Friday, September 2, 2011

Song of the Week #158

Apologies for the tardiness of this week’s installment. I know how some of you wait impatiently at the computer all day in anticipation!

 

I spent today outside on a beautiful clear and warm Canberra spring day. I was at the ACT Schools Mountain Biking Championships helping out with the school team. We had 4 teams of VERY enthusiastic riders and they did themselves proud. Luckily there were no major mechanical issues for us to deal with and only a couple of scrapes.

 

If you follow the news you might have heard of the “West Memphis Three”. Three formerly young men who were convicted of a heinous crime that it seems as though they didn’t commit. They are out of jail now after an interesting turn of events. They are also the subject of a documentary that is worth watching. The WM3 were supported in their fight to clear their names by a number of famous people including one of my heroes, Henry Rollins. Henry put together a record to raise funds to help the WM3. Here’s a great track from it.

 

Ryan Adams – Nervous Breakdown

 

That’s an old Black Flag song and if you’re interested in the original just click here (language warning folks).

 

Tomorrow Angus’ rugby team plays in the Grand Final. They are unbeaten this season which is a first and also pretty amazing for a team with a swag of new players this season. Fingers crossed for a huge win!

 

Tom Waits has a new album out very soon. And the first song is available to listen to on the internet legally and for free. I really think that there is something in this tune for everyone. Yesterday I must have listened to it 20 or 30 times and it continues to impress. Tom is far from conventional and I’m glad.

 

Tom Waits – Bad As Me

 

Here’s a band that I first heard of yesterday. They are NOT from the UK even though their name might suggest it. The first track I heard was a bit of a combination of Sabbath and Floyd but there’s more to the band than that. This is a pretty neat song and I plan to track down a CD or two. There’s good melody and dynamics in this particular track.

 

Manchester Orchestra – Shake It Out

 

I’m almost finished folks, hang in there. If you haven’t worked out yet that I am a big fan of a good cover version then you haven’t been paying attention! This next one is most unexpected and while it really isn’t my kind of music I’ve had it on repeat for a while now. If you like electronica, swirly guitars, indie pop or maybe Enya this should appeal.

 

Dubstar – St. Swithin’s Day

 

Let me know what you thought of that one. Here’s the original, just click here. I remember seeing the original played live by BB and someone in the front row having to help him with the lyrics, it was priceless!

 

Cool news for me this week was that some friends asked me to do the swim leg of Ironman Melbourne (3.8km) in March next year. I was planning to go down anyway to watch DJ EhBee, MC Cakes and FeltLaw so swimming for around an hour seems like a good idea. I went back to swim training last night. While my mountain biking and running has kept me fit I’ve got a little way to go in the pool!

 

To finish, how about something extremely new? This was recorded only 4 days ago (depending on when you read this and where the international date line is in relation to your location) but it made me sit up and take notice. I heard about it on Twitter this morning. We’ve already had Ryan Adams this week but what the hey, rules are made to be broken.

 

Ryan Adams – Wasted Years

 

Well, I liked it anyway. The original is a bit different and one of my favourites. Try it here if you are feeling adventurous. It’s a cool clip too.

 

Cheers big ears!

 

DJ Rob

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