RIP Chrissy Amphlett

Best known as the lead singer of the DiVinyls and their biggest American hit, “I Touch Myself,” but I had heard of the Aussie act when I was in high school during MTV’s salad days. Chrissy came off like a female version of AC/DC’s Angus Young because she wore a schoolgirl’s uniform in the video. The howling was a bit comical.

I gained a better appreciation for the DiVinyls’ sound in college with the single “Back to the Wall.” When the infamous song came about in 1990-91, I was a bit bummed because they would now be suffering from a rule the Onion AV Club coined, “live by the novelty song, die by the novelty song.” Other victims: Nada Surf’s “Popular,” Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” and “Barely Breathing” by Duncan Sheik.

Chrissy will be missed since she demonstrated that Australia had female vocalists who weren’t always Olivia Newton-John or Natalia Imbruglia clones.

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