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Re: Urgh - A Music War

Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 03:17PM
So I finally got hold of a copy of this movie after owning the record for two decades and it's pretty fun stuff. There's some extremely weird footage on there (e.g., Klaus Nomi) and some other cool moments, like seeing XTC performing live for the first time ever (and Andy sure doesn't seem like someone who suffers from stage fright).

But the strangest thing of all was the Gary Numan song, which I always enjoyed on the album, but which takes on a completely different aspect when you see it live. For instance, what the hell is the deal with that friggin' car he's riding around in? He looks totally uncomfortable (or constipated) and you keep thinking he's gonna careen off the edge of the stage.

Anyway, I'm just so happy to finally own this thing that I just had to share.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 03:50PM
Where'd you get it??
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 03:59PM
Well, I might get into trouble with Ebay for admitting this, but: I had bid on a VHS on Ebay, since they periodically appear on there and usually sell for upwards of 50 bucks, which was too steep for me. So after I lost the auction, I got an e-mail from a dude (maybe the original seller), saying he could send me a DVD of it for $10 postpaid. Ebay advises against taking people up on such offers, but I took a chance and it paid off.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 04:14PM
This was on NiteFlite on cable once in a while in the 80's. Totally remember the Gary Numan vehicle thing.

For other lost documents of the era, how about:

The Punk Rock Movie

Times Square

The Secret Policeman's (Other) Ball

The Decline of Western Civilization

Concert For The People of Kampuchea (don't know if this was ever released and shown in its entirety but I remeber the abum and the Rockpile / Robert Plant song on MTV at the time--- It'd be cool to see the Clash set)
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 05:10PM
The Clash Song on the 2xLP is THE long forgotten 'official' track and the only track on the album that is listenable (the Queen and Who stuff is unbearably bad). But, it's likely that this is one of the only 80s live albums that was not studio-recreated.
URGH is an historically interesting watch but I continually get the feeling it just didn't turn out as expected (my boot of US Festival 83 is more fun). I remember as a kid thinking Toyah was in the same league as the others (DK??); she's unknown in the US and used to get lumped into the 'punk' scene (what was up with that?).
While Derek Burbridge didn't have further movie fame as a director, Penelope Spheeris (Decline of Western 1 & 2 & 3; part 4 is called 'We Sold Our Souls') is famous for Beverly Hillbillies, Wayne's World, several David Spade movies, and is making the ultimate Janis Joplin biopic (starring Pink as Janis).

Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 07:45PM
Check out also ''Suburbia'', not for any artists,but as a fine plot-documentary movie of L.a punk life.See also Flea from Chilli Peppers, in his very youth playing in a ''nasty'' scene.

Some others,with mainly new wave soundtracks-Modern Girls,The Last American Virgin,Valley girl and Blank Generation, this great punk chronicle.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 10:09PM
Yeah, as Paganizer points out, the sheer mix of bands in Urgh is part of its charm (Toyah and the DKs probably correctly being the two extremes). And some of the weirdo bands - like Skafish - are very competent musicians and some of the bands - like Splodgnessabounds - just flat out suck.

I also agree with Paganizer that the film-y parts of the movie don't work so well and you kinda wonder what the director was getting at with the occasional and mostly pointless shots of street life.

One other interesting piece of info that came out of the movie and was news to me was that Eric Ambel - later of the Del-Lords with Top Ten Kempner - was in Joan Jett's band in the "Bad Reputation" days. I guess that's really no more weird than a former Dictator turning up in the Del-Lords, but still....
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 16, 2005 11:00PM
Of course it's not as weird as a former Dictator turning up in Manowar. smiling smiley

Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 17, 2005 11:19PM
mats84 wrote:

> Of course it's not as weird as a former Dictator turning up in
> Manowar. smiling smiley
>


or twisted sister.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 18, 2005 03:33PM
Actually, that makes a lot more sense to me.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 22, 2005 02:52PM
or a french metal band fronted by a woman named Fabienne......oh wait a minute, he still plays with them!
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 22, 2005 07:35PM
Shakin Street-Dictator Ross''the boss'' Funiccelo played for a while,there.Great stuff!
plot-documentary
August 16, 2005 08:46PM
starsrtuck was a fun, aussie, new-wave story. i think one of the finn brothers wrote most of the music.
i recommend "bad news tour," a 2-part bbc program by a bunch of 'the young ones' actors. i think it came out after spinal tap, however, i think it is funnier.
Re: dinosaur plots
August 16, 2005 11:41PM
...Or as weird as my recent investigation into 70s stadium acts. The following bands continued to release LPs through the 80's and 90's. WHO KNEW??
Moody Blues (Go Now was a long time back for this name)
McCartney (by the bucket load)
Alice Cooper (all 14 were labeled 'comebacks')
Allman Brothers (not AN allman, THE Allmans)
CS & N (and sometimes y, just like they told you)
ELP (see what happens when you're looking the 'other' way)
ELO (one mark better than ELP, alphabetically speaking)
Jethro Tull (over a dozen new LPs!)
Yes (they've been together this whole time!)
Grand Funk (less prolific, still the shlockiest)
Rush (who freaking knew?)
I SAW some of these acts in this time period and STILL didn't know.
Not that I feel bad about it or anything, I'm just saying.

Re: dinosaur plots
August 17, 2005 06:09PM
Punk Rock Movie was actually Don Lett's home movies about hanging out, no?
I read an interview where he says he just knew it would be important footage someday. In Lydon's biography (No Blacks, Irish, Dogs), when he was sent ot prison in Ireland, the jailers played a copy of PRM for the inmates as a way to let them know who Rotten was and harrass him.

Re: dinosaur plots
August 18, 2005 05:00PM
Yeah, I was just looking at an ad for a club near Los Angeles that's like the Home of The Has-Beens: coming up in future months are the likes of Foreigner, Air Supply, Doobie Bros (which line-up?), Dave Mason, The Tubes, comedian Sinbad, and on one big night, Romeo Void, Dramarama, and The English Beat! So surreal, like I picked up a 25-year-old paper by mistake.
Re: plot-documentary
August 17, 2005 01:30PM
Thank you, Josefina, for the post on the "Bad News Tour" show.

I saw that show on TV a few years ago, when I was in France. It was very late, the jet lag was keeping me awake, and it was the only thing I could find on TV that was in English, other than CNN.

It features all four members of *The Young Ones* cast, playing a heavy-metal band trying to make a comeback. It was tremendously entertaining -- but I never did find out the name of the show. You're right, it *is* funnier than Spinal Tap.
Re: plot-documentary
April 19, 2006 12:22AM
Starstruck! I used to go out with this girl who was an extra in that movie. The music was written by a bloke called Phil Judd who was with the Finns in Split Enz for a time early on and then went on to this band called The Swingers who released one of the all time great Australasian pop songs "Counting The Beat" and promptly broke up. He then formed a band called Schnell Fenster with a few other ex Spliz Enzers.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 17, 2005 01:41AM
The aforementioned Punk Rock Movie is a must for any fan of '70s British punk. Plus, I believe it's the one featuring punks shooting up. Woo-hoo. If I'm not mistaken, there's an interesting clip of the Ruts trying to figure out how to play reggae, some very good live footage and an entertaining look at the scenesters/culture. Appropriately amateurish.

Of the live videos I have, none has blown me away as much as the B&W recording of the Stax Records package tour in Holland in '65, filmed for television. Al Jackson Jr. is incredible, as is Steve Cropper. Booker T. and the MG's, Eddie Floyd (very good), Sam & Dave (great), Carla Thomas (I think) and, just when you think no one can top Sam & Dave, Otis Redding blows everyone away. Amazing. I'm hoping I can find it on DVD.

If you can find the Ventures live movie (filmed in Japan, where they were enormously popular), which was released legitimately, pick it up. These guys smoked.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 17, 2005 03:36AM
The most interesting thing about the Punk Rock Movie is seeing a very young Shane MacGowan climb onstage and commandeer a drum set - don't remember what band's drums they are. It's somewhere near the beginning of the movie. And I believe that's also the movie which features the members of Eater chopping up a pig's head with a machete.

My favorite part of Urgh! is the Pere Ubu number, where David Thomas looks like he's trying to figure out how to jump, but can't quite understand how it works.

Another good punk documentary is DOA, which featured a memorable interview with Sid and Nancy which mostly consisted of Nancy trying to keep Sid awake. I think a good chunk of it was also used in The Filth and the Fury.

A little off-topic - does anyone remember the syndicated video/concert shows of the 70s and early 80s? It seems like there was one called Philly Tubeworks or Detroit Tubeworks or something - someplace Tubeworks, I know. It was on in the early to mid 70s - was on Sunday nights in St. Louis, but I'm sure that would vary from city to city. But it was the first place I can remember seeing Alice Cooper and Roxy Music - I vaguely remember that Roxy did "Both Ends Burning" and Bryan Ferry was wearing an eyepatch.

There was another one that I think was called Hollywood Heartbeat that featured videos the last couple of years before MTV started. Was on at midnight Saturday nights right before the Three Stooges. Actually, now that I think about it, there were two shows, Hollywood Heartbeat and Rockworld, I think. I remember seeing Ultravox, Polyrock, the Vapors, Boomtown Rats, even my beloved Henry Badowski on those shows. Great stuff - wish they'd had affordable VCRs in 1980.

Those shows were the only place where I ever saw the Debbie Harry Gloria Vanderbilt jeans commercial, too - I remember how controversial that whole thing was, that a rock star would do a commercial!!!! Gasp!



Post Edited (08-17-05 00:42)
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 17, 2005 07:03PM
we used to watch "New Wave Theater" in the early 80's I think on USA channel.
It was hosted by Peter Ivers ( who was murderd in 1983), featured mostly Cali punk bands like Circle Jerks , 45 grave, Castration Squad, Rhythm Pigs, etc.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 17, 2005 04:42AM
In the Denver area in the early '80s, there was nowhere else to turn to except "FM/TV" on public television, Ch. 12. One half-hour a night of some extremely weird shite--Landscape's "Norman Bates," Renaldo & the Loaf's "Songs for Swinging Larva," Blotto's "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard--mixed with aging rock acts--Rod Stewart, the Stones, Pat Benatar. I would press my Panasonic tape player up to the TV's tinny speaker and record every song. I lived for that 30 minutes.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 17, 2005 08:19PM
Nice to recall the great Pete Ivers.One of the most educated persons in rock n roll,great showman and host and truly bizarre musician.His two albums in mid seventees,after leaving Beacon Street Union in whom played harmonica,are strange experimental expressions in free form rock.Along with Rodney Bingenhaimer, were the real contributors of the whole punk rock/new wave scene.
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 17, 2005 06:12PM
a friend dubbed me URGH! some years back and I just watched it in recent months... it's a blast. Klaus Nomi steals the show. I missed "The Nomi Song" when it played around here but I guess it's out on DVD or coming out... I want to see it... some cool performances in there. I saw it when it came out in the theater and still have the soundtrack. Too bad it probably won't get reissued. I'd imagine the contractual entanglements are the reason

when I was a kid... early to mid 70s... the local UHF station (channel 38 in Boston) used to show a program called "Rock Explosion" and I remember seeing video clips of Bowie doing "Jean Genie," Mountain doing "Mississippi Queen," Flash doing "Small Beginnings" and "Children of the Universe," etc... this would be around 1973.

just saw a bit of "Suburbia" while I was at a basement show a few weeks ago... some kids were watching it in the living room. I need to see the whole thing again, soon

"Decline of Western Civilization" is another punk movie I liked...
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 22, 2005 06:51PM
Shakin Street? God... there's a band I haven't thought of in awhile. "Member of A Gang"!
Re: Urgh - A Music War
August 27, 2005 10:06PM
urgh will be showing at o'leaver's in omaha next wednesday!
Re: Urgh - A Music War
September 01, 2005 05:34AM
satchmykels wrote:

> urgh will be showing at o'leaver's in omaha next wednesday!



probably the best crowd i've ever seen in that dump! and only three people there were older than me (42)!!! fun fun fun
Re: Urgh - A Music War
April 18, 2006 07:30PM
Great fan site that has the DVD, soundtrack and everything else about the film: www.urgh-dvd.com
Re: Urgh - A Music War
April 18, 2006 09:57PM
Actually wasn't it Alternative TV that was shown trying their hand at reggae in the Punk Movie? Good flick either way, and one that deserves the double-disc/ton of extras DVD-reissue treatment.
Another good punk flick: Another State of Mind. A bit later in the punk timeline, but still a very watchable film indeed. One of the goodies that I taped off the late lamented Night Flight program (which showed so many things - ASOM, Cure in Orange, D.Dax's "Cathouse" video, etc. - that you couldn't see anywhere else at the time, or in some cases, since..>).
Oh yeah, Urgh was good as well. A friend of mine taped it off cable (Showtime?) so I'm missing some of the segments (such as Gary Numan) but with such folks as X, Spizz, Au Pairs, early Go-Gos, and of course Klaus Nomi I can't complain too much.
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