Cold, Draft

A long sweaty week
Now cool off with a cold draft
Of nicely chilled beer

Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes

Sometimes, being weird is a political act. Os Mutantes were born out of the tension between ordinary people and the repressive military regime in power at the time that threatened to crack down on anyone stepping out of line. They combined traditional Brazilian rhythms with psychedelic rock guitars, studio tricks (feedback, distortion, tape loops and varying the speed of the playback) and some openly rebellious lyrics to create a new genre called Tropicalia.

In doing this they managed to upset both the right wing military junta and left wing musical traditionalists, proving that they must have been doing something right. The final impression is one of the most bonkers and joyful albums I’ve heard in a long while. I don’t understand most of it, but I don’t really need to in order to enjoy it

Bat-tastic!

Cut Grass

In this hot weather 

My advice for cutting grass 

Is just don't bother

Teenage Head by Flamin' Groovies

This album doesn’t appear in my version of the book, which usually means it’s been bumped for something more recent and is an indicator that this is one of the also fans of the list. First impressions were not great and not terrible - the bits I kind of enjoyed were the bonus tracks on the cd release which were mostly old rock n roll covers played with some enthusiasm.

The negative points outweigh the positive ones though. Firstly, this is again a group of white musicians playing blues and other black music, and nowhere near as well as the originals. To make it even more meta they even go so far as to rip off Elvis (who in turn was ripping off black musicians). They also give the impression of being Rolling Stones wannabes which is not the height of ambition (see my previous thoughts about Stones albums).

On top of that, it’s minus several million stars for an album title that will get you put on a register if you google it without safe search switched on. That’s probably the main reason that this album has been consigned to the ‘what were they thinking?’ dustbin of history.

Swim, Freeze

Standing shivering
Harpenden open air pool
School swimming class

John Prine by John Prine

They say that you shouldn’t judge a book (or an album) by its cover, but in this case the record company very much wanted to give us a picture of an amiable looking denim clad fellow sat on a straw bale with a guitar propped up beside him, making sure that we knew to expect a country album. John Prine later said “I thought they coulda has on a bus or something”

The music is very much country but the vocals (at least initially) sound more like Bob Dylan. Pushing past that and listening to the lyrics shows a sharply written album with a wry sense of humour (“I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve”). There are some pointed protest songs about the Vietnam War (“Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore”) and a hard hitting number about a wounded soldier coming home only to get hooked on morphine.

The highlight for me was the heartbreaking song “Hello In There” which is about growing old and suffering from loneliness.

Haybale-tastic!

Owl

Gliding on soft wings
Sharp eyes spot a twitching tail
Captured by cruel claws