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Hey dude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad suburb, and make it better
Remember to let it into your heart
We need your art to make it better
Hey dude, don’t be afraid
Move into this low-status neighbourhood
The minute you walk around looking hip
Then you begin to make it better
And every time we raise the rent, hey dude, relent
You carry investments on your shoulders
Enthusiastically organize events
And decorate retail strips with posters
Hey dudes, don’t let us down
We allowed you to rent our suburb
The minute you open up a cafe
You start to drive our house prices upwards
We let it out so you move in, hey dudes, begin
Exhibit your work in this old warehouse
Don’t forget to spread the vibe among your tribe
Then we can convert it to a sharehouse
Hey dude, don’t you delay
Get creative in this old neighbourhood
The minute the area’s looking hip
We’ll throw you out, and rent it to bankers
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha …
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2. |
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My memory-stick weighs a ton
Unfinished papers, a novel, an idea for a film
A budget spreadsheet from work, I'll finish tonight in bed
A PhD that will be written but not read
Yeah my memory-stick weighs a ton
Conference proceedings I hope to read before too long
Season four of the Wire, I'm still working my way through
Experimental improv downloaded but not listened to
My memory-stick weighs a ton
I need a big one
We're churning out files faster than they're consumed
I wonder if anybody's still making buildings and food?
My memory-stick weighs a ton
Song lyrics that ain't quite finished ...
Art magazine back issues in pdf format
Compilation of fifty obscure indie tracks
That's why my memory-stick weighs a ton
I've got a big one
Doing my duty, it's getting hard to keep up
White-collar culture is overflowing my cup
Every dude in zone one has become a media star
Not many getting paid - supply exceeds demand
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3. |
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Ooh you make me live
Whatever this world can do to me
It's you, you're all that I need
Ooh you're making me live now coffee
Ooh you make me live
You're the best friend that I ever had
Been with me such a long time
You're my sunshine
I do the same things every day of my life
I know you will too
You're my best friend
Ooh you make me live
When I've been running around
I come right back to you
In rain or shine, you're there on the sink, ready
You're my best friend
Ooh you make me live
Whenever this world is cruel to me
I got you to help me forgive
Ooo you make me live now junk food
Ooo you make me live
You're the first one
When I'm feeling down
I know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love the thing
I really love the thing that you do
You're my best friend
Ooh you make me live
Ooh you're my best friend
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4. |
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I dug the Birthday Party, idolized Nick Cave
Evangelized their music, converted all my mates
The revolution fizzled, working is my fate
They've sold us Bad Seeds records ever since on Triple-J
Media I gave you all the best years of my life
Facebook, MySpace, Mess and Noise for several hours a night
I spend my time convincing folk to pay rock stars attention
I can't afford to rent a room for my record collection
I go to arthouse cinemas several nights a week
I blog about the classics and buy the DVDs
Directors don't know who I am, or care that I exist
But I defend their work for hours at parties when I'm pissed
Media I gave you all the best years of my life
I tell the world about you on social network sites
When I'm not consuming you, I'm telling others to
And wishing I could hang around the people who make you
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5. |
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We rocked for anarchy, to stick it to the man
We'd bring down the upper classes - that was our plan
We all moved to Fitzroy when it was a dump
Our creative energy reversed a real estate slump
Now it's cool to live round here - everyone is copying us
Don't you remember? We built this suburb on indie rock!
We stopped the wrecking ball, campaigned to save the trees
Transformed unused store fronts into galleries
Ran cafes and venues, opened funky shops
Made it cool for guys in suits to live near our tram stops
Landlord's putting up the ramp - the revolution seems to have flopped
Don't the remember? We built this suburb on indie pop!
We moved out to Brunswick - now it's value grows
Northcote's worth a billion - onto Broadmeadows
You'd hope that by now, we'd have learned our lesson
Please come to the opening of my micro-gallery in Preston
Now I'm 45 and broke - my young landlord is into techno
Don't he remember? We built this suburb on indie rock
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released March 1, 2010