Soundcheck

Lights illuminate the Sydney Opera House at night. (h.dot/flickr)

From a Land Down Under

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Australia is home to a thriving native music industry but many of its top musicians never make it to American shores. Today, we find out what's distinctive about Australian music, and we feature some live music from down under, courtesy of the band Augie March. Also: the unclassifiable music of The Real Tuesday Weld (think: 1920s style vintage cabaret with trip hop rhythms and cinematic strings).

Listen to the whole show

Crikey! Australian Rock 101

To hit it big, Australian rock musicians have to work even harder than their American and European counterparts. Geographic isolation and expensive travel costs are just a couple of the hurdles Aussie musicians face. (And try finding a vegamite sandwich in New York.) Today, Rolling Stone magazine's David Fricke explains.

Australian Music on Wikipedia

Augie March

The band Augie March's third album, "Moo, You Bloody Choir," has gone platinum and nabbed major awards in their native Australia. Yet they've yet to make a big dent in the States in 10 years as a band. We talk to the members of Augie March about breaking out of the Australian music industry, plus the band performs live in our studio.

Augie March's Web site

The Real Tuesday Weld

British band The Real Tuesday Weld is known for producing jazzy cabaret-style music with subtle electronica influences. It's a style dubbed "antique beat" by lead singer and founder Stephen Coates. Coates joins us to share the band's latest album, "The London Book of the Dead."

The Real Tuesday Weld web site