Roxy talks Music - Father's Day

Today is my husband's 10th Father's Day. It's also the second since my dad passed away. For these reasons and a few others, I felt inspired to make a special Father's Day playlist.

These are all 'dad' songs to me because they have some kind of connection in my mind to a dad in my life; whether it be my own dad, or my husband or my father-in-law, or all three simultaneously (hello, Billy Joel!) My dad was a big lover of music and passed that love on to me. My husband and I share a love of music also, and it is a huge part of our family life. Because of this, our daughter is developing her own passion for music. She's into J-Pop and K-Pop at the moment, which isn't really my thing, but love what you love, I always say!

So to all the dads out there, and everyone who has a dad, or is thinking of a dad... this playlist is for you. 

August Playlist

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who sadly passed away this month. My first experience of Frankiln was in the 1980's with Eurythmics song 'Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves'. Being a young girl under 10 years old, and a Eurythmics fan to boot, I remember thinking she must have been someone pretty special to be singing a duet with Annie Lennox. How right I was! Growing up when and where I did, I'd have to be living in a vacuum not to know who Aretha Franklin was. She was hugely influential on most of the artists I was listening to and in addition to the impressive number of iconic hits she had throughout the 1960's and 70's, she sang duets with huge stars like George Michael and Whitney Houston. After I saw Franklin in the 'Blues Brothers' for the first time in my teens, I knew she was legendary.

We also lost another music great this month, with the passing of rock guitarist and songwriter Spencer P Jones. Jones has played in a hell of a lot of bands since the 1970's, but my absolute favourite is Beasts of Bourbon (I freaking love that band!). He was a fantastic guitarist and he will be missed.

The Roxy talks Music - August Playlist is a bit of a mixed bag. Both Franklin and Jones are represented, as is the always controversial Madonna, who celebrated her 60th birthday this month. Happy 60th Madonna! Keep expressing your bad self!

Mexican-Americans love Morrissey

I went to see Ant Man and The Wasp the other night. One of my favourite jokes in the movie was a story that Ant Man's Mexican-American friend Luis tells about his grandmother who owns a restaurant with a jukebox that only plays Morrissey. 'What a hilarious and obscure joke!' I thought. Later I learned that the joke wasn't obscure at all and that Morrissey is hugely popular among Mexican-Americans.

How could a pasty, whiny white man from England possibly resonate so strongly with so many Latino people? For one, it's been noted that Morrissey's music bears a similarity to Mexican folk music of the early 20th century. Songs that speak of lost or unrequited love, which apparently is what a lot of Mexican-Americans sing and cry about when they drink. 

There is also the desire to exist in a place where one truly belongs, and the longing, alienation and angst that this can stir within a person. Journalist, Raf Noboa y Rivera describes the experience of being 'not quite American; not wholly Latino, living in all the spaces in between'. Is there anyone who embodies this angst and otherness better than Morrissey (who himself is a first generation immigrant, born of Irish parents, but raised in England)? I think not.

I'm not too proud to admit that I was once a Smiths fan. Growing up, I experienced those very same feelings of loneliness, isolation and not quite belonging. But I am privileged not to feel those things now and so my connection to The Smiths has become nothing more than a footnote in the story of my life. Also, Morrissey has said some pretty dumb things. Even so, I want to share with you some of my favourite Smiths songs. Because, why not?

Big Mouth Strikes Again

I love the reference to Joan of Arc in this song. Morrissey's comparison to her is completely inappropriate but I think that's the point. Then again, it's Morrissey so, you know, maybe not?

How Soon Is Now?

Because I'm human and I need to be loved, god dammit!!! Also, this was a staple at my regular goth club hangout back in the late 1990's and a surefire way to get me on the dance floor.

Is It Really So Strange?

Fifteen-year-old me would shut myself in my bedroom and play this song very loudly, singing along to the words while thinking about my high school crush. Probably just like millions of other awkward teenagers.

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

Because I was a goth. That's my only excuse for loving this song. Shut up.

July Playlist - For Cahl

Last night, one of my dearest, most treasured friends passed away. It still doesn't seem quite real. It's hard to imagine a world without him in it. 

He was a special sort of person. So incredibly talented and good at everything he tried his hand at. I was jealous of that. He had a tough as nails exterior and got a kick out of pushing people's buttons. He loved to shock. But underneath all of that, he was a big softy. A hopeless romantic with a heart as big as the moon. As a friend he was all in, always had your back, never let you down. And he gave very sage and very blunt advice. He never judged me, even when I acted like a butt-head, and was always there for me through thick and thin. I never doubted that for a second.

This month's playlist is for you, my friend. To Strudel Head from Parmesan Dwarf. I'll always love you and never forget you.

June Playlist

As we Melburnians hurtle towards the depths of winter, I'm starting to notice those nasty winter blues seeping into my psyche like so much mildew. It would be so easy just to give in; put on some Radiohead and cry into my pillow. But no! I'm not going to do that! Screw you winter, take your Radiohead and shove it!

The Roxy talks Music June playlist is a collection of songs that warm the cockles of my heart and make me feel good. There's nothing new on here, but that's okay. Sometimes all you need is the company of old friends to remind you that life can be pretty good.

P.S. Gabriella Cohen's new album Pink Is The Colour Of Unconditional Love is a freaking delight. It's indie pop at it's finest, with a refreshing and diverse range of styles from 60's pop to psychedelic jazz rock to bossa nova and beyond. Give it a spin, you won't regret it.

May Playlist

I've been listening to a lot of new (and new to me) stuff lately and this month's playlist definitely reflects that. At the moment I can't get enough of the new album Blue Poles by Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders. Jack Ladder is a singer/songwriter/guitarist from Sydney with a very new wave, Bryan Ferry sound (his real name is actually Tim Rogers, but there's already a Tim Rogers and, like the Highlander, there can only be one). 

When I'm not listening to Jack Ladder, it's got to be the glam/southern rock stylings of Kyle Craft, the post post punk rockers Parquet Courts or New Yorker, Shilpa Ray who blends punk rock with a 1960's pop sound similar to the The Shangri-Las or The Ronettes, but with a razor sharp edge.

And as the weather gets steadily colder, I'm embracing my fast approaching middle age by enjoying a glass of sherry in the evenings before bed. And with my glass of sherry, the smooth soulful sounds of Donny Hathway, or the great lady, Dusty Springfield. So pour yourself a glass of sherry, get comfortable, and tune into the Roxy talks Music - May Playlist...

April Playlist

I was super excited when I found out The Mavis's, a beloved band from my adolescence, are doing a 20th anniversary tour for their album Pink Pills. It's been twenty years already?? Bloody hell!! I remember the first time I heard The Mavis's. A high school friend made me a mix tape with the song 'Moon Drone Gold' on it, from their 1996 debut album Venus Returning. I loved it so hard, I went and laid down thirty of my hard earned bucks for the CD (remember when CD's cost $30?)

While I was revisting the most excellent music of the Mavis's, I started thinking about all the other Aussie bands I was getting into back in the days when I was just discovering that for me, life without music is really no life at all. And that's what inspired the Roxy talks Music April playlist. These are the bands I went to see play at festivals and all ages gigs at mechanics halls. These are the bands I moshed and crowd surfed to. These are the songs of my youth. 

*It's worth noting that Headless Chickens are actually a New Zealand band, but as they are the first band I ever saw live (they opened for Arrested Development at Festival Hall, Melbourne in 1992) I decided to include them. Also, they were really cool.