HVB, 2000 Man, and other ass-kickers in the Halls of Rock: Game On!
If anyone can direct me to a Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs collection, or better yet a collection of late-’60s and early-’70s Aussie rock, I’m all ears. I’ve got tons of Easybeats stuff, and enough late-’70s/early-’80s Aussie and Kiwi rock for my tastes. I want more of this MANLY ROCK that never made it to our shores, in some cases for good reason. Thanks.
Seeking direction.
Last month TCM (ie, “The Old Movie Channel”) featured a series of films from Australia’s early ’70s New Wave. This gave me a chance to get sucked into Peter Weir‘s hypnotic Picnic at Hanging Rock for the umpteenth time as well as a chance to finally see his commercial breakthrough, The Year of Living Dangerously, which got off to a strong start before petering out in Important Old-Time Movie Cliches and not quite living up to its grand aspirations. (This may have been only the second time I ever saw Mel Gibson in a movie from start to finish. Weird.)
Anyhow, during the introduction to one of these Weir films the series’ host, Jackie Weaver, the Australian actress who played the Philadelphia mom of Bradley Cooper’s Silver Linings Playbook character as Edith Bunker (a topic for another day: when will a Hollywood film get an actor to play a Philadelphia character with an actual Philadelphia accent) mentioned Weir’s 1971 short film, Three Directions in Australian Pop Music. Having dug the Aussie rock from that era that I stumbled across a few years ago (and I’m still looking for a killer comp of that stuff, if anyone has a recommendation), I had to track this short film down. Thankfully, someone had posted it on YouTube. The following directions in Australian pop music were, for the most part, left uncharted. Thankfully. See what you think…after the jump! Continue reading »
In this corner, Australia’s Madder Lake, doing “12-Pound Toothbrush”…
And in this corner… Continue reading »
Every once in a while I stumble on a run of YouTube videos of performances by Australian and New Zealand bands from the early-to-mid-1970s. Man, that continent was loaded with fired-up rock ‘n roll bands playing mediocre boogie tunes without the silly trapping of the UK’s Glam scene. AC/DC and the Stooges-influenced punk bands from the end of the decade were no accident! If I could go back in time and be a part of any half-decent music scene, this one would have to be considered.
Following are a few videos by bands that are obscure to me, at least, if not most of our US Townspeople. I know a lot of you fancy yourselves experts in all that is mediocre and manly. Which of the following bands would you most want to jam – and party – with? I’m hoping some of our Townspeople from the great continent of Australia help set us straight on.
The Dingoes, “Way Out West”
For my money The Dingoes might be the best band to hang with in a quiet bar and knock back some tall ones. Their singer’s a real man’s man, with no pretensions. He’d probably want nothing to do with my company, but I find him about as intriguing as any of the singers under review.
As the lyrics of “The Last Place I Wanna Be” make clear, it’s no wonder they spend so much time hanging at that corner pub.
