I misread you and didnt get it. Forgive my obtuseness.

I fell in love w/ the place so to speak Kim…but because my German was pretty lousy it was hard to find work…& the citizenship bit was real strict…& my new wife wanted to travel…& I was keen to see my Mum over here ’cause i hadn’t for a decade or so…so reluctantly I left. But they were great days. I can remember heaps like it was yesterday…but you always question your memories, particularly if you smoked & almost inhaled…:) Graz was a university city where most of my friends lived…the 1st district was in Vienna…we used to go back & forth by train…so for the reader’s sake they shouldn’t confuse my recollections of Graz (the alternative music scene etc. w/ the walk around Vienna…tho they were only dats apart). We lived in the 3rd district of Vienna from what I recall…Trappengasse?…or somethin’ like that.

I condemn stereotypes of national culture which look only at dungeons!

those were the days, early 80s when some young adults from Österreich, mainly Uni types – in their hours away from cutting up carcasses on slabs & learning law, medicine & theology – went to pre-Christmas festivals to get smashed on delicious Bockbier (In Austria, Bockbier is traditionally brewed only around Christmas and Easter, when nearly every brewery brews its own bock….wiki)…

and they guzzled champers and weisse/white wine..& rotwein (usually better tasting than it sounds…nicked from the tables of drunken well-off types who were busy waltzing & such)…& in these large halls meet prospective partners & greet friends & some family enthusiastically…whilst making fun of the straight, rich types and their poses…& afterwards tramp home in the new day is rising snow…smoking Milde Sorte cigs bought from machines like they were about to go out of style (“dieses Leben ist hart genug”/”This life is hard enough” was the sell…from what i remember)…

& if guys wanted to be cool they lets cigs hang from the sides of their mouths to emulate the French character in the original “Breathless”/À bout de souffle (the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo was a star in crappy action movies w/ BAD BAD HILARIOUS dubbing by that time…but still adored by intellectual men pretending to be tough & sexy)…

it seemed like a timeless time when some who wanted to spark their brains read Gunter Grass & Hermann Hesse & Peter Handke & Kurt Vonnegut…& yelled about “plastic food for people” in cinemas…& took in, half-pissed…sometimes HIGH, Bernardo Bertolucci marathons incl. “1900″ & “il conformisto”…& films like “The Tin Drum”, “Fitzcarraldo” & “im anfang va das feuer”/”Quest of Fire”…& watched on THE BOX eye opening shows such as “Heimat”…

and they went to coffee houses & jazz bars…& listened to Sth. & Central Americans play alien instruments and discuss the problems at home…nodded their heads & tapped their fingers keenly to hypnotising & other wordly music in underground caverns that could of been dingy but had colourful art works & other handmade things on the walls…& got there by travelling on trams that relied on honesty for payment…

I was wondering the other day if some Austrians still do that kinda thing?…or are the younguns just kept in prison cellars these days?

Also, anyone who doesn’t find this to be charming, witty and informative. An excerpt:

Q: What is a gentleman?
A: A man who can play the accordion, but doesn’t.

Bye all.

And I condemn casey for that Hayzee Fantayzee thing. The woman in that video is so smokin’ it nearly sets off the fire alarm. But who is that freak with her?

My comment was just a bit of tongue in cheek designed to provoke in a playful way (Particularly David who I was having a bit of fun with). I do think my comment holds relevence with the new romantic movement which played with precisely such things as I talked about upthread. But just let me say that while you were blue lighting it with Jacko, I was at grown up discos both here and in Europe. So you know, there are many realities of the 80’s for many people in many countries, as evidenced here on this thread (which my comment subsequently provoked in a most informative way – thanks for all the music refs everyone). I must say I dont feel the need to accede to your request for age based evidence on a thread which was only playful with the past until you came along to question authenticity of memory and experience based on age and location. 80’s music in all its variances was after all a global phenomenon that surprisingly, spread beyond Australian blue light discos into other countries where some of us spent some time experiencing it, thankfully sans Jacko.

Anyway, as I said, if Ive read you incorrectly I am sorry.

Und Jane’s Addiction auch.

And let’s not forget Ugly Kid Joe.

I liked Laura’s offering back then. Loved the clothes. This is good too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzyzVZZfUfM
(Minutemen – This Ain’t No Picnic)

And Husker Du were great too. Agree re: Sonic Youth & Smiths & Talking Heads…& Yo La Tengo. Guided By Voices. Wedding Present. All had lps in 80s.

Diversity works. Too many suits suck.

Safety net good too…but not cage.

There’s a lovely version of Drugs from Fear of Music from the same show I think.

If you haven’t got it, the double LP The Name of This Band is Talking Heads has two disticnt incarnations for handy comparison. LP the first just has the 4-piece core, the second the whole shebang – Busta Jones, Bernie Worrel, Belew, Nona Hendryx et al on backing vox. Plus about a million excellent live pics on the artwork.

Umm… where was I? Oh yeah…

I condemn anyone who doesn’t acknowledge David Byrne as their Lord and Master.

Rawk!

casey: “Our generation was only left with simulacrum and pastiche with which to differentiate ourselves.”

Ah, not at all true. Unless you wanted it to be. Take a look at THIS, for instance, for an antidote. (FDB, I was originally going to call this to your attention, but then, maybe you’ve already seen it.)…

Go to YouTube and type in “Talking Heads live Rome The Great Curve”

That was the real band, by cracky. The Speaking in Tongues band was great, too, but not a patch on the Remain In Light gang. Ho. Lee. Shit.

I condemn the fact that there is not a giant solid-gold statue of Adrian Belew in the middle of the Boulevard Woodrow Wilson.