Top of the (Aus)Pops
Australia has a chequed history with rock and pop music. Heavily influenced by American sounds it has struggled to find it's own identity with Pub Rock being the only real identity that was associated with Australian music for a while. But pop music in Australia is improving with most people realising there's more to music than self-absorbed angst and droning guitars. This piece recaps on the decades leading up to our current situtation.
Rock all started in the 50's, and flourished in the 60's. But we (Australia, that is) didn't have the Beatles, or the Rolling Stones; or the Kinks, Small faces or Elvis for that matter. No, instead we had Johnny O'Keefe and the Seekers instead. Let's face it, America invented rock, the Brits made it popular and Australia has been playing catch-up every since.
The 70's: Were on the whole were also pretty atrocious, until the latter part, but that happend in the UK and US as well. Let's see, we had AC/DC, The Angels, Skyhooks and Daddy Cool...you get the picture yet? Skip forward a couple of years to punk though and you've got seminal bands like Radio Birdman, X and The Saints whose "I'm Stranded" was one of the first punk singles of the 70s.
The 80's was the decade of pub rock, and not a decade that will be remembered too fondly. It gave birth to bands like The Radiators, Hunters & Collectors, Australian Crawl, The Screaming Tribesmen, Hoodoo Gurus, Midnight Oil, Crowded House, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, INXS and (cringe) Men at Work amongst others. Many of these bands also found success overseas, and some are still together today. Of course I saved one of the best until last, The Go-Betweens (above), who formed in the late seventies. Long since departed, their jangly, harmonious guitar pop has probably influenced a greater number of bands than the Go-Betweens sold records, but life, particulary in the music business is rarely fair.
And we come to this decade, the 90's. A decade where alternative is the mainstream, but quite frankly we wish it was an alternative. A decade which started off with Madchester, lived through grunge and now where the Beatles, er, I mean Oasis are one of the biggest bands in the world.
Dance music too, while not breaking through to the mainstream as it has done in Europe still has a lot to offer with mulitudes of DJ's and artists (Severed Heads, Boxcar, Ich-e & Scratch-e, 3rd Eye, Southend for starters). Bubbling below the surface of the mainstream are heaps of people playing, recording and performing their own electronic innovations and supporting the many raves and dance parties which are on every weekend.
A worrying aspect is the lack of local product in our charts. Why is it that Australian music makes up only about 10-15% of our charts, when radio stations are required to play 20% or more? Australia is ultimately a small market, an island out in the middle of nowhere with less than a tenth of the population of the United States and a quarter of the UK's. A hit record in Australia is lucky to go gold (35,000 copies), which would be considered a flop in the U.S and mediocre in the U.K. Yet the costs of recording, videos, promotion and touring are roughly similar between countries. And let's face it most of the stuff that sells are bands with glossy videos behind them, and major money (and labels) behind them.
But at the end of the day the choice comes down to the consumer, that's you and me, dear readers. If you haven't heard much of the music mentioned here, acquaint yourself quick smart. Not for my sake, or the bands for that matter (although I'm sure they'd appreciate it), but mainly for yourself. Forget any preconceived notions that you have about Australian music being crap, get out there and listen with your ears, not just your eyes.
As The Saints said - Know Your Product!
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� 1996 Chester.