Vines -- "S.T.W." (2011)

I'm a savage

You're a savage

We're a savage bunch

The 2 or 3 lines family (which is not at all a savage bunch) hit the road in December.

One of my recently-married daughters (Sarah) flew to Miami for a honeymoon cruise.

My other recently-married daughter (Caroline) flew to San Diego on Christmas day to spend a few days with her in-laws.

My recently-married son (Nick) and his wife (Kate) also left on Christmas day for a two-week trip to Australia and New Zealand.

The Twelve Apostles

One of the highlights of Nick and Kate's trip was a drive from Melbourne to Port Campbell National Park, which is home to the offshore limestone formations known as the Twelve Apostles.

Nick and Kate visiting the Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles were formed when the Southern Ocean eroded the soft limestone cliffs in the area, forming caves, then arches.  Eventually the arches collapsed, leaving tall pillars of limestone standing in the water.

Despite the name, there are only eight of these formations.  (A ninth one collapsed in 2005.)

A few days later, Nick and Kate found a perch overlooking Sydney Harbor (and the iconic Sydney Opera House) and watched the famous New Year's Eve fireworks.

Here's a video of the Sydney fireworks that was taken by a drone flying at approximately 1000 feet above the harbor.  (Sorry, but you'll have to sit through a brief commercial before the fireworks begin.)

My remaining son (Peter) and I also took a trip over the holidays.  We travelled to . . . Joplin, Missouri!

More about that trip in the next 2 or 3 lines.

The Vines got their start in 1994 when two teenage guitarists who met while working at a McDonald's in a Sydney suburb decided to form a band.  

At first, the Vines were just a Nirvana and You Am I cover band.  (You've never heard of You Am I?  You must not be Australian.)

Their first album -- Highly Evolved -- was released in 2002, and it was a hit not only in Australia, but also in the U.S. and UK.  "Rock is Back: Meet the Vines" was the caption for the photo of the band that appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in October 2002.

Vines frontman Craig Nicholls

The Vines have had their ups and downs since then.  Co-founder and frontman Craig Nicholls (who has  Asperger syndrome) is the only original Vines member left.  

Our featured song, "S.T.W." (short for "Screw the World") was released in 2011 on the Vines' fifth studio album, Future Primitive.  

The group previously released a song titled "F.T.W."   (I don't have to spell it out for you, do I?)

Here's "S.T.W.":

Click below to buy the song from Amazon: