If the art of the mix-tape was dead, someone forgot to tell Julia Gillard. She apparently gave President Barack Obama an iPod chockfull of Aussie music.
News.com.au was quick to slam its AC/DC omission, but I think whoever was compiling this playlist had the right idea. The beauty of the Australian music industry is that it’s so insular. Our heroes are performers that folks in the rest of the world would have no idea about. That’s pretty special.
So while there were a few artists with international profiles, including John Butler Trio, The Temper Trap, and Crowded House (they’re mostly Aussie, right?), the bulk of the musicians were performers that Obama were heard of. They also represented so many genres of Australian music: we had the jazzy James Morrison, funky Cat Empire, Paul Kelly, indie darling Washington, urban Bliss N Eso, and modern indigenous music of Saltwater Band to name a few.
It’s easy to bandy around the names that were missing. I’d have loved to see Obama learn about Richard Clapton, Slim Dusty, Human Nature, and James Reyne. But AC/DC? I reckon he’s already clued in.
What did you think of the president’s new Aussie playlist?
Image source: Wikimedia Commons