How this song wasn’t in my collection from the very beginning is anyone’s guess. What surprised me most when I revisited it after a long break was just how unfiltered and country the original studio recording sounds on its own.…
Blog Archives
Great Sporting Moments 7: Carlos Alcaraz, 2026 Australian Open Champion
I’m dusting off my rarely used sporting segment to highlight Carlos Alcaraz’s magnificent seventh Grand Slam victory, achieved at the 2026 Australian Open yesterday. The win makes the 22-year-old Spaniard the youngest player in history to complete the career Grand…
Tagged with: Australian open, Carlos Alcaraz, Evonne Cawley, Ken Rosewall, Novak Djokovic
Posted in Sport and Adventure
Posted in Sport and Adventure
The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro) 1962 – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
Today’s featured instrumental, The Lonely Bull, was the first song to popularise mariachi-style horns on mainstream western pop radio. In 1962, it peaked at No. 6 in the US and No. 1 in Australia. Soon after, Johnny Cash added Mexican-style…
Tagged with: Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Johnny Cash, ring of fire, The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro)
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
I Was Only 19 (1983) – Redgum
I Was Only 19 is a testimony about the plight of an Australian soldier in the Vietnam War, and it sits as a kind of sister song to Khe Sanh by Cold Chisel. Khe Sanh is the more upbeat, melodic…
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (1984) – The Smiths
I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but here’s yet another great B-side from The Smiths. On this occasion, Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want appears as the B-side to their magnificent single William, It’s Really…
Tagged with: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want, the smiths, William It's Really Nothing
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
Sad and Beautiful World (2025) – Mavis Staples
There are two things I find so alluring about this meditative and sombre song. Firstly, Mavis Staples’ vocals carry profound emotional depth and feel timeworn and soulful, shaped by decades of lived experience. Critic C.J. Fox once described it as…
Mr Rock & Roll (2007) – Amy Macdonald
With family ancestry that partly originates from Scotland, I’ve always had a soft spot for anything Scottish, and that definitely includes Amy Macdonald’s music. Her whole folk-indie rock sound is right up my alley, which probably comes as no surprise…
Tomorrow Is a Long Time (1963) – Bob Dylan
Recently I wrote how Donovan’s Catch the Wind was one of the most impactful folk love ballads I had ever heard, and certainly one of the most cherished songs of my youth. Well, here comes another that I would place…
Tagged with: Bob Dylan, Tomorrow Is a Long Time, Greatest Hits Vol.II, Town Hall, Masterpieces, The Witmark Demos
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
Done With Bonaparte (1996) – Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler’s Done With Bonaparte comes from his 1996 debut solo album Golden Heart, released shortly after the second and final break-up of Dire Straits in 1995. He supported the release of the album with the Golden Heart Tour of Europe.…
Observation Blogger 