Top Tens: Favourite Albums by Gareth Liddiard (The Drones)

Right, so after yesterday’s post I reminded myself an old mag article and I’ve just found it this morning in an unpacked box since moving in here over a year or two or something ago, sitting right on top after opening it. It’s an old photocopy from over ten maybe even fifteen years ago. I’m most likely breaking some kind of copyright laws right now or something but it’s the internet, which that’s what it all about isn’t it? So skipping the wanky intro part of this page one lifted from the Aussie version of the stone that’s rolling mag. Here’s Gaz from The Drones fave albums for my Saturday’s post, no numbers or anything just ten great records:

Suicide by Suicide, 1977 

Note: that rag that calls themselves music journalism had a image of the reissue 1980 self-titled album but the date next to the album was the year 77 which the self-titled debut. When he was on the Aussie music TV show quiz show Rockwiz he picked to be quizzed about this album too.

These italic thingys is quoting what Gary said at the time:

“It’s got everything I like; it doesn’t just have guitars, it’s got a lot of soul. It’s poetic. If you just look through it all a bit you’ll probably see it’s most derivative rock & rock ever – it’s total Jerry Lee Lewis over a sort of heartbeat sound. But it’s really organic, it’s all natural sounds. The sound of machines, the sound of waves, and of crickets, the sound of heartbeats, the sound of dreams. It’s totally amazing. I just love it – it would be my all-favourite.”

Live At The Old Quarter by Townes Van Zandt, 1977

Note: The last gig he played in Freo he played a cover of the second last song on this album, Lungs. As he called the crowds at shows more than once but this time he’s the cunt for doing an east coast tour and not playing a show over here in the west.

“It’s him playing a solo show in the 70’s. On most of his records, he went to the studio and someone put some backing band behind him. But I don’t really like that. His thing is fragile; the spell can be broken so easily. It’s like a spiderweb: so gentle and delicate but so fucking powerful. It’s some of the heaviest songwriting, it’s just so madly intense. Him and Bob Dylan are two guys if you want words and music.”

X-Aspirations by X, 1979 

“It’s the sound of a bunch of junkies with a sense of humour, done with a full-on Aussie accent. It’s really funny and really sad. The way it was put together was totally slap-dash. They were looking for a song for a single and said to the engineer “Tell us when we’ve got it.” He was like, “Nope, That’s not it, do another song.” Until they said, “Have we got a single yet?” and he goes, “Nope but you’ve got a pretty fuckin’ great album.”

Hit Me With A Surreal Feel by Kim Salmon & The Surrealists, 1988

“It’s recorded with just one mike and it sounds like it’s 1,000 miles away. It’s such a bizarre concept; it sounds like someone is thinking a record or remembering one. It’s like the ghost or memory of an album. You know like when you’re walking down the humming your favorite song in your head, it’s there but it’s not.”

Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan, 1965

“I like that this is hilarious. He’s such a funny dude, it’s ridiculous. He was so serious and everyone everyone took him so seriously and he took everyone else so seriously. Then he comes out with “the sun is not yellow, it’s chicken” completely shit lines, you know? It’s that kind of terrible but it’s fantastic.”

Live’ 84 by Black Flag, 1985

“You know the V8 Interceptor that Mad Max drives? If that car had a band, it would sound like this. It’s the rawest, most insane album. It’s just so fucked-up, it’s hard to listen to the whole thing. It starts out rocking, good time rocking and it takes you through the shit, you just kill yourself by the end. It’s just that extreme.”

Rock For Light by Bad Brains, 1983

“I listen to this every day, it’s so extreme; it’s the fastest, most high energy shit. I’ve seen them play, their live shows are like staring into the sun. At their peak they’d be one of the best live bands even up against Dirty Three, The Bad Seeds – and it’s the best thing I’ve seen. They would shit on Slayer live, they’re more powerful than that.”

Kollaps by Einstürzende Neubauten, 1981

“We were based in Berlin for like 2 months and we lived down the road where Kollaps was made in this water tower that looked like this alien from War of the Worlds. It’s just so fucked-up, it’s great, it’s depressing but it’s uplifting too and it’s so passionate. It’s as soulful as an Otis Redding record but it does sound like a building collapsing.”

 Jukebox Babe by Alan Vega, 1980

“Alan is the singer from Suicide and this is his first solo record. It’s doo-wop, bee-bop rockabilly from the future and it’s so groovy. People either get it straight away or they don’t, I mean they’ll get it eventually. I gave it to Tim Rogers (from the band You Am I) and I asked “Did you listen to it?” he was was like “Yeah, it was pretty good.” It’s didn’t click but in 10 years he’ll call and say “Fuck, I just understood!”

Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison, 1974

“Veedon Fleece is a beautiful record. We listen to it on tour sometimes. You’ve got a handover, you’re teid, you put it on and everybody has to put their sunnies on because it’s such a moving record. It makes you so happy to be alive and so sad at the same time. My favorite love song on it, it’s Come Here My Love.”

Liddiard only a few years ago wearing a very silly t-shirt.

I don’t have the date of the magazine I’ve lifted this from but it must be around the mid-2000’s. He was just on local Melbourne radio PBS just a few days ago (which also remind me about about this old mag article) playing some fave songs and you could say snap to a couple of the same bands. A few years ago when he was on national triple J radio he picked two more of the same bands too. I hope everyone, anyone digs his taste in music today? Enjoy!