Rediscovered this lot in 2021 thanks to my drummer son, and then got the chance to see them in 2023. Great to drive to but even better live.

I've loved Simon's music from his days with Art Garfunkel through to all his international collabs. I've always considered Rhythm of the Saints, while not as commercially succesful as other work, as his most interesting album.  

I like country music in the same way I like capsicum - included as a flavour hint, not a full stuffed one. Crow's pop-rock numbers have just the right blend of flavourful tunes and arrangements with body. 

Asutralia's best storytelling songwriter, Paul Kelly combines listenable melodies with sharp lyrics and a uniquely recognisable nasal vocal style.

Alecia Moore-Hart's acrobatics and visual style are legend, but for me, it's the honesty and originality of her music and lyrics that work most for me. 

From 1989 to 1991 I got to perform in a pub trio called "Freemen". Acoustic guitar, vocal harmony and the occasional whistle solo on a kid's descant recorder. Not exactly a professsional musical careeer but it came with warm companionship and the fun of playing Irish music.

I got convinced to fork out the $22 for his 1985 concert at QEII Stadium, never having listened to much except the singles from Born in the USA that had been charting. By the drive home, with local FM radio blasting his back catalogue, I was a die-hard fan of The Boss. 

Mark Knopfler's guitar work has always been central to my love of this group's work but the evocative arrangements, compelling songwwriting and performance energy complete the package. 

Young indie Brisbane band whose rock-pop numbers are catchy to listen to and even better punched out live in a dive bar with craft brews.

Thousands of people coming together to take a red hot crack at singing a song in part harmony, fuelled by a drink or two and led by the inspirational Astrid Jorgensen. This has become a regular event for my kids and me.

Dvořák's Symphony No 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178 "From the New World" - and specifically this recording by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Herbert Von Karajan - was a gateway for me as a teenager, into an enduring appreciation for orhestral music.

Handel's Oratorio is one of the works my parents sang together in the London Combined Hospital's Choir (where they met) and while I never sang it myself, it was another gateway for teenage me, into an appreciation for choral music. 

There are great earworms, and then there is Billy Joel. Songs so well crafted I've been humming them since the 1970s.

A surprise find a few years ago - a Swedish duo of sisters who add more than tight harmonies to their country/folk music -  innovative arrangements and a unique lyrical style.