Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! We looked at some exceptional music this year, and Jeff inflicted some real crap on our listeners. Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Lou Reed, Ed Kuepper and Hallelujah – and that barely scratches the surface. And we got a new Globite School Case! And, in case you were wondering, we'll be back on Sunday 28 Jan 2024. Subscribe and get an automatic reminder! Books: The Number Ones – Tom Breihan You Are Beautiful & You Are Alone – Jennifer Otter B...
Dec 09, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! We look at songs from a few of the major protest movements in our lifetime – racism, Vietnam, Ireland, Margaret Thatcher! From Woody Guthrie, through Springsteen and Dylan, to racism and Vietnam and the UK's Margaret Thatcher, to present-day Australia, we look at some of the great protest songs. Some of the stories behind those songs will take your breath away. Our “Album You Must Hear before You Die” this time is Talking Heads’ awesome “Remain...
Nov 25, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Matthew Sweet, an American guitarist, has had a criminally understated career, marked by a sensational solo album, “Girlfriend”, three terrific albums with Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles, “Under the Covers” (Vols 1, 2 and 3) and some very tasty soundtrack work, including the Austin Powers movies. In 2014, he also appeared as Apu’s singing voice in an episode of The Simpsons. Our “Album you Must Hear Before you Die” is “Rid of Me” by P J Harvey....
Nov 11, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! REM is often viewed by casual listeners as a lighter-style rock band. This is deceptive, with the band offering complex songs with obscure lyrics, brilliant playing, covers, and an incredible refusal to compromise. Mick and Jeff talk through REM's development from their rock cliche start – the singer, Michael Stipe, met guitarist Peter Buck in the record shop where Buck worked - to their becoming one of the biggest-ever bands in the world – all...
Oct 24, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Cover versions – always fascinating!! Occasionally, an artist will cover an obscure song, or a deep cut by another artist and make it their own. But what about when the song has ALREADY been a hit? Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t; sometimes it ends up in court! This episode, we’re looking at examples of all three. Our “Album You Must Hear Before You Die” is, believe it or not, “ And other bits of material” by Paper Lace, the most succe...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Everyone has heard of Leonard Cohen, but not so many know much about him. With this episode, we look to give you a taste of Mr Cohen – his views on life, women and songwriting; his extraordinary influence on modern songwriting; his legacy, and, of course, “Hallelujah”! A world that never had Leonard Cohen in it would be a much lesser place indeed. Jeff gives us his holiday report on a visit to the only Museum in the world dedicated to penises, ...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” – one of the biggest hit albums of all time - also marks a quantum change in how rock music was marketed and sold. Brought up as part of The Jackson 5, Michael saw himself as an entertainer crossing musical genres and categories. He almost single-handedly made music videos into a serious art form. In those days, with typical video budgets around $50k, the video for “Thriller” had a budget of $1m and a top Hollywood ...
Sep 03, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Marianne Faithfull's journey from 60's elfin-voiced beauty to grande-dame of rock music has given us some wonderful music, including Broken English, inspired by the Baader-Meinhof terrorist gang. We look at her career, focusing on what this album meant for her. Many may know the title-track single, but the album brings a bunch of stunning tracks we know you’re going to really enjoy discovering, including, “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” and Lennon’...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! In 1975, “Pampered Menial” was released to 5-star critical ratings. It was not a commercial success. However, in the years since, it has become a gem, possibly one of the greatest albums of the 70’s! David Surkamp’s surreal 4-octave voice has been compared to Robert Plant. Matched with Siegfried Carver's violin and Steve Scorfina's guitar, it creates a stunning work of art – intricate and majestic with guts and delicacy in equal measure. With t...
Jul 30, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! As a special treat, this episode features four tasty albums from the golden age of Rock. Rick Wakeman’s “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, accused of hastening the arrival of punk, and of justifying the need for it, ultimately sold over 14 million copies. Go figure! “Not Fragile” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, topped the charts in USA and Australia proclaiming that “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”! The pick of the crop, the self-titled “Bad Compan...
Jul 11, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Nico – one-time member of The Velvet Underground - is an enigma in modern rock music. Despite her wide-ranging influence, her music is not for the faint-hearted. Mick saw Nico at the Sydney Trade Union Club in 1986 and it was a concert unlike any other. She's not for everybody, or even most people, but have a listen, you’ll hear something new and might just broaden your view on the rest of the music you listen to. We discuss why we don’t play a...
Jun 25, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! In 1989, Lou Reed released his tour de force, “New York”. Many see this album as part of Reed’s holy trinity of spectacular albums - “Velvet Underground & Nico”, “Berlin” and “New York”. Commercially & artistically successful, this album took everything back to basics, and Reed himself was quoted as saying, “This is as good as it gets – two guitars, bass and drums”. Mick and Jeff both love this late-career revival album for its strong s...
Jun 11, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Vanilla Ice was the first artist to lose all his earnings from a hit through lawyers suing for copyright infringement. In a story with more twists than an Agatha Christie novel, all the profit from the first “rap” single to top the charts was gobbled up by lawyers, after Vanilla Ice sampled "Under Pressure" without clearance from Bowie or Queen. This story's found in an excellent book - “The Number Ones – Twenty chart-topping hits that reveal t...
May 28, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! This episode, we look at Ed Kuepper, whose fame sadly does not match in any way his contribution to rock’n’roll! Bursting out of Brisbane in the mid-70's, Ed helped found The Saints, one of the key influences on punk. Tiring of The Saints, he created The Laughing Clowns, before launching into a solo career interspersed with stints in The Aints and The Bad Seeds. The “Album You Must Hear before You Die” is the immortal “Tubular Bells” by Mike Ol...
May 14, 2023•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 8
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Do you remember the best show you’ve ever seen? How about the worst? Mick and Jeff talk about what makes a great show and relive some of the best (and worst) they’ve seen. Our Album You Must Hear Before You Die is “The B-52s” self-titled first album from 1979. This high-energy album smashed the B-52s onto the world stage while looking like escapees from the Rocky Horror Show! To top it all off, Jeff brings you rock news featuring Alice Cooper, ...
Apr 25, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! More than any band we’ve covered in over 50 episodes, this band has delivered us the most blank looks! “Never heard of them!”, people say! So, we thought we’d remedy this serious hole in people’s musical appreciation by looking at one of the most exciting but overlooked musical occurrences of the 70’s. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (SAHB) could only have existed during the 70’s, and possibly only in Glasgow. Starting with the idea that, to c...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! We sometimes forget just how talented The Police - Sting, Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers - actually were. They arrived in the late-70's, merging elements of Reggae, New Wave & Punk. Their sound - simple, lean (bass, drums, guitar), well-produced - still sounds fresh, with songs like “Roxanne”, “Message in a Bottle”, and “Walking on the Moon”. We saw them live at the Hordern Pavilion back in 1980, in the days before digital light shows, when...
Mar 25, 2023•52 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! The Smiths are, unarguably, one of the finest bands produced by Britain (or anywhere). Mick rates their third album, "The Queen is Dead", as one of the most exceptional albums ever made. We talk about where they came from, their influences, and why they are still popular today, over thirty years after they split. Jeff brings you up to speed on recent rock deaths, talking about Jeff Beck, David Crosby and Renee Geyer, among others. Our Album You...
Mar 12, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! How often have you heard of an artist being labelled “over-rated”? Did it strike you as fair, or just a subjective, lazy way to insult artists you don’t like? Mick & Jeff look at the concept of ‘over-rated’ as a way of describing artists, and consider whether certain artists ARE, in fact, over-rated, and, if so, why or why not? Our album you MUST Listen to Before You Die is “Bossanova” by the Pixies. We talk about where the Pixies fit into ...
Feb 26, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! It’s St Valentine’s Day, and a chance for Jeff to show his sensitive side! Other than cars and protest songs, rock’n’roll is ALL ABOUT love songs! We talk about love songs, songs about sex, songs mourning lost love, break-up songs, songs that aren't really about love at all, and look at a couple of massive hits that are best considered rubbish. Our Album You Must Hear Before You Die is one of the greats - “Born in the USA”, Bruce Springsteen’s ...
Feb 12, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Mick and Jeff are back for a new season! The music world is focussed on the hit, the chart-topper, the NUMBER ONE! But simply getting onto the charts signifies a certain amount of commercial success, doesn’t it? We kick off with a look at some of the many songs that didn’t make it to the top of the charts, and see if they got different results in either the UK, US or Australia. Jeff brings us up to speed with some news about rock personalities....
Jan 29, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! A recap of the highlights of 2 years & 45 episodes of this podcast! Talked about more than 300 artists, shows, and albums - who could ask for more? They’ve recorded in some of Australia's most remote parts of Australia, regularly bad-mouthed Jeff Buckley, and decided that Alice Cooper was a pretty good guy despite his music after “Welcome to my Nightmare” being pretty terrible! The Rolling Stone 500 Best Songs of all Time got Jeff all hot u...
Dec 16, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Midnight Oil ("The Oils") are one of Australia's most-loved bands. Their solid political streak – Indigenous rights, the environment and nuclear disarmament, to name a few – sits well with a hard-earned reputation for red-hot live shows. Mick and Jeff look back at all the times they’ve seen Midnight Oil live, and the impact their music has had on Australian culture. Jeff’s Rant introduces us to B eard Meats Food, a young bearded lad who consume...
Dec 11, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Joe Cocker was a staple of the rock world for around 50 years. His career took off with two songs gifted him by The Beatles (“She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”, “With A Little Help from My Friends”) and a brilliant cover of The Box Tops’ “The Letter”, and was almost destroyed by the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour, album and film. This week’s “Album You Must Listen to Before You Die” is “Juju” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. This outstandin...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! T he Go-Betweens were a great Aussie band of the 80’s - they wrote erudite world-weary songs about life and their loves with zilch success for their efforts. Their style, a mix of Velvet Underground's 3rd album’s gritty simplicity, Bob Dylan’s narrative skills and Television’s clear production highlighting guitar never brought them the success that their talent deserved. We did, though, find a fan from Dublin with an extraordinary appreciation ...
Nov 16, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans". With so much going on, it’s easy to miss some fabulous music for one reason or another. This episode, the boys talk about some great stuff that never quite bothered the charts. Groups like Ultravox!, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Godfathers, Magazine, Death in Vegas and The Sisters of Mercy offer you something a little bit different that you may have missed first ti...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Something a little different for you this episode, as we return from our mid-season break. How many times have you had the discussion “Who’s the best guitarist/ singer/ drummer/etc”? We’ve taken that discussion one step further and taken all our favourites and put them together into one HUGE supergroup. Only one rule: Anybody selected must be alive – that rules out Hendrix as lead guitarist! As you’d expect, Jeff has to take it one step too far...
Oct 17, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Genesis Redone The 2021 COVID lockdowns meant we couldn’t get together to record. This really impacted the sound quality on a couple of episodes, particularly the one about Genesis (Season 1 Ep 15) So, we’ve re-recorded that episode. The key facts are the same, but because our podcasts are a conversation and we don’t work from a tight script, it’s basically a new episode. If you've listened to the original episode already, you might like to see...
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! Peter Gabriel, one-time member of Genesis, is an English musician who is renowned for powerful, innovative, "intelligent" music. When Gabriel left Genesis in 1975, after the album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway , he stunned fans and critics alike by teaming up with Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Kiss, Alice Cooper) to produce the album known as “Car”, a disparate collection of songs – including “Solsbury Hill” - with strong riffs, great guita...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Send us a message, so we know what you're thinking! We look at Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973) one of the most important and influential albums of the modern rock period. An album with serious lyrics, tight ensemble playing from the band, and cover art as good as it gets, this album marks a high point for Elton John. In his career of over 50 years, he may have matched, but never bettered, this album. We also look at the 80’s, which get a bit of a bum rap from many people for “man...
Jul 24, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 13
