17 & 18 May 2013 (Days 137 & 138) – The Eurovision Semi Finals

I woke on Friday and my mind immediately springs to “M”.  Unsurprisingly she’s already out of bed attending to breakfast and otherwise trying to keep her mind busy.  We have breakfast at 6.30 as she is not permitted to eat or drink after 7am.

The next few hours speed by and then we’re off to the hospital.  “M” checks in for her procedure and realises she has lost her phone.  I dash back to the car and don’t find it.  By the time I return, she has been called in, taking my stuff with her.  (Not that retrieving my stuff was the main issue here; I hadn’t the opportunity to say goodbye.)  Fortunately, hospital staff understands and I’m allowed to stay with her for a couple of minutes.

After a quick lunch, I settle down in the waiting area not exactly knowing what to expect.  I try some reading and writing without success.  Attempting to think up my own objective method for judging the Eurovision final fails too.  So I settle for my iPod and watching the TV as I listen to the Icelandic  band that paved the way for Sigur Ros;

(#367)  The Sugarcubes – Life’s Too Good (1988)

Their debut album and, more or less, the one which introduced Björk Guðmundsdóttir  (or just plain old Bjork) to the world.  Whether you truly noticed her vocals or not, and indeed how you view the album, depends upon how you take to the vocal work of Einar Örn Benediktsson (or just plain old Einar) who  takes the phrase “acquired taste” to strange and interesting places.  The opening track Traitor, is the first test although his voice oddly sits well with the fractured music on offer. The far more conventional sounding, but still quirky, Motorcrash is next and the Bjork show is off and running .  This is followed by the sublime ballad Birthday, highlighted by her breathy vocals and screams and Delicious Demon in which her vocals are by the end so off the wall joyous that you’ve actually forgotten this is a duet with Einar.  Mama, a mid-tempo number, is even better.  The rest of the album is solid – Sick For Toys is probably the pick of these – but that’s probably more a reflection about the brilliant standard set by the opening five numbers than anything else.

By the end of this, I’m getting nervous as “M’s” operation should have concluded.  Stiffling some rising tension or anger with the lack of information, I seek solace in my iPod in the form of some soothing sounds from Germany;

(#368) Einstürzende Neubauten – Tabula Rasa (1993)

This is the band led by former Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds guitarist Blixa Bargeld, fabled for their use of non musical instruments such as metallic objects and pneumatic drills. Given that the English translation of their name is “collapsing new buildings”, that’s fair enough.   However, their reputation, approach or even Bargeld’s very Germanic vocals seems to put off the great bulk of punters which is a pity.  If you want to hear their material and don’t have the money to shell out on their four Strategies Against Architecture compilations, this is as good a place to start as any.  Opening track, Die Interimsliebenden sounds very much like a track from one of Peter Gabriel’s untitled early solo albums (especially the third one).  Blume is what can only be described as a ballad with former Cave associate Anita Lane on vocals. But it’s the impressive two track epic Headcleaner that dominates here, seemingly constructed or dominated by the noise of the found objects to powerful effect.

Even before this ended I received a fright.  I finally found a nurse who was willing to say something and she repeated her understanding that “M”s operation was still going on 2 hours after it had commenced.  This was not good news as it was envisaged to last no more than an hour.  About half an hour later she returned to advise that it was complete in the predicted time frame and that she was now sleeping through the anesthetic.   Highly relived, I sought out comfort food and then settled down in an empty waiting room with only the TV for company.  My boredom was temporarily relieved when someone I knew popped up in Millionaire Hot Seat, but it was long wait until about 6.30 when I was reunited with “M”.  She relayed her specialist’s initial highly promising diagnosis and a weight was lifted from my shoulders.  Now my concerns was to get her home, tuck her into bed and not miss the Eurovision Broadcast.

(AV 10) 2013 Eurovision Song Contest – Semi Final 1

There are only 26 spots available in the Eurovision final.  Six spots are automatically reserved for “The Big 6” being the UK, Spain, Germany, France and Italy which provide most of the funds for the broadcast, and Sweden as last year’s winner.  The remaining 33 countries that entered this year, including European heavyweights such as Azerbaijan, Israel and Armenia, are split into 2 semi finals of which the top ten of which will make the final.

Now I don’t plan to write in detail about either semi final as this would entail a great deal of repetition.  So, here are my comments about the 6 unfortunate countries that missed the cut.  As I’m a lazy sod, I’m not going to record artist or song titles. Go to the Eurovision site if you want that detail.

- AUSTRIA: a mid tempo ballad called “Shine” (Gee, haven’t heard too many songs with THAT title before) simply bursting with cliché.
- SLOVENIA:  an attempt to invoke the spirit of Daft Punk, via 3 gymnasts on stage with welder masks that look like they’d been purchased from a $2 shop, fails miserably.
- CROATIA:  another version of the tenor group Il Divo, albeit with rather nice matching robes.  Just what the world has been demanding….not.
- MONTENEGRO: Balkan rappers dressed in spacesuits plus a girl with what appeared to be a jet pack on her back.  Their failure to perform in English obviously denied them a well-deserved place in the Final.
- CYPRUS:  a lovely unadorned ballad set on an otherwise vacant stage, very much like the country at the moment.
- SERBIA: a dancy number with 3 girls but otherwise unremarkable.

By the end of the broadcast “M” had fallen asleep.  I’m not that far behind.  We spend most of Saturday catching up on sleep.  Whilst awake, I tend to her needs, aided by the fact the Doggies are playing on the Gold Coast.  They lose by 32 points and I start to harbour my first doubts about this season.  But, by the time the match has ended its time for:

(AV 11) 2013 Eurovision Song Contest – Semi Final 2

And here is my comments about the unfortunates that missed out.  Better luck next year guys and girls!

- LATVIA: a boy band.  That’s – by Eurovision standards – so 2010.  Don’t they realise the current fad is for the reformations of boy bands?
- SAN MARINO:  somehow they managed to find an act that was able to channel Delta Goodrem. Not a good idea if you’re trying to win over Europe.
- MACEDONIA: a singing troupe comprising individuals seemingly designed to appeal to different target demographics but pleasing no one.
- BULGARIA: rhythmic overkill with vertical drums (a neat idea) but seemingly forgetting about the need to write an actual song.
- ISRAEL: Adele + Nana Mouskouri .  A short sighted idea that’s left a country rolling in the deep. [OK, you do better!]
- ALBANIA: an over the top rock anthem complete with guitar that shoots out fireworks.  Deserved to be in the final.
- SWITZERLAND: a 6 piece acoustic band formed by members of the Salvation Army who were promptly disallowed to wear their uniforms.  The upright bass player at 95 years of age is the oldest person ever to compete.  I have too much respect for the Salvos to say anything other than they should have made the Final.

16 May 2013 (Day 136) – More Euro Rock

By now both of the semi- finals for the Eurovision Song Contest have been held and the final field is set.  Fortunately, SBS knows how to schedule a good thing and schedules the semis for Friday and Saturday nights with the final on Sunday only about 10-12 hours after the event has wrapped up.   Even better is that the mainstream Australian media doesn’t think the semis are worthy of reportage and so a media ban is generally not necessary apart from avoiding the SBS news, YouTube or European online news sites.  The final is a different issue altogether as the TV commercial networks go out of their way to report the result as soon as it is known, presumably in order to damage SBS’s ratings that evening. 

At work, I keep busy trying to tie up a few loose ends as I’m not sure when I’ll be returning.  “M” is undergoing routine surgery tomorrow on a matter that has the potential to be extremely serious.  Suffice to say we’re both on edge which I try to diffuse with a night out after work.

Accordingly, I didn’t listen to much during the day - only 2 and a half albums - but continue my homage to some of the great European acts you’ll never ever see at an Eurovision.

(#364) The Hellacopters – Payin’ The Dues (1997)

The Hellacopters were a high energy garage band from Sweden who loved the sounds by the great Detroit bands such as The Stooges, MC5, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band and, by definition, Australia’s own Radio Birdman.  This is the second of their first two albums featuring original guitarist Dregen which are regarded as the pinnacles of their career and are recommended to any serious air guitaist out there.  Payin’ The Dues is very much an album of pairs with a number of one/two punches throughout the record.  It opens with the savage combination of You Are Nothin’ and Like No Other Man which, later on, is made to sound almost impotent by the ferocious combination of Riot On The Rocks and Hey!  The pummelling continues later on with the uppercuts of Where The Action Is and Twist Action and all of the remaining tracks are solid body punches.  Even better, is the knock out limited edition version of the album with a bonus disc of about 25 minutes of the band live which is every bit as good as the gig I saw at The Corner Hotel on their debut tour.

(#365) Etienne de Crecy – Super Discount (1997)

Etienne de Crecy is a French DJ and producer who, along with Daft Punk and Air have created a number of notable dance/electronic albums.  This particular album might very well be the best of them all encompassing a number of different styles.  The opening track, Le patron est devenu fou! Places a reggae beat at the heart of a flamboyant Euro dance beat.  The following track, Prix choc, reduces the quotient of reggae with the remaining tracks giving way to some inspired dance tracks which, at times, weave an incredible hypnotic spell particularly on closing numbers Les 10 jours fous and Destockage massif.

(#366) The Young Gods – Live Sky Tour (1993)

Just about the only act I can name that has emerged from Switzerland, The Young Gods have been creating their inspired take on industrial music for nearly 3 decades.  This live album was recorded in Melbourne at the Sarah Sands Hotel , then a grungy inner city band venue (and now a respectable  Irish pub) during 1992.  (That tour altered me to the existence of the band so I wasn’t in the audience that night, but was on their next tour.)  The early tracks provide a good overview of the repertoire at the time culminating in a wonderful version of Skinflowers. A couple of tracks later comes the epic Summer Eyes which sounds at times like a great lost Doors track complete with Jim Morrison sound alike vocals.  This leads to a number of brutal industrial tracks – Pas Mal, Longue Route and September Song – before an encore of the German cabaret sounding Seeräuber Jenny ends the show to a clearly bemused audience.

I listened to these final tracks after “M” had gone to sleep, knowing that tomorrow is going to be a long day.   

15 May 2013 (Day 135) - Euro Rock

It’s nearly time for my favourite TV long weekend of the year – the Eurovision Song Contest. 

I’m not entirely sure why I love it.  Yes, it is a relic of post war Europe sensibilities.  Yes, it is often a tacky exhibition of truly horrid music to which I wouldn’t ordinarily listen.  Yes, many of the lyrical concepts are truly hysterical.  Yes, the voting process is a shambles dominated by regional favouritism.  Perhaps it’s a combination of these and many other factors.  Who knows?  Ultimately all I can say is that I find it funny, fascinating and hugely entertaining.

I can take this attitude for a simple reason.  Europe has produced more than its share of great artists who have contributed greatly to the development of the music I love.  So far this year, I’ve already played a sampling of these acts including Neu! And other 70s German experimental bands, Serge Gainsbourg, Slovenia’s Lailbach, the Irish U2, Sigur Ros from Iceland, Soulwax from Belgium and Norwegian lunatics Turbonegro.   As such I know that Eurovision is not a showcase for the kind of acts I’d be interested in hearing. 

It’s a knowledge that has developed slowly over the years going all the way back to the start of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), fittingly the network that has always shown the contest.  30 years ago, they put to air a regular music program called Rock Around The World which almost exclusively showcased the best rock from around the continent and, I think, Japan.  Whilst I cannot claim to have become a fan of any particular act because of the program, it did make me realise that great music is to be found anywhere and not just in the UK, USA and home.  It was as great a personal realisation as the discovery that Top 40 radio did not necessarily play the “best” music available.  From that point onwards I never judged an act based on their country of origin.

And so for the next few days I’ll be playing a range of albums by acts from various European countries, starting with:

(# 360) dEUS – Worst Case Scenario (1994)

Belgium is home to a number of eclectic bands including Soulwax/2ManyDjs, Dead Man Ray  and The Evil Superstars.  But ultimately all roads seem to lead back to dEUS, probably the first Belgian act to make an impact outside its borders.  This was their debut album and the opening track Suds & Soda the perfect introduction with its combination of great playing, violins and feedback.  The remainder of the album is a superbly judged collection of fractured songs with vocals and music that recall Tom Waits (on Great American Nude and Divebomb Djingle), Pavement (Jigsaw You) and Camper Van Beethoven (Secret Hell).

(#361) Cato Salso Experience – A Good Tip For A Good Time (2002)

Garage rockers from Norway, the opening track to this album, Listen To Me Daddy O, is a killer note perfect approximation of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion complete with dirty bass and theremin.  Incredibly this is topped by the very next track, the flat out rocker So The Circus Is Back In Town.  Time To Freak Out is aptly named and Move On proved that the opening track was no fluke. A bonus track on my copy of the city, Got Soul If You Want It, is an infectious tune that sounds like an organ based version of The Beatles Day Tripper.

(#362) The Raveonettes – Chain Gang Of Love (2003)

A male/female duo from Denmark, this was their debut album (a mini album preceded it) with each track recorded in the key of B flat minor.  The net effect is an enjoyable set of concise songs that don’t sound all that dissimilar to The Jesus And Mary Chain albeit, for the most part, without the fuzzed up guitars.  Let’s Rave On and The Truth About  Johnny epitomise this approach and on The Love Gang they leave the fuzz in to great effect.

(#363) The Hives – Barely Legal (1997)

This was the debut album for these great Swedish rockers, one of the most dependable live acts going round.  It’s short (only 27 minutes long) but full of exciting short, sharp shocks to the system.   In an album without let up, a.k.a. I-D-I-O-T and, especially, Here We Go Again stand out and Automatic  Schmuck and Closed For The Season are not that far behind.

14 May 2013 (Day 134) – Recent Purchase Update

Like yesterday, today doesn’t afford much time for listening other than two recent albums by some of my favourite acts.

(# 358) Patti Smith - Banga (2012)

I know that so many people idolise Patti’s early albums such as Horses and Easter.  I do too but also maintain that the albums she has released since her comeback, especially Gone Again and Gung Ho, are just as strong.  Banga might very well prove to be the best of any album save for Horses.  It is an immaculately produced and sounding album; her voice in particular has never sounded better and the rough edges smoothed to no detrimental effect.  Amerigo is an intriguing opener which gives way to the wonderful April Fool.  The next two tracks are laments for the victims for the Japanese tsumanui (Fuji-San) and Amy Winehouse (This Is The Girl) and the remainder ploughs familiar themes.  I’m not sure everything works (especially the 10 minute Constantine’s Dream, which appears to lack something I just can’t just seem to put my finger on) and it ends on an odd note with a cover of Neil Young’s After The Gold Rush dominated by the voices of her children.  But these do not detract from what is a major work.

(# 359) Boris – New Album (2011)

Boris is a Japanese three piece that usually plays a loud, brutal and uncompromising form of droney rock that resulted in their being signed up by US label Southern Lord, the home of supreme noise merchants Sun O))).  This might be the closest thing the band will ever release to a commercial album.  That is, of course, depends on your definition of commercial as on this album, the band appears to put away most of their own inspiration in favour of tracks that seemingly borrow from other acts.  These include Dinosaur Jr (the seeming inspiration for opening track Flare), Smashing Pumpkins (Luna) and a sped up Depeche Mode (Jackson Head).  Pardon? vaguely hints at Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain.

At home, and with very little on offer on TV, I opt for another DVD, this time going with:

(Audio Visual 9) Drive-By Truckers – The Dirty South Tour. Live At The 40 Watt (2005)

This is a fairly straight forward rendering of the first two shows that started their Dirt South Tour on 27 & 28 August 2004.  One of the attractions of the DVD is that it allows me to look inside one of America’s mythical band rooms, The 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, a venue often associated with the early years of R.E.M. (Once again, all the DVD reveals is just how similar are most of these venues.)  Naturally a fair chunk of the then new album is played.  Indeed, the first five tracks from that album are the first five tracks on this.  Given the band’s reputation as a fearsome live act, it comes as little surprise to find that the power behind these performances renders the studio album irrelevant.  The only drawbacks to the DVD are the insertion of talking pieces to band members between a number of tracks which disrupts the natural flow.  In addition, the encore portion is separate from the main set and even the Play All feature doesn’t link them together. 

13 May 2013 (Day 133) – Acquired Musical Tastes

I’m always on the lookout for new musical experiences.  By that, I don’t necessarily mean that I want to hear the latest rock, punk or blues sensation.  Given a choice, I tend to choose something different as you can never tell where this will eventually lead you.  Sure, sometimes you find yourself at a deal end, but this is infinitely better to just hearing increasing quantities of the same type of material.  This, I fear, results in stagnation and eventually, irrelevancy. 

It’s also lead me over the years to never dismiss something completely out of hand on first listen.  From what I’ve learnt, you sometimes hear material a long time before you’ve acquired the knowledge, framework, context, call it what you like, necessary to appreciate it.  There are acts and musical styles in my collection that I positively used to hate but quite like now.  I’ve also realised that there is something great to be found in the catalogues of every artist and genre, if you’re prepared to dig for it.  Whether you’re prepared to spend a considerable amount of time, effort and money delving through such things as, in my instance - 70s disco, boy bands or today’s auto tune acts - though, is a completely different issue.

And then there is the acquired musical taste.  To my ears, this is something that presents a potential challenge because you’ve obtained or chosen to listen to something with the very real possibility that you’ll hate it. Then having listened and not completely dismissed it, you’re left with a dilemma.  Should I pay it again?  Buy/listen to more of the same in the hope I’ll like it?  My attempts at reconciling that can take years and so, for me, the key is never to sell, donate or delete the music.  You’ll just never know when you’ve acquired that taste.

(# 356) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – The King Of Sufi Qawwali (compilation 2006)

My first exposure to Khan was when he appeared on Peter Gabriel’s soundtrack to The Last Temptation Of Christ and later on when he performed two tracks with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder on the Dead Man Walking soundtrack.  On both of these collaborations Khan, or more appropriate his expressive voice, was used to provide an Eastern flavour to Western musical constructs.  Listening to him in his original context – Qawwali Sufi - is an entirely different affair.  From what I can make out, this is music associated with Islam and is played mostly on harmoniums. Lyrics to all the tracks are translated into English in the accompanying booklet relate to recognisable to anyone such as love and faith and do not appear to be associated with any extremist teachings.  This two disc compilation is said to represent some of his very best live and studio recordings, but I’m in no position to judge the quality of the material against other acts in the genre.  To me it is the juxtaposition of his voice against the instruments that creates an droning quality that is quite effective, although I’d doubt whether I’d need to buy any more of his releases.

(# 357) Stanley Clarke – School Days (1976)

Jazz rock fusion.  Now there’s a phrase that strikes fear into the heart of many a listener.  On the surface you’d think that these two genres would “fuse” quite well.  After all, a lot of the best rock is improvised on the spot either live or in the studio just like jazz.  And yet, for so many, the equation jazz + rock = wankery.   This is the album that marks the border consisting of 6 fairly disciplined tracks, Clarke eschewing most opportunities to turn his electric bass into the main soloing tool. (If anything, the album is dominated by the keyboards of David Sancious, Roy Bittan’s predecessor in Springsteen’s E Street Band.)  The first half of the album – the title track, Quiet Afternoon and The Dancer – is pretty effective being more rock than jazz with the emphasis reversed for the remainder.  Whether it inspires me to get more music in the same vein is debatable bit it’s definitely worth the odd listen.

11/12 May 2013 (Days 131 & 132) – My Dilemma That Is U2

The weekend afforded a chance to recharge, catch up on a few DVDs, muse on why John Cusack chose to appear in something as unintentionally funny as the end of the world disaster movie, 2012 and attend the footy.  For the most part my pre game optimism was well placed.  The Dogs really took it up to North for most of the match before falling away badly in the last quarter – effects of the travel to and from Perth? -  before losing by an undeserved 50 points. 

(The PA at Etihad Stadium was hard to pick up on Saturday which made identifying tracks difficult and, during breaks, impossible.  The pre game tracks I heard were:

1.       Coldplay – Speed Of Sound
2.       Bruno Mars – Brand New Day
3.       The Black Keys – Lonely Boy)

Sunday was probably the last of the warm weekend days we can expect before Winter sets in and but are ability to hit the Botanical Gardens was hit by a charity fun run/walk around it that made parking anywhere near it impossible.  Then it was back home for more DVD’s.

One of these was music related and it caused me to muse about one of the great mysteries of my music life.  I have every U2 album, most of their concert DVDs and seen them on four different tours of Australia…….and yet, I cannot definitely say that I love the band.  I haven’t felt the need to buy their collector’s editions of their albums, have never been in rush to get concert tickets (except for their very first tour way back in 1984) and I’ve bought the concert DVDs usually years after their release.  The only exception to the latter has been the DVD of their most recent 360⁰ Tour only to be disappointed by the band’s performance.

But U2 are a band that I respect and value highly.  They have been responsible for a few classic albums (most definitely in my book, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and All That You Can Leave Behind), back up their beliefs with a commitment to genuine action and have always been passionate, charismatic performers live.  And that’s before you factor in the elaborate staging of just about every one of their tours from ZooTV onwards which is more than worth the price admission alone.   

Not only that, but they have accomplished this with what might be termed modest ingredients.  The only truly elite band member in their number is Bono, unquestionably one of the great front men rock has ever produced.  The Edge is a reasonable guitarist who, I suspect, has never really flexed the true extent of his abilities on record and the rhythm section is solid but called upon to do little more.  In other words, U2 is a classic case of a band that is greater than the sum of its constituent parts.   

So How to explain this? I suspect it goes back to their catalogue.  Only three classic albums (and my view about All That You Can Leave Behind does change from time to time) isn’t a great return.  Although their debut Boy was extremely promising, Zoopropa a solid, experimental effort and War just short of classic status, but there have been a number of less than impressive albums.  October was less than adequate, although I know there are reasons explaining this.  The “I love the USA” songs on Rattle And Hum seriously disrupted the flow of that album, Pop was an intriguing though ambitious failure and, however, much I play them, can barely remember more than a couple of tracks from each of the last two albums.  Plus, I’ve never been that much of a fan of the great reinvention album Actung Baby.   Although it has a number of great tracks (especially Zoo Station and The Fly), I’ve never felt that it represented as great a change in direction as has been claimed.  Mysterious Ways, One and Even Better Than The Real Thing, for example, all strike me as “traditional” U2 numbers  - in construction not all that differenet to those that were to appear on Behind - simply dressed up in different clothes.  Zooropa is much more of an experimental album than its predecessor but never seems to have been promoted or hailed as such. 

Having said all of that, I was tremendously impressed by recent 360⁰ Tour performance I saw at Etihad Stadium a couple of years back.  The amount of passion the band put into their performance was really impressive and this one factor alone more than justifies their continued existence.  It was also something I also spotted on my only viewing over the weekend:

(Audio Visual 8) U2 – Go Home Live From Slane Castle Ireland (2001/released 2003)

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of too many live performance DVDs where the act performs in or near their home base. This is an exception, taken from the tour supporting All That You Can’t Leave Behind.   The setting is an impressive one with about 80,000 fans neatly set out in what appears to be a natural amphitheatre at the base of the castle.   The set list is pretty close to a U2 Greatest Hits and the energy never flags from the natural feeling opening of Elevation and Beautiful Day.  A combination of New Year’s Day, Boy’s Out Of Control and Sunday Bloody Sunday, maintains the momentum only for a lame version of Angel Of Angel to eventually interrupt the natural flow of proceedings. The run home and encores – Where The Streets Have No Name, Pride, Bullet The Blue Sky, With Or Without You, One and Walk On is flawless.   Most importantly, by performing on a bare bones stage without the extravagant stage set that was the norm for tours before and since, U2 convincingly demonstrates that it is their music that is responsible for the large crowds that continue to flock to their shows,

By the time the DVD has ended, I experience the same sort of sensation as I did after the Etihad Stadium gig.  It’s a sense of wonder mixed by a reminder of the number of great individual songs the band can rely on over the course of a long uninterrupted career.

Who knows, maybe its love after all.

10 May 2013 (Day 130) – Light And Shade

Another day at work but my listening today has no real discernible theme.  Initially it looked as though I would be concentrating on mostly instrumental works but this progressively broke down as the day progressed.  Ultimately, I realised that my listening invoked images of varying shades of light ranging from bright sunny days in the Caribbean Sea to the blackest of imagined horrors. 

I’m reasonably sure none of this reflected my day or my mood today.  It wasn’t as thought I had a mixture of good news and bad news, praise and criticism, happiness and sadness or even love and hate.  I’m looking forward to a full weekend, a relaxing evening with “M” tonight and a nice autumn day in the Botanical Gardens on Sunday. Hell, I’m even reasonably optimistic the Dogs will do well in their match against North Melbourne tomorrow.

So how do I explain this schizophrenic selection? I don’t know but it sure made for an interesting day.

(# 351) Fantomas – The Director’s Cut (2001)

Colour spectrum = blacker than black.

The Fantomas is an alternative supergroup (members include Melvins’ guitarist Buzz Osborne and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo) and another of Faith No More’s Mike Patton’s projects.  This album contains covers of movie (mostly horror flicks or thrillers) or television drama themes rendered, for the most part, in a loud, heavy and aggressive manner.  The template is set by the opening track, an awesome version of The Godfather theme which ultimately disappears into a squall of what can only be described as country flavoured thrash.  How much you enjoy the rest of the album might very well depend upon how well you know the source material but for me, the highlights come from positively evil interpretations of the themes for Cape Fear (the original movie), Rosmary’s Baby and, most of all, The Omen.  Charade ends the album on a distinctly unusual note.

(# 352) Augustus Pablo – King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (1976)

Colour spectrum = the sunniest of sunny summer days.

This is one of the most celebrated dub albums ever released and with good reason. A cast of celebrated players – Bob Marley’s rhythm section of the Barrett Brothers, guitarist Earl Smith and renowned bass player Robbie Shakespeare – joined Pablo to produce an album of instrumentals featuring his distinctive melodica (This is a keyboard that is played whilst blown into like a woodwind instrument.) all wrapped up in some inspired King Tubby dubs.  The title track, Each One Dub and Satta Dub stand out in an otherwise very consistent album.

(# 353) Massive Attack – Mezzanine (1998)

Colour spectrum = dark grey, fading to black.

This is one awesome album of electronica/trip hop/call it what you want.  Set against a backdrop of crackles and other found sounds, this is an album of barely supressed menace.  On this album’s centrepiece and best track, Dissolved Girl, that menace explodes in short and highly effective bursts that it barely comes across as a release.  Tension is everywhere, with Teardrop, Inertia Creeps and Man Next Door all standing out.  It is unquestionably Massive Attack’s finest album and how its predecessor Protection still gets the majority of plaudits is simply mystifying.

(# 354) Rowland S Howard – Pop Crimes (2009)

Colour spectrum = mourning black.

Unfortunately his final album due to his untimely death due to a liver disease, this is very much in the same vein as his previous album of ten years previously, Teenage Snuff Film  His buzz saw guitars and gruff voice are to the fore in a batch of mostly dark songs.  In an album of only seven tracks, the title track and Ave Maria stand out.  The opener, (I Know) A Girl Called Johnny, a duet with Jonnie Standish provides some light.

(# 355 ) Belle & Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)

Colour spectrum = a bright white indoor light.

Just the notion that, of all producers, Trevor “Buggles” Horn can take these Scottish folkies and create such a rich, warm, and engaging sound is enough to make me smile all the way home.  Some killer tunes such as the title track, Asleep On A Sunbeam and If You Find Yourself Caught In Love help too.