Rock out in red.

Most people in Aus know the story of Daniel. Daniel was a little boy, he could have been anyone’s little boy. He was 12 and waiting at a bus stop, just like any other kid does on a daily basis when he was abducted and killed.

In light of this, his parents set up the Daniel Morcombe foundation to teach kids about Stranger Danger and what to do if they get into a situation where they’re uncomfortable

Now, I don’t know how much stuff had changed before what happened to Daniel, but I don’t remember much being taught about Stranger Danger when I was at school. Unfortunately it’s a valuable lesson that seems to have been missed.

In order to raise funds for Daniel, the good people of Melbourne (namely Tania Wilson and Kim Valance) have done what Melbourne does best and decided to put on a concert to raise some much needed funds to help the Morcombe family keep doing what they’re doing.

There’s also going to be an auction on the night and you would not believe the stuff that’s been donated! There’s a signed and framed Michael Jackson Thriller album, a guitar signed by the Stones, a framed magazine signed by John Lennon and the chance to jump up on stage with the two acts performing that night – Ross Wilson and Daryl Braithwaite. If music isn’t your thing, there’s also a surf board and a bunch of other stuff going for auction too.

One thing is for sure – it will be a good night. It’s at Riva in St Kilda tomorrow. Tickets are $100 with all proceeds going to the foundation. Be there or miss out.

Part 2

So, last time I wrote it was to give you the first lot of my top ten Springsteen songs. To be honest, even as I write this, I have no idea what two of the ten will be. It’s that much of a hard one. Lets start with the first three and go from there?

Growin’ Up
In order to explain why I love this song so much and relate to it, I need to introduce you to little me. Imagine me as a kid – awkward, in hand me down clothes that had seen my sister, then my cousins and then come back to me. I played a lot of football- not soccer which may have been acceptable amongst my female peers, but AFL. I liked rough sports. I played cricket and was interested in boxing . I was different, no doubt about it. I think my parents thought they’d had a little boy at some point.

I listened to heavy music rather than pop- I got into Silverchair when I was 6. I was the first one of my friends to fall in love. I saw a boy in the same class as me on the first day of Primary School and I was pretty sure I had life all figured out.

If only I’d heard Bruce then. If I had heard Growin’ Up when I was a kid, maybe I wouldn’t have felt so much like a square peg in a round hole?

It’s not just the fact that this song is the perfect way to describe little me, it’s that it’s just Bruce and a guitar. It’s so intimate, it’s perfect for childhood rebellion and reminiscing and nothing seems to capture everything I went through better. Aside from that, what a song! It’s on the list.

Long Walk Home and Terry’s Song.

It’s probably dangerous to write about these two together(especially on public transport!), but they seem to go hand in hand for the same reason- they are both perfect songs of loss and I can’t really listen to either of them for too long without clear liquid leaking from my eyes – not a good look in public. No songs affect me quite the same way or quite as rapidly. They’re on the list.

Dream Baby Dream.

My mum loves this song. Whenever I hear it, no matter where I am or what I’m doing, I think of her. Mums are important. I love my mum. As you can tell from above, she’s put up with a lot. There are maybe three songs ever that make me think of my mum. This is one of them.

Streets Of Fire
Well, after little me came teenage me. Teenage me was different. everything I knee was dead- my hopes were gone, they’d been drowned or stabbed or pulled under a car or were just missing and in it’s place was anger. I was 16, confused and pissed! Everything I knew was a lie.

Streets Of Fire is the perfect song for teenage me, right from the start with it’s gentle piano intro. It’s moving and brooding and angry without being outraged. I feel like there’s a tension there in the quiet of the song, which is perfect for the kid that never said anything but couldn’t feel the cold – or the heat for that matter. I just didn’t notice things- as a result, I now notice everything.

The lyrics are perfect, the sound is perfect and even the bloody guitar is perfect. It’s not often that I love a guitar part in a song, but I do this one. It lets go just enough. It goes on the list.

Of course, there are some songs I feel like I should mention- most of them. Cover Me was hard pressed to miss out, as was Tenth Avenue, The E Street Shuffle, Tunnel of Love, Human Touch, Secret Garden and Streets Of Philadelphia. We Are Alive, Backstreets, High Hopes and Because The Night also rate a mention, but this was a top ten and there just weren’t enough bloody places. Anyway, hope you’ve enjoyed the list. Have a great day.

A way to justify it.

So, I’ve been thinking about that thin I have to do, even if I don’t want to. That’s the story of everyone’s life, innit? I figure the only way I can put together ten of my “favourite” Bruce songs and put them in a list is if I give myself some kind of justification as to why these ten are better than 50 – 100 other really bloody good ones. The one thing I could come up with is the songs that got me into Bruce in the first place. These are the songs that made me go out and buy every album, want to learn every drum part or bass line. So here are my “favourite” Bruce songs and here’s why.

Dancing In The Dark.
I remember hearing this song just after I’d heard it live. I was standing on a train and trying not to dance whilst on my way to work. Bruce can have that effect on you, but I remember hearing it and seeing the past five or six years of my life come running back through my mind – all the laughs I’ve had with friends and the things we’ve done.

To me, this song is everything. It’s post teenage frustration, joy, reckless abandonment. It’s a declaration far bolder than could ever make and it’s honest. What more could you ask for? Killer music? Yeah, it’s got that too.

Waiting On A Sunny Day.
I remember coming into contact with this song for the first time when my mum played one of Bruce’s DVDs. I stood there, in the lounge room taken aback by what I was seeing and hearing. This song was the start of a love affair.

There’s a sense of eternal optimism which that Bruce does so well ( which I lack dearly) and some beautiful lyrics and being alone in my room with nothing but my acoustic guitar playing that song just feels good.

Adam Raised A Cain.
I have always loved this song ever since the first moment I heard it and strangely (for me, anyway) it’s all about the music. The sound just sounds good and with different lyrics, that music could have a whole different meaning. I actually really enjoy the guitar in it, too – which is something that doesn’t happen often for me. All round it’s just a good song and I couldn’t imagine leaving it off the list.

Trapped
I know, I know. Technically, this is a cover, but Bruce does it so well that I couldn’t leave it out. He made it his own and therefore, it goes on the list.

Again from the first time I heard this song I related to it – the idea of being stuck and completely helpless Ina situation, that no matter what you do, you’ve been cornered.

If you listen to the lyrics and then listen to the tone, there’s joy there. There’s optimism and hope and comfort. “Someday I’ll walk out of here again”. I kinda get the idea that he’s not really struggling, that maybe, just maybe it’s a good kind of position that he’s in. I get the feeling that whatever cell he’s in, the door is open, but he’s refusing to walk through it because he’s secretly happy that he’s trapped- like the way June Carter and Johnny Cash would sing “It Ain’t Me Babe” whilst lovingly looking into each others arms. To me it’s that kind of “ohhh dear, you got me. Now what are you going to do with me, hmmmm?” Sometimes we all get trapped, but it can be the sweetest kind of trap ever laid.

Spirit In The Night.
I’ve always liked this song but after seeing Bruce live, I love this song. My mum loves the song too. It’s one of those songs that swings, that moves and that is a lot of fun to dance to. Live it goes off and it will always hold a very special place in my heart.