Being one of those who feel that "Put Down that Weapon" is a work of brilliance, i felt a little compelled to throw in my rant here:
While "Put Down that Weapon" may not come off brilliantly lyrically, as a piece of music it works well, it just all goes together. And the lyrics aren't that clumsy. They're definitely better than say, anything by Blink 182. Plus they don't care whether it rhymes. Really good music never rhymes properly.
Oh, an my final reason for liking this song: It's a Jim Moginie/Rob Hirst (oh yeah, and Peter Garrett. He's probably behind the lyrics) composition. When these guys work together, they can't help but turn out brilliant music.
Midnight Oil: Nice Guys? No chance, these guys aren't nice guys, and the loss of Gunbarrel Highway must have stung. Its a brilliant song that captures another part of the Australian essence, and leaving it out on the basis of the line "shit falls like rain/on a world that is brown" is hardly fair. Its all part of the message.
It is intersting to note that the a new bassist had to be found very quickly upon Giffo's retirement, just after finishing recording "Diesel and Dust", as they had a big US Tour. So Bone's Hillman got brought in fast, and he shot to the top along with midnight oil, riding on a wave of diesel (is what we breathe).