Chic Blue Foghat Legend (July 15th - 19th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

There's not a second to spare tonight. I simply must get away and watch SHARKNADO! A movie about a tornado full of sharks - what's not to like?! Let's ride! 

I recently started watching Freaks and Geeks and one mention of Foghat and here we are. More 70s style from Chic and for a more serious 70s sound, there is Patti Smith's brilliant Horses. Also brilliant but world's apart is a Digable Planets favourite. Another favourite is from Dinosaur Jr. I've picked a tribute to Nick Drake that I've been meaning to hear for a while and will probably add Drake's Pink Moon on next week's list. Also a tribute of sorts, a new suite of remixes for Bob Marley's Legend LP. I chose Alopecia from Why? because I haven't played it for a while. The latest from Josh Pyke is here so I can give it a listen and lastly, also new, Jay-Z. 

Check it out:

• Josh Pyke - Beginning and the End of Everything
• Bob Marley - Legend Remixed
• VA - Way To Blue (The Songs of Nick Drake)
• Chic - The Chic Organization (Greatest Hits)
• Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
• Patti Smith - Horses
• Foghat - The Best Of Foghat
• Why? - Alopecia
• Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail
• Dinosaur Jr. - Without A Sound

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Josh Rouse
2. The Lemonheads
3. Son Volt
4. David Bowie
5. Chelsea Light Moving

Song of the Week : The Easybeats - Good Times

Back in, I guess, '87? when this song Good Times was released by INXS featuring Jimmy Barnes, I was a huge fan of both artists. I also had no idea that it was a cover. I later found that out, but had never heard the Easybeats original until this week.

Listening to it now it is obvious why Jimmy Barnes would choose to cover it. That even sounds like him on backing. Did he pinch his scotch soaked scream from The Easybeats all along? Is he even older than he appears and that is him?! Who knows? 

As for the song, that 60s rock n roll sound is immense. The main riff like the standard E A A E (e.g. "Mama took those batteries E A A E She took em away E A A E") blues refrain played after every line in the verse. The percussion all symbol and snare with the rolling bass drum. The little handclaps and Yeahs! It's so 60s and a little bit Aussie. In short, the perfect song for INXS and Jimmy Barnes to cover in the late 80s.   

Adeus 

That's Portuguese for goodbye, or so Babelfish tells me. I'm a fan of the Portuguese people; they gave us Nandos and one of my best friends from primary school. Shout outs to Steve B! 

Boa noite, amigos. Hasala malakim.

Talking Dead White Blowout Relics (September 3rd - 7th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

I'm just writing this all down on a Friday night (no, wait, Saturday morning) before bed. It's taken a while to figure out what I want to hear next week. I still think there'll be changes before I publish this. The list you read below will probably be different to the first one I put down. 

So what have I got so far then? I have Oasis because how long has it been?! There's the recently released B-side compilation from Elbow; also in compilation format, I have the soundtrack to Wayne's World (party time, excellent); in the Rap corner I've got Jay-Z's Black album because it's been a while since I heard it from start to finish and I have Blowout Comb because I can never say no when my brain puts Digable Planets in my head. For something a little gentler I have The Weepies and Sea Wolf. There's some ancient artifacts from Pink Floyd and an EP from Dinosaur Jr. (whose new album comes out soon and I can't wait). Lastly I've chosen Billy Bragg again because I'm in rather a politically indignant mood lately - as you'll see from SOTW below.

Check it out:

• Oasis - What's the Story, Morning Glory?
• Pink Floyd - Relics
• Jay-Z - The Black Album
• Dinosaur Jr.- Whatever's Cool With Me
• Digable Planets - Blowout Comb
• The Weepies - Say I Am You
• VA - Wayne's World OST
• Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom
• Billy Bragg - Talking With The Taxman About Poetry
• Elbow - Dead in the Boot

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Ice-T
2. Tracy Chapman
3. Sex Pistols
4. Black Sabbath
5. Pegz

Song of the Week : Tracy Chapman - So

I haven't really had a song step up and present itself for SOTW this week. Whenever that happens, I tend to look for topical happenings that have caught my eye and then find a song to go with it. This week's happening was Gina Reinhart calling for the lowering of the minimum wage and telling ordinary Australians to "get out of the pub" if they wanted to be rich like her. Sorry, but only 200 odd years ago, we would have cut her head off for that.

There were so many songs about clueless, spoilt, rich idiots that I could have picked. Think Common People, Rich Girl, Talkin' About a Revolution, but I chose Tracy Chapman's So. This song is almost Folk music in its purest form. It's political, it's scathing and indignant, yet it's a sweet tune carried by a soothing voice and some smooth ringing chords and a flowing bass.

It was an affront to me to read Gina's words. I have worked minimum wage. And not just as a student living at home; I was even on the dole at one stage and renting a place. Now back then it cost 2 of us a shared $90 a week for a flat on the river, but the dole wasn't that much less than it is now. Anyone claiming that minimum wage should be lowered is insane - or has an agenda, a la Gina.

To be clear, I didn't only choose this because it talks about the rich getting fat. My criticism of Gina has nothing to do with her appearance. It's the unmitigated gall of someone who stepped into a fortune on the pure fact she came out of Lang Hancock's scrotum who thinks she can speak on the value of hard work. I chose it above all the others because of:

"You grind and grind and you push and shove

Claim that those most worthy

Will get what they deserve.

It can't be true.

'Cause I've seen too many hungry faces

I've seen too many of the likes of you."

So yeah, I have a problem with the ruling class :) I still have blue collar bogan blood - what are you going to do?

Addio, Amici

Thanks for stopping by. A happy Father's Day to all the Dads in Australia. I can almost taste the Spanish omelette and bacon tortilla I've been promised for breakfast on Sunday. It really is the little things, isn't it.

Adieu. Hasala malakim.

Futuristic Violet Model Pleasures (May 21st - 25th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Well, I got my first take down notice from the DMCA. For The Spectrals - Get A Grip of all things. Not very punk rock guys. Still, who am I to take perceived income away from starving multinational corporations. So I dutifully took it down and I will henceforth quit posting a streaming link to Song of the Week. You'll just have to watch the YouTube video and go buy the single without hearing it properly. But of course, if you'd heard it in good quality streaming, you'd have been more likely to buy it, right? Isn't the Internet the new radio station? I wish corporations really were people, so we could punch them in the face. But I digress...


For my listening pleasure this week I'm holding Steve Tannen's Big Senorita, a CD I just got delivered from The Weepies' site. I have what must be the only BDP album I haven't heard; plus an album from Digable Planets' own Doodlebug. Reaching for some classics I have Elvis Costello and Joy Division; Melissa Etheridge is here because I just bought the vinyl; The 3rd disc of the Mermaid Avenue sessions is here; Pump Up The Volume thanks to a recent #Clay5 on Twitter; Jimmy Smith - Root Down because of the Beastie Boys sample; and finally High Violet because it has been quite some time. 


Check it out:

• Doodlebug feat. D.O.R. - Futuristic Sci-Fi
• Steve Tannen - Big Senorita
• Boogie Down Productions - Edutainment
• Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
• Jimmy Smith - Root Down
• Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions (Disc 3)
• Melissa Etheridge - Never Enough
• VA - Pump Up The Volume OST
• Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
• The National - High Violet

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Beastie Boys
2. U2
3. The Clash
4. Dinosaur Jr.
5. Suzanne Vega

Song of the Week : Neutral Milk Hotel - Ghost

This week's song comes courtesy of a TV show; the very great Parks and Recreation. I was a late comer to Parks n Recs, only getting into it after Season 3 was complete, but I've since caught up. I'm pretty sure you all watch it, but sometime in Season 3, April Ludgate mentioned Neutral Milk Hotel as her favourite band. The name didn't ring a bell at the time, so I decided to check them out .


As soon as I heard this song, Ghost, I knew I had heard them many times before. I even knew the words to it. I think I've stumbled across them on sites like themixtapeclub and 8tracks etc because they are obviously quite a popular act. They sound a bit like The Decemberists to my ears with a smattering of Arcade Fire. 


I dig this song in particular for its folky hipster vibe and the catchy melodies of "dee dee dee dee dee dee" and the line that I instantly recognised “She was born in a bottle rocket, 1929" I'm almost positive you know it, so I hope you like it.


Byeeee

Peace out homeys. Be safe, go well and don't let the Man bring you down. Go Eagles!


Hasala malakim.

Playlist : February 13th - 17th, 2012

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


So the bad news is, I didn't get to go to the Hilltop Hoods gig. I had to sell my tickets because my cousin/old mate could barely walk, let alone stand for hours in a mosh pit. These things happen. I'll throw my Parade of the Dead DVD on, turn the lights out and mosh in my lounge instead.


To the music then. This week's list is a little bit all over the place. Don't you judge me! I've got Paul Simon's monumental Graceland; the very latest from KRS One; a bit of Pearl Jam; the soundtrack to High Fidelity, plus Three EPs by The Beta Band featured in that film (I watched it on the weekend); some My Bloody Valentine for obvious reasons; Tori Amos; Beastie Boys; The Smiths and Jason Isbell because he's supporting Ryan Adams in a couple of weeks and I've never heard him.


Check it out:

• Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
• The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
• VA - High Fidelity OST
• The Beta Band - Three EPs
• My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
• Tori Amos - Under The Pink
• Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
• Paul Simon - Graceland
• KRS One - The BDP Album
• Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit - Here We Rest

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
   
2. The Doors
3. Melissa Etheridge
4. John Coltrane
5. X

Song of the Week : Hilltop Hoods - City Of Light

I don’t know if you saw my indignant rant, but I recently read an article on how JJJ listeners were bitching about the amount of airplay AUS rap gets. That’s a matter of personal choice and I don’t have any problems with that, but the author of the article tried to say the reason was that AUS rap is no good; that it’s a pale imitation of current US rap. For starters, US rap is a pale imitation of itself these days; and secondly, AUS rap has always been it’s own phenomenon.


The writer seemed to be questioning the authenticity of Australian rappers; as if because they didn’t grow up in Compton doing drive-bys that they don’t know how to rap, or aren’t part of the culture. Why they pay people to write who have no idea of their history is beyond me. Australia, whether people like it or not, has had it’s own Hip Hop culture since the early 80s. What the best AUS rap acts are doing isn’t trying to be American, it’s telling their own stories in their own voices. Kids today seem to think that rappers should be talking about guns and bling and bitches, because they don’t know any better.


So my song (and this is also because I missed the gig) is Hilltop Hoods – City Of Light. I choose it because it’s a telling of their time growing up within Australia’s Hip Hop subculture. These are stories of Australian graffiti writers, Australian fashion trends (I bet Tupac never wore a Country Road parka), Australian open mic gigs. The Hoods helped get me back into rap after my long absence precisely because I was relating more to the lyrics and to the style. I fell off because I didn’t care for gangsta rap and I got back on because this wasn’t gangsta.

Turrah

There goes another list for another week. I'm writing this rather hurriedly at 1:30am on Friday because I've been up making Mrs coreyj a Valentine's Day present. I promise that no macaroni, glitter or PVA glue was used in the construction of said present. Plus, there will be other pleasant, more store-bought, treats.


Be excellent to each other, people. If you have a special someone and you celebrate such commercial constructions, have a happy Valentine's Day. If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with ;).


Arrivederci amanti.

Playlist : April 4th - 8th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

My playlist for this week features an artist I've only just discovered, the new LP from Snoop Dogg, an eclectic mix from Spin Magazine and Jenny Lewis among others. See here:

1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
2. David Dondero - Simple Love
3. Digable Planets - Beyond The Spectrum : The Creamy Spy Chronicles
4. Josh Rouse - Under Cold Blue Stars
5. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
6. VA - Spin Magazine, April 2011
7. VA - Uncut : Hard Drive
8. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
9. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
10. Snoop Dogg - Doggumentary

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. De La Soul
2. Nas
3. Drive-By Truckers
4. Best Coast
5. Steve Tannen

Song of the Week : Drive-By Truckers - Used to Be a Cop

This week’s track is from the latest Drive-By Truckers album, Go-Go Boots. It’s about a police officer whose life has gone to hell. Thrown off the force for a bad temper and nerves, he’s a one time abused child, unemployed divorced alcoholic stalking his ex-wife.

Feel good track of the year!

There’s a driving bass line and drum track with the scream of some nice lead guitars under some raw vocals. It’s great storytelling and a great performance. Hope you like it. The album as a whole is really interesting. The vocal duties are shared by at least three members of the band, including a female, so it has an eclectic feel while being roughly cohesive. Check it out.

Outro

That's me for the week people. Shouts to my homegirl @Hay2theley who has asked me to impart my knowledge of the old school to her. I knew there was a reason I read all those books/watched all those movies/bought all those albums/painted all those pieces/did all those turtles.

Respect. Peace out. In the name of Herc, Bam and Flash, yes ya'll.

Playlist February 28th - March 4th, 2011

Howdy pardners, welcome to what may be the last Work Tunes.

After reading a blog about simplifying your life and finding more time for what you love, I realised that I could probably stop this blog and focus on Make Films Not Movies. Though I do enjoy talking music, I prefer movies and I’m not finding enough time to watch and review them.

There are other things I can cut out of my schedule though, so I have some decisions to make.In any case, for this week I’m listening to :

• Paul Kelly - The A to Z Recordings (Disc 7) : With just two more discs to go, I should probably make next week the last week for Work Tunes. Disc 6 of this epic box contained a humdinger of a ditty in Shane Warne. With a swinging summer horn and calypso rhythm, the track was a great bit of levity in a fairly serious set of songs. This disc features mostly S and T songs, including perhaps two of PKs best known in To Her Door and Sweet Guy.

• Rolling Stones – Rolled Gold (Disc Two) : The second part of the Rolled Gold Best Of compilation features some of the Stones' meatier tracks including Sympathy For The Devil, Wild Horses and You Can't Always Get What You Want. There are more of the early 70s songs here than on Disc One, which had several very early tracks from when the Stones thought they were Mississippi Bluesmen. I prefer this side of the band.

• Dolorean - You Can't Win : After hearing the latest effort from Dolorean last week, I was reminded why I really dig this band. Simple chord progressions, quiet twang and thought out lyrics will always be high on my list of things-i-like-in-music. Dolorean does all of that so well.

• Digable Planets - Reachin (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) : Lately, the Native Tongues style of jazz beats and positive, conscious lyrics has been sounding pretty good to me. I flip out over Blowout Comb by Digable Planets, but this is another great album. If only they were still around. Maybe they could resurrect Black Star while they were at it.

• Thom Yorke - The Eraser : Last week, I slowly but surely became in awe of The King of Limbs, Radiohead's brand new release. One thing I liked about it is the layering of electronic sound, which is the same thing I like about The Eraser. The King of Limbs is superior to Thom Yorke's solo debut, in my opinion, but this is still worth a listen.

• Radiohead - OK Computer : A lot of listeners would agree that OK Computer is Radiohead's finest hour. It has made countless critics' lists of the best albums of all time, or of the 90s of the UK and so on. The critical response to The King of Limbs has been mixed, to be polite. I wanted to play this album this week to get a better gauge on the difference. I bleieve TKOL will someday get a little more love than it does now.

• Sonic Youth - Goo : Goo was Sonic Youth’s seventh release, but got them a good deal of attention from further mainstream than usual thanks to the Seattle ‘scene’ that broke around them. The album after this, Dirty, got even more. Though it was released in 1990, Goo contains much of the sound everybody went crazy for not long after. It is the start of a more cohesive, less experimental Sonic Youth sound and a decently fuzzy and rocking album. The biggest track on the album is Kool Thing. We of course all know how cool Kim Deal is, thanks to the Dandy Warhols.

• Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians - Ghost of a Dog : Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians' 1988 release Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars has always been one of my personal favourites. I have only ever had a cassette copy of this, it's follow up, until recently when I bought the CD. Stand out tracks are the title track and the jaunty Black and Blue.

• A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm : More Native Tongues, which is good for what ails Hip Hop. This Tribe album has two of the groups few hits in Bonita Applebum and Can I Kick It? But you can't go past the smooth grooves of Youthful Expression and the played-for-comedy I Left My Wallet In El Segundo.

• Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground : Remember Sex and Candy? Yeah, me too! But that's about all I ever knew of Marcy Playground. So when I saw this CD on ebay for 1c, I thought "why not?" I haven't listened to it yet. Fingers crossed.

Regardless of whether I decide to give this blog away, I will be making a playlist every week. I may just blog here once a month a list of the albums I enjoyed most and try to review a movie a week for MFNM.

Thanks to those who come to read. If I’m here next week, I hope you will be too.

Ciao for now.

Playlist : August 29th - September 3rd, 2010

Now that the decade themes are out of my system, apart from a still beating passion for 1970s rock, I've gone back to your regularly scheduled programming of something old and something new.

• Jay-Z - The Blueprint : I've always associated The Ruler's Back from this LP with Ben Cousins "Charges don't stick to dude, he's Teflon. I'm too sexy for jail like I'm Right Said Fred I'm not guilty now give me back my bread." Given this is Ben's week, here's Jay Z. Plus, I hear Jay-Z is supporting U2 and may be coming to little old Perth.

• Best Coast - Crazy For You : Read a few things about these guys in Rolling Stone and Spin. They seem to be everywhere at the moment. The album sounds like summer holiday tunes with a hangover. Just perfect for chilly Perth mornings.
  

• Arcade Fire - The Suburbs : All I know of Arcade Fire is their decent album, Funeral. Everyone everywhere seems to be raving about their new cut. I thought I'd like to see what all the fuss is about.

• The Weepies - Say I Am You : The Weepies fourth record Be My Thrill is due out at the end of August aka Now. In preparation and because I didn't pre-order it, I am giving Say I Am You a spin.

• Ted Nugent - Great Gonzos - The Best of Ted Nugent : I know next to nothing about Ted Nugent. Except that while digging around for 70s albums, I came across a few tracks that made me smile. This is balls and all cheesy rock from the decade that gave us mission brown and lime green. Check out the cover art for an obvious giveaway of what you're in for.
  

• Cowboy Junkies - Renmin Park : I'm a big Cowboy Junkies fan, and this is their new one. It is a little more electronic sounding in parts than I'm used to from the Junkies; and my first listen didn't take my fancy. But I do like this band, which is why I'm willing to give it a fair second listen. You should always afford bands a second listen when they've done some excellent work in the past. Governments too...

• Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III : I'm still not over my 1970s music kick, even as I continue my 50s culture obsession. Led Zep I was on a list a little while ago and II has never been a big favourite for me, so III comes next. Besides... Zeppelin Rules! \m/

• Ozi Batla - Wild Colonial - Another album I probably haven't given enough of a chance. Not that I disliked this the first time, but that was the only listen so far. Time to take it for another turn. If nothing else, Batla has taught me that a good word for Aussie rappers/heads that sounds like Hip Hop's worst N word, is Digga.

• Digable Planets - Blowout Comb : I'm not sure it's been that long since I heard this album, but I have been meaning to hear it in it's entirety. Quite a few songs end up on high rated playlists, but it feels a long time since heard it all. Brooklyn smooth Jazz Hop beats all.

• Bruce Springsteen - The River : My renewed interest in vinyl has meant I've been listening to albums I own on record. One of them is The Boss' double LP The River that sounds impressive on wax. I wanted to listen to the CD for contrast. Nothing would beat the gate-fold artwork and lyrics printed on the record sleeve though.There's a scene in Jerry McGuire where Jerry, drinking, slips on Drive All Night and now it's all I can think of when I hear it.
  

• Eli Paperboy Reed – Come And Get It : Blue eyed soul might sound like a total misnomer, but I have read some good reviews of this album (again from RS and Spin). A quick scan through and it sounds like classic Motown or Stax remixed with a white session singer. Which isn’t entirely terrible, but still not a patch on the original. Except these are original songs, they just don’t sound like it.

Well, that's it. Until next week, be excellent to each other and all that good stuff. As I noted to @geoff9cow after he recently quoted Dr King about hate, "Life's too short to be pissed off all the time." And Edwrad Furlong said that, so it must be true.

Don't get hung up man, stay cool.