High horse and soap box warning!!!

Right, you’ve been warned. I woke up on Sunday morning to something that I knew would be the cause of great debate in my household – a list of the top 50 Australian bands of all time. My first words to my mother were “am I going to call bullshit?” Because I’m often weary of how these lists are constructed. I’m also aware of how subjective music tastes are and how much a top 50 can vary from person to person. For example, in my house you have three different people with three very different opinions – there were, however a few things we agreed on, including a few glaring omissions:

No Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs? Excuse me? 

Particularly of those Aztecs are of the Sunbury variety. I call bullshit.

Now I will say this with full disclosure and no shame – I love Billy. He was loud, confident and made me feel like it was okay to be a bit different. Seeing Billy Thorpe live gave me an introduction to loud, live pub rock – and I fell in love with it. I fell so in love that I have a guitar called Billy. I wear a bracelet with the name billy (also for the other Billy who’s no longer in my life – now that would be a band!)

I remember running away from a friend mid conversation because I could hear Thorpie at a festival once. I didn’t care. Billy was onstage with my uncle Mike – I had to go.

Seeing Billy live was an experience I’ll never forget (I don’t think my hearing will either) Gil Matthews played with Billy, Warren Morgan played with Billy and Lobby Loyde once played with Billy. Lobby influenced Nirvana. This band influenced many with an iconic sound and ethos – nuff said.

Mondo Rock are MIA.

Empire Of The Sun but not Mondo Rock? Mate, please…. I liked Empire Of The Sun but I still can’t remember their big hit. My mum can’t either. Dad just doesn’t care. We can ALL remember the MANY, MANY Mondo Rock hits and it’s not just because I’ve been to more Ross Wilson concerts than I care to recall.

I could honestly quite happily live without hearing Come Said The Boy again and I KNOW they need to be in the top 50 bands of all time. The Ross Wilson/Eric McCusker songwriting machine deserves recognition. I was em recently at One Electric Day and everyone went nuts. There’s a good reason for that. Empire Of The Sun out, Mondo Rock in.

Where the hell are Sherbet?!

One debate has lasted longer than time – that of Skyhooks V’s Sherbet. Skyhooks came in at number 19 and Sherbet? Well they’re not on the list.

There isn’t a summer that goes by where you don’t hear Howzat. Sherbet were the ultimate pop band of their time and they created music that still attracts a strong following today.

It also launched the career of Daryl Braithwaite, a bloke who is still selling out venues all over the shop these days (he’s also still having to occasionally deal with crazy people trying to pull him off the stage – don’t y’all grow out of that, seriously?)

My point is, Sherbet should be in there. They deserve to be. People still go apeshit when they hear that cricket song and there’s a very good reason why.

And finally … Icehouse couldn’t crack the top 20.

What? Sorry, what? Ever seen Icehouse live people? They currently have a line up so impressive that the only sentence I can muster when they announce a gig is “shut up and take my money”. As far as live bands go, they could wipe the floor with so many, many other bands. I’d probably cancel my own wedding if it clashed with one of their gigs (good thing I don’t believe in marriage) because some things are just more important.

Now let’s talk about the music. Icehouse are responsible for so many hits that I would have RSI if I typed them all down, but here are some highlights – great southern land, hey little girl, sister, can’t help myself, love in motion, walls, electric blue, my obsession, cross the border (which needs to come back into the set list by the way, lads. You have the best bass player in aus, don’t waste it).

Okay, so some of those hits were technically Flowers, but they’re the same band (yes, I know my shit and I know I’m right).

Basically, icehouse should be lower. They can’t be number 21 because their song list is too good, the band are too good and their reach is too vast – not to mention the impact Icehouse had on the music scene.

I will go through this list and post my own top fifty when I have a minute, but until then stay tuned. This is not over…

My first love – Nirvana

There is no doubt in my mind where I got my love of grunge from. I discovered Silverchair all by myself, but my very first friend discovered Nirvana and handed this music that was every bit as angry and pissed off as I was to me on a plate. I was 6, but music was music and the music was undeniable (It wasn’t until a little later on when I turned the pissed off volume up to 11).

With Nirvana came Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters and so many other bands, but it always started with heated debates over whether Nirvava was better than Silverchair with the best looking boy in my school. I still can’t separate the two.

Adam Dean and Bruce Butler – David Bowie

I don’t think I have ever had a conversation with my buddy Bruce that didn’t involve Bowie. Sure, I’d heard some stuff before meeting Bruce – Sorrow was the first single my mum bought and I think of her every time I hear it. The love that my friends Adam and Bruce have for The Thin White Duke is infectious and I’m pretty sure that without meeting them, the Bowie portion of my iPod would be Sorrow, Suffragette City, Jean Genie and Let’s Dance.

But how can that be? You ask. bowie’s so great and has done so very much? Aside from that one single my mum liked, my only interactions with the music were having A Space Oddity shoved down my throat by a scary prep music teacher and reading somewhere that the props he used for a tour were actual dead people (I don’t know if it was true in hindsight, but it stuck in my mind as more than a little bit weird). You gotta admit, this is not the best start to any musical relationship.

Thank goodness for Adam and Bruce. Now I am looking forward to going to the Bowie IS exhibit and I plan on going more than once, I’ve taught myself the guitar part to Let’s Dance and play it often when I want to chill out, and I’m looking forward to slowly working my way through the back catalogue. It will take me some time- it’s not a small one from what I hear. How’s that for a change? Thanks Adam and Bruce. Without you guys, my life would be Bowieless and that is a very sad thing!

My mother- Icehouse

The same way that I remember my dad playing The Beatles when I was young, I remember my mother playing Icehouse – usually when there wasn’t anyone else at home. I remember the silver amp that my dad had elaborately hooked up to about 50 other things and the way that music would come blasting out it and echo throughout the hallways of our house and I specifically remember that my mother, especially in my younger years would play Icehouse. She only had two albums – Great Southern Land and Code Blue but boy did she play em.

I still remember the first time I saw Icehouse live properly (I went to an event that they played at but it was only a short set and I was there for something else – little did I know…)
I took my mum. It was a nice way to say thanks for the great taste in music, ma

Below: Me and my ma take in THE band

My dad – The Beatles

The Beatles were the very first group I got into and I don’t really think I had much of a choice – my dad loved em so much that it was Beatles or nothing. I couldn’t help but get my love for them from him.

John, George, Paul and Ringo were always around the house – but only in the record collection. As a result, I’m not particularly fond of them any other way. I own the CDs and yes, I’ve got them on my iPod, but if possible, record is where it’s at.

I remember being shown the big, blue boxed set that my mum gave my dad and going through the records with him. I learned to put names to faces, to sounds and learnt about these masters of their craft who could do anything and everything. They became musical superheroes and the band against which all other musicians would be measured.

Everyone deserves music.

So, I’ve been thinking a fair bit lately about music (surprise, surprise) and as I go through my music taste in my head I realise that a lot of the bands that I love come from other people who have introduced me to them. A lot of my friends are friends from gigs and a love of music has started a life time of friendship.

It’s funny how music can do that. You meet someone and you get talking and you realise that you like the same stuff and suddenly a bond is formed. One of my best friends I met because he got up on stage at a gig I was at and played Creep. It was the perfect song for the way that I felt at the time – like an outsider looking into this strange fantastic world and thinking “I don’t belong here. I’m in the wrong bar with the wrong band and there isn’t a drink strong enough on the menu to change that” and then the guy who is now one of my closest friends gets up in the middle of a 70’s Blues Rock fest and plays Creep. It was perfect and thus, an unbreakable bond was formed. Then there was the guy who’s Radiohead t shirt I commented on and again, a friendship was formed. There’s a lot to be said for Radiohead fans. We’re a friendly bunch.

What is my point? My point is that through a taste in music I’ve formed some great friendships and a large part of that taste in music has come from other people, either by them giving me a cd to listen to or by them just playing stuff and me hearing it. Music is the greatest gift you can give someone, it’s ever lasting and beautiful. For the most part, it leaves a mark on your soul not changed by time and no amount of chocolate and flowers will do that.

Throughout the next few weeks I’ll go through my music collection and go through some of the albums I got and the people who helped shaped my taste in music. I wasn’t just born with an iPod full of Hendrix and The Beatles y’know?

I got lucky.

I am currently so sunburnt that I’m my own heat source, my back hurts, I have my glasses on because I would be blind without them and I’m probably not going to be a functioning human being without another cup of tea – but I have a massive grin on my face, had the time of my life with the girls, made some new friends and caught up with old ones and had one of those days that was so much better than anything I could have dreamed up in my own headspace. It was so good that it deserves its own sound track.

What am I talking about? Yesterday I went to One Electric Day. It serves as the precursor to the Red Hot Summer tour and damn it was fun.

I didn’t stay for the whole show due to that sun. In fact I spent a lot of time lounging about in the shade, but I heard what I didn’t see of Mondo Rock and they were on fire. Gil Matthews is a sensational drummer and a brilliant fit for that band, Daryl Braithwaite was a crowd pleaser – it seemed like a lot of people around me were there to see him and Boom Crash Opera were a good way to open the show. It was great.

Aside from a line up of no duds (which is bloody unusual) I also want to commend OED on their organization. There were plenty of toilets and there were always people around to ensure that they were clean. Not once did I go in and think “I wish this was cleaner” which is very unusual at an outdoor event. There was a smokers area, an area for deck chairs and a place for rugs. There was something for everyone.

Now bring on red hot summer – hopefully minus the horrible burn marks. I’m feeling a little sheepish today in that regard.

Have a great day y’all.

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.