Rockin' Lost Daybreak Dreams (October 28th - November 1st)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Lovely day for it. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, bees are trying to have sex with them - as is my understanding of these things. No matter what else, I'm still making pointless Simpsons references, so everything is normal. And so, to the music.

There's mostly older stuff this week. I finished Just Kill Me, my punk history book and I've grabbed some X-Ray Spex. Some old favourites in a Lost Highway records compilation and Ben Folds' Rockin' The Suburbs are getting a spin. Even more old favourites this week are Reckoning from REM and Beyond from Dinosaur Jr. There's albums from Veruca Salt and 50 Cent that I haven't heard, plus Go-Go Boots from the Drive-By Truckers that hasn't had a play in a while. I have a Hip Hop album from The Cancel and I'll be bringing it's follow up in next week. Finally, because I'm still in awe of her most recent song for the Real to Reel compilation, I've got a Stevie Nicks album to give it a go.

Check it out:

• VA - Lost Highway: Lost and Found 1
• Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams
• Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
• Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs
• REM - Reckoning
• The Cancel - Daybreak
• Dinosaur Jr - Beyond
• 50 Cent - Curtis
• Veruca Salt - Resolver
• X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Nirvana
2. Brother Ali
3. Jason Isbell
4. Bill Withers
5. Sonic Youth

Song of the Week : Best Coast - Fear Of My Identity

I had a hard time picking a song this week, and then I chose this one in a sort of protest. I don’t want to rant, but you've all probably seen that JJJ took over the digital radio station ABC Digg in an attempt to recapture the 30+ demographic that is being lost to JJJ. The gist of their press release was that 30+ year olds have left JJJ because they don’t follow new music anymore. The freakin’ nerve right?  I have a bunch of 2013 releases in my possession and not just from established rock acts like Bowie. I’ve jumped on releases from California X, Teenanger, Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils, Iceage, Telekinesis, Surfer Blood etcetera etcetera this year. So I kind of took exception to the implication that us “oldies” don’t listen to JJJ because of new music. I just don’t think they play very good new music. At least not when I last listened a few years ago. 

So when reaching for a SOTW I just picked one off of the newest set I brought to work this week – Best Coast’s new EP, Fade Away. I picked this particular track Fear of My Identity because I have dug it all week and also because it is sort of relevant with the “You taught me that my heart would grow old’ refrain. Best Coast are a relatively new band with their debut LP released in 2010 and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. Having said that, there is a lot of the aesthetic of 90s rock about them and that is the “sound” that the JJJ run Digg seems to think we all want after a certain age. I have to say they are probably right about that. When I first checked out the new Digg, they were playing Cherub Rock and it felt good, man. So maybe these bands I’ve discovered the last few years are just tapping into that 90s sound. 

Nostalgia may feel comforting, but there is always room for new sounds, or new artists who reinterpret those old sounds (I’m thinking of how ‘old’ Fitz and the Tantrums or She & Him sound). I mean, wouldn’t we all kill for the next Nevermind to come out and take music in a whole new direction? I think if the new Digg is going to play a good mix of those old JJJ staples and the most innovative of the newest artists (and not mainstream synth pop songs) it could be a terrific thing to have around, plugged from my TV into my hifi (I don’t have any other digital radio source!). 

Toodle-Ooh

I just bought a $4.95 DVD copy of Running On Empty. No, not the River Phoenix film, this one! Australia, bogans, 1980s, muscle cars, Deborah Conway acting. How fun is that?! Last time I watched it would have been 1986 on VHS. Funnily enough, I watched Rock n Roll High School last night. Must be a nostalgic week ahead, what with the old films and the old favourite sounds I selected. Plus, don't forget JJJ has retooled ABC Dig to sucker in old folks like me who miss the days when JJJ knew about good music.   

C'est la vie. Hasala malakim.

Donnas Exposed Monster Beats (September 2nd - 6th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

After a terrible rookie mistake, I am spending my late Saturday afternoon recovering deleted TV shows from an external disc. There's a reason we invented confirmation prompts and unfortunately I didn't take the time to really consider my response. Do you really want to permanently delete your TV shows Corey? Do you really? So now, one folder at a time, I'm running a recovery program on it. HandyRecovery - I can't recommend it enough, obviously. But never mind all that now, to the music.

It has been so long since I heard Monster that I'd forgotten the track list. I recently bought an Alt Country double compilation, so disc one is here; and I dragged Gillian Welch along for the ride to compliment it. I can't ever get enough Tribe and I think it was Harry Allen who recommended Talib Kweli & Hi Tek's LP. Just the one new album this week, but what a new one, from the gorgeous Neko Case. More ol friends on the bill come from Dinosaur Jr, The Donnas and Paul Kelly. Finally, because I couldn't stop humming Feel Like Makin' Love complete with air guitar riffing (I think that's a complex part of my current 70s muscle car fascination), I have the best of Bad Company.

Check it out:

• R.E.M. - Monster
• VA - Exposed Roots - Best of Alt Country (Disc 1)
• Gillian Welch - Revival
• Talib Kweli & Hi Tek - Reflection Eternal
• Paul Kelly - Deeper Water
• A Tribe Called Quest - Beats, Rhymes and Life
• The Donnas - Spend the Night
• Bad Company - 10 from 6 (Greatest Hits)
• Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
• Neko Case - The Worse Things Get...

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Giorgio Moroder
2. Björk
3. The Cranberries
4. Savages
5. Steve Earle & The Dukes (And Duchesses)

Song of the Week : Pond  - Hobo Rocket

I've never paid much attention to Tame Impala, so when I found Pond on NPR, I wasn't aware of the connection or that Pond had already had albums out. All I knew was there was a Perth band getting noticed in the US even if it was by public radio. 

The album Hobo Rocket is an enjoyable listen and I picked the title track because it's a bit of fun. The vocals are done by some guy named Cowboy John who is meant to be a Perth fixture (I'm sure one of you will be able to fill in the uninitiated?!) 

His singing sounds like Eddy Vedder pretending to be a bum. The song is a psychedelic freak out of a jam session with a sort of homeless grunge rap. 

अलविदा

A Happy Father's Day for us breeders in Australia for tomorrow. I hope there's some quality family time and some vinyl involved - well for me at least. 

Hasala malakim.

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.

Blonde Celebrity Kingdom Revolution (February 25th - March 1st)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Just back from a haircut to hurriedly throw this all together. Seems I have to hurry through everything at the moment with so many deadlines going around. Be that as it may, there's always time for music.

A couple of Best Ofs this week from folk rocker Tim Easton and 80s icon Pat Benatar. There's a grimy old Dinosaur Jr. and a more saccharine Cranberries debut. I found an Eminem bootleg and I'm spinning Jay-Z for a rap fix. Thanks to Clay5 I have my number 1 favourite Bob Dylan album. There's the Forrest Gump soundtrack courtesy of my Aunt who gave me all her CDs. It's been a while, so Out of Time is here; and lastly, something new from Atoms For Peace.

Check it out:

• Tim Easton - Before the Revolution
• Eminem - Trailer Park Celebrity
• Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me
• Pat Benatar - The Very Best Of Pat Benatar
• The Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
• Atoms For Peace - Amok
• R.E.M. - Out Of Time
• Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
  
• VA - Forrest Gump
• Jay-Z - Kingdom Come

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Hilltop Hoods
2. Eminem
3. Beach Fossils
4. Sonic Youth
5. The Whitlams

Song of the Week : The Blackbyrds - Happy Music

I'm horridly pushed for time at the moment. So I'm picking a rushed SOTW but still a good song. 

In early February, jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd died aged 83. Byrd (not that one) played with a bunch of greats like Hank Mobley, Art Blakey and even Coltrane. He was one of the pioneers of taking the jazz horn section and turning it into funk and soul.  

What I didn't know is that a bunch of the students he taught at Howard formed their own funk/fusion band The Blackbyrds in 1973. When I read that in an obit, I checked them out via a Best Of compilation.

I chose Happy Music from the best of, because of our talk last week about maudlin songs. It seems appropriate and it's a really kick-arse funky track for a Friday afternoon.

Arrivederci

Did I mention I think I saw Poh Ling Yeow down the shops? She's cute and affable, but I'm not enough of a fan to bother her for a photo. Was pretty cool to see her though. She's probably home now marveling at how she saw me and didn't want to bother me. Probably.

Peace out homes. Hasala malakim.

Top 10 Albums of 2012

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

You might have noticed there was no Work Tunes last week. That's because I was saving the surprise of my Top 10 Albums of 2012. My top 10 list has been my weekly soundtrack this week. 

The albums I've selected are not necessarily the same ones that would make my critical top 10 list. These are my favourite albums this year, the ones I have especially enjoyed listening to. The one that I have continued to play all year whenever the mood strikes. These are my top 10.

I've written a few words on each of them and listed them in reverse order - just for the suspense* (*suspense may not be actual). At the end of the list, you'll find the next ten albums in my top 20 and finally a mixtape of one song from each top 10 selection.

Check it out:

10. Paul Kelly - Spring and Fall

This year's release is among Mr Paul (poet and living legend) Kelly's best in a while. Spring and Fall is the sound of a man growing old and weary but comfortable in his own skin. As 'over the hill' as the narrator of every song is, he's still obsessed by the universal themes of love and sex and death. By the end of the album with Little Aches and Pains, we hear a man expressing how the heart is willing but the flesh is weak. At the Stories of Me event, PK told us that the song was written because he and his siblings have a rule that they can only talk for 5 minutes about their medical complaints when they meet up, or else they talk of nothing else. I am really glad to hear yet another great Paul Kelly album.

9. The Bamboos - Medicine Man

This is the first spot I had to think really hard about filling and I wrote this list from top to bottom. A few albums have slipped into the lower half of my top 20 to make way for this. In the end I had to include it on the strength of the Tim Rogers collaboration alone. Plus, it is so good to see Australians putting out this kind of soulful rock music. I think if it was a US release, it would make a lot of international Top 10 lists.

8. Beth Orton - Sugaring Season

As an Orton fan since Sunky hipped me to her, I was eager to hear the new album. It has been a while between drinks for the "tall glass of water" (as she is referenced in Ryan Adams' English Girls Approximately). Worth the wait. Sugaring Season seems a lot more organic than previous efforts; meaning not as electronic - though I know there are plenty of keys in it. BO has managed to weave her distinctive voice through some very smooth piano and string lines. There's a bit of sadness in the lyric content, but it doesn't get too morbid. 

7. Seapony - Falling

What can I say about Seapony? I loved their 2011 debut Go With Me, so I jumped at the next release. The two sound very similar, in that there is a sound that is distinctly Seapony. I hear it as a loud punk band playing behind a shiny piece of not-quite-soundproof glass. All the edge is taken off the crunch and fuzz and you get this dreamy kind of hum. I suppose that's why it's referred to as Dream Pop. It's good, anyway.

6. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

Emmylou was all it took to get me to buy this album. The harmonies, the reference to country's veteran royal couples, the sweet, sweet melody. I was blown away when I found out these girls were Swedish. They sound like mountain folk - and I suppose they are, just Scandinavian and not Appalachian. There's other great tracks on the album too though and they are all as Americana as the one that got my attention.  

5. The XX - Coexist

When I first heard The XX with VCR, I expected more catchy pop tunes with a decidedly electronic backing. Listening to the whole album showed they were a little less shallow than they probably seemed at first. With Coexist, they've added a large ambient string to their bow and made a coherently whole album that sets a mood. Every song on it seems to have this ominous undertone like it’s the end of the world in a dance song – very fitting in these 2012 times, no?. I think it's just the keys, but whatever it is, it works and it definitely maintains a singular mood. I like it a lot.

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

Besides the unwieldy title, this is a very good release from JTE. I only discovered the man and his music with 2010's Harlem River Blues but have since acquainted myself with the back catalogue. This LP is as soul-searching and redemptive as Harlem, but it doesn't hide the sadness behind catchy jigs. Where Harlem was a bit of a romp, NGCTWYFAMN is subdued and lonely. Songs like Unfortunately Anna and Won't Be The Last Time sound like late night confessions and cries for help. He still puts a stomp in proceedings a little with Look The Other Way, but even that is a song about how his mother never recognises the good things he does, and only focuses on the many negatives. It seems that JTE is getting better with each release. Early stuff had a couple of good tracks, maybe one great one in Midnight at the Movies; while Harlem River Blues was outstanding and this album is superb in its own right. 

3. Best Coast - The Only Place

When The Only Place was released, I read a lot of good press, but just as many complaints by fans of their debut Crazy For You. The argument was that it was more of the same and that the repetitive choruses were now annoying. I'm of the opinion that this album is not more of the same, because the production of it and the ability of the band's lyricist and lead singer has exploded in a great way. Besides the deeper polish on the sound which gives it a 50s/60s feel, Bethany Constantino has developed a real voice. No longer the whiny LA surfy chick, she sounds more like Patsy Cline or Connie Francis on songs like Up All Night and How They Want Me To Be. This is a deserved Top 3 choice and I really should have bought the vinyl instead of the CD, but i cheaped out on the shipping. Silly me. Now I have to buy both anyway.

2. Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet On Sky

I'm probably a little biased here, because there isn't much I don't like from Dinosaur Jr. But I thought I Bet On Sky was better than Farm (2009), which I also enjoyed. What I prefer about Sky is the low end thump has been taken out of the sound, so it sounds less like Metallica and more like J Mascis lazily humming over a lovely warm and fuzzy guitar. So okay, maybe it all just sounded more like the 90s and I am a sucker for Slacker nostalgia. Whatevs. I really liked this album.

1. Hilltop Hoods - Drinking From the Sun

No surprises that probably one of the strongest releases from one of my favourite groups would make my Top 10 list. For me, Hilltop Hoods haven't put a foot wrong since The Calling. Since that breakthrough, they have been the undisputed high watermark in Australian Hip Hop, no argument. For me, the highlights on Drinking From the Sun are the massively hooky I Love It and The Underground; the out-of-left-field rapid fire rhythmic rhyming scheme of Rattling The Keys to the Kingdom, the awesome Joe Pesci sample in the Good For Nothing hook and the inclusive politics of Speaking In Tongues. 

Filling out my Top 20 were:

• Jack White - Blunderbuss
• Beach House - Bloom
• Mumford & Sons - Babel
• Wild Nothing - Nocturne
• Brother Ali - Mourning in America, Dreaming In Color
• Melissa Etheridge - 4th Street Feeling
• Menahan Street Band - The Crossing
• The Walkmen - Heaven
• Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy
• Band Of Horses - Mirage Rock

2012 Mixtape Tracklist  

The Bamboos - I Got Burned (feat. Tim Rogers)

Dinosaur Jr. - Don't Pretend You Didn't Know

Seapony - Prove To Me

Justin Townes Earle - Look The Other Way

First Aid Kit - Emmylou

Beth Orton - Dawn Chorus

The xx - Chained

Paul Kelly - Cold As Canada
Best Coast - Up All Night

Hilltop Hoods - I Love It

Get the Mixtape

And that's my whole year. I'm on leave until January 7, so no Work Tunes until then. If I get a spare moment, I might post a review over at Make Films Not Movies, but most likely I'll just be 'maxing and relaxing'.

Have a great silly season. Whatever you do, be careful on the roads but more importantly in the shops - I've been there a lot lately and it is chaos! 

As always and forever - hasala malakim brothers and sisters. 

Poor Grizzly Choirgirl Romance (September 17th - 21st)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

It's been a really, really, *really* long week and I'm still getting over the food poisoning from last weekend. All my hopes are invested in this weekend to recharge my dead batteries. Next week's music should help too. 

There's a few new sets this week, namely from Grizzly Bear, Dinosaur Jr., The xx and Sea Wolf. I put a little funk in the trunk and added Sly & the Family Stone and Prince after watching a BBC doc on the Purple One. Evil Eddie's Golden Age made me think of some mid-90s rap from Poor Righteous Teachers and Down South. It is all rounded out with Led Zeppelin and Tori Amos (who is a massive Led Zep fan btw). 

Check it out:

• Grizzly Bear - Shields
• Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet On Sky
• The xx - Coexist
• Sly & the Family Stone - Life
• Prince - Controversy
• Poor Righteous Teachers - Black Business
• Down South - Lost In Brooklyn
• Led Zeppelin - Remasters (Disc One)
• Tori Amos - From the Choirgirl Hotel
• Sea Wolf - Old World Romance

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Journey
2. A Tribe Called Quest
3. Something For Kate
4. Kathleen Edwards
5. Portishead

Song of the Week : Evil Eddie - Golden Age

I wouldn't normally give you two rap tracks in a row, but this selection just could not be denied this week as my SOTW. I don't listen to th radio much, but I assume that JJJ is already killing this Jamie? Evil Eddie's (of Butterfingers) latest solo track Golden Age.

First and foremost what it has going for it beyond the lyric is the funky a$$ bass which sounds like a Stevie Wonder clavical riff fed through a bit of wah. But of course, the lyric itself is what suckered me in - its a self-confessed "old muthf$#@^a standing up for the golden age of Hip Hop culture. How could I resist?! It mentions coming through formative years with the very best that rap had to offer and laments the fact that "these days, every man and his dog's a f$#^#in rapper!"

The track has been on pretty much endless repeat in my head and in my car. Hopefully you can dig the funk and enjoy the extended rant of the lyrics.

Adios Muchachas

Okey dokey, that's your lot. I've got to go and get myself some R&R or I'll be postal by this time next week. I am feeling a little better already, having relaxed a little watching The Toxic Avenger last night. Fingers crossed I'm over the slump. Go me. And...

Go Eagles. 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.

Nasty Suburban Sea Songs (May 14th - 18th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


First up, I have to say I am still smarting from the passing of MCA. This week's Song of the Week was a special tribute edition and you'll see later on that it's quite long. It isn't just the tragedy of losing a great artist either, it's awful to see a man taken from his family and friends at such a young age. I am listening to To The 5 Burroughs and Hello Nasty this week to continue to pay respect and enjoy the music.


Besides the two Beastie LPs, I've grabbed my favourite Josh Rouse; there's the latest effort from Best Coast; Neutral Milk Hotel I am checking out thanks to Parks and Recs; I bought a bonus EP copy of Hand It Over on the weekend, so that's here; Australia's own Bob Evans makes an appearance; Suzanne Vega has been sounding great in the wetter weather; U2s monumental live album is along for the ride and finally a Bloodshot Records compilation. 


Check it out:

• Josh Rouse - 1972
• U2 - Rattle and Hum
• VA - Down to the Promised Land : 5 Years of Bloodshot
• Bob Evans - Suburban Songbook
• Best Coast - The Only Place
• Beastie Boys - To The 5 Burroughs
• Dinosaur Jr - Hand It Over (w/Bonus EP)
• Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
• Suzanne Vega - Songs in Red and Grey
• Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Beastie Boys
2. Sonic Youth
3. 2Pac
4. The Lemonheads
5. Nirvana

Song of the Week : Beastie Boys - Right Right Now Now

The first time I saw the Beastie Boys was the film clip to Fight For Your Right. Being 14 / 15 at the time, these three brats from NYC talking about smoking and drinking and porno were the three coolest guys on the planet. (Side Note: I don’t know if you know or remember this, but kids actually used to steal VW emblems to hang around their neck like Mike D. I never did, but I remember trawling the streets of Koongamia looking for a Beetle to gank one off).


Part one of my multimedia tribute is the video on my tumblr (www.coreyj.tumblr.com) of an unaired live performance on Chappelle’s Show. This is how they were when I found them; raucous, NYC, precocious and wild. Part of them stayed exactly like that even as they matured.


After I saw the film clip for Fight, I immediately took some money from my Kmart job and bought the 45 of the song.  On the other side was Paul Revere. It was that song that for me established MCA as the “bad ass” of the three. Ad Rock was always the whiny brat and Mike D the smooth ladies man. MCA always came across as the tough guy, and that sort of has always carried on.

That’s why I chose Right Right Now Now from The 5 Burroughs as my SOTW. I think 5 Burroughs is unfairly underrated by even big Beasties fans. I have always loved it. This song shows beautifully how MCA was the counterpoint to the old school Beastie brattiness. As Simon pointed out, they still had fun while they spoke on important topics. Have a look at some of the exchanges of lyrics across the song:


Ad Rock:  With the sound delight we rock all night / And yes we're gonna party for the right to fight
MCA: What we do now is future moulding / Columbine bowling, childhood stolen / We need a bit more gun controlling


Mike D: I'm not here to fight, or incite  / I'm like the beach in the Bahamas make you feel alright 
MCA: I'm getting kind of tired of the situation / The US attacking other nations


When I watched Awesome! I F%#^n’ Shot That last night and saw them play as a live band, instruments and all, it drove home just how far they’d evolved from the hardcore punk band who wanted to be terrible at playing, through their rap pioneering and onto being accomplished instrumentalists as well as highly respected rappers. The band, the culture and the world will never be the same without MCA. It was a sad, sad day when we lost him.


Woah, long one. Sorry about that. But I think you know how I’ve dragged the Beastie Boys around with me like a security blanket from the age of 14; a constant touchstone to that part of my personality and culture. I sure am going to miss them – because I don’t think there’ll be any more output from the other two as a group. Hopefully there’ll be some lost tapes or something with MCA as star.

Nnnnnddroooop!

TTFN brothers and sisters. May your whole week be charged with new music and old favourites. If you're going out, play safe. Happy Mothers Day if you're a Mum in Australia. 


Go Eagles! (no chance) Hasala malakim.

Playlist : November 14th - 18th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Not much to report on the week just passed besides sick kids and a sore thumb. I don't think I've ever felt anything as painful as a chunk of flesh missing from the corner of my thumb. At least no pain I've felt has ever put me close to passing out like this did. But enough whining, it's music time.

What have I got? I'm glad you asked. I grabbed the first Sweet Relief compilation after realising I hadn't heard Summer of Drugs in years. For fans of Community, I have Donald Glover's (Troy) debut commercial release as Childish Gambino. I was late to Community, so I heard the Gambino mxtapes before I knew who he was. I also grabbed some Billy Bragg because his new album is out.

Twitter buddy @kirstimelville made me pick Wham!'s The Final after a chat about 80s music and I grabbed Lou Reed's New York to balance the yin and yang of that decade in song. Add Springsteen's Ghost of Tom Joad thanks to #occupy, Gram Parsons, some 90s stuff from Dinosaur Jr and the forgotten SPDFGH and all we have left is Tim Rogers.

Check it out:

• VA - Sweet Relief : A Benefit for Victoria Williams
• Childish Gambino - Camp
• Billy Bragg - Don't Try This At Home
• Tim Rogers & The Temperance Union - Dirty Ron / Ghost Songs
• Gram Parsons - GP
• Wham! - The Final
• Lou Reed - New York
• Spdfgh - Leave Me Like This
• Dinosaur Jr - Green Mind
• Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Wilco
   
2. Josh Rouse
3. U2
4. Veronica Falls
5. Deer Tick

Song of the Week : Deer Tick - Let's All Go To The Bar

Deer Tick’s Let’s All Go To The Bar made me sit up and say ‘oh hell yes!’ while working away. The sentiment was instantly relatable at this stage in the week, but the sound is decent too. It’s a bit of a ruckus in the early 50s rockabilly vein but with a bar song sing-along chorus refrain. It stomps and rocks and runs around drunk shouting everybody drinks.

It’s a good thing, I think, that Deer Tick can do songs like this as well as the more subdued and sombre tracks they have. I wouldn’t say I’m a massive fan of the band, but they do sing a mean tune. So picture that first Friday beer when you slip this song on. Cheers!

Cheerio

Tah tah for now then, kids. Stay safe out there and have an excellent weekend.

Before I go, if you're an old school head like me, you might be ineterested in parting with some cash to preserve Style Wars. Henry Chalfant is raising money through Kickstarter and if you pay just $25 you can get yourself the 2 disc DVD or Style Wars Revisited. I've thrown some cash down because Style Wars is one of the touchstones of all Hip Hop culture. It should one day be preserved in the Smithsonian or something. Have a look.

In a much sadder piece of old school news, last week saw the passing of Dwight Arrington Myers, better know as Heavy D. 'Hev' was a rap pioneer and the among the creators of the early 90s soft r&b hip hop sound. More recently he was a movie actor, with roles in Cider House Rules and the just released Tower Heist. I have to say thank you to Heavy D for being a part of my burgeoning journey through Hip Hop when even his rap break in Janet Jackson's Alright felt like a massive acknowledgement of 'my' culture by mainstream Pop.

Rest in peace Brother Heavy. Peace be upon you. And to you all, hasala malakim.