Obituary: Doubleback

  
Original video located here. Accessed 19th August 2026

Song title: Doubleback

Artist: ZZ Top

Year: 1990

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Frank Beard
We had the same birthday....

Funny how at the same time I'm getting into ZZ Top, one of them leaves for good....

This Song Rocks: Your God (Not Mine)

 

Original video located here. Accessed 17th August 2026

Song title: Your God (Not Mine)

Artist: Icehouse

Year: 2006

Why I like this song:

I first heard this song twenty years ago and came away impressed. Looking at it now however, it remains a frustration.
When I say that it is, by no means, a slight against the song - far from it. What it means is that this a glimpse of an album that has been worked on since the early 2000s. And according to Iva, said album is, at time of writing, in a state of unfinished - which in turn, makes the delays garnered by the likes of Guns N' Roses and My Bloody Valentine, seem tame by comparison. 

Grumbling aside, there is still some potential here. It sounds like an extension of what was being done on the Big Wheel album, both in production and bitterness. 
Does this mean Iva churns out great stuff when he's pissed off?

Opinion: Get Me Out of Here

 

Original video located here. Accessed 10th August 2026

Song title: Get Me Out of Here

Artist: Jet

Year: 2003

Why I like this song:

Recently I sat down and listened to Jet's Get Born album for the first time in years.

I will admit that I did go out and get this album back in 2003. Like many other people, I was taken in by the hype and enjoyed Get Born a lot. But, as is often the case, what one enjoyed back then may not hold water years later. 

Given that so many people have put the boot into this band since, I have to wonder exactly how this band will be remembered, twenty-three years later (and beyond). It is common practice to be excited by one thing only to revisit it years later and reach the conclusion of 'what was I thinking' - it's human nature and how we grow. 
That being lot of people criticised Jet when they originally made waves only to criticise them further in the years since. So much so, one would think their defenders would be overwhelmed by weight of numbers. 
In fact, now that I think about it, I can draw a few similarities between Jet and Oasis. Both bands:

• Seemingly came out of nowhere
• Played a very bare-bones/primal approach to rock music
• Made themselves out to be a gang of troublemakers. 
• Achieved enormous success in a short space of time
• Were criticised for being derivative, 
• Were attacked by people who came across as 'music snobs' and
• Were the target of criticism afterwards - you know, the kind that comes from a place of unrestrained eagerness. 

So what do I think of Get Born twenty three years later?
Yes it's derivative, yes it can be annoying but I will admit: It has a sense of fun. The bare-bone approach certainly sounds a world apart from the synth-heavy works of the present which subsequently makes it stand out more. 
Certainly I am not the same person I was back in 2003 but hey, I am not snobby in my tastes to dismiss Jet entirely. 

Obituary: Ray of Light

 

Original video located here. Accessed 8th August 2026

Song title: Ray of Light

Artist: Madonna

Year: 1998

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. William Orbit
May his production skills continue to last

Explorations: Gimme All Your Lovin'

  
Original video located here. Accessed 5th August 2026

Song title: Gimme All Your Lovin'

Artist: ZZ Top

Year: 1983

Why I like this song:

Recently I've been listening to a lot of ZZ Top for the first time.

I'd known of ZZ Top for years - largely through their unmistakable image crafted through their videos: Hard rockers with lengthy beards, jostling for screentime with hot rods and women. But, of course, videos can only get you so far before the music is asked about.

Thankfully the music is nothing short of impressive: There are plenty of riffs to make anyone listening feel like a badass. There is plenty of volume for a trio. And there is enough charisma and humour to make these guys less of an anachronism and more something worthwhile.

This might be something worth looking into further.....

Back to the Eighties: Fall on Me

 
Original video located here. Accessed 3rd August 2026

Song title: Fall On Me

Artist: R.E.M.

Year: 1986

Why I like this song:

Recently I've been listening the R.E.M. album Life's Rich Pageant. 

Ask any R.E.M. die-hard and they will say that their eighties output stood head and shoulders over that of the following decades. To me that seems unfair as such a statement was discredit some of the gems that R.E.M. produced afterwards (although it would make the low point easier to ignore). So to take a look at R.E.M.'s albums in this period, particularly when I am fair more familiar with the stuff on Green onward, presents a sizable challenge. 

But who am I kidding? This is great. Sure albums three and four may be ignored due to being in the unfortunate position of being sandwiched in between their distinguished brothers Murmur, Reckoning and Document. But as it happens Life's Rich Pageant is quite the superb album. It may be easier to say it was it was an indication of the triumphs that will follow but personally I think this album is capable of standing on it's own two feet. 

It's amazing how one can be surprised by an album four decades old....

Obituary: Everglade

 

Original video located here. Accessed 20th July 2026

Song title: Everglade

Artist: L7

Year: 1992

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Jennifer Finch