Explorations: Education

Original video located here. Accessed 10th July 2026

Song title: Education

Artist: Pearl Jam

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

Recently I've been listening to Pearl Jam's Binaural. 
To me, Binaural is a strange beast: It came at a time when Pearl Jan was clearly the last of the grunge era acts still standing. It was part of the evolutionary progress that came from No Code and Yield. And it has gone down in history as one of the more divisive albums in the Pearl Jam catalogue - but then again, the same could be said for any of Pearl Jam's post 90's output.

But Binaural presents an interesting challenge: It is something of a given that the best songs were left off the album. This point has been proven with the Lost Dogs compilation and Jeff Ament saying so himself.
However a challenge presents itself by forming one's own track listing: Ditching the weaker songs off of Binaural and replacing them with the B-sides.

With this mind, I did find the following track listing and based my listening experience of Binaural around it:

1. Breakerfall
2. Sad
3. Hitchhiker
4. Light Years
5. Nothing As it Seems
6. Thin Air
7. Of the Girl
8. Education
9. Sleight of Hand
10. Soon Forget
11. Fatal
12. Parting Ways
    (source)

Does this make for a superior album? Well given that I skipped the weaker songs off of Binaural I can't say. But does it make for a better Pearl Jam album?
As mentioned above, it seems that the quality of Pearl Jam's post-90s output is up for debate but this experiment does show that there were some really superb songs there and this period deserves more credit then it is usually granted.

Granted fans shouldn't have to correct mistakes but, if mods and fan edits of films have shown, fan power shouldn't be underestimated. 

Obituary: Money

Original video located here. Accessed 25th May 2026

Song title: Money

Artist: Pink Floyd

Year: 1973

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Dick Parry
May his saxophone continue to resonate.

Opinion: Calypso

 
Original video located here. Accessed 8th May 2026

Song title: Calypso

Artist: Spiderbait

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

Well, the latest inductees for the ARIA Hall of Fame have been announced.
They are: Spiderbait, Kate Cebrano, The Living End, Vika and Linda, Jenny Morris and Gurrumul.

Some thoughts:

• It's good that ARIA have decided to scrap the singular inductee and go back to the group approach - which makes me wonder why it was ditched it the first place.
• Clearly the presence of Spiderbait and Living End is an indication that ARIA are looking beyond the pop well (which is surely looking dry at the moment) and into other avenues. Hopefully this leads somewhere
• A lot of female voices in this clutch of acts. But there's nothing wrong with that and it is clearly an attempt to make up the low number of female acts in the ARIA Hall of Fame. What does remain to be seen however is what happens in the years to follow and whether this is is an isolated incident.
• Certainly this is a step in the right direction but, again, where do we go from here...

Opinion: My Friends

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd February 2026

Song title: My Friends

Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Year: 1995

Why I like this song:

Last month, Triple J's sister station Double J did a recap of the 1995 Hottest 100. It has been something of a tradition these past few years to play the Hottest 100 from twenty years prior but this is the first time that a Hottest 100 from thirty years prior. 

Still this was one Hottest 100 I remember quite fondly. At the time I was growing out of the malaise that was commercial radio and discovering that there are worlds beyond such restrictions: I started listening to Triple j and, as such, became very well acquainted with the songs featured on that Hottest 100 list.

Whilst that particular Hottest 100 may be hindered by a large number of novelty songs, it has some strong moments. And it has a run of songs that always stood out to me:

19. Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Friends

20. Garbage - Queer

21. Live - Lightening Crashes

22. Passengers (U2 + Pavarotti) - Miss Sarajevo 

If there was a moment that defined the mid-nineties/post-grunge depression that was it. I do recall Billy Corgan once observing the Kurt Cobain's death took a lot of wind out of everyone's sails and I believe such a mood is best represented by these songs. 

Okay so maybe Queer is the odd one out but the other three certainly fit remarkably well together. Play them together, both in forward and reverse order, and they work in a way that shouldn't be possible. 

Obituary: Wild Cats of Kilkenny

Original video located here. Accessed 13th February 2026

Song title: Wild Cats of Kilkenny

Artist: The Pogues

Year: 1985

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Andrew Rankin
When it comes to the Pogues, people always talk about how Shane McGowan's songwriting abilities. But less is said that they were, as a whole, great musicians and could crank out a cracking instrumental. 
And this is one such example, anchored by, of course, Andrew's beats. 

Opinion: I Need Somebody

Original video located here. Accessed 5th February 2026

Song title: I Need Somebody

Artist: Bardot

Year: 2001

Why I like this song:

Huh? Bardot are reforming for a one-night-only reunion show? Didn't see that coming but such is the power of nostalgia for twenty years prior. 

For uninitiated, in 2000 the Popstars franchise had their first screening in Australia. And to emerge from it was Bardot: Five (then four) young ladies with the voices and the stage presence to become superstars. 

At the time I wasn't into Bardot's music but I DO remember the backlash these gals received. The songs weren't anything special and this was clearly a marketing ploy. And, like any reality TV series, once the show was over, Bardot were effectively finished. 
Which in turn raises the question: How will Bardot be remembered?

Original video located here. Accessed 5th February 2026

In the years since it has been revealed (see video above) that the original promise of superstardom rings hollow with the 'winners' being royally screwed over: Monstrous debts with little to no way to pay them off. Being kept in the dark in relation to important issues. Very little in the way of royalty money. The fact that these facts have since come to light - and the subsequent forming the union in the afore-mentioned video - may explain why this franchise hasn't been revisited here in Australia. 
So will the members of Bardot be remembered as suckers or victims?
But if there are some people are excited by this recent reunion announcement then the audience is still there.

As for the above song, it was from their second album. I don't know if this was a bid for some credibility but damn, it sure has some fire behind it to set the dance floors alight. 

Obituary: Kosciusko

Original video located here. Accessed 20th January 2026

Song title: Kosciusko

Artist: Midnight Oil

Year: 1984

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Rob Hirst

Without a doubt one of my favourite drummers. I personally don't like using the word 'powerhouse' but in this case I'll make an exception. 
Truly a legend.