Midnight Oil “Diesel and Dust”

sfilzen — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 16:12:40 +0000

Midnight Oil “Diesel and Dust” released 30 years ago on this date, August 2nd, 1987. (I mentioned to Joe a couple of days ago that I was planning to write about its anniversary and he told me an amusing anecdote – which I have not verified – that in order to live as an ex-pat in Australia, one needs to be sponsored by an Australian citizen. Violent Femmes’ Brian Ritchie apparently lives there now and is sponsored by Midnight Oil, like by the entire band). Anyway, Diesel and Dust is a concept album about the plight of the indigenous people of Australia; it peaked at #1 in Australia (and is ranked by some as the #1 best Australian album ever) and reached #19 in the UK and #21 in the US. In the US Midnight Oil is probably only known for one song, the hit single “Beds are Burning” which hit #17 in the US. Three other singles were released, charting only in the UK and/or Australia: “Put Down That Weapon,” “Dreamworld” and “The Dead Heart” (which I was surprised to learn didn’t chart in the US as I definitely remember hearing “The Dead Heart” a lot back in the late 80′s and quite like for its dance pop melodic chord progressions and harmonies). Musically Diesel and Dust is fairly straight-forward indie-flavored rock, punctuated by singer Peter Garrett’s unique vocals, and manages to craft a very complicated and forceful political message into a danceable product.

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Midnight Oil “Diesel and Dust”