Guest Howard
GuestForum Replies Created
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Welcome to the Club Bill. “You’re Going To Lose That Girl”, “Bus Stop” and “The Last Time” did it for me (being a huge Stones fan). If you introduce yourself in the “Introduce Yourself” forum, the Twins will see it and reply.
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Good one David. You still get them with all kinds of music. However, this is now rare due to the prevalence of head phones and ear phones fortunately. That doesn’t stop so many dudes having rap, hip hop and other gangster ‘music’ blaring from the speakers of their cars.
As for the minor sin of trying to include both a photo and a video in the same post, I’ve committed several of these sins in the past. I had the understanding that you could have more than one photo and video in the initial post of a new Topic, but this doesn’t seem to be the case, at least for me.
The thing with punk music and it’s angry themes is that it was a product of its times, emerging during recession, high unemployment and very repressive governments. This was more so in the UK with Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives in particular, in power from 1979 to 1990.
In my country, my state in particular had a thriving punk music scene emerging from the mid seventies. The reason was that, unlike our other states, we had an extremely conservative, authoritarian government for thirty years, from 1969 to 1989 (due to a gerrymandered electoral system), and our local music scene was forced underground as the police would often raid music venues. The Saints and The Go Betweens emerged during this time.
In 1969, the lead singer of one of our major bands at the time, Darryl Cotton, was bashed by thugs in the main street of our CBD (his group had long hair and wore pink clothes on stage). They didn’t get much support from the police. Their bass player, Beeb Birtles, eventually joined the Little River Band and their guitarist, Rick Springfield, emigrated to the United States where he commenced a successful solo music career and a successful acting career.
Two of my brothers left Brisbane for Adelaide in the 1970s. They both had long hair and were constantly harassed by the police in Brisbane. I myself was conscripted into National Service in the early seventies where I of course had my long hair shorn.
And yes, of course I’d love to hear a Mona and Lisa cover of this!
“Contemporaneously with American punk rock band the Ramones, the Saints were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and “buzz saw” guitar that characterised early punk rock. With their debut single, “(I’m) Stranded”, in September 1976, they became the first “punk” band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts including the Sex Pistols, the Clash and The Damned. They are one of the first and most influential groups of the genre.
The police would often break up their gigs, and arrests were frequent. Unable to obtain bookings, Bailey and Hay converted the Petrie Terrace house they shared into the 76 Club so they had a venue to play in. According to Australian rock historian, Ian McFarlane, they had developed their “own distinctive sound as defined by Kuepper’s frenetic, whirlwind guitar style and Bailey’s arrogant snarl“
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Well Thomas, I like both kinds of music ….. country AND western! No, seriously, my favourite music would be similar to yours in the period from the fifties to the early eighties. I’ve never been into purely country western music but I am quite partial to much country/folk music and country/rock like early Dylan, The Byrds (with Gene Clark and Gram Parsons), Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Kris Kristofferson (eg “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”), Buffalo Springfield, and many others.
The Rolling Stones also got into the act with songs like “Dead Flowers” and a country version of “Honky Tonk Women”. And let’s not forget from their album “Some Girls”, “Far Away Eyes”. The Stones tended to cover various genres as the times allowed, including the blues, rhythm and blues, pop, psychedelic, hard rock, disco, punk rock and country rock. I think they passed on bubblegum music though!
I can understand younger people being into grunge music, but with a couple of exceptions, it doesn’t do much for me.
“Far Away Eyes”
“I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield Listening to gospel music on the coloured radio station And the preacher said, ‘You know, you always have the Lord by your side’ Well, I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran twenty red lights in His honor Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.
So if you’re down on your luck and you can’t harmonize Find a girl with far away eyes And if you’re downright disgusted and life ain’t worth a dime Get a girl with far away eyes.“
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Hi Joe. Very nicely written. However, not being completely au fait with Paul McCartney’s solo career, I thought you may have had a stutter and were aluding to ..la la la, la la la Lovely Rita meter maid.
I had to do some research and discovered that at only 42 seconds, Lisa and Mona, with Rudolf’s help, could ably assist Paul to finally complete this song.
Actually, I heard the story a little differently. When the number ended, Paul approached Mona and introduced himself and Mona said “I’m not Lisa, my name is Mona, Lisa left you years ago”!
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Well yes, it seems that The MonaLisa Twins had most genres covered in their breakout 2007 concert as you have nicely covered in your response Jung. However, I wouldn’t consider new wave to be amongst them. Sandi Thom is much closer to Mona’s and Lisa’s musical generation than to new wave music. Sandi’s genres are Pop, folk, R&B, rock, blues.
I hadn’t endeavoured to give an “in-depth music lesson on the Punk/New Wave music development”, but rather simply detailed Echo and The Bunnymen’s involvement. However, I believe it is another rich vein to be explored, including groups like The Clash, Blondie, The Pretenders, XTC, and many more. I copied a more detailed review of new wave music with my synopsis from Wikipedia in my Topic “Sweet Little Lisa”.
I believe Sandi Thom would have had a very strong impact on our very young MonaLisa Twins as they would have just turned 12 when “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker” reached number one on the UK singles chart. Ironically, Sandi Thom also released a cover of “House of the Rising Sun” three years after the MLT’s cover.
Once again, Wikipedia is helpful here.
“Thom was born in Banff. She attended Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen. Thom spent three years playing piano and singing in a band from Gourdon in Aberdeenshire, called The Residents. Thom became the youngest student ever to be accepted at the prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). In 2003, Thom graduated from LIPA with a BA in Performing Arts. Thom has assisted many charity appeals for Oxfam’s work in Malawi and across east Africa. Thom supports Rangers.
Following her online webcast concerts from her basement in Tooting, and accompanied by increasing airplay exposure, “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker” was re-released on 22 May 2006 by RCA Records UK and debuted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Thom performed on Top of the Pops, making her major terrestrial television début, and in June the song reached number one on the singles chart.
The song was later nominated at the Brit Awards for Best British Single. In the Republic of Ireland, “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker” also reached number one, and in Australia, it was number one for ten consecutive weeks, becoming Australia’s highest selling single of 2006. Thom’s début album, Smile… It Confuses People was released in the United Kingdom the same month and débuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, eventually selling over one million copies worldwide.
Her sudden rise to stardom was scrutinized by the British press and by her fellow artists. James Frost and Robin Hawkins from The Automatic stated that “If she was a punk rocker with flowers in her hair she’d get the s*** kicked out of her by other punk rockers, for having flowers in her hair. […]” This notion that her success has been carefully orchestrated by the use of public relations was echoed by media commentator Charlie Brooker: “She is the anti-christ of music”.
Thom’s third studio album, Merchants and Thieves, was released independently in May 2010 with “This Ol’ World” (featuring guitarist and then boyfriend Joe Bonamassa) as the lead single. The album was released by Thom on her own label Guardian Angels, which she formed after her split with RCA. Musically it moves from pop folk towards blues and roots influences. Thom’s cover version of the track “House of the Rising Sun” was released as a download-only single and extra track on the deluxe edition of the album. It was also given away as a free download to readers of the Scottish Mail newspaper.
Merchants and Thieves was nominated for Best Album at the British Blues Awards 2011, and for Best Jazz/Blues Recording of the Year at the Scottish Music Awards. Thom was also nominated for Artist of the Year and her label Guardian Angel Recordings was nominated for Record Label of the Year.
Thom’s fourth studio album, Flesh and Blood, was released in September 2012. The album was recorded in Nashville’s 16 Ton Studios and features The Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson as guest producer, and other musicians such as Audley Freed and Rolling Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys. Thom then released her first live concert DVD, which featured a guest performance from former boyfriend Joe Bonamassa.”
I don’t mean to embarrass Lisa as I think it is rather cute for a 13 year old trying to be so cool with a sophisticated song like this. The Twins’ English diction is superb considering it was their second language and only what they had learned in school, and before their epic adventure Downunder to improve their spoken English. Listen carefully as Lisa sings “sewed my new blue jeans”!
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Well your memory serves you well in this instance Michael. Now what was the question again?
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I just know Lisa is keen to have a crack at a punk rock song. There was no doubt way back in 2007 that the MonaLisa Twins were going to be an accomplished and successful musical force on this planet! How good is this from a 13 year old?
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Not New AgeJung, but New Wave. The following is a synopsis from Wikipedia:
”By the end of 1977, “new wave” had replaced “punk” as the definition for new underground music in the U.K
new wave artists were anti-corporate and experimental (e.g. Ramones and Talking Heads). At first, most U.S. writers used the term “new wave” exclusively in reference to British punk acts.
In the U.S., many of the first New Wave groups were the not-so-punk acts associated with CBGB (e.g. Talking Heads, Mink DeVille and Blondie), as well as the proto-punk scene in Ohio, which included Devo, the electric eels, Rocket from the Tombs and Pere Ubu. Some important bands, such as Suicide and the Modern Lovers, debuted even earlier.
New wave is much more closely tied to punk, and came and went more quickly in the United Kingdom (and in the rest of Western Europe) than in the United States. At the time punk began, it was a major phenomenon in the United Kingdom and a minor one in the United States. Thus when new wave acts started getting noticed in America, punk meant little to the mainstream audience and it was common for rock clubs and discos to play British dance mixes and videos between live sets by American guitar acts.
Post-punk music developments in the UK became mainstream and were considered unique cultural events. By the early 1980s, British journalists largely had abandoned the term “new wave” in favor of subgenre terms such as “synthpop”. By 1983, the term of choice for the U.S. music industry had become “new music”, while to the majority of American fans it was still a “new wave” reacting to album-based rock
The British pub rock scene of the mid-1970s was the source of new wave acts such as Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Eddie and the Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood. Singer-songwriters who were “angry” and “intelligent” and who “approached pop music with the sardonic attitude and tense, aggressive energy of punk” such as Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and Graham Parker were also part of the new wave music scene. These artists were often referred to as “angry young men” for their aggressive style.
New wave died out after the mid-1980s, knocked out by guitar-driven rock reacting against new wave.”
A favourite album of mine from the New Wave era was “Ocean Rain” by Echo & The Bunnymen. This is the top ten UK hit from the album.
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As for Phil Lynott –
“Philip Parris Lynott (/ˈlaɪnət/, LY-nət; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, musician, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and bassist. He was known for his imaginative lyrical contributions including working class tales and numerous characters drawn from personal influences and Celtic culture.”
Thin Lizzy – “The Boys Are Back in Town”, Sydney Opera House 1978 (with Gary Moore)
Once when questioned how he could be black and Irish at the same time, he replied, “you’ve heard of Guinness, right?”
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I preferred the Albert Lee arrangement version of Sweet Little Lisa too Jung. However, I can understand your not being aware of Graham Parker, being more into harmony boy bands, I don’t imagine punk/new wave would be your cup of tea.
“The Mona Lisa’s Sister is a 1988 album by Graham Parker. It was Parker’s first album for RCA following an acrimonious split with Atlantic and the first he produced himself (with Brinsley Schwarz). The “stripped-down” sound of the album garnered critical acclaim and presaged a back-to-basics trend in rock music in the 1990s.
Parker and the Rumour gained a following in Australia thanks to the support of community radio (4ZZZ, 3RRR), Sydney independent rock station Double Jay (2JJ) and the ABC’s weekly pop TV show Countdown, which gave the group nationwide exposure. They made their first tour there in 1978, where they spotted rising Australian band The Sports, who subsequently supported Parker and the Rumour on their early 1979 UK tour. The group made a second Australian tour in late 1979, when Parker appeared on Countdown as a guest presenter.”
Yes, Graham Parker had a significant following in Australia, but who wears sunglasses at night? Well we may have to ask Corey Hart that question!
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Hi Jacki. The song was written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, and originally recorded by him in Chicago on September 6, 1946, as “That’s All Right”. Some of the lyrics are traditional blues verses first recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1926. Crudup’s recording was released as a single in 1947 on RCA Victor, but was less successful than some of his previous recordings. At the same session, he recorded a virtually identical tune with different lyrics, “I Don’t Know It”, which was also released as a single (RCA Victor 20-2307). In early March 1949, the song was rereleased under the title “That’s All Right, Mama” (RCA Victor 50-0000), which was issued as RCA’s first rhythm and blues record on their new 45 rpm single format, on bright orange vinyl.
Elvis Presley’s version was recorded in July 1954. After Elvis started playing around in Sam Phillips studio and played the song faster than the original. Its catalogue number was Sun 209. The label reads “That’s All Right” (omitting “Mama” from the original title), and names the performers as Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill.
Paul McCartney with Scotty Moore.
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That’s another interesting video about Bach Jung. Thanks for sharing. And the two cellos video is incredible. I’m sure Bach would have been impressed, but not so sure about the audience in the video. They look quite shocked, much like the audience in the “Back to the Future” movie where the hero plays modern Rock ‘n Roll.
We have discussed the inspirations in contemporary music with classical music in other posts and I’m sure we will again. It is a rich vein to be mined.
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I can’t remember exactly, but it would have been around 1979, I saw a UK band called Rockpile, consisting of the musicians Dave Edmunds, vocals, piano and guitar, Nick Lowe, vocals and bass, Bill Bremmer, guitar and backing vocals and Terry Williams, drums. It was at a venue called ‘Cloudland Ballroom’ in Brisbane, an historic building with a National Trust Listing. Despite this, and even without a permit, it was demolished in 1982 (in the middle of the night), to make way for apartment buildings. An appalling act as this was the best venue of its type in the country and the best in the Southern Hemisphere when it was completed in 1940.
The following is from Dave Edmunds’ 1979 album, “Repeat When Necessary”.
Dave Edmunds – “Sweet Little Lisa (feat. Albert Lee)
See if you can spot the extras in the video: Graham Parker, Phil Lynott and Huey Lewis.
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No flies on you David. I was hoping someone might know the answer before I posted the video. Maybe they might need to watch the video first.
