Saturday, June 30, 2007

FBO: 'Considering Midnight Oil for Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame'

Let's down shift a bit, and merely consider a band for the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame that rarely gets much mention out of its home-continent, Australia: Midnight Oil.

They're not very good, really, but still the Failed Bands of Oklahoma is TAKING SOME TIME to consider whether they'll nominate Midnight Oil for the Hall. (Their first album dates from the late '70s, well beyond the '25 year' mark the Hall requires for consideration.)

--> Hall or no? Your input is welcomed, and needed.

FBO Admin bought their album Red Sails in the Sunset in 1984 because it had a 'cool cover.' It looked like something like Mars and Sydney combined -- of course at the time I thought it was a fictional city, not recognizing the Sydney Opera House, but still it had an effect. Songs like 'Best of Both Worlds' were punkier than the follow-up break-through-to-US #1 album Diesel & Dust (1986) with the single 'Beds are Burning.' We always knew Peter Garrett, the extremely bald lead singer, was upset about something -- the environment, Australia's aboroginal right, nuclear weapons etc -- but we weren't sure what, and that was OK. You trust a guy like that. And over time he's proven it all the more, by going into politics and GETTING ELECTED.

See more on Peter Garrett here.

Most importantly, Peter is probably the most successful head-shaved (male) lead singer of all time. (Sinead O'Connor is likely the most successful bald lead singer.)

Bald heads in the real world trod over more iffy grounds. Ten years, or maybe 15, ago, having your head shaved was a novel thing -- a notch above the also-novel goattee. You were either a neo-Nazi, a Yul Brynner fan, or maybe liked Sinead. It was kinda cool -- like Kojak and his lolipops. Those days are done. Having your head shaved now means exactly one thing: YOU ARE GOING BALD. The 'cover up' and the 'toupee' has long since fallen away to this equally transparent tactic. Stop doing that.

Perhaps nominating Midnight Oil to the Hall will help.

FBO Admin
Mobile HQ -- Hoi An, Vietnam

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If only Men Without Hats (also from Australia) had made it past the first album. Midnight Oil and Men Without Hats could be inducted together and it could be sponsored by the Aussie Tourism Department and Rogaine.
Rob - I suggest you hit up the Aussie Tourism Board about backing this. It could also result in getting a nice FBO Admin Mobile HQ / writing gig.

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