Fairytales and I Love You

November 22nd still hangs in my heart so heavy - the day Michael's smile faded into obscurity and his legend would be tarnished with the actions of his final years. But still, we grieve, we mourn, and we celebrate the rock god of our adolescence.

It's been 28 years since INXS lost their magnetic north. The band has most recently ended their reign, never coming back from that loss of their lead singer. INXS exists now only in our memories. And what glorious memories they are.

Fancy dinner parties, ballerinas on the Charles Bridge, red desert sunsets, beautiful blondes, brunettes, Mad Max underworlds, and motorcycles in Hong Kong painted the video world of INXS. Live Baby Live gave us the Michael we all know. He enthralled the 74,000 fans in attendance at Wembley, making us sway back and forth like high school lovers when we heard the first notes of Never Tear Us Apart and The Stairs. He was a musician, actor, son, brother, friend, and father. What he gave to us and to his fellow band mates are incredible memories, cemented forever in some of the best times of our lives. 

Again, I must thank my flat mates in Sydney for taking that very hot trek to see Michael's memorial. Who knew how many cemeteries there were in suburban Sydney. It was a nod to my past and the musical memories he gave me. I had to thank the man I crushed on for years. It was hard to think how quickly his bright star could quickly be diminished. In our hearts, he lives on as the charismatic lead singer. In our memories, he is the sad ending of a paparazzi nightmare. In our ears, his voice will be forever golden.     

It's so strange
How my life's changed
I know nothing
About the people that I touched

~Michael Hutchence - Possibilities

Tears Fall Down My Face

Michael Hutchence Memorial - Sydney 2000

28 years ago on November 22nd, the music world lost an enigmatic soul. Michael Kelland Hutchence was more than an 80s pop icon. To his fans, he was a free-spirited artist who helped to change the music and video world. He was a musician, actor, father, husband, brother, and son. And yes, he had his demons, but don't we all? 

Michael will forever be remembered as the sexy bad boy with cinnamon curls and caramelized skin. INXS wasn't a stranger to the Australian pop scene in the early 80's. It really was not until Kick in 1987 that they broke through and became known internationally. But like with any band, it was Michael, the lead singer who got all of the attention. Even today, mention Kirk Pengilly or Andrew Farriss and people will just look at you quizzically. 

From Kylie to Helena to Paula, Michael's exploits were tabloid fodder and paparazzi dollars. Once the star began to fall, everyone wanted to know his next move. His death, shocking and heartbreaking, became even more tragic when Paula Yates also died soon after, leaving their daughter without parents. It is also his death that most will remember. For me, it doesn't matter how he died. He's gone. End of story. 

While I love their earlier albums just as much as Kick, X, or Welcome to Wherever You Are, the X tour and subsequent Live Baby Live at Wembley Stadium in 1991 is when Michael was at the very top of his career. My God, they filled Wembley!  This show and tour was a testament to not just INXS, but to Michael's ability to entertain an entire stadium full of fans. 

His loss was not just felt in the world of his fans but in his music family. The band tried to go on, but the night I saw them in Sydney in 2000 was just not the same. The night I met Bono under the Brooklyn Bridge, which just happened to be November 22nd, we hugged over the memory of Michael. 

But you tore a hole in space
Like a dark star, falls from grace
You burn across the sky
And I would find you wings to fly
And I would catch you
I would catch your fall

 Michael Hutchence and Bono - Fly Away

INXS Shabooh Shoobah

We made a crazy video at home in Australia for The One Thing. We fed valium to a few cats and had them running around a table while we had a feast with sexy models and Playboy centerfolds, ripping apart a turkey. Next thing we knew we had a top 40 hit in America and were opening for Adam Ant. ~ Tim Farriss*

October 13, 1982, INXS released their third album and first world-wide release with Shabooh Shoobah. Face it, most of you have never heard of this album. Unless you are either a serious INXS fan or live in Australia. This album would bring Gary Gary Beers, the Farris Brothers (John, Andrew, and Tim), sax legend Kirk Pengilly, and Michael Hutchence to US shores and into video mainstream. The One Thing, Don’t Change, To Look at You, and Black and White were the albums singles, with Don't Change being the song that would put this Aussie band in the ears and hearts of the world. 

Lyrically maturing since Underneath the Colours, but not fully developing the sound that defined them for year until those pre-Kick vibes on Listen Like Thieves, Shabooh Shoobah delivers the music of a band still finding itself. It's sexy, 80's, and uniquely INXS. 

The One Thing

This incredible seductive video would introduce the masses to the sensual prowess of Michael Hutchence. The song is close to the INXS that most are used to of the late 80’s. The keyboards are toned down, but the guitar is spot on and Kirk soars on the sax. It’s a top song for many INXS fans.

To Look at You

This is my ultimate and all time INXS song. It’s a sexy song with haunting 80’s keyboards and one of the best lines of any INXS song --- fairytales and I love you.

Spy of Love

Remember, the 80’s was home to some creepy videos. This song about being a magical love spy has video with a literal take on the title. Michael is smoking in a creepy trench coat, Andrew Farris is wearing a bowler hat and balancing some glass Labyrinth-like object in his hand. Catchy tune, creepy video. Oh, did I mention there is a weird moment that reminds me of the Land Down Under video sing-along scene. 

Fun fact, this song inspired the onomatopoeia that is the title of the album.

Soul Mistake

The “I’m never going to learn” love song fraught with regret and some seriously good lines: 

In this meeting of the soul 

My feelings are unknown

I learn with no regret

I'm getting what I get.

Here Comes

You want the 80’s in a song? This is it? The mysterious electronic keys and lots of echoes make this song about the questions, answers, and mysteries of love. 

Black and White

The vibe goes back to INXS’ first single Simple Simon.

Golden Playpen

This song is proof of Michael’s gifted lyric writing inspired by his love of poetry and books. It’s not a prophetic song, it’s about sex, having fun, and some odd dancing chair man.

Jan’s Song

The first of a few times INXS gets political. Jan is clearly an activist. The song is Clash-y with those familiar 80’s vibes.

One World New Order

Pseudo political/cultural message of listening to what existed millennia before us. Gotta remember, the 80’s were flashy, gaudy, over the top, save the rainforests times.

Don’t Change

While INXS saw many of their hits off their sixth and seventh albums, Kick and X, this song continues to be an anthem for the band. This is such a positive song with a driving beat

Cash Box reviewed the "Don't Change" single saying "churning rhythms and swirling guitars provide a straight ahead forward thrust for singer Michael Hutchence's philosophical pronouncements.

^{*Rob, Tannenbaum; Marks, Craig (2011). I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.} 

Living In A Land Down Under

It's ineffable, I know I won't be able to find words sufficient enough to describe the feelings, but maybe I can at least find words that can evoke the feeling of certain moments. I never would have believed there was anywhere in the world with a sky so blue or full of so many stars, beaches so magical, people so humble, moments so ephemeral that to capture all of the senses is impossible. Seemed like an opportune time to start a journal. ~Paula Carlson 2000

Celebrating Australia Day does have its controversy, as it marks the landing of Colonial ships on Australia's shore. The mistreatment of the aboriginal indigenous population is still being reconciled, but at least they are taking the steps to do so. Their plight highlighted, always be a man who was ahead of the time, by David Bowie in his Let's Dance video, showing the prejudice against the native population. 

Now let's talk about the Irish? Sentenced to Van Diemen's Land for various crimes, the thought was to banish them away from the mischief they were causing in Ireland. Their suffering captured by Bobby Sands in a poem that was later turned into the song Back Home in Derry.

Van Dieman's land is a hell for a man
To live out his life in slavery.
When the climate is raw and the gun makes the law.
Neither wind nor rain cares for bravery.

And let's not forget about Australia's sacrifice in World War I. Ever wonder why there is so much pride and remembrance when it comes to ANZAC Day? 10,000 men of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs) died in 1915 in their first ever campaign.

Australia has become a stereotype,  banished to the barbecues, beer, and Vegemite category thanks to Crocodile Dundee and Men at Work.  But Australia is a bit more deep than that. Being a good 'mate is what typifies an Aussie. They either love you or they don't When they love you, they will never forget about you. They're funny, hard working, and loyal. Think of Steve Irwin when you think of Australia. 

Australia is a land filled with gangrenous and beautiful animals, beautiful landscape, and newfound respect and appreciation for the aboriginal rights and their land.

Australia has also given us some wonderful talent, great movies, and delicious food (well, not all Aussie food has Vegemite associated with it).

Music (alphabetically)
 AC/DC
Air Supply
Bee Gees

Nick Cave 
The Church
Crowded House
Divinyls
Natalie Imbruglia
INXS
Olivia Newton John
Little River Band
Men at Work
Madison Avenue 
Midnight Oil
Kylie Minogue
Dannii Minogue
Powderfinger

Savage Garden
*Spotify Australia Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1aIjraFLZogR1uhup361KZ

Movies

Crocodile Dundee

Gailpoli
Mad Max
Muriel's Wedding
Ned Kelly
Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Food (And Drink)
Bundaberg Rum
Lamingtons
Meat Pies
Pavolva
Tim Tams
Vegemite 
Victoria Bitter beer

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from is so small
But it's as big as the promise, the promise of a comin' day ~Crosby, Stills, and Nash

 

Years Go By On An Innocent Face: INXS The Swing

And I imagine you standing here
It's subliminal, so inspirational
Man of the world for all the good reasons
Take away the pain and drink the wine

~I Send a Message~

The fourth album from INXS, The Swing, continued to move the Australian band towards international stardom. While sticking with the similar sound of its first three albums, the leap they make in 1986 to Kick is nothing short of revolutionary. Also, I am the only one who is wondering where the sax is on this album?

It was my real intro to a band I love. This cassette was played adnauseam to my family, but I couldn't get enough of it. It wasn't mainstream US radio and it was so different. And trivia for you all, because I grew up nowhere near an ocean, I thought it was "jelly" not "jetty" because I had no idea what one was.

The opening track and most widely known in the States, Original Sin, also featured Daryl Hall singing with Hutchence on the chorus (because why not?).

The album is dance and keyboard oriented, and also more socially oriented, taking themes of peace, love, and social equality to test in songs such as Face the Change, Dancing on the Jetty,  and All the Voices. The band wanted Swing to echo many of their rock and funk influences. By a chance meeting, one of their influences, Nile Rodgers, who loved the band, would also become the album's producer. 

The Swing also saw the band's videos become more sophisticated and what we would continue to see with Kick. While the album did not see them rise to international fame they were seeking, it would only be a few more years before INXS would considered one of the world's most popular bands.

Track Listing
The Orignial Sin
Melting in the Sun 
I Send a Message
Dancing on the Jetty
The Swing
Johnson's Aeroplane
Love Is (What I Say)
Face the Change
Burn for You
All the Voices

 

Sometimes You Kick: INXS Kick at 30

I think what makes the Kick album so dynamic is that we weren’t so much interested in what everybody else was doing as we on what we wanted to do," says Farriss. "It’s really that simple. Michael and I were extremely focused as songwriters, and the band was very intent on making a series of recordings that we could be passionate about. ~ Andrew Farriss

INXS's sixth album

Released October 19, 1987

Mercury Records

Top Hits:

New Sensation

Need You Tonight / Mediate

Devil Inside

Never Tear Us Apart

Copies sold to date: Almost 20 million

Personal Trivia:

• Kick was one of my first two CDs (the other was The Joshua Tree). 
• I would play Devil Inside at Pizza Hut in Ebensburg and my mom would shoot me a look every time the line it's hard to believe we need a place called hell would come on, as I was not allowed to sing that part.
• I used to draw the Kick and INXS logo on all my paper bag covered school books. 

Kick was INXS's sixth studio album but, for many in the US, it was the first they had heard (and seen MTV generation) of the band. Their previous album and title song, Listen Like Thieves, was a gateway into what was coming next for the band, The sound is what will be coined as classic INXS:  Tim Farriss's infamous chords, Jon Farriss's tight drumming, Andrew Farriss's romantic keyboards, Garry Garry Beers amalgamizing bass,   Kirk Pengilly's sexy saxophone, and Michael Hutchence's soulful voice (among other things). This album fused the sound of their previous studio recordings. You can catch influences on each song, yet also see the steps forward towards creating a sound they would continue to hone on their seventh album, X.

As stated above, it was also the MTV generation. So when you think of Devil Inside, you don't necessarily think of the driving guitar, the speaker alternating percussion, or the bass that carries each moment of the song. No, you think of a caramelized Michael Hutchence in a gray suit and 80's white turtleneck. and perfectly tousled hair and a woman in a black dress walking on a bar.

Kick gave us many songs of our youth. New Sensation, Need You Tonight/Mediate, Mystify, Devil Inside, and of course, Never Tear Us Apart. The videos offered up a new way for us to enjoy this band from the land down under. Their sound successfully blended funk, soul, rock, and a new wave 80's sound that made them unique and not cliche. They didn't try to mimic U2, but did politicize on a few songs. Their dance-able tracks, sexy love songs, strong song writing, and colorful videos remain a hallmark of INXS. Thirty years after it's release, Kick remains one of the top albums of the 80's.

Guns in the Sky

New Senstation

Devil Inside

Need You Tonight

Mediate

The Loved One

Wildlife

Never Tear Us Apart

Mystify

Kick 

Calling All Nations

Tiny Daggers

Ain't No Sense In All Your Crying - Michael Hutchence

 

But you tore a hole in space
Like a dark star, falls from grace
You burn across the sky
And I would find you wings to fly
And I would catch you
I would catch your fall

1997 was a rough year for celebrity ... Jeff Buckley, Princess Diana, and our shining star, Michael Hutchence. Almost twenty-five years on, we still awe at his wonder and talent. We were sad by his early and public demise. His daughter, Tigerlilly, has grown into a philanthropic young woman that he would be so proud of. The band, while still popular in memory, is struggling to have life after Hutch. He was more than the glue that kept the band together. He amplified the members of the band, bringing out their best with his charisma and charm. 

Much is being done to remember Michael properly, aside from tabloids and docu-dramas. His fans want to learn about the man and musician. His family wants people to remember the man they loved. It is safe to say that Michael is still miss so very dearly and that his legend grows as the years pass.

November still 22nd hangs in my heart so heavy - the day Michael's smile faded into obscurity and his legend tarnished with the actions of his final years. But still, we grieve, we mourn, and we celebrate the caramel rock god of our adolescence.

It's been 25 years since INXS lost their magnetic north. INXS exists now only in our memories...and what glorious memories they are.

Fancy dinner parties, ballerinas on the Charles Bridge, red desert sunsets, beautiful blondes, brunettes, Mad Max underworlds, and motorcycles in Hong Kong painted the video world of INXS. Live Baby Live gave us the Michael we all know. He enthralled the 74,000 fans in attendance at Wembley, making us sway back and forth like high school lovers when we heard the first notes of Never Tear Us Apart and The Stairs. He was a musician, actor, son, brother, friend, and father. What he gave to us and to his fellow band mates are incredible memories cemented forever in some of the best times of our lives. 

Again, I must thank my flat mates in Sydney for taking that very hot trek to see Michael's memorial. Who knew how many cemeteries there were in suburban Sydney. It was a nod to my past and the musical memories he gave me. I had to thank the man I crushed on for years. It was hard to think how quickly his bright star could quickly be diminished. And thank you Bono for the moment under the Brooklyn Bridge, hugging on November 22, 2004 in memory of your friend. 

In our hearts, he lives on as the charismatic lead singer. In our memories, he is the sad ending of a paparazzi nightmare. In our ears, his voice will be forever golden.  

What You Need: INXS Listen Like Thieves at 30

October 14, 1985 was the release date of INXS's fifth album, Listen Like Thieves. It was the final album of their worldwide obscurity. While in Australia, they were already sensational superstars, songs like What You Need would finally begin to trickle over to the US. Let's take a look at what made Thieves a classic.

What You Need
This song was made famous in the US because of its groundbreaking and award winning video. The rotoscope animation technique gave What You Need a new wave feel and added the pop animation that 80's music fans were feeling entitled to. Kirk Pengilly's sax riff and Michael Hutchence's sultry voice was a glimpse at what the future INXS would give us.

Listen Like Thieves
Sadly, not many know this gorgeous cinematic video, Mad Maxian video. And strangely enough, the apocalyptic montage fits the song well. Again, the future and static INXS sound is solidified in this song.

You are all you need
So don't hesitate
There's no time to waste
You just do it for yourself

Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain)
The video for this song should be an Australian travel commercial. The red sand desert, the blazing sun, and the gigantic fire the backlights the band are the perfect backdrop for the Australian proud band. It's a song about love, getting hurt, and doing it all over again.

 

Shine Like it Does
If there is one thing about INXS lyrics, it is that they are very simple, but hard hitting and true. Shine Like It Does is no exception. Made up of not even twenty lines, its message is simple: do your best.

Good Times + Bad Times
This one is more reminiscent of the bands previous album, The Swing. While not a huge hit, it was resurrected with Australian singer, Jimmy Barnes.


Biting Bullets
Another hidden gem in the lyric library of INXS. This song is full of symbolism and metaphors set to a toe tapping 80's rhythm.

I loose myself like anybody else
But I'm not so strong to make it in the end
I need some answers when
The day comes crashing down
But it's all over when there's
No one to be found



 

This Time
Lots of love songs on this album. A song about love, loss, and finding each other again.

We are hoping - yes we are praying

This time will be the last time

That we will fight like this

 

Same Direction
Love, love, love. This love song has the beat of a march off to the war of love.

One + One
Lots of saxophone and more love, and promises to be there through the night, if you know what I mean. Michael's troubadour is definitely in full swing in this song.

Red Sun
A fitting final song of the album. It's an amalgam of the old and the new and a perfect segue into KICK.