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Tag Archive for 'billy-childish'

The Buff Medways - The Last of the Buff Medways EP

Published by Scott October 30th, 2006 in Review and 2006. 2 Comments

The differences between Billy Childish’s various projects over the last three decades are subtle, as they’re all pretty much in the same range along the garage-punk-blues-rock spectrum. I count myself as a fan and don’t mean to sound dismissive, but you might generally characterize his music as scrappy and primitive. With snarling, charismatic vocals, thick British accent and often bitingly funny lyrics, Childish taps the raw power of traditional rock and roll and transcends recycled riffs to create some truly exhilarating music. Of course not everything he records is choice material. The guy has put out dozens of albums and hundreds of songs after all. This latest three song EP is pretty good though and serves as a fine farewell for his most recent project.

As the title of suggests, The Last of the Buff Medways is the final recorded efforts by the band. It starts off with “1975,” a rough edged mid-tempo rocker about rejection and longing with a very catchy chorus that makes absolutely no sense in the context of the song. Maybe I’m missing something but the lines, “1959 I was just in time/ 1965 I was still alive/ 1969 I nearly died/ 1975,” have nothing to do with being dissed. Oh well, it sounds good. Next up is “Albion,” which sounds vaguely like Hendrix’s “Fire,” a song that Childish has covered in the past. The title track rounds out the set and is the real attention grabber. In the course of this swaggering pseudo-history of the Medways (with some truthful nuggets), Billy takes swipes at “Jackie White,” John Peel, and Kylie Minogue among others. I’m as puzzled as he is when he sings, “You’d have thought John Peel would be our friend / But there was only silence on his end.” It includes a nice bit of trivia that tells about the band’s name too: buff medways are an extinct breed of chickens!

As prolific as Billy Childish has been in his musical career, I’m sure the end of the Buff Medways merely marks a transition to working with a different group of musicians. Whatever incarnation he assumes next, I’m sure it will be similar to his past work but no less exciting.

Saturday Play List 5/20

Published by Scott May 20th, 2006 in Meta-Chatter, Free Tracks and Review. 1 Comment

Secret Square - Secret Square (1997)
I grabbed this out of print album from the fine Elephant Six themed blog, Optical Atlas. It’s a side project of Apples in Stereo / The High Water Mark’s Hilarie Sidney along with Lisa Janssen, who has a Neutral Milk Hotel connection. Some pretty wonderful psych pop that borders on shoegaze. More than once I thought of the band Lush. Naturally it’s a bit Apples in Stereo-ish too. You can grab it free for a limited time here.

Josh Rouse - Subtitulo (2006)
I’m just now getting around to this one, although I did play it twice today. I loved Nashville and believe it or not that’s the only other Rouse album I’ve heard. I know his other works are held in high regard but sometimes I’m a freak like that. I didn’t even realize until I went to college that The Smiths had more albums than The Queen Is Dead and Louder Than Bombs. I was just so happy with those two that it didn’t occur to me to seek out more. I think maybe I don’t want to be disappointed by an artist’s other works when I come across something I really connect with. Then again I can think of a zillion other bands from whom I’ve heard one thing and rushed out to acquire the rest of their catalog. Who knows what my deal is but I thought Subtitulo was pretty good. I’d read some mixed reviews so wasn’t sure quite what to expect. It is pretty mellow and folky but there are moments of pop brilliance. The one-two punch of “His Majesty Rides” and “Givin’ It Up” is particularly awesome. I’m sure I’ll start working my way backward through his discography sooner or later…

The Flaming Lips - Oh My Gawd… The Flaming Lips (1987)
It’s quite a novelty to hear old Flaming Lips. They used to be pretty punk, although it was punk steeped in all things psychadelic. I think I heard this back in the day. Not when it came out but around the time Transmissions From the Satellite Heart broke big. Yes, that’s when I caught on. If only I had been more with it I might have caught the legendary show with Nirvana opening for them at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor during my freshman year at the University of Michigan. Oh, well. What can I say? One thing- All these years later Oh My Gawd is worth listening to. It’s not great but I enjoyed it. “Everything’s Explodin’,” “The Ceiling Is Bendin’,” and “Prescription: Love” are all choice cuts.

And of course I couldn’t give Billy or Holly the day off:

The Milkshakes - In Germany (1984)
Punk meets early Beatles and Kinks. A solid album although after a couple of listens there’s no single track that jumps out at me. The whole thing has got a curious reverb quality, like Billy and company recorded it live in a huge room. Without liner notes I can only guess.

Holly Golightly - Truly She Is None Other (2003)
Holly had drifted away from the garage by this point. It’s still a “rock” album though and reflects various 60’s influences. Every album I hear I think, “Is this her best one?” I’m leaning toward Serial Girlfriend as my favorite but Truly is outstanding. “She Said” (also on the Down the Line comp) is my favorite song of the moment.

Holly Golightly - Down The Line

Published by Scott May 19th, 2006 in Album, Review and 2006. 2 Comments

I’ve written about my ongoing Billy Childish / Holly Golightly binge on the last few Saturday Playlist posts and haven’t come close to overdosing on them yet. When Down the Line hit eMusic on Tuesday I lunged for it. No need to check the samples or track down reviews. It was new Holly and I had to have it. I was certainly surprised when I gave it an initial spin. Turns out it’s not new material at all but a compilation of songs from her various Damaged Goods releases.

I tried to do some research after the fact but was stonewalled on all fronts. Nothing on AMG, the label page, or Holly’s own site. No reviews anywhere. Pretty mysterious. My best guess is that it’s an internet only release since the only places you can even purchase it from is eMusic and a few other, ahem, inferior online services.

I was definitely disappointed at first that it wasn’t a new album, all the more so considering her last release, 2005’s My First Holly Golightly Album, was also a comp. That one consisted of nine previously released songs plus eight re-recorded “favorites.” I can’t really recommend it because it downplays her rough edged garage-rock-blues material in favor of more pop leaning tunes. I always think of those songs as Nancy Sinatra style Holly, but that characterization is really only based on the one song I know, “These Boots Are Made For Walking.” Still, that song serves as an apt comparison for the type of 60’s influenced pop-rock that fills My First Holly Golightly Album. Not that the compilation is bad or anything. It just misrepresents her body of work and is titled to mislead neophytes into using it as an entry point for her catalog.

Down the Line makes up for those shortcomings. It is far more inclusive in its representation of the different styles Holly Golightly plays and fortunately does not overlap with last year’s collection. The first four songs alone demonstrate this broader range. “I Hear You,” with its heavy tremolo/delay lead guitar, starts things off with a touch of psychedlia. From there it’s the honky-tonk flavored “Dear John,” Ventures inspired “High Time,” and the smoky blue-eyed soul of “Here Beside You.” Elsewhere there’s the killer garage stomp of “I Can’t Be Trusted,” girl group pop on “She Said,” and a stark percussionless heartbreaker from her first album called “The Last Time.”

With fifteen songs clocking in at just over forty minutes, Down the Line is a perfect bite-size introduction to an artist who has released more than ten albums and countless singles. If you want to check out what she’s like, you wouldn’t be wrong making this your first Holly Golightly album.

Saturday Playlist 5/13

Published by Scott May 14th, 2006 in Review. 0 Comments

My daily dose of Billy Childish:

The Pop Rivets - Greatest Hits (1979)
I’ve been listening to this all week and am impressed each time I hear it. Most of Billy Childish’s music involves traditional rock and roll filtered through his unique vision. The Pop Rivets were his first band and they were very much of the time. This is Class of ‘77 punk and does not sound derivative. “Beatle Boots” is classic. He mentions that particular fashion accessory a couple of other times over the course of the album too. A precursor to his “headcoat” fetish, I suppose.

The Milkshakes - Nothing Can Stop These Men (1984)
Here’s the Billy that overtly refers to his influences. You might even say he cops their riffs and styles. In this case it’s heavily weighted toward the early Beatles and Kinks with a rough edged punk snarl. “Dull Knife” is a scorching surf instrumental.

Also checked out these recs from friends:

Blue Rodeo - Casino (1991)
Byrdsy Americana from these Canadians. I have to admit I didn’t love it. I think I’d actually heard a track or two before, probably on the Windsor “Alternative” station when I lived in Michigan. It was a decent listen but a bit on the light side.

Slow Jets - Good Morning, Stars (2002)
I enjoyed this. Couldn’t find out much about them except that they’re from Baltimore. They play 90’s style indie-rock, which is probably the defining musical era for me. In other words, I’m a sucker for alternate tuned guitars playing ramshackle pop-rock songs. Pavement is an influence and can be clearly heard on the opener, “Instant Lover.”

Soulwax - Nite Versions (2005)
I’ve never listened to this Belgium band before but I will definitely be seeking out more. What an excellent album! I don’t know all the details but from what I gather it’s remixes of some of the songs from their Any Minute Now album that came out the same year. I’m curious to hear what the originals are like. Anyway, this is electronic dance music with guitars. It sounds cool and it rocks.

Saturday Playlist 5/6

Published by Scott May 7th, 2006 in Review. 0 Comments

Here’s a few things I checked out yesterday:

Junkyard Dogs - Good Livin’ Platter (1997)
A favorite go-to album. The ‘Dogs are really The Supersuckers in disguise. They play loose, acoustic singalong cowpunk. There are a couple of originals but most of the songs are covers, including “Gates of Steel” (Devo), “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (Ramones), “Breakin’ the Law” (Judas Priest), and “Born to Cry” (Dion !!). This here’s drinking music.

Thee Headcoats - Elementary (2000)
This is a singles collection from what I’ve gathered. I would love to read the liner notes but it came from eMusic so no such luck. The second “disc” has a far more serious vibe than the first, which makes me wonder if the tracks are grouped chronologically or thematically. The whole thing is pretty awesome though. I got a real chuckle out of the Sherlock Holmes inspired “My Dear Watson” and the outtro to “She’s Got a Strange Attractor,” in which the narrator (Billy) quotes/imitates that “great feline free-thinker, Snagglepuss” to sum up his philosophy of life: “If it gives you pleasure, do it already.” Indeed. My Billy Childish bender continues…

Holly Golightly - Serial Girlfriend (1998)
… As does my Holly Golightly one. This is another first-rate album by her. I hadn’t heard it before but there are a few songs here that are also on the Single’s Round Up I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. She has some other albums on eMusic missing from my collection that I think I’m going to have to get.

Acid House Kings - Everyone Sings Along With Acid House Kings (2006)
The idea behind this EP is that the band asked a few of their favorite vocalists to sing their favorite Acid House Kings song. This was my first exposure to the Swedish pop band and to be honest it may also be my last. A bit too twee for my tastes. It doesn’t quite make sense that I really like Belle and Sebastian but can’t take this. I’ll probably give it another spin before I write them off completely.

Weekend Playlist 4/22 - 4/23

Published by Scott April 23rd, 2006 in Meta-Chatter and Review. 0 Comments

Spent Saturday and Sunday with Billy Childish and Holly Golightly. Okay, not literally. Listened to some of their stuff from the fine British indie label Damaged Goods that was just added to eMusic. Actually heard each one twice, no small feat considering the lengths of the comps. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it and hope to pick up some more when my downloads refresh Wednesday.

Holly Golightly - The Good Stuff (1995)
Her first album as a solo artist. She was also a member of Thee Headcoatees at the time too. I like her best when she’s rocking out in the garage and there’s plenty of that here. Highlights include “Virtually Happy,” “Expert,” “Comedy Time,” and “Without You.” The whole album is pretty great.

Holly Golightly - Single’s Round Up (2001)
A singles collection, if you couldn’t tell from the title. They’re basically lined up A-side / B-side in chronological order. The B-sides are of equal quality so it works out to be a really strong anthology. You’ve got the whole range of Holly: garage, indie-rock, twang, and blues. This would be an excellent place to start if you were unfamiliar with her work.

Billy Childish - 25 Years of Being Childish (1998)
A two-disc set, although that’s pretty much meaningless in the mp3 age. Let’s just say it’s 114+ minutes of his recordings through the years. His catalog probably rivals Robert Pollard’s, so here again is a great starting point for the uninitiated. I had some of his stuff before but won’t even pretend to be an expert. There were only a couple of songs out of the forty-two that I recognized. I don’t know how many bands he’s fronted, but all of the ones I knew are included: Thee Headcoats, The Buff Medways, Thee Mighty Caesars, The Milkshakes, and The Pop Rivets. There’s even some Holly Golightly / Thee Headcoatees songs. First rate, all the way.

I also checked out these, from our Belgian correspondent:

Yuppie Flu - Toast Masters (2005)
I was given Pavement and The Strokes as comparisons for this Italian guitar-driven indie-pop/rock band. Sure enough, you can hear bits of both occasionally. Sounded good the first time through. I especially liked the song, “Make a Stand.”

Triola - Triola Im Funftonraum (2004)
Wow! I really liked this one. I’m pretty ignorant as far as electronica artists go, so I have no idea who to compare them to or which of the many sub-genres in which to categorize them. It’s krautrock-ish in a mellow, ambient with a beat kind of way.

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