As debut albums go, the Violent Femmes gave us one of the all time best – teen angst cranked to eleven, nothing held back. But their second album Hallowed Ground was probably even better; certainly bigger, darker, more dangerous. Yeah, they were still all horned up, but now there was also the very real problem of apocalypse, which in the mid 1980s was never further off than the edge of town. Or were those just rain clouds?
“Avant jazz terrorist Copernicus unleashes a rant that comes across like a Catholic mass on bad acid. Or more to the point, he’s riffing on that knife’s edge of impenetrable physics which seems to argue that nothing exists anyway, so go ahead, humanity, blow yourself the f*** away. Nothing gets lost if it never even was in the first place. As with many an apocalyptic, I’m impressed with his enthusiasm, skeptical of his conclusions. ” (Philip Random)
“The Singing Fools were from Toronto, I think. But the whole world was doing the Apocalypso by the mid 1980s, what with the doomsday clock edging closer and closer to midnight, the ice caps officially melting, the ozone layer officially depleting, chemical spills wiping out entire towns, nuclear reactors melting down, and the President of the USA well on his way to dementia. What else were you going to do?” (Philip Random)
The so-called sound art project known as Nocturnal Emissions take a few bland self-help samples, lay down a simple groove and deliver an anthem of sorts on the theme of healing. Because by the time 1985 hit, everyone who had even half a brain knew we were all in serious shit as regards the long term survival of the species. And then there was that big disease with a little name (as Prince put it). We all knew someone who had it, even if we didn’t actually know they had it yet. Such was the AIDS crisis of the mid-80s — a death sentence all the way. And yet we’re human, so we never give up. Some of us anyway.
“I got drunk once with Mark Stewart. Bristol, UK. It’s a long story and nothing to be proud of. But I do remember him saying there needed to a properly dystopic movie made, and soon. Rising oceans taking out entire countries, chemical plants taking out entire cities, global thermo-nuclear war taking out everything else. Have it all happen one Tuesday afternoon. But no zombies or mutants. No fantasy. Just fact. Because if someone didn’t make a proper movie, the real thing would happen. Soon. And These Things Happen (first heard on one of the great compilation albums of all time) would make for a perfect title track” (Philip Random)
In which we start at the end (of the world, that is) — the band known as the Raiders take on Barry Maguire’s way-too-serious 1965 end times mega-hit, add some showbiz schmaltz and set us all free. Because it’s one of those eternal truths. The Apocalypse is nigh, the fan is being hit by shit. Always has been, always will be. And yet, some of the music’s been amazing. It’s almost as if there’s a point to it all.
Randophonic 
