What's the deal with Australian music?

...i grew up in those times and areas, too...

he grrrs like the rats of nimh....

or like a Bunny....

My condolences. Growing up in the 80s was Not a Good Thing. It made you think the Smiths was an innovative band. Those of us who were too late for punk's summer of random rowdiness and too early for house's second summer of love got a raw deal, I tell ya. I got the chance at least to make up for it a little bit later on, luckily, but still - Stock Aitken and Waterman should appear for some heavy-duty international crimes against culture tribunal or something, for one.



I can be quite dangerous, and unexpectedly so.

heehee - we always thought we missed out on the "real thing" by growing up in the seventies, not the sixties...

Me too, deb ... at least I hit puberty in the 70s...I'm not sure about that growing up part...

Oh, I loved the 90s, in terms of music and clubscene and all, so I caught up a little bit - but I did keep thinking, why wasnt all this there when I was 16 - I coulda been somebody different! ;-)

i hate it when people think of kylie whenever they hear the words 'australian music' for one there are actually people out there who can sing and two all she does is shake her ass...does anybody else notice this?

I have always thought that Angus Young is a solid rock guitarist. Blues and rock may not have originated in Australia, but Young is quite an interpreter of the genres. His blues based rock leads and riffs are truly inspired. It's a phenomenon kinda like with the Brits, guys like Clapton, and Gilmour and others, who went and studied the old Blues players of the US, and used that music as a platform for their own styles. Angus is right up there with them, IMO. Angus and AC/DC are as rock as any rock band in the US.

Never heard of "Red Gum"?

Angus is solid indeed. He may not do the most complex work, but it is always time and pitch-perfect.

I WAS ONLY 19 (A WALK IN THE LIGHT GREEN)
John Schumann

John's spoken introduction is transcribed from "Caught in the Act"

John's intro to the song
We've just put out a single called "I Was Only 19" or "A Walk in the Light Green" and, ah, it's a song about two mates of mine who went to Vietnam and came back Agent Orange victims. It's, ah, the title "A Walk in the Light Green" stems from the fact that, when the Australian soldiers in Vietnam were given their missions they looked at the areas that they'd be working in on the map, and if ah, it was sort of dark green on the map, there was cause for some consolation, 'cause dark green meant thick jungle, lots of cover and there were no mines. If they were working in areas that were light green on the map, that meant light jungle, not much cover and heaps of mines.

This is a song for Mick and Franky, it's called "A Walk in the Light Green."



Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing-out parade at Puckapunyal
It was a long march from cadets.
The sixth battalion was the next to tour, and it was me who drew the card.
We did Canungra, Shoalwater before we left.

And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean.
And there's me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
God help me, I was only nineteen.

From Vung Tau, riding Chinooks, to the dust at Nui Dat
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months.
But we made our tents a home, VB and pinups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I stil can't get to sleep?
And night-time's just a jungle dark and a barking M16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only ninteen.

A four week operation when each step could mean your last one on two legs
It was a war within yourself.
But you wouldn't let your mates down til they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.

Then someone yelled "Contact!" and the bloke behind me swore
We hooked in there for hours, then a Godalmighty roar
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon,
God help me, he was going home in June.

I can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle
Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row.

And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real.
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel
God help me, I was only nineteen.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.






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Some notes: the "Denny" referred to is Denny Schumann, John's wife; Mick is her brother. Puckapunyal is a basic training base; Canungra and Shoalwater are army facilities providing specialist training in jungle warfare.

And Margo is right. I am a John Farnham fan, because he's the best male vocalist on the face of the earth. Just because it's not known in the US, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Hey, aren't the Finn brothers Aussie? Love Crowded House. Wilso, I am downloading a John Farnham song....I really hope I don't hate it.

Which one?

"You're the Voice"

I believe they're New Zealanders.

Ah, a classic. The live version is absolutely inspiring. Its almost like a masses quoir, with the whole crowd joining in.

Seems they are New Zealanders who considered themselves Aussies, according to the bio.

There's hardly any difference, except when it comes to Rugby. Found out somethiing interesting tonight. Apparently it's in Australia's constitution that at any time they want, New Zealand can become a part of Australia. Goes back to their involvement in the original Federation act.