Crash-Course, No. 1: The Only Youth Group I'd Ever Join

No one really knows where they're gonna end up....

The anatomy of their career makes Australia’s Youth Group a snug fit just for this site’s One Hit No More feature (see the sidebar). They plugged away as an indie-rock recording and performing outfit for eight years before a series of lucky(?) steps drew opportunity to its door. Opportunity came in the form of recording a cover of Alphaville’s “Forever Young” for the American teen-‘n’-life drama, The O.C. (aka, Commissioner Jim Gordon’s first gig). The contrast between Alphaville’s original video and what Youth Group’s label, Ivy League Records, chose to show over Youth Group’s version seems instructive; Youth Group never stopped being that recording and performing indie rock outfit, a moment captured by an article in The Age back in 2006. All the same:

“It has been a bit frustrating recently. A lot of people know us for that song but, while it is a good indication of our sound, I don’t think it’s a good indication of our background.”

That’s Youth Group’s frontman Toby Martin, who, along with Danny Lee Allen, acts as the band’s anchor. The song made Youth Group famous – and the album it appeared on, Casino Twilight Dogs, went platinum in Australia –but it didn’t make them a different band. That article from The Age reveals hints of anxiety, not just about the band blowing up, but about how the public will like the rest of their music and about learning how to play for bigger crowds. I stumbled onto a link of Youth Group performing "Forever Young" on an Australian (probably) morning news show, and…that is what they had to level up to the main stage (I love the aplomb with which the anchor name-drops Alphaville; but also, the audio on that performance is way better than Ivy League’s official video).

Youth Group took a winding path to becoming the go-to opening act for major artists touring Australia (e.g., Coldplay and Kings of Leon). They played their first shows in the suburbs of Sydney with an original line-up of Martin on guitars and vocals, Allen on drums, Andy Cassell on bass, and Paul Murphy on lead guitar. Cassell left the band in 2003 to devote more time to launching Ivy League Records (a decision Martin described as generous), and was replaced by Patrick Matthews, who needed an life raft to escape the turmoil of his first band, The Vines (want to hear that story). Cameron Emerson-Elliott replaced Murphy and rounded out the line-up for Youth Group’s glory day or two.

One Hit No More, No. 13: The Standells, "Dirty Water" From a Different Town

That looks pretty goddamn must-see to me.

I think I can sum up the proto-garage/proto-punk Los-Angeles-based band, The Standells, in two quotes and one long-form fact.

“The Standells’ band name was created by Larry Tamblyn, derived from standing around booking agents' offices trying to get work.” (source)

“I got this big slab of meat and like any kid I wanted to have catchup on it. I'll never forget Jagger said: ‘You bloody Yankee...’ (Laughs). He didn't use the word bloody. He used a four letter word there.” (source)

The Standells are best-known for the song, “Dirty Water,” lately adopted as a Boston, Mass anthem. Even with all the guys who passed in and out of the line-up before and during their days on the main stage, not even one of them had stepped foot in Boston, never mind hailed from there. The song was written by Ed Cobb, their producer when they landed at Capitol Records, and finally found a good fit. The inspiration for the song came from Cobb getting mugged while crossing over the Charles River. It’s a good song, or at least I like it. I wouldn’t put it on a playlist, but it’s the first song on the list of one-hit wonders I’m mining for this One-Hit No More project that actually sounds like the kind of music I’ve gravitated toward for most of my adult life.

Authenticity, or something close enough to it, has been a big touch-stone in the music I like, so that's a healthy lesson for me. That’s where the quotes come in: based on my limited research, The Standells come off as a nice bunch of kids who wanted to get famous playing rock ‘n’ roll. As much as Tamblyn, who played keyboards and took over vocals when Dick Dodd wasn’t around, sticks up for their contributions, nothing suggests The Standells as the project of a musical visionary. They had enough material to play long-running residencies at places called P.J.’s and the Peppermint Lounge (wait…am I crossing up that name?), which means they paid their dues and earned as working musicians. They could play instruments and, per Tamblyn, rearrange Cobb’s original composition to their liking, but they had more taste and awareness than artistic ambition.

MAME May 2019 Playlist/Rabbit Hole: Willie J. Healey Reading The Symposium on Whyte Horses (Plus the Whole Damn Month)

Just picture her reading The Symposium.

Nearly caught up (and with nearly half of 2019 gone), but I’ve cut some weight, feel like I’ve found a plausible rhythm, etc. While this post will make the requisite sacrifices to get the schedule back in time – the entries will be shorter* (see all the way below) - it will have all the components of what I intend as The New Model for this site.

Because this post goes up as a companion piece to the final May 2019 MAME Playlist, it will only speak to a handful of the bands/artists on that playlist (eh, call it a couple handfuls, plus a couple fingers; just 13 songs of the 50 total). The rest came from three playlists posted earlier in the month of May. For the record, I delete playlists as I go (I hate clutter), but each of those three posts linked to every song that appeared on those playlists plus…oh, about 20 more each. And here are links to those posts, and the bands/artists I featured on each of them:

May 2019, Week 1 Playlist: Daisy the Great, Open Mike Eagle, and Rayland Baxter

May 2019, Week 2 Playlist: Doris Troy, Harlem, Pan Amsterdam, The Fratellis

May 2019, Week 3 Playlist: Har Mar Superstar, Hinds, and Music Band

Here, the word “featured” means I included short histories and some anecdotes about each of those bands – all of whom I believe are worth the time. While I have dreams of gussying up this site – updating the bio, making it easier to duck into the archives, maybe even embedding these weekly playlists into the sidebar – I plan on getting to those when the domestic soccer league goes quiet for a few weeks. Wish me luck…

The rest of this post will follow the same format as the earlier ones: I feature three bands down below – The Symposium, Willie J. Healey, and Whyte Horses – and will link to any other song that’s on this playlist that isn’t linked to in the earlier weekly posts. Yes, I need to stop explaining everything at length – maybe next month!(?) – but let’s meet this week’s featured artists. Oh, just to note it, all these artists (and 27 others) lingered on a 2016 playlist until I deleted it last week. Basically, I was somewhat familiar with all three, but, because I liked them as much as I do, I made an excuse to go back to them.