Saturday, September 29, 2012

Purple Highway Sugaring Trees (October 1st - 5th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

 Big Saturday today with the AFL Grand Final on and the long weekend under way. I watched the Swans deservedly win an epic football battle and not long after my TV decided that it wasn't fixed any more. So I spat the proverbial and bought another one online. Free delivery in 4 to 5 working days. You have to love the Internet. It's 3D and all, so I threw a 3D Bluray player in for good measure. I look forward to hundreds of hilarious viewings of Piranha 3DD.

 I have a whole bunch of new albums this week, namely from Ben Folds Five, Brother Ali, Beth Orton and finally, Mumford & Sons. For something old, there's Deep Purple's monster hit In Rock, as well as Devo's Freedom of Choice. I'm still on my latest Sonic Youth kick, so I grabbed a Thurston Moore solo effort from 2006. Cameron Crowe's grunge era pop culture zeitgeist, Singles, turned 20 last week, so the soundtrack is here. Paul Kelly (for like 2 minutes) on TV for the Grand Final is the reason why Foggy Highway is here. Rounding it all off with a dose of old skool nostalgia thanks again to Art of Rap, a Def Jam compilation from 2001.

 Check it out:

  1. Sonic Youth
  2. Eric B & Rakim
  3. Pearl Jam
  4. The xx
  5. Band Of Horses

Song of the Week : The Replacements - Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out



 For my song of the week, I'm going with the hysterically coincidental track from Let It Be - no, not that one, The Replacements' one. I had put Let It Be on my weekly list without remembering that there's a track on there called "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out". 

 As you know, my little 'Tommy' got her tonsils out this week too. I am happy to report that they were not "rip rip!" ripped out. The operation itself was over and done with rather quickly, but I'm sure all care was taken. This track is even in keeping with the car theme, because the doctor has his Cadillac running. 

 You can hear in this song all the elements of LA Hardcore punk which was big at the time, but of which The Replacements aren't really exponents. I've chosen it for the coincidence and nothing more. I hope you get a giggle.

Onward to Victory

Thanks for stopping by. If you are a Sydney Swans fan (and not one of the Victorian bandwagon hoppers who refers to your team as "The Bloods"), congratulations. Hawks fans, commiserations; as an Eagles supporter, I know how it feels to lose to the Swans in a close one. Please, tell your team to rest on their laurels and not use their hunger for a flag to destroy us all in 2013. Thank you. 

Hasala malakim.
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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Follow the Experimental Maiden Mirage (September 24th - 28th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

 It's been a bit of a tech day today, good and bad. I bought some new headphones for work and also battled with iOS6 and my iPad. Everything seems to be in order now though. I'm sure the novelty of Siri will wear off very soon, but right now, she's a hoot.

I'll only be at work for a few days this week, because Miss 6 is going in for a tonsillectomy and I'll be staying home to look after Miss 3. I'm not looking forward to any of it of course. I'm told recovery from tonsils can be a horrid affair, and you never like to see your kids in pain. 

Inspiration for choosing the LPs on this week's list has come from a bunch of places. Firstly, watching Ice-T's excellent Art of Rap provided me with the soundtrack as well as an Eric B & Rakim album I haven't heard in forever. Last week's #Clay5 on Pearl Jam albums obviously gave me Vs, while a Spotify list from @sunky provided Bjork. Metal Evolution has put Iron Maiden on my radar, while a rave about TIM from @bobearth made me pick The Replacements. Sonic Youth are here because omg I love Sonic Youth. There's the second disc of  Led Zeppelin's Remasters and finally some new albums from favourites Band of Horses and Seapony.

Check it out:

  1. Led Zeppelin
  2. Sly & The Family Stone
  3. A Tribe Called Quest
  4. Tori Amos
  5. Down South

Song of the Week : Dinosaur Jr. - Watch The Corners



The latest album from Dinosaur Jr is out and it reunites the original line-up of the band. I have chosen Watch The Corners,  the track from it that most sounds like the Dinosaur Jr. of old. That's not a bad thing; for me, anyway. Listening to the best Dinosaur Jr. tracks feels like reaching into your closet and fishing out that super warm and fleecy flannel jacket, your heaviest pair of cargo shorts and a nice shiny pair of Docs and stepping back into the era when J Mascis was guitar god extraordinaire.

So that's what my SOTW is for today. It's a time travel vessel that will put you in the heady days of grunge and Seinfeld and Winona Ryder and Kyra Sedgwick. Enjoy the ride. And on a side and somewhat related note, did you see Singles the Cameron Crowe film is 20 YEARS OLD! Wow.

 Hope you enjoy your time travel experience – please, keep all limbs inside the car at all times.

TTFN

Thanks for stopping by. Here's hoping the Universe smiles on you this weekend and you win lotto or something. If you're a Hawks or Crows fan, good luck to your team. But let's face it, the Crows need more luck than the Hawks. 

Adios. Hasala malakim.
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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Poor Grizzly Choirgirl Romance (September 17th - 21st)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

 It's been a really, really, *really* long week and I'm still getting over the food poisoning from last weekend. All my hopes are invested in this weekend to recharge my dead batteries. Next week's music should help too. 

 There's a few new sets this week, namely from Grizzly Bear, Dinosaur Jr., The xx and Sea Wolf. I put a little funk in the trunk and added Sly & the Family Stone and Prince after watching a BBC doc on the Purple One. Evil Eddie's Golden Age made me think of some mid-90s rap from Poor Righteous Teachers and Down South. It is all rounded out with Led Zeppelin and Tori Amos (who is a massive Led Zep fan btw). 

Check it out:

  1. Journey
  2. A Tribe Called Quest
  3. Something For Kate
  4. Kathleen Edwards
  5. Portishead

Song of the Week : Evil Eddie - Golden Age



 I wouldn't normally give you two rap tracks in a row, but this selection just could not be denied this week as my SOTW. I don't listen to th radio much, but I assume that JJJ is already killing this Jamie? Evil Eddie's (of Butterfingers) latest solo track Golden Age.

 First and foremost what it has going for it beyond the lyric is the funky a$$ bass which sounds like a Stevie Wonder clavical riff fed through a bit of wah. But of course, the lyric itself is what suckered me in - its a self-confessed "old muthf$#@^a standing up for the golden age of Hip Hop culture. How could I resist?! It mentions coming through formative years with the very best that rap had to offer and laments the fact that "these days, every man and his dog's a f$#^#in rapper!"

 The track has been on pretty much endless repeat in my head and in my car. Hopefully you can dig the funk and enjoy the extended rant of the lyrics.

Adios Muchachas

Okey dokey, that's your lot. I've got to go and get myself some R&R or I'll be postal by this time next week. I am feeling a little better already, having relaxed a little watching The Toxic Avenger last night. Fingers crossed I'm over the slump. Go me. And...

 Go Eagles. Hasala malakim.
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Friday, September 7, 2012

People's Official Wild Dummy Trick (September 10th - 14th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

 Just a quick one today. I'm at home looking after Miss 3 and I am sick as a fully chrome set of mags. I thought about not posting this weekend, but since my target audience is me, I'm the only one who misses out. So, let's get into the music shall we?

 A couple of kitschy sets this week in a compilation of Journey's best and Fastway's soundtrack to the long forgotten 80s horror film Trick Or Treat (starring Skippy from Family Ties with a cameo from Ozzy Osborne). There's a few old favourites from Something For Kate, Kathleen Edwards and A Tribe Called Quest. The new Meliisa Etheridge album is here - she seems to have gone back to her rock roots and is playing all guitars on every song. Also new is Dylan's dark Tempest and Wild Nothing's Nocturne. Because I've been listening to a bit of electronic music lately, I decided to get on someone who does it right, so I added Portishead. Rounding it all off, Ozi Batla's solo album is here because I recently heard the new Evil Eddie song and it reminded me. 

 Check it out:

  1. Ice-T
  2. Tracy Chapman
  3. Digable Planets
  4. Sex Pistols
  5. Pegz

Song of the Week : Digable Planets - Dog It



 As for my favourite track this week, it's a cut from one of my 5 or 10 favourite Rap albums, Digable Planets - Blowout Comb. For my weekly work list, I try to avoid playing the same things all the time and keep it fresh every week. That leads to me deliberately avoiding great albums like this one and Pneumonia etc. Thing is, when my brain told me to slip Blowout Comb on this week's list, I checked back and found that August 2010 was the last time it made the cut. 

 I chose this song, Dog It because it is "hella" funky. The brass and the bass on the track are as cool as can be and the whole thing puts me in the New York groove (won't Kiss be pleased!). The other reason I chose it is because all week I've had a bar of lyrics from it stuck in my head - because it's a catchy rhyme and because it's clever:
"Now, I'm making bacon,
Still saying wa assalamu alaikum" 

 It's a good groove for a Friday afternoon. I hope it gets you dancing.
Okey Doke

Thanks for stopping by. That's it then. I best go away and try hard not to shrivel up with dehydration and die. I'll see you all next week, with a good deal more energy I hope.

 Go Eagles. Because if you don't 'go', that's it for 2012. Hasla malakim
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