Almost New Hell Night (November 4th - 8th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

This is one of those lists I prepared early in anticipation of being too busy and/or exhausted to get it done this weekend. So it's Friday lunch time and I've just finished it off.

Paul MacCartney and Elvis Costello are here because I've read about these albums this week. Following on from X-Ray Spex last week, I've got The Undertones for a bit of a punk fix. I'm getting my Hip Hop fix from The Cancel again as well as The Roots. For some dinosaur rock and soul, there's Sting and the second volume of tracks from The Big Chill. Something a little experimental from James Ferraro is here, as is the latest from prog rockers Hawkwind. Finally, an old favourite from Son Volt gets a nod. 

Check it out:

• Elvis Costello - Almost Blue
• The Cancel - Night Light
• The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
• Paul MacCartney - New
• Sting - Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting
• VA - The Big Chill : More Songs From the Original Soundtrack
• The Roots - Things Fall Apart
• James Ferraro - NYC Hell 3:00 AM
• Son Volt - Straightaways
• Hawkwind - Spacehawks

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Missy Elliott
2. X-Ray Spex
3. Drive-By Truckers
4. Dinosaur Jr.
5. R.E.M.

Song of the Week : Ylvis - What Does the Fox Say?

Let me preface my SOTW by saying I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry…

Having said that, I’m a big believer in ‘Truth in SOTW’ at all costs. I could have chosen a Lou Reed/Velvets song, because it was awful to lose another great musician. I could have picked a Breeders track because I should have gone to see them last night. I’ve also been digging on Veruca Salt this week. But this one song has been all-pervasive, all week, night and day. 

I am not proud of my song, but I can’t deny it is THE song of my week. I heard it for the first time last week and then made the mistake of showing the kids the film clip on the weekend. Since then the whole family has been singing it all the time, with and without alternate lyrics. 

I don’t own a copy of the song (small mercies) but the film clip is worth a look – though I bet you’ve all seen it. Okay, I have to admit what it is now, yeah?

Ylvis – What Does the Fox Say?

If you haven’t seen it, I’m even more sorry. It’s way too catchy and it’s like a non-New Zealand Flight of the Conchords song. The silliest bit is, I am completely aware of how a fox sounds (they yap and sometimes howl fyi) from plenty of exposure to them in Ejanding. But that didn’t stop me watching this clip for the first time, mouth agape, brain screaming WTH IS THIS?! Before laughing and contracting a permanent earworm.  

So, feel free to not listen if you know it, or even if I’ve scared you off, but this has got to be my truthful SOTW.

Ciao for Niao

It's now Saturday afternoon and I've endured a photo-shoot in Hyde Park (not the fancy pants London one, the nice and friendly Mount Lawley one). If you know me at all, you know that a photo-shoot is a huge deal. I hated every second of it, but it was a gift to my wife, so you know. The things we do, hey?

That's all for now. Keep sticking it to The Man. Thanks for stopping by.

Hasala malakim.

Spike Another Carpenter Day (September 30th - October 4th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

I'm at home today (it's Friday, in case I don't finish this until tomorrow) looking after a swollen Miss 7 who appears to have either the mums or an infection in her lymph node on one side of her face. I'v used the time while she watches Mr Maker and before I have to make her lunch to get this list happening. And here it is. 

Besides the second disc of Bootleg Series 10 to finish it up, I've just been hipped to the new Arctic Monkeys album through @sunky's Song of the Week. In other new releases, I've got the latest from Mazzy Star, Haim and also Yuck. I am giving Beezwax a long overdue spin, plus selecting the Golden Era Mixtape from 2011 which is great but I haven't heard in full since release. Also in overdue listens, Elvis Costello's excellent Spike (a choice inspired by enjoying latest collaboration with The Roots on my list last week) and Counting Crows' second album which came out far too long after their brilliant first. Lastly, from the early 90s, I have the Carpenter tribute featuring great bands like Sonic Youth, Shonen Knife and Babes In Toyland doing Carpenters covers.

Check it out:

• Arctic Monkeys - AM
• Bob Dylan - Another Self Portrait (Bootleg Series 10) (Disc 2)
• Bias B - Beezwax
• Elvis Costello - Spike
• Mazzy Star - Seasons Of Your Day
• Haim - Days Are Gone
• Counting Crows - Recovering the Satellites
• VA - If I Were A Carpenter
• Yuck - Glow And Behold
• VA - Golden Era Mixtape 2011

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Bob Dylan
2. Brother Ali
3. Talking Heads
4. (Please) Don't Blame Mexico
5. Van Halen

Song of the Week : Elvis Costello & The Roots - Wake Me Up

My SOTW comes from the unlikely pairing of Elvis Costello and The Roots. Who'd have ever thought that the jazzy nerd songs of Mr Costello would make such sweet sweet love to the groovy hip hop musicianship of Questlove and co. But it really does. 

I chose Wake Me Up because it's a track that is equal parts a standard EC song (with complex lyrics, historical references and Costello's iconic voice) and the solid funk soul groove of The Roots. I like the horn blasts and the little key riffs that punctuate Elvis' constant low jazz vocal babble and I dig that there's a clanging consistent guitar riff throughout that calls to mind an old train (and the words 'iron frame' are used in the lyrics, like it's deliberate). 


There's a lot to like about this coupling, not the least of which is renewed creative energy from Elvis Costello. The Roots have been the go to backing band for every two bit soul or r&b singer for years now, but this is the first time I've heard them play for an old fogey like EC. And I like what I hear.

Αντίο

Well the big game is tomorrow; Hawthorn vs Fremantle in the 2013 AFL Grand Final. I'm not really supporting either team, because they're not the Eagles. On the other hand, there are good reasons for either team to win. The Hawks have been the best team all year, our family has an association with Lance Franklin that goes back a ways, plus if they win Clarkson may be more likely to leave for West Coast. As for Fremantle, Pavlich definitely deserves reward for years of staunch loyalty to the purple freaks, Ross Lyon deserves a flag for taking those same freaks from rabble to riot in 2 years and I am a Fremantle (the city) person to the core. So whoever wins, I'll be happy, but most of all I'll be glad it's over and the Eagles can start interviewing for coaches.

It's a long weekend this week for the Queen's birthday (in WA) so if you're doing anything nice, have a great time and play safe. 

Go Hawmantle. Hasala malakim.

Another Wise Street Club (September 23rd - 27th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Almost didn't make this list today because it's been non stop since this morning. A doctor's visit followed by shopping and swimming lessons and then more shopping. It's about 5 minutes to beer o'clock right now and I'm just getting down to it.

First cab off the rank next week is the excellent new collaboration between Elvis Costello and The Roots. Another great album I've already streamed is the first disc of Bob Dylan's sort of 'apology' for Self Portrait in Bootleg Series 10. Believe it or not, I haven't heard Led Zeppelin Presence in 25 years.s, so that's here. Also here is the soundtrack to the brilliant Beavis and Butthead Do America, plus *more* Van Halen because who can get enough?! From a few years back now, I've got (Please) Don't Blame Mexico and from even further back, the greatest Talking Heads album ever. Finally, in Hip Hop's corner, there's Nas' 'comeback' album, Stillmatic and the all-important Street Sounds Hip Hop compilation - this one, volume 18 is from a couple of years after I found rap; 16 and 17 were my jam.

Check it out:

• Elvis Costello & The Roots - Wise Up Ghost
• Bob Dylan - Another Self Portrait (Bootleg Series 10) (Disc 1)
• Led Zeppelin - Presence
• VA - Beavis and Butthead Do America OST
• (Please) Don't Blame Mexico - Concorde
• Van Halen - OU812
• VA - Street Sounds Hip Hop 18
• Talking Heads - Remain In Light
• Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club
• Nas - Stillmatic

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Motörhead
2. D12
3. Real Estate
4. Things Of Stone and Wood
5. Body/Head

Song of the Week : Sebadoh - Beat

I've picked a track from the new Sebadoh album for this week’s SOTW. Sebadoh you probably know is Dinosaur Jr bassist Lou Barlow’s band. The album Defend Yr Self is an enjoyable listen, even if it doesn't really do anything new for music. That is probably what I’m enjoying about it though – the nostalgia of that grimy 90s fuzz sound that Dinosaur Jr do so well. 

The song I picked is Beat, because a) it’s fuzzy and grimey and I dig it and b) it’s one of the only ones with a YouTube clip and I want to embed one on my blog. It’s a bit sloppy and stuttered and it feels like a busted cassette copy at times, but that’s what gives it a nicely authentic grunge sound. It’s also heavy on the bass levels and that’s what happens when the bass player is in charge I guess. 

Toodle Oooo

Look, there is a lot of purple in my neighborhood right now, so obviously something is going on with the mob down the road. Not for me to say, but apparently they have been a well-disciplined football side all year and they probably deserve a grand final berth. 

Damn if that didn't hurt like hell.

Hasala malakim.

Yep Bowie Surreal Indeed (March 11th - 15th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Have you voted Western Australians? I was seriously contemplating not going to the polling booth and just paying the whopping $20 fine because a) I'm disillusioned with the state of State politics and b) don't nobody got time for that! But I did go; and thanks to the new "voting card" I was straight in and straight out. I actually didn't know too much about the independent candidates, but as I always do, I started with Family First last and worked my way to the top. 

Music-wise there's a whole stack of new stuff this week. First of all I have two free samplers from Yep Roc and Paste (their SXSW sampler). The other new albums come from diverse corners - there's folky hipster Josh Rouse; dead set legend David Bowie with a brand new classic; alt country heroes Son Volt and Thurston Moore's new band Chelsea Light Moving. For some hip hop I grabbed the John Legend and The Roots LP I haven't heard since I loved it in 2010 and an old favourite from Surreal & the Sound Providers. The Lemonheads get a guernsey and finally, so does Kathleen Edwards; both with favourites of mine. 

Check it out:

• VA - Explore Yep Roc Records
• Josh Rouse - The Happiness Waltz
• David Bowie - The Next Day
• Chelsea Light Moving - Chelsea Light Moving
• The Lemonheads - Car Button Cloth
• Kathleen Edwards - Back To Me
• Surreal & The Sound Providers - True Indeed
• John Legend and The Roots - Wake Up!
• Son Volt - Honky Tonk
  
• VA - HGTV/Paste SXSW 2013 Sampler

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Steve Miller Band
2. Bilal
3. The Pretenders
4. Ben Folds
5. Lou Reed

Song of the Week : Cold Chisel - Flame Trees

For my song of the week, my apologies that is so far out of left field, but it’s a track that only occurred to me on the way in this morning. 

The smart playlist I've made for the journey in picked Sara Blasko covering Flame Trees. Listening to it, I couldn't stop myself from hearing Chisel's original in my head. It made me realise that Flame Trees is a truly great song. I mean it. Really, really great. I think we disrespect it a lot for the bogan and ocker culture that has built up around it, but it is tremendous songwriting and probably the greatest vocal performance Barnes ever put down on tape. 

The suburban melodrama of the old home town pub and the footy mates and their reminiscing; plugged together with the domestic tragedy of a broken marriage puts the lyrics in the realm of workaday poetry. The grief in the song is given an extra injection of poignancy because it was Chisel's last mainstream hit (before the 'comeback' in the 90s). You take a part of the natural landscape, the flame tree, and you give that song a place; the feel of the open bush road and you make it uniquely small town Australia. The impassioned pleading in Jimmy’s vocal is not far off of Soul music and then he pushes it all aside with the broken down line of “who needs that sentimental bullshit, anyway?” 

As a nation, in general, Australia loves this song; and like a lot of the things we love collectively, we infuse it with a little bit of embarrassment and self-deprecation. Cultural cringe if you will. Not me. Not anymore. I've promised myself I will chase down the Tab for this on the weekend and give it a bash. I hope that my neighbours hear me and start swaying with their lighters in the air.

Cheerio

So, that's it, that's all, that's all there is. Have a cracking weekend and if you're a Perthie, may your guy win the election. Unless it's not my guy. Then, to hell with your guy. 

Hasala malakim.

Playlist : December 12th - 16th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Not a great deal to report this week. Still wishing I was on holiday down south with the wife. I could easily have stayed there, bought the record store and started a new life on the beach away from the city. But then there were tourists to consider. They ruin everything. I should know, being one and all.

This week's list features the next installment of the Tracks box, another set from The Deep Dark Woods, The Roots' fantastic new album, some old favourites and two compilations - including Australian Hip Hop Supports Canteen, MC Hunter's final project before he left us. RIP brother.

Check it out:

• Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• Bruce Springsteen - Tracks (Disc Three)
• I Heart Sharks - Summer
• Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
• The Roots - Undun
• VA - Australian Hip Hop Supports Canteen
• VA - The Best of American Songwriter Sessions
• The Decemberists - Her Majesty - The Decemberists
• Aerosmith - The Essential Aerosmith
• The Deep Dark Woods - Place I Left Behind

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. New York Dolls
2. Honeyhoney
3. Bruce Springsteen
4. The Black Keys
5. Terra Firma

Song of the Week : The Roots - Undun

On the music, I feel I ripped off The Roots last week (as good as that HH track is), because all I really listened to was Undun. I finally found a track I could send you and this is it.

What I like about The Roots in general is their musical ability and their melodic hooks. As you probably know, they are the house band on Jimmy Fallon’s show. That musicality shows through on things like the ridiculously juicy bass rolls in this track Make My. Then you have a vocal crooning chorus that goes with the deep smooth bass of the verse rap.

This album is thematic and it all holds together nicely as an expression of both inner-city violence for subject matter and a blueprint of more melodic, mature and important hip hop music. I don’t know how much you guys hear of people like Drake or Odd Future, but there’s no substance to it all and it sounds plastic and manufactured to go with the misogyny and homophobia. The Roots is how it should be done.

Ciao Bambinos

Tah tah for now kids. Have a terrific weekend and remember not to get hung up; be cool.

Hasala malakim.

Playlist : November 28th - December 2nd, 2011

Hello and welcome to the Work Tunes that almost never was.

I recently had to let go of my 160Gb iPod Classic after a few good years of service. It actually still works, but it wouldn't connect to iTunes, so it made playlists a very hard thing to make during my lunch breaks as I'm used to. I'vbe got a new one now and I'm beginning the arduous task of filling it up again. But I have a list now, even though it was a little rushed.

Classic albums and artists are over represented, probably because they're the best thing to reach for when you don't know what you want. Luckily Spin came through with the December issue so I have some brand new tunes too. Thanks to a viewing of Rock The Bells, I grabbed Wu-Tang's classic 36 Chambers. I threw in some Iggy Pop to go with my recent obsession with Velvet Underground. I got so excited about the new The Roots LP coming soon that I hooked up an old one and that's about it.

Check it out:

• Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers
• Bruce Springsteen - Tracks (Disc One)
• The Rolling Stones - Some Girls
• Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series 6 : Concert at Philharmonic Hall
• Melissa Etheridge - Breakdown
• Pixies - Surfer Rosa
• Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
• James Brown - Live at the Apollo
• The Roots - The Tipping Point
• VA - Spin Magazine December

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Mr Bungle
   
2. The Doors
3. KRS One & Marley Marl
4. Kathleen Edwards
5. The Deep Dark Woods

Song of the Week : Bob Dylan - I'll Keep It With Mine

Musically speaking, there has been a strangely coincidental Velvet Underground theme following me around. I happen to have chosen Beck's Record Club tribute to the Velvet Underground & Nico album for this week's list, but more than that I watched a doco on Sunday about Lillian Roxon who photographed and wrote about VU and also Bowie and Iggy Pop in the early days at Max's. I've also seen a bunch of people bagging out the Lou Reed / Metallica collaboration (and so I won't listen to it and sully my high opinion of Lou Reed). This all lead me to listening to lots of VU and checking out Nico's solo album Chelsea Girl on Songl. On it, she covers Bob Dylan - I'll Keep It With Mine.

There are only two versions of Dylan's original that I have heard. One is solo piano and it's called Bank Account Blues. The other is with a band on the Bootleg Series. Hearing Nico sing it in a slow droning monotone, reminded me how good Bob's Bootleg version was. It's a pretty catchy pop melody without the throw away lyrics. What's most enjoyable about this version though is that Dylan is playing it with the band during the Blonde On Blonde sessions for the first time. They haven't rehearsed it, they're throwing together the backing as they play. You hear the producer reassure Al Kooper on the organ to play what he was playing earlier and then Al starts up. Bob at the end of a verse asks the band, "Right?"

I find it a fascinating insight into how great songs are recorded. It's also frustrating that the song wasn't ever recorded properly. There are far too many songs that have been thrown away by great musicians that never made their own releases. I'm thinking about Springsteen never doing Because The Night, Paul Kelly giving Cake and the Candle to Kate Ceberano and Nico strangling the life out of this song.

This YouTube video is not the version from Bootleg Series Vol. 2, but it is an instrumental version with footage from Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas. But the song title link is the real deal. Enjoy!

Ya'll Come Back Now

To my American friends, I hope your Thanksgiving and Black Friday were exceptional. To those of here in Perth, how about this heat hey? To everybody else, thanks for stopping by.

Hasala malakim.

Playlist : Top 10 Albums of 2010

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

This week, I have chosen my Top 10 of 2010. This list is not necessarily of the 10 best albums released all year, it's just my personal favourites released all year. I also have to stress, this is not in any kind of preferential order. If I had to pick the best album of 2010 from a personal point of view, I'd say Wake Up! is it.

On top of the list, I've made a mixtape of one track from each of the albums. You'll find a link at the bottom of the post.

This year for me has been a good year for discovering new artists, thanks largely to NPR and KCRW and their excellent album preview features. A few of these new artists made it to the list. And here it is:

• The Weepies - Be My Thrill : Two years on from the album that got them some well deserved mainstream attention, Hideaway, The Weepies released something a little less weepy and a lot more cheery. While Be My Thrill contains a few sad, sweet tunes, the title track and the catchy I Was Made for Sunny Days are a large slice of sunshine. ****

• John Legend & the Roots - Wake Up! : When I heard Compared To What from this set for the first time, my jaw dropped. I was stunned that so much old-fashioned funk and soul was coming off a track from an album released in 2010. The other tracks on Wake Up! are in the same mold. This is probably my album of the year. *****

• Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Lonely Avenue : I must admit I've never read a Nick Hornby novel, but I have seen the excellent film adaptions of High Fidelity and About A Boy. It's obvious that Hornby writes good everyday type people well. Combined with Ben Folds' uniquely suburban heart and pop sensibilities, this colaborative effort makes for good listening. ****

• Best Coast - Crazy For You : Released in July, which is Winter in the Southern Hemisphere where I am, this album sounds exactly like Summer. You can almost smell the coconut oil and the sea breeze mixed with the smoke from the late night bonfire at the beach party where romances are born and hearts are broken. This is joyfully rowdy pop music for the Sun. ****

• Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs - God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise : The fourth album from raspy-voiced country/folk songwriter Ray LaMontagne was the very first one I heard. The bluesy, sweet melody of New York City's Killing me had me instantly sold on LaMontagne's style; and the rest of old-time roots record does not disappoint. ****

• Aloe Blacc - Good Things : It was I Need a Dollar that made me want this album. Like Compared To What on the John Legend and the Rootrs LP, Dollar stunned me with true 60s/70s soul and the groove behind it that really makes it bounce. 2010 saw soul music fans like me given a little taste of what was still possible with the genre. ****

• Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues : Another artist who has been around for some time whom I only discovered this year. Harlem River Blues is a collection of tunes that lend a little from everywhere; including rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, alt-country, blues and rock. It's a well-rounded album with the standout title track, One More Night in Brooklyn and the heartbroken Rogers Park. *****

• The National - High Violet : For me at least, and for a good number of music publications, 2010 was The National's year. The massive success of 2008's Boxer and a busy touring schedule meant High Violet was much anticipated. Things got even more hyped with the release of a new The National track on the $1m raising charity compilation Dark Was the Night. Something of a hit single relatively speaking, Bloodbuzz Ohio ensured High Violet got to #3 on the US charts where Boxer had peaked at #68. *****

• Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here : Released early February of this year, I'm New Here ended a 13 year absence of new material from the man some would call a proto-rapper. This is an album about redemption, about finding a way through a new and not always welcoming world. After a long life of drug problems, incarceration and hard living, Heron seems to be contemplating what lies ahead and how it all ends. Here is music from the very soul of a man with a lot of soul. *****

• She & Him - Volume Two : The very digable Zooey Deschanaul and indie songwriter M.Ward released a collection of simple pop that sounded like the 50s run through a Doris Day film filter in 2009. That was Volume One and this is Volume Two, which is more of the same. Deschanaul wrote the lyrics and her voice is well suited to the pop from another age. There were stronger tracks on Volume One, but this is by no means inferior. ****

So those are my very favourite albums from this year. Please, feel free to comment this post and tell me where you think I got it right and where you disagree totally. I'd love suggestions for better albums to listen to that I haven't caught yet.

In the meantime, here is the mixtape I promised you, made up of a track each from my Top 10. You can get hold of it here. Tracklist is as follows:

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here

John Legend & the Roots - Compared To What

Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio

Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Claire's Ninth

Best Coast - Bratty B

The Weepies - Be My Thrill

Justin Townes Earle - One More Night In Brooklyn

She & Him - Thieves

Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs - New York City's Killing Me

That's it for this week. I'm officially on holidays from Christmas Eve, so no Work Tunes for the next fortnight. You may find a review or two over at Make Films Not Movies.

Take care and have an outstanding break, you crazy cats. Peace man, right on.

Playlist : October 25 - 29, 2010

A new artist (for me), some old favourites and a couple of classics make up this week's list. It's probably just a tad funkier than usual with the compilation and some roots rap on board.

Here's what will be playing in my ears;

• A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders : A little bit of Native Tongues always goes down a treat. A friend told me she'd been hearing a bit of rap lately and it was full of the F and N words. Groups like Tribe and De La Soul were always and still are against that sort of garbage. Long live true Hip Hop.

• The Roots - Phrenology : More positivity to go with Tribe. It was great to hear The Roots as a full on Funk and Soul band on the recent John Legend collaboration. I'm going back to The Roots (haw haw) to keep up my fix, otherwise I'd just keep playing Wake Up! (the Legend collaboration) over and over.

• VA - 70s Funk n Soul Classics : A really great compilation which dishes up exactly what it promises - classics from the 70s. Some of the best tracks include The O'Jays - Love Train; Curtis Mayfield - Superfly; Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie and The Staple Singers - Respect Yourself. Get yo funk on.

• Something For Kate - The Official Fiction : It's been quite some time since I heard this album. It was the first I had heard of SFK. It's a solid set with stand outs like Deja Vu and Light at the End of the Tunnel. They probably should have done an Australian Classic Albums doco on it. I think it's in that lofty company, anyway.

• Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Jacksonville City Nights : I've decided to play each of 2005's Radams releases. Last week I played the brilliant double that kicked off the year in Cold Roses. JCN is a lot more traditional country than Cold Roses. It's got a lot of pedal steel and it sounds more like a drunken moan in some bar.

• S.O.U.L. - Can You Feel It : With the rise of new Soul this year, I have been wanting to relisten to all the old stuff I have. SOUL are a sort of jazzy half instrumental collective heavy on the flute and the sprawling solos with some honey smooth vocals and a bit of politics for good measure.

• Paul Kelly - Live May 1992 : PK is the man. Since I'm not going to see him when he plays here soon, I'm going to listen to and enjoy this double LP live set from 92. This is the album I used to get my wife into Paul Kelly. We played it at our wedding. It came with a VHS of the concert that I still have somewhere at home. I really enjoy it, every listen. If you're Australian and you haven't heard it, be like Molly and 'do yourself a favour'.

• Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde : As the final chapter in the holy trinity, I had to give Blonde a spin this week. Last week's Highway 61 Revisited was a blast. Blonde features what I consider one of the best, lyrically, songs ever in Visions of Johanna, as well as the tracks everybody knows Just Like a Woman and Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 53 (even if a lot of people call it Everybody Must get Stoned after the refrain).

• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call : This album was a last minute inclusion on this list because a clever twitter friend (*waves fondly at @a_musedly) quoted (Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For? this morning - reminding me of one of the main reasons this is my favourite Nick Cave release.

• Fyfe Dangerfield - Fly Yellow Moon : The first I had heard of Fyfe Dangerfield was this week when I came across the Billy Joel cover (Always a Woman). I quite liked that, so I went looking for the album. The cover is not on this set, but it's all I could find. Fairly dreamy indie pop.

I hope something there turns you on to a new musical journey. As always, be excellent to each other and remember the words of Edward Furlong's Danny in American History X : "Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time."

Peace man, right on.