Wanted One True Drama (July 1st - 5th, 2013)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Massively chaotic day today after a 1 hour delay with a doctor's appointment for Miss 4. I'm hurriedly throwing this all together with what little time I have left before swimming lessons. 

What I've got for next week is the new ones from Mavis Staples and Black Sabbath. Also new is the True Blood Season 4 soundtrack. For a little bit of 70s flavour there's Lou Reed's solo debut and the greatest hits of Earth, Wind & Fire. Art Brut's fun Bang Bang Rock and Roll unbelievably makes its first Worktunes list ever; as does Beck's One Foot In The Grave. On the rap side of town there's Ice Cube and Melbourne's own Pegz. And lastly, the follow up to a compilation I played last week, For The Kids Too is here. 

Check it out:

• Mavis Staples - One True Vine
• Black Sabbath - 13
• Lou Reed - Lou Reed
• Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
• Beck - One Foot In The Grave
• VA - Music from True Blood Season 4
• Pegz - Drama
• VA - For The Kids Too
• Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll
• Earth, Wind & Fire - Greatest Hits

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Gillian Welch
2. Guns N' Roses
3. Prince
4. Seapony
5. Ornette Coleman

Song of the Week : Best Coast - Storms

This is a cover. The second Fleetwood Mac cover that Best Coast have done (the other being Rhiannon). Not having listened much to Tusk, I wasn't immediately aware this was a cover. Fleetwood mac's original just hadn't caught my ear like this, so I didn't recognise it. If you listen to the original, it's obviously superior, but Stevie doesn't give it any oomph. She sings it in that world-weary, defeated Stevie Nicks way she usually does. Which is also a fitting way to sing it. Especially the bit about the deadly calm inside the storm. But when Bethany sings it, she pours it out like a wail of pain.

It probably felt like a Best Coast song to me for that reason. The instrumentation is redundant; simple and sparse and noisily punky. It's just a vehicle for Bethany's voice to run around on top of. It also feels like hers because of the obvious feeling for it and also the subject matter - given her self-proclaimed reputation for being a 'storm' and her tumultous long distance relationship with Nathan of Wavves ("I did not deal with the road").

The song has been stuck in my head for weeks. I've been relating to the "I have always been a storm" refrain. I've never been a 'blue calm sea',   - But I'm trying, Ringo. I'm trying real hard to be the Shepherd.- :) 

Postscript: The first time I heard this song, when I heard the closing refrain “We were frail”, what I heard was “We were Fredo” – you know, like Fredo Corleone of the Godfather. I thought “Huh? Oh, she must mean they betrayed each other. Or maybe that their relationship was something they loved but that had to die because it caused problems” the way Michael kills Fredo. I of course looked up the lyrics and discovered what they were. But you know what, We were Fredo actually works! 

Ciao

Got to jet off to swimming really soon, so I'll have to love you all and leave you. Stay golden, be excellent to each other and if I don't see you good afternoon, good evening and goodnight.

Hasala malakim.

Bad Orpheus Cave Mutations (June 18th - 22nd)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Okay, I'm going to come clean. I'm not really "firty-five" tomorrow. I was born in the great year of our Lord (whose name is Rock n' Roll) 1972. Therefore, that makes me 39. Which is where I am going to stay now, thanks very much.


So to get me through the post forty blues, I've upped the level of Funk to EXTREME with James Brown's Star Time compilation (just disc 1 for this week - can't overdo these things at my age). There's some Bad Brains which is ripped from vinyl to remind me that punk rock will never die. I've slipped in some Beck; Radiohead and Nick Cave for a little 90s flavour; plus there's disc two of the Sugar Hill box and some ATCQ for my Hip Hop fix. Lastly there's some 80s post punk from Get Smart! and some new stuff from Violens. .

Check it out:

• James Brown - Star Time (Disc 1)
• VA - The Sugar Hill Story : To The Beat Ya'll (Disc 2)
• Radiohead - Kid A
• Bad Brains - Bad Brains
• Get Smart! - Action Reaction
• Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
• A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
• Violens - True
• Nick Cave - The Lyre of Orpheus
• Beck - Mutations

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Young Marble Giants
2. Wilco
3. The Triffids
4. Violent Femmes
5. Beastie Boys

Song of the Week : The Ramones - I Don't Wanna Grow Up

I'm off work today and I took Miss 5 to school and hung out in her classroom before the siren. Some strange kid drew a picture of me. I looked pretty suave actually, but I'm not sure she captured my true essence. 3 stars kid.


After the siren, I went to get some fuel and that's when my SOTW came to me. At the bowser next to me, seemingly not interested in pouring fuel, two guys were talking. One of them looked about mid 30s and was wearing shorts, sneakers and a Ramones tee shirt. I was thinking to myself, I need a Ramones tee. Then I thought "Dude, you're f-f-f--firty five tomorrow and you probably should lay off the band tee shirts". Then, thankfully, my rational self kicked in and I thought "Screw that!"


So here is my SOTW. The Ramones' cover of Tom Waits' great song I Don't Wanna Grow Up. Because, damn it, I don't. And I don't care how old I am tomorrow. In the words of Homer J Simpson, I'm going to "keep on rockin' forever.. forever.. forever.. forever :( ..." And damn it, I'm getting a Ramones tee shirt.



Rawk On

Postscript: Some little kid when I went to get Miss 5 from school also had a Ramones shirt. I chose to see that as a sign that you're never too young or too old to rock n roll. Mrs coreyj chose to see it as a sign we needed to have a third child (a boy). I like my version better and so does our accountant. 


Thanks for stopping by, you crazy kids. Pleas pray for Mojo if you're reading this on Saturday. I'll be struggling to come to terms with my age and with just how much time has passed since I was unleashed upon the world. 


I have to admit that I have definitely lived in "interesting times". Only, isn't that an old Chinese curse?


Que sera, sera. Hasala malakim.

Playlist : November 21st - 25th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Let's get right into the music after a pretty uneventful week. My next playlist has a rarity from Prince, the soundtrack to Boogie Nights as well as the new Muppet movie, some Billy Bragg because I haven't picked up Fight Songs yet and a tribute to The Velvet Underground and Nico from Beck and some friends.

I've also got a band I only just discovered, The Deep Dark Woods, the KRS One and Marley Marl collaboration, some new Kathleen Edwards and an old Rickie Lee Jones and, because it's been so long, The Doors.

Check it out:

• VA - Boogie Nights OST
• Billy Bragg - William Bloke
• Rickie Lee Jones - Flying Cowboys
• Prince - Camille
• VA - Muppets OST
• Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur
• The Doors - The Very Best of the Doors
• The Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours
• KRS One & Marley Marl - Hip Hop Lives
• Beck's Record Club - The Velvet Underground & Nico 2

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. People Under the Stairs
   
2. Bruce Springsteen
3. Billy Bragg
4. Dinosaur Jr
5. Lou Reed

Song of the Week : Billy Bragg - Never Buy The Sun

My choice cut for today is Billy Bragg – Never Buy The Sun. I’ve been playing this song constantly all week. I’ve been a fan of Billy Bragg for decades now, because as you know I’m a hard-line lefty and I love a good fighter who takes the rage to the system.

This song is in response to the News Of The World phone hacking scandal. The voice mail of a (it turned out later) murdered girl was hacked by reporters while she was missing. The same reporters paid off cops to get hold of sensitive information. And this was only one instance of hacking in a mass of violations which saw the closure of the paper, owned by our evil ex-citizen Rupert Murdoch.

The chorus line “Scousers never buy The Sun” is a reference to how the people of Liverpool long ago boycotted The Sun newspaper (also one of Rupert’s) because of the way in which they reported the Hillsborough disaster (which if you don’t recall was the human crush inside a soccer stadium where a number of Liverpool supporters died).

I am hoping to soon grab a copy of Fight Songs, Billy Bragg’s latest release from which this track comes. Unfortunately, it’s not selling on his site in download format and I can order the CD and wait for it much cheaper than I can get it on iTunes. So, in the meantime, I’ve been playing this over and over because I really believe something must be done about the state of journalism in Australia, let alone the UK. I won’t get on my high horse here, but really it probably needs nuking from space.

Enjoy. Fight the power!

Toodle-oo

That's it for the week. Play nice out there kids. Take care of each other and maybe do something nice for someone, eh?

May your weekend be awash with perfect moments. Hasala malakim.

Playlist : July 25th - 29th, 2011

Holla. How's everybody doing?

Revelation is now in full swing and I had a marathon 4 film day on Sunday. This coming Sunday is the end of the festival and my secret screening. I'm very much looking forward to it.

As it did last week with the reggae cuts, Rev14 has in fact inspired a choice on this week's playlist; namely Pentagram's First Daze Here (the band being the subject of the entertaining Last Days Here).

Along with this rawkus metal offering, I bring you some classic Soul from Earth, Wind & Fire, my favourite Beck album, a remastered version of INXS' impressive debut, the ever-popular O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack and more. Check it out.

• VA - O Brother Where Art Thou
• Pentagram - First Daze Here
• Midlake - The Courage Of Others
• Earth Wind & Fire - Last Days and Time
• VA - Newermind
• INXS - INXS (Remastered)
• Beck - Sea Change
• A Tribe Called Quest - Beats, Rhymes and Life
• Guns n Roses - Appetite For Destruction
• The Stooges - The Stooges

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. R.E.M
2. Pink Floyd
3. Brother Ali
4. Peter Tosh
5. A.A. Bondy

Song of the Week : Ohio Players - Skin Tight

I was torn between a great cover of a 60s classic and this funky gem from 1974. I may send you the cover later because it’s worth a listen. Last night I cleaned up a 70s record I bought for maybe $2 at an Op Shop and found it had a lot of scuffing across the surface. There was hardly any depth to the grooves, but no real scratches. I put it on anyway, not expecting much quality. From the minute the needle went down, there was a crackle and hiss that wasn’t particularly fun. But then the music kicked in.

Something about 70s funk/soul just seems to sound better when your record has had a life. I wish I could have found the time to rip it straight to mp3, but then I’m not sure it would have accurately captured the feel anyway. So this track from Ohio Players, the title song for the album Skin Tight is a funkeriffic rampage of horns and bass and drums. The sexy 70s vibe is all encompassing. Sit back, relax and get your funk on.

Arrivederci

That's all for now. I'll let you know what the secret screening is next week or over at MFNM when I review it. Be sure to have an outstanding weekend and love the ones you're with. Thanks for stopping by. Asalaam alikum.

Playlist : May 17th - 21st, 2010

Busy weekend this week, so I'm posting my list early. I seem to have gone with mostly somber or smooth tunes that match the weather. So I deliberately added some ruckus at the last minute.

This weeks list looks like this:

• Son Volt - The Search - After I realised the chorus chords to one of my favourite ever songs, Methamphetamine, were DEADEADEAD (spooky) I tweeted it and promptly picked up a new follower who said "I started following you based solely on your mention of Son Volt." So I figured I'd spin the album.

• Gil Scott-Heron - Spirits - I really enjoyed playing Glory last week. Also, the documentary I watched on Heron was excellent. I felt like more of old Gil <~ see what I did there? This album was the first released after the man served time for possessing cocaine. He was released in 1994, same as this album.

• The National - Alligator - As I said last week, too much of The National is not enough right now. Their second to latest release, Alligator was a critical hit and the first real commercial success for the boys from Brooklyn.

• Beck - Sea Change - An old favourite and one that always seems to make an appearance when it gets a little chilly. When it gets really, really cold, watch for Nick Cave.

• Jackson Browne - The Very Best Of... - While listening to a 70s internet radio station last week, I heard a non-single Browne track and it felt right. I am going to look into the man whom I am told writes a mean song beyond those old chestnuts we're used to on 94.5 et al.

• VA - What It Is! Vol. 3 - The third installment in the funky series. I'm loving these grooves of a Friday.

• Eels - End Times - My boss today told me Mr E. likes to write and record in a closet. But this album sounds like it's recorded in the back row of a funeral. Haunted and cracked and fit for a stormy day. Even the guy on the cover looks like he's freezing.

• Hole - Live Through This - Checking... nope, still not dated. This will always be one of my most treasured albums. Listening to the new Hole just reminded me how good this was. Polished and determined and hardcore rawk. Courtney Love : Had it, lost it.

• Nirvana - Singles - The perfect compliment to Live Through This, I chose this increasingly hard to get box set in case the guys at my work wanted a listen and hadn't heard some of the B Sides here. Also, I wanted a nice 90s hug to slip into with Hole and Nirvana. Interestingly, that Amazon link is to a US$146.99 unopened copy. Not that I'd ever sell my open one.

That's it then. It's almost 2am, time for bed. Off out to lunch with @2ompkins for Japanese tomorrow and out with my lovely wife @boobalee_ann to the movies Sunday. You crazy kids take care.