When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.
I was nine when the BBC's adaptation of Day of the Triffids arrived on TV... the perfect age for watching a scary show about killer plants taking over the world. In later years, I would discover the novel - one of many excellent sci fi / horror novels by the late, great John Wyndham who also wrote The Midwich Cuckoos, The Chrysalids and The Kraken Wakes, among others.
The Triffids were truly terrifying creatures... but will they prove as scary as some of the acts below?
THE TRIFFIDS #1
Made in Great Britain in 1963, and featuring Ernie and Barry
Hilton… that’s about all I can tell you about these Triffids. Poppy beat band
here, but later they went Folk.
Aussie Triffids, though they were more successful in the UK
than in their native land. They germinated in Perth in 1978 and were still kicking
around a decade later. Lead singer David McComb would then transfer his green
fingers to producing Blackeyed Susans instead.
A singular Triffid, although from the image above there were four of them, and just imagine if your daughter brought one of them home. That would be scary. These guys came from Albany, New York in 1984.
Around the same time in New Zealand, these Triffids were invading. You'd have thought being neighbours, they might have heard of their Australian counterparts and chosen a different name. But obviously not...
Those of you who like watching celebrities dance on TV may well be horrified to have learned that the new Strictly host is Josh Widdecombe. Not a patch on the former host, old Wink' (Claudia Winkelman).
Loose Articles are from Manchester. They're one of an increasing number of punky girl&guitar bands that are leaving the boys in the shade at the moment. (See also Panic Shack, Twat Union, The Pill et al.) They also have a lot of fun in their videos, like here...
...and here...
However, the song I'm most taken with at the moment is this one, which doesn't appear to have a video... yet, at least. I'm fascinated with it because it appears to start with the intro to Run To You by Bryan Adams... and then segue into Come As You Are by Nirvana. Or is it Teen Spirit? It definitely sounds Nirvana-ey. That's some audacious theft right there. More power to the Loose Articles!
As we approach the summer holidays, I'm going to have less time than usual to blog. Partly because of summer fun, partly because I've got another writing project I want to get cracking with. I've spent the last few weeks getting ahead on Snapshots and Namesakes so they should take care of themselves... but in between, other regular features will probably be on hold.
I will be posting the final edition of the Cancel Culture Club soon though - so if anyone else has any thoughts on whether Dreadlock Holiday by 10CC needs cancelling, please let me know by the end of this weekend.
To help fill the gaps, there will be a series of short posts in which I play one song I've been listening to recently and tell you why I like it.
Let's start with this...
The Cosmopolitans were a New York new wave / burlesque dance band famous for their live shows featuring live shows featuring go-go dancing, baton routines and "buffoonish acts". There's not enough buffoonish acts in pop music these days. Their most popular single (above) offered some useful, if tongue-in-cheek, advice for young women everywhere.
They also enjoyed Wild Moose Parties...
OK, so that was two tracks. I've already broken this feature's only rule. Bodes well...
