This Song Rocks: Peace on Earth

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd December 2019

Song title: Peace on Earth

Artist: U2

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Obituary: It Must Have Been Love

Original video located here. Accessed 11th December 2019

Song title: It Must Have Been Love

Artist: Roxette

Year: 1988

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Marie Fredriksson.

When I was a kid in the late eighties, Roxette seemed to me like the biggest stars on the planet: They had multiple hits that got tonnes of radio play and a constant presence on early morning rage. Of course in the years since, Roxette's material may come across as dated but to be one of Sweden's biggest pop exports (second only to ABBA) is nothing to sniffed at. And besides it's unlikely that Savage Garden would've existed without them.

Certainly this is both their best song and Marie's best vocal performance. Shame that voice has now been silenced.... :(

Obituary: Lets Go To Paradise

Original video located here. Accessed 12th April 2019

Song title: Lets Go To Paradise

Artist: Mental As Anything

Year: 1987

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Greedy Smith

The Mentals certainly had no shortage of hits during the eighties - many of which came from Greedy, 
And without whom, my childhood would've been a lot less colourful. 

Choon of the Month: When it Breaks

Original video located here. Accessed 25th November 2019

Song title: When it Breaks

Artist: Quivers

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

Well someone has been listening to their Go-Betweens albums.

One would think that resurrecting 1980s jangle pop would be a fool's errand but this band not only pulls it off but they do so with flying colours.

Classics: Powderfinger

Original video located here. Accessed 18th November 2019

Song title: Powderfinger

Artist: Neil Young

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

And now we come to Rust Never Sleeps: My designated endpoint for my exploration of Neil Young's music.
It's a live album that is split between an acoustic side, with Neil solo, and an electric side, with Crazy Horse stepping in to back Neil up. But for me, side 1 is the Neil Young I have come to know whilst side 2 is the Neil Young that I already knew of.
However it seems that this album is well known because a) it was a song named Powderfinger on it which explains how that band got their name and b) it has Hey Hey My My which was referenced by Kurt Cobain in his....erm....final letter.

Moving swiftly along, I have to say that of all Neil Young's albums that I have heard, this could well be my favourite, It has an immediacy that is unmatched, the songwriting is top notch and it showcases Neil Young strengths both in the acoustic and rock genres. 

So what can I conclude from my exploration of Neil Young's music?
To be honest I'm not sure what to make of it.
On the plus side, Neil has shown to be capable of churning out some great songs (Harvest, Heart of Gold, Needle and the Damage Done). And Rust Never Sleeps is nothing short of a triumph.
Yet at the same time, I am left feeling somewhat...empty.

Allow me to explain: Sometimes an album/movie/book/TV series/video-game comes along that blows the minds of countless people and inspires many people to craft their own material - but in doing so, the source ends up getting replicated so much that it therefore becomes a challenge to approach it years later.
And that's how I feel to Neil Young's 70s output: This has been replicated so many times since that the original doesn't appear, to me at least, to have the impact that it should.

Time is indeed a ravager.
Still Rust Never Sleeps still manages to have bite

This Song Rocks: 10am Automatic

Original video located here. Accessed 6th November 2019

Song title: 10am Automatic

Artist: Black Keys

Year: 2004

Why I like this song:

Lately I've been listening to the Black Keys album Rubber Factory.

It was inevitable seeing as I have been listening to quite a lot of Black Keys lately. But I already knew this song and it rocks hard - at the time I thought it showed more muscle than what the White Stirpes were doing.
And as it turns out, the parent album was great too

This Song Rocks: Stand Inside Your Love

Original video located here. Accessed 4th November 2019

Song title: Stand Inside Your Love

Artist: Smashing Pumpkins

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

Recently I have been listening to the Smashing Pumpkin Machina album(s) with fresh ears. 

However this is not Machina in it's original form: It seems that story of Machina's troubled production has inspired fans to take both Machina 1 and 2 and merge them into the double it weas originally intended, 
Now fan edits of albums are new to me: I have heard of fan edits of movies and have enjoyed them but music? This is a new field. But then again, one should not underestimate the power of fandoms. 

So after some research, this is the fan-made Machina double album I have settled on:

1. If there is a God
2. Cash Car Star
3. The Imploding Voice
4. Wound
5. The Sacred + Profane
6. Stand Inside Your Love
7. Real Love
8. Innosence
9. Let Me Give the World To You
10. The Crying Tree of Mercury
11. White Spyder
12. Raindrops + Sunshowers
13. Glass + The Ghost Children
14. Go
15. Glass Theme
16. The Everlasting Gaze
17. Dross
18. In My Body
19. Speed Kills
20. Lucky 13
21. Heavy Metal Machine
22. Blue Skies Bring Tears
23. I of the Mourning
24. Here's to the Atom Bomb
25. Try, Try, Try
26. Home
27. This Time
28. With Every Light

Source

Listening to this reconstruction I have to say: This album does indeed flow a lot better. Somehow the initial shock of hearing a more 'metal' version of the pumpkins is presented in a more palatable manner. And to have Billy's original vision restored does indeed make a lot more sense. 

Choon of the Month: What Are We Doing

Original video located here. Accessed 28th October 2019

Song title: What Are We Doing

Artist: Egoism

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

A snappy song with some great guitar work and a sentiment I often find myself asking. 

Classics: Come On Baby Lets Go Downtown

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd October 2019

Song title: Come On Baby Lets Go Downtown

Artist: Neil Young

Year: 1975

Why I like this song:

And now, in my explorations of the music of Neil Young, I come to Tonight's the Night: His foray into blues rock and his mourning for both his former bandmate Danny Whitten and his roadie Bruce Berry. 
See there's the problem with Neil Young: Much has been written and documented about him that it's difficult to come up with something new. 

Personally I found this album a far from fun listen but this perhaps my favourite song on the album (a precursor to this perhaps?) and a firm reminder of what a loss Whitten was.

Classics: Ambulance Blues

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd October 2019

Song title: Ambulance Blues

Artist: Neil Young

Year: 1974

Why I like this song:

So On the Beach: It's well documented that the success of Harvest left Neil Young at a quandary so what came afterward was far from commercial. 
Listening to On the Beach now is an exercise in disillusion:  Neil sounds bitter, like he's throwing in the towel and hellbent on criticising the US. But that doesn't make it a boring listen.
And this is the best song on the album. 

Classics: Heart of Gold

Original video located here. Accessed 4th December 2022

Song title: Heart of Gold

Artist: Neil Young

Year: 1972

Why I like this song:

When it comes to approaching the music of Neil Young, one can't really escape his biggest selling album: Harvest. A touchstone of country rock. 
Personally I found that Harvest has some of his best songs - Heart of Gold, Old Man, Harvest and Needle and the Damage Done - and that is enough for me.

Classics: Ca Plane Pour Moi

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd March 2021

Song title: Ca Plane Pour Moi

Artist: Plastic Bertrand

Year: 1978

Why I like this song:

Day 30: A song that reminds you of yourself

Classics: Tuesday Afternoon

Original video located here. Accessed 11th September 2019

Song title: Tuesday Afternoon

Artist: The Moody Blues

Year: 1967

Why I like this song:

Day 29: A song you remember from your childhood.

Nineties Revisited: Mary of Silence

Original video located here. Accessed 10th September 2020

Song title: Marty of Silence

Artist: Mazzy Star

Year: 1993

Why I like this song:

Day 28: A song by an artist whose voice you love/p>

Nineties Revisited: Indifference

Original video located here. Accessed 9th September 2019

Song title: Indifference

Artist: Pearl Jam

Year: 1993

Why I like this song:

Day 27: A song that breaks your heart

This Song Rocks: She is Love

Original video located here. Accessed 14th November 2022

Song title: She is Love

Artist: Oasis

Year: 2002

Why I like this song:

Day 26: A song that makes you want to fall in love

Classics: The Speed of Life

Original video located here. Accessed 7th September 2019

Song title: The Speed of Life

Artist: David Bowie

Year: 1977

Why I like this song:

Day 25: A song you like from an artist no longer living

This Song Rocks: Strawberry Deluxe

Original video located here. Accessed 6th September 2019

Song title: Strawberry Deluxe

Artist: Skulker

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

Day 24: A song by band you wish were still together

Nineties Revisited: Heaven Coming Down

Original video located here. Accessed 5th September 2021

Song title: Heaven Coming Down

Artist: Tea Party

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

We are in the presence of royalty here: These guys were a very important band during my late teens.
First: they could rock hard.
Second: They were a goth rock band and represented a seductive hand to the dark side of music.
Third: They used a variety of exotic instruments and piqued my interest in world music.
Fourth: they were the first live band I ever saw.
And Fifth, and most crucially of all, they were a method of bonding with a group of goths I was hanging around with at the time - and whom I became good friends with.

As for the song itself, it's majestic in every sense of the word and is hand down the Tea Party at their best.

Back to the Eighties: Cattle and Cane

Original video located here. Accessed 5th September 2019

Song title: Cattle and Cane

Artist: The Go-Betweens

Year: 1983

Why I like this song:

Day 23: A song you think everyone should listen to

This Song Rocks: Into Action

Original video located here. Accessed 1st September 2019

Song title: Into Action

Artist: Tim Armstrong

Year: 2007

Why I like this song:

Day 22: A song that moves you forward

Nineties Revisited: Don't Change Your Plans

Original video located here. Accessed 4th September 2021

Song title: Don't Change Your Plans

Artist: Ben Folds Five

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

Back in 1999, this was my 'turn of the millennium' theme. And how could it not? Consider the situation: The 1900s were ending; the 90s were ending and my teens were ending. As such, this song represented the need to move on and embrace both adulthood and the future - "But destiny is calling/ And I told them when my time is up / I'm out of here"

For me, this song is effective as a goodbye/moving on song and one I have come back to many times since

Classics: Jessica

Original video located here. Accessed 3rd September 2019

Song title: Jessica

Artist: Allman Brothers Band

Year: 1973

Why I like this song:

Day 21: A song you like with a person's name in the title

Nineties Revisited: Beautiful Freak

Original video located here. Accessed 4th January 2023

Song title: Beautiful Freak

Artist: The Eels

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

Day 20: A song that has many meanings for you

Back to the Eighties: In Time

Original video located here. Accessed 1st September 2019

Song title: In Time

Artist: Robbie Robb

Year: 1989

Why I like this song:

Day 19: A song that makes you think about life

Back to the Eighties: The Message

Original video located here. Accessed 31st August 2019

Song title: The Message

Artist: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Year: 1982

Why I like this song:

Day 18: A song from the year you were born

Nineties Revisited: Otherside

Original video located here. Accessed 30th August 2019

Song title: Otherside

Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

Day 17: A song you'd sing a duet with someone on karaoke.

Classics: Hey Jude

Original video located here. Accessed 29th August 2019

Song title: Hey Jude

Artist: The Beatles

Year: 1968

Why I like this song:

Day 16: A song that's a classic favorite

Got it Covered: I Believe I Can Fly

Original video located here. Accessed 28th August 2019

Song title: I Believe I Can Fly

Artist: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Originally Done By: R Kelly

Year: 2003

Why I like this song:

Day 15: A song you like that's a cover by another artist

Nineties Revisited: Don't I Hold You

Original video located here. Accessed 27th August 2021

Song title: Don't I Hold You

Artist: Wheat

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

You know how it is: You hear a song, you think it's nothing special, but it leaves an impression - so much so that over a decade later you remember the song, you hunt it down and you see it in a new light.

Those who have been following this series would pick up that I have been favoring lesser-known songs over more-well known songs. So what makes this song special over the seventy songs that preceded it?

I will admit I am a sucker for atmosphere and for me, this song succeeds to that end. For this, it is down to the keyboard effects throughout that makes this song ideal for an autumn day. The lyrics, which talks of romance, in particular of infatuation and awkwardness, is the icing on the cake.

Classics: How Deep is Your Love

Original video located here. Accessed 27th August 2019

Song title: How Deep Is Your Love

Artist: The Bee Gees

Year: 1978

Why I like this song:

Day 14: A song you'd like to be played at your wedding.

Classics: Spacelab

Original video located here. Accessed 26th August 2019

Song title: Spacelab

Artist: Kraftwerk

Year: 1978

Why I like this song:

Day 13: A song you like from the 70s:

Choon of the Month: Fear of Missing Out

Original video located here. Accessed 26th August 2019

Song title: Fear of Missing Out

Artist: Ainslie Wills

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

As I'm getting older, and absorb more music, it subsequently becomes harder to come across something that stands out.
And then something like this comes along.
Ye gods, does this hit like a truck. Never in my life have I heard a song that articulates the dread of my approaching forties, where everyone seems to be doing better than you and life has passed you by.
The fact that the lyrics presents a problem but then offers no resolution makes it even more striking. 

Nineties Revisited: Don't Tell Me What to Do

Original video located here. Accessed 25th August 2019

Song title: Don't Tell Me What to Do

Artist: Baby Animals

Year: 1993

Why I like this song:

Day 12: A song from your preteen years

Classics: Frankenstein

Original video located here. Accessed 24th August 2019

Song title: Frankenstien

Artist: Edgar Winter Group

Year: 1972

Why I like this song:

Day 11: A song you never get tired of

Nineties Revisited: The Drugs Don't Work

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd August 2019

Song title: The Drugs Don't Work

Artist: The Verve

Year: 1997

Why I like this song:

Day 10: A song that makes you sad

This Song Rocks: Keep

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd August 2019

Song title: Keep

Artist: Hatchie

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

I recently purchased Hatchie's album and have been enjoying it a lot. But, as is often the case, the best moment comes at the end. 
This is such a rush to listen to, with the layers of guitars and vocals - particularly during the chorus. I like songs that are akin to running out of the house and out under a clear blue sky and this is one of them.
I also like the lyrics where Hatchie is addressing a troubled partner. Seems a rare occurrence when many songwriters seem more intent to attacking former lovers. So if this was Hatchie going against the grian then I hope she does more of it as it's clearly working for her.

Nineties Revisited: Alright

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd August 2019

Song title: Alright

Artist: Supergrass

Year: 1995

Why I like this song:

Day 9: A song that makes you happy

This Song Rocks: Feel Good Hit of the Summer

Original video located here. Accessed 21st August 2019

Song title: Feel Good Hit of the Summer

Artist: Queens of the Stone Age

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

Day 7: A song about drugs / alcohol

Nineties Revisited: Woke Up This Morning

Original video located here. Accessed 20th August 2019

Song title: Woke Up This Morning

Artist: Alabama 3

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

Day 7: A song to drive to.

This Song Rocks: You Said

Original video located here. Accessed 19th August 2019

Song title: You Said

Artist: Altai

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

This has some solid production behind it but the most striking thing about it is the strings.
Top stuff all around.

Nineties Revisited: Loose Fit

Original video located here. Accessed 19th August 2019

Song title: Loose Fit

Artist: Happy Mondays

Year: 1990

Why I like this song:

Day 6: A song that makes you want to dance

Got it Covered: Wipeout

Original video located here. Accessed 18th August 2019

Song title: Wipeout

Artist: Gary Hoey and Donovan Frankenreiter

Originally Done By: The Surfaris

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

Day 5: A song that needs to be played loud

The Asian Connection: In the Land of Twilight

Original video located here. Accessed 9th November 2019

Song title: In the Land of Twilight

Artist: Emily Bindiger / Bee Train

Year: 2002

Why I like this song:

Day 4: A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget

This Song Rocks: Long Time

Original video located here. Accessed 24th August 2022

Song title: Long Time

Artist: Salmonella Dub

Year: 2003

Why I like this song:

Day 3: A song that reminds you of summertime

Back to the Eighties: 2 Late

Original video located here. Accessed 15th August 2019

Song title: 2 Late

Artist: The Cure

Year: 1989

Why I like this song:

Day 2: A song you like with a number in the title

Classics: I See Red

Original video located here. Accessed 18th December 2022

Song title: I See Red

Artist: Split Enz

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

I saw on a friend's Facebook page: A 30 Day Song Challenge.
I may as well give it a go.

Day 1: A Song You Like With a Colour in the Title

Explorations: After the Gold Rush

Original video located here. Accessed 9th August 2019

Song title: After the Gold Rush

Artist: Neil Young

Year: 1970

Why I like this song:

Recently I've been discovering the music of one Neil Young.

Those who know me will know that I take great pride in my musical tastes: I care little for genre and will gladly play anything that, in my mind, sounds awesome. So perhaps it is fitting that I should eventually come to Neil Young: A guy who has jumped from proto-grunge, country, blues, hard-rock and back again.
Personally I previously knew Neil Young through his latter day material: Downtown, Rockin' in the Free World and being the Godfather of Grunge. I've also heard his 1990 album Ragged Glory and thought it was superb (as well as being more than capable of standing alongside the grunge albums of the early nineties).
But Neil's fans maintain his 70's material is his best so I had a look.....

Choon of the Month: For Everyone

Original video located here. Accessed 26th July 2019

Song title: For Everyone

Artist: Jordie Lane and Yirrmal

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

These past couple of years have seen numerous First Nations artists. Not a bad thing by any stretch but I can't help but notice that many of them are falling over themselves to curse the whitefella....
That being said, rare is the First Nations artist that would sing a song about unity. Rarer still is the one that would do it with a whitefella. 

But we have this that does indeed come across as honest and calls for action. It even sells the notion that action is a possibility which is indeed a feat by itself. 

Choon of the Month: Dance Monkey

Original video located here. Accessed 28th June 2019

Song title: Dance Monkey

Artist: Tones and I

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

Say what you like about this gal's unique voice. Doesn't take away the fact that this song is a cracker.

Nineties Revisited: Stolen Car

Original video located here. Accessed 20th June 2019

Song title: Stolen Car

Artist: Beth Orton

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

A song that represents 1999: The last year of my teens, the last year of the decade and the realization one is in dire need of a fresh start.

Also props to the slide guitar provided by Ben Harper

Choon of the Month: Obsessed

Original video located here. Accessed 27th May 2019

Song title: Obsessed

Artist: Hatchie

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

The promise of Hatchie's early releases finally delivers. 
It may have tips of the hat to New Order and nineties dream pop but it does it so well. It also helps that Hatchie has a charismatic presence. 

Explorations: Diesel Power

Original video located here. Accessed 8th May 2019

Song title: Diesel Power

Artist: The Prodigy

Year: 1997

Why I like this song:

Spike vs The Prodigy: Round 3
Album: The Fat of the Land
Year: 1997

Well here we are: I've been mentioning this album and it's big hit (Firestarter) but really there's no escaping it. Firestarter was a huge hit, Fat of the Land was a monumental seller and, for a lot of people, it was the beginning for the Prodigy - just as it was the end of the Prodigy for just as many people.

When i was a teenager I listened to a lot of punk rock. When i entered adulthood I flirted with metal - the reason I mention this is because both are music genres that thrive on freaking people out. Thus one listen to the Fat of the Land indicates that this is an attempt to freak people out with electronic/dance music - not a genre one would associate with freaking people out (seems the dangers posed by raves and rave culture weren't enough).

Even when faced with the challenge of divorcing the Prodigy from their image of 'freaky guys and equally freaky videos' this album does come across as being the odd one out when compared to it's predecessors: there are more guests, more samples, more Keith and less of this being the sound of one guy messing about with a whole lotta electronic gear. That being said, whereas the previous albums seem more pure in electronic, Fat of the Land seem more anarchic. Booming beats, scary noises and the late Keith Flint selling his 'madman' persona for all it's worth. Are there times when Liam was trying to replicate the lightning in the bottle success of Firestarter? Perhaps but you can't deny there is certainly some muscle behind this album.

And so concludes this experiment. I have to say it has certainly been a challenge stepping out of my comfort zone and experiencing a band I have had little interest in prior and - oh wait, the Chemical Brothers have a new album out? I'm there!

Explorations: No Good (Start the Dance)

Original video located here. Accessed 3rd May 2019

Song title: No Good (Start the Dance)

Artist: The Prodigy

Year: 1994

Why I like this song:

Spike vs The Prodigy: Round 2
Album: Music for the Jilted Generation
Year: 1994

Nothing sells a product quite like having a story attached and the one this album is a doozy: Incensed by the government crackdown on raves, Liam Howlett decided to take his music into a more angrier and intense direction. And seeing as it expanded the Prodigy's audience and silenced critics who dismissed them as a lightweight, it's clear the move paid off in spades.
This album always marks the point where I had my first experience with The Prodigy: it was sometime in the mid-nineties and I turned on my TV to early morning rage and caught the video to Voodoo People. At first I didn't know what to think of the (admittedly freaky) video but it prove helpful when I realised that the guys who did Firestarter were the same guys who did that song with the distorted flutes, frenzied violin and that keyboard sample that goes URNK URNK.

Much like Experience, this album sounds like the work of a different band when compared to their future triumphs. It's fast, inventive, exciting and, when compared to Experience, a sizable bearing of teeth. And yet it still manages to retain the fun (read: approachable) aspect of it's predecessor - This album may be flexing some muscle but it still has the DNA that traces it to previous album.
So in the end, this is a damn good album and a prime example of mid-nineties rave music.

One final thought: Considering the year of this album's release, I wonder who many people used it to soundtrack a game of Doom?

Choon of the Month: Bad Guy

Original video located here. Accessed 26th April 2019

Song title: Bad Guy

Artist: Billie Eilish

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

It's the soundtrack to some kind of demented horror movie and I think I like it

Explorations: Out of Space

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd April 2019

Song title: Out Of Space

Artist: The Prodigy

Year: 1992

Why I like this song:

Spike vs The Prodigy: Round 1
Album: Experience
Year: 1992

Like a lot of people I became aware of the Prodigy through the monumental hit that was Firestarter. Needless to say,. I was surprised that they already had two albums released. I was even more surprised, years later, to learn that their first album, Experience, is not liked by some Prodigy fans. As is my understanding, it's due to the fact it sounds very removed from the ferociousness Liam and his cohorts would build a career out of. Indeed, I knew of Out of Space and yes, it did indeed sound completely different from what was to follow. Still, maybe there was more to this band than being a punkin' instigator?

The first thing that strikes me about Experience is that it's..... well....... fun. The beats are fast, the samples are used well and the use of melodies work. It sounds like a rave and a real euphoric one at that. And, if anything it seems to be influential: I can see a lot of electronic artists since trying to replicate the sounds on this album (whereas compared to the next two albums, no one would dare try to copy).
So all in all, a decent album revealing a side to The Prodigy that isn't seen/acknowledged much and indeed capable of stepping out of the shadow of it's successors.
However even if some critics labelled this effort as 'lightweight' little did they know what was to follow.....

Nineties Revisited: Firestarter

Original video located here. Accessed 19th April 2019

Song title: Firestarter

Artist: The Prodigy

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

Spike vs The Prodigy: Introduction (Round 0)

I've decided to set myself a challenge: Listen to the first three albums from The Prodigy. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while (and totally not inspired through Keith Flint's recent passing)/ What this means is that I will spend the next few weeks doing this challenge, exploring new territory with my musical tastes and posting my progress as I go (as well as sharing some of own experiences with these nutters).

I was in high school when the Prodigy hit big: First with the Jilted Generation album in 1994 and going from strength to strength and finally hitting monumental heights with Fat of the Land in 1997. And like most people, they came, to my attention with the success of Firestarter. I thought Firestarter was great but otherwise, The Prodigy always struck me as a band who i didn't know what to make of. Was I more into the Chemical Brothers? Was the ferocity that The Prodigy became known for a turn off? Was the interest in this band based around the fact that they looked and sounded like they came from the rough side of Electronic/Dance town, where songs about robots and Autobahns decline to tread out of fear of being curb-stomped?

Regardless, the journey starts here. Stay tuned....

Nineties Revisited: Weather With You

Original video located here. Accessed 5th April 2019

Song title: Weather With You

Artist: Crowded House

Year: 1991

Why I like this song:

So there's this new anime film coming out this July called Weathering With You.
And the first thought that comes to mind is walking 'round the room singing Stormy Weather, at 57 Mount Pleasant street....

Obituary: 20th Century

Original video located here. Accessed 5th April 2019

Song title: 20th Century

Artist: Brad

Year: 1993

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Shawn Smith

Its doubtful I would've heard of Brad if it wasn't for the Pearl Jam connection. But this is one of their best songs. Love the moodiness and bass.
I also knew my brother really liked this song at the time and he was sorely disappointed that it wasn't one the Interiors album. In any case, here it is on this blog in all it's glory.

Choon of the Month: Pub Feed

Original video located here. Accessed 29th March 2019

Song title: Pub Feed

Artist: The Chats

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

Well you can't go wrong with the primal approach - even with so many years of progression and heavy production techniques. Funny how it's something that one can keep coming back to. 

Obituary: The Wedge

Original video located here. Accessed 18th March 2019

Song title: The Wedge

Artist: Dick Dale and His Deltones

Year: 1963

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Dick Dale

He was the pioneer of metal, King of the Surf Guitar, and soundtrack to making one feel like a bad-ass.

Back to the Eighties: Baggy Trousers

Original video located here. Accessed 15th March 2019

Song title: Baggy Trousers

Artist: Madness

Year: 1980

Why I like this song:

I was listening to this song this morning on my way to work.
This was on the same day that countless students went on strike to protest climate change.
Read into that what you will

Nineties Revisited: Find My Baby

Original video located here. Accessed 8th March 2019

Song title: Find My Baby

Artist: Moby

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

As mentioned earlier, i like songs that build and this song is a sterling example. Funny how it starts goofy but then gets increasingly sinister as the song progresses.

I've always imagined this playing in some revenge thriller, where the protagonist is driving across a desert (with or without some unfortunate soul in the boot)

Obituary: Breathe

Original video located here. Accessed 6th March 2019

Song title: Breathe

Artist: Prodigy

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Keith Flint

Nothing quite like this song says 1996 to me.

Choon of the Month: Don't Be so Hard on Yourself

Original video located here. Accessed 25th February 2019

Song title: Don't Be so Hard on Yourself

Artist: Alex Lahey

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

It's something I really needed to hear, really....

This Song Rocks: Gotta Keep On

Original video located here. Accessed 18th February 2019

Song title: Gotta Keep On

Artist: Chemical Brothers

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

Clearly Tom and Ed have no intention of slowing down and are still more than capable of churning out another winner to set the dancefloor alight. 
Good stuff right here

Choon of the Month: Pressure to Party

Original video located here. Accessed 28th January 2019

Song title: Pressure to Party

Artist: Julia Jacklin

Year: 2019

Why I like this song:

Something about these lyrics hit a little too close to home.

It seems songs that are of an anxious nature are becoming more commonplace. Sure that's nothing new in pop music (Beatles' 'Help!' anyone?) but this new breed of anxiety seems to ramp up the uncertainty and questioning of why one bothered to leave their bedroom. And thus concerns are raised not about what is being said but how this makes such a connection with it's audience.
It begs the additional question of where we go from here...

Explorations: The Mummers' Dance

Original video located here. Accessed 25th January 2019

Song title: The Mummers' Dance

Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year: 1997

Why I like this song:

Recently I've listening to the music of one Loreena McKennitt.

A story:
The year was 1995. My father decided to upgrade his aging sound system and got a CD player. And the very first CD he got for it was Mask and the Mirror by Loreena McKennitt. I had no idea who this woman was and I doubt that my father knew either. But he played it constantly - to a point where he drove the rest of us nuts ("A hey ho and me bonny o!"). And naturally, it led to a disdain borne of over-exposure.

So why I am warming up to this material over two decades later? I have no idea.
Was it a certain Ghibli AMV?
Was it through one Todd in the Shadows?
Has years of being acquainted with different music genres softened me? I mean, on paper a Canadian woman singing traditional English literature set to a hybrid of Celtic and Middle Eastern music sounds bizarre - but somehow it works.
Was it it viewing, and discovering, this materiel on my own terms?
Or was it the realization that this woman does indeed have the voice of a goddess?

I personally am leaning towards the last one XD

Got It Covered: The Day You Went Away

Original video located here. Accessed 9th January 2019

Song title: The Day You Went Away

Artist: Wendy Matthews

Originally Done By: Soul Family Sensation

Year: 1992

Why I like this song:

And i thought that it would rain....

We Are Live: West Country Girl

Original video located here. Accessed 17th November 2023

Song title: West Country Girl

Artist: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Year: 1997

Why I like this song:

So I went with my girlfriend to see Nick Cave's solo show. Granted I had already seen Nick live before but that was with the Bad Seeds. This time it will be solo. After all, his tour, where Nick promised to take questions for the audience in between songs, was too good to pass up.

And that's what happened: Nick began the show by explaining what he wanted to accomplish: He will take questions (through runners with mikes in the audience) that he will answer to build a solid connection with the audience. He will also take requests but, as it turned out, he turned down a lot of them.

It was interesting to see Nick without the Bad Seeds in tow and how his songs become when it's Nick's voice and his piano. Certainly it will mean that he will have to selective about what he will play but when it works, it works: Mercy Seat still has power and his piano ballads (Love Letter, Ship Song) are still swoon-worthy - perhaps moreso.

All in all, a great show and a lovely date night

Nineties Revisited: Maria

Original video located here. Accessed 4th January 2019

Song title: Maria

Artist: Blondie

Year: 1999

Why I like this song:

Now this is how you do a comeback.

An irresistible pop song that shows a veteran act coming out swinging. And it seems the time away did Debbie Harry and her cohorts did a world of good as it produced a gem such as this. 

We Are Live: Fake That Emotion

Original video located here. Accessed 6th December 2022

Song title: Fake That Emotion

Artist: Tex, Don and Charlie

Year: 1993

Why I like this song:

Happy New Year!

As part of the New Years celebration I went to the Hobart Waterfront for the Taste. And as part of it, we were graced with the presence of some live acts. 

I did see Mo'Ju perform and thought they did great. It was interesting to hear their rendition of a Michael Jackson song.
This then led into Tex Perkins. I will admit: he appeared ageless as he looks very similar to how he did back in the early nineties. I do remember distinctly that he performed Feelin' Good (a song I only know through Muse's rendition of it) and he nailed it, bombast and all. 

All in all, not a bad way to see in the new year