Musical coincidences # 32

Here's a well-known Elvis Costello song:

Elvis Costello And The Attractions - "Pump It Up" (1978)

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"Pump It Up" appeared on Costello's second album, This Year's Model (1978), an album I've already raved about.

The song may or may not be about, shall we say, onanistic endeavours, but one thing is for certain: the main riff has been stolen by at least two other artists that I know of – and none-too-subtly, either.

The first is "Wild, Wild West" by The Escape Club, a long-forgotten band who, in the late 80's, were being heralded as the Next Big Thing in rock:

The Escape Club - "Wild, Wild West" (1988)

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But the most blatant rip-off of "Pump It Up" is a song called "Voodoo Child" by English/Australian techno riff-nicking outfit Rogue Traders:

Rogue Traders - "Voodoo Child" (2005)

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I know that the Rogue Traders fully acknowledged the lift (and gave Costello a co-writing credit), but that doesn't make it alright. Some things are just plain unacceptable.

Song of the day: Mr. George - "So Much Love (In My Heart)"

Here's Mr. George with the nicely catchy "So Much Love In My Heart":

Mr. George - "So Much Love In My Heart" (1973)

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By the way, Mr. George was a band, not a person. I must admit that I have very, very hazy memories of this song when it was released in 1973 (well, I was 12 at the time), but apparently it charted fairly well: it reached #22 in Sydney, #23 in Brisbane, and #26 in my hometown, Adelaide.

"So Much Love" was written by the estimable Ted Mulry, and it has a chorus that's effortless in its ability to stick in your head for an entire day, week, or even a month – depending on how catchy you find the chorus. It's certainly stuck in my head. (One more time: "So much love in my heart...")

As far as I can tell – which in this case is not very far at all – Mr. George released only two singles in 1973 and only one album, On The Bandwagon in 1974. (Believe it or not, there was a vinyl copy of the album over at OZtion which sold recently for $8. Bargain!)

Here's that other single:

Mr. George - "Lazy Susan" (1973)

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(Thanks yet again to Stonefish for the suggestion. I now want to borrow his entire record collection...)

Song of the day: Elvis Costello and The Attractions - "No Action"

Here's the non-Australian Elvis Costello and The Attractions with "No Action" (1978):


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"No Action" is the opening track of Costello's second album, the still-astonishing This Year's Model, an album that, for me, hasn't dated one bit since it was first released in 1978. It's still near the top of my list of all-time favourite power-pop albums. A lot of people probably don't think of Elvis Costello as a power pop artist at all, and never have. Most people think of him as rock's original Mr. Bitter, or as Punk's First Man of Letters due to his exceptional wordplay (during the punk period, most artists around him were simply yelling "Destroy!"). Although he later dabbled in other genres such as country and lounge, I don't think Elvis' music has ever been considered power pop. Yet I think This Year's Model is a Grade-A power pop album – it's full of great tunes and has boundless energy. As far as I'm concerned, that's power pop.

Here's track 2 on the album:

Elvis Costello and The Attractions - "This Year's Girl" (1978)

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And here's track 9:

Elvis Costello and The Attractions - "Lip Service" (1978)

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Now, listen to those tracks and tell me that's not power pop.

Song of the day: David Bowie - "The Laughing Gnome"

Here's David Bowie with "The Laughing Gnome" (1967):


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"The Laughing Gnome" is one of my all-time favourite tracks that would fall into the category of "Songs The Artist Wished They'd Never Recorded." I'm sure there are a lot of performers – I reckon you could probably think of a few – who have recorded things early in their careers that they'd regretted having ever presented to the world. I don't know how Mr Bowie feels about "The Laughing Gnome" nowadays, but I find his effort at a novelty song hilarious, charming, and bizarre all at the same time. It may seem an odd, odd song, but considering that "The Laughing Gnome" came from the man who would soon become a folkie*, then a heavy-metaller*, then an androgynous alien*, then a skeleton in a white suit* etc etc, I guess it makes sense that DB would start his solo career as a vaudevillian. He's been pretty much everything else.

Still, "The Laughing Gnome" is pretty unique in the David Bowie canon. And I love it.

(*Now, that's what I call variety.)

Song of the day: Magneto - "Shooting Star"

Today is a two-for-one deal.

If you're a Big Star fan, here's Melbourne band Magneto with the Big Star-esque "Shooting Star" (2006):


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However, if you're a Cheap Trick fan, here's Melbourne band Magneto with the Cheap Trick-esque "Let It Go" (2006):


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Enjoy.

Song of the day: Lori Balmer - "Here Before The Sun"

Here's Lori Balmer with the gorgeous "Here Before The Sun" (1972):


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The song appears on Tea and Sympathy (2007), a wonderful collection of forgotten baroque pop gems.

Song of the day: The Wellingtons - "Come Undone"

Woohoo!

I was watching Rage on the weekend and was shocked – and stunned – to see The Wellingtons pop up. With a new video.

That's all the reason I need to pester you with yet another song by The Wellingtons.

So, for your viewing (and listening) pleasure, here are The Wellingtons with their brand new video for "Come Undone" (2008):



Power pop lives! On Australian television!

Here's the audio:

The Wellingtons - "Come Undone" (2008)

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"Come Undone" appears on The Wellingtons' third album, Heading North For The Winter (2008)*, Australia's best power pop album since I don't know when.**

(*2008. Hmmm. Where's the new album, guys?)

(**Actually, I do know when: since Neon's self-titled debut from 2005.)

Song of the day: The Master's Apprentices - "5.10 Man"

Today's song is by Australian rock gods The Masters Apprentices, a band renowned the land over. (When an Australian rock fan over the age of 30 hears the name "The Masters Apprentices", the usual response is "Yeah!"). It's their 1969 hit, "5.10 Man." But before I let you listen to it, there are a few things I want to mention about both the band and the song...

Of all the bands sitting in the Pantheon of Australian rock history, I think The Master's Apprentices are the weirdest. There are so many things that are odd about the band and their songs that I don't quite know where to begin. But I'll try. (I have a feeling I could write an entire thesis on the weirdness of this band, but I'll limit the contents of this particular post to just the band's name and today's song. I'll unleash my thoroughly unwarranted views on the band's other songs as they appear on the blog in the future.)

OK, let's start with the name. The band's name varies depending on who you consult. Wikipedia calls them The Masters Apprentices. "So what? It's a good name," I hear you say. It is – but where's the apostrophe? One of my pet linguistic hates is the inappropriate use of, or missing, apostrophes. It bothers me to see no apostrophes anywhere in this band's name. To people who have better things to do with their time this will be no problem whatsover, but it bothers me. Are they (the band) apprentices of one master or a number of masters? In other words, are they The Master's Apprentices or are they The Masters' Apprentices? Or is Wikipedia messing with my mind?

This just occurred to me:

"The Masters Apprentices" (TME) = "The Missing Apostrophe" (TME)

Wikipedia's definitely messing with my mind.

And so is Milesago. I love Milesago, as it's probably the most authoritative online Australian rock encyclopedia, but they also call the band The Masters Apprentices. No apostrophe again. Grrr.

It seems that Wikipedia, Milesago, and plenty of others have all decided that the band's name is The Masters Apprentices. Well, I decided to go to the source and consult the band itself.

"5.10 Man" was first released as a single in 1969 then appeared on the band's second album, 1970's Masterpiece. If you have a look at the album's artwork, you can see how the band spelled their own name:

It's "Master's Apprentices". Now, that makes sense.

Okay. I'm feeling much better now. (And I'll try not to use the word "now" any more.)

Now, where was I? Oh yeah.

And another thing (I will get to the song eventually)...

The band's many fans affectionately call the group The Masters. That's wrong. The band aren't The Masters. They're The Apprentices. (It's the apostrophe.)

OK, on to the song.

I find "5.10 Man" odd, odd, odd.

First, there's the song's introduction. It lasts eight seconds, and when I first heard it I was convinced the band was going to launch into "The Great Pretender." Unfortunately, courtesy of that first hearing, every time I hear "5.10 Man"'s introduction my brain automatically switches into "The Great Pretender" mode, ready for the wonderful voice of The Platters' lead singer Tony Williams accompanied by the fabulous harmonies from the rest of the group (I can hear it now: "O-ho, yes, I'm the great pretender / Oo-woo-oo-woo" etc). However, instead of "The Great Pretender," "5.10 Man" settles into a standard boogie song. Well, a standard boogie song, that is, until the backing vocals appear...

Here's the second weird thing about the song. Throughout the verses the backing vocals go "shoo-do-be-do-be-do-be-do" that go up and up and up, and I find them unsettling. I honestly don't know if those voices are male or female. And I don't know if they ought to be in a boogie song.

Third, there's the minor-to-you-but-major-to-me bass note in the song's middle eights. The bass guitar plays the wrong note at the end of each middle eight (at 1:12 and at 1:53), which I find distinctly unnerving (I was a bass player in a former life, so bass playing is precious to me – good bass playing even more so).

I will stop going on about this and actually let you listen to the song, but there are a couple more things I want to let you know about.

Fourth, there's what seems to be a very clumsy edit at 2:06. The entire sound of the song changes right there. And it's incredibly noticeable. If I didn't know better (and I don't), I'd say a completely different song was grafted on to the existing one.

And then...

After that clumsy edit comes, without a doubt, the weirdest part of the song: the band goes all 50's a cappella on the listener (at 2:09), like they're in a doo-wop group. I don't know why.

And it's around here that this song is starting to freak me out in a big way.

Anyway, as the doo-wop continues, the boogie music comes back in and then they all fade out.

OK. I think that's it. I think I've said everything I wanted to say about the song.

By now, you may have the impression that I don't like the song (I know I would), but that's not the case. I like it, but...

It weirds me out, man.

And now, finally, the song. Hopefully you'll still want to listen to it, despite my unhelpful nitpicking. Thanks for perservering.

Master's Apprentices - "5.10 Man" (1969)

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(Thanks go to Col who reminded me that I hadn't posted anything at all about the Master's Apprentices. As Col said: "What, no Master's Apprentices? And this is supposed to be an Australian power pop blog?")

Human Ingenuity + Music = Fun

Song of the day: Olivia Newton-John - "If Not For You"

Here's a puzzle for you...

The singer: born in England, raised in Australia.
The songwriter: born and raised in America.
The recording: made in Australia.

So, is today's song Australian?

As you ponder, please enjoy Olivia Newton-John and the song that launched her solo career, "If Not For You" (1971):



Or, if you prefer something a little more German...



As a bonus, here's the other well-known version:

George Harrison - "If Not For You" (1970)


And here's the original:

Bob Dylan - "If Not For You" (1970)

Song of the day: The Finkers - "Gurls Are Coming Down"

Although it isn't officially summer in Australia until December, the weather's warmed up this week here in South Australia so I thought I'd pop something a little summery on the ol' record player – something that makes me think of sunshine, the beach, beach balls, beach hats, beach buggies, and girls in bikinis. "Gurls Are Coming Down" (1999) by The Finkers fits the bill quite nicely, as it makes me think of all those things and more:

The Finkers - "Gurls Are Coming Down" (1999)

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Why I adore Jellyfish

Here's Jellyfish with a live version of "The Ghost At Number One" recorded on Later... with Jools Holland back in 1993 when the band were touring England – and the entire music industry was only interested in bands wearing flannel shirts and being as mopey as possible. Jellyfish broke up a year later (clue: they didn't wear flannel...).



What's not to love about this video? It has virtually flawless four-part harmonies; it has a standing drummer; and there's not a flannel shirt in sight. But it's the vocals that are the highlight for me. The vocal counterpoint starting at 2:23 is simply astonishing, and causes my jaw to drop to the floor every time I hear it. And, by the way: it's all live.

At the risk of sounding like a crotchety old dude: you just don't hear singing like that from bands any more – not even from boy bands.

Here they are again on the same show with "Bye, Bye, Bye". Yep, it's all live:



And if you think that they lucked out with good singing on that show only, I've got news for you: they did it all the time.

For me, the pièce de résistance of Jellyfish's vocal amazingness is this video from an appearance the band made at an unnamed record store Tower Records somewhere in America in 1993:



Two acoustic guitars, four voices. Amazing.

Song of the day: Hans Poulsen - "Boom Sha La La Lo"

Here's Hans Poulsen with "Boom Sha La La Lo" (1970):


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Hans Poulsen is one of the most genial singer-songwriters you'll ever come across (I always thought of him as very kid-friendly), and "Boom Sha La La Lo" is one big musical smile.

The thing I most remember about this song is that it was one of the songs I sang as a nine-year-old at school in the mornings. (I enjoyed primary school – in the mornings we also got to sing "Puff The Magic Dragon" and "Morningtown Ride".) Maybe that's why I think of Hans as kid-friendly.

There were two versions of "Boom Sha La La Lo" – the one above was the single version, which is very folky (it's probably the banjo), and the other version appeared on Hans' debut album, Natural High (1970).

Here's the album version which is distinctly different to the single – as well as a few chord changes, it ditches the banjo, the orchestral strings, and the choir. In their place are electric guitars that give the song a slight bubblegum flavour, which is more than alright by me:

Hans Poulsen - "Boom Sha La La Lo" (album version) (1970)

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(Thanks again to Col for supplying these songs as well as the Vertical Hold track from a couple of days ago. Col's fast becoming my regular 'supplier'...)

Song of the day: Vertical Hold - "My Imagination"

Here's Vertical Hold with "My Imagination" (1981):


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Vertical Hold came from my home town, Adelaide, and "My Imagination" was a number-one hit there in 1981. Yay!

As you can hear (and see in the video), the band had the unusual instrumental combination of vocals, guitar, bass, drums – and cello. OK, how many power pop bands (or any band for that matter) can you name that features a cello as equal instrument to the guitar, bass, and drums? No, neither can I. If you say Electric Light Orchestra, I'd humbly submit that that'd be slightly incorrect, because ELO used strings as backing (and extremely nice they were, too).

"My Imagination" is a jaunty little ditty, and I hadn't heard it in ages until a friend sent it to me (thanks, Col!). I sure am glad to make its re-acquaintance after all those years.

Song of the day: Tsar - "Calling All Destroyers"

It's been a while since I: a) played you a non-Australian song; and b) cranked it up. So I thought I'd do both and present you with Californian band Tsar and "Calling All Destroyers" from their self-titled debut album (2000):

Tsar - "Calling All Destroyers" (2000)

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Tsar's debut album sounds like it was made by a group of upstarts with attitude to spare. "Self-confident" doesn't begin to describe them. The music's a fabulous concoction of power pop, hard rock, and glam. The album is the equivalent of a bunch of super-enthusiastic and fun-loving teenagers crashing a party and shouting "Here we are!" And, like the perfect party guest, they know when to leave, as the album clocks in at only 36 minutes. If you like your power pop from the heavier end of town (e.g., Cheap Trick), I reckon you'll like Tsar.

Unfortunately, I found Tsar's second album disappointing (a combination of ordinary songs and nowhere near as much fun as the debut). Ah, well. At least the first album is still available to tickle the ears and get the adrenalin going enough to make you want to crash a party.

As a bonus, here are a couple of other songs from the album:

Tsar - "Kathy Fong Is The Bomb" (2000)

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Tsar - "Silver Shifter" (2000)

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Tsar on MySpace

Song of the day: The Flying Circus - "Hayride"

Here's one of Australia's prime contributions to bubblegum – The Flying Circus and "Hayride" (1969):


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Just try getting that out of your head for the rest of the day.

Song of the day: Jane Vs World - "B-Grade Lisa Loeb"

Here's Melbourne/Sydney duo Jane Vs World with the charming irresistible cuter-than-cute "B-Grade Lisa Loeb*" (2006):


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As a bonus, here's the just-as-cute "Sebastian Says" (2006):


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Jane Vs World on MySpace
Jane Vs World on Facebook
Buy 56k Hearts from Popboomerang Records (it's cheap – and very cute)

(*If you're wondering who Lisa Loeb is, this will answer all your questions.)

Song of the day: Magic Dirt - "Dirty Jeans"

Here's Victoria's Magic Dirt, a band from the Sonic Youth school of noise-as-art, with their poppiest track, "Dirty Jeans" (2000):


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Musical coincidences # 31

Believe it or not, this musical coincidence was the very reason I started Musical coincidences in the first place.* I have no idea why it's taken me this long to let you know about it.

This coincidence involves, yet again, musical magpie Jimmy Page.

Here's the opening vocal line of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," with singer Robert Plant wailing away:


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Please store those four notes ("Ah, ah, aaaaah, ah!") in your memory banks.

That's some great wailing. I must admit that "Immigrant Song" is one of my favourite Led Zeppelin tracks, as it contains one of the great rock guitar riffs (dunt, du-du-du-dunt / da-dunt, du-du-du-dunt etc). And, like all good heavy metal songs, the lyrics are wonderfully silly (they're about Vikings).

Now, here are the first four notes of the theme to the TV comedy Get Smart:


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They're the same four notes. They're in a slightly different key, and with a slightly different rhythm, but they're the same four notes. If you have trouble recognising the similarity, try playing one then the other, over and over again. However, if you do that, there is the possibility that you may end up mad – or a Viking.

Anyway, "Immigrant Song" was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. I'm presuming that Robert wrote the words and Jimmy supplied the music. According to Wikipedia, the song was written whilst Led Zeppelin was on tour in Iceland. Explaining the lyrics, Robert Plant said this:

"We weren't being pompous ... We did come from the land of the ice and snow."

Yes, but that doesn't make you a Viking, Robert.

As for the originality (or otherwise) of the music in "Immigrant Song," I was going to give young Jimmy the benefit of the doubt and assume that it was just a coincidence, and he didn't actually 'borrow' the Get Smart theme tune, but Wikipedia has other ideas. Wikipedia's "Immigrant Song" article mentions that the song's melody is "reminiscent of "Bali Ha'i"". "Bali Ha'i" is a tune from the musical South Pacific.

If you're not a fan of musicals (like me), you may now be wondering what "Bali Ha'i" sounds like. It sounds like this:

South Pacific - "Bali Ha'i"

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And crooner Perry Como had a hit with his version of it in 1949. If you're wondering what that sounds like, wonder no more:

Perry Como - "Bali Ha'i" (1949)

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Yes, I'd go along with Wikipedia about the similarity between "Immigrant Song" and "Bali Ha'i."

So now we have a musical coincidence involving a rock song, a TV theme tune, and now a show tune. And at the centre of it all is... Jimmy Page.

It seems to me that whenever the name of Jimmy Page is mentioned, musical coincidences fly thick and fast.

Anyway, here are the full versions of both "Immigrant Song" and the Get Smart theme:

Led Zeppelin - "Immigrant Song" (1970)

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Get Smart theme (1965)

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(*That sounds like a tautology to me. For example, since when do people start things in the second place...?)

Song of the day: Split Enz - "Give It A Whirl"

This will be of interest to no-one at all, but I finally bought the Split Enz DVD (after wanting to buy it since it was released seven years ago).

So, to celebrate this monumental-only-to-me event, here's my favourite Australian band from New Zealand with the splendid "Give It A Whirl" (1979):


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Song of the day: Middle Of The Road - "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep"

Here's Scottish outfit Middle Of The Road with "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (1971):


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I've always adored this song, but I'll be the first to admit that it's puerile. Nevertheless, I love, love, love it. I'm prepared to lose any credibility I have in order to keep listening to it, and I'll defend this song until I'm blue, or purple, or puce, or mauve in the face. Maybe because it's the purest form of bubblegum pop, and I have an enormous soft spot for bubblegum pop. With bubblegum, it's all about the tunes, which is probably why I love bubblegum.

If you're wondering why a UK hit by a Scottish band is featured on an Australian blog, it's because it was a huge hit in Australia, too – and that's reason enough for me.

"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" was written by Harold Stott, a chap who goes by the professional name of Lally Stott. (Why anyone would call themselves "Lally" is a complete mystery to me.) Here's his version:

Lally Stott - "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (1971)

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And there are other, more unusual versions, too. For example, this version is by a Finnish punk band:

Briard - "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (1979)

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But by far my favourite alternative version is this one:

Alan Moorhouse and his Bond Street Brigade - "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (1972)

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Update: Commenter Steve C. (Hi, Pokey!) mentioned that a version of "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" by Trinidad-born brother-and-sister duo Mac & Katie Kissoon was a hit in America. If you can't get enough of this song, here's their version:

Mac & Katie Kissoon - "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (1971)

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Musical coincidences # 30

No sooner had I finished getting stuck into Muse for their liberal pilfering of the music of others in one of their songs when I came across another instance of Muse dipping into someone else's music.

This time it's classical music that gets the "Hey, let's use that tune" treatment.

Here's a bit of Muse's "Hoodoo" from 2006's highly regarded (not by me) Black Holes and Revelations:


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That little bit of piano pounding happens 1:59 into the song.

And this is the beginning of the piano part in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23:


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Given that they cheerfully steal from all manner of artists (e.g., Queen, Radiohead, T.Rex, Gary Glitter, Billy Idol, Blondie – and now Tchaikovsky), I'm beginning to wonder if Muse have any original ideas...

Anyway, here are the full versions (I know which one I prefer):

Muse - "Hoodoo" (2006)

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Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 (1888)
(Martha Argerich, piano; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dutoit)

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Song of the day: The Pyramidiacs - "It's A Long Way Home"

Here are The Pyramidiacs, a band I know next to nothing about, with "It's A Long Way Home" (1996):


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About the only thing I do know is that I like that song.

Listen to more Pyramidiacs

Musical coincidences # 29

Today's musical coincidence centres around Muse's recent single "Uprising."

I've always thought of Music as Queen-meets-Radiohead, but here in this one song Muse manage to channel four other artists.

"Uprising" starts off sounding like a combination of T.Rex's "Hot Love" and Gary Glitter's "Rock And Roll Part 2":

Muse - "Uprising" (2009) (excerpt 1)

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T.Rex - "Hot Love" (1971) (excerpt)

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Gary Glitter - "Rock And Roll Part 2" (1972) (excerpt)

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It then quotes Billy Idol's "White Wedding":

Muse - "Uprising" (2009) (excerpt 2)

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Billy Idol - "White Wedding" (1982) (excerpt)

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And then it nicks the "Call me!" bit from Blondie's "Call Me":

Muse - "Uprising" (2009) (excerpt 3)

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Blondie - "Call Me" (1980) (excerpt)

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Yep, all of this is in "Uprising" – and all of it within the first minute.

And don't get me started on the lyrics. The lyrics are all about repression, conspiracy, and paranoia. (The song constantly uses that favourite word of paranoiacs everywhere: "They." Just who are "they"? Muse fans, can you help me out? It seems to me that not only are Muse channeling the music of a heap of artists, they're also channelling the lyrical themes of Pink Floyd...)

Anyway, here are the full versions:

Muse - "Uprising" (2009)

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(Speaking of Queen-meets-Radiohead, the following live video comes from a couple of concerts that Muse held in their home town as a sort of "heroes' return" after touring the world infecting people with their paranoia pleasing their international fans. They had the cheek to call the concerts A Seaside Rendezvous. Queen fans will know...)

Update: video no longer available courtesy of pesky copyright claims.

T.Rex - "Hot Love" (1971)

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Gary Glitter - "Rock And Roll Part 2" (1972)

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Billy Idol - "White Wedding" (1982)

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Blondie - "Call Me" (1980)

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