Got it Covered: Down in the Park

Original video located here. Accessed 29th August 2021

Song title: Down in the Park

Artist: Foo Fighters

Originally Done By: Gary Numan

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

I have enjoyed some of the songs the Foo Fighters have done over the years (ie Big Me, Best of You, Learn to Fly) but here I have opted for a cover.

I have heard and liked the Gary Numan original - largely for it's eeriness - but this cover is interesting because it sounds more menacing. It must be in the guitars. Also the build-up through the song is pretty sweet.

In any case, whenever I play X-COM, i imagine this playing when my soldiers enter the battlefield...

This Song Rocks: How to Disappear Completely

Original video located here. Accessed 26th August 2021

Song title: How to Disappear Completely

Artist: Radiohead

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

I've always felt that Radiohead are a band best enjoyed by one's self - I've seen footage of them playing live on YouTube and it's weird to see the audience sing along to lines like 'You don't remember! You don't remember! Why don't you remember my name?!'

\

And that theory is best exemplified with this song. It's haunting in it's execution and has been something of a go-to song for me when things have been looking bleak.

It has been theorized that we need sad songs for low moments and to that end this song does just that. And it does so admirably.

This Song Rocks: Its Been a While

Original video located here. Accessed 6th August 2021

Song title: Its Been a While

Artist: Autumn Isles

Year: 2008

Why I like this song:

2008 was the year I relocated to Melbourne and this song will forever remind me of how exciting such a prospect was.

Obituary: Honky Tonk Woman

Original video located here. Accessed 10th September 2023

Song title: Honky Tonk Woman

Artist: The Rolling Stones

Year: 1969

Why I like this song:

R.I.P Charlie Watts

It took me a while to arrive to the Rolling Stones but it was worth it. And Charlie was indeed integral to them.
Abd in this case, it's the cowbell that seals the deal

This Song Rocks: Wayside

Original video located here. Accessed 24h August 2021

Song title: Wayside

Artist: Canvas Kites

Year: 2009

Why I like this song:

Another song that will remind me of 2009, the year spent living in Clifton Hill

This Song Rocks: Bad Day

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd August 2021

Song title: Bad Day

Artist: R.E.M.

Year: 2003

Why I like this song:

This may seem an odd choice. Because when you have a band with such longevity as R.E.M. (formed 1980, disbanded 2011), there will be people that will divide their career into eras and then choose to focus on a select few. As such, this is in the middle of the post_Berry era which a lot of R.E.M. fans dislike. And I know some of said fans dislike this song citing it being a first draft of It's the End of the World As We Know It.

Still, this song is clearly designed to cheer up people after a bad day and I have had plenty of them. Meaning this song has done it's job and done it well

This Song Rocks: Better Living Through Chemistry

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd August 2021

Song title: Better Living Through Chemistry

Artist: Queens of the Stone Age

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

No One Knows and it's parent album Songs For the Deaf may have been huge but I doubtful that would have occurred without it's predecessor Rated R.

And it was through Rated R that I discovered this band. And I can't emphasize enough how much of a breath of fresh air this was when Nu-Metal was a big deal. At the time, i was looking for something more tougher than what i was listening to and QOTSA delivered with creativity, chunky riffs and mood - all encapsulated in this song - to leave the likes of Limp Bizkit looking....well... rather limp.

This Song Rocks: Starlight

Original video located here. Accessed 21st August 2021

Song title: Starlight

Artist: Muse

Year: 2006

Why I like this song:

That piano figure. Bugger the rest of the song, i could listen to that piano figure all day and never tire of it.

This Song Rocks: The Sound

Original video located here. Accessed 20th August 2021

Song title: The Sound

Artist: Rumanastone

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

I recall this song making quite an impression on me back in 2000. But unfortunately for me, it didn't go anywhere and is pretty much forgotten now. Still, as this blog proves, i will champion lesser known acts ahead of more well-known ones (provided the songs they have are of interest).

As for the song itself, I will forever associate it with the sensation of first love. It has been previously established i had my first girlfriend back in 2000 and this song, for me, represented all the excitement, and confusion, that comes with it

This Song Rocks: Hotel Radio

Original video located here. Accessed 16th August 2021

Song title: Hotel Radio

Artist: David Bridie

Year: 2003

Why I like this song:

It was during my university years that i discovered the music of David Bridie. And it would define much of that period. His first solo album Act of Free Choice was released in my first year and his second Hotel Radio was released on my last.

Interesting story how I came by the latter: I read a music press at the time and i would do the crossword. One week, I actually won! And for a prize i was offered an album from that edition's review column. I selected Hotel Radio.

As for the title song itself, it will forever remind me of the rainy days at the Sandy Bay campus

This Song Rocks: Shining Star

Original video located here. Accessed 24th August 2021

Song title: Shining Star

Artist: Even

Year: 2001

Why I like this song:

I guess I am a romantic at heart so of course I would be attracted to this song: The acoustic guitar at the intro grabs the ears. The lyrics address the idea of a rebirth. but the real MVP are both the strings and the flute. So all in all, there's a lot of things at work here and they succeed

This Song Rocks: One More Time

Original video located here. Accessed 12th August 2021

Song title: One More Time

Artist: Daft Punk

Year: 2001

Why I like this song:

My first introduction to Daft Punk was their 1997 debut, Homework. But, for the life of me, i couldn't get into it. And I still haven't been able to since - even when it has been hailed as a major work in electronic/dance music.

But then, four years later, i heard this and it won me over. It was loud, bombastic and damn, it was funky. And having an anime music video didn't hurt either.

This Song Rocks: The Kids Don't Stand a Chance

Original video located here. Accessed 11th August 2021

Song title: The Kids Don't Stand a Chance

Artist: Vampire Weekend

Year: 2008

Why I like this song:

I loved this album when it came out and this, it's final song, was the best on the whole thing.

It must be the strings.....

This Song Rocks: Shadows Evolve

Original video located here. Accessed 8th August 2021

Song title: Shadows Evolve

Artist: Morning After Girls

Year: 2005

Why I like this song:

I loved this song back in the day but it never took off as a hit. Not sure why, it had everything: Some mantra-like lyrics, great guitar work and a real cool breakdown that ends the song.

But then again, I've had a bad history of condemning songs that ended up successful and championing songs that end up going anywhere so I am hardly the best authority on predicting hits. Still i know what I like and this is sure better than a lot of the other stuff that was coming to prominence in 2005.

This Song Rocks: Smile Like You Mean It

Original video located here. Accessed 5th August 2021

Song title: Smile Like You Mean It

Artist: The Killers

Year: 2004

Why I like this song:

I was initially drawn to this song for two reasons: The synths and it's chorus. Maybe it was my perception, but it came across as triumphant. That was until a now former girlfriend informed me that the song wasn't anywhere near as triumphant as I thought it was.

Damn.

Still, perhaps it was fitting that this song be released when i was in my early twenties because this does say a lot about the anxieties of young adulthood. So this song still earns a place on this list.

Nineties Revisited: Nothing Lasts Forever

Original video located here. Accessed 4th August 2021

Song title: Nothing Lasts Forever

Artist: Echo and the Bunnymen

Year: 1997

Why I like this song:

It was fitting that this song be released during my final year of high school. But this song would take personal resonance thirteen years later, when I left Melbourne and returned to Tassie, bringing a fifteen month period to and end

This Song Rocks: Finding You

Original video located here. Accessed 3rd August 2021

Song title: Finding You

Artist: The Go-Betweens

Year: 2005

Why I like this song:

Oh the Go-Betweens. One of the greatest 'should've beens' in the history of popular music. If they were a TV show, they'd be Firefly. And yet they remain eternally on the fringes of mainstream success whilst less-deserving acts get in the ARIA Hall of Fame (yes Daryl Braithwaite, I am looking at you)

Having got that out of my system, this does indeed play to the strengths of the Go-Betweens: Jangly guitars, great vocals and lyrics that are nigh-impossible to find some form of universality. It's the last gesture of a band from what would become their final album. And, seeing as I've heard many bands end on a sour note, that is a very rare thing.

This Song Rocks: Push on Through

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd August 2021

Song title: Push on Through

Artist: Salmonella Dub

Year: 2001

Why I like this song:

For years, these guys have been my go-to band for chilling out.

Some songs require a particular mood to work and this is certainly one of them. To me, this song is best enjoyed on a summer's evening as the sun is setting and you're walking on a beach.

I know I've done such a thing many times and I can see myself doing it many more times in the future.

This Song Rocks: Don't Falter

Original video located here. Accessed 1st August 2021

Song title: Don't Falter

Artist: Mint Royale

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

I will forever associate this song with the year 2000: A year defined by University, first love and Card Captor Sakura.

Actually now that I think about it, this wouldn't be out of place on the Card Captor Sakura soundtrack.