Just Released - 2013 [Ep.45]

“And it whitens your teeth (Lone Star),

  It’s not just good for leprosy …”

                  “Lone Star Commercial” [Dale Watson - last night]

In the last edition of JR, we played a song from Dale Watson’s album, ‘El Rancho Azul’ (“I Lie When I Drink”) and mentioned he’d soon be back in Australia. JR caught his show last night. Dale Watson and The Lone Stars sing about drinkin’ – and the relationships that begin (or end) by association with that drinkin’. And in between those songs, they do their own “commercials” for their favourite Texas brewski. It’s the way Country music used to be: Honky Tonk, Rockabilly and Western Swing. If you’re not a fan of ‘modern’ Country music, your opinion is shared by Dale Watson. His authentic ‘Ameripolitan’ style is for those who prefer the real thing.   

When Tears For Fears released their original version of “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” back in ‘85, Ella Yellich-O’Connor – known to the world as Lorde – was not yet born. Her version of the song, for the soundtrack of the 2^nd movie in The Hunger Games franchise is totally unlike the jolly shuffle of the original and it’s one of a few film-related songs you’ll hear in this edition of JR. (BTW, Lorde’s, “Royals” is now spending its 9^th consecutive week at #1 on the US chart.) Also soon to be featured on the big screen are new songs from Ed Sheeran (in ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug’) and U2 (in ‘Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom’).

It’s that time of year when box sets and ‘Best Of…’ collections begin to appear and following Dido’s most recent album, ‘The Girl Who Got Away, we now have her first ‘Greatest Hits’ collection. A new inclusion on the album is the song, “NYC” which you’ll also hear in this episode.

Along with the various career retrospectives showing up in time for yuletide, we also have previews of albums arriving early in the new year. Among them are songs from UK-based Pop quartet, Glass Animals - and small “s” supergroup, Dead Daisies, fronted by Noiseworks singer, Jon Stevens and featuring a line-up of players who cut their teeth with the likes of Guns ‘n’ Roses, Thin Lizzy and The Rolling Stones.

Another preview we have for you is the title song from the forthcoming album by Bruce Springsteen (‘High Hopes’) ahead of his return next year for another round of Australian concerts. “High Hopes” dates back to the time of Springsteen’s Australian tour earlier this year, when he recorded the song in Sydney.

And we have more fresh sounds, from American singer/songwriter Amos Lee and up-and-coming Indie artist, Sky Ferreira, who’s proposed next EP expanded to become her full-length debut album.

With the recent passing of Rock legend, Lou Reed, a live version of his Transformer-era song “Satellite Of Love” has been just released as a tribute by English singer, Morrissey. And we pay our own small tribute with one of our favourite Aussie songs of this year from Sydney band, The Preatures. The group is one among many nominees vying for a statuette at this weekend’s ARIA Music Awards being held in Sydney.   

    

      

U2: “Ordinary Love” (new single)

Dido: “NYC” (from the album, ‘Greatest Hits’)

Lorde: “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” (from the soundtrack album, ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’)

The Dead Daisies: “Washington” (preview from the album, ‘Dead Daisies’)

Glass Animals: “Psylla” (preview from the album, ‘Glass Animals’)

Sky Ferreira: “You’re Not The One” (from the album, ‘Night Time, My Time’)

Ed Sheeran: “I See Fire” (from the soundtrack album, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug’)

Amos Lee: “Chill In The Air” (from the album, ‘Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song’)

Bruce Springsteen: “High Hopes” (preview from the album, ‘High Hopes’)

Morrissey: “Satellite Of Love” (new single)

The Preatures: “Is This How You Feel?” (‘Is This How You Feel? EP’)

To stream Just Released (any time):  Find 'Just Released' here. 

You can also connect via local web pages at the links below..

Just Released:  Heard Saturdays at 12pm & repeated Sundays at 4pm (AEDST or AEST) on ABC Digital Radio through Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne,Adelaide and Perth, and streaming on demand at the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Hobart and Darwin web pages. JR can also be heard on Radio Australia throughout Asia & the Pacific.

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Just Released - 2013 [Ep.44]

                                

“There’s a beast eating every bit of beauty,

 And we all feed it …”

                  “There’s A Beast And We All Feed It” [Jake Bugg 2013]

Three years back, Jake Bugg was a 16 year-old English kid with an acoustic guitar and a big dream. Today, he’s a 19 year-old singer/songwriter, acclaimed in his own country and trying to find a wider audience in the USA. His 2^nd album, ‘Shangri La’ is named after the studio of the noted American record producer Rick Rubin, who oversaw its making. Jake Bugg may still be young but if the above lyric is any indication he knows a thing or two about the industry he’s working in. Following his first Australian gigs five months ago, Jake Bugg’s return has just been announced in the lineup for Bluesfest 2014. You’ll hear music from the new ‘Shangri La’ album in this edition of JR.

We also have a pair of innovative Tribute albums for you this week, with the teaming of Green Day frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones, respectfully revisiting the songs of influential ‘50s giants, The Everly Brothers - and Diesel & Dub’s Reggae-fied homage to the songs of Aussie Rock icons, Midnight Oil.

On The Comeback Trail this week we spotted a leaner, healthier and creatively rejuvenated Boy George. Now in his early 50s and with the ‘troubles’, of recent times now behind him, George returns with his first album of new songs in 18 years. Also making a creative return is Australia’s John Butler Trio with the first song from their forthcoming ‘Flesh And Blood’ album, due early next year. The JBT are playing a series of select (and sold out) shows through the end of November but return in March/April 2014 for a more comprehensive national tour.

There’s more new Aus-Music from the forthcoming album by Sydney singer/songwriter, Sally Seltmann. Her yet-to-be-titled album, due early next year is Sally’s first since her 2011 collaboration with Sarah Blasko and Holly Throsby as Seeker, Lover, Keeper. Meanwhile, also on the road - and with a just released EP (‘Wichita’) is Melbourne Indie Folk/Pop trio, Whitaker.

We also head back to one of the year’s most successful albums ‘My Head Is An Animal’, from Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men for the new single, “Dirty Paws” soon to be heard in the new Ben Stiller movie, ‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’.

And there’s more tour-related activity in this edition, with a new single from City & Color (aka Canadian singer/songwriter Dallas Green), touring Australia through until December, and Texan singer/songwriter, Dale Watson who’s touring this month with his band, The Lonestars. You might call it Country but Dale Watson calls his music “Ameripolitan”. As he describes it: “Americana is original music with a prominent Rock influence - Ameripolitan is original music with a prominent Roots influence.”  He coined the term to differentiate his own style from what he calls Country music’s “Nashville Rash”. Call it what you will - but Dale Watson is about as real as it gets.

      

John Butler Trio: “Only One” (preview from the album, Flesh And Blood’)

Diesel & Dub: “The Dead Heart” (preview from the album, ‘Diesel & Dub’)

Boy George: “Live Your Life” (from the album, ‘This Is What I Do’)

Jake Bugg: “There’s A Beast And We All Feed It”/”Messed Up Kids” (from the album, ‘Shangri La’)

City & Colour: “The Lonely Life” (new single)

Billie Joe Armstrong & Norah Jones: “Long Time Gone” (from the album, ‘Foreverly’)

Dale Watson: “I Lie When I Drink” (from the album, ‘El Rancho Azul’)

Whitaker: “Wichita” (from the ‘Wichita EP’)

Sally Seltmann: “Billy” (preview from the forthcoming 2014 album)

Of Monsters & Men: “Dirty Paws” (new single)

To stream Just Released (any time):  Find 'Just Released' here. 

You can also connect via local web pages at the links below..

Just Released:  Heard Saturdays at 12pm & repeated Sundays at 4pm (AEDST or AEST) on ABC Digital Radio through Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne,Adelaide and Perth, and streaming on demand at the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Hobart and Darwin web pages. JR can also be heard on Radio Australia throughout Asia & the Pacific.

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Just Released - 2013 [Ep.43]

“I suppose I should tell you what this bitch is thinking,

 You’ll find me in the studio and not in the kitchen …”

                                         “Hard Out Here” [Lily Allen 2013]

Sharing what’s on her mind is what Lily Allen does best. And what she’s thinking right now is anything but flattering. After 4 years away from the demands of a Pop career in favour of being a mum, Lily’s making what she calls a “mumback”.  On her new single her sights are squarely on the overt sexism and misogyny in music videos. Apropos all the hype-driven “uproar” about provocative video clips recently, Lily Allen’s comeback/mumback/bitchslap could not be more timely, or welcome.

There’s also good news this week for fans of Neil Finn. The Kiwi music legend has just released a new single ahead of his next solo album (‘Dizzy Heights’), coming a mere Christmas-hangover away, in early February. And Neil’s on the road again in 2014, touring Australia, the USA and Canada.  Meanwhile, you’ll hear a preview from the new album in this edition of JR.

Other Finn-related news coming our way is, ‘Goin’ Your Way’, the CD/DVD collection of a Sydney Opera House concert featuring Neil Finn with Australia’s foremost troubadour, Paul Kelly, at the end of their 2013 tour. As master craftsmen of popular song, they revisit the heart of each other’s songs with a warm, mutual respect. 

There’s more fresh Aus-Music in this edition including a new single from the currently touring Dan Sultan from sessions he recently recorded in Nashville, along with a new single from Sydney Electro band, RüFüS.  We also preview the forthcoming album from Texan singer/songwriter Robert Ellis, railing against conformity on his new single. (He’s playing select gigs in Victoria and New South Wales from this week.)

Coming soon to a cinema near you is the new Coen Brothers film, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’,  about the Greenwich Village Folk scene before the arrival of Bob Dylan. Collaborating once again with T-Bone Burnett, the Coen’s have a soundtrack featuring contributions from Marcus Mumford, Punch Brothers and Justin Timberlake (who appears in the film).

The Beatles are back (again) with a second volume of recordings made for various BBC programs between 1963 and ’64. Barely beyond their teens, The Beatles are at the start of their exponential rise. In this audio time capsule The Beatles joke it up with various plum-in-the-mouth show hosts and play some (officially) rare versions of songs they either made famous, or never recorded.

      

Dan Sultan: “Under Your Skin” (new single)

Neil Finn: “Flying In The Face Of Love” (preview from the album, ‘Dizzy Heights’)

Stark Sands with Punch Brothers: “The Last Thing On My Mind” (from the soundtrack album, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’)

Robert Ellis: “Sing Along” (preview from the album, ‘The Lights Of The Chemical Plant’)

The Beatles: “I Saw Her Standing There”/”I Feel Fine (outtake)”/”Happy Birthday Saturday Club”/”I Want To Hold Your Hand” (from the album, ‘On Air: Live At The BBC Vol.2’)

Lily Allen: “Hard Out Here” (new single)

RüFüS: “Tonight” (new single)

Neil Finn & Paul Kelly: “Four Seasons In One Day”/”Moon River”/”Leaps And Bounds” (from the concert CD/DVD, ‘Goin’ Your Way’)

To stream Just Released (any time):  Find 'Just Released' here. 

You can also connect via local web pages at the links below..

Just Released:  Heard Saturdays at 12pm & repeated Sundays at 4pm (AEDST or AEST) on ABC Digital Radio through Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne,Adelaide and Perth, and streaming on demand at the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Hobart and Darwin web pages. JR can also be heard on Radio Australia throughout Asia & the Pacific.

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Just Released - 2013 [Ep.42]

“I have only one burning desire,

 Let me stand next to your fire …”

                  “Fire” [The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1967]

Yeah, I’m sure that’s a conceptual metaphor, right there. But nobody seemed to care too much about Jimi’s lyrics compared to what he could say with a guitar in his hands. In this 120^th edition of JR, we have the latest official release from the Hendrix estate, ‘Miami Pop Festival’. Historically, this May 1968 performance sits neatly between the Monterey Pop Festival (June ’67) where Jimi set fire to his guitar and became a legend - and his headline appearance as the closing act at Woodstock (August 1969). The remastered ‘Miami Pop Festival’ recordings show The Jimi Hendrix Experience still intact, with the hits they were playing, still recently fresh.

In sonic contrast to Jimi, we dip into the self-titled debut by sisters Lily & Madeleine from Indiana. Their voices straddle Folk and Pop with light, airy harmonies evoking the wide open spaces of the American Heartland they call home. Also from the US, albeit from quite different musical standpoints, are Psychedelic Rock band, Midlake (with their first album since the departure of singer and songwriter, Tim Smith) - and Indie Electronica musician, Active Child. Pat Grossi (aka Active Child) was in Australia for last month’s Melbourne Festival. On a previous trip downunder he’d performed at the Sydney Opera House - as a 9 year-old member of the Philadelphia Boys Choir. Things change.

On the Australian front we have the latest from Brisbane band, The John Steel Singers (touring nationally this month), from their just released album ‘Everything’s A Thread’, along with a new single from Sydney singer/songwriter Josh Pyke.

From the UK, we preview the debut single from MT. Those initials may stand for ‘Many Things’ or perhaps, ‘Michael Tomlinson’, the name of the project’s Australian-born frontman. As if the name MT wasn’t hard enough to search on the internet then consider the challenge in the song title: “Alpha Romeo”. That’s ‘Alpha’ (as in ‘personality type’) and ‘Romeo’ (as in ‘…and Juliette’). Beyond that, MT’s “Alpha Romeo” is one of the more clever modern Pop songs around.

Meanwhile, the collaboration of producer Brian Burton (aka Dangermouse) and James Mercer (of The Shins) as Broken Bells are set to release their second album early next year. The title of ‘After The Disco’ is reflected in our preview song, “Perfect World” on which Broken Bells tap their inner Bee Gee.

Celebrating her 27^th birthday next week is Malaysian born singer/songwriter Yuna, whose new album ‘Nocturnal’ is her first on major label. Yuna’s blend of Trip-Hop, Soul and acoustic Folk has been finding a growing international following since her self-titled debut album was independently released last year. You’ll hear why in this edition.

    

  

      

MT: “Alpha Romeo” (debut single)

Broken Bells: “Holding On For Life” (preview from the album, ‘After The Disco’)

Yuna: “Falling” (from the album, ‘Nocturnal’)

Midlake: “Antiphon”/”The Old And The Young” (from the album, ‘Antiphon’)

The John Steel Singers: “Common Thread” (from the album, ‘Everything’s A Thread’)

Josh Pyke: “The Beginning & The End Of Everything” (from the album, ‘The Beginning & The End Of Everything’)

Lily & Madeleine: “Sounds Like Somewhere”/”Would You Come” (from the album, ‘Lily & Madeleine’)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: “Introduction”/”Fire” (from the album, ‘Miami Pop Festival’)

Active Child: “Subtle” (featuring Mikky Ekko) (from the EP, ‘Rapor’)

To stream Just Released any time:  Find 'Just Released' here. 

You can also connect to local web pages via the hot links below..

Just Released is heard Saturdays at 12pm and repeated Sundays at 4pm (AEDT or AEST) on ABC Digital Radio in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaideand Perth, and streaming on demand on our web pages including the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Hobart and Darwin.  JR can also be heard on Radio Australia throughout Asia & the Pacific.

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Just Released - 2013 [Ep.41]

“Your virgin bush, I love to roam,

 Your suburban sprawl – my, how it’s grown …”

                  “Australia” [The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band 1975]

Maybe it’s not on your calendar but it’s certainly on ours. November is ‘Aus-Music Month’ and in this edition of JR we’ve set our focus on music from right across this green and gold (but mostly brown) land.

In those last few moments of innocence before The Beatles changed everything, Australian music was down at the beach. Fifty years ago this month, Little Pattie released “He’s My Blond Haired, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy” and The Atlantics released “The Crusher” as the follow-up to their #1 hit, “Bombora”. In 2013, and away from the beach, the sound (and influence) of Australian music has changed considerably.

Melbourne singer/songwriter Gossling has been attracting attention for a couple of years and has just released her debut album, ‘Harvest Of Gold’.  Also from Melbourne we have the ever-changing but always-funky music collective, The Bamboos and the latest from Electro-Pop quartet, Cut Copy.

From Sydney, Sarah Blasko has a new single from her current album ‘I Awake’ (featuring the 52-piece Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra) and from Adelaide, we have the debut single from Indie Rock trio, Beautiful Fools.

As well, there’s the latest from Perth Rock music mainstays Eskimo Joe, some fresh Electro-Pop from The Lazy Calm’s debut and the new solo release for Panics’ frontman, Jae Laffer.

And from Brisbane, a new single from emerging Pop/Rock band, The Trouble With Templeton.

Meanwhile, the JR Radar picked up on an eccentric London duo who make music with audio samples from vintage films developed for education, propaganda and all points between them. The dryly-monikered Public Service Broadcasting make their intentions clear in their album title: ‘Inform-Educate-Entertain’. But banish all thoughts of those films you had to endure watching at school. Public Service Broadcasting is a lot more fun.

  

      

The Bamboos: “Avenger” (from the album, ‘Fever In The Road’)

Jae Laffer: “Don’t Make Me Wait” (from the album, ‘When The Iron Glows Red’)

Eskimo Joe: “Sad Song” (from the album, ‘Wastelands’)

The Trouble With Templeton: “Glue” (from the album, ‘Rookie’)

The Lazy Calm: “Paper Dreams” (new single)

Gossling: “Harvest Of Gold”/”That Feeling” (from the album, ‘Harvest Of Gold’)

Public Service Broadcasting: “Inform, Educate, Entertain”/”Theme From PSB” (from the album, ‘Inform Educate Entertain’)

Beautiful Fools: “Small Town” (from the debut EP, ‘Beautiful Fools’)

Sarah Blasko: “Fool” (from the album, ‘I Awake’)

Cut Copy: “We Are Explorers” (from the album, ‘Free Your Mind’)

   To stream Just Released any time:  Find 'Just Released' here. 

Just Released is heard Saturdays at 12pm and Sundays at 3pm (AEDT or AEST) on ABC Digital Radio in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and via the streams of our metropolitan stations on the Gold Coast, in Newcastle, Hobart and Darwin.  

You can also listen to JR on Radio Australia throughout Asia & the Pacific.

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