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A Special Guest Post from Two of Our Favorite People

by WootBot

G'day! CTO guy and cereal connoisseur Jeremy here. Scott and I were working on a tribute to Aussie music from the 80s based on our mutual appreciation for Paul Hogan's knives and barbecue shrimp or something. He polished it up and kicked it my way to share with you all. Enjoy!

Australian Music from the 80's - with CTO Jeremy and Scott Lydon

Men At Work - Overkill

 

There might be no better Aussie export than the great Men At Work. And everyone knows this song. Literally. Babies are born knowing this song. When we finally meet aliens they'll walk out of the ship and ask to meet Colin Hay and see if he can still do the high part. And he will. And the universe will cheer.

Four more coming up. And hey! Maybe we'll have our in-house Australian stop by the forums if you're good!

Jeremy: Oh hey Scott. Can I just say I SUPER appreciate you not kicking off with THAT OTHER Men At Work song. Which is awesome. But seriously.

Midnight Oil - The Dead Heart

 

Midnight Oil was that rare sort of band that could make a protest song sound like a party song without sacrificing any of the message. Also their lead singer Peter Garrett wasn't scared to use his own personal style to kinda represent the band. Back in the 80s a thin bald guy dancing mightily was something special.

Jeremy: True story - Peter Garrett actually had long, blonde surfer hair in the late 70s. And still danced like that. This is literally my favorite Midnight Oil song ever.

Icehouse - Electric Blue

 

If you know of Icehouse, you love Icehouse. If you don't know if Icehouse, you might love them before this song is over. If not, look into their other hits! Maybe you'll find the right one for you!

Jeremy: Everyone should know Icehouse! I also recommend my go-to teenage angst song "I don't believe anymore". Or check out The Whitlams cover of the same. Great for navel introspection.

INXS - Don't Change

 

INXS was something special from album one. Their album Kick is almost a greatest hits record by itself. This early song has all the elements of what the band would do later, which is why I picked it. Plus I love that synth intro.

Jeremy: That synth and guitar intro part became synonymous with a sports show that ran for 6 hours every Saturday in Australia called Wide World of Sports, so every time I hear this start, I get a yearning to play backyard cricket and cook sausages. I also learned to play drums to this song. Try to remember INXS before that reality show in your hearts.

Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky

 

Kylie is now a one-name superstar but when she charted with this happy song, she was still an unknown Aussie. Also, based on the hand, she was clearly in the musical Illuminati before everyone else. Is Illuminated Hipster a thing?

Jeremy:I'm so Illuminated Hipster, I remember when Kylie was just a TV star on a show called Neighbors (which was actually more massive in the UK!). This video is special. There just aren't enough bubble baths in music videos any more. Kylie was a pioneer in the art of bubble bath themed music videos.

Head to the forums and say "Buffy" three times and maybe CTO Jeremy will appear to talk about his youth down under. But in the meantime, let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use.