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Rating: The brilliance of Pop never fails to astonish me because each time I think I know it, I search for the precious stones in the endless subgenres, only to find there are individuals like The Go-Betweens from the land of kangaroos who remind me that I really don’t know a damn thing. I dig like a miner, with my worn-out candle dripping scorching wax that mixes with the sweat on my brow, sometimes irritating me to the point where I throw down the pickaxe and wonder if it's really worth it; pounds and pounds of music found, listened to, discarded because although initially shiny, it proves to be pyrite, fool's gold.
But to live, one has to go on, I have a family waiting for me at home and a moment of discouragement can't make them starve, so I continue to dig through the tunnels of Country, the corridors of Jangle, the depths of Folk, the endless grooves of Lo-Fi. Occasionally, though, I realize it's on the surface, in the already pillaged grounds of the most common Pop, where the most precious gems are hidden; a random spadeful brought "16 Lovers Lane" to my hands, and I analyze it starting from the simple cover dominated by the full figure of Amanda Brown, listening to it at the end of the day when I leave the mine, and the sky darkens a little later than usual.
The Go-Betweens took quite a while, five albums, to release this treasure chest filled with jewels, now buried by the sands of time; indeed, we are talking about 1988. Not many bands have had so many opportunities to produce their masterpiece, which makes one think about how many masterpieces could remain in the world of ideas, pursued through promising debuts, strong follow-ups, great maturity albums, and then bam - the band breaks up, killed by boredom, writer's block, fierce arguments, or discord-bearing floozies.
That wasn't their case, or at least not entirely, but for that, there's history to tell, of which "16 Lovers Lane" represents a central chapter; if you skip it, you understand nothing of the unfolding of events, causes and effects get mixed up. Rarely, at the end of the day, have I left the mine aware of having found not a stone, not an artifact, but an actual buried treasure; brought to light, one realizes that what they hold in their hands, from "Love Goes On!" - a terrible title, yes, but an extraordinary song - to "Dive For Your Memory", are ten genuine museum pieces.
It's an 80s-colored chest, full of a refined, lacquered and shiny Pop/Rock, without a lock, immediate, with "The Devil's Eye", "Love Is a Sign", "I'm All Right" slipping through your fingers while you eagerly bring them to your face after digging avidly into the chest. And as in every gold rush, here too it's full of jackals wanting to steal your pieces or buy them at ridiculous prices, to then display them in their showcases, for everyone to see: "Streets Of Your Town" turned out too tempting an opportunity to make The Go-Betweens a monument of Australian music to show the world, and it worked; similarly, "Was There Anything I Could Do?" ended up becoming a stolen gem given to the radios, a gram of hidden melancholy that this group always carried in their pockets.
So before it's too late, I take a couple of gems to carry away hidden under my hat, I find myself having to choose between the heartbreaking "Quiet Heart" and the seemingly (but only seemingly) sunny "Clouds", in my opinion, the two most representative sides of how well, for us miners, the work of Robert Forster, Grant McLennan, Lindy Morrison, and John Willsteed has done, along with the already mentioned Amanda. As often happens, in doubt, I take both.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
06 Streets of Your Town (03:36)
Chorus
Round and round, up and down
Through the streets of your town
Everyday I make my way
Through the streets of your town
Don't the sun look good today?
But the rain is on its way
Watch the butcher shine his knives
And this town is full of battered wives.
Chorus
I ride your river under the bridge
I take your boat out to the reach
Cos I love that engine roar
But I still don't know what I'm here for.
Chorus
They shut it down
They closed it down
They shut it down
They pulled it down.
Chorus
07 Clouds (04:03)
The clouds are here
They aren't up in the sky.
I cupped them with my hands
and reached up high.
I said to these clouds,
"no more am I blind.
I have to see straight
and that will make me unkind."
Visions of blue,
I'm angry, I'm wise.
And you, you're under cloudy skies.
Blue air I crave, blue air I breathe
They once chopped my heart the way you chop a tree.
Told to equate achievement with pain
I took their top prize and paid them back with rain.
Visions of blue
I'm angry I'm wise and you.
You're under cloudy skies.
Blue air I crave blue air I breathe
they once chopped my heart the way you chop a tree.
Told to equate Achievement with Pain
I stole their top prize and paid them back with rain.
Visions of blue I'm angry I'm wise and you.
You're under cloudy skies. Visions of blue
Preverse and strong and you.
You're under cloudy skies.
What I did once I now do everyday.
08 Was There Anything I Could Do? (03:07)
She comes home and she's happy
She comes home and she's blue
She comes home and then tells him
Listen baby, we're through
I don't know what happened next
All I know is she moved
Packed up her bags and her curtains
Left him in his room
Was there anything I could do?
Was there anything I could do?
She went out with her paint box
Paints the chapel blue
She went out with her matchsticks
Torched a carwash too
I don't know where she's living
All I got is a card
A picture of her at the pyramids
A knife held to her heart
Was there anything I could do?
Was there anything I could do?
She came down from the mountain
Said goodbye to her guru
She went back to her room
Lost herself in voodoo
I don't say that I blame her
People don't know what they want
If you spend your life looking behind you
You don't see what's up front
Was there anything I could do?
Was there anything I could do?
Was there anything I could do?
Was there anything I could do?
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
Putting out her fire
10 Dive for Your Memory (04:14)
If the cliffs were any closer,
If the water wasn't so bad.
I'd dive for your memory
on the rocks and the sand.
I'd dive for you
Like a bird I'd descend
Deep down I'm lonely
And I miss my friend.
So when I hear you saying,
That we stood no chance,
I'll dive for your memory
We stood that chance.
We stood side by side,
Strong and true.
just wish you'd remember,
Bad times don't get you through.
So when I hear you saying,
That we stood no chance,
I'll dive for your memory
We stood that chance.
Now, I dive black waters
The waters of her dream.
Are black and forgetful
I'd like to make them clean.
So when I hear you saying,
That we stood no chance,
I'll dive for your memory
We stood that chance.
So when I hear you saying,
That we stood no chance,
I'll dive for your memory
We stood that chance.
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