Tag Archives: memoir
PRIMITIVE LOVE?
There was a moment during the Year 12 English exam, the one taken by every final year high school student in the State, that hinted at what was to come in the life of a young Vinyl Connection. English is traditionally first off the blocks in the ‘This Is It!’ series of examinations that decide […]
XTC IN EXCELSIS
Back in the car-cassette days of the late twentieth century it was a mandatory part of any road-based holiday to prepare a compilation tape for the journey. These became known as the ‘In-flight Entertainment’ series and included a number of pleasant destinations in the state of Victoria. With the aim of spicing up the listening […]
HOT CROSS SONGS
There are certain sounds and rhythms that grab you tight and shake. Think The Kinks ‘You really got me’ with that distorted, snarling guitar or the irresistible loping boogie of ‘On the road again’ by Canned Heat. The first pop song I ever clocked as having a reference to religion combined – or perhaps appropriated […]
MAGIC MUSHROOM
As part of a rationalisation of his music storage and delivery system, my friend BB gave me a box of CDs to take along to the next Record Fair. Comprising largely jazz from the more exploratory end of the spectrum and progressive music of the kind that defies genre labelling, BB had transferred the music […]
HOLIDAY HUNTER
Summer at Vinyl Connection often means a beach holiday, preferably with some walking options nearby to satisfy the more active half of the VC partnership. This year we have just returned from ten days in Gippsland, a coastal region two hours south-east of Melbourne. When the weather does not shout ‘Beach!’, we visit various towns and […]
UNCANNY MASTERPIECE
IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING A reflection in two parts by a grateful subject I Has there been a more spine tingling opening to an album than the beginning of In The Court Of The Crimson King? An interstellar wind approaches from the depths of nowhere, fades, then explodes into one of the […]
NOT SUCH A COOL YULE
The first half of 1977 was spent sitting in my room. It wasn’t locked; I just couldn’t find many reasons for leaving. Other than one friendly human being, companionship came in the form of books and records. The small but diverse vinyl collection included a selection of the popular progressive music of the day, some […]
YOU’LL NEVER COME BACK
I was thrown out of Melbourne’s signature university at the end of 1976, having accumulated an impressive collection of ‘F’ grades. That’s not ‘F for Fail’ – though it certainly is well below the plimsoll line of the good ship Pass Mark – but the F at the end of the series A – B […]
GRAHAM: A RECORD STORE TALE
Customers coming into our little suburban record store to buy music seemed to fall into several categories. There were the positively vague. “That song on the radio, it goes Do-de-Do-de Dum Dum Dum… Got that one?” There were the negatively vague. “Don’t suppose you know what that new album’s called, the one with the zither […]
[RE-] LIVING IN THE SEVENTIES
When Skyhooks played Melbourne Uni’s Wilson Hall in 1974 they were just about to erupt into the charts with their game-changing debut album. There was a buzz around the band and the big hall was packed with the ‘I’ve heard they’re good’ curious, the ‘saw them at Martini’s ages ago’ hip, and the ‘Who’s playing […]
vinylconnection.com.au 