I learned a new slur, recently.

"Strine was a term coined in 1964 and subsequently used to describe a joke or made up "language" purportedly spoken by Australians.
...
Subsequently the term is sometimes used as a synonym for Australian English, usually pejoratively."

And I heard it in reference to Missy Higgins, whose album, The Sound of White, contains the song, Scar, which is getting some airplay.  I like the song, but more importantly, I kind of dig the Strine.  I know I'm not supposed to.


I'm sure, to Aussies, it sounds like Larry the Cable Guy sounds to me.  (To be fair, LtCG annoys me more from a "pride in uncouth" standpoint.)  But as I look back, I like the breathy, accented Imogen Heap or Frou Frou.  I dig some Lick the Tins (from the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack).  And what of Butterfly Boucher.  Apparently, I'm a sucker for an over-affected, female, Anglican-derived intonation. 

So I guess I'll have to drop my criticism of LtCG, or President Bush's fake-Texan twang.  You know, to save the inner inconsistency.  (And yes, yes, I still dig Men at Work, too.)