Great fucking show man. An articulate, passionate music fan digging through the weeds of time and its unsung gems. Such a nice break from “critics” sucking machine music cock as they follow the money and read their corporate scrips. Good on you and good luck. 👍
I’m glad we see eye to eye on Cub with the exceptions of Purple and Epilogue. Now I recommend How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me? by The Amazons. Another lesser known British Indie band which I find a lot better than a Band like Oasis or Blur. Their s/t debut is my favourite of theirs but as you like to nit pick at an album sounding all the same I recommend How Will I know… as it’s when they start adding more variety to their sound.
04… St. Vincent - All Born Screaming (2024)… Hell Is Near… Fist time with St. Vincent since your deep dive and to be honest I have not missed her, it’s all high quality with lots of elements that I like but ultimately it will not be something that I will listen to again… 3.5* 03… Primitive Radio Gods - White Hot Peach (2000)... Blood from a Beating Heart, Fading Out, Motor of Joy… It has its moments, it is enjoyable but unlike the St. Vincent album I would listen again … 4.25* 02… Wunderhorse - Cub (2022)… Butterflies, Purple, 17, Morphine, Epilgoue… First time hearing and to put it bluntly, I like it… 4.25* 01… Blancmange - Happy Families (1982)… I Can't Explain, Feel Me, I've Seen The Word, Wasted, Living On The Ceiling, Waves, Kind… In my opinion one of the best of its type and time… I would take this album over any by the likes of Pet Shop Boys or New Order but it is strange that I had completely forgotten about Blancmange… Great memories from my teens, one of the mothers favourite bands of the period, she had a small crush on Neil Arthur… I had a ticket to see them (82-83) but was ill on the night, so I sadly missed the concert.. Same thing happened with the B52’s a year or two later, the difference being the with B52’s it was not self-inflicted (afternoon bender)… 4.5*
I once went to a Bob Dylan concert but then bailed halfway through. But I did that because A; at the time I had no idea about Dylan's music outside of a best of compilation & B; that decision led me to a Japanese love hotel with a girl 17 years my junior. Sorry Bob. Horny Japanese college girls have a weird way of superceding your appeal.
Wow! 😯Glad you liked it! 😀 Sorry, this grew to be a bit long... 😆😬 A solid batch of recordings this week - all records I'd happily return to... 4. St. Vincent - All Born Screaming: The one I need to spend a bit more time with, but it's starting to click, with "Violent Times" & the title track highlights so far... 3. Blancmange - Happy Families: (Been pronouncing it "Blank Mange" this whole time in my head... saw that it was French, probably should have Googled before proceeding - but, damn, "Blank Mange" sounds so cool! 😂) Wasn't too sure about this one at first, but it's definitely grown on me. Endearing lyrics too - at first I thought they could use a little refinement, but their chummy bluntness has won me over... 2. Wunderhorse - Cub: Liked this one almost immediately - "Butterflies" gets stuck in my head a lot. Love those cutting harmonies... His voice weirdly reminds me of Mark Kozelek sometimes? I'm also looking forward to the new record!(1) 1. Primitive Radio Gods - White Hot Peach: Loved this record since I was first surprised to see it--Lazarus-like--at my local Tower Records... They were back! 😱 Then, of course, they promptly disappeared to their website (and eventually Bandcamp) which I wouldn't discover until quite a bit later... Their first record was literally a demo tape Chris O'Connor recorded on his sampling keyboard back in 1991, with two tracks left over from his previous band The I-Rails' planned fifth record... (The 4 cassette-only albums were finally sent to a blogger in 2011, and then uploaded to RUclips - a big revelation for fans! Solid '80s jangle pop...) - and "Phone Booth" finally caught an executive's ear ca. 1994, leading to a barely refurbished (I think someone just upped the volume of the demo??) major label debut in 1996! I personally find it charming, with some really sturdy songs and interesting lyrics as per usual, under the sometimes cluttered use of sampling - although the critics seemed to really hate it outside the hit! (It goes without saying, "Phone Booth" is an all-time classic for me...) After that, Chris got the band back together, made White Hot Peach with his old songwriting partner Jeff Sparks, and then proceeded to the wilderness of the internet, releasing five more LPs as a three-piece minus Sparks(2)... Regarding replay value, I must have listened to this record at least a dozen times leading up to this episode, thinking "Hmm... I wonder if he'll like it..." - so, yeah, guess I like it a lot, since I could easily listen a dozen more times! 😆This latest binge *did* improve the album for me in fact - finally unlocking the pleasures of "Whatever Wakes McCool", as I had previously glossed over it as perhaps too meandering. (The poppy section that emerges around 3:36 would later become "Three Small Blue Lights" on 2010's Out Alive - I love how "McCool" marches off into melting darkness from there...) "Motor of Joy" has a slightly longer, more fleshed-out version called "Comrade Lovers" from their planned second album, Mellotron On! which I prefer, and would include on a best of... (Although I love "MoJ" too!) WHP is either my first or second favorite LP by them - it's pretty much tied with the WHP outtakes collection, Ultraviolet Neighbors (a very fruitful session for them!) Anyway, thanks for indulging my ramblings, and happy you dig it as much as I do! Always thought they deserved more love! :) For consideration next time - hmm... I'm thinking Killing Joke's 2003 self-titled album! (The one with the clown on the cover...) P.S. The bandleader Chris O'Connor gave a rare interview with Songfacts in 2015, which I return to frequently for its insight and humor... and some inspirational musings on "talent"! (1)Speaking of albums to be released later this year... Would you be interested in doing something like a half-way point check-in on the channel - maybe in a community post - so we can see what's on each other's radars? Wrt Chuchu Reviews, I just saw Richard Hawley has a new one out! :D (2)He also has a Bandcamp (as "Jefferson Sparks") with lots of interesting projects - special shout out to "Golden Summer Morning" off his self-titled Duplex project - chef's kiss, as you say... 🤌 ✌
To be honest, I don't want to probe much deeper into the Primitive Radio Gods. I absolutely love White Hot Peach (awful album title, btw) but I don't really see how it could be improved upon. Sometimes being a one hit wonder is enough. Most might think that that early Phone Booth hit single is their biggest contribution to music. Nope. They have an entire underrated album of hits. And that's enough for me personally. Really loved that record! ❤️
@@tokyochuchu Haha, I like the title! Kinda mysterious... and vaguely uh, sexy? 🤔 Dunno, but sounds cool! 🤷♂ I remember trying to find out what it meant - and in a written interview, one of the band members gave a very confident but completely unintelligible response! 😆 I think I know what you mean re: "enough" - but if you should ever want the full experience of the White Hot Peach sessions, Ultraviolet Neighbors is the album for you! 👍 (It's on Bandcamp.) Strangely, I think what I perceive as your intuition regarding the rest of their discography is correct - it's a bit of an acquired taste after White Hot Peach. Jeff Sparks left the band, pursuing his own projects on Bandcamp as mentioned above, and the feel is quite different. There's definitely a lot of good stuff throughout, but it takes more effort, imo. It was buried in the post above (and now in this one, haha) - but were you planning on doing a halfway-through-the-year check-in on the channel? Maybe in community posts? Could be fun! ✌
Great fucking show man.
An articulate, passionate music fan digging through the weeds of time and its unsung gems. Such a nice break from “critics” sucking machine music cock as they follow the money and read their corporate scrips. Good on you and good luck. 👍
I’m glad we see eye to eye on Cub with the exceptions of Purple and Epilogue. Now I recommend How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me? by The Amazons. Another lesser known British Indie band which I find a lot better than a Band like Oasis or Blur. Their s/t debut is my favourite of theirs but as you like to nit pick at an album sounding all the same I recommend How Will I know… as it’s when they start adding more variety to their sound.
04… St. Vincent - All Born Screaming (2024)… Hell Is Near… Fist time with St. Vincent since your deep dive and to be honest I have not missed her, it’s all high quality with lots of elements that I like but ultimately it will not be something that I will listen to again… 3.5*
03… Primitive Radio Gods - White Hot Peach (2000)... Blood from a Beating Heart, Fading Out, Motor of Joy… It has its moments, it is enjoyable but unlike the St. Vincent album I would listen again … 4.25*
02… Wunderhorse - Cub (2022)… Butterflies, Purple, 17, Morphine, Epilgoue… First time hearing and to put it bluntly, I like it… 4.25*
01… Blancmange - Happy Families (1982)… I Can't Explain, Feel Me, I've Seen The Word, Wasted, Living On The Ceiling, Waves, Kind… In my opinion one of the best of its type and time… I would take this album over any by the likes of Pet Shop Boys or New Order but it is strange that I had completely forgotten about Blancmange… Great memories from my teens, one of the mothers favourite bands of the period, she had a small crush on Neil Arthur… I had a ticket to see them (82-83) but was ill on the night, so I sadly missed the concert.. Same thing happened with the B52’s a year or two later, the difference being the with B52’s it was not self-inflicted (afternoon bender)… 4.5*
I once went to a Bob Dylan concert but then bailed halfway through. But I did that because A; at the time I had no idea about Dylan's music outside of a best of compilation & B; that decision led me to a Japanese love hotel with a girl 17 years my junior. Sorry Bob. Horny Japanese college girls have a weird way of superceding your appeal.
@@tokyochuchu 😂🤣
Wow! 😯Glad you liked it! 😀
Sorry, this grew to be a bit long... 😆😬
A solid batch of recordings this week - all records I'd happily return to...
4. St. Vincent - All Born Screaming: The one I need to spend a bit more time with, but it's starting to click, with "Violent Times" & the title track highlights so far...
3. Blancmange - Happy Families: (Been pronouncing it "Blank Mange" this whole time in my head... saw that it was French, probably should have Googled before proceeding - but, damn, "Blank Mange" sounds so cool! 😂) Wasn't too sure about this one at first, but it's definitely grown on me. Endearing lyrics too - at first I thought they could use a little refinement, but their chummy bluntness has won me over...
2. Wunderhorse - Cub: Liked this one almost immediately - "Butterflies" gets stuck in my head a lot. Love those cutting harmonies... His voice weirdly reminds me of Mark Kozelek sometimes? I'm also looking forward to the new record!(1)
1. Primitive Radio Gods - White Hot Peach: Loved this record since I was first surprised to see it--Lazarus-like--at my local Tower Records... They were back! 😱 Then, of course, they promptly disappeared to their website (and eventually Bandcamp) which I wouldn't discover until quite a bit later...
Their first record was literally a demo tape Chris O'Connor recorded on his sampling keyboard back in 1991, with two tracks left over from his previous band The I-Rails' planned fifth record... (The 4 cassette-only albums were finally sent to a blogger in 2011, and then uploaded to RUclips - a big revelation for fans! Solid '80s jangle pop...) - and "Phone Booth" finally caught an executive's ear ca. 1994, leading to a barely refurbished (I think someone just upped the volume of the demo??) major label debut in 1996!
I personally find it charming, with some really sturdy songs and interesting lyrics as per usual, under the sometimes cluttered use of sampling - although the critics seemed to really hate it outside the hit! (It goes without saying, "Phone Booth" is an all-time classic for me...)
After that, Chris got the band back together, made White Hot Peach with his old songwriting partner Jeff Sparks, and then proceeded to the wilderness of the internet, releasing five more LPs as a three-piece minus Sparks(2)...
Regarding replay value, I must have listened to this record at least a dozen times leading up to this episode, thinking "Hmm... I wonder if he'll like it..." - so, yeah, guess I like it a lot, since I could easily listen a dozen more times! 😆This latest binge *did* improve the album for me in fact - finally unlocking the pleasures of "Whatever Wakes McCool", as I had previously glossed over it as perhaps too meandering. (The poppy section that emerges around 3:36 would later become "Three Small Blue Lights" on 2010's Out Alive - I love how "McCool" marches off into melting darkness from there...)
"Motor of Joy" has a slightly longer, more fleshed-out version called "Comrade Lovers" from their planned second album, Mellotron On! which I prefer, and would include on a best of... (Although I love "MoJ" too!)
WHP is either my first or second favorite LP by them - it's pretty much tied with the WHP outtakes collection, Ultraviolet Neighbors (a very fruitful session for them!)
Anyway, thanks for indulging my ramblings, and happy you dig it as much as I do! Always thought they deserved more love! :)
For consideration next time - hmm... I'm thinking Killing Joke's 2003 self-titled album! (The one with the clown on the cover...)
P.S. The bandleader Chris O'Connor gave a rare interview with Songfacts in 2015, which I return to frequently for its insight and humor... and some inspirational musings on "talent"!
(1)Speaking of albums to be released later this year... Would you be interested in doing something like a half-way point check-in on the channel - maybe in a community post - so we can see what's on each other's radars? Wrt Chuchu Reviews, I just saw Richard Hawley has a new one out! :D
(2)He also has a Bandcamp (as "Jefferson Sparks") with lots of interesting projects - special shout out to "Golden Summer Morning" off his self-titled Duplex project - chef's kiss, as you say... 🤌
✌
To be honest, I don't want to probe much deeper into the Primitive Radio Gods. I absolutely love White Hot Peach (awful album title, btw) but I don't really see how it could be improved upon. Sometimes being a one hit wonder is enough. Most might think that that early Phone Booth hit single is their biggest contribution to music. Nope. They have an entire underrated album of hits. And that's enough for me personally. Really loved that record! ❤️
@@tokyochuchu Haha, I like the title! Kinda mysterious... and vaguely uh, sexy? 🤔 Dunno, but sounds cool! 🤷♂
I remember trying to find out what it meant - and in a written interview, one of the band members gave a very confident but completely unintelligible response! 😆
I think I know what you mean re: "enough" - but if you should ever want the full experience of the White Hot Peach sessions, Ultraviolet Neighbors is the album for you! 👍 (It's on Bandcamp.)
Strangely, I think what I perceive as your intuition regarding the rest of their discography is correct - it's a bit of an acquired taste after White Hot Peach. Jeff Sparks left the band, pursuing his own projects on Bandcamp as mentioned above, and the feel is quite different. There's definitely a lot of good stuff throughout, but it takes more effort, imo.
It was buried in the post above (and now in this one, haha) - but were you planning on doing a halfway-through-the-year check-in on the channel? Maybe in community posts?
Could be fun!
✌