FORUM
In which people say lovely things about us; famous people we know; press articles, odd bits of miscellanea and anything else we can think of.
FAMOUS PEOPLE WE KNOW OR KNEW:
1. RICKY ROSS OF DEACON BLUE
Much maligned but a nice guy. He drove in turns with Stripey down to London to get the Revelation EP mastered. Came to all our early gigs and even played "Why Don't You Come Out Tonight" on a piano once. See he has got heart.
2. JACKIE BIRD OFF THE TELLY
She used to sing in a band called Street Level, old pals of ours in Dundee. We supported them, they supported us, etc. Burt once threw a plastic chicken at her on stage in the Tayside Bar.
3. THAT BLOKE TOM OF THE THOMPSON TWINS
There used to be millions of them in that band. We supported them doing a CND benefit in Edinburgh with Everest the Hard Way. He did our sound for us - we were first on but sounded good for once in our lives.
4. JOHAN KUGELBERG
Never met him but sent lots of lovely emails and featured us in his article of the best DIY singles of all time at Number 22. Now a record producer. Top geezer.
5. THE BLOKE WITH THE SPECS FROM THE BLUEBELLS
Said once that our single was his favourite. Ta.
Press:
Review: Messthetics 1 CD
"Anti-masterpieces on the order of the Scrotum Poles, Pick the Cat,s Eyes Out,, a three-chord wonder that can,t decide whether to chug or strum, with the singer at a loss as to how to sing the title after 16 repetitions" Franklin Bruno, L.A. Weekly.
Book Review: Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-Punk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds (Faber, £9.99)
He masterfully covers the shifting political context and the rise of independent labels like Rough Trade, Factory and Mute. He even finds space for "cassette bands" that scorned vinyl, like God & the Turds and the Scrotum Poles. Glorious.
IP, The Guardian Feb 2006
Review: Messthetics Greatest Hits
I don't get what anyone hears in tracks by the SCROTUM POLES or the THIN YOGHURTS, but I have a feeling it has more to do with the rad band names than anything else (hard to believe that Johan Kugelburg can actually claim that a Scrotum Poles song, no less, "....is going to be played at least three record collector funerals I know of...", since it's a shitty song from a totally marginal band).
Agony Shorthand, 2006
Comments posted in response to Agony Shorthand article:
"What anyone hears in the Scrotum Poles"? I hear something I'd want played at my funeral, sure. And I collect records, it's true, but I also hear a couple of the greatest punk rock tracks I've ever heard, out of thousands of bootleg lps and cd-rs and what have you....
Posted Thu 11 May 3:43 PM GMT by Jon Bywater
I agree. The Scrotum Poles' "Pick The Cat's Eyes Out" is an amazing track (one of my very favorite "Messthetics" songs -- hell, one of my very favorite tracks ever) and would be welcomed at any funeral of mine!
Also: Jay, you forgot to mention the two previously unreleased Rejects tracks featuring Bruno from the Homosexuals. Both are excellent and alone make the CD worth getting!
Posted Fri 12 May 11:06 PM GMT by John Righter (jrighter3@excite.com - )
Review: Noise Addict album
Noiseaddict (featuring Ben Lee) were once a very very young trio, and this 10" issues their first demos, originally found as a private cassette release. The sound is lo-fi guitar/bs/drums sputter that almost recalls the long lost glories of the late 70s UK DIY skeletal punk genre (y'know TVP's, Scrotum Poles, Walking Floors, Desperate Bicycles, etc.).