So welcome back, it looks like we're up to Disc 2 and we're apparently up to my generation's music. The "This Century" generation or the iGeneration or whatever the hell our abomination of people between 18-25 are called that isn't exactly Gen X....anyway, here's part two of The Great UnAustralian Songbook.
I know it's incredibly belated, but guess what I was gonna be Un-UnAustralian and talk about what I wanted to talk about originally and be a bit lazy in the process.
Track 1 JET - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
The first time I heard this song, I was absolutely blown away. The bass line, the cough, the thumping beat till finally we hear something along the lines of "A-GO!" Before the song really kicks in. People have criticised the song for sounding quite similar to two MoTown hits as well as Iggy Pop's Lust for Life, which, most of the song sounds like a mix of both.
Is it Australian though? Well as we learnt with last century, we're obsessed with women, plain and simple. We love the ladies and we are constantly wondering if we're gonna be with them, but the use of songs which are not particularly Australian is a bit of a problem.
I would have added points yesterday for Men at Work using the children's rhyme "Kookaburra," for their song Down Under, which they were sued for this year, but I don't think it would've added much. Are You Gonna Be My Girl? is fairly UnAustralian, even with the use of the term gonna, it won an award back in 2004 for "Most Performed Australian Work Overseas," unless JET plan on becoming the next Ganggajang, JET is not particularly Australian and sounds too American for this album.
Track 2 Powderfinger - My Happiness
Another song about love, loss and a lady, I have to say that Bernard Fanning's strength lyrically comes through here in his voice as well. There is a great quote from Fanning who was criticised for writing the song as a bland ballad. Fanning defended the song as a heartfelt rock song and saying, "If you can't cop a bit of emotional stuff then you should go and get the lamp shade extracted from your arse. If you don’t think there is enough rock in your life then let me know and I will personally come around to your house and chuck stones at you."
I personally would have chose "Day You Come" from their 1998 album, Internationalist, which was about the political power of Pauline Hanson, then again, I'd probably have Pauline Pantsdown on this album as well as TISM's Greg! The Stop Sign!
Okay now the rest of the tracks I've heard before but they start to dive into what I call more pop orientated tracks and whilst they are not my favourite artist's, they all seem to do their best and have the most acclaim for the following hits...except for The Veronica's, I would have chosen Untouched, but that's just my preference.
I know it's incredibly belated, but guess what I was gonna be Un-UnAustralian and talk about what I wanted to talk about originally and be a bit lazy in the process.
Track 1 JET - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
The first time I heard this song, I was absolutely blown away. The bass line, the cough, the thumping beat till finally we hear something along the lines of "A-GO!" Before the song really kicks in. People have criticised the song for sounding quite similar to two MoTown hits as well as Iggy Pop's Lust for Life, which, most of the song sounds like a mix of both.
Is it Australian though? Well as we learnt with last century, we're obsessed with women, plain and simple. We love the ladies and we are constantly wondering if we're gonna be with them, but the use of songs which are not particularly Australian is a bit of a problem.
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| Stop playing with Shane's heart. |
I would have added points yesterday for Men at Work using the children's rhyme "Kookaburra," for their song Down Under, which they were sued for this year, but I don't think it would've added much. Are You Gonna Be My Girl? is fairly UnAustralian, even with the use of the term gonna, it won an award back in 2004 for "Most Performed Australian Work Overseas," unless JET plan on becoming the next Ganggajang, JET is not particularly Australian and sounds too American for this album.
Track 2 Powderfinger - My Happiness
Another song about love, loss and a lady, I have to say that Bernard Fanning's strength lyrically comes through here in his voice as well. There is a great quote from Fanning who was criticised for writing the song as a bland ballad. Fanning defended the song as a heartfelt rock song and saying, "If you can't cop a bit of emotional stuff then you should go and get the lamp shade extracted from your arse. If you don’t think there is enough rock in your life then let me know and I will personally come around to your house and chuck stones at you."
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| Mr. Fanning knows where you live... |
I personally would have chose "Day You Come" from their 1998 album, Internationalist, which was about the political power of Pauline Hanson, then again, I'd probably have Pauline Pantsdown on this album as well as TISM's Greg! The Stop Sign!
Okay now the rest of the tracks I've heard before but they start to dive into what I call more pop orientated tracks and whilst they are not my favourite artist's, they all seem to do their best and have the most acclaim for the following hits...except for The Veronica's, I would have chosen Untouched, but that's just my preference.
3 Silverchair - Straight Lines
4 Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
5 The Veronicas - 4ever
6 Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head
Now the keen observers of the list may have noticed the music here isn't going chronologically (neither was the last disc) but I do have to say around here, it starts getting a bit indie or hipster-y in my opinion. Whilst I do like Empire of the Sun and I've heard Temper Trap described as if The Beatles kept making music, weren't shit and a bit Australian, I do have to point out that, this is where I started to fall out of "popular music." I'm not sure if it was because my younger sister started to really listen to music here and play it loudly on her iPod speaker set, but I'm sure this is where I started to listen to a lot more electronica and find my own way in music.
Now the keen observers of the list may have noticed the music here isn't going chronologically (neither was the last disc) but I do have to say around here, it starts getting a bit indie or hipster-y in my opinion. Whilst I do like Empire of the Sun and I've heard Temper Trap described as if The Beatles kept making music, weren't shit and a bit Australian, I do have to point out that, this is where I started to fall out of "popular music." I'm not sure if it was because my younger sister started to really listen to music here and play it loudly on her iPod speaker set, but I'm sure this is where I started to listen to a lot more electronica and find my own way in music.
7 Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
8 The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
9 Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know
Now the real origin of this piece came from the appearance of Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know on the album. Now, okay, look, Gotye is a brilliantly talented musician, don't get me wrong, but the song that he has been praised for most of 2011, is not his song. Hope that wasn't a surprise for you and if it was, you really need to learn more about early 21st century music, you peasant. Gotye's haunting vocals and the beautiful string that play over the track are nothing in comparison to Elliot Smith's
10 John Butler Trio - Zebra
11 Delta Goodrem - Born To Try
12 Pete Murray - So Beautiful
13 The Middle East - Blood (Radio Edit)
14 Missy Higgins - Where I Stood
15 Angus & Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane
I hate Angus and Julia Stone, that's all I really wanted to say for the rest of this list. Everyone else I either feel deserve to be here for different songs, I don't mind or I simply have not heard before...but if I ever want to go mad with mediocrity, I will put on Angus and Julia Stone.
I hate Angus and Julia Stone, that's all I really wanted to say for the rest of this list. Everyone else I either feel deserve to be here for different songs, I don't mind or I simply have not heard before...but if I ever want to go mad with mediocrity, I will put on Angus and Julia Stone.
16 Sarah Blasko - All I Want
17 Alex Lloyd - Amazing
18 Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Djarimirri
19 The Living End - Wake Up
Also I would have chosen Prisoner of Society or Roll On. Wake Up is a good song, but definitely not the most Australian or best of Living End's discography.
Also I would have chosen Prisoner of Society or Roll On. Wake Up is a good song, but definitely not the most Australian or best of Living End's discography.
20 Wolfmother - Woman
Insert Led Zeppelin Joke here.
The first disc has over forty years to rely on whilst the decade or so that the second disc plays with is a mix of songs which were quite Top 40 oriented when it came out and don't really offer a broad appeal outside either the fans of the music or anyone who's picked up the album for a baby boomer who's trying to keep up. I think most people would either be too old to bother with the song album or too young to bother with the album as a whole.
I think the first disc is a lot stronger and more memorable than the second disc, of course if I'm still alive and blogging when I'm fifty, I might still remember some of these songs, but at least with a large hint of irony. I'd say things like, oh I remember Angus and Julia Stone when I was a little hipster interning at some lame PR firm...or you know, something critically sarcastic as such.
The album should have been padded out with more songs that related to Australia rather than giving vague statements about how much we miss our girl or how much we want to be better. If you have Reckless on there, why not have Tim Bailey just singing Always Take the Weather with you or even through the theme to Water Rats on there; something out of the ordinary
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| ....always... |
Rather than a few token tracks. I doubt the album would be sold internationally, but if it does, it'd probably go over a lot better but warp our own national identity even further...
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