Your musical knowledge and experience is boundless Lo, and your writing so alive that even the most ignorant ( like me) is swept up in the colour and passion. Thank you 🙏🏽
I really enjoyed this article. When I came to Australia, I only knew one Australian song: Friday on my Mind. It was 1977 and I spent the two previous years on a pacific island without radio or western facilities and spent my first Australian year in a cut off SA commune . So it was a great surprise and relief and some glimmers of hope to see in the few coming years live Radio Birdman, The Boys Next Door then The Laughing Clowns. It’s their incendiary radicalism that reached to my heart.
I was very pleased that some people kept the creativity of the Underground alive. Before I left France in ‘75 I followed bands like Gong and Magma for the French and the Soft Machine and Kevin Ayers for the Brits. Of course Lou Reed, Bowie and Roxy for the giants and many others. I was a nightclub DJ and worked in a record shop so music was always important to me. Thanks for your beautiful writing !
I think you hit the nail on the head about the accent and the landscape being in the sound. I'd always thought I found the accent really listenable because it was similar to my Essex/London twang, familiar, but from a far away, wilder land so it's interesting to read mainland Europe gets it too. Maybe because it's a great storytelling accent. I get completely absorbed in the songs, that aren't necessarily verse/chorus/verse/chorus, like The Drones, TFS, Courtney Barnett, Nick Cave, Yourself, where the lyricism really conjures up the scenes. Yet the no-bullshit directness is also natural punk spirit! Either way you're stimulating our grey, island mentality with your words or your energy, we probably just need to take some vitamin D, so we can express our excitement more 😆💚💛
Love the idea that there’s some Vitamin D contained inside our music - and also intrigued that you can hear that connection or through line in the music also. Thanks Catherine.
So true! There's a real lineage. A new wave of younger bands like Stiff Richards, Civic, Coffin, The Chats, Amyl and the Sniffers are also generating heaps of Euro interest.
Your musical knowledge and experience is boundless Lo, and your writing so alive that even the most ignorant ( like me) is swept up in the colour and passion. Thank you 🙏🏽
Thank YOU for your very inspiring encouragement Jane. I love to hear that my somewhat obscure passions are entertaining xx
I really enjoyed this article. When I came to Australia, I only knew one Australian song: Friday on my Mind. It was 1977 and I spent the two previous years on a pacific island without radio or western facilities and spent my first Australian year in a cut off SA commune . So it was a great surprise and relief and some glimmers of hope to see in the few coming years live Radio Birdman, The Boys Next Door then The Laughing Clowns. It’s their incendiary radicalism that reached to my heart.
You incendiary radical you! It must have been quite mind blowing after your isolation to experience that kind of music!
I was very pleased that some people kept the creativity of the Underground alive. Before I left France in ‘75 I followed bands like Gong and Magma for the French and the Soft Machine and Kevin Ayers for the Brits. Of course Lou Reed, Bowie and Roxy for the giants and many others. I was a nightclub DJ and worked in a record shop so music was always important to me. Thanks for your beautiful writing !
I love hearing your stories about always seeking out the good stuff Christian x
I think you hit the nail on the head about the accent and the landscape being in the sound. I'd always thought I found the accent really listenable because it was similar to my Essex/London twang, familiar, but from a far away, wilder land so it's interesting to read mainland Europe gets it too. Maybe because it's a great storytelling accent. I get completely absorbed in the songs, that aren't necessarily verse/chorus/verse/chorus, like The Drones, TFS, Courtney Barnett, Nick Cave, Yourself, where the lyricism really conjures up the scenes. Yet the no-bullshit directness is also natural punk spirit! Either way you're stimulating our grey, island mentality with your words or your energy, we probably just need to take some vitamin D, so we can express our excitement more 😆💚💛
Love the idea that there’s some Vitamin D contained inside our music - and also intrigued that you can hear that connection or through line in the music also. Thanks Catherine.
I like this essay, and yes, I should…
I’m here if you need any behind the scenes info!
I left the heart, I’ll go listen. So fine XX
I appreciate hearts and ears equally! I should have made a playlist for this one… Rowland S Howard’s Pop Crimes album is an absolute masterpiece.
Great write Lo. Really enjoyed it.
Thanks very much Chris!
Great post. You can now add Ollie Olsen to that ever growing musical cohort in the sky.
💔 I watched the sweetest interview with Ollie & Rowland from 1977 while researching this.
Yes, I know the interview - The Young Charlatans. Rowland and Ollie so young with everything ahead of them.
Yes it’s just beautiful
So true! There's a real lineage. A new wave of younger bands like Stiff Richards, Civic, Coffin, The Chats, Amyl and the Sniffers are also generating heaps of Euro interest.
I don’t know half these bands Jenny, thanks for the introduction, I’ll check em out!