Leave Magical Elbow Wheels Forever (April 2nd - 6th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Massive couple of weeks coming up, with Mrs coreyj's birthday, followed by Miss 2 becoming Miss 3 and then it's Easter. Not too long after that I will have been married for 10 years! I'm looking forward to spoiling both my wife and the little one with super dope presents (even if I lost one of them for a day...). Nevermind all that now, onto the music.


To get me through what seems like the eleventy billionth short week this year, I've got (I know, can you believe it) Grayson Hugh because Talk It Over came on the radio at Big W and I had forgotten I used to love that song. I have some Elbow; a Beatles remaster; the latest from Margo & the Nuclear So and So's; a B.I.G. album I didn't know existed (yes, I was late to 90s rap. I'm old school, yo!); Lucinda Williams' acclaimed Car Wheels..; more from Jason Isbell; a Soul band I found on bandcamp, The Revelations; Love's highly-rated Forever Changes and a U2 album that I haven't heard in at least 5 years.


Check it out:

• Grayson Hugh - Blind To Reason
• Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
• Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
• U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
• The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
• The Revelations feat. Tre Williams - An Introduction to The Revelations
• Margot & the Nuclear So and So's - Rot Gut Domestic
• Love - Forever Changes

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. Uncle Tupelo
2. Creedence Clearwater Revival
3. Natalie Merchant
4. Hoodoo Gurus
5. MC Shan

Song of the Week : The Shins - Fall of '82

Today's tune is The Shins - Fall of '82. There's no real reason this is my song this week, except that I like the whole of The Shins new record and this track is uptempo, brassy and nostalgic.


For what it's worth, the 'Fall' of '82 was the year I turned 10. Always a big important time in a kid's life. I don't know that this song has captured any part of my tenth year, but there you go. 


Enjoy!

Ciao for Now

That's all folks! Shout out to the mighty West Coast for the start of the AFL season. Go you good things! 




Whatever you do, have fun and be safe.  Hasala malakim.

The Bonus Port of Tigerlily Anthology (March 26th - 30th)

Hello and welcome to Work Tunes.


Big day at the office today, but it's Friday night while I write this and the weekend is here. Hooray! Picnic on Sunday for Miss 2's 3rd birthday and the wife's (redacted) birthday. Miss 5 lost her first tooth and scored $2 from the Tooth Fairy. She said tonight she wants to go to an Op Shop and buy a record. I'm so proud *sniff*. [Edit: It's Saturday now and she actually bought a hardback copy of Little Women. Still very proud!]


Also proud to say I managed to collate another list worth hearing (for me). I've got some Belle & Sebastian because I was late to that party; the gangsta classic from NWA; a Toy Box Scholars set; another Phil Collins classic; Natalie Merchant's criminally underrated Tigerlily thanks to @BZB; Pablo Honey because I recently discovered my copy had gone missing and bought a new one; some early Creedence; the new one from the Shins; a Hoodoo Gurus compilation and finally, the exhaustive and tremendous Uncle Tupelo Anthology.


Check it out:

• Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
• NWA - Straight Outta Compton
• Toy Box Scholars - The Bonus Years
• Phil Collins - Face Value
• Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily
• Radiohead - Pablo Honey
• Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys
• The Shins - Port of Morrow
• Hoodoo Gurus - Gold Watch: 20 Golden Greats
  
• Uncle Tupelo - 89/93 An Anthology

Top Five Artists Last Week

1. George Harrison
2. Ghostface Killah
3. Counting Crows
4. MC Shan
5. Phil Collins

Song of the Week : Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street

Back when Springsteen started releasing albums, there were a lot of comparisons to Dylan. At their very best, Dylan's songs have phenomenal musicianship and brilliant lyrics, while his voice is a mere conduit to carry those words to us. At Bruce's best, the words and the voice are so captivating that the music kind of disappears, no matter how loud or intense it gets.


This song, Racing in the Street, is from start to end like a complete film. A couple of guys race cars that they make for money on the New Jersey streets. One day they meet a girl and one of them settles down with her. Life goes on and racing cars for fun with no responsibilities gives way to day to day grind and the couple loses their freedom and spark. Until one day, at the end of the film, they ride off into the sunset.


I've been watching The Promise which is a doco about the making of the Darkness on the Edge of Town LP. Springsteen himself used cinema analogies to explain all the songs. He said for instance that if the whole album was a film of a romantic couple at a picnic, the song Adam Raised a Cain was a quick cut to a dead body.

It's a long song and it feels like an epic story of love and honour and friendship and class and loss and hope and everything else. It's a large chunk of blue collar New Jersey life peeled open and laid out bare.

Tah Tah

As always, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully something here will inspire you to listen to a record you really enjoy - even if it's not on the list. Be good to each other, don't get hung up, man. Be cool.


Hasala malakim.

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:

• Chairlift - Does You Inspire You
• GZA - Liquid Swords
• MC Shan - Q.B. O.G. : The Best of MC Shan
• George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
• VA - Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack
• INXS - INXS (Remastered)
• Counting Crows - Across A Wire : Live in New York City
• Phil Collins - ...But Seriously
• VA - Austin Power : Spin's Best SXSW Acts 2012
  
• Iggy Pop - Lust For Life

Top Five Artists Last Week

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.

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:

• Pearl Jam - Ten
• Hilltop Hoods - Drinking From the Sun
• Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Not Animal
• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology
• Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger
• The Felice Brothers - Yonder is the Clock
• The Cult - Pure Cult
• Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
• Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames – New Multitudes
  
• Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

Top Five Artists Last Week

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.

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:

• Lambchop - Mr M
• Judas Priest - British Steel
• Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch
• Metallica - The Black Album
• Chasing Summer - Chasing Summer
• Bias B - Been There Done That
• Whiskeytown - Faithless Street
• Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle
• Nirvana - In Utero
• The Smiths - Best ...II

Top Five Artists Last Week

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.

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.

• Wilco - A.M.
• Jamiroquai - Return of the Space Cowboy
• Pink Floyd- Meddle
• VA - Billboard Top 100 Collection 1982
• VA - Mojo Presents The Roots of Hip Hop
• Ramones - Rocket to Russia
• Black Sheep - Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
• Black Sabbath - Vol. 4 
• Palace Brothers - Lost Blues and Other Songs
• Cowboy Junkies - The Caution Horses

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.

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:

• The Cars - The Cars
• Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
• Brother Ali - The Bite Marked Heart EP
• Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell
• VA - Mojo Presents the Roots of Nirvana
• The Militia - That New York Sound
• Bob Dylan - New Morning
• Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material
• Mount Washington - Mount Washington
• The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street

Top Five Artists Last Week

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.