My favourite song is '(I'm) Stranded' by The Saints. Why I love it so much is because of how it sounds, and how it makes me feel. The hard rock, 'punk' sound of this song helped pave the way for the punk rock movement, and its self-funded recording and release demonstrated that artists can go independent and still achieve widespread popularity like The Saints. This song's impact on music and on Australia's 1970s political climate was what started the scene I'm a part of, and many of my fellow musicians agree that this song laid the framework for the community we are a part of today.
I first heard of this song after researching the origins of Brisbane's alternative music scene, and suffice to say, I was blown away. Ed Kuepper's buzzsaw guitar immediately electrified me, and was not like anything I had ever seen before; and Chris Bailey's deadpan, unenthusiastic vocals sneered with a sense of alienation and sarcasm towards the Bjelke-Petersen regime. It was raw, it was in my face, and I knew why it sounded revolutionary. It sounded so different from the music I was used to.
From the archive. Music review · 2025, month unconfirmed (catalogue gives year only; Jan used as a placeholder sort key, not an asserted month) · phone notes carried verbatim.