“We stayed with a guy named Ashley who was so friendly and exuberant he was like an actual dog.” You always have those great deadpan lines that make me lol.
Your mention of The Clean reminds me that I did a deep dive into the "Dunedin Sound" and the bands associated with Flying Nun records a while back. In 1999 I was in Auckland and saw The Mutton Birds in the Old Spiegeltent. At one point during the raucous evening, McGlashan gestured toward one of the band members and mentioned he'd just published a book about music in NZ. When I got back to the States I tried to figure out who it was, but none of the regular band members had written it. There were some special guests that night, so maybe one of them? Periodically over the years I'd try some internet sleuthing but came up empty until a year ago when I saw that someone had added to Wikipedia that “For the New Zealand and Australian tour in October–November 1999, Burge's former band mate Matthew Bannister (Sneaky Feelings, Dribbling Darts) was added to the line-up.” Sure enough it was Bannister. I quickly went to Abe Books and found a copy at Vintage Books of Dunedin. $22.07 for the book and $30 to have it shipped to the States. What a deal. It turns out that all of the Flying Nun catalog has been added to Apple music, so I spent a grand week or so steeped in the music as Bannister wrote about the bands. Now I need to look into some of the other bands you mention.
I love Driving Me Backwards. My parents used to listen to a song called Chattanooga Choo Choo … I think it was by Manhattan Transfer. Lovely. I like the image of your partner putting his hand on your knee.
“The basement flooded but we kept playing” is so hardcore
So hardcore!
“We stayed with a guy named Ashley who was so friendly and exuberant he was like an actual dog.” You always have those great deadpan lines that make me lol.
Thanks Tina. Like a dog: highest praise
I love Rebetiko music and it is perfect driving music.
Your mention of The Clean reminds me that I did a deep dive into the "Dunedin Sound" and the bands associated with Flying Nun records a while back. In 1999 I was in Auckland and saw The Mutton Birds in the Old Spiegeltent. At one point during the raucous evening, McGlashan gestured toward one of the band members and mentioned he'd just published a book about music in NZ. When I got back to the States I tried to figure out who it was, but none of the regular band members had written it. There were some special guests that night, so maybe one of them? Periodically over the years I'd try some internet sleuthing but came up empty until a year ago when I saw that someone had added to Wikipedia that “For the New Zealand and Australian tour in October–November 1999, Burge's former band mate Matthew Bannister (Sneaky Feelings, Dribbling Darts) was added to the line-up.” Sure enough it was Bannister. I quickly went to Abe Books and found a copy at Vintage Books of Dunedin. $22.07 for the book and $30 to have it shipped to the States. What a deal. It turns out that all of the Flying Nun catalog has been added to Apple music, so I spent a grand week or so steeped in the music as Bannister wrote about the bands. Now I need to look into some of the other bands you mention.
I love this, and love doing these kinds of deep dives into music and writing myself.
Sexy's "Por Vida" is so good! Check out Jack Palance Band
It’s one of my favorite records ever! For life!
I love Driving Me Backwards. My parents used to listen to a song called Chattanooga Choo Choo … I think it was by Manhattan Transfer. Lovely. I like the image of your partner putting his hand on your knee.
It was Glen Miller.
That reminds me of how we used to blast Glen Miller when we were out cruising around as teenagers… instead of rap or punk. We were seriously uncool!
Subversive. X