Song of the Week #354

Coming up in episode #354...old tunes, new tunes, loud tunes, louder tunes, guitars and maybe a few political comments. Strap yourselves in.

Spotify link for all but one of the following songs: https://play.spotify.com/user/1233409237/playlist/0l9QXV7JNxdSeWJdDFZX8Y

Last week was grey, wet and a real downer. This week it seems as though normal programming resumed with blue skies, freezing mornings and smiles all round! As a result the madness of the 1000km per month cycling continues to be on track. That's assuming that I can ride about 30km before Tuesday and I can't see that being a problem! In reality I can make a start towards being back in "surplus" the way I was prior to my Vanuatu adventure.

Seasick Steve - Keep On Keepin' On (live) - https://youtu.be/RAHmEWim3to

You have to love Air Vanuatu. They changed Zoë's flights home (there are three sequential flights to get from Pentecost to Australia). Not only did they just email her (how very useful, lucky Alison is monitoring her inbox) some changes, but the changes had the second and third connecting flights BEFORE the first one. There was every chance that she would've turned up at the airfield on the wrong day. That's a big problem when it's a rather long hike or an expensive truck ride. It's fixed now but really you have to wonder what level of thought went into the changes.

Canned Heat - On The Road Again - https://youtu.be/qRKNw477onU

As a result of my friendship with DJ TeeCeehe introduced me to American punk band The Dollyrots. I've played some of their track before here and if you like band like The Ramones, The Runaways or Good Charlotte then cue up some Dollyrots sonic mayhem! But last week DJ TeeCee and his prodigiously talented musical son were on tour with the band who were in turn out supporting Bowling for Soup. Like most people I know BFS from the song "1985" which is fantastic. As a result of seeing some tour photos and reading StalkerBook updates I headed to the Internets and tried out a whole swag of Bowling for Soup tunes. You should too; they are awesome! Here's a couple to whet your punk rock whistles!

Bowling for Soup - High School Never Ends - https://youtu.be/jrxI_euTX4A

Bowling for Soup - The Bitch Song - https://youtu.be/zwsIoZt6vGU

Bowling for Soup - 1985 - https://youtu.be/K38xNqZvBJI

DJ Ducky pointed out that there is a huge David Bowie exhibition on in Melbourne at the moment. It's not going to any other Australian cities so fans will need to save their pennies to get there. It's on until the start of November and looks well worth the effort. Details here: https://www.acmi.net.au/exhibitions/bowie/

David Bowie - I'm Afraid of Americans - https://youtu.be/DlwAkiBAotM

Little May are described as a "Sydney Folk Trio". I'm really not sure about the folk moniker but there are three of them and they are from Sydney. It's more dreamy indie pop than the channeling of Dylan or Guthrie but it's still worth a listen. Here's a song released just over a week ago from them. If you like bands like First Aid Kit or The Clouds then this might be your kind of tune...

Little May - Home - https://youtu.be/mCshZQnotb8

If you thought that was OK but you want a bit more of a beat then maybe The Mynabirds will be of interest. This one came out on Thursday and I like the vocal delivery which is still in the out of breath girly style but with a bit more power and depth. The lyrics are inspired by Kerouac I'm told. I haven't managed to finish "On The Road" at this stage so I'll take a real reviewers word for that. There's a good bass line that burbles and thumps along in places. I might be tempted to buy their album when it is released. Dreamy.

The Mynabirds - Wildfire - https://youtu.be/R5BuvQXARTU

I was going to write about flags, guns, marriage equality and the truth in this episode. But without wanting to take away from the importance of many current issues I think you can read about them elsewhere. What I say about the madness of worrying about flags, the lack of resources to enforce gun laws or the marriage equality debate isn't going to change anyone's mind. As for the truth, it seems to be a concept that our politicians are far too free and easy with. 

The Wallflowers - Lawyers, Guns and Money (Warren Zevon tribute) - https://youtu.be/LzlYpaFMO84

Somehow during the week I stumbled across a 2011 album by the Scorpions. Half of it is re-recordings of some of their classics and the other half contains covers. It's no secret that I enjoy a good cover version and these are pretty good. Scorpions have always been a good band who play well and have fantastic vocals. The album is called "Comeblack" and if you like melodic rock then fire up your internet connection and listen somewhere. They sound great for a band that have been kicking around since 1965...

Scorpions - Children of the Revolution - https://youtu.be/eV2YytfbYUg

Just a quick note for you guitar lovers out there. Yesterday I took delivery of a "Lil' Big Boost" pedal from John Kave Audio who are from Melbourne. John makes high quality hand made pedals and they are simply amazing. This one does one thing...it makes your guitar louder for playing solos. DJ Chief asked me to sort out something to boost the level of my solo work and this is the solution. I can't wait to plug in later on today and make a lot of noise! 

Have a great weekend,

Rob

"Get used to my face, I'm rockin' like Ace...", Too Much Rock & Roll, Rollins Band, 2001.