Australian music video clips are curated all the time by professional musicians guest-hosting on Rage, the country’s ABC-TV long-standing weekend institution.
Access to 1970s and 1980s video archives from Countdown have given Rage an impressive library of video gold.
FROM MIX TAPES TO PLAYLISTS
Rage has now inspired a spin-off genre – the Millennial equivalent of the Mix Tape from the Eighties – the 21st century Spotify and iTunes playlist. Many of these contain long-lost 20th century Australian music finds – rarities or one-hit wonders. There is more to Daddy Cool and Ross Wilson than Eagle Rock.
ROCKARENA AND SUZANNE DOWLING
There are many excellent sources for Australian music video on YouTube but one starting point is the ABC-TV series Rockarena, hosted by Suzanne Dowling – featured below on the cover of RAM.
THE PEOPLE’S PLAYLISTS
What about Australian music fans, though? How do they rate the nation’s best-loved tracks and the clips that go with them? Here are a couple to try.
Like the biro-scribbled cassette mix tapes of 30 years ago, they are the work of passionate fans, rather than professional programmers, but maybe that’s what makes them so interesting, if you want to uncover Australian albums and singles.
YouTube – The People’s Choice – Great Australian Playlists