PlugInMatty

Where I come from, 'BWS' is Beer, Wine and Spirits

When you think of the greatest songs of all time, what do you think of? Motown? Elvis? The Beatles? Taylor Swift? Jonas Brothers? Personally, I think of all of the above (*cough*). But while I make fun of Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers, the idea of what constitutes great music is entirely subjective and the topic of endless debate amongst both friends and colleagues alike. Is it beautiful lyrics? A talented singer? A great producer? A catchy hook? A memorable riff? A combination of all of the above? This is gonna sound like a complete cop-out, but I really don't think that one isolated thing can define great music. If you tried to capture its essence and re-create over and over, it'd be formulaic and fit the exact definition of bad music. So I suppose, when you think of it that way, great music comes from within. It's not a particular chord progression or vocal pitch, it's how a band captures a mood or particular moment in time. It's the emotion, intent and technical ability that takes a good idea and executes it at an exemplary level. Some bands have one or two of the necessary elements, but their lack of talent or direction in a particular area stops them from achieving musical greatness. A singer might have a great voice, but no songwriting ability. Conversely, how many times have you heard amazing lyrics and wished they were sung by a better vocalist? A band might also have great ideas, but lack the technical ability to capture those ideas in the recording studio. Conversely, a musician with limited talent might strike it lucky and work with a producer who knows how to get the best out of them. You might also hear a great riff in a mediocre piece of music, or a catchy hook in an anotherwise boring musical experience. Sometimes though, everything falls in place and the end result is a piece of music that ticks all the metaphorical boxes that define 'great'. But even then, that doesn't mean they've created great music. As I briefly touched on before, the definition of great music is entirely subjective. It's not a chord progression or vocal pitch, it's the emotion a particular song evokes in the listener. A great song isn't necessarily the one that makes you tap your feet or sing along in the car; it's the song that makes you smile and want to dance around, or the song that makes you cry every single time you hear it. But even then, evoking a strong reaction in the listener doesn't necessarily make it a great song in isolation. With the amount of songs used in television and advertising nowadays, the reaction might not have anything to do with the actual song at all. I mean, do middle-aged women cry at Unchained Melody because it's a nice song, or because they're picturing Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in that iconic scene from Ghost? Do the hairs on the back of my neck stand up because I like Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars, or because it makes me think of all my friends crying when Denny died in Grey's Anatomy? Is Europe's The Final Countdown a funny song, or does it make me smile because it brings back memories of mocking Riverdance at a local nightclub? When you think of it that way, is any song a great song in isolation? I'm sure there are people who think Wonderwall by Oasis is a great song, but I don't like it because it makes me think of the funeral of a friend's father. Similarly, Silverchair's Anthem of the Year 2000 makes me think of the same song being played by four different bands at the same school assembly in grade seven. I don't imagine the people from A Clockwork Orange go much on classical music, either. Anyway, now that we've established what does and doesn't make great music, there's a music countdown on the radio today. It's called the Triple J Hottest 100. Every year on January 26th, our national 'youth' radio station counts down the 100 most popular songs of the year, as voted by Triple J listeners. And although Triple J is notorious for its inflated self-importance, this is literally the biggest annual music poll in the world. Last year, 800,000 votes were counted. It was mostly boppers voting for Sex on Fire, but the poll has validity nonetheless. And might I just add... Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, my sex is on fire!!! Anyway, they decided this year that they'd run a poll in the middle of winter to adjudge the Hottest 100 of All Time. Why? No idea. But today, Australians get the rare chance to collectively select what they think is the greatest song of all time. Naturally, since the list is being compiled by Australians, there is going to be some local content that you've probably never heard of. Similarly, since Triple J is a largely Indie/Alternative station, there are going to be some 'fringe' songs that didn't get played on MTV, but were insanely popular with the Triple J listenership. And the rest? Well, they're just shit songs that shouldn't be in anyone's Hottest 100 of All Time. This is the list we've compiled so far: 100. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out 99. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me 98. Led Zeppelin - Kashmir 97. Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning 96. Daft Punk - One More Time 95. Stevie Wonder - Superstition 94. Modest Mouse - Float On 93. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy 92. Bon Iver - Skinny Love 91. AC/DC - Back In Black 90. Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire 89. Rage Against the Machine - Bulls On Parade 88. The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter 87. Coldplay - Yellow 86. The Beatles - Come Together 85. The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You 84. Bob Marley & The Wailers - No Woman, No Cry 83. Placebo - Every You Every Me 82. System Of A Down - Chop Suey! 81. Pulp - Common People 80. The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black 79. David Bowie - Life on Mars 78. Smashing Pumpkins - Today 77. Gotye - Hearts A Mess 76. The Stone Roses - Fools Gold 75. Green Day - Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) 74. Nirvana - Lithium 73. The Clash - London Calling 72. The Shins - New Slang 71. The Smiths - How Soon Is Now? 70. The Prodigy - Breathe 69. Jeff Buckley - Grace 68. Blink 182 - Dammit 67. Ben Folds Five - Brick 66. Elton John - Tiny Dancer 65. Underworld - Born Slippy 64. Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun 63. AC/DC - Thunderstruck 62. Nine Inch Nails - Closer 61. Blur - Song 2 60. Johnny Cash - Hurt 59. Augie March - One Crowded Hour 58. Daft Punk - Around The World 57. Tool - Forty Six & 2 56. Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should Have Come Over 55. Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone 54. The Cure - Close To Me 53. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb 52. You Am I - Berlin Chair 51. Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings 50. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over 49. Guns 'N Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine 48. Beastie Boys - Sabotage 47. John Butler Trio - Betterman 46. Faith No More - Epic 45. Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows 44. The Beatles - Hey Jude 43. The Beach Boys - God Only Knows 42. Bloc Party - Banquet 41. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean 40. Nirvana - Come As You Are 39. Pearl Jam - Better Man 38. The Killers - Mr Brightside 37. Tool - Stinkfist 36. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Into My Arms 35. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 34. The Living End - Prisoner Of Society 33. Silverchair - Tomorrow 32. New Order - Blue Monday 31. Metallica - Enter Sandman 30. Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower 29. Pixies - Where Is My Mind? 28. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees 27. Powderfinger - My Happiness 26. Michael Jackson - Thriller 25. Pearl Jam - Alive 24. The Beatles - A Day in the Life 23. Hunters & Collectors - Throw Your Arms Around Me 22. Massive Attack - Teardrop 21. Powderfinger - These Days In approximately five hours, the top 20 will begin counting down. Based on the songs and bands that have charted so far, these are the songs that I believe will comprise the Top 20 (in no particular order): Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army Radiohead - Creep Radiohead - Paranoid Android Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven Hilltop Hoods - The Nosebleed Section The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Under The Bridge Placebo - Pure Morning The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name The Whitlams - No Aphrodisiac Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody Foo Fighters - Everlong Muse - Stockholm Syndrome OR Knights of Cydonia OR Plug-In Baby OR New Born OR Bliss OR Time Is Running Out (no idea where the Muse vote is going, but two of those six) Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah Metallica - One Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye Grinspoon - Chemical Heart Eminem - Lose Yourself It's hard to figure out, really. The Beatles should be in there, but after analysing the form guide, I don't think they will. And for the record, these are the songs I personally voted for: Muse - Plug-In Baby Crowded House - Better Be Home Soon At The Drive-In - One Armed Scissor Jane's Addiction - Just Because The White Stripes - Hotel Yorba Spiderbait - Buy Me A Pony Duran Duran - A View to a Kill The Beatles - Let It Be Muse - Stockholm Syndrome Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows (#45) And now I've dumped all that on you... What do you think constitutes a great song? Did Australians get it right? If not, what do you think are the greatest songs of all time? And more importantly... WHY?

I thought a car was a lady?

sarcasm, people. come on.

Jumped on the scales this morning... Not good. Used to be pretty big (108kg/240lb), lost a lot of it when I was nineteen (76kg/170lb), and now I've put exactly half of it back on (92kg/205lb). Dunno how I feel about that just yet. I'm almost twenty-three now, a couple of inches taller taller than I was at nineteen and a whole lot broader through the shoulders, so I guess that explains a bit of it. Still, feels like I've let some of that good work go to waste. Bit disappointed in myself, to be honest. So what am I gonna do? I'm gonna join a gym. It goes against all of my principles, but the new job has me sitting on my arse all day, and I'm worried that all the sitting is gonna backfire when the basketball season wraps. I can see it coming a mile off. I think a little bit of it might be vanity, too. Let's face it, I'm becoming more vain with every passing day. I actually took moisturizer on a two-night trip away. I mean, come on. If you'd told me three years ago that I'd be doing that, I'd have punched you in the tits. But now it's the new normal. What. The f**k. Either way, I'm making the phone call tomorrow. I've got another week off basketball, so that's plenty of time to get it organized. Speaking of basketball... just not feeling the NBA Finals this year. Game two at Staples was a bit rubbish, and Game One was even worse. JJ Redick looks f**ken hot with facial hair, though. And trust me, he was hot enough without it. Taking my boys away for a big tournament in four weeks, too. The sooner that's organized, the better. Can't wait. They'll probably win it, too. Undefeated after 11 weeks. Yep, they're really that good. Don't tell them I said that, though. Would never hear the end of it. Didn't think I'd miss them as much as I do, either. God knows what I'm gonna do when we're all split up next year. Enjoy it while it lasts, I suppose. I think one of them might be questioning some... things, too. Dunno how I'm gonna handle that if it comes up. He's almost like a little brother to me, but there's a line, and I don't wanna go anywhere near it. Kinda clouds your judgement when you've got the kid literally crying on your shoulder after a tough game, though. But he's a smart kid. Hopefully he knows he can come to me for advice. That's enough for now, anyway. Will let you know how the gym goes. Might even get a personal trainer. God knows there's a gap in my life that only a hot personal trainer could fill... Lol.

that's actually my niece

Breaking in the new camera phone at my brother's wedding...

Have you ever written something that's really shaken you up? Like, you've sat down and began writing a scene at your computer, and it's just taken you to a place you really didn't want to go? I have. I've just spent the past couple of days pouring my heart and soul into something massive, and now I'm scared half to death that it's not going to get the job done. I mean, f**k. I don't pour my heart and soul into anything anymore. Why this? Why now? Jesus Christ. Where the hell did this all come from, anyway? I thought my parents had bought emotions, straight off the rack at Ikea, and somehow lost the instructions along the way. My fragility's supposed to be in a flat-pack, buried in my parents' garage. And now suddenly, I need a 'handle with care' sticker. What a f**ked up day I've had.

**Scroll down for new reading material** Ok, so I haven't been around much lately. Yeah, I know. I haven't been around much lately. So? What are you, my mother? Anyway, it's 1.10am on Sunday morning, and I've got this thing that I really wanna get out there before I lose my nerve and blow the whole bloody thing up. I do that a lot, you know. Yes, I know it's destructive. What are you, my mother? Anyway, there's this holy grail in gay literature that some of us aspire to at some point, but very few of us actually execute well: the Coming Out story. To go off on a rant for just a moment... The internet is full of stories about perfect boys with perfect boyfriends who are already out and now their parents are in PFLAG and they have about 25 female best friends that they talk about fashion with and it's all just f**king PERFECT!!! The internet is also full of stories about boys who are completely comfortable with their sexuality, except they haven't come out, they never intend to come out and, their parents, god bless 'em, well they just never asked. Or even better, they're insanely rich and they're never home. Or even better than that, they're dead. w00t. But how many stories have you read that have captured the actual reality of coming out? Stories that have captured the apocalyptic 'oh my god, the world is going to end' range of emotions that a boy goes through before he reveals the deep, dark secret that makes him different from all his friends. Not good kinda different, either. Bad kinda different. Anyway, back on topic, the coming out story is something that many of us have tried at some point, but we usually come up short in either effort or execution. I could name you some examples, but that would just be rude. And I'm not rude. What? I'm NOT rude. What are you, my mother? So anyway, now that I'm 22 years old and both comfortable and confident enough to tackle such an overbearing topic, I'm going to present you with my first, desperate attempt at documenting that first, desperate moment of truth. That harrowing moment in every out-and-proud gay boy's life where you just know life is never going to be the same again. But before you read the scene, I'd better give you a bit of background information about my story (which can be read here, by the way). There's this boy, and he's relating a series of events to a homicide detective throughout the course of an interview. It's a reasonably simple format: the boy tells the reader about a series of events in first person, and the detective asks him questions about those events in third person. I try to use specific trigger words and pointed questions during the interview to keep the first person narrative moving along, and the whole thing looks alright so far. Anyway, I had this one scene in chapter three where I had to explain how two characters had met. I kept trying to write it in past tense, but the scene just leapt off the page in present tense. The scene went as follows: It

I was waiting for someone to do that

It's a popularity contest, the award is supposed to go to the most popular performer. And again, I think you're confusing homophobia with voter complacency. The groundswell of public support for Adam would be a clear indication that homophobia wasn't an over-riding factor in the result. Fact is, everybody was so sure that he was going to win, that nobody was proactive in actually making it happen.

Homophobia? It's more likely that Adam's fanbase simply got lazy and assumed that everyone else was voting for him. We had the same thing happen on Idol a few years ago, where the 'hot favourite' (Ricki-Lee Coulter) was eliminated on the fifth-last episode because nobody had actually bothered to vote for her. They just assumed she'd get enough votes. It wasn't due to any sort of discrimination, it was just the complacency that comes with the 'hot favourite' tag. And if you portray Adam as the 'hot favourite', Kris' supporters are naturally going to work extra-hard to get him over the line. On the other hand, 'hot favourite' Adam probably had a lot of fans who would have voted for him, but didn't. And ironically, it's those exact same people who now call the result a 'sham'.

hmmm... not sure I have a whole lot to add here haha. I think everyone else has pretty much covered every angle. I will say though, you can't really break an old habit unless you replace it with a new one. People who give up smoking often gain weight because they replace their habitual cigarette with some sort of food or drink. On a more extreme level, recovering alcoholics are encouraged to phone their sponsor whenever they crave a drink. Not just because they love to talk, but because this creates a new habit. Keep yourself busy, too. If you're active, you don't have the time to sit down and think about how much you'd love that plate of Nachos. You don't need to join a gym, either. Let's face it, gyms are boring as shit. But if there's a particular sport you like to play (or would be interested in playing), join a social league in your area. It's fun, it's active, and it comes with the added bonus of meeting new people. Alternately, get into the habit of walking to places you'd usually drive to. Or take the stairs at work, get off the bus a couple of blocks early, that sort of shit. It's not about running 10 miles every day and eating rabbit food. And most importantly, understand that these things take time. You didn't put the weight on overnight, and it won't just come off overnight. That is all. (for the record, I lost 30kg/65 pounds, and you can too!!!11one)

That death toll is now 76, with more expected to come. Tragic.

Best things to happen in 2008: - Surviving a full 12 months in the 'real world' (post-education) - Finding the time and inspiration to begin my first novel-length story - Seeing the Presets live in concert - Watching my Celtics win the NBA championship, their first in my lifetime - Losing 9kg/20lb - Joining GA!

Oh man, if you'd ever visited Hobart, you'd know why 104*F is so amazing. Southernmost city in Australia, one of the Southernmost cities in the world and so disgustingly close to the South Pole that most vessels use Hobart as their major Antarctic port. When Hobart's pulling 100*F days, you begin to think the global warming crazies have a point haha As for the speakers, they're off my old desktop computer (the one I blew up two years ago). The speakers would have to be at least 6-7 years old by now, but they're not THAT bad! I think that second photo is significant for reasons other than the JBL speakers, though. Completely by accident, I've managed to sneak the GA website, the latest copy of DNA magazine and my black and pink hippopotamus money box (with 'Party Girl' written on the side in sequins, no less) into the same photograph. Life doesn't get any gayer than that.

I suffer for my art

you've inspired me, lesfeuxdemoncouer. wax on... wax off. the f**king humidity is killing me

Damn it, don't tell me I have to try harder?!?!?!

PlugInMatty ftw

I keep finding hair in my keyboard. this can't be normal.

with all those hot tennis players in Melbourne at the moment, what do you need me for? (and thank you, ArpeGGio. you don't look half bad yourself )

I like to call this one... when Saturday mornings ATTACK! (no, I'm not above shameless self-promotion)

Happy Birthday to a loyal reader

haha, done that more than once. above all else, our great Australian tradition is fireworks. Sydney's display is among the best in the world (and costs enough to eradicate half of the city's problems), but it doesn't matter where you are in Aus, you can guarantee there'll be NYE fireworks nearby. personally, I try to catch the fireworks wherever I am, even if it's on the telly, but NYE is an occasion I spend with friends. if Christmas is a family occasion, NYE is definitely a night for catching up with friends and sending off the old year in style. that said, the last two NYE occasions have sucked. so this year, I'm throwing a massive house party and inviting half the neighbourhood! maybe THAT can be my new tradition