No One To Play With

Grump, grump, grump. And phooey. And poo.

Take me out tonight, I had begged, where there's music and there's people...

Well, alright, it wasn't quite such a desperate cry. But I had wanted to see The Tranzmitors support the legendary Teenage Head tonight at Pub 340. But it's not to be. Dearest Wife, for all her charms, is not really a ramalama punk kinda gal (we're going later this month to see Lisa Gerrard), all my potential companions were otherwise engaged, and you already know of my prediliction against being the seedy old solo saddo at the back.

Grump. And darn. And damn.

The Tranzmitors are a quartet of Vancouver's finest antsy young men, who collectively transmit an infectious stream of modpoppunkwave. Think equal measures of mid-career Jam, Buzzcocks at their brightest, a dash of Futureheads in spiky mode, and a wodge of fun. I saw them support Armitage Shanks soon after landing in Canada, and I have it on first-hand authority that Shanksy frontman Dick Scum counts them as one of his bestest bands.

The lads actually have a distinguished combined pedigree, hailing as they do from such great B.C. bands as The Smugglers, New Town Animals, and Emergency. Singer Jeffie Genetic also fronted his own band, Jeffie Genetic and His Clones, which brought back New Wave just a tadge sooner than it was generally thought cool to do so. Bryce Dunn, who drums with the fervour of a Born in 69 man possessed, is also the program director at CiTR, University of British Columbia's radio station. That they still shine with vim, vigour, and excitement fresh from the still is a direct function of their undimmed passion.

So you see why I wanted to be there. And Teenage Head? Meh, legends shmegends...

The Tranzmitors - Dancing in the Front Row (buy here)

The Tranzmitors - Alma Blackwell (buy e-here)
Off their new, eponymous album, which rocks, oh yes!!

Jeffie Genetic and his Clones - Oh No I've Been Cloned (buy e-here)
All the best bits of eighties music squished into one great song

And Dearest Friends, just for the sake of comparison:

Buzzcocks - Get On Your Own (buy here)

The Jam - When You're Young (buy here)
Alright, that's all the Jam round here for a a while now...

Finally, to compound my misery, the Eurovision Song Contest is happening tonight and it has totally passed me by. Those of you who were around last year may have seen how excited I get about this event. But this year I'm almost totally out of the loop. Fiddlesticks.

That said, I have seen the Ukrainian entry, and I'm fervently praying that it wins. My hopes rest on you, lovely Verka Serdyuchka. Take a look, Dearest Friends, and you too will be smitten. Sieben, sieben, ein, zwei..



SUNDAY EDIT: Travesty! We wuz robbed!! How could Ukrainian dahlink Verka (see above) be beaten by a mewling Serbian cross between KD Lang and Mrs Potatohead (see below)?? THERE IS NO JUSTICE!!!!!



Sigh. Here are both tracks for posterity. And for further Eurovision thoughts, drop by Homo Eclectic and The Morbid Adventures of Minge.

Verka Serdyuchka - Danzing Lasha Tumbai
Marija Serifovic - Molitva

Buy the CD here or download songs here