413. White Light White Heat by Velvet Underground 1968

I first hear Lou Reed in the early seventies when he released his Transformer album. At the time I was besotted by David Bowie so whatever he had a hand in I went out and bought. Which sounds a little crazy until you recognise the absolute taste the man had. I came away with a love of Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Stooges and the New York Dolls right at a crucial moment of my musical formative years. These influences would kick in a few years later when just as I turned eighteen and got my first car, a Datsun Bluebird, and started going to parties the whole punk thing came riding into my life. Parties I went to played these records. In 1977 for a very small part of Melbourne these bands were hip. Before this I would be at parties listening to horrible horrible stuff. But when we started to hear about the Sex Pistols something changed. There wasn't any punk music because it hadn't been recorded yet. So we went for other cool sounds. Early Rolling Stones. Garage bands. For some it was Kraftwerk.
 I loved the Velvet Underground. The songs were dark and lo fi and messy and dealt with the bad stuff at the dark end of the street. But I also though Lou reed wrote great catchy pop songs. I f i was going to start imitate anyone in my writing this was a good place to start.
White light was a particular favourite. I knew it would be a good song as soon as I saw the title. It drives along like a locomotive. Like many VU songs it's rock and roll from another planet. And I love the backing vocals and their "White Light" shout outs at the beginning of each line. Great song.
The other night we were driving home from seeing a local band, Even,  doing the Ziggy Stardust album . We were with our friends Susie and Mark. They put on a Velvet Underground CD. We sang along all the way home. A great way to end to a night.

412. These Days by Nico 1967

On first listen to the Velvet Underground and hearing Nico's tuneless voice I was quite on the side of those who would say what is she doing on the record. Then again the song on the end whose name I forgot and which probably came from John Cale's head wasn't a bag of fun either. But as I listened more and more to the album the off key singing of this beautiful Germanic model made sense. But there was no way I would buy her her solo album. That much I couldn't take. So for years all I heard were the Velvet Underground songs.
In the 80s I did go to see her play live at the Jump Club in Collingwood. It was really a horrible night and because I didn't pay to get in i didn't have that investment in trying to enjoy the show and spent most the night upstairs drinking.
But a few years back I saw "The Royal Tennenbaums" a film by Wes Anderson, whose vision I find simply breath taking. I was addicted to watched the "Rushmore " DVD for ages. Same with each film he brought. One of the best things about his films is his use of music. To me he is the master of putting songs to scenes. And digging up slightly off center songs by big artists. So it was that I heard "These days" and was knocked out. Together with "Fairest of The Seasons" (both songs written by Jackson Brown) I got quite hooked on listening to these terribly depressing Nico songs. I even bought the Chelsea Girl album which as a great cover but I think Wes Anderson used the best two songs in his movie.

411. Into The Groove by Madonna 1985

If I have to have a favourite Madonna song well I guess this is the one. I just love the start really just before she says "And you can dance" or something like that. Wasn't a big fan of Madonna in the Eighties but I think she made some great singles. I was playing in bands and DJing in sixties night clubs but now and again I'd get out to dance clubs and hear some different stuff. The mid eighties there was night clubs open every night. Monday night I'd be at the Underground. Tuesday some basement in the city. Wednesday Chasers. Thursday I'd DJ at a ska place. Friday Rubber Soul. Saturday Beehive. I didn't get to see many bands other than when I played myself.
A lot of girls dressed up a s Madonna. It was a nice change after a bunch of girls dressing up as Boy George. It was all a bit glamorous in the eighties. I think I even wore  silver jacket a few times.
I even got to see Madonna live. At the MCG. Sitting on seats that slowly sank into the hallowed turf of football's home. And that's all U remember about it. I liked the records a lot more. Actually maybe "Like A Prayer" is my favourite Madonna song. Wait I think it's actually Material Girl. She had some great singles. This one went number one in Australia and in the US it was a b-side of one of her singles that failed to chart. And that's why I love the world of Pop.

410. For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder 1968

One of those songs that just instantly cheers me up and gets me on my feet. Incredibly feel good song with no saccharine included.
I never really noticed it I was watching an episode of Entourage and this song came on near the end of the show as Ari danced with his wife around the car. Happy because he was about to make a new start. I guess you'd have to see it to know what I'm talking about. The thing is it starts with that rhythm guitar kinda shuffle and then just keeps going lifting higher and higher as they say.
I'm a big fan of songs used in TV shows and films and commercials. Sometimes it puts a song in a completely different perspective to what you thought it was. This song had been sitting in my collection for over twenty years and I might have played it maybe once or twice. And after CDs and when programming came along probably not at all.
But I catch it on the TV about six years ago and suddenly it makes sense and becomes one of my favourite songs. And I go out and explore more Stevie Wonder songs and find out what all the fuss was about. I probably stayed away from Stevie because of songs like "Ebony and Ivory" and "I just called to say I love you" which really did my head in I thought they were so bad. So it was great to go back and rediscover his music. I even went so far as to buy some of it on vinyl. To get some kind of authentic feel for soul going.

409. That's Entertainment by The Jam 1981

Here's a song Little Murders have covered in our acoustic set and one that a lot of other big stars have covered too. Morrissey and the Wonder Stuff come to mind not that the Wonder Stuff were really major but they did put out some great singles. It's also a song I like to play at home since it consists of minimal chords played in a sequence that rarely varies. Of course the problem is trying to learn al the lyrics. Six verses in all. And a lot of words which you can pick up as you sing along to the record but when you're on your own it's pretty hard. So I often have a cheat sheet taped somewhere close.
First heard the song back in 1981 when it was a track on Sound Effects. I was frequenting and sometimes DJing at a club in Richmond called Kommotion. A big Mod club in a small venue. Scooters out the back. Jumping off the speaker stacks. Mod girls in sixties gear. Boys in Parkas. Our music was sixties pop, soul, ska and the odd new Mod band from the UK. And The Jam featured heavily. Surprisingly or maybe not so surprisingly considering how good it is this song went down a storm. Everyone would get up and dance to this basically wordy acoustic song. Years later at the Lizard Lounge it would have the same affect. People filled the floor when it came on. And they sang along. And put in the La la Las.
Paul Weller says he wrote this in 10 minutes after coming home pissed from the pub. Magic.

408. Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson 1957

It may have been released in 1957 but it wasn't until 1986 when it finally made number one in the UK. Again I was there for England's madness as dance clubs were full of people dancing to this old fifties classic. We already knew the name after listening a few years earlier to Dexy's cover of Van Morrison's song Jackie Wilson Said but here was the real thing. And it was utterly fantastic.
And what comes to mind. I was on my way to London for New years Eve in Trafalgar Square and a stay at the Regent Palace in Piccadilly Circus. I thought I might drop in on Mick Barclay's sister Kirsten who was staying in a little village somewhere down south. It turned into quite a journey where I had to take a train to Milton Keynes and the take this bus that seemed to wind it's way through all these tiny villages in the English countryside. Finally when I was the only one on the bus it dropped me at the the pub across from where Kirsten was staying. By that time I was so worn out I can't remember anything else. Just this incredibly long journey on a freezing cold night. Maybe one pint and then I was out like a light.
The next day I got up early and went back to London to find myself frozen into the city and unable to get out as they closed the ferries and railways. A plan to meet a friend in Italy just crashed as transport was delayed and then France was hit by a rail strike. Trafalgar Square was pretty magical though. And they did play Reet Petite.
Disastrous holiday but I came home with some great singles. Most of them soul and dance stuff I was starting to get into.

407. Never Can Say Goodbye by Gloria Gaynor 1975

1975 I went to Blackpool after finishing High School. Went there for an extended holiday and stayed with my Aunt Sheila and Uncle George who had two sons. Neil and Colin. I spent a lot of time hanging out with Neil and one of his mates whose name I can no longer recall. Phil Green rings a bell.

One of the places we would go to was the Blackpool mecca. At the time I had no knowledge of Northern soul nor it's importance in the musical world. I just remember this place full of amazing dancers.

The first night I went there it was raining. I put on my new coat but Neil told me just to wear a shirt. Explanation was it's usually warmer when it rains and where would you put your coat when you got to the pubs and clubs which were most of the time overheated. So I set of in the winter night as the rain drizzled with my sleeves rolled up.

At the Mecca I caught my first sight of dancers with baggy trousers and talcum powder scattered underneath their feet as they slipped, span and jumped. Amazing stuff. The music was a mix of songs I didn't know but had a familiar Motown beat which turned out to be the essence of Northern Soul. They also played top hits. Never Can Say Goodbye was a number 2 hit in the UK. I don't even think we were calling it disco then. It was just a magnificent soul single with a driving beat. And no one stopped dancing. In fact more people got on the floor.
By the time I got back to Australia in early 76 the album was huge. It was sequenced to play without gaps. So the FM radio would play the whole side. By memory I think it was just 3 songs. Honey bee, Never Can say Goodbye and Reach Out.