The
cover of the thirtieth edition of YHO features a still from the promo video for
The Go-Betweens’ Bachelor Kisses. And, appropriately, this issue is all about
The Go-Betweens’ first three LPs and the musical climate in which they were
made and first heard. The YHO way of working had been very much about roaring
through the pop landscape, making unexpected connections, and zooming off in a
new direction to explore whatever turns up. So, for a new challenge, I thought
it would be fun to do something different, and write about something more
specific like a short sequence of LPs by one artist.
I
have to confess I was a little uneasy about choosing this particular sequence
of records. I had in the past been
particularly critical of the way The Go-Betweens were written about. And I was a little worried I was choosing
some music that was a little too close to home, for the YHO experience was very
much about exploring in rather more unfamiliar areas. But there were some very important things I
wanted to say about The Go-Betweens and this particular era, so I carried on
with the plan. This issue of YHO has
been the most popular, but I’m not sure what that proves.
There
was a lovely little discussion thread on a Go-Betweens forum about this edition
of YHO, and I am particuarly fond of one comment: “I have been slowly working my way through this. It's got a LOT of
information and is entertaining but it's written as if the author is using
methamphetamine. He can't seem to stick to an idea and develop it to save his
soul without wandering off on yet another tangent. I keep expecting him to
write ‘now, where was I before I started talking about x?’ I am literally only
halfway through. I think I'm going to explore some of his (her?) writings on
British soul acts. That's been an interest of mine for many years and this
blogger obviously favors the uncommon and unknown.”
The
wider context mentioned means there are also mentions in this issue of others
such as:
Ø
Hurrah!
Ø
Blue Orchids
Ø
Felt
Ø
The Nightingales
Ø
Aztec Camera
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