Different Pop Universes

Preparing for the Australian trip last year, and listening to Aussie Internet radio, I was struck by the popularity of the dancy pop song, "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'". Kylie Minogue used the song, for example, to whip the crowd into a fervor just before her entrance.

Yet the song doesn't have much of a presence in the U.S.

I was also struck by how the Aussie radio DJs never announced the name of the group who performed it. The song was so popular that it belonged in that tiniest subset of songs that need no further explanation - the same way, say, that it is unnecessary to state the name of the group that sings Free Bird - you just know.

A year later, I discover "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" was done by the Scissor Sisters.

Which makes perfect sense - Kylie and the Scissor Sisters are fast buddies.

But it's all very odd, and shows how different parts of the world think along different lines, even when they are superficially similar.