(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
I love 60s pop music. There's something about the structure of it that I love. The thing about Satisfaction is that the Stones were unconvinced it was
a really good song, which just shows how wrong musicians can be.
Keith [Richards, guitar] thought it was a B-side because it was too simple. Everyone's playing conventional, simple stuff but it all comes together to make this giant beautiful song that's just so iconic. It's got a three-note riff that's timeless and Mick Jagger really nails the vocal.
There are lots of Stones songs I like but one day I just realised how brilliant this was. It's the kind of song you should send in one of those capsules to another planet.
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
At school I had a really bad year 12. All my friends left, so I spent the year in the library. I used to go and read this history of rock 'n' roll book and there was a big section on Motown. I was fascinated with Marvin Gaye even before I heard his music. Just the way he looked and the way people talked about him. He was the coolest dude. This song still touches me today. The power and searching in his voice is unparalleled and this song's the epitome of soul music.
I grew up listening to commercial radio in the 70s. I listened to everything to educate myself. I was young and looking for recommendations.
I remember in one week in the fifth form I had to find James Brown, because I'd read about him. I had to listen to Grandmaster Flash because I'd heard so much about him and I had to listen to The Clean's Tally Ho! because I kept hearing so much about it. I just had to find them.
April Fool - Ronnie Lane
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Advertise with NZME.Ronnie Lane was the bassist in Small Faces but he did an album with The Who's Pete Townshend called Rough Mix. I don't know how the record came into the house, I guess I recommended it and one of my brothers bought it. There are beautiful songs on it.
This song is about a guy sounding like he's given up, "I take my dreams to bed now, where they belong." Life has overtaken his dreams. Lane's got one of those beautiful English folky voices. It's an incredible song. If you want to get a bit teary, give it a listen. It sounds like he's trying to break your heart. It's a beautiful contemplation on what he wanted from his life and where it's going.
About a Girl - Nirvana
It's sad that Kurt departed the world so early. I was a massive Nirvana fan really early on. I thought he was funny. He's got a threatening or sad persona now but I always thought he was hilarious and quite relatable. I chose this song because it gives you an indication of how poppy and Beatlesque Nirvana were and how good his voice was.
This is a song he didn't want to put out on [debut record] Bleach because he thought it would be too poppy. It's a beautiful love song - a cheeky love song - but he's basically saying I just want to be around you, why does there have to be complications?
This could be a song off The Beatles' White Album. It's got that same sort of thing going on.
Can I Kick It? - A Tribe Called Quest
I've been listening across genres all my lifetime, I'm not just a six-string fanatic. I've listened to so much music I almost have to re-track as opposed to finding new stuff at my age.
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Advertise with NZME.I've always loved hip-hop but like any genre, I don't love it all. I love the top 10 per cent. This song is incredible. It's got the Lou Reed sample and an amazing flow in the rap. When hip-hop flows and swings … man, it can be really good. But everything about these guys was good.
Even just putting the Walk on the Wild Side riff on there, they really worked on that in the studio. The simplest things are actually about how much time and love you give to a simple idea to make it beautiful.
* As told to Karl Puschmann
Garageland celebrate the 25th anniversary of their classic album Last Exit to Garageland this year and will be touring Napier, Mount Maunganui, Christchurch and Dunedin in October.
