At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989 " Under the Milky Way " won ' Single of the Year ' , though Kilbey refused to attend the award ceremony . He said , " You will note that I did n't collect the award . I do n't give a fuck about winning that award . I 've been a big critic of the Australian music industry . I think the whole thing is utterly embarrassing and repulsive . " In 2006 Kilbey said of the recording , " It 's actually flat lifeless 'n' and sterile . Great song , sure , but the performance , the sounds are ordinary . We coulda got that in Australia in a week or two for a 20th of the money we spent . Hey , it 's sold almost a million in the US alone , but we 'll never see any money 'cause it cost so much to make " . Kilbey 's assessment ignored its second life as a much-licensed track . In December 2011 , he told News Limited reporter , Cameron Adams : In 2001 , the song was featured in the soundtrack for the movie , '' Donnie Darko '' . In 2006 , it was performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne . Kilbey said after the performance that it was as if the song had been made for the occasion , though in his blog he was critical of the Commonwealth Games as an event . In September 2008 , readers of '' The Weekend Australian Magazine '' voted it as the best Australian song of the last 20 years . Sheet music for " Under the Milky Way " was published by Hal Leonard
opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony
Under the Milky Way