Sad news today with reports of the death of Chrissie Amphlett in New York aged 53.
If you listened to even the smallest amount of Australian rock in the eighties you would have heard Chrissies distinctive voice. She was the lead singer of The Divinyls and a wild woman of Australian rock.
Chrissie was known for her school uniform and primal performances. When you went to see the Divinyls live you got the same as you did on a recording, and if you were one of the adoring fans in the front row you would probably get a pot of beer thrown over you!
Hmmmmm… Which song to share with you……. Probably the bands most well known song was “I Touch Myself”, but I can’t tell you which of their songs is my favourite, I have different reasons for liking different ones!
We have one of their albums on tape in the 4WD so even the kids know the words to many of the songs, our next road trip will never be the same. 😦
Well, here I am, sitting in the park. Why am I not posting from home you ask? Well, my internet connection has been so bad these last few days that today, after enough disconnections and re-connections to make me howl with frustration, I chucked the laptop in the car and drove down to the park in the town to see if it would work better there.*
It is very nice down here, if the birds weren’t calling so loudly I would be able to hear the river, and if that beautiful cooling breeze would die down all the leaves might stop dropping onto my head. All in all not the worst place to work from. 😀
Nevertheless, I haven’t got a cuppa and my battery will run out soon so I had better get on with it.
I think you can guess that I haven’t been able to do anything that even vaguely resembles research lately so instead of a proper post I am sharing some more Australian music with you. Let’s drift back to the eighties and listen to Run to Paradise by the Choirboys.
Look at the fashion, the hair… ahhh, 1987, thank god you’re gone 😉
*I didn’t think of this yesterday, and since I was so annoyed with the computer I went out to the garden and ripped some drooping tomato plants out so I wouldn’t do something I would regret, like throw the laptop through the window! That is why I failed to post anything….
I will be catching up with all of your blogs and comments as soon as I get this bloody thing sorted out, a new (better? more powerful? who knows!) modem is on its way….
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P.S When I called Telstra to have a whinge yesterday the automated voice told me they were experiencing long delays (no surprise there) and told me it would call me back. WHAT THE?????????
It asked me to enter the number on which I wished to be called back in ten minutes time and then, ten minutes later, IT DID! This might not seem worth noting to many of you around the world but I can guarantee that at least a few Aussie readers are lying on the floor now, needing to be treated for shock. Perhaps I have entered some kind of alternate universe, one where the internet doesn’t really work but Telstra does?
This weekend is one of the most important on the camping/barbecuing calendar. We Aussies are celebrating Australia day on Saturday the 26th, and really it is just an excuse for people to wear the flag as a cape, drink too much, and stand around a barbie eating partially cremated sausages in bread with sauce.
It is also an excuse to chuck a sickie on Friday or Tuesday. Even though we get Monday as a public holiday it would be un-Australian not to at least consider having an unnecessary extra day….
In honour of the day I am posting the song considered by many to be the alternative Australian national anthem, and one that I am sure will get a good run over the weekend, Khe Sanh.
Cold Chisel released this song about a Vietnam veteran trying to return to normal life in 1978* and I doubt there is an Aussie among you who can listen to it and not go over all patriotic. Or resist singing along as soon as you hear those first lines.
I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh
And I sold my soul with my cigarettes to the black market man
I’ve had the Vietnam cold turkey
From the ocean to the Silver City
And it’s only other vets could understand
Happy Australia Day! 😀
*This clip from a live show in 2003 is the only one I could find that wasn’t homemade. There is something horribly wrong about not being able to watch such a classic being belted out live by Cold Chisel in their prime.
It is xmas eve here, and I doubt I will be posting tomorrow as we will be buried in torn xmas paper and eating inappropriate breakfast food, shortbread and chocolate mainly.
In the spirit of xmas here is one of the best Australian songs of all time, How to Make Gravy by the wonderful Paul Kelly.
Even though his live versions are always fantastic, I chose to post this film clip because they are singing on a rooftop under that most Aussie of xmas things, a tinsel adorned Hills Hoist.
I hope you all have a great day and that santa brings you exactly what you need. I have requested peace and happiness and a sleep-in.
With the kids already crying out in anguish “Oh why isn’t it xmas already!” at every turn I think the last is a little optimistic though…..
I never thought I would say this but brace yourself for a fantastically funny and wonderfully cute advert that Metro trains in Melbourne made to tell people to be safer. (ABC news)
Dumb ways to die is the name of the song and I can already tell you that the catchy little bugger (and the funny ways of inviting death) will stay with you for a while.
When I put it on the kids quickly gathered around to laugh, made me replay it, then went back to what they were doing with the occasional shout out regarding a new dumb way to die they had just thought of.
I’m not going to suggest people will be any safer because of this ad but at least idiocy now has a happy theme song 😀
If you wish to use any images or text from my blog be sure to ask permission and include a link back to Buried Words and Bushwa, and full credit to it.
Trove.
The newspaper articles here come from the National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au). Get on there and do some text correcting! You never know what you might find...
Buried words and Bushwa. 
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