245. You're No Good by Betty Everett 1963

Bought this single in a second-hand shop. I am trying to remember which one but I bought it to play at Rubber Soul. The first night I took it in I went to play it and realised the centre bit was missing. Unfortunately, there was none around, so that night was a no-go. And it was never a dancefloor favourite there. I used to play as people were coming in early in the night. Before the place went crazy.
I loved the record. Just loved the whole feel of the song. And the message behind it. I also love the vinyl record with the big hole in the centre which usually means it comes from America. The thick cardboard sleeve with a little bit of writing in the corner. Actually, I remember buying it now. From the Mighty Music Machine in Chapel Street. They had this whole display shelf full of old classic singles. I think some had the orange Golden Hits and the like label. I gradually built up my collection of sixties singles to include stuff I'd been reading about in music books. And I had a bunch of those too. Couldn't stop reading about music. Still can't. Always looking for something new in the past. And in the present too.

244. Starry Eyes by The Records 1978

starry eyes by the records

and on the subject of Power Pop how about this classic song from the UK band The Records. 78 saw a bit of a rennaiscance in guitar pop coming straight after the punk movement a year earlier. Many new waves acts had a leaning towards power pop especially acts like Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and even bands like The Cars. It was that harking back to bands like The Kinks and the Beatles and the Who. Pete Townshend even coined the term power pop for the sound The Who made but although he may have come up with the title his band soon drifted far from that term.
Actually the song remnids me of my friend Danny McDonald, a solo artist, whose had a few bands such as Jericho and P76. Great bands and Danny is always quick to champion power pop songs. I liked Starry Eyes, but it was a discussion about power pop over lunch at his place in and he going about this song that I dug it out the record box and had a good listen. He was right. It's almost the perfect power pop song. Simple chords and easy to play but it's the guitars and harmonies that make it so fine.
I first got to know Danny sitting at home one day in Elwood when the phone rang and Danny introduced himself and asked if Little Murders would like to support his band at the Espy. We hadn't played in ages and I'd almost given up looking for gigs after a few depressing ones in but Danny's invitation and kind words about our records got me fired up again. Nice one!

243. Surrender by Cheap trick 1978

Cheap Trick - Surrender - Midnight Special‏ - YouTube

With all the punk stuff going on and with the ripped clothes and spiky dyed hair and so on it was few and far between old school music making much of a dent. But a new sound(but kind of old sound) was raising. Power pop bands were really starting to deliver the goods. These bands didn't look all that cool but their sound was often glorious. All chiming guitars and rich harmonies.Short sharp songs that blasted out of the radio. One of the big ones for 1978 was Surrender by Cheap Trick. Loved it from the moment it came on the radio. The band looked weird in photos with two pretty boys and two slightly eccentric other guys. But Rick Neilsen had a certain charisma with his flashy guitar and wrote some great pop. 1978 was the start of a great pop renaiscance in the singles market. And the songs climbed the charts and held number one spots.And they were all over the radio. Sadly power pop seems to be a bit of a niche these day. I don't know why. Listen again...it's glorious.

242. Undecided by The Masters Apprentices 1966

When I first started collecting records back in my teenage years all I really had were either albums or singles that had just fallen off the charts and were now 50 cents in a Coles bargain bin. I had some sixties singles but often they were obscure cast-offs from my neighbour's house. But I was off buying greatest hits and compilations and topping up my songs that way.
Then someone told me you could buy second-hand singles through a magazine called the Trading Post. I'd never seen it before but there they were. Sixties singles 50 dollars the lot. Will seperate. I didn't have a phone so I had to bicycle up the phone booth on the top of the hill. And I didn't have a car yet so I had to blag a lift. But I got to this place in Hawthorn where the seller opened the suitcase to reveal all these great singles. Picture sleeves. A lot of Australian stuff.  It was a strange feeling knowing all this stuff could be mine. I remember feeling quite nervous cos it was a lot of money for me in the mid-seventies. I was still at school. But I got the price down. And I got them home.
Undecided was one of the singles. I'd heard all the Masters other stuff but this one was just out there. Brilliant record. It's as good as anything from overseas or on the Nuggets album. It's just so bloody exciting right from the go.
Eventually, most of the singles ended up in my jukebox. Just the right place for them to be. If not a little scary that they may get a little destroyed in there. Then again it's not working at the moment.

241. Laisse Tomber Les Filler by France Gall 1964

France Gall - laisse tomber les filles (paroles)

I first heard the song when it was played over the end of the credits in the film "Death Proof" It was called Chick Habit and sung by April March. She also sang it in French too. This lead me to hunt down the April March album with the song on it. The album was loaded with French girl songs from what was known as the Ye-ye movement of French girl singers.
This song was originally sung by France Gall and written by Serge Gainsbourg. I'd been through my Serge stage of listening now I started to listen to France Gall and all the french girls and their friends in the French beat bands. Of course you have to be picky but that's the great thing about i-tunes. Find the albums on blogs and websites all over the net. Import them into itunes and then make up a playlist of the good stuff and discard the rest. Yes I miss the thrill of chasing down records but then again we can hear a song 30 minutes later have a playlist full of the best songs of the genre playing loudly.
Sunday afternoons drinking wine and listening to French pop songs. Sometimes there's just nothing like it. Also good for driving to the beach. Very cool.
However I went to France last year and I don't think I heard one French song.

240. Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants 1990

They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul

Released a few weeks after Lizard Lounge opened in 1990 this song became a crowd favourite and stayed that way until the Lizard's demise a decade or so later. I loved the way the opening bit would get everybody ready to run on to the dance floor just before the drums come in. And then it would one great singalong. Not that anybody would know what they were singing about. Greek philosophers and classical musicians and the evening sky talking to the birds. But we would happily sing along. There's a bunch of songs that for me are tied explicitly to the Lizard and this is one of them.

239. Ooh La La by The Faces 1973

Faces - Ooh La La‏ - YouTube

I bought the album this song was on because I was huge Rod and The Faces fan..especially after that run of albums from Every Picture to Never A Dull Moment. But I didn't get into this one at all. Played it a couple of times and subsequently forgot about. Don't have a clue where it ended up.  I was more interested in Bowie by that time. Alladin Sane was released at the same time and plus there were all these other Bowie albums to buy and listen to. This Faces were to steeped in the past for what was happening.
However in 1998 I went to the movies and saw a film called Rushmore. Great great film. And a fantastic soundtrack. Really enjoying it and then at the end the hero gets the DJ to put this song on and it just clicks with me. I couldn't believe that I'd never taken any notice of this song at the time. And it's so Faces and so Ronnie Lane. And the song is sung by Ronnie Wood. I went back to listening to The Faces after so long and they're even better than I remembered. I mean some of the stuff I've returned to I can't believe how bad it sounds now. But the Faces is the kind of band we need now. And at least Rod wouldn't be wearing those funny girl clothes anymore, I guess.
really, it makes yoo want to strum a guitar and sing along. Well with me anyway.

238. Elevate My Mind by Stereo MCs 1990

ELEVATE MY MIND

After the Lizard Lounge closed at 3am that would be the time to go out. There weren't many places to go to and one of the few places we'd go to would be the Lounge in Swanston Street. I had a membership  cos we also used to head there after Rubber Soul and Beehive but that was the more reasonable hour of midnight. anyway at 4am in the morning the place was still packed. still people dancing. Still drinking. I had a convertible Golf and I used to panic cos I would have to leave it outside with all my records in the back and really it would be easy to lift the cover off the car and just take them. I would drink on the balcony to keep an eye on them at first but gradually I would be sucked inside and not bother. The nights takings from the club would be stuffed in my pockets.
when I hear this song I'm taken right back there. sometimes I'd dance to it. Mostly i'd be at the bar chatting away about any old rubbish. Stereo Mcs laid down a really good groove. I couldn't wait to get my own copy to play at Lizard but we were a bit alternative to begin with. But then we got in the groove. Put up some sheets and projected slide shows. Played some cool dance and everything was alright.

237. Rubber Bullets by 10CC 1973

10cc Rubber Bullets Live

Box Hill High school. The lockers were under the school hall. And so was the canteen. Which meant we could get to the canteen before the others got there. I used to buy a knot roll and a packet of chips. Made chip rolls for recess. They had a radio in the canteen and the sound would echo around the lockers while we chomped down. One day this song came on. Great song. Seemed to go for ages. I liked the pop stuff that was coming out of England but no one else in my year cared for it. Glam was great. They were still looking for the next Creedence or Hendrix. Or some kind of blues jam. I liked stuff on the commercial radio. Please don't mention the blues to me. Just one up from Jazz. This track was a one off. The only other song of their's I liked was I'm Not In Love. And that was just teenage self pity.
I must admit that that period of rock did throw up a lot of Fifties pastiche records mind you.

237 Girls & Boys by Blur 1994

Blur - Boys & Girls





















A few years earlier Blur had come out with "There No Other Way" a baggy hit with Manchester undertones. Then they kind of disappeared. Well we didn't hear much over here in Oz.
Then we starting hearing about Britpop. And the first major single release of this new movement was Boys and Girls. And what a great peice of indie dancefloor filler it was. The crowd bounced and pogoed to this mash up of disco and indie. wait, there's more. We got the video and the press articles and here was a bunch of lads in almost Mod wear. Definitely a touch of UK sixties/ seventies style.
Then suddenly the Union jack was everywhere. and Brit cult style was in vogue.And the Avengers and all those cool UK shows were revived. And some good records came out and some rubbish. And before long everybody hated Britpop.
I thought it was great time. I can't think of any movements since. well none with a tag anyway.

236. One More Time by Joe Jackson 1979

Joe Jackson - One More Time

I love the clean sound of this record. You can hear every instrument although there only seems to be guitar bass and drums. It's a great track. Of course it owes quite a bit to Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson was heralded as such on the front cover of Sounds. It was amazing the amount of good stuff that came through the door after Punk had kicked it down.
The funny thing about the record was Bruce Milne's reaction to it. He already had a design for his band The Spivs first record on Au Go Go and it was almost identical to the Look Sharp cover. Pointy shoes. He was disappointed he'd been beaten to the punch. Then again I didn't think there a Spivs band or record. Bruce had started with a cover and wanted to see where he could go from there. Joe Jackson stopped that idea.

235. I heard it Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye 1968

Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine ...
And to think I thought this was a Creedence song. It was all over the radio. and they always played their 11 minute version. And a damn fine version it was too. But my record collection was bereft of soul for a very long time. White English rock and glam was my forte. Maybe a few Motown discs. A bit of Supremes or Martha and The Vandellas. Even when I got deeply into the sixties pop scene in the mid seventies I stayed away from soul. It took The Jam and the whole Mod thing to get me into it.
Despite all that this song still took a long time to get to me. I had the memories of the Creedence version too embedded. I finally came around to it's genius at Rubber Soul where it became a regular play. The more I heard it the more I liked it. Then I watched this Motown film and found other Marvin Gaye songs I liked. Then I was off to buy his albums. It took a long time but I got there.

234. Secret love by Kathy Kirby 1963

Kathy Kirby

Sadly I just heard Kathy Kirby had recently died. Until I started reading the obits in some of the music papers I'd forgotten completely about her. This one goes back to a time I can hardly remember. I must of been 7 I guess. In England there used to be lots of variety shows on the telly. I mean lots. Kathy Kirby stood out because of firstly her name which had that ring to it. And she looked glamorous in a Marilyn Monroe type of way. She was the first entertainer to wear lip gloss I've read. Maybe I had a crush on her. But it didn't last long because soon I would fall in love with Sandie shaw.
When the Beatles were at the top with I Wanna Hold Your Hand this record was not far behind on the UK charts. Listening back to it now it's got that sixties thump. A bit like Normie Rowe did with Que Sera Sera. But steeply rooted in fifties showbiz.
Classic sixties indeed!

233. Julie is a Junkie by The Eastern Dark 1985

The Eastern Dark - Julie Is A Junkie

Another Australian classic single by this short lived Sydney band. Sadly they were involved in a car crash on the way to tour Melbourne and the lead singer died. They have released some posthumous records.
I guess they were driving the Deadly Hume as it used to be called. The road from Sydney to Melbourne was notorious for accidents. Even Jonestown, who were on my record label, managed to hit a kangaroo on the way back from their Sydney tour. Poz, who was their tour manager, was behind the wheel. The cost of fixing that wiped out any profits from the tour itself.
I can't remember where I first heard the single but it was at some club. Which was an odd place to first hear this song. I'm starting to guess that Ronny might have played it. This is where it would be handy to have a timeline. Or it could have been Jason. Jason and Ronny would find discs and play them mercilessly. So much that the singles would become part of them. In a sense that I could look in a record box and see a single and know who it belonged to. I still have a few in my box I can tell belonged to one of them.
The three of us worked together a lot in the eighties. Venetian Room, Rubber Soul, Beehive. Then after opening Revolver at the Union Ronny went back to Adelaide.
Anyway this is a double A-side. Both sides are ace.

232. Frantic Romantic by the Scientists 1979

The Scientists - Frantic Romantic

Classic Australian single. Not just indie. A true classic. The Scientists came to Melbourne just after this record was released. Little Murders got to support them at this place in Fitzroy called the Champion Hotel. It was upstairs and later became kinda famous for where the little bands fad started. Anyway, the Scientists were just brilliant. And they looked great on stage. They really had together what all those other garage bands of the next few years would look like. And they put so much into the show backstage they looked like they'd gone through a ringer. Actually, it was a reconfigured balcony but away from people.
The Champion was where I learned to apply eyeliner with help from Rob Wellington when we were in the Fiction. I was using the wrong pencil. Who knew? Actually some nights I think I just used a felt pen. It was also where Little Murders made their real debut in August 1979. And where The Fiction played their last.
Back to the single. A really great song. I wish I'd written it. I have to admit I don't know many other songs from them. Not that I can recall. Wait Last Night was great. And Shake. They were on Au Go Go with us for awhile. But their music went into territory I wasn't interested in. Then again Swampland is pretty cool too. Maybe I need to explore the Scientists a bit more.
Met her at a dance.....it was romance!

231. Sweet Lady Genevieve by The Kinks 1973

YouTube - The Kinks - Preservation: Act 1 - Sweet Lady Genevieve‏

In the seventies The Kinks made a bunch of theatre records. Musicals whatever. After a while this constant barrage of concept records did my head in. Here was my favourite band in the world banging the nails into their coffin. It started off alright. I was a fan of Preservation Act 2 and Soap Opera  but in the long run it all got too much and paled before their sixties stuff. However contained in those albums are some real gems. Sweet Lady Genevieve was the one great song on Preservation Act 1. It's up there with his best but is largely forgotten because it was buried here.

It always reminds me to of my first girlfriend Gwenda. I guess the names were quite similar. very medieval.  I say girlfriend but I think that was mostly on my side. When she told me that we weren't really going out because she was too busy with school and we were hanging out and having fun but let's not get serious. Youch! She happened to drop me straight after this particularly nasty haircut where they made me look like Dave Hill out of Slade if he had wavy hair. I always blamed the haircut.

In the end it was just terminology. We weren't boyfriend and girlfriend but we still hung out like normal and did all the same things. Until I found a new girlfriend. This was a strange new world I was heading into. Teenage Wildlife.

Once under a scarlet sky I told you never ending lies,
But they were the words of a drunken vagabond
Who knew very well he would break your heart before long
Oh forgive me Genevieve.

230. Trains & Boats & Planes by Fountains of Wayne 2005

Trains & Boats & Planes — (Fountains of Wayne)

I've been listening to this song since the sixties when it was a hit for Billy J. Kramer. Written by Bacharach and David I've got versions by sandie Shaw and dione Warwick. I've always had a fondness for this song. Of course it always pops into mind when someone is about to go off into the world somewhere.
I used to love going to the airport to see people off on their travels. There was something cosmopolitan about the airport. despite the smell of cheap food. One last drink with a friend before they boarded a plane. Walking away with one person less than who you went with. Then there's those friends you walked to the boarding gate and never seen again.
When I got an ipod the first thing I wanted to do is make playlists. luckily I came across a book which suggested playlists for the ipod. On one list of modern covers I saw this song. I love Fountains Of Wayne so I looked around for it. I came across it at the Elwood monthly market. 10 bucks. Actually what surprised me how many great records were going for 10 bucks. The winds of change maybe. Whatever after this I wouldn't be buying too many CDs either.
So I took a punt and yes it really is the best cover of this song. The simple arrangement just gives it the yearning it needs. Hey but Billy J's version is pretty good too and I guess there will be days where that will be the version I want to listen to. I mean there's that bass line and a pretty nifty tambourine.
Trains and bloats and planes are passing by
They mean a trip to Paris or Rome
For someone else but not for me
The trains and the boats and planes
Took you away, away from me

We were so in love and high above
We had a star to wish upon
Wish and dreams come true, but not for me
The trains and the boats and planes
Took you away, away from me

229. Blizzard of 77 by Nada Surf 2002

Blizzard of '77 - Nada Surf

Nada Surf had a kind of hit in the nineties with a song called Popular. We played it a few times. And then forgot about them. Then in 2002 I was reading a review of theur new album Let Go and it so impressed me I went out and bought the CD. When I got it home I put on the first track and it just blew me away.  It took me ages to get round to listening to the rest of the album because I was always listening to this song.
in the blizzard of '77 
the cars were just lumps on the snow 

and then later 
tripping in 7-11 
the shelves were stretching out of control 
First it's the chord progression that starts the song. Played on acoustic guitar there's something magical about those chords. And then the imagery of the lyrics. They just got to me even though they're not linear and don't tell a story it's almost like an impressionist painting where all the bits come together to make a whole. You know maybe there's not much of a story with this one, it's just a song I love.
but in the middle of the night i worry 
it's blurry even without light 

228. This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us by Sparks 1974

Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us
Another amazing single that just came out of nowhere in 1974. First time I heard it was in Pete Joyce's car. Blackburn North. Just amazing. We'd read about it it in NME. Roxy Music light they were saying. Roxy speeded up. But this single was really something. The high voice. Sound effects and gun battles.
Not longer after that I was in England where it seemed that Sparks were on every TV show. The piano player with his Hitler moustache and bryl creamed hair. And the singer always wore little woolie gloves. Sparks were the sound of winter 74/75 in the UK. This was really the last bits of glam fading away. Cockney Rebel, David Essex monopolised the TV shows. And Mud. But glam was over and we were about to enter the horrible mid 70s. Luckily something even better was round the corner.
Zoo time is she and you time
The mammals are your favourite type, and you want her tonight
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
You hear the thunder of stampeding rhinos, elephants and tacky tigers
This town ain't big enough for both of us
And it ain't me who's gonna leave