Mega city Four - Tranzophobia

This 1989 debut album release from Farnborough's (that's the Hampshire one) finest, Mega City Four, is a magnificently vibrant slice of post-punk. Sound-wise, the band (for me, at least) have definite echoes of some of the finest punk (OK, those with more of a pop edge) bands, namely, The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers and (even at times) The Ramones. As with a good deal of music from the punk era (and its immediate aftermath) Mega City Four's sound admittedly has relatively little variation, but, of course, The Ramones' early material dispelled any notion that this was a requirement for musical invigoration and/or excellence. What the MC4 (as distinct from the MC5, I guess) did have, however, was a tight rhythm section overlain with Danny Brown's pulsating guitar and brother Darren's (known as Wiz and sadly deceased in 2006) soaring vocal, delivering a series of unadulterated, infectious pop songs.

First up, there are no weak songs on Tranzophobia, pretty much everything has a memorable hook. Subject-wise, the songs deal with the common (punk/indie) music themes of youth angst and rebellion, disillusion with authority and failed relationships. My album favourites would certainly include Paper Tiger, a story of parental rejection penned to possibly the most exquisite melody on the album, Things I Never Said (with its Jimmy, Jimmy-like opening), the classic tale of youth and political disaffection, Occupation, the most overtly political song here about the troubles in Northern Ireland, and Alternative Arrangements, with its infectious (off-)beat and tale of shattered romantic illusions. But, of course, the album standout has to be that tale of youthful realisation, the rollercoaster that is Severe Attack Of The Truth, with its initial battle cry of, 'Stop your grinning and drop your linen'. Marvellous stuff.

Start

Pride And Prejudice

Severe Attack Of The Truth

Paper Tiger

January

Twenty One Again

On Another Planet

Things I Never Said

New Years Day

Occupation

Alternative Arrangements

Promise

What You've Got

Stupid Way To Die

click here

Keep The Faith

Keep The Faith

Eat Junk is literally moving house, that's like in the real world not moving URL ! 

in the meantime enjoy the Neds

Cud - Elvis Belt

Carter USM kick off a trio of gigs tonight and Eat Junk will be going to the London date as usual on Saturday.. First on the bill at Brixton are Cud, followed by Neds Atomic Dustbin, not bad for the price of one ticket I think you will agree

Originally released in 1990 on Imaginary Records, Elvis Belt was a compilation that gathered all of the Leeds-based band Cud's songs that preceded their first proper album, 1989's When in Rome, Kill Me. Gathering singles dating back to 1987's "Slack Time" with a pair of previously un issued tracks and Cud's contributions to a pair of Imaginary Records' trademark tribute albums (the Kinks' "Lola" and the Bonzo Dog Band's "I'm the Urban Spaceman," both flattened out and speeded up into near oblivion), Elvis Belt showcases the band's sardonic sense of humour and punk-derived D.I.Y. scrappiness in its earliest and crudest forms. By the time of When in Rome, Kill Me, the band had matured a bit lyrically and gained considerably more polish musically.

Slack Time
Make No Bones
Treat Me Bad
Punishment-Reward Relationship
Under My Hat
Lola
Urban Spaceman
Art!
You're The Boss
Only (A Prawn In Whitby)
Hey!Wire (The Stratospheric Mix)
I've Had It With Blondes

click here

Marion - The Program

An album that was deserving of far greater plaudits. Marion's break up album , released almost without promotion or any great sentiment at the back end of 1998. Produced by former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr the album failed to chart in the UK,( i know thats not always the greatest indication of greatness) but the album did deserve to be listened to by a few more people than it actually did!

Iv blogged elsewhere about the band being back together , lets hope they come back with a killer record and some live gigs

The Smile

Miyako Hideaway (Full Length Mix)

Sparkle

Is That So?

What Are We Waiting For?

Strangers

The Powder Room Plan

The Program

All Of These Days

Comeback

click here

Stone Roses - 2013

We are all having it yea?? 

For some reason im more relaxed about getting a ticket this year, maybe the 16 year wait meant 2012 was always going to be a massive event with a massive build up, the day came and went in a blur but was truly immense.... I think i'l actually enjoy this year a little bit more.. 

now all we need is a smith re-union right ?

Ooberman - The Magic Treehouse

I had briefly heard of Ooberman in the mid 90's through the single Shorley Wall, I had passed them off as some scouse wierdo's... i shouldn't have been so hasty as this there debut album proves.

 From the opening track to the hidden delights at the end of Silver planet, Ooberman have managed to lay down life, love and all those things that keep the mind young in a 14 track musical treat. Special mention goes to the following tracks, which are a 'must listen' for anyone who has ever loved and been loved by someone special; Track 11) Amazing in Bed & 12) Shorley Wall. The latter was the first track to bring me to the attention of Ooberman and no doubt was for many others too. Further listening confirmed this band have what many other bands have lost..."The desire to write music on what truly matters in life after all the layers of corporate varnish have been stripped away. 'Sur la Plage' gives us the wonderful vocals of Sophia as does 'Shorley Wall', together with the kicking base line in 'Bees' and 'Sugar Bum' gives this album depth and variation as well as melodic menageries such as 'Roll me in Cotton' and 'Roro Blue'.

The whole album is a wonderful mix of musical enlightenment and honest lyrics, which leaves the listener feeling young again and with the feeling they have just discovered something very special. No record collection is complete without it.

Million Suns

Blossoms Falling

Sur La Plage

Roro Blue

Tears From A Willow

Bees

Sugar Bum

Roll Me In Cotton

Physics Disco

Magic Treehouse

Amazing In Bed

My Baby's Too Tall & Thin

Shorley Wall

Silver Planet

click here

Wire - Pink flag

Like other punk bands Wire strived to re-focus rock from it's growing excesses, but they took that aesthetic a step further. Unlike other artists Wire's aim wasn't a return to rock's roots, but minimalism. Wire didn't approach music as a rock band, but as an art experiment. On Pink Flag, Wire eliminate every extraneous element resulting pure, angular music. While not musically accomplished (in fact, the band members admit they were barely competent technically), Pink Flag contains an astounding variety and depth of creative ideas.

While other punk bands (The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, etc.) acheived notoriety with genuine angst and shock, Wire distinguished themselves through unpredictabilty and vocalist Colin Newman's sly, oft acerbic wit (while oft incomprehensible, he's always compelling). In a sense it seems Wire's limited musicianship actually works to their advantage; since they have limited tools the band is forced to rely soley on ideas and chemistry. The 21 songs on Pink Flag rarely exceed three minutes (most are 1-2 min in duration) and rarely conform to any standard notions of song structure.

With titles like "Field Day for the Sundays", "Three Girl Rhumba", "Ex Lion Tamer", and "Mannequin", many understandably view the songs as minimalist paintings tranformed into music. Arty as Wire can be at times, they're anything but pretentious. Pithy and snobbish as Wire might seem, Pink Flag is remarkably entertaining; it's intense, wryly witty, and at times undeniably funny. Wire's breadth of ideas is remarkable; they cover ground which includes proto-hardcore ("106 Beats That", "Different to Me"), tweaked power-pop ("Reuters", "Champs"), power-blues ("Lowdown"), and even spare texture experiments ("Strange"). "Mr. Suit" is the only marginal track... and it's still pretty enjoyable.

Some have argued that Pink Flag's songs are only fragments, but close analysis reveals Wire's brilliance; each song serves to convey it's ideas as expediently as possible and once this objective is reached it ends immediately. In his Rollingstone review Greil Marcus remarked about the lack of personality on Pink Flag ("You hear cleverness, wit, irony, but not personality."). While this might be accurate the lack of intimacy isn't a problem in the musical context and actually coincides well with Wire's aesthetic . One of the many things that makes Pink Flag unique is it's combination of emotional intensity and vaguely arty distance (which eventually became dominant in their later work). Wire's somewhat impersonal approach also makes Pink Flag transcendent; unlike many late 70s punk bands who focused on the sociopolitical climate, Pink Flag's more esoteric themes (both musical and lyrical) make it vital and relevant 25 years after it's release.

Pink Flag is proudly touted as a profound influence by artists as diverse as Big Black, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, Elastica ...and REM (who covered a more straight-forward version of "Strange" on their album Document). Wire would later make other ambitious and noteworthy albums (most notably "Chairs Missing" and "154"), but never made another as seminal, ageless, and visionary as Pink Flag.

Reuters

Field Day For The Sundays

Three Girl Rhumba

Ex Lion Tamer

Lowdown

Start To Move

Brazil

It's So Obvious

Surgeon's Girl

Pink Flag

The Commercial

Straight Line

106 Beats That

Mr. Suit

Strange

Fragile

Mannequin

Different To Me

Champs

Feeling Called Love

1 2 X U

Options R

click here