Obituary: Westway

Original video located here. Accessed 9th September 2024

Song title: Westway

Artist: Sky

Year: 1979

Why I like this song:

R.I.P. Herbie Flowers

Somehow, this song would be a lot different without his bass line

Nineties Revisited: Wonderwall

Original video located here. Accessed 27th August 2024

Song title: Wonderwall

Artist: Oasis

Year: 1995

Why I like this song:

Huh? Oasis are reforming? Apparently so

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.

Opinion: Glockenpop

Original video located here. 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....

Opinion: Know Your Product

Original video located here. Accessed 2nd August 2024

Song title: Know Your Product

Artist: Saints

Year: 1978

Why I like this song:

This song may roar like no other (moreso in the decades since) but it also encapsulates my suspicions towards trends in modern music.

Earlier this week, YouTube music critic Todd in the Shadows posted a video assessing the Kendrick Lamar hit Not like Us. I can't say that I'm a fan of the song but it is the middle section (starting 13:00) that is of interest to me.

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.

Obituary: Stuck in the Middle With You

Original video located here. 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.

We Are Live: Everything's (not too good at the moment)

Original video located here. 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. 

Back to the Eighties: Breaking the Law

Original video located here. Accessed 18th June 2024

Song title: Breaking the Law

Artist: Judas Priest

Year: 1980

Why I like this song:

Well seeing it's Pride Month.... ;)