Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #24 "Progress"

In honor of last day in NYC here is the Exxon clip...

Sorry I can't see embed code on phone viewing but watch it here

I remember my first ever listen to this frantic EP and excitement about a band whose songs were about justice, warnings and stuff that really mattered!!

I'd studied 'manhattanisation' in youth culture and used this song to talk about bigger values!!!

Might be on a break out of wifi for a week... will catch up!!

"Progress"

Say yes to a real life ambition,

say yes to our hopes and our plans
Forget about your indecision, 

let's get the beast off our land
A tree that can grow no longer, 

a beach that has got no sand
I would pay out a king's ransom, 

if we could just understand
Got your last meal, filled up with pesticide
Hamburger chain third world infanticide
Got robot car your jobs will disappear
It's the politics of a brand new year
Manhattanization is coming, 

open your eyes if you dare
Carry us on to the crossroads, 

come to your senses and care
16 million, I can't hear you at all*.  *23 million

Some say that's progress
I say that's cruel

You may be safe in your hemisphere
But there's so much junk in the stratosphere
We got our eyes on the firmament, 

hands on the armaments
Heads full of arguments, 

and words for our monuments
I won't deny it, can we survive?

Some say that's progress
I say that's cruel.....

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #23 "Sometimes"

"Sometimes"
I know that the sunset empire shudders and shakes
I know there's a floodgate and a raging river
I say the silence of the ribbons of iron and steel
I say hear the punch drunk huddle drive hammer and steel
Sometimes you're beaten to the call
Sometimes you're taken to the wall
But you don't give in
I know that the cannibals wear smart suits and ties
I know they arm wrestle on the altar
I say don't leave your heart in a hard place
Sometimes you're shaken to the core
Sometimes the face is gonna fall
But you don't give in

One of my absolute favourite Oils tracks EVER...
A bit soft I guess, but it often makes me cry at a concert in he way it captures the emotion of struggle and I can almost visualise the faces of those I know 'doing it tough'...
I too have had moments where this song has encouraged "But you don't give in"

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #22 "No Time for Games"

This Capitol Theatre clip is another showing the power of the Oils and the energy they draw from a  crowd. "NO Time for Games" seemed to 'strike a chord' with throngs of young people and young adults in many a darkened venue I've been to over the years. It echoes the Oils early sound, it rocks but it also demonstrates the Oils musicianship. Finally, it's the kind of song that highlights  the uniqueness Pete brings to the band!!

"No Time for Games"
The raising of children, the rearing of young
Used to be simple but look what it's become
The choice of career, the proper vocation
Out of your hands, all for the needs of the nation
No inhibitions with the modern child
Wasted lessons or pleasure or pain
Easy to follow your natural instinct
Easy to follow, much too hard to learn
Useless expressions and sporting aggression
Don't waste my time, I can't wait for the end of the session
What…

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #21 "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers"

"Jimmy Sharman's Boxers"
From the red dust north of Dalmore Downs
Sharman's tents roll into town
Twelve will face the auctioneer
Sharman's Boxers stand their ground
Their days are darker than your nights
But they won't be the first to fall
Children broken from their dreams
But they won't be the first to fall
Fighting in the spotlight
Eye's turn blacker than their skin
For Jimmy Sharman's boxers
It's no better if you win
Standing in the darkness
Lined up waiting for the bell
The days are wasted drinking
At the first and last hotel
Why are we fighting for this?
Why are you paying for this?
You pay to see me fall like shrapnel
To the floor
What is the reason for this?
There is a reason for this?
What is the reason they keep coming back for more?
The blows now bring him to his knees
But still the crowd calls out for more
The drums are burning in his ears
The man keeps counting out the score

Why are we fighting for this? Why are you paying for this?
Great questions about entertainment v exploitation, talent v stereotyping

It's a haunting reflection on the costs to the participants of this kind of 'entertainment troupe'
Powderworkers will be familiar with the brilliant t-shirt doing the rounds!!

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #20 "One Country"

Brilliant band clip for an inspired and reflective song that would be a great candidate for national anthem!! Before data projectors it was a feature clip at my wedding, courtesy of a huge TV perched precariously atop the piano!! Ken Duncan's photos aren't bad either!!

It's a rallying call designed to inspire action for the 'common good'

“One Country” Midnight Oil
Who'd like to change the world
Who wants to shoot the curl
Who gets to work for bread
Who wants to get ahead

Who hands out equal rights
who starts and ends that fight
And not rant and rave
Or end up a slave

Who can make hard won gains
Fall like the summer rain
Now every man must be
What his life can be
So don't call me the tune, I will walk away

Who wants to please everyone
Who says it all can be done
Still sit up on that fence
No-one I've heard of yet

Don't call me baby
Don't talk in maybes
Don't talk like has-beens
Sing it like it should be

Who laughs at their nagging doubts
Lying on a neon shroud, running around
Just got to touch someone
I want to be

So don't call me the tune, I will walk away

One country one
Country one country

Who wants to sit around
Turn it up, turn it down
Only a man can be
What his life can be

One vision
One people
One landmass
We are defenceless
We have a lifeline

One ocean
One policy
Seabed lies
One passion
One movement
One instant
One difference
One lifetime
One understanding

One country
One understanding

Transgression
Redemption
One island
One placemat
One firmament
One element
One moment
One fusion
Yes, and one time

Midnight Oil 'Some a Day' #19 "In the Valley"

"In the Valley"
My grandfather went down with the MonteVideo
The rising sun sent him floating to his rest
And his wife fled south to Sydney seeking out safe harbor
A North Shore matron she became with some paying guests
My father went down with the curse of big cities
Traffic tolls and deadlines took him to his peace
Now Bob Dyer glued us to our seats
And lawns were always Victa neat
Whilst Menzies fawned at royal fleet do you remember?
In the valley I walk, I took some comfort there
In the valley I walk, cold comfort I can hear you talk
In the valley I walk, who will take me there?
When my mother went down it was a stiff arm from Hades
Life surprises and tears you like the southerly
She always welcomed the spring always welcomed the stranger
I don't…

What Pete describes as 'this song about my family' shot in a community they enjoy visiting and felt like staying with. A raw song where after exposing the tough stories of losing his mother and father, Pete tossed in not only the idea of hope, but mentions a few

I hope virtue brings it's own reward
And I hope the pen is mightier than any sword
I hope the kids all take it slow
And I hope my country claims it's own

Outstanding...

Not sure if I'll keep up the pace on holidays for two weeks but we'll see

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #18 "Earth and Sun and Moon"

"Earth and Sun and Moon"
In the morning we will wake up and take to the air
Look back at the planet - I'm glued to my chair
Southern half is burning as we climb through the cky
Sea birds softly falling, smoke way up high
There's the contours of the mountains, the deserts and plains
And a hurricane is blowing, and it turns once again
Now there's oil spills in the water where Columbus once sailed
And there's history and mystery and it's rolling away
I wish you could see this great mystery
Earth and sun and moon, human tribe, thin blue line
Earth and sun and moon will survive
Sediment is flowing from river to sea
Now where are the mighty nations, no lines to be seen
An axe…

It took me a few days of listening to really hook into this album but I loved it...
A sprawling sound exploring the environment, vision and love
A couple of the songs hang together for a concert segment and bring in synth and variety without it being over produced!!

Midnight Oil 'Song a Day' #17 "When the Generals Talk"

I know many will want to choose the Oils on the Water version, but I wasn't there and this one gives me the chance to shout out to friends who came to Canberra for this miracle show, brought about by tragedy and carried out with the surreal presence of several Labor 'pollies', like Julia Gillard, who came to experience this great joy with the rest of us!! Hat tip to Lubo front and centre complete with outsretched arm and head wobble [I hope enjoys Alice Springs in 2 fish weeks!!! We preferred to eat food before we queued up... sadly!!

I was comfortable back about ten deep from the stage and just loved listening to the musicianship and passion that night. I think Pete really missed busting out to these tunes!!

I guess for me this is 1984... the doomsday clock is close to midnight so the genuine threat of nuclear war was palpable through the ongoing 'Cold War.' This is also the era that gives rise to Gordon Gekko and films like "Wall St" so the Generals were global companies, not just despots... on that score countries like Chile would 'get' this song!!

"When the Generals Talk"
Up there on the platform
He is speaking to the people
The people are responding
With clapping and a'cheering
But the meaning of the message
Not revealed to those assembled
They're taken for a ride
Taken In his stride
When the Generals talk
You better listen to him
When the Generals talk
You better do what he say
There's a rumor in the ranking
Someone's talking insurrection
So the General has a purge
Cause he wants to win elections
With the certain satisfaction
That the people are appeased
Long live the revolution
The General's very pleased
Sitting on the fence both ears to the ground
The fat cats still push the thin cats around

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #16 "Short Memory"

27min 28 from this "Real Thing" gig with about 300-400 people at Newtown Theatre!!
It was a great night... thanks to family grabbing tix we saw what would end up being the most amazing of my four 'Real Thing' concerts... history, justice, politics, human rights and protest all wrapped in this determined song... something to get behind and not let happen again!!
Wonder if the punter who interrupted Peter at this gig and took the stage between bands as if he was a roadie is out there somewhere today? And no, I'm not talking about me...

"Short Memory"
Conquistador of Mexico, the Zulu and the Navaho
The Belgians in the Congo short memory
Plantation in Virginia, the Raj in British India
The deadline in South Africa short memory
The story of El Salvador, the silence of Hiroshima
Destruction of Cambodia short memory
Short memory, must have a, short memory
The sight of hotels by the Nile, the designated Hilton style
With running water specially bought short memory
A smallish man Afghanistan, a watch dog in a nervous land
They're only there to lend a hand short memory
Wake up in sweat at dead of night
And in the tents new rifles hey short memory
If you read the history books you'll see the same things happen again and again
Repeat repeat short memory they've all got it
When are we going to play it again
Got a short, got a short, got a short, got a short
They've got a short must have a short they've got a short aah
Short memory, they've got a.....

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #15 "Outside World"

One of many surprises from Selina's at Coogee and on through including London!!

"Outside World"
There's a wind on the eastern side
Ghost gums dance in the moonlit night
Mopoke mourns the racketeers
The bosses they can sense your mood
All in place to a hand that rules
They all want to deal you out
I can see the outside world
Everything's inviting in the outside world
Leaving all my problems in the outside world
It's the summer of another year
A little world weary a little more to fear
Hold those cards tight to your chest
Maybe someday you could be a man
Living quietly in a caravan
Not the Lismore road tonight

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #14 "Wedding Cake Island"

Take a break with this instrumental from the Oils, well...
“there's lines of swell down at Byron Pass mate”

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #13 "Tin Legs and Tin Mines"

"Tin Legs and Tin Mines"
I'm gonna wait for the moment to come
I'm gonna wait till we all stop from running
Boxed in like candles, polar bear pride
Turning to terror as the script is read out
Unwilling actors, accomplished protractors will shout
I'm gonna wait till we reach the sky
Tin legs and tin mines, anyone cries
Cry in the hope that there'll be tomorrow
Waiting around there must be a time
Time to start thinking and working it out
Come with me now, come with me now, we'll be laughing
Who's running the world today?
I'm gonna…

Brilliant change of pace song live in a frantic gig... Jim's piano track, Garrett talk/singing and the haunting sound of this ballad calling for hope...

"Who's running your world today?"
A timeless relevant track and question...

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #12 "Best of Both Worlds"

"Best if Both Worlds"
You say times are tough
We've got the best of both worlds here
Things are rough
We've got the best of both worlds here
Times are tough
We've got the best of both worlds

The real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here
The old world is not as safe with the new world closing in
The great south land can be as great as the one it could have been
The one it could have been

The real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here
The small world is not as strong and the testing ground is near
The old world is not as strong as the one we could have seen
The great south land can be as great as the one it could have been
The one it could have been
We've got the best of both worlds...

Ringtone, email tagline quote, absolutely one of my fav. all time Oils tracks...
"the real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here"

It's got that hopeful sense of calling for us to be better, to notice, to care and to recognise some are doing it tough...

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #11 "Read About It"

"Read About It"
The rich get richer
The poor get the picture
The bombs never hit you when you're down so low

Some got pollution
Some revolution
There must be some solution but I just don't know

The bosses want decisions
The workers need ambitions
There won't be no collisions whey they move so slow

Nothing ever happens
Nothing ever matters
No one ever tells me so what am I to know

You wouldn't read about it
Read about it
Just another incredible scene
There's no doubt about it

The hammer and sickle
The news is at a trickle
The commisars are fickle but the stockpile grows

Bombers keeping coming
Engines softly humming
The stars and stripes are running for their own big show

Another little flare up
Storm brewed in a tea cup
Imagine any mix up and the lot would go

Nothing ever happens
Nothing ever matters
No one ever tells me so what I am to know

You wouldn't read about it
Read about it
One unjust, ridiculous steal
Ain't no doubt about it
You wouldn't read about it
Read about it
Just another particular deal
There's no doubt about it

"The rich get richer, the poor get the picture" is a timeless hook to the theme of this song. It's a protest song and the likes of Rupert Murdoch are in mind. It wasn't #fakenews back then, it was and is editorial policy and a reflection of the dominant values that widen the poverty gap!! I love the many different ways the 'in the know' crowd wait for the bars of rest on the song, even Robbie Buck was caught out back announcing on JJJ one day before the song had finished!! This song never sounded better than from the front 4 rows deep in the throng at the old Newcastle Workers Club!!

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #10 "Power and the Passion"

So this from the last time I saw the Oils live, in Canberra... there are so many great versions of this including the original clip by the band. It's because it's a song you remember every time you hear it... so Sydney, so Oils, so much energy and always part of a ramp it up section of their setlist... the long version on the "On Country" CD single is outstanding also and it's great to see Rob First still playing the water tank Charlie McMahon found on the roadside in Northern Australia and brought back in 1987!! Can't wait to hear about underarms and football clubs once more!!

"Power and the Passion"
People, wasting away in paradise
Going backward, once in a while
Moving ahead, falling behind
What do you believe, what do you believe
What do you believe is true
Nothing they say makes a difference this way
Nothing they say will do
Take all the trouble that you can afford
At least you won't have time to be bored
Oh the power and the passion, oh the temper of the time
Oh the power and the passion
Sometimes you've got to take the hardest line
Sun burnt faces around, with skin so brown
Smiling zinc cream and crowds, Sundays the beach never a cloud
Breathing eucalypti, pushing panel vans
Stuff and munch junk food
Laughing at the truth, 'cause Gough was tough till he hit the rough
Uncle Sam and John were quite enough
Too much of sunshine too much of sky
It's enough to make you want to cry
Oh the power
I see buildings, clothing the sky, in paradise
Sydney, nights are warm
Daytime telly, blue rinse dawn
Dad's so bad he lives in the pub, it's a underarms and football clubs
Flat chat, Pine Gap, in every home a Big Mac
And no one goes outback, that's that
You take what you get and get what you please
It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees
Oh the power...

"You're the Best Thing About Me" U2

Interesting, upbeat, Oliver Jeffers work is clever, "Ordinary Love" part 2

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #9 "Armistice Day"

Sydney's Capitol Theatre and the legendary show...
Demonstrating Pete didn't just pick up a megaphone for Redneck years later!!

"Armistice Day"
You're watching people fighting, you're watching people losing
On Armistice Day

The watchers do the wincing, reporters so convincing
But the TV never lies
I went looking for a war, but the only guns I saw
Never used in anger

You're watching people fight, say they fight, oh say they lose
On Armistice Day

The fixers do the fixing, the locals do the lynching
The papers deny
I went looking for a headline, got talking to the backline
They'd never seen the action...

I look forward to hearing this live in the Domain on Armistice Day 2017!!
A song about the futility of war, observance at such a distance from the reasons, sacrifice and the reality of war and the co-option of troops and whole countries, seemingly without learning the lessons. This song is connected to later tracks and the family histories of the band as well as their passion for our country and it's story... I can remember when this song and others were released, wishing I'd had access to them in 1978 trying to write an ANZAC Day 5min speech for High School and frantically looking for the right piece of prose to express solidarity and frustration... sadly, we haven't seen "The Last of the Diggers"!!

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #8 "My Country"

"My Country"
Was it just a dream, were you so confused
Was it just a giant leap of logic
Was it the time of year, that makes a state of fear
Methods, were their motives for the action

And did I hear you say
My country right or wrong x 3

Did you save your face
Did you breach your faith
Women, there were children at the shelter
Now who can stop the hail
When human senses fail
There was never any warning, no escape

And did I hear you say
My country right or wrong
My country oh so strong
My country right or wrong x 4

I hear you say the truth must take a beating
The flag a camouflage for your deceiving
Cause I know, (I know) I know, it's written on your soul
I know we all make mistakes

This is not a case of blurred vision, it's a case of black holes, 

pocket holes, soul holes

And did I hear you say
My country right or wrong
My country oh so strong
My country right or wrong x 4
My country, my country, my country

Much as I'd like to have the first US late night TV clip of my list be from Letterman [who loved the bushmen from the outback] this one does exist [and at least Leno is being self conscious about Pete's height] so we have the MTV Unplugged style of this song, with Chris Abrahams on piano as he did around that time... but just in case we also have the Oils VEVO version.

This song from "Earth & Sun & Moon" is both anthemic and lends itself to acoustic/sit down style... it's obviously hard to keep Peter Garrett still! It helps if Pete remembers the lyrics...

It's a song about use and misuse of patriotic symbols like the flag, especially our flag with the Union Jack in the corner, co-opted to argue NO to a republic when used for the purposes of power and not always altruistically...

While here, just want to thank the fans in the US/Canada and Europe and the UK [and out stops on the way back] for warming up the band!! They trip to NZ in a week to keep things rolling and the Great Circle comes HOME!! You can't tell anything about a crowd from phone videos though some gigs have stood out I can't begin to imagine how huge these concerts are going to be!! 

There is nothing like an Oils crowd... I hope unlike the Sound Wave concert the crush is not full of "I was there" onlookers for their sake, when the music starts... 

AND apologies in advance to all the support acts who'll be shouted down. John Butler Trio being perhaps the only exception I've ever witnessed... Ooooooiiiiilllllsss!!Ooooooiiiiilllllsss!!Ooooooiiiiilllllsss!!

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #7 "US Forces"

"US Forces" is classic political Oils from the days when Pine Gap's military role alongside the US was the subject of regular protest and questions... what goes on there?
It speaks to US foreign policy interference and action the world over that fuels conflict in the name of supposed US interests. People make a lot of Peter Garrett's changed views about US presence here and military alliances. They speculated how the Oils could play at warm up gigs in Canberra ahead of the Bushfire Relief Concert....
[1] I suggest the whiners ask PG for his 'take' and
[2] They belted out this song and others with plenty of energy thanks!!

P.S. there are some pretty interesting versions of these lyrics online, funny what people think they hear!! This song is great up loud or in the unplugged mode... it shows off the skill of the Oils guitar engine room!! And it's worth noting it's as much about political and economic power as it is military might...

"U.S. Forces"
U.S. forces give the nod
It's a setback for your country
Bombs and trenches all in rows
Bombs and threats still ask for more

Divided world the CIA
Who controls the issue
You leave us with no time to talk
You can write your own assessment

Sing me songs of no denying
Seems to me too many trying
Waiting for the next big thing

Will you know it when you see it
High risk children dogs of war

Now market movements call the shots
Business deals in parking lots
Waiting for the meat of tomorrow

Everyone's too stoned to start emission
People too scared to go to prison
We're unable to make decisions
Politician party line don't cross that floor

L. Ron Hubbard can save your life
Superboy takes a plutonium wife
In the shadows of Ban the Bomb we live

Sing me songs of no denying
Seems to me too many trying
Waiting for the next big thing

Postscript:
Nice video footage of Lake Macquarie's Vales Point Power Station in the middle of the night!!

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #6 "Section 5 (Bus to Bondi)"

"Section 5 (Bus to Bondi)"
Push start that car tomorrow
I'll take it to the tip yard
Well I'll leave it as a metal wreck
For cats to sleep
Then I'll catch the bus to Bondi
Swim the beach and wonder
Who can wear the fashion when
The place is oh so hot
I'm just part of this play
I'm making an inroad on the one and only
I'm just part of this play
I've finally decided I'm here to stay
Then I'll stop the small talk
Then I'll stop the games
I'll show them that the plans
I've made aren't wrong, what's wrong?
Then I'll shop at New World
Fill it up with real toys
Initiate a face-lift for the captains to corrupt

Old classic Oils!! I think I've only heard this song live twice and I know one of those was at Selina's at Coogee in the 1990s when it surprised just about everyone to hear it. That's because it was 'chocolate wheel' night and a punter spun up the track and one of our number was onstage with a select group and knew the words better than all others, including Peter Garrett actually...

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #5 "Profiteers"

"Profiteers"
Look up on the ledge,
there's a bomber diving on the golden street
Down below the crowd is falling,
bullets under feet
Don't tell me, don't tell me, hey don't tell me
We're under the beat of a brand-new marching order
Ears to be ground there's a party planned for the new recruits
Hurricane lamps are burning, teargas fills the route, yeah
(Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)

How appropriate to open at the Fillmore with "Profiteers" and "Progress" reflecting on the war footing of the crazy world we live in... amazed to see the Oils famous 'whiteboard' that fuelled 5 weeks of rehearsals and hearing noms of these rare tracks included alongside whole albums nestled in various playlists. For mine it'd be great to hear the whole of 10,9,8... in Sydney's Domain as part of a 26 songs list and Diesel & Dust at HOPE Estate, alongside classics from Newcastle Workers days...

Midnight Oil "Song a Day" #4 "Stand in Line"

The early surf rock, slightly punk and driven music of the Oils!!! And we saw at Selina's at Coogee, that Bones can indeed play it... but I've chosen this Giffo version for day 4!!

It predates my own awareness of the Oils except as scratchy noise my mates used to listen to and it took a good late listen to 10,9,8... for me to get hooked... love the raw energy of this band!! This is a song that speaks of it's early sound, before D&D, before BSM and at the same time you hear more than any other Friday night pub band. The musicians and the chemistry and the notion of a band that believed in the power of making statements and reflecting on life as punters knew it!!! A great song from a great concert event!! Not only that but the tag line for many 'powderworkers' posts from sound check on the current tour... "everything's set, everything's fine..."

"Stand in Line"
Oh get down, getting down, so much money in the ground
For the people who don't deserve it now
It's a circus we're the clowns as the giant ones disown
Every bit of something we call home
Said it's a pity 'bout the middle class Holden mass
We get a bit to play around with doesn't really matter
They kid us with their dole, kid us with the dope
But generally speaking, nobody's got a hope
We're playing the music of the middle-aged queens
Getting fatter and fatter and splitting their jeans
It's all the same, we're out in the cold
The good ones died, the others just got old
Everything's set, everything's fine
You just got to stand in line
Oh everything's set, everything's fine
You just…