Song of the Week #148

I like cycling. I remember the thrill of learning to ride a two wheeler, my Dad painting a bike silver for me, my first 10-speed racing bike and of course the love affair that I have with my Cervelo road bike. I like reading about cycling too; books, magazines, websites, the lot! I’m happy on my mountain bike, time trial bike or even riding some hills here in Canberra. I’m excited when new season bikes are released and always wish I had unlimited funds. And I’ve certainly spent a fair bit of time online at the Trek Website customizing a dream bike over and over. I really need to get on with learning to ride my unicycle. But what I can’t stand is cheating. It already looks like this year’s Tour de France will be overshadowed by the Contador doping circus. All I can do is cheer for the riders that I hope are clean and pray that one day the UCI will see the light and get really serious about sanctions for doping.

Sadly the big music news this week was the death of E-Street Band member, Clarence Clemons. I’m only a fan of selected bits of the Bruce Springsteen discography but there’s no doubt that The Boss’ music just wouldn’t have been the same without Clemons’ saxophone. I didn’t realise until this week that my favourite Springsteen song is actually written about him meeting Clarence. And in retrospect I realised how many songs that I like featured the Big Man. I’ll dedicate this episode to him.

This is my favourite Springsteen tune. From the Born To Run album (1975)

Bruce Springsteen – Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

I remember thinking that I had finally got the better of a jazz snob when I was at school when I found out that Clarence was playing on this next tune. A helluva lot of fun and also featuring Alice Cooper, Billy Joel and Brian Setzer. Of the guest stars, only Alice is in the video.

Twisted Sister – Be Chrool To Your Scuel

The next song was a hit for Clarence along with Jackson Browne in 1985.

Clarence Clemons – You’re A Friend Of Mine

And this cheesy number with legend Aretha Franklin was a chart topper also in 1985.

Aretha Franklin – Freeway Of Love

Clarence also appeared on Lady Gaga’s most recent album. She must have at least one redeeming feature I suppose.

Before I finish, I feel the need to plead with just about every TV news service. The images of cruelty to animals in Indonesian slaughterhouses are probably unnecessary in every report that has a tenuous link to the story. At the very least, a warning that the images may be disturbing would be appreciated.

This morning Alison took pity on me and I was spared a ride to work on the scooter in -4 degrees. As a result I grabbed a random CD from the racks to listen to while negotiating the polar bears and penguins who are here because it is colder than where they normally live. I’m glad that this particular CD came with me because it made me laugh all the way to work. That can’t be bad!

Billy Connolly – Last Train To Glasgow Central

This is odd. Very odd. But the album is strangely almost compulsive listening….see what you think:

Luther Wright & The Wrongs – Comfortably Numb

See you on the flipside.

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #147

In this week’s episode it’s pretty much all music. Apart from maybe an attack on the Tobacco Lobby! We’ll see.

Ozzy’s re-mastered CDs and vinyl arrived in the mail yesterday. Along with the music and DVD was a pretty cool coffee table book filled to the brim with photos. I won’t dwell on this box set but will post a separate review on the blog in a few days. This track is an instrumental that guitarist Randy Rhoads wrote for his Mum. He used to disappear from the tour bus and take classical guitar lessons. Pretty cool.

Randy Rhoads - Dee

Since I’m on a bit of an acoustic guitar trip here’s a true master.

Paco Peña - Soleares

So, here we go with a bit of a rant. Bypass it if you like. The tobacco industry has terrible TV ads on at the moment attacking the government for bringing in legislation to mandate plain packaging for cigarettes. Personally I am all on the government’s side. Smoking is dumb. I also read that smoking is about to be banned in a number of prisons. That’s going to be tough but will the end result be worth it? I’m happy for my taxes to go on nicotine patches rather than the cost of treating smoking related illness. The tobacco industry wants us to believe that we can’t live without the taxes imposed on their products. Well, without their products surely the savings in health care would even it out. Remember all the moaning when tobacco companies could no longer sponsor sport in Australia? What a furphy. Smoke at your own risk, not near me and don’t expect me to be happy about funding your treatment for a related illness.

And just to show that I do have a sense of humour…

Motley Crue – Smoking In The Boys Room

With the arrival of some replacement gear from the insurance company (finally) I had to pretty much configure my iPhone from scratch. This was good and bad. Bad in that some tracks I had purchased are no longer, and good in that I loaded on a whole swag of different tunes. I’ll play a couple now…

First up is The Darkness from the UK. They were a great rock band with soaring guitars, cat suits and some wicked falsetto vocals. Standard story – they are no more.

The Darkness – Love Is Only A Feeling (anyone pick the location?)

And one from maybe the best stage musical ever…

Ipi Ntombi Cast - Shosholoza

Last weekend I went to see X-Men: First Class. I’m not a hardcore fan of the comics or anything like that. But the movie was very cool. Plenty of action, some in jokes and a whole lot of fun. You don’t have to look too closely to get the anti-discrimination message either. It was worth the price of entry. One of the actors was Zoë Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. In 1991 Lenny released the groovy album “Mama Said”. I got it on cassette free with a 12 month subscription to Rolling Stone. Just as well because the magazine was and is dreadful. But the album rocked. Here’s a track from it written for his daughter Zoë who would have been 3 or 4 at the time. Now she’s on the big screen!

Lenny Kravitz – Flowers for Zoë

But I don’t want to finish on a quiet note. Here’s another track from my current playlist of current. You can just rock out to it or have a think about the lyrics if your brain cells are still functioning this late in the week.

Bad Religion – 21^st Century Digital Boy

People, get ready!

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #146

Hello Winter! Suddenly it’s cold here in Canberra. I’m not sure we got much of an Autumn either which is very unfair. Getting ready to go out cycling now takes a lot longer with layer upon layer of clothing to be applied as well as lights on the bike. Brrrr is all I have to say!

Here’s a song to warm you all up. Not the original but a good effort nonetheless.

Joan Osbourne - Heatwave

Dr. Who has been back on TV here for a while and I think it just keeps getting better and better. My only gripe is that we really don’t need the bit at the start of every episode explaining who Amy and the Doctor are – the BBC doesn’t need to dumb it down. This next song was featured on last week’s show. A classic that now probably freaks a few Dr. Who viewers out!

Dusty Springfield – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me

In Heavy Metal news, the enhanced versions of Ozzy Osbourne’s classic albums, “Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary of a Madman” are now available. Remastered CDs, vinyl versions, the obligatory coffee book and a replica of Ozzy’s gold crucifix are included. In my humble opinion, “Blizzard of Ozz” is one of the greatest metal albums of all time. I remember being given a copy when I was about 15 and being mesmerized by the guitar work. I’m looking forward to hearing the remastered version soon – the original lacks a bit of bottom end. This track is an extra on the new enhanced edition. It only has guitars and vocals and I think it sounds great. There are delicate touches in the verses as well as the opportunity to hear the classical influence in the screaming guitar solo without distraction. Awesome.

Ozzy Osbourne – Goodbye To Romance

I can’t let talk of all things Heavy Metal pass without a quick discussion of the Soundwave Revolution festival which will hit in September. The number legendary acts is sure to have most rock fans salivating. Alice Cooper, Bad Religion, Steel Panther, The Sisters of Mercy, Machine Head, Danzig and Devin Townsend just to name a few. The big ticket item though is Van Halen. It might be cheesy, but I’d love to see them live! Especially with Diamond David Lee Roth singing – what a treat. VH have to be the ultimate party band. I spent a while finding a good version of this song, possibly my fave from Van Halen. It’s worth waiting through the 42s of introduction.

Van Halen – Unchained (live)

Maybe we need to chill a bit after Ozzy and Van Halen. I don’t want anyone out there in radio land getting over stimulated. Here’s a special version of a classic track. What a voice!! I remember wondering as a kid which member of the Music Department was responsible for bringing a “capella” to the rehearsals because they always left it behind. I get it now.

Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine (a capella)

On Sunday I played with some colleagues at a show here at school. Tons of fun! But I was asked to play this song for someone else to sing to. I’d played bits of it in the past but never the full song – and it was in a different key of course! After three quick run throughs on my own it was time to play. Any opportunity to play live is great and this time I got to debut my newest guitar. I’ll admit it was far from perfect on my behalf but it was still a hoot!

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Under The Bridge (Acoustic)

Searching out good music is made easier and probably harder with the help of the internet. Before we had that I guess I relied a lot more on radio. But here’s one that came to me from the local library in my pre-internet days. I saw a CD with a funny blue cover and picked it up on the off chance it might be good. It was. Here’s Gillian Welch with great picking and insanely good vocals. Thanks to DJ Tel4 for jogging my memory as well!

Gillian Welch – I Want To Sing That Rock ‘n Roll

If it’s too loud, you’re too old.

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #145

Guten Tag, Bonjour, G’Day, Haere Mai, Shalom, Hello!

Welcome back for another installment in the blog that just refuses to go away. And sorry that I’m a bit late this week. I know that so many off you wait beside the computer jonesing for your fix of musical mayhem.

The insurance debacle caused by our break-in carries on like a juggernaut with hiccups. Who knew that we were the ones that had to phone the insurance company back when THEY had finished the quote? Add to that a 7 week wait for a new door. I think that frustrating would be an apt description. Does anybody out there remember “The Comedy Company” TV show? Well I do and I reckon our insurance company is just another product from “Bastards Incorporated”.

Just in case you need your memory refreshed: Bastards Incorporated

I was a bit grumpy when I got home. But the combination of pasta bake on the dinner menu and a quick blast from a comedy CD as I drove home from taking Zoe to youth group seems to have improved my mood. You can be assured that I’ve left the thrash metal out of this episode.

Here’s one of my favourite rock tracks. I discovered this band a few years ago when I heard a snippet on the radio. They took me a while to track down but after conversations with too many record store employees and numerous internet searches I got the CD. Cool lyrics, beautifully driven guitar and a singer who looks like Lister from Red Dwarf.

Danko Jones – Living In The City

Readers of the news will have heard this week that all the remaining Borders stores in Australia are closing. Personally I think that their actions in the gift card debacle put them in the Bastards Incorporated league. 317 people will lose their jobs. I was in Borders on Saturday with Angus. We were reading all their magazines in an attempt to get some value out of our useless gift cards. On the way out I noticed that they has Ramones coasters and Star Wars torches on clearance – and who can resist such a top bargain! I like books so I’m sad that the shop will be gone but there are a few other good options in Canberra. Of course, there’s always the amazingly awesome Book Depository website as well. But, here’s a Ramones tune for you. I always think that if I’d heard this band as a teen when I was right into AC/DC and Iron Maiden that I might have turned out differently!

The Ramones – The KKK Took My Baby Away

Getting into punk via The Ramones led me to a number of other bands. I realise that YouTube will do that for you now but what it meant for me back in the day was venturing into different parts of the record store. While The Lemonheads are not a punk band per se, I got into them about the same time. They do a really, really good cover of Suzanne Vega’s song Luka. I like either version. Such a sad song, breathless voice and tasteful guitar. A very left field hit in my opinion.

Suzanne Vega - Luka

Earlier on I referred to the TV show Red Dwarf. A classic. And the theme song is excellent. Grab a glass of fresh mango juice and sing along!

Red Dwarf Theme Song

I continue to be astounded and disappointed by sports administration at all levels. Check my earlier blog post if you want details about junior rugby. But really, the Contador drugs sham and the joke that was the FIFA elections are enough to make me spew. Here’s a track for all the drug cheats, liars and corrupt sports folks.

Beck - Loser

This next tune was on a cassette that I’d only listened to a few times. It came around the other day and this song floored me. I won’t shy away from the fact that it is a pretty confronting few minutes. From the album “Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury”. You’ve been warned. Don’t listen if you’re feeling down today.

Language of Violence – The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy

So, let’s finish with something a bit more upbeat because, personally, I’m looking forward to an awesome weekend of family time interrupted only by marking a few assignments!

It’s an evil sounding tune that I’ve been in love with since I was a bairn. But this is a newer version. Rock on.

Apocalyptica – In The Hall of The Mountain King

That’ll do. Avagoodweekend.

DJ Rob

Sportsmanship

Being on the sidelines for junior sport since my son was very little has taught me a thing or two. First of all I know the rules of rugby just enough now to cheer and not sound like a dunce. I also learned a thing or two about taking action photos.

But what I learned about the lessons in sportsmanship are ugly. Parents are the culprits here, not the kids. I once saw a 15 yr old soccer referee called a "c*nt" by a parent on the sideline. The kids playing would've been 7yrs old. The referee stopped the game and the parent was removed by his (mortified) wife.

I was at a Rugby 7s carnival when two parents ran onto the field and had a punch up. Classy.

But the kicker lately seems to be the rather unsavoury practice of poaching players. We're talking about 13 and 14 year olds. The latest show of unsportsmanlike behaviour involves boys playing sport for a private school team even though they don't attend it. The result is that they play for a super strong team with almost as many reserves as there are players on the field. And it means that the "public" clubs struggle for numbers. Indeed this season our mob has taken orphans from a couple of other clubs unable to field a team. Wake up parents, winning isn't everything. And karma comes around eventually.

I'm unapologetic about these comments. A certain college should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen. I saw plenty of their players getting only 5 mins game time because the imports played the majority of the match.

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #144

After the low of our house being burgled we were feeling lower than a snake's belly. But the prospect of a day trip to the coast for Angus to play rugby had us feeling OK. After all, some sunshine, a sausage sandwich and some boys playing good rugby sounded like a plan.

But, as it seems to be of late, lady luck wasn't with us, in fact she was totally against us! Angus played almost 5 whole minutes of the match before tackling a kid twice his size. The other kid landed on him and bent his wrist in a way it just isn't meant to go. The result was that Angus spent the rest of the match with the St John's Ambulance guys. Then he spent some of Saturday evening at the hospital. It wasn't broken but it was pretty beat up. Of course, it's Friday now and he looks like he's recovered well. Just in time for another smash fest tomorrow. Why he can't be a chess Grand Master is totally beyond me.

This is a song for Angus. Good advice for the times when the hulking 70kg 13 year olds are chasing him.

Pink Floyd - Run Like Hell

Time to lighten the mood a little. I heard this next artist years ago when I saw a cassette with an interesting cover in a bargain bin at my favourite record store. The song titles appealed to me and I was pleasantly surprised to get home and find out that the music was pretty rip roaring. With titles like “I wanna race Bigfoot Trucks”, “Destroy all lawyers” and “Don Henley must die” it was $5 well spent. See what you think.

Mojo Nixon – Burn Down The Malls

Of course, nothing Mojo does will top his song, “Debbie Gibson is pregnant with my two headed love child”! Well it made me giggle.

And this next song is just for fun, lots of fun, so much fun that I’m dancing around the room trying to type…man I love this version!

Me First And The Gimme Gimmes – Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Billy Bragg wrote on facebook this week that he had been watching some music videos from the 70’s with his son. According to Bill these songs were the reason that punk had to happen. Here’s two of my favourite voices doing a great version of a classic punk tune. I guess the song could be classified as hardcore rather than punk but that’s just semantics!

Chuck D & Henry Rollins – Rise Above

Chuck D is from the US Rap group Public Enemy. I really got into their music and some of their message in the early-90s when I was studying Human Geography. I was drawn to their straight talking lyrics and brutal honesty that melds totally with the sound they produced. It isn’t music I listen to every day but when I’m in the mood…

Public Enemy – Give It Up

I also read this week that heavy metal legends, Judas Priest, appeared on the TV show American Idol. Oh please. They should be ashamed of themselves. I have no more to say on that.

Some weeks I have a rant and some weeks you just get music. This is a rant week. Skip over the next bit if you like…

I hear all the time that the “youth of today” have no respect, don’t know how to behave and have short attention spans. Well hello, that is just wrong and it’s time that “oldies” practiced what they preach. We were at the National Eisteddfod last Sunday watching Zoe. There was a large group of 13 and 14 year olds in front of us watching the performance and listening to the adjudication. Their behaviour was appropriate for the occasion. Contrast that with someone’s Grandma and her cronies behind us who talked through the whole thing even when asked to be quiet. And then there were all the adults who let their phones ring and one who I saw actually answer it during the show. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And a second example whilst I am on my soap box. People in my profession spend a fair bit of time trying to ensure that kids take responsibility for their surrounds. Cleaning up after yourself is something that we continually work on. Imagine my surprise when after a morning tea this week a friend told me that when he had reminded another colleague to put their cup in a dishwasher he was told that they “didn’t have time for that kind of thing” . If you want Gen Y to show respect and act in a particular way then remember, you have to model the behaviour as well. It’s a NIKE thing, “just do it”.

On Tuesday I went with MC Burglar to the tattoo parlour. I’d decided that if I finished the Ironman race that I’d join the crowd with the Ironman logo tattooed on my body. I was nervous, really nervous. Would it hurt? Would I cry? Would my leg fall off? Would Angus and MC Burglar laugh at my predicament? Well, to cut a short story even shorter, it took about 15 minutes, hurt like hell and I didn’t cry. It’s done now. I got it on the outside of my right ankle. That way anyone riding past me can see it! It’ll take a few weeks to completely heal but it looks pretty good I reckon. However, I’d rather do another Ironman than go back for another tattoo. The training and the race hurt less.

Rose Tattoo – Scarred For Life

Listening to Chuck D and Henry Rollins earlier made me reflect on what makes a good voice. Neither of them are what I’d call great singers in the traditional sense but the characteristics of their voices and the way they use them make their vocal delivery unmistakable. Some people are just blessed with a unique voice that appeals to others. Neil Young wavers around a note. It probably wouldn’t work for anyone else but he’s made a career from it. To finish off here’s a little gem that uses the singer’s voice to perfection. Something a bit different but I like it a lot.

Lee Marvin – I Was Born Under A Wandering Star

Yeeha!

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #143

Hello out there in blog and internet world.

This has been a week of highs and lows. The low was our house being broken into on Monday. We can cope with the loss of a whole swag of electronic equipment – it’s a pain but insurance should come through at some stage. What is totally devastating is that our backup drive (aka Harold) was taken and that had all of our photos on it. It’s rather tempting to set up an automated machine gun overlooking the courtyard but I guess we’ll have to make do with some less severe security measures. The poor dog who was in the backyard is still getting his voice back.

One of the highs however was that the Jazz Band Zoë plays in achieved a Gold Medal at the National Eisteddfod. She loves playing in this band and the Concert Band. And even though she is addicted to the TV Show Glee, she enjoys the music she plays as well. This is a version of one of the tunes she played last night.

Magic Sam – Sweet Home Chicago

I’m still working my way through some Bob Dylan tracks that DJ Stringman gave me. I stand by my assertion that a Greatest Hits package is not necessarily the best place to start. This song came up at the gig I reviewed a couple of weeks ago so I checked out Bob’s original. Yeah, not bad (it’s probably sacrilegious to say that!), but here’s another version I found that I really like.

Mountain – Masters of War

Does anyone else think that Leslie West of Mountain has had singing style emulated by Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam? You be the judge. Also, folk music aficionados will pick Bob’s use of the tune from the song “Nottamun Town”.

Last week The Cars were an unexpected blast from the past. I’ve got another one this week. Roxette! Having seen these guys live in the 90s I was an instant convert. I didn’t expect a new album but there’s one out there and it sounds pretty good. It’s simply fun pop/rock music. There’s a “world” tour as well. Obviously their idea of the world is different to mine.

Roxette – She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio)

AC/DC finally released their live DVD filmed in Argentina during 2009. I’m a big fan and at $20 I thought it would be a good deal even if I only watched bits of it every now and then. Wow, it has exceeded all of my expectations. The band all sound great and the production is slick even if the song choice is predictable. But, after having watched the show I reckon that South America has to be THE place to see a rock band. There’s around 60,000 screaming fans in the stadium and even on DVD you can tell that the atmosphere is electric. I’ve seen AC/DC twice here in Australia but nothing compares to this. Take a look!

AC/DC – Big Jack (live at River Plate)

I hope I’m rocking that hard when I’m in my sixties!

A few weeks ago I introduced some of you to a band called Vintage Trouble. They rocked my socks almost immediately! Their CD and 45rpm single arrived the post this week and I continue to be blown away by them. If you don’t listen to any other song this week then I implore you to give this one a spin. A more laid back effort from a band that just oozes style.

Vintage Trouble – Nobody Told Me

The best comedians are the ones who can relate everyday experiences and make them hilariously funny. In my view Billy Connolly is probably top of the heap in that regard. But this morning I was listening to an old cassette and Bill Cosby came on. I don’t remember hearing this before and I laughed until I hurt. So, with thanks to my Brother, MC SamSpam, here’s Bill.

Bill Cosby – Fat Albert’s Car

Some of our neighbours had a huge party last night and getting to sleep was a problem. This morning I got up early, but not on purpose. Since I was awake I made the most of my time crashing around in the garage, putting the bins out and playing the radio to make sure that hangovers started nice and early upstairs. It was rather anti-social of me but the memories of a pulsing bass line running through my head while I was trying to sleep fueled my attempts at making sounds akin to Einsturdenze Neubaten. All the time I had my iPod on and the soundtrack came from Lily Allen. She’s got a potty mouth but her voice is great and the tunes are catchy. So I think I’ll finish up this week with one. This one has pretty cutting lyrics so give them a listen. No bad language in this version – safe for even the easily offended.

Lily Allen – The Fear

See you on the flipside,

DJ Rob