September - Wrapup

YOURZ

This month was probably the best month of the year so far, not just because it is Spring in the southern hemisphere (and we've mentioned many times how much we don't like winter) but because we spent two weeks on holidays in our most favourite place in the world - Far North Queensland.  Away from the end of winter down south!

There is nothing like a holiday to help clear the mind and give the daily grind some perspective.  Yet we made sure our laptop came with us so we were able to maintain this blog because doing this is anything but a chore. How could listening to some really good music and getting to write about it be a chore.  If anything, I look forward to writing my bit every day.

I'm starting to realise writing a daily blog like this has really helped us define what we like about a lot of things in our life.  In trying to minimise our CD collection, we're also starting to see where we can minimise in other areas.  I'm not going to play the 'if it weren't for this blog' game right now, I'll save that for the end of the year.  But it has been very rewarding and very good for both of us.  I look forward to spending the last three months with you.  Thanks for reading so far.

I'd just like to say one more thing - thanks to Mine for sharing another wonderful holiday with me.  I had a ball and I love you lots, babe.  

MINE

Only three more months to go?  Really?  But I'm having so much FUN! And there's so much in our collection we haven't touched on yet!

This month has been one where the comments have flown freely, and we've really enjoyed responding to them.  Even when it meant taking time out of our holiday.  Which was great, by the way, if you hadn't already deduced that from the effusive comments of my beloved.

Anyway, the CD gift of choice this month goes to regular commenter Drew, whose blog you can read here.  He's got reasonably eclectic tastes so we're sending him Washington's I Believe You Liar just as soon as he sends us an address.  For the rest of you, remember if anything on our discard list is your cup of tea (while not being ours) just let us know and we'll mail them to you!

I 

Free CDs - September Throwouts

Free to a good home this month:
Friendly - Akimbo
Groove Terminator - Roadkill
Machine Gun Fellatio - Paging Mr Strike
The Streets - Original Pirate Material

Still going begging from previous months:

Mark Gillespie - Flame
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Chris Cornell - Carry On
Frenzal Rhomb - Meet The Family
Portastatic - I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle
Goodshirt - Good
KC & The Sunshine Band - Greatest Hits
Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily
Shamen - Boss Drum
Nikka Costa - Pebble to a Pearl
Enigma - MCMXC AD
Brassy - Got It Made
A Gun Called Tension - A Gun Called Tension
P-Money - Magic City
Pink Floyd - Echoes
New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
Gyroscope - Breed Obsession
Audioslave - Audioslave
George Michael - Ladies & Gentlemen The Best Of George Michael
Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep, Run Come Save Me and Slime and Reason
Queen - Greatest Hits II, Greatest Hits III, Made in Heaven (we're keeping the others)
Come - Near Life Experience, Eleven : Eleven and Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Ben Harper - The Will To Live and Diamonds On the Inside
Sugar Ray - Floored

These CDs are available free to anyone who wants them. We even pay for postage - so if you'd like to see an Australian stamp just e-mail us at yourzenmine at gmail dot com.

Before Too Long - Triple J's Tribute To Paul Kelly

MINE

I first heard about this by chance, as these days I spend very little time listening to the radio.  Ironic, given that my job is writing for radio, but the demands of this blog are such that my in-car time is either listening to albums I'm reviewing, or listening to talk radio for the news.  Anyway, I was happening past Triple J for some reason and heard one of the songs being covered, thought it sounded great, and was delighted to hear about the concert.  I then spent far too much time at work listening to the podcast.

So when I saw it had been released as an album, it was very quickly purchased.  We've spoken before about the abilities of Mr Kelly, who I think can wear the title of Australia's premier singer-songwriter (as described by the Sydney Festival) with ease.  Hearing favourites like From Saint Kilda To Kings Cross and the title tracks being performed by some of Australia's finest younger talents is a positive joy.

The only thing left to do is to buy the DVD.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Paul Kelly has the well-deserved privilege of being one of the very few artists to get multiple posts on this blog (and the only Australian).  I been effusive about the man before so I won't press my luck again.  If you interested, you see it here.  But I will say if you haven't heard anything of his, this is a great place to start. 

On this 3 disc collection, Kelly features on one of the discs doing his own versions of the songs covered, while the other two feature covers.  Triple J picked the cream of Australia's alternative talent to perform a variety of songs from Kelly's back catalog, with everyone from John Butler, nephew Dan Kelly, Clare Bowditch and Megan Washington.  There are some sterling renditions of Kelly classics, none more so than Ash Naylor's version of this compilation's titular track.  But my personal favourite is the raw, dirty version of Sweet Guy, as performed by Adalita of Magic Dirt.  The lyrics are made even more potent with her treatment.  It is pure rock awesomeness.

Have to thank Mine for adding this one to our collection.  It is a truly worthy addition to anyone's collection.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to

Jimi Hendrix - The Ultimate Experience

YOURZ

Oh boy, here is another artist who evokes such rabid support from critics and fans alike, it is hard to know where to start writing about him.  A very large amount of books have been written about Hendrix's influence on modern music, his prodigious abilities with both the guitar and the ladies and using him as a kind of starting pin on the map of modern rock.

I've only ever read Charles Shaar Murray's effort, Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and the Post-War Rock 'n' Roll Revolution.  Despite the thesis-like title, this fascinating read doesn't do anything to contain the myth of Hendrix but instead, reverently parlays the sounds of the time into an well-written, intellectual and very-readable look at the way blues music has influenced music, with Hendrix's tracks acting as the guiding light.

I can't recall a time when I wasn't hearing Hendrix.  He has been on my musical spectrum since I was a young lad first learning to play the guitar.  Songs like Hey Joe and All Along The Watchtower were constants at my parent's parties in the early 70s while tracks such as Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), Foxy Lady, Manic Depression, Fire and Crosstown Traffic became party favourites of mine and my friends years later.  

In fact, it is Crosstown Traffic I often reference as being one of the pinnacle tracks of influence for me.  It is one of my funeral playlist songs (yeah, my friends are gonna rock out at mine wake, for sure).  Hendrix has the privilege of being the only artist, apart from The Beatles, to appear a number of times on this playlist, the other track being the gorgeous Little Wing.  After all, who can not fail to be touched by this:

When I'm sad, she comes to me

With a thousand smiles, she give to me for free

It's alright she says it's alright

Take anything you want from me,

Anything.

Fly on little wing

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


MINE

So, let me preface this by stating for the record: I'm not particularly a Hendrix fan.  No, back!  Stop pelting me with those rocks!  It's not because the tunes aren't good, because HELL YEAH they are great.  But there's two things abut Hendrix that stop me being a real enthusiast.  

One is, I lack whatever gene it is that finds guitar solos entertaining.  It's kind of how mostly everyone except drummers feels about drum solos.  I don't have that Guitar Hero inside of me - and I use that term advisedly, I'm not a fan of the game, either.

The second is, I kind of hear a lot of it as stripper music.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm as fond of ecdysiasts as the next person (being in this case, YourZ) (YourZ sez: see, how could I not love this lady) but mental images of tassels, pasties and feather boas tend to distract me from the tunes themselves.  It's not a problem, just a mental tic.  Nothing to do with the cover of Electric Ladyland, either.  What?

I also have to admit that while I never experienced the famous mondegreen for Kiss The Sky, I still do a mental double-take every time I see Voodoo Chile because I think it's talking about a a bowl of magical food.

I did have fun listening to this CD.  And as a side note, the London apartment where he lived in 1968 has just been open to the public, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information http://www.jimihendrix.com/us/home

Adam Green - Sixes & Sevens

YOURZ

Adam Green is another artist we found out about through our love of music quiz shows.  We saw him on an episode of SBS's Rockwiz and really enjoyed his off-the-wall personality.  He came out looking very OHT (off his tits) on something and proceeded to add an element of chaos to a show renowned for being chaotic (in a good way).  He was dressed like a New York hipster, looked like he should be in The Strokes but sounded so far removed from this, we were completely taken.

Green started his career as the lead vocalist with the defunct band, The Moldy Peaches, with Kimya Dawson.  They are probably best known for providing tracks for the movie Juno, including the cutesy duo sung between the two lead characters (this one here).

As eclectic as you might expect, Green navigates Sixes & Sevens over a landscape including calypso, cha cha, country, beat poetry and white soul. It is Green's effortless baritone that acts well-versed guide over what might have been an unwieldy twenty tracks, never straying from the path yet giving the listener such a round-the-world tour, it is hard not to want to listen to it over again.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I got  stuck for a long time trying to write this review, largely because the man defies description.  Is it rock? Pop? Swing?  Oh, there's cha-cha-cha in there as well.

OK, this album is like the soundtrack to an off-Broadway musical I never knew I wanted to see.  It conjures images of surrealistic dance numbers in my head.  The lyrics are widely varied, as are the tunes, but he can sing.  Boy, can he sing.  From a deep bass to a high falsetto in one phrase (Grandma Shirley and Papa) with little reliance on effects.  And he's not shy of acapella.

Whatever Adam Green is on, I think I want some. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.adamgreen.net/ and that's a kooky-ass site!

The Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound

MINE

There's no mistaking that Jersey sound.  But I have to admit to a derisive snort when I see Wikipedia describe them as a punk band.  (YourZ sez: yeah, what the...?)  This is a band that have their eyes firmly set on stadium rock.  There's very little gabba gabba hey involved here - and while YourZ has drawn my attention to their Clash-y sound, I'm more inclined to say they're a Springsteen/U2 band.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.  Perhaps their sound's a little harder-edged than Bruce, but they lack the element of danger I associate with the punk sound.  I can hear why they're popular but it's a safe, commercial sound.  The sound I associate with record companies counting their cash, which for me is completely against the punk aesthetic.

It's an OK album, just not what I'd choose to rock out with.  I'll take Bruce in original any day.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

I brought both The 59 Sound and American Slang after continued listens to some freebie tracks a friend at work had downloading and passed on to me (I think I've said it but I'll say it again - I always pay for music I like).  That this band is from New Jersey and influenced by its most famous son is as obvious as the nose on your face, which makes it all the more odd as to why they are called a punk band.

That aside, there is much to like about The Gaslight Anthem.  Their classicism is as obvious as the previous mentioned appendage but it is also the updated Clash and Strummer-like feel I really enjoy also and maybe this is where the 'punk' logo comes from.  But how ever you take it, the Springsteen sound is the thing that sticks out the most.  In fact, the Man's presence on stage at a number of their shows in England saw The 59 Sound's sales increase by 200 percent.  Nothing like a good endorsement, is there?

But their references don't just stop with their sound.  Lyrically, Fallon calls on everyone from Bruce to Tom Petty, Bob's Seger and Dylan and classic literature as well.  In some instances, there are word for word lines (I'm not going to give hints - if you're interested, have a listen and see if you can spot them) from the artists I've mentioned but instead of this being detrimental, this is done with great reverence to the original artist.  While I am a big fan of originality, I can't fault Fallon and co for milking their influences like this because it works so damned well.

As Mine said, the Boss is still the Boss, of this there is no doubt.  But long after he is gone, I believe future generations will be looking at The Gaslight Anthem in a similar light.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://gaslightanthem.com/

In our collection, we also have American Slang

Evil Tordivel - A Fine Young Man

YOURZ

Some years ago, a friend suggested I might listen to this album.  But he could tell me very little about the band behind this truly underground pop classic except that they were from Norway.  I did as much research as I could and found out the 'they' was actually a single individual.

According to extremely limited sources, A Fine Young Man was apparently recorded to cassettes in the unnamed individual's bedroom during his downtime as a psychologist.  No, seriously...  Internet searches reveal very little, something I find in this day and age to be quite compelling.  It means that all I can write about is the music, which is really what we're here for, isn't it?

Regardless of the enigma, this album is a pop gem.  It swells with so much joie de vivre, it is hard not to feel good after listening to it.  Nestled somewhere between the plumbed pop depths of Brian Wilson, the captivating psychedelia of The Flaming Lips and the pop electronica of Bran Van 3000, Evil Tordivel is also very much his own creation, a character not unlike the figurine on the front cover of this album, made of something other than flesh and blood but more alive because of it.

Opening with the 3/4 instrumental, Incipit Tordivel sets the tone for rest of the album.  Let's Go Beach highlights Tordivel's obvious love of Brian Wilson-inspired melody and harmonies as well as quirky sounds, while the title track, again in 3/4 time, also brings to bear a captivating array of clicks and whistles to accompany the calliope melody.  The acoustic guitar-driven minor gem of Psychic Chaos also utilises a range of whistles, pops and clicks that could be distracting but instead only add to the tone of the track.

You're In Love surprises with its dirty rock and double-tracked asynchronous vocals, while I'm In Love uses the addition of an accompanying female vocal track to build the melody of the song.  But this is only a taste of the treats this album has in store for the listener.  If you are a fan of great, quirky pop, then A Fine Young Man is an absolute necessity.  

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE 

I know he can speak English, because the songs are in English.  So why did he think that Evil Tordivel was a good name for a band?  A band that's not a heavy metal Satanist thrash band, that is?  Seriously, if YourZ hadn't brought this into the house I'd never have picked it up.  It's a bit like Ford Prefect thinking his name was ideal to blend into Earth society in Hitch-hiker's Guide all those years ago.

And while I can agree about the glorious popness that is A Fine Young Man, I disagree about the opening number.  Why on earth would anyone want to listen to an album that opens with what can only be described as carousel music on speed?  

I'm glad that YourZ got me to persevere with the CD, but I sometimes wonder if people like this really want anyone to buy their music.  Which you should, if you like glorious 60s-style melodies, lovely layered production and songs that hang around your subconscious.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP

For more information go to: http://www.myspace.com/eviltordivel

The Kinks Choral Collection - Ray Davies

MINE

When I came across a mention of this in some article, somewhere, I happened to be at work.  So I threw on the headphones and let YouTube take me there.  Big mistake.

The reworking of Waterloo Sunset had tears rolling down my face, and it was only with some effort that I managed not to howl out loud, but rather sniffle genteelly into a hastily-snatched tissue. For some reason Decca appear to have removed all the original video for the album, but there's a taster here.

I know you're probably wondering why I seem to be obsessed with music that makes me cry.  I'm not really, but when there's a song that really touches me like this, I have to let you know about it.  It brought me back to when I saw Ray Davies, a few years ago now, when he was doing a "Words and Music" tour, talking about his songs as well as playing them.  And it's strange that now he claims the song wasn't about Terence Stamp and Julie Christie, because I'm sure that's what he said at the time.  It also makes me remember standing, as they did, on Waterloo Bridge at sunset, watching the ducks on the Thames.  I also have a big link with Days, as I love Kirsty MacColl's version and the choir just brings it together beautifully.

And quite apart from anything else, I immediately recognised the cover art as being from William Blake, which made me admire the project all the more.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Mine had read about The Kinks Choral Collection somewhere recently and came home declaring we had to own it.  Considering we don't own anything by either Ray Davies or The Kinks, I wondered why she was so insistent.  I mean, choral versions of The Kinks classics didn't sound that appealing to me.  Choral versions of anything are the realm of my parents and kind of make me cringe.

But listening to this collection is a pure treat.  Ray is in as fine a voice as he's ever been and the Crouch End Festival Chorus, as choruses go, gives a surprisingly rich and textural backing to Davies' originals.  While a lot of the material is new to me (I've not ever heard any of Ray's solo stuff, at least not intentionally) it all sounds gloriously big yet unexpectedly intimate at the same time.

But it's the familiar tracks that do it for me.  Waterloo Sunset could very well have been written for a choir, such is the strength of this retelling while both You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night benefit hugely from the booming choral arrangement.  But it is Victoria, Ray's classic satirical dig at Victorian times and the decline of the British Empire, comes a full circle and sounds so alive and vibrant, it is almost hard to believe the Empire is dead and gone.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.raydavies.info/

Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Sushi

YOURZ

I have to be very careful here.  Neneh is one of the very few artists Mine loves so much, any bad-mouthing is bound to be met with swift and ultra-violent retribution.  So...

I guess I can say Raw Like Sushi is alright.  I mean, Buffalo Stance is a pretty good song, even if the sounds are very dated.  And there is no doubting her ability to both rap and sing.  Her work with The Gorillaz on their track Kids With Guns is one of the highlights of their second album, Demon Days.

She also is truly a child of the world; her biological father was from Sierra Leone while her mother is Swedish.  Her step-father is Don Cherry, the American-born jazz man.  And she has that kind of earth-mother quality which is just beautiful.

Unfortunately, most of this album is just too 80s dance sounding for me to have any real appreciation of it.  But at least I didn't say it was shit, now did I? (Mine says: Greater love hath no man...)

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

MINE

In the (very) early 90s I was living in an inner-city suburb with its associated high crime rate.  One day I came home and tried to put my key in the door, only for it to fall inwards, revealing the fact that most of my valued possessions were gone.  I had no insurance (never again) and had to spend the next few months re-buying the most vital parts of my CD collection (they ignored the vinyl, much as they'd ignore the CDs these days!)

Raw Like Sushi was the very first CD I re-bought.  Not just because it's a good album, and it is, but because I really needed me some high-end girl power to get through that time.  There are some killer remixes on here, in fact I prefer the alternate mix of Heart to the original.  It's one of the first rap albums I bought, and helps me remember I really prefer the girly rappers.  At least they can sing worth a damn.

Nowadays I look at this and remember just how young I was then, even though I was convinced I was all grown up and sophisticated.  Much as Neneh would, I suppose.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP give me a motherfuckin' break beat!

For more information go to: http://www.nenehcherry.de/

Birds Of Tokyo - Birds Of Tokyo

MINE


It's... interesting.  I mean, the tunes are good, and I have no complaints about the singing or the production or any of the other myriad things that can go wrong in putting an album together.  But it just doesn't appeal to me.

Much like you can put on an article of clothing when the cut, colour and fabric all look right, but you look in the mirror and you just don't... pop.  I like my music to make me pop, and this stuff, while I almost guarantee it'll go on to please audiences worldwide and sounds ideal for stadium shows, leaves me unmoved.

Frankly it's a bit MOR for my taste, although YourZ hotly debated this with me.


VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

More proof that there is something about Perth that produces world-class bands and music.  Birds Of Tokyo are yet another example, featuring Ian Kenny, lead vocalist with another Perth act Karnivool (who we've previously reviewed here) and members of former Perth band Tragic Delicate.

More commercial and accessible than Karnivool, the Birds Of Tokyo make soaring, melodic rock, hinged around Kenny's incredible voice, quite possibly one of the best around at the moment (and not a hint of an auto-tuner anywhere).  This man could sing the phone book and it would sound great. 

This self-titled long player is their fourth album, released earlier this year, has already gained gold status in Australia, with the first two singles, The Saddest Thing I Know and Plans, becoming local hits.  But the album is full of great tracks, some reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, some more rock orientated but all highlighting the Birds great sense of melodic drama. And while they're not doing anything new or challenging, what they do, they do very well indeed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For further information go to http://www.birdsoftokyo.com/

Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash

YOURZ

Basement Jaxx is responsible for one of the creepiest, freakist music videos I've ever seen for the song Where's Your Head At from the album Rooty.  If you've not seen this, check it out here.  Its guaranteed to make you squirm.  Up until this track, I'd not really paid them much attention.  Mine, however, was a confirmed fan of their smart dance music.

Kish Kash, their third album, changed my view of them.  The single Good Luck, featuring the voice of Lisa Kekaula from The Bellrays, is an awesome slice of edgy soul/dance wrapped around a fantastic string arrangement and a huge beat.  The song makes me want to dance which is rare indeed.  And Lisa's voice is superb.

The album also features guest appearances from Meshell Ndegeocello, Dizzee Rascal, former N'Sync star JC Chasez and Siouxsie Sioux (from Siouxsie & The Banshees).  As much as I don't want to say it, the track Plug It In, featuring the former boyband member, is actually a great piece, coming off sounding every bit as good as anything fellow N'Sync Justin Timberlake has ever done.

Siouxsie Sioux's appearance on the track Cish Cash lends a punk authenticity to the grimy, driving beat, bringing her punk aesthetic firmly into the digital age and proving old punks don't mellow, they just give less of a shit.  But the real stars of Kish Kash are the Jaxx themselves, who weave a tight blend of melody and thumping beats together to create infinitely listenable, intelligent music.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

The Jaxx.  Big Day Out, twice.  First in 2000 (when I went with a very young boy I was using for, um, entertainment and who annoyed me no end by being impatient when the Jaxx took forever to get sorted and started) and then again in 2002.  That time I sat next to a friend-of-a-friend who I'd never spent a lot of time talking to and had a really great conversation.  Lost both of them when I went off to the dance stage.  Married him later that year.

The Jaxx are terrific to see live, which can't be said of all dance acts, but has to be a prerequisite for the really great ones, like Prodigy and Chemical Brothers and Groove Armada.  Kish Kash, coming as it did in 2003 and after my marriage, hasn't spent as much time on the CD player as it's worth.  What it needs to do, is to go onto the gymPod and get a real workout.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.basementjaxx.net/

In our collection we also have Remedy and Rooty

Neil Young - Greatest Hits

MINE

He's the exception that proves the rule, for me.  There's no denying if I really critically listen to Mr Young, I can feel myself cringe at the whiny tone he often affects.  I guess that's why I tend to prefer his angry tunes, like Ohio.  But listening through this album just made me remember all the times we just threw  Harvest on the record player as a background to our long and rowdy evenings at home, that first year out of school.

He can be whiny, he can play loud fuzz guitar, but he's also the man who wrote "You are like a hurricane/ There's calm in your eye" which is possibly one of the most evocative love songs ever.  He's also been brave enough to wear his feelings on his sleeve, whether that's been about drugs or wars or racism or politics.  He's angry and loud, calm and reflective, sweet and even sentimental.  He's brilliant.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

While I've never doubted his relevance, Neil Young has never been a big influence on me.  I remember a friend (g'day Pete) impressing me by playing Needle And The Damage Done, I was never sufficiently interested to deliberately listen to anything of his.  That was until I joined the R.A.A.F.

My first posting was to a suburban supply depot in Footscray, part of the greater city of Melbourne, Victoria (the small state at the bottom of Eastern Australia).  While there, I became friends with a great group of people who had such an influence on my musical tastes, I'm still feeling them.  I used to hang out in a local record shop and got to know the owner quite well.  We'd spend weekend afternoons playing records and dissecting the music industry. 

One friend from those times used to play Rust Never Sleeps over and over, so much so, it became something of a soundtrack to those times.  This is when I really started to like and appreciate Neil Young, both as a songwriter and as an influence.  His output over the last 40 odd years is truly astounding (35 solo albums since 1968, plus numerous with Buffalo Springfield and as part of CSNY) highlighting admirable creativity and a very strong work ethic.  Oh sure, some of those have been duds - he has even disowned a couple - but I can't think of another solo artist who has done as much.

This compilation remasters his hits between 1969 to 1992 and is was formatted by Young himself.  But it's merely a tip of the iceberg.  I'm not so sure this would be a box set I'd want in my collection, but listening to some of the tracks does make me long for CD version of Rust Never Sleeps and Harvest.  I guess we're going to have to add a few more to that list, Mine.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information:http://www.neilyoung.com/

Turnstyle - Turnstyle Country

YOURZ

I wanna know what the fuck is in the water in Perth.  For one of the world's most remote cities, it has produced an incredible amount of really good, really cool bands, some of whom we've reviewed here in the past.  Turnstyle is no exception.

I remember when Turnstyle Country came out and particularly the first single Spray Water On The Stereo, I was really excited to hear some of my favourite influences in their music.  Admittedly influenced by Pavement, Gerling, Guided By Voices and The Beach Boys, among others, Turnstyle combine pop sensibilities and melodies with blips and sounds to create truly individual-sounding tracks.  They also utilise the soft/loud dynamic particularly effectively. 

But it is album tracks like Flank Attack, Portamento, Honey and Knuckles that are the real surprises of this album, sounding more like forerunners to British bands like Athlete and Fonda 500.  Given Turnstyle Country came a few years before either of these bands released anything, Turnstyle could well have been an influence.  But who knows.  There is also no denying the similarities to fellow Perth band, Jebediah, who they toured extensively with at times.

I'm just pleased doing this blog has brought Turnstyle back into play.  It's definitely a Forgotten Gem, but not forgotten any longer.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Casio DJs?  OK, I guess they get points for being the first band I've ever heard to use the sound of an electric razor as a musical instrument, but I found this generally very boring.  And to compare them to Athlete and Fonda 500? No, no and no again.

Indie-by-numbers.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For further information go to: http://www.myspace.com/turnstylecountry

In our colletion we also have Turnstyle Corporation

The Streets - Original Pirate Material

MINE

No, I don't like it.  But not for the reason you might think.  I mean, I'm reasonably OK with geezer rap - I actually like the cadences of that mid-London accent.  But I have a confession to make.  It's actually quite shaming.

I often tell myself it's because I've worked in radio - but then I remember it's always been this way.  In fact I think it's one of those areas where my position on the autistic spectrum shows itself up the most.  I'm sensitive to the things I hear.  Piercing noises go right through me.  I can't ignore an echo on a phone call - I have to hang up and try again.  And I really have problems with people with speech impediments.

I know it's not their fault, but it sets up a kind of loop in my head, where in the end all I hear is the impediment, and I can't concentrate on the words being said.  Can you imagine the difficulty I had one long summer when I shared a house with a guy who had a really bad stammer? (Sorry, Ian)

So there you have it - Mike Skinner's lisp, slight though it is, makes listening to The Streets nigh on impossible for me.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

I get that this is actually quite clever and all, but to be honest, Mike Skinner's delivery annoys me.  Maybe this is because I've spent many years listening to this geezer accent at many of the pubs frequented by rowdy English backpackers, who all seem to speak at three times the necessary volume.  This only gets louder the more they have to drink.

Having said this, I don't imagine Australian backpackers are any different.  But I don't know what it is about a lot of travellers who feel it is necessary to REPRESENT their country of birth loudly, proudly and numerously.  Yeah, I get it, you're from England or America or where ever.  Now will you please quieten down so I can enjoy my heartstoppingly fatty pub schnitzel in peace.

But all this is saying nothing about The Streets, is it?  To be honest, this isn't the kind of hip hop that gets me excited.  There is just a little too much of the same cheesy sounds and not enough vocal hooks to keep me interested.  There are a couple of cool tracks like Don't Mug Yourself and Geezers Need Excitement.  But not nearly enough to make me want to hold on to this.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.skinnermike.com/

Sly And The Family Stone - Greatest Hits

YOURZ

While this is one of Mine's contributions to the collection, I am a fan of Sly and co because they have provided some of the best source material for sampling this side of James Brown.

And while some of this is just a bit too disco for my liking, there's no denying its ability to make the listener smile (or, in my case, grimace a little less).  That Sly And The Family Stone go down in history for breaking boundaries by being both integrated and mixed-gendered is very cool indeed.  This paved the way from so many acts that followed, too many to name here.

While I know the hits, Stand, Dance To The Music and Everyday People, all anthems in their own right, the rest of this collection is new to me, except for the occasional recognition of a break.  But it's also a little frustrating because I'm left wondering where I had heard the sample.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

MINE

A Forgotten Gem for me, and not for the truly excellent music, but for the strong, positive messages the Family manage to weave into their funky, hook-laden efforts.  Take Life - it says "You might get angry sometimes/ But don't let it turn you around" and of course You Can Make It If You Try goes without saying.

It's the perfect accompaniment to cooking - so it's going in the Kitchen Collection right away - and it's so positive it's gotta make the Grumpy Pants Abolisher playlist as well.  And for once I'm grateful i don't have the music-producer ears my husband does.  I can enjoy this music as it is, in its entirety, and not give two hoots about who sampled what or when.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.slystonemusic.com/

Sigur Ros - Takk

MINE

If ever an album deserved to be a soundrack to a film, this is it.  And not just any old film, either - it deserves one with sweeping landscapes, wide expanses of sky, glorious sunsets - nature at its best.

I have to remember to put Takk on when we get in the car to drive through the Daintree soon.  Even on my little commute through the Sydney suburbs, this music made the blue sky bluer, the clouds fluffier, and seemed to point out the flock of birds, the trees waving in the wind and the interesting architecture I hadn't really looked at before.  It also calmed me down - not a bad thing to do in big-city driving.

In fact the only negative thing I can say about the album is it might distract the driver a little too much.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP but keep your eyes on the road

YOURZ

Can a band sound like the country they're from?  If the band is Sigur Ros, then the answer, I think, is yes.  There is something ethereal and wonderful about the music they create (I was going to say 'make' but there is much more to it than simply 'making' music).  They've created a soundscape to match their Icelandic home.  And it is made even more so by the fact these songs are not sung in English.  In fact, given some of the translated titles, a lot of these songs would probably sound a little ridiculous in any other language.

We came to buy Takk basically because we were sick of all the hype and wanted to see what the fuss was about.  The fuss, let me say, is absolutely worthy although the album itself has languished in our collection.  But this is not so much the fault of the band or ourselves.  And here is my only complaint about this record.  The packaging sucks!  While it's beautifully done to look like a children's book, it is oversized and doesn't fit in our collection.  Therefore, it's sat at the back of the drawers, behind everything else, where it's remained since we put it away.

So, please bands, take note of this - you have to remember most of us are organised pack-rats who buy storage systems designed for regular-sized CDs.  While I don't want to squash your creative ideas, if you put something out that is oversized or shaped, it is fucking annoying (yes, I'm looking at you too, Radiohead).  This means that despite your good intentions, you actually end up at the back of a drawer, forgotten and gathering dust.  And often times, you don't deserve this.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/

Primal Scream - Screamadelica

YOURZ

Ha, well there you go.  Listening to Screamadelica for this review is the first time I've heard this album.  I remember when it was released and the fuss a lot of my contemporaries made about it.  And of course I remember the singles Movin' On Up and Loaded.  But this is only because these songs were everywhere back then. 

In '91, I was listening to grunge and indie rock, not to raver music.  About the only thing I think I shared with the raver culture back then was the drugs and even then, I would have been considered a light-weight.

So, the dubby Inner Flight and the very classic-sounding Damaged were a real surprise and a treat to hear for the first time.  I was honestly surprised with the depth and substance of the tracks on Screamadelica and the production is simply stunning.  Now I understand the importance of this album, in as much as it was a huge influence on a whole swag of bands but also because it crossed genres and broke down boundaries with impunity.  What a truly excellent piece of music.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Was that really 1991?  I was a bit late to the Summer of Love, but by '91 I was embracing my inner drug-soaked hippie with abandon, attending regular raves wearing weird and wonderful costumes, usually consisting of very little, and I know Loaded was a big part of the soundtrack to that time of my life.  So much so that this is the second copy of this CD I've owned.  It's funny, each time I open the case I'm waiting for it to aome apart in my hands and for the disc to crash to the floor, as its predecessor often did.

There's so much on Screamadelica apart from the obvious "We wanna get high!" reference.  I've previously mentioned the opening number is on my funeral wishlist (gloomy guts that I am) and there's more than one gospel reference in this Mercury prize-winning album.  I also love Don't Fight It, Feel It and Damaged.

The only thing I want more than more Primal Scream - especially XTRMNTR and Give Out But Don't Give Up which we really should own - is for a fairy godmother to grant me a trip to London to hear Screamadelica being played live in its entirety, in November.  I can only wish.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.primalscream.net/

Nofx - So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes

MINE

So this is what the fuss is all about.  This is who does the definitive US ska-punk sound.  It's good, in fact it's very good.  But it's a pity that sound gets a bit repetitive to me after a while.

I think it's because most tracks have got that really fast beat, that I know I just wouldn't be able to keep up with after about, oh, two songs?  Even though each one only lasts about 2 minutes!  Anyway, now I know why YourZ likes these guys so much.  It's good music, played and produced well.  Pity I don't really like it.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN


YOURZ

First there was light.  And it was smashed by NoFX.  All the pretenders who came after them have been literally left in the dark by these punk stalwarts.  These guys are the real deal, defiantly giving the bird to major labels and MTV and managing themselves and their career without the usual aides and management teams for nearly 30 years. 

Their songs cover everything from politics and religion to domestic violence.  They are unapologetic, opiniated and talented to boot.  They make most other California punk bands look like pussys.  They live and breathe their music and, despite the lineup changes over the years, have become one of the most stable, truly independant acts in the world.

So Long... runs the gamut of their styles, from ska to melodic punk to sneery bursts of attitude all accompanied by their smart and sometimes smart-arse lyrics.  The opener, It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite, is a perfect example of both.  Then there is the social commentary of Dad's Bad News, the punk love song, Champs Elysees, sung in French and the full-bore, fists in the air statement that is Murder The Government (no, they don't really mean it - well, not really).  The ska of Eat The Meek and 180 Degrees shows the depth of musical talent they have.  They really could be a truly great ska band, if they wanted.  Thankfully, they don't.

Perhaps the funniest part of the record comes about   seconds after the last track on the album, Falling In Love.  It is a recording of an actually radio show where, obviously, someone behind the scenes is a NOFX fan and had put up a single of theirs for airplay.  The comments from the DJ are hilarious. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


For more information: http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com/

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell

YOURZ

My first experience with this album was as a barely 18 year old Airforce recruit.  At basic training, to reinforce our lowly status, the airmen recruits had their own 'club' (meaning a room with tables and chairs and a hole-in-the-wall bar).  But the club had a juke box with a selection of present-day hits.  This selection included just about every track on Bat Out Of Hell, the Jim Steinman penned rock opus.

We would spend many a night in various stages of drunken rowdiness singing along to these tracks, generally loudly and particularly out of tune.  Alcohol has a way, though, of tuning even the most tuneless until we all sounded like Pavarotti or maybe even Meat Loaf himself.

It had been some considerable time since I last heard Bat Out Of Hell, but I wasn't surprised I knew most of the words still.  Like The Beatles, these songs have become part of my music memory, there to be instantly recalled with the opening strains of, lets say, Paradise By The Dashboard Light.  Ask me to recall them without a musical prompt and I'd fail miserably.  Put the track on, though, and I'm right there with Meat, belting it out like I've been singing it for years.

33 years on (yes, it has been that long), this album is still selling more in any given year than most indie bands can manage in their careers.  The only question I have is when is the stage show going to happen?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

When I was a teenager, I'd often sit up late on a Friday and Saturday night with my father, talking about everything in the world, with the radio on in the background.  For most of my teenage years we didn't have a television, because my mother objected to the fact it would suck our brains out of our eyes (read: no-one helped her with the housework) and so she got rid of it (read: hid it in the garage under a bunch of boxes.)

The local public broadcast radio station ended at midnight, and switched over to what was then Australia's only youth radio station: Sydney's Double J, later to become the national broadcaster Triple J.  In this way I got to hear some truly weird and wonderful music, given that I lived in the country backwater that was (and occasionally still is) our national capital.  I can still recall when I heard for the first time the introduction to You Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth, and it gave me a shiver.  I was 14, and totally prepared to offer my throat to the wolf with the red roses, but unsure of what that would really entail.  I remember that moment like it was yesterday: the smell of my dad's pipe and the woodsmoke from our open fire.  I remember it had come in the middle of a short break in the conversation, and we both just listened to it until the music started, and then looked at each other and asked: What was THAT all about?

Later this album would be everywhere, and was certainly played over and over again on the cassette player in my first boyfriend's house (hi, Andrew!) along with Kate Bush and the Sweet (ah, those were the days!)  Therefore it's as much a part of my DNA as Hotel California, and will never not be a part of my life.  Especially as it'll always bring that moment back to me, a moment I treasure.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.meatloaf.net/

Machine Gun Fellatio - Paging Mr. Strike

MINE

At one time MGF were appearing all over the place - I'm sure I've seen them at least twice - but I know I hadn't listened to this album in an age.  It has some funny moments and some songs had me squirming in my seat, wondering if anyone else could hear the profanity blaring from my car stereo.

I guess I liked them for being risque, edgy and still musically apt.  But unlike some of my other novelty albums, this joke doesn't really make me giggle any more.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Ah, I don't quite know what to make of Machine Gun Fellatio.  I suppose the best way to describe this former 9 piece band would be to call them rock cabaret.  Musically, they cross from beat-laden pop to sample-based dance tracks.  They were reknowned for their wild live shows, which usually involved some sort of nudity and sexual innuendos aplenty. 

As an album, though, Paging Mr Strike lacks any real continuity.  As with their provocative name, the sexual innuendo is fun for a while, as are the vampy girls, but with repeated listens, I find it all fairly one-dimensional and boring.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/machinegunfellatio

Jet - Get Born

YOURZ

The deliciously derivative debut from Aussies Jet took the band to the metaphorical heights of the rock industry with tracks Are You Gonna Be My Girl and Rollover DJ.  As an album, it's further proof that the world loves and regularly needs big fat, classic-sounding rock to feed its insatiable, beer-swillling, devil-horns throwing hands-in-the-air needs.

Oh yeah, it sounds like just about any rock and roll outfit of the last 30 or so years.  And they haven't been able to repeat the success of this album.  But so what?  Who gives a fuck?  This is foot-to-the-floor, flatout rock except when it resorts to rock balladry.  But either way, it's well-played, well-polished and absolutely necessary.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

A few days ago I was listening to the radio when the announcer was sounding off about Jet's new release - which he said was the same as all their others - ripping off classic rock riffs.  He then played a few songs to prove his point.  I remember thinking at the time - bitter much?  I mean there he is, playing tunes on a Sydney radio station that less than five per cent of the city's population listens to (according to the latest Nielsen survey) and there they are, at the start of a 33-gig national tour supporting Aussie legends Powderfinger.  I know who I'd rather be.

But I'll concede the announcer had a point, after listening to this album all the way through today.  That's something I haven't really done, becasue I put most of it on the gymPod (a Shuffle) when I first got it so I've generally only heard the songs by themselves.

So let's play the game!  Well, you can see just from the album cover this band is screaming "rip-off", as it closely resembles the artwork on the cover of The Beatles' Revolver (reviewed just a few days ago.)  Last Chance is an AC/DC riff, we all know Are You Gonna Be My Girl is Iggy Pop, while I hear some Status Quo on Roll Over DJ.  Look What You've Done is very Beatles, but with a hint of Oasis (made a fool of everyone?) and then Get What You Need moves back to a Quo-ishness.  Move On is somewhere between the Eagles and Neil Young, while Radio Song confused me because I couldn't pin it down.  Get Me Outta Here and Cold Hard Bitch are AC/DC all over, Come Around Again has has a West Coast feel (Henley?) Take It or Leave It is sorta Zeppelin, Lazy Gun is weird because it goes between T Rex and Pink Floyd (who knew that could work in a mash-up?) and then Timothy is definitely Floyd.

Wasn't that fun?  Ah, come on, Jet are everybody's favourite covers band playing their own songs.  Don't you think?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.jettheband.com/

Groove Terminator - Road Kill

MINE

More Big Beat!  And this time I'd say it's good - but not great.  There are similarities to the sounds of Fatboy Slim and Prodigy, and given the release date of 2000, I'm thinking more than a little of the jumping-on-a-bandwagon sound.

It makes me yearn for my Prodigy Presents: CD (that came home as a case with no CD inside from some party or other) but I'm quite happy to show this album the door.  I only really like Here Comes Another One and One More Time anyway.

Side note: I like One More Time because it features the chorus to Let The Sunshine In from the musical Hair.  I was part of the chorus for that musical in an amateur production in Canberra when I was 19, along with one or two other people who may read this blog from time to time...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Road Kill from Groove Terminator came out some time after Fatboy Slim's mega-seller, You've Come A Long Way, Baby.  For all intents and purposes, GT could be looked at as the antipodean version of Norman 'Fatboy' Cook except Simon 'Groove Terminator' Lewicki hasn't had the huge success, hits or continued career that Norman has.

As I've said before, I'm partial to Big Beat but most of this, really, should probably be correctly called 'Mediocre Beat', because it's cliched and an obvious cash in on the popularity of the Big Beat sound at the time.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.gtworld.com.au/

Grandaddy - Under The Western Freeway

YOURZ

I really like Jason Lytle.  His unassuming delivery and pop sensibilities greatly appeal to me.  I remember the first time I heard this particular album, I was listening to a lot of bands of a similar ilk.  While most of those bands have fallen off the listening queue, Grandaddy have been one of the few bands I still go back and listen to again.  But not so much Under The Western Freeway anymore.  I'm more partial to Sumday, which is a bit later in their career.

Lytle tries to channel the voice of Brian Wilson, then Neil Young then a mix of the two (or maybe it is all Wayne Coyne-inspired).  But there's also something unique about his delivery.  You know he's singing with his eyes closed, experiencing whatever emotion he is trying to convey through his words and projecting it to his audience.  I really like this aspect.

Unfortunately, not everything on this album is worthy.  Some of the tracks, like the title track and Poisoned At Hartsy Thai Food, are indulgent and don't seem to really go anywhere, almost as though they're afterthoughts.  But all can be forgiven when these stand next to such shining tracks as Summer Here Kids and A.M. 180. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (mostly)

MINE

YourZ was disappointed when I greeted this with an - ech.  It's not because the music's not good - it is.  But once again the songs are being sung by someone who really doesn't deserve the title of singer.  Whiny and untuneful.  Not as bad as Bob Dylan, but getting there.  In fact there was one song that was so out of tune, I just couldn't listen to it.

I'd call this background music - good for a dinner party but not for intense listening.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/grandaddy

Friendly - Akimbo

MINE

This album contains the single greatest ever breakup song - I Love You But... which got me through a couple of difficult times with some truly awful men (pre-YourZ, I hasten to add).  It's the reason I bought this album, despite already having bought the single, and if I'm honest, there's not really much else on the album I love.

I mean, My Mother Was A DJ is pretty cool and the album itself has some killer dance tunes on it, but I only really ever liked those two songs and they've cycled through my gymPod many a time.  As long as there's an electronic version of this to hang on to, I'm cool with it going.  What I am annoyed about is that there appears to be nowhere on Da InterWebz where my readers can hear these songs!  Take my word for it?

I mean, I know I won't ever have to turn it up to 11 any more and scream "I love you/ but if you treat me like shit you can just fuck off!"  Will I, honey?  Honey? (YourZ sez: no, of course not, my love.  I'll simply wear earplugs and ignore you if you do).  

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Yep, this is getting pretty damned close to the sort of music I have never liked.

I remember the anthemic I Love You But... but only because of the cheeky refrain.  Akimbo was a favourite of an ex-girlfriend and it was another of those party favourites, particularly parties where far too many substances were available, parties I don't remember much of these days.  In fact, when I do remember some of those parties, I think I have flashbacks - ooh, look, my hands are glowing man...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.imcmusic.net/artists/friendl.asp