Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MUSIC
Sydney offers the traveller everything from world-class opera and intimate jazz to indigen-
ous hip hop, live electronic beats and raucous pub rock. Gigs happen every night in the
city's pubs and performance halls, with plenty of big-name touring artists enriching the
mix.
In the 1970s and '80s Australia churned out a swag of iconic pub rockers, with Sydney
bands INXS and Midnight Oil at the forefront. During the '90s and noughties, when guitar
bands came back into vogue, contrary Sydney popped a pill and headed to the disco. Most
of the significant Australian acts of the era formed elsewhere, with the exception of garage
rockers the Vines and the Cops, cartoon punks Frenzal Rhomb, singer-songwriter Alex
Lloyd and jangly sentimentalists the Whitlams. In the meantime, Sydney's most successful
musical export was children's novelty act the Wiggles.
However, things have been looking up in recent years, with the city turning out the likes
of electro popsters the Presets, hard rockers Front End Loader, folky siblings Angus &
Julia Stone, alternative rock lads Boy & Bear and indie disco kids the Jezabels.
Australia loves its pop stars and dance divas, and is currently churning them out at a rate
of knots in reality-TV shows. While most inevitably sink without a trace, Sydneysiders
Guy Sebastian and Altiyan Childs have gone on to have considerable hits. Others have
taken the more traditional route to pop stardom: starring in a cheesy soap opera. Melbourne
can lay claim to Kylie, but Sydney makes do with Delta Goodrem and Natalie Imbruglia.
Sydney loves to cut a rug, and you'll find a bit of everything being played around the
dance clubs, from drum and bass to electro. Homegrown dance music is made by the likes
of Bag Raiders and Art vs Science, and spun by popular DJs such as Tom Piper, Timmy
Trumpet, Kid Kenobi and Ajax.
With an opera house as its very symbol, no discussion of Sydney's musical legacy is
complete without mentioning Dame Joan Sutherland (1926-2010), the Eastern Beaches
lass who became one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century. Her legacy can be
seen in the success of Opera Australia and singers such as Cheryl Barker.
SYDNEY PLAYLIST
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'Khe Sanh' (Cold Chisel, 1978) Classic Oz rock song about a Vietnam vet's return. Other Sydney songs by
Cold Chisel include 'Tomorrow', 'Numbers Fall' and 'Letter to Alan'.
