Technicolour Dreaming

I seem to have a penchant for playing songs, albums, and even bands with extremely long titles - an occupational hazard when it comes to announcing them without tripping over my tongue. The prize for the longest title of a release this week (but only just) goes to one of Fruits De Mer's latest batch of coloured 7 inch's - "The Fruits de Mer Records Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (phew!), featuring three very different interpretations of the classic sci-fi TV show theme "Journey of the Sorcerer" (written by The Eagles, no less!) by Astralasia, The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies, and Icarus Peel. Another new one from FdM is Vibravoid's take on the Iron Butterfly classic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" - all 15 minutes' worth, handily split into two-parts, all the better to fit on a 7" (I only played Part 1, I'm sure much to the relief of some listeners!). A pre-release track from Elephant Stone's long-awaited album "Ship Of Fools" (due out in September) was a welcome teaser; and the brand-spanking new debut from Brisbane's Sacred Shrines, "Come Down From the Mountain" exceeded expectations. I wonder what's in store next week...??

Donovan - Season of the Witch  ("Sunshine Superman" LP 1966 UK)

Magic Bus - Cosmic Rays of Dawn  ("Transmission From Sogmore's Garden" 2014 Devon, UK)

Status Quo - Paradise Flat  ("Picturesque Matchstickable Messages From The Status Quo" LP 1968 London UK)

The Missing Souls - Sweet, Sweet Sadie  (7" single 2016 France)

Fire - Flies Like a Bird  ("The Magic Shoemaker" LP 1970 UK)

Sacred Shrines - Curious Chemistry  ("Come Down From the Mountain" 2016 Brisbane, Australia)

Lou Reed - Lady Day  ("Berlin" LP 1973 USA)

Icarus Peel - Catch Your Breath  ("Forget-Me-Not-Under-Pussy-Willow" LP 2016 [pre-release] Devon, UK)
Blue Giant Zeta Puppies - Journey of the Sorcerer  ("The Fruits de Mer Records Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 7" EP 2016 UK)

Cate Le Bon - I Was Born On The Wrong Day  ("Crab Day" 2016 Wales, UK)

Vibravoid - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida [Iron Butterfly]  (7" single 2016 Dusseldorf, Germany)

The Leaves - Dr Stone  ("Hey Joe" LP 1966, San Fernando Valley, USA)

Elephant Stone - Manipulator  ("Ship Of Fools" 2016 [pre-release] Montreal, Canada)

Del Shannon - I Think I Love You  ("The Further Adventures of Charles Westover" LP 1968 Michigan USA)

Velvet Illusions - Acid Head  (7" single 1967 Washington USA)

The Citradels - Love Bee (I Once Knew You)  ("The Citradels" 2011 Melbourne, Australia)

Sonny And Cher - It's Gonna Rain  (7" single [b-side to "I Got You Babe"] 1965)

The Fast Camels - Der Nazi Tea  ("The Magic Optician" 2007 UK)

Singapore Sling - Shithole Town  ("Psych Fuck" 2015 Reykjavík, Iceland)

The Turtles - Grim Reaper of Love  (7" single 1966 USA)

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapour - Highly Enchanting Eye  ("Desert Brain" 2016 Detroit, USA)

Coloured Clocks - Green Lights  ("Particle" 2016 Melbourne, Australia)

The Seeds - Tripmaker  ("A Web Of Sound" LP 1966 Los Angeles, USA)

Lord Gammonshire - The Uncivil Servant  ("Lord Gammonshire's Guide to Everyday Sounds" 2009 Bristol, UK)
Children of Leir - Shades  (digital single 2016, Leicester, UK)
Sun Mahshene - A Morphing Hydrogenous Bubble Exploding In Your Head Jam  ("On Blood" EP 2015 Dublin, Ireland)
Love - You Set the Scene  ("Forever Changes" LP 1967 Los Angeles, USA)

Astralasia - Journey of the Sorcerer  ("The Fruits De Mer Records Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 7" EP 2016 UK)

Technicolour Dreaming

I don’t know whether I was thinking on a subconscious level about Australia’s change of Prime Minister the previous evening, when making musical selections for the show, but the tracks by Scott Walker, The Lovetones, Jason Crest and Halasan Bazar & Tara King th. all seemed to fit the feel of the moment! I played a couple of recent Adelaide releases - Black Coral, whose EP, “The Big Nothing” came out in August, and the very new, very exclusive “Ya Dig?” EP by Snobby Oxalis; plus a good assortment of Melbourne bands featured also - Murlocs, Witch Hats, and the inimitable King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.  A great melody has always been a Technicolour Dreaming favourite, with tracks from The Left Banke, The Turtles, The Monkees  and The Story UK and Quilt all fitting the bill nicely, and proving that there are still bands today carrying on the tradition. Speaking of The Turtles, I’ve included a clip from the trailer of “Guide for the Married Man”, their second foray into the land of movie music, the first being a track for the 1966 movie “Out of Sight” a spoof of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." - look it up, it’s so bad it’s good!   

…so here’s the playlist for the show, with (a hell of a lot of) associated visuals…

The Lovetones - Genius     ("Meditations" 2006 Australia)

The Story UK - A Stone's Throw Away     ("A Joy Ride on Memory Lane" 2011 UK)

Scott Walker - The Old Man's Back Again [Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime]     ("Scott 4" LP 1969 UK)

Jason Crest - Black Mass     ( 7” single b-side [to “A Place in the Sun”] 1969 UK)

Snobby Oxalis - Kings of Seaford     ("Ya Dig? EP 2015 Adelaide, Australia)

Octopus Syng - It's Not a Coincidence     ("Reverberating Garden Number 7" 2014 Finland)

Black Coral - Chemical Reasoning     ("Big Nothing" EP 2015 Adelaide, Australia)

Halasan Bazar and Tara King th. - Below Your Deepest Expectations     ("8" 2014 Denmark/France)

The Turtles - Guide for the Married Man   (7” single 1967 USA)

and the trailer for the movie:

Sons of Hippies - The Soft Parade [the Doors]     ("A Psych Tribute to the Doors" 2014 Germany)

The Turtles - Chevrolet Camaro Commercial     ("Save the Turtles - Greatest Hits" compilation 2009 USA)

The Left Banke - Shadows Breaking Over my Head     (“Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina” LP 1967 USA)

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Paper Mache     (“Paper Mache Dream Balloon” LP 2015 Melbourne, Australia)

Lumerians - Burning Mirrors      (“Transmalinnia” 2011 Oakland, California USA)

Thee Oh Sees - Palace Doctor     (“Mutilator Defeated at Last” 2015 San Francisco, USA)

The Greek Theatre - Frozen Highway     (“Lost Out At Sea” LP 2014 UK)

Quilt - Eye of the Pearl     (“Held in Splendour” 2014 Boston USA)

July - The Way     (7” single b-side [to “Hello, Who’s There?” 1968 Ealing, London UK)

Momus - Poison boy friend     (7” single b-side [to “Right Hand Heart” 1988 Scotland, UK)

The Mystery Trend - Johnny Was a Good Boy     (7” single 1967 USA)

Terry Manning - Guess Things Happen That Way      (“Home Sweet Home” LP 1967 USA)

The Monkees - Daily Nightly [alternative version]     (“Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd” LP  1967 USA)

Witch Hats - Slow Eyes     (“Pleasure Syndrome” 2011 Melbourne, Australia)

Peanut Butter Conspiracy - It's a Happening Thing     (“The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading” LP 1967  California USA)

Daddy Dewdrop - March of the White Corpuscles     (7” single 1972 Los Angeles, USA)

Murlocs - Control Freak     (“Loopholes”  2014 Melbourne, Australia)

New Dream - You've Got That Certain Style     (7” single b-side [to “Catchin’ Up On Fun”] 1969 Australia)

Blair Smith - Echoes     (7” single b-side [to “Vision of Molly”] 1968 USA)

Strawberry Alarm Clock - The Worlds on Fire     (“Incense and Peppermints” LP 1967 Los Angeles, USA)

And an extra clip, cos I felt like it!

The Story UK - Standing in the Rain  ("A Joy Ride on Memory Lane" 2011 UK) 

Technicolour Dreaming

Former Obscured by... and now occasional Technicolour Dreaming co-host, Michael Hunter, joined Peter Brat in the studio this week [while the Cat was away...] and brought in some obscure treats for our aural enjoyment, including a compilation of 70’s European glam and another of 60’s garage punk from Sacramento which included a 1966 version of ‘She’s a Mod’, which in Australia & New Zealand was a big hit for Ray Columbus in 1965. The name of the band doing this version? The Mods, of course! He also dredged up an instructional promo for the ARP synthesiser company, narrated by Roger Powell, who went on to play with Todd Rundgren’s Utopia amongst others. Then of course there were some newer goodies to play, including recently released mp3 tracks from the See See and the Barbarellatones plus a cool new song from the legendary Petula Clark, now in her 80^th year – great stuff! As well there was a song from Dutch band DeWolff who are touring Australia in March and one from the latest album by Irish psych-poppers, Pugwash. Throw in a few Australian tracks from the 70’s, some Paul & Linda McCartney [enjoy the doco about RAM from 1971 we’ve included] and a surfeit of other good sounds, finishing with Eternal Tapestry, whose new album should be in our hands by next week... and then it was over! Sadly, this was the last edition to be broadcast from our long-time studios in the iconic "brownstone house in Stepney". From next week onwards, we will be bringing you our show from the new 3D Radio studios in leafy suburban St Peters.... so stay tuned!

..... and so here is the playlist.....

DeWolff – Silver Love Machine         (‘Strange Fruits and Undiscovered Plants’ 2009 Netherlands)

Snibbo – Bazooka        (7”single 1973 Canberra, Australia)

Plague, Ltd – So Cold         (7”single 1966 Sacramento, USA)

Gear One – Alimony         (7”single 1966 Sacramento, USA)

the Mods – She’s A Mod        (7”single 1966 Sacramento, USA)

the Unfolding – Prana         (‘How to Blow Your Mind and Have a Freakout Party’ LP 1967  USA)

Paul & Linda McCartney – Smile Away        (‘Ram’ LP 1971 UK)

Roger Powell & The ARP Family – instruction disc        (‘The ARP Family of Synthesisers’ promotional LP  1972 USA)

the Monkees – Daily Nightly         (7”single 1967 USA)

Pugwash – There You Are        (‘The Olympus Sound’ 2012 Ireland)

Ant-Bee – Love Is Only Sleeping [Monkees cover]         (‘Lunar Muzik’ 1996 USA)     

Petula Clark – Cut Copy Me         (mp3 single 2012 UK)

Blue Vamp – Jolly Dolly         (7”single 1974 France)

Tears – Ooh Lah        (7”single 1974 Sweden)

the Killer – Say Goodbye         (7”single 1975 Netherlands)

Revolver – I’m Down [Beatles cover]        (7”single b-side [to Imagine] 1969 Israel)

Ram and Sel (aka Ramases & Selket -?) – Screw You        (7”single 1970 UK)

Status Quo – Lonely Night          (7”single b-side [to Break the Rules] 1974 UK)

Headband – Stay With Me         (7”single b-side [to Country Lady] 1973 Adelaide, Australia)

Dr Feelgood – Going Back Home       (‘Stupidity’ LP 1976 UK)

the Barbarellatones – Baby Wants a Corndog         (mp3, 2012 USA)

the See See – The Rain and the Snow         (mp3, 2013 UK)

the Grip Weeds – Edge of Forever         (orig. from ‘House of Vibes’ LP 1994, remixed in 2007 – taken from ‘Infinite Soul: the Best of the Grip Weeds’ 2012 USA)

the Turtles – Guide for the Married Man         (7”single 1968 USA)

the Turtles – Chevrolet Camero Commercial         (recorded 1968 USA)

Eternal Tapestry – Prism Light Traveller         (rec. 2012 USA – taken from ‘Yeti 7’ magazine cover-mount CD 2012 USA)

Obscured By...

 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 Steve Kipner’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.)

Mythos – Oriental Journey      (‘Mythos’ LP 1972 Germany)

Deuter – Soham      (‘Aum’ LP 1972 Germany)

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 1^st, 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 Boston Scene 1975-1983’ 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)