Not Random Today

Today isn't a random ten for listening. I bought two CDs last week, one I've been wanting for awhile and one newly released, and I've been listening to those two quite a bit since then. So I'm doing a complete play through of the two for today's "Random 10".

First up is the one I've been wanting for awhile - 16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens. I picked up the "Extended" version, which is remastered, adds 3 video tracks and adds a second disc of even more music.

If I had to pick a genre of music as my favorite, it would be music like the Go-Betweens do so well. Maybe you'd call it "Power Pop", or "New Wave Rock", whatever. Famous practitioners that I like include The Cure, The Smiths, The Police. Other not so famous ones include Swans, Hoodoo Gurus, The Cranes, and Yo La Tengo. Great hooks, impeccable craftsmanship, and intelligent lyrics are all common to these bands. And while I've been a fan of this genre forever, and a Australia-phile from way back, I'm have to admit to having never heard of The Go-Betweens before about six months ago.

I've been using Rhapsody.com as an online radio station for quite some time, because both my former ISP (Speakeasy.net) and my current ISP (Comcast) have it as a free perk. It's great to listen to music sans commercials and talk, and I hear lots of cool groups I've never heard of before. Another cool thing you can do is to set up your own radio stations, and it plays music based upon your choices. You can either listen to a radio station based upon a particular artist, or set up your own by giving it up to 10 artists. It matches up the songs and plays a selection from their pretty vast library from these and similiar artists. For instance, I have a station called "Power Pop" that has:

My "Power Pop" Rhapsody radio station
• Yo La Tengo
• The The
• The Smithereens
• Mission of Burma
• Hoodoo Gurus
• The Chills
• James
• The Go-Betweens
• A3
• Silencers

Well, I think it was while I was listening to their shortlived New Zealand Pop radio station, when this song kept showing up that I absolutely adored. It turned out to be "Clouds" by The Go-Betweens. Further research showed it came from an album considered by many to be one of the seminal albums of the 1980s, described using words like "superb", "breathtaking" and "nothing less than searing", by "[a]rguably Australia's greatest pop group ever". Not sure how I missed these guys, but with words of praise like that, it immediately went to the top of my extensive "Want to Buy" list.

And it is as good as advertised. One brilliant track after another. One of those CDs that I find hard to pick just a couple songs to rip. They had a minor alt-radio hit with the song Streets of Your Town and that is certainly highlight of the CD, along with the aforementioned Clouds. I guess the band members were going through some messy inter-band romances, very much like Fleetwood Mac during their Rumors recording session. And so the songs alternate between highs and lows of romance in a wonderfully intricate manner, all backed with great rhythms and solid guitar playing, along with Amanda Brown's intriguing backing vocals and violin playing.

The music videos are good too. There are three, including two versions (Australian and US) for Streets of Your Town and one for Was There Anything I Could Do?, another winner from the album, about a lover leaving him and going 'round the bend:

She went out with her paint box
Paints the chapel blue
She went out with her matchsticks
Torched a carwash too

And the bonus second disc has even more sonic goodness. The remixed singles version of the album opener, Love Goes On! really rocks, and then there are several nearly finished songs, some demos, and a live song. This is one great CD and one that will get played alot in the future. I'm going to really give it some credit and listen to it on the stereo system tonight. 100 watts of clean Marantz sound, going through some serious Phase Technology Teatro 7.5 speakers.

Blue air I crave, blue air I breathe
They once chopped my heart the way you chop a tree.
Told to equate achievement with pain
I took their top prize and paid them back with rain.

Visions of blue
I'm angry I'm wise and you.
You're under cloudy skies.

My new purchase is the latest from the w�nderkind, Kate Bush. Her story is simply amazing, and I've been hook on Kate ever since her first album, Kick Inside. I had a co-worker who was an true Kate Bush fanatic, who knew and did everything Kate. Still does, I guess!-)

Her music is often a translucent passageway to another world, intimate and warm. Her Cloudbusting song, and the accompanying video, is a true classic. I saw on AllMusic that Cloudbusting, the 12in version, was released on a cool sounding 4 disc set called Back to the 80's: The Long Versions, which is unfortunately out of print and hard to find. A real stickler for production, Aerial, a two disc release, is her first CD in over ten years, and is well worth the wait.

Disc One is a collection of "domestic" songs, with her waxing poetic and beautifully over everything from her son, the number pi and even a washing machine. It must be an incredible freedom to have the ability to express yourself in song. I would surely love to write an elegiac to my daughters that is 10% of the heartfelt beauty she expresses in Bertie. And on the flip side, it must be quite a release to be able to really dig at a person like Sting did when he wrote Every Breathe You Take about his ex-girlfriend!

Bertie

Sweet kisses
Three wishes
Lovely Bertie

You bring me so much joy
And then you bring me
More Joy

Mrs. Bartolozzi

And all your shirts and jeans and things
And put them in the new washing machine
Washing machine
Washing machine
I watched them go 'round and 'round
My blouse wrapping itself in your trousers
Oh the waves are going out
My skirt floating up around my waist

Disc Two is a full story arc, covering a Day In The Life, as it were. From early morning (Prelude) til late at night (Nocturn), it once again brings out the beauty in everyday life. Her voice is a breathtaking instrument, and the arrangements are impeccable. All in all, another winner, and one that will bear repeated listening, and is also looking for the full stereo treatment, as I've listened to each of my new CDs only on my computer and in the car. I sometimes will put on the stereo downstairs while I am working, and just crank the volume to 11.

It's good to get two winners. Recently, my CD purchases have been disappointing. Despite the ability to play songs directly from the CD on Rhapsody, I still haven't really enjoyed the entire discs from most of my recent purchases, just enjoying the cut I bought it for. But these two (really four!) CDs are enjoyable from start to finish.