scene but not herd

Finally had the opportunity to see the Undertones documentary that I have been wanting to see for about a year and a half. I was going to see it at an Irish film festival at the American Cinematheque, but nooooooooo! My job decided I should work some overtime that night so I was out of luck. I was really worried I would never have a chance to see it because I don't imagine there's a huge demand to see a documentary about an Irish punk band. Thankfully it was just released on dvd so of course I had to get it. I missed out on them when they were still together and I didn't buy anything by them until about 1986 when I was really in love with the Shop Assistants, the Pastels, the Mighty Lemon Drops, and all those other C86 bands. I've always thought about the Undertones in tandem with the Buzzcocks. I don't know if it is correct to say that they both fall into the sweet side of punk, if such a thing exists. The Buzzcocks certainly were more worldly and their lyrics said the most simple things in such a beautiful manner . I just really love the use of words in those songs. The Undertones were more straight up, heart on your sleeve kind of music. Certainly at their beginning there was no signs of cynicism and that is pretty astonishing given the political climate in the 1970's of their hometown of Derry in Northern Ireland. The documentary covers their history and it is basically hosted by the famous DJ John Peel. I already discussed Rodney Bingenheimer, but John Peel deserves a documentary of his own. In my teens I dreamed of being able to listen to his show and all the four song sessions he would do with different bands. Anyway... John Peel is probably their biggest fan and he was the first to play their "Teenage Kicks" single and it seems the band members feel very comfortable telling their history to him on camera. "It's Going To Happen" is probably my favorite song by the band. It just has this great opening that I can listen to over and over again and it's simply a slow build up of guitars and horns. I was really surprised to hear that it is basically about the hunger strikes that occurred there whereas I always pictured it as a song about a girl finally falling for you. After the band broke up the O'Neill brothers went on to the band That Petrol Emotion. I'm kind of saddened that I don't hear people talk about them anymore. They were really great and they certainly didn't veil their feelings about "the troubles" in any way. So in about two or three days I've seen two really good documentaries which reaffirm my passion for music.

Saturday I finally got around to buying Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson album. I like it, but two cuts really stand out: "Melody" and "Cargo Culte." They are both similar songs, very quiet and slow. Spoken lyrics with basically just a bass, guitar, and drums back up. The guitar has a really nice electric tone that breaks out every now and then throughout the songs. "Melody" has these amazing sounding string parts that suddenly appear. I read somewhere that Beck ripped off this album and this is the song they must have been referring to because it is quite similar to Beck's "Paper Tiger." "Cargo Culte" is very similar to "Melody," but instead of the strings it has a great vocal choir appearance. I find myself listening to these songs over and over again. I'm going to have to investigate more of Gainsbourg's catalog from this time period.

Just getting home from destroying my hearing at the Detroit Bar. Driving home I'm listening to Rodney on the ROQ and he plays a song by a band called the Delays. I kind of liked it. I'll have to find out a little more about them. The term "drone" is usually used as a negative as in, "He kept droning on and on to me about his insipid life." Midnight Movies drone, but in no way did I find it a negative. I have been wanting to see them and I got a chance because they opened for Stereolab at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Three piece with a drummer who sings like Nico. Two guys playing guitars, keyboards, and bass. I don't know why, but some songs had me thinking of John Carpenter's film scores for ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and HALLOWEEN. Next up were the kings of drone, Stereolab. I love music to death, but I'm pretty jaded about it quite a bit as well. To this day I'm never jaded by Stereolab. I've seen them at least ten or fifteen times and I keep coming back. They are always finding new sounds on their albums to keep me interested. I can always expect interesting merchandising options from them as well. I'm the proud owner of a Stereolab beach towel and tonight the usual tour 7-inch single took on a new twist. I hope I can find an adapter to play the new tour 3-inch CD. The band took the stage and there were two or three members that were new to me. The biggest shock was not seeing Mary, who died in an accident last year if I'm not mistaken. No mention was made of her which was a little surprising, but I shall pass no judgement here. I couldn't help but think about Mary's vocals throughout the show and the fact that I would not be hearing them again. It was still a great show with an emphasis on songs from the new album as well as other more recent albums. I do recall that they played "Stomach Worm" from the first album towards the end of the evening. Along with the new members of the band came some new facets to the live show. There was quite a bit of use of a variety of brass instruments and there was also the occasional song which featured dual drummers. It was as if Stereolab had suddenly turned into the Butthole Surfers or the Dirtbombs. Those songs, needless to say, were very powerful. I plan on seeing them later in their tour when they return to southern CA and I will look forward to seeing how their set may have changed from tonight.

Saturday I saw the Rodney Bingenheimer documentary MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP for the second time. I was really blown away the first time I saw it at a film festival last year and I was still blown away at this recent viewing. This site is quickly becoming very nostalgic, but I remember first hearing Rodney in 1980 on KROQ in Los Angeles when it was still an interesting radio station. I was twelve and just discovering punk rock and alternative music and that radio station and, more specifically, Rodney's show were a godsend to me. I remember hearing Minor Threat, The Germs, X, and so many other punk bands for the first time on his radio show. Amongst all the hardcore songs I also heard The Seeds, The Standells, and other sixties bands for the first time. Because of Rodney I would stay up until three in the morning watching movies like RIOT ON THE SUNSET STRIP and PSYCH OUT which featured a lot of those sixties bands. Because of Rodney I would also become quite the anglophile because this is where I first heard Siouxsie and the Banshees, Generation X, Echo and the Bunnymen, and so many other English bands. I'm trying to remember if his show was on both Saturday and Sunday nights, but regardless I know I was sitting in front of the stereo listening to it religiously. Nowadays I hardly ever listen to the show because it is only on Sundays from midnight to three a.m. The fact that it is relegated to this time slot is somewhat sad and this documentary is basically quite sad also. If you've ever listened to Rodney you will know that he is a pretty easy target for ridicule, but I defy anyone to not feel a certain amount of respect for him after seeing this film. There are some really heartbreaking moments in the film, but at the same time there is so much love for music being shown that you can't help but grin from ear to ear. In a world where American Idol rules there probably is no room for Rodney, but for everyone who's ever heard a lyric or a few notes that changed their lives what Rodney does still matters.

Now for something new. Saturday night I went to see the Coachwhips play at the Smell in downtown L.A. They set up their equipment on the floor and churned out some primal punk-blues with the audience literally on top of them. I just really love that fucked up out of control sound.

Let me begin by saying that I love the Smiths. Not the make out in public kind of love, but rather a more private affair. Sure I wrote some lyrics on my book covers in high school, but I would never cry and tremble if I met Morrissey nor did becoming a vegetarian ever suddenly sound like a must do proposition. I have all the albums on vinyl yet, oddly enough, I never bought any singles. I only saw them once at the Hollywood Palladium back in 1985. As for Morrissey solo, I only ever bought Viva Hate and I only saw him live once at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa. In the last two weeks, though, my past comes rushing back to me. About a week or two ago I tossed on Hatful Of Hollow and boy is that good. No offense to either Morrissey or Mike Joyce, but I found myself enthralled by Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke. I was talking to a friend about these two guys and I asked him, "Was anyone else playing like Johnny Marr back then?" Listen to the beginning of "William It Was Really Nothing" or "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now." Is there anything lovelier than the guitar sound from the first few seconds of each song? To top things off you have the underrated bass playing of Andy Rourke. He's playing these great melodic lines so it is not just the usual low end throb. It was just so nice to really hear that great music now, whereas in high school I think I focussed much more on the lyrics.

Today Morrissey was interviewed on KROQ's Kevin and Bean morning show. I don't know why, but I suddenly turned into fan boy. Other than that first solo album I've basically neglected all his solo output and yet here I was fascinated by every word he had to say. He was very interesting and it was nice to hear his sense of humor come out. Now I feel compelled to go to one of the five upcoming shows at the Wiltern. There already was a pre-sale for tickets, but they officially go on sale tomorrow. Wish me luck that I obtain some and that I can relive a little bit of my youth.