Even though you are verbose and some of your music sucks.
In your absence, I’ll post one of my all-time favorite vids. Not actually the cherished Turbonegro Ass Cobra version, this is a cover by The Real McKenzies (with bagpipes). I dare you to watch just once.
Speaking of Crowded House, founded by Neil Finn in Australia, there is this excellent blue-eyed soul, with a decidedly gendermorphic and inexplicable video. What exactly is going on here? I like it.
Tim Finn and Phil Judd formed Split Enz in New Zealand in the early 70s, but turned progressively prog. The band met Roxy Music in 1976, opening for them on their Australian tour, which led to a move to England and being produced by Phil Manzanera.
After that Judd left the band, Neil Finn joined, and Split Enz became more of a New Wave band.
Eventually the Finns were awarded the OBE from Quenn Elizabeth, tribute to their role in the musical culture of New Zealand.
This tune is from The Mekons Rock ‘n’ Roll, and it is perhaps the perfect Mekons tune. Fast parts, but slow parts, too. Irony, in the lyrics, but also some passion. And irony in the arrangement, but also some passion. Clanging guitars, but you would miss the accordion if it wasn’t there. Steve Goulding’s drumming, which is always winning.
I wouldn’t say this is a great song, but I would say it is a great Mekons song.
And since we’re blending this morning, maybe we should go with a great song.
Okay, better than a great song, here’s a clip from 2004 with the band on Top of the Pops. You have to wonder why on both parts, but the fact is the tune is slight but nice, and with no chance of Top of the Pops action. Weird.
1993. Sally Timms on vocals.
At some point indie rock got hot and the Mekons ended up signing with a major label. The resultant album, The Mekons Rock ‘n’ Roll, was full of great music. Rocking music.
This is the official video for a song called Memphis Egypt, which could be called Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Here’s a video of a live Memphis Egypt performance from 2011 in Zurich, home of Dada, more than 20 years later, of Memphis Egypt and Where Were You, did I mention live? Fun, right?
You can read Robert Christgau’s liner notes for the non major label rerelease of the major label Mekons Rock ‘n’ Roll album here.
More from Urgh! A Music War.
Also from Urgh! A Music War, featuring what appears to be one of the Genes wearing a pointy hat.
I was watching clips from the punk/new wave movie Urgh! A Music War, a British movie that came out in 1982 that featured filmed live performances of a lot of bands you’ve heard of, and Invisible Sex.
According to the Urgh! Wikipedia page, this performance of Invisible Sex appears to be the only time they ever played live and they left behind no other released recordings. In 2008, however, a guy named Tom surfaced on the Urgh Yahoo page claim to be Gene Axe, the band’s guitarist. There is a page here, which features less than clear writing and a collection of known facts about the band. The most interesting is a list of the supposed band members names:
Gene Wow: Lead vocals
Gene Yus: Keyboards
Gene Axe: Guitar (Probably Tom Toomey)
Gene Machine: Female dancer
Gene I: Drums
Gene Junction: Female dancer
Gene Tee: Saxophone
Ranking Gene: Male dancer, fire blowing, percussion, “keeper of the stash”
Banana Gene, AKA Gene Banana: Bass
And then there is Valium, which is tons of fun.
A Scottish band started in 1980 by a rock journalist (Sounds) and his mates. The bio at Wikipedia is skimpy, but they had some indie UK hits and made three albums in five years before breaking up. The note on the Give Me Passion clip at YouTube says, delightfully, that they are more Magazine than Orange Juice, and I might actually know what that implies. The WFMU DJ Evan “Funk” Davies posted this video of their second single on Facebook this morning, and it has the video aesthetic of its day down pat.
Give Me Passion was their first single, which certainly didn’t have this video attached to it.
A movie about Jimi Hendrix came out this past week, and doesn’t seem to be making a lot of noise. It was written and directed by John Ridley, who wrote 12 Years a Slave, but was made without the cooperation of the Hendrix heirs, and they withheld song rights.
I haven’t seen it, so no comment on how you make a Hendrix in 1967 movie without Purple Haze, but I have seen this clip of a show in London when Hendrix and the Experience started the show with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, notable because John Lennon and Paul McCartney were sitting in the front row.
