Melbourne’s Shelley Segal has been one busy singer-songwriter in 2017.
The spirited artist made the move 12-plus months ago to go and live in LA, and in that time she has been writing with different artists, performing constantly, has opened her own publishing company and recently toured the US to promote her latest offering, 'Somebody Like You Stream'.
Back home for the festive season where she'll perform three regional Victorian shows, Shelley shares her favourite songs about being a musician. "It’s a slog. It’s unglamorous. It’s 99 per cent rejection," Shelley says.
"It will make you crazy but it is one heck of an adventure, unimaginably rewarding and there’s nothing else I would want to do with my life.
"It’s funny that so many of my favourite songs of all-time are about being a musician. They’re pretty diverse sounding songs, from pretty diverse artists but they all have that in common.
"So here are my favourite five songs about being a musician."
'Long Way To The Top' - AC/DC
This is a straight-up classic. Everything that can go wrong, laid out for all to rock out to. I remember performing this song at parties, at Tafe, singing along at bars. And a lot of times I don't remember. It’s the rock & roll anthem with bagpipes.'Money For Nothing' - Dire Straits
This is actually one of my favourite songs of all time. I love the conversational tone of the lyrics. Especially against this serious groove. Mark Knopfler is so sexy in this song. I may be alone in that sentiment, but I don't care. I feel like it’s my anthem.It comes on the radio a lot here in LA and when I’m out on the road, I sing-along at the top of my lungs. People think you’re crazy for doing this gig or they think there’s no work to it. This is the sarcastic answer to that accusation.
To alleviate any feminist dissonance, I just pretend he’s singing: "Money for nothing and the kicks for free."
'Imagine That' - Ani Drifranco
This song is so delicate; a perfect mix of folk and jazz stylings. A hauntingly beautiful song about Ani performing. Putting herself on stage, singing to the proverbial you, singing past the noise, singing through the fatigue, singing to protect herself, singing in the tiny snow-globe of a song.I love her catalogue so much but this has always stood out as a favourite.
'Shoegazers' - Jen Cloher
This is a sweet tune from Jen Cloher’s latest record. It’s really beautiful and resonates pretty strongly. My partner and I are both musicians as well. Sometimes we get to tour together. Others we just have to spend a long time apart.This song (and a couple of other songs on the record) describe tour life pretty accurately.
And this gem of a lyric:
'Success is a slippery eel that keeps on moving /
'It has nothing to do with making music /
'It has nothing to do with making music'
'Vague Rock Song' - Sun Kil Moon (Mark Kozelek)
Mark is a machine. He’s released 5 albums since I moved to the US 18 months ago. I’ll let that sink in while we all question what we do with our lives.I love this song because you can see a bit of Mark’s humour in it. Often his songs are so dreary (that’s a compliment!!) and serious so it’s nice to hear this song and some of his more recent stuff. It's a bit less perfect poetry and more of him speaking directly.
This song talks about him writing a vague rock song that everyone can grasp and he’s having a good time with it until he walks into a milk bar and meets a woman from Syria watching a chlorine attack there. He decides in the song that the vague upbeat style is not for him.
I recently made my own song about life as a musician with South Florida artist Mike Mineo. We've both moved from our home towns and in this tune. With 'Local Celebrity' we discuss the hardships of leaving good gigs behind while taking the piss out of ourselves
Shelley Segal Tour Dates
Fri 29 Dec - Yard Bird (Bendigo)Thu 4 Jan - Cally Hotel (Warrnambool)
Fri 12 Jan - Paynesville Wine Bar (Paynesville)
