YOWIEHUB

Hey everyone,

I bet you’re wondering why we haven’t posted in a while. Well, it’s kind of a long story. EOFY drinks got a liiiiiitle rowdier than we expected. Boof organised a cruise around Springbank Island where we could ‘shoot the shit’ (that’s Yowie expeditionary slang for get absolutely blind). 

So, time flew by and before we knew it was 15 July. We then made a pact to never tell anyone about the events of that cruise ever again (luckily, I had my fingers crossed). 

But now that we’re back in the Springbank Island Bungalow, there’s no better time for us to share our contenders for Triple J’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (Yowie Edition). In this post, we will share what the crew have been listening to on repeat, and the hidden Yowie sub-culture that influenced their creation.

Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head 

As many Australians are aware, Kylie is a long time yowie enthusiast. Can’t Get You Out Of My Head is a love letter to the genre and to the pioneering yowie researchers whose shoulders we stand on today. 

The conception of Can’t Get You Out Of My Head is actually a funny story. Back in the late 80s, before Kylie skyrocketed to stardom, she was hiking along the Bilbbulmun Track in Western Australia which had just opened looking for inspiration. Always finding herself inspired by nature, she underwent a two month pilgrimage to find her voice, define her sensational-style, and most importantly, inspire her music catalogue. 

And she did just that. About six weeks into her trail, Kylie noticed that she wasn’t alone when setting up camp near the redwood giants of Albany. She couldn’t see who it was, and mistakenly thought it was a fellow traveller who had just arrived. She walked over to where she heard the noise and to her surprise a 9 foot tall yowie was there doing a headstand (our research shows yowies do headstands to re-compress after a long day of schmoozing). 

Needless to say, she was stunned. The yowie, not noticing that Kylie was staring, soon started making odd, repetitive sounds from the front of its mouth. Now we researchers know that yowies make these nonsensical sounds as a release for trauma, and follow it up with some affirmations before holding a padmasana pose for an hour. But to Kylie, all she heard was “la-la-la, lala-la-lala” again and again. She repeated what she heard out into a familiar melody, and the yowie, understandable spooked, ran away. Right before it escaped into the bushes, Kylie yelled “won’t you stay?”.

That scene played in her head every day. And some 15 odd years down the line, she couldn’t seem to get the memory out of her head (familiar?). 

Some songs just write themselves. But who would have thought one of Australia’s greatest songs was actually the culmination of years of rumination about a fleeting encounter with a yowie in the wilderness? Fact is stranger than fiction I suppose. 

John Farnham – You’re the Voice

We’ve talked about Kylie finding her voice, but what about the rest of us? Well, that’s the question Johnny boy answers with his greatest single You’re the Voice. In what is his biggest love letter to the genre (to date), You’re the Voice was written in response to an anti-nuclear demonstration in London.

Now I know you’re thinking, “Cinna, what on earth does this song have to do with yowies?”. Very little. 

The reason this song was included is because it’s YowieHub’s anthem. When we were cruising in Boof’s Tanker doing water doughies around Springbank Island Bungalow, there was a solid 5 hours where we played this song on loop and sang along. 

“You’re the voice, try and understand it”. What does it mean to you? Well, to us, it’s about wanting to understand the natural world. And what’s our voice you ask? Well, it’s this blog! YowieHub is the reason we’re able to live everyday doing something we’re passionate about, and that is understanding yowies and rigorously documenting their behaviours in hopes of bettering the world around us. There is a lot for us to learn, and Johnny boy reminds us to “Make a noise and make it clear” and also to “Oh-wo-wo-wo, oh-wo-wo-wo”. 

Powderfinger – My Happiness

Powderfinger’s My Happiness has been a subject of mystery since its release in the 2000s. Is it about love? Is it about loneliness? Whatever it is, ‘happiness’ plays a big part. And so does the individual.  Perhaps the lyrics shed some light. 

I see your shadow on the street now.

Shadow huh. Interesting! 

I hear you push through the rusty gate. 

Click of your heels on the concrete. 

Heels. Take note. Let’s keep going.

Waiting for a knock coming way too late. 

And there we are. Hook, line, and sinker; My Happiness is clearly about a yowie. 

An ominous figure (shadow), trespassing on abandoned property (rusty) in a conspicuous manner (click of your heels). That sounds pretty Yowie-like to me! Why? Well, our field observations have found that solitary adult yowie develop hardened foot pads which make a clicking sound upon contact with concrete. 

And what about the last line you say? Well the Yowie’s cousin, the Sasquatch, is known to make knocking sounds. 

Wow. Powderfinger really did their research writing this love letter to the genre. 

Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know [Ft. Kimbra]

A love letter to the genre. Sitting right next to a loved one you’ve known your whole life while feeling the most distant you ever had. Resentment building between you both because you cannot seem to articulate your emotions. You each make attempts to be recognised, to be perceived, to be heard. But the person who once kept you grounded in the present no longer notices. 

The painful nostalgia of ‘better times’ is a human experience known by all. The desire to escape reality, brought about by the belief that the world we live in is entirely due to our own agency. Including our closest romantic partners. When confronted with the present, we’re confronted with reality. And to stop ourselves from being pained we isolate and idealise. People transform from who we know into people who we thought we knew. 

Distance. Loneliness. Emptiness. These are all too familiar feelings to a yowie researcher. When you’re out in the field for weeks on end, you have a lot of time to reflect and learn from your past. Being away from everything and with yowies in nature has healing effects on one’s soul. Gotye’s song captures the inner struggle each yowie researcher experiences. 

Bernard Fanning – Wish You Well

Absolute chune! Love letter to the genre. 

Natalie Imbruglia – Torn

In a full 180 from the other songs in this list, Torn by Natalie Imbruglia is actually about a keystone event in Yowie History. 

In 1935, yowie researchers in Darwin created the first Yowie Zeppelin. The goal was to fly across the Atlantic and raise awareness on cryptozoology in a world with rising geopolitical tensions. Unfortunately, Baz and Keith flew the zeppelin too close to the Himalayas, causing the Zeppelin to snag on Everest and tear. The Zeppelin flew out of control landing in Kathmandu, where its ruins currently remain as a reminder of man’s hubris. 

Some academics speculate that the reason for stopping by the Himalayas was to simultaneously scope out for the yowie’s more mysterious tundra cousins, the Yeti. Others, simply believe they were lost. 

Natalie took influence from this story, cross referenced prominent academic William Dalrymple, Mary Beard and Neil Diamond to create her love letter to the genre. Torn is told from the perspective of Keith, whose naked remains were found on Everest years later by the great Sir Edmund Hilary as read in his biography. This is made most evident when we look at the chorus’ lyrics. 

I’m all out of faith, this is how I feel

I’m cold and I am shamed

Lying naked on the floor

Illusion never changed

Wow. Chills. 

Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning

Midnight Oil wrote “Beds Are Burning” to criticise how said populations were often removed from their lands, highlighted by the pre-chorus lines “it belongs to them, let’s give it back”. Considering such a local affair inspired a worldwide hit, Garrett commented “Who would have thought an Aboriginal land rights song would travel that far?”

No jokes here. It’s a love letter to the genre and Yowie Hub supports this message.

Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl

This is actually sung by adolescent yowies who are in heat. A love letter to the genre.

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

It’s no secret that Kevin Parker is a huge yowie and cryptid enthusiast. Parker developed the album concept for Innerspeaker while doing mushrooms on his first yowie expedition. After hours of exploring the Grampians, Kevin decided to have a break on a toadstool and take a few grams. As he was coming up, he noticed strange shadows observing him for a distance. When he looked closer, he realised that they were yowies. 

In a similar fashion to pop culture icon Sassy the Sasquatch, they joined Kevin and shared a magical trip together. The next day, Kevin woke up and realised the significance of his trip. We went and immediately created the track Lucidity. 

Innerspeaker was a success, but Kevin’s ties to the yowie community was scrutinised by the media. They lambasted him, claiming he had gone insane. The fallout from the media led Kevin into seeking isolation. It’s here where he created Lonerism. 

So it comes as no surprise that The Less I Know The Better, is a social commentary on the media’s reaction to Kevin’s groundbreaking yowie expedition. The song truly is a love letter to the genre. 

Nikki Webster – Strawberry Kisses

This one is obvious, need we say more? (Love letter to the genre)

Much love

Cinna