Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.
It's a 'surprise' long weekend here in Perth, with Her Majesty here to visit. We've all got Friday off (it's Thursday night as I write this) and there's some sort of mass barbecue happening. It feels a bit Jonestowny, but I was staying away for other reasons.
This week's list features the first Christmas album of the year that I'm willing to spin with the new She & Him. Some old grungey favourites in Triple J's Hottest 100 Volume 2 and The Breeders' Pod made the cut. Inspired by @BreeMateljan's SOTW, I've reached for ZZ Top - Afterburner. I've got some moody electronic stuff from Nightmares On Wax, some new tracks from Spin, a new Dylan compilation and some more.
Check it out:
- She & Him - A Very She & Him Christmas
- The Breeders - Pod
- Funkoars - The Quickening
- VA - Triple J's Hottest 100 Vol. 2
- Kool & the Gang - Icon
- A.A. Bondy - Believers
- VA - Spin November
- ZZ Top - Afterburner
- Bob Dylan - Pure Dylan
- Nightmares On Wax - In A Space Outta Sound
- Nina Simone
- The Jam
- Bliss N Eso
- US3
- Ben Lee
I am torn between two songs for SOTW today. Both have been inspired by some excellent televisual programming. I’m choosing this one because the program and the period of history that it covered was far more monumental. The PBS documentary series Eyes On The Prize from 1987 traces the history of the Civil Rights movement in the US. I recently watched episode 2 which deals with the period between 1957 and 1962. Key to this period was the integration of schools and in particular the resistance to same at Little Rock, Arkansas – home of the PUSA with the busy hands ;)
Mississippi God Damn is Nina Simone’s most scathing protest song, but it starts out like a sly joke. This version is live and you can hear the audience chuckling along with Nina’s trademark asides. Until she sings the verse that says “Don’t tell me, I’ll tell you!” and by the end of that, the silence is palpable. There’s a real threat in her voice when she says “Bet you thought I was kidding, didn’t you?” Then the lyrics get even harsher. It’s pure magic and surely one of the greatest protest songs of the era. She sings Strange Fruit like a sad hymn, but Mississippi God Damn is an incitement to riot. Enjoy.
Tah Tah
If you haven't heard it already, make sure you check out this week's Song of the Week. Nina's angry rant brought on by the bombing of a church in Alabama, killing four girls, is one of those songs that's a must for anyone who appreciates the power of lyrics and performance.
In "the old country", my grandmother and her brothers used to say 'May the road rise up to meet you'. My wish for you is that the road stays where the hell it is, because that just sounds dangerous.
Play safe kids. Hasala malakim.
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