Get ready to rewiggle with The Wiggles
Tribute albums come and go but we’re very excited about this one. To celebrate 20 years of a band which has a screaming, dancing legion of fans, some of Australian’s finest are going to give their own touch to their legendary tunes.
That’s right; we’re talking about The Wiggles tribute album. The five guys in colourful skivvies have been entertaining toddlers for 20 years now. During this time they’ve entertained millions of tiny fans across the globe and made themselves one of Australia’s highest earning performers. They’ve also achieved the annoyance of millions of parents who have had to put up with ‘Wake Up Jeff’ played continually in the house and car.
Sarah Blasko, Jebediah and Spiderbait will all be rewiggling the popular kids tune which we feel will win over a new legion of fans and allow closet fans since childhood to proudly announce they love The Wiggles.
Look out for it in December; we can’t wait, especially to see how the Living End is going to tackle ‘Hot Potato.’ (also see: The Wiggles win at the ARIAs)
Aussie brings the music back to Afghanistan
The Europe summer music festival season has finished for 2011 and a lot of people have begun the countdown until 2012 rolls on. It can seem infuriating waiting those six months before the announcements take place and tickets go on sale.
Imagine then waiting 30 years for your next music festival. For the people of Afghanistan this was when the last one was held. Over the past three decades they’ve had more pressing issues to deal with as the country was engulfed in years of civil war, then falling under the command of the Taliban who banned anything considered immoral including music. During their rule people could be imprisoned or even executed simply for playing some music let alone attending a concert.
So it was a landmark day last week when the first Sound Central festival was held in the capital Kabul. Organised by Travis Beard an Australian photographer living in the city the free open-air festival was attended by around 500 people with local and international bands playing to the mainly young audience.
Still a very conservative and unstable country the location and times were kept secret due to the possible attack by religious insurgents, the site was alcohol free and music halted during the afternoon Muslim call to prayers.
In a country which has suffered so much tragedy and suffering it’s a great thing to see a simple freedom like music celebrated and we’re proud an Aussie played a part in making it happen.
Angry Politics
Another day, another bald Australian rocker wants to enter Parliament House. Peter Garrett from Midnight Oil did it and now former Rose Tattoo singer Gary Anderson better known to his fans as Angry Anderson has announced he is interested in standing for the National Party at the next federal election.
Angry has long been an outspoken political activist and recently been the face of the anti-carbon tax campaign. He seems to have got a taste of the political spotlight having joined the National Party and now is weighing up which federal seat to run for.
Of course he’ll have to go through the nomination process but we feel the National’s will enjoy another wacky eccentric in their ranks with fellow eccentric Senator Barnaby Joyce backing Angry’s nomination. We don’t know much of Angry’s policies but in a recent interview he did claim the Labour government’s planned carbon tax was part of a world-wide UN led conspiracy.
Perhaps a little bit too wacky for us but at least the Rose Tattoo anthem ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’ will make a worthy campaign anthem.
