aussie rock

yes mate! the happy folks down under do know how to rock.. their biggest gift to the world of rock being hellraisers AC-DC!! and they made the jagged thunderbolt famous eons before wand-waggling harry potter was even born! anyways, the Young brothers Angus & Malcolm, formed AC-DC and proceeded to kick the asses of anyone who came in their way as they laid down powerful guitar rhythms, accompanied by Bon Scott's guttural screaming. Scott died in '80, choking on his own puke after a drinking binge, further promoting the myth that gruesome rockstar deaths prolong a band's fame! they peaked in the years after that.. and once the '90s came in, they faded away, becoming airtime staple of classic rock stations all over the world.

in the mid '80s came another aussie band.. by the name of INXS. led by frontman Michael Hutchence, they sort of bridged mainstream music with the hitherto 'forbidden' world of rock.. and although purists will say they were never really a rock band, i guess they did have a part to play in aussie rock. songs like 'need you tonight', 'suicide blonde' & 'elegantly wasted' still adorn sleazy karaoke bars and jukeboxes in dimly-lit pubs all over. i read somewhere they're still touring.. probably playing concert fillers for county fairs i guess.

the '90s heralded the onset of a rock genre known as grunge.. yeah!! characterised by three-note, jarring riffs and angst-ridden, sobbing lyrics.. a bunch of teenagers from down-under burst onto the scene, and had the mantle of being the next Nirvana thrust upon them (a title which has been bandied about so much that it means absolutely nothing anymore). these kids called themselves Silverchair, and were pretty good.. but couldn't maintain the searing pace of their own earlier albums ('Freak Show', 'Neon Ballroom'), and faded away eventually.

the newest heavy act to come out of the land of oz is called Full Scale.. currently based in LA, their sound is part Slipknot/Static-X, part nu-metal (as exemplified by any bunch of bands from Chevelle, Crossfade, 12 Stones, etc).. one doesn't see them going too far though.

the long and short of it all is that if any one ever mentions australian music, the lyrics that definitely come to mind are: "do you come from a land down under!" ('Land Down Under' - Men At Work).. hehe, have a great week everyone!