Newfoundland
And Hoodoo Gurus
Great Stuff
Marc Maron recently said on someone’s podcast (something to the effect of), “Once everybody knows how bad things are, perhaps entertainment is appropriate.”
Thus this effort to be less dour, to try positivity as a new rebellious pastime. I am really enjoying Maron’s 60s — he’s so informed and well-spoken, uncorrupted, still angry and so fucking funny. He’s on every podcast at the moment, supporting his show Panicked. All worth the time.
It’s also getting harder to find cool, smart shit on the internet. So I’ll share what I find.
Hoodoo Gurus
Music is always a big part of travelling for us. In Newfoundland this August, Marjan had a great idea, based off a Bluesky thread about what great albums came out in whatever year we were 16. She made a playlist of albums from 1987, when she was 16, for us to reconsider or explore. I’m only gonna discuss one here, but the list was:
Music for the Masses - Depeche Mode
Darklands - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Document - REM
Pleased to Meet Me - Replacements
Electric - The Cult
Nothing Like The Sun - Sting
Sister - “The” Sonic Youth
Faith - George Michael
Frank’s Wild Years - Tom Waits
Actually - Pet Shop Boys
Yo! Bum Rush the Show - Public Enemy
Solitude Standing - Suzanne Vega
Blow Your Cool! - Hoodoo Gurus
You’re Living All Over Me - Dinosaur Jr
Hate Your Friends - The Lemonheads
Appetite for Destruction - Guns N Roses
The Hardline According to (Terrence Trent D’Arby) - Sananda Maitreya
The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death - The Housemartins
Locust Abortion Technician - Butthole Surfers
Come On Pilgrim - Pixies
Private Revolution - World Party
Diesel and Dust - Midnight Oil
Introduce Yourself - Faith No More
Saint Julian - Julian Cope
Through the Looking Glass - Siouxie and the Banshees
Life’s Too Good - The Sugarcubes
Eye of the Hurricane - The Alarm
Kick - INXS
The Joshua Tree - U2
It was a lot of driving. We started it intending to listen to entire albums, but that wasn’t sustainable (life’s too short for terrible songs). We also intended to leave out albums we already knew well, like Joshua Tree and Kick and Faith and Frank’s Wild Years, but we added them back in during the trip (for the opposite reason).
ANYWAY: I knew the name Hoodoo Gurus, but had heard none of their stuff. I missed out! They fit right into my tastes — big guitars, strong melodies, clever lyrics, lots of crunch. I would’ve dug it, and was very pleased to finally meet them. They remind me of Tragically Hip, Midnight Oil, and the Replacements. Check them out. Apparently they’re still going. If they ever come to town (to a small, reasonably priced venue), we’re going.
Marjan’s favourite discovery was The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Darklands, which occupies a sort of Velvets/80s space. She loves that Velvet Underground flavour.
Overall, many of these albums are extremely thin, especially after the singles are done. My own 1987 was brutal — in my top 3 worst years ever — so that ruined a lot of the stuff I knew back then, like Sting and Suzanne Vega and TTD. The Sugarcubes are fun. The Cult are always hilarious — basically AC/DC with artier pretensions. Astbury’s voice is incredible, but the things he sings are so dumb. And he never writes a second verse — he just sings the same thing or stretches “baby” over ten syllables. Here:
It was an enjoyable frame for thinking about music and youth. What were the great records from your 16th year?
From Around the Internet
Framing Logic (YouTube Channel)
This is good medicine. I know, I know, we’ve lost and the idiots are running things now. But apparently some smart kids are up for the fight. I’ll support this cat on Patreon. He discusses — and explains, and maps and charts — logic in a world overcome by stupidity. He’s the Canticle for Leibowitz of now, a monk in the Middle Ages with an internet connection.
More Jokes Please
I watched this brilliance last year, but it still needs flame-fanning.
That’s all for now. I hope you’re doing alright.
Love,
jep