Bevan Beats #1

by Ciaran Marchant

Welcome to Bevan Beats! This is a new fortnightly article and playlist from us at the Explosion Network. It aims to enable us the ability to share the music we love and hear in our everyday lives.  You’ll be able to find the playlist on Youtube and on Spotify. 

Music is something that has always had a place in my life in one form or another and for my first curated playlist, I thought I would use this chance to bring together a group of songs that represent me in various ways. These songs have meaning to me either in my current stage of life, or they remind me of moments in my life that I hold important. Through this playlist, I have pulled together a rather odd collection of songs that act as a window into my life and who I am. I hope you enjoy this collection of songs and learning a bit more about me through music rather the wave of nonsense I put out on the internet on a weekly basis.  

1.) Mr Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra

I could not think of a more perfect way to start a playlist about me. I use this song most mornings to clear my head of any negativity from the day before and start the day off with a positive outlook. How could you be feeling angry or negative while listening to this? Music is such a great way to help focus or improve your mindset. This may not be the perfect song for you but I suggest you find the one that puts you in a positive mindset for the day. 

2.) Let Me Down Easy – Gangs of Youths

New music is always important, you can use it to connect to new life experiences and also to get away from music that has been stuck in your playlists for years. Over the last year, I have been spending more time listening to Triple J to find new artists & music to expand my horizons. Thanks to Triple J I found Gangs of Youths, a little late by everyone else’s standards but I have fallen in love with their music. “Let Me Down Easy” is my favourite track on their album Go Father in Lightness. 

3.) Safari Song – Greta Van Fleet

The current soundtrack to my life! Have you ever fallen madly in love with a band’s sound that you spend the next period of time-consuming every bit of content you can find by them? Greta Van Fleet has been pure gold in my eyes and “Safari Song” was the song that I found them through. Yes, I understand they sound like Led Zeppelin but after you give their double EP some time, you start to hear their own voice come through. I cannot wait to see how this band grows and matures through their music career. 

4.) Sit Next to Me – Foster the People

Everyone needs a driving song, something that makes you feel like the coolest person on the road. Sun streaming through the open windows of the car as you take a drive on a late Sunday afternoon. Foster the People have a sound that seems to do this with every song that they push through. “Sit Next To Me” continues this trend and has passed the Sunday drive test with flying colours. 

5.) Hey Bulldog – The Beatles

Now we start getting deeper into the artist known as Ringostarz. The origin behind my Gamertag is reasonably sad when I look back at it. During High School, I was a theatre kid (of course I was) and through much of school years, my friends and I were in love with the Beatles. Now for much of my teenage years, I felt like I was the least talented person among my group of friends and therefore connected with Ringo quite a lot with his position in the band. I took that connection on as my Gamertag, lost one of the ‘r’ letters and added a ‘z’ to be edgy of course. Today I love that Gamertag because I have found a lot of self-confidence in my life and it reminds me of how far I have come in my life. “Hey Bulldog” is my favourite song by the Beatles which is the main reason it has found its place on this playlist. 

6.) Times Like These (Acoustic) – Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters are my favourite band. It is as simple as that. But as for what song from their catalogue to add to a playlist about me? It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make when putting it together. I can attribute my love for the Foos to my Dad and my Sister who introduced me to them through the band’s album In Your Honour. From there my love for them grew and I came to find this version of an already beloved Foo Fighters song. It is truly amazing that with a few instrumental changes a song can feel completely different but still retain its meaning. This version of the song quickly became connected to my life. Anytime I was going through something hard or something I thought was going to ‘ruin my life’, I would take a moment to be still and listen to this song. It would not fix my issues, it did not take away the pain but it did reassure me that I just need to understand that no matter what happened life would move on and I would be a better person because of it. 

7.) Hard Times – Paramore

Like most teenagers who grew up at the same time I did, I went through the Pop/Punk phase where I was in love with bands like Paramore, Fall Out Boy & My Chemical Romance. So when I heard that Paramore was returning with a new album last year, it was hard to resist devolving into my teenage state once again. Lucky enough they returned with a refreshing new sound that still felt like home. Hard Times bursts through with a synth-pop sound combined with the iconic voice of Hayley Williams who just sounds like she is having a blast while recording this song. 

8.) Na Na Na [Na Na Na Na Na Na] – My Chemical Romance

Another ode to my teenage years but this one has a great memory attached to it. Back when I was working at the Golden Arches, I finished a shift one night that had been a complete disaster, I was not in the mood to deal with anymore people and I just wanted to go to bed. The moment I got into the car my Dad knew something was up and that I was in no mood to talk. So he did the simplest thing possible. He put this song on and turned the volume up loud enough that you really couldn’t hear the rest of the world. The whole drive home I yelled these lyrics at the top of my lungs and I felt so much better after it. This song makes me smile every time I hear it as it reminds me of just how well my Dad knows me and how proud I am to be his son. 

9.) It’s Nice to be Alive – Ball Park Music

Another of my favourite bands is Ball Park Music. Throughout their catalogue of music, you will find a wild array of sounds and rhythms which are all fantastical and mesmerising in their own way. This particular song I connect to a previous relationship. We bonded over a shared love of Ball Park Music and it had a presence throughout our time together. After our breakup, I found it hard to listen to Ball Park Music for a while but randomly one day I heard this song; all the hurt and pain I had been holding onto, I just let go of and could not stop myself from smiling.

10.) Glitter & Gold – Barns Courtney

If you know me well enough or have listened to our past content, you may know I support the AFL team, Hawthorn. Over the last few years my enjoyment and love of AFL has grown and now I try to attend as many home games as I can throughout the year. Not only because I love the sport, but also because it gives me time with my Dad. Hearing the same stories he tells me each time we drive past Etihad and then proceeding to make fun of the story each time. This song plays in the minutes leading up to the start of each Hawthorn home game and it fills me with anticipation and excitement each time I hear it. After a couple games, I searched for the song and have since then used it to pump myself up when I have spent the day feeling flat. 

11.) Act Your Age – Bliss n Eso

If I was told I had to rap one song rap perfectly to save my own life, it would be this song. I was already a fan of the original song by Bluejuice but Bliss n Eso took the bones of that song and took it to another level. There are many times in life where we should act like an “adult” but I just flat out don’t. Hold onto your playful youth as long as you can, when we are growing up we want so badly to be an adult that we often waste the carefree times as a child. I wish I had the same amount of free time I had when I was growing up…..

12.) All Star – Smash Mouth

Yes, it’s a meme. Yes, you will think of Shrek when you hear this, but this is the first song I ever learned all the lyrics for and I still know them all. This is another song that makes me incredibly happy. It has been overplayed and used for everything for much of my life, but at the same time I can not help but sing along each time I hear it. After all, we could all use a little change and only shooting stars break the mould! 

You can follow Ciaran on Twitter @YaboyRingo