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Darknerd, my friend, you gots ta be lovin' this kick we're on here at getLevitation. Today's post marks the third in a row from Australian bands of one sort or another. First the fabulous Moles, next the almighty Saints, and now, a number of artists from a spectacular comp called Tales from the Australian Underground: Singles 1976-1989. This Aussie thang wasn't planned in any way, it just sorta happened, and you gotta love the synchronicity. Are there future posts in the works on Men at Work and Kylie Minogue? Uh, stay tuned...

So anyway, I drove down to Champaign again this morning for a Sunday powwow with the noiseboy. Tonight we'll catch a show by The Living Blue, just after we take in some T. Rex videos and the Russ Meyer flick Mudhoney, from which I assume the band took their name. Right now, he's in the other room recording some of my Deviants records while I post these mp3s of the week. And without further adeiux, here are some of my favorite songs from Disc One of one of my all-time favorite comps...we will most likely tackle Disc Two at some point in the future.

Download the songs from the sidebar-->

The Riptides - "Sunset Strip"
A wonderfully catchy song with the revved-up, garage-R&B-meets-pop-punk sound of Stiv Bators' solo stuff. These cats from Brisbane were huge admirers of The Saints, like just about everybody else at the time.

The Scientists - "Frantic Romantic"
The Kim Salmon-led Scientists are probably the fourth-biggest classic Australian punk band, after Radio Birdman, The Saints, and The Birthday Party. A classic in the land Down Under, the vocal harmonies evoke the poppier punk of The Undertones, with a healthy dose of a Johnny Thunders-gone-British for good measure.

Tactics - "Standing by the Window"
One of the noisier and more discordant of the bands featured, Tactics were heavily influenced by the off-kilter art-punk scene in Cleveland (i.e. Pere Ubu), and it shows. This reminds me of the singer from the Crucifucks fronting an early version of Polvo. Genius.

Fun Things - "When the Birdmen Fly"
An ode to who else but Radio Birdman, featuring a 19-year old Brad Shepherd, later to find fame with the Hoodoo Gurus. A light touch of piano in the background adds some melody to the punk crunch. Nice guitar solo.

Makers of the Dead Travel Fast - "Taels of the Saeghors"
A five-piece art collective with the coolest band name ever, Makers of the Dead Travel Fast put forth some truly bizarro shit, totally unlike anything else you've heard. It's like the soundtrack to a John Hughes film played in an aquarium. Oh, and the bubbles, the bubbles! And this song was actually a hit!

This excellent two-disc compilation can still be ordered from Forced Exposure.

N/P Entrance - Wandering Stranger

// posted by Jonathan Wright @ 3:09 PM permalink
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