"Friends of the Enemy" Documentary

This is great stuff!

Part 1:


Part 2:

DoubleHappys - Nerves (1992)

As soon as I mentioned this compilation in the Stones post, I knew that it was only a matter of time before it would make an appearance on this blog; and my weaknesses proved me correct, as usual. In case you've forgotten, the DoubleHappys arose from the ashes of my beloved Stones, and saw Wayne Elsey reuniting with former Bored Games band-mate Shayne Carter. Along with drummer John Collie--his predecessor was a despised drum machine dubbed "Herbie Fuckface"--the trio would blaze a brief but intense trail through the New Zealand music scene, bombarding audiences with their own blistering brand of trashy, snotty, and anthemically sweeping kiwi rock. The meager recorded legacy of the DoubleHappys--1984's 'Double B Side' 7" and the following year's 'Cut It Out' EP--is often overshadowed by the later achievements of Shayne Carter, but I feel that these songs offer far more than just the blueprint for the Straitjacket Fits. 'Nerves' kindly collects the entire recorded output of the DoubleHappys in addition to four live tracks that appeared on the posthumous EP "How Much Time Left, Please?" For this listener, the standout is the biting, slow-burn intensity of Wayne Elsey's "Anyone Else Would." The rest are brilliant fun as well, if only for the joy of listening to Carter and Elsey try and out-sneer each other on every track. So, do give the DoubleHappys a listen! Wayne Elsey left behind a vibrant musical legacy that was all too brief, but I hope you will enjoy these albums as much as I have. Finally, here's a very amusing but ultimately sad interview with the DoubleHappys dating shortly before Elsey's death in 1985: Hard News: One for Wayne. - Ariel

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"Needles and Plastic"

Bored Games - Who Killed Colonel Mustard 12" EP (1982)

I thought that it would be nice to put this one up before the DoubleHappys compilation that I mentioned in the Stones post; I just can't help myself. Bored Games was the high school creation of Shayne Carter and Wayne Elsey, though the latter left the band to form the Stones before they recorded any material together. Interestingly, 1982's 'Who Killed Colonel Mustard' EP was very much a posthumous release, Bored Games having broken up a year prior to its recording. Luckily for us, four of the band's greatest songs were committed to musical posterity: fourteen glorious minutes of youthful, punky exuberance and raucous noisemaking from future members of the DoubleHappys, Straitjacket Fits, and the Chills. This EP features the Bored Games standard "Joe 90," a retro-trash, anthemic slice of kiwi pop heaven, but the particular thorn in my side has always been "Happy Endings," a song that is catchier than it has any right to be given its content. Just try to get that chorus out of your head. I dare you. - Ariel

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"Happy Endings"

The Stones - Complete Recordings (1982-83)

You just have to love that name, don't you? Such naughty, cheeky boys. Along with the Chills, the Verlaines, and the Sneaky Feelings, the Stones first appeared on the legendary Dunedin Double EP in 1982. To the sad deprivation of music lovers the world over, they only went on to record one more EP, 1983's 'Another Disc, Another Dollar.' Like so many Flying Nun acts, the Stones have been tragically denied any kind of retrospective, so I decided to collect the songs that appeared on these two releases for your listening pleasure! While I've read that these EPs didn't do justice to the chaotic power of the Stones live, the songs they managed to record possess a brilliantly raw, primal urgency as led by the late, great Wayne Elsey. The Stones performed their own beautifully volatile mix of down n' dirty, stompin' garage and surf-rock filtered through the lens of that most unfathomably glorious of times, post-punk Dunedin. Just fantastic kiwi minimalism and ingenuity at work here, folks. And does "Down and Around" sound like the Chills' "Dan Destiny and the Silver Dawn" to anyone else? Just me? Anyway, after you hear these songs, you'll wish the Stones had left behind a long recorded legacy too; unfortunately, the magic is all too brief. After the demise of the Stones, Wayne Elsey would go on to form the excellent but similarly short-lived DoubleHappys with Shayne Carter. Seek out the 'Nerves' compilation if you haven't! DoubleHappys would eventually evolve into the Straitjacket Fits after Elsey's tragically premature death in 1985. The Stones' faultless songs, however, will always remain; enjoy! - Ariel

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I've got most of these requests coming up too! If I've forgotten anything from this list, please let me know.

The Terminals - Little Things
Bailter Space - Nelsh Bailter Space EP
Jay Clarkson - S/T EP
Fatal Jelly Space - Hole EP

Or, if there's anything else you'd like to see on this blog, do leave a comment!