Desmond Dekker, 1941 - 2006

Desmond Dekker R.I.P. A handsome man with an even more beautiful voice. When he hits the high note on "be" in the line "so that every mouth can be fed" in "The Israelites", Man!, it gets to me every time. Anybody who complains, unjustly, that Jamaican music is all about rasta and ganja should at least give a listen to that song a couple of times. An extended tribute by Tom Breihan here.

Sex with the Au Pairs

It can perhaps be argued that punk's "anything is possible"-attitude really didn't come to life 'til after punk was dead. Most punk bands were getting increasingly reactionary in terms of their music and image, not to speak of lyrics, as 1977 drew towards 1978. But soon a good few bands came through, inspired by the movement but eager to take things further. Granted, many of these bands started with the original punkers, but it wasn't just the music that was fast in '77. Movements happened fast too. Post-punk it is, then.

I'm not going to write yet another history of punk. During the past few years, Mojo, Uncut, and countless other, mostly British, publications have been churning out one punk special issue after another. Much of this has been made relevant due to the rise of several punk and post punk-inspired bands recently. This has also resulted in a host compilations of music from the post punk era, plus re-issues of more or less classic albums. For which I am glad, of course. Among other things, I was finally able to get Television's fabulous "Little Johnny Jewel" on CD. I also discovered Medium Medium, whose "Hungry So Angry" always makes me want to shake the booty. Then there's been Liquid Liquid, DNA, ESG, Delta 5... the list goes on.

Strangely, though, there has been no sign of any re-issues by the Au Pairs. That is until now. Castle Music has released Stepping Out Of Line: The Anthology which collects their two albums Playing with a Different Sex and Sense and Sensuality, plus plus. As the titles of the two albums suggest, one of their main topics was sex: the lure of it, the danger of it, the guilt, the pressure, how to live up to expectations, how to perform. Their two girls + two guys line-up meant that their topic could be presented from both of the sex' view, and indeed many of their songs are built around the interchanging vocals of Lesley Woods and Paul Foad performing the lyrics almost like a conversation. The staccato guitars signal the anxiety while Jane Munro's bass and Pete Hammond's drums pump out danceable rhythms that take the role of temptation. "Come Again" from Playing... is their shining moment, a view into a relationship strained by the expectations of sex.

Yes thank you, I got one
Yes it was nice, yes we should go to sleep now
Yes, yes it was fine
We must, we must do it again sometime
We must - yes, but I'm tired
Cum again, wot, I need to
shit, I forgot to put my cap in...

(Mp3 courtesy of Rockin Rina'sWomen of 1970's Punk ).

True

"Christ but that guitar breakdown in "Floating Boy" is sweet."

And so is the new Dixie Chicks.

Is you is or is you ain't a racist/rockist

I'm very busy these days, so I don't have time to pitch in with my view on whether Stephen Merrit is a racist or not for not liking rap. (But I may have a say soon).

Nor do I have any time to comment on the ever-returning theme of rockism v. popism, other than to say that this article by Jody Rosen is one of the more insightful views on the topic I've read.

And speaking of rockism, Scott Walker is a rockist hero, his new album receiving praise from all over the place. Except for Mike Powell here. Thing is, Scott Walker looks cool, he wears sunglasses, sings in a deep voice, and surrounds himself with an aura of mystique. As well as he writes (most of) his own songs. For some critics, this seems to be enogh to signify that he is more eh...valuable than, say, Frank Sinatra. Old Blue Eyes rarely shunned the limelight, nor did he write his own songs, but I'll play "Strangers in the Night" over most of Scott Walker's output anytime.

Tired of Being Sexy

Had they arrived a year or two ago, Brazilian seven-piece Cansei de Ser Sexy would probably have been labeled as dance-punk, but they're only "punk" in-so-far as their music is jumpy. Their myspace-site maintains that they sound like "a band". But, yes, they are dance in their use of synthesizers for beats, melody and texture, and also because their music is, you know, danceable. The other elements are closer to guitar-pop (or 90's"indie"). At any rate they are FUN. And although their English occasionally leaves something to be desired, it's more than efficient enough to have a dig at pretentious artists ("lick lick lick my art-tit, suck suck suck my art hole"), as well as nailing Paris Hilton's lingo ("do you like the beach, bitch?"). And when they ask me "do you wanna drink some alcohol?", my answer is most certainly "YES". They may be tired of being sexy, but they're not tired of having fun.

(The album, Cansei de Ser Sexy, is to be released on July 12 by Sub Pop Records).

Grant McLennan, 1958-2006

This is just too sad. Grant McLennan, co-founder of that utterly terrific group the Go-Betweens, sadly passed away in his sleep on Saturday 6th of May, 2006. There is a nice obituary on the band's official web site. The Go-Betweens have been one of the most astonishingly consistent purveyors of sophisticated and intelligent pop since the early eighties. Grant will be greatly missed.