Late Night Music Part 160....."G'Day Mate! How About Some More Shrimps On The Barbie?"
I can't believe it's been 148 lists since I did a list about
Australian bands, and that's surprising because they have produced some
of the best music of recent years in addition to having a long history
of great music.
In order to receive votes in this category, the artist had to be from Australia, or currently based in Australia, so I did cheat just a little bit. Also, all artists on the last Australian list were disqualified. All songs receiving votes in this category were included.
Gotye- "Heart's A Mess". This year's Record Of The Year Grammy winner for "Somebody That I Used to Know" was making waves in Australia long before his international breakthrough with his 2007 album Like Drawing Blood. This highly creative video was released alongside to promote this single which peaked at #3 in Belgium (where Gotye's family immigrated from) and remains one of Gotye's most famous songs which is constantly covered by other artists and included in all of his live shows. In a music rarity, the actual song is really about a minute shorter than the video, but a whole minute of video was added in order to make the video more complete. I can not think of any other time that has happened. Bonus points to anyone who can give me another example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnXFJOXvL_A
Kimbra- "Cameo Lover". This single was included on Melbourne's favorite New Zealander's and Gotye's now famous duet partner for "Somebody I Used To Know"'s debut album Vows, (I'm counting it- sorry) and despite not charting, the video was widely popular in both Australia and New Zealand and was nominated for the award for Best Female Video at the 2012 ARIA Awards where Kimbra won Best Female Artist and Song of the Year for this same song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elyk9MBY72U
Missy Higgins- "Where I Stood". This song featured on "Grey's Anatomy" was featured on Missy Higgins 2007 album On A Clear Night, and went to #10 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The American version, seen here, made a small splash where it went to #7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under 100 Charts, but gave Missy Higgins a much deserved presence in the United States. This Melbourne artist's latest album The 'Ol Razzle Dazzle debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Charts making arguably the hottest female act in Australia at this time. She reminds me a lot of Norah Jones, but a bit more edgy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCLERYzJsYA
Merril Bainbridge- "Mouth". How can you forget this song getting played to death on the radio? This 1995 song from her album The Garden went to #1 on the ARIA Chart and the Canadian Singles Chart. It also peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it easily Bainbridge's biggest hit in the United States. This video that accompanied the song is totally 90's and is so cliche to the point that you can roll several songs from the 90's into this one and still have this video. Crazy thing is that Bainbridge, like all other artists so far on this list, is still based in Melbourne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YIIM1EVDqg
Newsboys- "Take Me To Your Leader". This title track to Mooloolaba's favorite songs and Australian Christian band Newboys to their 1998 hit album makes for one of the more entertaining videos on this list, as the Newsboys usually do. This song was written by lead singer Peter Furler, but is actually sung by Phil Joel and John James. The success of this single and album, which peaked at #35 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, helped it win the Dove Award for album packaging, with this single peaking at #1 on the Billboard Christian Singles Chart making Newsboys at the time, the hottest Christian band overtaking the recent hiatus-taking dc Talk. In a huge ironic twist, former dc Talk member Michael Tait is now the lead singer of the revamped Newsboys, and they are still one of the top acts in the Christian music industry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSJUeb3fZEE
Chantelle Barry- "Love Someone". This 2012 single from Perth's Chantelle Barry shows the true angelic nature of her voice. After appearing on the American TV series "90210" and movies like "Couples Retreat", Chantelle seems to be focusing on music again, which is perfectly ok with me. By the way, I'm super proud that an artist this amazing follows me on twitter. Talk about an ego booster!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjJc1VUqgEU
Rebecca St. James- "Wait For Me". This abstinence anthem for Sydney's Rebecca St. James off of her 2000 album Transform helped the album climb to #166 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, with this song also appearing on the WoW 2002 compilation album. Now based in Nashville, St. James continues to be a staple on the Christian music circuit, and still has one of the most beautiful voices in music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooAi3KJ5I-s
Midnight Oil- "Beds Are Burning". These guys are worth watching just for pure entertainment purposes. This worldwide hit and song featured in the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics, is perhaps this Sydney band's best known song from their 1987 album Diesel and Dust, where it peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. This political protest song deals with the lands being taken away from Native Australians that were removed from their lands in a similar manner as Native Americans. During their famous Olympic performance in 2000, the band wore clothes with "sorry" sprawled all over it as a message to the indigenous community. Peter Garrett has always been one of the cooler looking lead singers- he looks like he's a legitimate badass in every sense of the word.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E
Olivia Newton-John- "Falling". I never understood how this great song by Olivia Newton-John wasn't more famous. This starlet out of Melbourne was one of the biggest acts of the 70's and 80's not just due to her performance in "Grease" alongside John Travolta, but due to the popularity of her 1981 mega album Physical, from which this song was taken, which was released fresh off her 1980 performance in the rock musical "Xanadu". While the album itself only peaked at #6 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, it sold several million copies worldwide, and featured an accompanying video album where every song for the album had a video made for it, where this video came from. This entire video album was shown in an ABC TV "Let's Get Physical" special which was viewed by an estimated 35% of the viewing audience that night, and would win ONJ Grammy Awards for Best Music Video, and an also received an Emmy nomination for best TV Special. Physical is widely considered ONJ's best solo album, and was easily the height of her solo career, as her popularity, while always large, never came close to matching the success of this era. This song was always a favorite of mine, and I hate that it never was released as a single, it was rather the B-Side of the single "Make A Move On Me", which was released in early 1982.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMMD2txDjTw
Kylie Minogue- "Love At First Sight". Another Melbourne artist! After years of moderate US success and great Australian success, Kylie Minogue broke through in a huge way with her 2001 album Fever, and her #7 hit "Can't Get Your Out Of My Head" and this single and accompanying music video, which helped the single peak at #1 on the ARIA Chart and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song became huge in the dance club scene, and was nominated for the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2003. This widely popular video was surprisingly filmed largely in one take, which shows that Minogue was always underrated as an actress, as she got her start through a starring role on the Australian soap opera "Neighbours". We'll forget the fact that she had a part in the movie "Bio-Dome"....that just sucks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf421JsG004
Ben Lee- "Into The Dark". The Sydney king of retail jingles turned in this solid track from his 2005 album Awake Is The New Sleep, which went to #5 on the ARIA Album Charts, and won him the 2005 ARIA Award for Best Male Artist. This catchy song was released as a single the same year and went to #97 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Go into any retail store in America, and you'll hear this song or one of many others from Ben Lee's extensive catalog that always seems to make its way onto American satellite radio channels featured in stores. Not much surprise there though, his songs are usually short and catchy like this one, so I guess that makes sense to include him in the rotation. My Sprint days are highlighted by the Ben Lee hit "Sing"- bonus video coming up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwz61ELh3Q0
Lenka- "Heart Skips A Beat". I still for the life of me can't figure out why this Sydney starlet hasn't caught on more. She's constantly on my Pandora, and her debut single "The Show" was even featured in "Moneyball", but this lead single from her 2011 album Two didn't really catch on and didn't even chart despite this video to promote it. I also love how this video makes me want to play the old board game "Operation". I really like the dancing in this video, and Lenka is super cute- which makes her not being bigger even more puzzling. If Lenka keeps making good videos like this, it won't be long before she catches an even bigger break.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW8rg6XeP3U
Silverchair- "Ana's Song". I never really cared for Silverchair, but this Newcastle rock act made it cool to have this album when this video got in heavy rotation on MTV from their 1999 album Neon Ballroom. This song was hit in Australia peaking at #14 on the ARIA Chart, and peaking at #12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart, making it one of Silverchair's biggest American hits. The most interesting thing about this song is that "Ana" is actually Anorexia, which lead singer Daniel Johns was suffering from at the time, and his desire to make awareness known that males suffered from eating disorders as well. I never would have guessed that, but once you listen to the song, I guess it makes sense. I just remember so many people having this CD almost a status symbol due to the popularity of the video, but Silverchair never really became the big act everyone anticipated them to be in the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNK_r2QAXAo
Tonight Alive- "Wasting Away". This Sydney punk pop band turned this in as their debut single in 2010 off of their EP Consider This. Led by lead singer Jenna McDougall, Tonight Alive used this song and video to release their debut LP in 2011, What Are You So Scared Of?, which charted on the Billboard Heatseekers and Indie Charts, and #15 on the ARIA Album Charts. I really see Tonight Alive being a huge hit not only in Australia, but in the United States. They have a sound like Paramore, and Jenna McDougall really sings this song like Hey Monday's and "The Voice" winner Cassadee Pope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhdaCt2DhE0
The Vines- "Get Free". This Sydney group had to have felt great when "Weird" Al Yankovic included this song in his medley "Angry White Boy Polka", which has to be the highlight of any artists career. This 2002 single from the band's debut album Highly Evolved peaked at #7 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks making it their biggest splash in the United States while still having a heavy following in the UK and Australia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asOvnGHwtDU
Wolfmother- "Joker And The Thief". Excellent live performance from Sydney trio Wolfmother here from the Australian TV Show "Rage" of the final single from their 2006 debut self-titled album. This song proved to be their biggest hit in Australia, peaking at #8 on the ARIA Charts, and #27 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts. Wolfmother has drastically changed its lineup since this performance, with lead singer Andrew Stockdale being the only remaining member. However, before the lineup changes, he won the 2006 ARIA Award for Male Songwriter Of The Year due to the success of this song and their biggest American song, "Woman".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiRnAO0QJ0E
Little River Band- "Reminiscing". Now here is one I did not know. This Melbourne group shot to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 when this single from their album Sleeper Catcher added this ultimate cheese fest video to the airwaves. The funny thing is that this "band" is still around with none of the original members. Seems sort of pointless at this time. I'll always associate this song with the movie "The Other Guys". This song has now become easily the cheesiest song in the history of this list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0laDzqdzoSU
Madison Avenue- "Everything You Need". This Melbourne house dance music powerhouse duo included this track on their debut album The Polyester Embassy where it went to #6 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and #24 on the Billboard Dance Chart. Cheyne Coates fits in perfect with the 2001 dance music stereotype with this video- everything about her screams 2001. This video is pretty run of the mill, but reminds of a J Lo video in so many ways- what do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a17E0IS6CQo
BONUS VIDEOS- "Somebody That I Used To Know"- Gotye and Kimbra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY
"Sing"- Ben Lee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjmS-VH7K9A
"Magic"- Olivia Newton-John.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvfE-Cf9Qcc
"Starlight"- Tonight Alive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4LJLOUyTwQ
"Hearts A Mess"- Missy Higgins. Gotye cover.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEmTkXr9Ssg
"Reminiscing"- from "The Other Guys".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2YByJcCPHU
In order to receive votes in this category, the artist had to be from Australia, or currently based in Australia, so I did cheat just a little bit. Also, all artists on the last Australian list were disqualified. All songs receiving votes in this category were included.
Gotye- "Heart's A Mess". This year's Record Of The Year Grammy winner for "Somebody That I Used to Know" was making waves in Australia long before his international breakthrough with his 2007 album Like Drawing Blood. This highly creative video was released alongside to promote this single which peaked at #3 in Belgium (where Gotye's family immigrated from) and remains one of Gotye's most famous songs which is constantly covered by other artists and included in all of his live shows. In a music rarity, the actual song is really about a minute shorter than the video, but a whole minute of video was added in order to make the video more complete. I can not think of any other time that has happened. Bonus points to anyone who can give me another example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnXFJOXvL_A
Kimbra- "Cameo Lover". This single was included on Melbourne's favorite New Zealander's and Gotye's now famous duet partner for "Somebody I Used To Know"'s debut album Vows, (I'm counting it- sorry) and despite not charting, the video was widely popular in both Australia and New Zealand and was nominated for the award for Best Female Video at the 2012 ARIA Awards where Kimbra won Best Female Artist and Song of the Year for this same song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elyk9MBY72U
Missy Higgins- "Where I Stood". This song featured on "Grey's Anatomy" was featured on Missy Higgins 2007 album On A Clear Night, and went to #10 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The American version, seen here, made a small splash where it went to #7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under 100 Charts, but gave Missy Higgins a much deserved presence in the United States. This Melbourne artist's latest album The 'Ol Razzle Dazzle debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Charts making arguably the hottest female act in Australia at this time. She reminds me a lot of Norah Jones, but a bit more edgy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCLERYzJsYA
Merril Bainbridge- "Mouth". How can you forget this song getting played to death on the radio? This 1995 song from her album The Garden went to #1 on the ARIA Chart and the Canadian Singles Chart. It also peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it easily Bainbridge's biggest hit in the United States. This video that accompanied the song is totally 90's and is so cliche to the point that you can roll several songs from the 90's into this one and still have this video. Crazy thing is that Bainbridge, like all other artists so far on this list, is still based in Melbourne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YIIM1EVDqg
Newsboys- "Take Me To Your Leader". This title track to Mooloolaba's favorite songs and Australian Christian band Newboys to their 1998 hit album makes for one of the more entertaining videos on this list, as the Newsboys usually do. This song was written by lead singer Peter Furler, but is actually sung by Phil Joel and John James. The success of this single and album, which peaked at #35 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, helped it win the Dove Award for album packaging, with this single peaking at #1 on the Billboard Christian Singles Chart making Newsboys at the time, the hottest Christian band overtaking the recent hiatus-taking dc Talk. In a huge ironic twist, former dc Talk member Michael Tait is now the lead singer of the revamped Newsboys, and they are still one of the top acts in the Christian music industry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSJUeb3fZEE
Chantelle Barry- "Love Someone". This 2012 single from Perth's Chantelle Barry shows the true angelic nature of her voice. After appearing on the American TV series "90210" and movies like "Couples Retreat", Chantelle seems to be focusing on music again, which is perfectly ok with me. By the way, I'm super proud that an artist this amazing follows me on twitter. Talk about an ego booster!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjJc1VUqgEU
Rebecca St. James- "Wait For Me". This abstinence anthem for Sydney's Rebecca St. James off of her 2000 album Transform helped the album climb to #166 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, with this song also appearing on the WoW 2002 compilation album. Now based in Nashville, St. James continues to be a staple on the Christian music circuit, and still has one of the most beautiful voices in music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooAi3KJ5I-s
Midnight Oil- "Beds Are Burning". These guys are worth watching just for pure entertainment purposes. This worldwide hit and song featured in the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics, is perhaps this Sydney band's best known song from their 1987 album Diesel and Dust, where it peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. This political protest song deals with the lands being taken away from Native Australians that were removed from their lands in a similar manner as Native Americans. During their famous Olympic performance in 2000, the band wore clothes with "sorry" sprawled all over it as a message to the indigenous community. Peter Garrett has always been one of the cooler looking lead singers- he looks like he's a legitimate badass in every sense of the word.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E
Olivia Newton-John- "Falling". I never understood how this great song by Olivia Newton-John wasn't more famous. This starlet out of Melbourne was one of the biggest acts of the 70's and 80's not just due to her performance in "Grease" alongside John Travolta, but due to the popularity of her 1981 mega album Physical, from which this song was taken, which was released fresh off her 1980 performance in the rock musical "Xanadu". While the album itself only peaked at #6 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, it sold several million copies worldwide, and featured an accompanying video album where every song for the album had a video made for it, where this video came from. This entire video album was shown in an ABC TV "Let's Get Physical" special which was viewed by an estimated 35% of the viewing audience that night, and would win ONJ Grammy Awards for Best Music Video, and an also received an Emmy nomination for best TV Special. Physical is widely considered ONJ's best solo album, and was easily the height of her solo career, as her popularity, while always large, never came close to matching the success of this era. This song was always a favorite of mine, and I hate that it never was released as a single, it was rather the B-Side of the single "Make A Move On Me", which was released in early 1982.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMMD2txDjTw
Kylie Minogue- "Love At First Sight". Another Melbourne artist! After years of moderate US success and great Australian success, Kylie Minogue broke through in a huge way with her 2001 album Fever, and her #7 hit "Can't Get Your Out Of My Head" and this single and accompanying music video, which helped the single peak at #1 on the ARIA Chart and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song became huge in the dance club scene, and was nominated for the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2003. This widely popular video was surprisingly filmed largely in one take, which shows that Minogue was always underrated as an actress, as she got her start through a starring role on the Australian soap opera "Neighbours". We'll forget the fact that she had a part in the movie "Bio-Dome"....that just sucks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf421JsG004
Ben Lee- "Into The Dark". The Sydney king of retail jingles turned in this solid track from his 2005 album Awake Is The New Sleep, which went to #5 on the ARIA Album Charts, and won him the 2005 ARIA Award for Best Male Artist. This catchy song was released as a single the same year and went to #97 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Go into any retail store in America, and you'll hear this song or one of many others from Ben Lee's extensive catalog that always seems to make its way onto American satellite radio channels featured in stores. Not much surprise there though, his songs are usually short and catchy like this one, so I guess that makes sense to include him in the rotation. My Sprint days are highlighted by the Ben Lee hit "Sing"- bonus video coming up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwz61ELh3Q0
Lenka- "Heart Skips A Beat". I still for the life of me can't figure out why this Sydney starlet hasn't caught on more. She's constantly on my Pandora, and her debut single "The Show" was even featured in "Moneyball", but this lead single from her 2011 album Two didn't really catch on and didn't even chart despite this video to promote it. I also love how this video makes me want to play the old board game "Operation". I really like the dancing in this video, and Lenka is super cute- which makes her not being bigger even more puzzling. If Lenka keeps making good videos like this, it won't be long before she catches an even bigger break.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW8rg6XeP3U
Silverchair- "Ana's Song". I never really cared for Silverchair, but this Newcastle rock act made it cool to have this album when this video got in heavy rotation on MTV from their 1999 album Neon Ballroom. This song was hit in Australia peaking at #14 on the ARIA Chart, and peaking at #12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart, making it one of Silverchair's biggest American hits. The most interesting thing about this song is that "Ana" is actually Anorexia, which lead singer Daniel Johns was suffering from at the time, and his desire to make awareness known that males suffered from eating disorders as well. I never would have guessed that, but once you listen to the song, I guess it makes sense. I just remember so many people having this CD almost a status symbol due to the popularity of the video, but Silverchair never really became the big act everyone anticipated them to be in the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNK_r2QAXAo
Tonight Alive- "Wasting Away". This Sydney punk pop band turned this in as their debut single in 2010 off of their EP Consider This. Led by lead singer Jenna McDougall, Tonight Alive used this song and video to release their debut LP in 2011, What Are You So Scared Of?, which charted on the Billboard Heatseekers and Indie Charts, and #15 on the ARIA Album Charts. I really see Tonight Alive being a huge hit not only in Australia, but in the United States. They have a sound like Paramore, and Jenna McDougall really sings this song like Hey Monday's and "The Voice" winner Cassadee Pope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhdaCt2DhE0
The Vines- "Get Free". This Sydney group had to have felt great when "Weird" Al Yankovic included this song in his medley "Angry White Boy Polka", which has to be the highlight of any artists career. This 2002 single from the band's debut album Highly Evolved peaked at #7 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks making it their biggest splash in the United States while still having a heavy following in the UK and Australia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asOvnGHwtDU
Wolfmother- "Joker And The Thief". Excellent live performance from Sydney trio Wolfmother here from the Australian TV Show "Rage" of the final single from their 2006 debut self-titled album. This song proved to be their biggest hit in Australia, peaking at #8 on the ARIA Charts, and #27 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts. Wolfmother has drastically changed its lineup since this performance, with lead singer Andrew Stockdale being the only remaining member. However, before the lineup changes, he won the 2006 ARIA Award for Male Songwriter Of The Year due to the success of this song and their biggest American song, "Woman".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiRnAO0QJ0E
Little River Band- "Reminiscing". Now here is one I did not know. This Melbourne group shot to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 when this single from their album Sleeper Catcher added this ultimate cheese fest video to the airwaves. The funny thing is that this "band" is still around with none of the original members. Seems sort of pointless at this time. I'll always associate this song with the movie "The Other Guys". This song has now become easily the cheesiest song in the history of this list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0laDzqdzoSU
Madison Avenue- "Everything You Need". This Melbourne house dance music powerhouse duo included this track on their debut album The Polyester Embassy where it went to #6 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and #24 on the Billboard Dance Chart. Cheyne Coates fits in perfect with the 2001 dance music stereotype with this video- everything about her screams 2001. This video is pretty run of the mill, but reminds of a J Lo video in so many ways- what do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a17E0IS6CQo
BONUS VIDEOS- "Somebody That I Used To Know"- Gotye and Kimbra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY
"Sing"- Ben Lee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjmS-VH7K9A
"Magic"- Olivia Newton-John.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvfE-Cf9Qcc
"Starlight"- Tonight Alive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4LJLOUyTwQ
"Hearts A Mess"- Missy Higgins. Gotye cover.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEmTkXr9Ssg
"Reminiscing"- from "The Other Guys".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2YByJcCPHU
Gotye
Newsboys today with Michael Tait
Merril Bainbridge
Tonight Alive
Kimbra
For our Australian friends
posted by General 5A Pigott at 11:38 AM
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