I was suckered into doing this by my dear friend Ruth. Hmmph. Damn tagging.

Top Five Lyrics that Move Your Heart

Firstly I want readers to be aware – this is songs that move your heart. So a couple of them are going to be soppy. And romantic. And that has nothing to do with the fact that I am a hopeless romantic.

1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Ship Song

Being a totally hopeless romantic (*cough*) I must say this song has a lot of memories associated with it. Chris & Amanda waltzing in an empty night club to this song. Anna and I at Nick Cave at the Collingwood Town Hall. This song could be a total cliche but it somehow manages not to be.

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

We talk about it all night long
We define our moral ground
But when I crawl into your arms
Everything comes tumbling down

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Your face has fallen sad now
For you know the time is nigh
When I must remove your wings
And you, you must try to fly

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

2. The Smiths – Please please please let me get what I want

I’ve always loved this song. As far as I am concerned this is the ultimate song about unrequited love.

Good times for a change
See, the luck I’ve had
Can make a good man
Turn bad

So please please please
Let me, let me, let me
Let me get what I want
This time

Haven’t had a dream in a long time
See, the life I’ve had
Can make a good man bad

So for once in my life
Let me get what I want
Lord knows, it would be the first time
Lord knows, it would be the first time

3. The Lemonheads – Allison’s starting to happen to me

Some people reading are going to hate this choice and this song. But I fell in love to this song. Unfortunately not with a girl named Allison which might have explained how it all turned out.

She’d shake it up, was hard to make out.
Now it’s plain to see
I couldn’t cook to save myself,
Found my life a recipe.
I never looked at her this way before,
But now she’s all I see…

Alison’s starting to happen,
Alison’s starting to happen,
Alison’s starting to happen to me

It’s so mesmerizing,
Can’t describe it,
All that inside, hey.
No one’s heard her last name, I ain’t asked,
So, who am I to blame?
An earthquakes started forming underneath my feet today…

Alison’s starting to happen,
Alison’s starting to happen,
Alison’s starting to happen to me

Oh, this world is topsy-turvy,
And it is mine to eat.
She’s the pebble in my mouth and underneath my feet.
She’s the puzzle piece behind the couch, made the sky complete.

Alison’s starting to happen.
Alison’s starting to happen.
Alison’s starting to happen.
Alison’s starting to happen.
Alison’s getting her tit pierced.
Alison’s growing a mohawk.
Alison’s starting to happen to me.

4. Sinead O’Connor – Nothing compares 2 U

Whilst I otherwise find Sinead immensely painful and annoying this song has got to be one of the saddest, heart tugging songs. Not a song to listen to when drunk and lonely. Really. Trust me on this.

It’s been seven hours and fifteen days
Since u took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since u took your love away
Since u been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
But nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues
`Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares 2 u
It’s been so lonely without u here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong
I could put my arms around every boy I see
But they’d only remind me of you
I went to the doctor n’guess what he told me
Guess what he told me
He said girl u better have fun
No matter what u do
But he’s a fool
`Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares 2 u
All the flowers that u planted, mama
In the back yard
All died when u went away
I know that living with u baby was sometimes hard
But I’m willing to give it another try
Nothing compares
Nothing compares 2 u
Nothing compares
Nothing compares 2 u
Nothing compares
Nothing compares 2 u

5. The Waterboys – This is the Sea

I’ve always loved The Waterboys (shut up Ruth – at least I didn’t choose Ultravox – Vienna as number 5 – I did think about it…) and this song is also on the soundtrack of one my favourite films – also named [u”>This is the Sea[/u”>. Great film with a great romantic story (including the wonderful Samantha Morton, the late Richard Harris and the always brilliant Gabriel Bryne.

These things you keep
You’d better throw them away
You wanna turn your back
On your soulless days
Once you were tethered
And now you are free
Once you were tethered
Well now you are free
That was the river
This is the sea!

Now if you’re feelin’ weary
If you’ve been alone too long
Maybe you’ve been suffering from
A few too many
Plans that have gone wrong
And you’re trying to remember
How fine your life used to be
Running around banging your drum
Like it’s 1973
Well that was the river
This is the sea!
Wooo!

Now you say you’ve got trouble
You say you’ve got pain
You say’ve got nothing left to believe in
Nothing to hold on to
Nothing to trust
Nothing but chains
You’re scouring your conscience
Raking through your memories
Scouring your conscience
Raking through your memories
But that was the river
This is the sea yeah!

Now i can see you wavering
As you try to decide
You’ve got a war in your head
And it’s tearing you up inside
You’re trying to make sense
Of something that you just can’t see
Trying to make sense now
And you know you once held the key
But that was the river
And this is the sea!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Now i hear there’s a train
It’s coming on down the line
It’s yours if you hurry
You’ve got still enough time
And you don’t need no ticket
And you don’t pay no fee
No you don’t need no ticket
You don’t pay no fee
Because that was the river
And this is the sea!

Behold the sea!

Top 5 Instrumentals

Hmmm instrumentals? Well I must admit most of my tastes in this area would be classical. Not a big fan of the instrumental rock ‘masterpiece’. And also I am going to cheat slightly.

1. Frank Zappa – The Gumbo Variations

2. Chopin – Nocturnes: No. 21 In C Minor

3. Mozart’s Requiem

4. Handel’s Messiah

5. Atom Heart Mother – Pink Floyd

Top 5 Live Musical Experiences

1. Jeff Buckley at the Prince Pat.

Amazing gig – everyone squeezed into the Prince Pat – into this tiny space with this awesome man with his incredible voice. When he sung the whole room was dead quiet. Of course that could have been because everyone was squeezed in so tightly that they couldn’t actually breath or speak.

2. Billy Bragg at the Metro in Sydney

Billy Bragg on speed this night. He played a series of classic Bragg tracks all re-worked and re-invented. Totally revitalised his back catalogue that resulted in a really good night.

3. Stone Roses at the Metro in Melbourne

Packed into the Metro (an otherwise shit venue) and standing on a table with Anna and dancing along to Fool’s Gold. One of my favourite gigs.

4. Henry Rollins playing the music of Black Flag at the Metro in Sydney

Rollins Band I always thought were okay but the masterwork of Rollin’s music career was always his Black Flag material. In this gig, in support of the West Memphis Three, was oen of the most high-powered, throbbing, thumping gig I’ve been too. For a man of his age Rollins also rocked for hours. I had a headache for a week afterward. Well worth it.

5. Paul Kelly at the Prince of Wales

I am a big (early) Paul Kelly fan and this gig was one of the most relaxed and enjoyable I have been at. Kelly had even stolen my Paul Kelly costume (the same one I wear to every costume party we get invited to) – Hawaiian shirt, black jeans and boots.

Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To

Not sure what to put here – more people I know should listen to? Or more people in general? Hmmm.

1. Michael Franti

2. Parliament/Funkadelic

3. My Bloody Valentine

4. The Pixies

5. Patsy Cline

Top Five Albums You Must Hear From Start to Finish

1. David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

The epic rock experience. I love this album.

2. Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan

Released in 1962 this was Dylan’s first album. Notable for the inclusion of Man of Constant Sorrow – later made re-famous the Coen Brother’s [u”>Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?[/u”>

3. Kinky Friedman – Sold American

Contains the classics Ride ‘Em Jewboy and the Ballad of Charles Whitman. One of the most biting, caustic musical satires ever made.

4. The Clash – London Calling

An album everyone should both own and listen to from end-to-end. It is one of the finest anti-establishment albums. Made as unempoyment in Britain sky-rocketed, union protests rocked the country and it marked the beginning of the Thatcher-era and the incredible changes that wrought on Britain.

5. Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison

One of the greatest come-back albums of all time. Contains the masterpieces Cocaine Blues, Folsom Prison Blues and the incredible anti-death penalty tune 25 Minutes to Go.

Top Five Musical Heroes

This is really, really difficult to do. But I’ve tried. The list could go on a couple of pages if I really worked at it.

1. The Pixies

2. Neil Young

3. John Coltrane

4. The Ramones

5. Curtis Mayfield

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