My travels have so far taken me from London through the middle of England, up through the North to Scotland. One thing I was not expecting to see again was groups of drunken folk dressed like they stumbled onto the set of Caddyshack.
"I get no respect!"
BUT....... at least twice since my last blog I've seen groups of these golf drunks.
It seems that my theory of them being some kind of subculture may not in fact be correct (shock horror). My next theory (a little more believable this time) is that this is some new kind of mass-drinking-game "Pub Golf" where people would dress in golf attire going from pub to pub trying to reach a total of 18. Maybe there's even a "parr" for each pub (like, "this pub is 4 parr, you have to finish 4 drinks before the next pub") or something like that. It sounds kinda fun to be honest, but I don't feel like I need to dress terribly to do it...
Example: How to dress VERY terribly
Also, I don't see how this could work in some cities, would be a little hard to find 18 pubs within walking distance from each other...
The other day I was at a pub in South London with some friends, just having a few drinks. It was a Tuesday night, nothing out of the ordinary so far. Then all of a sudden a huge group of people enter dressed in golf clothes...
This fucking guy...
Not sure why (at that point at least). Then more people, then more people... Outside, me and a friend were having a cigarette when more people walked by dressed like that... Singing. One of them shouted something (it could've been "Auuugggedidurpannaaaaaa!!!!!") then they all scattered and grabbed onto whatever was nearby, a postbox, a lamppost, a doorknob etc.
Seriously odd...
Later on, inside my girlfriend and our friend was off trying to get a drink... by this point there were roughly 50 people standing around in golf clothes, holding clubs etc.
My girlfriend asked one of them just what the fuck was going on and it turns out it was a return to uni party.
However I chose to believe that it was a new kind of subculture. Like rockabilly or goth. With cleats. Imagine, they can have their own nightclubs! Their own music!
I hope to see more of this bizarre yet hilarious 'subculture' soon.
So here I am in London, (the above picture is London from ground level, and coincidentally quite close to where we're staying, so please excuse the lack of lame pictures of Buckingham palace etc) it's a wonderful place. I'm more interested in seeing all pop culture history around the place. For example, yesterday I walked down Carnaby Street (as mentioned in the Kinks' "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" and the fashion centre of the 60's) then checked out Savile Row (location of the Beatles' Apple Corps. offices in the 60's, as well as where they played their final show on the rooftop) ... I've been to the Good Mixer too (famous watering hole for Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty amongst others) and I stood outside the 100 Club too... Is it strange that I'm more interested in the pop culture history of London rather than the 'history' history? Oh well, it's probably because I haven't been to all the "historical" places yet...
The other day I was listening to the radio and Queen's "We Will Rock You" came on. Now, it's generally agreed that that song is pretty badass. However, the song's badassness comes under scrutiny when Brian May's rather polite guitar solo calms everything down towards the end, almost ruining a pretty killer song. That got me thinking, how many song have you been singing along to in you car jumping around and bopping your head like a hungry baboon when it all crashes to the ground? A lot that's how many...
So here's my own list of songs that start out kinda cool but just get ruined... whether that be by incompetence, lack of caring, lack of ideas or.....
Stoopid violins:
1. David Essex - Rock On
This song is awesome. Awesome in a "I'm gonna walk down a smoky street with my head down and my hands in my black trench-coat" kind of awesome (I think there was McDonald's commercial that did that exact thing + a burger) . It's got a bass-line that sounds like it was played in an aeroplane hanger while a drummer more stoned than a Doobie Brothers fan nonchalantly flicks his drumsticks onto his kit every now and then. It's very "fuck it, I'm jus' chillin' yo" That is until....
What the? Why did that guy just say "James Dean" like a drunken blues-singer? What's with those stoopid violins?
Nice going David Essex, you've just made a totally killer song morph into a 1959 film about "the orient". Seriously, imagine the scene: the hero is sitting on top of an elephant walking through a river while racial caricatures dance behind him.
Where it gets lame - 1:35
2. The Animals - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
Ah the 60s... I fucking love 60s music. And The Animals were brilliant, all scratchy guitars and shredding vocals. Fantastic. This song became somewhat of an anthem for the USA's withdrawal from the war in Vietnam (or so I'm told) it's got everything a mid-60s song should have; anger, the threat of violence, a great beat, a bassline you can set your watch to, the faint smell of weed... that is until the chorus....
You're dancing around to the awesome build up, the vocals are rising, the keyboard player is mashing his palms onto the keys... YEAH! YEAH! YEAH-YEAH-YEAH! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about a come-down...
This chorus sounds like The Animals switched tapes halfway through recording just to play a joke on their producer! It totally comes out of nowhere in one of the biggest anti-climaxes in rock 'n' roll history.
Where it gets lame - 1:13
3. Them - Baby, Please Don't Go
Again with the 60s. Them were a rock 'n' roll band known for featuring a young Van Morrison; one of the most influential singers ever. However, they were quite different to "Moondance". Them were, like the Animals, totally badass. Their song "Gloria" is responsible for more drunken/stoned/both garage jam sessions than any other song. While their other big hit "Baby Please Don't Go" was so cool it was covered by none other than AC/DC. However, there's just something about that polite little keyboard that just irritates me... Sorry to whoever it is that plays the organ in that song but... it just doesn't work... I mean... Gloria didn't need it! Right?
Where it gets lame - 0:16
4. The Troggs - Wild Thing
Again, I'm pretty sure this song inspired a whoooooooole lot of drunken 4-hour-long jam sessions that just could've kept on going until someone passed out. It's a pretty simple song and a hell of a lot of fun to play. Maybe I'm just not as well informed but I can't think of any other songs by The Troggs off the top of my head... Either way, this is almost the quintessential garage rock song, dirty guitars that sound like they're spraying rust right out of your headphones, a drummer who just wants to play as hard as they can and a snarling singer who just plain doesn't give a fuck... until...
The flute solo...
WHY?! Good lord Troggs why? The song was so "fuck you" it was making me shift in my seat then all of a sudden you throw in a freakin' FLUTE SOLO????
Where it gets lame - 1:12
5. Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky
This song always makes me think of the movie "Easy Rider". I don't think it was in it though... but it almost could've been. If it weren't for the whole "You gotta have a friend in Jesus" thing... but hang on... wasn't/isn't Norman Greenbaum a practising Jew? What's going on? I'm confused...
