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:

• Ben Folds Five - The Sound of the Life of Mind
• VA - Singles OST
• Brother Ali - Mourning in America and Dreaming In Color
• VA - Def Jam 1985-2001: History of Hip Hop, Vol. 1
• Devo - Freedom of Choice
• Beth Orton - Sugaring Season
• Paul Kelly & the Storm Water Boys - Foggy Highway
• Deep Purple - In Rock
• Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy
• Mumford & Sons - Babel

Top Five Artists Last Week

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.

Brighter Imitation Fire Theory (April 9th - 13th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

It's Easter this week and that means Friday and Monday off with a chance of picnic. It also means the same amount of work tunes in a smaller space of time. More music per square inch. 

So, what have I got? I have dived into the Drive-By Truckers back catalogue after enjoying Jason Isbell recently; there's an old favourite acoustic compilation from Triple M; Justin Townes Earle's latest LP that I've been waiting with baited breath for; I grabbed the rarities disc from both Ben Folds and Prince's best of 3 disc sets; because April 4 has just been, I grabbed The Unforgettable Fire; a bonafide Hip Hop classic from Tribe; a Something From Kate LP I haven't listened to yet and the acclaimed Pet Sounds.

Check it out:

• Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark

• VA - Triple M Cordless

• Justin Townes Earle - Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now

• Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

• Ben Folds - Best Imitation of Myself (Disc 3) Rarities

• Prince - The Hits, The B-Sides (Disc 3) The B-Sides

• A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory

• The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

• U2 - The Unforgettable Fire

• Something For Kate - Elsewhere for 8 Minutes

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
2. Lucinda Williams
3. U2
4. The Beatles
5. (RAS) Riders Against the Storm

Song of the Week : Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - The King

On April 4 1968, 44 years ago (4/4 44years… just realised that), MLK was assassinated in Memphis. The song I have chosen in respect of this tragic anniversary is Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five – The King.


The song was released in 1983 on the On The Strength album, but it must have been ’87 or ’88 when I heard it on 100FM during their Scratch FM hip hop show. At the time, I am ashamed to say I had no idea who King was. I had been told about slaves (and I remember not being allowed to watch Alex Haley’s Roots even though it was a huge deal on TV at the time) and segregation, but I didn’t know the first thing about the Civil Rights movement. This song made me look King and Jesse Jackson up in the school library. That quickly led me to reading about Civil Rights in the US, about the Freedom rides, the marches, the bus boycott, the lunch counter sit ins and everything else. 


Since then I have read anything and everything I can get my hands on about the movement, I've watched countless documentaries and listened to a lot of music that references the same things (from the Staple Singers to Tupac). With this, I learned that the line from this song: "He wasn't scared of any man, didn't have no fear" was in no way whatsoever an exaggeration. King knew he was a target, knew his life was in danger everywhere he went, but continually put himself in situations that risked his life because it would further the mission he felt he was on. I don’t know about any of you, but I don’t even have an ounce of that man’s courage. 


So in celebration of a life not wasted, please enjoy. 

Hasta La Vista

Thanks for stopping by. Please have a safe and outstanding Easter if that's your thing. If you find any new music, hook a brother up. 


Go Eagles! Actually, if West Coast do for some reason lose to Melbourne today, I won't be overly distraught, as Melbourne deserves some positive karma for ditching a sponsor whose CEO made racist and sexist Facebook comments - regardless of the fact that doing so cost the struggling club AU$2M. So, Go Eagles! but congratulations Melbourne. 


Hasala malakim.

Playlist : June 13th - 17th, 2011

Hey there tunesters. How's everybody doing? You comfortable? Good.

In music news for me this week, I snared a cheap Yamaha RX-550 amp at the Melville markets, along with some Hendrix and Blondie vinyl and some bargain CDs. A few of the CDs I bought have made it onto the list this week. Besides those from Beastie Boys, Ben Folds Five, Prince and the Friends soundtrack, there's the new Daisy, Kitty and Lewis for a bit of brand new old timey rock n roll, some Public Enemy because Chuck D himself now follows me on Twitter (squeeee...) and some other stuff. I added some David Bowie because I feel like my Bowie education is very poor, even though I appreciate much of what I do know.

So this week;

• VA - The Breakers '83
• Best Coast - iTunes Session EP
• Prince - The Black Album
• Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen (Reissue Edition)
• VA - Friends Soundtrack
• Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits
• Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under The Covers Vol. 1
• Everclear - So Much For The Afterglow
• Public Enemy - Beats and Places
• Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Smoking In Heaven
• David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. The Herd
2. Mos Def
3. The Vines
4. Lucinda Williams
5. Dolorean

Song of the Week : REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You

So with my new amp, I have been spinning much vinyl. Besides the Hendrix and Blondie I bought, I have been reaching for 80s compilations that I still have from back in the day, or I got for $2 at various op shops over the years. I’ve rocked out to Duran Duran, Men Without Hats, Falco, Austen Tayshus, you name it.

But the one song that really still RAWKS for me is today’s SOTW; REO Speedwagon – Keep On Loving You. The subtle snake rattle, the grinding pick scrape, the blazing high solo and the cleanly rumbling rhythm crunch just make me want to do that thing Homer does when he throws horns and bangs his head going Yes! Yes! Yes! to Phish or someone.

This freakin’ song, for all its big hair and glam 80s pop juts kicks so much butt. Gentleman, in the words of the immortal Mr Bob Dylan “Play it fawkin loud!”

Ciao Bambinos

For now then, that's all I've got. Enjoy your working week and may Friday afternoon come with speed and precision. Don't forget to be excellent to each other. Stay kooky, kids.

Playlist : March 7th - 11th, 2011

So here we are again. I've decided to just list my playlist every week to keep track of what I've played. Then every month, I will blog a selection of albums from all those I've played. Make sense? Good. Let's continue.

• Paul Kelly The A - Z Recordings (Disc 8)
• Sonic Youth - Dirty
• Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
• Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk
• (Please) Don't Blame Mexico - Concorde
• Mellow Drum Addict - East Bound Train
• Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
• Spin Magazine - March Issue Playlist
• The Whispertown 2000 - Swim
• Gillian Welch - Revival

Top 5 Artists of Last Week

1. The Rolling Stones
2. Radiohead
3. Digable Planets
4. Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
5. Dolorean

Top 5 Tracks of Last Week

1. Conor Oberst with Gillian Welch – Lua
2. She's Spanish, I'm American – These Long Summer Days
3. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Magick
4. Justin Townes Earle – Christchurch Woman
5. Digable Planets – Pacifics

Song of the Week

This week I have gone with a track that came with my most recent edition of Spin Magazine for Zinio on my iPad. It’s great how the digital version always has a playlist for free from iTunes.

This is Wye Oak – Civilian. I don’t know a lot about this band, but I have heard their most recent album over at NPR It’s a pretty good listen. Fairly moody indie pop with a decent layer of fuzz and jangle. Civilian has a bit of a country stomp about it while keeping the indie atmospheric vocals before it launches into a bit of rock. Not bad at all.

Playlist : Top 10 Albums of 2010

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

This week, I have chosen my Top 10 of 2010. This list is not necessarily of the 10 best albums released all year, it's just my personal favourites released all year. I also have to stress, this is not in any kind of preferential order. If I had to pick the best album of 2010 from a personal point of view, I'd say Wake Up! is it.

On top of the list, I've made a mixtape of one track from each of the albums. You'll find a link at the bottom of the post.

This year for me has been a good year for discovering new artists, thanks largely to NPR and KCRW and their excellent album preview features. A few of these new artists made it to the list. And here it is:

• The Weepies - Be My Thrill : Two years on from the album that got them some well deserved mainstream attention, Hideaway, The Weepies released something a little less weepy and a lot more cheery. While Be My Thrill contains a few sad, sweet tunes, the title track and the catchy I Was Made for Sunny Days are a large slice of sunshine. ****

• John Legend & the Roots - Wake Up! : When I heard Compared To What from this set for the first time, my jaw dropped. I was stunned that so much old-fashioned funk and soul was coming off a track from an album released in 2010. The other tracks on Wake Up! are in the same mold. This is probably my album of the year. *****

• Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Lonely Avenue : I must admit I've never read a Nick Hornby novel, but I have seen the excellent film adaptions of High Fidelity and About A Boy. It's obvious that Hornby writes good everyday type people well. Combined with Ben Folds' uniquely suburban heart and pop sensibilities, this colaborative effort makes for good listening. ****

• Best Coast - Crazy For You : Released in July, which is Winter in the Southern Hemisphere where I am, this album sounds exactly like Summer. You can almost smell the coconut oil and the sea breeze mixed with the smoke from the late night bonfire at the beach party where romances are born and hearts are broken. This is joyfully rowdy pop music for the Sun. ****

• Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs - God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise : The fourth album from raspy-voiced country/folk songwriter Ray LaMontagne was the very first one I heard. The bluesy, sweet melody of New York City's Killing me had me instantly sold on LaMontagne's style; and the rest of old-time roots record does not disappoint. ****

• Aloe Blacc - Good Things : It was I Need a Dollar that made me want this album. Like Compared To What on the John Legend and the Rootrs LP, Dollar stunned me with true 60s/70s soul and the groove behind it that really makes it bounce. 2010 saw soul music fans like me given a little taste of what was still possible with the genre. ****

• Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues : Another artist who has been around for some time whom I only discovered this year. Harlem River Blues is a collection of tunes that lend a little from everywhere; including rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, alt-country, blues and rock. It's a well-rounded album with the standout title track, One More Night in Brooklyn and the heartbroken Rogers Park. *****

• The National - High Violet : For me at least, and for a good number of music publications, 2010 was The National's year. The massive success of 2008's Boxer and a busy touring schedule meant High Violet was much anticipated. Things got even more hyped with the release of a new The National track on the $1m raising charity compilation Dark Was the Night. Something of a hit single relatively speaking, Bloodbuzz Ohio ensured High Violet got to #3 on the US charts where Boxer had peaked at #68. *****

• Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here : Released early February of this year, I'm New Here ended a 13 year absence of new material from the man some would call a proto-rapper. This is an album about redemption, about finding a way through a new and not always welcoming world. After a long life of drug problems, incarceration and hard living, Heron seems to be contemplating what lies ahead and how it all ends. Here is music from the very soul of a man with a lot of soul. *****

• She & Him - Volume Two : The very digable Zooey Deschanaul and indie songwriter M.Ward released a collection of simple pop that sounded like the 50s run through a Doris Day film filter in 2009. That was Volume One and this is Volume Two, which is more of the same. Deschanaul wrote the lyrics and her voice is well suited to the pop from another age. There were stronger tracks on Volume One, but this is by no means inferior. ****

So those are my very favourite albums from this year. Please, feel free to comment this post and tell me where you think I got it right and where you disagree totally. I'd love suggestions for better albums to listen to that I haven't caught yet.

In the meantime, here is the mixtape I promised you, made up of a track each from my Top 10. You can get hold of it here. Tracklist is as follows:

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here

John Legend & the Roots - Compared To What

Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio

Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Claire's Ninth

Best Coast - Bratty B

The Weepies - Be My Thrill

Justin Townes Earle - One More Night In Brooklyn

She & Him - Thieves

Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs - New York City's Killing Me

That's it for this week. I'm officially on holidays from Christmas Eve, so no Work Tunes for the next fortnight. You may find a review or two over at Make Films Not Movies.

Take care and have an outstanding break, you crazy cats. Peace man, right on.

Playlist : December 13th - 17th, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like Festivus. Not that you'd know it from this week's list, as there is very little Christmas cheer in amongst this lot.

I suppose the brand new Cardinals set is kind of Christmassy, as I've bought it for myself to go with the turntable I bought for Christmas. But Chuck D and Will Oldham and Josh Ritter, even Ben Folds, they don't care for your 'holiday spirit'.

Check it out.

• Josh Ritter - The Animal Years : This 2006 release from Josh Ritter is a set of folk-infused melancholy tunes with some stunning lyrics. The standout for me is Girl In The War which seems to be about St Peter and St Paul complaining about God's infinite wisdom with one of them in love with a human at war.

• Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five : I haven't dusted off this classic debut in a while, and with Ben Folds announcing a tour to our fair city, it seemed appropriate. Undergorund was a great song of it's time when everyone was too cool for the mainstream - how quickly we were co-opted and exploited as an advertising market.

• Public Enemy - How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul : Speaking of Advertising - who stole the soul? With Mistachuck on rotation this week, I thought a bit of Public Enemy would go along nicely. This LP is far from the pinnacle of PE's best art, but it does have some halfway decent tunes to offer.

• Pearl Jam - Riot Act : I don't give a lot of playlist love to Pearl Jam; not a lot of love period these days. Not because I don't like any of their music, but I suppose they lost me after Vitalogy and I'm working my way back. This is a start.

• Mistachuck - Don't Rhyme for the Sake of Riddlin' : Only last week I discovered that Chuck D had finally followed up 1996's (to my mind) outstanding solo effort The Autobiography of Mistachuck.I haven't had more than a cursory listen to this so far, but from what I can gather, it is more of Chuck's hard rhyming, polemical, insightful, politically-aware word bombs. ...Excellent *rubs hands in Mr Burnsesque manner*

• VA - Q - Sounds of the New West : When I bought this compilation CD, secondhand from a hock shop, it was only because I'd recently gotten into Alt Country. Since then, it's introduced me to a whole bunch of my favourite acts like Silver Jews, Neal Casal and Josh Rouse. On top of that, Kate Campbell's superb slice of history on the civil rights march to Washington, Crazy in Alabama, has given my oldest daughter her favourite song and an abridged history lesson from me. It's one of the best things about music that a disc originally free with a magazine can do all that.

• Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Unfinal Call : I hadn't heard of Will Oldham or his sometimes band Palace Music, when I saw Old Joy (2006) which screened at Perth Revelation Film Festival. That film had a soundtrack all by Oldham and it suited the chilly, sparsely populated landscapes of the film. Since then I've checked a few albums out and found them uniquely maudlin and forlorn. This is Oldham's very latest offering.

• R.E.M. – Murmur : An old favourite R.E.M. album and their debut LP. Legend has it the album took it's name from Micheal 'Mumbly Joe' Stipe's delivery and the way Peter Buck's strings were high in the mix, obscuring the lyrics of each song deliberately. Stand outs are the well-known Radio Free Europe, the jaunty Laughing and Talk About the Passion.

• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – III/IV : It's no secret that I'm a Radams fan. That's why I have the brand new III/IV vinyl set on pre-order. That will ship on December 14th, but in the meantime, there's this. These albums were cut around the time of Easy Tiger, but they sound a lot more like Cardinology on preview. There's quite a bit of rock and/or roll going on, where as Easy Tiger had a little more jangle.

• VA – The Beavis and Butthead Experience : The MTV cartoon with the sniveling teenage metal-heads hasn't aged particularly well. Though, the far superior full length feature Beavis & Butthead Do America is still brilliant. What this is, when you get past the audio clips of the annoying duo, is a bunch of great bands (and Cher) and some hard rock. This compilation is well worth a listen if only for the obscure Nirvana track I Hate Myself and I Want to Die,

That's it for this week. Next week I'll be listening to my 10 Best Albums of 2010 list. There were a few that picked themselves, but it was difficult to cull the list down to just ten. Come back and see what I chose and leave me outraged comments if you like.

Until then, kick back with your own special brand of bliss and have a great weekend.

Free Julian Assange. Viva La Wikileaks.