Silverchair

There’s something almost exhaustingly heroic about learning of a trio of 15 year olds playing the music that first came out of Silverchair. It’s as if by simply creating the music they were at such a young age, they made everyone older than tham feel like we were simply wasting our lives away while simultaneously admiring them for being so unexpectedly matured with their music. I always felt as though if I were younger than they were, it would have blown me away even more with the idea that something like this was even possible.

Of course, if you followed them through the flickering neon door that led into the rest of their career, you’d understand that those first tastes of really Aussie sounding rock was kiddy play time compared to where they ended up.

If you remember 1995, we were in the midst of a global, bogan styled, highly and openly resentful shift. Sub cultures were blossoming all over the planet. The rise and rise of the true counter-culture was picking up speed, and in some ultimately saddening scenarios, being stopped in their tracks. *insert image here of peoples faces when they heard about Kurts death*

How Australian radio managed to keep Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ on the charts for so long I’ll never know. [I just heard a collective “ohh, don’t be so harsh Mykie…it wasn’t that bad a song”]…all I’m saying is that I just don’t think it should hold the mantle of being at No.1 longer than any other song in the entire decade of the 90’s, thats all. FYI, this piece of useless information is unfortunately true. May shame wash over all of us.

But as the world battled its way toward understanding that if we had to include one counter-culture, we had to kind of accept them all, it was if one of these breakthrough genres would be the catalyst for the larger audiences to broaden their view on world music. I really do believe that this was what the grunge scene was. Kind of a midway point between disposable pop and those genres of music that we never thought would make it onto our radios which at the time would lead to sales at the record store.

The only comparison I can fathom was the shift in music cultures during the late 60’s, early 70’s. Like a forced awakening simply by the popularity of the music and what it did inside of us who listened.

…Oh shit….Silverchair! I’m so sorry. I meandered there a little but as a life long Silverchair fan, I can most definitely begin to understand what might have inspired three boys from Newcastle to make a band and play the kind of music they created. Maybe thats why I meandered a little. Because I often am truly thankful of the era of music I grew up in but also often consider that to be between the ages of 16 through 23-ish. That same era of music hit these lads at 11. How can that not shape your entire outlook on what kind of music makes you tick.

Released before their debut album ‘Frogstomp’ came out, ‘Tomorrow’ went double platinum [2 million  sales] and topped charts in Australia, New Zealand, The US and Canada. …and they were fucking 15! It still blows my mind. How they got through that time with their heads screwed on straight I’ll never know [DJ’s later health issues will probably pick a fight with me about that one]. But I think that was what I liked so much about them in the first place. They just looked like good dudes. Never too showy. Never too talkie-talkie. Just made killer music.

When you watch the music video to ‘Tomorrow’ over again, its pretty clear that they [am assuming the production company here…not so much the band] wanted to mimic the Nirvana essence. In fact its rather blatant. I spose if you had three teenage boys who sounded like that with the lead singer being a little shy with messy blonde hair, it’s not exactly a climb up the big slide to see why. But they pulled it off. Even as I watch it, I think Nirvana but in the name of baby Jesus, it didn’t fucking matter. The music was awesome.

And as they won award after award, the entire country just began to realise that they were sticking around. Album after album would churn out at least a few good singles and by the time we got to the turn of the Millenia, they had three decent albums and were just rocking through life playing some of the biggest stadiums out there. By 2001, they were playing to 250,000 people in Rio.

During the latter part of the 90’s their music became more accepted through Europe and South America which has been attributed to them maturing as artists [Let’s all just take a moment to realise they were only twenty at this stage] and it all looked like the world was at their feet. I spose I followed them through their commercial success…I spose. I can’t really remember to be honest. They were just Silverchair. That was until Diorama…and Daniel’s diagnosis.

OK, so I’m fairly resigned to the fact that I’m probably never gonna get on personal terms with Daniel Johns enough to really hear about what impact his diagnosis of anorexia nervosa did to his outlook toward both the band as well as his own life, but from the outside, it always seemed to me that as he became more withdrawn and introverted, his [their] music became better and better.

Diorama for me is one of the most outstanding rock albums of all time. The work, effort and finessing of the tracks, how their positioned on the album and the magnitude of their maturity was astounding. I think all of that comes with hindsight, because the real test for any album that stands the test of time is how much you don’t think about it when you listen to it. It’s just joy and every listen seems to get better and better.

Admittedly I was facing some big challenges around 2002 so falling back on music that really hit the mark was somewhat of a survival mechanism. I’m pretty confident that my future self will probably pat me on the back and say “Great call Mykie” because for anyone who has allowed this album to grow on them, will understand when I say that this is truly Daniel Johns’ masterpiece. The complexities on this album are there for all to hear. And you probs know most the tracks anyhow, but I was lucky enough to be married to a woman who appreciates them nearly more than I do so we would spend many hours listening and simultaneously appreciating how intricate the melodies were vs the orchestral arrangements that just happened to be provided by Van Dyke Parks [Look him up…he’s a fucking legend].

I could start reeling off tracks at this point, but as time went on, Daniel Johns’ voice became as familiar to our home as any artist we knew. [Great for calming the soul when attempting to drown out a whole lot of new human crying] and the album became one long 58min track that twisted and turned into so many beautiful avenues that I remember wondering if we’d ever get an album like it again. As a matter of consequence, we naturally followed his struggle through live performances and appearances and really honestly though that after they had a hiatus after Diorama, that they were kinda done. As I mentioned before, I can’t imagine what such immediate success did to them from a pressure point of view. But Daniel looked like he was crumbling.

At this point, even though this post is about Silverchair, during this period between albums, DJ created an album with Paul Mac that is friggen incredible. Never really got huge props, but their creation of ‘The Dissociatives’ and partnering album is genius. Just sayin’.

Then, in 2007 the boys get the band back together after their hiatus and out comes Young Modern. An album that I think warrants more recognition that it gets. Not sure if the boys knew it was gonna be their last. I’m sure Ben and Chris could keep on keeping on, but Daniel has always felt fragile. I really hate to make the comparisons, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if Kurt had lived that his life may have gone a similar route. Its that raw, open book of a young male leader that performs when required, but their vulnerability which makes them so brilliant can also be their achilles heel.

Regardless of everyones opinions though, I have always admired Daniel. I think that anyone who can traverse a life like that, deal with illness and continue to evolve is someone who has jumped through enough hoops to last five lifetimes. I’m just thankful that he managed to filter it through his music for me to enjoy.

If you haven’t listened to SC for a while, you may wanna listen to a few of their later albums with a more mature ear. It’s music that will stand the test of time. Of that I’m sure.

M/

~ Article updated August 2019