Playlist : June 28th - July 2nd

Hey there cats. What a week it's been in politics, hey? Nevermind. To the music. This week there seems to be a bit of a Best Of thing happening. That's mostly a case of not knowing which album to chose and wanting a variety of songs from the artist. Anyway, it looks like this.

US3 - Broadway & 52nd
US3s debut album, the very cool Hand On The Torch was in last week's list. It was good to hear it again. This is the equally groovy follow up. By the third album, An Extraordinary Day in an Ordinary Place, something wasn't quite right with US3 for me.




The Whitlams - Truth, Beauty and a Picture Of You
Maybe it was the link to Gough Whitlam and his dismissal, or maybe it was Juli Gillard's 'aphrodesiac' red hair, but The Whitlams sprang to mind this week.A Best Of retrospective of Tim Freidman and co. I was late to The Whitlams, I'm ashamed to say. JJJ turned me on to them with No Aphrodesiac. It's a shame, because by that time they had already had several solid albums and told a great many tales of Australian suburbia.


Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
The self-titled solo album (as if there's much difference) from Mr Bright Eyes is more of the same, wonderfully whiney yet quirkily optimistic indie jewels. I can't get enough Bright Eyes. If there's a cooler song than Lua about drug and alcohol abuse, I haven't heard it. But I can't pass up an opportunity to point out that the Gillian Welch and Conor Oberst duet version is far superior to the Bright Eyes original.


James Brown - Sex Machine
Get on the good foot cats, get up off that thing and feel good. The Godfather of Soul. The hardest working man in show business. The amazing Mr Please Pleas himself, JAMES BROWN! Ow!!!
Every day can suddenly become a lot less stressful and a whole lot more energised with a dose or two of the Godfather. Warning - may cause severe Funkitis. If effected, perform an immediate Boogiectomy.


Van Morrison - The Best of Van Morrison
After disrespecting Van the Man last week by pointing out that Patti Smith does Gloria better than he does, I thought I'd pay penance and remind myself of all the songs the man does best. From the pure romance of Moondance to the sweet soul of Sweet Thing, you got to love Van.



Miles Davis - The Birth of the Cool
Nothing I could write about Miles Davis or this album would ever do either true justice. This is just what it says it is - The Birth of the Cool. The brand new cool jazz sound that took the genre out of bebop and exploded into the 1950s is here exemplified by Miles Davis and other exceptional talents including Max Roach on drums and Gerry Mulligan on saxophone.


VA - Uncut: The New Frontier
A collection of various alt-country tracks compiled by Uncut Magazine in 2007. I do love me some alt-country. This one has Bright Eyes - Lua, funny enough, as well as great tracks from The Dexateens, Sufjan Stevens and Josh Ritter. It's not often I put compilations on my list, but a good bit of twang is always appreciated early in the week.


The Stooges - Funhouse
Because I usually reach for The Stooges outstanding self-titled debut, I decided to go with the follow up for something a little crunchy. The chaotic swirl of the 1970 is in enjoyable contrast of the rockabilly roll of the previous album's 1969 - as if The Stooges were taking anarchy into the new decade. That's fairly befitting considering these guys were Punk as all get up before there was such a thing.


Grinderman - Grinderman
Again, this is not my usual Nick Cave related fare. I'm usually all about the sombre poerty of No More Shall We Part and The Botman's Call and such. So I grabbed another bit of crunch instead. I'm not sure whether Grinderman are ever bringing another LP out, but this one is a bit of fun.


A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
And finally, another album by an artist from whom I usually grab another. Ordinarily, I'd be listening to Midnight Marauders (as I think most casual Tribe fans would) so I am playing The Low End Theory this week, Just as jazzy and cool as Midnight with all the usual fun and games from Q-Tip and co. Brilliant for a Friday ot get the day started.


There we go for another week. Happy weekend you crazy kids.