"MEDIATE" INXS (1987)

For October, the Mental Jukebox is dialing it way back to the eighties and going deep. Deep cuts have always been an important element of music listening to me because they’re often the songs that resonate with me most. Deep cuts are usually the ones that the true fans appreciate most. I like my singles and hits, but I love my deep cuts.

Growing up as a music fan, a whole slew of terminology entered my consciousness that doesn’t typically make its way into everyday conversations. Unless I’m talking to people just like me. One such phrase is album-oriented rock and its numerous variations, including album rock and album track. For the unconverted, these tracks thrive in being part of a greater collection of songs and often are best heard when played in their original sequence. There are arguably fewer examples as spot on as INXS’ “Mediate”.

“Mediate” holds the #5 position on Kick, a massive breakthrough album for the Aussie band. On an album stuffed with huge, infectious chart-topping singles, “Mediate” was a role track, not a star track. It cleansed the palette so to speak, coming off the massive three-song run of “New Sensation”, “Devil Inside” and “Need You Tonight”. In fact, it bleeds out of “Need You Tonight” with a continuous drumbeat. It’s a concept song – a poem that rhymes for about two and a half minutes before we get into the old bluesy rock track, “The Loved One.”

“Deliberate, fascinate, Deviate, reinstate.”

"GUNS IN THE SKY" INXS (1987)

Great album openers get the listeners to keep on listening. They can do this in any number of ways. Some openers set the tone by easing us in. Others jump right in and blow our minds from the very beginning. A great album opener isn’t an easy thing to create. More than a great song, it’s all about the sequence. Track 1 has to be the perfect starter. This month, I’m highlighting my favorites. #AlbumOpeningSongs

Kick was an album to devour. The cover delivered the intrigue. The singles were massive. From beginning to end, the album just flowed – the right amount of hits, diversions, deviations, and intermittent explorations. Some of the band’s biggest singles were contained on this record: “New Senation”, “Need You Tonight”, “Never Tear Us Apart”, “Mystify” and “Devil Inside”. It also houses one of my favorite INXS songs of all time: “Mediate”. But one of the undisputed standouts is Track One: “Guns in the Sky”.

It’s far from one of the band’s best songs, but it demonstrates INXS’ know-how with sequencing. In many ways, “Guns in the Sky” is the quintessential opening track. It draws the listener in, sets the mood and doesn’t bite off more than it can chew. Its repetitive refrain isn’t lazy, it’s brilliant. In a baseball analogy, this song is the leadoff hitter. It’s not looking to hit a home run. But it finds a way to get on base, advance to scoring position, and get driven home by the big guns. On a track list that’s stacked with hits, “Guns in the Sky” is perfectly composed and marvelously placed.

“I'm running late, da da da. Love your hair, da da da. Lend me a ten, da da da. Love your big house, da da da.”

"ORIGINAL SIN" INXS (1984)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #31DaySongLyricChallenge

Day 23

Man, I loved this era of INXS music. The guitar riffs are perfectly placed, making their presence known but never overpowering the rest of the music. Pengilly’s sax always finding a way to seamless enter every song without ever feeling forced. On “Original Sin”, Hutchence showed that he wasn’t afraid to go against the grain in his lyrics, deliberately talking about an interracial relationship when that sorta thing was frowned upon in those times. The Swing wasn’t the greatest INXS record by any stretch, but “Original Sin” as a single is one of their finest.

“Dream on black boy. Dream on white girl. And wake up to a brand new day. To find your dreams have washed away.”

"THE ONE THING" INXS (1982)

It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs

Michael Hutchence is one of the greatest frontmen in rock history. He was the band’s persona. The co-songwriter. The lead vocalist. The spokesperson. And everything about the way he performed, partied and lived his life with the pedal to the metal said he was a rock star – all the way to his death. Like a Gen X version of Jim Morrison. I think people in the States forget how prolific INXS was. They had a steady stream of great tracks from ‘82 with Shabooh Shoobah all the way through ‘92 with X. “Don’t Change” is the song most remember from Shabooh Shoobah, but my favorite from that album has always been “The One Thing”.

Tim Farriss’ guitar riff might be the most memorable element of the song, but it’s his brother Andrew’s masterful work on the keyboards and Kirk Pengilly’s explosive sax solo that differentiate the song, that make it a bit unexpected. Pengilly, in particular, looks and sounds like he’s having a fit while seemingly revving up his sax and pushing it to its absolute limits. The lead vocals from Hutchence is a study in versatility. In the verses he slings the lyrics around with his signature machismo, but then he inverts this approach in the chorus with a nearly catatonic approach. “The One Thing” is a song that pushes and pulls you relentlessly in its new wave splendor.

“Cut the night just like a razor. Rarely talk and that's the danger.”

"WHAT YOU NEED" INXS (1985)

For the month of October, I’m selecting a song each day from the decade that has the most meaning to me: the 80s. It was the decade that I grew up in. The period of time where I discovered my love for music — and explored many different genres. For the next 31 days, I’ll highlight a handful of songs that I truly loved and that were representative of the decade. #31DaysOf80sSongs

For a good 4-5 year stretch, INXS scratched a lot of musical itches for me. The decade was an era filled with hard rock, new wave, saxophone solos and frontman testosterone. And INXS seemed to check off all of those boxes. Early songs like “Original Sin”, “Don’t Change” and “This Time” were the stuff of alt rock radio. But by the time Listen Like Thieves came out, the band was knocking on mainstream pop radio’s door. Of course, Kick is where they blew the doors down a couple years later. But it all started with “What You Need”.

The first ten seconds of “What You Need” is one of the greatest song openings of the decade. The opening drum roll. A peculiar guitar pluck that feels like a sign of life from another planet. Another drum roll. And then the song’s signature guitar riff. It’s a song that wastes no time in getting started. A song full of hooks. And the hooks keep coming with Tim Farriss’ guitar interludes and Kirk Pengilly’s monstrous sax solos. Still, the star of “What You Need” is Hutchence, singing with a swagger reminiscent of Jim Morrison. Which isn’t a shabby comparison as far as frontmen go.

“Forget about the troubles in life. Don't you know, it's not easy. When you gotta walk upon that line.”

"NEVER TEAR US APART" INXS (1987)

“Never Tear Us Apart” was a bit of an anomaly in the INXS catalog. First off, it’s one of the band’s few recorded ballads. INXS rarely slowed down the RPMs this much. Second, it’s a blues song through and through. Devoid of the INXS rock and new wave pedigree. But it’s probably my favorite INXS song. Those who grew up in the 80’s will remember “Never Tear Us Apart” as one of the best ballads of the era. From beginning to end, it’s strong on instrumentation. But its biggest strength is the power of its dramatic pauses. Few songs use pauses so masterfully.

“We could live for a thousand years. But if I hurt you, I'd make wine from your tears. I told you that we could fly. 'Cause we all have wings, but some of us don't know why.”