Damage
You Am I
Tying in with what I wrote about earlier this week, I picked up this cd single on my first trip to Australia. It had just been released when I arrived and I don’t remember where I first heard it. I fell in love with it immediately. After a special night in Canberra, I listened to it on loop all the way back to Sydney and even now, all these years later, I listen to it and it takes me right back to that night. Song imprinting is a thing.
I can’t really talk about You Am I without talking about The Whitlams as the former is linked with the latter in my mind. Two alternative bands from the 90s, both fronted by a tall, weedy songwriter named Tim who is known for writing lyrics full of wordplay, humour (although that came later for Tim Rogers), autobiography, everyday moments, and emotional realness. Two bands that relentlessly toured in that era and became Australian legends because of it. Two bands who did a lot of hard living in that time. Both bands winning album of the year at the ARIAs (Australian Recording Industry Association awards) - You Am I winning for each of their first 3 albums. Both bands started as a trio before evolving to a power pop 4-piece. Both shot to stardom on an album about the death of someone significant to the Tim - in this case, their debut album Sound As Ever, where Rogers was dealing with the death of his mentor Stephen Gray, known as Goose.
I do recognize that is unfair. When I was in Australia in the early aughts, You Am I was the more respected band. By this point, the band was wrestling with a lot of interference with their label, which delayed the release of the album Dress Me Slowly, of which Damage was the first single. It ended up being one of their best performing singles. Rogers had this to say:
"Damage is about trying to find some hope. The most uplifting pop songs come from desperate situations in minor keys."
The song makes reference to John Prine. At this point Prine was a superstar in country and folk circles but not in the mainstream yet. Rogers
"I did wake up in the morning and I did put on a John Prine record and I did have my someone's baby photos lying around."
I really have said a lot here, so how about we get to the song?
As for the video, it takes place in the countryside, in rolling green hills that seem more like the British Isles than Australia. But then we see the crooked trees and we start getting surreal images popping up around the band. The sky is gray throughout. Very atmospheric.
Enjoy your song of the day!
I don't always get time to listen every day, MK. Glad I did today. Again, something 'new' that I would never have had the chance to hear. PLUS, a John Prine reference? How could you go wrong?
Showing my age, a bit, but I grew up in the almost Lilly-White suburb of Libertyville, north of Chicago. We used to go down to the north side pubs to hear John and Stevie Goodman play before they met Kris Kristoferson. As I remember it, Stevie dragged Kris over to a different bar to hear John play. Within a week Kris had secured contracts for both of them for their first albums. Stevie died way too young, but 'The City of New Orleans' will never die. Just like the Amtrak train of that name. Nancy and I will be taking it to New Orleans again in January to attend our son's retirement ceremony from the Army after 22 years.
One more bit of trivia and then I'll let you go. The reason I referred to my hometown as almost Lilly-White is because of my favorite Social Studies teacher, Mary Morello. Her son, Tommy was only 7 or 8 at the time. But like John and Stevie, he's managed to speak truth to us all as well.
As do you. Thanks, as always. Pete
Wow- do not know this band at all but I love this song. I get a bit of Crowded House (more musically than vocally). I’m going to look deeper into their catalog.