Australia brings the rawk

If "Beds Are Burning" is all you know about Midnight Oil, then Songblague has a special treat for you. Some personal history - around 7th grade, I got hugely into them. They were at the peak of their US popularity, an arena-sized act. The first big rock show I ever saw was them at the Philadelphia Spectrum. They tore it up, and I became totally devoted.

They were also the first band who had a mysterious back catalog that I felt compelled to explore, with the excitement that genealogy buffs must feel as they unearth their family trees. It was a happy, if solitary, pursuit. After all, who in South Jersey circa 1990 cared to learn that the Oils had been one of the biggest bands in Australia for over a decade or that their live shows were legendary for their all-out fury. Who knew that they'd already made several albums full of leftfield, powerhouse rock for the politically aware, full of exotic Australian vernacular and references to places that I will never see. Here's an early example, with some awesome riffage straight out of the Thin Lizzy playbook.

Midnight Oil - Cold Cold Change