Free Music Friday

If the Ireland dressing-room needs pumping up before the Wallabies game, may we suggest a boom-box blasting out of this week's Free Music Friday selection of tunes, which make for the ultimate ruck 'n' roll soundtrack.

Our favourite Free Music Friday thing this week is 'Grand Job', a seriously kicking new tune from God Knows + MynameisjOhn. G features in the Hot Press Xmas Summit, coming to a fortnightly Irish publication near you soon!

To the streams now and Machinedrum, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Broncho, Exit Verse, The Wands, Vonder & Bloom and Anatomy Of Habit are among the [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/albums.html[/link] goodies; http://www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen adds Flake Music, Your Old Droog and Two Inch Astronaut to the mix; it depends on where you and your gadget happen to be, but if you're in the right place http://albumstreams.com can sort you out with Claire London, Climates, Smashing Pumpkins, Gala Drop, Mont Oliver, Snowday and AC/DC; [link]theguardian.com/music/series/album-streams[/link] would love you to sample the new Kelis live album, and Wilco man Nels Cline and Julian Lange's Room is the [link]nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=3&[/link] pick.

Free Music Friday is pleased to make the acquaintance of David Garza, a laid-back Austin strummer who should get his geetar over here quick.

Mixtape of the Week comes courtesy of Ethereal, yet another up and coming Atlanta rapper whose Blackli$t set has a deliciously jazzy thing going on.

Offering a very different sort of mix is Jens Lekman whose WWJD is inspired by a mid-western road trip, as in Illinois, not Roscommon.

This week's Noise Trade goodies include a four-tracker from Miami EDM merchant Ben Wash; another sampler from Oklahoma Americana merchant JD McPherson, and a tasty demo collection from The Fleeting Ends, a Pennsylvania quirk pop combo who we suspect have a big 2015 ahead of them.

Hot Press is delighted to bring you the vid for the new Eleanor McEvoy single, ‘The Thought Of You’, which was shot in and around Dublin and includes a jam session in our near neighbour, MusicMaker.

Hozier gives ‘Take Me To Church’ a particularly soulful runout for German daily, Zeit, at [link]zeit.de/video/2014-11/3876330350001/rekorder-hozier-spielt-take-me-to-church[/link]

Team Hot Press is loving this MAPS remix of Gemma Hayes’ ‘Chasing’, which is so glacially cool it sounds like it belongs on the Drive soundtrack. It’s taken from her new Bones + Longing album, which drops today on the Tipperary songstress’ own Chasing Dragons imprint. Another new song of hers, ‘Making My Way’, soundtracks the Aldi Ireland Christmas ad.

Richie Egan has premiered the lysergic-minded video for his new single, ‘The Heart’s Desire’. As well as glooping himself in technicolour paint, we also get treated to what looks like a joint morphing into a caterpillar, some very strange underwater critters and a troupe of dancing flowers.

The eye-popping vids continue with this animated jobbie for ‘Surrounded By Lights’, the fabulous creation of Delaware’s Gentle Jones and Carlow’s Auxiliary Phoenix who are working together as High Elders. It’s culled from their Forest Of Pencils album which drops on December 9 courtesy of Little League Records.

Domhnall and Brian Gleeson guest in the video for ‘2025’, the new single from Squarehead, which benefits the immaturityforcharity.com drive to raise money for the St. Francis Hospice in Raheny. They’re up €65,000 grand so far – stellar work! – but need a lot more to maintain services.

Taken from the ‘head’s excellent Respect album, it’s got a home movie vibe and confirms that the Gleesons are very good eggs.

Damien Rice was in immaculate voice t’other day when he performed this acoustic version of ‘Colour Me In’ for The Guardian, which can be viewed at [link]theguardian.com/music/video/2014/nov/19/damien-rice-colour-me-in-live-session-video[/link]

And in case you missed it, here he is treating the Letterman millions to this string and carpet-assisted take on ‘I Don’t Want To Change You’.

Pulp have released a new US cinema trailer for their A Film About Life, Death And Supermarkets documentary, which wraps, appropriately enough, with their triumphant Sheffield homecoming gig. With Mr. Cocker in top arse-wiggling form, it looks a real cinematic treat.

Finally, FMF was deeply saddened this week by the death of Motown legend Jimmy Ruffin whose 'What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted' is one of the finest songs to come out of the Motor City.

That was just the tip of the classic soul iceberg though, with 'I've Passed This Way', 'I'll Say Forever My Love', 'Farewell Is A Lonely Sound' and 'Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got' also making grown men and women go all gooey.

His social activism included helping The Style Council record 'Soul Deep' in 1984 for striking British miners.

"Jimmy Ruffin was a phenomenal singer," says his old label boss Berry Gordy. "He was truly underrated because we were also fortunate to have his brother, David, as the lead singer of the Temptations, who got so much acclaim."

Elsewhere, "Jimmy Ruffin is God!" tweets Edwyn Collins; 'Goodbye Mr. Ruffin, another soul great leaves us!" adds Boy George, and "RIP, Jimmy. Heaven has never sounded so sweet," is Rod Stewart's take.

Thank you for the music, sir.

And that is your Free Music Friday lot for another week. As ever, we invite you to bombard @stuartclark66 with links, vids and anything else you got!