INXS

 Artist: INXS

LP: 7" single

Song: "Don't Change"

[ listen ]

I saw this graffiti on the side of a building yesterday when I was riding my bike to the local café for breakfast. It has caused me to reminisce.

[ Graffiti ] 

It also kind of made me want to buy some spray paint and put the names of other semi-forgotten '80s bands on the sides of buildings in my neighborhood. Aztec Camera! Haircut 100! Prefab Sprout! The Pointer Sisters!

What is your favorite INXS song? "Don't Change" may be mine. It's from 1983, before INXS was very popular. The song only made it to #80 on the pop charts in the USA. Are you aware that the band's name was inspired by the British band XTC? Did you know that, early on, the manager of INXS tried to turn them into a Christian rock band? There is all this information, and so very much more, on Wikipedia here!

[ INXS ]

Machinations

Artist: Machinations

LP: Esteem

Song: "Pressure Sway" 
[ listen ]

Song: "Jump the Gap" 
[ listen ]

Song: "Esteem" 
[ listen ]

One thing I like most about weeding through my collection is that I usually re-discover a few gems I'd forgotten about over the years. I don't remember buying this 1983 6-track EP by Machinations, but I can certainly see why I did! A big hit in their native homeland of Down Under, Machinations sound a little like what you'd end up with if Simple Minded Frankie Went to Hollywood to mingle with the General Public at a pop music festival. DivShare has been broken for weeks, but maybe someday soon you'll get to hear for yourself what I mean. There's more info about Machinations on Wikipedia here.

[ Machinations ]

Jimmy Little

Artist: Jimmy Little

LP: 7" single

Song: "Royal Telephone"

[ listen ]

Jimmy "Honey Voice" Little sings: "You may talk to Jesus on the Royal Telephone," but of course he forgets to include the phone number! Aboriginal singer James O. Little, of the Yorta Yorta people, was born in Cummeragunja, New South Wales, Australia in 1937 to a musical family—his father led a vaudeville troupe and his mother was a yodeler! By age 16, Jimmy was headed off to Sydney to perform on a radio show and the rest, as they say, is history—which you can read here and here. Little had a big hit with "Royal Telephone," which scurried to the top of the charts all across Australia in 1963. The handsome, velvety-voiced singer also dabbled in acting, appearing in several films including Wim Wenders' UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD in 1991. Jimmy Little did not appear in A CRY IN THE DARK, starring Meryl Streep, though that's another movie set in Australia. It's sometimes (amongst the working classes) also known as "A Dingo Ate My Baby!" But I digress. You can see Jimmy Little performing a leisurely version of "Royal Telephone" on YouTube here:

Jimmy Little on YouTube:

[ "Royal Telephone" ] 

[ James Oswald "Jimmy" Little: March 1, 1937 — April 2, 2012 ]

Ignatius Jones

Artist: Ignatius Jones

LP: 12" single

Song: "Like a Ghost"

[ listen ]

I found this 1982 Ignatius Jones single at RamaLama Records when I was in Toledo at the end of July. It was still sealed so I couldn't play it on the listening station, but with its nifty cover and $2 price tag, I decided to take a chance. Formerly with Australian punk rock cabaret band Jimmy and the Boys and performing in outfits like this, Ignatius has toned down somewhat in recent years. Now he's staging elaborate opening ceremonies events at World Expos and The Olympics while wearing outfits like this. You can read more about Ignatius Jones and his connection to the spectacular "Man From Snowy River" stage musical here.

Icehouse

Artist: Icehouse

LP: 7" single

Song: "Paradise"

[ listen ]

During my lunch break on Friday I was reading the nightmarish, heart-breaking accounts of people caught in the floods in the Australian state of Queensland. That same evening I found this map of Australia, which is also an Icehouse single, in the "new arrivals" bin at one of the local record stores. It's photographed against my blue t-shirt, which sorta looks like the ocean. Here's hoping for much dryness in Australia soon—and in Brazil too, where recent floods have killed more than 600 people.

The Sports

Artist: The Sports

LP: 7" single

Song: "Hit Single"

[ listen ]

Song: "Who Listens to the Radio"

[ listen ]

I just found out that, ironically, "Hit Single" is actually the b-side of this record. "Who Listens to the Radio" was the hit, rising to #50 on the U.S. singles charts back in 1978. The Sports had a string of hit singles in their native Australia, and they're a lot more interesting than most of the artists I remember being on the Arista label back in the late '70s and early '80s—like this one, these guys, and this one too. But then again, I guess there was this and we probably shouldn't forget this either. And while I was looking for pictures, I also found this and this. You can read about The Sports on Wikipedia here. Happy Thanksgiving.

Olivia Newton-John

Artist: Olivia Newton-John

LP: 7" single

Song: "Don't Stop Believin'"

[ don't listen ]

Here's something uplifting and inspirational from "Down Under," posted in honor of the smart and terrifically twisted Australian crime thriller I went to see at the cinema last night. Actually, Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, but her family moved to Melbourne when she was 6, so most people think she's Australian. You can read about ONJ's exciting career in music and film on Wikipedia here.

Note from April 18, 2011: I've just been informed that by posting this uplifting Olivia Newton-John single, I have infringed upon the copyright of others. So if you want to be inspired by this lovely song from "Down Under," I guess you'll have to fork over some change first. It's worth it.

Skyhooks

Artist: Skyhooks

LP: Ego Is Not a Dirty Word

Song: "Smartarse Songwriters"
[ listen ]

Here's something I picked up for .50¢ at Weirdo Records while on my trip to Boston last November. Skyhooks' 1974 debut album "Living In the '70s" was a big hit in their native Australia, but this 1975 international follow-up on the Mercury label failed to earn them the global audience they were hoping for—though it did give them yet another success down under. Skyhooks disbanded in June of 1980 and lead singer Graeme "Shirley" Strachan died in a helicopter accident in August of 2001 at the age of 49. You can read all about Skyhooks here and go here to find out why singer Graeme Strachan's surfer buddies used to call him "Shirley." A link for Skyhooks' incredibly goofy-cool video for "Horror Movie" is included below. I think my favorite is probably the guy in the white zoot suit.

Skyhooks on YouTube:
[ "Horror Movie" ]