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 Everett True

Song of the day – 478: Coloured Balls

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Coloured Balls

I love being me sometimes. Especially when shit like this happens. (Sure, I’m easily pleased. Isn’t that nice? I still have little sense of perspective when it comes to what makes me happy.) The following is an exchange that happened via Facebook a few days back. If you want to know more about some fine Australian 60s and 70s rock, click on the links at the bottom of this post: 

Hi Everett,

I guess when I first sent you the above message we had never interacted at all. We have since. I completed my thesis on Lobby Loyde and am still interested on your opinion of his work. I’d be glad to send you some of my stuff if you want a look (there’s a constant reference to Kurt Cobain saying he was a fan but never a reference. Personally I find that dubious. Mark Arm I can believe, KC not so much).

I have a feeling you will want to know about him. He’s certainly the keystone musician from – totally overlooked by the mainstream but seems to have influenced anyone who came into contact with him. Even though he first appeared in 1964, he later produced X’s X-Asperations in eight hours whilst most of his contemporaries were moving into stadium rock. Lobby never sold out.

I know you’re teaching at Uni now (as am I) and I hope I’m not bugging you but I thought it was worth tugging on your coat about it again.

What do you think?

1973 if you can believe it

Nazzinator Nassari

Dude. This is fucking nice. Brief, brutal and heavy as shit. As heavy as their better-known (abroad) contemporaries Radio Birdman. Reminds me a little of Dr Feelgood, and that ain’t no bad thing. And yes, bam. There it is, right on the front page of his website. “The godfather of heavy rock in Australia, hailed as an influence by the likes of KURT COBAIN, Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus, Henry Rollins and the Cosmic Psychos.” I can certainly hear the last two. I can believe the second one. But I think Nazz has nailed it: it’s weird the way a whole bunch of Australian musicians from back in the 70s (etc) will be claiming Kurt Cobain claimed them as an influence when, 99 times out a 100, it was Mudhoney all along. The two bands are easily confused, I guess. (??)

The Nazzinator continues:

And here’s his signature song. Never recorded in the studio, always changing and the only official version was on a live album that was out of print for years. They started playing this to a festival crowd at ridiculous volumes first thing in the morning while everyone was still asleep. Lobby just got onstage and the rest of the band join him in stages as they had no idea they were meant to be onstage. He was insistent that the feedback at the end was as much a part of the music as the rest of the song. I don’t know why I thought you would want to be aware of these parts of Australia’s musical history – but for me they’re more important than the softened up received narrative.

Related posts:
Everett True’s Australian Garage Rock Primer
In defence of Cold Chisel – an incomplete aural + visual history of GOOD Australian soft rock

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