Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Made In Australia (90's)

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Looking back at my early musical tastes, I was surprised to find that despite being horribly limited, they were also very Australian. Why this happened I have no idea, especially seeing as 90% of the music I listen to these days is international. Thankfully the Australian music scene in the late 90’s contained some rather big names and I don’t need to be ashamed of my first interests. I’m proud and impressed that I was taping Silverchair off the radio at the age of 9. The list goes beyond these 5 including the likes of Eskimo Joe, The Whitlams and The Living End however for various reasons they had to be cut. One distressing note I should make about many of these bands is that they have gone astray. For many of them, their turning sour (in my eyes) came at the same time they became popular, not because they were no longer cool to like but simply because they’re style changed, for the worse. Why the Australian public decides to like them when they’re music goes bad is beyond me. However this doesn’t subtract from the beauty of their early material which will always bring me a pleasant sense of nostalgia.

Silverchair – The Door
Silverchair were one of, if not the first ‘band’ that I ever liked. As I mentioned earlier I came across them on the radio and would listen to their current song habitually however due to the somewhat darker nature of they’re lyrics, I was unable to convince my parents to let me get their cds and alas they weren’t my first. These days I’m still a fan of Silverchair and while I like songs from both their earliest and latest offerings, I find them a bit heavy and soft respectively and so have picked a song from ‘Freak Show’, a nice in between for me. It’s also because this song was one of the first songs of theirs I got to know.

Frenzal Rhomb – Mr Charisma
Jay and The Doctor have made themselves rather (in)famous since taking a spot on Triple J radio with their rude and outrageous antics. I can perfectly understand why some people hate them, but me, I love them. They have the ability to effortlessly insert their humour into their songs and at the same time make great music. I can’t remember when I came across this song, it wouldn’t be their best however it was one of my first and I’ve always liked it.

Jebediah – Harpoon
With all the fast paced music in this I figured I better mix it up a bit. Jebediah’s first album, ‘Slightly Odway’ would have to be one of my favourite albums ever. Unlike their future albums, which usually contained one or two great songs, this was top quality the whole way through. They’re an awesome band to see live, though I think this may be a bit late as I’m pretty sure they’ve given up. This song is a nice slower piece, great to sing along to

Spiderbait – Buy Me A Pony
Seeing Spiderbait live recently was a bit of a disappointment. Most of the other fans were only hanging out for ‘Black Betty’ and most of what they played was off that album, which to me sounds boringly repetitive. What I like is a mix of Kram’s fast paced rock ballads (such as this), Janet’s delicious, highly glossed pop songs and the electronic/dance in-betweens, the likes of which found mostly on ‘Ivy and the Big Apples’ and ‘Grand Slam’. This song was actually voted first in Triple J’s Hottest 100 one year, about the only time I’ve liked the winner, so much so I somehow know all the lyrics off by heart.

Grinspoon – Just Ace
I have mixed feelings towards Grinspoon, from both the fat and skinny era. However overall I think I like them, especially this song, a short and sweet, early childhood favourite.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

24 Hour Party People (80's)

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This is the music only the 80s could produce. Synthesizing goodness you just can’t help but dance to. These are some of my favourite ‘new wave’, ‘synthpop’, or ‘whatever you want classify them as’ songs, some of them new-found, others always loved. They are songs you can put on at any occasion and they’ll be universally loved. Sitting here writing this, I can’t keep still, they’re that infectious. Those familiar with songs, sit back and enjoy, those new to them, welcome to the 80s.

New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle
The band that spawned out of Joy Division, who nobody gave a chance of success, yet went onto create a new brand of music, making them bigger than they’re predecessor ever managed. Yes it’s New Order, the early pioneers and kings of electronic dance music. This song is a great example of such music, damn pleasant to listen to.

Aha – Take On Me
One of the first 80s pop songs I fell in love with, it will always be special. Such a simple yet uplifting song, I just love listening to it. The band, a-ha to be precise, were launched with this song and it’s undoubtedly their best, though apparently they had more. Another attribute of this song is its very different film clip, which while I’m yet to see it, the creators of Family Guy with their excellent taste in music, were kind enough to give me a preview.

Alphaville – Forever Young
I very much am a fan of Napoleon Dynamite, to where I came upon on this song. I am SO disappointed that Youth Group had to cover it, tarnishing its underground reputation. I can’t be seen liking OC music. Thankfully the original is superior in a number of ways, namely its deviation from the formula. And so I can continue liking it, making sure people know which version my allegiance lies with. Song-wise this is the slowest of the lot, very soothing, sung by a great 80s voice.

Journey – Anyway You Want It
The intro of this song alone could get any party started. Referred to as a power ballad, it’s really is invigorating. Journey were a rather prominent and popular group in the 80s. Especially great about them is lead singer, Steve Perry’s voice, compelling you to sing along

Soft Cell – Tainted Love
Owning Soft Cell’s greatest hits CD, I can pretty confidently say they were one hit wonders. But that being said, they’re hit, Tainted Love, is one of the most famous and loved songs of the 80s. No disco is complete without it. I’m trying to think what makes it so attractive and I’d have to say it’s a combination of catchy music and involvement of the listener who again, feels the need to sing along.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Legendary Weirdos (70's)

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It seems that every famous or talented person has something decidedly odd about them. It’s as if the better they get, the weirder they must act. Perhaps it’s their way of standing out from the crowd. To me the seventies seams like a rather bare decade. I covered the punk stuff and most likely will go on and do the metal, but otherwise my mind draws a blank, most of my favourite old time songs are either 60s or 80s. But despite all this, I’ve managed to scrape together this group, a respectable (mostly) group of artists, each of them very much unique and more so talented, even if they are a bit weird.

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Freddie Mercury is so gay!! It’s absolutely hilarious. Not that I find gay people funny, it’s just that watching him strut around on stage in such an outrageous manner, I can’t help but be entertained. Combine this with one of the best voices in history and quality song writing and you have one excellent band. This song is so grand I sometimes skip it in favour of the more standard ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, however this is an injustice I vow never commit to again. The sheer magnitude of it and the variety of styles within make it one of the best songs EVER.

Elton John – Tiny Dancer
Perhaps I should have done a gay episode, as it seams to be the theme going here. But of course that has no bearing on musical talent, if only I could say the same about fashion. For Elton John is renowned for his wacky dress style almost as much as he is for his music. The biggest trademark of all is the novelty giant star glasses which sadly he thought looked good. Back to music, Elton John was THE piano man, with songs ranging from slow love songs to fast pop perfections. This song, Tiny Dancer, I found rather ordinary at first however it has really grown on me and I now see why it’s so popular

KISS – Strutter
For years I knew about KISS and for years I avoided them. By the looks of them they’re music was probably something along the lines of slipknot (unaware that I actually knew a few of they’re songs). Then one day I listened to them, my only response was wow. Wow because it was nothing like I expected and wow because it was actually good. Instant accessibility is always a plus. This experience is probably the reason I like and have chosen this song, for being the first song on the CD, it introduced me to them.

Iggy Pop – The Passenger
Iggy should not be performing any more, he is simply too old. Yet on stage he is just about the most active of the lot. Seeing him on stage was definitely an experience, humping the speakers, kicking cameras, calling twenty people up onto stage, I wanna be your dog! However this song is from a different era, post-Stooges where Iggy shows he is more than just an actor and can make great music.

John Lennon – Mother
To put it simply, John Lennon was one of the biggest, best singer/songwriters of all time. While personally I prefer his Beatles days, he still managed to produce great music right up to his premature death, probably more so than any other Beatle. Song choice was extremely hard here, should I go for the popular yet murder prompting ‘Imagine’, the soothing ‘Real Love’ or any other from his sizeable repertoire? Instead I’ve got for the reasonably unknown ‘Mother’, full of raw emotion and John Lennony goodness

How about that, 4/5 track #1s……..I’m not superstitious……

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Definitive Compilations (60's)

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This week we have a variety of left-overs, which while I like them, don’t really fit into any of the sets I’ve used or plan on doing. Shouldn’t I be doing the left-overs last you ask? Yes. But I’m lazy and under prepared and this seemed like the easiest thing to do. A few of these songs are ‘one hit wonders’ in that the artists never did much more however seeing as the songs themselves were never really ‘wonders’ I can’t like really call them that. No, this is a just a few songs from here or there that I’ve always known or have caught my…er….ear. A nice presentation of the variety musical styles going round in the 60s. Also as the title suggests, these are the types of songs you’d find on the supposedly definitive sixties compilations, the ones that can’t afford to pay royalties to the ‘big’ artists – a sometimes ugly yet integral part of everybody’s favourite decade.

1) Wild Thing – The Troggs
This is a nice mellow rock song which practically everyone knows. This is definitely deserved of the ‘one hit wonder’ title, with most of The Troggs’ fame being based around it however that doesn’t deteriorate from its quality. Considered a sort of anthem in the day it has been widely covered and like just about everything else had an influence on things to come.

2) House Of The Rising Sun – The Animals
The Animals were another of the big 60s bands going round however I never really got into them. I wouldn’t really compare them though as at least some (possibly all) of their hits weren’t written by themselves. They have a nice sound and Eric Burden’s voice is great but most of their songs don’t really appeal to me. This song however, which was probably their most known, I’ve always found interesting, with a nice building, epic sound.

3) He’s Got The Power – The Exciters
One prominent style of music in the sixties was girl groups. There was nothing much differentiating them other than the songs they were given to sing. If you happened to get a good one then you were famous for a while. This may be a bit stereotypical but oh well. I found this song on a compilation of such music and though listening to so much of it together was a bit overwhelming I managed to find this song, which whilst whiney at times is one of the better ones I’ve heard

4) No Milk Today – Herman’s Hermits
While hardly a masterpiece this is just a well-rounded, catchy and overall soothing song. My brother bought a best of CD of these guys, 2 CDs of reasonably dull, similar songs broken by a couple of good ones. I don’t look forward to hearing the songs that didn’t make the best of….. However this is the story of so many bands and we should just ignore it and enjoy their good stuff, simultaneously appreciating those bands that went further and managed to produce a constant flow of quality music for us to enjoy.

5) Wooly Bully – Sam the Sham
Best. Song. Ever. Yes ladies and gentlemen I said it. Though I probably don’t mean it, it’s hard for me to explain just how much I love this song. Sitting dormant at the end of a compilation, it exploded onto me changing my life forever. I would have to say this is the funnest (not funniest, FUNNEST) song I’ve heard. Half the fun comes from jumping around to this absolutely awesome tune and the other comes inventing and screaming your own lyrics as it’s anybody’s guess what he’s actually saying.