Choon of the Month: It Still Matters

Original video located here. Accessed 29th August 2016

Song title: It Still Matters

Artist: Peter Garrett

Year: 2016

Why I like this song:

I've been listening to Peter Garrett's solo album. It's pretty good - although it is strange to hear him backed by a drummer who isn't Rob Hirst - but it's intriguing to hear the kind of stuff Peter can do having been freed from the confines of Midnight Oil.
And as is often the case, the best moment is saved for the end.
The vibe I get from this song is one of hopefulness - but not the kind one might think. Consider Diesel and Dust: That ended on a hopeful note with Sometimes but this is a different kind of hopefulness. If Sometimes was pressed home the message of Never Give Up this song was more a case of 'Marching to the Horizon, Bloodied but not looking back'. 
Of course I'm not sure if that was Peter's intention but that's what I got out of it.

Nineties Revisited: Hail Hail

Original video located here. Accessed 30th August 2021

Song title: Hail Hail

Artist: Pearl Jam

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

I was still into Pearl Jam in 1996. And this was their middle period, which started with Vitalogy and ended with Last Kiss. It was during this time that they made all kinds of deviations that, may have come across as baffling. 
As for No Code, it certainly was loaded up with all kinds of experimentation but a highlight was this: a song that, ironically, resembles the fury that Pearl Jam had made their name for.
Thing is, it still strikes me how hopeless and defeatist the lyrics are ("All hail the lucky ones..."). Granted that may be more my interpretation but still...

Classics: Heroes

Original video located here. Accessed 15th June 2018

Song title: Heroes

Artist: David Bowie

Year: 1977

Why I like this song:

Well I started the Berlin Trilogy so lets continue, with Heroes.

Clearly it's working off the same template as it's predecessor - work with what works right? - and the results are just as exciting.

And let us not forget: It did give us his signature song. 

Nineties Revisited: Pick You Up

Original video located here. Accessed 19th August 2016

Song title: Pick You Up

Artist: Powderfinger

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

1996. The year that a lot of people, myself included, became aware of a Brisbane named Powderfinger.

This still song still sounds great two decades later although I can't help but think that it has something of a sinister edge to it: The lyrics express a form of devotion but the music suggests otherwise.
I'm not sure of that was the intent but this ambiguity makes the song compelling - and a far cry from the radio friendly material that would follow. 

Nineties Revisited: El Scorcho

Original video located here. Accessed 10th August 2016

Song title: El Scorcho

Artist: Weezer

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

I first heard this song back in 1996 and back then it struck just how shambolic it was: The gargle at the start, the wonky drum beat, the fast part in the middle, that odd guitar solo following said fast part and the ad-libbing throughout. As such, the song wormed it's way into my heart and has become an ideal for a shout-along.

Also it can't understated how this works for any teenager who is trying their first awkward steps at romance. And I was fourteen at the time so yes, I could very much relate to this aspect.

And hey: "I'm bring home the turkey if you bring home the bacon!"

Nineties Revisited: Wrong

Original video located here. Accessed 5th August 2019

Song title: Wrong

Artist: Everything but the Girl

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

I think Everything but the Girl - or more specifically their Walking Wounded period - was my first exposure to Trip-hop: a genre that uses the same tech as dance music but with the beat slowed down in order to make way for something moody. 

This does indeed represent the parent album as a whole with mood and emotional depth. It's a far cry from the doof-doof that represents dance music and is all the more welcome for it. 
And for at the time, my knowledge of dance/electronic music was expanded and proved what it could accomplish. 

The Asian Connection: Lithium Flower

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd August 2019

Song title: Lithium Flower

Artist: Scott Matthews

Year: 2002

Why I like this song:

I love the soundtrack to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. There's some great pieces throughout but what can one expect from composer Yoko Kanno?
It is interesting that there are a number of tracks in the soundtrack that are sung in English - such as this one. Clearly there is an eye for an international audience but who cares? This is a rockin' end credits theme and one I will gladly sing along even if the words seem very random.

Back to the Eighties: All the Way

Original video located here. Accessed 1st August 2016

Song title: All the Way

Artist: New Order

Year: 1989

Why I like this song:

Recently I got ahold of New Order's Technique album. 

Was this the point where acid house happened? Maybe. But what I do know is the above song has a magic to it that makes it stand out above the rest. Must be that melodica...