Top 10 Favourite Albums of 2013

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Like I did last year, I chose to not post in my last week of work and use my top 10 list as my playlist.  

It seems like every year, I think there's been no monumental album releases until I reflect back and try and choose a top 10. This year saw the best Jason Isbell album yet, probably the best She & Him volume so far, a new David Bowie LP and a bunch of other releases that made my 20. 

Like lists past, these aren't necessarily the *best* albums of 2013, but certainly my personal favourites. A mixtape of one track from each of the top ten is again available for download.

Check it out:

10. Iggy and the Stooges - Ready To Die

Surprisingly just the 5th Stooges album, Ready To Die is just as raucously anarchic as anything they've made before with an added sly wink at the process of aging. The hilariously knowing title Ready To Dies says it all. There's Iggy on the front strapped in explosives with a cross-hairs on his heart. But hey, says the album, he's just a bloke who plays rock and roll for a living - and according to Job, "it doesn't pay shit!" Preoccupied with the same things as they were as teenagers - sex, death, money and drugs; this album has a great deal of energy for a bunch of old geezers.  

9. Camera Obscura - Desire Lines

Ever since I discovered Camera Obscura some time ago, I've been an avowed fan of Tracyanne Campbell's lyrics and voice and the band's melodies. 2009's My Maudlin Career is still on high rotation. This album was produced in Portland with Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Neko Case, My Morning Jacket) and you can hear the difference in the sound. There is much more of an Americana gloss to the songs than we usually get from the Scottish group - even if Tracyanne's vocals still drip heavy with her Glasgow accent. The subjects of every song are familiarly grounded though: I Missed Your Party is an account of what the subject was up to instead of going to someone's party; New Year's Resolution is a kind of apology for a thawing relationship. The title track is a sorrowful lament to a lost lover met in California. This isn't my favourite Camera Obscura LP so far, but it's cracker.     

8. The National - Trouble Will Find Me

I am a long-time, unashamed fan of The National. Their previous release, High Violet made my 2010 list. Trouble Will Find Me is a bit more subdued, but mostly more of the same. And more of the same is exactly what I wanted from The National. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Not that their sound hasn't changed at all, but Matt Berninger's voice and lyrical themes are so recognisably The National that they could never pretend to be anything else. For some highlights, Graceless kicks around with a swag of chaos interspersed with the odd fragile-sounding key riff, Pink Rabbits seems to threaten to be out of time but never quite is and Fireproof is an atmospheric and sweetly sad melody.   

7. Josh Rouse - The Happiness Waltz

Another year, another great Josh Rouse release (two actually, when you count the soundtrack to Spanish film LA GRAN FAMILIA ESPAÑOLA). The Happiness Waltz is the like an anti Blood On The Tracks. It's sweet sounds and sweeter words about the joy of living, loving and being. Julie (Come Out Of The Rain) is a romantic musing on the beginning of a relationship. It's Good To Have You is about living with the love of your life and forgetting all else. Start A Family is a pretty shuffle about, you guessed it, starting a family. What Rouse has done is make an album about all that grown up stuff and each song celebrates the joy of it all. This is a theme far removed from the lost, lonely, uncertain alcoholics and depressed people of his 1972 or Nashville LPs.  

6. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

This album was obviously massive this year and, in terms of global popularity, will probably make number 1 on a lot of lists. It is an enjoyable listen, particularly for those of us who still dig funky disco riffs. I personally don't feel it lives up to the critical acclaim it received  simply because it's just a nice bit of fun nostalgia and nothing at all new is going on here. No denying that it is a great listen though and deserves recognition for blowing up so large. Give Life Back To Music is a funky riff filled celebration. The massive hit Get Lucky is Nile Rodgers at his disco best with a groove and tons of repetition. Lose Yourself To Dance features Pharrell Williams' falsetto over the disco-est break since 1978.  

5. Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt

I've been waiting for a post No Code release from Pearl Jam to really grab me and none of them have. Lightning Bolt is the first release since the 90s that has made me consider myself a Pearl Jam fan. As soon as the opening track Getaway kicked in, PJ had my attention. Mind Your Manners kicked it up another notch again. It's got an energy that wouldn't be out of place on Vs, as does much of the album. Yet they're not afraid to end it with a slower, more contemplative track, Future Days. I hope Pearl Jam can keep this kind of quality coming for many years yet.

4. David Bowie - The Next Day

I have to admit that I didn't expect another album from David Bowie this year, let alone one so good. Another set of songs from an old timer which have a hardened edge (with a world-weary energy) - I'm looking at you Stooges and Pearl Jam. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) is a definite highlight and would have been so even without the brilliantly creepy film clip starring Bowie and Tilda Swinton (quite fittingly "stars" out and about in the suburbs). The Next Day is loud and cranky like much of the album. The softer Where Are We Now? sounds like a mash-up of old and new Bowie tracks. I was highly surprised by the depth of this album. Obviously taking so long to get it out was worth it.  

3. She & Him - Volume Three

There is something old world about She & Him. The good old world of class and sophistication and manners, not the bad old world of institutionalised racism, sexism and homophobia. Volume Three is probably the best of the Volumes so far. It's better because Deschanel and M. Ward's songwriting is evolving, maturing even; with more substance to the catchy 50s pop tunes. Never Wanted Your Love is a smart and wry attack on the cult of celebrity and the ever present tall poppy syndrome - something I think Deschanel knows all too well. I've Got Your Number Son is a bouncy warning not to try any bullshit on the narrator. Somebody Sweet To Talk To is a pretty little gem which is like whispered proclamations with a swinging chorus. The cover of Blondie's Sunday Girl is some great icing on a fantastic cake. 

2. Charles Bradley - Victim Of Love

The first time I heard Strictly Reserved For You, I was blown away. Blown away by the authentic soul of the song and by Charles Bradley's voice. I went right out and got all the Bradley I could - which turned out to be two albums and a documentary. Charles Bradley was a James Brown impersonator who was virtually homeless until the release of his solo debut in 2011. This year's release Victim Of Love contains the aforementioned Strictly Reserved For You, the pleading Victim Of Love, the very funky Hurricane and the instrumental Dusty Blue featuring members of the Dap Kings. The whole LP is right at home at Daptone Records who have a host of other Funk and Soul acts such as Sharon Jones, the Menahan Street Band and The Sugarman 3. This is music for what ails you.

1. Jason Isbell - Southeastern

Southeastern could have made my number 1 spot on the strength of Elephant alone. That track is the most raw and immediate window into the final stages of terminal illness that I have ever heard sung to a guitar. Every other song on the album is just as honest and real. Jason Isbell is becoming one of the great all-time songwriters in a genre known for songs that aren't throwaway. Songs That She Sang In the Shower tells the tale of lost love and the way that music becomes inextricably entwined with people and situations. Relatively Easy is a cautionary tale about being grateful for our first world privilege. New South Wales takes a stab at the kind of things travelling musicians hate on the road (the price of cocaine and the bad tequila) in the Australian state, but pays homage to the landscape as the best place ever to 'sit and think'. Every song is a story of pure poetry and Jason Isbell's finest hour in a career full of fantastic songs from Outfit to Cigarettes and Wine.

Filling out my Top 20 were:

• Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight,
  The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
• Paul McCartney - New 
• Beach Fossils - Clash The Truth 
• Local Natives - Hummingbird
• Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park
• Nick Cave - Push the Sky Away
• Elvis Costello & The Roots  Wise Up Ghosts
• Justin Rutledge - Valleyheart
• Telekinesis - Dormarion
• Mavis Staples - One True Vine

2013 Mixtape Track List  

Charles Bradley - Strictly Reserved For You
Josh Rouse - A Lot Like Magic

Pearl Jam - Mind Your Manners
Iggy & the Stooges - Job
David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
The National - Pink Rabbits
Daft Punk - Give Life Back To Music
Camera Obscura - I Missed Your Party
She & Him - I've Got Your Number Son
Jason Isbell - New South Wales

Get the Mixtape

Buon Natale. ¡Feliz Navidad. Frohe Weihnachten. С Рождеством. Merīkurisumasu. Maligayang Pasko. Joyeux Noël, Vrolijk kerstfeest

Be excellent to each other on the holidays. As always and forever: hasala malakim brothers and sisters. 

Yo! Familiar Desire Funk (June 3rd - 7th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

It's a long weekend where I am, for Western Australia Day (formerly Foundation Day), so I'm looking forward to a Monday without any solid purpose. Right now I'm fighting a cold as well as a %#^^&$^&$# wisdom toothache, so forgive me if you know me irl and I'm a bit cranky.
  
A few new ones and some bands I just discovered this week. There's new releases from Camera Obscura and Bob Evans, plus Mona and Maria who I've only just found. Boards of Canada are another band I've been meaning to check out for a good 5 years or more. There's some rock classics from Blondie and Van Halen (on a huge Blondie kick still). A compilation packed full of funk and one with old school Hip Hop get a gig. The best of the Church is here too and lastly Pearl Jam's Backspacer.

Check it out:

• VA - Yo! MTV Raps
• Bob Evans - Familiar Stranger
• Blondie - Blondie
• Camera Obscura - Desire Lines
• Mona and Maria - My Sun
• Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children
• Pearl Jam - Backspacer
• Van Halen - Van Halen II
• VA - Funk Soul Brothers
• The Church - The Best of the Radio Songs

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Al Green
2. Steve Martin & Edie Brickell
3. Suzanne Vega
4. Oblivians
5. The Sonics

Song of the Week : Kraftwerk - Electric Cafe

Because Daft Punk's new one was flavour of the month last week, I gave it a spin. I have to say I really enjoyed it. The production is great and it sounds terrific, inside headphones especially. It is nicely intricate and it plays around with that retro sounding electronica. 

And there's the thing. Everyone was falling over themselves to declare it a masterpiece and raving on and on and on about how great it was, but forgetting that it borrows pretty heavily from a number of sources that they wouldn't afford the same rave reviews.

So with that in mind, I span another album this week by Kraftwerk. The title track off Electric Cafe is, from this album at least, probably the best example of where some of the sound of Random Access Memories comes from. I'm not knocking Daft Punk for pastiching and blending the way they did. As Simon said, there are elements of ELO on RAM too. It’s great, but people should acknowledge the debts it owes when fawning over it.

Kommen sie bitte und listen to Kraftwerk

Toodle Oooh

Happy weekend bliss wherever you are, but especially in Perth with the long one. Be excellent to each other and drive safe if you're on the roads - especially around one particular big black Jeep with a cranky, sniffly old hipster dufus in it.

Hasala malakim.

Playlist September 26th - 30th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Sad news on the band front this week with R.E.M. announcing they've broken up. I put the first Best Of compilation from IRS in this week's list because it is my number 1 desert island disc. When Out Of Time was huge, I was riding buses to Uni with that and this almost permanently stuck in my ears. R.E.M. were a great band who did everything their own way. Fame and fortune took a long time because they refused to play by the rules. While they probably represented dinosaur rock in their later years, they were at heart Indie as hell.

I was also saddened that I couldn't connect with the latest offering from Tori Amos. Maybe I just don't dig the classical vibe. I've added Little Earthquakes so as not to forget what's so great about our Ellen. Along with disc 4 of Left of the Dial, I've added two other compilations; the soundtrack from a great film I saw recently, Once, which features the band The Swell Season, as well as Live On Letterman, a collection of Late Show performances.

A dose of Camera Obscura and the last Brother Ali album, plus some Sly to keep it funky and here's what you get:

• VA - Left of the Dial : Dispatches from the 80s Underground (Disc Four)
• Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
• Sly & The Family Stone - A Whole New Thing
• VA - Live on Letterman : Music From the Late Show
• Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
• Brother Ali - Us
• VA - Once OST
• Gram Parsons - GP
  
• REM - The Best of REM (IRS)
• Bjork - Telegram

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Iron & Wine
2. Tori Amos
3. Sad Dracula
4. Talib Kweli
5. Marvelous Mag

Song of the Week : R.E.M. - (Don't Go Back To) Rockville

The best bands will always be an integral part of your life for a time or for always. Your favourite songs will always resonate with a moment of your life whether by being the soundtrack or by having lyrics that feel custom written. The really, really loved songs will always have a story. This one’s got two.

The first comes from the REM bio I have called It Crawled From The South. The story goes that Rockville was originally a faster, almost metal thrasher and the producer for the album really wanted it to make the cut. So REM being REM decided to switch it to this style and put it on.

The second story is about a guy who was chasing the object of his unrequited high school affections. Every year something would delay this guy and his intended from getting it together. When the perfect time came to make a case and ask her out, she decided she was going to go teach in the country.

Cue boy on bus to Uni playing Rockville over and over… “Don’t go back to Rockville and waste another year.” Cue the sour grapes of “It’s not as though I really need you.” Cue the empty threats of “Walk home to an empty house, sit around all by yourself”. Cue the insulting “I believe you’ll be coming back before too long.” This song is not the only REM song to have meant something so personal to me over the years, but it’s my favourite of all of them.

Over and Out

There's another week worth of listening for you. Thanks for stopping by.

Earlier tonight I caught a special event screening of Nirvana Live At Paramount to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of Nevermind. If you're a fan of the band, or even just of good and raw live music, I highly recommend you head over to getmusic and grab a copy. It was an amazing concert and the sound in the cinema was incredible, so grab the bluray and use your swanky home theatre system.

Good luck to my football team this weekend. I am sorry to say that they will very much need it. Regardless, you will not hear me complain about their effort and dedication this year. Well done Eagles, I forgive you for 2010.

Until next week, all power to the people and hasala malakim.

Playlist February 21st - 25th, 2011

Hey hey kids! What's news in your worlds?

Let's get right into the music shall we? This week I'm excited to be listening to the latest Dolorean release and I'm spinning a few albums that I recently bought on second hand vinyl. Apart from that, I address a shocking Grammys snub and name drop on a signed CD.

Here's what it all looks like:

• Dolorean - The Unfazed : After (happily) rediscovering Dolorean last week, I was going to spin their third album You Can't Win (2007). Coincidentally though, Dolorean happen to release a new album The Unfazed just this year. I have deliberately laid off listening to any of it until I play it this week. I did enjoy Not Exotic a lot last week though; so much so, I played it several times at work and at home. You can download the title track from The Unfazed for free on the Dolorean Store.

• Paul Kelly - The A - Z Recordings (Disc Six) : Disc Six in Paul Kelly's not-even-complete A - Z catalogue contains the fictional reflective South of Germany, the tent boxing tale Rally Round the Drum and the reverent ballad Shane Warne. It's a mark of the man's brilliance that he can release a box set of 100 very solid songs and still have lots left in the bag.

• Guru - Jazzmatazz Vol. 1 : Because Guru was horribly snubbed during the Grammy Awards memorial segment, I'm listening to Jazzmatazz. Personally, I think it's a little foul of the music industry to ignorantly neglect to mention the death of a pioneer in a musical genre that has dominated it's sales for the last 15 or more years. In the words of the great Chuck D, another rap pioneer, "Who gives a fuck about a God damn Grammy?".

• Gully Platoon - The Great Divide : Mr Tirren Staaf aka Pegz recently held an impromptu Twitter competition to guess which 70s rock band bass player his name was inspired by. I guessed right (Tiran Porter of the Doobie Brothers btw) and was sent three signed CDs. One of them was this 2009 Gully Platoon release. I haven't heard it yet and wasn't even aware it existed, despite being a massive fan of Pegz' solo stuff. I expect good things.

• Rolling Stones - Rolled Gold (Disc One) : I've been going on about getting some Rolling Stones vinyl for a while now. Last Sunday, I found this double LP compilation at the Melville Markets and snapped it up. It’s jam packed with Stones classics from As Tears Go By to Wild Horses. So jam packed, in fact, that I'm going to split it up and bring in disc two next week.

• Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career : I first checked out Camera Obscura on the recommendation of Sarah Silverman. They are a melancholic, sweetly-crooning three piece Scottish band formed in 1996. My Maudlin Career was released in 2009 and is their newest release. Standout tracks are definitely Careless Love and Away With Murder.

• Josh Rouse - Home : Josh Rouse has for some time been my overall top artist on last.fm. Partly that probably has something to do with how well his music suits the whole family (and so he gets a good spin on the weekend as well as during the week), but it's also indicative of how many really enjoyable albums he has cranked out. This one is one of the best. Hey Porcupine, Laughter, Parts and Accessories and Afraid To Fail are all outstanding.

• Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan : Another Melville Markets vinyl purchase. I bought this CD when I first got into Dylan in the mid 90s. This is the album that features the monumental Blowin' In The Wind, Hard Rain's a'Gonna Fall and Masters of War. I haven't played my record yet, but I am looking forward to it. This will tide me over.
  

• U2 - The Joshua Tree : Along with Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love and Hate, this is the last of the vinyl I bought on Sunday (not counting Miss 4's gatefold copy of Thriller). Like much of the world, Joshua Tree was when I really got into U2. With massively popular hits like Where The Streets Have No Name and Pride (In The Name Of Love), it was touring this album that led to Rattle and Hum and U2's subsequent rocket through the stratosphere of fame and fortune.

• Radiohead - The King of Limbs : The latest release from the UK rock Gods has already received mixed responses across the Interwebs with some calling it 'gorgeous' and others unimpressed. A lot of the unimpressed seem to be those upset that it wasn't free like In Rainbows, but I haven't heard it yet so I'll reserve judgement.

*Puts on Molly Meldrum hat* Do yourself a favour and check Dolorean out. Their Not Exotic and You Can't Win albums are excellent.

Until next week, may you have the music in you. Peace.

Playlist : November 22nd - 26th, 2010

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

This week's list has a little bit of an Australian flavour with Bob Evans and You Am I, as well as some 90s classics from The Breeders and Pearl Jam. Check it out.

• The Breeders - Last Splash : The first Breeders song I ever heard was Cannonball, which made it onto the first JJJ Hottest 100 compilation. That great song plus Divine Hammer and Driving on 9 all appear on this LP. A little bit of early 90s alternapop never hurt anyone.

• Pearl Jam - Vs : Okay, a lot of early 90s alternapop never hurt anyone. It has been a long time between listens for me and Vs. I lined up in the High Street mall in Fremantle, at 7am, having gotten up at 6am just to get there on time from Kwinana and buy this CD on it's world-wide simultaneous release. Never managed to get stinking concert tickets though.

• Wilco - Summerteeth : Another of my most loved albums that has been criminally neglected of late simply because I haven't gotten around to putting it on my iPod again. The very brilliant Via Chicago and the warmly moody How To Fight Loneliness are standouts along with the chaotic jamming of Shot In The Arm.

• Bob Evans - Suburban Kid : I think it's a great idea for a front man or anyone in a band with their own ideas about music to break off and do something on the side without splitting up the group. As Bob Evans, Kevin from Jebediah gives us something a lot more country twang and a little more lyrical than the usual Jebs fare.

• VA - Uncut - We All Shine On : Just another great free CD from UNCUT magazine out of the UK. This one features new music (at the time) from Teenage Fanclub, The Gaslight Anthem, Deer Tick, Los Lobos and others.

• VA - Return of the Grievous Angel : A fitting tribute to the late country rock pioneer Gram Parsons. Cowboy Junkies, Elvis Costello, Evan Dando, Beck, Whiskeytown and a heap of alt-country acts who owe much of their art to Gram's influence cover Parsons' songs from Hickory Wind to $1000 Wedding.

• Camera Obscura - Underachievers, Please Try Harder : A few choice tweets from the very funny Sarah Silverman introduced me to this dreamy acoustic pop duo with Scottish accents. Their simple melodies and layered guitars make for good listening.

• You Am I - Sound As Ever : The last time I took a You Am I album to work it was the Best Of compilation, Cream and the Crock. Along with Hifi Way, Sound As Ever was the very first You Am I LP I got right into. Since then I've become a big fan of Tim Rogers' solo and side stuff (with the Temperance Union) but these old YAIs still rock.

• Main Source - Breaking Atoms : This is the 1991 debut LP from Main Source. The track Live at the Barbeque features the very first released recording of rap superstar Nas. This album sits somewhere between the conscious and funky rap of the golden age and the hardcore yrics of gangsta rap that came soon after.

• Nas & Common - Uncommonly Nasty : This 2006 release features tracks from both Nas & Common who are known (more so Common) for a little bit of jazz in their sway and a message to preach. Tracks on this album contain several of the barbs that Nas shot at Jay-Z which fuelled their infamous beef.

That's the week's soundtrack. I hope you find something new. No words of wisdom this week, except possibly... nope. Wait... no.