Tunes on Tuesday! (Ausmusic)

Throughout November Triple J has been hosting Ausmusic month, a celebration of Australian music. I thought I might jump on that bandwagon by making this weeks Tunes on Tuesday Ausmusic themed. Here is five Australian songs I love.

I'm sure I've said this before in a blog post somewhere but the Dirty Three really are my favorite band. They are probably the reason I picked up a violin and the reason I've become obsessed with all things violin...

This film clip is really nice, the horses and the landscape fit the song so well. I always think this song captures a certain nostalgic Australian landscape feel.



This is a clip of The Drones covering Kev Carmody's River of Tears. It sends shivers down my spine and makes my heart ache, it is a truly amazing performance and one of the best politically charged songs of recent times.



Something a little lighter, here is Josh Pyke surrounded by cute fluffy chickens but watch out for that reptilian lurker!



Jimmy Little singing Down Below. Such a beautiful voice!



Sad Dark Eyes by The Loved Ones. This is not a proper video clip but one of those compilation of photographs thingys...



Plus if that isn't enough Ausmusic for you I am making a playlist over at last.fm of 100 Australian songs :)

What are some of your favorite Australian songs?

Polar Bear Sounds

polar bear sounds, originally uploaded by pomegranates.

I'm in love with this bear by Andrea Gutierrez, you can click the image to see more of her work on flickr, or visit http://mylittlebighead.blogspot.com

The Folksong Hunter

"When are we going to realize that the world's richest resource is mankind itself, and that of all his creations, his culture is the most valuable? And by this I do not mean culture with a capital "C" - that body of art which critics have selected out of the literate traditions of Western Europe - but rather the total accumulation of man's fantasy and wisdom, taking form as it does in images, tunes, rhythms, figures of speech, recipes, dances, religious beliefs and ways of making love that still persist in full vitality in the folk and primitive places of our planet."

From Saga of a Folksong Hunter, Alan Lomax

Alan Lomax: Selected Writings 1934 - 1997, p. 185

Hummingbird 100

The Hummingbird 100 is a music survey all about female artists, to counterpoint the fact that there was very little female representation in the Triple J Hottest 100 earlier this year.

Hummingbird 100 is also a bit of clever publicity for a new beer called Hummingbird Blonde Lager. I don't like to consider myself a sucker for advertising but I've put in my votes and it has stimulated my interest in the beer, so I guess it worked.

Anyway reflection upon my weakness to the objectives of marketing executives aside, I think it is a great idea. Here is my top 10 female fronted songs. I know it is unlikely any will actually get into the top 100 but it is nice to put my vote in and harp on some more about the music I like to anyone prepared to listen :)

Jolie Holland - Poor Girl's Blues
Alela Diane - The Pirates Gospel
Cat Power - Lived in Bars
Gillian Welch - My First Lover
Diane Cluck - All I Bring You Is Love
Nina Simone - Plain Gold Ring
Fiona Apple - Not About Love
Neko Case - Maybe Sparrow
Karen Dalton - Katie Cruel
Clare Bowditch - The Thing About Grief

I've also made my own 100 Women Playlist over at last.fm.

If you happen to decide to do this too, let me know so I can see what you have picked...

Tunes on Tuesday! (Fanfare Ciocărlia)

This week I bought an album by Fanfare Ciocărlia called Radio Pascani. It was just what I needed. This music is so full of energy and joy, you can't help but dance away your sorrows.



You can buy downloads of their music from www.emusic.com or through the Asphalt Tango website.

Radio Pascani is also available on cd through fishpond.com (along with some of Fanfare Ciocărlia's other recordings). Click the album picture below to check it out!

Tunes on Tuesday! (Tomorrow)

I missed Tunes on Tuesday last week and have very little energy for it today. I've been quite unwell and under quite a bit of stress so my contribution to the land of blog has taken a bit of a backseat.

If I usually comment on your posts and you are wondering where I've got to I haven't abandoned you, or my own blog I'm just taking it easy and trying not to over do things.

Hope this post finds you well and happy.

Here is a little tune for tomorrow from yesterday...

Just a minute... in October

Reading... Swordfishtrombones by David Smay, part of the excellent 33 1/3 series. The books in this series are all themed around an individual album but they are a bit different from your usual music journalism or critisism (some are pure fiction inspired by the album).

This one by David Smay is about Tom Waits' album Swordfishtrombones and it kind of sways between documentary and fantastical writing. The first sentence of the first chapter is "Don't expect me to tell you the truth about Tom Waits".

I really like Smay's style, it is very poetic, and though he does in fact tell quite a few truths about Tom Waits he also uses a lot of metaphors to delve into the album. Each chapter of the book is named after a song on Swordfishtrombones and is sort of like a mini essay exploring that song but it is very conversational, not someone telling you "this is how this album was made...chronological facts [full stop]". Which is good because it better fits the nature of Tom Waits' music, career and persona that way. It gave me a different perspective on music I already love without stripping it to pieces with a clinical analysis.

I really recommend these little 33 1/3 books, there is plenty of different albums to choose from too.



Listening... Tom Waits Swordfishtrombones, of course! If you read any 33 1/3 book I recommend having the album playing while you read, it really does enhance the experience!

Losing... Perfume by Patrick Suskind, I started reading this last month but it mysteriously disappeared despite the fact I have no memory of taking it out of the house, and I just about pulled the house apart trying to find it! It is driving me to distraction, where could that book have got to!

Recovering... from a big night out. My boyfriends older sister is out from England, so we all went out to celebrate... still recovering two days later...

Surprising... myself. Before going out on Thursday I made a lovely dinner for my boyfriend and his two sisters, using this recipe - Roasted Ocean Trout. It turned out beautifully I must say : D

Watching... all these great little Miniscule videos on Youtube. Here is one of my favorites, if you like this one check out the others. I love them!



See what others have been doing in October, and maybe become a J.a.M.er too!