Sitars, theremin and mellotron, backwards guitar, phasing and fuzz, fringes and mohawks, paisley, black, velvet and leather, feedback, bass and drone, beads, berets and safety-pins, Shindig! and Creem, 3 chord wonders, teenage symphonies and snarl, Rickenbacker, Farfisa and 4-track recorders... onstage at CBGB's, Max's Kansas City or the Trip, the Roundhouse, the 100 Club or the Crystal Ballroom, Catcher's, Big Daddy's or the Squatters Arms.... and the Cat and the Brat on 3D Radio!
Three D Radio announcer, MeganCat (up until recently with her husband, the late Peter Brat)lives in "The BratHaus" a rural seaside home about 100km from Adelaide on South Australia's scenic Fleurieu Peninsula. Veteran musician Peter, and artist/musician Megan, were long-time DJs onThree D Radio 93.7fm, Adelaide's eclectic independent music station. Together Peter & Megan, known as "The Cat and The Brat" created this blog to allow listeners to review the playlists of their radio show, "Technicolour Dreaming", watch clips of selected songs and simply join them in the enjoyment of their favourite music... psychedelia, 60's garage, surf, punk/post-punk, pop, folk-rock, glam, 'Krautrock', goth, 80's electro... and much more!
But The Cat is carrying on the tradition, with guest co-presenters, and "Technicolour Dreaming" will continue in the same format, drawing from the huge "Cat & Brat" music collection, with the addition of new releases and reissues to keep things current. The Brat is hugely missed, but the show must go on, as he wanted...
We’re deeply saddened by the passing of Peter Staben, aka Peter Brat, influential and much loved presenter of Technicolour Dreaming and Obscured By… and member of The Brats and Rashamra. Peter passed away Thursday, July 16 2015 surrounded by his family. Rest in peace our friend, you will be sorely missed. See http://www.threedradio.com/vale-peter-staben/ for a bio written by Megan Cat on Peter's colourful life. Many thanks to Harry for filling in and keeping the show going during this time. Where to from here? The show shall continue, and the Cat looks set to return. Watch this space. RIP Peter Brat.
As you may have heard, mutually agreed changes are afoot with the shows. This week's Technicolour Dreaming and Obscured By... are the last in the current format. As from January 1 2013, the two shows will be combined into one, in the Tuesday 2-4pm (Adelaide time) timeslot that till now was occupied by Obscured By... It will now be a musical combination of the shows as well - psych, surf, punk etc etc, new and old, as you've come to know and love. Obscurities and 60s Australian rock won't be forgotten either. The new show will usually be hosted by The Cat & The Brat, with Michael Hunter joining in as needs be! However - we're thinking it needs a new name to go with the other changes; something memorable and appropriate to the styles played. Because that's usually the hardest part of the process, any suggestions will be welcome! Please just put any such ideas as a comment to this post. If we go with a suggestion from here, the lucky winner will get to listen to the show for free!! (OK yes, that's the best we can do, but think of the bragging rights too...) In any case, keep listening Tues 2 to 4, Three D Radio 93.7FM and streaming all over the web!
On this final edition of
‘Obscured by...’ in its current format, all three "dots" were joined by Yours Truly, a duo comprising Ken Stewart (Urban Guerillas) and local performer David Robinson, chatting and playing live in the studio.
Also featured were some tracks from the 3CD compilation which accompanies
Julian Cope’s new tome “Copendium”.... Rock Hudson rocked us (gently) ...Swedish
psych legends Baby Grandmothers’ only single during their long career (and they
went to Finland to make & release it!).... Electric Moon’s Germanic
spacerock drone, some Dirty Filthy Mud and Kak with Mothers Love.... and everything else listed below! We’ll
be back on the first day of 2013 with a new format show, but with more similarities than differences to what has gone before!
Rev. Black & the
Rockin’ V’s – Sugar Train(7”single b-side [to Down to the
Last 500] 1968 Australia)
Quinn – Mighty
Quinn [Dylan/Manfred Mann cover](7”single 1969 Aust.)
Phil Jones & the
Unknown Blues – If I Had a Ticket(7”single 1966 Aust.)
What did the penultimate show in the current format have in store? Well, there were folky Beatles covers and some rather lengthy tracks by Godley & Creme and Robert Wyatt (or a previously unreleased extended version in the latter case). There was some rare "prog pop" for the want of a better term, from a little known 60s Boston band with the wonderful name of Phluph. Also, brand new Scott Walker and a Market Square track yet to see release. Mask featured ex-Curved Air singer Sonja Kristina in a different format. And... the rest is as mentioned below, painstakingly prepared by Michael Hunter & Cat and Brat.
Steve & the Board
– Little Miss Rhythm’n’Blues(‘Steve & the Board... and the Giggle Eyed
Goo’ LP 1966 Sydney, Australia)
Dave’n’Lee – I
Can See the Colours of the Butterfly(7”single 1969 Aust.)
Thursday’s Children
– It’s Love(unreleased single,
recorded 1970 Brisbane, Aust. – taken from ‘A
Magical Mystery Tour : the David Fraser Tapes 1967-71’ compilation 2001
Aust.)
Trevor McNamara –
Joseph Blackwell(‘Yeah Captain’ LP 1969 Adelaide, Aust.)
Phluph – Dr
Mind(‘Phluph’ LP 1968 Boston, USA)
Phluph – Lovely
Lady(‘Phluph’ LP 1968 Boston, USA)
the Galileo 7 –
The Man Who Wasn’t There(‘Staring at the Sound’ LP 2012 UK)
the Higher State
– I Just Pretend(7”single 2012 UK)
XTC – Blame the
Weather (7”single b-side [to Senses Working Overtime] 1982 UK – taken
from ‘Rag & Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts andLeftovers’ compilation 1990 UK)
Mask – Blue
Words(‘Heavy Petal: The Tenebrous Odyssey of Jack & Virginia’ 2006 UK)
Suns of Arqa –
Tomorrow Never Knows [Beatles cover](‘Solar
Activity 1979-2001’ anthology 2001 UK)
Sealing Smoke –
Rubber Rapper(unreleased single,
recorded 1970 Memphis, USA – taken from ‘Feeling
High: the Psychedelic Sound of Memphis’ compilation 2012 USA)
The new collection of "Antipodean" Nuggets CDs is still proving to be very plunderable, and so they began and concluded this week's Obscured By..., hosted by a solo Michael Hunter. In between was the expected mix of old and new / near and far - and the just a little odd. For the latter, look no further than Jonathan & Darlene Edwards (the less-talented alter egos of Jo Stafford & Paul Weston) deconstructing I Am Woman. Some fine Greek pop and a frenzied accordion-led Purple Haze by Svetlyo Zhilev added to the mix, along with a near-half hour long track from the new Neil Young with Crazy Horse CD! US singer/songwriter/cellist Ben Sollee, who will be a guest on the show in mid-January, showed what he's capable of - and the rest of the musical menu can be savoured below...
The Missing Links – Wild About You (7”single 1966 Australia – taken from ‘Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts 1965-1967’ compilation CD 2012, Australia)
The Creatures - Ugly Thing (7”single 1967 Aust. – taken from ‘Down Under Nuggets...’) The Lost Souls - This Life Of Mine (7”single 1966 Aust. – taken from ‘Down Under Nuggets...’) The In-Sect - Let This Be A Lesson (7”single 1966 Aust, Adelaide – taken from ‘Down Under Nuggets...’) Toni McCann - No (7”single 1965 Aust. – taken from ‘Down Under Nuggets...’) Neil Young with Crazy Horse - Driftin' Back (‘Psychedelic Pill’ CD 2012, Canada)
Ben Sollee - Electrified ('Inclusions' CD 2011, US)
Elena - Poso Thelo (How I) (7" single 1972, Greece - taken from 'Plato's Trip' compilation CD 2011 Spain) The Daltons - O Trellos (Mad) (7" single 1972, Greece - taken from 'Plato's Trip') Elpida - Koita To Fos (Look At The Light) (7" single 1974, Greece - taken from 'Plato's Trip')
Vassilis Dimitriu- Omologia (Confession) (7" single b-side 1974, Greece - taken from 'Plato's Trip') Flied Egg - I'm Gonna See My Baby Tonight ('Dr Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine' LP 1972, Japan, taken from reissue CD) Keith Lynn, The SPMs and Byron Lee & The Dragonaires - My Sweet Lord ('Reggae Tribute To The Beatles' CD 1999, Jamaica) Svetlyo Zhilev - Purple Haze (provenance unknown, c2008, Bulgaria)
Barat Dangdut - Terpopuler '95 - Hotel California ('Ola Ole Ole' CD c1995, Indonesia) Jonathan & Darlene Edwards - I Am Woman (7'single 1979, US)
Tully - Syndrone ('Sea Of Joy' orig 1971, taken from 2012 reissue CD, Australia) Tiny Tim - The Other Side ('God Bless Tiny Tim' LP 1968, US)
Airlord - Earthborn Pilgrim ('Clockwork Revenge' LP 1976, NZ/Aust) Anima - Feel Like A Bone ('Sturmischer Himmel' LP 1971, taken from reissue CD Germany) Noosha Fox - Judy Blue (unreleased track c 2006?, Aust/UK)
Velociraptor - I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night ('Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations Of The First Psychedelic Era' compilation CD 2012, Aust)
Normally we wouldn’t play quite so
many songs from a pair of albums, but the 40th anniversary re-issue
of the original 1972 Nuggets compilation has
prompted a couple of Australian releases to join the on-going series and
thankfully didn’t just contain ‘the hits’ or ‘oft-comped’... so we felt free to
plunder! Of particular interest were the ‘versions’
by current bands... some interesting interpretations indeed [though why so very
few bands from outside the Sydney/Melbourne axis, hmmm?] To balance this outpouring
of Australiana, we threw in a bunch of Swedish psych/freakbeat singles from the
60’s, an obscure Luke Haines recording, a 17
minute Neil Young track from his new album
[yes, he’s hardly ‘obscure’, but well, who else but
we three DOTS would play such long songs on
radio?], plus a brand-new demo from garage/surf kings Dieselwitch...
... so here is the
playlist...
the Moods – Rum
Drunk(7”single 1966 Melbourne,
Australia – taken from ‘Down Under
Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts 1965-1967’ compilation 2012
Australia)
Derek’s Accent – Ain’t Got No Feelin’(7”single 1966 Sydney, Aust. – taken from
‘Down Under Nuggets...’)
the Bee Gees –
Like Nobody Else(rec. 1966,
released on ‘Inception/Nostalgia’ double-LP
anthology 1970 Germany – taken from ‘Down
Under Nuggets...’)
Barrington Davis
– Raining Teardrops(7”single 1967
Sydney, Aust. – taken from ‘Down Under
Nuggets...’)
the Sunsets – Hot
Generation [soundtrack version](rec. 1967 for film but unreleased until
‘Down Under Nuggets...’)
the Straight Arrows
– Lies [Knickerbockers cover](‘Nuggets:
Antipodean Interpolations of the First Psychedelic Era’ compilation 2012
Australia)
Pond – Hey Joe [Leaves cover](‘Nuggets:
Antipodean Interpolations ...’)
Montero – My
World Fell Over [Sagittarius cover](‘Nuggets:
Antipodean Interpolations ...’)
King Gizzard &
the Lizard Wizard – Open My Eyes [Nazz
cover](‘Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations ...’)
Good Weather For An
Airstrike – the Beginning of the Rest of our Lives [reprise with
Inachus](‘A Summer’ 2011 Scotland, UK)
Neil Young with Crazy
Horse – Ramada Inn(‘Psychedelic Pill’ 2012 USA)
the Hounds –
Summertime(7”single b-side [to Portrait of my Love] 1969 Sweden)
the Bootwigs –
Outside Civilization(7”single 1966
Sweden)
the Most – This
is our Family(7”single 1967
Katrineholm, Sweden)
the Moderations –
Hard to Forget(7”single 1966
Malmo, Sweden)
the Shakers –
Sing This All Together [Rolling Stones
cover](7”single 1968
Gothenburg, Sweden)
the Stockings –
Good Luck(7”single 1981 Perth,
Australia)
Ross Ryan – the
Ballad of the Double Bay Batman(7”single b-side [to Hello
Stranger] 1981 Aust.)
TNT – 99th
Floor [Moving Sidewalks cover](‘TNT:
Mod Psych Power Pop from Central Pennsylvania – the Complete Studio Recordings 1974-76’ anthology 1995 USA)
Pandora – Space
Amazon(rec. 1974 – released on ‘Space Amazon’ 1997 USA)
Gina X – Drive My
Car [Beatles cover](12”single 1984 Germany)
Luke Haines – The
Upper Classes(rec. live at the BBC
1994 – taken from ‘Luke Haines Is Dead’
anthology 2005 UK)
Dieselwitch – The
Pit of the Morning(demo - November 2012Adelaide, Australia)
Perhaps it was the weather, but the majority
of today’s show came from the currently cooler climes of the northern part of
the planet where it is approaching winter, whilst here in Adelaide it was a very warm 37 degrees C - yet still the
music brought to you by the Cat & the Brat was
hot regardless of locale! We went from
New Zealand via Australia with the Cleves
and heard SteveKipner’s
Tin Tin before heading over to Europe with Deuter and venturing into the Swedish psychedelic
underground of the late 80’s with S.T.Mikael before
returning to the UK and the Human League. It
would not of course be Obscured by...without a few ‘odd’
tracks which this week included songs about puppies, both dead and alive, plus Nico’s take on all things Germanic. We also investigated
US punk/new wave from, primarily, Boston and Cleveland and then, dropping back
a decade, looked mainly at the Californian hotspot which gave us so many great
bands like the Electric Prunes and the Turtles, before finishing with a Davy Jones from the UK who was not a Monkee, but instead a certain Mr David Jones who later traded under the surname
of ‘Bowie’...
So far so good, so now
check out the full playlist.....
the Sundowners –
Baby Jane [Applejacks cover](7”single 1964 Auckland, New Zealand)
the Feelgoods –
Le Soliel(7”single 1966 Australia)
the Cleves –
Don’t Turn Your Back(7”single
b-side [ to Sticks & Stones] 1969
NZ/Aust.)
Tin Tin – She
Said Ride(‘Tin Tin’ LP 1970 Aust.)
Buffalo Drive –
Morning Good Day(7”single 1972
Adelaide, Aust.)
Stafford Bridge –
Passing Lines(7”single b-side [ to Song for a Blind Man] 1972 Aust.)
S.T. Mikael – Bom
Bom Mahedev(‘Visions of a Trespasser’ LP 1989 Sweden)
the Human League
– Dreams of Leaving(‘Travelogue’ LP 1980 UK)
Locomotive – Mr
Armageddon (7”single 1969 UK)
Napoleon XIV –
Photogenic, Schizophrenic You(‘They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha Ha!’
LP 1966 USA)
Odgen Edsel –
Dead Puppies(‘Stuffed’ LP 1977 Nebraska, USA)
Walter Steding –
Hound Dog [Elvis cover](‘Walter
Steding’ LP 1980 USA)
John Cale –
Heartbreak Hotel [Elvis cover](‘June
1st, 1974’ live LP 1974 UK/France)
Nico – Das Leid
Der Deutschen(‘The End’ LP 1974 UK)
the Lyres – I
want to help(7”single 1983 Boston,
USA – taken from ‘DIY –Massachusetts Avenue: The BostonScene1975-1983’ compilation 1993 USA)
Neats – 6(‘Propeller
Product’ EP 1981 Boston, USA)
Thrills – Hey!
[not another face in the crowd](7”single 1979 Boston, USA)
Harry Toledo &
the Rockets – Busted Chevrolet(‘Harry Toledo & the Rockets’
EP 1977 New York, USA)
Pere Ubu – Final
Solution(orig. 7”single 1976 Cleveland,
USA – taken from ‘Max’s Kansas City’
compilation LP 1976 USA)
the Mirrors [aka the Styrenes] – Drano in my Veins(demo 1975 Cleveland, USA – taken from ‘Babylon’s Burning: the Rough’n’Ready Rise of
Punk Rawk 1973-1978’ boxset compilation 2007 UK)
the Electric Eels
– Jaguar Ride(demo 1975 Cleveland,
USA)
DMZ – You’re
Gonna Miss Me [Roky Erikson cover](‘DMZ’
EP 1977 Boston, USA)
the Trillium –
Queen Alice(7”single 1968
Rochester, New York, USA)
the Lexington Avenue
– The Bird Collector(7”single 1968
Canada)
the Electric Prunes
– Hideaway(‘Underground’ LP 1967 California, USA)
the Turtles –
Grim Reaper of Love(7”single 1966
California, USA)
Nunchez’s – Open
Up Your Mind(7”single 1966
Chicago, USA)
W.C.Fields Memorial
Electric String Band – Hippy Elevator Operator(7”single 1966 Los Angeles, USA)
Davy Jones & the
Lower Third – You've Got a Habit of Leaving (7”single 1965 London, UK)
Ray Brown &
Moonstone – Flight of the Gulls 2(‘Mad House’ LP 1970 Aust.)
Uz Jsme Doma –
Uprostred Slov [in the middle of words](‘Uprostred
Slov’ LP 1990 Czech Republic)
Acid Mothers Temple
& the Melting Paraiso UFO – Loved and Confused(‘Electric
Heavyland’ 2002 Japan)
Tony Burello –
There’s a New Sound(7”single 1953
USA)
Alpha Beta Fox –
Pins & Needles(CD-single 2012 Adelaide, Aust.)
Sparks – Lost
& Found(7”single b-side [to Amateur Hour] 1974 USA)
Eighteenth Day of May
– Eighteen Days(‘Eighteenth Day of May’ 2006 UK)
the 23rd
Turnoff – Michael Angelo(7”single 1967 Liverpool, UK)
Bill Fay –
Screams in the Ears(7”single b-side
[to Some Good Advice] 1967 London,
UK)
Amil Byleckie –
Mistress Seeks Property(‘Amil Is Personal’ 2004 Phoenix, USA)
Amil Byleckie –
Watch Me Watch You(‘Amil Is Personal’ 2004 Phoenix, USA)
the Doll –
Trash(‘Streets’ compilation LP 1977 UK)
Tubeway Army –
That’s Too Bad(7”single 1978 UK)
the Lurkers –
Ain’t Got a Clue(7”single 1978 UK)
Amil Byleckie –
Are You Cruel?(‘Amil Is Personal’ 2004 Phoenix, USA)
the Dandy Warhols
– Cherry Bomb [Runaways cover](‘Take
It Or Leave It – A Tribute to the Queens of Noise: The Runaways’ compilation
double-LP 2011 USA)
the Otherside –
Haunted House(‘The Otherside’ EP 1985
Utrecht, Holland)
Les
Thugs – Femme Fatale(‘Femme Fatale’ demo
1984 Angers, France – taken from ‘Road Closed: 1983-1999’ anthology 2003 Belgium)
the
Surfadelics – Bad Little Girl(‘Bad Little Girl’ EP 1986 UK)
Les Klepstones – She’ll Always Be Mine [Customs cover](recorded 1985 Orleans, France – taken
from ‘Battle Of The Garages, Vol. 4: Tomorrow The World!’ compilation LP 1986 USA)
the Zodiac/Cosmic Sounds – Taurus: the Voluptuary(‘The Zodiac/Cosmic Sounds’ LP 1967 USA)
Zendik –
I’m So Tired Again(‘Hair’ LP 1969 Holland)
Timebox – Gone
is the Sad Man(7”single b-side [to Girl Don't Make Me Wait]
1968 UK)
With
all three DOTS on board again this week, it was
another excursion into the absorbingly odd world of
rare, forgotten and overlooked music that we so enjoy sharing with
you... music such as an unreleased Gary Young
[Daddy Cool et al] track or a bunch of
exceedingly obscure 1960’s singles from bands such as Adelaide’s Bentbeaks or the UK’s David
McNeil, not to mention the plethora of B-sides
(often superior to the A-sides!) from the
likes of the Gibsons and Vivien Goldman (the dub version of which we played
recently). And let’s not forget the Stranglers’
Swedish language version of “Sweden (All Quiet on
the EasternFront)” and other obscure
delights from faraway places such as tracks from Hungarian band Omega’s 1968 debut LP, Germany’s Emtidi and Japan’s wittily (?) named Flied Egg.
Ah yes, business as usual here in “Obscured by...”–land!
..... and here is the playlist.....
the Dark Ages –
Cadillac [Vince Taylor cover](7”single b-side [to Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day] 1965 New Zealand)