Original video locatedhere. Accessed 28th April 2010
Song Title: Revolution
Artist: John Butler Trio
Year: 2010
Why I like this song:
I've never been a big fan of John Butler. Sure he's a great guitarist and his band do the jamming well, but i always felt that John isn't the best lyricist with some of them ranging from clumsy to coming across as a first draft.
Not so with this one: As a call to arms, it is indeed effective. John sounds indeed passionate and sings with the utmost conviction, adding to the strengths of the trio with their instrumentation. Particular note must go to the build and eventual climax ("Take back...."), Sure the lyrics are still clumsy in places but here, John delivers the goods
Original video located here. Accessed 16th April 2010
Funny story on how I got into the Pink Floyd: When I was in college, I’d go into the library and see these books on the band in question. I read them, absorbed the band’s history and pretty much picked everything I would need to know – without even hearing the band’s music.
It may seem strange that I should pick up on the Pink Floyd during a strong interest in punk but that’s how it happened. And Pink Floyd taught me a vital lesson in atmospherics. I first became aware of them with Icehouse, but if Icehouse were the foundations then Pink Floyd is the mansion with the five car garage. I recall hearing One of These Days for the first time and being blown away by the throbbing bass, the strikes of guitar/keyboard and the build up to an eventual blistering guitar solo. Such was the impression of this (almost) instrumental that I wondered who this was - imagine my delight when I found out! That and the fact that Dave Gilmour's a fantastic guitarist.
Key Album: Dark Side of the Moon (1973) It may seem predictable that I should reference this but it did teach me a vital lesson. You see, when I heard this for the first time I wasn’t expecting each song to melt into each other. So I may have initially thought: ‘Gee this is a long song’ but it was only later that I realized something: Music can sometimes demand full attention. Later listens to Dark Side of the Moon revealed many textures and layers I didn’t pick up on the first time around. Since then I have added a new perspective in my tastes in music: By giving full attention, one can see the big picture. Sure pop music can work at times but that won’t keep working in the long run.
Original video located here. Accessed 15th March 2012
And so in 1998, I left High School and made the step up into college. Music in this period of time was pretty much defined by the Tea Party, the Cure and these guys, the Manic Street Preachers. At the time, everyone listened to the Living End or Grinspoon. In fact I, along with my pal Josh, were the only people I knew who listened to them! Once again, it proved my belief that sometimes the minority may be onto something that the majority may not know.
I got into the Manics through This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, which was during their Britpop phase. Yet looking back, it seemed like a natural progression from the punk-influenced years in High School. Here was vitriol in the guitars and venom in the message but at the same time it was smart and a rage contained. That may sound like a flaw in punk music but here it worked. It was a silent revolution: here was band that knew their stuff but were taking their message with the subtlety of a sniper bullet (as opposed to the bluster of a battle tank). I liked this way of thinking and have applied to my way of thinking ever since. After all, messages can be drowned so easily in a torrent of swearing.
Key Album: The Holy Bible (1994). Nasty, uncomfortable, bleak, uncompromising. Oh and awesome. Their best album and a textbook example on how to talk about the grotesque aspects of humanity. Often overlooked by the metal crowd I feel that this has a lot more venom and brutality that could teach a thing or too to the many metal bands doing rounds at the moment.
Original video located here. Accessed 12th March 2014
I first heard I Make Hamburgers when I was starting to listen to Triple J. I thought it was a fun, snappy tune but it was only in college, and in the wake of the success of No Aphrodisiac, that I started taking the band seriously (not unlike everyone else).
What the Whitlams represent for me is an added depth to the art of lyrics: I love on Eternal Nightcap how Tim took a personal route only to follow it up on Love This City with observations. For me, this was someone who was writing abut living in the suburbs of a city that could be any one in Australia. I listened, I learned and picked up a lot of things worthy to put into practice.
Key Album: Eternal Nightcap (1997). This happened quite by chance: I went off to college on a rainy day, needed something to listen to, so I picked this up offhand. Interestingly enough, this actually worked and yielded one of those moments where just about everything present falls into place and clicks together. Since then, when it rains and I have to go out somewhere, I always give this a spin, as it is the perfect soundtrack to such an outing. Walking 'round the rainy city indeed!
Original video located here. Accessed 10th March 2019
It’s a funny thing with my life: Everything happens in groups of four. I have good years (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008) and I have bad years (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006). I have also been through phases, starting with each ‘bad’ year and reaching its pinnacle on a ’good’ year. Thus over the years I have been a Games Workshop geek (1994-1997), a Goth (1998-2001), an anime nerd (2002-2005) and a gamer (2006-present). Now that I think of it, I wonder what’s going to happen in 2010...?
Anyway, 1998-2001 was something of as Goth phase for me. It wasn’t in appearance though, it was more in spirit. I felt like a misfit to the rest of the world, I resented people who followed a crowd and I fell in with a group of people who felt the same way (ie Us vs Them). And then came the Cure. In theory this was another band who have since been recognised as essential listen for grumpy teenagers. Whilst I get the most out the material they were doing in the early eighties, what drew me to the Cure was they ability to craft winning pop songs. Now their chaotic/dark material was enjoyable for being representative of my anger towards the rest of the world (at the time), I was still fascinated by the way the Cure could come up with a simple hook and build the rest of the song around it. Also pleasing was the use of chiming guitars, the constant push of the bass up to the front and the keyboards providing plenty of colours throughout. Thus it should come to no surprise that my favourite song EVER is Friday I’m in Love (why? Because it makes me smile). Indeed, when Robert Smith puts his mind to it, he can pull out a winner of a pop song.
Key album: Disintegration (1989) Although I love the Cure for their pop sensibilities, there is no denying they got where they are through the gloom. The quintessential Cure album that represents a decade of musical experimentation, there are also moments of sheer beauty in Disintegration. In particular there’s the opener Plainsong which I liken to standing in front of a giant glacier and watching it melt. For a long time this was, in a triumph of atmospherics, my favourite album to listen to on a rainy day.
Original video located here. Accessed 8th March 2019
It seems that every young man must, at some point, show some interest in metal. Yet while other people listened to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Metallica or Guns N Roses, I however sided with......the Tea Party. So what about them was so appealing over many other metal bands? For a start, it was Jeff Martin’s dangerous, but gorgeous, purring voice. It was their willingness to experiment with world music and exotic instruments. Oh and the songs rocked hard. I feel that a lot of metal bands sound similar so to experiment, try new things and still knock a winner of a song is a feat in itself.
The Tea Party were vital listening during my Goth phase (more on that later) but the most important aspect of all was that they were the first band I saw live. For a band who really delivered live, I can say with satisfaction that of all the bands I lost my live virginity to, I’m glad it was that one. It also set a benchmark that few bands I have seen since have been able to match.
Key Album: Edges of Twilight (1995) I recall hearing Fire in the Head and being hit with the impression that this sounded like the world was ending: It was nasty, brutal, and had the audacity to have a bridge that seemed to offer a sense of relief (but not for long!). It sounded like it came from Hell and it certainly packed a punch. And what do you know, the rest of the album followed suit. I love the use of the exotic instrumentation and as such, the Tea Party taught me on how using instruments from different regions can produce fascinating sounds and how they can used to great effect.
Original video located here. Accessed 5th April 2010
I first became aware of the Chemical Bros through Setting Sun, their collaboration with Noel Gallagher. I didn’t think much of it at first but then I heard Block Rockin’ Beats and Dig Our Own Hole. Needless to say I was amazed at this interesting mixture of rumbling bass, pulsating beats and some of the most bizarre sound effects I have ever heard in a song. I was sold – After all, it must a be a positive sign when you wander down the school hallway reciting the bass line from Dig Your own Hole (“Ba-na, Ba-da-da-da-da-da-ba-na.....”).
Best of all, the Chemical Brothers were something I got my brother into. (okay I may not be wholly responsible but I still take credit for it because) After all, it feels so good to give something back.
Key Album: Dig Your Own Hole (1997) Throughout the interest I had an interest in dance and electronic music and Dig Your Own Hole is it’s peak. There are some great tracks on this album but I had to put this here for the last track: The Private Psychedelic Reel. It's their best track hands down and no matter how many times I hear it, it's a still a rush to hear.