The Go-Betweens - POX or CDR

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The Evangelist really is a marvelous album

Yes. If you are not familiar with this, you should seek it out.

kornrulez6969, Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:15 (eight years ago) link

The only other thing I remember is 'i don't wanna be Grant McClennan' but I think that was by Buffalo Tom ; -)

dammit why can't you FP on zing

( who ALSO my boss and his sister!) (sic), Thursday, 14 May 2015 23:08 (eight years ago) link

Even better sound quality on this Grant/GW McLennan collection I'm listening to: euphoric, driving full band show on the first ten tracks (with a really good singer-guitarist he addresses as Anna; Anna who, dammit?). 15 more solo acoustic, also clear and strong, so far. Beware of the stripedsunlight blog Rob mentions here as a source: good reading matter, but all the links I tried were dead or polluted. No prob with Rob's repercussion round-up though; thanks again, Rob:
http://dbs-repercussion.blogspot.com/search/label/Grant%20McLennan

dow, Friday, 15 May 2015 01:23 (eight years ago) link

Happy to oblige, dow.

Too bad about the links at stripedsunlight. He/they shared some great stuff over the years...

Robinbrevard, Saturday, 16 May 2015 16:43 (eight years ago) link

where should I go after Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane? I tend to like Quiet Heart, Right Here, Streets of Your Town....or the singer that doesn't sound like Verlaine. though he's growing on me too. tia

campreverb, Sunday, 17 May 2015 00:30 (eight years ago) link

Before Hollywood. It's harder and treble-ier.

The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 17 May 2015 00:37 (eight years ago) link

And now for something--not completely different, but the earliest and post-punkiest Go-Betweens I've heard, as a trio, on a good live FM tape from Sydney, in 1982. Short, sometimes curt phrases, tending to staccato and oblique strokes of pen and guitar, but some supple turns of phrase come through clearly enough already, like "His inner self left him for someone else," and "I know you, you're easy to find/Come see me," and lots more in the second half, especially starting in "our big single, that put us on the road to success," which sounds like they like the early Cure: "And with all of these things that are said/Sometimes I think I need two heads" (mention of a "child detective" in here too), followed by a semi-cryptic sex song--"This is what comes of dressing up like spies"---again, getting clear enough. especially after a penultimate scramble: "I forgot my jeans/I forgot your name."
Would like to hear some of these mixed in with their later, better-known style, especially when the transition happens in songs like that last," "Near The Chimney," but much moreso in the next one, "Undo What You Did": "Now---I can't--"
("He can't") "--say what I like, in front of, in front of---undo wot you did!/Take away the times/That I/Ev-en said...(guitar comes in to save him).
They also sound like they like Joy D. and early Wire (Tyler suggests The Birthday Party and The Fire Engines). But you can tell it's them, rattling along in an absurdist, earnest, worthy-apprentice way:
http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/54019602979/something-between-you-and-i-a-rare-glimpse-of

dow, Monday, 18 May 2015 00:38 (eight years ago) link

[misc xposts]

There's one school of thought that maintains the even-numbered LPs, of the original batch, are the most accomplished, so yeah Before Hollywood and also the Liberty Belle..., by that line of thinking. Aside from the first LP, both singers get equal number of tracks.

"Don't Want to be Grant McLennan" was by Smudge. ie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZYifV6mb84

Janet Weiss was on the third-from-last LP only, in 2000. Went back to a strictly 'strayan rhythm section after that IIRC.

Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Monday, 18 May 2015 04:23 (eight years ago) link

three years pass...

I knew Jim Elkinton was one cool motherfucker, I didn't know just how cool, though.

Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 8 January 2019 20:58 (five years ago) link

Yeesh, ELKINGTON. The man's name is JAMES ELKINGTON and he is delightful.

Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 8 January 2019 21:01 (five years ago) link

^ Bless.

Spooky that this has been bumped today as I literally just finished watching the full length Right Here documentary after the DVD distributor offered massive discounts over Xmas. Way better--in terms of dealing with musical context and actual specific songs--than the 1 hour version that was streamlined for ABC (Aus) general audiences. Though oddly, the 45 minutes of outtakes seemed to be exactly the same.

Nag! Nag! Nag!, Wednesday, 9 January 2019 06:11 (five years ago) link

Thanks for the tip! is it this?: https://www.amazon.com/Go-Betweens-Right-Here/dp/B07HSM23W4/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1547052532&sr=1-1&keywords=go+betweens+right+here Note reviewer warning us against the other version---"lacks 45 minutes of bonus footage"---also on Amazon and a bit more expensive.

dow, Wednesday, 9 January 2019 16:54 (five years ago) link

That's a shame. I have the Umbrella one which claims to be "NTSC - All Region". The bonus stuff is no less interesting, IMHO.

Nag! Nag! Nag!, Thursday, 10 January 2019 01:09 (five years ago) link


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