― M Specktor (M Specktor), Wednesday, 30 April 2003 14:43 (twenty years ago) link
― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 30 April 2003 22:22 (twenty years ago) link
I've never heard the pre-SF band, the Doublehappys. Anyone care to enlighten me?
― paul cox (paul cox), Wednesday, 30 April 2003 22:57 (twenty years ago) link
Doublehappys had one great moment ("I Don't Wanna See You Again", best anti-necrophilia song ever) and a lot of mildly exciting stuff. I prefer the post-SJF bands Bike and Dimmer.
― b.R.A.d. (Brad), Wednesday, 30 April 2003 23:16 (twenty years ago) link
― keith (keithmcl), Thursday, 1 May 2003 01:20 (twenty years ago) link
― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 1 May 2003 01:32 (twenty years ago) link
― Bill E (bill_e), Thursday, 1 May 2003 01:58 (twenty years ago) link
― keith (keithmcl), Thursday, 1 May 2003 02:07 (twenty years ago) link
― b.R.A.d. (Brad), Thursday, 1 May 2003 02:10 (twenty years ago) link
― keith (keithmcl), Thursday, 1 May 2003 02:13 (twenty years ago) link
― Bill E (bill_e), Thursday, 1 May 2003 02:54 (twenty years ago) link
I guess I made a mistake? Should I ignore the horridness of Blow and check out the earlier material?
I love the Double Happys, which is one of the main reasons why it was so distressing to me to discover that Straitjacket Fits were so bloody average. I mean, I love Shayne Carter's voice. I guess he jsut ran out of tunes. But yeah, "Needles and Plastic" is a classic. "I Don't Wanna See You Again" is another good one.
― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Thursday, 1 May 2003 06:05 (twenty years ago) link
― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 1 May 2003 06:06 (twenty years ago) link
― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Thursday, 1 May 2003 06:28 (twenty years ago) link
― jon dale, Thursday, 1 May 2003 10:20 (twenty years ago) link
Yeah, I was wondering about that. Arista is SUCH a crap label, why did they sign to it? SJF seems more like a Sire-type band. Did they not realize that, like, Kenny G. released stuff on Arista? And the Grateful Dead? Brutal.
― Brandon Gentry (Brandon Gentry), Thursday, 1 May 2003 11:22 (twenty years ago) link
― Brandon Gentry (Brandon Gentry), Thursday, 1 May 2003 11:24 (twenty years ago) link
blow was perfectly titled, it blew. they lost all the prettiness that undergirded shayne carter's intensity when andrew brough left. is orange any good? the pre-sj fits brough band?
― keith (keithmcl), Friday, 2 May 2003 02:03 (twenty years ago) link
― fernando, Sunday, 18 May 2003 13:03 (twenty years ago) link
― cameron, Monday, 19 May 2003 14:47 (twenty years ago) link
― Ernest P. (ernestp), Monday, 19 May 2003 15:46 (twenty years ago) link
I second these wise words.
I listened to Melt for the first time in ages last night in a hypnagogic state while in bed, and Andrew Brough's tracks sounded like some heavenly Kiwi distillation of John Lennon and George Harrison's best Beatles traits. The man is a fuggin' genius, yet he only received George-like song rations. Scandalous.
― Dave Segal (Da ve Segal), Thursday, 30 June 2005 04:47 (eighteen years ago) link
the songs he recorded with Bike were not terribly inspiring IMO, especially next to the stuff on Melt..
― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Thursday, 30 June 2005 04:51 (eighteen years ago) link
― mzui (mzui), Thursday, 30 June 2005 06:45 (eighteen years ago) link
― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 30 June 2005 12:58 (eighteen years ago) link
However, I've been listening do the DoubleHappys CD a lot recently (as well as "Randolph's Going Home" by Carter/Jeffries) and am now of the opinion that they were perhaps par with the great FN bands: The Clean, Verlaines, Chills, and Bats. The DoubleHappys managed to take the classic organ 'n' guitar Dunedin sound and infuse it with Crampsy roots/rockabilly as well as snotty teenage brattiness. Amazing. One wonders what they could have achieved had Wayne not died young. They probably would have been bigger (and better) than Straitjacket Fits--though I have to admit I've gotten a strong urge to check the latter out again, and Dimmer, too.
― goldwax (goldwax), Friday, 23 June 2006 00:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― keyth (keyth), Friday, 23 June 2006 02:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― San Diva Gyna (and a Masala DOsaNUT on the side) (donut), Friday, 23 June 2006 04:35 (seventeen years ago) link
I just found Hail for fiddy cents in a used vinyl store...hails yeah!...take away the Cohen cover and you've got a bona fide classic...I prefer Melt, though the CD version of Melt (at least the Flying nun version) was mastered terribly...no-fi, to be sure...
Andrew Brough as great unheralded songwrite seconded...
― hank (hank s), Friday, 23 June 2006 12:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― hank (hank s), Friday, 23 June 2006 12:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― Good Dog (Good Dog), Friday, 23 June 2006 12:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― hank (hank s), Friday, 23 June 2006 12:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 23 June 2006 12:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Good Dog (Good Dog), Friday, 23 June 2006 12:39 (seventeen years ago) link
Somehow it escaped me all these years that the Flying Nun and Rough Trade versions of Hail had almost completely different tracklistings (I'm only familiar with the RT version). Anyone have the FN version, and is it good enough to track down?
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 11 November 2007 06:25 (sixteen years ago) link
the rough trade version is best. they took the worst songs off of the original version and replaced them with the life in one chord ep. the andrew brough song 'take from the years' is another of his classic pop songs though. there used to be a copy of the version with all of the songs on it in nearly every other bargain bin that i passed.
― keythkeyth, Sunday, 11 November 2007 16:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Listened to Melt and Done repeating all night and, even though the knowledge of how great they are is always with me, I forget how great until I'm actually playing them.
Shit luck that I didn't put Hail next to those in my cd box, because now I don't know where it is. Off to the rar blogs!!!
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 29 June 2009 09:16 (fourteen years ago) link
A little too EMO for me. I prefer the rawer garage-like sound of the DoubleHappys.
― I DIED (u s steel), Monday, 29 June 2009 10:06 (fourteen years ago) link
RIP David Wood. Sad to hear.
― aerosmith: the acid house years (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 22 November 2010 10:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Very sad, never saw them live to my lasting regret.
― let's all go down the strand.....galifianaaakis (MaresNest), Monday, 22 November 2010 10:39 (thirteen years ago) link
Just read about this. Has anyone heard a cause of death yet?
R.I.P.
― Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 25 November 2010 05:23 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urZKvcLzUQg
― zvookster, Thursday, 25 November 2010 06:26 (thirteen years ago) link
And this:<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7cnq_p2X8Qw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7cnq_p2X8Qw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
― Hinklepicker, Thursday, 25 November 2010 06:35 (thirteen years ago) link
heres a wee bit of documentary about them: don't know how to embed properly but you get the idea.
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7cnq_p2X8Qw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7cnq_p2X8Qw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
― Hinklepicker, Thursday, 25 November 2010 06:39 (thirteen years ago) link
I think i like the song hail the most. i used to play this very very loud in my bedroom as a wee lad.my parents didn't like it so much.
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KM5dBt8k5v4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KM5dBt8k5v4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
jeez andrew brough looks so hurt by the end to this band.
― Hinklepicker, Thursday, 25 November 2010 06:45 (thirteen years ago) link
No need to post the whole embed code...just post the link.
― Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 25 November 2010 06:46 (thirteen years ago) link
ok sorry bout that. i have trouble programming my video player to record the waltons.
― Hinklepicker, Thursday, 25 November 2010 06:48 (thirteen years ago) link
apparently it was suicide. sad.
― cb, Friday, 26 November 2010 09:37 (thirteen years ago) link
rip :( didnt even know they'd reformed for a lil while, wish i'd been back in nz for that
― just sayin, Friday, 26 November 2010 09:54 (thirteen years ago) link
so sad. lucky enough to catch them on their (only?) uk tour, they put on a great show in front of one of the most disparate crowds i've ever seen. rip.
― zappi, Friday, 26 November 2010 12:47 (thirteen years ago) link
RIP, saw the Fits play a couple of great shows in London around 1992-ish, Hail and Life In One Chord still sound good today.
― Blackening Electrical Connections (Matt #2), Friday, 26 November 2010 12:55 (thirteen years ago) link
Very sad..
I was supposed to see them at a gig with The Clean and arrived too late, it was some sort of rotating bill, totally gutted! That was 1995-ish maybe?
― let's all go down the strand.....galifianaaakis (MaresNest), Friday, 26 November 2010 14:38 (thirteen years ago) link
Y'know they did a kickarse Peel Session just before the release of Melt and all four songs sounded 100x better than the album, including a rampantly good 'Roller Ride'. I'd love to hear that again.
― let's all go down the strand.....galifianaaakis (MaresNest), Friday, 26 November 2010 14:40 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, i saw them performing a lot of those 'melt' songs prior to them being recorded for that album (with its weird aqueous production) and they were so much more fierce live. ('roller ride' and 'quiet come' being particular standouts)
― cb, Friday, 26 November 2010 15:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Yep, the production on Melt is really boxy, pity really.
This is weird.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NuejVMkOkACan anyone in NZ confirm if She Speeds is some sort of alt music anthem or something?
― let's all go down the strand.....galifianaaakis (MaresNest), Friday, 26 November 2010 16:37 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah i can confirm that it is
― just sayin, Friday, 26 November 2010 17:02 (thirteen years ago) link
down in splendour's pretty huge also
In 2001, as part of the Australasian Performing Rights Association's 75th anniversary, a poll was conducted to vote on New Zealand's top 100 songs of all time. Straitjacket Fits' song "She Speeds" was named at number nine, and "Down In Splendour" at number 32, and "If I Were You" at number 88 on this list[1].
― just sayin, Friday, 26 November 2010 17:03 (thirteen years ago) link
This makes me happy!
― let's all go down the strand.....galifianaaakis (MaresNest), Friday, 26 November 2010 17:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Still love Hail, still love Down in Splendour, still kicking my own ass at missing this band pay in London years ago.
― music of the squares (MaresNest), Thursday, 8 November 2012 21:13 (eleven years ago) link
Love the first two albums, "Done" is mostly crap to my ears. The last two Dimmer albums are killer as is Andrew Brough's Bike album.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 9 November 2012 01:30 (eleven years ago) link
New Zealand news is reporting that Andrew Brough has passed away: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/119259795/ex-straitjacket-fits-guitarist-andrew-brough-dies
― aphoristical, Monday, 3 February 2020 23:15 (four years ago) link
Oh no
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 3 February 2020 23:29 (four years ago) link
aw what
― ymo sumac (NickB), Monday, 3 February 2020 23:47 (four years ago) link
Aw.
I love so much NZ stuff, but for some reason this band (and the Verlaines) never clicked with me. I should give them both another belated shot. In the meantime, despite not being a huge Fits fan, this has remained one of my favorite songs for decades:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCnSEb61BTE
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 00:37 (four years ago) link
This is too bad. He and Shayne Carter were quite the manic duo, complementing each other perfectly. "Lay Down in Splendor" is an eternal classic, and not just in Kiwipop. RIP.
― henry s, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 01:56 (four years ago) link
Well that's bloody awful. Jeez, was he even 60? I loved everything he did, the Bike album is a hidden gem worth discovering.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 02:25 (four years ago) link
Just awful.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 02:41 (four years ago) link
Whoa! Didn't anticipate that reason for the revive. :(
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 04:37 (four years ago) link
I do get a bad feeling when I see an out-of-the-blue revive for a band whose heyday was in the 80's or 90's...
― henry s, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 12:27 (four years ago) link
Terrible shame, I always liked what he brought to the band, a song like Sparkle That Shines is a perfect compliment to Carter's more angsty leanings.
― Maresn3st, Tuesday, 4 February 2020 13:30 (four years ago) link
The Peel session version of Roller Ride is so damn great, especially compared to the awful, boxy album production, I love the dissonant notes and passages that they thread into the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOdkv3aeFfc
― Maresn3st, Monday, 10 February 2020 13:12 (four years ago) link