Playlist: Pleasant Valley Sunday Breakfast August 7th 2011

Tune into 88.6 Plenty Valley FM for The Pleasant Valley Sunday Breakfast from 6.00 am - 8.00 am AEST.

This is the playlist for August 7th:

WISH YOU WERE HERE - PINK FLOYD
SPACE ODDITY - DAVID BOWIE
TWO OF US - SUPERTRAMP
COUNTY FAIR - VAN MORRISON
WICKED GAME - CHRIS ISAAK
TIME IN A BOTTLE - JIM CROCE
LOVE GROWING OLD - WAGONS
LAND RIGHTS - XAVIER RUDD
NO APHRODISIAC - THE WHITLAMS
SLIPPIN’ AWAY - MAX MERRITT
DUNMORE LASSIES - RY COODER/ THE CHIEFTAINS
UNDER THE CLOCKS - WEDDINGS, PARTIES, ANYTHING
A MAN IS IN LOVE - THE WATERBOYS
DON’T LETY US GET SICK - WARREN ZEVON
ROCK & ROLL - ERIC HUTCHINSON
AINT TELLING THE TRUTH - BLUEJUICE
MY SWEET LORD - GEORGE HARRISON
CHINESE CHECKERS - STEVE POLTZ
CAN’T AFFORD NO SHOES - FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MOTHERS
KUNG FU FIGHTING - CARL DOUGLAS
BURY ME DEEP IN LOVE - THE TRIFFIDS
IS IT LIKE TODAY? - WORLD PARTY
A SONG FOR YOU - WHISKEYTOWN
NED KELLY’S TUNES - THE BUSHWACKERS

streaming live on www.pvfm.org.au

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Lay In Bed On A Sunday...

                          Mulch Music On The Radio - June 26th

That's right, folks... Don't touch that dial. You can now listen to me live on the radio every Sunday morning at 6.00 am (AEST) until 8.00 am on your local station 88.6 Plenty Valley FM with my brand new show Pleasant Valley Sunday Breakfast. Join me for the premiere June 26th at 6.00 am. Sure, it's early, but what else have you got planned? Sleep?

You can also listen through live streaming over the internet - www.pvfm.org.au

Artists included on the first show are:

Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash, The Blackeyed Susans, The Chieftains, Cousteau, Paul Kelly, Big Star, Radiohead, Christy Moore, Ryan Adams, Bap Kennedy, Cowboy Junkies, along with a feature on Gordon Lightfoot.

Let me know you're listening, or send me a request or comment at: mulchmusic@gmail.com

Sail Away by Randy Newman



Randy Newman is the master of subversive, social comment, often hidden behind delightful and misleading melodies. It would be easy to discuss the brilliant, but obvious, tunes like Short People, Rednecks, or the prescient Political Science. However, Sail Away remains a perfect example of all that is Newmanesque.

Newman is deftly able to cast a spotlight on the hypocrisy that allows systematic inequality to take a foothold and thrive in modern society. Don't be fooled by the humour and the light and breezy tone, or the romantic southern composition that could have easily sat with one of his father's film scores. This is a dark piece.

Like Zappa before him, and Eminem after him, Newman turns the table on both overt bigotry and condescending enlightenment. He highlights the absurdity of the argument by framing the story from the oppressor's perspective. It is a bold, and sometimes contentious approach, and Newman is by far the best at it. So much so that he has received a considerable amount of uneducated criticism from the very people who
should be shouting his praises.

The furore surrounding Short People was ridiculous. The very same people who were outraged by the 'treatment' of short people were noticeable by their absence during civil rights protests, or any number of famous racial discrimination cases. Those calling for the boycott of Newman's music were, and remain, strangely quiet when 'short people' is replaced with 'black' or 'yellow' or 'red' and so on. In Rednecks, no-one is spared, from the easy targets of racist southern stereotypes to complacent, condescending liberals of the north.

Sail Away is Newman at his best. Sung from the perspective of the slave trader it plays almost like an advertising jingle to entice voluntary migration from The Jungle to The New World - "A Brave New World awaits those eager to embrace the values of the USA!" It's great to be an American! Sail away. Freedom. Everyone is free to take care of his home and his family...

Sail away is not just about the shame and disgrace that was organised slavery in America. It strikes a chord still resonant today as it was at the time of recording in 1973. Consider these facts: African Americans account for around 12% of the population yet take up around 40% of prison populations. An African American male is about five times more likely to be incarcerated than a white American. The ratio between black and white inmates on death row is 3:1 in favour of whites. Split by race, African Americans represent the lowest average household income in the United States, along with the lowest rate of home ownership.

"You'll just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day. It's great to be an American..."

It is the stark contrast between history as we know it and the chilling perspective of the slave trader that provokes and prods the listener. It keeps the message of the song so vivid and strong decades after it was written.

Under The Influence

Last year my brother, Neil, developed stomach Cancer. It came as quite a shock to our family, as Neil has always been the active one, the rugged outdoors type - forever building something, diving off something else, or embarking on another trip to far off places. He has always been an active sportsman, being quite handy at both Cricket and Golf. So it was quite a shock. It was surprising and sad as well. Our mother died several years earlier from Cancer, and a couple of years later our father developed prostate Cancer, which he has had to live with since.


Thankfully, my brother responded well to treatment, no doubt helped by his relatively young age, otherwise good health, and positive attitude. For the last couple of months he has enjoyed being officially classed as "in remission."


I have no musical reference for my brother, no list, no influence. He is, perhaps, without doubt, the most unmusical person I have ever met. There are only a couple of things that come to mind. He was always quite keen on Tom Jones' "She's A Lady" as a child, which would always get him stirred endlessly. Funny, it seems quite cool now. Then, of course, there was the Onkyo stereo, one of the best that money could buy, for its time. Unfortunately, Neil only had five or six records, which he never played! Plus, the damned thing was stuck on AM, alternating between the races and football. What a waste of equipment!! Meanwhile, I'm stuck somewhere wearing out needles and blowing up speakers, whilst he is rejoicing in the modulated, crystal clear sounds of sports radio...




In recent years, I seem to recall, he has ventured into cd territory. I have a memory of his wife waving a cd frantically, trying to let us know how hip they are now that they own something along the lines of "Dad's BBQ Album" or "Dad's Twenty Great Driving Songs." You know what I'm talking about - the type of cd that cost $2.00 at Crazy Waldo's Mad, Mad Discount World!


Now, on the other hand, my other brother, Terry, had a fantastic and lasting influence on me with regards to music. Whilst I like to think I would have found my way to him eventually, it was Terry who introduced me to the music of Frank Zappa. Sure, he started me with Billy The Mountain (Just Another Band From L.A.) and that "white album with the pencil on the front" (Live At The Fillmore).


By many standards, Terry has had a tough life, surrounded by cigarettes, alcohol and various other substances, along with the odd run in with the long arm of the law. (Cue: I Fought The Law & The Law Won by The Clash, Bad Boy For Love by Rose Tattoo and maybe The Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy).


Terry, along with Neil, left school early. "Yes, leave quietly and quickly or be thrown out noisily on your ass!" The benefit to me was that Terry suddenly had money, which meant he suddenly started buying records. In amongst all the fights, the drunken arguments, the fear, the homelessness, and the guilt, there were some great moments discovering unforgettable music. He would come home nearly every week with another one or two albums, play them maybe once, and leave them around for me to soak up every last word, note, chord, lyric, and liner note. By the time he left a copy of Pop History Vol 7: The Mothers Of Invention, I was hooked. I spent the next few years making sure I had every Zappa release there was - not an easy trick in Australia in the mid-seventies!


Over the years, Terry came and went several times, but he always left behind The Music, so when I was working all I worried about was new stuff. Eventually, he would gather all of his albums and leave me with... what? It wasn't nothing - I still had all those memories doing what you can't do with a cd - pouring over the album artwork and liner notes of hundreds of great albums. He left me with a great legacy of extremely varied music - music that went beyond Top 40. Music that has for the most part, stood the test of time. And yes, I have collected most of those albums on cd, it's not the same as those old, worn record covers and crackly scratched vinyl.

I can still see him now, watching Matt Taylor sing Black And Blue or I Remember When I Was Young, or listening late at night in the dark as he tried to tell me just how good Lobby Lloyd & the Coloured Balls were...


The following are just a brief sample of some of the influence of my brother, Terry:

Made In Japan Deep Purple


We Sold Our Souls For Rock n Roll Black Sabbath


Babylon By Bus Bob Marley & The Wailers


In Search Of The Lost Chord The Moody Blues


Just Another Band From L.A. Frank Zappa & The Mothers


Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd


My Aim Is True Elvis Costello & The Attractions


Crime Of The Century Supertramp


Wired Jeff Beck


Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin


Welcome To My Nightmare Alice Cooper


The Wedding Album Cheech & Chong


One More From The Road Lynyrd Skynyrd


Livin' In The Seventies Skyhooks


Rumours Fleetwood Mac


Four Seasons Sebastian Hardy


Boy From The Stars Jim Keyes


Aqualung Jethro Tull




A couple of weeks ago, I won a double pass to see Zappa Plays Zappa, a concert by Dweezil Zappa, featuring Frank's music, and image, on stage. Neither Terry or myself ever got to see Frank live, so this would have to be the next best thing. Last weekend my brother advised me he has Lung Cancer. His doctor told him he would "probably" make it to his 50th birthday in April, 2008. And so the battle begins again. This time he is not alone. In recent years he has found peace and love, with a wonderful partner and resides in idyllic, calm surroundings. I hope I can be as positive an influence on him as his musical influence has been on me.

"Eddie, are you, kidding?"