Original video locatedhere. Accessed 1st December 2024
Song title: Under the Milky Way Tonight
Artist: The Church
Year: 1988
Why I like this song:
Last night I went and saw the Church live. I have some things to say about this gig so allow me to resort to dot points:
I saw some goths in the line to go in. I never regarded The Church as a goth band but they seem to be well regarded among the goths. Can someone confirm this?
Fitting I see the Saints and the Church in the same week
Speaking of the Saints, if one could make the argument that the Saints are currently their own tribute act, it does raise the question if the same could be said about the Church: Mainstays Peter Koppes and Marty Wilson-Piper are both gone and in their place is one third of Even and one fifth of Powderfinger.
The final song was Under the Milky Way Tonight although it is doubtful the audience would've let them leave without playing it. What is surprising is that it was the only song off the Starfish album
Conversely there were seven songs from the Blurred Crusade album. Does Steve Kilbey think more highly of that one?
Still it was a great show and one that I am glad to have seen. Even if this was a different band than it does in the eighties, all on stage delivered. Also I have never so much elation for The Unguarded Moment.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 28th November 2024
Song title: Erotic Neurotic
Artist: The Saints
Year: 1977
Why I like this song:
Last night I went and saw the Saints live.
Seeing this band live is such an odd experience: Firstly, it's founding members Ed Kuepper and Ivor Hay along with Mick Harvey (of the Bad Seeds fame), Peter Oxley (of the Sunnyboys fame) and Mark Arm (of Mudhoney fame). Secondly, this band is a product of the first wave of punk - hardly a movement that had any longevity let alone being the type being played by guys in various points of their sixties.
And yet, they still delivered live: This was a lot of fun to watch and there was a real sense of energy coming off of them - which is what punk is supposed to do. The audience were indeed welcoming to this songs being played and the use of horns worked well. Of course, when they played the best known Saints songs, I'm Stranded and Know You Product, the audience when completely nuts. All in all, this was another indication that veteran acts have years of experience to rely upon and their can deliver with enough flair to put younger acts to shame. Top stuff.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 16th November 2024
Song title: Alone
Artist: Custard
Year: 1994
Why I like this song:
Last night I went and saw Custard. These guys were something of a legendary act during my teen years so naturally I went to see them, playing at the Republic Bar in North Hobart.
First up though were a pair of support acts. The first of which was a Queensland band named Stress of Leisure. Not bad but certainly of an esoteric nature.
The second support act was the Fauves. Now these guys I was very much familiar with having them seeing live twice before. They were delightfully raucous, delivering a loud show. Their onstage banter was hilarious - with remarks how the Wrest Point casino revolving restaurant was stuck in the seventies - and they rocked hard even when contending with guitar problems onstage. Of particular note was when they played Dogs Are the Best People and the audience went nuts.
And then there was Custard. Now that I think about it, when Custard were popular in the mid-to-late nineties, they seemed to be the Australian answer to the so-called 'geek rock'. Yes, the same genre that gave us Weezer, They Might Be Giants and the Presidents of the USA (both the latter and Custard were even touring mates at one stage). It's an unlikely call but not impossible. But I digress: Custard were brilliant. They rocked hard and played all their best known songs. Pack Yr Suitcases and Alone went over well. Lucky Star went hard on stage and Apartment made the audience go ballistic. In fact there. was no weak song in amongst the setlist and the audience hung onto ever moment. In addition, Dave McCormack was a charismatic presence, cracking jokes and his audience interaction. At one point I did shout out 'Bandit!' but I don't think he noticed - either that or he has been growing accustomed to Bluey gags.
All in all, a great night out and proof that some veteran acts can still cut it.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 13th November 2024
Song title: Home Again
Artist: Shihad
Year: 1997
Why I like this song:
So New Zealand rock heroes Shihad are calling it a day.
I got into Shihad through their landmark album The General Electric. It rocked hard, showing some muscle that could challenge the major heavy acts from overseas. I also had the pleasure of seeing them twice: First at a 2000 day event in Hobart called RAW and second at the 2002 Big Day Out. Both occasions they delivered a fiery show that showed up a lot of the other acts on the day.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 5th November 2024
Song title: Subways of Your Mind
Artist: FEX
Year: 1983
Why I like this song:
It's happened: The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet has now been identified. After so many years of searching, a song title has been determined and an artist named.
I have been following this search for a while and was astonished that it finally bore fruit. Given that FEX will reunite and re-record the song, I look forward to see what comes of it.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 28th September 2024
Song title: Alone
Artist: The Cure
Year: 2024
Why I like this song:
Well here we are: After sixteen years of silence, the Cure have a new song. And as a lifelong fan of the Cure this shouldn't be a surprise that I would talk about it.
It's certainly big on sound and monolithic in it's nature. And it comes across as being the demented cousin of Disintegration. Getting nasty again eh? Well it works for me.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 10th September 2024
Song title: Don't Ever
Artist: Missy Higgins
Year: 2004
Why I like this song:
So Missy Higgins will be this year's inductee to the ARIA Hall of Fame? Well good for her. Like a lot of other people, I did buy her debut album, The Sound of White, and I did enjoy it to a point here I can associate this song with twenty-two year old me.
Thing is, that I am only finding this out now shows I don't think much of the ARIAs. Sure the Hall of Fame has an induction criteria but I'm not convinced it works. What I am convinced is the following scenario:
ARIA: So who shall we induct into the Hall of Fame this year?
Go-Betweens: We are one of the most respected bands here and overseas!
Ratcat: We are trailblazers for alternative music and had the most successful Australian single in 1991!
silverchair: We are one of the most popular Australian bands and we have 21 ARIAs to our name!
You am I: We are one of the most successful Australian bands and have inspired many other bands!
Powderfinger: We are have a long and successful career and won Album of the Year three times!
From here, the obvious remark is how long Noel and Liam will last until they, once again, can't stand the sight of each other. And the real surprise will be if Noel and Liam actually get along. But then again, this reunion shouldn't come as a surprise seeing as Definitely Maybe is thirty years old and (What's the Story) Morning Glory is approaching the same milestone.
So what of Wonderwall? Well, for me its a song of early mornings and taking on the responsibilities that come with being in a relationship.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 8th August 2024
Song title: Glockenpop
Artist: Spiderbait
Year: 1999
Why I like this song:
It's a cute song with some surprisingly biting lyrics about the vapidity of pop music.
Recently Triple J put an online survey, no doubt to engage the audience and try to garner some market research. What it involved was presenting the participant with samples of songs and asking for a rating.
I did the survey last night and it was quite the challenge: here were seven sections, each having 105 song samples. So that's 735 songs to get through! Granted I have long ceased being a teenager so that places me well outside Triple J's demographic and granted I have subsequently not heard Triple J in years but I still did it because I will not refuse an opportunity to say what I think.
Listening to the songs I found the following of note:
There's a lot of pop
There's a lot of electro stuff that I couldn't tell the difference between The Weeknd and his soundalikes
I realised there's a lot of production heavy songs coming out the last coupla years
Surprisingly, there were a handful of 1990s songs, the oldest being Radiohead's Creep and Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name of (like the latter will ever get old)
I lament the day that Triple J went pop, thereby making it indistinguishable from the other radio stations and it abandoned the alternative roots that made it interesting, Yes it is futile to complain about such a change since one can't stop the march of time, but I would welcome the day that a change comes around that alters the trajectory and the current model is looking old news.
It's well documented that Nirvana's simplicity destroyed a lot of careers of production heavy acts. You wouldn't think that now seeing the pendulum has swung back but there's nothing keeping the pendulum there....
So: Poptimism, A reaction against Rockism and it's gatekeeping. Where those who once weren't taken seriously as artists now had a new sense of credibility. I however challenge that narrative.
I was a teenager in the nineties - an era known as the apex of alternative rock. So what does that mean to me? Well it showed me that there was a world beyond what was being played on the pop radio at the time. A world that had slipped under the radar of pop radio and now looked far more appealing. So whilst the pop radio looked vapid, dull and cheesy, the brave new world of alternative rock looked fun, real, varied and with far more teeth. And in the wake of Nirvana's success, alternative rock, once overlooked by the mainstream, had a new found sense of credibility.
But as is often the case, the pendulum can always swing back.
And that's what Poptimism is for me: Pop music coming roaring back to life. Pop is a dominate force again. Song that did successful on the charts only to be dismissed as nonsense is now reassessed as classics. And the underground is now being forced back to where they were. But to me it's not so much a reaction of the success of alternative rock but regaining the ground lost. Its the sound of a schoolyard bully punching back at the nerds who dared stand up for themselves. Does some higher up in the music industry actually resent the revolution Nirvana (however unwittingly) brought about?
Disagree? Very well then: Tell me, without looking it up, who was the highest ranking Australian artist on the ARIA singles End of Year chart in 1991. I'll give you a hint: It wasn't Daryl Braithwaite.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 10th July 2024
Song title: Stuck in the Middle With You
Artist: Stealers Wheel
Year: 1973
Why I like this song:
R.I.P. Joe Egan
This song may be set to be forever linked with Reservoir Dogs (regardless of whether it wants to or not) but it is still capable of standing on it's own two feet.
Certainly it isn't a stretch to imagine this song going through the mind of an introvert in a middle of a busy social environment. Still, it does what it does and it does it well.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 27th June 2024
Song title: Everything's Fucked
Artist: Dirty Three
Year: 1994
Why I like this song:
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing the Dirty Three. This has been a long time coming and was a welcome birthday present from my wife. I knew the Dirty Three had a fearsome reputation as a live act so it was an opportunity to put such a reputation to the test. I mean, I had seen Warren on stage before as part of the Bad Seeds so I should know what to expect, right?
Turns out I was wrong. Seeing the Dirty Three was truly something else: Songs that were stretched out for an astonishing length that - remarkably - never got dull. Warren proving to be a charismatic presence, complete with fascinating dialogues and gyrating. Some truly frenzied playing from all involved. A freakish mental connection between all three players. And all keeping the audience spellbound, often in complete silence. Truly a remarkable experience.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 25th May 2024
Song title: Peeled Apples
Artist: Manic Street Preachers
Year: 2009
Why I like this song:
R.I.P. Steve Albini
I imagine the music world will be talking up his production skills, particularly with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and the Dirty Three. I however wish to call attention to his production on the Manic Street Preachers album Journal For Plague Lovers. It certainly gave the Manics the bite that had been lacking since The Holy Bible and, given this was effectively a eulogy for Richey, was the Manics going all out. And boy did it deliver.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 26th April 2024
Song title: The Sunset
Artist: The Moody Blues
Year: 1967
Why I like this song:
R.I.P. Mike Pinder
Lots of great songs on Days of Future Passed but this one always stood out for me for both its minimalistic approach and the use of percussion. Perfect for watching the sun go down on a hill somewhere...
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 18th March 2024
Song title: Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
Artist: Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
Year: 1975
Why I like this song:
R.I.P. Steve Harley
A snappy pop song that certainly sounds distinctive from the other pop songs of the era. Even now. Actually I agree with Jeremy Clarkson: Don't trust anyone who doesn't like this song,