Massive fangirl of Laurie Anderson over here - you can blame my time at The University of Adelaide for that one. Seriously, Laurie Anderson is one of THE GREATS of experimental music and is worthy of the word artist.
O Superman is a beautiful and angelic piece that requires multiple listens to really appreciate the depth that comes with the lyrics, the vocoder, the vocal layering, the synths... I could go on and on. O Superman is incidentally the piece I would recommend people who don't listen to experimental music to start with when it comes to Laurie Anderson's work.
Reranking this was actually really difficult for me. I adoreO Superman. At the same time though, it's not catchy in the same way that The Cicada (That At Five Dock) is, but is just as artistic as The Mercy Seat, albeit in very different ways. In the end, I have gone with O Superman at #2 - it's a brilliant work of art, but sometimes you want something that's a bit more catchy.
(Special thanks to Mark Gibson of Australian Music History - your website is really something special... it's not only a great resource, but is allowing people that haven't seen each other for years to get back in touch and reunite.)
And of course a crazy-obscure Australian band had to show up at some point during this list... I just wasn't expecting it to be the third song in.
What the internet can tell me about Outline is fairly limited. They formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1982. Apparently one of the band members, Phil Rigger, joined Dee Minor and the Dischords for a gig at The Annadale on May 25, 2013. The song in question, The Cicada (That Ate Five Dock), was released as a single in April 1981, and included in their only album, Maybe It's A Game, in 1982.
Watch their PV:
I was most certainly not born in the 1980s (1990 girl here!), but I wish I grew up in the 80s. Naturally, I'm left with many questions...
How how how how how the hell did Outline not end up with any mainstream success? Seriously! Cicada has all of the trademarks of a number one hit: catchy sound, notable lyrics that demand you screech and sing along to them (EEE EEE EEE EEE! EEE EEE EEE EEE! Cicaaaahdaaaah... cicaaaaaaahdaaaahh... Cicaaaahdaaaah... cicaaaaaaaaahdaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh... THAT! ATE! FIVE! DOCK!), around the 3 minute ballpark lengthand a decent enough PV definitely suited for television.
(To anyone that was in Outline, should they ever stumble upon my little project here:) WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY DID YOU DISBAND? The fact that one of your songs was remembered eight years after it was released is a testament to your awesomeness. Also, why did you guys never consider reforming? Did you even know you were included in the Hottest 100?
It's little gems like this that make me want to reorganise my place so I have some room to set up a vinyl player and find fantastic music like this... Is it strange that I do have a small vinyl collection even though I have nothing to play them on?
Addendum @ 3:00 am 9th March 2014: OUTLINE HAVE REFORMED!!!!!!!! *arm flailing* I am much excite, and I need to internet moar. Find Outine on their official page (complete with mailing list!), Facebook and Reverb Nation.
