Song of the Week #267

Well the radio shift that AB and I did from 11pm until 6:30am at the Scott 24hr mountain bike race was a success. I must admit that I didn't feel tired at all until after I'd dropped AB home. At that point I was suddenly shattered! Our mission at the race was to keep the riders waiting around in transition entertained and awake. AB did a heap of interviews and kept people informed whilst I reveled in the fact that the airwaves were mine! To tell the truth, we chose music that was pretty mainstream and designed to keep energy levels up. You can check out the playlist here if you're interested. We were very lucky to have the support of Sound Guru Tim who runs all the audio for this and many other races (as well as being a professional acoustic engineer) looking after us. He makes a great short black coffee. AB left the song selection pretty much up to me but here's one of his inspired choices - perfect for keeping the beat going in the middle of the night!

Big & Rich - Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) (2004)- http://youtu.be/HflDc7PUT2g

New releases that I spotted at the record shop are the new Pearl Jam album and the deluxe edition of Nirvana's"In-Utero". I haven't purchased either yet. I'm going to wait and see if there is a special edition of the Pearl Jam album or if the vinyl is a reasonable price. As for Nirvana; that's one I'll look online for as $190 is a lot of money.

Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box (1993) - http://youtu.be/UThKn_TmfmM

Vintage Trouble are a band I keep coming back to. Whilst they are still relatively new and only have one album they seem to tour non-stop and more and more quality footage of them performing is becoming available. I first saw them play this next song on a video take by someone on a phone in the audience. Thankfully someone has recorded it professionally. This is almost as good as the Ike and Tina version. If you need a toe-tapping good time then Vintage Trouble should be on your playlist.

Vintage Trouble - Baby Get It On (live) (2013) - http://youtu.be/eipXthVqu_4

With our internet connection we get a few "free" channels including one that plays non-stop music. Every now and then BPM actually plays something worth listening to as well and this next track came up on Thursday evening. Michael Kiwanuka is an English musician and I hadn't heard of him until this week. The track that played on the TV was laid back, full of soul and the clip had a cool washed out vibe. I'll take some time over the next few weeks to check out his two EPS and his 2012 album. See what you think...

Michael Kiwanuka - I'll Get Along (2012)- http://youtu.be/rEA5lCcga-s

I also saw a Lady Gaga video on that station. I don't ever need to see another one. The only interesting thing about it was the appearance of one of the actors from the TV series "The Walking Dead". Call me an old grump if you like but the melody, lyrics and delivery did nothing at all for me. Then again, I doubt sincerely that I'm in the target audience.

Rolling Stone descirbes the next band as, "raucous, whip-smart noise rock". Whatever that means it made me take a second look. I'm not at all sure that RS is right but the music is kinda cool and for a duo they do make a big racket. Interesting...I like the old school drum machine sounds...

Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals (2013) - http://youtu.be/Cr-ahiFDkts

Gov't Mule have a new album called "Shout!" and it's out now. You get a disc of new tunes and then a second featuring Elvis Costello, Dr John, Ben Harper, Ty Taylor, Steve Winwood and others. The Mule are a band for listeners who enjoy Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Led Zep, ZZ Top and pretty much any good blues based rock. They are a great band, buy their albums and then go to muletracks.com and you can download tons of their live shows. There are many fine tracks on the two CDs but I chose this one because they had Elvis Costello singing - awesome!

Gov't Mule with Elvis Costello - Funny Little Tragedy (2013) - http://youtu.be/Dt0Sb8YVO3U

You can listen to the original of the above track here if you like.

In sad news this week, Phillip Ryan from The Pogues has died aged 56. Cancer. He's reported to have said to the Irish Daily Mail, "I am a gay, Irish, Catholic, alcoholic Pogue who is about to die from cancer — and don’t think I don’t know it". He was in The Pogues in time to record their second album, "Rum, Sodomy & the Lash" which is an absolute classic. As well as guitar he played banjo and mandolin and wrote a number of tracks too. This might be the best known one - from the 1988 album, "If I Should Fall From Grace With God", an album I bought on cassette for my Dad. I remember him putting it on in the car and not really knowing what to say. It grew on both of us!

The Pogues - Thousands Are Sailing (1988) - http://youtu.be/gc1G7aCpSsI

Top 40 hits aren't really my bag these days but this next artist is a bit hard to ignore. A 16 year old from the bottom of the world who is the first New Zealand solo artist to have  a US #1. Not bad. Here's a live track to prove that she can actually sing...keep an eye on her folks.

Lorde - Ribs (2013) - http://youtu.be/ZIY_grAFikA

To finish up, a couple of songs for my very good friend DJ NotSoFatRollins. It's his birthday today and I hope he has a great time with his girls DJ Duck and DJ Duckling! First up, Nine Inch Nails. I know that he's psyched that they are touring down here with Queens of the Stone Age. This has to be one of the ultimate protest songs...

Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole (1990) - http://youtu.be/ao-Sahfy7Hg

And then this one that I know is one of DJ NotSoFatRollins' faves...

Rainbow - Since You've Been Gone (1979) - http://youtu.be/DVlweGKZEqw

That'll do. Happy Birthday Laff and have a great weekend everyone else. Tune in next week for a return to Desert Island Discs, a review of Angus' new Google Nexus 7 tablet and tales from my return to the commuter Olympics!

DJ Rob