Opinion: Purple Sneakers

Original video located here. Accessed 8th September 2025

Song title: Purple Sneakers

Artist: You Am I

Year: 1995

Why I like this song:

So it has been announced that You Am I will be this year's inductees to the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Some thoughts:

• It's a been a long time coming: People forget that there was a time when You Am I were on fire, firing out gems like no tomorrow (like the one above). So much so, that people have turned cold to them is baffling to say the least. Much like how reception to Game of Thrones turned around following the last season. 
• Perhaps the change in attitude came through Tim Rogers acting like an arse. But it seems all is forgiven now.
• Does this mean that ARIA are now going to start being more accommodating to non-commercial 'alterative' acts now?
• I like to think that this rant may have something to do with it but that's just wishful thinking on my part

Classics: Run Like Hell

Original video located here. Accessed 11th August 2025

Song title: Run Like Hell

Artist: Pink Floyd

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

Recently I've been unwell so I took the time to give Pink Floyd's The Wall another listen.
It has been over a decade since I last heard it and it seems that this album has something of a perplexing legacy:
On one hand, it was a huge seller but on the other it's recognition has cooled since.
On one hand, it generated a template that many so-called 'rock operas' have followed but on the other certain songs seem short and not fully-realised.
On one hand it was due to the vision of Roger Waters but on the other it was the one that split the band.
On one hand it clearly spoke to many a teenager but on the other it did not have the same effect when said teenagers became adults.  
The list goes on and on.
Still, a decade later places me in a position where maybe I could obtain a different perspective with a different set of ears....

I will admit: I can see the criticisms aimed at The Wall (as listed above). Yes there appears to be more interludes than actual songs, yes the narrative seems to go some odd directions and offers an abrupt conclusion, yes this is a young man's album (written by a guy in his thirties), yes it is misogynistic and yes the whole 'tortured rock star' isn't exactly an easy sell. 
And yet, I find myself admiring The Wall. It is different compared to Pink Floyd's other albums, and it is fascinating, and daring, in it's depiction of a mental breakdown. 

Opinion: Highway to Hell

Original video located here. Accessed 30th July 2025

Song title: Highway to Hell

Artist: AC/DC

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

Well the latest Triple J Hottest 100 has come and gone. And of all the Australian songs that came out over the past fifty years, Never Tear Us Apart grabbed the top honours.

Some thoughts on the countdown:

• It was quite a good one with a lot of songs appearing that I knew. It was also surprising to hear some songs I didn't think would get in and/or be familiar with the Australian 16-28 demographic.
• I voted for ten songs. Five of them got in. The other five did not.
• I once declared that the Hoodoo Gurus were the greatest Australian band ever and were better than INXS and AC/DC. Well, the egg's on my face: The Gurus didn't get in, but the other two did.
• The presence of Daryl Braithwaite, Savage Garden, the Veronicas, John Farnham and Natalie Imbruglia brings a collective that one wouldn't think would be present on a radio station that was turned into alternative music. I could say this is the best representation of the pop genre colonising bullying their way into being integrated into the Triple J playlist and changes of listener demographic. 
• Speaking of Daryl Braithwaite, his cover got in so again, there's egg on my face. And that's a lotta effort made to make me look small.
• Perhaps the biggest takeaway I got from this is that the Veronicas' Untouched was a bigger deal than I ever relaised
• Of course, there has since been a lot of complaining on the internet (shock horror) about the countdown with the most frequented one being: "How come (this act) didn't get in?". I guess that's expected but it does smack of realising that one backed the wrong horse....
• In case I haven't made it clear by now, In a Hottest 100 like this, there are winners but at the same time, there are losers. For each success, there are many who have been left out and forgotten. I won't deny that memes are an effective way to drum up support but I have to ask a question. A question that I have asked myself many times: Who gets to decide who are the winners and who are the losers?
• So do I think I can do better? Absolutely. I have my own memories attached to certain songs - as this blog proves - and I may come up with a Hottest 100 of Australian tunes in the near future. Watch this space.....

Obituary: The Elements

Original video located here. Accessed 28th July 2025

Song title: The Elements

Artist: Tom Lehrer

Year: 1959

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Tom Lehrer

I can only wonder how many science teachers have utilised this in their lesson plans...

Obituary: Crazy Train

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd July 2025

Song title: Crazy Train

Artist: Ozzy Osbourne

Year: 1981

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne

He's reunited with Randy....

"I like to think that everybody would like to be Ozzy for a weekend sometime in their life...just have crazy fun and be menacing"

Obituary: Take Me Up

Original video located here. Accessed 21st July 2025

Song title: Take Me Up

Artist: Southend

Year: 1994

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Justin Frew
Truly a pioneer for Australian electronic/dance music.

This Song Rocks: Sad

Original video located here. Accessed 7th July 2025

Song title: Sad

Artist: Pearl Jam

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

Mystifying as to why this was relegated to a b-side. It's one of Pearl Jam's best and that's saying something.

Equally unexpected is Matt Cameron's departure: it came out of nowhere and is surprising given the length of his tenure & what he brought to the band. 
Should Pearl Jam subsequently call it a day? Hard to say: Their music spoke to the youth of the nineties (not least me) but that decade is long gone. And you can't speak to the youth when you're no longer part of it. Sure their records still sell and their live shows deliver but you can't stop the march of time. And whether Pearl Jam has maintained their credibility or if they never had any in the first place is up for debate in one of the more rank corners of the internet.

Needless to say it would be interesting to nee what happens next.....