Listen to LIVE tracks from great artists every Saturday 7pm ET on RadioMaxMusic.

This week
Carole King – It’s Too Late (Live -08)
Steve Earle – Copperhead Road (Live – 89)
Graham Nash – Cathedral [Live - 79]
Toto – Hold The Line (Live -08)
Eric Clapton – I Shot The Sheriff (Live – 90)
Dire Straits & Sting – Money For Nothing (Live – 85)
Elton John – Rocket Man (Live – 74)
Doobie Brothers & John Hall & James Taylor – Power [Live - 79]
Men At Work – Down Under (Live – 98)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions – Watching The Detective (Live)

Paste Magazine has a great website with a listen and watch section hosting audio and video for some very talented musicians.

Check out Colin Hay at their studios: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2009/10/watch-colin-hay-live-at-paste.html

Colin Hay is mostly infamous for the band he once was part of: Men At Work.

After the band went defunct, however, Hay continued on the solo path, releasing several well-received albums. His music has been featured in films and tv, but arguably one of my favorite songs and appearances of his was when he sang his song “overkill” in an early season of Scrubs:

His song ” I just don’t think I’ll ever get over you” was featured on the Garden State Soundtrack:

Thanksgiving, like the once annual airing of The Wizard Of Oz used to be, is an event.

Yeah, some people make it out to be dysfunction junction (and for them, maybe it is), but getting to watch football all day on a day which usually would be spent slogging through work is a brilliant concept.

And, of course, it is a chance to feast.

It’s like being king for a day.

Bring me gravy! I shall gnaw on this turkey leg in a slovenly fashion as these superhumans on the television perform amazing feats for my amusement!

OK. It’s not’s not necessarily that dramatic and, as the Lions always play on Thanksgiving Day, the feats are not always amazing in a good way.

(though I cannot imagine how empty a Thanksgiving without the Lions playing the early game would be – it would be like a Halloween without a visit from The Great Pumpkin)

One Thanksgiving was spent living in London, eating some take-out pizza in an ice-cold flat.

And, in a cruel twist, my favorite team, the Steelers, was making a rare Thanksgiving Day appearance. They would lose, in overtime after a bizarre coin toss snafu to begin the extra period.

It was a game that would have been maddening to have watched and it was maddening to miss.

Thanksgiving hasn’t been brilliant every year, but that year – no food, no football, no heat – is really the lone one I recall as being truly miserable.

As a kid, our parents dragged us off to mass. I mean, you have the day off school and can sleep in and lounge on the couch; the last thing you want to be doing at an early hour is trudging off to church.

When I was fifteen, the priest decided to use his sermon to rattle off a laundry list of accidental nuclear exchanges between the US and USSR that had been narrowly avoided.

(this was 1983 and two months earlier there had been all of the hullaballoo surrounding the television movie The Day After)

I kept having images of an extra crispy bird and excessively dry stuffing.

It was a bit of a bummer.

It was also a year when the Steelers had a Thanksgiving game. Detroit beat them 45-3.

I had forgotten (or blocked it out) and had to research who played that season.

But, global tensions and football smackdowns aside, I have no doubt that the food was good.

That autumn, I was still listening to a lot of Top 40 stations, but Q95, an album rock station out of Indianapolis, had caught my attention as well and 97X was exposing me on a semi-regular basis to modern rock for the first time. Some of the songs on the radio that Thanksgiving…

Men At Work – Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jive
from Cargo

By the end of 1983, Men At Work, who had burst onto the scene a year earlier, was over. It was amazing how massive they were and how quickly it ended, but their quirky music still sounds delightful twenty-five years later.

Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jive was their third hit from album number two and had been preceded by Overkill and It’s A Mistake on the airwaves. I still think the former is their finest moment, but the latter did little for me.

I don’t actually recall hearing Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jive on the radio much, but I always smiled at the line, “He loves the world except for all the people.” Some days, it’s quite true.

Rufus And Chaka Khan – Ain’t Nobody
from Stompin’ At The Savoy

I wasn’t much into R&B growing up. There was one station and, on occasion, I would end up there, but, unless the song crossed over to the pop stations, I wasn’t likely hearing it.

Ain’t Nobody crossed over big time and it hooked me the first time I heard it.

Michael Stanley Band – My Town
from You Can’t Fight Fashion

Cleveland’s Michael Stanley was a major act in the Midwest in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Living on the Indiana/Ohio border, their music found its way onto many of the stations to which I was listening.

There was a lot of economic malaise in the first few years of the ’80s, especially in the Rust Belt. The punchy, anthemic My Town was rock straight from the heartland and its sing-a-long chorus got it a lot of airplay, especially when stations began editing in a shout out to their respective city – Cincinnati! – into the song.

Genesis – Mama (radio edit)
from Genesis

Paloma professes to like Phil Collins, yet, whenever a song of his pops up on shuffle, she invariably is displeased and hits next. It’s a fascinating phenomenon that has us both baffled.

As for Mama, it was the first song from Genesis’ followup to Abacab and the album continued the trio’s trend toward more pop-minded fare (for the most part). Mama, though, is a sinister sounding track which is what happens when your lead singer cackles like he’s been on a bender with Gary Busey.

O país que sediou os jogos olímpicos em 2000 com a cidade de Sydney tem a população cosmopolita, formada especialmente por europeus e asiáticos. A mistura de culturas pode ser atribuída ao incentivo que o governo australiano oferece aos estudantes estrangeiros, o que não quer dizer que não haja controle sobre eles. O governo australiano estimula pesquisas nas áreas médica, biológica, oceanográfica, física e tecnológica.

Conhecida pelos exóticos cangurus, koalas e até pelas tribos aborígenes. A Austrália apresenta uma beleza natural e preservada que encanta os estrangeiros. Suas mais de 10 mil praias são o sonho de consumo de qualquer surfista. A diversidade de climas encontrada no território australiano vai desde o calor do “Outback” (nome dado ao deserto no país por estar fora da costa), no centro do país, até as geleiras das “Snowy Mountains” (montanhas de neve), a pouco mais de uma hora de Camberra, capital do país.

Com clima tropical, praias bonitas, surfe, população hospitaleira e um câmbio melhor do que o dólar americano são as principais motivações dos estudantes que escolhem a Austrália como destino de estudo. Segundo estatísticas da Belta (Brazilian Educational & Language Travel Association), o país é hoje o segundo preferido dos brasileiros que vão ao exterior para estudar inglês, ficando atrás apenas do Canadá.

Os estudantes podem, ainda, aproveitar as horas de folga para praticar atividades radicais, entre elas “rafting”, surfe, “canyoning”, mergulho, vôo livre, “bungee jumping”, paraquedismo e “mountain bike”.

A qualidade de vida na Austrália também se deve ao bom funcionamento dos serviços públicos, desde transportes e hospitais a áreas de lazer gratuitas. A Austrália foi colonizada pelos ingleses em 1.770 e já faz parte da lista dos países mais ricos do mundo.
Atualmente, o país apresenta uma das sociedades mais organizadas e um dos melhores IDHs (Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano) do mundo – é o 3º na lista da ONU (Oraganização das Nações Unidas) de 2007. A Austrália tem uma sociedade mais igualitária que a brasileira. Ou seja, há menor diferença entre as classes sociais australianas que entre as brasileiras.

This wonderful track from former Men at Work front man Colin Hay comes courtesy of my blogpal Ken Fitlike

The title is that great one line conversation ice breaker often used in Scottish pubs.

Are you lookin’ at me pal?

when i lived on avenue b, giant robot was a once-a-week destination.  at that time it was 2 adjacent shops, connected in the rear.  one housed books + toys; the other, toys + gallery.  at some point since my brooklyn migration – the shop became one, fortunately maintaining the art gallery.  saturday’s line-up looks pretty great

group art show opening

additionally, monday’s paul hornschemeier + jay ryan book tour + signing seems promising.

*saturday – if you show up around 4 you get first dibs on pieces before the reception – just sayin

“Jag har stått på piren i regnet och hackat tänder av frost, och levat länge och lustigt på en sjåares våta kost”

01. Coldcut feat. Lisa Stansfield – People hold on
02. Terry Hall – Love to see you
03. Climie Fisher – Love changes (Everything)
04. Close Lobsters – I kiss the flowers in bloom
05. Liasons Dangereuses – Los Niños del Parque
06. Men at Work – Overkill
07. Rose Royce – Still in love
08. Marillion – Kayleigh
09. Sylvester – I need you
10. Let’s Active – Every dog has his day
11. Agneta Fältskog – Wrap your arms around me

um clÁssico.
MR,Colin Hay (ex -vocal men at Work)

In the land "Down Under" The Vegemite sandwich is a great Australian snack.

“I said ‘Do you speak-a my language?’ He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich…” Are you bobbing your head and humming the flute melody? Come on! You know it’s in your head! Then again, if you came around in the 90’s or afterwards, you might need an introduction to a song called “Land Down Under.” It was one of the trademark songs of the 80’s. The song, sung by the Australian band Men at Work, provided a generation with its first lesson on Australian cuisine, leaving them to wonder  ”Exactly what is a Vegemite sandwich?”

When talking Australian cuisine, it’s hard to overlook Vegemite. It’s one of the staples in a good Australian diet. Vegemite is concentrated yeast extract originally made from a by-product of the beer brewing process and various vegetable and spice additives, and it’s loaded with Vitamin B. Vegemite is extremely popular in Australia. We’re talking the peanut butter and jelly kind of food fame. In fact, Australian children are brought up on Vegemite sandwiches from the time they are able to eat solid foods. Australian adults love it too. They are known to bring a jar of it when they are traveling abroad.

You don’t really see Vegemite here in the U.S. It’s popularity never caught on. It’s an acquired taste…to say the least. The texture of this spread is smooth and sticky like peanut butter, yet it tastes nothing like it. It is salty, slightly bitter, with a smokey malt taste. However, Australia is not alone in its admiration for Vegemite – New Zealanders also enjoy diets enriched with this common Australian treat.

Vegemite was invented in 1923, after World War I.  When a disruption in the import of  Marmite  occurred (Marmite is a popular British product , also made by beer byproducts);  Vegemite was created. Later the registration was cleared and transferred to the U.S. company Kraft Foods. Kraft has maintained an interest in Vegemite since the 1920’s.

Simple Recipe for Making a Vegemite Sandwich (Recipe from whatscookinamerica.net)

▪ Using your favorite bread, some butter or margarine, and of course, Vegemite.

▪ Spread butter on a piece of toast or bread.

▪ Cover very thinly with Vegemite (for the optimum Vegemite sandwich you only need a dab). Dip your knife in the Vegemite, and scrape up just a bit (it will mix right in with the butter and spread easily). Some people like to “marble” the Vegemite into the butter.

▪ Eat it open-faced and enjoy!

Here are a few other ways Australians enjoy Vegemite according to Travelchannel.com:

*Vegemite with butter and bread

* Vegemite with crackers

* Vegemite with avocado

* Vegemite with cheese and crackers

* Vegemite with cream cheese

* Vegemite with tomato

No último programa da temporada, grandes hits australianos, que tocaram e tocam demais, representando sucessos que não vem do eixo EUA/UK.

Bloco 1:
 

Bloco 2:

Playlist da Semana

#1
“TNT”
AC/DC
TNT (1976)

Veja o clipe

#2
“Friday On My Mind
THE EASYBEATS
Easy (1965)

Veja o clipe

#3
“Beds Are Burning”
MIDNIGHT OIL
Diesel and Dust (1988)

Ouça

#4
“The Dead Heart”
MIDNIGHT OIL
Diesel and Dust (1988)

Ouça
Veja o clipe

#5
“Come Anytime”
HOODOO GURUS
Magnum Cum Louder (1989)

Veja o clipe

#6
“Down Under”
MEN AT WOK
Business as Usual (1981)

Veja o clipe

#7
“By My Side”
INXS
Live Baby Live (1991)

Ouça

#8
“Clarity of Mind”
SPY VS SPY
Xenophobia [Why?] (1988)

Veja o clipe

# MUITO BOM, MUITO FODA, TOCOU DEMAIS
“Disappear”
INXS
(1990)

REVEJA AS TEMPORADAS ANTERIORES:

1ª TEMPORADA
2ª TEMPORADA

I must confess that when “Men At Work” had a big hit with “Land Down Under” so many years ago, I thought Vegemite, as in “Vegemite Sandwich,” was purely fictional. Little did I know!

As noted before, I’m a huge Men At Work fan. I found out the day of this show that Colin was playing at the tiny little Cactus Cafe on the campus of UT.  This place is typically a first come, first served so I got there early.  Being the dork that I am, I brought my CD covers (previously signed by Greg Hamm) for the only 3 Men At Work albums.  I used to have some of Colin’s solo CDs but his solo work never did much for me.

I was one of the first few people there and ended up meeting a guy who had also just found out about the show.  Super nice guy, screenwriter.  We talked for quite a while before they let us in and then sat together.  The cactus only holds about 50 people and this show didn’t sell out.  Criminal!!!

Colin got on stage and instantly just started telling stories, very funny stories.  Intermingled with his storytelling he also played some music.  Truthfully I think he may have only played 8 or 9 songs, but it didn’t matter.  His stories were very engaging and absolutely hilarious, even if a bit embellished here and there.

The only Men At Work songs that he played were Down Under, Who Can It Be Now and the closer Overkill.  I admit to getting a little choked up when he played that song.  It’s always been one of those songs from one of those eras, ya know?  I would like to have heard a few others that I think would have done well acoustically, but hey, it’s not my show.

He played practically flawlessly and his voice was still powerful and stayed crisp the whole night.  He’s a solid player on guitar.  I was impressed.

After the show he said he’d come out and do a quick meet and greet.  Of course I stuck around (groupie!).  Only about 10-15 people stuck around to say hi and I just waited at the end of the line.  When he got to me, he looked at my stack of CD covers and I think it was pretty blatant that I wasn’t a fan of his almost 10 albums of solo works.  He asked who had previously signed them  and I told him about the show in Virginia Beach in 1999.  He recalled the show as “Upstairs venue?  Hot as hell?”  He nailed it.  He was very amiable and I just thanked him and told him how much those 3 albums meant to me as a kid and even now as an adult.  He thanked me, shook my hand and looked at my shirt and said, “Black Sabbath, eh?  Good on ya, mate.”  We snapped a quick foto and I shook his hand one mroe time and left.

It was very special for me.  I’d certainly go see him again.  His comedy routine is worth the price alone.  Add in his music and it’s a double bonus night!

De koffer (of beter gezegd rugzak) is nog niet gepakt, maar het blog is aangemaakt. First things first dus. Om al in de mood te komen en een vrolijke noot te geven een deze toch-wel-een-beetje-trieste dag, is de eerste post een toepasselijke lied. Met prachtige outfits, mooie dansjes en vooral onverstaanbare lyrics (ze zingen dus blijkbaar ‘Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?’).

Bij deze wensen wij (ik dus, maar majesteitelijk meervoud mag soms) Matthi een fijne reis naar de kangoeroe’s, koala’s, barbecues en stralende vrouwen.

Colin James Hay (ex Men at Work), ahora en solitario, nos regala temazos como éste.

Music I guess? Not sure WTF with the time code, but it makes us realize we once lived in an analog age I guess. One of my all time favorite songs.

I sense another video countdown coming….the one leading up to my 35th on 10/31! Brilliant. Look for a track from the Odd Numbers tomorrow. Please note countdown order isn’t by quality of video rather love of song.

Where did Men at Work go? Why, they’re comfortably living off their royalties from Peruvian radio and cell phone ring sales.

Survivor seems to have had similar success.

Someday I hope to not have either of these songs stuck in my head anymore.

Poco más que contar, ¿verdad? Se acabaron unas magníficas vacaciones (o al menos magníficas para mí)

La verdad es que aunque he disfrutado también he sufrido, creedme, no tener un aceite de oliva bueno para las tostadas se echa menos, pero más se echa de menos los horarios de la comida y comer más abundantemente en el “lunch”.

Curiosamente se junta las sensación de ir saciado (inflado) con algo de hambre, lo cual te predispone a comer en cualquier momento.
El tiempo me ha acompañado hasta un punto impensable, disfrutar de más de una semana de sol radiante es algo muyyy difícil en esta época.

Ya os pondré algunas fotitos de lugares y os contaré curiosidades y cosas a tener en cuenta para aquella gente que quiera salir de España a tierras britanicas a darse un garbeo por ahí.

Y repito lo dicho:

So, es wird Zeit, eine Lanze zu brechen für eine derjenigen Bands, denen ihr großer Hit zum Verhängnis wurde und die, käme sie nicht von down under (und wäre sie nicht, so möchte ich glauben, viel zu cool), heutzutage durch blöde Sendungen wie “Hits von anno dunnemal” auf RTL oder einer anderen televisuellen Pest tingeln und immer wieder und endlos akustische Vegemite Sandwiches fressen würde.

Die Rede ist von den Australiern Men At Work um den Sänger Colin Hay, die die Querflöte nach Jethro Tull wieder für die Popmusik urbar gemacht und sie dummerweise viel zu catchy auf ihrem viel zu großen Hit “Down Under” verwendet haben.

Bands wie die wunderbaren Men At Work gibt es wohl wie Sand am Meer: Auf einem Album voller schöner Lieder ist eines, das raussticht, weil es das exaltierteste, das albernste oder einfach das blödeste ist, und alle Welt fährt darauf ab, und plötzlich sind Midnight Oil nur noch “die mit Beds Are Burning”, oder Black nur noch “der mit Wonderful Life”, Fischer-Z die mit “Berlin” und “Marliese”, und Blur waren doch die mit diesem bescheuerten “Boys And Girls” (ach, halt, die hatten danach noch das Glück, berühmt zu werden). Und Men At Work sind eben die mit diesem albernen “Down Under”.

Das stimmt wohl, das sind sie, und tatsächlich ist “Down Under” ihr Trademark-Stück (und, so verrät uns das Internet, die inoffizielle Nationalhymne Australiens), und das nicht nur, weil es eben das bekannteste ist. Hört man etwas genauer hin, dann ist das Lied gar nicht so albern, wie es klingt. Der Text erzählt vom Einsamsein in der weiten Welt und dem Vaterland im Herzen, das das Eis zwischen den Figuren schmelzen läßt. Aber halt: Was wie eine patriotische Liebeserklärung an Australien klingt, ist eine Warnung: “You better run, you better take cover”, und zwar vor den plündernden und kotzenden Männern dort, und dem Donnern, irgendwo las ich dereinst, es handle sich dabei um die Angst vor irgendeinem Krieg oder so ähnlich. Und außerdem ist das Lied viel melancholischer, als der typische Ü30-Diskobesucher wahrhaben will – völlig fertig in der Ferne in einer Ecke zu liegen ist nunmal kein Zuckerschlecken.

Und außerdem, deshalb habe ich die Platte hier überhaupt erst ausgepackt, ist “Down Under” wahrlich nicht das beste Lied auf  “Business As Usual”. Allein schon der Opener “Who Can It Be Now?”, auch ein mittelgroßer Hit, schlägt den Song um Längen. Ein klassisches 80’s-Saxophon bläst eine unvergessliche Hookline, und Colin Hay singt mit heiserer Stimme eine Geschichte Pop gewordener Paranoia, gerade noch im Zaum gehalten von dieser wunderbaren Melancholie, die auch die verhaltenen Gitarren tragen. Und immer wieder wird diese Paranoia, wahrscheinlich typisch für die 80er Jahre, im Verlauf der Platte ihr Haupt heben, ob in “Helpless Automaton” oder, mit der Liebe ringend, in “Catch A Star”.

Weniger paranoid, aber nicht minder melancholisch ist dann “I Can See It In Your Eyes”, ein Liebeslied von einem Erzähler, der zurückgelassen wurde, und dessen Traurigkeit über das Scheitern der Liebe sich nun vermischt mit den alten Erinnerungen an die weit zurückliegende, für immer vergangene Schulzeit. Fast schon naiv ist das kleine Gitarrenintro, lieblich die Melodie, ein ganz kleines Lied über die ganz großen Gefühle.

Überhaupt ist das die große Stärke der Men At Work: Es gelingt ihnen immer wieder, eben jene großen Gefühle wie Einsamkeit, Angst oder Liebe in kleine, bescheidene Lieder zu stecken und damit viele Klischees zu umschiffen. Und sogar ein Zitat wie “Be Good Johnny”, das sich fast ein bißchen zu sehr im Pop suhlt, bleibt sympathisch, auch in seiner Haltung zu besagtem Johnny im Lied.

Dabei streifen sie auch durch die urbane Nacht, mit einem hektischeren Beat wie in “Underground” oder in “Helpless Automaton”, mit einem bißchen sozialkritischer Haltung in “Touching The Untouchables” oder schlagen sich einfach mit den üblichen zwischenmenschlichen Kommunikationsschwierigkeiten herum, wie im romantischen (oder vielleicht doch etwas seichten)  “People Just Love To Play With Words”. Ein bisserl düsterer New Wave-Reggae plötzlich in “Catch A Star”, bevor das Vinyl elegisch mit “Down By The Sea” endet (die CD hat offenbar noch Bonustracks).

Gut, “Business As Usual” klingt heutzutage ziemlich dated, ist eine typische 80’s-Platte, und man wird immer wieder über “Down Under” stolpern. Und freilich erreicht nicht jedes Lied diese traurige Paranoia von “Who Can It Be Now?” oder dieses wunderbar Naive von “I Can See It In Your Eyes”, aber dennoch bleibt diese Platte eine besondere. Das mag an ihren feinen Melodien liegen, an Colin Hays unverkennbarer Stimme, vielleicht auch an diesem (Achtung, Klischee!) ungreifbar Australischen, dieser Weite in der Musik, oder aber dem Humor der Band – die Men At Work auf “Down Under” zu reduzieren ist jedenfalls ähnlich dumm, wie die Beatles nur noch als “die mit Yellow Submarine” zu bezeichnen, und vielleicht hören diejenigen, die bei den Ü30-Parties bei der notorischen Querflöte von Greg Ham nur noch die Augen verdrehen, einfach mal genauer hin oder besser noch bei Gelegenheit in das gesamte Album rein.

www.myspace.com/menatwork
www.colinhay.com
www.columbiarecords.com

I’ve been away in Rehoboth Beach, where I hit up the Record and Tape Traders on Rehoboth Ave. Unfortunately, it’s going out of business! And it was always such a decent shop (succeeding the spot Kemp Mill used to have in Rehoboth after it went out of business…) I am sad that there are so few places left to really go and browse for music in person.

Anyway, everything was 25 percent off so I picked up a few things of interest:

ABC, Abracadabra
Adam Ant, Wonderful
David Bowie, Earthling
David Bowie, Outside
Men at Work, Business as Usual
Sonic Youth, Dirty
Sonic Youth, nyc ghosts & flowers
The Stooges, the stooges (special edition)
Television, Television

Thoughts:

ABC: What a rare find! Not one of their most celebrated albums; I didn’t even see it on the shelves in London. I’m happy to have it for completeness sake, but I’ll give it a thorough listen.
Adam Ant: I’ve been into Adam more than ever lately so I’ve been picking up all of his individual albums. It’s good to get this one at a discount though.
David Bowie: I haven’t really cared for anything Bowie did in the 90’s. He’s still the master of all things good in music, IMO, but I was also happy to get these at a discount.
Men at Work: I play their Contraband greatest hits compilation quite a bit. Why not add the first album to the collection as well?
Sonic Youth: Michael Darpino is fast convincing me that this is the best American *rock* band ever. (I still reserve judgement for my favorite New Wave bands as per best band period.) With these two albums, I now have seven albums out of their studio catalog. Michael tells me that he suspects Dirty will be my favorite, although he stands with those who love Daydream Nation. I kind of like the latest, The Eternal, a lot so far, but I enjoy Goo quite a bit too.
The Stooges: As with Adam Ant, I am enjoying a resurgence of personal interest in Iggy Pop! I’ve been playing the Stooges on the jukebox a lot at the Black Cat lately, so I figured it was time to buy some of their albums.
Television: Another NYC-scene band that Michael introduced me too, although I’ve long known of them as contemporaries of Blondie and the Talking Heads. This surprise third album of theirs might well be a curiosity more than anything, but I’m eager to listen to it. Tom Verlaine has earned his place in the top tier of guitar players.

This spectacular song is one of the best songs ever made in my opinion. It’s by Colin Hay, previously the voice of Men at Work, nowadays having his own band called Man @ Work. The song can be found by both bands, although I only have it on the acoustic solo version. I found it through Scrubs; it is featured in full length in the episode My Overkill (season 2, episode 1), performed by Colin Hay himself in the episode.

Enjoy!