the only australian band i can think of right now is The Sleepy Jackson, who had one of my favorite albums of 2006. It's a great blend of sunny 60's melodies, disco, rock, etc...

Midnight Oil: great, great band.

Earth & Sun & Moon is on my desert island disc list.

Anyone know what Peter Garrett is up too since he broke up the Oil? Politics I hear.

after being shot down for mentioning John Butler, i'm gonna give it an other try: Xavier Rudd. One man band playing what i would tentatively call aussie roots folk (then again, i don't know much about aussie folk music). At times sounds a lot like early Ben Harper (Fight For Your Mind) and plays the didgeridoo. can't get more Aussie than that right?!?

Oh dear, Xavier Rudd....mate, I'm not gonna shoot you down. You can enjoy Mr. Rudd all you like, but I can't stand him.
So, conversationally, there are a lot of these Harper/Jack Johnson/shoeless beach dreads style artists in Oz. A number of friends love these guys, but I just can't take it, sorry.
I will give him thumbs up for including didgeroo, altho' technically, he shld be Aboriginal to be playing a trad. instrument.
The thing is, the only authentic aussie folk music is that of the various Aboriginal tribes.
I would argue that all the folk/roots music played by Butler, Rudd et al is second hand various spins on Jamaican, US blues, British folk forms.
My point being that I wld rather listen to the masters of these forms..ie. Marley, Hooker, Pentangle than these little Aussie blighters..
This is all written in a friendly tone cause I seem to be the only Aussie here???
Where are my country-folk to shout me down and shove a nulla-nulla up my arse???

Oh, by the way, big willy, Peter Garrett is currently a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party, the Opposition to the standing Liberal Party.
Sadly, the old bastard is showing a lot of compromise with his usual passions these days to tow the party line.
He was a member of the leftist Greens(who hold very little power, damnit!), and he moved to the centrist Labour Party in order, he says, to have more impact on the political process and determination of our nation.
A lot of people are watching him very closely.....

Thanks for the Garrett update....what are the chances of a reunion tour??

Coincidentally, I listened to Redneck Wonderland last night. Brilliant.

yeh, the Oils, I started to tune out in the early 90's I'm afraid, so I'm not familiar with Redneck Wonderland.
The Oils me and my mates love is the early raw stuff; significantly different to the 90's deal.
But it's great you love 'em, cos they are a band of complete integrity.
Everyone's doing reunions at the mo' aren't they? Police, van Halen...
But I think any serious reunion will have to wait until garrett steps away from Politics. I mean, he's got a bloody portfolio now.
Responsibility!!!

For some reason I'm not surprised that Garret entered politics. If you listen to any Midnight Oil, you'll hear the political overtones even if you don't get the Oz references (which I didn't until recently talking to some exchange students).

The popular opinion of the jaded is to conveniently disregard the likes of John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd, Jack Johnson, etc. as inconsequential. I think it's interesting, because while I tend to agree, it seems like cynicism for the sake of cynicism. Why do we discard these groups out of hand? I'm an American and therefore can't speak for the clowning they've reportedly done for our cameras, so to speak, but I've heard their music and can safely say that it lacks nothing essential. We let other bands off the hook for worse crimes than these guys commit simply because of some abstract forms of street credibility. One thing I can say about these groups that I don't think gets mentioned enough, is their generally positive message and uplifting vibe. Don't they deserve credit for that, when hardly anybody is really doing it?

hey goathouse, re: JB, Rudd, JJ etc; can't speak for anyone else, but I find their songwriting and performance skills really poor. I find they lack decent melodies or interesting chordal voicings.

As an Aussie, I'm irritated by Butler & Rudd especially cos they are trying to be something they are not, but I will concede that they are of a positive mindset, although (in back-handed compliment mode), their lyrics are so god-awful pollyanna-ish, a more powerful message is left unfulfilled.

I'll tell ya, for some people, sarcasm and irony just doesn't do it. Either they don't get it, or whatever. For those people, lyrics like that are like simple affirmations. I know what you're saying, but I still think there's another way to look at that aspect. As far as uninteresting chord progressions and whatnot, some of the best songs ever are based on extremely rudimentary progressions. Again, I can totally relate to what you're saying, but in the end, it comes down to preference. I'm not arguing for these artist's greatness, but I do hesitate to dismiss them as "bad" out of hand.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: goathouse's seminal post,

Ah, but goathouse, rudimentary is a hugely different word to uninteresting...Ramones, Springsteen et al have tons of songs with 2 chords, but they make the song ultimately interesting.

For me, these sun 'n' surf jokers are really , really bad songwriters. I know there will always be people who go for 'em, but there you go....no skin off my nose.

Amazing! Did no one mention AC/DC? They were definitely around and going strong in '86!