Daft Dirt River Replacements (22nd - 26th July)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

I've been laid up with afflictions all of these last few days, so I have again rushed my list. But it's still pretty good.

I decided to continue my second chances for late-period Pearl Jam - I'll see if Binaural stands up now like it didn't before for me. To compliment Pearl Jam , I grabbed Alice In Chains. After Newsroom used Into the Mystic in the closing credits, I reached right for Moondance. I've got some Replacements here and the soundtrack to a doco on Big Star. Those two CDs seem complimentary. Another soundtrack is from The Wackness starring Ben Kingsley. After enjoying the production of Daft Punk's latest, I've gone back in time a bit with them. Back in time also with De La Soul and way back with Nick Drake's dream-like folky Pink Moon. All that leaves is Bruce Springsteen's classic double album from 1980, The River. 

Check it out:

• Pearl Jam - Binaural
• The Replacements - Tim
• Van Morrison - Moondance
• Bruce Springsteen - The River
• Alice In Chains - Dirt
• VA - The Wackness OST
• Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me
• Daft Punk - Homework
• De La Soul - Stakes Is High
• Nick Drake - Pink Moon

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Foghat
2. Bob Marley
3. Why?
4. Josh Pyke
5. Dinosaur Jr.

Song of the Week : Chic  - Le Freak

After a few different discussions over the last few weeks, I've been thinking about disco and about Daft Punk's new album and how it is a) very disco and b) massively overhyped. But overhype aside, it's a decent listen if you like a bit of 70s disco. What I like about it, besides the pastiche of retro sounds is the engineering on it. It reminds me of 70s engineering too, because every layer seems to be painstakingly balanced and nuanced just right. Not every band bothers with all that trouble these days and a lot of pop music sounds like mud.

But no, my SOTW isn't Daft Punk, it's Chic - Le Freak. I hadn't heard this song in ages until my Daft Punk wonderings got me thinking about disco. There is a bit of this song in a lot of the tracks on Random Access Memories, in particular that funky little guitar chord riff so synonymous with disco. This will get your boogie shoes on.

Interesting aside if you haven't heard the tale, but Nile Rodgers says the song was initially titled "Fuck Off!" because they couldn't get in Studio 54 one night. Off home they went, wrote a funky ass bassline and chanted "Fuck Off!" instead of Freak Out! which is what they decided on to appease record companies. 

TTFN
If there is anything on my hurried list that sounds like it might suit you, go and have a listen. Spotify or Songl or Rdio that tish all you like. Life is too short for bad music. 

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.