Entertainment For Lively Minds
Music I have got into since moving to Australia.
Having always been a lover of good music (at least in my opinion), I relished the idea of living in Australia and discovering new music when we arrived in November 2007. I've always enjoyed the whole discovery aspect of finding new music. I immediately set to work in discovering new singers and bands. I hope this blog may give persons of the same ilk in other parts of the world ideas for acts to try out.
John Butler was my first discovery. If you like Ben Harper you'll love John Butler. He plays great acoustic based music and is a superb guitar player, using all manner of effects on acoustic guitar to create a sound that is uniquely his own and Australian. Great songs, great voice and songs that stick in the mind.
The Panics much the the same, although a different type of music completely. Think Stone Roses meeting Simon & Garfunkel and you have The Panics. Good hooks, good melodies, great songs. The best of their three albums being the latest Cruel Guards. Saw them live recently and they're as good as any band live. I know they've played the UK, so if you get a chance to see them try and do so. They are working on their latest album at the moment and I can't wait for it to hit the shops.
Another good band are Augie March, much in the same vein as The Panics, guitar based melodic pop songs, that hook you and draw you in.
I've never been very good at describing music, I just know what I like, and If I can turn anyone onto any of the above bands from this blog then I've achieved what I set out to do.
Happy listening and TTFN
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Hmmmm...
I've been in Oz for roughly the same amount of time as you (since October 2007) but I can't say I've been overly impressed with Australian music so far.
However, one of my frieds has previously recommended The Panics, and I'm going to the West Coast Blues n Roots festival, where John Butler is playing, so I'll check them out.
The only band that has really caught my attention since we got here is The Cat Empire (and that is probably only because my wife keeps playing their first album). Managed to catch them at Southbound last month, and was pretty impressed.
You've got to dig a little
deeper underground in my humble opinion to get a good appreciation for Australian music. I was dragged here kicking and screaming by my parents at the ripe old age of 15 in 1980. I'm an avid supporter of the local scene in Melbourne. To save a bit of typing space have a look at my mySpace page. www.myspace.com/trrroglodyte There's a load of links there to some fine music, hopefully you might find something you like.
Thanks will check out the
Thanks will check out the myspace page.
I hope you'll enjoy John
I hope you'll enjoy John Butler, and I will give The Cat Empire a listen.
Prior to coming here my only experience of Aussie music was Men at Work, INXS and Midnight Oil who I thought were a one hit wonder band, little did I know.
Oh I almost forgot, I've been wading through the back catalogue of Cold Chisel, and believe Jimmy Barnes to have one of the best blues voices in the world.
Cheers
I'll check that out later, thanks.
Part of the problem may be that I'm in Perth, the city that music forgot. I often cast enviable eyes over the gig listings for Melbourne and wonder if we'd be better over there. Then I realise that I'm getting old and can't be bothered going to gigs half the time anyway...
I'm in Perth too, I know
I'm in Perth too, I know what you mean about bands not coming here. I often look at Ticketmaster green with envy. Still never mind, great city. I am the same age as you and my wife doesn't enjoy gigs so we don't get to many either.
Ben Folds said something about Adelaide that I think is
even more true of Perth. He said "Adelaide is to the the rest of Australia what Australia is to the rest of the world." He lived there at the time so he knew what he was talking about.
See if you can find on DVD or VHS a documentary called "It's a Long Way to the Top" which was produced by the ABC about 10 years ago. It's approx. six hours long. It covers Aussie music from the 50's onto(what was then) the present. It touches every base from bands like the excremental Little River Band to The Scientists and The Birthday Party.
There are untold numbers of Australian/New Zealand bands that coulda/shoulda been big worldwide that for whatever reason never escaped our shores. You won't hear me make a similar claim about Aussie TV!
I'll post a song that everyone in Australia loves but no one outside our shores have ever heard. It may look quaint but please remember that you're not hearing it through 1971 ears and nostalgia is a huge part of any musical legacy.
It's a self-aware throw back to the 50's and was a reaction to Prog. "Don't people want to have fun anymore?"
Don't know how reliable it is but legend has it that just before they wrote Crocodile Rock Elton John played this song for Bernie Taupin and said "Write something like this."
It has one of the best opening lines of any song ever, a simple "Now listen!"
It's by Daddy Cool and it's called Eagle Rock.
Great song, I had heard the
Great song, I had heard the melody before I'm sure, but could be confusing it with something else. You're talking my language now, I love a bit of retro......
'Think Stone Roses meeting Simon and Garfunkel'...
I'm not sure I want to... sounds bloody awful!
Probably a bad comparison,
Probably a bad comparison, its worth giving it a go
Snowman
A Perth band that I find particularly awesome. They're in England at the mo for quite a while. Their latest album called "The Horse, The Rat and the Swan" is a cracker.
At the other end of the spectrum is a 3 piece Melbourne act called "All India Radio". This is a track I love from their album "Echo Other"
Then there's these guys who fall somewhere in between or to the left margin or somewhere. Good fun. Nice milk and cigar Tom Waits vocal
These guys I was lucky enough to see at the inaugural ATP in Australia at Mount Buller. This is a track from what some consider to be their seminal album "Ocean Songs". They played the whole album live. The energy that Warren Ellis conjures from his violin live has to be heard to be believed. His work on the mandocaster with The Bad Seeds and Grinderman doesn't suck either.
Then there's these guys. The Drones. My personal flavour of the month. If you dig what these guys and 1 doll do then see them live is the best thing I can say to you.
I've tried to give an eclectic mix here. The idea of Word readers outside of Australia thinking that Australian music is just INXS, Kylie M, AC/DC and Men At Work worries me. If mainstream sound is your kick then that's fine. I just wanted to put forward soumething a little deeper under the surface.
Hope some of you enjoyed.
One last note. If any of these bands have sparked your interest in Australian independent artists may I suggest giving Triple R a go (a Melbourne community radio station). You can stream it here....
http://www.rrr.org.au/
There's a show on Wednesdays at 4pm till 7pm Melbourne time (+11hours GMT) called "Incoming" hoasted by a chap called Richard Moffat. It's all new release Australian content and well worth a listen.
Thats brilliant thanks for
Thats brilliant thanks for the insight. I've obviously only scraped the top of the barrel. I was alluding to the fact that a lot of great Aussie music doesn't actually leave these shores as opposed to readers outside of Australia only knowing the mainstream. As you know there is so much great music out there among the not so great, you can spend a lot of time sifting and not finding anyhting of worth. Its good to be pointed in the right directio and I appreciate the help. My music collection is very much non mainstream and I could point you in the direction of plenty of great UK music that has gone under the radar. Once again thanks a lot and I will definitely look at all of these bands.
U.K. underground is something that
I have very little knowledge of Bally. Anything you would care to throw my way would be greatly appreciated. Once you get a few stepping stones in the direction of ones taste, myspace and last fm etc can send you off on and endless compiling of wish-lists. You've got to love the internet for keeping us music lovers broke hey?
On a similar note...
Any Sydney-based folks can check out FBi, a community radio station that plays 50% Australian music, with half of that in the form of Sydney bands. Excellent for those interested in Australia's emergent talent. People elsewhere in the world can podcast lots of content from the website, www.fbi.org.au
Full disclosure: I'm involved in FBi, and I think we're rad.
Thanks
for the link Joel. I'll be checking it out.
After listening to the songs
After listening to the songs you posted for me, I jumped straight onto itunes and downloaded The Drones album Havilah. I enjoyed the others especially Juke Baritone, you sold them to me straight away when you mentioned Tom Waits, as I have everything he has ever released. You're right about the internet though, it has opened up so much music for people like us and kept us poor. Will give the English scene a think and blog some music in due course.
Glad to be of service my good man
Looking forward to the delights of your collection.
Chin chin
P.S. "Havilah" was a nice choice to d/load. Check out the track "Oh My" for a brutal look at the possible consequences of social collapse due to our footprint.
Taxiride...
I quite like Taxiride... they're like a slightly more electrified version of CSN&Y... don't know if they're that Big In Oz, but I certainly haven't heard any mention of them here. Oh, and YouAmI were (are?) pretty good too.
You Am I
YAI are still going, latest album Dilettantes came out last year and have a gig in London in March. Absolutely the best live rock n' roll band on the planet bar none. Such a shame they never got the push to break out of the Southern hemisphere.
I love some of the Sixties stuff
like Russell Morris, The Masters Apprentices and The Easybeats. And that surf rock smash Bombura is fantastic. And you can't beat a bit of The Seekers, if you're that way inclined.
But when it gets the 70s and the best on offer is Skyhooks, Sherbet and Daddy Cool, it all goes downhill.
I remember visiting Australia
at the start of the decade and being shocked to discover that none of the record shops i visited had nothing in by Australia's greatest band, in my humble opinion, The Triffids. I'm sure that shocking oversight has been remedied by now
A state of affairs that still persists, I'm afraid.
When the re-issue of Born Sandy Devotional was released, one of the papers here did a survey of people in Brunswick Street (very hip location) and no-body had heard of it. You can find the album, but you might need a team of Sherpas to do so.
However, a series of docos in the vein of "Great Albums" was around a while back - Born Sandy Devotional was one, 16 Lovers Lane (by the exceedingly wonderful Go-Betweens) another. Certainly worth a look.
I'm in Perth too
and the only local bands I like are Schvendes and The Bank Holidays.
I moved from the UK to Sydney in May 2007......
And have to say, there's a lot of local music that's fairly underwhelming.
What Australia tends to well is country/folky/bluesy stuff (John Butler, Waifs, Panics, Cat Empire), and electonic dancey stuff (Pendulum, Presets, Cut Copy, Empire Of The Sun..) What it doesn't do so well is indie/rock (Grinspoon, Wolfmother Jet - all awful) and urban/hip hop (hilltop hoods, bliss n eso - laughably bad)
And I regard Nick Cave as one of the world's greatest living singer/songwriters.
the live scene in Sydney in Melbourne is good and getting better - with lots of great venues, and a steady stream of international acts coming over. But ticket prices are comparatively much higher and venues much smaller than elsewhere.
But I go to more gigs in Sydney than I used to in London.
I like the voices of ...
....Kasey Chambers and the sisters who sing in The Waifs(Vicky and Danielle I think). Not only their voices....great music too.
My brother has lived in Melbourne for around 3 years now but he's not very much interested in music. He did work with a bloke who was in a band called The T-Bones and he sent me a couple of their cds....all good fun...redneck country, Aussie style!
I noticed there was a blogger on here from Australia called tbone.....too much of a coincidence, no??
aussie music
You should have a listen to the Hoodoo Gurus
I saw them in Majorca last year after years of following them
They are a great Live band and Dave Faulkner is a great
songwriter