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Axis of Awesome

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Axis of Awesome was an Australian trio that combined music and humour. Jordan Raskopoulos, Lee Naimo and Benny Davis began in 2006 in Sydney. They came from the improv theatre of the University of Sydney and were looking for something new. Their name was a pun on the axis of evil, the axis of evil of which the American president George W. Bush spoke. They played at comedy nights, had a regular slot on the radio and broke through with rap parodies of the Australian elections of 2007.

Music and breakthrough

In 2008 they performed at the Melbourne comedy festival and at the Fringe in Edinburgh. After that BBC Radio 1 played their track 4 Chords: a medley of thirty-six pop songs that are all built on the same four chords. The clip went all around the world and was viewed millions of times on YouTube. Albums followed such as Infinity Rock Explosion! (2010) and Viva La Vida Loca Las Vegas (2016). In 2018 the group called it a day.

Influence

The trio made both its own songs and parodies of well-known pop songs, in all kinds of styles. 4 Chords became above all a lesson in music theory: it showed in a funny way how often hitmakers use the same chord changes. For that reason the sketch is still used to explain how pop songs are put together.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to 4 Chords by The Axis of Awesome. Notice how the accompaniment stays the same while the melodies flow from one well-known song into the next. Try to count how many songs you recognise.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists