blind-fitter

Funnily enough, I posted the lyrics to "My Girl" on "Random Lyrics", but an hour and half ago. It'd been going through my head all morning. A great song...such pathos.

Two "Christmas Songs" threads on the go at once and still no mention of the legendary, best 'upbeat Christmas song of all' "Merry Christmas Everybody" by Slade. What's going on? (Altogether now....) "Are you hanging up your stocking on your wall...?"

Really? I think it sucks hugely. The cost of the cocaine snorted by the "contributing artists" at the recording session coulda kept an African country in water for 6 months. Quite alot of the folks involved in that record epitomised the decadence and lack of political insight that characterised the UK music scene of the early 80s,(as well as the greed & self-interest prevalent in UK society at large in "Thatcher's Britain") The lyrics to the song are inane, patronising tosh, and sung (largely)by a bunch of insincere t0$$ers. The new one can't be any worse than the original, if you ask me.

I'd like to be in here, unless I'm too late? Don't know how it all works though. I know one of the answers...do I just post it on the boards, or does it all happen "in secret" or what??

With due respect, and I'll have to stretch every sinew not to sound patronising here, you were born in what, 1990, yet you are having a poke at Led Zeppelin on the grounds that they are "commercial". Since they came around some 20 years before you were born, I wonder how you are in a position to make such a lofty judgement. Are you able to put things into their historical context ,or do you prefer to just parrot some rubbish that somebody else told you? I mean they may seem fairly commercial now, but were they at the time? (I think not, but I was but a toddler at the time) And, even if they were commercial, which is debatable, So What? "Your 2 Cents" are worth much less than that, because your "opinion" is half-formed, ill-informed and you make no effort to sustain it with any valid evidence. Recently, I had to swat some nincompoop youth, who told me "you can't call yourself a punk and like the Sex Pistols, because they're just corporate punk". I'm not going into all that again, but this is a similar situation. It's worth getting yourself some education, before venturing your opinion, otherwise you just end up looking STOOPID. (We've all done it) P.S. I've no axe to grind for Led Zep; they don't mean diddly squat to me.

Someone very dear to me recently "went off on one", implicating me in such heinous crimes as "smoking" and "pratting about on the Internet till all hours" to the detriment of my family responsibilities, not to mention my personal health and hygiene.(This even though I spend the rest of my life raising her kids, cooking, laundering, shopping, etc) I would like to make up a tape for her , to listen to as she drives to and from work. Can anyone suggest songs that might convince her (possibly even subliminally)of my contrition, good intentions and human worth?

They're probably really nice chaps, and they used to be a really good band: "The Holy Bible" in particular, is a great album. "Everything Must Go" was the last of theirs that did anything for me. After that it seems to me, its been a case of "If You Tolerate This, Then "Plodding Mediocrity" Will Be Next". :sleepy: ("The Masses Against The Classes" excepted) They're tricky buggers to meet though, aren't they?

Sorry Daslied. Reading your post and re-reading mine, I realise I've probably done you a disservice. I hope I haven't caused offence, though I would understand if I have. You quite rightly pointed out the significant role of MC5, but then I went and focussed on some fairly trivial points of disagreement. It's a fault I have... I think we all interpret johnnyguitar's original question from a slightly different angle, y'know? That's partly why I avoided contributing to this thread for so long....Too big a question: impossible to answer... Anyway, sorry again.

Diggs, a good point well made. Wish I could be as concise.. Also, what about The Ruts: "Babylon's Burning"?

Can't really compete with your tales of woe, Diggs. I was once stood quite close to the singer of Yip Yip Coyote, (Fifi, I think her name was), but I was too shy to speak to her. Wattie of the Exploited once stood on my foot in a crowded Edinburgh "nitespot", but I was too cowardly to challenge him about it. Or the fact that he danced to New Order.... I once missed the chance of meeting the Manic Street Preachers, on the grounds that I'd never heard of them (at the time), and went to see the UK Subs in Doncaster instead. Am I getting warm?

So AuntAcid was banned?? Pray, do tell what for??

Jarvis Cocker of Pulp (Don't mind me, I'm going for a "Full House")

"True" by Spandau Ballet. Wuuuuuuuuuurgh! I briefly shared house with a bloke, yes, a bloke, who listened to this over and over , without ever seeming to realise they were a girl's band...

I'd pay good money to see U2 taking the Stairway to Heaven.....

When I lived in France (1985/86) The Lords were enormously popular, much moreso than over here. But I'm a bit disturbed by your reference to Killing Joke, probably my favourite band of all time. Despite going "down the toilet" in the mid/late 80s, Killing Joke have recovered to put out a series of excellent albums, and can still cut the mustard live, if my recent experience is anything to go by. Of course, it's difficult when you used to be "The Best Live Band On Earth".

The first of your statements (about The Pistols) has been picked apart elsewhere, so I won't bother with that one. (Huge sigh of relief all round??) The Police were only part of the punk movement if "cutting your hair short and dyeing it blonde" qualifies as punk, (though their first, very rare / collectable single "Fall Out", pre-Andy Summers, is "a bit punky") Mind you , Stewart Copeland was well into punk stuff, even into the 80s when everyone else said Punk was Dead. I remember an end of year feature in Smash Hits magazine in which he voted Chelsea's "Evacuate" as his single of the year. Also, as part of his interest in "movie-making", he filmed a tour of The Anti-Nowhere League and a few other "third-wave" punk bands, which he made into a documentary. His brother Miles ran a label "Illegal" which released quite alot of punk stuff (Lords of The New Church, Menace, Chron Gen, Chelsea) as well as Wall of Voodoo's splendid "Mexican Radio" and the first single by The Alarm. But The Police, punk? Only by the stretchiest stretch of the imagination. Blondie? A fantastic, legendary band, yes. But hard to describe them as significant in the late 70s British punk movement, for reasons to obvious to go into. Elvis Costello temporarily epitomised "New Wave", but punk? No. I did like the pay-off line about Sting though!

Well, no. You wouldn't describe Blur as punk. But the original question has two parts. If you take the (not unreasonable) position that The Kinks are the "forefathers of punk" as Miamisammy did, then it's understandable to go on to suggest that they might be proud of Blur, whose debt to The Kinks (in terms of "influnces drawn upon") is immense. Another band / artist, similarly influenced by The Kinks, but who are more closely more identifiable with the UK "punk- rock / youth explosion" would have to be THE JAM / Paul Weller. I'm pretty sure The Kinks guys would have appreciated what The Jam were about.

"The Lords" were a pretty good band; I only saw them "live" the once, down in London. They certainly had "punk rock credentials" being a "super-group" of sorts. As well as Brian James of The Damned on guitar, they were Stiv Bator, formerly of The Dead Boys (vocals), Dave Treganna, ex-Sham 69 on bass and Nicky Turner from The Barracudas (drums). I only have one of their albums (eponymously titled) on vinyl. It has some great songs on it: "New Church", "Open Your Eyes", "Holy War". I remember as a "teen-punk", spending a Christmas voucher on the "New Church" single and feeling well chuffed. (That's "very pleased" round our neck of the woods). Thanks for reminding me about them. I'm off to go play the album now! P.S. Apparently Janmes and Treganna reformed the band earlier this century, but I haven't witnessed the results: the reunion may have fallen on its a*se for all I know...

Oh, absolutely, yeah.

On The Vapors: "Turning Japanese" Several times! Looks like it might be the "official favourite one-hit wonder of all time"

(Wouldn't want you to think I'm actually "recommending" this, but) how about The Spice Girls "Wannabe"? Personally I much prefer Sweet T & Jazzy Joyce "It's My Beat", but I wouldn't know how to get hold of this one nowadays (Its from early 90s)

johnny, I'm flattered that you think that explanation about "anal-retentive" might have been all my own work, rather than a simple "cut and paste" job. If you'd read it closely enough (or at all?), you might have noticed that I had the decency to admit to a degree of "anal-retentiveness", so there's really no need for you to rub it in (Oooh...err! Titter ye not..) But as it happens I do get constipation, and the attendant anguish of the old Chalfonts. Make something amusing out of that, if it makes you happy.

Eh?

What's this now? Spotting your own bloopers before I have a chance to respond?

Eddie Edwards: ski-jumper extraordinaire