Tour de farce
Richard “Evil Dick” Hunt is doing a handstand. We’re in a plush dressing room at a venue called Le Cargo – it’s so cushy that it even has the band’s name on the door, an unheard-of event – and Hunt, by […]
Going the extra mile for the disabled
The same message had been coming up on my despatcher for over an hour, with variations indicating increasing desperation: “URGENT wheelchair booking holding Ransome-Wellington Point. 2 x advantage jobs on offer. Pax waiting. Please assist.” Good luck with that, I thought.
Going the extra mile for the disabled Read Post »
Flowers in the wheelie bin
In 1977, John Lydon – née Rotten – launched a vitriolic attack on the monarchy that brutally summed up the status of England’s youth in the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee: “When there’s no future, how can there be
Flowers in the wheelie bin Read Post »
It’s OK to steal, cos it’s so nice to share
In 2001, American alt-country singer Gillian Welch released a song that, in her ever-so-quiet way, excoriated the download generation. Everything Is Free made a crucial observation: that musicians, artists and writers would keep creating content regardless of whether anyone actually
It’s OK to steal, cos it’s so nice to share Read Post »
Euro Double-Vision
Sorry for the late post (and late notice), but I’ve been packing/panicking. I’m about to set off on a grand adventure. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be flying to Europe, tour managing a Brisbane band on their first tour of Europe. Heeeeeere we
Euro Double-Vision Read Post »
The messenger
For many Australians under the age of 40, the first time they would have heard the voice of Jimmy Little would have been in 1999, the result of a chance meeting a few years earlier. Brendan Gallagher, of the sorely underrated
Reflections on the Queensland election
I don’t get excited about Queensland politics the way I used to, which explains why I haven’t bothered to blog about the state election until now, with the dust settling on the result. They just don’t make politicians like Joh
Reflections on the Queensland election Read Post »
Jimmy Stynes
Jimmy Stynes was an amazing footballer. More impressive than the fact that he won a Brownlow medal in 1991 – Australian Rules’ highest individual honour – was the fact that, in a senior career with the Melbourne Football Club lasting 11
I saw the real o-mind with Endless Boogie
If you’ve ever listened to any Stooges or Radio Birdman records, you’ll be familiar with the idea of the O-Mind. The concept came from a lyric in the Stooges’ Down In The Street: “floatin’ around on a real O-Mind”. In
I saw the real o-mind with Endless Boogie Read Post »
Sex in a cab? Not on my watch
For about the last 10 years, I’ve been driving a maxi taxi on the weekends. In the early noughties, it funded my first book Pig City; during the GFC, as the freelance commissions dried up, it kept me afloat. These days,
Sex in a cab? Not on my watch Read Post »
Gina buys the chook run
In the early part of his political career, former Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen – aka The Hillbilly Dictator – had a jaundiced attitude to the pesky officers of the press corps. “The greatest thing that could happen to the state
Gina buys the chook run Read Post »
The hitch-hiker: Andrew McMillan, 1957-2012
I first met Andrew McMillan in July of 1999. The place was Gove Airport, which services the north-east Arnhem Land mining town of Nhulunbuy. Andrew was acting as a media liaison officer for the inaugural Garma Festival, an annual cultural
The hitch-hiker: Andrew McMillan, 1957-2012 Read Post »
Pokies: rent-seekers win again
The gnashing of teeth over Julia Gillard’s betrayal of Andrew Wilkie over pokies reform has been entirely predictable. Is this some kind of political masterstroke? Is it just another demonstration of Gillard’s fundamental untrustworthiness? It’s all as telegraphed as an
Pokies: rent-seekers win again Read Post »
PJ-gate: citizen journalism at the ABC
In his book Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life And Beyond, academic Axel Bruns talks about the concept of folksonomics, wherein traditional hierarchies of knowledge have been flattened by the empowerment of the online community. The rise of social media (including blogs
PJ-gate: citizen journalism at the ABC Read Post »
Not pretty enough: an extinction under our nose
“Why do you see, why do you see, why do you see right through me?” – Kasey Chambers Recently, my partner and I took a walk up in the forests of Mt Mee, at the northern end of the D’Aguilar
Not pretty enough: an extinction under our nose Read Post »
The Feelies vs Lou Reed
I have two records sitting at the base of my stereo at the moment, both purchased last week. One is the Feelies’ new album Here Before, which I have been giving a severe flogging. The other is a lovely, near-mint
The Feelies vs Lou Reed Read Post »
Final: The Great Australian Songbook V (10-1)
Count-dow-wn! It’s time for the top 10! 10. PAUL KELLY/KEV CARMODY – From Little Things Big Things Grow (1991, 1993) The ultimate compromise choice on this list. Both Kelly and Carmody should feature individually in any compilation of great Australian
Final: The Great Australian Songbook V (10-1) Read Post »
The Great Australian Songbook IV (20-11)
Now it starts to get hard! This is where I start to become ultra-conscious of who and what’s getting left out. The songs get harder to put in any kind of order. And I haven’t made it any easier for
The Great Australian Songbook IV (20-11) Read Post »
The Great Australian Songbook III (30-21)
Following on from the previous thread, as the title suggests, here’s tracks 30-29. 30. YOTHU YINDI – Treaty (1991) Did this song start a national conversation, or just get people dancing? Actually, scarily, it managed to get politicians dancing, spurring some
The Great Australian Songbook III (30-21) Read Post »
The Great Australian Songbook II (40-31)
As promised from yesterday. I’ve tried to cover as many bases as possible in terms of decade and genre, avoiding multiple selections for the same artist. Without further ado, here’s the list from 40 to 31. 40. COSMIC PSYCHOS –
The Great Australian Songbook II (40-31) Read Post »
The Great Australian Songbook
Here’s something I can’t resist. And truly, it’s a great idea. Take a bow, Murray Thorn, for conceiving and putting together The Great Australian Songbook: a 40-track feast of this country’s most emblematic tunes, spread across two CDs housed in a
The Great Australian Songbook Read Post »
Wishin’ and hopin’ on gay marriage
It’s only three weeks ago that I ventured the opinion (along with many other commentators) that Julia had her mojo back, or at least was on the kind of roll that Labor hadn’t enjoyed for at least a couple of
Wishin’ and hopin’ on gay marriage Read Post »
Has Julia got her mojo back?
At the moment, it’s only a whisper, and it may be well past too late. But there’s more than a hint in the last few weeks that Julia Gillard’s government may just have turned the corner. Yes, there is the
Has Julia got her mojo back? Read Post »
On Anti-Poverty Week
Two interesting articles in the papers this morning. It’s Anti-Poverty Week, and in The Age, Anglican CEO Paul McDonald (also the co-chair of Anti-Poverty Week in Victoria) notes that “the aim is to get all of us talking about disadvantage and
On Anti-Poverty Week Read Post »
You can’t say no forever
IN case you missed it, the carbon tax bills were passed by the House of Representatives yesterday. I’m pleased to report the sun came up this morning. I presume it will set again tonight and in spite of the nation’s
You can’t say no forever Read Post »
Oh well, whatever, etc
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s second album Nevermind. A rash of earnest think pieces have already appeared in yesterday’s papers – isn’t this a bit like celebrating your birthday by opening your presents at midnight? –
Oh well, whatever, etc Read Post »