Waiting for Hummingbird Power (February 4th - 8th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

I trust you had an unforgettable long weekend just gone if you're an Australian, or just an amazing regular length one if you're not. Last week at work was again flat stick. I don't think I paid my playlist selections the attention they deserved. I'll try to make up for that this week, even though I'm sure to be even busier again.

What I've got to listen to is disc 2 of Gil Scott-Heron and Freedom, Rhythm and Sound. I have a Dylan masterpiece and a Pearl Jam also-ran, because it's been ages since I heard either. There's new stuff from Jose James and Veronica Falls, as well as old favourites Jenny & Johnny. I've got the Local Natives album everyone's been raving about and up to bat for Hip Hop this week is a Jurassic 5 album and the hotly anticipated (by me) 2013 Golden Era Mixtape. 

Check it out:

• Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Begins (Disc 2)
• VA - Freedom Rhythm & Sound Revolutionary Jazz 1963-82 (Disc 2)
• Veronica Falls - Waiting For Something To Happen
• Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
• Local Natives - Hummingbird
• Jose James - No Beginning, No End
• Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now
• VA - Golden Era Mixtape 2013
• Jurassic 5 - Power In Numbers
• Pearl Jam - No Code

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Tori Amos
2. Gil Scott-Heron
3. Q-Tip
4. Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
5. California X

Song of the Week : Jesse Malin - Brooklyn

This SOTW is hard to choose because I’ve been so overwhelmed with work I have barely heard what I’ve been listening to. What I’ll do is select one of my favourite tracks from an album that just happened to be on my playlist this week; one I know I haven’t used before. 

Jesse Malin is a Ryan Adams produced act and you probably know that. I actually discovered Malin and Ryan about the same time through that Uncut compilation that introduced me to Come Pick me Up. This song was also on there – Brooklyn. It’s about the inner city living of a struggling artist and the tol the city took on his relationship, to the point where she moved from their Manhattan place to the relatively calmer burg of Brookyln.  

The bridge on this song is one of the best things about it. It’s such a stand in line for 20-something artistic/professional ennui 

“I sometimes lie awake until sunrise / Wondering have we become what we despise”

Au Revoir

I'm between outings at the moment, with a spot of shopping this morning and a jaunt to the West Coast Eagles Fan Day on the cards now. My brainwashing program for my daughters is almost complete mwoohahahaha! 

Have fun and stay safe people. Be excellent to each other, always.

Hasala malakim.

Playlist : November 7th - 11th, 2011

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Well the week is over again and guess what your boy did? Only put $20 at 35 to 1 on the horse that came SECOND in the Melbourne Cup by the smallest margin in Cup history. Mugs. Game.

For the next week at work I'll be listening to a mix of old favourites from Josh Rouse, Wilco and Pink Floyd, some new tunes from Deer Tick and Veronica Falls and a few compilations; one being an 80s compilation I recently found on vinyl, another an Achtung Baby tribute and the third a brilliant old skool mixtape from Brooklyn Radio.

Check it out:

• Deer Tick - Divine Providence
• VA - Ahk-Toong Bay-BI Covered
• Josh Rouse - Subtitulo
• Wilco - Being There
• VA - Rocktrip '82
• The Three Sounds - Vibrations
• People Under the Stairs - Highlighter
• Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls
• Pink Floyd - Obscured By Clouds
• VA - Rubradio 1986 Mixtape

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Bob Dylan
   
2. Funkoars
3. Nightmares On Wax
4. Kool & The Gang
5. The Breeders

Song of the Week : Veronica Falls - Bad Feeling

I don’t know anything about Veronica Falls. I don’t know if that’s the solo artist’s name or a band. This song Bad Feeling was on the Spin Magazine playlist for November. You can still pick it up for free with a US iTunes account from http://www.spin.com/itunes What I do know is there is something I like about the track and the sound.

It calls up some early 80s UK post punk in a way, mixed with the indie pop that came later in the 80s. It’s a little bit Smiths, a little bit Joy Division. It’s a swirling wall of reverb and a steady hammered drum beat with female vocals. See what you think.

Farewell

Farewell sounds so final and morbid, doesn't it? I wonder why? At any rate, it's not farewell for good, just for now. I'll be back here next week listing out my listening for the 3 of you who are reading (Hiya!).

Until then, be excellent to each other, don't sweat the small stuff and all the rest of those snappy little clichés that you read and then roll your eyes at. Really, just do what you do with respect for others.

Hasala malakim.