Obituary: High

Original video located here. Accessed 27th December 2025

Song title: High

Artist: The Cure

Year: 1992

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Perry Bamonte

I think this was my first exposure to The Cure. I knew of them beforehand but this as when I heard their music. Or at least knew it was The Cure.
And I honestly couldn't ask for a better starting point. 

Obituary: Green Onions

Original video located here. Accessed 5th December 2025

R.I.P. Steve Cropper

Booker T is now the last one left standing....

Obituary: I Can See Clearly Now

Original video located here. Accessed 26th November 2025

Song title: I Can See Clearly Now

Artist: Jimmy Cliff

Originally Done By: Johnny Nash

Year: 1993

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff

Truly one of the most uplifting songs ever made. 

Choon of the Month: First Blush

  
Original video located here. Accessed 9th January 2026

Song title: First Blush

Artist: Ocean Alley

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

Clearly Ocean Alley hit on a winning formula with Confidence. So why not keep going with it? And hey, it works wonders. 

Obituary: Fools Gold

Original video located here. Accessed 21st November 2025

R.I.P. Mani

Years alter and he is still one of my favourite bass players

Obituary: Talkin Seattle Grunge Rock Blues

Original video located here. Accessed 17th November 2025

Song title: Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues

Artist: Todd Snider

Year: 1995

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Todd Snider

This never fails to crack me up

Obituary: Are You Old Enough

Original video located here. Accessed 11th August 2025

Song title: Are You Old Enough?

Artist: Dragon

Year: 1978

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Robert Taylor

I have heard this song countless times on commercial radio over the years. Which is impressive for a song about underage sex. 
But that is typical for Dragon: Producing songs that are radio-friendly at first glance but are hiding a dark undercurrent in clear sight.
You wouldn't think this was a band of trouble-makers/bad-boys listening to this (when compared to, say, Guns N'Roses) but such was the career of Dragon: Nastiness lurking underneath a polished sheen

Nineties Revisited: Zero

 
Original video located here. Accessed 29th October 2025

Song title: Zero

Artist: Smashing Pumpkins

Year: 1995

Why I like this song:

This years marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Smashing Pumpkins seminal album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. So with many other people posting their own thought on it, I may as well throw my own hat into the ring. 

Like many people, that album was my entry point to the Smashing Pumpkins. At the time, my older brother played it many times over insistent that it was something special. At first I didn't know what to make of it but, slowly but surely, I was won over. 
It is well documented that Billy Corgan wanted to make an album for teenagers. Granted at the time he had long ceased being a teenager but what did it matter? I came away thinking Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was the greatest thing ever and it really spoke to me as a confused teen. And it certainly had some bite that the other music at the time lacked. 

I recently sat down and revisited Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness- this time in a new light. Granted I had no place listening to an album designed for specifically for teenagers but I was willing to see if it still held up. This time however, I took a different approach in that I followed the track order dictated by the vinyl release. 
And that turned out to be a wise decision: True what was once familiar may now be presented in a jarring light but it works. The listing swings from soft to hard and what I once skipped over now now is seen with more appreciation. And the run of Where Boys Fear to Tread, Zero and An Ode to No One is bloody effective. 

So it may be a new approach to material three decades old but it still has plenty of bite. 

Obituary: I'm Just the Singer in a Rock and Roll Band

Original video located here. Accessed 12th October 2025

Song title: I'm Just the Singer in a Rock and Roll Band

Artist: The Moody Blues

Year: 1973

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. John Lodge.

One of his best songs and a testament to the rocking/upbeat stuff he was known for.

Justin is now the last man standing....

Choon of the Month: Where is My Husband

   
Original video located here. Accessed 24th September 2025

Song title: WHERE IS MY HUSBAND

Artist: Raye

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

Truly a song that comes barging in and demands you listen to it through sheer force of will.
And yet, it works through being completely unhinged. 
I wonder: does this work because a woman is singing it? Somehow, if a man was singing this, it would be written off as trying to appeal to the incels. Or something

Obituary: More Than a Game

Original video located here. Accessed 22nd September 2025

Song title: More Than a Game

Artist: Chris Doheny

Year: 1994

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Chris Doheny

Pretty unbeatable as an anthem to get one pumped.

This Song Rocks: Walk Away

Original video located here. Accessed 10th September 2025

Song title: Walk Away

Artist: Franz Ferdinand

Year: 2005

Why I like this song:

Recently I had a listen to Franz Ferdinand's 2005 album You Could've Had it So Much Better for the first time in years.

Like a lot of people I was won over their first album so I was eager for the second one. Now I think we all know this narrative: Band come out of nowhere and has a huge first album. They release a second album - likely built up out of leftovers from the first - but that is greeted with a frosty reception and the band loses a significant amount of momentum. 
It has been said that one should not have ALL their best material on their first album as doing so will leave nothing left for the next one. Instead one should have their best material spread out.
Likewise, the common perception is that one has years to write their first album and a much more limited time to write their second. 

With this in mind, was You Could've Had it So Much Better a failure? Hard to say: On one hand, there are some great songs but on the other it doesn't seem to have the immediacy of the first album. I mean I recall going back to the first one more than second one.
Still going back to You Could've Had it So Much Better years later and I have found that it was better than I remember. So lets go with that.

Opinion: Purple Sneakers

Original video located here. Accessed 8th September 2025

Song title: Purple Sneakers

Artist: You Am I

Year: 1995

Why I like this song:

So it has been announced that You Am I will be this year's inductees to the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Some thoughts:

• It's a been a long time coming: People forget that there was a time when You Am I were on fire, firing out gems like no tomorrow (like the one above). So much so, that people have turned cold to them is baffling to say the least. Much like how reception to Game of Thrones turned around following the last season. 
• Perhaps the change in attitude came through Tim Rogers acting like an arse. But it seems all is forgiven now.
• Does this mean that ARIA are now going to start being more accommodating to non-commercial 'alterative' acts now?
• I like to think that this rant may have something to do with it but that's just wishful thinking on my part

Choon of the Month: Man I Need

  
Original video located here. Accessed 27th August 2025

Song title: Man I Need

Artist: Olivia Dean

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

Well what we have here? A song that's both fun and romantic? In this day and age? Who would've thunk it?
In any case, the very nature of this song makes it stand out from the rest and makes it all the more delightful. 

Classics: Run Like Hell

Original video located here. Accessed 11th August 2025

Song title: Run Like Hell

Artist: Pink Floyd

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

Recently I've been unwell so I took the time to give Pink Floyd's The Wall another listen.
It has been over a decade since I last heard it and it seems that this album has something of a perplexing legacy:
On one hand, it was a huge seller but on the other it's recognition has cooled since.
On one hand, it generated a template that many so-called 'rock operas' have followed but on the other certain songs seem short and not fully-realised.
On one hand it was due to the vision of Roger Waters but on the other it was the one that split the band.
On one hand it clearly spoke to many a teenager but on the other it did not have the same effect when said teenagers became adults.  
The list goes on and on.
Still, a decade later places me in a position where maybe I could obtain a different perspective with a different set of ears....

I will admit: I can see the criticisms aimed at The Wall (as listed above). Yes there appears to be more interludes than actual songs, yes the narrative seems to go some odd directions and offers an abrupt conclusion, yes this is a young man's album (written by a guy in his thirties), yes it is misogynistic and yes the whole 'tortured rock star' isn't exactly an easy sell. 
And yet, I find myself admiring The Wall. It is different compared to Pink Floyd's other albums, and it is fascinating, and daring, in it's depiction of a mental breakdown. 

Opinion: Highway to Hell

Original video located here. Accessed 30th July 2025

Song title: Highway to Hell

Artist: AC/DC

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

Well the latest Triple J Hottest 100 has come and gone. And of all the Australian songs that came out over the past fifty years, Never Tear Us Apart grabbed the top honours.

Some thoughts on the countdown:

• It was quite a good one with a lot of songs appearing that I knew. It was also surprising to hear some songs I didn't think would get in and/or be familiar with the Australian 16-28 demographic.
• I voted for ten songs. Five of them got in. The other five did not.
• I once declared that the Hoodoo Gurus were the greatest Australian band ever and were better than INXS and AC/DC. Well, the egg's on my face: The Gurus didn't get in, but the other two did.
• The presence of Daryl Braithwaite, Savage Garden, the Veronicas, John Farnham and Natalie Imbruglia brings a collective that one wouldn't think would be present on a radio station that was turned into alternative music. I could say this is the best representation of the pop genre colonising bullying their way into being integrated into the Triple J playlist and changes of listener demographic. 
• Speaking of Daryl Braithwaite, his cover got in so again, there's egg on my face. And that's a lotta effort made to make me look small.
• Perhaps the biggest takeaway I got from this is that the Veronicas' Untouched was a bigger deal than I ever relaised
• Of course, there has since been a lot of complaining on the internet (shock horror) about the countdown with the most frequented one being: "How come (this act) didn't get in?". I guess that's expected but it does smack of realising that one backed the wrong horse....
• In case I haven't made it clear by now, In a Hottest 100 like this, there are winners but at the same time, there are losers. For each success, there are many who have been left out and forgotten. I won't deny that memes are an effective way to drum up support but I have to ask a question. A question that I have asked myself many times: Who gets to decide who are the winners and who are the losers?
• So do I think I can do better? Absolutely. I have my own memories attached to certain songs - as this blog proves - and I may come up with a Hottest 100 of Australian tunes in the near future. Watch this space.....

Obituary: The Elements

Original video located here. Accessed 28th July 2025

Song title: The Elements

Artist: Tom Lehrer

Year: 1959

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Tom Lehrer

I can only wonder how many science teachers have utilised this in their lesson plans...

Choon of the Month: Car

 

Original video located here. Accessed 25th July 2025

Song title: Car

Artist: Royal Otis

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

It may sound like a throwback to the indie days of the 2000s but that's part of it's charm. 
Some might think this is a deliberate resurrection without any further thought behind it but pfah to them: This is great stuff 

Obituary: Crazy Train

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd July 2025

Song title: Crazy Train

Artist: Ozzy Osbourne

Year: 1981

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne

He's reunited with Randy....

"I like to think that everybody would like to be Ozzy for a weekend sometime in their life...just have crazy fun and be menacing"

Obituary: Take Me Up

Original video located here. Accessed 21st July 2025

Song title: Take Me Up

Artist: Southend

Year: 1994

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Justin Frew
Truly a pioneer for Australian electronic/dance music.

This Song Rocks: Sad

Original video located here. Accessed 7th July 2025

Song title: Sad

Artist: Pearl Jam

Year: 2000

Why I like this song:

Mystifying as to why this was relegated to a b-side. It's one of Pearl Jam's best and that's saying something.

Equally unexpected is Matt Cameron's departure: it came out of nowhere and is surprising given the length of his tenure & what he brought to the band. 
Should Pearl Jam subsequently call it a day? Hard to say: Their music spoke to the youth of the nineties (not least me) but that decade is long gone. And you can't speak to the youth when you're no longer part of it. Sure their records still sell and their live shows deliver but you can't stop the march of time. And whether Pearl Jam has maintained their credibility or if they never had any in the first place is up for debate in one of the more rank corners of the internet.

Needless to say it would be interesting to nee what happens next.....

This Song Rocks: It Gets Better

 

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd July 2025

Song title: It Gets Better

Artist: KETTAMA

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

Yosemite announced the potential and this carries it through. If Kettama's thing is his hyper version of trance then it certainly seem to be working for him. 

Obituary: Mission Impossible theme

Original video located here. Accessed 30th June 2016

Song title: Mission Impossible theme

Artist: Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen

Originally Done By: Lalo Schifrin

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Lalo Schifrin

To make one of the most recognisable themes ever is an achievement and a half....

This Song Rocks: Rein Me In

  
Original video located here. Accessed 27th June 2025

Song title: Rein Me In

Artist: Sam Fender and Olivia Dean

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

I admit I've heard the name Sam Fender but I've never took the time to have a listen to his stuff. 
This however makes it clear that I've been sleeping on him. 
Resurrecting 80s jangle pop? Sounds like a winning formula to me. And he pulls it off.

Choon of the Month: Send it Back

 

Original video located here. Accessed 25th June 2025

Song title: Send it Back

Artist: Don West

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

A lo t songs in recent years have been driven by anger (in a variety of forms) and the hopes that what one makes will go viral. Therefore, you wouldn't expect something that take the 'laid-back' approach will work. And yet, despite the odds, this song does. In fact, so much so, it seems to come across as an anomaly and that's what makes it so fascinating. 

Opinion: Big Deal

Original video located here. Accessed 23rd June 2025

Song title: Big Deal

Artist: Hoodoo Gurus

Year: 1996

Why I like this song:

A declaration of defiance from a veteran act.

Recently Triple J has announced a new Hottest 100: One that will celebrate fifty years of the station's existence and will be built up entirely out of Australian acts.

Some thoughts:

• I suppose this is a new 'All Time' countdown and having it made of Australian acts is JJJ admitting that if they do a new All Time countdown, nothing will dislodge Smells Like Teen Spirit from the no.1 position.
• Didn't Triple M already do this back in 2017?
• No doubt this is a response to the Hottest 100 of 2024 having a low Australian presence.
• It's a bold move disallowing Like a Version covers as they always seem to do well in Hottest 100s but hey, they got their own Hottest 100. Furthermore, as the phrase goes 'Constrictions Inspire Creativity'.  
• That being said however, I predict Silverchair, Powderfinger and Tame Impala will feature strongly.
• I saw the Daryl Braithwaite cover in the voting list so I don't doubt that it will get in (regardless of whether I like it or not)
• I have cast my vote already. Don't know if what I voted for make it but you never know...
• No doubt I will do my own Hottest 100 in response - As I have done so previously - but even as I think about it, it does seem quite the challenge......

Obituary: God Only Knows

Original video located here. Accessed 13th June 2025

Song title: God Only Knows

Artist: Beach Boys

Year: 1966

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Brian Wilson

Obituary: I Want You Back

Original video located here. Accessed 7th May 2025

Song title: I Want You Back

Artist: Hoodoo Gurus

Year: 1983

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. James Baker

Obituary: Bitter

Original video located here. Accessed 5th May 2025

Song title: Bitter

Artist: Jill Sobule

Year: 1997

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Jill Sobule

Obituary: Dreaming

Original video located here. Accessed 8th April 2025

Song title: Dreaming

Artist: Blondie

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Clem Burke

He may have been regulated to the back but he still managed to stand out

Nineties Revisited: All I Am

Original video located here. Accessed 14th March 2025

Song title: All I Am

Artist: Dada

Year: 1994

Why I like this song:

Sometimes a song sticks with you and you never find out who did it. 
Well I heard this years ago, I heard the title and I had a (vague) idea of who did it and it is only now that I find it on YouTube. 
Pretty much a forgotten song of the nineties - one could easily mistake this for R.E.M. - but that doesn't make it forgettable. After all, it wouldn't have otherwise stuck with me...

Choon of the Month: Sally, When The Wine Runs Out

   
Original video located here. Accessed 28th February 2025

Song title: Sally, When The Wine Runs Out

Artist: Role Model

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

It's certainly a fun listen. And yes, I have a number of people who match the person being described in the lyrics. 

Obituary: The Butterfly Collector

Original video located here. Accessed 21st February 2025

Song title: The Butterfly Collector

Artist: The Jam

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Rick Buckler

Choon of the Month: Yosemite

 

Original video located here. Accessed 27th January 2025

Song title: Yosemite

Artist: KETTAMA and Interplanetary Criminal

Year: 2025

Why I like this song:

It certainly is a rush and it's standout in amongst this new clutch of dance acts.
It's like nineties trance but injected with steroids. And I think I like it.