Comment

Comment on The 50 best Australian songs of the 90s

Some classics in this list. Such a list can’t exist without people pointing out who was missed, though. This reads like a top 50 of what JJJ had on high rotation. It’s missing several acts that were bigger than most of the names on this list. Off the top of my head (and only in the order I think of them), there’s:

Madison Avenue - Don’t Call Me Baby
Taxiride - Get Set / Everywhere you Go
Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply / Affirmation / To the Moon & Back / I Knew I loved you
John Farnham - Chain Reaction / That’s Freedom / Every Time You Cry - Plus his duets with Barnsy. Speaking of…
Jimmy Barnes - When Something is Wrong with my Baby (with Farnsy) / Stone Cold
Kate Cebrano - Pash (Can’t count the Jesus Christ Superstar album, unfortunately)
Tina Arena - Chains
Wendy Matthews - The Day You Went Away / Friday’s Child
Black Sorrows - Harley and Rose / Ain’t Love the Strangest Thing / The Chosen Ones / Hold On To Me
Icehouse - Miss Divine
Hunters & Collectors - Holy Grail (Yes, the AFL flogged it to death, but it was still huge)
Human Nature - Tellin’ Everbody / Got It Goin’ On / Wishes
Merril Bainbridge - Mouth / Under the Water

How some of these names were left off the list is beyond me. Savage Garden are one of the only Australian Bands who have managed more than a single hit in the US charts. Farnsy and Barnsy are Australian staples. Even with some of the acts they did get right, I’d have picked different songs.

In the making of this list, I learned that Torn by Natalie Imbruglia and The Horses by Daryl Braithwaite are covers and don’t count. Also, an honorable mention to The Waifs and John Butler Trio who were pretty popular around the Perth pub scene of the 90s, but didn’t really crack the national consciousness until 2000 or later. This shocked me, I’m normally behind the trends, but I liked these bands before they were charting. Does that make me a hipster?

source

Sort:hotnew top

TinyBreak@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Criminal there isnt a single savage garden song in there! I’d also like a nod to Killing Heidi.

source
- Nath@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Yes! We’re going to end up with a definitive 90s Aussie music play list, and I’m all on board with it!
  
  source
zero_gravitas@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

Madison Avenue - Don’t Call Me Baby

I had no idea this was Australian! Now you’ve mentioned it, though, there’s a noticeable lack of hard ‘r’ in some lines (for reference: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-mRcnF5tSc).

Some classics in this list. Such a list can’t exist without people pointing out who was missed, though. This reads like a top 50 of what JJJ had on high rotation. It’s missing several acts that were bigger than most of the names on this list.

Agreed - and thanks for making your list of things it omitted - but the list was compiled by a poll of Double J staff, so it was always going to be biased towards deep-cuts, and it’s a good thing to bring lesser-known and forgotten music to attention (so long as people don’t take the list to be authoritative).

source
- Nath@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  I’m all about showcasing local talent. I love most of the bands in the list. But don’t call it the “best Australian songs of the 90s” if you’re going to leave out so many of the best songs of the 90s.
  
  I loved Ratcat, but I’d have selected That ain’t bad. Frente’s Accidentally Kelly Street and Custard with Funky again to really introduce a new generation to their music (because Dave’s voice is really recognisable to the kids in this track).
  
  source
  - zero_gravitas@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Yeah, the title is intentional click-bait/engagement-bait
    
    source
StudChud@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
I was looking for a vast majority of these and was disappointed. Like, one of the blurbs was about how the dude saw the band play the song once at a festival in the 90s?

What about Oh Ah… Just A Little Bit - Gina G? That was 1996! She was in Eurovision! How is that not on there 😭

source
No1@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Jonny Diesel was doing OK too

source