the hunter, not the hunted

 

in light of the triple j hottest 100 "of all time" and the ensuing "controversy" surrounding it, i've been trying to put together my "top ten songs of all time". Now, I, like the many thousands of others, attempted to make the deadline for the countdown, but I was too hung up on trying to remember songs I thought were awesome. The consequence being a half completed list that took somewhere in the vacinity of a week to produce, and, thusly, no entry from me.

For anyone unaware: triple j, a radio station that broadcasts nationally here in australia, hosted a “listeners poll” for the “hottest 100 songs of all time”. Now, this initially began way back in the early days of the station's life and became the fore-runner to the annual “hottest 100 ” countdown; a countdown of the 100 favourite songs of the year. Every 10 years, the station will then open up the voting for a “hottest 100 of all time” poll for the listeners to choose up to 10 of their “favourite” (note this) songs “of all time”.

The controversy surrounding this years countdown was the fact that out of the 100 favourites, not a single female artist was selected. Yes, there were representations where some of the bands may have had a female member or they were a guest vocalist on a song, but as an artist, the women were very clearly under-represented. There has been much speculation about this, and even lead to triple j's “hack” program, which is a half hour daily current affairs segment, to look at it and hunt for answers (with little success). It is this speculation that draws me to blog about my “top ten favourite songs of all time”.

Now, i'm not going to put them in any specific order. Given that my taste in music and artists is so fluid, i'm always finding a new “off all time” list. The following list, however, has been given a great deal of thought, and is the most solid representation of what I consider to be my personal “best songs of all time”.

1.crying – roy orbison. As a child, I listened to the “oldies” station, hearing songs from all the 'greats' such as “the big o”. I remember enjoying the sound of his voice and that pretty woman would grace the airwaves a LOT because of the movie of the same name, but this song reminds me more of the sadness I felt when I first heard about his death from a heart attack at... 56? I think (wiki now tells me he was 52). I don't know what it was that I was sad about as I was only 8, but I recall that I was taken aback. “in dreams” was the song that I recall more distinctly listening to as a child, but crying is the song I find wonderful.
2.Tupelo – nick cave and the bad seeds. This song has special significance to my life. A friend lent me a best of collection of nick cave on a cassette (how old school!) during one of the darkest periods of my life, and this is the standout song. It quite literally saved my life. Don't ask me how or why, just know that this song is so completely awesome you have no idea.
3.Levon – elton john. It's simplicity draws me. The story is so simple and yet there is so much that could be found in them. The song also has a strong emotional connection to my first ever elton john concert, where he actually performed it. I did not expect to hear it. I was so overwhelmed by the experience and so happy that I could see my favourite artist live (something I never thought would happen in my lifetime) that I actually cried and sang every word loud and proud and full of so much awesome there are no words.
4.Dear mama – tupac shakur. Tupac is an amazing wordsmith. Possibly one of the greatest wordmiths of the 20th century. He was writing awesome shit long before eminem came onto the scene and made “rap” “popular”. This beautiful ode to his mother proves that he was more than the gangster rapper he was touted to be at the time.
5.I touch myself – divinyls. I've loved this song for as long as I can remember! It wasn't until is was in my early teens that I discovered what the song was really talking about! I can generally not get enough of this song. Most recently seen on the “austin powers: international man of mystery” soundtrack...
6.bang bang – nancy sinatra. It's such a beautifully tragic song. Mosy notably heard in kill bill. But listen to the lyrics. And the composition is so simple, so ghostly, so...amazing.
7.I will survive – gloria gaynor. This song is just so awesome there are almost no words to describe it! There is a clear timeless quality to it, it's empowering (not just for the girls), and I can see myself karaoking to it (still) in 20 years time and shaking my bootay to it in retro night clubs in the future.
8.Ordinary World - Duran Duran. I'm not particularly into duran duran, but this song has always struck a chord (forgive the pun). It was released around the time I began highschool. I'd moved interstate to live in a caravan in my grandparents front yard with my parents and brother, had said goodbye to everyone i'd grown up with and was struggling to find my place in a new school with new people. Essentially, this song kind of described how I was feeling at the time, and also marked a change in my listening habits.
9.Two little boys – rolf harris. Yes, you read right, I said rolf harris. This song reminds me of the family road trips from victoria to queensland, singing along to the entire rolf collection (there was other music as well, but rolf is the stand out). There are some fond and not so fond memories associated with those road trips, and rolf harris is one of them. There is just the simple awesomeness of the song: a beautiful commentary about war and friendship. Makes me teary every time I hear it.
10. Name – goo goo dolls. I really can't explain what it is about this song that is so awesome. It could be john reznicks awesome lyrics and vocals, the detuned guitar, or the memories of my first job since graduating highschool and leaving home...whatever it is, this song actually sits significantly higher on the list than the spot it's just been given.

There you have it: my “top ten “of all time””. It has taken me the better part of ten days to compose this list. This is, by far, not my difinitive top ten, but it's pretty close.