Midnight Oil
During the eighties there was really no escaping the Oils. And why would you want to? Hearing them speak out for many people, defying conventions of a normal music career, cementing themselves as icons of Australian music and still pull off a damn snappy song. For me it was many factors: singalong choruses, Rob Hirst pounding his drum kit (still my favourite drummer EVER), the intricate use of the twin guitars but what made it for me was this was a band that was politically motivated. They wrote songs that were angry, passionate and aimed at liars, incompetents and injustices. Best of all, this only came across when one looked at the lyrics closely and realised a depth to the choruses one never picked up on first time around. It was through the Oils that I learnt that music can get a point across. After all, music can succeed where mere words fail.
Key Album: Earth, Sun and Moon (1993). That’s the problem with Midnight Oil. They have had so many great albums that it’s a tall order choosing one. So I went with perhaps they’re most underrated one. Sure they may but they find new ways to tell it. And that’s why this album succeeds. I particularly love My Country and the deception it creates: It comes across as patriotic at first but it’s only later when one realises it’s a biting and venomous nature.
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