Brett Every on every other Australian artist

(photo c/o Brett Every)
Brett, let's talk about Australian musicians and bands. I'm going to name 10 artists or bands and you tell me if you like them or hate them.

Nick Cave

I like him, but he scares me. His murder ballads unnerve me.

AC/DC

I don't listen to them, so I would say not applicable.

Midnight Oil

I love the passion of Midnight Oil, and love that they were able to put out and make famous quite a few songs that dealt with the indigenous Australians to an audience, who at the time might not have realized that that's what they were singing along to.

Men at Work

I only remember the one song, because it was five years before I really fanatically listened to music, so there's a tiny bit of a memory stretch. Also, cause they were not Laura Branigan, so I might be a bit biased.

Icehouse

For me the late 80's were really formative, so yes.

INXS

Another young guy who died before people thought he was going to. They were huge here, when I was growing up, and when you're young and aware of the music going on, you just accept it. It was just another INXS song, but now I think, 'Wow, they really did amazing stuff,' but I was too young to realize why they were amazing. They were one of the few real rock star bands out of Australia in terms of charisma and performance.

Kylie Minogue

I enjoy Kylie Minogue, and I like what she has brought to the world in terms of songs that do lift the mood of the party; and just her sheer work ethic, 'cause she's been working for a long time and very frequently, year after year, putting new albums out, touring huge and working hard.

Silverchair

I admire their work, but have never taken it beyond that level.

Savage Garden

I think they would have been as much of a surprise or out of the blue for you as for Australia. They really burst onto the scene and were everywhere. But Darren Hayes is still putting out solo records, and I think he's been concentrating more on the UK. You can feel it in the country when you know that an artist isn't focusing on your country anymore.

Sam Sparro

Sam Sparro is really exciting, because he's really popular across the board and across the whole range of people; but it's really recent, so it's too soon to tell. But I get the vibe from him that he is an artist and probably has a whole stack of songs waiting in the wings. He'll probably be around for a while, 'cause he has a lot to stick around for. There's more to come, which is exciting. It's interesting to see the times change. It's interesting to see artists like him becoming pop really quickly, without officially having to come out, and it wasn't a big deal at all.