Notes from Pig City - Archive of author and journalist Andrew Stafford

King Stingray: Yolngu surf-rock kings

Music / June 7, 2023 / 3 minutes of reading

It would be an understatement to bestow the cliche “long-awaited” upon King Stingray’s self-titled debut album. The Yirrkala band from north-east Arnhem Land have already teased us with five singles. The first of them, Hey Wanhaka – which means “what’s happening?” – was released in late 2020; Get Me Out, Milkumana, Camp Dog and Let’s Go have all followed.

Adding to the considerable hype are the band’s bloodlines: the singer, Yirrnga Yunupingu, is the nephew of the Yothu Yindi leader, Dr M Yunupingu, while the guitarist, Roy Kellaway, is the son of the same band’s bass player, Stuart. Both also play in Yothu Yindi themselves.

The five aforementioned singles make up a full half of this album’s 10 tracks, with Get Me Out and Milkumana both nominated for APRA awards as song of the year. They have been all over the airwaves – and deservedly so. The fact that their self-described Yolngu surf-rock will already be familiar to many listeners in no way detracts from this sparkling record.

Indeed, it’s great to have them together in one place, fleshed out by five more songs that sit well alongside one another. Most bands would be proud to have a collection like this on a greatest hits album.… Read more..

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Archie Roach 1956-2022

Music / June 7, 2023 / 5 minutes of reading

Archie Roach, the Indigenous Australian songwriter whose celebrated song Took The Children Away brought national attention to the story of the Stolen Generations, has died aged 66.

Roach died at Warrnambool Base hospital after a long illness, surrounded by his family and loved ones.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung), Bundjalung Senior Elder, songman and storyteller Archie Roach,” his sons Amos and Eban Roach announced in a statement on behalf of the Roach family.

“We thank all the staff who have cared for Archie over the past month. Archie wanted all of his many fans to know how much he loves you for supporting him along the way. We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life. He was a healer and unifying force. His music brought people together.”

On Saturday night tributes began pouring in for the songman on social media.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said: “Tonight we mourn the passing of Archie Roach. Our country has lost a brilliant talent, a powerful and prolific national truth teller.

“Archie’s music drew from a well of trauma and pain, but it flowed with a beauty and a resonance that moved us all.… Read more..

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Phil Jamieson’s diamond hoo-ha

Music / June 6, 2023 / 4 minutes of reading

Early last Sunday, the veteran Australian pop-metal band Grinspoon fronted up to Byron Bay for one of the most contentious Splendour in the Grass festivals in memory. Singer Phil Jamieson says he became “a platypus” – the rarest sighting possible. “I spent 90 minutes on the grounds, and 60 of that was on stage. I drove in, in my own car, got up on stage and left,” he says.

When Jamieson says the event was “a little bit tricky”, he is being diplomatic. “I was just ducking and weaving, getting up to do the best job I could possibly do. It was hectic but I just kept my eye on the prize. We got it across the line, I think. But if you went there as an 18-year-old and that was your first festival experience, you would be battle-hardened.”

Jamieson, 45, wears a few battle scars of his own. Grinspoon have been active for 27 years since forming in Lismore, northern New South Wales. There were seven albums – the latest being 2012’s Black Rabbits – before the band took a break, reuniting for tours with Cold Chisel in 2015 and supporting a 20th-anniversary reissue of their debut album, Guide To Better Living, in 2017.… Read more..

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Midnight Oil: sorted

Music / June 6, 2023 / 9 minutes of reading

In his memoir Big Blue Sky, Peter Garrett cites an iron law of rock (and Regurgitator): fans will always tell you that they like your old stuff better than your new stuff. That’s because, for any band that has a long career, songs are associated with the memories that we attach to them when we were growing up.

I grew up with Midnight Oil. They were the first band I ever saw in concert, I’ve seen them more than most, and I was immensely privileged to write liner notes for their Overflow Tank boxset. In compiling this list, I’ve tried to bear in mind that my memories are no measure of a song’s quality, much less cultural impact.

Even so, in this inevitably subjective list, I’ve succumbed to the iron law. By my reckoning, Midnight Oil have released three outright classic albums. Those are Head Injuries, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (usually abbreviated as 10–1) and Diesel And Dust. Ten songs here are drawn from the last two alone. They were impossible to leave out.

But those 10 songs don’t adequately tell the story of Midnight Oil’s career. I’ve tried to do that in this list.… Read more..

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Vote 1 Palm Cockatoo

Environment / June 6, 2023 / 3 minutes of reading

They have shaggy crests and bright scarlet cheeks. They bow, sway, stamp their feet and spread their wings in a Jesus Christ pose, justifying their status. They whistle and whoop. Males even use their enormous beaks to fashion tree branches into drumsticks, which they use to beat on tree hollows approaching the breeding season.

They are Palm Cockatoos: the largest cockatoo in the world, weighing in up to 1.2kg – lovingly known as “rockatoos” for their punk mohawks, vocal dexterity and percussive talents. And Birds Queensland has officially nominated them as the mascot of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, pointing out that previous Australian Olympic mascots have mostly been mammals.

They say it’s time to give a bird a go – but it’s not the only one in the running. The Queensland tourism minister, Stirling Hinchliffe, has already proposed the humble and familiar “bin chicken” (Australian White Ibis). But the ibis’s dumpster-diving habits and distinctive odour doesn’t make it an easy sell to international visitors.

So, why the Palm Cockatoo? Unlike ibis, the cockatoos are unique to Far North Queensland in Australia, living in the remote savannahs of Cape York. (They are more widespread in New Guinea and the Indonesian Aru Islands, so Birds Queensland is encouraging the government to involve our neighbours in celebrations, using the cockatoo as a tool of soft diplomacy.)… Read more..

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TISM: go you Good Things

Music / June 6, 2023 / 5 minutes of reading

Nineteen years after their last live appearance, the satirical Melbourne band TISM have announced their comeback, with the masked and anonymous collective set to play a series of shows at the Good Things festival in early December.

TISM – an acronym for This Is Serious Mum – emerged from suburban Melbourne in the early 1980s, releasing their first full-length album Great Trucking Songs Of The Renaissance in 1988. This was followed by a rare self-published book, The TISM Guide To Little Aesthetics, which was eventually released with sections heavily blacked out on legal advice.

The band quickly gained a cult following, with a reputation for wild live shows and increasingly elaborate costumes. Early songs veered between the absurd, the obscene and the erudite, covering everything from the sexual perversions of Adolf Hitler to the All Ordinaries Index. In 1995 their third album, Machiavelli And The Four Seasons – featuring the hits He’ll Never Be An Ol’ Man River and Greg! The Stop Sign!! – won an ARIA award for best independent release.

TISM also became notorious for their interviews and press releases. Early exchanges were done by fax: long, expletive-filled, invariably libellous screeds, usually delivered past deadline. Guardian Australia conducted this interview (of sorts) with singers Humphrey B Flaubert and Ron Hitler-Barassi via Zoom (with the video link turned off).… Read more..

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