Clouds_7

 

Would you believe that it’s Show 3 already? More stuff dragged out of the archives, more chances to remember that our musical heritage is something we need to treasure, consume, be inspired by and let it create the next generations of bands.

 

Bye Wintertime – The Girls from the Clouds

The Sweetest Thing – The Clouds

Ivy – The Dearhunters

 

Let’s start this months Wide Open Road with the Clouds. The glorious, uplifting harmonies of Jodi Phillis and Trish Young have entranced me since 1991 when I saw them play the basement of HMV in Sydney to support the release of the Loot EP, which I of course purchased straight away and would you believe still love to do this day. 12 minutes of pure pop glory, it presaged what was to come when they released Penny Century a few months later. I have picked the first track on side B for a couple of reason, one, I love the guitar work on this (by Stuart Eadie), secondly, it has one of the greatest bridge lyrics ever (And hey, it’s not as if we hey, you know we didn’t hey, We never even kissed). But first,  we go right to the end of the recorded Clouds story and hear from the manifestation known as The Girls from the Clouds and a track of their LaLaLaLa from late 2005 and finally Jodi Phillis, hubby Tim Oxley and a bunch of mates made this fine piece of Australia alt.country as the Dearhunters and is lifted from their one and only album ‘Red, Wine and Blue’ from 1999.

 

Enough Legs to Live On – The Moodists
Walking About – Venom P Stinger
Hairbrush – Fungus Brains
Committed to Suicide – Sick Things

 

 

Celebrating all things Mick Turner (except for the obvious which is his on-going work with the superlative Dirty Three). We with Melbourne’s Moodists from their London period on Cherry Red from 1984, off the original 7″. Next we move onto Venom P Stinger, a Jim Turner band from 1988 and the track Walking About from the 7″ of the same name. They were made up of the aforementioned Turner and Jim White, also now in Dirty Three. Released across a variety of labels such as Abberant and Au Go Go they have recently been reissued by Drag City in the states. Next we move onto Fungus Brain, a punk band formed by Turner in 1982, this track comes from the Ron Pisto’s Real World EP which came out originally 1983 and was re-issued by Load in 2011 (where this comes from). Finally we go right back to the punk era and Mick’s first real band Sick Things and their classic 7″ single ‘Committed to Suicide b/w Australia’. Punk as fuck.

 

Vic Morrow’s Head – The White Elephants
Rockin’ Marky – God
It’s all over now baby blue – Hoss

Time for some Melbourne garage/boogie/hardcore now. The White Elephants put this single out in 1990. The band featured Geoff Martyr (aka Geoff Sick) from the Sick Things. The song is about the death of actor Vic Morrow on the set of the Twilight Zone movie in 1982. The actor was decapitated in a falling out the sky helicopter accident, hence the title. GOD released the ‘Rock is Hell’ album in 1988, this single coming from the US Symptahy for the Record Industry single. GOD features amongst other Joel Silbersher who is the main man behind Hoss, who would you believe are next! It’s all over now baby blue is a Bob Dylan track from Blood on the Tracks. Hoss make it their own as a b-side to the Green single from 1990. Oh, did I mention that this was their debut single? well there.

 

Ordinary Angels – Frente
Somethin’ Stoopid – Frente
No Time – Frente

 


I cannot believe it has been over 21 years since Frente released their debut album ‘Marvin the Album’. So, here in tribute of such a feat is three tracks from in and around that album, we start with Ordinary Angels which featured on the second EP clunk and was re-released on Marvin the Album. The next track was the b-side to Accidently Kelly Street, the first single and well, one the band really hates. And finally, the second single that didn’t do as well, but I think is more in line with the first two EPs (which are the era I really like Frente). Oh, the treat at the end…a parody from the Late Show. Funny.

 

Two People Per km² – Models
Wedding Cake Island – Midnight Oil
The Laughing Clowns – Laughing Clowns

 

1980. Simple way to link three great Aussie tracks. First Models, from their debut album Alphabravocharliedeltaechofoxtrotgolf, which was produced by the unlisted and prodigious Tony Cohen. There were no singles released from the classic of Australian New Wave, but there was this track which had a video made for consumption of the early Australian video shows (not sure if Countdown showed it, I doubt it). Next we have the Shadows/Surf paean by the mighty, mighty Midnight Oil. Wedding Cake Island was the 3rd track on the Bird Noises EP and was the first thing I ever heard from the Oils when the ABC late at night showed their live on Goat Island show. That was the beginning of it all for me. Finally from 1980 we have Laughing Clowns, Ed Kuepper’s post Saints band formed initially in 1979. This is the last track from their debut EP, on the Missing link label and also produced by Tony Cohen. A masterpiece of Australian post-punk, it is a marked departure from the work of the Saints, but is probably one of Australia’s most underrated masterpieces. Ed, we love you!

 

Smith and Wesson Blues
Face a new God – New Christs
100 Fools – Deniz Tek

We start with the first track on the debut Radio Birdman EP entitled ‘Burn my Eye’ from 1976. This is one of my rarest singles I own and rarely play it, so a treat to hear it again for the show. Next we have Face a New God, the debut single by radio birdman lead singer Rob Younger’s New Christs, released in 1981 on the Green label this is one kick-arse piece of wax, and finally for this show, the first Deniz Tek solo single 100 Fools, released on Citadel in 1981 b/w a Radio Birdman instrumental, this is also from the original 1981 releases. Brilliant stuff, seminal as fuck

wor 2014 show 3