Original video locatedhere. Accessed 10th January 2017
Song title: One of These Days
Artist: Pink Floyd
Year: 1971
Why I like this song:
I like songs that just grab and maintain one’s attention through a gradual, multi-layered build up. And this song is an excellent example of this principle: It’s a growling bassline with sharp bursts of organ that eventually gives way to an aggressive explosion of noise with Dave Gilmour going berserk on the guitar. Ideally, this should be played on a highway travelling across a barren stretch of land…..
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 10th July 2016
Song title: The Journey
Artist: Tommy Emmanuel and the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra
Year: 1995
Why I like this song:
For this month, I want to write about music through the eyes of the motorist. I really enjoy driving so combining two things I like may make for interesting ramble.
The car, I have found, is actually quite an effective tool to bring people aware of music. It isn’t just a case of rocking up to the lights at an intersection with something booming on the stereo. Oh no: Traveling in car with a group of people means being in confined space whilst looking to someone in particular, the driver, to whom you are dependent upon and whose life may lie in their hands. This places the driver in a position of power (in addition to being, you know, the owner of the vehicle).
This sense of power stretches all the way to every aspect of the car including the stereo. This is indeed important on two fronts: Being a key source of entertainment whilst driving along seemingly endless stretches of road and being a source of communication. And in the sense of communication, this presents a golden opportunity to educate any passengers on new music. And this may be the most effective way yet with the listeners a) having nowhere to run or hide and b) in a position where they can’t complain. Thus, the driver chooses what music they like and if the passengers don’t like it, well, it sucks to be them.
Thus control over the car stereo is a highly desirable position: It relies on the dictations of whoever is in charge and anyone who complains has to sit through it no matter how painfully. But as this position is highly sought after, it’s not one given away freely. It all relies on who’s holding the steering wheel and, if there’s more than one driver in the car, there is the knowledge that the person who isn’t driving has to endure the right over the stereo being taken away from them.
Really the control over the car stereo is so important that, in all honesty, anyone who tries to accommodate the tastes of the passenger is being too soft. We as humans must all have that secret desire of being in a position where everyone else has to do exactly what they say and, for some, the car stereo presents the perfect opportunity for that desire to be satisfied.
So what do I listen to my car? Mostly compilation discs built up from past Triple J Hottest 100s. True most of them date back to the nineties but it’s great to hear music I hadn’t heard in a while and escape to an age where music was great and the tag of ‘alternative rock’ actually meant something. Still, the 2000 discs also have a degree of charm to them, even to the point of making me aware of stuff I may have missed the first time around (as is often the case in my life).
However I do have a favourite list of driving songs. As with many lists of this calibre, these songs have been assembled with much trial and error and provide a sense of ‘feel’ to them. You know what I mean: Songs that evoke senses of traveling, journeys and stepping into the unknown. Sure there’s no denying the appeal of playing loud metal music or hip-hop beats on a sound system but I favour music that sets moods for particular tasks – such moods tend to last longer.
So what songs make up this playlist? Well, to start there's this….
The title says it all: A great piece of music that should be playing for anyone going somewhere (funny that…). I particularly like the live version with a complete orchestral backing that can make any car journey seem epic. Listening to this in the car and suddenly driving down to the shops to buy milk comes across as being absolutely monumental.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 13th May 2014
Song title: Parachute
Artist: Falling Joys
Year: 1990
Why I like this song:
I'm listening to, and enjoying, Wish List - an album from 1990 by the Falling Joys. Great songs on there - not least of which is the immortal Lock It. Funny thing is, in order to get this album, I had to order it from Germany. Yes, to get a classic Australian album I had to order it form the other side of the world. How does that work?!?!?
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 22nd November 2010
Song title: Mr Natural
Artist: Mental As Anything
Year: 1995
Why I like this song:
Earlier this year I got to see Mental As Anything.
Its always fascinating to know a band you followed as a child only to see them as an adult. Granted they may look different from when you originally knew them but that can be forgiven should they deliver live. And that should be an easy task given these songs are immortal right?
Well, they looked older, there were two left of the classic lineup (Martin and Greedy) and the audience present was older than me. But they delivered a great show - Greedy had an energetic presence and looked like he was having the time of his life. I knew all these songs from my youth and it was wonderful to hear them in a live environment. Funny how veteran acts tend to do better live - but then again I guess they have had much more time to sharpen their live act.
Original video locatedhere. Accessed 16th June 2011
Song title: Bohemian Like You
Artist: Dandy Warhols
Year: 2000
Why I like this song:
Earlier this year I got to see the Dandy Warhols live.
They were pretty good and great fun to watch. It was indeed a surprise that they would come down here to Hobart but here we are. And it was indeed satisfying that I got to see a band that I adored in my late teens.