Friday 25 May 2012

yho30 - consequences ...



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

No comments:

Post a Comment