The 1986 Listening Post - Ed Kuepper - Rooms of the Magnificent

Ed Kuepper - Rooms of the Magnificent

#368/2048

1986 Housekeeping

Ed Kuepper

Rooms of the Magnificent

Genre: Rock

4 out of 5

Highlights:

Also Sprach the King of Euro-Disco

Nothing You Can Do

As much as I didn’t love the first Kuepper solo record, this one is a fine collection of busker tracks with a competent band and a terrible lead singer. For me, it isn’t Gordon Gano terrible, inasmuch as the warble fits the warb. It’s more like…dude, get a singer cuz these songs are effervescent and charming and deserve better. 

A neat little record filled with neat songs. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/rooms-of-the-magnificent/136838295

The 1985 Listening Post - Laughing Clowns - Ghosts of an Ideal Wife

Laughing Clowns - Ghosts of an Ideal Wife

#235/885

June 1985

Laughing Clowns

Ghosts of an Ideal Wife

Genre: Alternative?

4 out of 5

Highlights:

Ghosts of an Ideal Wife

New Bully in This Town

The Flypaper

“Hey boys, just play whatever the fuck you want. Imma guzzle this 40 of Fosters and then another 40 of Fosters and then I’m gonna top it all off with a couple pints of Bundaberg Rum cuz you can’t get that shit in the states and I don’t care if anyone in the states hears my music anyways. Saxophone? Sure, play WHATEVER. THE. FUCK. YOU. WANT. I’m gonna sing whatever I want over it. 

Go nuts. “

Ok, that was fun. But, in all seriousness I think I hate Kuepper’s voice. A lot. The band sounds pretty great, though and this is another example of pushing the form to a place that I did not know we were headed in 1985. This is dark and ominous while being poppy in its own way and compelling. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/ghosts-of-an-ideal-wife/157068645

The 1985 Listening Post - Ed Kuepper - Electrical Storm

Ed Kuepper - Electrical Storm

#230/881

June 1985

Ed Kuepper

Electrical Storm

3.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Master of Two Servants

If we’ve learned nothing by mining the “rock” music of the 80s it’s that…holy fuck there was a fuck ton of music that came out of Australia! I know the land down under is big, I mean, it’s it’s own continent but right now there are only 25 million people there. 

Assuming there were less in 1985…my guess is that every single person in Australia had a rock band. And few of them got heard of because…well, it’s Australia and it takes 200 hours to fly there or something and the toilets all run backwards and they have animals who hide other animals in their skin. 

But, this was the time for Yahoo Serious and Crocodile Dundee and Men at Work and Divynyls and a host of other pop culture invaders. 

We talk about the British Invasion but not the Oz Invasion. I blame Rick Springfield. 

Question: Did Kuepper know he was ripping off the Spider-Man theme song in “When the Sweet Turns Sour”? Point off for that. 

Kuepper is a terrible singer and the songs are sort of dull. I bet he’s huge in Australia, tho. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/electrical-storm/135447898