Hits and memories

Hmm, been living the good life down in Melbourne town for the last week so today's show is going to be a little bit of a trip down memory lane - still, it's all good stuff so I hope you enjoy.

(And in brief - more to come later I hope - definitely check out Macbeth and Wind that shakes the barley is worthy but kind of plain)

Chicken? Happyland 2:56 Soundscape 02
Hazy Jane II Nick Drake 3:46 Bryter Layter
Razor Jayne Konrad Lenz 2:41 Living with the spirits of the dead
You're Not Cool Baterz 2:17 Out of Hell
The Ghost That Feeds (Ray Parker Jr. vs NIN) Ray Parker Jr. vs Nine Inch Nails 3:20 mashed up by nathanchase.com
Exit Music (For A Film) Easy Star All Stars 4:23 Radiodread
No Surprises Easy Star All Stars 4:02 Radiodread
The Ballad Of Melody Nelson Placebo 3:58 Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited
Everybody, Don't Tell Her The Moodists 3:44 Two Fisted Art
Caravan (Ellington/Mills/Tizol) Monsieur Camembert 5:28 Absynthe
Jezebel Machine Translations 4:08 Abstract Poverty
A Midlife's Tale My Friend The Chocolate Cake 3:26 Parade
The Future Leonard Cohen 6:41 The Essential Leonard Cohen (Disc 2)
Roscoe Midlake 4:49 The Trials Of Van Occupanther
Self evident Ani Di Franco 9:14 Peace Not War
'Til the End The Living End 4:26 State Of Emergency
Yellow Sun The Raconteurs 3:20 Broken Boy Soldiers
Take You Home The Devastations 3:53 Coal

Back in the olllllllden days...

A group of friends and I worked on a show for Channel 31 in Melbourne called Brown Couch - I've started digitising the old VHS and SVHS tapes before they crumble to dust and this is one of my favourite bits so far.

New tunes (and old)

I thought I'd keep working through the Radiodread album a little this week as I'm still listening to it and loving it. Aside from that, possibly taking a little bit of a nostalgia trip but hopefully there's some stuff in here that'll make you think - cool, I'd forgotten about that one.

hope you like em

Three Dead Passengers In A Stolen Secondhand Ford Stephen Cummings & Dave Graney 3:57 Totally Wireless
Blind Willie McTel Charlie Owen, Don Walker & Tex Perkins 5:48 Totally Wireless
Willow tree Not Drowning, Waving 4:07 Follow the geography
So Entertaining Gus & Frank 3:46 Confession of a Roooftop Killer
Blade-running Elf 4:12 Preview
The Illustrated man Konrad Lenz 3:57 Living with the spirits of the dead
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Live) Nitocris 4:00 Epic Voyage
Kiss of Fire (Allen/Hill) Monsieur Camembert 5:43 Absynthe
You're Too Kind Machine Translations 3:17 Abstract Poverty
Karma Police Easy Star All Stars 4:48 Radiodread
The Tourist Easy Star All Stars 4:07 Radiodread
Everybody Knows Leonard Cohen 5:37 The Essential Leonard Cohen (Disc 1)
Roscoe Midlake 4:49 The Trials Of Van Occupanther
Breakthrough Modest Mouse 4:06 This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About
D.C. Semifinalists 2:59 Semifinalists
Misspelt Youth The Swedish Magazines 2:09 Eat More Baby
Cheyenne Guided By Voices 2:59 Universal Truths And Cycles [Bonus Track]
Elevate Myself Grandaddy 3:43 Just Like The Fambly Cat
If you could read my mind Johnny Cash 4:30 American V: A Hundred Highways

Black Bird The Beautiful Girls 3:55 Learn Yourself
King Of New York Fun Lovin' Criminals 3:44 Q Mmmmm
Red Light The Strokes 3:11 First Impressions Of Earth
Feltham Is Singing Out Hard-Fi 4:36 Stars Of CCTV
Wild Flower Soul Sonic Youth 9:04 A Thousand Leaves
She bangs the drums The Stone Roses 3:50 Very Best of
So La Bailterspace 3:31 Capsul
Nothing Much Bidston Moss 2:42 Ep03 Bang
Smokescreen Amusement Parks On Fire 4:11 Amusement Parks On Fire
Supermoves Overseer 4:18 Animatrix
Krack Soulwax 2:32 Any Minute Now
What It Means Barry Adamson 3:59 As Above So Below
Cold Sweat The Grand Wazoo 4:04 At Crossroads of Collingwood and Fitzroy
Special K Placebo 3:52 Black Market Music
What's eating you? Deadstar 3:01 Deadstar
Now Or Ever Again Even 3:30 Free Kicks
Hot Kids Riff Random 4:07 In Space There Is No Sound
Better Then You The Hellacopters 2:44 New Blood Vol 3
The Good Ones The Kills 3:29 No Wow
Metal and Hair Mess Hall 2:35 Notes From A Ceiling

Murdoch is a moron "says" Andrew Bolt

Every other person I've spoken to in the last day or so keeps asking me if I caught Al Gore's interview on Denton on Monday night. Umm, no. Oops. By all accounts it was fantastic - while the transcript is good, (here), I'm sure it doesn't quite do it justice.

Anyways, I was lucky enough to see the movie - An Inconvenient Truth - and would urge everyone to check it out. Fortunately the murky pool of in-denial corporate hold-outs is getting smaller by the day - even Rupert Murdoch jumped on the bandwagon and his papers are even starting to fall into line. Well, except for the Australian ones anyways.

I mean, seriously, what is it going to take for the Australian and it's stablemates to pull their heads out of the collective arses of John Howard, Ian Campbell (Minister for the Environment and Heritage) and the Coal and Oil industries?

Even massive corporations like BP, Origin Energy, Visy and Westpac Bank agree that we need radical change to save the planet. (Of course, on the other side is the somewhat more sinister Australian Industry Greenhouse Network - coal producers and big industry - who pull the Government's strings)

Andrew Bolt has reserved his own special place deep inside Howard's colon with this rant today - I just hope someone sends it off to Rupert. Actually, what's his email address?

I'd like to take the time to go through and dissect his lunatic (but no doubt well financed) ravings piece by piece, but fortunately I know that the good folks at Boltwatch are already on the case. It's not up yet, but check back soon, I'm sure it'll be well worth the price of admission.

What I don't get is that anyone claims that any of this stuff is actually seriously contentious - after all, is it a debate when 9999 out of 10000 people in a room think the same thing? Yet because the media like nothing better than conflict, the views of the 1 in 10000 are reported as the other, equal, side of the debate.

gaaaaaahhhhh.

In PR circles, it's known as FUD - fear, uncertainty and doubt. It doesn't matter how accurate your claims are, all you need to do is claim to be able to poke holes in an argument and a lot of people turn away, thinking "well, if they aren't even sure, what hope do I have".

Boytown

This is the cover of the first single from Mick Molloy's Boytown movie - the story of a boy band come back. Can't wait to see it. (Mick is the guy in shades).

The song itself is more ballad than anything - it has the overproduced boyband sound but I was hoping for the bodgy dance sound more. Maybe next time.

My songs

Bit of an eclectic mix today for you - sprinkled with the covers that I seem to love so much.
A couple from the previously mentioned Radiodread album as well as a mashup of the Ghostbusters theme with Nine Inch Nails "The Hand that feeds" and Placebo's cover of the Serge Gainsbourg song The Ballad of Melody Nelson (taken from the otherwise Very disappointing Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited album that I actually shelled money out for recently).

If you want to hear some good English language versions of Serge Gainsbourg songs (which are crackers in their own right), better off chasing up the two albums that Bad Seed Mick Harvey has released - Pink Elephants and Intoxicated Man. He at least has the decency to keep them kind of sleazy cool. (I'm looking at you Cat Power, you sellout - Greatest my arse.)

By means of explanation - one of Gainsbourg's most well known songs - "I love you...nor do I" - has a chorus which (basically) goes - I go, I go and I come, between your kidneys (literal translation - rhymes in French at least) - Mick Harvey tweaked it to I go, I go and I come, inside you my love - which keeps the rhythm but Cat Power wusses out with I go, I go and I come, between you - which doesn't even maintain the tune, let alone suggest anything. Maybe there's a reason or a really crap translator involved but I kind of doubt it

Chicken? Happyland 2:56 Soundscape 02
Hazy Jane II Nick Drake 3:46 Bryter Layter
Razor Jayne Konrad Lenz 2:41 Living with the spirits of the dead
You're Not Cool Baterz 2:17 Out of Hell
The Ghost That Feeds (Ray Parker Jr. vs NIN) Ray Parker Jr. vs Nine Inch Nails 3:20 mashed up by nathanchase.com
Exit Music (For A Film) Easy Star All Stars 4:23 Radiodread
No Surprises Easy Star All Stars 4:02 Radiodread
The Ballad Of Melody Nelson Placebo 3:58 Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited
Everybody, Don't Tell Her The Moodists 3:44 Two Fisted Art
Caravan (Ellington/Mills/Tizol) Monsieur Camembert 5:28 Absynthe
Jezebel Machine Translations 4:08 Abstract Poverty
A Midlife's Tale My Friend The Chocolate Cake 3:26 Parade
The Future Leonard Cohen 6:41 The Essential Leonard Cohen (Disc 2)
Roscoe Midlake 4:49 The Trials Of Van Occupanther
Self evident Ani Di Franco 9:14 Peace Not War
'Til the End The Living End 4:26 State Of Emergency
Yellow Sun The Raconteurs 3:20 Broken Boy Soldiers
Take You Home The Devastations 3:53 Coal

The Red Flag Billy Bragg 3:13 The Internationale
Wedding vows Sam Evans 2:53 Brown Couch Soundtrack
(Nice Dream) Radiohead 3:53 The Bends
I See A Darkness Johnny Cash 3:42 American III
Danielle Tex, Don & Charlie 3:18 Sad But True
The Old Man Can Talk Bit By Bats 3:30 Bit By Bats
The Other Side Bit By Bats 6:12 Bit By Bats
What Else Could It Be Mercury Rev 5:13 All Is Dream
You Can Have It All Yo La Tengo 4:36 And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Under The Milky Way The Church 4:57 Rage 1
Los Angeles Frank Black 4:07 Rage 1
Shivers - 1 Nick Cave and the Dirty 3 5:11 Single
Fitzroy Strongman Sodastream 4:10 Single
The Clock The Go-Betweens 4:06 The Friends Of Rachel Worth
The Mule The Magic Numbers 5:11 The Magic Numbers
This Is Not The Way Home The Cruel Sea 4:06 This Is Not The Way Home
Bananas And Blow Ween 3:34 White Pepper
I Love Work Butterfingers 4:13 Breakfast At Fatboys

OK Computer - Reggae style

I've just been listening to some tracks by the Easy Star All Stars - a reggae outfit who are release a reggae version of the classic Radiohead album OK Computer.

These are the same guys who put out Dub Side of the Moon a few years ago - rasta'ing up Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

From what I've heard so far, this actually kind of works.

check it out here http://www.hyfntrak.com/radiodread/fromafriend/

I just read that Thom Yorke praised the album onstage at a gig as well - so it's kosher - uhh so to speak :)

zenburger | where nothing adds up » Blog Archive » top 5 things that amount to nothing

This post tickles me particularly because it drops a beautifully well deserved dump on one of my least favourite bands of all time - U2. (There are a few other overrated artists sledged - Tarantino perhaps a little harshly - but U2 I reserve a special place in the bottom level of hell for)

2. Most overrated rock band: U2. U2 are like INXS with religion. The shallow masquerading as the deep. You can’t even say they’re style without substance. There’s neither style nor substance, just empty bombast. Make that bombs. They’re like the musical equivalent of a Gulf War campaign. Shock and Awe. Their well-oiled war machine rolls into town and wins hearts and minds but takes no prisoners. On stage, they look like company directors who were asked to be good sports and dress up as rock stars for the school play. Bono – chairman of the board – prowls around wailing about peace, love and freedom, but his body language says ‘control’. All their (interchangeable) songs tell us U2 are our spiritual teachers. They know something and they’re going to keep singing it, to a relentless 4/4 beat, until we finally get it.