Andrew Wilson is a chap who doesn’t take himself too seriously. The abundance of sports commentary in his mixes (from horse-racing and Shane Warne) can attest to that, but he also goes about his business with an acute awareness and sensitivity for the world around him. You only need to look as far as the captions on his tour photos (written in local dialect) or his refusal to celebrate Australia day (instead putting together a mix celebrating indigenous music). With these two qualities in mind, and being a man of many monikers and musical styles, Andy has hit way into the leftfield for his list, looking at some rather strange and risqué lyrics in Australian new wave.
He explains in more detail below:
“I often get caught up in how things sound, without a great understanding of the lyrical content. This is especially relevant in regards to records in languages I don’t comprehend. If I’m playing a Russian, Hungarian or Turkish song, it’s likely I have, at best, a second hand understanding – and that’s only if I’ve been able to ask a kind native speaker for clues.
Due to a heavily Anglocentric culture around record collecting, this dearth of meaning probably happens more in my own direction, than the other way around. Regardless, I thought it would be nice to write up and print some of my favourite lyrics from Australian new-no-zero-wave songs – in case it helps non-native english speaking audiences to understand a bit of the ‘Larrikin’ humour contained within.
Conveniently, a couple of these are getting re-issued in 2016 – the Karen Marks track will be on a compilation called Sky Girl out on Efficient Space (the re-issue offshoot of the Australian radio-show-turned-label Noise in my Head), and two others from the below list will be feature on Midnite Spares, a compilation Instant Peterson and myself have worked on for the same label.”
Catch András in London next weekend for Brick Lane Buyers Club, DJing alongside Admin. He also plays Obonjan, Croatia on 29th July.
Mix – Do You Do It, from Do You Do It (Hot Records, 1984)
A groovy synth song about female masturbation // discogs
There’s no-one home,
You’ve got time to kill,
Feeling in the mood,
To have a little thrill,
But there’s no-one there,
To share in your desire,
There’s only one sure way
You’ll put out the fire,
Do you do it,
Do you do it,
Do you do it,
On your own?
Do you do it,
Do you do it,
Do you do it,
All alone?
[. . .]
Steven Herrick – I’ll Never Go Down To The Football Again, from My New Haircut (Mighty Boy, 198?)
Steven Herrick’s first published poem, written at age eighteen, was called “Love is like a gobstopper” // discogs.
Christ got punched,
Sterl-o smashed,
The rain soaked my pie,
I lost all my cash,
Bedlam in the outer,
The try was disallowed,
There were madmen all around,
Madmen in the crowd,
The only ones sane
were miles from the game,
i’ll never go down to the football again.
[. . .]
Lucas Abela – ‘Don’t Touch Me’, from Dodo is a Dog (and Other Song Tourettes Adventures) (Disembraining, 2014)
None of the songs are thought out, they just simply stream from his mouth without warning. He decided to write down the lyrics for some of the most memorable before sending them to Magic Key Productions, a song poem company in Hollywood who put music to lyrics, and these are the results… Edition of 82 (lifespan of Dodo (in dog years)).
You’re cute, you’re kind,
Don’t touch me,
You’re sweet, you’re nice,
Don’t touch me,
You’re smart, you’re fun,
Don’t touch me,
You’re my number one,
Don’t touch me
Foot and Mouth – ‘I Want My Mummy’, from The Prophecy of Fossos (No Penis No God, 198?)
A dark monotone 4 minute ballad with no guitars. Entire song sung in fake vibrato, with a backing beat and children’s toy SFX // listen.
I want my Mummy,
I want her now,
I want my Daddy
I want him now
Daddy’s gone away,
What ever for,
Don’t mummy and daddy love each-other anymore?
Mummy’s not talking,
Daddy’s using force,
Think Mummy and Daddy,
Want a divorce
[. . .]
Human Backs – ‘Dingoes in Bethlehem’, from Human Backs (Subterranean Tapes, 1983)
A recounting of the birth of Jesus, mixed up with the tale of Azaria Chamberlain, an Australian baby girl who was killed by a dingo on the night of 17 August 1980 on a family camping trip in outback Australia. Backed by 128bpm proto-techno // discogs.
To Bethlehem came the three white men
In late December, I do remember,
That hungry night they came for a bite,
to the Greek cafe for the special of the day,
For tea and toast and Savior roast,
but the Dingo beat them to it,
The Dingo beat, and the Dingo Beat,
And the Dingo beat them to it!
Away in the major,
Jesus lay dying,
Blood on the floor,
And Mary was crying,
All because,
The Dingo beat, and the Dingo Beat,
And the Dingo beat them to it!
[. . .]
