1. Frank Sinatra | My Way (Claude François' And Jacques Revaux's "Comme D'Habitude" Cover)
My grandfather was a very audacious and charismatic man, who lived a long life filled with fun and irresponsible decisions. He passed away a few years ago and to that point I hadn't felt that close to him to be truthful. My mum had always joked about this song being written for him, and until he passed away I didn't realise how much he really did still mean to me, and all the memories I had of him came flooding back. My sister and I arranged a version of Frank Sinatra with horns and guitar and I sang lead in this beautiful church and it is one of the most powerful musical experiences I have ever had.
2. Radiohead | You And Whose Army?
There are many Radiohead songs that have helped define my life, but this one stood out as it was probably the first one that I had felt something above and beyond a series of sounds and notes, and it took me somewhere else. Soft and brooding introduction and then from the moment that ride cymbal comes in, bam! It hits you. That piano at the end is magical and so uplifting to me.
3. Jeff Buckley | Lover, You Should've Come Over
This song is included for a particular person in particular. A friend from High School who I don't see nearly as much as I'd like. When I was in High School and in the process of finding my identity as a musician and adolescent, we bonded over Jeff Buckley. Since that time she has had a pretty hard life, and a few people very close to her have sadly passed away, and somehow every time I hear this song, it carries across all that sadness.
4. John Butler Trio | Ocean
For a lot of people this song would conjure up images of gentle seas rolling into the white sands of the Australian coast, but for me this was the song I listened to more than anything when I was on exchange in Germany when I was 16. When I was tucked up in a warm bed, looking out the window and watching the snow fall in a small town in Bavaria.
5. Gotye | Hearts A Mess
One of my best friends in this World is currently over the other side of the World doing service in the Israeli Army. We would spend a lot of time together in the final years of High School. We listened to and talked about Music a lot, and this is just one song of many, but I remember a lot of late night drives and talking about the meaning of Life being accompanied by this song and album. I was a real loner in High School who kept to themselves and just played guitar all the time, but he helped me break out of that a bit, and through this friendship I grew a lot as a person and artist, being particularly inspired by his compassion and empathy towards people who need help. He is a very inspiring and charismatic character, and I hope I get to see him again soon.
6. Spiller | Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)
As is the case with a lot of these songs, they remind me of particular people. I became best friends with this guy in Prep, and spent 2 further years at that school until I moved schools in year 2, and we ended up staying in contact and are still very good friends to this day. He has always had a very refined sense of style and appreciation of Art, and this was one of the first songs I remember him showing me, it's such a great tune. He still send me YouTube links to weirder and greater things all the time.
7. The Beatles | You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Help! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
I grew up on The Beatles. I was completely obsessed with their Music from the age of about five, and my grandparents had this really beautiful box set of all their albums on cassette that I listened to so much and ended up ruining the whole thing. You can't trust kids with anything. This song always had an amazing feeling to me, so rich and warm, with such beautiful lyrics.
8. Beck | Lost Cause
I had to think really hard about which song I thought best represented my relationship with my girlfriend, who I have been dating for 5 years now. We first made out to Calvin Harris - Flashback (on repeat for some reason?) and despite that album being an absolute banger I felt like Beck would be a nicer fit, as she introduced me to this song and album and I will always be able to hear her pluck her way through that opening guitar riff in my memories, and I've never really heard her play any other songs. It's a beautiful song.
9. Charles Mingus | II B.S.
The first musician I ever got into that really threw so many of the rules completely out the window. Charles Mingus really was an incredible artist, wildly emotional, political, unpredictable, promiscuous (his biography is literally just a huge list of all the women he slept with), and daring with his work. He could be dark, but still have these stunning melodies that stand out on top of that and soar. I went through a big Jazz phase as I studied Jazz Guitar for a long time, and this song has to be one of the ones that represents that part of my life.
10. Nirvana | All Apologies
I went through that phase, that we all go through, where I wanted to be a misunderstood teen and was all angsty, but, truthfully, Life has always been pretty good to me and I had a great family and everything so there was nothing to rebel against. I did, however, fall in love with a lot of Angsty Music, and Nirvana was probably my favourite of the lot. I read the auto-biography of Kurt Cobain and at the time I really didn't have any friends so this Music helped me get through that, and was a great companion. All Apologies is such an incredibly beautiful song, and it carries with it such a strong emotion of Regret and Loneliness, as he felt he had let down his daughter by being a bad father. Just an incredible song.
+11. The Cranberries | Dreams
This song is for my mum. She has always had a daggy taste in Music, but she did love The Cranberries, and they are ace. We used to go up to the snow skiing each year when I was very little, as she did Physiotherapy work up there, and this is the song I remember as the soundtrack to those times. I reserve a special place in my heart for this beautiful song.
+12. Brian Eno | I'll Come Running (To Tie Your Shoe)
My dad was obsessed with Brian Eno when I was a little kid, and I grew up listening to his Music on repeat. I was actually learning to tie my shoes at the same time as this song was on repeat at home, so there's that added bit also. I think Brian Eno made a huge impression on my taste of Melodic and interesting Sonic Music too, and without hearing this record for a long time, I was still able to sing along to most of the record. Dad was also the first person to get my sister and I to play Music, we were 4 and 5 years old and he taught us the C blues scale and we would all play piano together and improvise and do solos. I owe a lot to the way that shaped my love of Music as a creative pursuit and a free approach where there are no wrongs and rights, just a nice loose casualness to Music.
+13. The Beatles | Hey Jude
My parents hired someone to babysit me when I was very young, and when we grew up she ended up still working for my parents and coming and cleaning the house. Her name is Jude and she has the most wicked sense of humour and probably knows me as good as anyone. She's been there for my entire life! Recently she had a stroke and is currently recovering from that and all I want is for her to have a solid recovery. This was a song we have often talked about together and the meaning behind it means even more now, but just like that end section of the song, I'm sure the Future is bright and uplifting.
