There was this compilation of mostly current Australian punk & art/noise I bought in the mid-80s called “WHY MARCH WHEN YOU CAN RIOT?â€Â, and it was a mind-expander for several reasons. First, it featured three tracks from the Australian band X that are among the greatest punk rock songs ever recorded – “Hate Cityâ€Â, “Home Is Where The Floor Isâ€Â and “TV Cabaret Rollâ€Â. If you think “X-ASPIRATIONSâ€Â is a masterpiece, and I do – these tracks are even better. I’m going to post all three in an upcoming entry.
Alongside debut recordings from the HARD-ONS (whoopee) and lesser lights, there were also two tracks from Sydney’s fEEDTIME that blew me and many others clean away. fEEDTIME (the small f is deliberate) were a trio who played a propulsive, mechanical, wicked-fast, sometimes bluesy punk rock, sounding like a band of the 21st Century who just happened to be stuck in the 20th. I’d never heard anything like them before, and still haven’t since. A lot of us in the United States took notice pretty quickly, and they got a US distribution deal for their LPs, which were all over the place for a while there in the late 80s. Forced Exposure magazine were a particularly enthusiastic proponent. Me, I thought the LPs were good, but spotty and uneven. In 1987 a 45 came out with new versions of the two songs that were on “Why March When You Can Riotâ€Â – “Don’t Tell Me / Small Talkâ€Â. They were good, just not as powerful and angry & weird as the ones from the 1985 comp that I’m posting for you today. Listening to them now makes me want to dig out the fEEDTIME records for a reappraisal. Anyone have an opinion on how they’ve held up? In the meantime, here’s what I still think were the band’s finest moments.
Play or Download fEEDTIME – “Don’t Tell Meâ€Â
Play or Download fEEDTIME – “Small Talkâ€Â
(both from 1985 “WHY MARCH WHEN YOU CAN RIOT?â€Â compilation LP)