Handsome Blind Horrowshow Mystery (August 12th - 16th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

After a solid day of blood tests, grocery shopping, birthday party preparation, swimming lessons and korma making, I'm drafting this post at midnight while casually watching an episode of Drunk History. The good news is I had the list thrown together earlier in the week.

Besides the second disc of Biograph, there's an old favourite from Blind Pilot, the new Civil Wars and Ariel Pink's Before Today. From the grimiest depths of the 90s comes Mystery Machine and Prince's Diamonds & Pearls. Too much Orgone has been not nearly enough lately, so I've got Killion Floor from 2007. I read some interesting things about Kip Moore recently, so I thought I'd check him out. Two more new albums round out this week's list, from AUS rapper Horrorshow and alt country veterans The Handsome Family.

Check it out:

• Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound
• Mystery Machine - Glazed
• Bob Dylan - Biograph (Disc 2)
• Prince - Diamonds & Pearls
• Orgone - Killion Floor
• Horrorshow - King Amongst Many
• The Civil Wars - The Civil Wars
• The Handsome Family - Wilderness
• Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
• Kip Moore - Up All Night

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Laura Marling
2. Bob Dylan
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers
4. Sex Pistols
5. Charles Bradley

Song of the Week : Beth Orton - Concrete Sky

From Beth Orton’s Daybreaker album this track Concrete Sky was written by Johnny Marr and features backing vocals by the one and only Ryan “Sean Hannity Hates Me” Adams. 

I think the fact that Marr wrote it is well on display. The sparkling melody and the brittle jangle of acoustic picking is signature. Ryan and Orton were an item when this was recorded (I think, or shortly after) and she is of course the “Tall drink of water” in English Girls. 

As far as the lyrics go, I like the image of a ‘concrete sky falling from the trees’. It’s one that paints a picture of heavy burden and pressure. Yet the melody completely betrays the ‘heaviness’ of the subject because it’s so sweet and catchy.  The harmony between the voices is not quite perfect and that makes it beyond brilliant. There’s weariness and heaviness in them. 

Five Thousand

If you know why Five Thousand means goodbye, you and I are tight, son. And that being the case, you should definitely check out Orgone, because everybody deserves a proper funking.

Hasala malakim.

Green Worker's American Swim (July 29th - August 2nd)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

If you can believe it, I'm running ahead of time with my list this week. I've had it chosen since early in the week, to avoid rushing it. A few albums that I just haven't heard in a while managed to pop up.

One of those albums that has slipped the Work Tunes net forever is REM's excellent Green. @sunky mentioned another Mazzy Star LP last week and it made me think of Among My Swan. Jay-Z has been all up in everyone's grill lately, so I had to grab Vol. 3. A Billy Bragg album I'm yet to hear makes the cut this week, as does the My Girl soundtrack thanks to @BreeMateljan's SOTW. The very latest pack of funky tracks from Orgone is here and the Italian horror rock of Goblin. Incesticide is another neglected LP that made my list this week. What's left is some jangly folk pop from The Whispertown 2000 and some darker alt country infused folk from A.A. Bondy.  

Check it out:

• R.E.M. - Green
• Mazzy Star - Among My Swan
• Nirvana - Incesticide
• A.A. Bondy - American Hearts
• The Whispertown 2000 - Swim
• Orgone - New You
• Goblin - Susperia
• Billy Bragg - Worker's Playtime
• VA - My Girl OST
• Jay-Z - The Life and Times of Sean Carter Vol. 3

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Bruce Springsteen
2. Alice In Chains
3. Nick Drake
4. Van Morrison
5. The Replacements

Song of the Week : Alice In Chains - Angry Chair

It has been some time since I listened to Dirt. It's a lot heavier than I remember it. When I look back on it though, a lot of grunge was fairly heavy - Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Tad, Dinosaur Jr. It was just Nirvana and Pearl Jam who brought that pop sensibility to it that crossed it into the mainstream. In any other circumstances, that would be called "selling out", but I'm really glad they did. Because let's face it, in 1991 in Perth, there is no way we'd have heard starving indie rock bands from Seattle if they hadn't sold out. 

I chose Angry Chair because it was one of the releases from this album and because it is quite stereotypically "grungy". The apathetically depressed lyrics, the wall of deep fuzz and the pounding drums are all on the heavy side of the sound that I once knew and loved so well. Nostalgia may not be what it used to be, but some days a familiar tune can be a good warm hug. Enjoy.

Hooroo
I'm just finishing this all up on a Saturday afternoon. The wife and children are at swimming lessons and I am left here tasked with domestic duties because we haven't been home all day. We're unbelievably short on time today. A good thing I had this list planned early, wasn't it?

Hasala malakim.

Fuzzed California Desperation Boom (May 27th - 31st)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

It's another glorious Perth Spring day in Autumn today after more of the same all week. It's almost torture to be inside writing this, but the Eagles are on anyway. I'm watching while I type on my trusty laptop. 


There are a few bands here that I've only just discovered, or are new. Orgone has a record full of raw rock instrumentals that sound like a 70s cop film soundtrack. Trophy Wife's debut (and probably last, as they've split up) album is a cloud full of dream pop. Oblivions bring a punk rock slant on some indie rock. Balancing out the new bands, there's a few old ones; particularly The Sonics from the 60s and Al Green. There's two compilations again, one full of funk and the other full of that Californian 70s sound. After Daft Punk's big blow up, I decided to listen to Kraftwerk who do it so much better. There's a kooky collaboration between Edie Brickell and Steve Martin with a banjo. Lastly, for a dose of rhyme, there's the Eminem Show.  

Check it out:

• Oblivions - Desperation
• Orgone - Fuzzed Up
• Trophy Wife - Trophy Wife
• Kraftwerk - Electric Cafe
• VA - Take It Easy : The Sound of California
• Steve Martin & Edie Brickell - Love Has Come For You
• The Sonics - Boom
• Al Green - I Can't Stop
• VA - Funk Drops
• Eminem - The Eminem Show

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Otis Redding
2. Talib Kweli
3. Daft Punk
4. The Walkmen
5. Lisa Loeb & Nine Tails

Song of the Week : My Morning Jacket - Leaving On A Jet Plane

I know we all appreciate a good cover done well. This one is done so well that I mistook it for a cover from the 70s, the era the song was written.

From the recent tribute to John Denver, My Morning Jacket perform Leaving On A Jet Plane. Before I heard the album, I slipped a few of the songs I know the originals of onto a playlist for a road trip. When this one came on, I thought it was strange that I had an old cover of it on my iPod, until I found out it was MMJ.

I think what gives it such an authentic sound is the mix. The heavy reverb on the vocals and the jangling ring of the guitars just sounds so much like that easy listening 70s sound. The song itself is a little maudlin, but I am impressed with the way the essence of it and the time period it lived in has been captured so well. Perhaps it’s awed hush is a note of respect to Denver who we all know died in a plane crash. It actually opens the tribute album and it sets the tone nicely.

Adios

If you get a chance, have a listen to Orgone - Fuzzed Up, especially if you're a fan of 70s cinema. It really does sound like an excellent cop movie while being a great listen with some hard grooves. I've had it playing wile cooking and that works, but it should really be great to work to. 

Hasala malakim.