"D.A.F." is a song by Australian

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Powderfinger Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer ...

, released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Double Allergic ''Double Allergic'' is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger. Released in Australia on 2 September 1996 Polydor, the album was produced by Tim Whitten and widely considered Powderfinger's mainstream breakthrou ...

'', on 5 August 1996. "D.A.F." reached number 39 on the Australian music chart. The song was doubly nominated in the 1997

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music The music of Australia has ...

, once for Song of the Year and once for Single of the Year, however won neither.

History

When "D.A.F." was first released, Australian

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

Recovery Recovery or Recover may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * Recovery (novel), ''Recovery'' (novel), a Star Wars e-book * Recovery Version, a translation of the Bible with footnotes published by Living Stream Ministry Film and television * R ...

'' ran a competition asking what the song's title stood for. Powderfinger guitarist

Darren Middleton Darren Middleton (born 4 October 1971) is an Australian musician, best known as lead guitarist and songwriter for alternative rock band Powderfinger. He was also lead singer/songwriter for Drag; his current solo tour is 'Splinters', a follow-u ...

recalls that "people wrote in saying something like Dylan something farts" (referring to then host

Dylan Lewis Dylan Thomas Lewis (also known as DiRK ViLE) is an Australian television and radio host. Biography Early life Lewis was educated at Caulfield Grammar School and graduated in 1990; he then studied a Bachelor of Education in Drama and Music de ...

), but Middleton stated that the title was actually the song's chord progression - D,A,F. When asked about the naming of the song,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

John Collins replied "It's just because we were stupid". "D.A.F." received healthy

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

from numerous mainstream

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

including the

Today Network The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations. Histor ...

. This came as a surprise for the band, as only their previous single, "

Pick You Up "Pick You Up" is the first single released from Powderfinger's second album ''Double Allergic''. The single was released on 13 April 1996, and was Powderfinger's first moderate success both on commercial and Indie radio stations, and the most s ...

", had achieved such airplay.

Lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Bernard Fanning Bernard Fanning (born 15 August 1969) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of Queensland alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989. Born and raised in Toowong, Brisbane, Fanning received ...

commented that "You can't really control who plays what you do on the radio, so it's pretty weird hearing your song on

B105 B105 or B-105 may refer to: * B105 FM (call sign: 4BBB), a Mainstream CHR radio station broadcasting out of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia * B105, one of the B roads in Zone 1 of the Great Britain numbering scheme * WUBE, a country music radio sta ...

". Although it was produced as a mainstream song, "D.A.F." was released as a single which included their cover version of the

Warumpi Band Warumpi Band () were an Australian country and Aboriginal rock group which formed in the outback settlement of Papunya, Northern Territory, in 1980. The original line-up was George Burarrwanga on vocals and didgeridoo, Gordon Butcher Tjapanang ...

single, "

Blackfella/Whitefella "Blackfella/Whitefella" is an Australian rock song written by Neil Murray and George Rrurrambu, recorded by their Aboriginal rock group, Warumpi Band, and released as the second single from their 1985 album, ''Big Name, No Blankets'' on Parole ...

", which was in recognition of

Australian Indigenous people Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

. Fanning commented on the band choosing to include the song, saying "we don't set out to preach or give social commentary, but we do have the opportunity to put forward an opinion". He also explained that the topic of social justice was one the band felt strongly about, and that the song had "the perfect lyrics to reflect that opinion". In a separate interview, with ''Juice'', Fanning said that "D.A.F." centered on "the old theme of searching for truth". He said the song related heavily to the ideal of "being honest with yourself so you can be honest with other people".

Response

"D.A.F." was generally received well by reviewers. ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' reviewer Jonathan Lewis commended the song, calling it "superb" and stating it was a "radio staple". ''Sputnikmusic'' reviewer blueyxd described "D.A.F." as "quirky" and "straight forward rock", recommending it for those who prefer songs "Plain and simple, Powderfinger like they are these days". ''Juice'' stated that "D.A.F." was "driven by dramatic tension". "D.A.F." was nominated for "Song of the Year" and "Single of the Year" at the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, but failed to win either. It appeared at #18 on the

Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, and appeared on the

CD release The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

. "D.A.F." charted moderately, reaching #39 on the

ARIA singles chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, and spending four weeks on the chart.

Track listing

# "D.A.F." – 3:30 # "

" # "Ibis" # "Pogo Style"

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DAF Powderfinger songs 1996 singles 1996 songs Universal Music Group singles Songs written by Jon Coghill Songs written by John Collins (Australian musician) Songs written by Bernard Fanning Songs written by Ian Haug Songs written by Darren Middleton