Carry On Jerusalem

The other night my Dearly Beloved dug up a treasure from the past...

As part of 2nd Year lectures on the Deuteronomistic History the sainted George Athas asked the assembled class whether they thought the book of 2 Samuel was a Comedy or a Tragedy and, if such a book was to be made into a movie, to write the blurb for the DVD cover. I, clearly getting it wrong, opined that it was a Comedy. Not only that, but a comedy worthy of that great British institution, the Carry On team!

For those out there of a high cultural standard, the Carry On films were a key part of English comedy in the late 1960s, the purpose of which was to have as many sexist jokes in 90 minutes for as little money as possible while still retaining something resembling a plot-line. The Dearly Beloved and I are devotees. For me, I consider them to be an medium conveying considerable existential angst at the impending nuclear disintegration of existence through farcical whimsy. And Barbara Windsor was the sexiest woman ever (apart from the Dearly Beloved of course).

For the benefit (or otherwise) of My Public, I here reprint my DVD blurb for...

Carry On Jerusalem

Reprising his role of the manly shepherd boy from Carry On Goliath, this hilarious masterpiece of British cinema finds Kenneth Williams as King David as he begins his reign over the nation of Israel. Having dispensed of old king Saul, David was hoping for a quiet life but is thwarted at every turn. His eye is caught by voluptuous neighbour Bathsheba (Barbara Windsor – BAFTA nominated: ‘Best Nude Bath Scene’), wife of the nice-but-dim Uriah (Bernard Breslaw). However, David’s romantic adventures do not escape the notice of his beloved wife Abigail (Hattie Jacques), who is determined to catch him in the act. David also has to face the remonstrations of the holy prophet Nathan (Sid James), who wants all the pleasures of the palace for himself, as well as the stress of his son Absolom (Charles Hawtrey) suffering from an inferiority complex. How did it all go so wrong?

There Must Be Some Kinda Way Outta Here...

OK, this post may only be of interest to my Australian readers (if any such exist). My international readers (if any such exist) may get a slight insight into the workings of Australian Government, a wild and unpredictable beast now entering strange new territory.

It's been a week and the sky has not fallen in. Granted, Parliament has not sat yet, and not being in ancient Gaul the sky falling in is not a principle national concern. But it looks as if the Labor minority government is set to at least have a go at governing our country. We must, however, remember that the whole house of cards could tumble at any time. We are only one by-election away from meltdown. Even without this, if legislation fails to get through because of cracks in the hastily constructed alliance with regional independents who share only marginal ideological ground, we could be going back to the polls in less time than we all would have liked. Certain former political leaders have given the current state of affairs a maximum of 18 months. Nothing like stable government can be said to exist at all for the next 3 years.

But my next question is more interesting: how will the electorate solve the problem? At some point we will have to line up again and fill in another slip of paper, so which way will we jump? There are two possibilities.

First, the electorate will become more 'conservative'. I don't mean that we will all start voting for the Shooters and Fishers (though I note the remarkably high vote they appeared to get this time round). What I mean is that the garden variety Aussie voter has a general preference (no pun intended) for how they will vote unless they have a good reason to vote otherwise. This election much was made of the 'protest vote', an unavoidable byproduct of both major parties having divisive leaders and a lack of positive vision. When the next election comes around will the electorate swallow its pride and go back to their old voting patterns in order to produce a more 'representative' parliament? This would be seen in a drop in primary vote for the Greens or corresponding conservative parties in order to make sure that at least one of the major parties gets to govern in its own right.

Second, the electorate will become more 'radical'. The alternative option is that, if the current government falls into utter farce, the voters will vote for someone who will Get Something Done, even if it means opening themselves up to other political action that they might wish to avoid. This would see minor parties and independent candidates boosting their primary vote. Such an outcome is likely, especially if the independents who hold the balance of power are seen to be driving policy. The electorate might then prefer to go for strong local independents who might be able to gain local development advantage (i.e. pork barreling in exchange for support).

Whadda youse all reckon? What's a voter to do in these circumstances?

Crash Through - Beautiful Ragged Mayhem

I have been distracted (again!!!) by the great maelstrom of study/work/family/etc. Yet, given that my great friends Crash Through will be launching their debut album next week (and I can't make the launch because of work) I thought the least I could do was to post a review of the bloody thing. Enjoy...

Out of the ashes of The Nood and The Pennydreadfuls comes the new project from guitarist/songwriter Phil Morgan. Crash Through straddles the proto-punk of The Stooges and The Dictators and the alternative/noise of The Pixies and Mudhoney with socially aware lyrics to boot. Sonically similar his earlier work, the intervening years along with the help of fellow Pennydreadfuls refugees Richard Schweizer (bass) and Tim McAlpin (drums) have helped to sharpen Morgan’s songwriting while still remaining on the edge. Now they have a debut album to show for their efforts.

Beautiful Ragged Mayhem is a worthy first effort from the band without being a world contender, even if that had been on their radar. Morgan has always a purist approach, eschewing anything that might be deemed ‘commercial’ or even ‘normal’ in favour of challenging both the senses and the minds of his audience. This is Shock ‘n Awe rock, no question.

The basic tracks were cut at TLS Studios with the overdubs and vocals put down at Morgan’s home studio. While a popular method these days the results can be mixed, and that is what seems to have happened here. The drums have a highly compressed timbre that jars with the ragged guitars. The kick drum pounds out of the speakers, the snare lies buried somewhere in the mix and the cowbell sounds more like an empty milk bottle. The lead vocals often sound dry, crying out for another drop of reverb, and also are occasionally placed too high in the mix. The bass sound is a tad muddy but otherwise acceptable. That being said, there are a good mix of guitar tones on the tracks, the acoustic guitars being done particularly well. However, Morgan’s love of experimentation often leads him to make unorthodox choices that result in some otherwise radio-worthy songs being kept in the ‘Too Raw’ pile. Maybe that was the intention. While far from being a tough listen, Beautiful Ragged Mayhem feels more like a sonic patchwork than the unified sound Morgan was hoping for. Doing more cuts live may preserved the punk ethos better.

So what of the songs themselves? There are some real gems on this record. ‘It’s All Backwards’, ‘I Know It’s Not Right’, and the title track get stuck in the mind easily and would be at home on a major label release (tidied up for the teenyboppers, of course). Faster tracks like ‘Nothing Can Slow Us Down’ and ‘Acronym Blues’ give a nod to their old school punk heroes. Surprisingly, the listener is treated to not only acoustic guitar but also organ on this record, both tones that Crash Through are not known for in their live shows. This ultimately goes to the heart of the Crash Through philosophy: Conformity is Treachery. If the listener is led to question their assumptions about what is Good, Acceptable or Safe in art then the song is a success even if the riff was fluffed a bit coming into the second chorus.

But herein lies the rub: when you produce art which is disconcerting and raw you leave yourself open to criticism. How raw is too raw? What would have happened if things had been polished up just that little bit more? Does it really matter if no-one likes it? A confronting performance will always alienate at least as many people as it attracts, most likely more. And it is questions like the above that ran through my head as I considered the musical performances on this record.

Morgan has always been a guitarist who has been driven by sonics and soul rather than technique. It doesn’t hurt that he has more than passable technique anyway and that he has continued to improve over the years. It comes as no surprise that his is the most confident performance on the record, with tight rhythm riffs and punchy solos in the old-skool punk tradition. His tones range from funkily clean to a heavy fuzz with plenty of buzzes, squeaks, and feedbacking yowls. Unfortunately, the rhythm section does not appear to be firing on all cylinders. Schweizer holds down a solid low end, but his habit of merely following the changes rather than trying to find a melodic counterpoint to the madly riffing Morgan means that there feels like something is lacking downstairs in the bass-ment. Listening to some old Greed Day albums wouldn’t hurt. McAlpin is a straight down the line, four-on-the-floor rocker with a personality not dissimilar from Animal on The Muppet Show. As such he sometimes seems to struggle with Morgan’s off-beat driven riffs and non-bluesy changes. All together, it sometimes feels as if Schweizer and McAlpin are trying to chase down Morgan rather than them all moving as a group. Sometimes the phrenetic nature of the music means that this is not a problem, but at places it comes drastically unstuck. Though it pains me to say it, a low point of the record is the long-standing live favourite ‘Milk Crate’. A psychedelic funk rocker with an obscene sing-along refrain, both the beat and the tempo appear to have been lost somewhere in the studio process. The song appears rushed, the guitar and drums out of step (a mortal sin in the Church of Funk) and the bass fails to fill sonic gaps in the verses.

Is Beautiful Ragged Mayhem then the magnum opus of Mr Phil Morgan? The short answer is No, but this sells the album drastically short. Crash Through have put together a fine work on their own terms rather than chasing commercial or critical validity. As with any project of this nature, this will inevitably lead to aspects that will be filed in the Could Have Been Done Better folder. Yet the high points, when they do come, show remarkable accomplishment and a true artistic vision. Crash Through are a band of great potential both onstage and in the studio. To have put out this type of record in the current climate where all artists are airbrushed and fashion styles to within an inch on their life takes guts. Whatever the sales figures, Crash Through should look upon their debut album as a success and press on to greater glories. The General Public, however, would be wise to take my advice and jump on the Crash Through train now, if only for the satisfaction of saying you were into them before they turned slick and commercial.

Crash Through launch their debut album at the Annandale Hotel on Friday September 17.

www.crashthrough.com.au