Quiet Midnight Mellow FUNK (December 2nd - 6th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Today's Work Tunes is coming to you from the comfort of my loungeroom on my laptop. It's been a typically busy late November Saturday today and I've only just had time to sort some tunes out. I'm in the lounge watching The Living Room (a pretty crappy lifestyle program from Channel 10) just to see Ben Stiller and the Walter Mitty preview. It looks good. 

The Greek scented soundtrack of my favourite film for 2013 is here. I've decided to give the newest Adam Ant album a listen, as well as something from Keller Williams evocatively titled FUNK. A bit of a sidetrack through power ballads this week has led to a Chicago best of and Guns n Roses Lies. Thanks to Clay 5, there's an early INXS classic. Paul Kelly and Neil Finn together have a new album and the first disc is playing this week. For some rap, there's a Band Camp freebie from Mellow and an MTV compilation of old school stuff. Last up this week I've got the first disc of MJ's This Is It. 

Check it out:

• VA - Before Midnight OST
• Keller Williams - FUNK
• Adam Ant - Adam Ant Is the BlueBlack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter
• Michael Jackson - This Is It (Disc 1)
• Mellow - The Quiet Ones
• Chicago - Greatest Hits
• INXS - Underneath The Colours
• VA - Hip Hop Back In The Day
• Neil Finn and Paul Kelly - Goin' Your Way (Disc 1)
• Guns n' Roses - Lies

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. U2
2. Keb' Mo'
3. Illy
4. John Lennon
5. Counting Crows

Song of the Week : Def Leppard - Love Bites

On the weekend, in the car, Def Leppard's Love Bites played from a shuffled playlist and Mrs CoreyJ and I had the following conversation (pretty much):

Her: I love this song! I like those songs that... what do you call it when...
Me: Wuss Rock?
Her: Yeah! Wuss Rock. I love it when they really sound like they mean it.
Me: That's a power ballad. You like power ballads.

So I made her a CD for the car of a few power ballad pearls. You can see the list on Spotify at spotify:user:1231117449:playlist:2FNd0XYnESXAJWoOFq1iFV

What I like about this kind of tune, and I think what Mrs CoreyJ was thinking, is how they're so cheesy and so cliché and meaningless, but you'd never know it by the treatment they get. The impassioned singing, the swelling growl of big heavy guitar chords, epic orchestration, the works. If you didn't speak English and you heard one, you would swear the lyrics were great works of literature - or else why would they sound so epic?! 

I do remember when this song was released when I was in high school. It was one of those songs that the 'chicks' and the 'dudes' liked. And if you had a girlfriend/boyfriend at the time, it meant this song was like, really deep you know? Like it really spoke to you and that? Yeah. Good times :)

Rock out with your socks out folks.

Adieu

With my list finished, it's almost time to take the kids to swimming lessons. No rest for the wicked, hey?

Hasala malakim.

Just Atomic Desert Lemonade (November 25th - 29th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

I'm a little later than usual this week because yesterday was filled with super secret Christmas present purchase shenanigans. It's the wee hours of Sunday morning right now and I've just put this together.

I've been avoiding U2's 2004 effort since the first listen, so I figured it was time to try again. This Desert Life I haven't been avoiding, but have probably not listened to the whole thing in just as long. Yet another album that's been tucked away too long is Blind Pilot's sophomore effort. I recently gave a few Keb Mo albums a spin on Spotify - this is one of them. The latest album from Oz Hip Hop artist Illy is here and so is the newly released collaboration between Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) and Norah Jones. After my recent obsession with the Downtown scene and the early days of Punk, I grabbed a CBGBs compilation exploring those bands. Another new one from White Denim is on the list along with the soundtrack to Imagine, a documentary about John Lennon. One of my favourite rap albums from the last 10 years from Nas is my final choice for next week.

Check it out:

• Keb' Mo' - Just Like You
• U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
• VA - CBGBs and the Birth of US Punk
• Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead
• Blind Pilot - We Are The Tide
• Counting Crows - This Desert Life
• Illy - Cinematic
• White Denim - Corsicana Lemonade
• Billie Joe + Norah - Foreverly
• John Lennon - Imagine OST

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Motorhead
2. The Offspring
3. Jonathon Wilson
4. Tom Waits
5. of Montreal

Song of the Week : Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone

My SOTW is arguably the greatest rock song ever written. I chose Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone solely because of the interactive video that was released this week which blew my tiny mind. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t ruin it, but ostensibly it’s a bunch of film clips in an interactive player where you can “change channels” mid song. A simple enough idea, but it’s what has been done with it that’s really impressive.

http://video.bobdylan.com/desktop.html

The innovation behind the video reminded me that the song itself was a real rule breaker. A rock song that hit big on the radio that went for more than 6 minutes, let alone more than 3. It was the near perfection of the electric sound that had been played around with on Bringing It All Back Home and which had gotten Bob in trouble with the folkies who saw it as selling out. Those cracking drums, the double keyboard sound and the angry sneer of Bob’s voice changed popular music in a way that’s still being felt. We all know the Beatles were one kind of band until Rubber Soul which was not long after they met electric Bob.

Watch the video and have a play around. I will most likely watch each channel in it’s entirety this weekend to make sure I see it all. I think there’s about 10 channels. 

Adios

Now it's Sunday afternoon and I'm just back from Nedlands and Perth Upmarket at UWA. Now I'm running behind and have to get these tunes onto my work laptop for the week's listening.

Onwards and upwards. Hasala malakim.

Lovin' Fanfare Saturday Aftershock (November 18th - 22nd)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

No list last week because I was off work for two out of five days and I just shuffled my phone and streamed some album previews. I haven't had much of a chance to put this one together, but I'm squeezing it in before swimming.

Thanks to some recommendations, I'm checking out the latest from Of Montreal and some very old Tom Waits. I got hold of the 94 East album featuring Prince and thought I'd give that a spin. The recently released Marshall Maters LP II and a new one from Young Dro are my rap selections. There's a little bit of heavy grind with new albums from Motorhead and Fuzz. I realised the other day that I have no Offspring, so I remedied that with the Greatest Hits. I read good stuff about Johnathon Wilson so I'm giving Fanfare a listen. Lastly, I stumbled across the soundtrack to the very brilliant This Is England (the film, not the equally brilliant This Is England '86 and '88 TV series).

Check it out:

• Jonathan Wilson - Fanfare
• Motorhead - Aftershock
• Of Montreal - Lousy With Sylvianbriar
• Young Dro - High Times
• Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP II
• 94 East - Lovin' Cup
• VA - This Is England OST
• Fuzz - Fuzz
• Tom Waits - The Heart Of Saturday Night
• The Offspring - Greatest Hits

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Dolorean
2. Indigo Girls
3. Pearl Jam
4. Ryan Adams
5. Pink Floyd

Song of the Week : Evil Eddie - Hungover Again

I didn't have a song picked out because I wasn't paying attention for the three days I was at work, just shuffling my phone all day. I am going with what I woke up with in my head. 

Last night being Thursday, I wouldn't normally drink, but as I'm off until Monday, I figured why the hell not. It's not like I had too much, but I woke up with Hungover Again by Evil Eddie in my head and it won't go away. I wasn't hungover, but I was probably a bit guilty with myself for putting 3 beers down on a school night :)

The song is about a much bigger binge than that. I was never much of a drinker even in my late teens, but I have had a few hangovers in the distant past, so I know the feelings being spoken about. The song itself is pretty melodic as far as raps go. The music behind it too is not the usual beats and samples, but more like a band with a guitar, bass and drum brushes.  The lines that haven't left me alone all day are after the 'apology song' line:

But I can't even write myself a rap
Like this line is crap
Doesn't even rhyme...
And that.

There is no film clip for Hungover on YouTube, so here's a Spotify link:

Bye

There you have it, short and sweet again. I really get a lot of use out of the recommendations of friends, so I hope there's something here that can get your musical groove moving. 

Hasala malakim.

Almost New Hell Night (November 4th - 8th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

This is one of those lists I prepared early in anticipation of being too busy and/or exhausted to get it done this weekend. So it's Friday lunch time and I've just finished it off.

Paul MacCartney and Elvis Costello are here because I've read about these albums this week. Following on from X-Ray Spex last week, I've got The Undertones for a bit of a punk fix. I'm getting my Hip Hop fix from The Cancel again as well as The Roots. For some dinosaur rock and soul, there's Sting and the second volume of tracks from The Big Chill. Something a little experimental from James Ferraro is here, as is the latest from prog rockers Hawkwind. Finally, an old favourite from Son Volt gets a nod. 

Check it out:

• Elvis Costello - Almost Blue
• The Cancel - Night Light
• The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
• Paul MacCartney - New
• Sting - Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting
• VA - The Big Chill : More Songs From the Original Soundtrack
• The Roots - Things Fall Apart
• James Ferraro - NYC Hell 3:00 AM
• Son Volt - Straightaways
• Hawkwind - Spacehawks

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Missy Elliott
2. X-Ray Spex
3. Drive-By Truckers
4. Dinosaur Jr.
5. R.E.M.

Song of the Week : Ylvis - What Does the Fox Say?

Let me preface my SOTW by saying I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry…

Having said that, I’m a big believer in ‘Truth in SOTW’ at all costs. I could have chosen a Lou Reed/Velvets song, because it was awful to lose another great musician. I could have picked a Breeders track because I should have gone to see them last night. I’ve also been digging on Veruca Salt this week. But this one song has been all-pervasive, all week, night and day. 

I am not proud of my song, but I can’t deny it is THE song of my week. I heard it for the first time last week and then made the mistake of showing the kids the film clip on the weekend. Since then the whole family has been singing it all the time, with and without alternate lyrics. 

I don’t own a copy of the song (small mercies) but the film clip is worth a look – though I bet you’ve all seen it. Okay, I have to admit what it is now, yeah?

Ylvis – What Does the Fox Say?

If you haven’t seen it, I’m even more sorry. It’s way too catchy and it’s like a non-New Zealand Flight of the Conchords song. The silliest bit is, I am completely aware of how a fox sounds (they yap and sometimes howl fyi) from plenty of exposure to them in Ejanding. But that didn’t stop me watching this clip for the first time, mouth agape, brain screaming WTH IS THIS?! Before laughing and contracting a permanent earworm.  

So, feel free to not listen if you know it, or even if I’ve scared you off, but this has got to be my truthful SOTW.

Ciao for Niao

It's now Saturday afternoon and I've endured a photo-shoot in Hyde Park (not the fancy pants London one, the nice and friendly Mount Lawley one). If you know me at all, you know that a photo-shoot is a huge deal. I hated every second of it, but it was a gift to my wife, so you know. The things we do, hey?

That's all for now. Keep sticking it to The Man. Thanks for stopping by.

Hasala malakim.