Rock music from "a land down under"

Powderfinger & Silverchair on tour together A post – not about photography for a change – but about my favorite Australian bands. Australian music you say? What, stuff like “I come from a land down under” by Men at Work? Yeah but there’s heaps more besides the internationally known stuff like AC/DC (the ultimate classic rock act I reckon), Nick Cave, Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia etc – read on!

MJ Thriller I love music, absolutely love it. I listen to music practically every moment I am awake. I love going to concerts (although I don’t get to go as often as I’d like). Music is life! Music is the answer! I have gone through lots of different phases where I listen to one genre, but the recent years I’ve listened to really a bit of everything I am just extremely picky about what I like. 90% of all new music is shit (the computerized vocal of Rihannah is the most annoying sound in the world!) but then 90% of everything is shit (or shithouse as Aussies say). These days I mostly listen to rock (indie, melodic and also a bit harder), electronica, pop (if there’s such a genre anymore) and indie. I grew up in the 80s which means that Michael Jackson (say what you want about him but Thriller is the best album of all time), Depeche Mode and U2 are my all time fave artists in that order. These days bands like Powderfinger, Mew, Blue Foundation, Death Cab for Cutie, Trentemøller and Snow Patrol gets played heaps!

I’ll just briefly interrupt this with a little plug for my cousin Søren’s band from Copenhagen, please check out his band The Black Volts !

Naturally I tend to listen to a fair bit of Australian music especially when I’m here. You get all the latest worldwide radio hits here as well but apart from that rock music in all forms does really well, I think better than most places in the world and there are a lot of great Australian rock acts. Enough of the talk, here’s some Aussie rock and indie recommendations. I’ve linked to their Myspace (even though I hate myspace.com) pages so you can easily have a listen.

powderfinger Powderfinger – Australias biggest band presently and easily one of my all time favorites. Some say they’re sorta the U2 of Australia, but there’s a reason for that: They’re brilliant! The latest 3 albums (Odyssey No. 5, Vulture Street and Dreamy Days at Hotel Existence) are quite different and each have a theme – so start off by getting all the latest 3 cds! Singer Bernard Fanning has also done a solo album, recommended as well.

Silverchair – has grown into a really great band with their very own sound. Latest stuff is very cool.

Evermore -Fantastic indie rock with big panoramic cinematic sound.

Kisschasy – good guitar driven rock, scores high points as well for actually singing with an Australian accent!

Eskimo Joe – great rock; sorta indie rock I guess.

Something for Kate – classic Australian rock band.

Butterfly Effect – Amazing sound, quite hard rock with super big widescreen cinematic sound.

 Jet – most of the world knows “are you gonna be my girl”, check out the rest of their great stuff.

There ya’ go – lots of Aussie rock acts for you to check out so get listening!

Randomness

  • I have now made it to Sydney so next photography post will be about the harbour city which is as always huge, chaotic, with heaps of people everywhere – but also super gorgeous and Spring weather here is beautiful, sunny and 23-28 degrees!
  • Language watch: I’ve noticed a lot of young Aussies ending sentences with “ey” as a sort of exclamation point to the sentence; to underline it. Like “this is really good, ‘ey!”. I asked a guy working in HMV for the latest Kisschasy cd and he replied “oh you’re going to the concert tomorrow, ‘ey!” Sounds really weird, I hope it’s just a phase for them!
    The word “shithouse” is also commonly used, something really bad is not just shit, it’s shithouse. Actually I guess it would be shithouse, ey!
  • I will be back in Denmark in only two weeks. Bit strange; but then I’ve done and seen so much in so many different places down here that 21st of August seems like half a year ago to me. Fatigue is almost beginning to set in at least today I am very tired. I’ve been to so many extraordinary places and so many tours (presently I’ve had enough tours, glad to be on my own in Sydney) that the extraordinary almost becomes ordinary at some point. Also it’s quite a bit of work when you travel with photography as your job and no. 1 priority every day. I am always scouting locations, planning how to get shots; at what time of day to be there etc. I get up early to shoot in the morning light, then scout locations, relax,maybe a nap and waiting for late afternoon where I start shooting again. Then back to room with all my gear, fire up laptop and transfer all of today’s work, make back-ups etc. I love it, but it requires more energy than I have today.
    It will be good to get home, see family and friends, really start pushing my photography business (got 2500+ new photos in my library) and think about future (all ideas welcome hehe).
    So I’m alright with the fact that this photo odyssey is about to end. Anyway if it didn’t end how would a new one begin! I do wish I could take the weather home with me, hello winter-depression!

12 Comments on “Rock music from "a land down under"”

  1. haha, there you go, I'm an Aussie from Wollongong (about an hour south of Sydney) and me and my mates don't use either of those shithouse words, ey? Probably a surfie-culture thing. *shrug*

    nice choices on the music though, Something For Kate and Butterfly Effect are incredible.

    Hope you enjoyed your trip! 🙂

  2. I think the 'ey' thing eminated from Nth Qld and spread throughout Qld and outwards/sth at least from there. I recall hearing it in or at the end of nearly every sentence used in FNQ when I lived there in the early-mid 90's…
    As for 'shithouse', that has been around for as long as I can remember and is still very common.
    A shithouse was also an outside toilet which every home once had. So that probably stemmed from there long ago.
    🙂

  3. I should add that its great to read you taking interest in aussie music – Midnight Oil would also have to be one of the classic aussie rock bands – singing about environmental issues,awareness and this vast unique land – Still good to listen when travelling the outback or deserts and you hear the passion they sang/wrote with as you drive through or past roadsigns for these remote outposts or ranges.
    Triple J radio is a good source for fresh and aussie music and is national. There is aust. musicians across all genres including some good DJ's and hip hop etc – groups such as Hilltop Hoods for example.

    happy listening !

  4. Hi Tony, thanks for your comments. I know Triple J and I sometimes catch the Home 'n Hosed program online to listen to new Aussie bands.
    Btw since writing this post I have listened to Something for Kate a lot and they have become favourites fast, fantastic band!

  5. Evermore are actually a New Zealand band, but well entrenched 'across the ditch' in Australia these days 🙂

  6. well somehow i just got home from an engagement party- searching something on the net…. low and behold came up with your name being posted on the search…. hahaha 🙂

    looking at this list- at least we'll have some good tunes to listen to on the way down to the Stirlings- i have a few more bands for you too… although, this post is probably so long ago you already have heard of the other music i'd have lol. enough drunk rambling for now 🙂

    i don't even remember what the hell i was searching for in the first place now…. haha

    oh- and "ey" isn't just a phase… although "hey" is still going long and strong… 🙂
    how long ago did you post this?? 2-3years ago i'd say? ramble over and out for sure this time!!

    1. hehehe, funny post Stephen – but hey thanks for alerting me to the fact that somehow the new layout wasn't showing the year of the posting. It does now, this is from 2007.

      Look forward to Stirlings, I will be in WA beginning of Feb so we need to organise 🙂

  7. Ok, I’m always open for a journey so I just question up Powderfinger , Odyssey No. 5
    Right off the bat it reminds me a bit of the band called Free. They became Bad Company.
    I’ll let you know.

    I wish your older posts had the pictures. Good reading though. Kinda like Playboy magazine. I only ever read it for the articles.

    1. I once not so cleverly decided I did not need my old pbase.com account anymore so I cancelled it – only later realising all the pictures from the first 3 years or so on my blog were not hosted on the blog itself but on Pbase. DOH. Yes a real shame these old posts now have no images.

  8. Question up? More like qued up. Anyway, 3rd song in. Not like Free at all. So far so good. Real violins. How bout that! My musical taste is wide and varied.
    Iisten to the song 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Only the Richard Thompson version.

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