43. Midnight Oil--Capricornia
#43: Midnight Oil--Capricornia (2002)
Top-Notch Tracks: "Too Much Sunshine," "Say Your Prayers," "Golden Age," "Capricornia"
Album Depth: "Luritja Way," "Mosquito March," "Been Away Too Long," "World That I See," "Under the Overpass," "Poets and Slaves"
Weak Link: "Tone Poem"
Stand-Out Lyrics: "Haven't had so much fun since my daddy took the V8 away."--"Too Much Sunshine"
"It might be catastrophic. It might be too damn bad. Say your prayers."--"Say Your Prayers"
"All the screens are filled with heroes and losers, but the sky's still filled with stars."--"Golden Age"
"Have you ever built your house in a town called Pissitaway?"--"Too Much Sunshine"
Album Cover: 8 out of 10. Why so high? Because it's a cow, damnit! A cow!!! (Phil Collins should try a cow for his next album cover.)
Comments: It was July of 2002, and I was excited and desperate. One of my favorite bands was coming to town, and the concert was being sponsored by the local alternative radio station, so the only cost to attend was the time it took to stop in at one of the station's sponsors to pick up the tickets. I was very excited to see Midnight Oil in concert.
But, there was a problem. I didn't have anyone to go to the concert with. I was planning on taking my friends with Australian ties, Sheldon and Suzanne, but they had prior commitments. I could have asked a girl for a date, but I was a 36 year-old virgin who didn't know any girls to ask. I was seriously debating on whether or not I should go to the concert alone or not. Going to a concert by myself seemed to me to be an admittance that I was then and would always be alone. I was desperate.
I had one more idea, but it was a long shot. What were the chances that my friend (and his wife) would, with just a few hours notice, be interested in going to the concert, be available for the evening, and be willing to drive over five hours round trip to see a tall, bald man screech and flail while his four bandmates played guitars and drums?
I was very lucky. I was also an idiot. Because, not only were my friends willing and ready to drop everything to come to the concert with me, but they brought someone with them. A nice, lovely, single woman named Rebecca. I was so excited and relieved to have someone to go to the concert with, that I didn't realize my friends brought me someone who I could go to the concert with. I think I said "hi" to her, then ignored her the rest of the night. I was such an idiot that it didn't dawn on me until years later that they brought her to the concert in order to set me up with her. That's how much of an idiot I was (am.)
(Of course, I could be totally wrong about this. Maybe she was married. Or, maybe they just brought her because she was a really big fan of Midnight Oil and wanted the chance to see them in concert. Whichever the case, I probably should have said more than four words to her the entire evening, if for no other reason than to be polite.) (Again, I am an idiot.)
Aside from my social ineptitudes, the concert was great. The concert tour was in support of their latest album, "Capricornia," and they played four songs from the album. (Four of the best songs, "Too Much Sunshine," "Say Your Prayers," "Golden Age," and "Luritja Way.") It's a great album from top to bottom. (Just be sure to look for the U.S. version; for some reason, the Australian version of the album does not contain "Say Your Prayers," the omission of which would be enough to drop this album off my Top 60 list.)
They also played most of their hits, with lead singer Peter Garrett mesmerizing the crowd with his singing and dance-like body movements. A great time was had by all in attendance. (With the possible exception of Rebecca.)
Up next: I'm a really big fan of the work of Tim Conway. (With the exception of Dorf. Never cared that much for Dorf.)
Some background on the stranger that we brought with us to see Midnight Oil in concert. It was one of those situations where the wife says, "I know a single woman that...blah, blah, blah." And I'm thinking to myself, "There's no way she's going to hit it off with Joe because she is too...blah, blah, blah." But I'm also thinking to myself, "If I tell the wife she can't bring her friend, she's going to be super pissed, and then for the next month I'll be smack dab in the middle of a huge pile of...blah, blah, blah." So the evening went exactly according to my expectations, and I was happily able to avoid some serious blah, blah, blah. What I remember of the concert was that once the band played "Beds Are Burning," half of the audience got up and left, which made me wonder who in the world buys a ticket to a concert just to hear one song. The band was playing fantastic songs, including some from Capricornia, I presume. And Peter Garrett's dancing was still supremely entertaining to watch. (I'm not sure if "dancing" is the right word, but I can't think of any other word in the English language that would accurately describe what he does with his body while on stage that doesn't have some connotation of illness or disability, so I'm sticking with "dancing" until somebody invents the right word.)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite things about this album are (a) the cover cow, (b) the use of the word "Luritja," (c) the irony of the lyric "under the overpass." I'm also struck by the consistency of the tracks. I don't think there are any bad apples in this barrel, not even "Tone Poem," which I think is a worthy thematic follow-up to "Beds are Burning." I did have to go searching for "Say Your Prayers," as it was not included on the YouTube playlist for the album. The bass line on the song has a nice Peter Gunn feel to it.
I also listened to the two bonus songs on the European version of the album. "Kiss That Girl" has the delightful line "I can't tell the difference between a tadpole and a frog."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJy2i9d3whY
The song "Pub with No Beer" is a cover of Slim Dusty's song. It's got a few Australian words in it, like "swaggie" and "dingoes," so it's no big surprise that Midnight Oil might would sing it. But of all of the injustices and tragedies that Midnight Oil likes to address in their music, this one would definitely be at the bottom of the list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur12PuDoNnA
Over all, I'd say that even if "Say Your Prayers" was not included, it would still be an album worthy of inclusion on your top-60 list just because of the memories it brings up of the Midnight Oil concert. But I admit that the inclusion of "Say Your Prayers" does bring it up a notch or five. However, even though it would be so much fun to sing the words "swaggie" and "dingoes," the inclusion of "Pub with No Beer" on the European version would bring the album's rating down a notch or ten. So I'd say the U.S. version is definitely the one to put on your top-60 list.