61-75

The real Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time starts in about an hour, so I'm going to try to get all of mine posted, before I find out what the nation's number one is sometime Sunday afternoon.

61. Hey Boy, Hey Girl - The Chemical Brothers
This entry also involves the by now infamous XTC fan who has featured widely in this little adventure. When I was a student I was certainly part of the 'music scene'. Adelaide has a pretty lively and healthy music scene for a town of its size, maybe because for young people there's precious little to do other than drink large quantities of beer and go out to gigs. So when I was younger it seemed like everyone I knew was involved in the music industry. I shared a house for a few years with a guitarists/music retailer/label owner/band manager/music whore. Often when one of his bands was supporting a touring Australian band I'd wake up to find the hall full of amps and the lounge room full of rhythm section members smelling of cheap spirits.

But this is getting away a bit from the Chemical Brothers. The XTC fan worked in a record shop with the the guitarist flatmate. I use to spend a stupid amount of money on records purely on the basis that the NME told me they were good. Often they were, often they weren't. But we were Indie Kids. Not Rude Boys. Not Punks. Not Goths and certainly not ravers. And we did not listen to dance music. Except me. I will dance to almost anything. And I was derided for it seriously. If I were still in touch with the XTC fan he would be mortified to see the Chemical Brothers in this list.

I once saw the Chemical Brothers play at the Brixton Academy. On a Tuesday and it was almost midnight when they came on. I was less than functional the next day. The next time I saw them was in the Boiler Room at the Big Day out and I had to queue for about a quarter of the set to get in!

62. I Melt With You - Modern English
You probably have to have watched John Hughes movies as a teenager to appreciate the musical value of this song, but the guitars have a particular quality that I think appeal to people my age.

63. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
What a great song! Fantastic lyrics of, well, survival. Not a song of a woman moping about pining for the bloke who left her, who by all accounts sounds like a bit of a boar. No, Gloria shoves two fingers proudly to the world and gets on with it.

64. I Won - The Sundays
I am now listening to the official countdown streaming through my computer and number 100 is Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out. The Sundays piss all over Franz Ferdinand. I think they only released one album (maybe two) but all tracks are little corkers. Gloria Gaynor would be proud of Harriet Wheeler and this song. But please tell me, how come I can remember the name of the singer from a band from the 1980s but I can't remember the password for the HR account at work?

65. In A Big Country - Big Country
Guitar Bag Pipes. Need I say more?

66. Johnny Come Home - The Fine Young Cannibals
The Fine Young Cannibals may have the honour of being the most un-photogenic band in history, and maybe the for being the worst dancers.

67. Jump Around - The House of Pain
I don't think I should like this song. I think it's a bit violent and a little misogynistic. But it's soooo catchy.

68. Know Your Product - The Saints
This is one of my official top ten votes. The Saints were probably Australia's first punk band. The lads are from Brisbane, then a banana republic thanks to highly conservative, regressive, restrictive, corrupt, dictatorial politics led by then premier Joh Bjeelke-Petersen. Aka The Devil. Like most Brissy bands of the time I think that The Saints were forced to move camp to southern states/overseas to make sure that baton wielding police didn't shut their shows down.

I find that punk song can have this much brass in it rather refreshing.

69. La Vie En Rose - Edith Piaf
The only song I can confidently sing in French from beginning to end. Beautiful.



70. Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
Jeff made an appearance yesterday. The son of famous 1960-70s musician Tim Buckley, both met sad, early ends. Jeff famously calmly, consciously walked in the Mississippi River one night never to return. And so the Last Goodbye became even more poignant.

71. Lazarus - The Boo Radleys
I tried to find a clip for this song to upload, because I'm not really sure how to describe it. A swirling storm of trumpet and pedal and swimming shoe gazer vocals.

72. Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
Every summer there's a song. A song I can't get out of my head. A couple of years ago this was it. I haven't heard anything else by this mob that comes close, and frankly first time I heard it I though the singer was female. It has a stonkingly good guitar solo in the middle.

73. Levi Stubb's Tears - Billy Bragg
Midnight Oil are on the radio now. I don't know if I've forgiven Peter Garrett, or if he needs to be forgiven.

But this is Billy Bragg's second appearance in as many posts. Like David Gedge from the Wedding Present Billy manages to combine beautiful lyrics with an inability to sing. Would the songs mean as much if he could? Probably not. The narrative in this one makes you want to cry.



74. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
Probably about 15 years ago there was a TV documentary series called Dancing in the Streets, which followed the development of Western popular music. I'd never really been that much of a Dylan fan, but this series had a whole episode of him.

Suddenly, I got it. And the gods swooned.

I've never really had such a light bulb moment. So this is what everyone's been talking about! And I was hooked. Seriously hooked. Whole back catalogue in one purchase hooked. I could see how he, and others but particularly him, stood out from the other bubblegum singers of the 1960s.

75. Lock It - Falling Joys
Another classic Australian song. Great guitars that envelope you like diving into the ocean on a hot day.

And as I sign off Stevie Wonder's playing. Solid.

51-60

In a rush, heading off to eat steaming hot plates of Indian food, so this will be brief.

51. Great Leap Forward - Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg really does write the best lyrics, and one of the best bits about this song is when you hear him play it live he changes the content to suit contemporary politics.

52. Groove Is In The Heart - Deelite
Believe it or not, this is considered by many to be my theme song.

53. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
I could have picked Leonard Cohen or KD Lang's version of this, but I have a soft spot for Jeff

54. Happy House - Siouxie and the Banshees
My Goth roots shining through

55. Happy When It Rains - Jesus and Mary Chain
Ditto

56. Hazy Shade of Winter - Simon and Garfunkel
I like the line about the Salvation Army Band with the little trumpet. The Bangles did an all-things-considered not too bad cover of this that appear in the film Less Than Zero, based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel, a book and film that were icons for me and my teenage friends, and was included on an extended research piece I did for Year 12 English on contemporary American authors.

57. Heart's a Mess - Goyte
This is an odd choice for me, but there's something sad and dark about this that I like. Apparently he plays all his own instruments, if you know what I mean. His name's pronounce like Gautier, as in Jean Paul, but apparently it's Flemish for William or something.

58. Henry Lee - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Looooooovvvvvvvveeeee Nick Cave. This was a somewhat random pick. Most of Abattoir Blues or Henry's Dream could have made it.

59. Heroes - David Bowie
I love the chorus to this. Apparently it's the way vocal gates were set up on a series of mics in the studio that did it.

60. Hey - Pixies
Hey, been dying to meet you!

41-50

Unfortunately things have been busy recently and keeping me away from my list making. Even more unfortunate was the fact that one of those things is food poisoning. I like to think I have a fairly strong constitution, but there's apparently a limit to how long you can keep meat in the fridge. I have found that limit.

But on a happier note.

41. Ever Fallen In Love - the Buzzcocks
Lots of punk in this list. I'm obviously more punk rock that I thought. I've seen the Buzzcocks play more times than someone born in the 70s should. One year they played the Old Lion. A jaunty little local act, Cerveza y Putas, supported. I went to Uni with the CYP chaps. So I was at the British for a couple of drinks before (I went with the XTC fan from a previous post. Being an 'industry' kind of person he had is name on the door. I was his plus one. Had to say my name was Bruce or something like that). Anyhoo, a stand in was drumming for the cocks this particular tour. So, we said to the CYPC (cerveza y putas chaps) at the bar at the British - what's it like meeting the Buzzcocks. FUCK THE BUZZCOCKS they said WE MEET MIKE JOYCE. Who would have thought the drummer from a fey little group called The Smiths would end up with a band called The Buzzcocks. So I can say I once sat next to some guy at a bar who meet the drummer from The Smiths.

I may never wash again.

42. Every Me Every You - Placebo
If this song plays anywhere in my vicinity I will jump up, grab you by the arm and bouncing like a tigger drag you onto the dance floor.

Don't say you haven't been warned.

43. Everybody's Got Something to Hide - the Beatles
Ah The Beatles. Is there anything you can't do? Like may I grew up with The Beatles and have inherited my mother's numbered White Album vinyl. Ringo does his best work on this.

44. Express Yourself - NWA
One year the announcers at Triple J were told they had to play Kylie Minogue tracks. Back then The Js were much more hard core, so they all went on strike and played this track on continuous loop for days. It's got great beats, not to mention great lyrics... essspress yourself!

45. Eye Know - De La Soul
Back in the day, De La Soul were a little daisy chain in paddock of grunge.

46. Freak Scene - Dinosaur Jr
You cannot, I mean cannot, have a top 100 with out this song. Whether it should be there or not is immaterial. It's just the way it always has been.

47. Ghost Town - the Specials
Ska. What a strange, magical beast. Having shared a house for many, many years with one of South Australia's biggest ska fans, I speak from some knowledge. This is a classic, but for some reason when I sing the chorus in my head I always end up humming Madness songs.

48. Gigantic - the Pixies
The Pixies raise their gigantic heads again. There are not adjectives in the English language superlative enough to qualify just how fucking fantastic this song is.

49. Girl From Mars - Ash
Jingle-jangle-pretty-boy. And I'm dancin' again

50. God is a DJ - Faithless
If God is a DJ what colour undies does he wear?

31-40

Last post went on a bit. Didn't it? Far less pop-trivia today. In fact I'm going to try to keep them to one or two sentences each. Lots of videos today though, because I just can't pick one.

31. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Catchy, catchy, catchy


32. Crunchy Granola - Neil Diamond
Everyone owns Hot August Night, don't they?

33. Dalliance - The Wedding Present
I know you've never heard of the Wedding Present, but I an assure you, if you love perfectly crafted songs of broken hearts and endless yearning set to the most outstanding guitar music on earth sung by some bloke who can't really sing but is so poetic it makes your heart want to weep you haven't lived until you Buy This Album.



34. Dear God - XTC
The problem with being staunchly political, is that it invades every aspect of your life, and I also had a friend who was a member of the XTC fan club. Yes, an actual member.

35. Debaser - The Pixies
Everyone loves to pogo to songs about slicing up eyeballs and movies with great stretches of guitar solos. The Pixies are one of the few bands to make multiple appearances in my list.

36. Dirty Harry - Gorillaz
Showing that Damon's not just a pretty boy with the marvellous concept of a cartoon band with a couple of good strong albums that make you get up off your seat at 4.30am for one more dance, this song featured strongly in my 30th Birthday outing.

37. Don't Believe the Hype - Public Enemy
I'm not sure if you can be white and really understand Public Enemy? Their duet with Anthrax is another stand out - Hear The Drummer Get Wicked!!!!!

38. Don't Know Why I Love You - The House of Love
Another poorly known band with more strong connections to the XTC fan. Perfectly captures a moment on the musical timeline.



39. Don't Want to Know if You Are Lonely - Husker Du
Pure Rock'n'Roll.

40. Don't You Want Me - Human League
Classic New Romantic song, another one with a good narrative.

21-30

21 Brimful of Asha - Cornershop
Famously the song with the 'bosom' line. Cornershop started off as an ultra-alternative bedroom band, limited release 7-inch records that the gang at seeing ears records lapped up like crazy. This song was a move to the mainstream. Frankly, it was much better than the stuff on the limited release 7-inch records. I know. I have several.

22 Brown Eyed Girl -Van Morrison
Old Grumpy Bum. How can someone so dour write words so soft? Like the Hummingbirds below, this is the sort of song you want to listen to on a warm day, maybe in a car with windows wound down, playing loud with you and a mate singing the tra-la-las at the top of your lungs.

23 Bye Bye Badman - The Stone Roses
I wasn't around when punk broke like a big fat fart over the stodge of prog-rock - well I was. In 1978 I was in Mr Burford's year 3 class and bit oblivious to punk, although I did have a tartan skirt. Not a lot of punks in eastern suburbs Adelaide. But ten years on and things were again starting to get a bit boring.

BAM! Madchester

and at the forefront was the Stone Roses divine, debut, eponymous album. The album with 'the best song of all time' on constant loop. It's a tough job to pick my favourite Stone Roses song, but I've tried to have bands in this list once only, so this is it. Like Okervill River's Black this has such dark lyrics in such an up tempo song. Fools Gold comes in at number 2, but really it could have been any of them.

24 Bye Bye Pride - The Go-Betweens
To not love the Go-Betweens is about as un-Australian as it's possible to get. Amanda whats-her-name's clarinet in this makes it so memorable. But I also love the lyrics. Amanda Brown, I just googled it.

25 Cannonball - The Breeders
When the Pixies broke up we all wanted to die. Then Kim Deal and her twin sister whose name escapes me formed the Breeders. And it was like the Pixies, but different, and just as good, but different. Particularly the weird sound effects and heavy rhythm, but maybe that's because of the highly developed ego of the bass player.

26 Caravan of Love - The Housemartins
Socialist Christians? I should think nothing is guaranteed to make you into a socialist like living in Thatcher's England. What amazes me is that it turned out one of these guys is Fatboy Slim.



27 Cigarettes Will Kill You - Ben Lee
When Ben Lee was a lad he used to spend time hanging out in lounge rooms with Evan Dando from the Lemonheads playing dirty, nasty guitar music. Then he hit those difficult teenage years, when most people grow their hair and wear t-shirts with rude words on them. However young Ben cut his hair, moved to America and shacked up with Claire Danes. Strange.

And mostly his music went seriously downhill. I understand that the lads from the Chaser did a skit about him last night. And why are they always the 'lads' from the Chaser. Apparently they're also in the poo for doing a skit about Michael Jackson, but is there a comedian on earth who hasn't done a skit about Michael Jackson? If so they're not trying hard enough. But I digress.

This is a good song. I like it.

28 Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
Raggle Taggle before there was Raggle Taggle. Strangely I think they also did a version of Jackie Wilson Said, also performed by the divine Mr Grumpy Trousers mentioned above.

29 Common People - Pulp
This is another dancehall fave. It has an interesting narrative for what is intrinsically a throw away pop song. Then again Neil Tennant once said the snappy pop tracks are the ones that will be remembered through time, because they're the ones that stick in your head. Always reminds me of being in smoky, poorly lit London bars, that always seem to have the loos up a perilously steep flight of stairs, unsuitable for the over-imbibed.

30 Connection - Elastica
Who will Justine end up dating? Will it be Damon Blur or that guy from Kingmaker (I quite liked Kingmaker. Have a couple of their albums. I may be the only person on earth who did on both counts). Of course for avid readers of the NME in 1993 she ended up with Damon, before he left her to leave someone else to end up with that French chick. Elastica burst onto the Camden scene and disappeared nearly as quickly. This record actually has a B-side that is probably better than this song, but that thumping base line makes you swing your hips in an oh-so particular way!

11-20

My last post has created many a comment (only one here, but many to my face). How do you pick 120 songs? Easy, you go through you record collection, and the list on the triplej website and rely on your crusty, decaying memory. Are they the best 120 songs of all time? Mercy, has there ever been a more subjective question. Do I think they are the best 120 songs of all time. Probably not, I don't know if I could make such a list. But they are 120 songs that I either love, have a particular memory attached to, or represent something for me (a musical movement, a political movement, a point in time).

And on that point I should note that normally the Jackson 5's I Want You Back probably would have appeared in here somewhere. But for some reason I can't explain I kind of feel like I'd be bandwagon jumping, so have left it out. Maybe it would have fallen out anyway, I started with a list of over 200.

Anyway, numbers eleven to twenty are:

11 Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
If I were indeed writing a list of the best songs of all time, I quite probably would have put at least half the New Order catalogue in. They are probably my favourite band of all time. Born out of the ashes of Joy Division, they have consistently put out toe tapping, sometimes complex, little rippers. In reality I had five New Order songs on my short list. This one probably made it because I'd heard it on the radio in the car that day and so it was in the front of my mind.

12 Black - Okkervill River
Very Black indeed. The jaunty little pop tune belies the content, of abduction and child abuse. The lyrics intensely enticing and exciting; ripping troats out, the destruction of lives. These guys are genius.

13 Blank Generation - Richard Hell and Voidois
In the late 1970s it seemed like Richard Hell was in every band on earth. This song stuck in my head the first time I heard it "I was screaming get me outta here before I was even born". I probably heard this for the first time nearly 10 years after it was released, but it still rang true for me in my teenage angst then. The sound is just sooooo CBGBs



14 Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
When I was a teenager I probably saw the Violent Femmes play about a million times. OK, at least half a dozen.

15 Bloody Mother Fucking Arsehole - Martha Wainwright
Good punk sensibilities in today's list. This song impresses me with this woman standing up for herself, refusing to be something for someone else. Appeals to my pinko feminist philosophy. Martha also cranks out a jolly good tune.

16 Blue Flower - Mazzy Start
There is a story that goes with song, but I'm too much of a lady to repeat it here.

17 Blush - The Hummingbirds
Much more pop than punk, The Hummingbirds were part of a fraternity (or maybe sorority) of uber-poppy shoe gazing Australian bands. They are a summer band, you want to be standing somewhere with your bare feet on the grass and the sun shining, not too brightly, on your shoulders when you sing these songs. I memorably saw them play with The Falling Joys at Club Foote

18 Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols
This song represents Shotz, a very dodgy nightclub I was going to about a decade ago. It's a great fun night out song and everyone can shout 'who-hoo' together in the chorus. Good percussion too.

19 Born Slippy - Underworld
I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor

10 Bottle Rocket - Go! Team
A couple of years ago the Big Day Out was a few days after I returned to work from a month's holiday in India. I didn't feel I could take another day off to go. The Go! Team played that year and I have regretted passing up the option to see them ever since. Thunder Lightening Strike is one of my all time favourite albums too.

Indulgence

As mentioned last time Triple J's Hottest 100 has been a hot topic of conversation in my social circles. It's what happens when you hang out with as many music nerds as I do. Yesterday I was with Princess helping her prepare for her son Birdie's first birthday party today (Happy Birthday Bird). We compared what we had put on our lists, and what we had left off and our reasons for both. One thing led to another, and well, you know how it goes, I now have my top 120 songs of all time.

Really.

120.

And this is just with a couple of hours thought and a broadband connection. Given time I'm not sure if I could keep it under 200.

So, if you're not interested in popular music I wouldn't bother visiting this site for at least a fortnight, maybe more. Because I'm gonna list every one of those 120. And I've been thinking about how to list them. Should it be by date, or by the club that I was going to when I first heard them, which is also sort of chronological (Lost In Space 1988-2001, Time Tunnel 1990-1992, Slumberland 1993-1997 etc). Or it could be by country, or label, or producer. Then I realised I'm starting to sound like that guy from the High Fidelity book/movie. So they're just here alphabetically by song title.

They do date me though. I've just turn 38, so I was in high school in the mid-80s and university in the late 80s/early 90s, and now at the end of the naughties am buying much less music than I used to, but there are a few contemporary tracks in here. They feel a bit like interlopers in a list of records that I've loved for decades.

But 1-10 are

1. 10:15 - The Cure
It's quite appropriate that the Cure are first cab off the rank. In 1986 I was in grade 10, and up to then had listened to whatever Count Down told me to. By this time The Cure had lost a bit of their edge, but their Head on the Door album opened up a new world to me. Admittedly that world was Goth and it all got a bit weird for a while, but it taught me that if I was able to ignore the radio and the charts there were fantastic artists writing music that I could relate to - ie not about beautiful blond boys falling in love with blue eyed girls. But music about not fitting in, and not liking yourself and suspecting that most of the people in this world are dickheads. Like I said - Goth.

2. A Fairytale of New York - The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl died when she was decapitated by a boat propeller while swimming somewhere in South America (or was it South Africa? Answers on Back of a Post Card). This is the best Christmas Carol ever written.

3. Another Girl Another Planet - The Only Ones
A sentimental favourite. Always on the turn table at Lost in Space.

4. Ant Music- Adam and the Ants
For the percussion. And the ants. Unplug the Jukebox

5. Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
I'm not sure if Lloyd Cole won international success, or if it was just groups of fay euro-centric arts students, but the boys all wanted to be Lloyd Cole and the girls all wanted to fall for Lloyd but have him tell them that it would never work out because it would just distract them from his time with Keats.

6. At First Sight - The Stems
From Perth. Sweet, delicate pop music in a way Australians specialise. Who would have though a national of convicts, hoons and AFL players could write tunes so utterly heartbreaking!

7. Atomic - Blondi
For the riffs

8. Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor - Arctic Monkeys
The new Jesus and Mary Chain? Gruff, rough but oh so very catchy. First single from their first album, although the second album was stronger. Still contenders?

9. Big on Love - The Models
Coincidentally just after I finished putting my list together I turned on Rock Wiz to find Sean Kelly to be one of the guests (although he sang I Feel Motion, another cracker). From a period, thanks probably to Mushroom Records, when Australia really did have a thriving, home kept pop industry with solid bands turning out great tracks that also made the charts. I suspect it's harder for the kids these days

10. Bittersweet - The Hoodoo Gurus
See above. Seriously - is Brad Shepherd the coolest man ever to hold a guitar. swoon