Original video locatedhere. 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?
Original video locatedhere. 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 That being lot of people criticised Jet when they originally made waves only to criticise them further in the years since.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.
Original video locatedhere. 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.....
Original video locatedhere. 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....
Original video locatedhere. 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:
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.