From their anthemic indie introduction with Sweater, which hit high rotation on the Triple J airwaves back in 1998, to debut at number one on the ARIA charts with their juggernaut LP Black Fingernails, Red Wine in 2006, Eskimo Joe has become a quintessential part of the Aussie music scene, always staying true to their roots – even when delivering back to back number one albums!
With a collection of all of their greatest and most renowned hits, The World Repeats Itself: The Best Of Eskimo Joe, arriving later this week (Dec 10th), we thought it the perfect time to dive into eight of the Aussie rock legends’ best music videos. Enjoy below!
‘Sweater’ [Recovery, 1998]
While not technically an official music video, it's fun to remember first meeting these future Oz rock titans on TV mainstay Recovery, lamenting on their very particular choice in thrift shop sweaters. It was what Saturday mornings were all about!
‘Who Sold Her Out’
From their 2001 LP Girl, this earworm will be stuck in your head for days! Steeped in self-confessional lyrical ambiguity, the music video finds the trio on the wrong side of luck, forced to dine and dash when they can't pay a particularly intimidating restauranteur.
‘Planet Earth’
Another from the Girl tracklisting, Planet Earth takes us on the set of the 'Jack Jones' show – which has one of the most enviable guest lineups in the business!
‘Wake Up’
Mornings aren't easy, but this ode to the joys of waking up certainly puts a surrealist spin on the concept with black and white cardboard bobbleheads that give the clip horror movie vibes, despite all the sunny descriptions.
‘From the Sea’
Eskimo Joe's big hit off their second album A Song Is A City, From the Sea arrived with this beautiful music video featuring synchronised swimmers dancing to the emotive ballad like ballerinas... from the sea.
‘Sarah’
Another classic live cut we simply couldn't go past! Sarah was the second single released from their 2006 smash, Black Fingernails, Red Wine. During an interview with Max Sessions, singer Kev Temperly revealed the song was actually about a friend of his named Sarah who kept bugging him to write a song about her. So, he started writing with light-hearted snarkiness in the verses, however, during the writing process, his friend Sarah was taken into major surgery, changing the direction of the song, introduced by the chorus lyric "emergency'.
‘Foreign Land’
The first single from their fourth studio album Inshalla gave us a taste of the stadium-sized anthems that were to follow! The music video continues the trend of From the Sea, giving the songs story life through beautiful choreography and suspended dancers.
‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’
Black Fingernails, Red Wine was MASSIVE! Anyone who lived in Australia throughout 2006, and in the years that followed could attest. Quite appropriately, the band took a cinematic approach to the music video for the mega-hit, roaming through the night as moralles mobsters wreaking havoc on... well, just in case you've forgotten, we won't spoil the ending twist!
The World Repeats Itself: The Best Of Eskimo Joe features of all the band's greatest hits, featuring nationally beloved tracks like 2006's Triple J's Hottest 100 #2 Black Fingernails, Red Wine, Number 12 ARIA chart ranked Sarah and the certified gold Foreign Land. The career-spanning track includes tracks from their early EP Sweater in 1998, up to more recent releases like Ghost Of The Past in 2011.
The World Repeats Itself: The Best Of Eskimo Joe is out on vinyl, CD and digital on Friday, December 10th. Check out the awesome bundles available to pre-order, here.
GET ESKIMO JOE ALBUMS, HERE.
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