"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 mainstream or commercial ...

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, released as a single from their second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''

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 breakthro ...

'', 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 industry, put on by the Austra ...

, 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 Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

'' Recovery'' 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- ...

recalls that "people wrote in saying something like Dylan something farts" (referring to then host Dylan Lewis), 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 such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

John Collins replied "It's just because we were stupid". "D.A.F." received healthy radio airplay 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. This came as a surprise for the band, as only their previous single, " Pick You Up", 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 receive ...

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 single, " Blackfella/Whitefella", which was in recognition of Australian Indigenous people. 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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

'' 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

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, 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 ...

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, and appeared on the CD release. "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 # " Blackfella/Whitefella" # "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