World Wide Woozle episode #620

Guess who has ten days off in a row?? Yep, that's right, me, your faithful correspondent and dealer of musical madness! So stow your tray tables, ignore the safety card in the seat pocket and pay attention!

Of course, I'd planned to spend these few days riding my bicycle or doing a multi-day walk but this stupid back injury has put paid to that. I'll be at home for most of the time doing everything that the physio told me to do. The outlook is good. The bulging discs and osteoarthritis in my spine are NOT what has caused this issue. So apparently we can fix it; and fix it I will. I'm up to walking about 5km, gently, on flat ground and that has taken the load off mentally I can assure you. The annoying thing is that I really don't enjoy sitting down for any length of time. Anyway, I've got some great albums to listen to, an XBOX game to try, books to read and a new song to work on. It could be much, much worse.

As I mentioned last time, I didn't get to go and see The Mark of Cain and, quite frankly, this was very upsetting. I've seen them a few times now over the years including in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and here in Canberra. Thankfully one of my friends was able to use my ticket so it didn't go to waste. TMOC have released a remastered, two LP version of their Henry Rollins produced album Ill At Ease. At the same time the six tracks recorded live at the Livid Festival in Brisbane in '96 were also put on vinyl (and yes, onto streaming services). I'd planned to pony up my hard earned dollars at the show to get these and maybe even be lucky enough to get them signed but it wasn't to be. Thankfully, Landspeed Records here in Canberra had them in stock and put them aside until I could shuffle into the store. To my surprise they were the same price as on the band's website and that's super cool. They're a Christmas present to myself so will remain under the tree for another twenty four hours!

I hope you've all been enjoying my alternative Christmas playlist (it's here). After tomorrow I'll update it as no-one needs those songs after the 25th! 

AC/LeeC - Dirty Deeds Around the Christmas Tree - https://youtu.be/bM10A86drpI

Melbourne's Between You & Me were on JJJ Like a Version recently and did a fabulously energetic version of a song that we all know from Shrek. So many covers are "slow it down and make it sad" but not this ripper. If I could dance at the moment then this would be on the playlist...

Between You & Me - All Star - https://youtu.be/lrxbcsWQYKk

Regular purchasers of music from overseas will no doubt understand my pain everytime I look at shipping costs. I discovered this week that eBay now has its own shipping system from the USA at least. I'd been unwilling to order a heavy box set because the shipping was nearly US$100. With the new eBay system it was down to US$25. Awesome. And it arrived in just over a week! I don't need the whole thing though as I was completing a collection so if anyone out there wants Metallica live VHS cassettes then yell out.

Metallica - The Unforgiven (live 1992) - https://youtu.be/Q6dGQ_FmjxE?si=kfze0ADYwS7xWzvk&t=59

A while ago I finished the audiobook version of Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou's book about their time in silverchair. Great story and sad too. Spotify limits how many hours of audiobook listening you get in an hour even if you pay for a premium membership and I think that sucks. Now I'm onto the autobiography written and narrated by Judas Priest singer Rob Halford. My favourite bit so far is one of their early managers who rigged a phone in an elevator so that he could make free national and international calls! Judas Priest are one of the biggest metal bands in the world and their story, and Rob's is worth a read/listen. I hadn't realised the dramas they have with their first two albums being owned by another record company. The first one especially always sounded a bit weak to me and Rob Halford relates that the band were unhappy with the production (and marketing) as well. It looks like there is a newly remastered version and I'll be able to report back when it arrives. Meanwhile, this is one of the tracks that hooked me on the band many years ago.

Judas Priest - Metal Gods (live 1982) - https://youtu.be/I9PjOhz3FSM

Yesterday I watched an extended interview with Jason Isbell (it's here if you're interested). He covers a wide range of topics and I'm always interested to hear what he says about his songs and the writing process. And he refers to Taylor Swift as a genius. Cool.

Taylor Swift - Better Man (live/acoustic 2018) - https://youtu.be/ypNKMtcfQ9U

Jason Isbell - Death Wish (live/acoustic 2023) - https://youtu.be/bnm7Of5Bn8w

I did get a good laugh from one reader last time who remarked that they'd never heard any of the bands I'd played. A few of them were new to me too. There's so much great new music out there if you can just convince the YouTube/Spotify algorithms to show it to you or indeed if you're fortunate enough to have a decent local record store to look in. I did get an email from a list I subscribe to of what they thought were 2023's best albums. I have since unsubscribed as it was a dreadful, dreadful list. Let's finish with something new and cool. Well at least I think it's groovy. If you like beautiful harmonies and acoustic guitars then this might make your 2024 playlist.

The Weeping Willows - Singing The Blues - https://youtu.be/2x9eiziIPjY

Merry Christmas,

The Woozle

"Snoopy was certain that this was the end

When the Baron cried out, "Merry Christmas my friend..."

The Royal Guardsmen, Snoopy's Christmas vs The Red Baron, 1965.

World Wide Woozle episode #619

Welcome back rockers.

I've had the whole week off work with dreadful back pain. Until Wednesday I was walking like a 90 year old on a bad day, I was reduced to crawling to the shower on Monday and Tuesday and I haven't made the bed in a week. That's some kind of record! Thankfully it has started to ease off and I am relatively mobile. I'm not sure I'll be back on my bike this year to be honest. The physio and I will be having a serious conversation next week about preventing this from happening again. And I missed out on seeing The Mark of Cain on Wednesday night; not happy Jan.

Last time on the World Wide Woozle I mentioned that I'd read a number of comments bemoaning the lack of new guitar heroes and therefore rock music This, as well as painkillers and far too much time on my hands, has led me on an epic quest. As a result, this episode is all about noisy, sweaty, riff driven rock and roll. I'm not discounting the many great rock bands who have been plying their trade for years and years, but I am making the point that guitar driven rock is not dead.

In 1977 Muddy Waters sang, "the blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll", and nothing could be more true. Since the earliest days of the genre, blues has been an important part of the rock scene. Bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin clearly drank from that particular cup. Fast forward today and Melbourne rockers Palace of The King channel a similar spirit. They have a new album that was released yesterday and also released a slew of singles in anticipation. This is the latest one and I think the groove is right on the money. Listen (and buy) their stuff right here.

Palace of the King - A Run For Your Money - https://youtu.be/BQksahIuWyY

Legs Electric, from Western Australia, have been playing full steam ahead rock music for a while now and have scored support gigs with the likes of Ace Frehley, Uriah Heep, The Superjesus, Wolfmother and KISS. There's some great pro shot footage of their KISS support slot here. Clearly influenced by classic and hard rock, Legs Electric sound fresh and energetic. Vocally I'm reminded of Stonefield and that's not a bad thing at all. And whilst the music is the most important thing, it is so cool to see a band that dresses like the rock and roll stars they are.

Legs Electric - Dance Like A Wolf - https://youtu.be/Sm0WZGcGpLM

Towards the end of 2019 we lived in a rental in Lyneham. One weekend there was a big craft beer festival in the car park that was over our back fence. There were bands playing too. That was my introduction to Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers.The band has a recently released long player that was featured as album of the week on Triple J. If you like energetic indie style rock and roll then this is for you. Buy their stuff here.

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers - I Used To Be Fun - https://youtu.be/cKf9LTXdPJM

Thundermother are a hard rock band from Stockholm, Sweden. They've supported Scorpions across North America and played at the Wacken Festival three times. Thundermother's music is along the same lines as bands such as Airbourne I guess. It's fists in the air, good time hard rock.

Thundermother -  I Left My License In The Future - https://youtu.be/dakOQMNa_2Q

A while ago I listened to a podcast featuring Joel Green who drums for Witchskull and of course was in  Australia's greatest ever metal band, Armoured Angel, back in the day. Listening to him speak about his influences got me enthused again about some old school metal. Bands like Exodus, King Diamond and Unleashed. I know that this kind of music is very much an acquired taste and isn't going to be for everyone. It's not something you throw on casually for unsuspecting dinner guests. Another band that Armoured Angel were influenced by was the Swiss outfit, Celtic Frost. Upon listening to some of their tracks I found out that founder, guitarist and singer, Tom Warrior had a new project that was playing music he recorded prior to Celtic Frost. It's a live album and the quality of the playing and sound production is phenomenal. If you know the Hellhammer tunes or the later Celtic Frost stuff then this is a must listen.

Triumph of Death - Massacra (live) - https://youtu.be/9hPJkx4gqJU

Måneskin, from Italy, mix up all sorts of rock and roll styles and the result is high energy music and performances. The live footage I've seen shows a band not afraid to either have a good time or of wearing their influences on their collective sleeves. 

Måneskin - Supermodel - https://youtu.be/Nh9sJhF2r8Y 

For those of you out there perhaps looking for a bonafide rock guitar hero then look no further. Nita Strauss came to prominence playing with The Iron Maidens before being selected to play in Alice Cooper's band. Along the way she's developed some amazing guitar chops. created a social media persona that is super positive, had Ibanez make her a signature model guitar and of course released some jaw dropping solo work. 

Nita Strauss (feat Chris Motionless) - Digital Bullets - https://youtu.be/yZWUrI8yaIg

Lastly, two great players in one band. I've been raving on about them for quite a while now and I don't intend to stop. Jason Isbell and Sadler Vaden have been making music over the course of a few albums now and they are top shelf guitar slingers in my opinion. If you're a guitar tragic then you'll enjoy Jason's interviews about his extensive guitar rig and all his instruments. He's a tragic too! 

Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Super 8 (live 2022) - https://youtu.be/voweHmL7ons

How's that? Rock ain't dead....

The Woozle

"Gonna take you dancing mama

Show you off over town
You can feel the boogie
If you listen you can hear the sound..."

The Southern River Band, Stan Qualen, 2023. (must be something good going on in Western Australia...)

World Wide Woozle episode #618

This episode is brought to you by ibuprofen, heat packs, Tiger Balm, the spiky physio ball and a reasonable amount of bad language.

I haven't had a sore back for ages. I spend a fair bit of time looking after it but, the fact is that it's a weak point. Maybe you think that my 108 rides up Black Mountain are the culprit but I don't think so. It's always the most innocuous act that sets it off. Earlier this year I messed it up by installing car seat covers. That one took about a month to recover properly from. This time around, my quick initiation to lawn bowls did it. Aaaarrrggghhhh! All I can do now is everything that physios have told me in the past along with simply waiting. It's boring, sore and very frustrating. 

Let's start with The Pogues. As I'm sure most of you know, Shane MacGowan passed away recently. He was only 65 in human years but I think that his lifestyle probably meant he was on par with Methuselah.  I first heard The Pogues in 1988. I was looking for some music to give to my Dad for his birthday and in some magazine I'd read a review of their most recent album. I remember thinking that my Dad liked folk music so this 'new' band might be of interest. Certainly there was a mandolin and bodhrán on the album cover! If I Should Fall From Grace With God didn't turn out to be their most raw or anarchic album but I clearly remember Dad wondering what I had got him when we threw it into the cassette player in the car! The band took a while to grow on him but for me, it was one of those pivotal moments. A band was playing traditional music with gritty lyrics and a punk sensibility. I loved it and I still do. The Pogues' previous album, Rum, Sodomy & The Lash, would become one of my all time favourites. And my brother related to me recently that their 1993 LP, Waiting For Herb, was one that he thought at the time was the best album ever. Of course, at this time of year we all hear Shane along with Kirsty MacColl singing Fairytale of New York played ad infinitum. But have you ever stopped to listen closely to the lyrics? To me it's a song of regret, love long gone and the clarity (perhaps) that MacGowan got from drinking. It's certainly not a happy Christmas song although it is beautiful in its own way. It's tame compared to some of the lyrics of other tunes. The point for me, as a teenager and now as not quite a teenager, is that they are honest and real. We all want "she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah" but the truth isn't as perfect.

"And now I'm lying here I've had too much booze
I've been spat on and shat on and raped and abused
I know that I am dying and I wish I could beg
For some money to take me from the old main drag..." 

The Pogues - The Old Main Drag (BBC Radio session 1985) - https://youtu.be/g-45xNr-udU

It's the time of year, as mentioned last time, that Spotify lets us know how much and what we've listened to in the last twelve months. It's probably not a shock that I spent a LOT of time listening to quite a wide variety of music. I remain torn about streaming online music like Spotify, YouTube and the like. We all know that the artists are getting a pittance from what a lot of the population sees as their right to free music. As a teen there was no way I could afford all of the albums I wanted. So, like many of you I recorded songs from the radio and albums from friends. Any cash that I did have, including much appreciated gift vouchers at Christmas or my birthday, meant a long visit to the record shop to carefully choose something. Some of the earliest records I bought are amongst my most prized possessions. Which brings me to my point, Spotify, along with all the statistics, told me something that made me smile. I like to listen to albums all the way through. And it's true. Sure, singles and hits are great fun but albums in my view were once made to listen to as a package deal. Some still are but clearly not all. A record can take you on a journey, an experience. We may have learned more from a three minute record than we ever did in school but my life was altered significantly by the entirety of albums such as Billy Bragg's Talking With The Taxman About Poetry, AC/DC's TNT and Steve Earle's Guitar Town. 

AC/DC - TNT (the full album from 1975) - https://youtu.be/sM63ep2yv3g

Now that it is December and, yes, the Christmas tree is up, it's time for some festive tunes. Not so fast Mariah Carey! Here's a playlist that I put together for all of us who are sick of the standard list of carols and songs that the supermarkets, shopping centres and anyone with an outdoor loudspeaker are subjecting us to. These are still Christmas tunes, it should be a fun time of year, but let's mix it up a bit. Click here. Yup, it's a Spotify playlist. You can listen for free or you can simply look at the song titles and find them elsewhere if you like.

Bad Religion - White Christmas - https://youtu.be/R1KCjHbKM_s

Finally, guitar heroes. Some recent reading alerted me to the fact that there are a lot of people out there (mostly old blokes my vintage) bemoaning the lack of ace guitar slingers. People are looking for the next generation of players to follow in the footsteps of Hendrix, Van Halen, Young, Vai etc. Well I reckon that they need to look at little closer, whilst recognising that the six string histrionics of the past were a point in time. For instance, these two amazing players are keeping the fire burning in my opinion. Move past 1987 folks!

Larkin Poe - Bad Spell (live) - https://youtu.be/HuGI2tX3H-U

My mate Tom knows good music. So much that he writes for Little Steven's Underground Garage radio show in the USA. As well as The Dollyrots, he turned me on to this next band. Modern Moxie are from Charlotte in North Carolina. Their sound is fresh, indie rock I suppose you'd say. It reminds me of The Clouds, The B-52s and The Preatures. They are an independent band so if you can help them out by actually purchasing their music or merchandise then please do. 

Modern Moxie - Big Wave - https://youtu.be/-MQLrsXUdwg

That's it for another episode. Thanks for listening and reading. 

The Woozle

"In a dance hall by the river, I was singing in a travelling band
Just another small town night, with a silver moon shining
I remember when I saw you, that first moment when it all began
You looked across a crowded room, and stole my heart away...."

Gerry Rafferty, Shipyard Town, 1988