The Indie Anthology 69: essential songs

More immortal tunes for the anthology section! Today we go back to the "magical indiepop land" that is Dunedin, New Zealand, to recover one of their finest bands and make a humble tribute to some of their geniuses. Deep down under is the place to be!

Song: Point That Thing Somewhere Else
Artist: The Clean
Year: 1981

Discovered The Clean around 2002-2003, when 'Anthology' was released (and I was discovering the never ending, unmissable, Flying Nun catalogue). I remember that I got instantly hooked by the second CD, the one with the bulk of 'Vehicle' ('Drawing to a Hole', 'Someone', 'The Blue'... oh dear). But the first CD was a bit too rough, may I say a bit too punk to my ears then, making me rating them a bit lower than my beloved Chills and Bats... Blame first impressions, because that first half includes 'Point That Thing Somewhere Else', which originally appeared on debut 12" EP 'Boodle Boodle Boodle' and its mesmerizing. Co-written by the late (and forever missed) Peter Gutteridge, this is indiepop at their best: jangle drowned into delay and fuzz in what ranks as one of the best guitar works of underrated master David Kilgour (legend, legend, legend), an almost kraut rhythm (courtesy of his great brother Hamish and the bass of Robert Scott). Here's the mystery, the edge, the spell, the sense of adventure, the immediacy, the melodic power, the open landscapes, the bewitchment of a sound that once hits you, never let you go... Luckily.  

The Bloodbuzzed Jukebox Week 113

Back home for a short time before getting on the road again (Emerald Isle, here we go!) but there's so much music out there to simply miss the chance to present you another TOP TEN Jukebox for you listening pleasure. Excellent comebacks from Tennis and our dear Persian Leaps, the new tunes from Egoism (formerly EGO) and Mercury Girls, confirming here we have two bands to follow closely, a killer version of The Replacements... plus plenty more to discover & enjoy! And remember, all songs are listed at our Soundcloud page (Join Us!).

Direct links to 2016 Jukebox playlists

Week 84  Week 85  Week 86   Week 87   Week 88  Week 89 Week 90   Week 91   Week 92  
Week 93  Week 94  Week 95  Week 96   Week 97  Week 98  Week 99   Week 100 Week 101 
Week 102   Week 103  Week 104  Week 105   Week 106  Week 107    Week 108  Week 109
Week 110  Week 111   Week 112

The Indie Anthology 68: essential songs

Told you this section was going to be revitalized and, before we take a holiday break for about ten days here's another mesmerizing tune to add to our anthology. Well, as a matter of fact it is way more than just a tune. In my opinion, it's one of the best jangle pop melodies ever penned.

Song: I Had an Excellent Dream
Artist: The Dentists
Year: 1985

This past April, we had the pleasure to count with Mark Matthews from the amazing The Treasures of Mexico, answering our questions in the 'These Go to 11' section. But, Matthews, as we pointed extensively on that interview, has a jangle-pop pedigree that goes back to the middle 80s, as he was a permanent member of the The Dentists, a terribly underrated combo that gave us a bunch of gems, among them this mind-blowing 'I Had and Excellent Dream', an epitome of what an eternal jangle-pop tune is, and part of a truly masterful album, 'Some People Are on the Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now' (reminder: have to grab a copy, damn it!). Second one: a guitar starts ringing (thanks Bob Collins, also playing now at the Treasures, you are genius guitarist). Seconds five to-eight: you are irrepressibly hooked by that chiming guitar riff (it resonates, vibrates, hums and keeps going further, relentlessly), propelled by that groovy rhythm section. Second thirty: Michael Murphy starts singing and you, providing an fragility and melancholy to the otherwise blasting tune. Second one hundred and eighty: the chorus keeping exploding and you know you'll get stuck to the song forever. 31 years have passed and still sounds raw, exciting, slightly psychedelic, immediate and classic at the same time. Guitar pop as its best.