Saturday, March 17, 2012

Seriously Liquid Chairlift Pass (March 19th - 23rd)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Good tidings to you fellow tunesters. It's been another fairly uneventful week with just the one exception - new iPad! Unfortunately, this lovely piece of new technology comes with the bittersweet realistion that it is for a very frightening milestone birthday in June. I won't say what milestone that is, but let's just say my life will begin...


On to the music and let us never speak of birthdays again. To ease my pain and also show my age, I have some Saturday Night Fever; some INXS and some Phil Collins. Having just seen Scorsese's brilliant George Harrison documentary, I've plugged All Things Must Pass in. There's some old school rap from Queensbridge legend MC Shan and some GZA thanks to a workmate. Also from a workmate I have Chairlift. Spin put out a free compilation of SXSW 2012 acts and that's here and it's all rounded off nicely with Iggy Pop.


Check it out:
  1. Hilltop Hoods
  2. Farrar,Johnson,Parker,Yames
  3. The Cult
  4. Bruce Springsteen
  5. Jack's Mannequin

Song of the Week : Television - See No Evil



This week's song is literally the song of my week. It's been following me around every day. It's been stuck in my head. It's popped up on randomised playlists more than once. I even had a dream where someone was busking and singing it! So I figured this song has worked hard to make itself my SOTW and who am I not to reward effort. So, without further ado, congratulations to: Television - See No Evil.


I am sure I've made these guys SOTW before, their debut album Marquee Moon is one of my desert island discs and the vinyl in excellent condition is a white whale for me. At least ten years ahead of its time, the 1977 release is a hybrid of proto-punk and the arty wankery of people like the Velvet Underground. Punks with a brain, basically.


See No Evil is a post-punk song written before punk broke. It has a touch of new wave about it and even elements of 90s indie rock. The line "I understand those destructive urges" has been running through my brain on loop all week. I must be feeling like a riot :) I hope it doesn't make you guys riot.

Laters

Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully you find some new music this week. If you haven't heard Marquee Moon, where this week's song of the week was taken from, check it out. It's one of those albums everyone should hear. 


May your weekend be full of magic. Go Eagles!


Hasala malakim.
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Friday, March 9, 2012

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:

  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.
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Friday, March 2, 2012

Faithless British Lambchop Sirens (March 5th - 9th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Well, I had an incredible time at the Ryan Adams concert. The man himself was in fantastic form, cutting up his stripped-back heartbroken songs with hillarious asides in between and a few insane improvs (about sneezing, about only being popular when playing and about the 'soft as fuck' Mr Cat.). Plus, the company I was keeping was just as hysterical and the crowd was 'diverse'. We had a cameo appearance by Warrant (couple in their 50s, both long white hair) and some guy who kept practicing his Werewolf call. There were a couple of young women who obviously won their tickets from Nova or something, because they never shut up whispering the whole concert.


But enough of all that. It's all about the music. That music this week is a hodge podge of what I feel like listening to. Besides the new one from Lambchop, there's some Jason Isbell that I got after enjoying his opening set for Ryan Adams; Nirvana, Judas Priest and Metallica, thanks again to the BBC; Noisetrade artist Chasing Summer to check out for free; some rap from Bias B and Talib Kweli; Whiskeytown for obvious reasons and The Smiths because the CD came in the mail this week.


Check it out:
  1. Ramones
  2. Palace Brothers
  3. Wilco
  4. Cowboy Junkies
  5. Jamiroquai

Song of the Week : Beck - Already Dead



While browsing @sunky 's latest iPhone album list, I saw Sea Change and it struck me that it would be a great album to listen to at bed time. So that's what I did, but I ended up laying there, headphones in, listening to the whole thing without being asleep.


I don't think I've ever listened so closely to it before. I took in the bass and the strings behind it as well as all the silence. I really love the overall feel of it. There's an atmosphere across the whole album that could be the soundtrack to floating silently in space; it's that quiet and vast. I'm only a casual Beck fan. I like his music and I have a few albums, but I think Sea Change is his masterwork. Without all the smart aleck irony and slacker posing of other albums, it is just a sublimely serious piece of art. ...And now I want the vinyl!


I could have picked any song, but I chose Already Dead because it is a good illustration of the atmosphere of the whole album and because it's short enough to leave a decent size file for download.

Toodle Pip

It's another long weekend this week, for Labour Day. I plan on digging out the lead to my Atari 2600 and maybe writing a review at MFNM. Whatever you do, do it safe and have fun. Thanks for stopping by. See you next time. 


Hasala malakim.
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Friday, February 24, 2012

Sabbath of the Lost Cowboy Horses (Feb 27 - Mar 2)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

This last week or so, I've been re-watching the excellent BBC documentary series Seven Ages of Rock. It's been influencing my choices quite a bit. I could have filled a whole list just with music from the various bands the series looks at. That much classic rock might blow the circuits in my laptop and my headphones, so I'll space it out instead. 

What I've picked this week from the BBCs inspiration is Black Sabbath's Volume 4, Pink Floyd's Meddle and Ramones Rocket to Russia. For a bit of balance, I've got The Palace Brothers, Wilco, Cowboy Junkies and Jamiroquai. For those Hip Hop taste buds, I chose Black Sheep and Mojo's Roots of Hip Hop compilation. Finally, there's a selection of the Billboard 100 from 1982 for a twist of cheese. 

Check it out.

Top Five Artists Last Week
  1. Ryan Adams
  2. The Rolling Stones
  3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  4. Dolorean
  5. KRS-One

Song of the Week : Led Zeppelin - Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You



My SOTW this week is inspired by my drive in this morning and also by the BBC series Seven Ages of Rock that I’ve been re-watching. The most recent episode I had on was We Will Rock You* (*Edit - It's actually We Are The Champions. Different Queen song. I knew I should have checked that.) about stadium acts such as Queen, Dire Straits, KISS and the band who started it all, Led Zeppelin. The doco claimed Led Zep were the first band to tell the promoter, “we’ll take 90% and you can have 10%” which was the reverse of how things used to be. They got away with it because they filled massive spaces and 10% of Led Zep was still huge money. 

I woke up singing the riff from Whole Lotta Love and then, driving in to work, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You comes on random on my iPod. This song is epically constructed, massively overblown and bombastic, hard hitting and wildly screamed and yet more than 40 years later, it’s still brilliant. It still makes you feel the kick drums in your chest and Plant's wail in your brain. It could be released by a band tomorrow and the critics would hail it as the redemption of rock music. Except, they don’t make many like these any more. 

I’d slip you the lossless version, but it’s a huge file. Besides, I’m betting you all have it on a CD somewhere. It’s made me think of buying the 4 LP vinyl Mothership boxset. The actual albums are hard to find on vinyl in good condition for under $100 each. But the box has most of the best tracks for about $100 the lot. 

Crank it up loud and enjoy.

Aloha 
Big weekend for me, with Ryan Adams at the Concert Hall. I saw Grizzly play in 2006 at Metro Fremantle with the Cardinals. This concert though is acoustic and solo. Should be really different to the Cardinals gig which totally rawked \m/

See you next week. Don't forget to take time out to listen to some tunes in your busy schedules. 

Hasala Malakim.
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Friday, February 17, 2012

Playlist : Love is the Electric Bite Marked Exile (Feb 20th - 24th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Happy belated Valentine's Day, cherubs. I was once under the mistaken belief that Valentine's was akin to "Love Day" (as portrayed on The Simpsons #5F09); made up by card and chocolate companies to sell product. Not so, sweet cynics, it did in fact originate in 496 AD in honour of several Christian martyrs named Valentinus. It became about romantic love in the 14th century thanks to Chaucer. Given all this, I'm quite happy to take the day as one particular celebration of not just my love for my wife and soul mate, but the joy of romance itself. So, no cynicism from me - all you need is love.


And music. You need music too. As for me, what I need this week is Exile on Main Street after watching the excellent documentary Stones In Exile; Love Is Hell because I am seeing young Grizzly Adams next weekend; I need The Cars, just 'cause it has been so very long that I almost forgot they existed; Brother Ali's latest EP; The Militia; Bob Dylan's mellow 70s New Morning; the debut self-titled LP from Mount Washington; a true classic with Electric Ladyland; Stiff Little Fingers, inspired again by High Fidelity; and finally a Mojo compilation of music that is supposedly 'the roots' of Nirvana.


Check it out:

  1. Hilltop Hoods
  2. Paul Simon
  3. Tori Amos
  4. The Rolling Stones
  5. Pearl Jam

Song of the Week : The Beta Band - Dry The Rain



The night my wife and Miss 5 spent at PMH, I watched High Fidelity. It’s a great film, simply for its overarching theme of music’s place in everyone’s life. It made me make my wife a mix CD (complete with artwork) of all the songs that used to be “ours” when we were dating and then at our wedding.


I've listened to the soundtrack this week, but I also checked out The Beta Band because of the scene where Cusack plays Dry The Rain and says he’ll now sell 5 copies of Three EPs. I thought “I’d totally have bought one”. Turns out Dry The Rain is the most obvious single off the set. It’s very Beatlesque in a jangly UK pop way, and it starts slow and quirky before kicking into gear with a refrain that has been stuck in my head for days – “I will be alright, I will be alright…”


The most fantastic quote from High Fidelity that sums up how the film makes me feel is from Cusack’s character Rob, who says:
“Books, records, films -- these things matter. Call me shallow but it's the fuckin' truth…”
Amen, brother.


Toodle-oooh

If you're wondering why the crazy title on this week's playlist, it's something I always do at work. I name my playlist based on a few titles. I've been meaning to post my blog entries with the right name for ages, and never got around to it. I'll most likely forget from week to week, but I'll try to keep it up. 


And there we have it. Another week, another playlist. I'll be hard at work next week on a new campaign and looking forward to the Ryan Adams concert on Saturday night. In the meantime, I hope your respective weeks are sensational and you stumble across some music you've never heard that changes your life.


Hasala malakim.
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Friday, February 10, 2012

Playlist : February 13th - 17th, 2012

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


So the bad news is, I didn't get to go to the Hilltop Hoods gig. I had to sell my tickets because my cousin/old mate could barely walk, let alone stand for hours in a mosh pit. These things happen. I'll throw my Parade of the Dead DVD on, turn the lights out and mosh in my lounge instead.


To the music then. This week's list is a little bit all over the place. Don't you judge me! I've got Paul Simon's monumental Graceland; the very latest from KRS One; a bit of Pearl Jam; the soundtrack to High Fidelity, plus Three EPs by The Beta Band featured in that film (I watched it on the weekend); some My Bloody Valentine for obvious reasons; Tori Amos; Beastie Boys; The Smiths and Jason Isbell because he's supporting Ryan Adams in a couple of weeks and I've never heard him.


Check it out:
  1. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
  2. The Doors
  3. Melissa Etheridge
  4. John Coltrane
  5. X

Song of the Week : Hilltop Hoods - City Of Light



I don’t know if you saw my indignant rant, but I recently read an article on how JJJ listeners were bitching about the amount of airplay AUS rap gets. That’s a matter of personal choice and I don’t have any problems with that, but the author of the article tried to say the reason was that AUS rap is no good; that it’s a pale imitation of current US rap. For starters, US rap is a pale imitation of itself these days; and secondly, AUS rap has always been it’s own phenomenon.


The writer seemed to be questioning the authenticity of Australian rappers; as if because they didn’t grow up in Compton doing drive-bys that they don’t know how to rap, or aren’t part of the culture. Why they pay people to write who have no idea of their history is beyond me. Australia, whether people like it or not, has had it’s own Hip Hop culture since the early 80s. What the best AUS rap acts are doing isn’t trying to be American, it’s telling their own stories in their own voices. Kids today seem to think that rappers should be talking about guns and bling and bitches, because they don’t know any better.


So my song (and this is also because I missed the gig) is Hilltop Hoods – City Of Light. I choose it because it’s a telling of their time growing up within Australia’s Hip Hop subculture. These are stories of Australian graffiti writers, Australian fashion trends (I bet Tupac never wore a Country Road parka), Australian open mic gigs. The Hoods helped get me back into rap after my long absence precisely because I was relating more to the lyrics and to the style. I fell off because I didn’t care for gangsta rap and I got back on because this wasn’t gangsta.

Turrah

There goes another list for another week. I'm writing this rather hurriedly at 1:30am on Friday because I've been up making Mrs coreyj a Valentine's Day present. I promise that no macaroni, glitter or PVA glue was used in the construction of said present. Plus, there will be other pleasant, more store-bought, treats.


Be excellent to each other, people. If you have a special someone and you celebrate such commercial constructions, have a happy Valentine's Day. If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with ;).


Arrivederci amanti.
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Friday, February 3, 2012

Playlist : February 6th - 10th, 2012

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Well, I must say, Hugo was spectacular. Scorsese used the 3D tech to bring the characters to life, more so than the action; and to add magical touches like snow in the theatre. If you're a film obsessive like me, you'll love details like seeing the iconic Moon scene from Le voyage dans la lune in 3D and you'll love Scorsese's complete affection for the art of movie-making. But enough Hugo plugging, let's talk about Sets baby. 


The Golden Era Mixtape for 2012 dropped this week, for free, so that's here and you can grab a copy. For the quiet moments during the long week at work, I've got some jazz from Coltrane and the sweet indie pop of the Away We Go soundtrack; more Bonnie 'Prince' Billy; another mixtape, this time from Rhymesayers' I Self Divine; some X, The Doors and Vetiver; as well as Dan Mangan who I only just discovered and The New Pornographers' 2003 effort Mass Romantic.


Check it out:

  1. Public Enemy
  2. Hilltop Hoods
  3. The Felice Brothers
  4. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
  5. James Taylor

Song of the Week : The Felice Brothers - Frankie's Gun!



This week I’ve got a track from The Felice Brothers’ self-titled LP from 2008. Frankie’s Gun! is a dirty country rock song which seems to be about a guy working as a bagman for criminals who is either shot by Frankie or is pretending that he was to justify a missing $30 meant for a girl named Lucille. The song is sung to Lucille explaining how Frankie shot the narrator.


What I love about the track besides its rollicking fun time jig is the rhyming scheme in the lyrics. Some lines almost make me laugh at the rhymes and the way the words get packed in – “My car goes / To Chicago / Every weekend to pick up some cargo” and “I saw a man hit my Mom one time, really / I hurt him so damn bad I had to hide in Jersey”. It’s just a lot of fun with a timeless vibe like it’s about the bootlegging era but could just as easily be about today.


I hope you dig it.

Ciao For Niao

So there you have it. If anything takes your fancy, go and check it out. Drop me a comment if you know anything you think I might want to hear. 


Be good to each other kids; we're all we've got. 


Hasala malakim.
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