"Bands I've Seen Live When I Was Much Younger And Still Pretty As A Picture": # 4: Clan Of Xymox

Hello my friends,

actually I don't know why I start this here at all today, because this is a gig I have no memories about whatsoever.

It took place in 1987 when I was 19 .... so young, so innocent, I hear you say, and of course you are absolutely right.

Holland's Clan Of Xymox by then had already passed their zenith, as far as I remember by 1987 they were only mentioned in the press when they decided to change their name again from "Xymox" to "Clan Of Xymox" and vice versa, something which happened every other week back then.

But as we ate everything that was put on our plate in those days, we went and watched (Clan Of) Xymox in the Jakobshof, a nice old venue in the middle of Aachen which had always been famous for concerts, cabaret, comedy and so on.

As I said, I really can't remember anything from this gig, but I'm willing to have a small bet that a) Anka Wolbert (as pictured above) must haved looked fantastic (albeit inapproachable) and b) "A Day" must have been the highlight of their set.

mp3: Clan Of Xymox - 'A Day' (the John Fryer Remix from the 1985 s/t debut album)

Re a): sorry, Robster, but this is as far as it gets on girls in this post as well, I'm afraid ... there must have been many good looking girls in the audience, I suppose, but most certainly I will only have had eyes for Anka: the picture above doesn't really do justice to how cute she looked in real life! Then again, back in those days, I think I thought the same about every girl who had her neck shaved ...

Enjoy,

Dirk

"Battle Of The Blogs" ... Round 2

Good evening friends,

round #2 of our "Battle Of The Blogs", alas no contenders so far apart from Walter who hit me hard with a perfect jab (Geisterfahrer and Extrabreit) earlier today. But I will immediately conter this with a classic upercut:

 

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, or DAF, if you'd rather, will be, so I think, the most commonly known German band from that era to you Britons, simply because of 'Der Mussolini' ... which is not their best tune though, by far not.

DAF came from Wuppertal, they started in 1978 with five members, although only Gabi Delgado's (vocals) and Robert Görl's (drums, percussion, all electronic instruments) names will perhaps still ring a bell here and there these days.

DAF certainly were the most commercially successful band from the days of German punk, then again they were the ones who trained much much harder than anybody else as well. They went to England at a very early stage of their career and lived in some rotten cellar there for a year only to work on what was to become their second longplayer, 'Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen', released on the Mute label. The record was widely lauded by the British music press, and earned the group an early cult following in the UK.

This though is from their fourth album from 1981 on Virgin Records, which I consider to be their best, 'Gold Und Liebe'. Great tunes and after having heard them you will be able to confirm what John Peel said about them at the time: 'The Grandfathers Of Techno" ... wise words indeed ... enjoy:

DAF - 'Verschwende Deine Jugend' (mp3)
DAF - 'Goldenes Spielzeug' (mp3)

So there you are: uncompromisingly minimalist pop from Germany. Good, ey?

Cheerio,

Dirk

"Battle Of The Blogs" ... Any Contenders Around?!

Hola Chicos,

Walter over @ "A Few Good Times In My Life" recently started a new series about German Rock Music, here's his first post featuring the mighty Fehlfarben, a groundbreaking outfit from Düsseldorf.

Now, I am VERY curious how this series will continue and which choices Walter will make, this for various reasons:

1) there is and has been an unbelievable amount of really shitty music from Germany and oddly enough only THIS music is being mentioned by non-Germans when the topic comes up.

2) also there has been a great amount of BRILLIANT music from Germany as well, most of it not commonly known: no-one mentions that kind of stuff, never!

Obviously I'm not talking about multi-million megaselling mainstream artists here, but about Punk and New Wave bands from the early Eighties. A great bulk of those were just fantastic and it's a shame you don't know anything about/by them.

But why is this? Just because they are German and you don't understand the lyrics? Track those down, go to Google Translator .. as easy as that. Is it because they never achieved a certain stardom and ended up in the NME or Musical Express? Nah, you listened closely when Peel played British bands who had the same problem and I bet you can still sing along to loads and loads of obscurities which are by now several decades old.

"No", I hear you say? Here's a test for you, friends ... answers on a postcard ... listen to  THIS  (first/don't cheat and read any further now!!) and I'm willing to have small bet that 95% of you - a certain age provided - will be able to sing along with it, at least with the first lines: "Lost in the delta of Venus, lost in a welter of shame / Deep in the forest of evil we embark on the new crusade / Cease your foolish plea we have come to banish the land / I stand as Saint Sebastian with love for a higher command" ... oh come on: you didn't have any real problem with that, did you? Yeees, Wild Swans' 'Revolutionary Spirit' from 1982, never commonly known, almost no airplay, you never owned the record, but you still know it by heart, a long 31 years later!

But bands from Germany? No way, José! And believe me, Peel played them as well at the time, I still have the old cassettes to prove this! But you didn't care, you fools! Walter started your education and I am about to follow with some killer tunes within the next weeks or so, just to show you that we Germans had more to give than BMW, RAF and Boney M. in the 80's.

Funnily enough it wasn't Berlin where the Crème de la Crème of German Punk/New Wave bands came from, in fact they all started up in Düsseldorf. I won't bore you with all too much details, i.e. which drummer then played bass in a different band after the second single came out under another moniker: it's the music that counts, so here are three great Düsseldorf bands for you: killer tunes, as I said ... enjoy!

mp3: Male - 'Kontrollabschnitt' ('79) [from their debut album, 'Zensur & Zensur']. Led by the mighty Jürgen Engler.

mp3: Die Profis - 'Du Bist Was Du Sagst' ('82) [from their debut album 'Neue Sensationen']. Led by the mighty Ralf Schienke.

mp3: S.Y.P.H. - 'Der Letzte Held' ('85) [from their 6th album, 'Wieleicht']. Led by the mighty Harry Reg.

Fantastic stuff, ey? The lyrics, you ask? Don''t worry, it's all about love and romance and they all get married at the end ... no, seriously: if you are really interested, I'll try and translate them for you, that's the kind of nice chap I am! And the point behind all this, is, dear friends:

 I would simply love it if not only Walter, but some of you as well, would participate in my self-declared 'Battle Of The Blogs' and post some German music too: I mean, there must have been something from Germany over the years that still rings a bell with you and isn't total crap at the same?!

C'mon!!

Dirk

"Bands I've Seen Live When I Was Much Younger And Still Pretty As A Picture": # 3: Die Lassie Singers

Good evening my beauties,

I know that German music - apart from Kraftwerk, Neu and perhaps Tangerine Dream - doesn't really count pretty much to you non-Germans, this mainly is, so I suppose, because you can't understand the lyrics.

This is understandable, nevertheless it's a pity at times, because there have been some really good German bands in the past.

But one of them are Berlin's Lassie Singers, active from 1988 to 1998, and within those ten years they achieved something of a "first German girl band" - status. I won't bore you with all too much details here, because I assume that - apart from Walter - no-one will be reading this anyway in its entirety. Some short facts though:

--- Lassie Singers' first two albums are really great and I recommend them to you without reservation.
--- loads of big German names worked with the band over the years: Ejj Jott Krüger, Die Regierung, Jochen Distelmeyer, King Rocko Schamoni, Bernd Begemann
--- after they disbanded, Almut Klotz and Christiane Rösinger founded Flittchen Records and the bands Britta (Rösinger) and Parole Trixi (Klotz)
--- Almut Klotz died last month, aged 51. As someone else recently commented so wisely on a different site: fucking cancer!

I don't have all too many clear memories about the gig, sorry about that. Perhaps this is because the band's then back - catalogue wasn't very well known to me at the time I saw them, this came later. So I certainly wasn't hopping up and down like mad whilst shouting out each and every word to each and every song they played ... I suppose I was just standing in the crowd (or at the bar) and enjoying the set.

I do remember the support act though, because it was the (then) owner of the venue, the mighty Fritz Knizia aka Fritz Blitz on bass together with his two underaged nieces, which could neither play nor sing properly: they went under the moniker of Rock Monkees Of Gibraltar .... and as far as I know after this gig no-one on earth has ever heard of them again.

The Rockfabrik in Übach Palenberg (as pictured above) was - in those days - t.h.e. venue for independent gigs in our area: Fritz Blitz, due to his excellent connections, managed to bring in some really big names over the years and some of those will surely be featured here at one point.

The following is taken from Lassie Singers' second album from 1992, 'Sei Á GoGo', on Dragnet Records. Great stuff, so get it while you can, friends!

Die Lassie Singers - 'P.A.R.A.N.O.I.D.' (mp3)
Die Lassie Singers - 'Leben In Der Bar' (mp3)

Awesome tunes, I'm sure you agree, Walter?

Ta,

Dirk

"Bands I've Seen Live When I Was Much Younger And Still Pretty As A Picture": # 2: The Pukkelpop Festival

Hello dear friends,

today we go to Belgium of all places, yes, because if where I live has one advantage, then it is the fact that within five minutes you are as well in Belgium as in Holland.

Hechtel's Pukkelpop-festival has a very long tradition, it started on the local football ground in 1985 with 2.500 visitors, last year 190.000 people were there ... quite a difference, right?

 

But back in 1990 some 10.000 people came to see an astonishing line-up (as shown above) on an old abandoned aerofield, the Sanicole in Hechtel: it really was a great day, incredibly hot and there was no chance whatsoever to hide somewhere in the shadow. People lay along the huge fence that bordered the venue, struck down by beer and heat.

All bands were fantastic, although I don't remember Faith No More and not all too much of what Nick Cave did, I must admit. I think beforehand I was most looking forward to see Mudhoney, because by then Peel had played their stuff for nearly two years, they really were the "Gods of Grunge" to me ... and no, they didn't disappoint me at all.

It is hard to tell whether Henry Rollins' or The Cramps' set was more energetic: if you have ever seen video footage featuring Rollins, you can tell that this guy gives sheer energy a new definition. Then again you can tell the same about The Cramps' Lux Interior, and in fact both bands were bloody awesome ... an unforgettable experience really!

The Buzzcocks of course are old heroes, old in a sense that I am too young to having had the chance to see any of those legendary '77/'78/'79 punk combos when they were still active. Pukkelpop changed that, at least for The Buzzcocks ... and it felt brilliant to have them hammering out the old favourites from yesteryear!

The highlight of the day though was seeing Billy Bragg for the first time (I went to see him quite often in the years to come): he simply was unbelievable! The whole performance was great, not only the music, but being able to witness how funny this man is was astonishing. I mean, if you ever have seen him playing live in a smaller venue, you will be able to confirm that he spends quite some time on chatting with the audience inbetween the tunes, he'd tell little stories with a certain tendency to digress (nothing wrong with that at all). But it was real fun to see him doing the very same in front of like 10.000 people, he talked without end all the time, between each and every number. I remember he interrupted one song to take the piss out of some poor drunken bloke who decided to take a leak against the aforementioned fence, quite some distance away from the stage. Bragg followed every move the guy made and informed the audience accordingly. Just imagine you really have to piss, can't hold it to the next plastic lavatory and the next thing happening to you are ten thousand people staring at you whilst one guy with a microphone is recommending that you turn around a little bit so that the wind won't wetten your trousers etc. pp ...

All in all it was a fantastic event and I don't think I have later seen many festivals as good as this one. And it was just 38,- Deutschmarks at the door, today this would be some 19,- Euros ...

Girl - factor, in case you should be wondering? Loads of them, but it was way too hot to concentrate on anything else but the music ...

And finally here's some of exactly that for you, my beauties:

Henry Rollins - 'There's A Man Outside' ('87)
Mudhoney - 'Touch Me I'm Sick' ('88)
Billy Bragg - 'A Lover Sings' (live King's College '01)
Buzzcocks - 'You Say You Don't Love Me' ('79)
Cramps - 'Surfin' Dead' ('85)
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - 'Slowly Goes The Night' ('88)

Take good care,

Dirk

"Bands I've Seen Live When I Was Much Younger And Still Pretty As A Picture": # 1: Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

A good day to you, friends!

The first post in quite a while, for which I'm sincerely sorry, but, you know, I just couldn't think of anything at least halfway interesting to write about.

But yesterday Mrs Loser sent me to the attic to get something heavy down from there for her and whilst I stood there in the midst of  the considerable chaos (really unbelievable: we built the house in 2004 (with no cellar) and our attic could already play a starring role in some series about Messies on private TV) I found my framed concert ticket stubs from yesteryear ... a much treasured item, so I decided to fix it to the wall beneath my computer screen and I'm looking at it right now whilst typing this.

In my younger days I went to loads and loads of concerts, which never was that easy, because I grew up in the middle of nowhere: the next city - Aachen - was like 40 kilometers away and the next big cities - Cologne and Düsseldorf - some 80 kilometers: hard to reach with an unreliable old moped, as you might imagine. Things obviously became easier when me and me mates got older and had unreliable old cars.

But, to cut a long story short, my aim is to choose one of those stubs, tell you a little bit of nonsense about the gig and the venue and all the bright young girls I feel in love with there (not that they cared pretty much about that, let me add) plus post a song or two to accompany the story. And hopefully this will turn out to become rather a long lasting series. What do you think? Sounds fantastic, ey? So let's start with:

 

 

 

 

The Metropol in Aachen (as pictured above) by and large was the only real discotheque to go to for people like us: always a bit on the punk/indie side of life, musically and fashionably as well. There were other places to go, but they'd require like suits and ties, which was not out business at all. I spent a fortune in the Metropol, I'm afraid, not only for gigs but also for beer for weekend amd mid-week visits for years to come. Aachen, to give you a picture, is a student town with 250.000 inhabitants, but, to my great dismay, only famous for industrial and/or mechanical engineering as well as computer science students ... and those are a) by and large all men and b) the most boring creatures god created at that.

I don't have much memories on the Red Lorry Yellow Lorry gig, apart from the fact that it was really hot and sweaty in the venue and that I struggled very hard not to be beaten down by loads of very cool indie guys who were much stronger and older than me (I was 17 in May '86) ... some punks were there too, but I think the majority of guests belonged to the local indie camp.

Of course I first heard Leeds' Red Lorry Yellow Lorry on Peel's BFBS programmes and I liked them a lot from scratch. I bought the first two LP's plus a 12" and they were good throughout. But despite of this, as it so often is the case, the records couldn't capture the sheer energy this band was able to develop when playing live (well, at least this is true for the gig I saw: all their other live performances might as well have been absolutely shite ...).

I assume you might by now be missing the promised girl-factor in all of my rambling: well, there isn't any 'cos there weren't that much girls in the audience as far as I remember: perhaps the band was too "industrial" to attract attractive girls. Bugger! So let's have some music instead:

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - 'Hollow Eyes' ('85): the first track I heard of theirs on Peel, from their debut LP.

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - 'Spinning Round' ('85): the aforementioned 12" on Red Rhino Records.

Hope you enjoyed bits of that, comments highly appreciated, of course!

Cheerio,

Dirk

Dear Feargal Sharkey,

Dear friends,

I originally posted the below in October 2008. You wouldn't believe how sorry I am to say that the situation hasn't changed awfully much, some five years later. One Step Brighter, one of my favourite blogs, has been removed as well yesterday. The same is true, as you know by now, for The Vinyl Villain. JC already found a new platform over here: http://thenewvinylvillain.wordpress.com/ and I can only hope One Step Brighter will continue in one form or another as well.

Either way: I can only assume that below letter got delayed in the post somewhere. So I'll re-send it to you now, Feargal, 'cos that's the kind of polite and scrupulous person I am ... some links might be dead, but don't let that put you off, Feargal. Partly it's your fault anyway ...:

I was suprised to learn from my mate J.C. that you have become rather successful lately. Quite a long way from singing in a grievously underrated band to becoming a Chief Executive for British Music Rights, isn't it? Well, it must have been a long way, Feargal, because apparently you seem to have forgotten some things. Important things, my old friend. I came to this impression because of the statements you made in this article.

Feargal, have you ever thought about why it is that you now have the successful job you currently have? Have you ever thought about who it was that made you so important? No? Well, I'll tell you, Feargal: it was us. Yes, us, the people who spent their hard-earned money for your records. The people who followed you around and paid to see your gigs. Some of them still exist nowadays, believe it or not. Those people are called fans, Feargal. Sometimes I think this is an expression which isn't used very often in your nice little BMR - office these days, right? Fans. Hmmmh. Sounds strange these days, I admit. But, the thing is, Feargal, fans - in the true sense of the word - are not criminals. Nor have they ever been. They are just little people who like what someone else has done or is doing. And they want to share their joy and excitement with other people.

Come on Feargal: you're not that old, are you? Do you really have forgotten what you did back in the mid 70's when you were short of money and your mate had the latest single, by, let's say, The Faces? I bet he taped it for you, didn't he, so that you could listen to it at home over and over again: "Pool Hall Richard, You're Far Too Wicked, We Know ...". Boy, that was fun, wasn't it, Feargal? I bet you sang along with it in your room like nobody's business, didn't you?

Your mate taped it for you for free, Feargal, so I assume. Or did you pay him for it? No, I bet you didn't. Now, would you describe your mate - and yourself, mind you - as having been criminals back then? Did you even give a toss about the fact that you stole Rod Stewart's money? Be frank to me, Feargal: you didn't, no way. Rod is a multi-millionaire by now, even though you and your mate stole his money. Deliberately.

You see, today the tape decks have gone. Out of fashion. Replaced by computers, Feargal. But the attitude has remained. Still some fans want to share stuff they really appreciate with other people. People who might not have the chance to listen to it that easily. And please don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about the real pirates. Those are criminals, I admit. I'm talking about fans. Fans who post a little something and in doing so they encourage other fans to go and buy other stuff from the artist. As easy as that, Feargal. Fans have a blog which is read by some thirty other fans per day, if at all. Pirates steal music on a commercial basis. Don't mix this up, Feargal, please!

If you want to save artists' rights, kindly attack the pirates and their battleships. Don't bomb the fans' rubber boats, my friend. I understand this is the easier thing to do, but that doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. So please leave us fans alone, okay? Ed, Steve and Coxon are not your enemies, Feargal, they're just fans. Not more, not less.

Think about this if you have a minute, Feargal. That's all I would ask for, mate.

All the best, your old fan,

Dirk

PS: and to show the young fans - who probably can't afford to pay some 50 quid for this single (or whatever it's worth on ebay these days) - that you made some fantastic records some years ago (and therefore can't be such a bad chap after all), here's your 1978 debut on Good Vibrations Records:

1) Teenage Kicks (mp3)

2) Smarter Than You (mp3)

3) True Confessions (mp3)

4) Emergency Cases (mp3)

I'll await your kind response to this, Feargal. In one form or another ...

Dirk

The Vinyl Villain

Hello folks,

sad news today, below mail from JC aka The Vinyl Villain will explain it all, I think:

"Hi Dirk

This isn't related to your particular post, but just to let you know that The Vinyl Villain blog has met its demise at the hands of blogger.

I'm starting all over again....
http://thenewvinylvillain.wordpress.com/

Thanks

JC"

So, in order to spread the word (although Sexyloser won't reach more than five people on this planet, I'm afraid), kindly note the new adress above and visit the new Vinyl Villain on a daily basis ...

Here's a little ska for you, just appropiate I would think:

The Toasters - 'Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down' (mp3)

Cheers,

Dirk

Thank You!!

Okay,

back from Turkey and I'm gorgeous golden brown: if you could see me I'm sure you wanted to dance around me!

There are millions of songs about having been away and this is but one of them. A very fine one though, I think:

 

I, Ludicrous - 'My Baby's Got Jet Lag' ('87) (mp3)

The holidays, should you be wondering, were not at all too bad: loads of sun and that's the main thing after months and months of rain down here. Way too many fucking Russians who behaved like swines in the hotel though, which made me think of this tune all the time recently:

 

Attila The Stockbroker - 'Russians In The DHSS' ('82) (mp3)

Coming back to the "45 45's" - series: I was astonished to see the amount of comments which were left within last week and again I have to point out that this sort of thing is what keeps Sexyloser running. So a big kiss and 'thank you' to:


JC: for his very nice post about me last week: you might be right about 'Temptation' having been @ #44, mate. But perhaps I'll do something with my 12" singles in the near future, so just wait and see, okay? And, by the way, we should indeed meet soon. Problem is that you'll need to learn to speak English first, as Scottish is not understandable for me. Then again a few beers might help to solve this problem within the conversation ...

Swiss Adam: for his nice words and also for the fact that he runs one of the four best blogs I know. A bit too much Weatherall for my liking though, but who cares, right?

Brian and The Robster: I think the two of you left the greatest amount of comments within the series, so thanks a lot for following it all the way through so intensely. And, Robster, thanks for your Welsh congratulations: highly appreciated!

Luca: I already thought of of the the "78 78's" - thingy as well, but a) my record player won't play that fast and b) my collection of 78's currently counts zero items. But, as I said, I'm contemplating to give my 12"'s a spin in one form or another. And: Italy, apart from France and the UK, is my key market at work, and I found out over the years that all Italians are somewhat morons, providing they or their relatives work in the paper industry. They do my head in every fucking day. So I won't go there under no circumstances whatsoever, sorry! At least I don't think I ever will ...

Charity Chic, DvD, & Drew: nice comments all the way through!

Walter: loads of comments as well plus, I think, the only German who tends to read Sexyloser. Your blog is fantastic, by the way!

George: who commented frequently as well: I was happy to see that you were so fond of the Pete Best Beatles and Terry & Gerry!

Lee Thacker: who said that "I'm sure that Peelie would approve": now this just has to be the best compliment that can be made, isn't it?

Anonymous: for tons of nice comments, albeit rather unrelated to the series, about the merits of Ice Machines, Wordpress, Viagra and penis enlargement: I'll think one of those days I'll come back to you and demand more details about the latter, promised!

This is for all of you, friends:

Laurel Aitken and The Pressure Tenants - 'I Love You, Yes I Do' ('90) (mp3)

Take good care,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#45/45)

Gooooood morning friends,


so ... we finally made it, didn't we? June 11th today, which means that:

- I'll currently be embrowning my cute little ass in the Turkish sun and you'll all be jealous!
- I'll be considerably drunk in a few hours because it's my birthday today, so: Happy Birthday to me!
- I'll be able to tell you what - in my eyes - is the best record in the history of the whole world ever!

Your number forty-five, friends. Enjoy:

The Clash - '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais' (mp3)

CBS - S CBS 6383 (1978)

A predictable choice, ey? I'm sure you knew it all along .... then again this record really has stood the test of time, in fact it's as up to date today as it was back in 1978. Perhaps this is why it's hanging on my office room wall: all four versions, in their pink, yellow, blue and green sleeves, framed. And each and every morning when I get up I look at them with pride .... which probably shows you what a twerp I am. Aaaaanyway ....

I do hope you enjoyed this "45 45's until I'm 45" - series ... I certainly did. But most of all I enjoyed the views you shared in your comments, highly appreciated ... and this is what keeps this blog running in one form or another. So a big kiss to all of you who left a few lines!

See ya soon/take care,

Dirk

PS: next up: "12 12"'s until Little Loser (now 4) is 12" perhaps .... which is a manageable challenge, I would think ...

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#44/45)

Good morning friends,

today's choice, the penultimate one, as perfect as it is, is a bit of a puzzle when it comes to release dates and thus those need some explanation:

- it first came out as a CD on Shiny Beast Recordings in 2002
- next release, again a CD, was on Double Dragon Music in 2004
- then a promo CD came out on Warner Bros. Records in 2005
- finally a CD was released in 2006, again on Warner Bros.

And with this CD a 7" came along, which, obviously, is the version you'll get to hear. One of the finest moments in recorded history and that's a fact!

Your number forty-four, people. Enjoy:

The Crimea - 'Lottery Winners On Acid' (mp3)

Warner Bros. Records - W698 (2006)

A mighty record! I will never get tired of listening to it and liking it as much as I did the first time I heard it.

Hope to see you in two days' time when the final choice will be presented: any ideas already?

Take good care,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#43/45)

Good morning friends,

admittedly I stole the following from somewhere else, but I think it describes today's record perfectly well:

'We Hate The Kids’ is The Indelicates’ attempt to write no less than an anthem for our times. They cast their eyes over the state of popular music and find it sadly lacking. It’s a song for a time where Simon Cowell unashamedly reduces Pop to a pure commodity, a time where things like passion, depth and integrity are entirely expendable. It slowly builds to the point of bursting while Simon and Julia spit out lines steeped in venom. I would say they have succeeded, this is the definition of an anthem.

Well, I'm all for that, I must say. This is a song which needs to be listened closely to, therefore this time I'll add the lyrics to what is your number forty-three, friends. Turn this up good and loud and enjoy:

 

The Indelicates - 'We Hate The Kids' (mp3)

Sad Gnome Records - SG0601 (2006)

 

Every generation gets fooled again
And every generation is to blame
And its no good saying its not in your name
'cause it is in your name
And this generation is the same
And this generation is to blame
And I'm sorry that I can't join in any more
But I've been let down too many times before
Oh yeah we mean it
We hate the kids
So dance dance dance to the radio tonight

I wanted to believe in rock'n'roll stars
I wanted to believe in contemporary art
I wanted to aspire to a higher path
But there's no higher path
It was ever thus, and it was ever you
And it's ever us because we'll do it too
And we're sorry to the all the disinherited meek, and
We're sorry for this con-trick that we play on the people
Oh yeah we mean it
We hate the kids
So dance dance dance to the radio tonight

And nobody ever comes alive
And the journalists clamour round glamour like flies
And boys who should know better grin and get high
With fat men who once met the MC5
And no one discusses what they don't understand
And no one does anything to harm the brand
And this gift is an illusion, this isn't hard
Absolutely anyone can play the fucking guitar
Oh yeah we mean it
We hate the kids
Useless children genuflecting
To the idols who exploit them
Open mouthed and arsed expecting
Some god to anoint them
Dance Dance Dance to this radio tonight

And there's always a monk to get set on fire
And there's always a crackhead charismatic liar
And there's always a depth to which you can aspire
And there's always a teenager due to expire
Pop had a beginning, it grew and was tended
Now it is rotten. Let it be ended.
Let every hopeless case that every drummer befriended,
Every seven-inch that every student intended
Every groupie and ligger and identity seeker
Every druggy and drinker and every loudspeaker
Be done with, be piled up, tossed, set alight
No more music, thank you, goodnight.

 

 

What a masterpiece. Oh god, I do love this song!!

 

Take care,

 

Dirk

 

 

 

 

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#42/45)

Good morning loveys,

another classic for you today, which, I'm sure, you all know by heart and love without reservation.

There ain't many songs whith lyrics as disturbing and frightening as this one, I always thought. What I didn't know so far is that I'm not alone in thinking so, in fact there are people who are even more disturbed than I am ....as this thread shows:

I heard 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' by The Jam for the first time in years the other day, and was horrified to find that I could sing along to all the lyrics. It also occured to me for the first time ever that if our narrator IS down in the tube station at midnight, isn't it a bit strange for his wife to be "lining up the cutlery, polishing the glasses and pulling out the cork" at that late hour?
-- Andrew L (andrewlittlefiel...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.Also why on earth has he decided to go to a pub a half hour away from the tube? -- Tom (ebro...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.Also why on earth has he decided to go to a pub a half hour away from the tube? Not really, he could have been meeting friends in south east London. -- N. (nickdastoo...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.Also why on earth has he decided to go to a pub a half hour away from the tube? Because he is Paul Weller = because he is a thicko. -- Nicole (ndwillet...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.Is it possible he is at the destination station, rather than the embarking one, as Tom assumes? The only thing that makes me think not is that he's faffing around buying plums in vending machines, which he surely wouldn't be doing if he was almost home and worrried about his curry going cold. -- N. (nickdastoo...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM. Did tube stations at any point have plum vending machines? -- Tom (ebro...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.I don't know. This part puzzles me. -- N. (nickdastoo...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.it would have been even longer than half an hour too. back in the day were not last orders EVEN EARLIER! -- Alan Trewartha (alantrewarth...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.Maybe he did that thing where you fall asleep on the tube and end up going all the way to the end of the line and then have to come back again? I of course have never done this but know people who have snoozed past Finsbury Park, ended up in Walthamstow and gone bouncing backwards and forwards on the Victoria line for much of the night. -- Emma (emmaluvscak...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.Hang on a minute. I've just realised that at no point in the song does he even say he has been to the pub. Tom has just projected his own life onto Weller's protagonist. He's probably just been working really late at the office. No, hang on, this is the 1970s and that kind of thing didn't happen. OK, he's been shagging his secretary in some grotty hotel room. -- N. (nickdastoo...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.Now you are projecting YOUR life onto the song, N.. -- Edna Welthorpe, Mrs (edna_welthorp...), February 1st, 2002 1:00 AM.

isn't it a bit strange for his wife to be "lining up the cutlery, polishing the glasses and pulling out the cork" at that late hour?

The only plausible reason I can think of for this is that the narrator is an observant Jew and he's heading home for Shabbat dinner (which doesn't start until after sundown, which would place this scenario around early summer). That would explain the wine as well...but still, that would place dinner no later than 9:30 pm or so. (It would have to be Kosher curry takeaway in this scenario.)― mike a, Thursday, 2 September 2004 19:25 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

Also, the lyrics never say it's bubbly. The wife could be pulling the cork off some cheap jug for all we know. Maybe that works better with the curry, I'm no culinary expert.― ccconor, Thursday, 2 September 2004 19:25 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

It could be fizzy wine? Perhaps a sparkiling shiraz?

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Thursday, 2 September 2004 20:15 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

Mike - microwave?? This is the 70s. They were largely the preserve of the catering industry at that time, in the UK at least. Also, the lyrics never say it's bubbly. One would assume it was once from the line "The wine will be flat and the curry's gone cold". I suppose he could just be generally moaning that his wife will have bought unsparkling wine again.― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 20:39 (8 years ago) Permalink
and cold curries. That would be a raita and... what other cold curries are there?

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Thursday, 2 September 2004 20:43 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

the curry's cold because it's been lying next to his unconscious body since midnight.― sexyDancer, Thursday, 2 September 2004 20:50 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

It's a fucking riduculous idea to be taking home curries on the Tube anyway. Hasn't he seen those signs about no smelly food?― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 20:57 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

Maybe that's why he got beat down.― sexyDancer, Thursday, 2 September 2004 20:57 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

Hang on - I suddenly understand the whole thing! He hasn't been on a tube at all - he's just popped out for a take away and used the underground station subway as a short cut. That's why it's only a distant echo of trains. ― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 20:59 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

Maybe the plum is on a fruit machine. But then what tube stations have fruit machines?― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 2 September 2004 21:00 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

OK, that explains everything except the plum vending mystery.― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 21:00 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

I don't know. It was the 70s. Things were weird.― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 21:01 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

The curry would've got cold long before he arrived home. This is midnight in London! I hope they have a microwave. Not that it matters now.― the music mole (colin s barrow), Thursday, 2 September 2004 21:06 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

There's no sodding microwave. Why won't you listen to me? I'm bored with this whole stupid thing.― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 21:07 (8 years ago) Permalink
 

Could have been worse - he could have been attempting to unobtrusively chaperone a fish supper onto the night bus.
― Neil Willett (Neil Willett), Thursday, 2 September 2004 21:12 (8 years ago) Permalink

The above are just excerpts, reading the whole thread made my day, believe me!

But enough of that, here's one of the finest songs of our time, your number forty-two, friends. Enjoy:

 

The Jam - 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' (mp3)

Polydor - POSP 8 (1978)

Cheers,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#41/45)

Good morning friends,

yes, you finally made it all the way through, because today's the start of your Top Five in our nice little rundown. 'Thank God this nonsense is over soon', I hear you say .... but do I care? No, not at all!

Again a record which doesn't need much of an explanation, for a very long time it was my all time favourite. This has changed by now, then again it still is a total classic and every song on the (four track) single is a winner.

Your number forty-one, you lot: enjoy!

 

The Undertones - 'Teenage Kicks' (mp3)

Good Vibrations Records - GOT 4 (1978)

 

White wraparound sleeve and by and large still in pristine condition: a much treasured item, as I say, and I can well imagine that it might be worth a few quid these days ....

 

Have fun,

 

Dirk

 

PS: Would be interesting to know whether you prefer the original above or the cover version we had @ #25 .... comments anyone?

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#40/45)

Good morning my lovelies,

another killer tune for you today, this time from Wales. You might not know the band, which is a real shame, because they are extraordinarily good, at least on this single. You might know the outfit though they turned into after they quit: The International Karate Plus.

But before that they were Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi, "as eclectic as their name is confusing" the NME once said. And I won't argue, because their fourth single is one of my most treasured items: an outstanding record indeed which makes me shout along with it every time I hear it at immense volume.

Your number forty, darlings. Enjoy:

Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi - 'Hear The Air' (mp3)

V2 - WR5013517 (2000)

Now, wasn't that simply awesome??!!

Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi, by the way, included Martin Bimrose on guitar, Richard Arnold on drums and Mike Carter on bass. The band's name is derived from Moho bishopi, the scientific name of the Moloka‘i ‘Ō‘ō, an extinct bird known to have lived in Hawaii. Martin Bimrose saw an article about the bird in the Readers Digest whilst waiting at the dentists. He thought that with some imaginative punctuation, "the name could be as mad as he is".

As well it might be ...

Ta,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#39/45)

Good morning dearest friends,

and especially a very good morning to the thousands of you who send in mails every day pointing out that we don't have enough skiffle here on Sexyloser: be relieved to hear that today's your day!

Alas I don't know all too much about Birmingham's finest band, Terry & Gerry, apart from what Wikipedia has to say:

"Unusually for the time the band was based on a skiffle sound making use of a washboard for percussion instead of a drum kit. Terry Lilley played double bass. Gerry Colvin sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar.

Terry and Gerry took their style from nineteen fifties pop artists – they wore black evening suits and ribbon ties in the style of the Everly Brothers while sounding more akin to Britain’s Lonnie Donegan.
The songs written by Colvin/Lilley were remarkable for their brevity with the three songs on the first side of their debut EP 'Butter’s On the Bread' totalling just four minutes and five seconds. 'Butter’s On The Bread' referred to the miners’ strike of 1984.

'Butter’s On the Bread' appeared on Robert Lloyd’s Vindaloo records but subsequent records were released on the In Tape record label run by Marc Riley (ex The Fall).

BBC disc jockey and Donegan fan John Peel promoted the band when apparently by chance he picked out their demonstration tape because his wife’s best friends were also known as Terry and Gerry. He thought the coincidence was too great to ignore. The band recorded three sessions for the John Peel programme."

Your number thirty-nine, friends, so please enjoy:

Terry And Gerry - 'Wait Until You're Older' (mp3)

from the 'Butter's On The Bread' 7" EP - Vindaloo Records - UGH 7 (1984)

 

This really is a fantastic tune, people, so please please please download it and listen closely to the outstanding lyrics: those will make your day, promised!

 

Have fun,

 

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#38/45)

Good morning friends,

something for those of you with an appetite for the bizarre today, at least in one form or another. I think it is a brilliant tune, albeit perhaps of some obscurity, then again - as I pointed out before - there is no reason to withdraw from it just because it is not commonly known amongst you youngsters out there.

The Pete Best Beatles were an eccentric Melbourne/Australia pub rock comedy act from the early 80's and no, I don't have the slightest idea whatever became of them. In my book they should rule the world, simply because of what is your number thirty-eight, people, so please enjoy:

The Pete Best Beatles - 'Alamein Train' (mp3)

from the '"Sounds" For The Sophisticated Cabaret Music Lover' - 7" EP, Strine Music - SM 001 (1984)

 

Now, wasn't this neat? I know you all like it when a good story is being told in a song, right? And so do I .... also there is a fantastic video of a live performance of that on Youtube, highly recommended, so have a look there as well!

 

I really would like to know whether this stroke a chord with you or not, so please leave a comment, okay? Thanks ...

 

See you soon/take care,

 

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#37/45)

Good morning my beauties,

there might be some of you who'll think that today's choice must have been a hard one for me, but let me assure you that this was not the case. Even if I owned all of the singles New Order ever released, I wouldn't have contemplated for a second which one to choose. Okay, I would have had some difficulties if  'Blue Monday' hadn't come out as a 12" only. But as this was not the case, I went for their first and, at least in my humble opinion, their very best release.

Your number thirty-seven, folks. Enjoy:

New Order - 'Ceremony' (mp3)

Factory - FAC 33 (1981)

As you might know this song is one of the very last ones Joy Division wrote. Personally, I never saw much of a Joy Division - influence in the New Order release above, not in comparison to the version on 'Still' at least ... to me this always was the start of a superb new band, one to watch out for.

Which one would you have chosen?

Drive friendly,

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#36/45)

Good morning dearest friends,

something more contemporary for a change today, that's if you consider a five year old record to be contemporary, of course. In my age I easily do this, in fact everything released after 1990 or thereabouts is new to me, I'm afraid.

Today's single was critically acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful, don't ask me why. It never charted anywhere, which I don't understand at all. Perhaps because it was the closer of a very fine debut album and the last one of quite a few singles released off said album ... perhaps people got a bit fed up with this, I dunno.

For me it is the perfect start of what might easily be your "Top Ten" in our little series ... although, as I pointed out before, there is no real Top Ten. This one here plus the next nine singles are as good as number 4 was, for example. Perhaps a little bit better, but I'm not absolutely certain about this either. But that's not important anyway, right? The main thing is: another nine belters are waiting to be introduced until mid-June and I do hope that you stand to attention until the last one has been featured!

Here's your number thirty-six, people, enjoy:

Vampire Weekend - 'The Kids Don't Stand A Chance' (mp3)

XL Recordings - XLS 399 (2008)

 

 

Great stuff, and on white vinyl as well. I do like that. Indeed.

 

Hope you too,

 

Dirk

"45 45's until I'm 45" (#35/45)

Good morning friends,

okay, quite some time since we last had something of a certain obscurity here, this will change today though.

A little chunk of plastic left by a band no-one ever heard of, no-one ever saw and who never went anywhere but still theres a couple of minutes of magic that captures a feeling/time/emotion eternally for the people who connect with it, although the Joy Division influence is still apparent, then again: is this a bad thing?

What makes this tune so mighty to me is the big build up until the lyrics come in, this alone surely makes it a masterpiece of its time. Your number thirty-five, folks, enjoy:

The Luddites - 'Doppleganger' (mp3)

(from the 'The Strength Of Your Cry' - 7"-EP) - Xcentric Noise Records - Second 1 (1983)

 

And, should you have been wondering, yes, I do know how to spell 'Doppelgaenger'. The Luddites, apparently, didn't.

 

Then again: who cares anyway?

 

Cheers,

 

Dirk