Never Mind Your Ps and Qs Here's the Punk Alphabet…

Russell Brown

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:32:33 +1200

it's good to see the pub rock brigade get some love for kind of making the whole thing possible.

It's very enlightening — as is the theory on pub rock's own origins.

nothingelseon

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:15:40 +1200

bob daktari

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:12:31 +1200

so over the multitude of streaming revenue posts that litter the internet... one supports/defends... the next takes to opposite view – they only serve to confirm peoples believe patterns about such things imo

its about the money honey – the shit that we were foretold the internet would bring some…

Public Address

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:12:31 +1200

Discussion from blog post.