Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World (Rezolution Pictures)

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By General Labor

General Labor

22 December 2017

Hits: 7418

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair

Some chipper go-getter types, reportedly, have had wonderfully gratifying early educational experiences, they seem to remember fondly. They are most often, obedient Ken & Barbie yearbook committee types with prominent last names, from bigass two storey homes nestled behind many old trees, and have nice cursive handwriting and strong math skills, own a lot of golf shirts in at least 31 various shades of Baskin Robbins, dutifully participate in sports, roller-skate, cheer-lead, earned many merit badges, and have already memorized the entire big bamboozle bullshit whitewash Murkkkan history that photo-shops all the hard and painful facts about this violent blood soaked empire settler colony that was built on the genocide of natives with the labor of slaves.

• jimi hendrix
• rumble: the indians who rocked the world
• link wray
• robbie robertson
• sundance

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Time for two Aints encores before going into the studio

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By The Barman

The Barman

21 December 2017

Hits: 2941

The Aints, the powerhouse vehicle of singer-guitarist Ed Kuepper, bassist Peter Oxley, drummer Paul Larsen and keyboardist Alister Spence, will encore in Sydney and Melbourne in March, ahead of new recordings with producer Phil Punch.

The band will be joined by the three-piece brass section to play material by Kuepper’s adolescent band The Saints (’73-78).

Underground legends feedtime are on the undercard in Sydney (The Manning Bar on March 9) and Melbourne psychedelic five-piece Sand Pebbles will complete the line-up in the southern capital (Thornbury Theatre, March 23).

Tickets for Sydney and Melbourne are on-sale now. 

Negative Fun - The Fiction (Off The Hip)

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By The Barman

The Barman

21 December 2017

Hits: 5337

It could have been called “Short Lives Of The Poor and Obscure”. 

Like Reals, Negatives, Young Charlatans and News/Babeez, The Fiction is but a footnote in Melbourne punk’s earliest days, briefly existing from 1978-79. They released a posthumous EP under the name Little Murders, kickstarting that enduring brand and the career of its leader, Rob Griffiths.  They also enjoyed the patronage of the rightly-lauded Melbourne punk mover and shaker Bruce Milne and Pulp, the zine he ran with Clinton Walker. 

The Fiction had a loose affiliation with those glam-sheep- in-punk-wolves clothing, La Femme, sharing a practice space and a manager. Musically, The Fiction seems to have been drawing more from bands like The Who and the Small Faces, although there’s undoubtedly a bit of Bowie in there, too.

• punk
• melbourne
• rob griffiths
• the fiction
• rob wellington
• negative fun
• dumbworld

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Cordyline Australis - Michael Canning (Ghostjogger)

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

21 December 2017

Hits: 4626

Looks like I was premature the other week when I listed my fave ten or so for 2017. “Cordyline Australis” should have been there.

And I have to say I envy all of you - you haven’t heard this yet. The first listen  - if you put aside the hour and turn it on - you’ll be damn impressed. This is one hugely groovy disc.

You don’t know Michael Canning from a bag of chops, of course; he’s on Facebook as Michael Sea, and I did a review of his band’s last EP, “Mass Spectrometer”; I should also point out that Canning has released one earlier solo LP, and a slew of other music with other bands. Hassle the man on FB, but also go here.

• michael canning
• cordyline australis
• ghostjogger

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Back Behind The Kit - TV4 documentary

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By General Labor

General Labor

16 December 2017

Hits: 7690

So as a person with an extremely limited disposable income, I am unaccustomed to experiencing so much high quality entertainment in a short period of time.

A family member tripped across some kind of free trial TV subscription service and I keep binge-watching music flicks-witnessing one marvelous show after the next, kind of glimpsing how so many of my former peers are able to stay apolitical, apathetic, suitably sedated in their consumer hypno-spells.

• stiv bators
• lords of the new church
• nicky turner
• 69 eyes
• back behind the kit

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Nothing Ever Gets Lost - Claire Birchall & The Phantom Hitchhikers (Off The Hip/Night Owl Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

13 December 2017

Hits: 4309

You know exactly what he’s gonna say: Sydney reviewer gets pissed off at the excess of musical talent in rival city Melbourne. Gets all angsty and laments The Good Old Days when Sydney more than held a candle to Melbourne. You’re partly right.

Cutting to the chase…Claire Birchall IS one of those uber talents from “down south” who grew up in the fertile Geelong scene and now lives in Melbourne. She plays everything from beatbox-backed pop to lean and mean rock. Genres are just a vehicle for the songs. “Nothing Ever Gets Lost” is a gnarly, blues-rock album.

The purple and blue cover art deceptively looks like one of those “Back From The Grave” acid punk compilations. The music, however, is fuzzy and warm and glows from the inside. There’s a great sense of dynamics and Birchall’s voice resonates with character and a world-weary charm. 

• melbourne
• fuzz
• claire birchall
• phantom hitchhikers
• nothing ever gets lost
• night owl records

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Mad Marc Rude: Blood, Ink & Needles. Directed by Carl Schneider

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By General Labor

General Labor

09 December 2017

Hits: 10056

"He was a cocked pistol." -Robert Williams.

Mad Marc Rude grew up in ‘60s New York, the son of an abuser cop and negligent mom, who frequently expelled both him and his sister from the family home. He attended Woodstock the year I was busy being born. 

I think I first became aware of him as a teenager, when I read an article about the Hollywood punk underground in the pages of Rolling Stone. I already published a shitty fanzine and was the rowdy front man for a defiantly outcast Midwestern garage band that performed covers of Dead Boys, Misfits, Cramps, and Gun Club songs, as well as some sucky Dead Kennedys influenced originals with cartoonishly banal titles like, "Victims Of The System". 

• misfits
• mad marc rude
• carl schneider
• circle jerks
• flipside
• scream
• forced exposure
• maximum rocknroll
• battalion of saints

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Silver and Gold - Cub Callaway (East Dominion)

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By The Barman

The Barman

08 December 2017

Hits: 5108

Alternative title: "He Gets by With Some Help From His Friends".

Producer-guitarist Bruce "Cub" Callaway assembled a stellar cast for this, his 2013 return to recording after a lay-off, and it shows.

John Hoey (Died Pretty), Warwick Gilbert (Radio Birdman), Paul Larsen (Celibate Rifles), Clyde Bramley (Hoodoo Gurus) and Julie Mostyn Gilbert (Flaming Hands) all played roles. Lesser-knowns Ian Johnson, Louis Callaway and Harry Rothenfluh also contributed drums.

• ed kuepper
• died pretty
• radio birdman
• flaming hands
• warwick gilbert
• bruce callaway
• cub callway
• silver and gold
• east dominion
• john hoey
• triffids

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Mobile Homeland - John Sinclair (Funky D Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

07 December 2017

Hits: 5434

No introduction needed for the onetime spiritual leader of the MC5 so here’s a personal note about meeting John Sinclair:

It was on a night off during a business trip that involved a flying visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan in the early 2000s. Sinclair was in town for that city’s annual Hash Bash and had just played a show at The Blind Pig. I’d been drinking at the Eight Bar Saloon with some locals, including Scott Morgan who did the introduction.

• mc5
• wayne kramer
• john sinclair
• ann arbor
• mobile homeland
• funky d records
• blues scholars
• tino g

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