Song of the Week #170

This week I’ve got a few cool songs and three important events to discuss.

 

But before we start, if you’re a fan of Henry Rollins’ spoken word stuff then run, don’t walk, to the internet and book some tickets as he is heading down under in 2012. I already have my tickets to see him here in Canberra (thanks DJ FatHenry for the heads up). I reckon I’ll be sitting enough that he might sweat on me. I plan to bottle said sweat, put it in a pill and sell it to anyone who I think needs to toughen up!

Event #1 is my Dad having a birthday. And it’s a biggie. He might not think so but reaching a milestone between 60 and 80 is a fair effort really. I have my Dad to thank for my love of guitars and endurance sport as well as my lack of hair. Here’s a song for him that you can all enjoy as well.

Andy Stewart – Donald Where’s Your Troosers

Event #2 happens on Sunday. If I can count then that will be the day that Alison and I have been married for 18 years. Egads! Quite frankly I’m amazed that she puts up with all my nonsense but I’m glad she does.

Billy Bragg – The Marriage

Oh my, Lou Reed and Metallica have got together to put out an album. Why? Who knows. I like some of Lou’s stuff and most of Metallica’s but the collaboration is really, really hard listening. In fact I just can’t bring myself to listen to anymore and I like to think my musical tastes are reasonably eclectic. Here’s a rather amusing reaction to the album that you might get a chuckle from…

Hitler reacts to the new Metallica/Lou Reed album

Foreshore is a music festival that is on this weekend in Canberra. The weather looks like it will be good and wet for all the revelers. I’ll admit that usually none of the music on offer makes me that excited but it would probably be worth the price of admission to see these two…

Salt ‘n’ Pepa – Push It

When I played in my first band in Canberra we were friends with another band called ASAP. They had better haircuts than we did and I’m pretty sure their guitarist had a real Fender! I first heard this track when they played it at the Canberra Uni Bar. It’s a song I still like – a lot!

The Church – Unguarded Moment

That’s so much better than their Under The Milky Way tune, that’s one that really grates on me.

One of my good friends became a Grandpa this week. And with the technology the way it is, I was able to get regular updates on what was going on in the USA as the baby came into the world. Massive congratulations go to Lizzie and Bradley on the birth of their daughter. And in terms of proud Grandpas, DUG, you take the cake! As you may know, sometimes Facebook tells you where a person is posting their updates from. Well, DUG was posting from “near Tacoma”. That means that this song is for all of you in the Ames/Kennedy family.

Steve Miller Band – Rock’n me

Bye for now,

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #169

Hooray, the weekend is here. I think I could sleep for the whole 48 hours without too much trouble.

Good news is that after an amazing palaver involving the Hospital, the Doctor and the X-Ray Clinic it seems that Angus’ arm is not broken. Poor kid, he had to wear a cast for over a week and I think Alison is ready to declare war on the medical profession. I think the final insult was being given some paper scissors and being told to remove the cast herself for x-ray. Here’s an appropriately titled tune. Great vocals too!

Winterpills – Broken Arm

Anyway, I was lucky enough to be involved with some colleagues in performing to around 1000 people this morning. It doesn’t matter what kind of musician you are or who the audience is, performing live is a real kick. And when almost all of them sing along it’s a real treat. I’d love to play to a crowd like this next one…

KISS & The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – Rock And Roll All Nite  (live in Melbourne)

And yes, I’d wear the makeup too. You betcha!

DJ GarE17 put me onto the CD that this next track is from. The album is growing on me slowly. A must if you need to chill out to some serious musicians playing soul and blues. Probably a really good Sunday morning listen.

Tedeschi Trucks Band – Midnight In Harlem

Georgia Fair are an Australian band that got a leg up when one of their songs was featured in a commercial. I know that other bands object to this but you’ve got to get a start somehow…and it’s a great catchy tune.

Georgia Fair – Picture Frames

An artist who certainly wouldn’t want his songs used to advertise anything is Neil Young. I guess this next tune puts his views forward quite clearly!

Neil Young – This Note’s For You

OK, so I’ve had some quality time with the new Tom Waits LP at last. It’s great. But describing it is a bit of a challenge. It’s accessible to most people and I’m sure his fans still love it. Possibly the best way to imagine it is having an old fashioned carnival playing in your lounge room. It’s a hoot. Spend your hard earned cash on this one – but not the expanded edition that comes with a “40 page hard cover book”. It’s a rip-off. You get three extra tracks and the book just has the lyrics. I was disappointed to say the least.

Tom Waits - Satisfied

I guess it would be remiss of me to mention a visit to our fair city by President Obama and his hundreds of minions and hangers-on. Personally I like the man. He seems personable, he hugged a school kid when she asked, and he smiles a lot. Unlike a lot of other US politicians at the moment he also seems to be able to string a coherent sentence together. Dubya always looked like someone was prompting him or he was under the weather. But that’s just my opinion. There was hardly any traffic chaos caused and really, living in the National Capital, we should expect a little when dignitaries come to visit. But I must say, despite my love of American music and the fact that I have quite a few American friends, I wish they would sort their country out. Really. When you have to be a millionaire to be the President something is wrong. Sometimes if you pay peanuts you get more than you expect…

The Clash – I’m So Bored With The USA

This week I will have been to see Zoë perform in two concerts. Once in the concert band and tonight in jazz. It really makes me very happy to see so many kids enjoying playing music, and playing it well. One of the bands played this next tune…and I knew all the words! I surprised even myself. The only thing they missed was the funky guitar at about 1:20. Does anyone else see the link between this and Tenacious D? And there’s a guy with a broken arm in this clip!! Who knew?

Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down To Georgia

Sometimes a melody is so well crafted that it just sticks there in the back of my mind and sails in and out of my consciousness. This is one of those tunes. Play it a few times and see if it does the same for you. So much better than “Slice of Heaven” and that’s a big call!!

Dave Dobbyn - Loyal

Rock on folks.

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #168

Today is 11/11/11 – Remembrance Day. Whoever you are, whatever you believe I urge you to stop for a moment and think about those who have made the ultimate sacrifice or who have served or are serving in the armed forces. I can guarantee that the vast majority are hoping never to have to fight. Our guest speaker today quoted von Clausewitz; "war is a continuation of politics by other means". Remember that your elected representatives aren't the ones in harm's way.

 

War – Bruce Springsteen

 

Bruce has been a bit of a theme for the past few weeks. Blame DJ H for that!

Pink Floyd released a double live LP when I was at the end of my last year in High School. The TV marketing and the title got into my subconscious and I ended up buying it. "The Delicate Sound of Thunder" opened my ears to Floyd who I'd previously had trouble getting into. The opening track, all 12 minutes, is my favourite and I was reminded of it this week. This is the version from that album and despite what some Floyd purists might say, I still think it is awesome. Spacey intro, soaring lead guitar and a gritty sax. Give it a go, it's only 12 minutes and it is oh so worth it!

Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond

One of the bands I saw last week had this next tune as their intro tune. It's my favourite song from the Blues Brothers soundtrack album. But here's Taj Mahal. It's his song after all. Righteous!

Taj Mahal – She Caught The Katy

Taj Mahal made me laugh with his song "Big Legged Mommas Are Back In Style Again"!

REM are calling it a day. I've only really been a casual fan of theirs but this is a very, very cool track. Peter Buck's guitar has a great sound and the echo is used to great effect.

REM - What's The Frequency Kenneth

A picture of DJ Randwick asleep with his head on an angle whilst wearing headphones led me to remark that he was doing a Steve Wonder impression. But since he didn't get ther reference here's a tune. Young people these days!

Stevie Wonder – Superstition

And I'm not making fun of Stevie – he rocks.

I've been listening to a fair bit of Motown and soul music recently. And of course I stumbled on an unexpected cover version. This is groovy in all the right ways, even if the bass line is a bit overdone!

Billy Bragg – When Will I See You Again

Billy plays this next song on a dodgy live recording I have. I'm guessing he was influenced by the Bowie version but maybe not. I'm happy to admit that I thought it was a Bowie tune until very, very recently.

The Merseys - Sorrow

MC AB and I headed out last Saturday night to see King Cannons play here in Canberra. We were pretty keen as they had ripped it up supporting The Living End not all that long ago. They didn't disappoint. If you like punk, ska, reggae and a good beat then these guys (and girl) are worth checking out. In a small venue they worked hard to get the smallish crowd excited. And their few bars from Fleetwood Mac went down a treat! There's no doubt that they give it all when they perform and I'm surprised that they could even stand afterwards. I guess for me one of the great things about this band is that with two guitars, bass, keyboards, drums and percussion no one overpowers the mix. Here's their latest single which I can assure you, sounds so good on vinyl.

King Cannons – Shot To Kill

Ah, what the hell, this is a cool song. It reminds me of the Little River Band. Have a great weekend!

Fleetwood Mac – You Can Go Your Own Way

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #167

Here we are again folks at the end of another busy week. I haven’t managed to get to the shops to buy the new Tom Waits album so I’ll hold that over for another time.

So, what’s news? Well I’m VERY proud of Zoë who got two distinctions in a French competition at school. Tres Bien indeed! I’m also impressed that Angus did the extra part of his Maths homework that was optional. Good kids – certainly better than I was at their age. While I always got my schoolwork done I was a last minute kind of guy. Somehow I still got good grades. But then I think that so much more of our work was done in school time.

I like guitars – if you hadn’t already guessed. Almost as much as bicycles! This week’s episode is all about my guitars. If that doesn’t interest you just pop down to the end for this week’s featured tune.

Guitar #1 – Eko Acoustic – this was my Dad’s and it’s older than me. It weighs a ton and has a big sound to match. A great guitar for open chords and strumming along. As a teenager I loved the way that the headstock looked like a Gibson one. This is the guitar my Dad would play and I would play along following his fingers. On songs like this…

Tom Paxton – The Last Thing On My Mind

We saw Tom playing in 1988 – he has such a light touch on the strings. A great player indeed.

Guitar #2 – Fender Stratocaster copy – it’s a red one! I bought this in NZ in December 1987 and it changed my life. Along with a small practice amp this guitar let me play rock music as a teen and it was the ultimate release. I still have the guitar and although it’s had a fair bit of work done to it I think it’s the most comfortable guitar ever. I played my first rock gigs with it and I’d struggle to find a show I’ve played where it wasn’t at least there as a backup. I chose it, not knowing much about guitars, on account of two great players. Here they are:

Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing (live)

Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe (live) (the album cover has a red Strat on it)

As Bono said, all you need is red guitar, three chords and the truth.

Guitar #3 – Gibson Melody Maker (Joan Jett Signature Model) – I’ve had this a couple of years now. I always wanted a Gibson as so many of my heroes played one. But, the couple I had in the past really didn’t suit me. This one was going for a song so I bought it on impulse. For a “cheap” guitar it sounds fantastic. It’s a real rock and blues machine that is best when simplicity is the key. Melody Makers were student guitars back in the day but you see them a lot being used by a wide range of players. The pickup is particular to this guitar and smooths out distortion and overdrive so that it growls rather than bites.

Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia (Billy Joe plays a Melody Maker here)

Guitar #4 – Tanglewood Resonator – sometimes the old Eko is a bit huge and heavy for me and I was looking for something different in an acoustic guitar. I hadn’t really considered one of these until I saw it hanging in the guitar shop next to all the expensive Matons I had been trying out. Most players would use a slide and play in an open tuning but I just tuned it up to regular and bashed out a Neil Young song – and I was hooked. It’s twangy, it’s LOUD and it’s a small body and comfortably slim neck. This is the best guitar just for sitting around on the lounge with.

Bob Brozman is the king of resonator guitars…check this out CLICK HERE

Guitar #5 – Burns Steer – there’s a big story behind me getting this guitar. After deciding to buy one I couldn’t find one here in Australia. But a guy in NZ imported them. So, he imported it from the UK and shipped it to my Mum in Wellington. Then my brother picked it up and my Dad brought it back to Australia after a visit. The final delivery leg was undertaken by DJ HB who braved the excess baggage scales to get it to Canberra! Was it worth it? YES! It’s an extremely versatile guitar. I could probably leave all the others at home and play almost anything from any style on it. It’s a guitar synonymous with Billy Bragg and I’m happy to say that’s the reason I bought it. The versatility was an unexpected bonus.

Billy Bragg – Help Save The Youth of America

That’s probably enough about all of that.

The problem with trying to get my training schedule back into some sort of groove is that I’ve been really tired in the evenings. Usually I retreat to bed and I reckon I’m snoring the place down by 9.30pm! Listening to a few tunes helps me chill out usually. Here’s two tracks that work and one that didn’t! You can probably work out which one woke me up!

Elvis Presley – Always On My Mind

Dixie Chicks – Travelling Soldier

Dragonforce – Through Fire And Flames

Have a good weekend y’all!

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #166

This has been an AWESOME week. I’m not really sure why. So you’re probably only going to get any slow, sad songs in this episode.

First of all, the wedding we went to in Port Mac was awesome. People should be happy when they get married but Will and Jacqui were beyond that and it was fabulous to be there. Port Mac is a pretty cool town. Good weather, good coffee, Ironman banners everywhere and big groups of cyclists. Can I move there now? At least for the Winter. I got a magic 9km run in up and down the paths that hug the coast. I haven’t run up and down so many steps for a long time. Did I mention the gorgeous lap pool on the roof of the hotel?? The only drag really was 13 hours of driving to get there and back.

Today I was fortunate enough to be working away when I heard Tom Waits speaking on the radio. He was being interviewed about his new album and playing some of his favourite tunes. I hit record on the cassette deck so that I can listen to the whole thing later on. But I did hear him playing this song and it is well worth a listen…

Jim Reeves – Put Your Sweet Lips Closer To The Phone

Here’s a track from Tom. The album, “Bad as me” was released on Monday. I’ll track it down this weekend. Here’s the title track.

Tom Waits – Bad As Me

I looked for this next track a couple of weeks ago but it wasn’t anywhere to be found. Thankfully the band themselves have uploaded it! The song has been getting a lot of radio play and the chord sequence has a great hook. Nice 80s vibe with the clapping as well. As for acting one's age…we’ll see.

Bluejuice – Act Yr Age

The piano at the start conjures up memories of Ben Folds for me. I heard him interviewed recently, he must have a box set or demos or something similar available. Once I was in a show where we played “Rockin’ The Suburbs” by Ben. Anyone who references Quiet Riot in a song is OK by me.

Ben Folds – Rockin’ The Suburbs

Now, I’m not a fan of manufactured pop stars and teen idols but every now and then one of them surprises me. Def Leppard were in town this week and you all know that I though $150 to see them was too much – I still do. So, to drown my sorrows I had a few tracks of theirs playing in the background. YouTube allows people to set playlists and this came up. Who knew? It’s pretty cool.

Def Leppard and Taylor Swift – Love Story (that’s her song)

Def Leppard and Taylor Swift – Pour Some Sugar On Me (their song!)

Good luck to all my friends racing this weekend in Noosa as well as here in Canberra at the Sri Chinmoy Tri Festival. I hope the weather is good. I’ve never raced in Noosa but it might have to go on the ‘must do’ list!

To wrap up this week I want to remind you of a band that I keep coming back to. The Proclaimers have been around for years and if I am to believe information gleaned from Twitter then they have a new record coming out. They sing songs about real people and real places in a style mixing pop, country and folk music.

The Proclaimers – Everybody’s A Victim

Have a great weekend folks. Mine’s looking sweet with some cycling, time as a parking attendant here at work and then avoiding some of Angus’ cricket!

Tschüß,

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #165

Unlike the last few weeks, this is a really, really, really early edition!

Why? Well, on Friday Alison and I will be on the road to Port Macquarie. Why? Well it’s Will and Jacqui’s wedding on Saturday and we’ll be there for the occasion.

 

I met Will when we were both new staff at St Eddie’s a few years ago. We both played guitars and loved music. We’ve been good mates ever since.

 

Here’s a song I know Will thinks is pretty damned good. Me too.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan – The House Is Rockin’

 

Elvis and Bruce do a pretty good job on this next song…until they can go no further!

 

Costello & Springsteen – Pretty Woman

 

And that sort of leads to this version which I’m really not sure about. In interviews with the band they claim that David Lee Roth made them do it!

 

Van Halen – Pretty Woman (fast forward about 1:45 into this to avoid the boooooring intro)

 

Now, Alex Van Halen’s outfit and bare chest brought me to this next song. An 80’s cheesy classic!

 

Baltimora – Tarzan Boy

 

And when we hit the 80s there are just way too many dodgy songs that come to mind. The original version of this next one is a classic but I’m happy to admit that when I heard this cover in the 90s on the radio I thought it was Lemmy from Motorhead singing!

 

Lawnmower Deth – Kids In America

 

And I know that I heard this song about the same time. The original is beautifully produced, heartfelt, well played and the vocals are sublime. The Lemonheads roughed it up perfectly but it just goes to show that good songwriting transcends genre.

 

The Lemonheads - Luka

 

Canberra readers please don’t forget to check out George & Junk Sculpture’s Springsteen tribute show. Details – click here.

 

It’s been more music than general mayhem this week. I’m avoiding some controversial issues until maybe next week. But the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are here in Canberra right now. Hooray. How exciting. It’s a shame you can’t really hear my sarcastic tone. I’ve got nothing against the Royals personally but I think it can’t be long before Australia moves down the republic road. At least we haven’t got Charles here with his ears interfering with everyone’s radio and TV reception! Oh, that was mean. Oops.

 

Motorhead – God Save The Queen (I LIKE the video – the Queen driving a bus!)

 

If you’ve got a spare moment please have a look at http://humantimeproject.com . It’s a movement to provide working watches to health workers in developing nations. What an awesome idea. I’ll be ordering.

 

Right. I ‘d better pack my bags. What will I need for a wedding at Port Mac? My Funky Trunks and sunglasses? Oh, and a hat I guess.

 

Cliff Richard & The Shadows – Summer Holiday

 

DJ Rob

Song of the Week #164

Today I finally finished watching a TV documentary about Jimi Hendrix. I've mentioned it before and I especially liked it because Jimi was the narrator. I remember buying my first Hendrix LP when I was about 16 and being really quite disappointed. It was "Live At Winterland" and it really took me a long time to 'get it'. And by a long time I mean years. There really isn't that much Hendrix that rates a casual listen, you have to take some time and think a bit about it. In the doco Jimi is being interviewed about his rendition of The Star Spangled Banner and the host tells the audience to consider that Jimi served in the 101st Airborne before they write in to complain!

 

Here's an accessible Hendrix tune, and funnily enough the first track on that album I bought back in the dark ages.

 

Jimi Hendrix Experience – Fire

 

Last weekend I heard Manfred Mann's "Doo Wah Diddy" on the PA system at the 24hr mountain bike race. It stuck in my head and I asked DJ Mikki if she'd seen it in the movie "Stripes". I guess it was before her time! But here's a clip from the film and also the original tune. Classic!

 

Stripes

 

Manfred Mann – Doo Wah Diddy

 

It always disappointed me that the Australian Army didn't keep us marching in time with cadence calls the way the Americans do. I remember one of my friends starting it up when we were at Tully and him being told to "cut out the Seppo bullshit"!

 

There must've been something about nonsense lyrics into songs back in the day. Try this one as well, another gem! Driving beat, pretty girls AND the Phil Spector wall of sound – this song has it all.

 

The Crystals – Da Doo Ron Ron

 

Flogging Molly are a band I got into after listening to The Pogues (for years) and The Dropkick Murphys (for 5 minutes!). They have a newish record out. The review in R2 Rock'N'Reel Magazine (which is a fab publication by the way) says that their sound is now more Detroit than Dublin and also channels Springsteen. Good enough for me. Here's the first single from the album "Speed of Darkness".

 

Flogging Molly – Don't Shut 'Em Down

 

I've also played Seasick Steve before. I come back to his tunes quite regularly as they are honest, uncluttered and sometimes amusing. He's also got a new CD out. This track was on the sampler CD from R2 magazine which I threw on in the car. I was certain that this was being sung by Kris Kristofferson. But I was wrong and it's a great song from Steve. I can imagine Kris, Johnny Cash or even Nick Cave singing this one.

 

Seasick Steve – It's A Long Long Way

 

Fantastic news is that Billy Bragg has a new disc out. Called, "Fight Songs", it is a collection of non-album tunes with a common theme. As far as I know it is only available from his website – I'll be ordering as soon as I finish boring you all this week!

 

Billy Bragg – Never Buy The Sun

 

One of my best friends and Song of the Week regular, DJ FatBoy, had a birthday this week. I've been lucky enough to know him since we were thrown together by the Army in 1994. Three long months at the School of Signals forged a solid friendship that remains even when he tells me I'm soft with some of my musical choices! This one's for him, I know he's still spewing that he missed seeing this band with me all those years ago. It was a life changing moment for me and for him as well as I forced the cassette on him later on! Happy Birthday mate.

 

Rollins Band – Get Some, Go Again

 

I hope you'll take the time to check out this next song. It's by a friend of mine, Marji, and her band. Also, the film clip was put together by another friend, Ed. Pretty fantastic stuff. They are a great live band and they also do a wicked version of Dolly Parton's "Joelene". Leaves The White Stripes for dead. Lovers of good guitar should run, not walk, to iTunes to pick up some tracks.

 

Adam Hole & Marji Curran Band – Take It Back

 

Zoë bought some tracks from iTunes this week. Nothing too unusual in that. But some ended up on my iPod and this one played while I was running the other day. Apart from the fact that the band sounds exactly like Good Charlotte or Guttermouth, the song is hilarious! I love it!

 

Relient K – Mood Rings

 

Guttermouth? Who are they I hear you ask dear listener. Well, I caught this music video years ago after taping an all night video show. Taping folks, old school. The track is a bit crass but they looked to me like a band that knew how to have a good time. Extra points to anyone who can spot how I know this band has been to Australia for a visit...

 

Guttermouth – She's Got The Look

 

DJ JoJo was telling me during the week how she used to record songs from the radio to help decipher the lyrics. Of course, this was before the internet made life way too simple. What's funny is that JoJo is from East Gippsland and I was surprised that they had electricity that long ago! Here's one that confused me as well. It wasn't until I was playing in a band myself that the lyrics to this one became clear! I had no idea at all that James was singing, "beau-tiful people"!

Australian Crawl – Beautiful People

 

Is that enough? Can you handle more? Does anyone read this far??

 

Well, with the Rugby World Cup drawing to a close it was pretty awesome that England lost to France. I hope my boss isn't reading this far! England have been almost as tragic in the competition as Australia. All that remains now is for Wales to beat the French and setup a win against the underperforming Wallabies. New Zealand? The All Blacks? Not a chance. With Richie's sore foot and two kickers out with groin tears they are a lost cause. I'll probably be eating my words next week!

 

Let's finish with a band that could be Australian and could be from New Zealand depending on your point of view. They're playing here in a couple of weeks and while I was initially tempted nothing will compare to seeing them in the 90's at the Yass Soldiers Club. There were about the same amount of people in the audience as there were on stage. But the band still rocked.

 

Dragon – Rain

 

That's it. With any luck the magpies won't swoop me in the morning!

 

DJ Rob