G'day, Bonjour, Ni Hao, Kia Ora, Rani,
Most of you in Australia will be aware of the natural disasters impacting our country at present. Fires and floods have devastated many areas. It was heartbreaking to watch the small township of Tingha and the surrounding area be threatened by fire. And whilst the township itself was saved, there were properties lost. Tingha, just in case you don't know, is where I went on tour with the band a few years ago. It's a very special little community in Northern NSW. While politicians continue to debate whether or not climate change is real, everyday people are impacted by the results that the majority of experts agree on.
John Williamson - Rip Rip Woodchip - https://youtu.be/Eti99nV3gCk
George and his Junk Sculpture Jr. version of the band (where the total age of the rest of the band is almost less than George's!) are playing a gig at Beyond Q in Weston Creek on the 24th Feb at 5pm. It's $10 entry with all of the money going to help people in Tingha. Get along if you can.
George Huitker & Junk Sculpture - Tiny Tin Town - https://vimeo.com/259137287
(Note that this is not ranked number 13, it's just so that I can keep track of how many of the 100 albums I have listened to and reviewed.)
This one was great. I'm not a fan of The White Stripes (Jack's former band) and whilst bits and pieces of his other projects are OK they've never really held my interest. "Lazaretto", therefore, was a bit of a shock. There's a much fuller sound than is to be heard on a lot of Jack's other work and it works really well. If I had to describe this album then probably the closest I could get to a decent description is that it is a bit like a carnival. You know that there's a sleazy underbelly there, there's a myriad of different things to experience and there's an element of mystique as well. "Lazaretto" means quarantine house or leper colony if you like (Lazarus, get it?) and it's a perfect name for a rather eclectic album. If you enjoy fabulously fuzzed out guitar then it's here. Old time pianos, country tunes, accordions, rock and roll...it's all on this album. Lyrically, "Lazaretto" is quite a mixture. Jack White himself says that some of the lyrics were influenced by stuff he wrote at 19. One of my favourite lines is, "This light that shines on me tonight, turns on when you wander through my door" (Alone In My Home). Anyway, I think this is a great album and definitely one that will remain on my playlist. And in a world of ripoffs, Jack was cool enough to admit that his song "Three Women" was heavily influenced by Blind Willie McTell's "Three Women Blues" and to include him as a co-writer. The LP version has special features such as a different intro for one song depending on where you drop the needle and a hologram that appears while the record plays. That's groovy!
Jack White - Three Women - https://youtu.be/r_9jShtfV_g
Jack White - Alone In My Home (live) - https://youtu.be/fkYlZHC22vw
Album 14/100 - Steely Dan - Aja (1977)
Jazz-rock apparently. This album sounds fantastic; obviously the engineers and band did a great job putting it together. It also appears in quite a few listings for top albums or essential listening. But I don't get it. "Aja" is like the best produced album of easy listening music you've ever heard. It's in the Grammy Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone magazine has it in their Top 500 albums of all time list so I guess a few people out there like it, I'm just not one of them. I'm not saying that this is a bad album, far from it, it's just not for me. If you're looking for super smooth, laid back, West Coast style music then definitely give "Aja" a spin.
Steely Dan - Deacon Blues - https://youtu.be/YhQ5Dg6gdEw
Named after the previous track, Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop-rock band. Playing one of their tracks fits in nicely given the name reference as well as last week's swag of Scots artists. Deacon Blue have been around since 1985 and, apart from a short break in the mid 90s, are still playing music.
Deacon Blue - I Was Right and You Were Wrong - https://youtu.be/6pJF8yP8JrE
DJ ZedBoot has almost finished her studies to become a Paramedic. Yesterday she found out that she's been accepted to work for London Ambulance Service (yeah, the one in England). She'll be heading off in August and to say that her parents are proud would be a massive understatement. Congratulations Zoe!
The Clash - London Calling (live) - https://youtu.be/6vnltySrJ5U
DJ DJ sent me a book recently titled, "Led Zeppelin and Philosophy". It's a collection of seventeen chapters written by various authors that examine Led Zep and issues such as creativity, identity and the ritual experience of the rock concert. I've only just started to read it and it may take a while, but I'll let you know how it goes. I often find Led Zeppelin a difficult listen. No-one is doubting the talent and influence of them as a group but there's often something that leaves me a little underwhelmed. It's very hard to put my finger on it though. When they are full stem ahead I love it and it's the same in their folky acoustic moments. But there's other stuff, especially "Dazed and Confused" that I really don't like. Hopefully this book will give me some other perspectives and pathways to take with regards to the great band.
Led Zeppelin - Trampled Under Foot (live 1975) - https://youtu.be/HGFITl5mFvs
I played Rival Sons covering Olivia Newton John a few episodes (here if you missed it) because it was brilliant. The Long Beach band play great riff rock and roll and there's a Led Zep influence there which is evident without them being a copycat act. Whilst they are all great musicians, singer Jay Buchanan is really, really good. Here's a couple of tracks from a rock act that for some inexplicable reason isn't one of the biggest bands getting around today.
Rival Sons - Do Your Worst - https://youtu.be/Vx60Fsu-w9M
Rival Sons - Electric Man - https://youtu.be/wRfRIXg2spo
I went ahead and listened to more of Kacey Musgraves work over the past week. DJ ZedBoots also gave it her stamp of approval! Again, if country music devoid of the sweeter than saccharine gloss is your thing then give Kacey a spin. "...well if you're gonna find a silver lining, it's gotta be a cloudy day..."
Kacey Musgraves - Silver Lining (live) - https://youtu.be/fyFniNV4Ipg
DJ SlimHenry reminded me of the next band during the week. I remember being aware of them when the album was released in 2004 but didn't pay too much attention. On reflection that was a mistake. Dave Grohl recorded the majority of the instruments as a side project and included a heap of his rock and roll brethren to sing and play along. The lineup includes Lemmy (Motorhead), Max Cavalera (Sepultura), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) and Cronos (Venom). It's a ripper of a metal album. I've chosen the next track because usually I am not a fan of Jack Black's singing. However, this is him singing seriously for the most part and it's great. There's a language warning to go with this one.
Probot - I Am The Warlock (Jack Black vocals) - https://youtu.be/gd7TtQu8WeU
Nick Barker is playing a show in Melbourne soon to mark 25 years since the release of his great album, "Happy Man". This is one of my all time favourite records. Apparently he's planning on ruling a bit of a line under the record as, to be fair, he's still releasing great music with his current band The Heartache State. So, if you're in Melbourne then get along to the show at The Spotted Mallard on March 15th. Here's the most well known track and then another that I think is essential listening.
Barker - Time Bomb - https://youtu.be/uoqnAPDVPSo
Barker - Action Jackson - https://youtu.be/DfdQgDO_SNY
And that, my friends, is the end for another longwinded episode of the World Wide Woozle.
Rob
"The microphone explodes, shattering the moulds...", Bulls On Parade, Denzel Curry (RATM cover), Triple J, 2019.
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