Manda Propaganda

So I finally did it… I made a list of my Top 100 Favourite Songs and believe me, its was bloody hard to do! I agonized over the last 20 or so, and repeatedly changed it until I had what I now consider to be a pretty well rounded list, which sum up my music preferences.

I want to add a disclaimer here that not all the songs included are very good “quality” or even very well written; some are gimmicky, some are just utter crap, but each song means something to me, or touched me in some way, and each have earned their spot on the list in my heart… aww!

If you want to hear any of the tracks, you can visit my Last FM playlist. All links in the descriptions are to external sites that I don’t control the content of, blah blah etc.

Also, don’t be surprised if minor tweaks are made from time to time.

Manda’s Top 100 Favourite Songs!

Apples In Stereo - The Bird That You Can’t See
Now I know there are some things that you need to explain, girl; turn off your mind; you’re using up your brain, girl!
I discovered this song in 2001 by asking a bunch of random online friends to send me their favourite songs. This one was sent to me by some guy in England whose name I forget. I listened to some of the groups other songs but none of them really caught my interest. This one however is really catchy and I dig the lyrics too.

Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatry
It’s the opinion of the entire staff that Dexter is criminally insane…
When I first heard this song in early 2001 I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that it totally changed my opinion of what makes music good. It was so different to anything I had ever heard before, and even now it stands out as a piece of music genius. The whole Since I Left You album was created from samples of old obscure records, TV shows and movies which might be seen as cheating, but really its just an audio collage or a mosaic of sound. Whatever, I totally dig it. On another note, the title track has a wicked cool video.

Barenaked Ladies - If I Had A Million Dollars
If I had a million dollars, I’d buy your love…
Sometimes music doesn’t need to be clever or deep, it just needs to be honest. And being funny helps too. This is such a great song, I’ve heard so many versions of it, but this album version if my favourite. I love songs in the “call & return” style, they are so much fun to sing, and lord knows, I was born to be a back up singer! Plus, they are Canadians!

Barry Manilow – Mandy
Caught up in a world of uphill climbing, tears are in my eyes and nothing is rhyming…
I wish someone loved me enough to write me a song *sigh*. I like to think it’s just for me anyway. And if you can overlook how daggy it is, it’s actually really beautiful and the lyrics are so lovely. Great for karaoke!

Beastie Boys – Sounds Of Science
I’ve been dropping the new science and I’ve been kicking the new k-knowledge, an MC to a degree that you can’t get in college…
I love nerdy music, and writing a song about science is just so silly and clever, I love it. My science teacher used to talk about it in High School, as a way to prove that science was cool, so I guess it’s thanks to her that I love the Beastie Boys!

Ben Folds Five – Brick
If I could play piano I would play this song a lot I reckon. It’s so sad… there are a lot of sad songs on this list but this is one of the saddest. I think it’s the line near the end “she broke down, and I broke down”, because breaking or being broken is such a strong description that really resonates with me. It just seems so final.

Ben Kweller – Falling
Just say hello to the ground…
This song is the reason I want to learn piano. I first saw the lovely little Texan Ben Kweller as part of pseudo-super group The Bens (with Ben Folds & Ben Lee) and immediately loved him. He has 4 solo albums now plus numerous EPs as well as earlier work he did with Radish, but out of all of it, this song just gets me every time. And I love a good “ba ba ba” more than is healthy I fear! As a matter of interest, I saw The Bens with my wonderful friend Dr Mel, who took me along for my birthday. A while later we saw Ben Kweller together again solo at the Gaelic Club, where he announced that he had proposed to his girlfriend the last time he was in Australia. So thats nice to know.

Ben Lee - Into The Dark
You’re not a landmine, you’re not a goldmine, no you’re not mine at all…
This is such a sweet and lovely little song. I love acoustic guitar with a male voice, and Ben Lee’s sound is so unique and his songs so poetic, it’s hard not to like. The album Awake Is The New Sleep is full of gems like this, it’s a real coming of age for a guy who was universally hated for so many years (though in all fairness he was an annoying little prick when he was younger). Plus it was the first album after his break up with that Claire Danes bird so it’s tinged with heartache throughout.

Bernard Fanning – Wish You Well
Why’d you give up on me so soon? I just wanna wish you well…
Two Aussies in a row! And another example of a unique male voice and an acoustic guitar. I’m a big fan of Bernard Fanning’s band Powderfinger for generic rock, but his solo effort is simply divine, it’s on a whole other level. This was the big single from the album and it’s really well written, so it gets stuck in my head all the time.

Blue Oyster Cult – Don’t Fear The Reaper
Yes, I confess it’s partly because of Christopher Walken and his insatiable appetite for more cow bell, but also this is just a sensational song!

Blur – Tender
Oh how I love me some BritPop! Blur are a class act, and Damon Albarn is just an amazing artist. Also, despite being decidedly non-religious, I love a good gospel choir style sing along and a beat you can’t help but clap along to, so this song ticks so many boxes for me.

Bob Dylan – I Shall Be Released
All top song lists have at least one Bob Dylan track, but usually its Tangled Up In Blue or Mr Tambourine Man, but for me, the eternally optimistic mood of the song makes it my personal favourite. There is also a great cover of this song by Nina Simone.

Boston – More Than A Feeling
The ultimate air band song, as featured on Scrubs, my favourite TV show ever. Try listening to this song without air guitaring or air drumming to it, you’d have to be a soulless freak to be unmoved by this classic!

Buddy Holly – That’ll Be The Day
The 50’s were so sweet and innocent, and I would give anything to have been a teenager when Buddy Holly was at the height of his success just before his death. I can totally see myself in a Happy Days-esque diner, wearing a huge skirt with a poodle embroidered on it, with socks and Mary Janes, and a twin set, dancing and drinking milkshakes after school. I would have had the most wicked Beehive hairdo the world had ever seen. Suck on that Amy Winehouse! The little ‘hic’ in his voice is so adorable; I don’t think anyone else in the world could get away with it.

Cat Empire – Hello
Welcome to the empire, and the funky empire tunes, but most of all welcome to the bellas in this room…
The singer, Felix Reibl is so cute! And his crazy hair and penchant for funky hats just seals the deal for me! Of course it helps that the music is equally funky – a bit ska, a bit reggae, a bit jazzy… it’s got a lot going for it. This song in particular is also very cheeky and sexy so it’s a good fun track for when you’re getting ready to go out. And they are Australian too, so bonus points there.

Cat Stevens – Father And Son
This song was covered by some shitty boyband (they don’t deserve to be named) a few years back, and sung all in one voice, which pissed me off no end. Did they not get that it’s a 2 sided conversation? Those shitheads made it sound like some delusional crack head fighting their own internal dialogue, which is not a bad idea for a song, but not at all what this song is about. Anyone who has ever had to fight for their right (to party?) against a parent or other authority figure knows what this song is about. Cutting ties in order to have freedom, insisting on being able to follow your own life path and make your own mistakes. And yet it’s not angry, it’s passionate and caring, but also a little arrogant and that just makes it so authentic. It’s awesome.

Cliff Richard - Wired For Sound
I like small speakers, I like tall speakers… wall speakers… most of all I like loud speakers…
There was an Australian female electro group called B(if)tek who covered this track, my sister and I saw them perform it live at Big Day Out in 2000. They were wearing little nurses outfits. Too cute. But the original is my favourite; it’s a happy and catchy song about the joy of music.

Combustible Edison – Vertigogo
I LOVE songs that exist purely for the joy it – no story, no moral, no message to send… just the joy. I have no idea if this song was intended that way, but for me, it just is, and that’s good enough. It kinda sums up Lounge music for me, its frivolous and carefree, and I like that. I first heard it in the closing credits of the Quentin Tarantino movie Four Rooms (from what I understand Combustible Edison did the whole soundtrack) and fell in love with it right away. I’ve since heard it used in movies and TV shows all over the place, but it still brings me back to that New Years Eve in an LA hotel!

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt always Kill
Though shalt not make repetitive generic music!
This is such a clever song, even though I only agree with about 75% of it. I love the beats, its sounds like my old Atari. And the video is super cool. Thou shalt not wish your girlfriend was a freak like me!

Daniel Powter - Bad Day
Another Canadian makes the list. It’s really upbeat for a sad song, but I guess that’s the point. When you’ve had a bad day, (in the immortal words of Elton John) sad songs say so much. I love the clip too, it’s got Samaire Armstrong in it, she was in The OC, and is just adorable.

Dogs Die In Hot Cars – Lounger
I get up when I like, wear anything I like, don’t keep up with the cool, I make up my own rules…
So infectious! This song is seriously stupid but I just adore it. They appeared on my radar around the same time as Franz Ferdinand and The Fratellis, who are all also Scottish, which was a bit surreal, but very cool. It’s the upbeat anthem for the modern lazy person.

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers - Islands In The Stream
Don’t laugh, this is a great song! No one will admit it, but everyone knows at least the chorus, and will sing along if enough alcohol has been consumed. Plus there is a really beautiful line in Dolly’s verse: No more will you cry, baby I will hurt you never, we start and end as one, in love forever… they just don’t write them like that anymore!

Don McLean - American Pie
This could actually be my favourite song of all time. But only if it’s the long version, I hate when they cut it off after 4 verses. And yet at 8:32 it’s still not the longest song on the list. I read an article on the meaning of the song where they dissected each line and explained what each character and each event was in reference to. I’m not 100% convinced on all of them, some might just be convenient rhymes, but either way it’s a shining example of how a good song should be written. Don McLean was obsessed with Buddy Holly, and covered a lot of his songs (of which, Everyday, is my favourite). He makes it so melancholy; you can really tell how much that song meant to him.

Don McLean – Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you…
Written about Vincent Van Gogh, and his painting The Starry Night. Incidentally that is one of my favourite works of art, which gives me an idea for another Top Something’s list. I got to see the painting at an exhibition in Canberra when I was about 19, and I stood in front of it for almost an hour very close to tears. No picture you will ever see on line or in a book can do it justice. The colours are indescribable, and it’s so luminous it seems to shine. The song brings the memory back very clearly for me.

Electric Light Orchestra – Sweet Talking Woman
Anyone who doesn’t like ELO should just fuck off and die. OK, maybe thats a bit extreme. But there is quite possibly no greater pleasure in the world than overly manufactured orchestral disco pop. So says me. Plus, they did the soundtrack to Xanadu! What’s not to love? This song in particular has been a favourite driving song of mine as far back as I can remember.

Elton John - Tiny Dancer
I love this song so much. The scene in Almost Famous, with everyone singing it in the tour bus made it popular again, and I am so glad for that… it’s nice to not be the only person who knows all the words for once! Plus the build up before launching into a falsetto chorus is hilarious when you are in a drunken group.

End Of Fashion – O Yeah
I’m a raisin, she’s a cow, the way she’s looking at me now; wow!
Another Australian group, this was their first big single, which came out in 2005, and it’s spent a long time on high rotation on my mp3 player. People say they stole a riff from The Pixies, Where Is My Mind, but I’m more inclined to think there is nothing new under the sun, and most songs sound like some other song if you think about it long enough. Either way, this is catchy as all hell and good fun to listen to.

Everclear - Brown Eyed Girl
I hear a song, makes me think of a girl I used to know, I sing along when I hear it on the radio…
So when is a cover not a cover? When it’s a tribute! I love the Van Morrison original more than words can say, but this song superbly expresses the feeling of how this (or any) song can take you back to a certain time and place and remind you of people and events from the past. I really like the video too; it’s got that cute chick from The Practice in it. And I’ve never seen a music video like it, with the subtitle bits explaining what’s going on… very clever.

Faith No More – RV
You don’t feel it after a while, you take the beating…
This is such a brutally sad song. The melody is so haunting and the emotions are so raw that it became a favourite of mine the first time I heard it.

Fiona Apple – Criminal
The second she says that opening line “I’ve been a bad, bad girl” I get the urge to jump her; she’s so incredibly sexy, and so is the song. And the video. Good Lord…

Fiona Apple - Get Him Back
I think he let me down when he didn’t disappoint me, he didn’t always guess right but he usually got my gist…
This is a very relatable song for most women I think. Its got a double meaning, as she discusses men who did wrong by her who she wants to get back (get revenge on) as well as the one she did wrong by who she wants to get back (win back). I’ve always wondered what it would be like to hear about yourself in song, especially if it’s not positive. Not that I’m in any hurry to experience that particular brand of notoriety.

Fishbone - Hide Behind My Glasses
I like to hide behind my glasses, when I feel uptight, I like to hide behind my glasses, when I’m trippin’ in the strobe light!
I feel like I’m on stage when I listen to this song. It makes me feel like a total Diva whenever I play it, even if I’m just by myself at home folding laundry. It’s so theatrical, like it should be a play, as it really needs to be performed rather than just sung.

Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
In the last few years there has been a lot of awesome music coming out of Scotland, and the UK in general, and not all of it fits under the generic BritPop umbrella. These guys for example are kinda New Wave, though all these new genres they are coming up with just do my head in so I try not to think about it. This song is brilliant for a road trip. It’s got enormous dashboard drumming, passenger side air guitar and backseat head banging potential.

George Michael & Elton John – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal…
This is one of my favourite two part sing along songs. It is so simple but so dramatic. And the harmonies are just lovely.

Gilbert O’Sullivan - Alone Again Naturally
Apparently this was a massive hit when it was released in 1972, which is weird since its about having your father die, your heart broken mother die shortly after, being stood up at the alter and planning on killing yourself. Not exactly uplifting stuff, but I think that’s why I love it. It’s such a “woe is me” classic. Plus the guitar pitch towards the end, I don’t know how to describe it, but its sounds like its… crying.

Giorgio Morodor – Electric Dreams
Yeah I know this is as daggy as they come, but the lyrics are so sweet and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love it when it comes on the radio when I have someone in the car with me; it never ceases to amaze people how many questionable songs I know all the words to!

Gorillaz - 19-2000
Get the cool shoe shine!
Damon Albarn strikes again, but instead of sounding like more stuff from the guy from Blur, it’s got a whole different feel to it. As well it should, since its not a band of people, it’s a band of Gorillaz! It’s more funky and electronic, and a bit more experimental. Plus they made up a whole back story to go with the artificial illustrated band.

Hilltop Hoods – The Nosebleed Section
More Aussies! You know, I didn’t pay any attention to the anything other than the songs themselves while I was compiling this list, and I’m frankly surprised how much local content is on it! I always thought Australian music was fairly B-grade but seeing how much of it I love I guess I have to rethink that opinion. Or admit that I like B-grade music. Aussie hip hop is a weird one though, I don’t think we have a lot of it, but I can’t be sure because it’s not really my preferred style. These guys are crazy cool though, and this song is good fun.

Jackson 5 – I Want You Back
Every street you walk on I leave tear stains on the ground, following the girl I didn’t even want around.
If you can put aside the fact that he is a looney tune, you have to admit that Michael Jackson is a genius. Or, was a genius at least. Even as a child he was amazingly talented, and despite the fact that his youth makes the sentiment of this song almost comical, I still love it. And the boys have sensational harmonies.

Janes Addiction – Three Days
Shadows of the morning light, shadows of the evening sun, til the shadows and the lights were one…
At 10:49 it’s an epic song, and the longest on the list! Probably my favourite Jane’s song actually, except for the live version of Jane Says… maybe. I love Perry Farrell’s voice, it goes from sweet and melodic to rough and snarly so easily. And the song itself has amazing lyrics, which are brilliant just to read.

Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
This could be the newest song to be included on the list. It’s been a massive hit in Australia this year and I often go around the house goose-stepping to the tune that I just can’t get out my head. Its one of those gorgeous innocent tunes that you want to listen to while the sun is shining. On a side note, my 10 month old niece loves this song. When we play it for her, she actually dances to it, in an uncoordinated baby sort of way. Just adorable.

Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
Most people choose Hallelujah as their favourite Jeff Buckley song, but this is the first one I ever heard, so it holds a special place in my heart. I am so sad that I never got to see Jeff in concert before he died, and its because of that fact that I make a deliberate effort to catch a live show of anyone I love that much. I hear they are talking about making a movie of his life, and I really hope they don’t fuck it up. He was a really funny, upbeat guy and if they play him as a melancholy loner that will just kill me. He had a wicked sense of humour and loved to poke fun at himself. Once during an interview he wore a pink t-shirt with “Take That loves you” written on it. Little things like that are so easy to miss, but I really hope that if the movie goes ahead, they pay more attention to those idiosyncratic details rather than just finding someone who looks or sounds like him.

Kate Miller-Heidke – Words
Is there some way I can take back all the times you threw away? Been burning up the decade when you should’ve seized the day…
This chick is seriously awesome. She trained as an opera singer but gave it up because it was too stodgy; she wanted to do pop instead. And thank god for that! She seems like a total nut job, and I say that in the nicest possible way! Her fashion sense and make up are always so funky, she is the kind of person I would want to be best friends with. This song was her first solo single, and it’s just brilliant. The video is also very cool.

Leonard Cohen – The Future
When they said “Repent! Repent!” I wonder what they meant…
The first Leonard Cohen song I ever heard was Everybody Knows, which was featured in the movie Pump Up The Volume (and yes, I had a pre-teen crush on Christian Slater), and frankly I didn’t like him. I thought his voice was ugly and scary but there was a seductive quality to it that eventually brought me around. I really got into him after hearing Dance Me To The End Of Love when I was about 19, and after listening to everything I could find of his, I was stunned by how poetic he is. Vulgar, yes. Brutally honest, yes. Creepy, yes. But also incredible. So very incredible. This song was used in the closing credits of Natural Born Killers which is one of my favourite movies of all time. There’s another list I’ll have to make one day…

Liquido – Play Some Rock
These guys were a bit of a one hit wonder in Australia in 2000, despite having a massive back catalogue of stuff in their native Germany. I have to admit I haven’t heard anything else of theirs, but really should try to find some of it because if this track is anything to go by, I would probably really enjoy it. Upbeat, fun, funky, catchy.

Mattafix – Big City Life
Soon our work is done, all of us one by one, still we live our lives as if all this stuff survives…
This is the third hip hop outfit to make the list (joining Hilltop Hoods and Beastie Boys), which is weird since I’m not a particularly big hip hop fan. This song though is just so lovely. It’s all about peaceful living and loving of ones brothers etc rather than giving in to the dog eat dog thing. And I totally feel it… wanting to get away to somewhere less stressful but not being able to leave the chaos of the big city.

Men At Work – Overkill
Australian music in the 80’s was mostly pub rock, which I am really, really not a fan of. But Men At Work was a bit softer, a bit more considered, a little more intelligent (if you can look beyond the cringe worthy Land Down Under). This song was performed on Scrubs by Colin Hay, who also made numerous other appearances on the show.

Men Without Hats - Safety Dance
When I was little, I loved this song with every fibre of my being. It was that young, naïve and totally unselfconscious love that you only experience as a child… the same kind of love that mortifies you in retrospect as an adult. Fortunately this song and the video have attained a certain cult status and references to it pop up all over the place still. Plus, they are Canadians!

Michael Buble – Home
My words were cold and flat and you deserve more than that…
Such a sad song. It makes me think about airports, hotel rooms, being busy but being bored, being in good company but still being lonely. It’s obviously very autobiographical and intimate but the sentiment is universal. Whenever you choose to do something even vaguely selfish, something for yourself, you have to walk away from something else. And sometimes you make the wrong choice. And I love Michael Buble, so the thought of him being sad is just too much for my little heart to bear! Haha. And yet another Canadian…

Michael Penn - No Myth
What if I were Romeo in black jeans, what if I was Heathcliffe its no myth; maybe she’s just looking for someone to dance with…
I used to be embarrassed about liking this song, until I noticed how many “greatest songs” lists it appears on. So it’s not just me who loves it after all! Michael Penn is actor Sean Penn’s brother, which is an interesting bit of trivia for you.

My Chemical Romance & The Used - Under Pressure
Now, I love love love the original version by Queen and David Bowie, but this version is just so energetic and forceful, and for a “modernised” cover, it manages to keep the emotion of the original fairly intact. But I know some fans of the original who hate this version, so each to their own. The drumming in the intro is good too, crazy good in fact.

N.E.R.D. – She Wants To Move
She’s sexy!
She sure is! This song makes me wanna dance like a stripper. And the video is totally hot. That’s all I have to say about that.

Natasha Beddingfield – These Words
A song about writing a song. Or writing anything really. About expressing a simple idea in the most over the top way you can, but realising that it just doesn’t work that way… sometimes simple ideas (like love, total cliché, but hey, it works) just need to be expressed simply.

Nick Cave - Red Right Hand
You’re one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan, designed and directed by his red right hand…
No song has ever summed up the seduction of evil like this does. I love Nick Cave’s voice, and the song arrangement is simply brilliant. You just know if anyone else had attempted this song they would have gone overboard, but the restraint shown just makes it so powerful.

Nick Cave - The Ship Song
But when I crawl into your arms, everything, it comes tumbling down…
There is a studio version of this song, but it hasn’t a fraction of the emotion that the live version does. This would be another song I would play endlessly on piano if I could…

Nina Simone – Mr Bojangles
Originally a Bob Dylan song, I think Nina Simone does a much better version. It’s very raw and emotional, and they way her voice breaks in parts makes me very sad. It makes me miss Mr Bojangles too, and I never even met the guy! And his dog! Talk about tragedy… he just up and died. Man.

Oasis - Don’t Look Back In Anger
Stand up beside the fireplace, take that look from off your face, you ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out…
The Brothers Gallagher said in an interview that there is no Sally, never was, it just fit when they wrote it. I could care less though, because it’s a lovely song.

OK Go - Here It Goes Again
Just when you think you’re in control, just when you think you’ve got a hold, just when you get on a roll…
This is a great driving song, it’s so upbeat and fun. It was a pretty popular single, mainly due to the treadmill video, but even without that I would still love it. Its also a great song to run or dance to, it keeps your energy super high even if just for 3 minutes!

Otis Redding - Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
Such a dreamy and relaxing song. I can totally relate to the feeling of needing to get away from everything and just zone out, and let the time pass. And I love a good whistle in a song! Even though I can’t whistle *sigh*.

Paul Simon – Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
He’s a poor boy, empty as a pocket, empty as a pocket with nothing to lose…
This song is from the Graceland album which explains the African backing vocals. I like the contrast between the earthy tribal style vocals n the beginning, the reggae style music in the verses and the big brass band feel of the bridge.

Peter Gabriel - Solisbury Hill
I don’t know why this is on the list really… I just really love having it on in the background. Maybe I heard it at a certain time in my life and hearing it now brings back a subconscious memory, who knows. Also, I don’t know how it came about, but there was a contest online to create a trailer for a fake movie using footage from a real movie, and the aim was to totally change the story into something different. I don’t know if it won (I hope it did!), but there is clip that turns The Shining from a horror movie into one simply called Shining, about a regular nice guy who meets a single mother with a son and becomes a step father, and this song was used on that fake trailer… and knowing the movie as well as I do, it was surreal to see it look so heart warming and family friendly.

Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
The story goes that this song is about Roger Waters being heavily sedated before a concert and being almost paralysed throughout the show. For me, the song sums up monotonous suburban life; comfortable but numb. Not quite as exciting, but just as sad.

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl…
I think everyone loves this song. It’s a timeless classic.

Pixies – Dig For Fire
No my child this is not my desire, and then she said “I’m digging for fire”.
I have no idea what “I’m digging for fire” is meant to mean, but the way I interpret it, it might as well be “I’m nailing jelly to a tree” cause it’s just as much an exercise in futility. And we’ve all been there, right?

Pixies – Gigantic
Gigantic! A big big love!
This song is one of the only things that can make me happy when I am in a bad mood! It’s so infectious. I challenge anyone to not get a kick out of it. No one screams like Black Francis!

Placebo – Without You I’m Nothing
I’m unclean, a libertine, and every time you vent your spleen, I seem to lose the power of speech, you’re slipping slowly from my reach, you grow me like an evergreen, you’ve never seen the lonely me at all…
So much angst! It’s just really dark and depressing, so lonely and pathetic. There are a few versions around, but I love this version best, as it features backing vocals by David Bowie which really contrast beautifully with Brian Molko’s.

Pulp - Disco 2000
Let’s all meet up in the year 2000, wont it be strange when we’re all fully grown…
I dig the melody of this song, which is borrowed from the disco hit Gloria by Laura Branigan from 1982. Its about a guy who is looking back and seeing how far his life has deviated from the course he had intended. Apparently it’s a real story about Jarvis Cocker’s childhood sweetheart, but I haven’t looked into that to see if it’s true. I don’t really care anyway; it wouldn’t change how I feel about the song. It’s an awesome sing along song, especially with old friends.

Radiohead – Creep
This song came out when I was 13 years old. The timing could not have been better (or worse depending on how you look at it), and it proceeded to consume me with teenage angst and an unhealthy dose of self-loathing. I love the song still but I feel a bit funny if I listen to it too intently or too often. And forget watching the video, I’d probably kill myself if I did!

Raja Mushtaq - Heaven Is A Place On Earth
This song came to my attention when it was used on the hilarious Peugeot 206 “The Sculptor” commercial. It’s just a lot of fun and really different – like dance pop meets world music.

Ratcat - Getting Away (From This World)
I am so small, and so is my misery.
Written about the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986 using an actual recording of the launch and the communications from mission control. For me, this is a song about escaping your life, living a fantasy and attempting to do something incredible, even if it’s a futile effort. I still cry when I hear it sometimes. Ratcat is still one of my favourite Australian groups, even though they haven’t done anything of note for the last 15 odd years.

Reel Big Fish - The Set Up (You Want This)
If I had any music ability whatsoever, I would want to be in a Ska band. You get to have a dozen members, all the usual stuff like guitars and keyboards as well as multiple drummers, and a whole brass section! The music is just so fun and this song in particular about my favourite subject, unrequited love, is beautifully delivered in an odd and slightly possessive way.

Regurgitator - ! (The Song Formally Known As)
Such a great band. Another Australian one too! This is a great dancing song, or a getting ready to go out song. But I love that the lyrics are more about not going out, and preferring to stay home cause its more comfortable. The other cool thing about this track and Regurgitator in general is the amount of crazy stuff they sample in their tracks. You can hear a song a dozen times and then all of a sudden hear something in it you never noticed before. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving!

REM – Daysleeper
I see today with a newsprint fray, my night is coloured headache grey…
I don’t think this was ever released as a single, so I’m not sure how I came across it, but it’s so melancholy and makes me feel quite exhausted and a little lonely when I listen to it. Anyone who has ever done shift work can relate to the feeling of backwardness that it expresses.

Rolling Stone – Beast Of Burden
Other might have preferred Satisfaction, Paint It Black, Sympathy For The Devil or Jumpin Jack Flash, all of which are brilliant songs, but for me, Beast Of Burden is the best Rolling Stones song ever. Bette Midler did a cover of it which is really sassy and cute but the original is really dirty and a bit wrong, which is how I like my Rolling Stones!

Roy Orbison - You Got It
Everything I have read about Roy Orbison has been positive. Everyone he ever worked with loved him and everyone who didn’t work with him wanted to. He had so much tragedy in his life, losing his first wife, and shortly after 2 of his young sons. He remained a good kind man though, and that really comes through in this song, which is the epitome of love, generous and unselfish.

Sarah McLachlan – Blackbird
Pretty much everyone does Beatles songs better than the Beatles did. This is one of my favourites lyrically because it feels redemptive in the same way that Amazing Grace does… And yet another Canadian.

Skunkhour – Home
Greener the grass may grow, now I’m heading home
Another awesome Australian band, though now defunct. Maybe it’s the delightful falsetto style singing or the infectious melody or the way it makes me miss things the way they were. When this came out in 1999 it was a different world, and I miss that.

Space – Me And You Vs The World
There is something magical about a good clap along song! And this song is so damn catchy. Space is an awesome BritPop band, though they are largely unknown (in Australia anyway). Another of their songs, Female Of The Species, was used in the closing credits of the first Austin powers movie, which I think gave them a measure of exposure, but its this wacky tune about a doomed Bonnie & Clyde style relationship that I love.

Space - The Ballad Of Tom Jones
A duet with Cerys Matthews from Catatonia about how listening to Tom Jones saved them from killing each other. The whole concept is just so bizarre, I love it. I have a tradition of singing this in the car with one of my best friends, and he hams it up so much, I have many hilarious memories that go with this song.

Spencer Bell – I Got A Reason
Tragically Spencer died on December 2nd 2006, almost 2 whole years before I discovered his music. But now that I have, I am so grateful to his family for keeping his memory alive and sharing his music with the world. If I had never found it, I would have never known what I was missing, and that’s even more tragic. Had he survived the Adrenal Cancer that took his life, he would have been crazy famous, no doubt about it.

Spencer Bell – Tourist
This song is so much fun, its a beautiful introduction to the young singer/songwriter. Everyone I have played it for has commented on how unique and profound it is. That sounds a bit cheesy, but in all seriousness, I have never come across a talent quite like Spencer Bell before in my life and doubt I ever will again. Go and buy the CD, and say Hi to his father, he’s a lovely guy. Also check out “Two Cigarettes” which is probably my favourite of his songs, but didn’t make the list because I don’t have it on MP3 yet.

Squeeze – Cool For Cats
I remember hearing this on the radio when I was very young and thinking it was a most brilliant song ever written. Even though age and experience has proven that inaccurate, I still have a soft spot for it. And with maturity comes an understanding of what it’s actually about. Hint: it’s not cats.

Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You
But what it is, though old, so new, to fill your heart like no three words could ever do…
Sappy and lame. But seriously, I can’t sing this out loud without choking up towards the end. I have literally broken down crying to this song, not in a sad way but in an “I am overcome by my own capacity to feel love” sort of way. What a sap I’ve become in my old age!

The Beach Boys – God Only Knows
Songs really don’t get much more perfect that this. Though I’m not a particularly big Beach Boys fan, I appreciate the genius of their music, the wonderful lyrics, the incredible harmonies, its all there. This song in particular really hits me deeply, its just gorgeous.

The Dresden Dolls - Coin Operated Boy
These guys are sensational! Amanda Palmer is my hero; she is such a top chick. But this song, as adorable as it is, is really quite sad. The video is great though, Brian is such a cutie too, and amazingly talented. Seeing these guys live was an incredible experience, they are so subversive and over the top theatrical plus they did a wicked cool cover of Bon Jovi’s Living On A Prayer.

The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
Well, you must be a girl with shoes like that!
I feel like a drunk Scotsman when I listen to this song. It’s so happy and cheeky and the lyrics are so clever. Everything about this song (including the video) is just cool. It makes me wanna dance like a spaz.

The Hollies - He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother
This song is one that I have always considered pretty damn close to perfection. It is so fearless and honest, and the melody is so haunting, it really stays with you. The lyrics are brilliant; they are so simple but very well written. Often you find at least one or two awkward phrases in a lyrical story song but this one just flows beautifully.

The Tea Party – Fire In The Head
Ah, more sexy Canadians! Seeing The Tea Party live (mere months before they broke up) was the highlight of my young life. This song (like most of their music) is so violently sexy, and I actually was torn between this song and Temptation, but FITH won on account of the fact that it was the song that begun my decade long love affair with the band.

The Waterboys - The Whole Of The Moon
I spoke about wings, you just flew; I wondered, I guessed, and I tried, you just knew…
Such a gorgeous song about realising why someone loves you more than you think they should. It’s like when you look at someone or something most people only see what is presented to them, while others see that there is more than meets the eye, they see the potential, and the possibilities. It’s magical.

The Whitlams - No Aphrodisiac
Wow, talk about desperate. This song is so… pathetic, it’s just incredible. It really tears at you emotionally; well it does for me anyway. I really like The Whitlams, they have many beautiful songs that I could have included (the Charlie trilogy is a great example) but this was the first big commercial hit for these Aussies, so it definitely earned its place on the list.

The Whitlams – You Sound Like Louis Burdett
My friends are completely fucked, but they’re such fun to have around!
In stark contrast to No Aphrodisiac is this track… a bit wacky and a bit odd, but its got a lot of references to places in and around Sydney so its kinda cool to see how my little home town played a part in making music.

They Might Be Giants – Dead
Did a large procession wave their torches as my head fell in the basket, and was everybody dancing on the casket?
This band is freakin’ awesome. The songs seem almost childlike but they are actually pretty sophisticated, and the writing is amazing. The whole Flood album is brilliant and every person on the planet should own a copy.

They Might Be Giants – Don’t Lets Start
D World destruction, O-ver an overture, N do I need apostrophe T need this torture?
Such a clever song! The video is bizarre but it suits the song. Seriously, who sings the apostrophe in a song?! Apparently, when asked what the song means, John Linnell replied, “It’s about not let’s starting”.

They Might Be Giants – The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Hush my darling, be still my darling, the lions on the phone…
It blows my mind how many cover versions there are of this song! I loved the original version by The Tokens ever since I was a kid, but this version is just so typical of TMBG, it’s like they take a normal song and inject it with LSD then strip it naked and make it run around in traffic.

Thirsty Merc - Someday Someday
Whether due to work or personal commitments, when two people in love need to part ways, it’s such a painful decision to make. Rai Thistlethwayte wrote this for someone, and whoever it was, he didn’t come back for them, because I heard he was dating Ozzy Osbourne’s oldest daughter (not Kelly) at one stage. Such a nice song though, it is nice to have hope that things will work out in spite of the challenges. And Aussies too.

Tom Petty - Free Fallin
I feel very liberated listening to this song. The music perfectly captures the uninhibited and “wide open” feeling it describes. I noticed a very subtle echo on a lot of the vocals which probably creates a lot of that feeling of being somewhere big and empty.

Travelling Wilburys – Handle With Care
The best of all supergroups: George Harrison (The Beatles), Jeff Lynne (ELO), Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. Can you even imagine having a group of such high calibre musical legends these days? Who would be in it? We just don’t have people like this anymore. And generally the only time supergroups are formed are for charity events or publicity stunts. This was an organic coming together of likeminded legends, and what they produced was just sensational. And something that speaks volumes to me at least is that each of these guys are represented elsewhere in this list, so that’s pretty cool. I wonder what I could come up with if I picked 5 other random bands from the list and made up a supergroup. Could be interesting!

Velvet Underground - I’ll Be Your Mirror
Poor Nico. Possibly the worst voice in music history (just my opinion, of course) she still managed to inspire a generation. But this is such a great song, I can forgive the singing. I like Lou Reed’s version from his Ecstasy album better generally, but the original will always be better overall. If that makes sense.

Velvet Underground – Venus In Furs
Shiny boots of leather indeed. Such a sexy, crazy, odd song. I feel a bit wasted when I listen to it. And judging from Lou Reed’s chuckle at the end, I’m not the only one. Quick aside, I met Lou Reed at an ‘Ecstasy’ album signing before his concert in Sydney in 2000. He asked why I had 2 copies and after joking that I was going to sell one on eBay (which didn’t go over well admittedly), I said that one was for a friend for her birthday, and he signed it “Happy Birthday Pamela, from Lou Reed” which was super cool. Pamela was stoked.

Weezer - El Scorcho
I absolutely agonised over whether to include El Scorcho or Buddy Holly. On one hand, Buddy Holly has a wicked cool video with footage from Happy Days, and on the other hand El Scorcho has the desperation of unrequited love. And for me that just can’t be beat.