Like The Very Easy Dawn (October 14th - 18th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Just back from a charity breakfast with the Wilderness Society and a spot of shopping. Last week's relaxing day at the supermarket was more than made up for by the mad rush that was today. Ah well, the Universe is in balance now I guess. 

Speaking of balance, I'm not sure if I got this list right, but I'll give it a go. I've been meaning to stick Brother Ali's Us on again for a while and finally have. The same goes for Easy Tiger and Dressed Up Like Nebraska which I haven't heard in some time. A recent purchase from Soul Asylum gets a gig, as does the latest from Pearl Jam. For a bit of a crazy interlude, there's Devo and Pink Floyd. Another volume of Street Sounds Hip Hop is here and I've got some early Justin Townes Earle. Finally, disc one of a two disc set of the Essential Bill Withers will make for some nice soul. 

Check it out:

• Bill Withers - The Essential Bill Withers (Disc 1)
• Brother Ali - Us
• Josh Rouse - Dressed Up Like Nebraska
• Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
• Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates of Dawn
• Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
• Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
• Soul Asylum - Playlist: The Very Best of Soul Asylum
• VA - Street Sounds Hip Hop 17
• Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. The Lemonheads
2. Justin Townes Earle
3. The Breeders
4. Slackwax
5. Pulp

Song of the Week : The Head and the Heart - Another Story

I had a song picked out on Tuesday and then one turned up yesterday and took its place. This is from the new The Head and the Heart album, which I streamed yesterday. I have their self-titled album (which I think is their first) and it’s far more upbeat and poppy than this song, as is the rest of this new album. This song, Another Story is introspective with a quietly beautiful melody. 

The way I interpret this song is it’s about tragedy and the way people respond to it. Not necessarily personal tragedy, but the abstract, ‘out there’ tragic stories of the day. A car bomb, a neglected child, plane crashes and the like. It’s about how we hear these things, we feel like everything has gone to hell, and then we quickly suck it up and go on. It also puts forth that nothing will change – not the propensity for tragedy to happen and not the fact that there’s also love in the world.  In the Soundcloud app I was streaming from, someone commented that it was about the Sandy Hook shootings. I don’t know if that’s true, but it makes sense. I think if it is true, it’s about Sandy Hook as part of a bigger metaphor for big tragedies. 

There’s a video on YouTube that I found and which sold me on this track as SOTW. Firstly because of the landscape and urban images in it and secondly because the lyrics are all over it, which helps highlight their importance. You can watch that here if you like

Farvel

We've decided to break the year long seal on the barbecue tonight and cook up a sizzle with some salad. Looks like it might be too cold to eat it outside yet though. 

And I've just realised you could care less what I have for dinner tonight. Just make with the music monkey man. Nah, just kidding, you're alright. 

Hasala malakim.

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.

Darkness Never Moving Toto (January 14th - 18th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

The first working week of the year is done and dusted and it wasn't half bad. The usual administrative start led smoothly into the massive workload and busy bee of a the end of the week. Through it all of course was the music, just like next week.

For next week, I have a few musical equivalents of a warm cup of cocoa with 80s radio-friendly sets from Toto, Van Halen and The B-52s. I've got a Skip Hop contingent from a compilation and an album from The Herd; as well as more Australian music from the one and only Paul Kelly. I'm trying to rediscover the Ryan Adams & the Cardinals outtakes from III/IV and I bought a Sonic Youth album I haven't heard. Lastly, for a little bit of groove, I am including Jamiroquai. 

Check it out:

• Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving
• Toto - IV
• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - III/IV
• Van Halen - 5150
• VA - Official: The Best of Australian Hip Hop Vol. 1
• Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge
• The B-52s - The B-52s
• Paul Kelly - Words and Music
• The Herd - The Sun Never Sets
• Sonic Youth - Murray Street

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Bruce Hornsby
2. The Autumn Defense
3. JEFF the Brotherhood
4. Datarock
5. Cotton Jones

Song of the Week : Joe "Bean" Esposito - You're The Best

Speaking of holidays, mine was great, thanks for asking and it inspired this week’s SOTW. It’s actually more like Song of the Month because we've hummed and sung and played it all holidays. 

As you probably know from Twitter, I got my girls a skateboard each for Christmas. I haven’t had a chance to take Miss 3 out because we kept her in the day care routine as best we could, but I taught Miss 6 the basics and she is doing well. She can now stand up and push and coast in a mostly straight line. I have taught her to lean turn but she can’t turn in a big arc yet. Still, a lot better than me at 6 when I used to basically sit on my plastic board and roll down our steep driveway. 

Because it was like a training montage of trying and failing, I happened to sing (for Mrs Coreyj's benefit) the Joe Esposito track from Karate Kid – You’re The Best. Big chuckles ensued of course. But the song hasn't gone away. It’s been stuck in all our heads for weeks. So now I’m giving it to you! The interesting thing about the track is how cheesy and comically-sincere it is, but at the time, it was completely serious. It’s a “hard rock” track with keys in the mode of a Journey or even a Toto, but with small and aborted attempts at Ian Gillan style vocal acrobatics. 

So, try to ignore the fact that this track is from the GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE and just judge it on its own merits. 

Adieu

Thanks for stopping by. As always, happy musical trails to you all. Hasala malakim.

Evil Drive-By Jacksonville Stooges (October 8th - 12th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm just now finishing off this list. I sat up late writing a review of The Town over at Make Films Not Movies, which I have been meaning to do for ages. Luckily, ideas for tunes weren't oo hard to come by this week. 

First up, I have a couple of favourite Australian albums. You Am I's Hi Fi Way has been a staple for me since release. Originally I had the cassette, which I still have, but it's a little worn out. The other is The Hummingbird's loveBUZZ. Another cassette that I bought purely because it was the name of the Nirvana song from Bleach. I didn't know The Hummingbirds at the time. 

A link from a friend made me think of this Prince album of unreleased songs. I couldn't go past the brand new Public Enemy and I slipped in a rap classic from Dr Dre to compliment it. 

A mid week beer and a spin of Jacksonville City Nights' drunken heartbreak put that on my list. After Jason Isbell made SOTW last week, I thought I'd have some Drive-By Truckers from when he was with them. Nicely going along with both of these is the timeless folk of Bob Dylan's first real masterpiece. 

Scoring a free sampler from Spunk Records for Laneway was a blessing and I picked The Stooges because I wanted something to put some dirt in the whole bag.

Check it out:

• Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin'
• The Hummingbirds - LoveBUZZ
• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Jacksonville City Nights
• Public Enemy - The Evil Empire of Everything
• Prince - Vault: Old Friends For Sale
• You Am I - Hi Fi Way
• VA - Spunk Records Laneway Sampler
• The Stooges - Funhouse
• Dr Dre - The Chronic
• Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Brother Ali
2. Mumford & Sons
3. Thurston Moore
4. Paul Kelly & The Stormwater Boys
5. Devo

Song of the Week : Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Cigarettes & Wine (Acoustic)

I was two seconds away from selecting Deep Purple for my SOTW and an instant of reflection on my day changed my mind. On exhausting days like this one, I have this rather effective internal reset button. I don't even use it consciously, but it always happens when I feel like I've hit a massive wall. What is it? One beer and about 20 minutes of guitar.

So Wednesday after work I found myself, Stella and 12 string in hand, searching the internet for the tab to this song. Like the sentiment of the song itself, the chords are simple. I like singing and playing this song because it's so raw in this format and so honest in the lyric with  perhaps the least romantic chorus ever:

She smelled like cigarettes and wine
She kept me happy all the time I know that ain't much of a line
But it's the God's own truth

The key change at the chorus is effective too. It makes it sound drunk and pleading. I think I'll need to find something to play tonight too, because the day wears on.


Ciao 

Thanks for stopping by. The next Work Tunes will be written on a new computer, so here's hoping it goes off without a hitch. Whatever you are doing this fine (in Perth, anyway) weekend, have yourself a merry little weekend-mas. Be excellent to each other.

Hasala malakim.

National Development of Moon Vaccines (August 20th - 24th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


No news to report this week. I finished Skagboys and I've decided to read Trainspotting and then Porno again, so it will be like an Irvine Welsh shindig for a while around here


Lots of new stuff this week music-wise though, starting with albums from The Vaccines and The Bamboos on recommendation from friends; another recommendation, also new, from The Thousands blog was Leure, which is downtempo beats I was surprised I liked the sound of; for a rap fix there's more new stuff from Arrested Development and I Self Devine; there's old stuff too from Pink Floyd, The National and Billy Bragg; a new Fleetwood Mac tribute and one of fifteen live sets from Ryan Adams' Live After Deaf box top it all off. 


Check it out:

• The Vaccines - Come Of Age
• The Bamboos - Medicine Man
• Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
• VA - Just Tell Me That You Want Me - Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
• The National - The National
• Ryan Adams - Live After Deaf (Copenhagen)
• Arrested Development - Standing At The Crossroads
• I Self Divine - The Sound of Low Class Amerika
• Billy Bragg - Back To Basics
• Leure - Holland Sky

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Brand Nubian
2. Elton John
3. Concrete Blonde
4. Ice-T
5. De La Soul

Song of the Week : Elton John  - This Train Don't Stop There Anymore

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had each disk of an Elton John Best Of in my playlists. I have been a fan of Elton since I was a kid, but we all know that sometime in the late 80s, he kind of started sucking and he never fully recovered. Except, in my humble opinion, for the Songs From The West Coast album, from which this song This Train Don't Stop There Anymore, comes.

Do you know what gave Mr John (not his real name) his inspiration to make a decent album? He heard a little record called Heartbreaker by one Mr Ryan Adams. I've heard Elton interviewed about it and he says he heard Heartbreaker and he was embarrassed. He said he was hearing honesty and a real love of songwriting in Adams that he had lost himself.

So this song is all about the loss of inspiration, the dying spark inside Elton to write real soSengs - which ironically is one of the best songs he's ever put out for mine.

"I used to be the Mid Express / All steam and whistles heading West / Picking up my pain from door to door / Riding on the storyline, furnace burning overtime / But this train don't stop there anymore." 

Bon Voyage

Thanks for stopping by. If you like a bit of electronica; which, it has to be said, I don't usually, check out Leure via the link and throw a tenner down on it. The Arrested Development album is free via the link, so grab that if you're a fan. 


That's all from me this week. I'll be back next week with another set of tunes to get me through the working week, and hopefully turn you onto something you haven't heard. 

And speaking of what you haven't heard, if you don't know about #Clay5 and you're on Twitter, you're missing out. Check it out via the blog over at clay5.blogspot.com.au or just follow @Clay5. 

Go Eagles. Hasala malakim.

Journey of the Dumb Naked Kings (July 9th - 13th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


It was another enjoyably busy week at work, with a Thursday off to see Miss 5 get her very first honour certificate. It was for writing, because writing and illustrating stories is what she likes to do in her spare time away from school. A tad proud? Yes. She also has a great appetite for reading which she is learning at a rate of knots. I learned a little too late in life that the best way to get smarter is read everything*. *Except the comments.


Revelation started Thursday night and I missed Opening Night for the first time in a while. I will be catching a stack of films this weekend and next though, including The Georges Méliès Project for which I can not wait.


As far as the music goes, I felt like I leaned a little hard on the noisy side last week, so I have deliberately toned it down. So, that's how I ended up with some Tracy Chapman, Rickie Lee Jones, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Gillian Welch and Ryan Adams all in the same list. Talk about a folk backlash. A folklash. To balance the folk, I have some funk from James Brown, some Soul from Alabama Shakes (on recommendation from @sunky) and some rock from the first Japandroids album. Got to have some hip hop too, so say hello to the third volume of Culture of Kings. Finally, I found out that one of my favourite Beck songs was a cover of The Korgis, so I have their album here. 

Check it out:

• The Korgis - Dumb Waiters
• Japandroids - Post-Nothing
• Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls
• Trembling Bells & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – The Marble Downs
• James Brown - Star Time Disc 4
• Rickie Lee Jones - Naked Songs
• VA - Culture of Kings III
• Gillian Welch - Soul Journey
• Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
• Tracy Chapman - Matters of the Heart

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. 50 Cent
2. Queen
3. Japandroids
4. Cypress Hill
5. James Brown

Song of the Week : Cheap Trick - Surrender

This has been another week almost completely smothered in work. Except I took yesterday off to go see Miss 5 get her first honour certificate (yay!). She got it for being an 'independent writer' because she is always writing and illustrating stories in her own time. So it was great to do the selfish thing and see her collect the award and try and see who was prouder, her or me.


So this song Surrender, which featured on the soundtrack to a cheesy 70s teen melodrama I saw on the weekend (Over The Edge. Matt Dillon looked about 13!), is a tribute to doing the selfish thing. To surrendering yourself to the work you have to do, but never forgetting the things that are truly important. 


It's a decent song in its own right, but unfortunately I think it might be forever associated with this campy film for me now. Not a completely bad thing, but not Cheap Trick's intention, I'm sure.

Toodle Pip, What What!

Thanks for stopping by. If you're in Perth, try and get out to Revelation and catch a film or two. You won't get a better chance to see some of these terrific movies, unless they happen to be one of those that ends up popular and showing in the multiplexes. Who needs Hoyts though when you can get to The Astor and bask in all of its art deco glory.


Stay safe, warm and dry kids. Go Eagles, even if I can't watch the game because I'll be at the movies. Hasala malakim.


Post Script: Eagles won after clawing their way back from a 35 point deficit. It was kind of ironic today since I saw two films at Revelation where people fought against the odds, except the heroes lost. I came home and watched the second half of the West Coast match that I had recorded. The good guys prevailed. Suck it, haters. 

Margot Wrecking the Supreme Sun Clock (March 12th - 16th, 2012)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Not much to report from a busy week at work, so it's right into the music. 


A last minute inclusion to this week's list is the new Hilltop Hoods LP Drinking From the Sun which released on Friday 9th. Thanks to 8Tracks again, I discovered two bands I hadn't heard of in Margot and the Nuclear So and So's and Jack's Mannequin. I lean a little heavy on the twang with Felice Brothers, the Farrar, Johnson, Parker, Yame collaboration and the new one from The Boss. Old favourite Cardinology makes the cut, as does Pearl Jam's era defining debut Ten and a compilation from The Cult. Rounding out the list, there's a Ghostface Killah solo album that a workmate recommended.


Check it out:

• Pearl Jam - Ten
• Hilltop Hoods - Drinking From the Sun
• Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Not Animal
• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology
• Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger
• The Felice Brothers - Yonder is the Clock
• The Cult - Pure Cult
• Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
• Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames – New Multitudes
  
• Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Whiskeytown
2. Black Sheep
3. The Smiths
4. Nirvana
5. Bias B

Song of the Week : Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Stop

This week's song is a bit of a drag for a sunny Friday, but by the creed of SOTW where we choose the song that has had the most impact or defined our week or just generally loomed large over the last seven days, I chose Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Stop.


Again a song I was listening to late at night stuck with me and infected the music part of my brain. This song is about addiction and the desire to quit. It seems to crawl along with repetitive phrases in the lyrics and seemingly unstructured piano lines before it gets a little epic with strings and crescendo like a drama.


To me the way it begins sounds like a man at his piano late one night, sick and coming down from a bender, telling himself he's gone too far and it's time to stop. He's coaxing himself through a very dark place with lines like "Lie down. Breathe." reassuring with "There's so many of us. You are not alone. Ever." The reverb on the piano means you can almost hear the empty silent space around him, like the piano is in the middle of a big room with a high ceiling - or even the basement of the church where "these people, they talk."


Sorry to bum you out, but enjoy anyway.

Peace Out

That's all folks. Be good to each other. Stay cool on ths sweltering weekend if you're in sunny Perf. Go out, get yourself something nice and just generally feel good. Okay?. 


Hasala malakim.

Playlist : October 3rd - 7th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Well it was a big week in music for me last week; not so much in football. While the Eagles hardly showed up against the Cats, music gave me a screening of Nirvana Live at Paramount and the streaming of the brand new Ryan Adams release Ashes & Fire to make it quite an exceptional week.

This list contains both the Adams LP and the deluxe release of Nevermind which includes the Paramount concert. I've also got some new Feist and the Seu George Life Aquatic LP I've been meaning to hear since I saw the film. I also grabbed the only The National album I don't tend to play alot, Boxer and some Hip Hop for spiritual well-being.

Check it out:

• Seu George - The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
• Nirvana - Nevermind (Super Deluxe)
• Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
• Counting Crows - August and Everything After: Live At Town Hall
• The National - Boxer
• The Whitlams - Undeniably Whitlams
• Violent Femmes - Viva Wisconsin
• Superstar Quamallah & Deqawn – Talkin’ All That Jazz
  
• Feist - Metals
• Boogie Down Productions - Ghetto Music : The Blueprint of Hip Hop

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Ryan Adams
2. R.E.M.
3. Sly & The Family Stone
4. Tori Amos
5. Ice-T

Song of the Week : Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire

I wasn’t going to go with my first choice for Song of the Week because it’ too obvious. But song of the week is supposed to be about the song that’s been huge in your week right? And this is the track I have been digging on all week, over and over.

This title track to the new release from young Grizzly Adams is an amazing song with the dual keys sound of Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde. There’s a honkytonk vibe and a bit of a country rollick about it. I’ve heard a solo acoustic version of the song and as you’d imagine, it sounds very different. I usually like a stripped down bare bones track, but I really dig the instrumentation on this one.

TTFN

Tah tah for now brothers and sisters. If you're watching the AFL Grand Final, I hope your team wins and you quaff alot of beers and party food. That's a pretty decent Saturday afternoon to my mind.

Adios muchahos. Hasala malakim.

Playlist : June 20th - 24th, 2011

Hey there tunesters. Welcome to another week at Work.

Last week I had my birthday. I'm 29 now (hey, 30's the new 20, okay!). It was on the whole unremarkable, except I played Hanging With Friends with Crazy Legs! If you haven't read my fanboy gushing tumblr post, it's here. This week I've picked the Brooklyn radio mixtape for 1983 in honour of that. The rest is some more Bowie, the seemingly well-liked The XX, some Hendrix thanks to Song of the Week, Buzzcoks, Radams, a free sampler from Josh Rouse (that you can download yourself) and some other stuff.

Here it is;

• The XX - XX
• Toad The Wet Sprocket - All You Want
• David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
• Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians - Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars
• Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced
• Ryan Adams - Demolition
• Buzzcocks - A Different Compilation
• Bob Seger - Greatest Hits
• Josh Rouse - Summertime (Noistrade Sampler)
• VA - Rub Radio 1983

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Everclear
2. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
3. David Bowie
4. Mathew Sweet & Susannah Hoffs
5. Best Coast

Song of the Week : Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

I was standing there in JB Hifi looking at foreign film DVDs which are unfortunately close to where they sell car stereos and speakers. There was some song playing, way too loud for what it was. Something about loving a stripper. Vapid, autotuned, over-produced crap with a doof beat and “r&b” “singing”. It was driving me mental. So much so, I actually said out loud “This is f$%#^ing shite”, attracting rolled eyes from some douche who worked there and was obviously in charge of the car stereos. So I left that section to get away from it.

As I approached the space where the music DVDs are kept, they were playing something else on the AV receivers and home theatre speakers. It was Jimi Hendrix. I walked over there and two guys from JB greeted me with ‘hello’. I said “the music is waaaay better over this side of the store.” They laughed, not realising I was deadly serious and still pissed that on my birthday my ears had been raped by crap music.

Now, the latest episode of South Park makes fun of how grownups don’t ‘get’ the music of the kids; and how it always sounds shit to older folks. But I’m sorry, there are some things that you just cannot deny no matter how much you go on about changing fashions etc. Because for a start, Hendrix was dead before I was born. This is not my generation’s music. But this fantastic song, written by one of the great songwriters and played by probably the greatest guitarist ever, is straight up superb and there’s just no comparison between it and the completely wrong shit I was forced to endure at JB yesterday.

Adios

This is where I have to leave you and head on over to MFNM to review a little film I saw Wednesday night. In the meantime, I hope you find new and interesting tunes to keep you happy and feeling good. Adios muchachos.

Playlist - February 7th - 11th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes. What's shaking cats?

This week I've got some classic rock, a little bit of a sunshiney beach set, an alt-country favourite and a mix of songs Spin thinks were great from 2010. I've also made a mixtape of obscure old school tunes inspired by Nas.

Here's what it all looks like:

• Bright Eyes - The People's Key : I heard this latest Bright Eyes release last week via NPR. Their review of the set said it was the greatest Bright Eyes album ever. On first listen, I would have to disagree and say that I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is still the best. I thought I would give this one another listen to see if it grows on me.

• The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed : After blipping the great, rollicking track Song For Keith by Ryan Adams (who hung out and got drunk with Richards himself when they were at the same recording studio), I decided I was going to buy some Stones on vinyl. Nothing after 1979 or before 1967 though. This is from 1969 and includes the well-known Stones tracks Honky Tonk Woman and You Can't Always Get What You Want.

• VA - Spin Best of 2010 : I have a subscription to Spin magazine and Rolling Stone via Zinio on my iPad. The coolest thing about music magazines has always been the free CDs. A bit hard when you get a digital copy right? Wrong! Spin included a download code for redemption on the US iTunes store to get a bunch of tracks they considered the best of 2010. And here they are. I'm pleased with the inclusion of Boyfriend by Best Coast after their album Crazy For You was among my favourites all year.

• Josh Rouse - El Turista : After growing up on the coast all my life, I have only really now discovered a love of the beach. That might have something to do with taking my girls for a swim rather than chasing seals and going squid-jigging in rock pools around Point Peron, or walking across to Penguin Island on the Safety Bay sandbank as was the usual go when I was young. Either way, we've been going to the beach for a swim every morning on the weekends and I'm loving it. This album is a set of Spanish language/themed songs that sound like a beach in Spain.

• Ryan Adams - Gold : It's been some time since I listened to this album. It remains one of my very favourites. I am looking to get some vinyl by Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown soon and this is high on the wish list. I like the set for the quietly emotional La Cienega Just Smiled and the love letter to NYC in New York, New York. By now everyone knows that the film clip for that song is just Ryan Adams playing guitar by the river with the Twin Towers in the background and was filmed on September 7th, 2001.

• REM - Eponymous : For years I only had a cassette version of this LP that I got from Record Finder in Fremantle during a phase I went through of wanting everything REM had ever done pre-Monster. Now I have purchased the CD and this is it. Eponymous is the first Greatest Hits album for REM and was released by IRS Records in 1988 just before the band signed to Warner Brothers for Green. There are rare and previously unreleased tracks on here which make it well worth owning if you're a fan.

• Missy Elliott - This Is Not A Test : Missy Elliott tricked me, damn it. I emerged from a haze of grunge followed by a massive folk stage to rediscover rap. What was around when I emerged, besides The Marshall Mathers LP was Missy's brilliantly funky Pass That Dutch. That made me check this album out and through it get turned onto Jay-Z via the conscious and hard Wake Up. I also found Let It Bump to be deliriously groovy. So of course I went and got Missy's backlog expecting more of the same great tracks... Tricked me big time. Fake R&B bulltish. Still love this one though.

• Mixtape - Where Are They Now? : Hearing the news that Kool Herc was desperately ill and couldn't afford to pay his doctors bills, and also listening to Nas’ Where Are The Now? got me thinking about some of the old school heroes who dropped off the radar long ago. Nas’ great track says: Rap is like a ghost town, real mystic / Like these folks never existed / They the reason that rap became addictive / Play their CD or wax and get lifted. So that’s what I’m doing. I’ve made a mixtape of some of the artists Nas mentions and some he doesn't, and I've put the Nas track on the front. There are some rare and classic tracks here, and you can grab them yourself from the title link above. A full track list is included in the zip file, but some highlights include Biz Markie, The Skinny Boys, Spoonie Gee, the 12" version of Young MC's Principal's Office and C.I.A. who were the first group to feature Dr Dre and Ice Cube.

• Paul Kelly - The A - Z Recordings (Disc Four) : Compared with the first two discs from this eight disc box, I found disc three last week a let down. Not because the tracks weren't great, but because the one or two songs I didn't already know didn't amaze me. Still, the familiar songs are all fantastic, so who am I to whine. With songs as great as I Can't Believe We Were Married and Leaps and Bounds, I'm sure Disc Four will wipe that smug smirk right off my hating face :)

• Bob Dylan - Masterpieces : Last week I realised that in 1997, while I had a record player that needed a belt, I bought a Bob Dylan compilation on vinyl. I had never played it until just the other day. I was so impressed with 1997 coreyj, that I need to buy him a beer. This is the 3 Disc Masterpieces I bought on CD that first got me into his Bobness. From this set of classic Dylan, I obsessed over everything pre-Slow Train Coming and most things post. If you're a casual fan of the man - get this now.
  

Until next week, don't get hung up; stay cool.

Respect and best hopes to the people of Egypt. I wish for you the fair and democratic society you're fighting for and so richly deserve.

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." - Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr

Playlist : November 15th - 19th, 2010

Hey, what's happening cats? Been a good week in your world? Mine has been kind of same old, same old. But, you know what they say - no news is good news.

A lot of what I'll be listening to this week is fairly laid back. Apart from some grooves from Cee Lo Green and Jamiroquai, and a little bit of obligatory Skip Hop from Pegz, everything else is easy like Year 8 maths. Check it out:

• Elvis Costello - The Best of Elvis Costello : It has been a good while since I tucked into my favourite EC album, Spike. Much of his more recent fare is a little on the middle of the road lounge jazz side - although his late night talk show features some great performances. Early on in his career, Costello was known as Punk and then among the vanguard of the Post Punk and New Wave movements. These are all still great songs.

• Melissa Etheridge - Brave And Crazy : With much less of the vitriole and psychotic obsession of her debut self-titled album, ME's second release is still very raw, if somewhat more subtle and subdued. The romantic road trip of Sleep While I Drive and the deep remorse of You Used To Love To Dance are placed easily beside the incensed outrage of No Souvenirs. This is a decent album prior to Etheridge's peak, Your Little Secret.

• Pegz - Capricorn Cat : I put a bid on Pegz vinyl recently. It was signed and online to raise money in the Heat for Huntz appeal. It wasn't this album, it was the brilliant Axis. The auction isn't over, but I'm not prepared to pay $150+ for it. I'm going to sulk and play Capricorn Cat instead. I like Pegz.

• Concrete Blonde - Free : At the request of one of my Song of the Week buddies, Sunky, I recently made a Concrete Blonde mixtape for him as he only knew Joey. I haven't listened to a lot of Blonde since the late 90s when I saw Johnette Napolitano play live, acoustic and solo. Free is my personal favourite Blonde LP, and the title track that never made the album is brilliant. It's on my mixtape though. If you drop me an email, I'll hook you up with it.

• The Lightning Seeds - Cloudcuckooland : I didn't know The Lightning Seeds when one day I saw a cassette in a hock shop for $1. Being it was the early 90s and everything that looked a little indie was of instant interest, I grabbed the tape and happily enough I dug it. Which is lucky, because I wasn't expecting such synth based pop. It's not bad though, check it out.

• Cee Lo Green - The Ladykiller : It seems like everywhere I go I'm hearing F$#^ You! That's Cee Lo's song, that's not random people screaming out in the street. Although, this one time... Anyway, I like that the Soul just keeps growing and growing. It seems to me like everyone is getting their groove on at the minute. Long may true Soul rule the airwaves.

• Jamiroquai - Rock Dust Light Star : Speaking of getting your groove on, this is the latest release from Jamiroquai, the UK funk pop outfit fronted by the often be-hatted Jay Kay. An ex-boss and friend of mine (hello Chris) introduced me to Jamiroquai and it's good music just to have on. Not really musical wallpaper, but not really deep and meaningful music either - although it quite often has a 'message' (given the 'iroquai' bit of their name comes from the Iroquois Native American tribe). Good stuff for a Friday, that's for sure.

• Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Live at Metropolis Fremantle : I was at this gig in the front row and I've only this week been handed the link to the archive. I have downloaded the files and listened to a few snippets for quality - it's good. It was a great gig too. You can download the whole thing from the link in this title. Coming up soon, the Cardinals are releasing a double album of music created around the time of the epic 2LP Cold Roses album, further illustrating how prolific Grizzly once was.I will most likely play this recording more than once this week.

• Kathleen Edwards - Back To Me : Spinning Failer a couple of weeks ago was a good decision. I had forgotten how much I liked Edwards' writing and melody and I was so surprised, I tweeted it. This week I've decided on Back To Me rather than Ask For Flowers because the latter is a little sadder and quieter and as Flav would say 'I ain't tryin' to hear that' right now. As mentioned when I blogged about Failer, the track Old Time Sake from this set is in my 'Hottest 100'.

• VA - Uncut - Love Above All: 11 Songs Compiled By Devendra Banhart : I hadn't heard much of Devendra Banhart's music before I saw a tour documentary about him (The Family Jams). He definitely has a distinctive style. This isn't his music though, it's eleven songs he chose for an Uncut magazine compilation. Uncut compilations very rarely disappoint me, so I thought I'd check this one out.

That's it for another week of tunes at work. I'm hoping my Soul Train DVDs will come soon, and if they do, expect lots of funk next week.

This week's free advice: Be all that you can be bothered being. Ciao for niao cats.