Friday, September 7, 2012

Song of the Week #211

OK folks – you can stop sending me your favourite cover versions now. I still have a heap (like 40) to go through before I can finalise the Song of the Week special episode.

Last night DJ PainterMan and I headed out to one of Canberra’s smallest venues to see a fantastic up and coming band. King Cannons are from New Zealand via Melbourne and played a fantastic show. Their debut album, “The Brightest Light” is essential listening. Imagine that you put The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley and Chuck Berry in a blender…and you’re almost there. The band are really good at interacting with their fans via Facebook and Twitter as well. I’m sure I’ve asked way too many questions but they always answer. We’ve seen them three times now and would go again in a heartbeat.

King Cannons – Too Young - http://youtu.be/rget1LCS-r8

On Tuesday night H and Chief put the band back together and we started working on some tunes for a new gig. I can’t emphasise how lucky I am to be playing with these guys; great musicians and always a good laugh. Here’s one of the tracks we’re working on. A definite Shadows / Ventures / Atlantics vibe shining through. Playing this song means I’ll be in the market for a tremolo pedal to get that surf twang sorted out. Look out eBay! Do you need a special guitar for surf music as well?? J

Midnight Oil – Wedding Cake Island - http://youtu.be/j3FQwovIJw0

Zoe has now had three shifts at the McRestaurant…she seems to enjoy it although she was relieved to work the front counter last night instead of cooking fries! I’m very, very proud of the way that she just got on with getting a job, going to the training and then working. She’s so much more confident than me! In interesting news, Angus has also signed up. He was going to referee some Futsal but when the training and uniform were going to cost him around $200 he baulked – I would have as well.

I am wondering if the injection of a McRestaurant right next to our suburb will have a negative health effect on the residents. It is certainly already having a noticeable effect in terms of rubbish.

Weird Al Yankovic – Fat - http://youtu.be/t2mU6USTBRE

Some of my American friends seem to agree with me that it doesn’t matter who they vote for, they’ll be stuffed (that’s the technical term). It’s looking more and more the same here as well. I guess it would be really easy to disengage from the whole process but that’s no better than sticking your head in the sand. Even if we have to pick the least bad of a bad bunch it’s a choice that needs to be made. Sometimes I wonder how difficult it would be to get into politics but I have the feeling that bureaucracy would be pretty disheartening very quickly.

This next band were one of the support acts last night. They are from England and I’d never heard of them before. I was pretty impressed when in the middle of one of their songs they segued into the guitar solo from a track by The Cult and then back into their own tune. I dunno about wearing your sunglasses at night though, Corey Hart made that old. They are English I guess…maybe it’s a cultural thing! I thought they had a definite Oasis vibe in a good way.

All The Young – Quiet Night In - http://youtu.be/MatR45sRkWE

During the week I heard a band doing quite a good cover of an Adele song. I am not a fan of Adele. So I asked some of the very excited crowd what was so good about her. It seems that her voice is thought of as being strong, soulful and conveying emotion. Maybe. If you want a voice that does that then maybe give this a try…bluesy, folky – great tune, great guitar, great voice.

Gillian Welch – Scarlet Town - http://youtu.be/37u3_659fXk

Bob Dylan has a new album, “Tempest” that you can legally listen to online. He’s got a very similar song called “Scarlet Town”… This is Bob’s 35th studio album!

There is a rumour that DJ Fabio is back in the country after his annual sun-tanning sojourn to Europe. Here’s a track for him.. http://youtu.be/xZzEzDkeHzI

One of Australia’s best bands are from Adelaide. They are called “The Mark of Cain” and they’ve been around for ages. I saw them in Adelaide back in the early 90’s with DJ DJ. They played after silverchair and completely wiped the stage with them. After that I also saw them with DJ FatRollins at the Livid Festival in Brisbane – he became a convert that day. Fans of the band have been patiently waiting for a new album, since 2001. There’s been delay after delay after delay but it looks like we have a November release date. The band released a single a while back and they’ve just put another one out. I seriously wonder if it’s a record company decision to do this – fans of heavy music aren’t really known for buying singles. I’m undecided about the new single so I won’t play it here. However, here’s a cracker of a track from their back catalogue. I’ve just discovered that this is a cover version…wow…it’s a good one too! (minor language warning for this one – censor your own listening)

The Mark of Cain – Degenerate Boy - http://youtu.be/cgm6EYzwxpg

Well, tonight is rather exciting. I’m off with The Chief and some other bods to see RockWiz. If you don’t know the TV show then crawl out from under that rock and have a look on SBS or online. It’s a fun show of music and music trivia. And it’s hosted by one of the women in my top 5 – Julia Zemiro. I’m still embarrassed that when DJ Al-E-HereComesTheSun introduced me to Julia that I was tongue tied. They have some awesome guest on the show and some unexpectedly good duets. Here’s one I really like…

Dan Sultan / Ella Hooper – With A Little Help From My Friends - http://youtu.be/APYto6Mlod0

Here’s a cover version that is excellent but ineligible for the super-duper covers episode. It’s  ineligible because it is on a tribute album.

Country superstar agreed to do this next song but only if KISS would back him. They did and it’s pretty cool.

Garth Brooks – Hard Luck Woman - http://youtu.be/JinITWtW06U (KISS cover)

But I’m in a rock’n’roll mood with the anticipation of tonight’s Rockwiz show…so here’s a great rock tune from the show. One of my absolute favourites:

Chris Cheyney & Chrissy Amphlett – Stray Cat Blues - http://youtu.be/wAC4DRvidmQ

Rock on brothers and sisters,

DJ Rob

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