Same Jazzmatic Rock Anthology (April 8th - 12th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

My list and the subsequent blog post are a bit of a rush this week. I've spent my Saturday running around trying to fix a problem with shoddy merchandise and terrible customer service. There's a losing battle in Perth if ever there were one.  

Given the rush, I probably leaned too heavy on old favourites, but strangely enough, two of my desert island discs have never made a Work Tunes list - August and Everything After and Paid In Full. Another couple of favourites that made the cut are Ryan Adams' Rock n Roll and U2's Zooropa (which I've not listened to in forever). I also grabbed a few CDs I only recently bought in the Divinyls, Cowboy Junkies and Shrek soundtrack. I am playing disc 2 of the Gram Parsons Anthology and, also in the Country vein, an artist I just discovered, Kacey Musgraves. The final selection comes from Funky DL and it is a free download from Bandcamp featuring Jazz remixes of Nas tracks. 

Check it out:

• Counting Crows - August and Everything After (Deluxe Edition)
• VA - Shrek OST
• Divinyls - Divinyls
• Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park
• Cowboy Junkies - Lay It Down
• Funky DL - Jazzmatic (Nas Remixes)
• Gram Parsons - Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 2)
• U2 - Zooropa
• Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full
• Ryan Adams - Rock n' Roll

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Counting Crows
2. Gillian Welch
3. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
4. Aphex Twin
5. Joni Mitchell

Song of the Week : Telekinesis - Lean On Me

To the music and it’s one of those times where I picked my song last minute after having some other idea all week.

If I had an Album of the Week, it would have been Wavves- Afraid of Heights. As a whole, it sounds like a Nirvana and Weezer supergeroup fronted by Nathan of Wavves. I was going to pick a song to illustrate that, but when I went to choose, nothing sounded like song of the week. I think because I'm in too good a mood for Wavves whiny grunge soup today.

Instead, from the new Telekinesis album, Dormarion, I've picked the upbeat, Friday friendly and spiritually uplifting Lean On Me. Jangly guitar and that dream pop Telekinesis sound with a fun little melody make this a great song to keep my good mood going all day. I will probably slip it on later this afternoon again just to recharge. 

If it elevates or sustains your moods, it will have done it's job. Enjoy!

Au Revoir

I just finished watching Before Sunset in anticipation of Before Midnight coming soon, so I'm feeling all French and stuff. 

Looking forward to a trip to AQWA in the morning for Miss 4's birthday outing. It will hopefully make her forget about not getting a working bouncy castle today to replace the faulty one we were given when we bought it. Oh geez, don't get me started on that this close to bedtime. 

Hasala malakim.

Afraid of Wild Stone Angels (April 1st - 5th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Happy Easter! I trust your Good Friday is suitably good thus far. Mine has been full of driving around looking for a spot to park along the river in hopes of checking out a sculpture walk at Deep Water Point. No such luck though, as Perth loves their river on a holiday. So we've been to a playground or two and now we're back home in anticipation of fish & chips tonight - as you do.

A couple of cracking new albums this week from Wavves and Telekinesis. This Wavves set sounds like Nirvana but in a "geez I've missed this sound" way, rather than a "stop ripping off my idols" kind of way. I grabbed some Australian flavour from You Am I and The Waifs. The reading I've been doing about Gram Parsons helped me choose the Anthology and I'll be bringing the second disc next week. Gram put Gillian Welch in my head, so I grabbed her fantastic Time (The Revelator) album. Because too much alt country folk is never enough, there's a Paste sampler of some more twang. But don't worry, the soulful and funky side gets a spin too, with Sly & the Family Stone, Public Enemy and the soundtrack to Hip Hop culture touchstone Wild Style. 

Check it out:

• Wavves - Afraid of Heights
• Telekinesis - Dormarion
• The Waifs - Up All Night
• Gram Parsons - Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels : Anthology (Disc 1)
• Sly & the Family Stone - Stand!
• You Am I - Hourly, Daily
• VA - Wild Style OST
• Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
• VA- Paste Magazine: Sounds Like Home
• Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Guns n' Roses
2. Billy Bragg
3. Joshua James
4. Radiohead
5. Gram Parsons

Song of the Week : Gram Parsons - $1000 Wedding

Lately I've been reading a bit about Gram Parsons, because there was a feature in last month's Uncut. That got me to finally get around to reading the 30 page booklet that came with my Gram Parsons Anthology CD box. Through this reading I have learned a few things I didn't know. Firstly, his real first name is Ingram, his father committed suicide by gunshot and $1000 Wedding is the saddest damn country song there ever was. 

I've always found it a little on the sad side, but that was when I just thought the groom in the piece had been left at the altar and his bride had run off. It turns out, the released version doesn't make it clear but the original (rejected by the Byrds) version does : the bride has killed herself the morning of the wedding,

So now when you hear it, know that's what has happened. The rumble of the guests builds slow as someone finds out and the notes begin passing. The groom notices that everyone looks sad and jokes about it being more like a funeral. Then when he finally hears what's happened, he goes on a self-destructive bender with his mates and confesses that his bride has had her problems - and the lies on their faces show him they already knew. Then comes the actual funeral with the preacher at the pulpit sermonising about the angels and devils. 

It's small town tragedy in a microcosm. Gram's voice is broken and wavy while Emmylou croons like the angels in the sermon - as if the ghost of the bride is singing along. 

I've always liked this song, but now I love it. Curse you David Crosby for rejecting the original! I also have an Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield duet of it on the Gram Parsons Tribute album, which is different but can't get close to Gram and Emmylou.  

Happy Easter

That's all there is for another week at work. Enjoy your holiday break whether you celebrate or even believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The important thing about that man is what he had to say; and he didn't say hate on everyone else who isn't like you. So cut that shit out. 

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.

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.