Since I'm feeling low, I thought I'd wallow in it for a bit.
A while back, Australian musicians were asked what they thought was the perfect song by an Australasian and they proposed "Into Temptation" by the adopted Australian Tim Neil Finn (he's a Kiwi) of Split Enz and Crowded House. It's a good song, but I think, instead, this is one of the most perfect songs of all time, and it resonates for a Melburnian (and, I gather, Kiwis, Irishfolk, and anyone who lives where the weather is fickle). Video clip below the fold...
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Currently in the ScienceBlog forums (as well as in posts such as this), and under a variety of such non-descript titles as "The Search-Spammer has been Banned..." there is much discussion about music, good and bad, and how life is part of it.
I'm a big music buff, less so now perhaps with the…
The other night I had the privilege to check out Crowded House at a smallish venue. It was great - I highly recommend any serious music lover to check out Neil Finn and the boys. They are really one of the best live acts around, and for pure melodic prowess, Neil is definitely one of the best…
A while back, Kate and I saw Richard Thompson play a solo acoustic show at The Egg in Albany. Last night, he was back in town, this time with a band, touring in support of his new album, Sweet Warrior. Here are the band credits from the program:
Michael Jerome: drums, percussion
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I'm a little ragged today because Kate and I went up to SPAC last night to see Bruce Springsteen, who is currently touring behind his album of Pete Seeger songs. This was a short-notice concert-- I only got the tickets (as a birthday present) on Sunday-- so this review will be pretty much it as far…
"Into Temptation" is by the other, rather more Kiwi-sounding Finn.
They're both by Neil. My typo...
OMG, have they forgotten already?
The quintessential Aussie song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNT7uZf7lew
Do you have any idea how clichéd that song is for Australians? And I even went to school with two of the members of that band...
If two of the members of the band went to school with you how come you are a world famous philosopher of biology and all they managed to become is pop stars?
Well, "Down Under" by Men at Work can be considered "Australian music for foreigners"... The song came out while I was an exchange student in the USA and I never understood more than a few isolated sentences until now, that I checked the lyrics on the Web. Vegemite sandwiches sound yummy.
Nobody has mentioned Olivia Newton-John...
Nobody has mentioned Olivia Newton-John
And nobody who wants to retain commenting privileges on this blog is going to...
OT comment:
I noticed a position for which you'ld be perfect, it would mean leaving Aus but you seem to fill all the criteria very well http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/fp/wd9-018.shtml
They specifically mention that philosophers of science can apply.
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For a great Australian song, must be Waltzing Matilda; http://youtube.com/watch?v=58vujCL2dJI
What's wrong with Olivia Neutron-Bomb? The 1970s No. 1, Australian, teenage wank fantasy; Let's Get Physical! Yes indeed Olivia, yes indeed. She is one of Australia's contributions to the culture of the northern hemisphere along with Rolf Harris, Foster's and Kylie. Australia has given the world so much.
Taste, mate, taste. It's a matter of having at least some taste.
As a cultured North European I always thought that the definition of Australian was "completely devoid of taste"! But then again maybe I'm wrong!
I've met less-than-cultured Germans and other North Europeans, and some very cultured Australians, but this is not about culture, it's about taste. ONJ was the height of bad taste in the 70s and 80s and no amount of retro is going to salvage her from that.
The perfect song by an Australasian is Wide Open Road by the Triffids.
How about this one ;)
In order to spare Mr Wilkins further attacks of indignation I think it is time to reveal that the icon of bad taste Olivia Newton-John is in fact not an Australian at all but, and I admit this through gritted teeth, a North European, born in Cambridge England of an English father and a German mother. By one of those quirks of nature that provide the questions for television quiz shows (this one was the â¬500 000 question in a special celebrity edition of the German version of Who wants to be a Millionaire?) she is the granddaughter of German Nobel Laureate for physics Max Born.
If the excruciatingly tasteless ONJ is excluded from consideration then one can assume that the Bee Gees (also unfortunately English) are excluded for the same reason.
How about The Chunda Song from Bazza McKensie as the perfect song by an Australian?
Oh, come on, John! You just have to watch Xanadu to love her... It's so bad, it's good!
As a melbournite (see below), she might be an old crush of John's, which might have led to his despise for her...
From Wikipedia: