No beer last night! Pretty much due to me emptying the intake from the night before down the toilet on Saturday morning amongst other things. So, despite a poor night's sleep, I was reasonably fresh and willing to get up and get back on track with the training. I'd missed a couple of 3 and 4 mile runs from the schedule so felt I had to really make the effort to attempt the suggested 7 miles today. Took it steady and it wasn't too tough. I even managed the stupidly steep hill at the end into the village.
Soundtrack - Hoodoo Gurus - Dig It Up! (own playlist)
Leilani
Tojo
(Let's all) Turn On
Dig It Up
Bittersweet
Like Wow Wipeout!
Death Defying
What's My Scene?
Good Times
1000 Miles Away
Miss Freelove '69
Castles in the Air
Dressed in Black
Less Than a Feeling
Crackin' Up
I Hope You're Happy
Loosely based on their new "best of" collection Gold Watch, I cobbled this playlist together of singles and favourites from one of Australia's best kept secrets. Huge, in their time, in their native country and now deservedly sitting amongst the elder statesmen of Aussie Rock, Hoodoo Gurus are a band I've followed for the past 25 years or so, ever since seeing the video for "What's My Scene?" on the Chart Show back in 1987/88 ish. I thought they were like an Australian Housemartins. With long hair (that didn't last!). I bought the accompanying album Blow Your Cool, discovered some earlier stuff through a friend, Pete Farrage, and was a fan from then on. They're one of those bands that, with all the factors in place, should have been much bigger. They were as big as you could get on the college radio circuit America (where they were considered in a similar vein to early REM and even had a, then in the ascendant, girl group called The Bangles appear on their records) but not much beyond that and enjoyed middling success elsewhere.
Starting life as a post-punk/surf/power-pop outfit Le Hoodoo Gurus, they wrote and played about all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff:- Kamikaze Pilots (Tojo and I was a Kamikaze Pilot), Necrophilia (Dig it Up!) and erm, questionable relationships with dogs (My Girl). Dave Faulkner, lead songwriter/singer, developed a more mature style for later work, although they occasionally returned to songs that were just about being a great party songs. And this is why I always thought they should have had more mainstream success. Some of their records drift, sonically, into AOR territory, which can be a criticism, but they did it as well, if not better and ballsier, as anyone else at the time yet didn't receive the return in sales or raised profile globally.
"What's My Scene?" is their signature tune, although any of the songs on this collection are rightly considered classics in their output. It is a textbook example of how to write a great pop/rock single. Iconic guitar intro, anticipatory first verse, stomping, anthemic chorus, impassioned middle eight, faultless guitar solo, more shouty anthemic choruses and semi-improvised ending. I would put money on this song making its way onto an advert, film or TV show eventually in the UK and the band finally being granted well deserved success here. I'll certainly keep spreading the word.
As a running soundtrack the playlist was great, despite continuing issues with my ipod (I need to dig out my cassette walkman I think). The later stuff was surprisingly effective at keeping me going in the final couple of miles with its classic, rockier drive. Their latest studio album "Purity of Essence" is packed with quality songs and the band sound as fresh as ever. On their album Magnum Cum Louder they sang of the pressure of coming up with the goods on "Where's that hit?". They all sound like hits to me.
There are a few gaping holes in the playlist as my iTunes is playing up too so a couple of albums - In Blue Cave and Mach Schau aren't represented here. Not a comment on their quality of course!
Buy this...
Gold Watch by Hoodoo Gurus
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