After a recent discussion with a friend about the film of Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road – which we’d both seen recently after reading the book – I recommended she read McCarthy’s excellent Border Trilogy novels (All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain).

I admitted in a text message later that when I find an author, musician or director I like I can often succumb to a kind of pathological need to track down their entire output and consume it in some obsessive kind of frenzy.

Tragic, obsessive, the best way to live life!

she texted back, making me feel like I wasn’t quite so weird.

It did get me thinking about how often I do this and have done since childhood. To prove it here’s a heavily edited list of highlights of some of the artists for whom I’ve had ‘periods’ (as in ‘my Scorcese period’). In roughly chronological order:

Authors

• Tom Wolfe
• Hunter S. Thompson
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Aldous Huxley
• Roald Dahl
• Peter Carey
• Tolkien
• (E.) Annie Proulx
• Andrew McGahan
• JK Rowling
• Ian McEwan
• Jasper Fforde

Musicians

• The Beatles
  This was definitely the first time I got obsessed with something from popular culture. I got this one early, around the age of eight, and it’s stayed with me to this day. (In the 1970s, before internet or even video, it was a lot harder to meet the needs of an obsessive – my main strategy revolved around checking out the record collections of any house we visited).
• Metallica
  For a few years in my teens I was a metalhead. There, I’ve said it. My friend at school introduced me to Metallica and, in a bizarre twist, within two years I ended up working at a metal magazine and interviewing drummer Lars Ulrich on the phone a couple of times during the making of their Black Album. I’m over it now, thank you very much.
• Hendrix
• Black Sabbath
• The Stooges
• The Rolling Stones
• The Ramones
• Sonic Youth
• Velvet Underground
• The Pixies
• John Spencer/Blues Explosion
• PJ Harvey
• You Am I
• Johnny Cash
• Jonathan Richman/Modern Lovers
• Holly Golightly
• The Magic Numbers
• Dylan
• Detroit Cobras
• The Shangri-Las
• The Drones
• Teenage Fanclub
• Dolly Parton
• Hoodoo Gurus
• Dirty Three
• Neko Case

Directors/TV

• John Waters
  When you’ve seen Pink Flamingoes you can hardly stop there, can you?
• Kubrick
  Ditto A Clockwork Orange
• Woody Allen
• Coen Brothers
• Mike Leigh
• Tarantino
• Scorcese
• Monty Python team
• David Chase
  Had to watch the entire Sopranos in chonological order
• Alan Ball
  As above with Six Feet Under

I can see that at least one of my children has inherited this disorder. Not sure whether I should be proud or worried..?

From 2005-2009 I played guitar in a cool band called Brut 66. We were a bunch of thirty- and forty-somethings who’d all ended up in the same country town and discovered we shared similar – some would say impeccable – musical tastes and had played in similar bands in our younger days.

What’s in a name?

When we first started playing and went through the usual brainstorming process bands do when they need to come up with a name we ended up settling on the quite unique – or so we thought – Brut 66. I can’t remember who came up with it but I do remember that at first it wasn’t taken as a serious contender (unlike some others: Dead Leg, The Nits and Red Motor, um hello?). It didn’t take long though. For me personally it was a great choice because it was stupid and kind of clever at the same time and had three big selling points:

1. It referenced the famous blues standard Route 66, famous to me via Chuck Berry and the Stones. Aside from being a great song I’ve always loved the song because of the several layers of meaning between the lines of it’s favourite lyrics. I knew that it symbolised the dream of a better life in utopian California for many poor black Americans who travelled it (check out Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath) and that it “celebrate[d] the romance and freedom of automobile travel” (Wikipedia).
2. It also referenced the ubiquitous and totally cheesy Brut 33 aftershave that was a part of life (and found under many a Christmas tree, chosen by hapless Aunties) for any male growing up in the 1970s and 80s.
3. It was a great bit of wordplay that mashed these two great pop culture references together. Puns, especially ones like this, have long been a favourite of my bandmates.

So anyway, off we went. We wrote some songs, practised them in Greg’s shed, played to our friends and families and occasionally ventured further afield. We recorded a couple of CDs. We didn’t change musical history but we had lots of fun.

Our style? We had dollops of 60s garage and Detroit rock, a bit of Australian underground in there. We were loud and messy, usually in a good way. As well as our originals we did some covers by the likes of The Sonics, Ramones, Patti Smith, God.

What 66?

Our name was often misspelled and that was part of the fun. On posters done by other bands we played, occasional newpaper ads, the memorable cover of a street press magazine and blackboards outside dodgy pubs we were sometimes ‘Brutt 66′ with two ts, at least once ‘Brute 66′, sometimes ‘Route 66′. It was fitting that for our very last gig at Sydney’s Lansdowne Hotel the blackboard announced ‘Brut GG’.

At the end of 2009 our singer moved away and the band ended.

The plot thickens

A couple of months later an email landed in my inbox

hi there,
played in a band called Brut 66 from Düsseldorf-Germany in the late 80´s.
sounded maybe like 70´s english styled punk rock or something else.
released only one 7 inch on a small local label called Teenage Rebel Records.
have a few copies left. if you are interessted i can send you 1 or 2.just for fun.
see you on tour in düsseldorf!
Michael

I nearly fell off my chair. Another band with exactly the same name had existed well before we thought of it. Their musical style even sounded not a million miles away from ours. I know that it’s hard to find a unique band name these days but hey, Brut 66?

Yesterday a package arrived from Michael with four singles from the ‘other’ Brut 66, recorded in 1988 in Düsseldorf. They look very young and – as I did in those days – eager to look as tough and hard as possible. In keeping with releases from the pre-digital age the single includes a photocopied A4 sheet with some cut and pasted pictures and typewritten lyrics. After the band members names it says “No thanks to anyone”.

Looks we’ve been well and truly outpunked!

(I’m ashamed to say that my record player is out of action right now so I haven’t been able to listen yet).

Pics of old and new Brut 66 singles and CDs below.

Stay tuned for the dual Brut 66es Germany and Australia reunion tour in another 10 years…

Bruts support the rockin Leadfinger from the ‘Gong with young Bello lads Sid Air.

See the full collection of Dave’s cheeky posters below (plus Leadfinger tour poster with wrong venue listed for Bellingen).

Why so good?

Because now that I’m old(ish) Big Day Out/Homebake is just too crazy/busy/full of wacky teenage trippers and shirtless yobs for me. At ATP I

• didn’t have to queue for beer (had to pay $7.50 for it though), toilets, food etc
• could walk between stages with ease
• could get as close as I wanted to bands

Here’s my take on what I saw, with some crappy pics from my mobile phone.

Hunter Dienna

After arriving on the island via ferry from Circular Quay with friends started the day by walking up the hill to the Barracks stage to see Hunter Dienna who  had just started playing here. The dramatic setting in front of an old sandstone building with harbour views and huge cranes and their PJ Harvey-ish, sparse and moody sound was the perfect beginning to the fest. At this point I realised it was going to be a special day.

The Stabs

Had an awesome bass sound, great chaotic sprawling tunes and a winning cheeky attitude, complete with impish grins.

Bridezilla

Mostly girl (except for drummer) young band with interesting line-up including sax and violin. The violinist was manic and a pleasure to watch. Should be good in a couple of years with some experience and better songs.

Beaches

Three guitar all girl outfit with a few more years on the clock than Bridezilla. Shimmery guitar pop, didn’t really excite me.

The Holy Sea

Mellowish acoustic guitar, keyboard, cello with a good singer/guitarist plus second female vocalist. Only caught a couple of songs.

Hoss

These guys hold a special place in my heart from the early 90s when I used to see them all the time around Sydney’s inner city haunts. Much less hair but still love those songs. Blokey Stonesy hard rock n roll, love it. Would have been better in a dark smelly pub though…

Afrirampo

Wacky Japanese girls. Bit wacky for me.

Dead Meadow

Sabbath-y early 70s bluesy jammy wah-driven hard rock, complete with moustaches and a drum solo.

Harmonia

Blokes with computers. Not my cup of tea.

Laughing Clowns

Never saw these guys back when they were in full swing. Pretty full-on jazzy and fairly inaccessible if you’re not familiar with much of their back catalogue. Good though.

Spiritualized

Didn’t know anything about Spiritualized or Jason Spaceman but rather enjoyed this set. Lots of layers of sound and epic tunes. Complete with two pumping backup singers.

The Necks

Either works for you (Annette) or doesn’t (me). Three-piece avante garde jazz drone I think.

The Saints

Great disappointment of the day for me. I love the snot, power and don’t-give-a-fuck attitude of I’m Stranded and Eternally Yours. This was reserved, lacking in spirit, nowhere near loud enough, involved dodgy dance moves and pretty much ruined it for me.

I’ve got to stop going to see these reformed bands as it usually ends up bad.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

The Bad Seeds are sooo tight – they can bring a song down to a whisper before pounding it like a sledgehammer. I’m not a rabid Nick Cave fan but this set was one of the best rock shows I’ve ever seen. Mix of old material and stuff from the last album. (Being one of the few bands to play in the dark probably helped). Awesome.

(Amber’s pic)

Fuck Buttons

Electro. See Harmonia.

Sounds of Seduction

Jay Katz and gang finished up the day by spinning some great discs at blistering volume, complete with go go dancers. First track was All Tomorrow’s Parties by the Velvets, of course. Left as Real Cool Time by the Stooges was coming on.

Roll on next year…