Work Songs and Opinions on Ty Segall

work_web

After a relaxing Labor Day, Jim and Greg get back into the swing of things by playing the best songs inspired by work.

Download Subscribe via iTunes

Songs About Work

Despite the fact that most musicians spend their lives avoiding a "real job," there are a number of great songs about the drudgery and the glory of hard work. So this week, Jim and Greg dedicate the show to our nation's laborers with their favorite songs inspired by work.

Greg

  • The Animals, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
  • Van Morrison, "Cleaning Windows"
  • Bob Marley, "Night Shift"
  • The Jam, "Smithers-Jones"

Jim

  • John Lennon, "Working Class Hero"
  • The Clash, "Career Opportunities"
  • Lou Reed, "Don’t Talk to Me About Work"
  • The Flaming Lips, "Bad Days"

Manipulator Ty Segall

Manipulator

Prolific San Francisco garage rocker Ty Segall has released an abundance of material during his 27-year lifetime. From cassette tapes to EPs to singles, rarely does a year go by without the songwriter starting a new band or collaborating with another. Occasionally, though, Segall does step into the spotlight with a solo release, and his latest, this month's Manipulator, is a real stand-out. Jim thinks all 17 tracks on the album are uniformly great with their refined blend of lo-fi psychedelic pop that harkens back to the best of San Francisco's 1980's psych rock revival. Greg loves it, too, notably for Segall's precise production and successful expression of all his musical personalities. Manipulater is a sprawling album full of loving melodies, great guitar playing, and contemplative lyrics; both critics say Buy It.

Jim

Ever since Bootsy Collins visited the Sound Opinions studio in 2012, Jim has been thinking of dance band Deee-Lite and its hit 1990 single, "Groove Is In The Heart" which features Bootsy on bass guitar and guest vocals. Many consider Deee-Lite to be a one-hit wonder, but Jim is a big fan of all the band's albums, particularly their second, Infinity Within, which took a turn away from the first album's neo-hippy tone towards the political with songs about voter registration, environmental stewardship, and the judicial system. One track, "Rubber Lover" features the return of Bootsy Collins, and delights Jim with its safe sex message atop Chicago house mixed with New York rave sound.

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!