Show 159
"The best pop music does not reflect events so much as it absorbs them."
Greil Marcus, Mystery Train, 1975 (from the 2025 50th anniversary revised edition).
Blackfella/Whitefella
Gotta Be Strong
A pair of songs by Warumpi Band from their 1985 debut album Big Name No Blankets. The name of the album reportedly came about when the band was playing a show in 1984 in a remote desert community. A video of one of their songs had recently been played on a national TV music program. Locals saw it and someone said, "You must be rich, you blokes", to which one of the band members replied, "No, we only got big name, no blankets."
Only the Strong - Midnight Oil, from their album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, a 1982 release.
Tribal Voice - Yothu Yindi, the title track of their 1991 album.
No Woman Left Behind - Emma Donovan and her band the Putbacks, a 2021 release, from their album Under These Streets.
Love My Darkness - Lady Lash, from another 2021 album, Spiritual Misfit. Lady Lash describes herself as a hip-hop and jazz artist.
Protest Song - Jen Cloher, it was on her 2023 album I Am The River, The River Is Me.
I Was Only 19 - Redgum, a 1983 single and it was on their 1983 album Caught In the Act. The lyrics describe the plight of soldiers returning home after fighting in the war in Vietnam and receiving shabby treatment from the government and from people in the community.
Shaddup Ya Face - Joe Dolce, an Italian-American who moved to Melbourne 1978 and, despite being a highly regarded poet and songwriter, he's best known for this comic 1980 single. The lyrics come from Dolce's memories of visiting his Italian grandparents in Ohio.
Soul's On Fire - Geoffrey Williams, from his album Yes Is the Answer, a 2012 release. Williams is British and has written songs for artists as diverse as Michael Jackson and Dusty Springfield. He's lived and worked for many years in rural western Victoria.
Swing For the Crime - the Saints, it was on their 1978 album Prehistoric Sounds. It was the band's the third album and last with founding guitarist Ed Kuepper.
Everything's On Fire - Hunters & Collectors, from their album Human Frailty, a 1986 release.
Hand Becomes Fist - Chris Wilson, from his album Long Weekend, which came out in 1998.
Living In the Neighbourhood - Cyndi Boste, the song is on her 2002 album Push Comes To Shove. We're sending it out to all the brave folks looking after friends and neighbors during these troubled times.
Dom Mariani and the Majestic Kelp start us off, move us along, and tell us when we're done.
