Ten familiar tunes have tonight been announced by Arts Minister Peter Garrett as the 2008 entries for the National Film and Sound Archive’s (NFSA) Sounds of Australia National Registry of Recorded Sound.
Mr Garrett said the registry recognised the cultural importance of these classic tunes which would be so familiar to many Australians.
“This list includes classic tunes like the Aeroplane Jelly Song and Slim Dusty’s Pub With no Beer, as well as the song that is almost our ‘second’ national anthem – Waltzing Matilda.
“They are ten songs that have helped shape our national identity and this registry is a fitting celebration of their place in Australia’s rich sounds heritage.
The full 2008 Sounds of Australia entries are:
1919 Country Gardens (piano roll) Percy Grainger
1927 Waltzing Matilda – John Collinson (vocal), Russell Callow (piano)
1930 The 1930 Australian XI: Winners of the Ashes
1938 The Aeroplane Jelly Song – Joy Wigglesworth (Joy King)
1949 Theme from Blue Hills – Hamner’s Pastorale
1957 Pub With No Beer – Slim Dusty
1967 Irkanda IV (Peter Sculthorpe) Leonard Dommett (violin), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/John Hopkins
1968 Bird and Animal Calls of Australia
1972 Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy) – Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs
1981 We Have Survived – No Fixed Address
Paolo Cherchi Usai, Executive Director of the NFSA said, “ I am delighted at the huge public response to this round of Sounds of Australia. The Registry was launched to help ensure that Australia’s sound heritage will be heard into the future and, given the wide interest Australians have in the recorded sounds of history, I have no doubt we will be continuing to celebrate Sounds of Australia for many years to come.”
The ten recordings were unveiled as part of NFSA’s first Sound Day at a gala evening including a performance by Sounds of Australia 2008 Patron Renée Geyer, the Inaugural Thomas Rome Lecture, delivered by former international music industry executive Michael Smellie and a concert by Jolt, an experimental troupe of robotic violins.
Launched in 2007 by the NFSA, Sounds of Australia is a public list of Australian recordings that celebrates the unique and diverse recorded sound culture and history of Australia. Nominations for the Sounds of Australia are received from the general public throughout the year with the final selected listed based on the recommendation of a panel of experts.
The Minister for the Arts, Peter Garrett, also launched a CD of the 2007 Sounds of Australia listing produced in partnership between the NFSA and the ABC as part of the special evening.
The public can access the 2008 Sounds of Australia at:
http://www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/soundsofaustralia
Nominations for 2009 additions to the Sounds of Australia registry are now open. The nomination form is available at www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/soundsofaustralia
[Release from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts office]