Episode 286. 286 is an important number if you were into computers in the early 90s. If you weren't then it doesn't matter.
Bad Religion - 21st Century Digital Boy - http://youtu.be/ZN6kCgMUjFw
Lots of people complain about their government lying to them. At the moment the Australian Government can't be bothered even doing that; they just deny access to any information at all. Democracy isn't about those in power keeping the rest of us in the dark. News just in of an Australian journalist being detained on Manus Island and having all of his photos deleted is more than a little disturbing.
What I find ironic is that our government mandated Geography curriculum is all about getting students to ask questions. Just don't ask the current government anything at all difficult.
Thin Lizzy - Don't Believe A Word (live) - http://youtu.be/ZaGNAL_u-SU
If you missed my review of H and I playing a gig this week then you can check it out on the blog. It was a special night in a number of ways.
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now - http://youtu.be/HgzGwKwLmgM
That's one of my favourite Queen songs. It has an infectious energy that so many bands never, ever manage to find.
A quick shout out to my good mate DJ Guzbox. He's the guy in our band that makes us sound good; our peerless audio engineer. Along with that he's a pretty ace mountain biker. I know that the rest of the band are pretty excited to have him on board.
Rose Tattoo - One Of The Boys - http://youtu.be/x8Jfp-6Flho
Angus has his first game as a ballboy for the Brumbies Super Rugby team this week. After doing all the warm up matches in 2013 he's moving on to the big time. So if you're watching the match (against the QLD Reds) at the stadium or on the TV keep an eye out for him handing the ball to Stephen Moore or Saia Faainga. GO BRUMBIES!
Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire - http://youtu.be/lidFipyLG8k
I answered a question this week on a well know social media portal. The original poster wanted to know what the essential element to a good rock song was. My answer was "Lemmy".
The Head Cat - Big River - http://youtu.be/W_6Jx2LmF_o
I like a good cover version. You may have noticed. This one caught my ear during the week and I think it's a ripper. Fairly faithful to the original I guess but still a bit of fun.
Def Leppard - Stay With Me - http://youtu.be/nvL0FPywhY0
That's about all for this episode. Thanks for the comments during the week about the gig. I'm still looking for ideas for the 300th episode so shout out if you have one.
I'll sign off with songs that I'm directing straight at our government. What seems to be happening in the name of protecting our borders is wrong. These songs sum up how I feel.
Johnny Cash - All God's Children Ain't Free - http://youtu.be/mKFJl9ncNH0
Elvis Costello - What's So Funny... - http://youtu.be/JUGmwDB49Tc
The Nightwatchman - Black Spartacus Heart Attack Machine - http://youtu.be/lC20oFu-blk
Yep, I'm frustrated and disappointed.
DJ Rob
"Won't you sing with me, these songs of freedom?" - Bob Marley (Redemption Song)
Friday, February 21, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Gig report - George and Rob at Vivaldi's 18 Feb 2014
Just a quick write up folks.
When you play in a rock band, most songs are three or four chords with maybe a bridge thrown in. They aren't that hard to remember. But when keyboard players get in on the act each song has a gazillion weird notes and chords for some reason. Being told just to "play along" used to really freak me out. But once I got it through my thick heavy metal, punk rock head that the keys were carrying the melody I began just to add bits here and there. I don't know if anyone noticed the screaming blues guitar solo in the middle of Billy Joel's Piano Man last night but it was there.
George and I were asked to play some songs at a private function that was held last night. Accordingly, H chose some songs and we had a quick rehearsal last weekend. I was fairly sure that the setlist would go out the window after the first song...and I was right!
We started quietly with some Church, Don Walker, Nick Cave, Lennon and Beatles as the audience chatted and ate their dinner. This was my first gig with the new amp that I bought recently and it's an interesting beast - by the end of the show I almost had it set in a way I was happy with!
After a while some people started to sing along - maybe it was Rhinestone Cowboy that convinced them.
When you play in a rock band, most songs are three or four chords with maybe a bridge thrown in. They aren't that hard to remember. But when keyboard players get in on the act each song has a gazillion weird notes and chords for some reason. Being told just to "play along" used to really freak me out. But once I got it through my thick heavy metal, punk rock head that the keys were carrying the melody I began just to add bits here and there. I don't know if anyone noticed the screaming blues guitar solo in the middle of Billy Joel's Piano Man last night but it was there.
Eventually some people wanted to dance and H and I obliged with a run through Thunder Road, No Second Prize, an impromptu Crocodile Rock and some other well known numbers. The inevitable request for a Queen song stretched us but by the time we gave it a go with Don't Stop Me Now the crowd were in fine spirits and singing so loud that we managed to get through it.
H and I had agreed a while ago that any money that we were paid would go to the "Crossing The Divide" charity. It's one aimed at helping disadvantaged young people aged 12-21 in and around Bundarra and Tingha in New South Wales. We were blown away when the company who we were playing for announced that they were donating $1000 to the charity. Even more exciting was that individuals there on the night donated more money so we ended up with close to $2500 to pass on.
I'm not sure I've ever played a gig where, in the middle of a song, the singer has called someone up so that they can hear us playing. H did that last night so that Matt from Crossing The Divide could be a part of the gig. That's just awesome.
So, we played some great tunes (some of which we had actually played before), the crowd had a good night and the food (thank you Vivaldi's) was fantastic. A gig with a feed included is just the best. But most importantly, a significant amount of money is winging its way to a worthy charity.
We've got a couple of small (and free) gigs coming up; click here for dates and information. And don't forget the huge, full band, Midnight Oil tribute shows coming up in May.
Thank you again to Snedden, Hall & Gallop (it was their party) for their financial generosity and their singing prowess. Also to Mark and the staff at Vivaldi's for looking after us so well.
Rob
PS: here's the setlist - we think it's right!
Under the Milky Way
The Way You Are Tonight
Ship Song
Imagine
Across the Universe
Allentown
No Surrender
The Streets of Philadelphia
I’m on Fire
Rhinestone Cowboy
The Scientist
Ita
Better Be Home Soon
Grow Old With Me
Thunder Road
No Second Prize
Crocodile Rock
It’s Almost Saturday Night
Throw Your Arms Around Me
(What’s So Funny About) Peace Love and Understanding
Solid Rock
The Dead Heart
Piano Man
Morningtown Ride
Jumping Jack Flash
Tie Your Mother Down....well almost
Don’t Stop Me Now
Fortunate Son
With or Without You
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Song of the Week #285
Only 15 episodes to go until we reach 300. I remember getting to 100 and DJ Ben-E telling me that I could make it to 200! I guess I better start planning an anniversary episode; anyone got any ideas?
I've been watching Morrissey's live concert, "Who Put The M in Manchester?" far too much for my health! It's a bit of a homecoming for him I believe. After the first song he mentions a couple of places which are I assume where he grew up. And he gets the requisite cheers from the crowd. Being that my blog where this entry lives is called "World Wide Woozle" I thought I might do the same for some crowd noise from all over the world. Here's a call out to all the places I've lived in.... hello Falkirk, hello Munster, hello Changi, hello Bristol, hello Dundee, hello Longforgan, hello Tawa, hello Moe and of course hello Canberra!
Def Leppard - Hello America - http://youtu.be/2uIJ7NYZ5NA
I'm not a fan of camping these days, that's no secret. As a kid in Scouts I enjoyed it a lot but the Army took all the fun out of it. My good mate Macca loves it...and he's always keen for me to come along. It was kind of ironic I thought that I was in a tent in December 2011 on a school camp by myself having just heard that Macca had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Just a quick fast forward - it's now February 2014 and I went to the rugby with Macca last night. As you can probably imagine, he's had an amazing journey and so has his family. Anyway, I felt pretty sorry for myself in the small hiking tent but given that I was working (it was a school camp) I had no choice but to put the news to one side and keep working. Fortunately, the students I was with (who never knew) were such a great bunch and so keen to enjoy themselves that it was manageable. Pretty much as soon as I got home and we got the OK from Fiona we were at the hospital to see her and Dave.
I guess you really want to know why I'm writing about this? Well, Dave has written a book and its just been published. It's called "Hope Beyond Cure". I sat down and read it on Thursday night for a few reasons. I must admit that I'd had it for a week or so but was putting off starting it because I wasn't sure I could handle reading about Dave's story - this was someone I know, not an anonymous author. It's not long but it's powerful, honest, upsetting and inspiring. I really doubt that anyone out there reading hasn't been touched by the scourge of cancer in some way. And everyone deals with it differently.
If you'd told me years ago that one of my closest friends would be a man of God who was also a rugby fanatic, lover of coffee and music and a motorbike rider I doubt I would've believed you. But that's Dave. He's been a Minister for quite a long time now (as well as being the Chaplain for the Brumbies Super Rugby team) and one of the main thrusts of this book is a well reasoned look at why he believes in God and Jesus. Regardless of your own religious views (or lack of them) that part of the book is interesting and thought provoking. The story of his journey from being diagnosed with inoperable and terminal cancer to now having a status of "N.E.D." - no evidence of disease - is painful, heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. You should read it.
Dave's book is available from here. You can also look at Dave's blog here.
But we're all about music here on the World Wide Woozle. And Dave is a big Johnny Cash fan like me. In the book he quotes from a passage in Corinthians. What Dave didn't know at the time I think was that Johnny had recorded those lines in a song released in 2010. It's on the album "American IV: Ain't No Grave". The album is haunting in so many ways and the songs were recorded right up to the time Johnny died in 2003. Check it out....
Johnny Cash - 1 Corinthians 15:55 - http://youtu.be/B8sJ9leK6es
A couple of weeks ago I read a news story on my feed about guitars. An English songwriter had her guitar and bass stolen and had put out an internet plea for their return. As a result I checked out her website and music. After listening to only a track and a half I clicked the PayPal button and ordered her two albums. Being the modern world, the CDs will arrive soon but you also get a free download of the songs. But my download had some issues so I sent Laura (the artist) an email. I was pleasantly suprised to get a personal note from her today that sorted my issue out and thanked me for my comments about her music. That's cool. If you like bands like The Clouds or The Falling Joys or singers like Liz Phair and Suzanne Vega then you might like this. Or of course, if you're just brave enough to take a chance on me recommending something....
She Makes War - Minefields - http://youtu.be/j4rFctgKTao
Fans of good music should come along to Beyond Q at Curtin Shops on Sunday 2nd March at 4pm (be on time) for a quick set that features yours truly on guitar and un-mic'd vocals. Luckily H, Chief and Joel will be doing some singing as well as covering all my mistakes. No need to book and it's free. Learn this song and be ready to sing along as I get my loud guitar working the room! More gig info here.
Matthew Sweet - Sick of Myself - http://youtu.be/x0An-YoFWxQ
Coming soon for a full review is an album from US punk rockers "The Dollyrots". I was turned onto them by a friend in the States (hi Tom!) and I've been listening to them for a few weeks now. Tom and his son Phil were involved with recording and playing on the album. There's an acoustic CD that you get too if you pre-order. How funny and cool is this track?
The Dollyrots - Anarchy & Disney - http://youtu.be/tt6ZyZB-4Qc
iTunes radio started up in Australia this week. I've tried Spotify before as well as a couple of other streaming services and I was never all that impressed. But when I clicked on the iTunes version and chose a couple of "stations" that I thought might be interesting I will admit I was pleasantly surprised. The sound quality is OK too. I'll investigate further (including their model for paying the artists) and get back to you. One of the first songs that was played was Ozzy's "Shot In The Dark". Pretty neat really - it's part of the time in Ozzy's career where Jake E. Lee was playing guitar for him. Jake was in the band after the technical ecstasy of Randy Rhoads and before Zakk Wylde came along with the pinch harmonics and huge hairy riffs. I always thought that Jake did a great job.
Ozzy Osbourne - Shot In The Dark - http://youtu.be/LL3vmVjYjBQ
I had a bit of a laugh with my good mate DJ MuchLessOfAFatBoy this week. The screen on his MP3 player had died and it was stuck on the Metallica album "Death Magnetic". As we both agreed, it could be a lot worse. It's such a good album especially when you consider the pretty much irredeemable effort that they put out prior to it. The only thing that was annoying was the fact that the mastering was so LOUD that a lot of the dynamics were blasted into sonic oblivion. But I've written about that before.
Metallica - Cyanide - http://youtu.be/xUMqqVOlJBs
I'll close this week with something a bit quieter as, apart from Johnny Cash, I've managed to make this a fairly noisy episode! This one's for you Chief...
Diesel - Cinnamon Girl - http://youtu.be/graKL6hCFiU
Have a great weekend brothers and sisters. Rock on!
DJ Rob
"It's a long and a dusty road
It's a hot and a heavy load
And the folks that I meet ain't always kind
Some are bad some are good
Some have done the best they could
Some have tried to ease my troubled mind
And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound" - Tom Paxton 1964
I've been watching Morrissey's live concert, "Who Put The M in Manchester?" far too much for my health! It's a bit of a homecoming for him I believe. After the first song he mentions a couple of places which are I assume where he grew up. And he gets the requisite cheers from the crowd. Being that my blog where this entry lives is called "World Wide Woozle" I thought I might do the same for some crowd noise from all over the world. Here's a call out to all the places I've lived in.... hello Falkirk, hello Munster, hello Changi, hello Bristol, hello Dundee, hello Longforgan, hello Tawa, hello Moe and of course hello Canberra!
Def Leppard - Hello America - http://youtu.be/2uIJ7NYZ5NA
I'm not a fan of camping these days, that's no secret. As a kid in Scouts I enjoyed it a lot but the Army took all the fun out of it. My good mate Macca loves it...and he's always keen for me to come along. It was kind of ironic I thought that I was in a tent in December 2011 on a school camp by myself having just heard that Macca had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Just a quick fast forward - it's now February 2014 and I went to the rugby with Macca last night. As you can probably imagine, he's had an amazing journey and so has his family. Anyway, I felt pretty sorry for myself in the small hiking tent but given that I was working (it was a school camp) I had no choice but to put the news to one side and keep working. Fortunately, the students I was with (who never knew) were such a great bunch and so keen to enjoy themselves that it was manageable. Pretty much as soon as I got home and we got the OK from Fiona we were at the hospital to see her and Dave.
I guess you really want to know why I'm writing about this? Well, Dave has written a book and its just been published. It's called "Hope Beyond Cure". I sat down and read it on Thursday night for a few reasons. I must admit that I'd had it for a week or so but was putting off starting it because I wasn't sure I could handle reading about Dave's story - this was someone I know, not an anonymous author. It's not long but it's powerful, honest, upsetting and inspiring. I really doubt that anyone out there reading hasn't been touched by the scourge of cancer in some way. And everyone deals with it differently.
If you'd told me years ago that one of my closest friends would be a man of God who was also a rugby fanatic, lover of coffee and music and a motorbike rider I doubt I would've believed you. But that's Dave. He's been a Minister for quite a long time now (as well as being the Chaplain for the Brumbies Super Rugby team) and one of the main thrusts of this book is a well reasoned look at why he believes in God and Jesus. Regardless of your own religious views (or lack of them) that part of the book is interesting and thought provoking. The story of his journey from being diagnosed with inoperable and terminal cancer to now having a status of "N.E.D." - no evidence of disease - is painful, heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. You should read it.
Dave's book is available from here. You can also look at Dave's blog here.
But we're all about music here on the World Wide Woozle. And Dave is a big Johnny Cash fan like me. In the book he quotes from a passage in Corinthians. What Dave didn't know at the time I think was that Johnny had recorded those lines in a song released in 2010. It's on the album "American IV: Ain't No Grave". The album is haunting in so many ways and the songs were recorded right up to the time Johnny died in 2003. Check it out....
Johnny Cash - 1 Corinthians 15:55 - http://youtu.be/B8sJ9leK6es
A couple of weeks ago I read a news story on my feed about guitars. An English songwriter had her guitar and bass stolen and had put out an internet plea for their return. As a result I checked out her website and music. After listening to only a track and a half I clicked the PayPal button and ordered her two albums. Being the modern world, the CDs will arrive soon but you also get a free download of the songs. But my download had some issues so I sent Laura (the artist) an email. I was pleasantly suprised to get a personal note from her today that sorted my issue out and thanked me for my comments about her music. That's cool. If you like bands like The Clouds or The Falling Joys or singers like Liz Phair and Suzanne Vega then you might like this. Or of course, if you're just brave enough to take a chance on me recommending something....
She Makes War - Minefields - http://youtu.be/j4rFctgKTao
Fans of good music should come along to Beyond Q at Curtin Shops on Sunday 2nd March at 4pm (be on time) for a quick set that features yours truly on guitar and un-mic'd vocals. Luckily H, Chief and Joel will be doing some singing as well as covering all my mistakes. No need to book and it's free. Learn this song and be ready to sing along as I get my loud guitar working the room! More gig info here.
Matthew Sweet - Sick of Myself - http://youtu.be/x0An-YoFWxQ
Coming soon for a full review is an album from US punk rockers "The Dollyrots". I was turned onto them by a friend in the States (hi Tom!) and I've been listening to them for a few weeks now. Tom and his son Phil were involved with recording and playing on the album. There's an acoustic CD that you get too if you pre-order. How funny and cool is this track?
The Dollyrots - Anarchy & Disney - http://youtu.be/tt6ZyZB-4Qc
iTunes radio started up in Australia this week. I've tried Spotify before as well as a couple of other streaming services and I was never all that impressed. But when I clicked on the iTunes version and chose a couple of "stations" that I thought might be interesting I will admit I was pleasantly surprised. The sound quality is OK too. I'll investigate further (including their model for paying the artists) and get back to you. One of the first songs that was played was Ozzy's "Shot In The Dark". Pretty neat really - it's part of the time in Ozzy's career where Jake E. Lee was playing guitar for him. Jake was in the band after the technical ecstasy of Randy Rhoads and before Zakk Wylde came along with the pinch harmonics and huge hairy riffs. I always thought that Jake did a great job.
Ozzy Osbourne - Shot In The Dark - http://youtu.be/LL3vmVjYjBQ
I had a bit of a laugh with my good mate DJ MuchLessOfAFatBoy this week. The screen on his MP3 player had died and it was stuck on the Metallica album "Death Magnetic". As we both agreed, it could be a lot worse. It's such a good album especially when you consider the pretty much irredeemable effort that they put out prior to it. The only thing that was annoying was the fact that the mastering was so LOUD that a lot of the dynamics were blasted into sonic oblivion. But I've written about that before.
Metallica - Cyanide - http://youtu.be/xUMqqVOlJBs
I'll close this week with something a bit quieter as, apart from Johnny Cash, I've managed to make this a fairly noisy episode! This one's for you Chief...
Diesel - Cinnamon Girl - http://youtu.be/graKL6hCFiU
Have a great weekend brothers and sisters. Rock on!
DJ Rob
"It's a long and a dusty road
It's a hot and a heavy load
And the folks that I meet ain't always kind
Some are bad some are good
Some have done the best they could
Some have tried to ease my troubled mind
And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound" - Tom Paxton 1964
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Song of the Week #284
Radio fans; hello! Turn out the lights, press the speaker up to your ear and hide under the covers in case Mum or Dad catch you listening after bedtime!
I guess you have to be a certain age to remember that. For me waiting until night time to listen to the radio was more about the fact that I could tune into AM stations from all over the country and SW stations from all over the world. Radio Moscow used to send me a regular programme guide. Which was amusing up to the point that my Dad forwarded one to me when I had just joined the Army. A few questions were certainly asked of me! Radio Moscow certainly wasn't "rocking in the free world" in the late 80s but it was the first place I heard Siouxsie & The Banshees. Looking back that is fairly surreal.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Painted Bird (1982) - http://youtu.be/3QVEQ6XZ3V8
Let's move to something relatively new. English band "The Temperance Movement" are causing a fair bit of interest with blues and rock fans. After reading about them I listened to a few songs. To me they sound like a swampy, bluesy version of Thunder crossed with the Allman Brothers, ZZ Top and The Black Crowes. It's good stuff. ANd less contrived than Joe Bonamassa. Try this out...
The Temperance Movement - Only Friend (2012) - http://youtu.be/5mGALmFlHOA
I had a conversation with DJ MCG this week about Roxette. They are still playing music. I was reminded of seeing them live and the whole show being full on rock and roll with more guitars than I remember ever seeing on one stage. The only band that might be able to top that would be Cheap Trick I imagine.
Roxette - Sleeping In My Car (live 2012) - http://youtu.be/7V_8gi1wOYk
Did everyone see the keyboard players hat in that clip? He must be a Bee Gees fan.
I guess you have to be a certain age to remember that. For me waiting until night time to listen to the radio was more about the fact that I could tune into AM stations from all over the country and SW stations from all over the world. Radio Moscow used to send me a regular programme guide. Which was amusing up to the point that my Dad forwarded one to me when I had just joined the Army. A few questions were certainly asked of me! Radio Moscow certainly wasn't "rocking in the free world" in the late 80s but it was the first place I heard Siouxsie & The Banshees. Looking back that is fairly surreal.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Painted Bird (1982) - http://youtu.be/3QVEQ6XZ3V8
Let's move to something relatively new. English band "The Temperance Movement" are causing a fair bit of interest with blues and rock fans. After reading about them I listened to a few songs. To me they sound like a swampy, bluesy version of Thunder crossed with the Allman Brothers, ZZ Top and The Black Crowes. It's good stuff. ANd less contrived than Joe Bonamassa. Try this out...
The Temperance Movement - Only Friend (2012) - http://youtu.be/5mGALmFlHOA
I had a conversation with DJ MCG this week about Roxette. They are still playing music. I was reminded of seeing them live and the whole show being full on rock and roll with more guitars than I remember ever seeing on one stage. The only band that might be able to top that would be Cheap Trick I imagine.
Roxette - Sleeping In My Car (live 2012) - http://youtu.be/7V_8gi1wOYk
Did everyone see the keyboard players hat in that clip? He must be a Bee Gees fan.
Lilyhammer season 2 has started on TV here in Australia. If you haven't seen the first one then run to the DVD store/online and get it. Both series are only 8 episodes but well worth your valuable time. Steven Van Zandt is even more hilarious as a mobster relocated to the town of Lillehammer in Norway than he was the first time around. And now that he's finished making this series he's back on tour with Bruce Springsteen. I don't think I'd be overstating it if I said that the TV show is one of the best I've ever seen.
Charles Bradley - Why Is It So Hard? (live 2011) - http://youtu.be/yBdTVmSVq14
Charles Bradley - Confusion (live 2013) - http://youtu.be/LDADBUPHt3U
Did you all spot the guitar player breaking a string in the second clip....he doesn't bat an eyelid. Respect!
That's all brothers and sisters. I hope you enjoyed the tunes this week.
DJ Rob
Do you remember lyin' in bed, with the covers over your head, radio playing so no-one could hear?
"Do you remember rock 'n' roll radio?" - Ramones, End of the Century (1980).
Steven Van Zandt - Espresso Martini (live 2013) - http://youtu.be/9UhwMH-4WWQ
Sadly one of my favourite Australian/NZ bands broke up last year. King Cannons were just fantastic. In great news though, Luke and Mikey from the band are back with something new. Out of Melbourne, "The Spirit" have just released their first song. See what you think...
The Spirit - Forever Gone (2014) - https://soundcloud.com/wearethespirit/forever-gone
Music isn't all meant to be serious. Sometimes cheesy lyrics, a great guitar riff and a big chorus is more than enough to lift your spirits. I was, and never will be, a "red blooded, fun lovin' all American boy" but I thought this was a great fun song when I was a teenager. I'd forgotten all about it until this week when the band's name popped up in the YouTube recommendations. This is one they should've included in the "Rock of Ages" soundtrack. More cliches than you can poke a stick at...
Y&T - All American Boy - http://youtu.be/irKc9O702nY
Lastly is a man whose career didn't really start to take off until he was well past what many would consider to be the prime of his life. Charles Bradley spent around 20 years playing small gigs and doing bits and pieces of work. But, he was discovered by one of the guys from Daptone Records and the rest is history. His debut album was released when he was 62. "The Screaming Eagle of Soul" will be here in Canberra on the 1st of March playing a free gig at the National Portrait Gallery (details here). I'll be making the effort to go and you should too if you like good honest music. Here's a couple of clips to whet your appetite...spot the theremin!Sadly one of my favourite Australian/NZ bands broke up last year. King Cannons were just fantastic. In great news though, Luke and Mikey from the band are back with something new. Out of Melbourne, "The Spirit" have just released their first song. See what you think...
The Spirit - Forever Gone (2014) - https://soundcloud.com/wearethespirit/forever-gone
Music isn't all meant to be serious. Sometimes cheesy lyrics, a great guitar riff and a big chorus is more than enough to lift your spirits. I was, and never will be, a "red blooded, fun lovin' all American boy" but I thought this was a great fun song when I was a teenager. I'd forgotten all about it until this week when the band's name popped up in the YouTube recommendations. This is one they should've included in the "Rock of Ages" soundtrack. More cliches than you can poke a stick at...
Y&T - All American Boy - http://youtu.be/irKc9O702nY
Charles Bradley - Why Is It So Hard? (live 2011) - http://youtu.be/yBdTVmSVq14
Charles Bradley - Confusion (live 2013) - http://youtu.be/LDADBUPHt3U
Did you all spot the guitar player breaking a string in the second clip....he doesn't bat an eyelid. Respect!
That's all brothers and sisters. I hope you enjoyed the tunes this week.
DJ Rob
Do you remember lyin' in bed, with the covers over your head, radio playing so no-one could hear?
"Do you remember rock 'n' roll radio?" - Ramones, End of the Century (1980).
Friday, January 31, 2014
Song of the Week #283
Back to work this week. It's always a bit of a shock after the long Summer holidays. My legs are taking a pounding getting used to cycling twice a day even though this is meant to be an easy week!
I'm not sure that there are huge advantages to all the weight I lost but I can tell you that hot weather really doesn't bother me anymore. In days gone by when the temperature got into the 30's I really used to struggle but yesterday I was riding home and the bike computer declared that it was 38 degrees - I felt just fine.
Angus is back from his 'adventure' at the coast. We had to take him straight to the hospital to have his foot sorted out. A 10mm puncture wound into a nerve has certainly slowed him down a little bit. It was amusing with me in the ER waiting room and Alison sending me text updates from where the doctor was using implements of destruction on Angus' foot. Everyone agreed that they didn't need me in there because they would've ended up with another patient.
If you didn't know already Pete Seeger died this week. It's hard to know what to say about him. His influence is so broad and so many people know at least a few of his songs. Let's just play a couple.
Pete Seeger - Turn, Turn, Turn - http://youtu.be/ivshYkrNWrg
Pete Seeger - If I Had A Hammer - http://youtu.be/Rl-yszPdRTk
BBC item with Billy Bragg talking about Pete Seeger - http://youtu.be/MlzV8ET80Nk
I went to see the latest Coen Brothers film, "Inside Llewyn Davis" the other day. It's not a fantastic movie but it's far from dreadful. I think that it's one that actually gets better a few days after you've seen it and bits sink in. Essentially it's about a week or so in the life of a struggling folk singer in the early 1960s. It has a great soundtrack and a cat steals the show. But, for me, there were too many things left open ended or undeveloped. This is a song from the film that is also very much one from my childhood. It's originally by Tom Paxton. The guy who sings it in the film has his character loosely based on him.
Stark Sands and Punch Brothers - The Last Thing On My Mind - http://youtu.be/coX8RsAN3V4
To be totally frank with you all dear listeners I am worn out. I'm not usually one of the TGIF brigade but today I certainly am. I'll be riding home the short way and probably falling in a heap. I very rarely sleep in but this would be the ideal moment!
Divinyls - Sleeping Beauty - http://youtu.be/5JOBHNWS65s
This next song I may have played before but I can't remember. DJ Broose and I played it a long time ago in a covers band. Australian Crawl were a fantastic band who, not unlike Midnight Oil, deviated far enough from the pub rock sound to make it interesting without alienating their mainstream audience. My favourite line in this song is, "we went a-walking down on Rodeo Drive, saw Barry Gibb he was stayin' alive".
Australian Crawl - La Califusa - http://youtu.be/RRnlpVVUW4U
And of course "Stayin' Alive" has just one of the coolest riffs ever. It would be remiss of me not to play it.
Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive - http://youtu.be/I_izvAbhExY
Yesterday I wanted to listen to a new DVD I have. But I forgot that new laptops don't come with optical drives anymore. It's not outdated technology in my book. Here's the band I thought would keep me going through a few admin tasks!
Hayseed Dixie - I Love Rock 'n' Roll - http://youtu.be/6kh0K3A-CFQ
Let's finish with a band that I listen to sporadically. To me they are much better live and their performances that I've seen are a lot better than the majority of their contemporaries.
Aerosmith - Walk This Way (live) - http://youtu.be/4HcR-HrVM5A
I still maintain that I could be a huge rock star if I had some hair! Ha ha!
That's it folks.
DJ Rob
"Rock and roll is here to stay" - Neil Young (My, My, Hey, Hey (Out of the blue) 1979)
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Song of the Week #282
It's been an interesting week. My son (15) is on holiday at the coast with another family. On Monday Angus and his friend went out for a short walk. And they didn't come back. What transpired was that they'd gone along the beach but had been caught out by the tide coming in and had been unable to retrace their steps. The result was that, sans shoes, phones and any water they got lost in the bush for 8 hours trying to get back home. To cut a long story short, after drinking from puddles, getting covered in leaches and cutting their feet to shreds they were found. The family that Angus is on holiday were fabulous and continue to be so we're very lucky there. Although Alison and I didn't know for the whole time he was missing I can assure you that it's a truly horrible feeling. Anyway, he's OK apart from his feet.
The Badloves - Lost - http://youtu.be/AavJO-73oGY
In exciting news, the band is back for 2014. We're booked in for two Midnight Oil tribute shows on 3rd and 10th of May here in Canberra. Even bigger news is that we're going on the road in the middle of the year to play some tunes for the people of Tingha. There are some big non-Oils gigs as well for 2014 so watch this space. If you want to come to either of the Oils shows then you need to book fairly soon. Last year's performances were sold out. Get some friends and call Teatro Vivaldi's on 02 6257 2718 to reserve a table. I can guarantee no lip sync and no autotune. Just real rock 'n' roll.
Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (live) - http://youtu.be/VF_XaQ2YctY
As I was putting the finishing touches to this week's episode Cousin Trish popped up on Facebook with a note about her love of Scottish band Del Amitri. They are definitely one of my favourites as well so it seems like a good idea to play one of their tunes. I feel that they are cruelly underrated and deserved a lot more success than they got. Great guitars and melodies. This is the first track from their 1992 album "Change Everything". Another cassette I wore out.
Del Amitri - Be My Downfall - http://youtu.be/GwASZpIHKLY
Keeping it in the family for a moment, the next tune is for my sister. She's having some issues with stand-over merchant tradesmen...not fun.
The Cruel Sea - Better Get A Lawyer - http://youtu.be/RJ0hOKCSuns
Argh! This is turning into the family episode. In the immortal words of John Bird..."I can't see no going back now"! My fantastic daughter Z-boots has had enough of working for the multinational cholesterol, sugar and burger joint starting with M. And she's taken action - getting a job at my favourite coffee shop on the spot and therefore starting tomorrow. Not to mention that DJ Ben-E has been kind enough to train her up as a swimming instructor and she'll be drown proofing kids in a few weeks -that's a great skill set. So, she got a new job and on Thursday she had a haircut...then she made a joke about this song. Z-boots is awesome!
George Thorogood and the Destroyers - Get A Haircut (live) - http://youtu.be/PbAoXw_DqvM
Grandad Bill loves cars. A few years ago now his pride and joy, a Mini Cooper S (rescued from Australia, flown to NZ and lovingly restored) was badly damaged on the race track. Bill and his car loving network put it back together over a long period of time and then decided that someone else should have a chance to love it. I've driven said Mini and it was wonderful. Imagine sitting on top of a jet engine and that's the feeling you got. Anyway, the restored and better than perfect Mini was sold. Sadly, it was involved in an accident a couple of weeks ago in the pit lane and Bill was there to see it. Very sad indeed. We're thinking of you Grandad Bill!!
John Fogerty - Hot Rod Heart - http://youtu.be/aVZjP0NGBsA
Finally there has been resolution in the great amplifier trade in debacle of 2014. I went to another guitar shop (hello Better Music Canberra) and after a stalled start they got themselves sorted out. A young man (I can say that now that I'm old) called Alec showed me a heap of amplifiers and left me alone to try them out. Then he offered me a great deal on my Marshall. So it's gone and I am now the proud owner of a Mesa/Boogie guitar amp that is loud and that I can lift. If you're interested in amps then shoot me an email or a message via some other platform and I can tell you all about why it is so cool. It's a shame that after 15 years I don't have my name on my amplifier but it's the sound that counts.
John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen - http://youtu.be/G4pp02_GN9A
To answer last week's quiz question...and only DJ Dr came close...the link between Nightwish, Green Day and The Who is the bass guitar that Marco Hietala is playing in the live clip. It's a "Buzzard" bass which was designed and made famous by John Entwistle of The Who. Click here for a picture.
I'll finish with this next song. Why? Why not. I Was reminded of this excellent track whilst watching "American Horror Story". Weird show but worth watching.
The Ramones - Pinhead - http://youtu.be/GT_2K4ddG7g
Back to work shortly...
DJ Rob
The Badloves - Lost - http://youtu.be/AavJO-73oGY
In exciting news, the band is back for 2014. We're booked in for two Midnight Oil tribute shows on 3rd and 10th of May here in Canberra. Even bigger news is that we're going on the road in the middle of the year to play some tunes for the people of Tingha. There are some big non-Oils gigs as well for 2014 so watch this space. If you want to come to either of the Oils shows then you need to book fairly soon. Last year's performances were sold out. Get some friends and call Teatro Vivaldi's on 02 6257 2718 to reserve a table. I can guarantee no lip sync and no autotune. Just real rock 'n' roll.
Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (live) - http://youtu.be/VF_XaQ2YctY
As I was putting the finishing touches to this week's episode Cousin Trish popped up on Facebook with a note about her love of Scottish band Del Amitri. They are definitely one of my favourites as well so it seems like a good idea to play one of their tunes. I feel that they are cruelly underrated and deserved a lot more success than they got. Great guitars and melodies. This is the first track from their 1992 album "Change Everything". Another cassette I wore out.
Del Amitri - Be My Downfall - http://youtu.be/GwASZpIHKLY
Keeping it in the family for a moment, the next tune is for my sister. She's having some issues with stand-over merchant tradesmen...not fun.
The Cruel Sea - Better Get A Lawyer - http://youtu.be/RJ0hOKCSuns
Argh! This is turning into the family episode. In the immortal words of John Bird..."I can't see no going back now"! My fantastic daughter Z-boots has had enough of working for the multinational cholesterol, sugar and burger joint starting with M. And she's taken action - getting a job at my favourite coffee shop on the spot and therefore starting tomorrow. Not to mention that DJ Ben-E has been kind enough to train her up as a swimming instructor and she'll be drown proofing kids in a few weeks -that's a great skill set. So, she got a new job and on Thursday she had a haircut...then she made a joke about this song. Z-boots is awesome!
George Thorogood and the Destroyers - Get A Haircut (live) - http://youtu.be/PbAoXw_DqvM
Grandad Bill loves cars. A few years ago now his pride and joy, a Mini Cooper S (rescued from Australia, flown to NZ and lovingly restored) was badly damaged on the race track. Bill and his car loving network put it back together over a long period of time and then decided that someone else should have a chance to love it. I've driven said Mini and it was wonderful. Imagine sitting on top of a jet engine and that's the feeling you got. Anyway, the restored and better than perfect Mini was sold. Sadly, it was involved in an accident a couple of weeks ago in the pit lane and Bill was there to see it. Very sad indeed. We're thinking of you Grandad Bill!!
John Fogerty - Hot Rod Heart - http://youtu.be/aVZjP0NGBsA
Finally there has been resolution in the great amplifier trade in debacle of 2014. I went to another guitar shop (hello Better Music Canberra) and after a stalled start they got themselves sorted out. A young man (I can say that now that I'm old) called Alec showed me a heap of amplifiers and left me alone to try them out. Then he offered me a great deal on my Marshall. So it's gone and I am now the proud owner of a Mesa/Boogie guitar amp that is loud and that I can lift. If you're interested in amps then shoot me an email or a message via some other platform and I can tell you all about why it is so cool. It's a shame that after 15 years I don't have my name on my amplifier but it's the sound that counts.
John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen - http://youtu.be/G4pp02_GN9A
To answer last week's quiz question...and only DJ Dr came close...the link between Nightwish, Green Day and The Who is the bass guitar that Marco Hietala is playing in the live clip. It's a "Buzzard" bass which was designed and made famous by John Entwistle of The Who. Click here for a picture.
I'll finish with this next song. Why? Why not. I Was reminded of this excellent track whilst watching "American Horror Story". Weird show but worth watching.
The Ramones - Pinhead - http://youtu.be/GT_2K4ddG7g
Back to work shortly...
DJ Rob
Friday, January 17, 2014
Song of the Week #281
Another week and another guitar shop. This one was better. Great guitar selection and no hassles about letting me try anything and everything. Then when I'd decided on a really, really nice amplifier I was told that the guy who does all the deals on trade ins is away until February. That's just great. There's still one more guitar place left in town so maybe I'll be brave and go there next week. Just in case anyone is interested in the guitar that both Zoë and I fell in love with and managed to walk away from click here!
Manowar - All Men Play On Ten (live 2008) - http://youtu.be/lGBxXOQ6EEY
Of course we all know that Spinal Tap famously played on 11 but that's music for another day.
DJ Pastry Chef very kindly gave me an iTunes voucher recently. The process of choosing something to buy was agonising and fun all at once. I selected an album that I'm extremely unlikely to ever see in a record shop; Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes live in 1978. The band are contemporaries of Springsteen and you can hear clear influences both ways. It's a raucous and fun live album full of what others call "blue eyed soul" but I just think of as good, honest rock 'n' roll.
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - Without Love (1977) - http://youtu.be/ks7FLXKozj8
Springsteen has a new LP out right now called "High Hopes". The reviews are very, very mixed. Check back in a couple of weeks and I'll let you know what I think.
With the vagaries of iTunes pricing I had enough credit left over to buy a single song. I chose this next one from Nightwish. I love the studio version and I've also very much enjoyed their recently released live DVD. You need to see the keyboards setup to believe it! Also, the bass player has a rather special bass guitar; points to anyone who knows who made that particular style of guitar famous.
Nightwish - Storytime (live 2013) - http://youtu.be/pvkYwOJZONU
Lemmy from Motorhead is an interesting character. In a magazine I was reading this week he selected a whole lot of tunes that come on the "free" CD. And they are great - classic rock and roll from the earliest days when life was apparently much simpler. Here's a couple that he chose that really made my toes tap. Listen for the chika-chika guitar in this one - you'll also hear that style in many of Johnny Cash's tracks.
Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody (1958) - http://youtu.be/-BjOenH8lJw
And then there was this classic. I enjoyed it so much that I dragged out the greatest hits LP that I got for Christmas in maybe 1986!
Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day (1957) - http://youtu.be/WvJXCNwzBq4
All you listeners out there should've twigged by now that I enjoy a fair amount of heavy rock and metal. But the genre known as "Black Metal" never interested me. I tried and just never really got it. Maybe it's the shrieked vocals or the low quality recordings or just the whole idea but it isn't for me. Darkthrone are one of the most influential bands of this type. If you try their albums such as "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" or "Transilvanian Hunger" you might, like me be turned off the band. But, they are interesting in that their sound develops and changes over time. They aren't stuck wailing the same thing now that they were in the 90's. I was convinced to listen to their latest album on the strength of a review and I'm glad I did. Darkthrone have evolved into a band that sound like a mix of Slayer, Motorhead, King Diamond and perhaps Duran Duran. OK, one of those is not quite true. Their album "The Underground Resistance" is 42 minutes and 6 tracks of really, really good metal. If you like the aforementioned bands or those that came out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest and Venom then this is worth a listen. It's also scary to me how close a lot of the LP is to sounding like Australia's own Armoured Angel. All in all, an album that is a huge surprise to me. It's quite a while since I've wanted to listen over and over to an entire LP.
Darkthrone - Lesser Men (2013) - http://youtu.be/zWZfOeMmrM0
Finally, Green Day. I chanced upon a live CD/DVD set of theirs for $12. Given that I think that they are a good fun band who write punk style songs with great hooks I was parted from my money. Great record, great concert (live in Tokyo). I wouldn't mind going to see them one day. Not everything needs to be hipster cool or serious.
Green Day - My Generation (live 2011) - http://youtu.be/caY686De03M
Mega bonus points if you can work out why I chose that song instead of a Green Day original. Surely someone is paying close attention this week...
The guitar that Billie Joe Armstrong is playing in that clip is a Fernandes Strat copy that his Mum bought him when he was 11. That's cool.
That's all for this week. Yeah, it's been hot, I've been cycling and I've been trying to liquidate my action figure collection but that's not all that interesting.
DJ Rob
Manowar - All Men Play On Ten (live 2008) - http://youtu.be/lGBxXOQ6EEY
Of course we all know that Spinal Tap famously played on 11 but that's music for another day.
DJ Pastry Chef very kindly gave me an iTunes voucher recently. The process of choosing something to buy was agonising and fun all at once. I selected an album that I'm extremely unlikely to ever see in a record shop; Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes live in 1978. The band are contemporaries of Springsteen and you can hear clear influences both ways. It's a raucous and fun live album full of what others call "blue eyed soul" but I just think of as good, honest rock 'n' roll.
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - Without Love (1977) - http://youtu.be/ks7FLXKozj8
Springsteen has a new LP out right now called "High Hopes". The reviews are very, very mixed. Check back in a couple of weeks and I'll let you know what I think.
With the vagaries of iTunes pricing I had enough credit left over to buy a single song. I chose this next one from Nightwish. I love the studio version and I've also very much enjoyed their recently released live DVD. You need to see the keyboards setup to believe it! Also, the bass player has a rather special bass guitar; points to anyone who knows who made that particular style of guitar famous.
Nightwish - Storytime (live 2013) - http://youtu.be/pvkYwOJZONU
Lemmy from Motorhead is an interesting character. In a magazine I was reading this week he selected a whole lot of tunes that come on the "free" CD. And they are great - classic rock and roll from the earliest days when life was apparently much simpler. Here's a couple that he chose that really made my toes tap. Listen for the chika-chika guitar in this one - you'll also hear that style in many of Johnny Cash's tracks.
Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody (1958) - http://youtu.be/-BjOenH8lJw
And then there was this classic. I enjoyed it so much that I dragged out the greatest hits LP that I got for Christmas in maybe 1986!
Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day (1957) - http://youtu.be/WvJXCNwzBq4
All you listeners out there should've twigged by now that I enjoy a fair amount of heavy rock and metal. But the genre known as "Black Metal" never interested me. I tried and just never really got it. Maybe it's the shrieked vocals or the low quality recordings or just the whole idea but it isn't for me. Darkthrone are one of the most influential bands of this type. If you try their albums such as "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" or "Transilvanian Hunger" you might, like me be turned off the band. But, they are interesting in that their sound develops and changes over time. They aren't stuck wailing the same thing now that they were in the 90's. I was convinced to listen to their latest album on the strength of a review and I'm glad I did. Darkthrone have evolved into a band that sound like a mix of Slayer, Motorhead, King Diamond and perhaps Duran Duran. OK, one of those is not quite true. Their album "The Underground Resistance" is 42 minutes and 6 tracks of really, really good metal. If you like the aforementioned bands or those that came out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest and Venom then this is worth a listen. It's also scary to me how close a lot of the LP is to sounding like Australia's own Armoured Angel. All in all, an album that is a huge surprise to me. It's quite a while since I've wanted to listen over and over to an entire LP.
Darkthrone - Lesser Men (2013) - http://youtu.be/zWZfOeMmrM0
Finally, Green Day. I chanced upon a live CD/DVD set of theirs for $12. Given that I think that they are a good fun band who write punk style songs with great hooks I was parted from my money. Great record, great concert (live in Tokyo). I wouldn't mind going to see them one day. Not everything needs to be hipster cool or serious.
Green Day - My Generation (live 2011) - http://youtu.be/caY686De03M
Mega bonus points if you can work out why I chose that song instead of a Green Day original. Surely someone is paying close attention this week...
The guitar that Billie Joe Armstrong is playing in that clip is a Fernandes Strat copy that his Mum bought him when he was 11. That's cool.
That's all for this week. Yeah, it's been hot, I've been cycling and I've been trying to liquidate my action figure collection but that's not all that interesting.
DJ Rob
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