Showing posts with label the stooges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the stooges. Show all posts

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Real Silver River Ace (September 16th - 20th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Let's make this quick, shall we? I think I want to play some GTA IV while the kids are in the lounge watching The Little Mermaid for the hundredth time on a squally post swimming Winter's day. 

 There's a bit of noise this week; firstly from Motorhead, then from Kim Gordon's Body/Head project and finally from psychedelic lo-fi rock band Sebadoh. The last two albums are new releases. Also new is The Silver Gymnasium from Okkervil River. For some albums I haven't spun in a while, I have Things of Stone and Wood, Real Estate and Eminem's Encore (picked because the new Eminem album is coming soon). Another rap album added to the list is one of my top 10, Brother Ali's The Undisputed Truth. Last of all, because I've been reading all about their exploits in a Punk history book I have, The Velvet Underground and The Stooges are here. 

 Check it out:
  1. Nine Inch Nails
  2. Van Halen
  3. Dolorean
  4. Belle and Sebastian
  5. Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek

 Song of the Week : The Velvet Underground & Nico - Femme Fatale


This week's song could only have come from one ragtag mix of artists and visionaries - the gang at Warhol's Factory. I'm reading Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk and the seeds of punk music as we know it were sown by The Velvet Underground. I have a smart playlist on my iPod which randomly picks Velvets, Stooges, Bowie, Dylan and Lou Reed songs for a Factory vibe and that's all I've been hearing at night lately.

 Andy Warhol, lovable kook that he was, told the Velvet Underground that they needed a girl singer. Someone that the audience could fall in love with. Someone with an idiosyncratic voice that nobody could forget. He chose Nico. My SOTW is her and the Velvet Underground with Femme Fatale. I have seen footage of her looking gorgeous, but in this clip I don't see it.

 The song itself is one Lou Reed wrote about Edie Sedgwick at Warhol's request. The irony being that Sedgwick was Andy's golden girl until Nico took that muse mantle from her - and to hear the others tell it, Edie just quietly disappeared from the Factory crowd until in 1971 she died of a barbiturate overdose. 

 This is a classic melody and probably should be considered one of 'those' songs - you know, in the univeral lexicon of pop tunes. I've heard it covered a dozen times but you can always tell which is Nico - so I guess Andy got that bit right.


Auf Wiedersehen 

 Whatever you're up to this weekend, I hope the weather where you are is more hospitable than it is in Perth at the minute. If you're a Perthie then yeah, good luck with that. 

 Hasala malakim.
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Saturday, October 6, 2012

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:

  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.
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Playlist : July 25th - 29th, 2011

Holla. How's everybody doing?

Revelation is now in full swing and I had a marathon 4 film day on Sunday. This coming Sunday is the end of the festival and my secret screening. I'm very much looking forward to it.

As it did last week with the reggae cuts, Rev14 has in fact inspired a choice on this week's playlist; namely Pentagram's First Daze Here (the band being the subject of the entertaining Last Days Here).

Along with this rawkus metal offering, I bring you some classic Soul from Earth, Wind & Fire, my favourite Beck album, a remastered version of INXS' impressive debut, the ever-popular O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack and more. Check it out.
  1. R.E.M
  2. Pink Floyd
  3. Brother Ali
  4. Peter Tosh
  5. A.A. Bondy
Song of the Week : Ohio Players - Skin Tight
I was torn between a great cover of a 60s classic and this funky gem from 1974. I may send you the cover later because it’s worth a listen. Last night I cleaned up a 70s record I bought for maybe $2 at an Op Shop and found it had a lot of scuffing across the surface. There was hardly any depth to the grooves, but no real scratches. I put it on anyway, not expecting much quality. From the minute the needle went down, there was a crackle and hiss that wasn’t particularly fun. But then the music kicked in.

Something about 70s funk/soul just seems to sound better when your record has had a life. I wish I could have found the time to rip it straight to mp3, but then I’m not sure it would have accurately captured the feel anyway. So this track from Ohio Players, the title song for the album Skin Tight is a funkeriffic rampage of horns and bass and drums. The sexy 70s vibe is all encompassing. Sit back, relax and get your funk on.

Arrivederci
That's all for now. I'll let you know what the secret screening is next week or over at MFNM when I review it. Be sure to have an outstanding weekend and love the ones you're with. Thanks for stopping by. Asalaam alikum.
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