Album of the Week - Vol.8

Stranger Things -Music from the Original Netflix Series VARIOUS ARTISTS (2017)
Week: Fri 17th Nov to Thu 23rd Nov
Format: CD
Producer: Nora Felder
Track listing:
1. INTRO - Will singing The Clash (dialogue)
2. Every Breath You Take THE POLICE
3. Should I Stay or Should I Go THE CLASH
4. "Coffee and contemplation" (dialogue) *
5. Hazy Shade of Winter THE BANGLES
6. Nocturnal Me ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN
7. "Bring him home!" (dialogue)
8. Sunglasses at Night COREY HART
9. Girls on Film DURAN DURAN
10. "Just because people tell you..." (dialogue)
11. Atmosphere JOY DIVISION
12. "Maybe I'm crazy..." (dialogue)
13. Twist of Fate OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN *
14. "Says logic" (dialogue)
15. The Ghost in You THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS *
16. Africa TOTO
17. You Don't Mess Around With Jim JIM CROCE *
18. "Accident or not" (dialogue)
19. Whip It DEVO
20. Runaway BON JOVI
21. Time After Time CYNDI LAUPER
22. Talking In Your Sleep THE ROMANTICS
23. "Mouthbreather" (dialogue)
24. Back To Nature FAD GADGET
25. "She's our friend and she's crazy!" (dialogue)
26. Rock You Like a Hurricane THE SCORPIONS
27. Heroes PETER GABRIEL *
28. "Friends don't lie" (dialogue)
29. Elegia NEW ORDER *
30. OUTRO - Will Singing The Clash (dialogue)
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 77:35

Like most Stranger Things fans, the music used in the TV series is a major part of the attraction. After watching the first season I was particularly taken by the original score by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. Their work was an awesome hybrid of Tangerine Dream and John Carpenter, and so many scenes benefited from their synth-heavy soundscapes. I was lucky enough to have some vouchers for iTunes on hand, and bought both volumes of the soundtrack before they were physically released. 

They are hard to listen to casually, particularly when the track is underscoring a scary or unsettling moment. However for every eerie The Upside Down, there's something wonderful like A Kiss. It's one of the most extensive soundtracks for a TV series ever released, well, in recent memory. Even iconic TV scores like Twin Peaks, Game of Thrones and The X-Files only received modest releases, almost samplers of the score. Volume 1 of Stranger Things runs for nearly seventy minutes, while the second volume hits the seventy-four minute mark. Almost two and a half hours of score for an eight episode TV season? That's pretty amazing.

It made sense to me that a third soundtrack would be on the cards as well. One for all the awesome songs that had been peppered through the show's run. For the most part, the choice were fairly accurate for the time period too (The Bangle's Hazy Shade of Winter? The heck?). Some songs were chosen for mood though, which is understandable. And I guess it wasn't like The Bangles' 1987 cover was blaring out of a boombox or anything. New Order's Elegia was put to stunning use, eclipsing Pretty In Pink, for mine. But, I digress! Alas, no such soundtrack came and I made do with fan-made and 'official' Spotify playlists.

Fast forward to now, and there is a Stranger Things soundtrack full of tunes and dialogue available! Unfortunately, it's for songs from both season one and two. Unless there were licensing issues, or it was a fairly costly affair, I think both seasons could have warranted their own album. 

There are some absolute gems here. Peter Gabriel's version of Bowie's "Heroes" is simply stunning, and every time I hear it, I'm taken back to the ending of the third episode of season one Holly, Jolly; and I get chills. Jim Croce's You Don't Mess Around With Jim will always conjure up images of Hopper dancing in his old cabin and Elegia...again, just awesome.

However, for every great aural memory or gem, there's a generic 80's number that we've all heard fifteen million times. So, while Olivia Newton-John's Twist of Fate is brilliant on so many levels, we don't really need another copy of Sunglasses at Night or Time After Time. Cuts like The Ghost In You by The Psychedelic Furs and Romantics' Talking In Your Sleep are great little nuggets, and songs I wasn't previously familiar with. I would have liked Modern English's I Melt With You to have been included over, say, Back To Nature by Fad Gadget. Bon Jovi's horribly cheesy debut single Runaway, is another cringe worthy inclusion. It doesn't help that it was used in the much-aligned second season episode The Lost Sister.

Some of the dialogue snippets could have been chosen better as well, I feel. Two of Joyce Byers' soundbites are so similar, they cancel each other out. Thankfully, one of my favourite lines from season one, "Mornings are for coffee and contemplation..." is included. Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, I think there's only one line of dialogue from the second season. 

It feels like it was a little rushed when it was compiled. I feel that there could have been better song choices, or more comprehensive singles releases for each season; with each track appearing in the order as shown in the series. Elegia, however brilliant it is, is a very odd song to end the album with. There is much to enjoy, but after one decent airing it only makes for casual listening. Looking forward to getting my hand on the score soundtrack from the second season!

A Stay at The Church II

We traveled down to Dunsborough last weekend to watch The Church play at the Dunsborough Tavern! Last time we journeyed down that way to catch a show was for Josh Pyke in July last year. It was cool to venture out of Perth and see him play somewhere different. 

As The Church were playing The Rosemount in Perth on a Friday night I already had a gig on, heading to Dunsborough on a Saturday I (eventually) had free seemed like the way to go. Rhones and I love our roadtrips and quick breaks too. We booked into a little B&B and headed down to the pub around 8:30pm.

Unusually, there wasn't another act playing earlier. We got the skinny from friend of ours who had provided the audio gear; the band's roadie held up an iPhone and announced it as the support act, he he he. Anyway, The Church took to the stage just after 9pm. They started playing right in the middle of a transaction I was making for a tour T-shirt, in fact.

The Church live at Dunsborough Tavern, 18th Nov 2017

Now, I had been following their setlists from previous shows, and was hoping for something a little different from their recent US tour. Checking out reviews of their Adelaide and Perth gigs revealed that they were using the setlist I got from South by Southwest as a guide. So, it was pretty similar, which isn't a bad thing really, as I knew what to expect. I'd listened to each song from the SxSW show and had become fairly familiar with it all. One track I'd become quite fond of, Aura, kicked off the SxSW gig (and 1992's Priest=Aura album), so when they took to the stage with Myrrh (from 1985's Heyday) I felt a little dismayed.

That dismay dissipated pretty quickly as I got caught up in the night's opening song choice and felt the awe of seeing bassist/lead singer Steve Kilbey, guitarist Peter Koppes, drummer Tim Powles and ex-Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug. Jeffrey Cain (ex-Remy Zero) provided additional guitar and keyboard throughout the evening. Their roadie/guitar tech Ross Molloy even took on bass duties during Undersea from their wonderful new album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity, so that Kilbey could unleash his theatrical front man for a spell.

As Myrrh gave way to Toy Head (from 2014's Further/Deeper - the first Church album to feature Haug) I was getting quite a sensory buzz from the sights and sounds of one of Australia's longest running bands. As they approach their fourth decade together, they are focused on moving forward. Close to half of the songs performed on the night were taken from their last two albums. 

While they are selling out venues all over the country, the crowd at the Dunsborough Tavern was fairly modest, probably being about half full. There were some hardcore fans there sporting old tour t-shirts, but most were casual listeners who were there to hear Metropolis, Under the Milky Way and The Unguarded Moment (which they got); the latter still a big favourite of mine, despite the chagrin it causes Kilbey. 

There was a decent smattering of their back catalogue, but if it wasn't for the glorious Day 5 (from 2006's Uninvited, Like The Clouds), there would have been nothing between the years of 1990 and 2014. Day 5 has become a big favourite of mine over the last few weeks, and they dragged the song out to include Kilbey riffing on the Beatles' Within You Without You which fit in brilliantly! I was very surprised that they didn't perform anything from 1982's classic album The Blurred Crusade, fan fave Priest=Aura or the much lauded Untitled #23 from 2009.

I was pretty entranced for the entire evening, and marveled at how good they sounded. This is certainly not a band that are winding up, and I'm hopeful for what they'll be delivering in future years. I hope they attempt another tour akin to the one-off show at the Sydney Opera House in 2011, A Psychedelic Symphony. Or another tour consisting of albums performed in their entirety a la 2015's Further/Deeper and The Blurred Crusade tour. Or a revisit on the theme of the Future Past Perfect tour, wherein they played the Untitled #23, Priest=Aura and Starfish albums. I'm very keen to see what new music they will release too.

Anyway, here's the setlist from the night, with my five fave moments highlighted...

Myrrh (1985 - Heyday) *

Toy Head (2014 - Further/Deeper)

Metropolis (1990 - Gold Afternoon Fix) *

Another Century (2017 - Man Woman Life Death Infinity) *

Delirious (2014 - Further/Deeper)

Fly (1983 - Seance) 

North, South, East and West (1987 - Starfish)

Day 5 (2006 - Uninvited, Like The Clouds) *

Constant in Opal (1984 - Persia EP)

Undersea (2017 - Man Woman Life Death Infinity)

I Don't Know How I Don't Know Why (2017 - Man Woman Life Death Infinity)

Tantalized (1985 - Heyday)

Under the Milky Way (1987 - Starfish)

Reptile (1987 - Starfish)

Encore:

The Unguarded Moment (1981 - Of Skins & Hearts) *

Miami (2014 - Further/Deeper)

Album of the Week - Vol.7

Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars EDIE BRICKELL & NEW BOHEMIANS (1988)
Week: Wed 18th Oct to Tue 24th Oct
Format: iPod
Producer: Pat Moran
Track listing:
1. What I Am *
2. Little Miss S. *
3. Air of December *
4. The Wheel *
5. Love Like We Do
6. Circle *
7. Beat the Time
8. She
9. Nothing
10. Now
11. Keep Coming Back
12. I Do
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 48:22

Mention the name Edie Brickell and, I guess, most people will offer up What I Am. It's the first song on her first album with the New Bohemians, and her debut single. She recorded a solo album before Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, that was available in a limited number, and on cassette only. A lot of people might not know that she has released a few bluegrass albums with Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin). Or that she has made three solo albums. Or that she also put out three more records with New Bohemians, one of them live. Or that she has also formed bands The Heavy Circles and The Gaddabouts (which features the namesake, and legendary drummer, Steve Gadd). Hey, she's married to Paul Simon too! 

Aside from this album, my only other Edie Brickell experience is her wonderful cover of Dylan's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall on the Born On The Fourth of July soundtrack. I think I remember a snippet her song Good Times from her 1994 solo debut Picture Perfect Morning on a Windows demo disc as well. But, that's it. I may or may not delve into more of her material in the future. For now, let's just look at this album.

I don't own a copy of this, but I remember listening to it a bit during my time at Southern Sound down in Albany (a music store I worked at from 1994-1996). I've had taped copies from friends, and I think I nabbed it of someone's iTunes one time. Anyway, it's on my iPod and I dig a few of the tracks a lot. I remember watching the What I Am film clip on RAGE (and possibly Video Hits, wow; how can I forget that?) when it first came out. I was struck by the guitar solo, as it used a wah-wah like effect that I hadn't really heard before.

The first half is certainly stronger than the second, in my opinion. During the eighties most albums seemed to put the singles and better album tracks at the start, leaving the rest of the record to sort of dwindle away a bit. All my picks from Shooting Rubberbands... are on what would be Side A for what it's worth.

My absolute favourite track here is Circle. I just love it. The lyrics are fantastic and the intro guitar picking is sublime. The part where she sings that "everything is temporary anyway" is just magic. The song was recently used in a montage of the fairly silly series Wet Hot American Summer - Ten Years Later, but it still gave me a lump in my throat.

I found myself singing the chorus of Little Miss S. over the course of the week. It's got a great melody, and I would suggest that's also catchy as heck. The ethereal Air of December is full of crescendos and falls and takes its time in weaving its six-minute spell. 

The whole album is very listenable, but a couple of tracks seem to stick out, namely Beat the Time and Keep Coming Back. There's a raucousness or something there that just doesn't fit the flow. They're not bad songs by any means, they just jolt you out of the album's overall feel. I think Edie's voice works better on the folkier tunes as well. When the band tries to rock it up, their reach seems to exceed their grasp.

However, this doesn't spoil the record. It merely stops a very good album from being excellent. 

A Stay at The Church

The Church have been around for as long as I can remember. Well, not that long, I guess. Their first hit single The Unguarded Moment (their second single release) was released in March 1981, but I don't think I ever really paid attention to them until after their fifth album, 1988's Starfish. 

When the lead single from that album, Under The Milky Way, came out I was in Year 7 and living in Albany. Watching RAGE on a Saturday morning was a regular ritual for me, and so was listening to Take 40 Australia on the radio with Barry Bissell. I remember the video clip, but I wasn't too enamoured with the song. It wasn't the usual catchy Beatlesque pop radio fodder I preferred at the time. Their compilation album Hindsight 1980-1987 had also been released around the same time, and after Under The Milky Way was played on Take 40 one week, Barry mentioned it. He aired a snippet of The Unguarded Moment, which I liked immediately. It sounded vaguely familiar as well, so I must have heard it when I was a younger. Possibly on the radio, which was the style at the time. During another Take 40 broadcast, Barry played the next single from the Starfish album, Reptile, which I kinda liked. 

The first major impact The Church had on me was Metropolis, from their next album Gold Afternoon Fix, which was released in 1990. I really fell for the song in a big way after seeing the film clip. I even bought it on cassingle! Remember them? Cassingle is short for cassette single, if you're too young to know (that might not be enough of an explanation).

Anyway, I was aware of who The Church were for many years, but never really delved into their music too deeply. While I was working at Southern Sound, a music store in Albany, during the mid nineties, I bought a CD compilation of theirs called Almost Yesterday 1981-1990. It was a fairly good overview of that time period and had everything on it that you'd expect. I don't think I listened to it in any great detail, but I was happy to have The Unguarded Moment and Metropolis on CD, if nothing else. Over the years I came to appreciate Under The Milky Way for the masterpiece that is, as well as other great songs of theirs like Almost With You, When You Were Mine and Into My Hands. 

Fast forward to December 2012 - Rhona and I attended a concert in Kings Park for the A Day on the Green series. On the bill were The Models, The Church, Devo and Simple Minds. We arrived just as The Models were finishing sadly, but we picked out a great spot and were ready for The Church to start. I was very impressed by their forty-minute, eight-song set, although they didn't play The Unguarded Moment. I was particularly taken by On Angel Street, and assumed that they had played other tracks from their 2009 album Untitled #23 as well. 

After the show I got hold of a copy of Untitled #23, but didn't recognise anything else from their show. I was keen to have a listen to it ever since I saw it got a five star review in Rolling Stone magazine. Anyway, I did warm to the rest of the album and discovered that they had played other numbers from a couple of their more recent efforts.

Move forward through time again to now(ish) and I found myself thinking of that set The Church played that day on the green in December 2012. After finding the list of songs they played on setlist.fm (which I may or may not have created) I made up a playlist on my iPod. Bizarrely, a few days later, The Church announce a new album and a tour! What perfect timing to be going down the rabbit hole!

So, I made myself a bit of a plan. The day the new album was released was also the day the tickets went on sale for the tour. I couldn't go to the Friday show at The Rosemount Hotel (Fri 17th Nov) because I had a gig at Rosie O'Grady's that night with the Wesleys. However, The Church were playing at the Dunsborough Tavern on the Saturday (18th Nov). I asked Rhones how she felt about taking a trip down south to see The Church and she was keen. Always up for a roadtrip, she. 

The day before the tickets went on sale, I was asked if I was available to do a gig in Darwin on Sat 18th Nov. Gah! I reluctantly agreed to do the gig if it came off. I hadn't lost all hope at seeing them though, as the gig was pretty tenuous, so I went to try and find a copy of The Church's new album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity. My search proved fruitless and I resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably be gigging in Darwin rather than going down to Dunsborough.

A coupla weeks later, the Darwin gig had been cancelled, and I'd managed to get a copy of Man Woman Life Death Infinity from JB's in Armadale. While the album is a grower, I'm really enjoying it. Rhones and I took the plunge and bought tickets to The Church gig at the Dunsborough Tavern too!

The timing of all this has been too perfect. How often do you start to develop a serious interest in a band or artist just they release a new album and announce a tour? I've been working my way through their old albums, paying particular attention to The Blurred Crusade and Starfish. I've listened to Almost Yesterday 1981-1990 a lot as well, getting familiar with those lesser played tracks. I found an article on the gig that The Church performed at South By Southwest in September this year, which included a detailed setlist. I made that up as an iPod playlist too! He he he... Sadly, they didn't include anything from The Blurred Crusade album in their set, but that may have been because they recently toured the record in its entirety.

I've been quite taken with Another Century from Man Woman Life Death Infinity and Day 5 off 2006's Uninvited, Like The Clouds album. I'm really excited by what they might play in Dunsborough, and I'm preparing myself by listening to a lot of their stuff. Quite a large rabbit hole to go down...MWLDI is their 25th album! Looking forward to seeing Ian Haug (ex-Powderfinger) in the line up too.

I'll close this off by naming five songs I REALLY hope they play:

1. The Unguarded Moment

2. You Took

3. Metropolis

4. Myrrh

5. On Angel Street

Oh, and Almost With You! And Day 5! And Reptile! Here's hoping, huh? 

Album of the Week - Vol.6

Substance 1987 NEW ORDER (1987)
Week: Sat 26th August to Fri 1st September
Format: CD
Producer: New Order
Track listing:
CD 1:
1. Ceremony *
2. Everything's Gone Green
3. Temptation *
4. Blue Monday *
5. Confusion
6. Thieves Like Us
7. The Perfect Kiss *
8. Sub-culture
9. Shellshock
10. State of the Nation
11. Bizarre Love Triangle *
12. True Faith *
CD 2:
1. In A Lonely Place
2. Procession
3. Cries and Whispers
4. Hurt
5. The Beach *
6. Confused Instrumental
7. Lonesome Tonight
8. Murder
9. Thieves Like Us (instrumental) *
10. Kiss of Death
11. Shame of the Nation
12. 1963 *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 146:48

I've always liked New Order, but I've never fully gone down the rabbit hole. The first CD of theirs I ever got was 1994's The Best of New Order, which was a good sampler of their stuff. Some of the songs on that album were new remixes, but that was still cool. It was a pretty great casual listen, and I'm thankful to have Regret and Ruined In A Day on hand.

I got into their Get Ready album shortly after it was released and I also bought 2005's Waiting For The Siren's Call purely on the strength of the first single Krafty. But I never REALLY dug deep. There are moments in some of their songs and I just think "Yes! This is awesome!". I love Peter Hook's basslines, and while their lyrics leave me wanting sometimes, their melodies tend to be quite hooky, if you'll pardon the pun. Bizarrely, I really struggle with Joy Division. I find their music very hard to listen to, and Curtis' vocal delivery is despair in a bottle. Aside from Love Will Tear Us Apart, I'm no fan. Once they became New Order (sadly enough, after Curtis' suicide), they brought out the poppy melodies and happy vibes. Well, more so than Joy Division.

Not sure when I bought the Substance 1987 double CD set, but it was during one of those shopping trips to JB Hi-Fi where I just grabbed a heap of albums. It must have been pre-kids then, he he he... Having possessed the album though, I never really listened to it. I grabbed it thinking, "oh yeah, this is probably worth having" and it lay dormant for years. Sure, it got ripped onto an iDevice possibly, but never really listened to.

I just thought it was a best-of compilation, but there's more to it than that. It IS a collection of New Order's singles, but it's of all the 12" versions. Except on the CD edition, where four tracks are edited down. The CD edition also includes a bonus disc of all the singles' B-sides. I tend to listen to the first disc more than the second. I should track down the vinyl one day, so I can get the full 12" experience.

Anyway, this has so many songs that I love. Looking at the first disc, from the opening Ceremony (which I LOVE) to the closing True Faith, it's classic after classic. I really dig Temptation, (the 1987 re-recorded version, but it's the version I'm most familiar with) that was used to such wonderful effect in Trainspotting, and Bizarre Love Triangle, which I was first introduced to by Frente! in 1994. The full-length 12" versions of The Perfect Kiss and Thieves Like Us are pretty great too. 

After many years of only being familiar with Blue Monday 88, it's cool to have both the original 12" mix and The Beach, which is the instrumental B-side. I'm not as enamoured by the second disc as the first, but it's all very listenable. I recently dug into the Low-Life album, after a few tunes from that appeared in the Pretty In Pink movie. I think after giving that album a listen or two (the bonus 2-disc edition) I turned back to the Substance 1987 compilation. It's a great introduction, albeit a lengthy one, for anyone wanting to know what New Order were all about in the eighties. Happy spinning!

Album of the Week - Vol.5

Like Drawing Blood GOTYE (2006)
Week: Sun 13th August to Sat 19th August
Format: CD
Producer: Francois Tetaz
Track listing:
1. Like Drawing Blood
2. The Only Way *
3. Heart's a Mess *
4. Coming Back *
5. Thanks for Your Time *
6. Learnalilgivinanlovin
7. Puzzle with a Piece Missing
8. A Distinctive Sound *
9. Seven Hours with a Backseat Driver
10. Night Drive
11. Worn Out Blues
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 47:50

I was a little late to the Gotye party. Well, if I'm being honest, really really late. When Heart's a Mess was all over JJJ and RAGE, I was like "meh". When Somebody That I Used To Know set fire to the world, I didn't even listen to it for almost a year after it was released. I wasn't oblivious to it being around, as the song was making headlines for topping the JJJ Hot 100, winning a Grammy and being featured on Glee(!). I just hadn't heard it. Not much of a radio listener, me. Or a TV watcher. Free-to-air, that is.

When I finally did hear the track, I understood what all the fuss was about. Despite its level of saturation over popular culture, it's catchy as heck and the production is killer. Kimbra's vocal contribution is an interesting choice to me, because it's not really a duet. Unless I'm misinterpreting the track, it's a break-up song and they're not singing to each other. Are they possibly bonding over their similar experiences with an ex-lover? Are they two halves of one person? Am I totally off course? Anyway, what I'm saying is that I don't think a second vocalist was really necessary. However, when Kimbra's voice soars off into the chorus after her verse finishes, it's pretty sublime.

But I digress! I'm not here to debate the merits and shortfalls of that particular track. I'm supposed to be talking about Like Drawing Blood. So, I eventually listened to the Making Mirrors album, and I really enjoyed it. What struck me was the variety of genres he dabbled in. There were moody ballads, electronica, faux soul, upbeat pop, squelchy rock and folk infused tunes. It was during my time with this album that I finally 'got' Heart's a Mess. I absolutely love it now, but I only had a copy of the radio edit on the Triple J Hottest 100 Vol. 14 compilation. So, when I stumbled across the full album version of Spotify, I dug it even more. It's got such an eerie atmosphere, but it's strangely calming. The extended drum sequence is a great bonus too. 

I'd only listened to a couple of tracks from Like Drawing Blood before I knew I had to buy it. I was quite surprised how similar it was to Making Mirrors in terms of structure. There are a few tracks that have themselves a sister on the other album. For instance, the excellent ode to being stuck on hold during a phone call, Thanks For Your Time, is similar in feel and production to State Of The Art. Learnalilgivinanlovin and I Feel Better employ the use of a keyboard horn section, each of them giving off a classic R&B/soul vibe. Both albums' second tracks, The Only Way and Easy Way Out, come after short introductory pieces (both are the albums' title tracks too!) and have a driving beat on par with the other. Coincidentally, the big singles from the two records, Heart's a Mess and Somebody That I Used To Know, are both the third track as well.

The biggest difference setting Like Drawing Blood apart from Making Mirrors is the instrumental tracks. One of these, Seven Hours with a Backseat Driver, is quite hypnotic and features many melodic hooks with some unusual instrumentation. A big album highlight for me is the musique concrète piece A Distinctive Sound, which reminds me of a more coherent and concise Lumpy Gravy (Frank Zappa). 

Anyway, to sum up, if you wrote Gotye off after you heard Somebody That I Used To Know umpteen times, you owe it to yourself to check out Like Drawing Blood. Whether you empathise with the giddy narrator of Coming Back as his lover returns, or the optimist keen to spend time with their special someone during a Night Drive, there's sure to be something here for any music appreciator!

It's Funny How You Want Things You Didn't Know You Wanted

I'm now on the hunt for the a copy of the Pretty In Pink soundtrack on vinyl. Correction, the 2012 pink vinyl reissue...because, why not? 

How did I get there? Interesting question, I hear you think. Well, Rhones and I have been watching a fair few of our DVDs lately. We started off going down memory lane, early noughties/late nineties style. We're talking The Replacements, Bring It On, Grosse Pointe Blank, High Fidelity, The Castle, The Dish, and, uh, I think that was all. Then we turned to some eighties classics.

We had already revisited Stand By Me, The Goonies, The Lost Boys and the Back To The Future trilogy fairly recently, so we looked to the work of Mr John Hughes. We quickly devoured Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and, you guessed it, Pretty In Pink. 

I can't say I'm hugely enamoured with the film, although I do enjoy the scene where Molly Ringwald's Andie confronts her father, played by Harry Dean Stanton, about his inability to move on after his wife left him. James Spader does a very nice job of being a real sleazeball, but I think Andrew McCarthy was miscast. And Jon Cryer's Duckie is overplayed. It was nice spotting Dweezil Zappa in a very minor role though.

But, I digress! As the film played, a few choice tunes appeared. Suzanne Vega's wonderful Left of Centre, Bring On The Dancing Horses by Echo & The Bunnymen, the title track of course and Shellshock by New Order. All of these songs are on the soundtrack, but I was surprised to hear New Order's Elegia as the minutes ticked over too! I had forgotten it was in there, to be honest, particularly after it was used to such chilling effect in the sublime Netflix TV series Stranger Things. 

Of course, OMD's iconic If You Leave ends the film, and also finds a spot on the soundtrack. There's also The Smith's beautiful Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want, which I didn't notice, if I'm being honest. I wish they'd used the Nik Kershaw version of Wouldn't It Be Good in there, but you can't have everything, I guess.

Anyway, me wantee. 

SIDE NOTE: After reading up on New Order's Low-Life album (which contains Elegia; and Shellshock appears on the 2008 collector's reissue), I gave that a good listen too. I want that as well now! Ha haaa!!

Oz 90's!

I'm not the massive lover of the nineties that most people of my generation are. I'll defend the seventies as the greatest era of music until my tongue falls off, but I'll concede that the nineties certainly had its moments. 

There's been a big resurgence in the decade's popularity over the last few years and I think that's a cyclical thing. In the noughties, we were all looking back to the eighties. Well, some of us. He he he... Even though the seventies are my favourite decade, I hold onto 1985 and 1986 as two of my favourite years for music. 

But, I'm here to share something about the nineties! Specifically Australian music of the nineties. I burned some CDs a fair few years back for an Australia Day BBQ we had with friends which featured all Australian tunes...from the nineties. There you go, there's the link. I think it's a pretty great list of the popular, the slightly obscure and the deep cut. Pretty sure the odd NZ track snuck in too!

I now have the songs on my iPod as a playlist. They're in a fairly loose chronological order (because, it's me) and I think you get a could idea of how music in Australia shifted through the decade. Anyhoo, have a scroll below. Remember, this list was once four burnt CDs:

1. Blue Sky Mine MIDNIGHT OIL

2. Blush THE HUMMINGBIRDS

3. Metropolis THE CHURCH

4. Burn For You JOHN FARNHAM

5. She Goes On CROWDED HOUSE

6. Don't Go Now RATCAT

7. Don't Start Me Talking PAUL KELLY & THE MESSENGERS

8. Someone's Singing New York New York GHOSTWRITERS

9. Under My Skin DEBORAH CONWAY

10. Painless BABY ANIMALS

11. The Day You Went Away WENDY MATTHEWS

12. She Will Survive THINGS OF STONE & WOOD

13. No Time FRENTE!

14. Imaginary Girl HUNTERS & COLLECTORS

15. Father's Day WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING

16. In My Command CROWDED HOUSE

17. Talking Sly THE SHARP

18. The Honeymoon Is Over THE CRUEL SEA

19. Masterplan DIESEL

20. You Were There SOUTHERN SONS

21. Persuasion TIM FINN

22. Night of the Wolverine DAVE GRANEY 'N' THE CORAL SNAKES

23. The Ship Song (live) NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

24. Rain In My Heart WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING

25. Somethings Nobody Can Change THE SHARP

26. Wildflowers THINGS OF STONE & WOOD

27. Nails In My Feet CROWDED HOUSE

28. I've Got a Plan MY FRIEND THE CHOCOLATE CAKE

29. Mountain (acoustic) CHOCOLATE STARFISH

30. Lonely FRENTE!

31. You Wanna Be Loved DAVE GRANEY 'N' THE CORAL SNAKES

32. Tomorrow SILVERCHAIR

33. Less Than A Feeling HOODOO GURUS

34. Berlin Chair YOU AM I

35. Easy HUNTERS & COLLECTORS

36. Hands Out Of My Pocket COLD CHISEL

37. Honest and Sober THE SHARP

38. Purple Sneakers YOU AM I

39. Lemonsuck POLLYANNA

40. Apple Eyes SWOOP

41. Greg! The Stop Sign!! TISM

42. Where The Wild Roses Grow NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS feat. KYLIE MINOGUE

43. Angels Heap FINN

44. Rock 'n' Roll Is Where I Hide DAVE GRANEY 'N' THE CORAL SNAKES

45. Deeper Water PAUL KELLY

46. Mr Milk YOU AM I

47. Coppertone FINI SCAD

48. Underwater MIDNIGHT OIL

49. Buy Me a Pony SPIDERBAIT

50. Jerks of Attention JEBEDIAH

51. Cromagnonman SNOUT

52. Everything Is Good For You CROWDED HOUSE

53. Who's Ever Been Using My Bed THE EARTHMEN

54. Cool Your Heels ATLAS STRINGS

55. I Make Hamburgers THE WHITLAMS

56. How To Make Gravy PAUL KELLY

57. Prisoner of Society THE LIVING END

58. Freak SILVERCHAIR

59. Just Ace GRINSPOON

60. Leaving Home JEBEDIAH

61. Captain (Million Miles an Hour) SOMETHING FOR KATE

62. No Aphrodisiac THE WHITLAMS

63. The Charles Atlas Way THE FAUVES

64. Sinner NEIL FINN

65. Music Is Crap CUSTARD

66. What I Don't Know 'Bout You YOU AM I

67. Cry THE MAVIS'S

68. Nothing On My Mind PAUL KELLY

69. Cigarettes Will Kill You BEN LEE
70. Girls Like That (Don't Go For Guys Like Us) CUSTARD

71. The Day You Come POWDERFINGER

72. Miss You Love SILVERCHAIR

73. Dig MARK LIZOTTE

74. Already Gone POWDERFINGER

Just Because You Can Throw a Train Carriage Through a Shop Window..

..doesn't mean you should. The recent trend of mindless action and city-destroying mayhem as an exciting third act/finale to a superhero film disturbs me. Actually, it bores me. Having just watched 2013's Man of Steel film for the first time, I'm worried about the future of the action blockbuster. They weren't always this banal, were they? I'm guessing that the advancement of technology and CGI is to blame for these rubble-producing scenes, but they're unnecessary. It's overkill. It's tedious. I found myself willing the film to end. Why do these movies have to nudge the two and a half hour mark now? Why is the CGI looking more and more fake? Why do the people who make these things think we need non-stop action sequences? Now, let me just add this little disclaimer...

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Honestly, this film could have been so much shorter. I think there's a fairly decent movie in there if it was shaved down to maybe 90-110min. It took twenty minutes to leave Krypton, for crying out loud! Did we need to see Russell Crowe flying a dragon? He did a pretty fine job in the role of Jor-El, but a huge action fight scene was not really needed, I feel. I just wanted the plot to progess, and get to Earth! Granted, I might have been expecting more of a similar plotline to the 1978 classic, but come on! Fire the baby into space already! And General Zod and his cronies possibly should have jettisoned to the Phantom Zone before "the last spacecraft on the planet" was used for baby Kal-El. 


I also feel that the movie would have benefited greatly from a linear narrative. When the little Kryptonian capsule was hurtling through space I was expecting to see it land. Or rather, crash. However, the next shot was an oil rig in the middle of the ocean somewhere, and dang me if we didn't get introduced to Clark Kent in the most throwaway fashion. It isn't until he's on fire and rescuing workers after an on-board accident that we realise who the character is. I didn't recognise Henry Cavill, as I'm not very familiar with him. I was waiting to see an extraterrestrial vehicle disrupt the life of the Kents, not some over-the-top oil rig disaster!  

Anyway, the bits in between Kal-El's arrival on Earth and his wandering the globe get given to us via the odd flashback sequence. The best thing about these scenes, in my opinion, is Kevin Costner who fabulous as Jonathan Kent. I know there are some who dislike this portrayal of Clark's Pa, John Schneider for one (Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard and Smallville's Jonathan Kent), but I think he is trying to protect Clark from the fickle attentions of humanity. This is a Superman for this age after all, but Pa's advice is possible misguided, and fails to make Kal-El the best Kal-El he can be. Diane Lane is great as Martha Kent, but it's Costner as Clark's (mis)guiding star who shines brightest. I have to say that his death scene was horrible though. Again, an action sequence for the sake of an action sequence. Death by tornado? Ouch.
 
As the film moves on Kal-El finds not a Fortress of Solitude, but rather a crashed Kryptonian spaceship, and is reunited with his dead father via awesome Kryptonian hologrammatic technology. He meets Amy Adams' Lois Lane in this icy region as well and so begins the digging into the mysterious alien's background. I thought Laurence Fishburne was a great choice as Perry White, but he feels somewhat wasted in the role.

To cut a long story short, the film reaches its messy conclusion with General Zod coming to Earth to create a new Krypton; so Kal and Zod and his cronies proceed to throw each other around like all get-out. Metropolis cops a fair hiding, and no doubt many innocent people died as a result. Not that you see a single civilian death. Michael Shannon's Zod stands well on its own, and doesn't owe anything to Terence Stamp's iconic portrayal in the Richard Donner films. He does get a little chompy on the scenery though, occasionally comes across as a melodrama villain.

I had issues with the movie from the very start, but it well and truly lost by the last forty-five minutes or so. Gah! And if that wasn't enough, we decided to punish ourselves further and watch Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as well! Hahaaaaa!! I did enjoy BvS:DoJ a bit more than MoS though. It still could have been forty minutes shorter though. Once I got over the fact that Lex Luthor was a manchild, I quite enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg's twitchy turn as Superman's nemesis. Superman was his usual moody self, and while I think Henry Cavill does the best he can, the writing lets him down. Superman comes across in both films as a mopey and reluctant superhero. That's no fun.

I really liked Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Great casting, and they worked well together. Affleck's take on an aging, world-weary Wayne was pretty great, and I think his Batman was as good as anyone else, although we didn't see much of him. There was one fight scene between Batman and a room full of cronies that was arguably the highlight of the whole movie. Both Rhona and I exclaimed "Alright! Here we go!", but that was about as good we got. For a superhero movie, there should way more of those moments.

The showdown between Superman and Batman was good, not great, but one of the better scenes in the film. It's made me want to thumb through my old copy of The Dark Knight Returns. Wonder Woman's appearance was another big highlight, but it just took too long for her to arrive! When the three heroes get down to battling Doomsday, I thought we were headed into the same smashy-smashy direction, but it seemed a little more restrained this time around. 

I am hopeful that the remaining DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movies will be a big improvement on the first two. I thought that Wonder Woman was much better than either MoS or BvS:DoJ; and it was on the strength of that film that we went back and endured the other two. Even WW descended into smashy-smashy territory by the third act, but it was easier to handle. While the third act was the weakest part, it didn't overwhelm the whole movie, thankfully. Gal Gadot does a wonderful job in the role, and although her costume is quite drab, the excitement of seeing her in action is pure cinematic joy. That's what you go to the movies for. That's why it was so refreshing to cheer at the screen in The Force Awakens and Rogue One.

Having grown up in an era of classic action/adventure and superhero films, it's a bit easier to be let down by today's blockbusters. The original Star Wars trilogy, the Back To The Future trilogy, the Indiana Jones trilogy and the, um, first two Superman movies all hold up very well. The character development and story lines are far superior too. In the last few years the box office has been ruled by sequels, action, reboots, action, CGI, 3-D and more action! The New York battle scene at the end of The Avengers is one of the biggest offenders of overkill in recent memory. Of the limited number of Marvel movies I've seen, I don't think any of them have outdone the first Iron Man. 

Maybe that's the difference between Marvel and DC here. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films were borne out of the success of Iron Man, but the DCEU has been constructed from the outset. The little peaks of The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman were quite enticing, and if the DC movies improve on the trend they're currently on, we could be in for some cool flicks. I don't think Zack Snyder is wholly to blame for the failings of the first two films, but having Patty Jenkins direct WW was certainly a step in the right direction. Snyder did helm 300 and Watchmen, both of which I enjoyed immensely, particularly the latter, but I'm hoping he learns the principle of 'less is more' for the next installments. 

So there.

Album of the Week - Vol.4

Tango In The Night FLEETWOOD MAC (1987)
Week: Sat 3rd June to Fri 9th June
Format: Vinyl
Producer(s): Lindsey Buckingham & Richard Dashut
Track listing:
SIDE 1
1. Big Love *
2. Seven Wonders
3. Everywhere *
4. Caroline
5. Tango In The Night *
6. Mystified
SIDE 2
1. Little Lies
2. Family Man
3. Welcome To The Room... Sara *
4. Isn't It Midnight
5. When I See You Again *
6. You and I, Part II
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 44:28

This album has the honour of being Fleetwood Mac's second highest selling record after Rumours (1977); and, at the time of blogging, the last to feature the classic line-up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Apparently when Christine rejoined the Mac in 2013, the band started work on a new studio album. They toured as the classic line-up, but no new record eventuated. Stevie left to further her solo career and instead we have the new offering Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie by, you guessed it, Lindsey and Christine. John and Mick are on the album too. Bizarrely, Tango In The Night started off as a solo album for Buckingham, and ended up being the last official studio Mac release. To paraphrase Nick Cave, it's funny how things go. Apparently Stevie was pretty hard to nail down for these sessions too! Over the eighteen month recording period, she was there for about three weeks.

Anyway, this album is an absolute corker. I now own my dad's old vinyl copy (I may have mentioned in a previous blog entry that he got it for his 40th birthday many moons ago), but I also bought it on CD while I was in Adelaide with my family in early 1992. In the argument of CD vs vinyl, the artwork looks a damn sight better on a record sleeve, compared to the CD booklet. I was always more impressed with the digital sound as an impressionable young teen though. 

If you're only familiar with the hits here, you're doing yourself a disservice. I mean, the hits are good and plentiful, boasting Little Lies, Seven Wonders, Everywhere and Big Love (the latter has now almost been eclipsed by Buckingham's amazing solo performances of it); but the whole album is pretty bang on. Even the gimmicky Family Man has some great guitar lines and a fairly catchy refrain. Stevie Nicks' Welcome To The Room... Sara is as classic as anything off Rumours or Tusk and the sonic majesty of the title track is electrifying. Some of Buckingham's best soloing right there, I reckon; although he does give it welly on Isn't It Midnight too. Christine McVie's Mystified is a very subdued, but nonetheless pretty track which sounds like it could be the album's closer, instead of ending the first side. 

Some of the production is a little dated, particularly the drum sound and the keyboard saturation, but that doesn't take away from how good the songs are. Those distinctive voices blend as well as they ever did, sharing harmonies and counter melodies like so much oxygen and bliss. Nicks' lead vocal on When I See You Again giving way to Buckingham's works a treat. There's a thread connecting these songs together that makes it all cohesive...it sounds like an album despite no running concept or overarching theme. I can't put my finger on it, but they belong in this group. 

Since I started listening to this record recently, I learnt that a deluxe edition of the album was reissued earlier this year, as it is now thirty years old! Freak me! Of course it is! Might be worth a look-see, methinks.

I doubt we'll get another album like this from them again, but we can always watch The Dance one more time, right?

Album of the Week - Vol.3

Back to Black AMY WINEHOUSE (2006)
Week: Wed 10th May to Tue 16th May
Format: CD
Producer(s): Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi
Track listing:
1. Rehab *
2. You Know I'm No Good *
3. Me & Mr Jones (Fuckery) *
4. Just Friends
5. Back to Black *
6. Love Is a Losing Game
7. Tears Dry on Their Own *
8. Wake Up Alone
9. Some Unholy War
10. He Can Only Hold Her
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 32:10

When the world lost Amy Winehouse, I was not her biggest fan. Her image had overshadowed her creative output, and I didn't feel like she was an artists I could get into. The only song of hers I knew was Rehab, and the point of that track was lost on me. I wrote it off as some kind of rebellious boast-type affair, but I've come to see that there's more to it than that now. 

A little after her death I really started to get into her and Mark Ronson's cover of The Zutons' Valerie. A bit late, for sure, but better late than never. I slowly sampled the odd track from the Back to Black album as well, particularly You Know I'm No Good and Tears Dry on Their Own. 

I began to appreciate just how amazing her voice was, and how the production of those songs brilliantly recreated classic R&B and girl group values. I think I finally took the plunge and nabbed the album on CD a coupla years back. It's quite rooted in the sixties, while having fairly, frank not-so-sixties subject matter. While only just breaking half an hour of playing time, Back to Black is also very personal. Most of the songs deal with her break-up with Blake Fielder-Civil, who she would later marry and divorce.

Amy Winehouse didn't leave behind a massive back catalog, but I'm determined to dig a little more. I haven't even listened to her first album, Frank. This CD sounded fantastic through our little system in the lounge room and I may have pulled Rhona off the couch for a dance over the course of the week. As I said earlier, the production is truly stunning, and it's interesting trying to pick the producer of each track (either Mark Ronson or Salaam Remi). The Motown-esque horns and strings together with the doo-wop backing vocals are just sublime. I'm amazed at how listenable (and re-listenable) this album is. My only big issue with it, is that's too short. Maybe it was kept to a short length so it stood comfortably next to other long players from the sixties, or to ensure it didn't outstay its welcome.

I also listened to this album on Spotify with the headphones on, and that was a fantastic experience. Not only did it sound brilliant, but there was a Genius pop-up function that scrolled lyrics and offered facts about each song. It also included the track Addicted, which is not on the CD I own. I don't think it's an essential part of the album, but it does include the memorable lyric: "It's got me addicted/Does more than any dick did". Anyway, I think this album is one of the best releases of the noughties, and I wish I that had appreciated it during Amy's lifetime.

Album of the Week - Vol.2

Hit PETER GABRIEL (2003) - 2CD UK Edition
Week: Sun 16th Apr to Sat 22nd Apr
Format: iPod (MP3s)
Producer(s): numerous
Track listing:
CD 1 (HIT)
1. Solsbury Hill *
2. Shock the Monkey (Single edit)
3. Sledgehammer (Single edit)
4. Don't Give Up (Edited version) *
5. Games Without Frontiers (Single edit) *
6. Big Time
7. Burn You Up, Burn You Down
8. Growing Up (Tom Lord-Alge mix) *
9. Digging In The Dirt
10. Blood of Eden (Radio edit)
11. More Than This (Radio edit)
12. Biko (Edited version) *
13. Steam
14. Red Rain
15. Here Comes the Flood (1990 version)
CD 2 (MISS)
1. San Jacinto *
2. No Self Control
3. Cloudless
4. The Rhythm of the Heat
5. I Have the Touch (Robbie Robertson mix)
6. I Grieve
7. D.I.Y. *
8. A Different Drum
9. The Drop
10. The Tower That Ate People (Steve Osborne mix)
11. Lovetown *
12. Father, Son *
13. Signal to Noise
14. Downside Up (live) *
15. Washing of the Water
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 2:30:19

I'm not going to make a habit of choosing compilations or greatest hits albums for these blogs, but I just happened to be listening to this one quite a bit lately. Bizarrely, and fairly out of character for me, my method of choice for digesting this one was to dial it up on my iPod and hit shuffle. I think I liked the unpredictability of it - what song would be next? 

My first big memory of Peter Gabriel came in the form of the vinyl long player So that my dad found among his presents for his fortieth birthday, an age I've now surpassed. That stark black and white image of Gabriel's face, with just a hit of blue. Only the promo sticker gave away the title. I soon became fairly rapt in the music therein. Sledgehammer was a massive hit, and you couldn't escape it due to the film clip being on TV every hour or so. I think I remember the first time I listened to the album, and how the hi-hat intro on Red Rain struck me. Both of these tracks are included here. I'm quite puzzled that In Your Eyes isn't here (it did make onto the US 2CD edition though), as I think that is one of Gabriel's most beloved songs, thanks partly to John Cusack. As fun as Big Time is, I don't think it's as essential to the former Genesis frontman's canon. Who knows how tracks (and their versions) make it onto compilations? 

Despite that oversight, I think this is a pretty good overview for the casual Gabriel fan. I would put myself in that category, but over the last year or so, I've been more intrigued by his work. And by his work ethic. Did you know that since we were pounded by Sledgehammer, he has only released two studio albums? There's been soundtracks, live offerings and other experimentations, but only two solo albums, 1992's Us and 2002's Up. Both releases are represented well here, with my big favourite from the former, Digging In The Dirt, sitting nicely before the latter's Growing Up.

As I wasn't a massive Gabriel fan when I got Hit, this album was how I heard some of these tracks for the first time. Except for Solsbury Hill and Shock the Monkey, I didn't think I knew any of his pre-So catalog. I was surprise
Md to learn that I did know Games Without Frontiers though; I just didn't think it was a Peter Gabriel song for some reason. After being initially disappointed by my first listen of Biko, it's now one of my strong favourites. I particularly like live versions, as he encourages the audience to keep singing while the band leave the stage one by one. 

While not everything here is absolutely stellar, it's all interesting. It's a pet peeve of mine when collections like these aren't in chronological order, but what are you going to do? I think there are better tracks off Up that could have been included, namely The Barry Williams Show and Sky Blue. The latter is somewhat represented in the form of Cloudless, a piece from Gabriel's soundtrack for Rabbit-Proof Fence. All his releases up to 2003 are represented except for the Birdy soundtrack, and the new song Burn You Up, Burn You Down is quite good. I'd recommend this for anyone wanting to have a bit of a sampler of Gabriel's solo work.