BUTTERFINGERS lyrics of the week

This week's lyrics are from 'Yo Mama' by Butterfingers. Not exactly Shakespeare, but my God it's still genius...

I see you in your office
Sending and receiving cheques
But I know the quest for money
Comes from a quest for sex
So I cut to the chase
And forgot about my job
And decided to stay home wit yo mama on my knob

I can see you laughing so i guess you think it's funny
But while you're getting drunk, I've been gettin honey
And by tomorrow night you will be hungover and sick
And I'll be at my home wit yo mama on my dick

Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list

Thinking you're the man
Well I am bringing news
Our manhood's being measured by the women that we choose
And you can't earn respect if all you ever pick is sluts
So I'll be staying home to let yo mama suck my nuts

Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list

Eat more fruit

Plant more trees
Learn to shoot

Travel overseas
Wash the dog

Read a book
Find three Chinese recipes to cook
Learn to waltz

and speak Maltese
Ferment to invent a better fetta cheese
The highest they get is number two
Cos number one on my list of things to do
Is yo maaaamaaaaa
Yo maaaamaaaaaa
Yo maaamaaamaaa
Yo mamaaaaa
She's always on top
She's always on top
She's always on top
She's always on top

Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list
Your mama's on the top of my things to do list

COCKFIGHT SHOOTOUT breed until broken

Time for me to make very own daggy music confession...

Can you keep a secret? This stays just between me and you okay? Cool. Here goes: I’m a bit of a closet headbanger. I might look like a skinny white indie kid on the outside, but on the inside I’m a black leather studded rawker! It’s sorta my guilty pleasure.

So when Cockfight Shootout’s mini album landed in my lap I tried not to look too pleased – but deep down I couldn’t wait to stick it on. The Melbourne Metalers didn’t disappoint.

‘Step In Line’ opens the six-tracker in style, crunchy rhythm guitar and chugging bass perfectly complementing Caelhain Gallogly’s hoarse vocals. Then the bruising ‘In The Comforts Of Madness’ steams in, giving axeman Mick Farley the room to let fly with some slick guitar solos. Admittedly there is a bit of a lapse after that. The mid-paced ‘Tastemaker’ lacks any real spark and ‘A Question Of Guilt’ is a bit like post-Troublegum Therapy? (all the right ingredients but kinda half-baked).

The relentless racket of ‘Eat Your Own Kind’ is better but that’s immediately eclipsed by the humdinging closer ‘Tricks of Light’. Part Motorhead/part ZZ Top it’s got tempo changes and licks in all the right places and suggests there’s a lot more to come from Cockfight Shootout.

If Breed Until Broken were a self-help book it would be: Learning To Love Your Inner Metaler.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

Breed Until Broken is available through Chatterbox Records.

BRENDAN BENSON lyrics of the week

Before Brendan Benson teamed up with Jack White to form The Raconteurs (or 'The Saboteurs', as they are known in Australia) he released solo album Lapalco. It's a terrific album full of power pop gems, and this ballad - called 'Metarie' - is the cream of the crop. 

Met a girl – introduced myself
I asked her to with me and no one else
And she said: "I’d really like to see you everyday
"But I’m afraid of what my friends might say
"You need a bath and your clothes are wrong
"You’re not my type I can tell we wouldn’t get along."
I just laughed, what else could I do?
And her friend chimed in singin’ "Get a clue
"Get a life – put it in your song."

There’s something I’ve been meaning to say to you
I've run out of gas and I'm stuck like glue.

I'd had enough; I couldn't take it anymore
So I turned and I ran straight for the door
Bought some mags on my way home
For later on, y'know, when I'm all alone
Bottle of wine and some cigarettes
A racing form, maybe, maybe I'll make some bets
I know a guy lives in Los Angeles
Sometimes his life there makes me so jealous
I'd like to move out of this place
Change my name, get a new face
Get a life, put it in my song.

There's something I've been meaning to say to you
I've run out of gas and I'm stuck like glu.e

I'd like to move out of this place
Change my name, maybe get a new face
Sleep all day, stay up all night
Everybody I meet thinks I'm alright
Get a life - put in my song.

There's something I've been meaning to say to you...

THE WARLOCKS surgery

If you haven't discovered The Warlocks yet, then it's high time you did...

I knew I was gonna like this Warlocks album the moment my neighbours banged on the wall and told me to turn it down. They're miserable Mariah Carey-loving saps y'see (my neighbours, not The Warlocks) so the fact they disapproved was all I needed to know. 

The Warlocks are pretty much the polar opposite of Mariah. Phoenix, their last outing, was all about down-strum antisongs and although Surgery is slightly more accessible, it's still a rough, narcotic nightmare. Which is a good thing. At least in my book. 

Corey Grant and John Rees allow their fuzzed up guitars to bleed all over every song, while Bobby Hacksher's pained words reek of novocaine, radiation and darkness. The influence of The Jesus And Mary Chain is obvious (especially on tracks like 'Evil Eyes Again' or 'It's Just Like Surgery') whilst there is a definite shogazey vibe going on during 'Come Save Us' and 'Thursday's Radiation'.

Occasionally Laura Grigsby's piano will stumble, as if by accident, into the wall of feedback (see 'Angels In Heaven, Angels In Hell') but it's quickly snuffed out. The distorted guitars are the star of this show and they ain't sharing the limelight with nobody. 

If Mariah Carey heard this: she'd probably hack her own ears off. Hey, maybe 
someone should send her a copy. 

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2005.

Surgery is available through Mute Records.

EMILIANA TORRINI me and armini

Today we look at an underrated record with quite a lot of hidden depth...

Emiliana Torrini’s parents must be so proud right now. Their little girl has finally grown up and blossomed. Sure, the Icelandic songstress showed promise before but you couldn’t help feeling she was holding something back. Love In The Time Of Science was enjoyable but derivative, while Fisherman’s Woman was haunting but one dimensional. Me And Armini is altogether more assured, more original and more diverse.

For a start, there are several upbeat songs (a sure sign of Torrini’s growing confidence), including ‘Jungle Drum’ (a two-minute ball of energy, which combines playful vocals, bouncy bass and a persistent rhythm) and ‘Big Jumps’ (which skips along on catchy acoustic guitar as the lyrics urge you to escape your comfort zone). 

Then there are mellower tunes, where Torrini’s mischievous charm peeps out. The title track is a gentle reggae song of sympathy for a naive stalker, while ‘Fireheads’ is the kind of fuzzy, stoner-pop that Ben Kweller would be proud of. 

And we get a glimpse of Torrini’s darker side too: ‘Dead Duck’ is unsettling, with nonsensical, effects-laden vocals that carry the listener into an extended psychedelic instrumental outro; and the echoing vocals on ‘Gun’, combined with industrial electric guitar, create an atmosphere of quiet malevolence.

If this album was a bag of lollies, it would be Skittles Sours: colourful and sweet, but with a twist.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2008.

Me and Armini is available through Remote Control Records.

WET WET WET daggy music confession of the week

Thanks to blog reader PJ for fessing up this week...

"I grew up in a house filled with classical music. There was no Rock N Roll ever played at home.

"Somehow though, Scottish popsters Wet Wet Wet infiltrated my life at around the age of about 11 - and I was hooked. My first ever record was Wet Wet Wet's Part One Greatest Hits. This included such gems as 'Goodnight Girl', 'Sweet Surrender' and 'Hold Back The River'; but their big hit around that time was a cover of The Troggs sixties hit 'Love Is All Around'.

"I bought two tickets for a Wet Wet Wet show at Sydney Entertainment Centre; one for me and one for my sister. Unfortunately for her, she had school camp that weekend. Unfortunately for me, that meant my Dad had to come instead! Regardless, I still loved the gig.

"I have to admit, I do still sometimes listen to it. But then, to be honest, I still like every album I've ever bought. If you liked it at the time, that's cool. There's something to recommend it."



Sadly for Wet Wet Wet, things didn't end well. Squeaky clean lead singer Marty Pellow ended up as a heroin addict.

THE CRIBS the cribs

I never did quite get The Cribs. Even when Johnny Marr joined them recently, they just didn't 

grab me. Below is my review of their debut LP and I still stand by everything I wrote back then... 

British trio The Cribs are the latest hopefuls to come off the seemingly 
endless new rock conveyor belt. In order to deliver their debut album 
they've put down pretty much every song they've written so far. This makes 
for a pretty varied 30-odd minutes to say the least.

On the one hand there's the brilliant pop of 'You Were Always The One' and 
'The Lights Went Out' and on the other there is the almost unlistenable 
'Third Outing' and 'The Watch Trick'. In between these two extremes there's 
also a fair dollop of fillers too such as 'Baby Don't Sweat' (which just 
kinda staggers about aimlessly) and 'Another Number' (which is half baked 
and half arsed in equal measure).

It's all very frustrating because they clearly have the ability to write 
really infectious indie pop tunes. 'You Were Always The One' and 'The Lights 
Went Out' aren't revoluntionary but they're made for the dance floor in the 
same way The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand are.

There's just a complete lack of quality control though. The album starts off 
sounding like a drunken Nick Cave crawling in the gutter and ends sounding 
like a jam where everyone's just lost interest, and that's exactly how I 
felt by then as well. 

If The Cribs was a tennis player it would be Tim Henman: brilliant in 
flashes but too inconsistent to ever win a major prize.
 
By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

The Cribs is available through FM Records.
 

RADIOHEAD lyrics of the week

Thom Yorke is not often noted for being a romantic, but the lyrics to 'Exit Music (For A Film)' really tug at the heartstrings. Of course, the lovebirds he's writing about are in a tense, desperate situation. In fact, one senses that they are both horribly doomed; but these lyrics are still romantic in way that few of Radiohead's songs are.

Wake from your sleep
The drying of your tears
Today we escape, we escape

Pack and get dressed
Before your father hears us
Before all hell breaks loose

Breathe, keep breathing
Don't lose your nerve
Breathe, keep breathing
I can't do this alone

Sing us a song
A song to keep us warm
There's such a chill, such a chill

You can laugh
A spineless laugh
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you
Now we are one in everlasting peace

We hope that you choke, that you choke
We hope that you choke, that you choke
We hope that you choke, that you choke


Wow, reading these lyrics again has just blown me away. I'm off to play OK Computer on my stereo. Really, really loud.

BRIAN WILSON live review

Earlier this month, a living legend performed in Sydney. ShoutAboutMusic was there to watch the show and give you the lowdown...

One of the unwritten rules of Murphy’s Law is that every time a Beach Boy comes to town, there is a deluge of torrential rain. When Mike Love performed with Sydney Symphony recently, there was a storm of epic proportions. Tonight Love’s estranged cousin and former bandmate, Brian Wilson, has also attracted the wrath of Thor, the God of Thunder.

Of course, this is entirely appropriate when you consider the career trajectory of The Beach Boys. Wilson may be responsible for some of the happiest, sunniest party music in pop history, but his personal life has been ravaged by tragedy and heartbreak. Parental abuse, mental illness, drug addiction, divorce, brainwashing psychiatrists, financial meltdown, untimely family deaths, Wilson has seen it all.

It’s no surprise then that a live Brian Wilson performance is bittersweet. It’s wonderful to see a living legend in the flesh. It’s wonderful to watch him conquer decades of stage fright. It’s wonderful to hear him backed by an outrageously talented band who can do justice to his wonderful back catalogue of songs. But it’s also sad to see a once-great performer reduced to reading lyrics from an autocue. It’s sad to hear his once-great falsetto crumple into a breathless murmur. And it’s sad to see this once-great composer hit occasional bum notes and often forget to sing into his mic.

Fortunately, his band and his audience are happy to make allowances. Just like Wilson’s music, this show is proof that love, surf and song can conquer all. Maybe it’s the seven-part harmonies of ‘Surfer Girl’, maybe it’s the symphonic genius of ‘Heroes & Villains’, or maybe it’s the succession of three minute pop masterpieces but – by the time the time we leave the Enmore – something magical has happened. The rain clouds have been spirited away.

Article by
Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, November 2010.

SUPERGRASS artwork of the week

This artwork perfectly sums up Supergrass circa 1994. The trio were seen as the sprightly upstarts of Britpop; buzzing with energy and bursting with character. This album sleeve perfectly captures that. One look at it and you immediately know you are in for a wild ride.


The band's 'young rascal' image is probably what prompted Steven Spielberg to consider making a Monkees-style TV series about the japes and adventures of Supergrass. The band members were flown to the US where the ET film-maker made them an offer they couldn't refuse.


Erm... Well... except they did refuse it! This is quite admirable, considering they were really just starting out at this point. Supergrass had a firm creative vision about themselves even then, and they've remained true to it ever since.


Anyway, I digress, the album cover was created by the Moody Painters (based on Cowley Road, Oxford*). The white strip at the top was inspired by 1950s and 1960s records, even including the stereo-mono sign. A lovely little touch.




* Random fact:  As a three-year-old, I went to playgroup on Cowley Road in Oxford. I was always Rock n' Roll. Even back then.

BILLY IDOL devil's playground

It’s 21 years since Billy Idol stormed the charts with Rebel Yell and he’s not showing any signs of growing old gracefully (this afterall is the man who shaves his testicles to remove any signs of grey hair). But after the appalling techno/dreadlock disaster of 1993’s Cyberpunk it has to be said that this is a bit of a return to form.

The shock of peroxide spikes on his head has reappeared and with it comes his old unique brand of punk pop. When he roars “Make me scream all night long” (on ‘Scream’) it’s like he’s never been away. ‘Super Overdrive’ is also a trademark Idol rocker helped along by Steve Steven’s turbo charged guitar.

Besides that (and a lot of filler – 13 tracks where 8 would suffice) we’re treated to the country japery of ‘Plastic Jesus’ (an ode to a novelty car dashboard toy) and a festive tale about Billy’s drunken father (‘Yellin’ at the Christmas Tree’). It goes something like this: “Santa’s balls are jinglin’ / Mummy’s hips are wigglin’ / But Daddy he don’t hear them / He’s yellin’ at the Christmas tree”. 

What Devil’s Playground amounts to is some very good news for Billy Idol fans – he’s back and (give or take a few pubic hairs) he’s just like he was before.

Listen to this if: you still labour under the misapprehension that the 1980s were (in any way, shape or form) cool.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

Article first published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

Devil's Playground is available through Boomtown Records.

THE CURE lyrics of the week

A few weeks back, ShoutAboutMusic looked in detail at the monumental 1989 Cure album, Disintegration. Today, we salute some of the stand-out lyrics from that record. Sweepingly romantic, achingly sad and quite, quite brilliant; this is The Same Deep Water As You...

kiss me goodbye
pushing out before i sleep
can't you see i try?
but swimming the same deep
water as you is hard
"the shallow drowned lose
less than we," you breathe
the strangest twist upon your lips
"and we shall be together..."

"kiss me goodbye, bow your head and join with me"
and face pushed deep reflections meet
the strangest twist upon your lips
and disappear
the ripples clear
and laughing break against your feet
and laughing break the mirror sweet
"so we shall be together..."

"kiss me goodbye"
pushing out before i sleep
it's lower now and slower now
the strangest twist upon your lips
but i don't see and i don't feel
but tightly hold up silently my hands
before my fading eyes
and in my eyes your smile
the very last thing before i go...

i will kiss you i will kiss you i will kiss you
forever on nights like this
i will kiss you i will kiss you
and we shall be together...

THE CAMELS all you ever needed

How this record never sold millions of copies is beyond me...

There's been some debate on Sydney's live circuit over the merits of The Camels. Some people reckon they're no more than an Australian Blink 182. Others say they're a modern day Beach Boys. Finally their debut album has arrived to settle the argument once and for all: both sides are right.

This is a record of bubble gum guitar pop about chicks and partays. Names like 'Little Black Haired Girl', 'First Kiss' and 'Summertime' sound exactly like classic Brian Wilson titles. Lyrics like "I wish I'd never bought you birthday presents cause we broke up before I got mine" are definitely more of the Blink 182 variety.

Either way, one thing is for sure: All You Ever Needed is the catchiest
slab of punk pop to come out of Sydney in a long time. I defy you to taste
'First Kiss' and not find it sweet. I challenge you to take on the title
track and not bounce like a tigger on a trampoline. I dare you to listen to
'Blackbelt' (about the dangers of making out with a girl who's a martial
arts expert) and not snigger like a schoolboy at the back of the class. If
you don't react in these ways then buddy, you gotta lighten up a little.


If All You Ever Needed was a film it would be American Pie 4: The Sydney
Vacation.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

All You Ever Needed is available through Shock Records.

OLD MAN RIVER sunshine ep

ShoutAboutMusic wants to make it clear that no credit can be taken for the success of Old Man River's career (he's topped the charts in Japan and Italy, you know). However, this article was written in 2004 before the release of OMR's debut EP. Nuff sed...

The debut EP by Ohad Rein (aka Old Man River, aka The Tinker) is the latest branch of an incestuous family tree that's harder to follow than Twin Peaks. Y'see The Tinker is a part-time member of Gelbison along with the Kahn brothers Nadav (aka The Joiner) and Edo (aka The Weaver). All three of them are part of Nations By The River along with Luke Steele (aka mad Sleepy Jackson fella, aka The Carpenter). The Tinker has supported The Carpenter's band, the Weaver and Joiner's band and Ian Ball (aka mad Gomez fella). Nations By The River has supported Gomez and now The Joiner and The Weaver have co-written and produced a track from The Tinker's EP. You get all that? Nope, me neither. Still let's press on with the review shall we?

What's great about the Sunshine EP is that different songs grab you at different times. On first listen it's the loved up pop jangle of the title track that's most striking. Once you're better acquainted it's the gentle sitar and mystic lyric of 'Watching It All' that creeps into your affections. A few more plays and days later and suddenly you realise you've fallen for the soothing acoustic comforts of 'Your Side'. By this stage you’ll still be scratching your head over that family tree nonsense, but it won’t matter. You’ll just be utterly charmed by The Tinker's little box of delights.

Listen to this album if: You're a tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man or thief.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

Sunshine was first released by MGM.

BRIAN WILSON smile

I have been offline for a few days due to internet difficulties - but now I'm back to attack!

Brian Wilson performing in Sydney tonight. To celebrate, here's a look at his amazing 2004 comeback album Smile. And yes, in case you're wondering, I am going to the show and a live review will appear in this blog later in the month... 

It's 1967 and The Beach Boys are recording the follow up to the seminal Pet Sounds. It’s going to be called Smile. Maverick singer, songwriter and producer Brian Wilson has ingested his (not inconsiderable) body weight in LSD over recent months and begins acting strangely...

Afraid of leaving his home, Brian has a studio set up in his lounge, complete with grand piano. Next, a truckload of sand is dumped on the carpet so that he can feel the beach between his toes while he plays. Unfortunately the family pets find the sand the ideal place to empty their bowels and so the sand has to go.  

...Later on, during the recording of ‘Vegetables’, Paul McCartney drops in. Not wanting to waste the Beatle's talents, Brian asks Paul to contribute to the song. Next thing you know Paul is being recorded standing at the mic crunching on raw carrots...  

...Later still, Brian is recording 'Fire'. An army of string players are instructed to don toy fireman's helmets whilst they play. Afterwards a nearby building burns down and several people perish. Convinced this is no coincidence, Brian burns masses of the Smile mastertapes and rapidly descends into a lengthy spell of depression and madness. He spends most of the 70's in bed.  

It's taken 37 years for Brian to finally get his shit together again and properly re-record Smile. The music is truly MAGNIFICENT but that's almost incidental. Put simply: this CD is a part of pop folklore that you’ve just gotta hear.  

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

Smile is available through Warner Music and if you don't already own it - you should.