I still remember the opening chords to "The One Thing" on MTV, and when I looked up to the television, there was Michael Hutchence slinking on the screen. That was my introduction to INXS, and by the close of that video, with the table of aphrodisiacs and suggestive food play, I was a fan. At the time, I'd no idea that they were from Australia, and it just so happened that I'd stumbled upon my first Australian Rules Football match (Go Bombers!!) around the same time. So, the combination of INXS and the AFL really peaked my interest in things Australian.
Meanwhile, INXS just kept pumping out one great song after another. "Don't Change" is a total early classic. My friends and I felt so "cutting edge" and trendy for professing our awareness and appreciation of INXS. I also had a crush three members of the band, something I didn't share with my friends at the time.
I must say that my two favorite albums from INXS are "The Swing" and "Listen Like Thieves." I can listen to those albums on repeat, and on each listen the goodness just pours right back into my ears. The following is a listing (with YouTube links) to some of my favorite songs from those two albums:
"Johnson's Aeroplane"
"The Swing"
"Dancing on the Jetty"
"What You Need"
"Kiss the Dirt"
"Listen Like Thieves"
The last INXS album from my adolescence was "Kick," and those at my undergrad who dogged INXS shut up following "Need You Tonight" and "Mediate." By the time "New Sensation," Devil Inside" and "Never Tear Us Apart" were released, INXS was blaring all over campus.
It still pains me that Michael Hutchence is no longer with us. I think he had one of the great voices of our generation. Here are some vids from "Kick" as a reminder.
1 comment:
You summed up my thoughts on a very good 80s band. Remember listening to Shabooh Shabah, The Swing, and of course Listen Like Thieves and Kick.
Great energy, even on the "ballads."
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