Friday, August 3, 2012
Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine/Nick Kent on Hawkwind 1972 (NME) and the Smiths 1986/Monoshock 2012
While in Melbourne a few weeks back, I managed to miss my old pal's Monoshock's warm-up gig in San Francisco. Warm up for what? You tell me. Japan, UK and continental festivals all finishing with an Australasian leg of the world tour ending here in NZ. Nice, no? That should have been what happened the first time. Instead, all we get for the gig is a 180 gram repress of one the 1990's quintessential records. Did Thirsty even listen to his free promo that we flung to him at the time? The rumble of "Cryptozoological Disaster" still defines the era for me - what is with all these self serving folks writing books about that era without including a CHAPTER on the making of this record. While missing the Monoshock gig, I did happen to find this old NME 1972 yearbook in a 1985-vintage psychotronic video shop (where the owner told my daughter not to touch the clamshell VHS cases as they were "collectible"!), and oddly not in one of Melbourne's forty plus record stores. That said, you get Nick Kent on Hawkwind. Lemmy drinking a Newcastle Brown Ale, Dik Mik in front of both the Sam Gopal lp AND "Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine." "From Bolan to Beefheart"!! It says it right there on the cover. After watching Monoshock, move yourself to some VINTAGE 1986 Nick Kent (right after John Peel) as he pontificates at 2:40 of the South Bank Show special on the Smiths. Dead on as always. Outstanding stuff. More Kent and Hawkwind in the archives here if you can be bothered to search.
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I know exactly the store you are talking about in Melb. CBD, "This is not a Sex shop" signs, as, well, it does look like one. That guy is a notorious, old-style shop-grouch. I don't think he has had a piece of new stock since 1994 or something. He accused me of trying to steal from him - "Can I see your bag? Where'd that cassette go you were lookin' at?" It is cool in that it is historical retail artifact.
ReplyDeleteRe: Hawkwind, ever stumbled across this soundcloud? Uncle Harry, '73 space cadet teenagers who cover "Master of the Universe", "One of these Days," and... "Uncle Harrys Last Freak out" !
http://soundcloud.com/david-mylett/master-of-the-universe
Jarrod - that is EXACTLY the shop. Maybe a track on the next FD lp called "This is not a (sex shop)"? I have to say the red painted walls as you walk up the steep stairs do kinda give that impression. At least there are dvds there now and he is indirectly responsible for hepping me to the Kent piece where Kent describes the pre-Hawkwind "family" as "lazy, self-confessed tripping science fiction readers who were firm believers in the power of good vibes," which could describe more than a few folks I know now. Someone needs to press up those '73 tracks. They were new to me so thanks!
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