Saturday, October 19, 2013

Fade a Bronzed Familia (October 21st - 25th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Bit of a late one this week, because the day just got away from me. I've been out with the fam into town at MYRE and the markets, plus the usual Saturday grocery run and then swimming so I'm only just sitting down. Better get into it then hey?

Besides the second disc of the Essential Bill Withers, there's a David Wilcox LP and some LCD Soundsystem. A few new ones make the list this week, with Best Coast's new EP, the soundtrack to a Spanish film from Josh Rouse and the enticingly titled (for me) Jazz Hop from Gas-Lab and Traum Diggs. Also new, kind of, is the 2013 mix of Nirvana's brilliant In Utero. Slotting in nicely with the noise of Nirvana, there's Dom and Sonic Youth. Finally, just a bit of Missy Elliott along for the ride.   

 Check it out:

  1. Ryan Adams
  2. Soul Asylum
  3. Pearl Jam
  4. Devo
  5. LL Cool J
Song of the Week : Wilco - My Darling


When my Brother in Law and Sister in Law had their first child, I made them a video using the footage I’d taken on our hospital visit and this song. At the time, Mrs CoreyJ and I didn't quite have children on the radar. When we did have our first, I used a different song than the one I used for her cousin because I didn't want them to be the same. I've always been bummed about that, because this is such a beautifully simple song and it just says so much with very little. If I’d used something else for my niece, I definitely would have snatched this one up for Miss 7. 

 I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with it. It’s got that rickety honky tonk piano in the intro and throughout. The acoustic guitar strumming beneath is steady and plain, while the drums and the backing vocals are what ramps it up a little. What the lyrics are saying is universal, I think. Go to sleep, I’ll take care of everything, don’t grow up too fast, your parents love you and each other, we’re a family. It’s all so cheesy and yet isn't  because it’s a universal truth.

 I’d really love to hear a remix with just that piano and Tweedy, because it would be a completely different song. I’d still want to have the original to listen to, but I would love to hear a different form. Garage band, get on it!    


Bye
No point waffling on then, I'm already late. I have to go prepare some tapas soon from a bunch of stuff we bought while out and about. I do believe it will go well with a beer and all. 

The best of the weekend to you and yours. Hasala malakim.
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Friday, October 11, 2013

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:
  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.
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Saturday, October 5, 2013

Between Bigger Billboard Freaks (October 7th - 11th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Something amazing happened today. I went grocery shopping and not a single person filled me with murderous rage. Not one. I think the key was spending a little time this morning before shopping at the library. Also, running into an old friend of the family's at Woolworths helped a bit. It's incredible what a difference a good run at the shops can make to your stress levels. I feel relaxed and refreshed. Highly unusual. 

 Speaking of relaxed, this week's list was starting to look a little too crunchy so I threw Janis Ian and We Are Jeneric in to clear the palette  For a serve of bubblegum, there's a Billboard compilation for 1980; plus the classic Huey Lewis and the News album, Sports. Two crunchy albums from, can you believe it, 1987 that I didn't know about previously are from The Lemonheads and Pulp. Also here is the soundtrack to Before Sunrise/Before Sunset which I happily drove all the way back to Guildford to get after leaving it behind two weeks earlier. For more funky and soulful flavours there's LL Cool J and Slackwax. Lastly, for a little more crunch, I'm revisiting Last Splash from The Breeders.

 Check it out:
  1. Bob Dylan
  2. Elvis Costello
  3. Counting Crows
  4. Arctic Monkeys
  5. Mazzy Star
Song of the Week : Yuck - Out Of Time


I was going to give you an Elvis Costello song from Spike, but then remembered he got the gig last week. So I've gone with something new instead. The band is Yuck, a UK outfit that released its self-titled first album in 2011. If you haven’t heard them, they’re kind of Pavement-y and a little grungy. They don’t sound English to me. 

 This song Out Of Time is off their second album released last week, Glow & Behold. It’s best features are the jangling rhythm guitars, the lead guitar which follows the melody of the vocal and the slightly off-key vocals themselves. When it gets noisy is when it calls up the 90s. That grinding fuzz over melodic structure just puts the grunge in the tail.  It’s short and sweet and a bit gloriously sloppy, a really good soundtrack to a Friday in the office. 

До побачення

 The big game last week turned out to be somewhat of a fizzer. While the lesser of two evils won (Hawthorn), the game itself was a mess and neither team really did anything inspiring. Since then though, football news has gone beserk with Lance Franklin leaving for Sydney for massive amounts of spoondoolah and, for Eagles fans at least, the new coach controversy with Adam Simpson chosen over favourite son and leading club goal kicker Peter Sumich. I'm personally happy to have Simpson on board, but do not have fond memories of the last time West Coast poached a Hawthorn person as coach. I'm not even going to say his name, lest it waken the spirits of curses past.

 If you are at all interested in Australian Hip Hop, check out Hunter: For The Record. I chipped in to fund it via Pozible and recently watched my downloaded copy that was a reward for backers. Even if you're not into Hip Hop, actually, it's still a very raw and real look at a man going through the terrible torture of terminal illness. 

 Rest in Power, MC Hunter. Hasala malakim.
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Thursday, September 26, 2013

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:
  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.
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Saturday, September 21, 2013

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:
  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.
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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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Friday, September 6, 2013

The Devil's Loaded Eye (September 9th - 13th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.

Well, as I stated on Twitter; I went. I voted. I sausaged. It is a sad day for Australian politics on the Left, when only The Greens have true left values, Labor are trying hard to be right-wing and everyone else is a greedy or xenophobic conservative. It is clear now that the LNP will govern Australia for the next 3 years; no doubt blaming the ALP for any failings long enough to get a second term. They come to power on a ticket that says Labor is incompetent; conveniently brushing aside the lowest cost of living increase in 25 years, record low unemployment and uninterrupted growth, not to mention superb management through the GFC all thanks to Labor. In the end, in any democracy, you get the government you deserve. So, what can you do. Rant over.

 The music looks like this: I've added the second disc of last week's Alt Country compilation. I am checking out the new Nine Inch Nails and the new Belle and Sebastian. Some old Van Halen gets a gig and so does some even older Velvet Underground. There's Arrested Development's one big album and D12's most successful. I have two EPs from Dolorean squished together to make an album and Tracy Chapman's debut classic. Lastly there's some jazz from Ornette Coleman whose The Shape Of Jazz To Come LP I *almost* bought last weekend. 

 Check it out:

  1. Gillian Welch
  2. Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek
  3. A Tribe Called Quest
  4. Van Halen
  5. The Donnas

 Song of the Week : Bad Company - Feel Like Makin' Love


I've recently developed a healthy obsession with 1970s US muscle cars and the whole big dumb decadent summer vibe that goes with them. For some reason, I associate this song with that same vibe. I must have seen it in a road movie or something, because it's inextricable.  But having searched IMDB I cannot find proof of this association.* 

 It has been stuck in my head for weeks while I've read muscle car mags and watched Death Proof (with Vanishing Point and maybe Cannonball due this weekend). Yesterday at work, listening to it, I could barely stop myself from stomping my feet. In fact, I didn't stop myself at all. I stomped. 

 An air guitar classic for sure, I think the genius of Feel Like Makin' Love is the tiny silence between "feel like makin' " and that tasty guitar riff. It all seems like a harmless wuss rock ballad until that guitar and then it begins to rawk \m/ So I hope you all enjoy a good old fashioned rock out.

 *(Postscript: I just found out it was in the Simpsons episode where the school is snowed in. It plays on the radio and Homer claims to have written it. For Lady Di!).


Vaarwel 

 Lefties, let us bow our heads in solemn (non-secular) prayer that there is some semblance of sanity in the Senate to ensure we can't all get shipped off to toil in Jabba Rinehart's underground salt mines to pay for the tax cuts to the wealthy and fund our own, gutted public services. 

 Hasala malakim.
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