World Wide Woozle episode #420

I've just looked in my notebook at my list of music to listen to and consider for this week and I've only written two entries. I guess they'll get an airing then! Bear with me as the rest I'm just making up as I go along.

The radio was playing a feature all about the music of the band Queens of the Stone Age yesterday. I've never been a huge fan but what hit me was how many of the tracks I was very familiar with and how good they were. I really must spend some time with their back catalogue. I really liked, and still do, the band Kyuss who became QOTSA. I was lucky enough to see them opening for Metallica in Sydney in March 1993. I guess QOTSA are closer to a traditional rock band than Kyuss who had a very stoner, doom laden sound. Whatever the case, both are very worth considering as a listening project. Josh Homme has been in nearly as many awesome bands as Chris Slade or Dave Grohl!

Kyuss - Green Machine - https://youtu.be/R-MSfd2S7lo

Queens of the Stone Age - Misfit Love (live) - https://youtu.be/hH4Gt467T7E

I've been on the lookout for an octave pedal for my guitar rig for a little while. In essence what it does is add an extra layer of sound, either an octave up, or an octave down, to the sound. Hendrix is probably the most famous user of this effect but there are plenty of other examples. The search is proving interesting with way too many options to choose from and a huge price range to deal with from, "so cheap it must be dodgy", right up to, "goodness gracious, that costs more than all my other pedals combined". I'll find something one day but for now I'm watching and listening to way too many gear demonstrations on YouTube.

I wrote something earlier in the week about one of my favourite bands. Feel free to peruse my ramblings here. Here's a tune from the group in question.

Baby Animals - Early Warning (live) - https://youtu.be/FZKh8XXvTz4

The band is working up to a rather special live show. As a result I had some fun during the week just sitting with some band members and running through a few tunes. It's a good feeling to play tunes that have been absent from our repertoire for a while. And even more fun simply going through them at lounge room level volume. Playing with the dynamics of a song is great and I'm lucky to have talented and understanding co-collaborators. We hadn't played this one for a while and I really enjoyed it...

Jason Isbell - Cover Me Up (live) - https://youtu.be/NaUCDqWzy1k

This is just a cool song that I hadn't heard in a while. It's got something for everyone. Groovy vocals, great bass line, brass and a ripping guitar solo.

Blondie - Rapture - https://youtu.be/6FM9M2_WP8g

Angus was off in Sydney this week seeing a rapper with a funny name and questionable hair (his words, not mine). Rap got really dumb somewhere along the way. It used to be hard hitting and fun all at the same time. These days, much of it is like the reality TV version of the worst thing you can think of ; low rent and lower than the lowest common denominator. Let's remember the really good stuff and hope that more young MCs and rappers do as well.

Run DMC - My Adidas - https://youtu.be/JNua1lFDuDI

Ice-T - I'm Your Pusher - https://youtu.be/_nODi6OECzs

I read this week that there is a TV mini-series coming soon about the life and times of Australian rock legends, The Easybeats. As well as this is a national concert tour that seems to feature most of the same lineup that I saw paying tribute to The Beatles White Album. If you're not familiar with The Easybeats and their place in rock music history then I encourage you to have a listen to the following tracks. You won't be "sorry".

The Easybeats - I'll Make You Happy - https://youtu.be/2YM8qOKUmwA

A couple of weeks ago I played a song by Songhoy Blues, a group from Mali. Imagine my surprise when, at the record store I spotted their album! I couldn't wait to get home and have a listen and I wasn't disappointed. If you think you might fancy an insistent mix of desert reggae, Hendrix style guitars, brass and funk then you need this record. This is definitely one of the musical highlights of 2017 thus far in my opinion.

Songhoy Blues - Bamako - https://youtu.be/xBujXJVBxNU

Look, I understand a musician needing to make a living, but some of the use of classic tracks behind advertising is getting beyond a joke. Let's remember Ronnie James Dio for his great songs rather than for in an ad for cars.

Dio - Holy Diver (live) - https://youtu.be/dO7tBeNHXyE?t=1m4s

More guitar practice shall now occur....after a bike ride and a listen to Sgt Peppers in 5.1 surround sound; I will report back on if it's any good!

I'll leave you with something released 30 years ago this week. Rock on!

Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle - https://youtu.be/o1tj2zJ2Wvg

See you all later,

Rob

Some songs definitely sound better in German...like this

Baby Animals fanboy...

It was the early 90's and I was in my first rock band. It was so much fun and the fact that people actually came to watch us play AND enjoyed it was a revelation. We played fairly standard rock and roll covers and that endeared us to a few venues around the place so we had fairly constant work.

Always on the listen for something new and cool to play, we were blown away when Baby Animals burst onto the Australian music scene. "Early Warning" was such an amazing song and, given that we had a female singer, we covered it. 

Why did I love the band? Well, it was the energy, the great vocal delivery and of course the guitars. David Leslie's swirling, overdriven sounds were, and still are, such a huge influence on me.

Seeing the Baby Animals play live was simply awesome. The first time for me was at the ANU bar in Canberra and either late 91 or 92. The crowd was heaving, the band rocked hard and the music was just first class. I have memories of them ripping into a cover of Hendrix's, "Fire". During the show, one of my friends got to the front only to have his dodgy knee give way. He remembers ending up lying on his back directly under vocalist Suze de Marchi as she was singing and apart from the pain it's a gig highlight for him! By the time the show was over Sutto's knee was stuffed, Alison (my future wife) had lost two buttons from her shirt and an earring, and I'd lost my watch somewhere in the crowd. It was one of the best shows I've ever been to!

And I still think that Baby Animals are right up there with the best live bands I've ever seen. I wore my "God Shave The Queen" tour t-shirt for years.

This week I realized that Mr Leslie is in a music gear Facebook group that I am a part of. That's just so cool. It's easier to have my fanboy moment from afar though. I'm sure I'd be tongue tied if I actually met him. But if I did, I'd want to thank him for the years of enjoyment and inspiration that his music has given me.

Rob

World Wide Woozle episode #419

Winter....winter is everywhere! With temperatures due to head back down to -7 degrees over the weekend there's only one way to cope and that is to rug up and embrace it. We're very lucky here in Canberra that the sun is usually out even if it is freezing cold. And when it comes to cycling you just need the right gear and attitude.

By the time Monday rolls around I will have had two whole weeks with no cycling. I've been pretty unwell and I'm doing my best to behave and get properly well before I venture out again...but it's boring. The upside has been a few days on my motorbike. Very much colder than cycling but fun all the same. It's also a good way to avoid paying for parking at work as well as the great unwashed on the bus.

For all of you following Le Tour de France how good was it to see Fabio Aru move into the leader's jersey and the race actually become interesting? I was seriously worried that it was just going to be a Team Sky processional lap of the country. Nothing at all against Chris Froome, I just want to see an interesting competition which we may now be blessed with.

ABBA - The Winner Takes It All - https://youtu.be/92cwKCU8Z5c

Musically I discovered a singer/guitarist called Chuck Prophet this week (thank you Spotify algorithms). If you like Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Bob Dylan then Chuck may just be for you. He's got around a dozen solo albums to choose from. I started with the newest one, "Bobby Fuller died for your sins", and I haven't looked back as it's a real treat. One or two of the songs could be a bit lost on a non-American audience but that's a very minor issue. There's plenty of twangy guitars as well and it's load of fun!

Chuck Prophet - Jesus Was A Social Drinker - https://youtu.be/TTiRNRvoG1s

Broken Social Scene are a band that Kelowna's own DJ Kel-C introduced me to a few years ago now. Their new release (their first in seven years) has been getting a massive push on national radio here this week and it's worth a spin. 

Broken Social Scene - Hug Of Thunder (live) - https://youtu.be/RhYqAfCn3SA

DJ SlimRollins clued me into this track from Gary Clark Jr. this week. Another artist for me to investigate and listen to. I really appreciate it when people take time to recommend tracks and/or artists. I'll spend some time with Gary's music and report back at a later date.

Gary Clark Jr. - Bright Lights (live) - https://youtu.be/x_ZeDn-hHGE

I was in a car with a colleague this week and they were super excited when one of their favourite TV theme songs came around on the stereo. Do you have a favourite? I can think of some rather cool ones that I regard as iconic...here are four that I really like:

Theme from CHiPs - https://youtu.be/FPJAwHQj8SI

Theme from Battlestar Galactica (the original one) - https://youtu.be/vzyHxYxc-Mo

Theme from Dr Who - https://youtu.be/XZ1kRxgKft4

Theme from M*A*S*H - https://youtu.be/4gO7uemm6Yo

As many of you cannot have failed to notice, Midnight Oil are on a rather large world tour. Whether they have rekindled passion to play music or were just low on funds is a moot point really as many, many fans all over the place are overjoyed at the chance to see them play again. I'm not going though and there are two reasons for that. One is that tickets were simply very difficult to get. And the other is that I've seen them before not to mention watching endless live footage trying to work out which bits I should play live when we did our run of Oils tribute shows. What I do think is cool is that they are significantly varying their setlists. Lots of other big acts seem to play almost the same set night after night but not the Oils. They had one show at which they played the entire Diesel & Dust album in the middle of the show and another where then let loose with the complete Species Deceases EP. That kind of surprise would be simply amazing for real fans. I'm not greedy though, I'd be happy to see them playing just this song...

Midnight Oil - Cold Cold Change - https://youtu.be/8rJLpYRwDs8

John Mellencamp has a new song from the soundtrack to the National Geographic film, "From The Ashes". It's an old Merle Travis classic and John does his best to sound like Tom Waits on this great version.

John Mellencamp - Dark As A Dungeon - https://youtu.be/NaBglElgQ5w

That'll do this week. Places to go, people to see, Adele songs to learn...

Rob

...so this is all I have to say...

World Wide Woozle episode #418

Hello there rock and roll brothers and sisters, we're back and it's not even the end of a week. The truth is that I'm off sick and rather than waste my day on the lounge binge watching something on Netflix, I've decided to head to HQ World Wide Woozle (aka the garage studio) to recommend some tunes for you. Any weird or seemingly random suggestions could be due to the cold and flu medication or simply just a reflection of my listening tastes at the moment. Are you sitting comfortably?

I recommend this list of 25 albums from the last 25 years from NPR. Whilst there are a couple of obvious choices in there for me there is also a lot to explore. Working my way through it I can say that Bon Iver is NOT for me, Death Cab For Cutie is a great name for a band but I really did expect heavy metal and Liz Phair is always cool. I'm a bit stuck on Ray La Montagne. Lots of reviews compare him to people like Steven Stills and Van Morrison but initially I thought he was just a talented Ben Harper fan with a good folk music collection. But I persevered and this song might just be the turning point for me...

Ray La Montagne - How Come - https://youtu.be/a5KZrYSfgic

The next band turned up on Double J radio the other day and really made me stop and listen. They are from Mali and refugees within their own country as a result of Sharia Law being imposed in the north. This is a catchy and relentless tune which also features Iggy Pop on vocals. Put this band down as one to spend some time with.

Songhoy Blues - Sahara - https://youtu.be/VrTXSrGYL7U

I like electronic music in very small doses. One or two Kraftwerk songs a year is generally enough. Every now and then though I hear something that has just the right feel to it. Not too "doof-doof", not too atmospheric and not a Pet Shop Boys ripoff. The next group is from Melbourne. I know nothing about them other than that I really enjoyed the tune. I still have visions of turning up to a show and seeing them just plug in a laptop and that's it...

Black Cab - Senses Wild - https://youtu.be/RgCJdTbUoiA

George is still doing his best to open my eyes to prog rock. I dunno though, if you think all AC/DC sounds the same then listen to a few Dream Theater albums and you'll quite possibly feel the same. H did give me an album by a UK band called TIlt to listen to. I liked it a lot. So much so that it's still in my regular playlist a couple of months later. What Tilt seem to manage is a nice combination of prog and classic rock sounds whilst avoiding a lot of the cliched progressions that I hear from other bands of a similar ilk.

Tilt - Strontium Burning - https://youtu.be/-ZJJ7jtlMHc

One of the things I really enjoy about the internet is that it lets noobs like me publish whatever I like. Sometimes people even read it too! For musicians it really is amazing. If you're a guitarist then there are a bazillion videos and soundfiles out there of people playing all sorts of things. Recently I stumbled across a whole lot of band videos recorded by PhilX who is currently in Bon Jovi. Imagine being able to play this well and putting it out there just for people to enjoy. Fantastic!

PhilX & The Drills - Superstition - https://youtu.be/59m6BoEVkng

A long time ago I introduced some of you to Irish band, The Answer. They came to be in my playlist as a result of their very, very cool cover of Rose Tattoo's, "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw" I think that they're a great rock and roll band (both of them!). The Answer warrant more attention from anyone partial to gangs of long haired rockers doing their thing.

The Answer - Raise A Little Hell - https://youtu.be/_NJK5oaAa6U

If you haven't listened to the new Jason Isbell album yet then, seriously, get on with it. I'm really glad to see that it is charting well because that means he might come back to Australia to play and can also release more stuff into the future. It's not a rock album and it's not a country album. It's solid mix of the two with well penned lyrics. Jimbo Hart's bass is one of the absolute highlights for me. He rarely plods along on the root note and always adds an extra push to the songs. Get a copy now.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - White Man's World - https://youtu.be/nu4dupoC7EE

Finally, a quick word about Wonder Woman. DJ ZedBoots and I went along to see it a couple of weeks ago. Look, it's a fun action movie but I'm not sure that it's the triumph for women's rights that some commentators have suggested. When Wonder Woman can battle the forces of evil without having to strip down to leather underwear then we might be really getting somewhere. I guess Superman has his undies on the outside so I could just be being a little harsh. See it yourselves, it's worth the price of admission.

Stay tuned for exciting guitar amplifier news in the next few weeks....

Rob

"Just because you're better than me,

doesn't mean I'm lazy...."