Image from a set of collecting cards depicting the story of a Chinese governor who is captured by French sailors, c. 1900
Say what you will about President Obama, but he has something important that no previous US President has had - indie-pop cred. In one of the strangest (and least important) stories I've heard in recent memory, President Obama may have quoted Australian pop group the Guild League in his speech to the joint session of Congress. According to the Huffington Post (or "Huffpo", as it is called by a certain subset of people you don't want to be stuck talking to at a cocktail party), the phrase "the quiet burden of their absence" was used by the President. Supposedly, this phrase can be verifiably traced back to the song "Shirtless Sky" from the Guild League's Inner North album. I don't really know what this means (Obama is in favor of shirtless skies?), except that some weird stuff can make its way into your speeches when you have a 27-year-old Director of Speechwriting.
I don't own any Guild League records, but I've been trying to track them down for a while because head League-r Tali White is in one of my favorite current Aussie bands, the Lucksmiths. The Lucksmiths trade in highly literate and not overwhelmingly masculine folk-pop, with drummer White doing the singing (even though guitarist Marty Donald writes most of the lyrics). Their 2005 album Warmer Corners is a great release, although it's not a good choice if you're looking for music with a lot of "oomph" to it. Want proof that the Lucksmiths aren't concerned with looking tough? Exhibit A: "Great Lengths", a song about getting made fun of by your girlfriend for freaking out when a firework goes off unexpectedly on New Year's Eve.
"Great Lengths" by the Lucksmiths
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