Australian music appreciation thread!

[Axver]

Americans have the worst boner for that song.

 

[cobl04]

Nick Seymour is from Benalla and and Paul Hester was born in Melbourne, spent his teens in the Dandenongs. They originally formed as The Mullanes in Melbourne after Split Enz broke up; Neil and Paul wanted to keep playing together, met Nick, and also brought in Craig Hooper (from Dubbo). Hooper left just before they changed the name to Crowded House and recorded the debut; it's why Recurring Dream, the song, is not on the debut album, because Hooper gets a co-writing credit on it.

So, Split Enz are absolutely 100% a Kiwi band, the name change from "Split Ends" is a whopping big clue, but Crowded House are more a Melbourne band than many that we unquestioningly call Melbourne bands!



To add to my comment on Great Southern Land earlier, the only other song for me that rivals it in capturing that distinctive feel of Australia as a continent and landscape, bottling it in sonic form, is Wide Open Road.

Ha, I never picked up on that Enz thing. Is this Hooper dude still around? Must regret leaving.

I have never heard Wide Open Road, this is really nice. Also seems like their singer sadly succumbed to heroin

How about Sounds of Then lol.

 

[Axver]

Craig Hooper was a main member of The Reels, whose article on Wikipedia suggests I ought to be aware of their existence but I sure don't know a thing about them.

Sounds of Then is legit. I'd put it not too far behind Wide Open Road and Great Southern Land. Let's not discount Solid Rock either.

 

[Axver]

This is the Reels' song that is supposedly some big classic of Aussie music.

I don't recall hearing this even once in my life.

 

[kabigon]

This is the Reels' song that is supposedly some big classic of Aussie music.

I don't recall hearing this even once in my life.

I'm sure I've seen it on Rage a bunch of times, don't remember hearing it on radio like Gold or Triple M though.

 

[intedomine]

To add to my comment on Great Southern Land earlier, the only other song for me that rivals it in capturing that distinctive feel of Australia as a continent and landscape, bottling it in sonic form, is Wide Open Road.

I echo this - both songs capture it perfectly, there is something expansive about both songs.

 

[intedomine]

Expatriate

Yes! Whatever happened to these guys? I presume they hang around in Germany now. In the Midst of This was an incredible album. And I love that one of the videos was filmed at The Croft Institute, a bar which I frequented from time to time.

I managed to check them out live at The Toff in Town once after they released their follow up album. They were headlining, but the support act had a lot more people there to see them. I was literally standing alone on the floor with my bro watching the band play, seemingly exclusively to us.

Stellar band.

 

[dan_smee]

I was really into them after the Lovers Le Strange ep, and the album was good. Lyrically awful, but had a great sound. Lots of channeling the edge.

 

[cobl04]

do you like Sticky Fingers, madforit?

 

[Kieran McConville]

The thing about the Australian landscape - I mean, haha, when you get out of the two major conurbations - is that it's scary silent, and scary big. There's always an undercurrent to that wide open road. It's a long road, and there's a lot of there, there. You know we don't really belong here. It's huge and it's indifferent. Capturing that in a sound, in music, is quite a trick. It's not quite like the American highway. It's something else.

 

[Kieran McConville]

In other words, yes to Great Southern Land, and also Wide Open Road (and now you can go any place, that you want to go... but do you really want to go?).

 

[Kieran McConville]

Also I knew Quasimodo's Dream; it was definitely a staple of Rage at certain periods in history. I would be a liar if I claimed I knew anything about The Reels apart from that song, however. Well and that Jimmy Little covered it.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Anything other than Down Under.

I think sometimes that Men At Work were probably bigger in America than they were here.

 

[cobl04]

I think that's fact - just ask Trashley! I think they go to see Colin Hay every time he's out there.

 

[cobl04]

Let's chat about Aboriginal work too. I just picked up Gurrumul's self-titled, looking forward to listening to it.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Recommend me Aboriginal work. No joke. I'm open to persuasion but will have to admit it's a blind spot, listening-wise.

 

[cobl04]

Me too. The only Aboriginal artist I've listened to a full album of is Kardajala Kirridarra (who are great, but a bit electro & hip-hop, so dunno if it'll be up your alley). I'm sure there's some I'm forgetting but yeah it's a huge blind spot for me too.

Dan Sultan is Indigenous and his last album got a lot of love... Dispossessed is a band I've been meaning to listen to for a long time.

 

[Axver]

Dispossessed is a band I've been meaning to listen to for a long time.

Spare yourself. Besides the fact it's not your musical style, it turned out the frontman is a colossal fuckhead.

Don't know if the band have decided to forge ahead without him under the same name or not.

 

[cobl04]

?? what's the story there?

 

[Kieran McConville]

Me too. The only Aboriginal artist I've listened to a full album of is Kardajala Kirridarra (who are great, but a bit electro & hip-hop, so dunno if it'll be up your alley). I'm sure there's some I'm forgetting but yeah it's a huge blind spot for me too.

Dan Sultan is Indigenous and his last album got a lot of love... Dispossessed is a band I've been meaning to listen to for a long time.

There's a few names there, so thanks. Of course, 'blind spot' is just another name for 'there are only so many hours in a day'.

A bit electro is not necessarily a problem for me. A bit hip hop, well, we'll see. It depends (as Zhou Enlai was wont to say of the French revolution).

 

[MadForIt]

do you like Sticky Fingers, madforit?

What’s that?

I thought the unofficial Aussie anthem was Reckless by Australian Crawl- great song

 

[AntonCorbijn]

Since I couldn’t find any of these getting a mention, round here, I’d love to add these, as I really really like them:

MIDDLE KIDS



WAAX
Haven't heard one bad track, but my favourites would be:
This Everything:

You know that you're onto something good, most likely, if the video features someone in a Bikini Kill t-shirt, right?


Wild & Weak


STELLA DONNELLY


And despite all the obvious comparisons which serve as criticism for so many, I like DMAs quite a bit, and Delete surely is a cracking tune, still, especially from 3:00 onwards:


Anybody besides me fancy any of those?

 

[Axver]

Keep meaning to listen to Waax, because they're headlining a gig here in Wollongong with Moaning Lisa and Totty (both good bands) on the bill.

Middle Kids are good enough that I've enjoyed seeing them as a support band a couple of times, and occasionally spin some of their tunes, but that's about it. I'd probably head along if they headlined the Gong, to support the scene and keep bands coming here.

?? what's the story there?

https://www.facebook.com/DISPOSSESSEDPEOPLE/posts/1936684196600048

Sounds like they are still playing, though.

 

[cobl04]

Stella Donnelly is fucking legit. This song is harrowing.

 

[Mack_Again]

wow you guys know so much about Australian music

 

[kabigon]

wow you guys know so much about Australian music

You can start the Japanese music appreciation thread, exclamation mark optional

 

[Mack_Again]

You can start the Japanese music appreciation thread, exclamation mark optional

nah some white weeb online knows more Japanese music than myself, so im not gonna do that one

 

[kabigon]

nah some white weeb online knows more Japanese music than myself, so im not gonna do that one

Better just shut down the internet now, there's no hope for us

 

[Mack_Again]

Better just shut down the internet now, there's no hope for us

after late 2016, I literally lost all of hope

 

[AntonCorbijn]

Stella Donnelly is fucking legit. This song is harrowing.

Yeah, damn right Utterly compelling lyrics