234. Secret love by Kathy Kirby 1963

Kathy Kirby

Sadly I just heard Kathy Kirby had recently died. Until I started reading the obits in some of the music papers I'd forgotten completely about her. This one goes back to a time I can hardly remember. I must of been 7 I guess. In England there used to be lots of variety shows on the telly. I mean lots. Kathy Kirby stood out because of firstly her name which had that ring to it. And she looked glamorous in a Marilyn Monroe type of way. She was the first entertainer to wear lip gloss I've read. Maybe I had a crush on her. But it didn't last long because soon I would fall in love with Sandie shaw.
When the Beatles were at the top with I Wanna Hold Your Hand this record was not far behind on the UK charts. Listening back to it now it's got that sixties thump. A bit like Normie Rowe did with Que Sera Sera. But steeply rooted in fifties showbiz.
Classic sixties indeed!

233. Julie is a Junkie by The Eastern Dark 1985

The Eastern Dark - Julie Is A Junkie

Another Australian classic single by this short lived Sydney band. Sadly they were involved in a car crash on the way to tour Melbourne and the lead singer died. They have released some posthumous records.
I guess they were driving the Deadly Hume as it used to be called. The road from Sydney to Melbourne was notorious for accidents. Even Jonestown, who were on my record label, managed to hit a kangaroo on the way back from their Sydney tour. Poz, who was their tour manager, was behind the wheel. The cost of fixing that wiped out any profits from the tour itself.
I can't remember where I first heard the single but it was at some club. Which was an odd place to first hear this song. I'm starting to guess that Ronny might have played it. This is where it would be handy to have a timeline. Or it could have been Jason. Jason and Ronny would find discs and play them mercilessly. So much that the singles would become part of them. In a sense that I could look in a record box and see a single and know who it belonged to. I still have a few in my box I can tell belonged to one of them.
The three of us worked together a lot in the eighties. Venetian Room, Rubber Soul, Beehive. Then after opening Revolver at the Union Ronny went back to Adelaide.
Anyway this is a double A-side. Both sides are ace.

232. Frantic Romantic by the Scientists 1979

The Scientists - Frantic Romantic

Classic Australian single. Not just indie. A true classic. The Scientists came to Melbourne just after this record was released. Little Murders got to support them at this place in Fitzroy called the Champion Hotel. It was upstairs and later became kinda famous for where the little bands fad started. Anyway, the Scientists were just brilliant. And they looked great on stage. They really had together what all those other garage bands of the next few years would look like. And they put so much into the show backstage they looked like they'd gone through a ringer. Actually, it was a reconfigured balcony but away from people.
The Champion was where I learned to apply eyeliner with help from Rob Wellington when we were in the Fiction. I was using the wrong pencil. Who knew? Actually some nights I think I just used a felt pen. It was also where Little Murders made their real debut in August 1979. And where The Fiction played their last.
Back to the single. A really great song. I wish I'd written it. I have to admit I don't know many other songs from them. Not that I can recall. Wait Last Night was great. And Shake. They were on Au Go Go with us for awhile. But their music went into territory I wasn't interested in. Then again Swampland is pretty cool too. Maybe I need to explore the Scientists a bit more.
Met her at a dance.....it was romance!

231. Sweet Lady Genevieve by The Kinks 1973

YouTube - The Kinks - Preservation: Act 1 - Sweet Lady Genevieve‏

In the seventies The Kinks made a bunch of theatre records. Musicals whatever. After a while this constant barrage of concept records did my head in. Here was my favourite band in the world banging the nails into their coffin. It started off alright. I was a fan of Preservation Act 2 and Soap Opera  but in the long run it all got too much and paled before their sixties stuff. However contained in those albums are some real gems. Sweet Lady Genevieve was the one great song on Preservation Act 1. It's up there with his best but is largely forgotten because it was buried here.

It always reminds me to of my first girlfriend Gwenda. I guess the names were quite similar. very medieval.  I say girlfriend but I think that was mostly on my side. When she told me that we weren't really going out because she was too busy with school and we were hanging out and having fun but let's not get serious. Youch! She happened to drop me straight after this particularly nasty haircut where they made me look like Dave Hill out of Slade if he had wavy hair. I always blamed the haircut.

In the end it was just terminology. We weren't boyfriend and girlfriend but we still hung out like normal and did all the same things. Until I found a new girlfriend. This was a strange new world I was heading into. Teenage Wildlife.

Once under a scarlet sky I told you never ending lies,
But they were the words of a drunken vagabond
Who knew very well he would break your heart before long
Oh forgive me Genevieve.

230. Trains & Boats & Planes by Fountains of Wayne 2005

Trains & Boats & Planes — (Fountains of Wayne)

I've been listening to this song since the sixties when it was a hit for Billy J. Kramer. Written by Bacharach and David I've got versions by sandie Shaw and dione Warwick. I've always had a fondness for this song. Of course it always pops into mind when someone is about to go off into the world somewhere.
I used to love going to the airport to see people off on their travels. There was something cosmopolitan about the airport. despite the smell of cheap food. One last drink with a friend before they boarded a plane. Walking away with one person less than who you went with. Then there's those friends you walked to the boarding gate and never seen again.
When I got an ipod the first thing I wanted to do is make playlists. luckily I came across a book which suggested playlists for the ipod. On one list of modern covers I saw this song. I love Fountains Of Wayne so I looked around for it. I came across it at the Elwood monthly market. 10 bucks. Actually what surprised me how many great records were going for 10 bucks. The winds of change maybe. Whatever after this I wouldn't be buying too many CDs either.
So I took a punt and yes it really is the best cover of this song. The simple arrangement just gives it the yearning it needs. Hey but Billy J's version is pretty good too and I guess there will be days where that will be the version I want to listen to. I mean there's that bass line and a pretty nifty tambourine.
Trains and bloats and planes are passing by
They mean a trip to Paris or Rome
For someone else but not for me
The trains and the boats and planes
Took you away, away from me

We were so in love and high above
We had a star to wish upon
Wish and dreams come true, but not for me
The trains and the boats and planes
Took you away, away from me

229. Blizzard of 77 by Nada Surf 2002

Blizzard of '77 - Nada Surf

Nada Surf had a kind of hit in the nineties with a song called Popular. We played it a few times. And then forgot about them. Then in 2002 I was reading a review of theur new album Let Go and it so impressed me I went out and bought the CD. When I got it home I put on the first track and it just blew me away.  It took me ages to get round to listening to the rest of the album because I was always listening to this song.
in the blizzard of '77 
the cars were just lumps on the snow 

and then later 
tripping in 7-11 
the shelves were stretching out of control 
First it's the chord progression that starts the song. Played on acoustic guitar there's something magical about those chords. And then the imagery of the lyrics. They just got to me even though they're not linear and don't tell a story it's almost like an impressionist painting where all the bits come together to make a whole. You know maybe there's not much of a story with this one, it's just a song I love.
but in the middle of the night i worry 
it's blurry even without light 

228. This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us by Sparks 1974

Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us
Another amazing single that just came out of nowhere in 1974. First time I heard it was in Pete Joyce's car. Blackburn North. Just amazing. We'd read about it it in NME. Roxy Music light they were saying. Roxy speeded up. But this single was really something. The high voice. Sound effects and gun battles.
Not longer after that I was in England where it seemed that Sparks were on every TV show. The piano player with his Hitler moustache and bryl creamed hair. And the singer always wore little woolie gloves. Sparks were the sound of winter 74/75 in the UK. This was really the last bits of glam fading away. Cockney Rebel, David Essex monopolised the TV shows. And Mud. But glam was over and we were about to enter the horrible mid 70s. Luckily something even better was round the corner.
Zoo time is she and you time
The mammals are your favourite type, and you want her tonight
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
You hear the thunder of stampeding rhinos, elephants and tacky tigers
This town ain't big enough for both of us
And it ain't me who's gonna leave