Jack Died Pretty

Died Pretty
Album: Free Dirt
Song: Just Skin

Just finished watching the final episode of Lost.  So good.  Loved the poetic symmetry of the ending, Jack going back to the bamboo fields where he first opened his eyes, where he was -- so to speak -- born, to die, to close his eyes for the last time.  A fitting conclusion to one of the greatest ever TV series.

Died Pretty has nothing to do with Lost, apart from its general awesomeness.  Actually, the band falls into that category of artistic influences that seem quite profound at the time, but that in retrospect are simply pretty darn good.  Perhaps like the television show?  Time will tell.

Aussie rockers, Died Pretty was a mainstay of the Sydney scene in the 80s, but unlike their contemporaries like Hoodoo Gurus and Midnight Oil it never managed international success.  Not surprising, I suppose, given the music's general lack of "prettiness" -- the vocals are an acquired taste, and the guitar work ranges from tasteful and refined to atonal cacophony (cf the lengthy solo in our featured track) -- but it is this same quality that makes it compelling, that elevates it into a different class altogether.  Also refreshing is the production.

The 80s.  Sigh.  How often I have rued the misfortune of my birth, being forced to come of age in this joyless decade.  Television dominated by Cosby and his clones.  Movies ruled by John Hughes and his false, forced, sentimental vision of youth.  Execrable fashion.  And really really shitty music.  Music producers were intent upon making every song sound exactly the same.  Everything was so fucking clean: the same spotless but utterly vapid and soulless vocals, the same hyper-forward-in-the-mix snare and kick bass, the same clichéd synthesizers.  Boring as hell.  Its only redeeming quality was that it made any different approach to production even more interesting in comparison, as is certainly the case here.

Thanks, by the way and once again, to Kris for helping me out with the blog.  The embedded videos are his contribution as are many other goodies which will be introduced in the coming days.  Please visit his blog for more helpful tips.