344. Wicked World by Osaka Popstar 2006

Love this song. I don't remember where I first heard it but I do know it's a compilation CD that I play in my car usually when I'm off to play a gig. It's a great kick start to the night. Doesn't matter what kind of car I'm in. I think the scrolled handwriting just says Car Songs. Mind you I've got a quiet one too but that's seldom used because even when I'm driving home after a gig I feel like keeping the windows open and blasting out music. Probably because the sound on stage as completely zapped my hearing so I can't hear a thing until about 2 pm the next day. I wake up to muffled voices. Which when there's a bit of screaming in the house I don't mind.
This is the only Osaka Popstar record I have. They're a kind of American punk rock superstar just for fun type band. I don't want to spoil the glory of this song by finding out their other stuff is not as good. Or maybe I just didn't get round to it. I like the cover too. Really, this song is made for vinyl.

343. Stop Your Sobbing by The Pretenders 1979

Arriving in the UK in late 1979 the first Top of The Pops show I saw had this song on it. Firstly it was an old Kinks song so that was great. It was produced by Nick Lowe who was already a hero of mine. And thirdly it was a brilliant piece of power pop by a terrific looking band with the ultra cool Chrissie Hynde out front. All wrapped up in the spirit of punk meets the sixties. I couldn't believe my luck. 1979. Tickets to the Clash in my pocket. I'd released my first record and here I was in England. If anything 79 seemed to be a better year for pop than the punk explosion of a few years back. So many great records came out.
After the Clash though the gig dried up. There wasn't many bands playing in the cold of winter. I just went and saw the venues really. Like the Marquee to see minor bands. Or the Nashville where I saw the Dolly Mixtures supported by U2 who were playing their first gigs in London and no one was taking much notice. I remember thinking them a little boring on the night and throwing a lot of rock star poses. Of course I didn't know who they were gonna be later. I only found out or realized  I saw them after reading an article 30 years later which talked about that gig and how they got their name wrong on the poster.
A friend of mine saw the Pretenders a few months back . Told me she was still great. Missed again!

342. Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon 1971

In 1971 the biggest thing in my life musically was John Lennon. A big Beatles fan but right about then John Lennon was just it. I was buying all his records. Had his poster on the wall and had my John Lennon scrapbooks. Paul McCartney I didn't rate until much later. At the time I was buying NME religiously so I was very excited when i saw that John had a big hit in the UK with Happy Xmas. And I was waiting to hear the song on the radio. But it never happened. I had to wait another year before the record was released in Australia. By that time he had released some rubbish and effectively been taken over in my heart by Glam rock. Firstly T.Rex and then Bowie and Slade.
Being an English music mag reader it was incredibly frustrating to read about big hits over there and never get to hear them. Yet all the American hits you could hear on Casey Case's American Top 40. I once wrote to one of the radio stations demanding an UK Top 40 and had friends sign the letter. I remembered the songs and in some cases it took me many years to track them down. some of course were rubbish but others were totally brilliant. Why were they never pushed here?
I loved the John Lennon Xmas song. Even if I did get it late. I was sitting outside the post office in Box Hill when it came on the radio.  sounded a bit out of place with the summer sunshine beating down on me. But still magic.

341. Untitled 4 by Sigur Ros 1999

I picked up the soundtrack for Vanilla Sky when it was going cheap at JB Hi Fi. It looked like an interesting bunch of songs and it was on sale so why not. It turned out to be a regular play around the house in John Street Elwood.
 I'd heard about the film. How it was an inferior remake of a Spanish film called in English "Open Your Eyes" and so I went and rented that version out. Under the impression that the original is always the greatest. And it was great. But then I thought I would check out what Cameron Crowe had done with it because I like his work and he had these big stars in it plus the beautiful Penelope Cruz. Watching it I found it a bit dull compared to the original. However it had this really brilliant scene at the end. And it was sound tracked by a band I'd never heard of. But as Tom Cruise throws himself off a building Sigur Ros creates such an emotional backdrop to the images that flash before his eyes including images of popular culture, including The Who, the effect is just devastating.
I went and bought more Sigur Ros and they create this music you just live inside. No words you can recognise. Just sound. You can see they had an effect on Radiohead. I love the ending and thanks to what maybe the greatest creation of all time, YouTube, I often go back and relive it.

340. Private Idaho by B-52s 1980

In the mid-eighties I was working as a DJ at a club called Barbarellas in Smith Street Collingwood. Ronny and Michael started the club as another part of their little empire. Previously they had tried a Wednesday night with GLAM but the world, apart from Paul Stewart at the Herald Sun, wasn't ready. So they gave Saturday a go. And it went through the roof. Then again by this time I was involved in the creation of the concept and coming up with the poster ideas. But they didn't cut me in so eventually I would go and start my own club a bit later. But I digress.
I had a box of fantastic 7 inch singles that I would play religiously every Saturday night. One night I turned up and put the box at the front door while I took a box of 12 inch records down to the booth. There were doormen there so I thought it would be alright. When I came back they were gone. I was gutted.
A few weeks later I did an interview on DJs in the Herald Sun. At the time Private Idaho was my big play. So the title of the interview was something along the lines of he's lost his Private Idaho but he's still rocking the decks or something like that. Actually it didn't take me long to get the records again. Though it did take a bit of cash. And some 7 inches were replaced by me just bringing in the albums. Still feel crap about that box.
One of favourite B-52 songs. One where I can actually put up with the lead singer's voice. I love the guitar, the changes and the girls vocals. Great pop song.

339. Ready Steady Go by Generation X 1978

Though I was reading all these negative things about Generation X in the music mags from the UK..and they really gave them a hard time..I really liked some of their ideas before I even heard them. For a start they were embracing the sixties in their designs and their lyrics. Pop art, Cathy McGowan, the Beatles these were the things I loved. This song was a homage to the late great TV pop show Ready Steady Go..I tried to chase the videos down for years finally finding them in a video shop in St. Kilda. Brilliant stuff.
These were the same references I was looking to in my songwriting and still do at times. A song like Roxy off our 'Dig For Plenty' album still makes reference to Kings Road Chelsea and pop art.
Picked up the album from Brashes of course. Not a brilliant album but some great singles on there. And it's lasted a lot better than many of the others from that time. And Billy Idol is the singer which does something for the record but I don't know what. Because  I liked Generation X I never got over what Billy Idol became in the Eighties. Horrible! just horrible (looking back now it was quite funny plus some good singles) 1978 was when a lot of the punk bands went what some called Pop Punk. And I guess that's where the Fiction, my original band, were heading too.

338. Going Underground by The Jam 1980

So I get back from the UK after a brief holiday where I got to see the Clash live and lived in a country where the Jam were huge. God I missed it. But I came back with a load of ideas for Little Murders and our new directions. I was moving into the Mod thing before I left but now I was going to try and get the scene going in Melbourne. It seemed all my friends at the time were going through the same thing and within months we had a Mod magazine and Little Murders started having mod DJs support us at gigs. In particular a place called the Market Hotel. Eventually they started they their own club called Kommotion in Church street Richmond at a pub called The Prince Albert. It had a courtyard out the back that would fill with scooters. Some nights when the Murders weren't playing I'd go down and DJ. It was a fantastic time.
When Going Underground hit the number one spot in the UK straight in, it seemed like the Mods were taking over. Of course it didn't even dent the charts here.
The Jam were a catalyst for the whole Mod movement along with the Quadrophenia movie that hit here in 1980. And I guess The Kids Are Alright Who documentary. Going Underground was an anthem.

337. Top of The Pops by The Rezillos 1978

Another song from one of the most exciting times in rock music. Punk rock going all types of new places and there were lots of incredible new bands popping up all the time. A particular favourite of mine were the Rezillos from Scotland. I picked up the album second had and when I got home and put it on the turntable I was totally knocked out by the sound that came out of the speakers. Fast, tuneful, fun and totally rocking I played it until I almost wore out the vinyl. As soon as a song would stop another one would come on almost immediately. Bang bang bang. By this time I was living in a share house with a bunch of hippies that had no interest in my records whatsoever. They were heavily into Tim Buckley who at the time I just didn't get at all. That would come later. Half the time I would listen to this on headphones in my bedroom.
It all seemed so shiny and new and made a lot of other stuff sound dated and slow.
Like a lot of these bands their moment of glory was short and so by the time I got to the UK in late 79 they were all gone. Top of The Pops was a show on English TV that I wished they'd show on Australian TV.
We got the lamentable Countdown which we'd watch religiously waiting for a good band to come on. Rezillos never did!.

336. Love My Way by Psychedelic Furs 1982

In 1982 I was crazy about the Psychedelic Furs. It was there second album that did it. Plus there was an obvious appeal in the Johnny Rotten meets David Bowie persona of Richard Butler the singer. I really dug that voice. Another band where I went back and picked up all the singles so I could hear the B-sides.
After Pretty in Pink this would probably be my next favourite song of theirs. What comes to mind when I hear it though is something quite different to the places I used to hear it. Being a teacher once a year we take kids away on school camps. One of the first ones I went on was up somewhere near Monbulk. My previous experience was a few years before living in a caravan while working over the summer for Monbulk Jams. It was hell. Too much heat, trees and birds.
5 years later I'm playing in a band at night teaching everywhere day and I seemed to live with a constant noise. There was a moment at the end of the camp. I'd driven my car so I didn't have to get on the bus. I had a gig someplace. The bus had gone. I stood at the top of the drive away and the country looked fantastic. It had been raining for the previous few days and had been miserable but for the last few hours the sun had come out. Now the sun bounced off the scenery. I got in my car. when I turned on the ignition "Love My Way" came on. I got back out and leaned on the car and listened to the song. Watching the world. Great moment.

335.Blister In The Sun by The Violent Femmes 1983

Violent Femmes records always went down big time at the clubs I DJed at. The first time I started playing their songs was at a club in Smith Street  Collingwood called Barbarellas. After that every placed I played would have had a Femmes song in the set. And if their was only one then it was a Blister in The Sun. Not at first mind you. I started off pushing Gone Daddy Gone which was the big single when the album came out. Gradually however Blister seems to have taken over that spot. Put that song on the turntable anywhere and the crowd explodes. It was kind of the alternative song that everyone would dance to.

After the first year of Lizard Lounge when the place was just packed. Due to the fantastic idea of offering cheap drinks from 9 until 11 am which I think made the club in the beginning. Happy hour indeed! We seemed to have a special group of songs that came on around 11:30pm that would get the crowd mental for the next two hours. It was kind of a best of that Jason and I built up. The pace was unrelenting. DJ sets were 30 minutes long so we could always get to the bar. It meant we were always competing to rev up the crowd. And if you weren't listening to what the other was doing you could easily play a song they had just played. Which was embarrassing! So we kind of claimed songs. Records that only Jason and I would play. Blister was always one of mine.

334. Stand By Me by Ben E. King 1961

a song that Little Murders used to play a lot back in our Mod days. always led to a stage invasion where the crowd would sing the whoa oh parts that we dropped in to the song. Band got sick of it though and one night at the Tiger Lounge our bass player refused to play at the right speed . actually he kept changing the speed so we couldn't start it properly. That was the last time we played it and in fact the band fell apart soon after. The seeds were sown. The other week we played a 1981 set list to celebrate 30 years of The Tote and though we rehearsed it the band didn't enjoy the breakneck speed and the simple chord progression so it never made it on the night.
I first heard the song through John Lennon's version on Rock and Roll, his cover album. Loved it but later in the seventies I got to hear the original and it knocked John's version out the ball park. Of course it was a soul song with an easy chord progression so it found it's way into my repertoire pretty quickly. I think we did a pretty good version. Oh well.
The songs got plenty of atmosphere. My wifes favourite film used to be Stand By Me too. Damn good film. damn good song.

333. Howling For You by The Black Keys 2010

A couple of nights ago we were watching this new TV show called "Once Upon A Time" which is a family show where modern day meets fairy tales. There was a scene at the start where the heroine calmly follows her target, a guy who owes her. As she strides down the street this song starts. And my kids just start dancing and singing along. My kids might listen to all those horrible sounds from America's Got Talent and Glee but they also love the sound of the Black Keys. And this is the song that got them interested. 

I was trawling Youtube when I came across the film clip. As usual Ruby was lurking behind me in the background. Saw the film clip. Heard the song. Suddenly we were all watching the film clip using the Apple TV. What a fantastic film clip it is too. Not really appropiate for kids but I guess they've seen it all before. The modern medium is inescapable. Anyway it's the song they wanted to hear. And then we were watching other Black Keys film clips like Tighten Up where they fight in a kids playground. My kids were drawn to to the Black Keys raw blues meets pop sound. Now they've started listening to the White Stripes too. And Black Keys sound is so distinctive. When their songs come on TV shows my kids can spot them straight up. And their songs are on a lot of TV shows.

Actually my kids favourite Black Keys moment is the ad for Brothers, their album. This guy gets so excited his head explodes. They love that! Too much. I had to stop them watching it.

332. No Surprises by Radiohead 1997

In 1997 it seemed that all you heard everywhere you went was the sound of Radiohead. They seemed to be shaping the future of rock music. OK Computer went straight to the top of the critics albums of the century. Well at least the top 10. At the club we'd play Paranoid Android and Karma Police. At home we'd play everything and then certain tracks would become favourites. If I was to pick one track I really remember from the Radiohead days it would have to be No Surprises. It just always got to me. I guess I liked their quieter moments. Rather than the noisy bits. Or the clever bits.
I'd start going out with Liz who would become my wife and give me 3 kids. We listened to Radiohead a lot and bought tickets to see them at Festival Hall in summer 1998. It was as hot as hell. The sun was bursting through the doors. In the row in front of us about 5 young guys decided it was so hot that they would take their shirts off. The stench of human sweat was overpowering. It made it very hard to enjoy the band. There seemed to be a wall in front of us. Luckily the band was brilliant and amazing to watch. Even if we were at the side blocked by a pungent smell. Almost ran to the exits when the gig was over. Just to breathe some fresh air. Gigs at Festival Hall have always been a hard job but this was a doozy.
Still doesn't take anything away from this song. I can't remember if they even played it that night. But I played the hell out of it for the next ten years.

331. Saturday Night In The City Of The Dead by Ultravox 1977

Picked up the Ultravox album on the basis it was cheap being second hand at Readings. it was produced by Brian Eno and it was a punk record. Which it really wasn't. It was a band who went punk. But I guess most of them were anyway. Everyone has a past. Looking at the front cover didn't give me much faith in the record. All looked a bit of a pose really. And all that plastic. But I liked the Televisions and chopped up suit on the back. And some of the music was great. Especially My Sex. Which I listened to a lot. But The song that really brings it all back is this one. 

Saturday night after we'd played a bit of the Clash we'd get into Chris Volkswagen and head off to the city in search of kicks. We knew it was gonna be hard to find them in 1977 but we were determined to try. We had this song for a soundtrack. Crappy parties in Hawthorn. Cold rooms and warm beer in St. Kilda. A slim chance of seeing a good band. Sometimes we'd just search for some venue we'd read about in the Age. There was nothing out there. The first good band we got to see was The Boys Next Door and that was in Springvale. Almost home.

I guess that's why we started making our own fun. Putting bands together. Finding our own places to play. There was still a bit of a wait though. Maybe another year before it really started to heat up a bit.

330. Janie Jones by The Clash 1977

The opening track from the best debut album of all time. Every track is a classic. When I got this album home after buying it at Brashes in Box Hill I couldn't believe what burst out of the speakers. I hadn't even heard the Clash yet. Nobody had it and it wasn't on the radio. I hadn't started listening to alternative radio yet. I was buying albums based on reviews I read in the NME. The magazine I'd been buying from the same newsagent for like 5 years since I first saw T.Rex on the cover.
When I read about the Clash I have to admit some confusion. For a start here was a band on the cover of NME and they didn't have a drummer yet. So they weren't a band yet were they? To me this was a signpost to the exciting times ahead. When my band Subway got a gig at a party and the bass player couldn't make it I just said we'll do it anyway. Punk was really just about getting out there and doing it. Sod the skills part.
This was the Saturday night song. I'd put this on before I went out on a Saturday night. And because I made a cassette of the album it would also blast out of the car's tiny speakers. It even went well at the petrol station as we'd roar "Fill her up Jacko!" This was rock and roll.

329. In The Flesh by Blondie 1976

Watching Countdown religiously even when we were punks and it played nothing but rubbish it was always exciting when they played something cool. In 1977 they actually played all of this song instead of a snippet, which is all we got of the Pistols and The Stranglers. And it was amazing. This band was just so bloody cool. and we instantly fell in love with Debbie Harry. But not only that, the band looked like just as good with there black suits harking back to the sixties. and the sound was a glorious punk sixties mixture. Exactly the way I like it.
Not only that we watched the single climb the charts until it reached the top spot. Or number 2. The thing is it was the first punk band to have a hit single anywhere in the world. It felt like something was changing.
We bought the album. Yeah it sounded thin but there were some great songs on there like X Offender and Rip Her To Shreds. And we played it constantly and loved the fact that it was produced by the same guy who did the Shangri Las.
Then she came to the Palais. And she wore this big t shirt that covered her up until the song Rip Her To Sheds where she ripped it off. And I can't remember if they were any good because it was like the Year Zero and our bands were taking over. And all the Melbourne punk elite were there. Brilliant.

328. Watching The Detectives by by Elvis Costello

Being a bit of a punk rocker in 1977 when everyone else was listening to Saturday Night Fever was a good feeling but it did come with it's share of social problems. For a start not all my friends suddenly became addicted to the new wave and they were still throwing parties. So I'd go to parties and there would be some awful rubbish being played. I went to one party. A 21st at the Sacred heart Church in Grey Street in St. Kilda and we kept pleading with the DJ for one good tune. He was having any of it though. He was playing dancing music. Finally the girls I was with went up and begged for something punk or even punkish. He did have one song that was a bit of a hit. "Watching The Detectives" So that was what we got. Just the one song. But we danced.
I was crazy about Elvis Costello. I had to have everything by him. Then he came to the Palais in St. Kilda. A brilliant gig but no encores and it seemed to be so short. We were used to 90 minute gigs. This one hardly reached 45. We heard a rumour that no one with beards was allowed backstage. Since Gudinski who was a bearded man brought him to Australia we found this quite funny.
Years later he grew himself a beard. Betrayed!

327. She's Not There by The Zombies 1964

I left England in 1965 with my family to come to live in Australia. We were the 10 quid migrants. I never knew if it was 10 quid each or for the whole family. I hated leaving England. I remember crying on the train as we left Blackpool. I also remember stopping off at New York airport and drinking Coke with ice in a glass. Never had that before.
 Being quite young it's hard for me to remember any songs that were big at the time. A lot of my love for sixties music really came about in the seventies. Now and then though a song comes on and I can place it to my pre-Australia days. Of course this might just be my imagination at work. And my memory might be corrupted by watching films like "Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner" and "Billy Liar".
"She's Not There" was a huge hit in the UK before I left. And it seemed to be on the radio a lot. Maybe because it wasn't  a beat group or a Liverpool group the radio DJs liked it more. It even as jazzy inflections. A superb high voice from Colin Blunstone puts it on a whole other level from other singles on the charts. And of course they looked completely different. Half of them wore glasses. They didn't really look like a group.
However the song is mesmerizing. And so atmospheric.
There was also this film called "Bunny Lake is Missing" And the Zombie's appear on a TV in a pub singing "Just Out Of Reach" I searched for ages to get that song. Years even.

326. Cortina by The Lambrettas 1979

Another record I picked up in 1979 in some newsagency in Lytham St. Annes in the UK. 20 p each. Almost all the mod revival bands and a fair few Jam picture sleeves. This single by the Lambrettas was not too bad but it was the flip side Cortina that I really loved. Being a bit lo fi very fast and punky it was a song dear to my heart. Somewhere along the line I might have tried writing a song like this. It's got really good words too especially if you like cars. I guess a Cortina might be a collectors car nowadays.
They were one of the few Mod bands to go on and have hit records. We used to play D-D-D-D-ance at Kommotion. Not a bad song either.
A few years later. well probably about 10 years later I was invited to get on stage with a band called The Squad. They covered about 3 of my songs . They were a Mod band when I thought Mods had almost disappeared. I got up and sang Things Will Be Different at the Great Britain Hotel. A few songs later they played Cortina. And I thought I was the only fan of this song. Instant enjoyment as the Squad ripped through the song. The drummer was so good that 15 years later he joined Little Murders. That song became my highlight of the Squad's set.
In a couple of weeks we're played our old setlist from 1981 for the Tote's 30th anniversary. Should be quite Modtastic. And then the weekend after The Squad will be playing the same venue. So after a very long time I'm going to get to hear this song again live I hope. Cool!

325. Maybe Tomorrow by The Chords 1980

The best of the Mod revival singles in my mind was this glorious single from The Chords. Yes it sounds a bit like The Jam but that's no bad thing when the song is as good as anything the Jam did. Actually although I loved a lot of the stuff that came out under the new Mod banner this was just really kicked. Full of energy and really capturing the spirit of punk matched to the style of Modernism. It's exciting and I hoped this would lead to something bigger for this band. Unfortunately the Mod bands all disappeared and it was gone like some fad. 

Over in Australia there were articles about us where the threat of extinction hung over our heads because of our association with Mods. Often I see a note that Little Murders died with the end of the big Mod revival in 1981. Mod didn't die. My mate Poz's band was a big Mod band a few years later. Mods still ran clubs. The party continued. Except no longer in the public eye. Little Murders played to bigger crowds.  Went to different places. We kept on going. We recorded plenty of stuff. But we did remove the Union Jacks from the amps. And my Union Jack coat went in the cupboard. And the crowd was still rowdy but the Mods had moved on. 

But a real good time was had by all. A couple of years ago we supported From The Jam and all the old and new Mods were there and it was a brilliant night. A real good time singing the anthems of our youth. We should of covered this song though.

324. Frustration by The Purple Hearts 1979

In 1979 me and my girlfriend Leonie were in the UK. I kept waiting for one of the bands I'd heard of to play a gig but nothing turned up. Then I read in NME that Purple Hearts were playing in Edinburgh so we thought lets go to Scotland. As well as doing a bit of sight seeing on the saturday night we went down to a disco called Clouds and saw the number two Mod band in the UK. The place was packed with Mods. Must of been a bit cold because there was a lack of scooters out the front.
Before the band came on there just a Mod disco, an idea I would later use at our Market Hotel gigs. I bought myself a half pint from the bar and immediately was surrounded by a bunch of Scots asking "waht's wrong wiv yee?" "we only drink pints up here..where are you from?...type stuff" luckily I got us away from this gang of half pissed Scots and git ourselves swallowed up by the dance floor. Then the bnad came on. Starting with this song..and ending with this song too! Pushing the latest single of course. It was a brilliant gig. They had a great sound, a good crowd and all the Mod moves down pat. Frustration was the best song on the night. And we had finally got to see a UK Mod band. I wrote a review in one of the Melbourne Mod fanzines when I got back to Melbourne.
Last year I did the Stark Raving Mod book launch joining the Sets on stage at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. One of the best songs the Sets did on the night was Frustration. And the crowd loved it.

323. Time For action by Secret Affair 1979

The 1979 Mod revival came about through loving the The Jam and seeing the film Quadrophenia. Suddenly we started hearing about bands in England waving the Mod flag and making records. the first release was a piece of rubbish called You Need Wheels by Merton Parkas which almost scuppered the whole movement from the onset and tainted a lot of peoples ears to the sounds of new Mod. But then we started getting some great records. Time For action was a brilliant single and really captured the feel that was going on.
The second Mod movement as been much maligned but for anyone who was part of it it was incredibly exciting and a hell of a lot of fun. Using the punk ethos of DIY Mods were opening clubs and putting fanzines and records and organizing scooter runs. You couldn't get the clothes new so you scoured op shops and old shoe shops which had stock from the sixties sitting in the back room. Brilliant.
That all my mates at the time were into it at the same time was great. I was a total sixties addict so while I formed a punk band in 1977 we were already including old sixties songs from the go. Hell almost all the bands were. Including Nick cave and the Boys next Door whose first release was "These Boots are made for Walking"
I got to the UK at the end of 79 and bought a bunch of these singles for 20p at a news agency. The Mod thing was still quite big. But on Top of The Pops one night they had Madness, Specials and Selector. The ska movement drank from the same well. You could see a change already. However I was determined to take back all these Mod/sixties ideas however and use them in Little Murders.

322. Wonderwall by Oasis 1995

Unlike other people I knew the first album by Oasis didn't blow me away. There were some great songs on it but I was busy digging Parklife by Blur. Britpop was really getting into its' stride and Oasis seemed like another good band. The album Morning Glory changed that. Wonderwall changed everything. The competition with Blur was fierce and Blurs Great escape seemed to get all the good reviews but Morning Glory just got better with every listen and the Blur album just didn't turn out to be very good at all.
Medium paced as it was this was the song that really went off at the Lizard lounge. just those opening guitar strums and the crowd was up and singing away. It really was an anthem in the literal sense of the word. Anywhere and everywhere it came on people staring singing away. I saw a funeral on TV and all these kids were singing. There was a cover by Mike Flowers Pops which was kinda bossa nova and hell that was a hit too. I even played and danced to that song at my first wedding. Well Big Nose Dave played it. Actually it was quite a groovy time again because music was referring back to the sixties and mod fashion and pop art and swinging London which was alright by me. We released our first album in 10 years "and stuff like that" and I put my Union Jack coat on the cover.
Oasis used to have the best b-sides too. I've got my own compilation these tracks and it's just brilliant.

321. This Charming Man by The Smiths 1983

The second single from the Smiths this is the one that seemed to put them on the map in the circle I moved in. Hand in Glove was the first single but I didn't take much notice of it at the time. But it was the Motown beat meets Byrds jangle of This Charming Man that got everyone dancing at the nightclubs I was frequenting. The Venetian Room was the main one but in 1983 we starting going to clubs open on every night of the week. The Underground. Inflation ..some place in the city on a Tuesday night. Mod nights, New romantic nights. Soul clubs.We were going out every night. Plus I was playing 3 or 4 times a week. Then getting up at 7am to go to work. Looking back I'm not sure how I did it. I do remember turning up to work dressed in black with the traces of black eyeliner now and again after not making it home. Always the same remark. "did you bring the Herald?" In those days the Herald was the afternoon paper.
Anyway as soon as I heard Charming Man I just knew I was listening to my new favourite band. The b-side Jeanne was just as good. Later I would play it in my solo sets. Then there seemed to be a flood of Smiths songs. I went back and really listened to Hand in Glove. I couldn't wait to pick up the first album. All of it made me want to hear more. And then we got Hatful of Hollow. So many great songs. Great playing. Great lyrics. The Smiths were the band of the Eighties. Well really they're up there in the top 10 of all bands.

320. Happy Hour by The Housemartins 1986

Everytime I hear someone say put on some Eighties music it's always that electronic stuff or new romantic they're referring to. It's like the seventies means novelty songs or disco. Rubbish. The eighties had some absolutely brillaint singles and albums. The Housemartins came on a bit like a junior Smiths but totally endearing anyway. In fact we'd be at peoples place having drinks and would often swap a Smiths record for a Housemartins record. I guess I was taking a break from garage rock and acting a little more sophisticated.
This was the big hit single that got them noticed, well over here in Australia it was the first we'd heard. This went straight onto the playlist of Barbarellas and became a bit of an indie anthem at most clubs I DJed at. The video has them dancing and if the punter was drunk enough they would try to emulate Housemartins. Fatboy Slim, who was the bass player, couldn't dance. Guess that's why he became a DJ.
I was a big fan of the Housemartins. Loved their albums too. When I went back to the UK they were number one with an aapella hit. Christmas 1986. Caravan of Love. There was a bit of a fuss because they had crosses shaved into their hair and friends of mine thought they had been tricked into liking a Christian band, never mind they came across as socialists too.
Not long after that I started managing a band called Captain Cocoa because they reminded me of bands like the Housemartins and Orange Juice. The bass player was Dave O'Neill, now a well known comedian around town.

319. She Sells Sanctuary by The Cult 1985

I was rifling through my singles box the other day when I came across this single. The picture sleeve is just there, tattered and torn. The box smells of pubs but that's neither here nor there. This was one of the biggies. I first started playing this song at a club called Barbarellas in Smith Street Fotzroy. Acrooss the road from the Jump Club. Actually between sets I would go for a drink at the Jump Club. Check out the bands for half a hour.. Or go upstairs for a drink.
Barbarellas was the next venture for Ronny and Michael after the runaway success of Rubber Soul. This time I was heavily involved in the setting up including naming the place (after a club in Birmingham UK)  designing the poster and outlining the set list. Basically it was play anything that works. A policy I used when it came to setting up my own venue.  Actually before we opened Barbarellas at Ashleys we tried a Wednesday club called Glam which lasted 4 weeks.
Barbarellas went through the roof. There were queues around the corner before we opened. It was just amazing. But it only lasted a year.
My fellow DJs were Jason and Adam. Jason played this song one night and it sounded like a jet plane taking off. It had just some pure drive booming out the speakers. The crowd went nuts. So I quickly adopted it into my set. after that it was the first to play it. But the timing had to be right or it would lose it's effect. You can't play a song just cos it's good . It's also about timing. The Cult had a few other big singles. Some people say their later stuff ripped off AC/DC. I've played a lot more Cult than Ac/Dc in my time.

318. EMI by the Sex Pistols 1977

The only thing I didn't like about this was the label on the record. In Australia the Sex Pistols came out on Wizard records which had the most awful downright hippy label ever. What on earth were they doing on that label. It was too hard to look out. Because in 77 the whole package mattered! And this was a great cover with a magnificent record inside. This would have ripped a hole in the radio if any major station had played it as anything other than a novelty record. This is the reason that independent stations like RRR and PBS and 3CR started getting really popular. It was the only place to hear the new stuff from New York and London. Not that I was ever a big radio person. I like to soundtrack my own life.
This was the final track on the Never Mind The Bollocks album. I played it to death. It was fantastic. What was all this rubbish about amateur musicians. This was massive on all levels. The guitars, thumping bass and drums and Johnny Rotten's sneer. Far removed from the fast  tinny records popping up from the punk movement. Really one could argue that came before punk. Some do.
Despite lack of commercial airplay I was still able to get a Sex Pistols poster magazine from the newsagent. So I had this huge photo of Johnny Rotten on my bedroom wall. Typically it was a rubbish photo. Luckily my girlfriend Leonie went to visit her sister in Sydney and brought me back a cool poster. She also told wondrous tales of their cool record shops. I had to get up there as soon as possible.

317. I Live Off You by X-Ray Spex 1978

When I was in The Fiction our manager was a guy called Nigel Rennard. He was quite well off and when the Live at The Roxy album came out he asked the guy at Readings Record Shop in Carlton to keep him a copy of every record that came out from the bands featured on the album. The Readings guy just came over to me and said "Your manager was in earlier and he ordered all these punk albums that haven't been released yet!" One of them of course was X Ray Spex. I didn't have the money to buy stuff without hearing it and actually I didn't have the money to buy new albums. I was on the dole and living in a run down share house in Oakleigh. I was forever scouring second hand bins for the latest albums. I couldn't even afford the new Clash album when it came out. I did pick up a cheap copy of the Roxy album but the only tracks I liked were the Adverts, Buzzcocks and Wire. Hated Bondage, Up Yours.
One day I was in a second hand store in Moorabbin and they had the X Ray Spex dead cheap. An old friend of mine's sister had brought the album back from the UK and she hated punk but loved the album. So I thought I'd give it a go. It was cheap. I didn't really get round to listening to it properly though until we started having a Mod disco support us at our gigs in 1980. Peter Crosby our regular DJ would put on Warrior in Woolworths and I I thought it was great. So I went back and listened to the album more. And I just loved the sound. Fantastic. The highlight being this track. The album became one of my favourites.

316. Hey Jude by The Beatles 1968

In 1968 I had just High School in Box Hill. While music had been a constant background while growing up and the Beatles were a perfect soundtrack I didn't rate them any higher or lower than other bands of the time. I loved The Monkees singles and the first single I ever bought was a Monkees record. Apart from that I didn't put any band at the top of my list. I started to watch a chart show they used to place on Channel 2 early Saturday afternoons. This was me starting to get into music big time. The trouble was that as soon as music started to become part of my life Hey Jude hit the top of the charts and was there for about 9 weeks. And it went for over 7 minutes so they had to cut songs off the chart to make way for it. I couldn't stand the song. But I couldn't stop singing it. I loved it and hated it. I even contemplated entering a talent show at one stage singing Hey Jude.
As the Beatles became sacred to me in 1969 after my mum bought me a copy of Abbey road I still avoided Hey Jude which was easy because it wasn't on any albums. Then in the 80s I started DJing at the Rubber Soul and we used to have these theme nights. The biggest was the Doors. Next biggest was the Beatles. The first night I put this on as the last song. Massive speakers, great sound, hundreds of people singing along. It really was  a fantastic song. The delightful bit was I could listen to it with untainted ears.
I did eventually buy the single as a teenager. But never got to play because my mate Alan Barnard through a dart and landed on the record. making it jump around the second verse. Revolution was fine though. And I would wear the grooves out on that song. Such a fantastic raw sound.

315. I Don't Mind by The Buzzcocks 1978

When I think of this song I'm standing outside Rob Wellingtons' dads factory in Nunawading. It's where The Fiction used to rehearse each week. Upstairs in the offices. Banging away at Rob's and my tunes. Sometimes we would come down on the weekend on a Sunday afternoon. One Sunday we had a photographer come down to do a band shoot. I had just bought and taped this record so I had my car doors open playing this song as we had our photos taken. This was the second defining Buzzcocks moment for me. Boredom was like something from another band. But this song was punk pop. This was the kind of music that I wanted to make. Maybe I could. We were getting our photos taken. we had started getting gigs constantly. And my writing was starting to move away from punk epics like Negative Fun to pop songs like Things Will Be Different.
Twenty years later we supported the Buzzcocks at the Prince of Wales. Joey from Dollsquad asked for her records to be autographed. So I struck up a small conversation with Pete Shelley who came from Manchester. "Ever been to Blackpool?" He had a relatives who lived near there. So instead of talking about some of the most influential songs of my life I discussed the Blackpool Illuminations.

314. This Damn Nation by Godfathers 1985

My IPod has got over 23000 songs on it. So when I put it on random and it's playing away while I'm busy doing this or that sometimes I don't even notice what's on. And then bang..a song I've forgotten suddenly leaps out and gets you flicking back to the start because you don't want to miss the thing...cos you want to listen to it loud. Well tonight while I was preparing dinner this song came on and I rushed over and played it loud and then played it again. I think it's the guitar sound that pulls me in. It's one of those sounds where you go...how does he do that? And there are live videos on You Tube and you still can't work out how he's getting that sound. I want to put it on a disc and start driving somewhere..anywhere as long as this type of song is playing. Actually it also reminds me of my mate Poz and his band the Squad. I got Poz to sing with Little Murders a few weeks back doing some of the old number we don't do anymore in Little Murders. He sang them tough. We called ourselves The Undertakers. Loved it.
I'd never paid much attention to the Godfathers when they were big..well biggish! But I know they've played a few gigs in Melbourne. Not so long ago too if I remember. If they come back again I won't miss them. I've managed to get their music through the numerous blogs that abound on the net. Brilliant sources of obscure and long deleted music. The things I've found on the internet have been amazing. French pop! Swedish garage! Sixties tunes from Thailand...it's all there.
Godfathers had a certain style which was traceable back to some Mod origins I guess. They look like a bunch of ex-mods anyway. They dressed the same. Like a pack of East End gangsters. Fantastic stuff!

313. Are You Gonna be My Girl by Jet 2003

Must of been in 2002 when I started getting e-mails from interstate friends asking me if I could get a hold of any Jet music. I'd never heard of them but there was a real buzz going round. Have you heard?  can you get the ep? then we did this gig on a Saturday night at the Duke of Windsor in Prahran. The ad in Beat magazine had the weekends lineup and there on the Sunday supporting Large Number 12s was Jet. Sadly despite the buzz I didn't get myself together to go and see them. Not long after that their stock rose considerably as they got reviews in NME and got whisked off to Los Angeles to record their first album.
So the first thing I heard was this song. And boy did it pack a punch! A great song it went down a storm at the Lizard whereas a lot of the other guitar bands of the time got a good reaction this one went through the roof. Then again everyone liked this song. I was back doing teaching by this time and the kids loved the song too. Suddenly kids were playing air guitar and phantom drums. Better than all that dance music they'd be listening to. A real Australian classic using a heavy Motown beat. Always a favourite of mine.
A bit later a friend of mine Aeysha had a birthday party where the band Even played a bunch of Bowie covers. Jet were there after their mainstream success.  They looked like a cool rock band. A gang of musicians. That's always a good start.

312. Main Offender by The Hives 2001

Straight after The Strokes up popped all these other bands which in some ways seemed connected but were in countries all over the world. And they all had this rock and roll stamp on them. As I said it was very exciting and at the time Lizard was doing alright so we would play these songs late on the night when the crowd were quite drunk and merry. But it was becoming a bit of a fight as the popularity of the Lizard had caused a bit of a shift in audience and we seemed to get more people who wanted to hear dance music or even classic retro rather than the latest indie rock and roll saviours. Slowly the Lizard began die off. I can't remember when we left there. But they did up the place and that was that. Anyway I was busy playing my guitar. The Lizard had stopped being fun but the electric guitar was always fun. I started composing stuff on electric rather than the usual acoustic. I was also able to download some recording software and start banging away with drum machines and multi tracks on the computer.
The Hives were a real kick. I first heard of them, through my mate Matt Wilson who gave me a copy of there Vini Viscious Vidi album. I burned myself a copy and played it continually in the car. Unfortunately  I didn't write the names of the songs.  So half those tracks I loved I still can't remember what they're called. And I've never felt the need to go back and repackage the album with titles.

311. Last Night by The Strokes 2001

The Strokes - Last Night (MTV)

It was almost as if we'd forgotten what guitars sounded like. And rock and roll for that matter when the Strokes appeared at the start of the new century. Surely there was something going on before but off hand I can't recall what. First there was the word of mouth as people starting talking about this new band from New York. Then there was word from the UK. So when this single turned up at the Mighty Music Machine I just had to have it. Even though it incredibly overpriced as all good stuff was. And you knew a few weeks later it would be released locally.
I was still buying singles but now it was CD singles. Which didn't really hit the spot. And now they are all packed away in a big box. Unlike my vinyl singles which are still accessible.
The Strokes not only sounded great. They looked great too. They had a real band look. You saw them as a collective. It was actually very exciting especially when the album came out around the same time. Exhilarating stuff. It made you want to pick up an electric guitar. Which I actually did. The album Little Murders had just released was written on acoustic. I started writing new songs on electric. I guess a lot of other bands were taking note too. It also kicked started a rash of cool bands from all over the world. Guitar pop seemed to be king again. It also went down really well at the Lizard lounge. The new century was off to a great start.

310. Girl Of My Dreams by Bram Tchaikovsky 1979

Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl Of My Dreams - YouTube

When we were making the first Little Murders record in early 1979 I'd go around to Stuart Beatty's house in St. Kilda to record the vocals. Usually this was done in the bathroom. On the record we called it the Cathouse because he and his partner Rosslyn Beeby, had so many cats. Great big fluffy ones. Everywhere you looked. We recorded in the bathroom to get the natural echo. The backing tracks for Things and take Me I'm Yours were recorded up in St. Andrews on a friends farm. All the rest were done here.
Stuart also started to educate me in the ways of great sounding power pop. Everyone of his records had a plastic sleeve and he would takes ages to get it out the sleeve check it for dust before playing to me a power pop classic like Danny Says by The Ramones. And this one by Bram Tchaikovsky. I have to admit the songs I heard there were pretty great. This one especially would influence a bunch of songs I wrote. And it influenced quite a few other power poppers by the sound of some of their records. I was at Dom Mariani the other night and I turned to Danny McDonald (who also admits to a bit of Bram influence) and said that some of this sounds like Bram Tchaikovsky.
Bram isn't that well know. He was in the Motors he produced some classic singles. I think he was a bit of a cult hero in the USA. But after this record I never heard anything else. I'm tempted to google him but I might just leave it alone and instead go back and listen to this song. Ageless power pop.

309. Smash it Up by The Damned 1979

The Damned - Smash It Up (Part 1 & 2) - YouTube

Picked this compilation album up at Missing Link second hand and it had all this Chiswick stuff on it. Great comp but the best song on it was this great long version of the damned's single Smash It Up. A meandering start that leads to one of their best singles.
Loved the damned when they released their first album. I guess it was the first punk album. Well first UK punk album anyway. There was this ad for the album that said "Play It At Your Sister". Love that line so I wrote a song called "Play it At Your sister" 3 chords. One of my first punk songs.
After the first album they made a fairly rubbish second and they became kindof uncool compared to bands like The Clash and Stiff Little fingers. Then the indie radio stations started playing this song. Great stuff. And they followed it up with Love Song which was also a great single. I bought the singles but I was not so keen on investing in the album until about 10 years ago when I finally picked it up second hand. And there is some great stuff on it. Of course then they went all slightly gothic and lost me again. Eliose was a good cover and we used to play it at Barbarellas and Beehive. But it was all a bit grimly fiendish for me.
still I like playing this song. I like their sentiment too. Everyone is smashing things down and we are smashing things up.

308. You Got My Number by the Undertones 1979

Undertones - You've got my number 1979 - YouTube

Loved the Undertones. Lots of great songs full of pop tunes and guitars and it all just moves along so nicely. A run of brilliant singles. Almost missed this one at the time except my mate Chris Hunter who was in the Subway with me started talking about it one day in his flat in Prahran. When he actually put the single on it was great. I was especially impressed with the long start and then the move in to something else for the verse. When I got to England at the end of 1979 the local newsagent in Lytham St. Annes were selling off all their singles so I managed to pick up a picture sleeve of this as well as nearly every Mod record released to that point. All for 20P each. Great score. And despite some of the rubbish released by a lot of those bands there were some great songs by Purple Hearts, Lambrettas, Secret affair, the Chords and Squire.Plus I picked up Jam and Undertones. Just great.
In 81 I did an interview with Rolling Stone and the interviewer  was banging on about Mod and how the wheels would fall off soon. I pushed the fact that while I was a Mod the band the other guys weren't as committed and we were a band the Mods liked in the same way they liked bands like the Undertones.
So we get a big article in Rolling Stone with a headline that reads "We Are Not A Mod Band!". That went down well with my mates. Luckily it came out in late 81 when the wheels were actually coming off the whole Mod thing .

307 Ambition by Subway Sect 1978

Subway Sect - Ambition

A great but all but forgotten song from Subway Sect who first came to my notice when I saw their name supporting The Clash at some gig in the UK. Of course the name caught my attention because my previous band had been called Subway which everyone thought was a rubbish name. Actually the name I went for around the same time was The Police. But everyone thought that was crap and it would be a name that wouldn't stand a chance. Nobody told Sting that I guess.
Anyway I bought this single because of the Clash connection. They rehearsed at the Clash's studio! I was more than happy when I actually heard the song. Punk guitars but with sounds of ping pong bouncing all over it. Elusive lyrics. Great beat. Instant favourite.
What makes it special is that in my record box it's a one off. I've never been inclined to buy another Subway Sect single or album. I don't feel the need to chase one down on the internet. I'm happy to keep this in my group of one off singles that I listen. Actually I've got quite a few compilation Cds  I've made up of these singles with no siblings (or if they have nowhere as near as good). And after all these years I still play the Cds. Where even great albums get shelved these compilation CDs are always getting an airing,

306. Dancing With Myself by Gen X 1980

Gen X Dancing With Myself

In 1980 as my friends and I became more and more Modified as they say we knew we had to find ourselves a venue to dance at. Little Murders started having a disc jockey at their gigs particularly at a venue called the Market Hotel but these were still gigs.  Michael and Chris found a little place in Church Street called The Alfred Hotel and started a Wednesday night club called Kommotion. Legendary for it's tiny dancefloor. big speakers that dancers would jump off and a courtyard which each week had more and more and more scooters.
And the crowd of Mods danced and drank all night. But there wasn't enough Mod songs to dance to it seemed. Or else we were a little bit more eclectic. Because we added songs like dancing With Myself by Gen X to the playlist. (and Love Will Tear Us Apart & Oliver's Army) So it was a little bit New wave as well. When we finally got to the Sydney Clubs we noticed how deep they were into genuine Mod sounds and Northern soul. Down here in Melbourne we didn't mind a bit of the old Power Pop.
Generation X were one of my favourite punk bands because they produced a bunch of great singles from "Your Generation" to this song. Loved this song and danced to it many times. Billy idol must have thought it had legs because he re-recorded it when he went solo.
Don't know why they shortened their name to Gen X though. Daft idea!

305. Truth About You by The Particles 1981

The Particles - Truth about you - YouTube

I first heard this song in Ashburton which is in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne at the home of the Collette sisters. Kat the oldest was the girlfriend, and later wife of Steve Fusezi, the Little Murders bass player at the start of their long career. Steve joined us from a band called the Virgins who used to play at the Champion Hotel. I don't think the Virgins singer was very happy that we took their bass player and let me know in no uncertain terms. Actually todays date October 10 is the last date 30 years ago Steve played with us. I think he got sick of the whole Mod thing. The drummer Rod left at the same time. Maybe I was a little unbearable. It was sad to see them go.

Anyway I was the Collette's house. The radio was on. RRR. And this little song came on. I was in the living room and the radio was in the corner and I was standing there by myself and this wonderful little song was playing. I was now an inner city dweller so Ashburton and the suburbs seemed like another country. But this song was just perfect for where I was.

1981 was a good year for us at RRR. They used to have a singles chart based on record plays and we were on top for 6 weeks with She let's Me Know. At 3PBS we were number one for 4 weeks. RRR was always on wherever I went. I'd hear songs like this one and go out and buy the single. Sometimes I miss the radio.

304.Almost With You by The Church 1982

The Church - Almost with you

I was at an music night a few days ago, the opening of the Greyhound Hotel as a rock venue again, and Steve Kilbey got up and played a few songs acoustically. Of course he played this song which is arguably his most popular song though friends of mine would argue for Milky way or Unguarded Moment. Early in the set he was heckled by Laurie Richards (of Jump Club fame) which sent Steve of into a great rant at the audience and I guess the audience. It was great. But Kilbey and The Church always gave great performances. I saw them numerous times in the early eighties and Little Murders did a mini Melbourne tour with them in 1982..four gigs in a row. The Church on stage had a brilliant sound. I can still hear those chiming guitars ringing out in venues like the Central Club, Jump Club and Manhattan Hotel in Ringwood. And they always looked so cool. A perfect band for those times and on well ahead of the game.
I first heard this song on Countdown. I show I used to religiously watch every Sunday evening. And hate. But now and again it would feature something great. Like this song. I loved the way the song is written,  from the intro which goes a bit longer than the usual records of the time, to the classical solo in the middle. The solo is similar to the one in Cockney Rebels "Come Up And See Me". I remember one night after a sound check we all went out for a bite to eat in Chapel Street and we were talking about music and we got onto bands that influenced The Church and they came out with obviously Cockney Rebel but they also mentioned Doctors Of Madness which was a band no one else had ever heard of. For a little while I was big on them. A record I would listen to with my head on a pillow between two speakers. My Mum came in one day cos she thought I was singing too loud. Still don't know if it was complimentary.

303. Two Cabs To The Toucan by Models 1981

Models - Two Cabs To The Toucan (1981)

After the Boys Next Door left for England Models kind of took over the mantle of biggest band in Melbourne. This was no bad thing because they were a fantastic pop band who had the brilliant edge to their music and at the same time were experimental and not afraid to go out there. (wherever Out There may be) When it came time to record their first album they decided to record all new stuff rather than their stage favourites. This was a bit frustating for the fans. We all had our favourite Models songs and now we would never hear them. I still haven't. They also did a great cover of Tonight from West Side Story.
We did a lot of supports for Models. The gigs were always great (except for a very bad one in Braybrook) and the audiences loved them. Actually the Mods who I hung around with at the time loved them too. Well the girls did. And Models did bring in the girls. I think they were the reason Sydney Mods used to go on about the arty Mods down south. Our Mods would go and see Models and listen to Joy Division.
This song came out on a 10 inch single /mini-album which saw it enter both singles and album charts. How don't know how that works. It was accompanied by a long form music video which was highly entertaining. It had two songs that directly appealled to me. This one and Atlantic Romantic. Excellent pop tunes.

302. Shivers by the Boys Next Door 1978

The Boys Next Door - Shivers (1979) - YouTube

The Boys Next Door were the first punk band I ever saw. I had been introduced to Rob Wellington and we had started getting the Fiction together going and one night he dragged me to see this band at a church hall in the suburbs. The Boys Next Door were just fantastic. They looked great and sounded great. Nick Cave was a star as soon as soon he walked on stage. Afterwards we went to a party where they all were and I felt slightly out of it because my hair was a bit long and I think I was even wearing platform boots. The next day I cut my hair and changed my clothes completely.
From then on I went to see the Boys Next Door regualrly. They had such a brilliant sound. And they did a great cover of Andy Warhol by Bowie which was like the cherry on top. When the Fiction got going we started supporting them at various venues like Bernhardts and the Paradise lounge at the Crystal Ballroom. Even when the Fiction died Little Murders would continue to support them. One gig at Hearts in Fitzroy I looked at them in their suits and looked at my band who were dressed in jeans and decided we needed to get our image together. This eventually led to the Murders smartening up and then on to our Mod look. Later we would support the Birthday Party too.
I don't think the sound of the Boys Next Door was ever really captured well on record. Shivers however was majestic and far away from their early pop punk sound. And it's such a great song. We would sing along to it like it was an alternative anthem. When Rowland Howard joined the band my friends and I thought they were messing with something that was already good enough. But he brought in this song. And he changed the sound of the band. Something was happening..it was like fireworks on stage. And you knew something magic was going on. This band was going to be legendary.

301. Loser by Beck 1994

Beck - Loser

Now I'm right back in the Lizard lounge again. When this came out it just sounded so different to everything else. In reality it was mining the same sort of down on one selves attitude that was everywhere at the time. Thanks mostly to Nirvana who made it cool to hate yourself. Not that it mattered when music was as good as their stuff or Beck or Radiohead.
I first heard this song on a Thursday night at the Lizard. Thursday nights at the Lizard went through the roof after we made it a free night. When we first started we were charging $5 but no one was coming so we decided not to charge and offer cheap drinks. From then on it was packed equalling our Saturday nights for popularity. The Thursday night DJs and regulars would argue that it surpassed Saturdays but I don't hold to that opinion. What it did do is make the Lizard a top indie nightspot from Thursday to Saturday.
Thursdays was also a training ground for new DJs. DJs were hired for their enthusiasm to play rather than any past skills. That's why we got some really different music coming on. One night I went down there and they were playing The Gambler by Kenny Rogers and it worked really well. But not a song we would play on Saturday night.
Loser however became massive. A real crowd pleaser.

300. As Tears Go By by Marianne Faithful 1964

Marianne Faithfull - As Tears Go By (1965)

And then there were the girl singers I did have a crush on. I remember seeing Marianne faithful singing this on the telly back in 1964 when I was 8 years old and being completely entranced by her. She was absolutely mesmerising. And I loved the song too so that was a bonus I guess. I didn't get to hear anything else by her until the seventies when she brought out The Ballad of Lucy Jordan which was another great song. But by then she was looking a bit rough. Then again anyone reading her auto biography could understand that.
Despite not hearing her songs she was still in the spotlight in the late sixties being Mick Jagger's girlfriend. Actually Mick and Keith wrote this song. One of their first originals after Andrew loog Oldham locked them in the kitchen and told them not to come out until they'd written a song.
And it was an easy song to play so that when I started playing guitar in the mid seventies. This is one of the first songs  I learnt to play and sing.
Looking back at those videos of Marianne now it's amazing how much charisma she has considering she doesn't really do anything in the clips but sit or stand there and look beautiful.

299. Shout by Lulu and The Luvvers 1964

LULU & The Luvvers - Shout! (Shindig 1965)

Before I came to Australia in 1965 I had just started noticing pop music on the radio back in Blackpool, England. I only remember a few that I can relate to those times. Most of the stuff I like from the early sixties I got into later. However there are a few that take me back to that time. Lulu and Luvvers "Shout" is one of them. Probably because on seeing old videos of this song it's amazing how dynamic Lulu is compared to the other girl singers that were around at the time. She really does shout out the lyrics to the song. And she's got a terrific rock and roll voice combined with a ton of pure Scottish energy. She couldn't help but be noticed.
I never had a crush on her but she put out some amazing singles in her time. And of course she was in "To Sir With Love"..also another great Lulu track.
I finally managed to pick up this track in the late Seventies when I found it on these Decca compilations that came out full of all these great sixties tracks full of stuff of didn't have and more often than not never heard of. This was a song I played at the Rubber Soul. Purists would say the original by the Isley Brothers was better but I'll go for this version anytime.

298. That's What They All Say by Graham Parker and The Rumour 1976

Graham Parker - That's What They All Say

In 1976 something was definitely stirring in the UK. Dr Feelgood and Graham Parker seemed to be the top exponents of what came to be called Pub rock. By this time the music had kind of lost its way and there seemed to be nothing but crap on the radio and in the charts. The scene was set for punk rock just around the corner. 

My introduction to Graham Parker was definitely through going to see the Sports at places like Martinis in Carlton. They did a mean version of White Honey and I seem to remember them playing the record through their PA though I could be imagining that part. Suffice to say when I first started going to gigs it was bands like the Sports and Bleeding Hearts and this other great band that for the life of me I can't remember their name. And it was imported record shops with cheap albums in thick cardboard from the USA.

I bought his first album for 99cents cos it didn't have a cover. Heat Treatment I got cheap too because outside of Carlton and Fitzroy I don't think anyone was interested.

This song is from their second album and is a bit of Dylanesque put down. I didn't mind that. We were all angry about something in those days. Actually, Graham Parker was quite an angry intense performer. A gifted songwriter is thunder was kind of stolen by Elvis Costello. But even if his time in the spotlight was brief he kept writing great songs long after.

297. Right Here by The Go-Betweens 1987

THE GO BETWEENS "Right Here"

When it comes to a band I love and I haven't written about them yet with which song do I start. Do I pick  a favourite or do I choose one that brings back memories. If it's memories I'd probably go for "Spring Rain" because we used to play it a lot a Barbarellas, not me but Adam Duncan, who was the other DJ there. It was also one of the first videos I remember making into a compilation video tape. But in the end the song doesn't make me want to single it out.
"Right Here" is just a fantastic song with some great lyrics. With Go Betweens records I'd cherry pick the best tracks which more often than not were Grant McLennan songs. Actually back in the eighties I kept getting mistaken for him. The first time it happened was at Inflation when some guy came up to me and asked me what I was doing in Melbourne. After that it happened a quite a few times. I guess late at night after a few drinks in a dark venue there might be some resemblance.
I've had this playing loudly in my car while I drove around Melbourne many times. It's one of those songs that makes me feel good. Despite the somewhat depressing tone of the verses.
It was a tragedy when he died at only 48. There were still moments of genius on the new albums the Go Betweens were making. There would surely have been more.

296 Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull 1971

Jethro Tull- Locomotive Breath

A great song from a band I don't really like. On saying that they do have 4 tracks on my IPod. A strange prog rock band from the early seventies who used a flute as a lead instrument this band were massive. And inescapable. Even my English teacher at High School played them in class. Their music went over my head I guess. I was more into pop music and singles.
I first heard this song at school. The older kids were playing it in the Art Room. I was in there helping out with something. The art room was a great escape from the race race that was the schoolyard. I wasn't into sport so I was drawn to the library and the art room. I was lulled into serenety by that long jazzy piano intro and then bang..in comes the heavy guitar riff. And it's one of those guitar riffs one learns in the seventies.
I don't think they had much of a handle on Art at my old high school. When I was doing it for my HSE (year 12) the teacher left half way through the year. They didn't replace him so me and Pete, who was the other art student, there was only 2! had to finish the year by ourselves with no teacher. Just us and Gombrich's The Story of Art.
At the Art exam when we had to creat a peice Pete was behind me. 20 minutes near the end I heard the sound of ripping behind me. With no time to finish his grand concept he decided to half his painting. Further distractions came in the form of Our Lady of Sion girls taking the exam with us. All those years of no girls at school and they turn up at the exams.
I did alright and became the first to pass HSE Art at Box Hill High School in 4 years. When I went round to see Pete H to ask about his results he was playing Thick as A Brick. enough said.

295. Wherever I lay My Hat by Marvin Gaye 1963

 Marvin Gaye - Wherever I Lay My Hat (1963) - YouTube
I first thsi song when it was number one hit by Paul Young back in the eighties. Didn't mind the song although the fretless bass did my head in. I thought the actual song was great though. And of course for a very long while I wore a hat. Ever since the Mod days I liked to wear a hat. Always had a trilby or a pork pie hat on. One day I was on the Metro in Paris, I had my hat on and a long coat and my girlfriend leonie had a beret on. I heard a few murmers of Bonnie and Clyde. Hilarious.
DJing I would wear my hat all the time. By that time I was starting to thin out a bit and it was more to do with ego than actual coolness.  Then I shaved my head and it was a great relief off my shoulders ( and my head) I had become too attached to wearing hats. It really is crap losing your hair. But the worst is losing it. When it's gone you have nothing left to worry about.
anyway back to the song. A friend of mine who I used to hang with constantly and whose name now escapes me, lent me a copy of Marvin Gaye's best of album. It was a big set with a bunch of songs I wasn't familiar with. This song was on it which was a surprise cos I didn't know it was a cover. When I heard it I was knocked out. What a brilliant song. Upbeat and almost ska like it became my favourite Marvin Gaye song after only a few listens. Another great Gaye- Barret Strong and Norman Whitfield song. And as it turns out a big Northern soul classic.

294. Right Back Where We Started From by Maxine Nightingale 1975

Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From - YouTube
Such a fantastic song even if it was a Disco song at at time when disco was a filthy word. Actually there's quite a few disco songs thta I love. Something like this harks back to the old soul and Motown records. I liked this song so much I convinced the first line up of Little Murders (what we now call the Clint Small era) to cover it thinking it would go over a smash. My enthusiasm wasn't matched by the crowds however and the song didn't stay in the set long.
The first time we played it was at the Daylesford Hotel. We had a regular once a month gig there that had started back in the Fiction days. I remember the pub owner telling us the two most popular bands were us and a band called Men At Work. Same thing at the Market Hotel in Prahran. Never got a chance to see him  but they did go on to be pretty big. So I saw them on the telly.
The Daylesford pub had a band room with a home-made mirror ball nade with mirrors stuck on a small plastic dustbin. In the winter we'd get there book into rooms and then go down and have a brandy in front of the open fire. Once it even snowed.
Actually Daylesford was also when bruce milne stopped being our manager when he couldn't get his own room and ended up sleeping on the floor. That was the end for him.
Also the first time we played there when I was in The fiction the billboard outside said as featured on Countdown when they got us confused with La Femme. Nigel rennard had organise the gig at first and the pub must of misheard. We neber did get to play on Countdown even when She Lets me Know was top of the RRR charts for 6 weeks because as he said " Countdown is not a talent show for unknown bands" Lovely. The next week he had some Box Hill band wearing masks. Fun days indeed.