A surgically precise seven songs — Last Wednesday, 28 June, I underwent deep strain stimulation surgery as an advanced therapy for Parkinson’s disease. The surgery was a complete success! Today, 6 July, I was discharged from hospital, and my wife and I made our way home! …

Examining artists with only one or two albums — I spend a fair bit of my time listening to music. To complement that, I read widely about music. To be more accurate, I once read a lot, but nowadays, not so much. The format or style of music writing has changed substantially. I can’t remember the last time I…

Types of basses in popular music and how they are played — The bass guitar. It is such an essential part of a band. Bass provides the vital foundation rhythm for a group. Additionally, bass plays a pivotal role in harmony — multiple notes played at the same time are all heard relative to the lowest sounding pitch, the bass note. …

Some favourite songs featuring handclaps — I love the use of handclaps in pop and rock songs. It is just one of those many little bits and pieces, that I refer to as the detail, that goes into making a great song even better. A few weeks ago, I took part in a fabulous discussion with…

My contribution to the Rain Songs challenge — I did not realise just how many songs there are about rain and storms until I endured a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay at a Canberra Cavalry baseball game. Our ground announcer just kept bringing the hits, you know, the common ones such as Have You Ever Seen The Rain, Riders On…

Time to torch some icons — I needed something to brighten my morning, and that very thing had landed in my inbox overnight in the form of a spleen-venting piece from Jeffrey Harvey. He had very cleverly taken it upon himself to grab a bunch of sacred songs and whack them through the butcher’s band saw…

We examined an Australian classic — Quote In 1996 we had a change of government in Australia. Selfishness and greed were promoted, community and equality were shunted. Individualism reigned which was great if you were born with the desirable attributes or into the right circumstances. We made Sunset Studies in 99–00 because it was evident one progressive…

With commentary from a renowned producer and a veteran musician — Welcome to Part Four, the last installment of a series examining the role of a music producer. If you have made it this far, many thanks to you for sticking with me! If you have just wandered in to see what is happening or missed the earlier parts, you can…

With commentary from a renowned producer and a veteran musician — Welcome to Part Three of a four-part series examining the role of a music producer. Missed Part One or Part Two?? No dramas; simply follow these links: Part One, Part Two. Part One examined what producers do, their work, and technological changes. …