lundi 31 Mar 2008, 5h57m
I threw together a quick oz rock playlist in itunes the other day. Stuff I have on my laptop. There's a whole lot more I've still got on CD, and probably more again I still don't have.
I don't think you can talk about oz rock and not mention Cold Chisel.
Yes, I know. It's not cool to like them. But chances are just about any aussie band you like has been influenced by them.
Have a listen to The Living End's cover of Rising Sun.
Thing is, they play it pretty close to how Chisel did (sans piano), yet if you didn't know it was a cover, you could easily think it one of their own songs.
They had so many hits, but really, can you go past Khe Sanh?
Guaranteed to fill the dance floor in any pub when it comes on. Cold Chisel songs are the soundtrack of my early life. Always on the radio in my Dad's workshop. I didn't know who sang many of the songs until many years later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH07B90NFjE
At the tender age of 18 I went away to uni. Interstate to a small shithole of a town in Central Queensland. Rockhampton was a void for music. JJJ was only just beginning to broadcast there and no venues allowed local bands to play originals. It was all Pearl Jam and Bush covers. No touring bands came either.
But then in came the Oils.
Another great oz rock icon, Midnight Oil are both loved and hated, certainly not everyone likes the politics. And while I may not agree with all their sentiments, I can't argue, Pete and the lads can fucking rock. They were a godsend in a music starved town, playing one of the best shows I've ever seen. They packed out Flamingos, the local nightclub, and finished their set with Beds Are Burning. Everyone in the place screaming along. It was an amazing night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLlRKA_YrHU
Around the same time, Hunters & Collectors Cut was pretty much got a play at every party. They're a band with so many great songs. Throw Your Arms Around Me has been covered by the likes of Doug Anthony All Stars, A Finn brother, even Eddie Vedder. But nothing can match the original. I saw Mark Seymour play a show last year, and when the old Hunters tracks came up, he had everyone eating out of his hand. I was going to link to that song, but I don't think I will. There's one other that deserves a run. Say Goodbye.
What else can get a pub full of drunk Aussie blokes to cry out, "You don't make me feel, like I'm a woman anymore!"