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October 13, 2007
the Once and Future Oz
In the Western Hemisphere, the dominant cultural identity of Australia still falls into the stereotypical Ocker mode, i.e. Mick Dundee and Foster's beer commercials. To painfully hip and cosmopolitan Sydney residents, this comes as quite a rude shock. The words "Australian music" might instantly trigger didgeridoos more than dance beats, but the brand of upbeat tunes that remind me of that swell locale are about as far from the Outback mentality as New York. A trio;
There's always been something inherently appealing about Kylie Minogue, and returning from her cancer leave with this glam stomping sex bomb isn't likely to decrease the goodwiil. People on the streets on America, when given a multiple choice, would clearly identify Britney as the bigger star than Kylie. But compare this to Ms. Spears' latest and see which stands up better as a comeback single. Slagging off "disposable pop" stars for not providing sole authorship of their own material (this track was written and produced by London duo Kish Mauve) discounts crucial factors of taste, professionalism, and painstaking collaborator selection. There won't be a Britney/Nick Cave duet anytime soon, and I'll be fucking shocked if there's a single near as good as "2 Hearts." Even though drag queens in Sydney are generally about 6' 4", and Kylie roughly 4'2", I'd predict nothing but Marilyn wigs and cat suits on Oxford St, for the next decade.
Midnight Juggernauts - "Into the Galaxy"
On the rising band front, we have Midnight Juggernauts, sure to gain a boatload of interest from their spot opening Justice's North American tour. Like their French patrons, Juggernauts are pretty safely over the top, but using the ornate synth towers of ELO and the booming vocal authority of a hyper serious Bowie tune to fill the dance floor. The above video gives me a chuckle, as the three bearded men rock out intensely in a warehouse, while an art school film grad captures it in tortured, slow pans. Why does this need a letterbox exactly? The song has a similar whiff of dry ice to it, but we all know that late nights and drink specials erase self consciousness, and the band's name will seem strangely appropriate with this leaps at you from club speakers in the proper state of mind.
Midnight Juggernauts - "Into the Galaxy"
During a bout of recent mock bachelorhood, with my girlfriend far, far away, I decided to dig in to the racks and toss a couple of understudied post-punk compilations on the stereo. There's been approximately three jillion such compilations released this decade, and I'm the dream consumer for the boutique labels that keep pumping them out. I'm reluctant to give them open airing as they are always abrasive, and usually only contain one ir two bonafide standouts. But punk impacted small pockets of so many culturally disparate locales that it's always interesting to hear how the amateurs who sprang to action interpreted the music through their own prism of culture. Granted, the Australian environment that gave birth to the artists from Chapter Music's Can't Stop It series isn't so different than the neighborhoods spawning Flying Nun bands in Christchurch, New Zealand. But the difference between those two scenes is maybe even more interesting because of the seeming cultural hegemony. Why would Australia produce a more keyboard centric Euro sound, where the Kiwi kids would basically be inventing lo-fi indie rock? Were the metropolitan islands of my old Sydney home (and it's bitter little rival Melbourne) enough to color the country's output?
Of all the tracks on the second collection, Can't Stop It! II , the one that grabbed me the quickest was apparently also the least thought out. Rob Griffiths, the main man for a Melbourne group called International Exiles (also featuring future Crowded House drummer Paul Hester), claims in the compilation's liner notes to have written this 1980 single it in five minutes, because the band did not yet have a "decent pop song." Well, I guess it's just that easy.
International Exiles - "Let's Be Sophisticated"
Posted by Jeff Klingman at October 13, 2007 04:20 PM
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Comments
hi
Posted by: sergio at October 13, 2007 07:20 PM
midnight juggernauts were a-m-a-z-i-n-g at terminal 5!
Posted by: abz at October 25, 2007 01:08 PM
