dEUS W.C.S (First Draft) and Roses.

I saw Belgium's dEUS in 1994 at the Lowlands festival in Holland. One of those performances that has stuck with me all these years, both familiar and unsettling at the same time, they were fantastic that day.
Worst Case Scenario is a great album when all around was post-grunge and pre-brit pop (Oasis were on the same bill somewhere near the bottom). Not really heard them since '99s Ideal Crash which had its moments but not as "out there".
This is from  Worst Case Scenario and I've added this great video for this from In A Bar, Under The Sea 

Wayne Cochran and his C.C Riders

He of the white pompadour, James Brown copyist or white funk legend.?
I don't know but there are some classics and hidden gems in his back catalogue. From teen death opera the Last Kiss (covered by Pearl Jam to Going back to Miami (made famous by the Blues Brothers).
And how about this for an album cover?

The Tubes - White Punks on Dope

I first heard this in the early 80s. Made in 1977 with punk and dope in the title I had to get the album. What Do You Want From Live!
I listened to it for a few weeks, got bored, lent it to someone - never ask for it back.

I'd heard about their wild stage shows but had never seen them. Saw this video the other day. Again from Whistle Test (get Jools off and get WT back) Its an amazing performance, a little bit unhinged.
Check it!

Crass - Nagasaki Nightmare

For years we've been sold this fairytale about the Punk rock pantomime. One band who seem to be written out of history are the anarcho-punk pioneers Crass. Often cited as being "more punk than thou",  Crass were living outside the punk rock rhetoric.  Crass were a collective producing abrasive politically inspired rock music as well as fantastic artwork.

They were definitely way ahead of the game with the coolest logos and artwork that informs much of the stencil wielding art anti-heroes and certainly laying the groundwork for Indie (creating their own label and ploughing the proceeds back into other like minded bands). They were a forerunner of the illegal Rave and the Rave culture of the mid to late 80s (holding outdoor festivals in unusual out of the way places that attracted thousands by word of mouth). 

You can hear the whole of the LA punk scene in Crass' music and they were never afraid to transcend the rules of that most Conservative of music Punk (Individualism, Not caring about society and what society thinks, small business entrepreneur ism , basically Thatcherism with gob). 

Not renowned for their sense of humour this track Nagasaki Nightmare was released at a time when nuclear war was a very real possibility and this sounds very scary indeed. 

Hurra Torpedo - Total Eclipse of the Heart/Totally shit from the start

I've always been a bit unsure about "comedy music", like any joke it is usually a throw away line that doesn't take too much repeat listening. In the past anthing from Rolf Harris to the Barron Knights turned me cold, (although Sun Arise Bring in the Morning is strangely playing in my head as I write).
 As a reference point for things that all bands should avoid, Spinal Tap wrote the lexicon on spoof rock, however their music only raises a wry smile and that's due to the titles more than anything else.
Re- discovering Half Man Half Biscuit changed all that for me, they have consistently produced classic seriously funny, darkly humorous tunes. SA at Bagging area posted National Shite Day a couple of weeks ago which should really be the national anthem, it's my anthem anyway. Flight of the Conchords have also produced hilarious tunes that de-construct whole swathes of the music industry and as a spoof band they certainly rival Spinal Tap in their faintly ridiculous, yet recognisable antics. Compare FOTCs Inner City Pressure with We Have Bands sad reworking of West End Girls.
Recently I've taken pleasure and  inspiration from bands that mess about with our notions of what pop music is and the way it should be played and definitely have their tongues firmly in their cheek. Check this I think you'll find it's less ridiculous than the original.




There's also one here for leicester City Fans about Kermogant's  ridiculous penalty

Japan - Adolescent Sex

Check this off the 1978 album of the same name, Japan were always pushing the envelope.
While everyone else was doing their punk or disco thing they were starting off the new romantic thing. While everyone was trying out the angular guitar stuff they changed to synths, when evryone else was doing synth pop David Sylvain was going avant-garde.

70s Russian music - Russian western Friend for enemies, enemy for friends

See if you can work out what is going on here!
Answers on a postc...