YouTube Jukebox With World’s End Press

It’s been three weeks since Melbourne’s World’s End Press released their debut self-titled album, which our own Edward Sharp-Paul summed up for Mess + Noise with two words: “I’m floored“.

Recorded with Tim Goldsworthy (who, with James Murphy, co-founded the legendary DFA Records), it’s a meticulously balanced adventure in unified mood, splicing depth and substance between the party jams and post-disco pop for which they’re known.

The band are rounding off a year of touring with another set of shows, which kick off in Sydney in the middle of November. We caught up with one quarter of them, Sashi Dharann. And then asked him to curate us a YouTube playlist to the theme of his choice.

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The Q&A

You recorded with Tim Goldsworthy from DFA Records. How hands-on was he with your sound? 

Sashi: He was a facilitator for us. We had a decent idea going in of what we wanted to sound like. The input we got the most from him was the stripping back of our sound. He stopped us from getting too carried away, and instead honed in on perfecting the sounds we did make. He said he wanted it to sound like four people playing together; any time we got superfluous, he’d pretend there was an unwanted fifth member of the band (who he named Nigel), and would remark that there was too much Nigel in the mix.

Goldworthy has worked with acts like The Rapture, Cut Copy, UNKLE and Massive Attack. When working with someone so established, is there a temptation to sit back and let him make decisions?

There was definitely a collaborative process, but when Tim was adamant that something wouldn’t work, you thought about the amount of good records he’s been a part of, and figured he knows what sucks more than anyone else in the room.

Case in point: at one point messing around in the studio, I didn’t even finish plugging my lead into a phaser pedal before he looked at me and just shook his head, like a teacher.

You toured the US with Cut Copy earlier this year. What’s the one story you told all your friends when you came home?

We were in the US during the NBA playoffs. At the end of the show in Charlottesville, as soon as Cutters got off stage, Tim [Hoey] and Mitch [Scott] got everyone onto their tour bus to catch game one of the finals. I thought I liked basketball, but I’ve never seen anyone more passionate about the game than those two — it was inspiring. Tony Parker hits the most memorable buzzer beater of the season, and they’re jumping off the couches like they’re courtside. By far the best people to watch basketball with. (The tour bus helps too.)

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The Youtubes

Theme: Top Ten Moments Of Sheer Brilliance

The word ‘brilliant’ gets thrown around way too much these days; it seems as if the screening process has disappeared. Academic essays are written about teen crazes; a man claiming to have invented leather jogging pants gets a one-hour Frost/Nixon-style BBC special. Let’s get some perspective, people.

These are my favourite clips that the zeigeist forgot to pick up for a second season.

1. ‘Pre-Taped Call-In Show: Return Of The Curse Of The Creatures Ghost’, from Mr. Show

Starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, Mr Show was an amazing program, and a great precurser to your Tim and Eric-style humour.

This is one of my favourite sketches of all time. It’s all about the ending, so stick around.

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2. Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’, live on Burt Sugarman’s Midnight Special, 1975

I’m not gonna earbash you about the relevance of Kraftwerk, like that guy who was by himself at that dance festival you were trying to enjoy yourself at last week. But keep this in mind: back in 1975, ‘hip-hop’ was a brand new term, and ‘electronica’ and ‘techno’ weren’t even words yet. Pretty impressive, right? And it’s so perfectly sequenced that it barely seems human.

I recommend looking up other bands you like on Sugarman’s Midnight Special. He never let them mime, so they had to absolutely nail their performances.

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3. Andy Kaufman, Live at the Improv, 1977

No one since Andy Kaufman has tried to do what he could do. With Galifianakis and co., you know where the joke stops and where it starts. With Kaufman, you don’t — so much so that his fans still think he’s alive. Not because they’re crazy, but because it’s totally plausible.

Once again, I urge you to stick around till the end. Kaufman was brilliant, and you’ll see why.

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4. Daft Punk – ‘Rollin and Scratchin’ live, 1997

From Kraftwerk to Daft Punk — obvious, I know, but you’ve gotta see this clip if you’ve ever enjoyed yourself at a rave. This used to do the rounds on Rage back in the day, and it would floor me. To see an electronic act work so hard, and do it all live — and a crowd to enjoy it this much — is something you just don’t get anymore. Oh, to be in this room at the time!

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5. James Brown – ‘I Can’t Stand Myself’, live at the Boston Garden, 1968 

Speaking of hard working… Dr. Martin Luther King had been assassinated the day before this concert, and people were rioting all over the country. Boston was about to go up in flames if the public weren’t calmed. Who else would be able to simmer it all down?

By the end of this show, James had played for two hours, worn out both knees in his trousers, and — according to his former tour manager — fined a band member for a mistake mid-dance move. The strobes go on, James walks off, and Boston has been saved from destruction.

He should’ve won the Peace Prize that year.

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6. Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Palestinian Chicken Place

The abridged plot-line of my favourite Curb episode. Sometimes oversimplifying a situation is the best way to deal with it, and Larry takes the Palestinian conflict to an amazingly trivial (phallic) level.

That said, the amount of people who’d be more than ready to rethink their beliefs and prejudices for the sake of some half-decent takeaway chicken is worth taking note of.

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7. Woody Allen: scene from Manhattan

On that note: while this has never been the most memorable of Woody’s lines, it’s one that I would always rewind. It’ll always be my favourite way of dealing with over-stimulated, out-of-touch liberals — because let’s be honest, sometimes we get tired of making fun of conservatives. It’s not really challenging anymore.

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8. Prince’s Purple Rain Tour, 1985

Yes, it’s a weird Chinese version of YouTube and yes, it’s an entire concert, but you know how Prince feels about the internet — and you can only get this tour on VHS.

If you have the time to sift through this, it’s by my account the greatest, most well put-together, tightest show ever executed. The way Prince works his band and the way he pushes himself is unprecedented. He was more ambitious at other moments of his touring career, but he never worked harder live than in this period.

Excuse the religious detour in the middle, though. It was the gestation period of the weirdness.

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9. League Unlimited Orchestra – ‘Don’t You Want Me (remixed)’

Yes, it’s a tune you’ve heard too many times — but take away the meek duet that Oakey and co. turned this into, and you’ve got a beautifully crisp, fluid piece of music. Martin Rushent (producer) was always spiteful for the lack of credit he got for The Human League’s Dare, so when he spent a year remixing it — and barely anyone cared — it really jaded him.

By today’s standards it sounds like a nice piece of music, but bedroom producers take note: this is 1982. He had to sequence every single note, and the cut/paste function of a remix back then wasn’t a simple ctrl+X/ctrl+V. It was scissors, glue and a keen eye — literally cutting and pasting for A WHOLE YEAR.

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10. Karl Pilkington’s An Idiot Abroad: Petra

Okay, my biggest overstatement of ‘brilliance’ yet, but the way Pilkington puts things, it’s almost like he’s unintentionally recreating those Idiots Guides from the ’90s, but with far more human ingenuity and philosophy. ‘The Northerners guide to spiritual contentment’, I’d call it.

This is a great moment that I always pull out when in need of some optimism. It’s pretty much the same principal Siddhartha outlined when he left the palace, but summarised by a guy who the world calls an idiot. Kudos to you, Karl. Kudos.

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WORLD’S END PRESS TOUR DATES

Sydney: Thursday November 14 @ Goodgod Small Club — tickets here

Brisbane: Saturday November 23 @ Valley Fiesta — tickets here

Melbourne: Friday December 6 @ The Corner Hotel — tickets here

Adelaide: Saturday December 7 @ Plus One @ Rhino Room — tickets here

Meredith, Victoria: Friday December 13 @ Meredith Music Festival — sold out

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World’s End Press is out now through Liberation