That's Entertainment : Aus-Music Month - The Nineties
AusMusic Month Part 2 - the 1990's.
In the early 1990's, four pivotal things occurred in Australia.
* Pubs got pokies
* Triple J went regional and national
* Vinyl LPs were discontinued as a mainstream music format
* The Recession we had to have
All of a sudden, pubs that had crammed in drinking punters for bands could fill their dance room with one arm bandits, and ker-ching, instant moolah. More and more venues became gambling dens and the local Sydney live scene began to shrink.
In late 1991, LP and 7 inch singles were also discontinued (and soon cassette tapes would follow). CDs were the future. Anecdotal estimates say that up to 50-60% of the Australian music buying public stopped buying music. The 80's had ended, and in 1990, the last golden hurrah of BIG albums - Midnight Oil, Icehouse, The Angels occurred. I would hazard a guess that with the Recession biting, disposable income dried up and with the more expensive compact disc now the only format (at $30 a CD, or $10 a CD single), most punters couldn't afford music.
Of course, there were global changes occurring and newer trends replaced pub rock and electro pop. But despite these industry setbacks, by 1996/97 - the breakout years of the new Aussie sounds - every city and town in Australia had recovered and were giving us great bands to listen to.
One of the first to burst this bubble was the breakout act of 1991 - Ratcat. Mixing buzzing alt-pop and shoegaze aesthetics, Ratcat's Tingles EP (at $5) was a steal and rocketed to #1. The song That Ain't Bad is one of the classics of the 1990's, as were the breakthrough follow up hits Don't Go Now and Baby Baby. For mine, Ratcat were probably 5 or so years ahead of their time, and had they come out late 1990's, they'd probably still be around now. Alt Aussie pop was rubbing against the grain, and we got gems like The Clouds, The Fauves and TISM.
Another band that successfully side-stepped the death of pub rock was The Screaming Jets. Hailing from Newcastle, their straight ahead bluesy rock and working class ethics saw them barnstorm around the nation, releasing a string of well selling albums and interesting rock videos. Better is another of the 1990's Aussie classics.
In the early 1990's, Triple J also went regional then national. Many of the changes, unpopular at the start, led to a more corporate Aussie radio station. Some of the J's initiatives like the Hottest 100 and unearthed continue to produce [and give a leg up to] new bands, create ongoing revenue and with the mid-1990s rise of the alternative, gave us the 1990's seminally influential acts like Powderfinger, Silverchair, The Whitlams, Spiderbait, Regurgitator and You Am I, along with the lesser acts like Custard, Grinspoon, Fauves and Superjesus. Whilst Triple M stuck rigid to a pub rock playlist it wasn't until 2001 that Triple M 'pretended' they'd always supported Aussie bands, by latching on to the Aussie bands who'd gone gangbusters with 3-4 albums with mostly Triple J airplay.
Powderfinger went on to sell more records than Midnight Oil and Cold Chisel - emulating both bands. Silverchair (Nirvana In Pajamas) were massive (even in the US with their debut album). Regurgitator released wicked albums full of crude and sly references and pastiches. I took my mum to see them at Gosford Leagues Club (she loved Polyester Girl) and had a mind altering freak out night with the band. You Am I had THREE ARIA #1 albums in a row, releasing a string of intrinsically Aussie sounding records (though Tim Rogers def wears his 60's English Mod references on his sleeve). You Am I hold a special place in my heart after seeing them at Homebake in 1998 - it was raining cats and dogs, the previous band Skunkhour had chucked a tanty, and Tim Rogers and the boys said 'fug the rain, let's rock!' and proceeded to win the day. The Whitlams went from Newtown trendies to radio darlings with the independently produced Eternal Nightcap. I saw them at the Long Jetty hotel on that tour and was amazed Tim Freedman could play piano and sing after downing a couple of bottles of red wine.
Many bands suffered from the 3 album deal. MASSIVE debut, decent follow-up, forgotten non-selling third album. Plenty had a hit or two, and with RAGE acting as the de facto video/TV arm of Triple J, and with Dylan on RECOVERY on Saturday mornings, many of these bands got to blaze their one big hit to a national audience, and the better ones got a few singles out before falling by the wayside. The rise of The Big Day Out and later Homebake led to day long bills filled with these bands who were giving it a crack and were seen one year and gone the next.
On the pop front, Diesel (Mark Lizotte / Johnny Diesel) had some huge albums with some unforgettable rocking hits. Seeing him live at Toronto (Newcastle) playing to a couple of dozen punters, he put on the BEST show ever. Savage Garden blitzed the world, esp America, where their blend of pop won them fans and then with album #2, they pandered to the American market, releasing syrup. Bands like Things of Stone and Wood with Happy Birthday Helen, Chocolate Starfish with Mountain and You're So Vain, Rick Price with Don't Walk Away Renee and Southern Sons notched up decent sales too. Towards the end of the decade, poptastic bands like Taxiride and Vertigo (Desensitised) existed too. Alex Lloyd released his fantastic debut only to become a bland pop star. Yothu Yindi - an indigenous pop band, obliterated the chart in 1992 with their hit Treaty.
The Baby Animals got stuck in that post hair band - pre grunge period of 1991/92, releasing their debut album chockfull of classics...and Suze DeMarchi has to be one of the coolest, sexiest women in Aussie rock EVER!!! For the stoners, Wollongong's Tumbleweed provided hits for the bong.
Another band that had the charismatic female vocalist was Frente! If you were around in 1992, there was no way you could miss Accidentally Kelly Street and Ordinary Angels (Angie Hart also sang Tingly with Pop!). There was also Max Sharam with Coma and Rebecca's Empire with Atomic Electric and So Rude, and towards the end of the decade, we got Bachelor Girl and Madison Avenue.
And notice something else? Out of the beer fuelled masculine pub rock 80's, there's more woman making massive strides. What - chicks like rock music? Apparently they can play guitar too. If not out front, many 1990s bands were blended male/female groups with vocals, writing and playing all shared.
For the tres cool, Nick Cave hit his peak. Tex Perkins took over the Cruel Sea and minced/menaced stages with his whiskey and cowboy boots.
For the tres naff, like me, we had Peter Andre. Yep. Champion!
Of course one of Australia's greatest independent bands - The Hard-Ons - mixed metal, pop, surf and punk and released a slew of 7 inch singles, Eps and damn fine albums populated by perfect 2 minute ditties about everything and nothing. Greater Western Sydney's true giants, they brought the greatest waste of space - Western Sydney - to the masses with their own brand of wonderful that shits on anything Americans did later in the decade.
Of course one of Australia's greatest independent bands - The Hard-Ons - mixed metal, pop, surf and punk and released a slew of 7 inch singles, Eps and damn fine albums populated by perfect 2 minute ditties about everything and nothing. Greater Western Sydney's true giants, they brought the greatest waste of space - Western Sydney - to the masses with their own brand of wonderful that shits on anything Americans did later in the decade.
There were the girlbands - Girlfriend and Teen Queens. There were the bands who'd done it tough like Weddings Parties Anything. There was The Sharp - who were HUGE for about 3 months in 1992. Even a glammy hair band in Roxus. There was techno like Nick Skitz and Itchee and Scratchee and Southend (The Winner Is Sydney), and the first of the skip-hop acts in Sound Unlimited Posse.
For your punks there were the snot nosed Frenzal Rhomb. For your more shouty, picket line punk, the Living End.
And of course, my fave - TISM. This Is Serious Mum is an anonymous band that heaps scorn upon and embraces and belittles the Aussie way of life. To me, they are the quintessential Australian band. Humorous, vulgar, ironic, unafraid to say it how they see it. They existed in the 80's but hit their commercial peak in the 90's with a clutch of rip roaring ditties tearing shreds off everything. When I think of ANZAC diggers, I think of Aussie blokes who take the p!ss in the face of disaster and I think of TISM, flying the flag for our freedoms.
For mine, there were plenty of fantastic albums and singles in the 1990's. Heaps to see and do. We won the Olympics. Our sports teams smashed everyone to win World Cups around the globe. I know I've missed bands. I've missed songs. I don't mean to. If you think I've forgotten anything, feel free to email me. I know someone will remind me of something cool.
Aussie music in the 1990's, twas a great decade.
Spiderbait : Greatest Hits
(contains : Buy Me A Pony, Joyce's Hut, Calypso, Shazam, Stevie)
Regurgitator : Jingles
(contains : Kung Foo Sing, Polyester Girl, Everyday Formula, Black Bugs, Fat Cop)
Diesel : Rewind - the Best of Diesel
(contains: Never Miss Your Water, Tip of My Tongue, Love Junk, All Come Together)
Screaming Jets : Hits and Pieces
(contains : Better, Living in England, Shivers, Helping Hand, Stop The World)
The Whitlams : Truth Beauty and a Picture of You (Best of the Whitlams)
(contains: Blow Up The Pokies, No Aphrodisiac, I Make Hamburgers, You Sound Like Louis Burdett)
The Hard-Ons : Suck and Swallow : 25 Years 25 Songs or The Best of the Hard-Ons!
(contains: Radio, You Disappointed Me, Missing You, Missing Me, Where'd She Come From, Suck n Swallow, She's A Dish)
You Am I : The Cream and the Crock 2CD
(contains : Purple Sneakers, Jaimme's Got A Girl, Berlin Chair, Good Mornin', Heavy Heart, Damage, Get Up)
Powderfinger : Fingerprints/ Footprints - the Best of Powderfinger 1994-2000 & 2001-2011) 2CD
(contains: My Happiness, Passenger, Pick You Up, These Days, DAF, The Day You Come)
[criminally leaves off Good Day Ray!!!]
Grinspoon : Best In Show
(contains : Just Ace, Ready 1, Champion, Black Friday, DCx3)
Jebediah : Slighty Oddway (debut album)
(contains : Leaving Home, Benedict, Harpoon, Jerks of Attention, Military Strongmen, Teflon)
Custard : Goodbye Cruel World
(contains : Apartment, Girls Like That (Don't Go For Guys Like Us), Music Is Crap)
TISM : Best of
(contains: He'll Never Be An Ol' Man River, Greg The Stop Sign!, Whatareya, 5 Yards, All Homeboys Are D!ckheads, Defecate on My Face)
The Badloves : The Definitive Collection
(contains : Lost, The Wright, Green Limousine, Caroline )
Weddings, Parties, Anything : Trophy Night - The Best Of
(contains : Father's Day)
Savage Garden : Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden
(contains : I Want You, To The Moon and Back, Break Me Shake Me, The Animal Sing, Truly Madly Deeply)
Ratcat : Twisted Tails
(contains : That Ain't Bad, Baby Baby, Don't Go Now, Candyman, Skin, The World In A Wrapper)
Silverchair : The Best Of - Vol 1
(contains : Anthem for the Year 2000, Freak, Ana's Song, Tomorrow, Cemetery, Abuse Me, Pure Massacre)
The Clouds : Favourites
(contains: Hieronymus, Anthem, Soul Eater, Say It)
The Fauves : Surf City Heart
(contains: Surf City Limits, Bigger Than Tina 1, Dogs Are The Best People, Celebrate the Failure, Self-Abuser)
The Hummingbirds : Greatest Hits
(Contains: Blush, Alimony, Word Gets Around)
Peter Andre : The Very Best of Peter Andre : The Hits Collection
(contains : Mysterious Girl, Flava, Gimme Little Sign, Kiss The Girl, Funky Junky, Get Down On It)
The Living End : From Here On In - The Singles 1997-2004
(contains: Prisoner of Society, Roll On, Second Solution, All Torn Down, Who's Gonna Save Us?)
Cruel Sea : The Most
(contains: Better Get A Lawyer, Black Stick, Honeymoon Is Over)
Something For Kate : The Murmur Years
(contains: Monsters, Electricity, Whatever You Want, Captain - Million Miles An Hour, Three Dimensions)
The Falling Joys : Lock It
Bands (most) without best ofs (as yet) but well worth checking out:
The Mavis' (Cry, Lever)
The Falling Joys (Lock It)
Lavish (Careless, Parasite, Homosapien) [Polaroid is an essential album]
Lino (Troubleshooting, Wasted, Drop)
Taxiride (Get Set, Everywhere You Go)
Defryme (God Inside A Man)
Baby Animals (Rush You,
Superjesus (Down Again, Gravity, Enough To Know, Saturation)
Sidewinder (Here She Comes Again)
Ammonia (Drugs)
Single Gun Theory (Fall)
Skunkhour
Def FX (Psychoactive Summer)
Bodyjar
Sugargliders
Fini Scad (Coppertone)
Deadstar (Run Baby Run, Deeper Water)
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