Something in the Water (film) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Something in the Water is a 2008

2008 in film

This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...

Australian

Cinema of Australia

Cinema of Australia, more commonly referred to as the Australian film industry, refers to the system of production, distribution, and exhibition of films in Australia. Film production commenced in Australia in 1906 with the production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film made...

documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

written and directed by Aidan O'Bryan. Using live, archival, and interview footage shot in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, and Windsor

Windsor, Berkshire

Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....

in Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, it explores the history and environment behind the development of local and nationally acclaimed musical talent in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

.

The film was funded by Perth media production company WBMC, headed by screenwriter/director Aidan O'Bryan and producer Janelle Landers.

The film follows the rise to fame of some of Western Australia's most successful musicians. Something in the Water features more than fifty interviews with bands including Little Birdy

Little Birdy

Little Birdy are an Australian indie rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue...

, The Waifs

The Waifs

The Waifs are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by Josh Cunningham , and sisters Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson...

, The Sleepy Jackson

The Sleepy Jackson

The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Luke Steele...

, Eskimo Joe

Eskimo Joe

Eskimo Joe is an Australian alternative rock band formed by Stuart MacLeod on guitars, Joel Quartermain on drums and guitar and Kavyen Temperley on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia in 1997....

, End of Fashion

End of Fashion

End of Fashion are an Australian power pop band from Perth, Western Australia. The band consists of singer and guitarist Justin Burford, guitarist Rodney Aravena, bassist Simon Fasolo, and drummer Mike Hobbs. The group gained mainstream attention with their 2005 single "O Yeah", which reached...

, Jebediah

Jebediah

Jebediah is an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. The group consists of vocalist and guitarist Kevin Mitchell, guitarist Chris Daymond, bassist Vanessa Thornton, and Kevin's brother Brett Mitchell on drums...

, Le Hoodoo Gurus

Hoodoo Gurus

Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman , Mark Kingsmill , and Brad Shepherd...

, The Panics

The Panics

The Panics are an ARIA Award–winning indie rock band originally from Perth, Western Australia, and currently based in Melbourne, Victoria.-History:...

and Red Jezebel

Red Jezebel

Red Jezebel is a four piece indie rock band from Perth, Western Australia.-Early years:The band competed in the WA final of the Australian National Campus Band Competition at North Perth's Planet Nightclub in 1997...

. The film asks whether Perth's talented spawn can be attributed to the city's isolation, the environment or the music scene itself, or whether there is, in fact, something in the water.

Something in the Water premiered at the Astor Theatre in Perth and had a limited theatrical run in that city. It later was shown at the FTI Fremantle Film Festival and the 2008 WAMi Festival. An accompanying two-disc compilation of various Western Australian artists became available via MGM Distribution

MGM Distribution

MGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....

as well as online in January 2009.

The film was screened on ABC2

ABC2

ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...

on 13 May 2009. Following this national broadcast, the film was released on DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

on 3 July 2009 via MGM Distribution

MGM Distribution

MGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....

. The DVD includes additional interview footage with Eskimo Joe

Eskimo Joe

, John Butler

John Butler (musician)

John Charles Wiltshire-Butler or John Charles Butler is an Australian musician, songwriter, record label owner and producer...

, The Triffids

The Triffids

The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...

, Dave Faulkner and Kim Salmon

Kim Salmon

Kim Leith Salmon is an Australian indie rock musician and songwriter, who attained fame in June 2004, when he was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Association Hall of Fame....

.

Some people have noted that the film neglects to mention some of the more notable Perth performers from the 1970s and even 1960s. While Johnny Young

Johnny Young

Johnny Young is an Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Netherlands, his family settled in Perth, Western Australia in the early 1950s...

makes an appearance, other performers like Glen Ingram & The Hi-Five, Bakery , The Elks, Fatty Lumpkin, Sid Rumpo, Dave Warner

Dave Warner

David Robert "Dave" Warner is an Australian rock musician, author and screenwriter.-Biography:Dave Warner was born in Bicton, Western Australia in 1953. He attended Aquinas College and then the University of Western Australia where he graduated with a B.A. , majoring in psychology...

, The Dugites

The Dugites

The Dugites were a Perth band who formed in the late '70s. The name refers to the brown venomous snake, the dugite, common in the area.-History:...

and Rip Torn & The Stockings and groundbreaking producer Martin Clark and his Clarion Records are completely ignored (although The Dugites do make an appearance on the film's soundtrack double CD release).

Featured entertainers

Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe is an Australian alternative rock band formed by Stuart MacLeod on guitars, Joel Quartermain on drums and guitar and Kavyen Temperley on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia in 1997....
Little Birdy
Little Birdy
Little Birdy are an Australian indie rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue...
John Butler Trio
John Butler Trio
The John Butler Trio are an eclectic roots and jam band from Australia led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums and Gavin Shoesmith on bass guitar...
The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Luke Steele...
The Triffids
The Triffids
The Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner and later joined by Richard Grossman , Mark Kingsmill , and Brad Shepherd...
The Scientists
The Scientists
The Scientists are an influential post-punk band from Perth, Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as Exterminators and then Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydney/London-based swamp rock band of the 1980s...
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
Baby Animals
Baby Animals
Baby Animals are a 1990s hard rock band from Australia.-Early history:The Baby Animals were formed in Sydney in 1989 by singer Suze DeMarchi, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise...
Red Jezebel
Red Jezebel
Red Jezebel is a four piece indie rock band from Perth, Western Australia.-Early years:The band competed in the WA final of the Australian National Campus Band Competition at North Perth's Planet Nightclub in 1997...
Schvendes
Schvendes
Schvendes are a band of brothers and sisters from Perth, Western Australia. They write stories about murder, mayhem, love and loss upon a background of gentle Rhodes piano, pounding drums, screaming guitar, soaring cello and vocals, which have been described as both sweet and terrifying...

Robbie Buck
Robbie Buck
Robbie Buck is an Australian radio announcer best known for his work at the national youth broadcaster, Triple J...

and Richard Kingsmill
Richard Kingsmill
Richard "The King" Kingsmill is an Australian radio announcer and music journalist.He is best known for his work at national youth broadcaster triple j. His career at the station started in 1988 as a producer for station presenters George Wayne, Tracee Hutchison and Tim Ritchie...

from triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...

from Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
The Kill Devil Hills
The Kill Devil Hills
The Kill Devil Hills were formed in 2003 in Fremantle, Western Australia as an acoustic, country-tinged 3-piece, which slowly swelled its ranks to become a rambling 6-piece outfit....
Birds of Tokyo
Birds of Tokyo
Birds of Tokyo is a four-piece alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Their debut album Day One, gained them domestic success with it reaching No. 3 on the AIR Independent Album charts, spending a total of 36 consecutive weeks in the top 10.In 2008, the band released Universes,...
Karnivool
Karnivool
Karnivool are an Australian progressive rock band formed in Perth in 1997. The group currently consists of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass guitar, and Steve Judd on drums. Karnivool emerged from a band Kenny and Goddard formed during high school...
Snowman
Snowman (band)
Snowman were a band originally from Perth, Western Australia. They relocated to London in 2008, and disbanded in 2011.-History:Snowman began playing together in various incarnations and under different names during their high school years. Joseph McKee and Andy Citawarman met when they were...
The Victims
The Silents
The Silents
The Silents are an psychedelic rock band from Perth, Western Australia.-Biography:Benjamin 'Lloyd' Stowe and Jamie Terry began writing and recording songs in 2002, heavily influenced by early sixties psychedelic and beat music. They then began looking for a rhythm section with similar rock’n’roll...
Johnny Young
Johnny Young
Johnny Young is an Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Netherlands, his family settled in Perth, Western Australia in the early 1950s...
Gyroscope
Gyroscope (band)
Gyroscope is an Australian rock band from Perth, Western Australia, formed in 1997. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Daniel Sanders, guitarist and back up vocalist Zoran Trivic, bassist and back up vocalist Brad Campbell and drummer Rob Nassif....
The Stems
The Stems
The Stems were an alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia in 1983 and were heavily influenced by 1960s garage rock and 1970s power pop. They broke up in 1987, reformed in 2003 and released a new album in 2007.-Formation:...

The Panics
The Panics
The Panics are an ARIA Award–winning indie rock band originally from Perth, Western Australia, and currently based in Melbourne, Victoria.-History:...
Sugar Army
The Panda Band
The Panda Band
The Panda Band are an indie pop band originating from Perth, Western Australia. They have a reputation for combining numerous musical genres. They have toured nationally as support acts for bands such as The Sleepy Jackson, Little Birdy, The Grates and Evermore.-Biography:The band originally...
Bob Evans
Kevin Mitchell (musician)
Kevin Edward Mitchell , is an Australian musician, known for his role as the vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Jebediah and also his solo work under the stage name of Bob Evans....
Jebediah
Jebediah
Jebediah is an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. The group consists of vocalist and guitarist Kevin Mitchell, guitarist Chris Daymond, bassist Vanessa Thornton, and Kevin's brother Brett Mitchell on drums...
Sex Panther
Abbe May
The Waifs
The Waifs
The Waifs are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by Josh Cunningham , and sisters Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson...
End of Fashion
End of Fashion
End of Fashion are an Australian power pop band from Perth, Western Australia. The band consists of singer and guitarist Justin Burford, guitarist Rodney Aravena, bassist Simon Fasolo, and drummer Mike Hobbs. The group gained mainstream attention with their 2005 single "O Yeah", which reached...
INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

Featured entertainers

Track Listing

Additional sources

External links

See also