Music Monday [7] – Belly Laughs

I’m back with avengeance from a little blog hiatus, so I thought I’d kick things off this week with a Music Monday all about hilarious songs designed to make you giggle. Whilst music is a serious and beautiful thing, sometimes a silly song is just what you need to get a smile cracking on your face and set you up for a great day.

First up today I’m giving you a song I first heard on Welcome to Night Vale (surprise surprise). From memory this one was on the very first episode, and it was one of the things that really made me want to keep listening to the podcast. Satellite High (aka Jay Satelite) makes really fun music, and you can listen to more of his stuff over at his Bandcamp page. As somebody who spent the greater part of my working life catching public transport to and from work in peak hour, this song speaks to me in all of the ways. Sweet little social commentary on the mundanity of public transport, and hey, catchy as fuck to boot.

Now there’s other people waiting at the bus stop / Hey, where’s your bus pass, boy?
When you’re waiting for the bus in the rain have your bus pass ready or the people on the bus get annoyed…

Keeping on the transport-related theme for a moment, here’s one that you may have heard doing the rounds on the radio lately. Now, if you don’t know who Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are, you’ve probably been living under a rock for the last 5 years or so. If this is the case 1) Move out from under the rock man, maybe to a nice apartment or something, and 2) get on your computermatron or digital music devicey thingy and look that shit up. This is one of those songs that I almost wish I hated, but then I don’t because I freaking love it. Seriously, sometimes a little light heartedness goes a long way in music. Downtown is not only a “moped anthem”, it’s a very special bit of fun, and it takes less than a minute to get stuck in your head all day.  The song actually took a long time to get ready for release, with the artists spending quite a while wondering if it was ever going to work. I for one am pretty pleased that they persevered, because this is on high rotation in my home and car right now.

I went to the moped store, said “Fuck it”
Salesman’s like “What up, what’s your budget?”
And I’m like “Honestly, I don’t know nothing about mopeds”
He said “I got the one for you, follow me”…

Now let’s go back in time, to an age where life was simpler, and rock & roll was king. Whilst all of the songs by legends in their own luncboxes Spinal Tap were written to be fun (but then again not, but then yes, but then … ahhhh you know what I’m getting at) this is the one that I’m never ashamed to be seen rocking out to in my car. There’s something extremely satisfying about singing these lyrics at thye top of your voice with gusto, and since I’m one of these girls myself, I appreciate the love.

Big bottom, big bottom / Talk about bum cakes, my girl’s got ’em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind / How could I leave this behind?

Whilst we’re on the subject of hirlarious parody glam metal acts, I’ll round off this week’s post with another one of my absolute favourites. Steel Panther, if you’ve not come across these guys yet and you are into stuff like Spinal Tap, then by all means go and feast your ears on some tasty shit. The best part is that Steel Panther still tour regularly, and they put on quite a show, so I’d highly recommend getting along to see them if they ever tour to your area. This sweet ditty is just so damn romantic, I can’t even tell you. Honestly, guys, play this for your girlfirend, boyfriend, wife or husband, and I promise that they will be yours forever. Or slap you across the face. Hey, I can’t be held responsible for that!

‘Cause my heart belongs to you / My love is pure and true
My heart belongs to you / But my dong is community property…

And that’s all for this week. I hope I’ve given you a few belly laughs along the way, or maybe introduced you to a new song or two.

Tell me, what is your absolute favourite hilarious songs?

Happy Listening!

Music Monday [6] – Songs To Make You Jump Around

Well Hello, it must be Monday again. I don’t know about you, but sometimes, despite my varied schedule, I do still tend to suffer from a touch of Monday-itis. One of the better ways to combat my sluggish Monday Mode is to listen to some up-tempo fun tunes to get me in the mood to tackle the day head on. So in this post I’m going to focus on four songs to get your heart rate up and a smile on your face.

This first song is what I call my #1 workout song. If anyone ever asks for a recommendation on a song to add to their exercise playlist, I recommend this one without fail. A few years ago when I was heavily into jumping rope for exercise, I used to use this song to do a mad skipping workout. At around 7 minutes long, and 145 BPM (that’s beats per minute) you are sure to get a kick out of working out to this. And if you skip to it, I guarantee you at around 5 minutes into it, if you can keep up, the endorphins really start to kick in. I’m pretty sure I had an out-of-body experience running to this song once too. For me, it’s the perfect mix of tempo, sound and build-up, so fantastic to dance to or exercise to in whatever way you love to exercise. The lyrics are definitely not happy shiny rainbows, but that just leads to a way more powerful song, in my opinion. Workout songs don’t have to be happy and cheerful, in fact, some of the best ones are a bit darker, and can motivate you to push that little bit harder when you have to.

Infected Mushroom have been around since the mid-90s, and are just an incredible psytrance group hailing from Israel. I have seen them live three times, and each time has been mind-blowing. Honestly, if you’ve never heard of them before, it is well worth checking them out. And if you have heard of them before, no doubt you are nodding your head in agreement whilst I wax on about how great they are. I personally recommend the album Legend Of The Black Shawarma as a good jumping off point.

Ahhhhhh
I hope I can chill and stay the same
Stop the bleed inside / And feel again
Cut the chain of lies / You’ve been my feeding my veins
I got nothing to say to you…

Keeping with the psytrance theme (you may come to learn through my Music Monday posts that I adore psytrance), here is another of my favourite psytrance groups, Pendulum. Pendulum originated in Perth Western Australia in 2002, and like Infected Mushroom, are known for mixing harder rock elements with electronic music, creating their own sub-genre of psytrance / electronica that has been a global success. I have never seen Pendulum live, but I’m pretty sure I’d feel like I’d died and gone to heaven if I did.

The Vulture never fails to fill me with energy and make me want to bounce around like a mad thing. At 174 BPM it makes a great workout song, and will make you want to fistpump the air as you do it.

We’re taking the power…

Now onto something a bit happier – let’s get some hardcore into our lives, shall we?  When my husband was a DJ “back in the day” Darren Styles was his absolute favourite dance artist. And, of course, that totally rubbed off on me. To be fair, Styles has had an enduring career and is really at the top of his game when it comes to this genre of music. Not only is he an outstanding DJ and producer, but he also does the vocals on most of his tracks, making him a complete triple threat. Total talent, and fantastic tuneage.  This is an old song, circa 2007-ish, but in my mind it’s a classic. Styles tours the UK and Eurpoe quite often, performing at all of the biggest dance music festivals around. If you’ve ever had a chance to see him perform, I’m completely envious of you.

I have been waiting, all of my life
For you to come along, and make everything alright
My body’s shaking, right through my bones
So take me by the hand, please don’t leave me here alone
And I wonder if you know just how I feel…

To round of today’s fab four, I figured what’s exercise without a bit of Crystal Castles. I’ve included them in Music Mondays before, but this song is a little more mainstream than the last tune I recommended. I’m Not In Love comes in at a respectable 136 BPM, so is good for jogging, warm ups, cool downs or weights. As an added bonus – Robert Smith!  Yes, I even managed to find a slightly “goth” work out song – go me!

‘Cause it’s cold outside, when you coming home
‘Cause it’s hot inside, isn’t that enough
I’m not in love…

Aaaaand that’s a wrap!

As always, leave me some comment love and let me know what you think of my playlist for this week. I hope I’ve managed to introduce you to some tunes that you hadn’t heard before, or just revisited some old faves you haven’t listened to in ages.

Happy Listening!

Music Monday [4] – Bop Chill Bop Doo Wop

Hola my people!

Another Music Monday is upon us. ARE YOU EXCITED? I sure am. I’m not going to waffle on this week, let’s jump straight in, headfirst, to some delicious tunage for your ears and souls.

First up, a bit of fun. This track is from UK DJ / producer Mark Ronson, and features Kevin Parker from Tame Impala. Mark Ronson is known for working with some major industry heavyweights, including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams… and I could go on and on, and is basically just the shit right now (if you don’t get my Aussie slang, “the shit” is a good thing. A very good thing). You know that song Uptown Funk? Yeah, that’s him too. This song is by no means a new one, it’s been out for quite a while, buit it never fails to get me in the mood to boogie.  Daffodils is from the Uptown Special album which was released earlier this year.

(Note: this song has vague drug references. If that’s not your thing, consider yourself forewarned)

Drop another daffodil / We can push on through till morning…

Número dos. Holy Holy is an Aussie duo hailing from both Brisbane and Melbourne. They’ve just released their debut album in Australia, called When The Storms Would Come, and these guys are generating quite the buzz locally. This indie project hails back to old school classic songwriting, and you can hear many influences in their style from days gone by. Oh, and I really have to mention, these guys both have epic hair. EPIC. I’m pretty sure their musical power is held in their hair or something, like a modern day tale of Samson. Or Samsons.

Anyhoooo… Sentimental And Monday is the perfect track to listen to whilst driving aimlessly around in the rain. Yes, I’m being that specific. So seriously, try it. Go out to your car on a rainy day, put on this track, then drive aimlessly. I highly recommend it.

The good news is that these two are doing an album tour around Oz right now, and then they’re heading to Europe. If you want to go see their epic hair in person, check out the tour dates here.

This darkness is nothing but a lack of light…

Número tres. This next one is a bit of a mash up. It’s a remix of a song called Frostbite by an Australian dark electropop trio by the name of Avarice In Audio. AIA are fantastic all on their own, and I highly suggest you check them the hell out, but this remix by symphonic darkwave duo Revenant Cult takes it to the next level. You can listen to the original version here for comparison if that pleases you to do so.

In the interest of transparency, I should also let you guys know that Revenant Cult is my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. That doesn’t make this remix any more or less awesome just because they’re family, and it is one half of the duo, Julian, who is entirely responsible for this great remix. I wouldn’t post any of their stuff here unless I absolutely loved it, and this is one remix that is on high rotation on my iPod and in my car.

If you’re interested in checking out more of what Revenant Cult has to offer, the best place to do so is their Soundcloud.

Número cuatro. The final sweet melody I’m offering up to you today is a fabulous track by some new kids on the block, Melbourne alterna-pop group City Calm Down. Their debut album In A Restless House is set for release on the 6th of November, and boy oh boy I’ll be salivating to get my hands on this one. They’re also currently touring, so get on that bandwagon people! Perthies, they’re playing at Jack Rabbit Slims on the 10th of October, just FYI.

This song, Rabbit Run, is just so perfect in its 80s nostalgic sound. I’m hearing Joy Division, I’m hearing Morrissey, I’m hearing elements of The Cure. I’m just LOVING what I’m hearing, in other words. This song is for evenings spent watching ominous dark clouds roll in to obliterate the sunset, with a large glass of red in your hand.

If had wrote you for your thoughts / Pretend they are my own and turn the other way / Still living in my regrets / Reflected in the mud / But I’m not ashamed…

That’s it for this fortnight my lovelies. Love these posts? Hate them? Shout me out in a comment.

Happy Listening

Music Monday [2] – Throw Your Hands In The Air

Living the Mum Life, I find it very hard to commit to anything. The fact that I’m publishing a second Music Monday blog, like I’m actually doing another one and only a week after the first – well, it’s nothing short of amazing. UH-MAY-ZING. So please, medals, accolades and big-arse bottles of champagne right this way.  I figure if nothing else, Music Monday will keep me blogging regularly, and will hopefully hold me accountable to do so. I can’t promise that I’ll do these every Monday, but I think fortnightly is achievable.

On to my first offering for this week.

This is a song that I can’t get out of my head at the moment. I rejoice when it comes on the radio, and I like it so much that I even **gasp!** downloaded a copy so that I can listen to it over, and over, and over, and over…

(I live on a shoestring budget. Like seriously Scroogealicious stuff. Even downloading a two dollar song is considered a treat to me. So that’s how much I like this damn song)

Eves The Behaviour  (aka 20 year old Hannah Karydas) is an Australian artist based in Brisbane. Think dark electro-pop with some alternative almost goth-style elements. This song Electrical is just my cup of tea. It has a bit of a dark moody vibe, but mainly it’s just haunting and beautiful.

An interesting trivia point for those playing at home, Karydas actually experiences a neurological phenomenon known as synesthesia, in her case this means she associates music with colours. I believe she’s playing at the upcoming Splendour In The Grass festival, so if you’re going along to that, you may be lucky enough to see her play live.

Hazes from New York, slow burning
Blue screen come down
Transition from night to day
I’m synthesized but profound…

This next tune is a lot of fun. A LOT OF FUN. Totally bop-worthy, and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Well, it brings one to mine, anyhoo.

The Jungle Giants are a young indie rock band, also based in Brisbane. GO BRISBANE, seriously knockin’ out some great talent of late. Keep it up Brisvegas, you rock! These guys (and gal) have a new album coming out in early August and are touring around the country in September and October. So, if you’re digging on this, going and checking out one of their shows would be pretty rad.

Heads up Perth, they’ll be playing at Metros Freo on September 4th, the Prince of Wales in Bunno on the 5th, and an all-ages show at HQ in Leederville on the 6th. Get on it.

Kooky Eyes. What can I say? This song just speaks to me. We all know a kooky eyes, don’t we?

Kooky eyes / Do you wanna stay the night?
All my friends think you’re a psycho / That kinda makes me like you more though…

Dooooo ya want to be my giiiiirl oh kooky eyeeees!  Come on, tell me that isn’t going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day?  *ahem* You’re welcome.

Alrighty, now for something equally as cool, but from a band with a bit more leverage under their belts. Modest Mouse have been bringing us excellent tuneage out of the USA since the early 90s, and they’re showing no sign of slowing down. With a new album just released in March of this year, these indie cool cats just keep on bringing the good stuff. Lampshades On Fire was the first single from the new album Strangers To Ourselves, and is definitely worth a listen, even if you’re not a big MM fan or don’t even know of them. Whilst it’s a boppy tune, it also has some underlying themes in there that you can read between the lines with.

Our eyes light up, we have no shame at all / Well, you all know what I’m talkin’ about
The room lights up, well, we’re still dancing around / We’re havin’ fun, havin’ some for now

Pack up again, head to the next place / Where we’ll make the same mistakes
Open one up and let it fall to the ground / Pile out the door when it all runs out…

I’m going to leave you today with something a bit more up-tempo. OK, a LOT more up-tempo. In fact, fuck it, just throw your hands in the air and get your dark rave on!  Crystal Castles is a Canadian electronic band with three albums under their belt, the latest one being III which was released back in 2012. This track, Deicide, is actually from a yet-to-be-released album, and features a new singer mysteriously only known as “Edith”, after former vocalist Alice Glass left the band late last year. Deicide is unsettling and emotive, but still manages to make me want to get up and dance. Whatever Crystal Castles are doing right now, in my opinion, they’re doin’ it right.

Their kindness is charade / It’s used to sedate / They remain unashamed / If you are being used / You should remain confused / To keep them amused…

Alright folks, that’s another Music Monday done and dusted. Please let me know if you’re liking these posts, and if you have any thoughts – I love getting comments, so don’t be shy.