trust me you do not hate that song more than me, if i'm in a shop and it comes on, I leave, I hated it from the 1st 10 secs of hearing it, and that noll versions I hate even more...
I've never thought about it very deeply, but yes, it is a very self-entitled lyric. Can you elaborate on what part you think it played in ruining Australian music?
All right then. I have #3, 17, 24, 30, 53, 72, 75 and 78 from this list; those not in my collection that I like would be #2, 5 - 9, 16, 18, 21, 26, 32, 36, 56 - 58, 62, 68, 71, 74, 81, 83, 87 and 93. "Change the dial" type numbers for me are #12, 19, 33, 49, 55 and 70. "Meh" on 20.
It gave young musicians a licence to be self-centred and petty (without a sense of irony). If there's a line in the sand in Australian music this is it.
Hmmm, I'm not sure I agree with that... mostly because I actually can't think of any Australian artists post-1982 who were self-centred and petty. Perhaps flashes in the pan like Wa Wa Nee and Uncanny X-Men? Certainly not the significant acts like INXS, Midnight Oil and Crowded House. But I do agree 'What About Me' might be a line in the sand. I wonder if the big bombastic sound of 'What About Me?' might've influenced some established Aussie acts at the time? Australian Crawl and INXS were recording Sons of Beaches and Shabooh Shoobah when Moving Pictures hit it big and both of those albums marked a move towards a fuller, rockier sound.
After Men at Work hit it big the Australian record companies tried to destroy the industry by signing safe Sydney bands and almost having a code of conduct for these bands because 'the world was watching us'. Luckily bands like Midnight Oil, INXS, Crowded House and Barnsey were already signed at the time but the industry suffered until Kylie, Grunge and generational change woke the record companies up and they started selling local product again.
I've seen the comments here and I'm undeterred - I still love it after all these years. And despite its low chart placing in the US, it still gets airplay, particularly on satellite radio. I've discussed this before in other threads, but there was a period from '88-'89 where DJs were digging up old songs and making them hits, either for the first time (Sheriff, Jimmy Harnen and Synch), or for a second time (Benny Mardones, UB40). "What About Me" was re-released in 1989 because of this, but unfortunately it didn't catch on like the other songs mentioned. Here is the cassette single that was released that year:
A label named Stereo Sonic just reissued the Poolside album on CD and it includes many extended mixes. I'm quite pleased with it. So far the label has only done one other reissue - the 1987 album from Company B. They had a hit with the song "Fascinated."
I watched this earlier this morning! It's a decent episode, although I LOL'd when Alex Smith said he was sure that Sheena Easton was going to have another hit with 'Just Another Broken Heart' — it didn't even reach the Top 100! Good to see Toyah's video for 'Thunder In The Mountains' being aired, although (again) it didn't end up charting here. This was the time when Countdown compiled its own chart, so the Top 10 annoys me because it's not "official" (as in, it doesn't reflect the Kent Music Report chart). But I'll get over it, I guess...
I caught up with it last week. Yeah that Sheena song is a bit of a stinker not sure what he was thinking with that prediction. Weird clip too. There’s a Sheena episode that popped up recently with her hosting. Lots of fun! For the record I always liked What About Me but I was 5 or 6 at the time so i was the little boy standing at the counter of the corner shop! Perhaps I didn’t have enough for a Caramello Koala? Have pity on me people!
Now that's a great chart, so many wonderful songs, some of which are my absolute favourites of the decade. I've mentioned Kim Wilde's Cambodia, Pete Shelley's Homosapien and Quarterflash's Harden My Heart previously so I won't ramble on about them again, but there is a song by a duo that some may see as an unlikely collaboration. One of the new entries is I'll Find My Way Home by Jon and Vangelis. Vangelis is best known for his soundtracks for the films such as Chariots Of Fire in 1981 and Blade Runner in 1982, while Jon is Jon Anderson from Prog Rock group Yes. They released 4 albums together in the 80's and early 90's and this was their biggest hit, it was a top 10 hit in a majority of countries but only reached #22 in Australia and #51 in the US. Reading a bit about these two, it appears that Jon Anderson and Vangelis met when Vangelis was considered as a replacement for Rick Wakeman as keyboardist in Yes, this led to a few collaborations in the late 70's before they decided to release an album together in 1980. This song appears in the second edition of their second album The Friends Of Mr. Cairo that was released in 1982 and peaked at #9 in Australia.
WOW!! That is some deep hatred. I don't think it is a great song, but I don't mind it and I can listen to it occasionally without wanting to throw my radio out the window.
if I was a billionaire, I'd track down every copy in existence, put em all in a bonfire, and throw a match, then I'd pay all streaming services what ever they'd want to remove it from the internet, then I'd find the last remaining mastertape, and force whoever wrote that pos, to listen to it non stop for 48 hours, and then burn the tape...
Australia's a relatively small country so almost every artwork is still representative of the place . What About Me is such a slap in the face to the ANZACs, Phar Lap and JO'K it should be pointed out wherever possible.
I saw it differently, a reminder to not forget the next generations and those less fortunate, and that Australia is wealthy enough that we can all share in that wealth.
