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

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

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, ...

Powderfinger Powderfinger were an Australian Rock music, 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 ...

, 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 (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

Double Allergic ''Double Allergic'' is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band (music), band Powderfinger. Released in Australia on 2 September 1996 Polydor Records, Polydor, the album was produced by Tim Whitten and widely considered Powder ...

'', 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 Austr ...

, 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 A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

'' 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 Dylan Thomas Lewis (born 19 February 1973) is an Australian television and radio host. He is currently the host of ''Arvo's'' on Double J. As a musician, he played in funk/alternative rock band The Brown Hornet under the stage name Dirk Vile. ...

), 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), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

John Collins replied "It's just because we were stupid". According to 'egg the nest' which was something you could subscribe to as a Powderfinger fan, D.A.F actually meant 'does anyone follow' If anyone wants to disagree, well that's coming straight from the Powderfinger publication. Not sure how accurate it is, but thats what it said. I've probably still got it somewhere at my parents house. "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 stat ...

including the

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. 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 Joseph 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 ...

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 st ...

". 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 Tjapana ...

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 Parol ...

", 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 Mus ...

'' reviewer Jonathan Lewis commended the song, calling it "superb" and stating it was a "radio staple". ''Sputnikmusic'' reviewer 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 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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

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

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, 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 # "

" # "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