Post #4430219

2026-08-07 10:14 UTC

A brief departure from my usual fare of neglected 1920s songs this time, prompted by reading that it's fifty years since Australian art school band Mental As Anything got together. It was a toss-up as to whether I picked this song or their 1979 track "The Nips Are Getting Bigger," but in the end I opted for the more widely known of the two, written by the late Greedy Smith, which achieved international success after featuring in "Crocodile Dundee." It's a quite beautiful, uplifting piece that benefits from also being tremendously catchy, paired with a goofily stylish video that was perfect for the booming MTV era. As for playing it, basically G, Em, D and C are your companions throughout, aside from F#m and Bm making a single appearance each in the middle eight. https://youtu.be/g5B8AFvWk8Y #Ukulele #MentalAsAnything #1980s

Replies (1)

@BigJackBrass@social.vivaldi.net 2026-08-07 10:22

The trad-jazz revival, which ran from roughly the end of the '50s to the very early '70s, was particularly inspired by records from the '20s with a few years at either end. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, in particular, scoured market stalls and junk shops in '60s London to find 78s containing new-to-them music for a few pennies. Looked at that way, playing "Live It Up" here in 2026 isn't any different from from what those bands in the '60s were doing with songs from forty years before. #Music #SlightlyDepressing #FeelingOldNow

Open ##4430218