The Velvet Underground. Complete Released Works. Part One

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

10 January 2017

Hits: 13524

Been thinking about death a lot lately. And, imminence.

Lou Reed’s death, Bowie’s, Cohen’s … they didn’t affect me a whole lot. I was more upset when Alan Vega went, but also, Victoria Wood and Benny Hill - somehow I just figured they’d go on forever, like Cab Calloway or Ken Dodd. What these folk left behind, though…

Probably the reason Lou Reed was always reluctant to acknowledge the Velvets in his later, hugely successful careers (despite playing their songs), was that for all his success, he could not - not ever - have produced anything like the Velvets on his own; and that to some extent that reduced his creative validity, that he’d created something far more lasting and significant with other people, than anything he’d ever created with his own outfits.

Paul McCartney is said to have been obsessed with his past with The Beatles, and went out of his way to make more money than the Beatles did…

I don’t know how he does his accounting, but chunks of money do not, not now nor never, equate to cultural and social impact and influence. We still hear echoes of The Beatles today. And the Velvets, in everything from soap commercials to supermarket music.

• lou reed
• velvet underground
• john cale
• mo tucker
• sterling morrison
• the complete matrix tapes

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Intergalactic Sex Tourists - The Sex Organs (Voodoo Rhythm)

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By The Barman

The Barman

07 January 2017

Hits: 5699

It’s all so obvious and so much more childish than Parliamentary Question Time, but how can you resist a male-female duo called The Sex Organs who dress like they’re named with songs like “Lubrication” and “I Wanna Be a Pussy”? Oh, you can? If you have sufficient taste to push back, you can leave now.

Drummer Jackie and guitarist Bone formed The Sex Organs in 2014 to play European festivals and quickly recorded a single, “Fuck The Human Race”, in Amsterdam’s red light district. They come (pun intended) from somewhere in Europe. This is their debut album and of course it’s on Voodoo Rhythm,  the people who peddle “songs to ruin any party”. Or orgy.

• garage
• voodoo rhythm
• sex organs

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It’s Psychological - Happy Times (Swashbuckling Hobo)

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By The Barman

The Barman

07 January 2017

Hits: 4424

It could be as the title says and allude to obsession, but “It’s Psychological” also proves you can make an entire LP from songs about U-boats and shit food and come out winning.

Maybe it’s something in the sub-tropical water or the inexplicably-labelled local beer (that’d be Fourex to you and me) but Brisbane’s small underground rock scene is teeming. HITS are the heavyweights, Mick Medew is the elder statesman, but there’s plenty more happening if you use a coin to rub the panel on the scratch lottery ticket and look underneath.

• punk
• brisbane
• happy times
• it's psychological
• swasbuckling hobo records

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The Outskirts of Your Heart - Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders (Hound Gawd! Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

07 January 2017

Hits: 6682

You might think of it as just another European label re-issuing an American artist’s old work on vinyl - a smart commercial move because nobody in Europe buys albums on CD - if they can help it.But you should consider Hound Dawg Records' engineering the re-appearance of the first record for Pat Todd’s post-Lazy Cowgirls outfit as a public service. Here’s why:

• country
• los angeles
• pat todd
• rank outsiders
• the outskirts of your heart
• hound gawd records

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Unknown Compelling Force - Fortress of Narzod (Chief Designer Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 January 2017

Hits: 5535

Nothing succeeds like excess and this trio from Melbourne has the concept truly nailed on this seven-track EP, their second release. Studio leakage, a seething fuzz attack and enough strange aural samples to keep it weird, Fortress of Narzod actually turns over new turf in a well-ploughed paddock.

Nailing their colours to the mast of a boat occupied by bands like Sabbath, MC5, Union Carbide Productions and Dead Meadow, Fortress of Narzod comes across as an Antipodean, suburban version of all of the above. No war pigs or bustles in hedgerows here, Fortress of Narzod draws as much inspiration from Michael Moorcock sci-fi novels and video games as doom-laden minor chords.

• melbourne
• stoner
• buffalo
• naked eye
• casanovas
• jim lewis
• fortress of narzod

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Double CD launch for Prehistorics and Stukas

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By The Barman

The Barman

30 December 2016

Hits: 5762

Here's how to start 2017 with a bang: Three of Sydney’s best high-energy bands are kicking off 2017 at stun volume on Saturday, January 7 with a dual album launch at The Factory Floor in Marrickville.

Detroit-inspired rifferama melody kings The Prehistorics are launching their fourth long-player, “Storm The Gates”, on CD and vinyl with their first gig in 13 months. 

Main-man Brendan Sequeira has been dividing his time between Sydney and France and this will be their only home-town appearance before a lengthy European tour.

They took their time about it but The Stukas are finally unleashing their debut CD, “Ju-87”, after 30 years of live savagery. 

Reputed to be Sydney’s most hated band, The Stukas have played with everybody from the New Christs to XL Capris, the Celibate Rifles and New York City’s Dictators. It’s been a long and hard road but their latest line-up is as energetic and confronting as ever.

The Dunhill Blues recently notched 10 years of gigs all over Australia and Europe, playing their unique hybrid mix of rock, garage, country and punk blues. 

The Dunhill Blues play a pummelling, primitive and pulsing style of rock 'n' roll that's best viewed beer in hand. They don’t have a new album to launch (they’ve already released three) but they do have the firepower to shake you out of your post-Christmas stupour.

Tickets will be on sale at the door or save yourself some dollars by pre-booking online here.

• sydney
• prehistorics
• dunhill blues
• stukas
• factory floor

Surrender b/w Down Around The Corner - The Lonelyhearts (Buttercup Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

20 December 2016

Hits: 5877

The Lonelyhearts popped out of Sydney’s western suburbs in 1979 and burned, briefly and brightly, before slipping away. Their their first 45, “Last Kiss” b/w “Ambition” is as one of the great lost Oz power-pop gems of its time.

They had two lives, resurfacing towards the end of the decade, but The Lonelyhearts’ recorded legacy (three full singles) was scant for a band of their quality. And that’s why Melbourne’s canny boutique label, Buttercup Records, is seeking to make amends.

• sydney
• buttercup records
• power-pop
• the lonelyhearts
• john rooney
• tom watson

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Ever So Lovely b/w Someone Special - The Strawberry Teardrop

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By The Barman

The Barman

19 December 2016

Hits: 5713

Make sure you read until the end.  Let’s talk vinyl first:

The A side of this is where the voice (and guitar, for the most part) of X goes back to the ‘60s to show off his sentimental side. Steve Lucas pulled together a capable combo in Levi Franco (drums), Ryan MaCay (bass) and Herbie Mayhem (piano) to play his songs a couple of years ago, so strap yourself in.

“Ever So Lovely” is an ode to Mrs Lucas (hi Joey!), set to raunchy guitars and set off by Steve’s warm but chipped-at-the-edges vocal. Shades of A.R.M., his fabulous Oz Rock project of 20 years ago, here but not as excessive and fixed in the now.

• ian rilen
• steve lucas
• the strawberry teardrop
• ever so lovely
• someone special

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A Big Bad Beautiful Noise - The Godfathers (Godfathers Recordings)

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By The Barman

The Barman

19 December 2016

Hits: 6305

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a record by the re-constituted Godfathers rocks like a motherfucker. There’s plenty of YouTube evidence of recent gigs in packed Pommy pubs to show as much - as you can see for yourself, above. 

The real ear-opener comes when you slip an advance copy of the new disc into the player and hear how fresh and true to the sound of the original band that they manage to be.

The Godfathers were built around brothers Peter and Chris Coyne (vocals and bass respectively) when they formed in 1986 and, for a time, they did bigger business in the USA than at home in the UK, where their brand of hard-riffing rhythm ’n’ rock-blues was distinctly on the nose.

• godfathers
• british
• peter coyne
• chris coyne
• a big bad beautiful noise

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