Almanac Music: Absolute Game Changers – A Song That Shook Your World
Almanac Music: Absolute Game Changers – A Song That Shook Your World
Some songs we might call all-time personal favourites; there are others we may acknowledge as timeless classics, even if we do not especially love them ourselves; then, there is that most special category of all – the particular song that changed – or, at the very least, shook up – our life in some fundamental manner. I would call this lattermost variety of song an ‘absolute game changer’, in that it causes a seismic shift in the way we view the world, in terms of both life and music. I’d also suggest that, typically, there is only one such song in our lives, or, if you feel that there are more than one, further reflection will show you that a certain song will be more prominent than the others.
For me, my ‘absolute game changer’ is ‘Wuthering Heights’ (1978), written and performed by Kate Bush. When I first saw its video clip on Australian TV in the late 1970s, it was as if I’d been instantly transported, taken to somewhere vastly different to the place to which I was accustomed. To me, Bush was a mind-blowingly unique performer when I initially viewed her in that flowing red dress, eccentrically dancing in the verdant English fields, singing that song about passionate love in her strange, individual voice, even if so many of us knew the iconic, yet highly idiosyncratic Emily Brontë novel where the song’s story originated. Kate’s (often) high-pitched vocal gymnastics vaguely reminded one of Yoko Ono, apart from the crucial points that Bush’s singing was actually tuneful and appealing. Bush was also the epitome of young, dark-haired, English female beauty, which made her presentation even more striking.
If songs such as ‘Wuthering Heights’ can be referred to as ‘absolute game changers’, then why? One major reason, in musical terms, is that it altered my conception of what a pop song could be, even if I probably wouldn’t have expressed the point that way when I first heard the song at the age of sixteen. I’d simply never listened to anything like it before. In relation to my life, I feel that ‘Wuthering Heights’ emphasised to me, as someone who had grown up in a macho, sport-loving environment, and mainstream music culture, that there was also a side of life in which, art, beauty and literature were highly compelling and important forces.
Interestingly, songs which can be described as ‘absolute game changers’ don’t necessarily remain all-time favourites. Although I still love Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, primarily for what it has meant to me over many years, I acknowledge that the impact of its uniqueness when it first came out has inevitably diminished over time, at least partly because of how often I’ve heard it. Still, though, the song remains with me as an exciting landmark work of wonderful singularity:
Out on the wiley, windy moors
We’d roll and fall in green
You had a temper like my jealousy
Too hot, too greedy
How could you leave me
When I needed to possess you?
I hated you. I loved you, too …
Over to you, Almanackers – what is your ‘absolute game changer’ of a song?
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Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Without a doubt the song that shook my world was ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ by Bob. I’ve written on the Almanac about my first introduction to the song here: https://www.footyalmanac.com.au/almanac-music-like-a-rolling-stone-bob-dylan/
Been a few KD, but probably my earliest three mind shakers were
Because I Love You – Masters Apprentices (aged 10)
Horror Movie – Skyhooks (13)
Maybe – Split Enz (14) – https://www.stereostories.com/maybe-by-split-enz/
You have certainly chosen an iconic Dylan song, Col. Like my choice, I’m certain your selection shook up the lives of many people.
I read and enjoyed your piece about ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, too.
Thanks for your selections, Swish – all fine Oz/NZ songs, of course.
Like you, Split Enz’s ‘Maybe’ inspired me to write something for Stereo Stories. In my piece, I recall being in Sydney as a kid when early Enz played at the Opera House.
Thanks Kevin.
For me it was Midnight Oil’s Species Deceases EP (1985).
I can still recall where I was when I heard it on the blank tape blasting out of the cassette deck in the year 12’s car on the way home from school.
It was so ferocious, yet stark, then brutal at times.
Peter Garrett’s vocals were felt like a slap in the face to my 13 year old self.
It seemed so immediate and totally at odds with the other vapid offerings from the pop/rock world.
Thanks for your comments, Greg.
Yes, Midnight Oil are one of my favourite OZ bands – they pack a punch musically and certainly have always had something powerful to say in their songs. My memories of the Oils go way back to the days when I saw them play two or three years in a row at Deakin Uni’s ‘O Week’ celebrations, circa 1981//2/3.
The song that stands head and shoulders above as a game changer is God Save the Queen by The Pistols. 1977. 14 turning 15. It blew my mind. Sound as fury. Living in Perf, I was a long way from punk’s epicentre and I never went for the clothes and mohawk haircuts but the intent hit me in the heart. More than that, it told me that the world of rocknroll was to be found well beyond radio. Closing in on 60, the Pistols, The Clash and a number of other great punk rock bands still hold up as raw and raging as the first time I heard them, “like they were written in my soul”.
Thanks, Rick, for your interesting, full-on choices. Lately, punk has been at the forefront of my mind, too, because of the recent TV series on SBS. I agree that at least some of the songs from that movement have stood the test of time very well – ‘Anarchy in the UK’ is an example I’d put forward, as well as ‘God Save the Queen’.
Also, another connection, John Lydon is a big fan of Kate Bush, as you may know
Mine is somewhere out of far left field for most people, even the oldies here, but it is “Going Home” from the Rolling Stones “Aftermath” album, 1966 I think (or was it ’67?) In an era when no song, single or album track, went longer than 3 1/2 minutes, it ran, incredibly, for over 30 minutes, filling a whole side of an album that in total played for well over an hour. It was never released as a single of course, but I just loved the gradual changes of style and tempo throughout the song. Famous it is not, but it really shook my world at the time.
Searching for a YouTube link to the song (there are several, you can find them easily enough – but note it is “Goin’ Home” rather than “Going Home”), I find Wikipedia disputes my memory of 50+ years ago, saying it was only 11 minutes & something long. I could have sworn it was a whole lot longer than that, but am unable to prove it unless I can find my copy of Aftermath, which is still around the house here somewhere …..
Very interesting, Trevor. While my knowledge of Rolling Stones singles is pretty good, I suppose I can’t say the same for album tracks … I’ll need to look up and listen to ‘Goin’ Home’ (which I will do).
But that’s one important issue concerning game changing songs – that they don’t have to be particularly well-known – only fundamentally important to the person concerned.
In 1983 a friend returned from London with a copy of Soul Mining by The The. This Is The Day remains an iconic song for me. It still sounds like it’s from the future as it did then. Used in a number of films since, it hit me at 30-something just when I was considering a big change career wise. I can’t hear it now without that association.
Hi Trevor.
Thank you for your input here.
What a fitting song in the context of the current discussion – a song called ‘This Is The Day’ that focuses upon change, and connects to a time when you were considering a big career change.
Yes, your contribution certainly underlines how songs can be so important – and relevant – to us!