Song of the Day: "Warakurna" by Midnight Oil · Jun 18, 10:07 PM by Don
Last month a reissue of Midnight Oil’s biggest album, 1988’s Diesel and Dust, was released. It was paired with a DVD featuring the tour documentary, Blackfella/Whitefella. Two cool things in the clip above: First, at 2:24, Rob Hirst takes over from the Warumpi Band drummer. The moment speaks to the camaraderie between the two bands and the loose, fun vibe of the shows, which took place in areas of undeniable poverty. Hirst might be one of my favorite drummers for one single reason: you can often see him singing along when he has no mic. Someone only does that if he really loves what he is doing. Second, I can’t get enough of the jackhammer rendition of “The Dead Heart,” a song that would later get toned down in the studio.
In the current issue of Rolling Stone (#1055), David Fricke kicks off his “Fricke’s Picks” column with a review of the Diesel and Dust reissue. Here’s an excerpt from the final paragraph:
Many of [Diesel and Dust’s] songs were inspired by the desert tour [documented in Blackfella/Whitefella, and they have lost none of their pictorial force and smart-pop rage. [The album] still resonates with urgent business – the band left plenty of room for global warming and corporatization in the end-of-days howl of “Dreamworld” and the broiling rot in “Gunbarrel Highway.” “This land must change, or land must burn,” [Peter] Garrett cries atop the guitars in “Warakurna.” You’ve been warned again.
Click here to read the entire piece.
Click here to read Fricke’s 1988 review of the album.
mp3: Midnight Oil – Warakurna :: from a 1993 performance (I got it from a bootleg titled Unplugged 93, the cover for which lists the performance as taking place in London on July 3, 1993, though I’ve had trouble corroborating that the band played in London on that date.)
Click here to check out the (defunct) band’s newly redesigned site.
Click here to read Aquarium Drunkard’s take on Diesel and Dust and several meaty comments.
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Songs in the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 format are offered for a limited time only. Songs that are no longer downloadable can be streamed at the Timedoor page at Hype Machine. Dead mp3 links take you to the top of page one. Support your favorite artists by buying their music at your local independent record store (mine is Atomic Records) or eMusic. And read about ‘em at TrouserPress.com.
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