Sunday, January 31, 2016

World Wide Woozle #388

Greetings from the city of Geelong.

Yesterday I rode in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Ride. It was a solid day out with a distance of 112km and some good hills right at the end. I must admit that I'd forgotten how (relatively) easy it is to sit in a bunch and just spin. For the first 25km I was locked onto Hamish Blake's rear wheel! After that there were good sized groups working hard and I joined in as you do. The hills didn't really start until the second half of the ride and I really enjoyed the challenge. My only error was getting slightly lost riding back to my Dad's house after the event. Alison and I got out in the afternoon and as a result of some road closures got an excellent view of the pro women's race as they hurtled downhill and through a roundabout. Today we saw the end of the pro men's race and Geelong turned on the good weather and large crowds. I may have also been tempted into purchasing a small amount of merchandise!

Yesterday's ride was the perfect tonic to a fairly challenging week at work. It was good to meet a whole lot of different people both out on the road and later on at a function. If you're a cyclist then this event should be on your bucket list. It's a well thought out course that has something for everyone and the organisation is first rate.

Kraftwerk - Autobahn - https://youtu.be/iukUMRlaBBE

The next track this week is from Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders. It has a really cool Bowie vibe going on and probably references Icehouse as well. All I know so far is that I heard it on the radio recently and the title and artist name went quickly into my notebook!

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders - To Keep & To Be Kept - https://youtu.be/iukUMRlaBBE

Anthrax have a new long player coming in about a month. I've always found their albums patchy in the past. They write some really good tunes but in terms of a whole cohesive album I'm just not feeling it yet. However, if you wanted a list of cool tracks from the band then it would be substantial. Here's one from the impending release. I think it's a bit lighter than I expected but I'm pleased to hear Belladonna's voice is holding up.

Anthrax - Breathing Lightning - https://youtu.be/NXYKpKWHxaI

When I read that Juliana Hatfield had teamed up with Paul Westerberg for an album I was pretty excited. Both have well deserved pop/rock credentials. As you'd probably expect, the track I'm playing here has pop hooks, fuzzy guitars, and a combination of dreamy vocals and Westerberg's angsty delivery. I'm off to search for the whole album as soon as I'm finished here.

The I Don't Cares - King of America - https://youtu.be/17cmyKYaMrE

If you've listened to anything from Megadeth over the past 30 or so years then you've probably got the impression that Dave Mustaine (founder, guitarist, vocalist and only permanent member) is a card carrying member of the paranoid tin foil helmet wearing brigade. His lyrics often make comment about governments, conspiracies and the like. And it works for him. "Dystopia", an apt name for a Megadeth LP, was released a week ago. Here's the first single and I must admit that I quite like it. Dave's vocals are less nasal and the middle eastern melodic style of some the guitar work makes for interesting listening.

Megadeth - The Threat Is Real - https://youtu.be/3-d6LFLpBvw

Dawes are an indie-folk band from Los Angeles. They are another band that radio has introduced me to recently. I'm not sure who's programming Double J during the days at the moment but they're doing a great job with both variety and quality. If you like Neil Young in his less noisy moments then this might suit you.... Bearing in mind that I know nothing at all about American cars, I must say that "El Camino" just sounds cool even though they may not be!

Dawes - All Your Favourite Bands - https://youtu.be/3-d6LFLpBvw

That'll do for another week. For now I'm going to chillax at my Dad's house!

Bruce Springsteen - My Father's House - https://youtu.be/DbA_5IpiAyU

Rob

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