Number 300!

I recently realised that after more than three years of listening, watching and writing (and of course, waffling) about music - I was approaching another milestone for this site.....

Because after 41 months, and countless hours, of writing about my love of music, I am now writing post number 300 - a mark I never imagined I would get to!

Now, I think I have said on here before that I don't generally get into musical Top 10's and the like very often, because favourites can change with the wind, depending on your mood, something you just heard on the radio for the first time in years, or one of those periods where you are only really listening to one or two bands for a prolonged length of time.

So, having said all that, to celebrate this special event I have nonetheless jotted down loads of random categories, to create this epic one-off Number 300 Playlist for you. There will be no pre-planning or forethought - the choices in here will simply reflect what I am thinking right now (Sunday 21 September 2025 - evening) and would almost certainly be completely different if I were to do this again tomorrow.

Favourite cover version:

Gun: Word Up

There are many possible options for this, and if I gave it some deep thought (not allowed for this feature) I might come up with something different, but this is such a great rockin' take on an already classic tune, that it always comes to mind when discussing cover versions.

(Official music video)

Favourite track on favourite album:

Simple Minds: Hunter & The Hunted (New Gold Dream)

Having said that Top 10's often change, New Gold Dream has pretty much been my favourite album since not long after I first heard back in 1987. Not only is Hunter & The Hunted my favourite song on the record - I have picked a live version which is even better than the album version (and was used as the B-Side of Waterfront).

(Live in Newcastle, 1982)

Favourite debut album:

Jeff Buckley: Grace (Lover, You Should've Come Over)

Sadly, not only was this his debut album, but also the only record that came out during his all too brief lifetime. Not many records completely blow me away on the first hearing, but this one did. Another one that would never be far away from the top of my all time list. I could have picked several classics to represent this, but Lover is probably about my favourite on there.

(Live in Chicago, 1995)

Favourite song from the 1960s:

The Small Faces: All Or Nothing

Having grown up on a diet of The Beatles and with an early love of the Beach Boys, both of those could have had something under consideration - but in the end, for me, it would probably always be a straight shoot out between this one and Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks. In the end, Steve Marriott's fantastic vocals wins the day.

(On Beat Club, 1966)

Favourite song from the 1970s:

The Damned: New Rose

Hmm, Bowie at the start of the decade and punk coming along at the end - which way should I go? Could have gone Rebel Rebel or Queen Bitch for the former, or Suspect Device or White Man in Hammersmith for the latter - but New Rose is crazy, ramshackle, fun and undeniably catchy - and that drum intro to kick it off...

(Official music video)

Favourite song from the 1980s:

Big Country: Fields Of Fire

This was the decade of my musical evolution - there is too much to choose from. Arrgghh - don't. know. what. to. pick. Okay - this band is never far from the front of my mind when I think about me and the 1980s. I still miss Stuart Adamson, my all time musical hero, and despite the fact that he's been gone for over twenty years, his music is never far from me. There are so many bands and songs that define my 1980's, this is a hard one, but for the passion and the heart, I pick Fields Of Fire. This Barrowlands gig from New Year's Eve 1983 is probably my ultimate, 'I wish I'd been there for that' gigs.

(Live at the Barrowlands, December 1983)

Favourite song from the 1990s:

Throwing Muses: Not Too Soon

I think of the Seattle scene (maybe something from Ten, Bleach or Ray) perhaps more than the Brit-Pop stuff (although Pulp and Blur get beyond honourable mentions), when I consider the 1990s. But despite that, another regular contender for my Top 10 album, comes from the 90s and the East coast. The Real Ramona was (for me) the crowning glory for Rhode Island's Throwing Muses, and was the last album to feature Tanya Donnelly - and this track of hers is one of the most perfect power pop songs you will ever hear.

(Official music video)

Favourite song from the 2000s:

GBV: Skills Like This

Now, you can argue that Robert Pollard writes too many songs and shouldn't record everything he writes - and you may have a point... to an extent (I can't argue that some of his tracks push the boundaries). But, on pretty much every Guided By Voices LP, there is at least a handful of bona fide low-fi indie rock classics (there are some in this house who may not agree). I always like it the best when those British 60s invasion bands are allowed to bleed through into the record - none more so than Skills Like This, with a crunching, chugging riff that Pete Townsend wouldn't be ashamed to own.

(Audio only)

Favourite guitar solo:

Marillion: Script For A Jester's Tear

Now prog rock is not something I am usually associated with, but every now and then I get an urge to play quite a bit of Marillion (from the time when Fish was the singer). I have listened to this a few times recently, which may account for why I picked this solo. Those 80s era songs had such epic qualities, funnelled through a really tight-knit group and with Fish's interesting use of imagery in his lyrics. But in Steven Rothery, they have always had a hugely underrated guitarist, who has a great depth and exquisite sense of feel to his playing, really adding to the orchestration of the music. This live version of the title track of their debut record has all of that and some great solo lines - not so much just the solo, but just great guitar work all the way through.

(Live in Lorelei, 1988)

Favourite drum fill song:

Nada Surf: Happy Kid

Clem Burke is my favourite drummer ever, and I could have picked any number of Blondie tunes - the same probably goes for Stewart Copeland and The Police. But this session version of Happy Kid always gets me. First up, it's a great, vibrant, catchy and dare I say it, happy tune - but then you have Ira Elliot's drumming; crisp and sharp, with a tonne of delicious fills and licks thrown in; and he looks so in the zone and overjoyed to be doing it.

(Live on KEXP, 2017)

Favourite bass line:

Simple Minds: The American

Yes, I know, it's them again - but Derek Forbes is absolutely my main man when it comes to the bass. I could have picked Hunter & The Hunted again, his playing on that is sublime - but this version of The American comes from the same show as before. When the camera catches his hands, they are as mesmerising as the sounds he is creating. There aren't many bands that give the bass player such a prominent role, but in albums three to six, each instrument is so well orchestrated, with even the vocals really being a part of that ensemble, rather than just laid over the top of the music.

(Live in Newcastle, 1982)

Favourite guitar riff:

The Police: Message In A Bottle

Had to be, didn't it? It's a killer - I remember it when it came out (when I was 6, which is hard to believe now) and it still sounds as fresh and energetic as heck almost 50 years later!

(Live in Tokyo, 2008)

Favourite Video:

The Cure: Friday I'm In Love

We love the moody Cure stuff in this house, but we also love the happy Cure stuff too. This video is just daft and Robert Smith is so cool, and this song is uplifting and wonderful.

(Official music video)

Killer lyric:

Crowded House: Love This Life

I could probably have chosen almost anything from the pen of Neil Finn, a man often considered to be my generation's Lennon & McCartney. I remember discussing a line from Distant Sun (and many other Crowded House lyrics) with a friend 25 years ago (shout out to Colin Campbell if somehow he reads this - haven't seen you in 20 years, hope you are well) - but the one that always got me was from Love This Life, in the lyrics but also the way he delivers them; "There's something that you can do, even if you think that I hate you / stop your complaining, leave me defenceless / when you love this life."

(Audio only)

Best live song:

Big Country: Chance

We are back to that 1983 Barrowlands gig and the most resonant and powerful version of Chance I have ever come across. I have been to some great gigs over the years, including a few corkers this year, but Big Country, who I was fortunate to see four times while Stuart was still alive, probably remain the best of the bunch.

(Live at the Barrowlands, December 1983)

BONUS: I don't think many of the gigs I have been at have ever been officially recorded (and certainly not on video) and fan videos are not always so great. However, the band I would probably put as my second favourite live act are Calexico - and I have just found this half decent fan video from The Forum show we went to in 2022 - their classic interpretation of Love's Alone Again Or.

(Live in London, 2022)

Favourite male singer:

Jeff Buckley (Dream Brother)

I was going to say that this is a one horse race - but actually I would say that Mark Lanegan and Chris Cornell aren't so far away. But Jeff Buckley had a voice that gets into me like no other - so moving and strong and ethereal. There are many great vocal performances on Grace, but I have gone with Dream Brother, the closing track, to demonstrate that subtle power.

(Live in Chicago, 1995)

Favourite female singer:

Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs): Can't Ignore The Train

While some of her solo work probably brought her more success and is also great, I have loved Natalie Merchant's work in 10,000 Maniacs in particular for over thirty years. She is just a most beautiful singer. There are many searing performances from In My Tribe (probably their strongest record) and Blind Man's Zoo, I could have picked, but there are a few slightly more folk-rock tunes from full debut The Wishing Chair, that I always seem to fall back on - like this, the joyous Can't Ignore The Train.

(Audio only)

Song that defines my life - 0-10 years:

The Beach Boys: Surfin' USA

20 Golden Greats was the first piece of vinyl I pretty much played to death. I think I got it when I was around 7 or 8 and loved every moment of every song on it... still do. Those harmonies and the images Brian Wilson could create, even in the simplest of pop songs.

(TV appearance from 1963)

Song that defines my life - 11-20 years:

Icicle Works: Hollow Horse

Not to bypass a lot of great music I was listening to between the ages of 11 and 18, but moving away to university was one of those great eye opening periods, especially in terms of exposure to new music. Over the three years there I would start listening to a whole range of bands I either didn't know before, or hadn't really paid much attention to - The Cure, Pixies, Throwing Muses to name a few - but the Icicle Works were probably the first new band I hadn't heard before. Sadly, by this time it was already too late to see them, as they had pretty much finished the year I started. But I love Ian McNabb's varied approach to songwriting, not worrying about wearing multiple influences on his sleeves at the same time. Hollow Horse grabbed me early on; the great bass lines underlining the sweep of arpeggiated guitar.

(Live on The Tube, 1984)

Song that defines my life - 21-30 years:

Uncle Tupelo: Watch Me Fall

After discovering a raft of new bands in my university days (18-21), my next batch of new material came from friends I made in my mid-20's. One that really stands out from that time was Uncle Tupelo, who even now, are sadly overlooked, despite the fact that they were pioneers of what would become Alt-Country, and founder members Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy would find more recognition in later bands (Son Volt and Wilco respectively). Watch Me Fall was the earworm tune that first caught my attention, and despite being unlike anything I had listened to up to that point, they remain one of my favourite bands of all.

(Audio only)

Song that defines my life - 31-40 years:

The Replacements: I Will Dare

This is a little harder, as I think I had pretty much stopped listening to much new music in this decade of my life. But getting married introduced me to lots of great bands that weren't new, but were new to me. There was Social Distortion, who are great, but then there were The Replacements, who were fantastic. Riotous, shambolic, joyous, edgy, heartfelt - everything you could want in a band.

(Audio only)

Song that defines my life - 41-50 years:

The Go-Betweens: Bye Bye Pride

I stubbornly refused to accept digital music platforms into my life for many years. Then, I realised I could use them to 'discover' all those bands I had read about when I devotedly read Melody Maker each week as a teenager, without ever hearing 80% of the acts mentioned. There was the Gun Club, Minutemen, Husker Du and The Go-Betweens. Robert Forster and Grant McLennan had spent the 1980s putting together gorgeous pop music that the critics loved and the mass public were oblivious to - how had I missed out on this at the time? Bye Bye Pride is another that will always be in contention for favourite song.

(Official music video)

Band you have probably never heard of, which I love, but I think you might quite like:

Power Of Dreams (100 Ways To Kill A Love)

Another one that was introduced to me by a roommate at university. Power Of Dreams were not even out of their Dublin school when they signed a record deal, destined surely to become the next U2. Four great albums later, it still hadn't happened and they went their separate ways (bar a few brief returns). I got a tape of their debut LP, Immigrants, Emigrants & Me from 1990 (which incidentally was a contender for best debut album), which was a thundering mix of Irish folk, indie and punk, with socially conscious lyrics that belied their young ages. 100 Ways To Kill A Love is just a banging tune - ignore it at your peril.

(Audio only)

The push comes to shove, favourite single of all time:

Echo & The Bunnymen: The Killing Moon

It's a tough choice, for sure, but this song is never far from my mind. This song has everything I might want in a great single; lush, epic orchestrated soundscapes, Les Pattinson's almost waltz bass lines, Will Sargeant's classic swooping guitar parts and Mac's brooding vocals. This one sweeps and soars with such majesty, and gives me goosebumps every time.

(Official music video)