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“Blue Sky Mine” by Midnight Oil

From the EP Terrifying / Blue Sky Mine / It's Party Time (Tonite) (1990)

“Blue Sky Mine” by Midnight Oil appears on 42 radio countdowns from 16 stations between 1990 and 2025. It was first released in 1990 on the EP Terrifying / Blue Sky Mine / It's Party Time (Tonite). Its best result is #9 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #3 alternative song of 1990, #555 alternative song of all time and #355 of the '90s.

42countdowns
16stations
#9best position
0#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
1990–2025years charted

Watch

Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mine

Video from YouTube (MidnightOilVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Blue Sky Mine" opened the account for Blue Sky Mining, Midnight Oil's seventh studio album, as its first single in 1990, and it's protest rock with dust in its lungs.

The Australian band built it around the workers of the Wittenoom asbestos mines, people who came away from the job with asbestos-related diseases. The "blue" in the title is blue asbestos, and when the song takes aim at a sugar refining company, it means the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, the outfit that owned the mines. Musically it's a rolling, rousing anthem that turns a bitter story into a chorus big enough for a whole crowd to throw back, which makes the anger land even harder.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 10 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 107
1990 9 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990 91
1990 10 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990 105
1990 35 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 90 Songs of 1990 90
1990 11 Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1990 30

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 298 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 86 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1992 351 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 334 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 84 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 78 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 222 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 121 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 731 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 527 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 285 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 782 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 782 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 318 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 771 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 619 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 362 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 771 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 346 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 771 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 770 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 454 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 1024 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 970 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 995 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1029 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1065 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1099 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1137 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2018 39 Triple M Triple M Ozzest 100 (2018) 100
2019 1035 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2022 424 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 408 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 802 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 1162 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 377 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2025 99 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (2025) 100

Also listed as: Blue sky Mine.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  4. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  5. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor
  6. 7CandyIggy Pop

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