The Brag #747 by The Brag Magazine

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WITH SPECIAL GUEST

WED 13 NOV SYDNEY FIRST STATE SUPER THEATRE AT ICC SYDNEY

DARYL BRAITHWAITE

RUSSELL MORRIS & PETE MURRAY HUNTER VALLEY ONLY

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Allensworth•Alysha Brilla•Amaru Tribe•Ash Bell&Sara Tindley Ash Grunwald•The Barren Spinsters•Brekky Boy•The Cat Empire Charlie Collins•Claire Anne Taylor•Clare Bowditch•The Delta Riggs Devorah•Doc Halibut•Dubarray•Fools•GraceJean•Hiatus Kaiyote•Ian Noe The Jellyman’s Daughter•Joe Pug•Karen Lee Andrews•Kent Burnside The Long Johns•The Mamas•Merpire•Missy Higgins•Mojo Juju•Nano Stern The New Savages•Newton Faulkner•Paul McDermotT&Gatesy•Remi Ross Wilson•Sky Eater•The Strides•Steve Poltz•Stevie Jean The Swamp Stompers•Tanya George•Tim Finn•Troy Cassar-Daley The WaifS•The Weeping Willows

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contents what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find insideâ&#x20AC;Ś

letter from the editor Are you a Charmed kid or a Buffy kid? A tea fiend or a coffee creature? Which is better, Twirl or Twix? Do you prefer Isla Fisher or Amy Adams? Can you even tell the two apart? For edition three of the Brag Mag, editor Michael Di Iorio is asking the hard hitting journalistic questions, no holds barred. Charmed. Tea. Twirl. Isla Fisher (she’s just a better actress, and the differences between the two are subtle and nuanced but very much clear.) Anyway, welcome to the third edition of The Brag Magazine for the year. No theme this time, but for this mag we’ve shifted our focus onto people. Interesting characters and inspirational figures of our time, who are yet to be blessed by the bright spotlights of fame. But I have a few more questions to test your mettle and see if you are worthy, because this edition has some powerhouse content, from an interview with legendary band Tool, to talks with colourful and creative forces Two Door Cinema Club, Jaguar Jonze and our eight Class of the Future Artists. But there’s so much more than that. I need to know if you can handle the stories, ideas and creativity we’ve crammed (literally) into this tiny little mag you are now holding. Are you ready? Of course you are. You were born ready. You’re a star. So why won’t you admit that Chicken Crimpies are the best Shapes flavour? Or that Chaka Khan’s version of ‘I’m Every Woman’ is eons better than Whitney Houston’s? It was Yanny, it wasn’t Laurel, and the dress was White and Gold some days and Blue and Black on others, there really wasn’t a single colour, let’s be honest. You may disagree with me, and that’s fine, I mean, I choose Toad on Mario Kart so I’m not exactly one to talk. These wild ultimatums shouldn’t scare you though, this mag is an absolute delight, and we appreciate your time in reading what we have to offer, whether it be online or in print. Of everyone I’ve ever thanked throughout the mags, this one goes out to the most important individual, who without, these magazines would not even exist. Here’s to our Art Director Sarah Bryant, an absolute powerhouse of talent with the most incredible eye for layouts and designs you will ever see. I mean, flick through the pages, it’s all her baby, and I’m so proud to call her my partner in crime when making these bad boys. And that, is an opinion that cannot be challenged. I’ll leave you with one more contentious point though. Scotch Fingers are the greatest Arnott’s biscuit no contest.

ISSUE 747: Wednesday 4 September – Tuesday 3 December, 2019 EDITOR: Michael Di Iorio michael.diiorio@thebrag.media ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant COVER ILLUSTRATION: Rosemary Vasquez Brown LIVE PHOTOGRAPHER: Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Steph Robertson steph.robertson@thebrag.media PUBLISHER: The Brag Media CEO, THE BRAG MEDIA: Luke Girgis - luke.girgis@thebrag. media MANAGING EDITOR: Poppy Reid poppy.reid@thebrag.media THE GODFATHER: BnJ GIG GUIDE SUBMISSIONS: gigguide@thebrag.media REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Lars Brandle, Alita Brydon, Geordie Gray, Adam Guetti, John Ferguson, Tyler Jenke, Brandon John, Poppy Reid Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Carrie Huang accountsseventhstreet.vc (02) 9713 92692, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 DEADLINES: Editorial: Thursday 5pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Last Wednesday of the month 12pm (no extensions) Finished art: Last Thursday of the month 5pm (no extensions) Ad cancellations: Last Wednesday of the month 12pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Seventh Street Media Pty Ltd All content copyrighted to Seventh Street Media 2017 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email jessica.milinovic@thebrag.media PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG.

With Editor’s love, Michael Di Iorio. follow us:

@TheBrag

This Issue’s Cover Illustration: U2 by Claudia C. Akole

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Horror My Friend and Flyying Colours Interviews

40-45

Introducing The Class Of The Future

14-15

Decapitators After Party Playlist

46-49

Jaguar Jonze

51-53

Ramptramptrampstamp

Get to Know: Jess Day

Mocha Latte Baby

Get To Know: Juice Webster

55-56

I Sold My Old Socks On eBay

18-19

Middle Kids

56-57

20-23

Two Door Cinema Club

24-25

Tool

Body Positivity Is Destructive, Body Neutrality Is Constructive

26-29

U2 Joshua Tree Revisited

58-59

Fiction: Feedback Loop

30-31

The Touring Legacy of U2

60-61

32-33

Representation in Pop Punk

Top 10 Culture Moments The Need Their Own Movie

How Not To Kook A Music Campaign

62-63

30 Years Of Wallace & Gromit

In a Digital World, Less Is More

Why Aren’t We Making New Movies Anymore?

56-58

Brag Gaming

36-37

The Pop Snake Will Eat Itself

68-71

Snaps

72-74

Gig picks

like us:

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DEJA-INTERVIEW:

Horror My Friend & Flyying Colours Interview Each Other Tyler Jenke orchestrated the interview union of two of the finest acts in Australia, Horror My Friend and Flyying Colours. And it’s priceless.

Flying Colours

hey’re two of the finest acts on the Aussie music scene today, and back in June, Horror My Friend and Flyying Colours embarked upon a co-headlining tour.

FLYYING COLOURS ANSWERS HORROR MY FRIEND’S QUESTIONS

Having wrapped up a recent tour of the UK and Europe, Adelaide music legends Horror My Friend were keen to get back on Aussie stages once again, doing what they do best and stunning audiences at every turn.

What’s your favourite form of air transportation? (Can include flying fox). The Concorde 100%, flying foxes are terrifying.

Of course, true to form, Horror My Friend upped the ante, announcing a brief, co-headline tour with none other than Melbourne rock icons Flyying Colours.

What was your embarrassing teenage favourite band? Mine was Muse I’m pretty sure I know most of the words to The Darkness’ first album .

Hitting up their respective hometowns, the two groups hit the road in June, performing at Adelaide’s Jive Bar on June 28th, and followed it up with a gig at Melbourne’s Curtin Hotel the following night. Just before the tour went down, we got the two groups to pair up for an interview, allowing them to ask the hard-hitting questions you’ve always wanted to know, to each other. Check out the interview below!

What was the first pedal you ever bought? Each guitarist in the band. Danelectro T-Bone distortion from Custom Music in Wagga.

Crinkle cut chips or shoestring fries with your wavy gravy? Smiths original crinkle cut chips are my favourite, but has to be the shoestring with the gravy. What kind of petrol do snails use? (Note: The answer is Shell). Definitely diesel.

HORROR MY FRIEND ANSWERS FLYYING COLOURS’ QUESTIONS Which food does the band agrees upon the most? HOT CHIPS – Eat ‘em forever. What is the worst song you have ever heard? ‘Noise Violation’ by my first ever band Turning 540 (previously on Myspace Music until Tom lost all the music). It was one riff over and over, while our singer just said, 'Yeah, come on, it’s a noise violation”. Tomato sauce – fridge or cupboard? Fridge, gotta get that contrast with the hot dog. What is the best beer in the world (obviously Melbourne Bitter I just want to hear you say it though). Mismatch Lager, I reckon let’s not worry about this tour.

Horror My Friend

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What was the last pedal you bought? Cooper FX Generation Loss, it’s getting made now! ■

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TALK US THROUGH:

Sydney rockers Decapitators have been cutting their teeth around dingy inner-west institutions for the past year. Now, the band have finally unleashed their debut single onto the world, and boy is it a corker. ‘Crystal Math’ sees The Decapitators hark back to the glory days of '90s garage rock. To celebrate the release of their track, they’ve taken it upon themselves to compile a list of the five ultimate after party (guilty-ish) pleasure jams. Check out their ultimate kick-ons playlist below:

e’ve all been there. It’s a strange hour of the morning, the pack has dwindled, the mood at camp is quickly descending and the “party” could really use something to help you see in the sunrise. You’ve had all the recent big hits come out already, whoever was in control of the decks for most of the night has played all the crowd pleasers and you’re struggling to think of something that everyone would perk up at the sound of. Things are looking grim until the beauty of the situation hits you with a wave of confidence and inspiration. Most of the crowd has left… so crowd pleasers are no longer needed… It’s time for some deep cuts! They might be kind of old, they might be a little bit forgotten about, they may have been lurking in the shadow of something more popular at the time of release, maybe they just never quite spoke to the masses the way they spoke to you and your immediate social circle… But that’s exactly who’s listening. Dive deep into your personal archives, turn up the volume, raise your hands above your head and give your heart what it wants.

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DECAPITATORS “AUTONOMOUS MACHETE FOR HANDS”. Look I think this is one of those tracks that really underpins a lot of early tasty influences for Decapitators. It’s dark, psychedelic, dramatic and cryptic.. well I mean it’s about a zombie apocalypse… I think?.. But is it really?… Anyways, this is always something I love to screech along to as the sun rises and I squint with bloodshot eyes through swollen eyelids at the dawn and try to come to terms with the situation. “AND I SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THE WARMTH OF THE SUN”. It’s an appropriate lyric for a confusing moment. Top notch performance from a seminal band. Think you gotta get this one on YouTube though.

‘DRACULA’ – GORILLAZ

Decapitators hand over their five favourite after-party delights to Geordie Gray, as they celebrate the release of the band's new track ‘Crystal Math’.

‘QUARANTINED’ – AT THE DRIVE-IN (LIVE)

The Decapitators’ Top 5 After Party Pleasure Jams

I honestly love every moment of this album so much, but when it comes to embracing the morning of a bender there’s nothing like comparing yourself to something that dies from being exposed to sunlight. The dubby vibe goes well with a mushy brain and is somewhat reminiscent of The Specials' ‘Ghost Town’, which resonates with those of us who are currently suffering the squeeze of the NSW government’s approach to music and party. Also ‘Starshine’. Those songs are basically the same and gratify the same state of semi-consciousness.

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‘THA’ – APHEX TWIN If you’re like me and are probably just staring into the void and trying to smoke yourself out near the fire by this point, then it might be a good time to chuck on something a little ambient. It really gives a bit of space between the brain waves and flickering neurons to relax, and if sharp noises are now causing you to wince in pain, then this is good, ‘cause it has none. Also ‘Pancake Lizard’, although that gets really sinister at the end and I always turn it off 'cause it wigs me out.

Aphex Twin image courtesy Warp Records

‘SUGAR’ – BEACH FOSSILS Not necessarily a deep cut... But when you’re playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch on those tiny controllers that make no sense and you just replace every lyric in the song with made up stories about the characters on the character selection screen and their various vehicle, wheel, and parachute combinations, you know you’re on the right track. Yeah this was last weekend.

‘SPACEMAN’ - BABYLON ZOO Again, maybe not a ‘deep cut’, but we think it deserves an honourable mention... because it cuts deep(?). This has to be one of the weirdest iterations of a one-hit-wonder to ever exist. I remember seeing this guy painted silver wearing a skirt made from tinfoil (before it was cool) on Top of the Pops when I was about four and questioning my sexuality. Some of us love it, some of us hate it. It’s a divisive tune, but it must be said it is an iconic relic of a time past that invariably seems to come out when we’ve traveled past the point of no return. Again, the content of the song seems to reflect pretty well one’s internal state at this kind of point in time. That is, if you, like me, are feeling like some kind of disturbed cosmic deity lost in a black hole, of course. ■

Keep up to date with all Decapitators future releases by chucking 'em a like on Facebook. thebrag.com

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GET TO KNOW:

Melbourne Indie Sensation Juice Webster Tyler Jenke sits down with Juice Webster to find out more about her, as her new track ‘Lover, I Swear’ lands swiftly into our open palms.

f you’ve been paying attention to the Aussie music scene in recent years, you might have found yourself coming across Melbourne electronic duo Hemm. Comprised of Bobby Downie and Juice Webster, the pair make emotional music that manages to stay with you everywhere you go. Now, Juice Webster stepped away from the duo briefly to unleash her debut solo single ‘Lover, I Swear.' Noting that she was “brought up on a balanced, healthy diet of Nick Cave, Cat Power, Emmylou Harris, and Jeff Buckley”, Webster’s music sounds exactly like how you’d expect, with raw beauty and intensity present at every turn. With her You Who Was Myself EP on the way, Juice Webster is about to be one of those names that you’ll be unable to escape, with their pure talent being recognised by fans all over the world before long. Ahead of her worldwide musical domination, we sat down with this stunning artist to get the lowdown on her music, and allow fans to get to know the person behind this amazing sound.

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How did your band name come about? My band name is just my name. My birth name is Julia, but my brother couldn’t say that when I was born so he called me Juice and it’s stuck ever since, for better or for worse. How would you describe your music to your grandma? I would describe it as “very appropriate folk music” and probably ask her to tell her friends about it. Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about? ‘Someone Else Might Realise’ is the first track on my yet-to-bereleased EP. It’s about feeling conflicted between being homesick and anxious while away but feeling stuck and dissatisfied when at home.

2010, I think. I remember hearing them and just loving them so much. And then when I was writing this song, I remembered those lyrics and they just seemed to fit so well with how I was feeling at the time and the rest of the song. He didn’t end up using them, so I snapped them up.

Probably the creative scene and that all my favourite people live here.

‘Lover, I Swear’ is my first single and the second track on my forthcoming EP. It’s a break-up song, written many years ago in an attempt to regain control of my thoughts and feelings after said break-up.

What’s on your dream rider?

‘Sleeping Somewhere New’ is the closing song on the EP and it was recorded through my phone and one room mic at the very end of our time in the studio. It’s about feeling like my childhood was a very long time ago and loving my mum so much.

It’s also about the early stages of falling in love with someone which is simultaneously the best and scariest feeling in the world.

You can hear my friend and co-producer, Joe [Buchan], walking around and packing up in the background. At the very end you can hear them say, “Cool, that sounded really nice”, which I think is really sweet.

The chorus lyrics of this song were actually written by my brother in

What do you love about your hometown?

Fave non-music hobby? Sewing. I’m not very good at it but it’s nice to use my hands and be away from screens.

Fancy cheese. Dream music collaboration? Too many! Adrianne Lenker and/ or the whole of Big Thief, Mica Levi, Okay Kaya, PJ Harvey, Sufjan Stevens… Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I truly have no idea. Thinking that far ahead doesn’t tend to do me much good! Hopefully I’ll be surrounded by people I love and admire, doing something fulfilling and meaningful. That’s the dream. What’s your go-to karaoke song? ‘Running Up That Hill’, for sure.

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GET TO KNOW:

Adelaide’s Snarling Punk Triumph Jess Day Fresh off the heels of new single ‘Rabbit Hole’, Michael Di Iorio sits down with Jess Day to discuss her career highlights, shining inspirations, and champagne fountains of Kombucha.

rowing up in the mining town of Roxby Downs and relocating to Adelaide in her preteen years, Jess Day started off making music in the usual beginner’s DIY fashion, with subject matters that only teenagers know how to tap into so excellently. But now, all those years of bedroom-indie have channelled themselves into something far superior. Jess Day now crafts moody indiepop and snarling punk tracks that would make the likes of Hayley Williams jealous. Every song released so far sprawls with the life and vibrancy of someone who knows their voice well, and uses it like a delicate weapon to carve out the very emotions from our hearts. And this descriptor applies well to new single ‘Rabbit Hole’, which chants “misery loves company / you took all the best in me”, as Jess Day ruminates over a past love gone to ruin, with an edge that lends itself to both anger and sadness indiscriminately. Her incredible breakout sophomore release ‘Why Is She So Beautiful’ caught the eyes and ears of triple j, where she was made Feature Artist of April. The single was also featured on playlists across Apple Music US and AU as well as Front Left and New Music Friday on Spotify.

How did your artist name come about? It’s my real name! Thanks, Mum and Dad. How would you describe your music to your grandma? I’d use Kelly Clarkson as a reference. Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about? ‘Why Is She So Beautiful’ – this one has a lighter, more summery, indie vibe than my most recent release. It’s about how miserable you can feel when the person you were once in a relationship with moves on after a breakup. It describes all the icky emotions that come with comparing yourself to their new person. ‘Rabbit Hole’ – my latest single, is about being in a toxic relationship with somebody and how it can suck the life out of you but eventually there’s a

point where you have to walk away to look after yourself. It’s about realising you deserve to be treated far better.

for dinner. I’ve also gotten into making Kombucha.

What do you love about your hometown?

Everything on the menu at Lord of The Fries and Staazi & Co. There would also be unlimited Kombucha but it’s flowing out of one of those champagne fountains.

That it has my family here. I’m close with my immediate family and with my Nan and extended family in Adelaide and it’s really nice. There’s also a vegan yiros shop called Staazi & Co and it tastes like real lamb yiros – Honestly, no lie, you wouldn’t tell the difference. It has improved my quality of life. Career highlight so far? Probably getting to do interstate shows at amazing venues such as The Enmore and The Forum on tour with Boy & Bear. I grew up listening to them so it’s a dream come true really.

What’s on your dream rider?

Dream music collaboration? Taylor Swift or Hayley Williams. Where do you see yourself in ten years? Maybe living overseas for a bit – hopefully somewhere cool like London. Ideally funded by all the royalties from my Taylor Swift collaboration. I will hopefully have a pet greyhound and at least two albums released.

Fave non-music hobby?

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

Identifying wild mushrooms and foraging for the ones you can eat

‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’ – Panic! At The Disco.

With plans to spread her wings across the world and dig her sharpened talons into the Australian music scene, Jess Day sat down with us to help us get to know more about her passions and drivers behind her musical talent. thebrag.com

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D N A D N A

J OY

S E D

SPLIT

Poppy Reid sits down with Middle Kids to discuss silk pillows, stuffed mountain goats, the art of nicknames, and their terrific new mini-album, New Songs for Old Problems.

N I T

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SIDES

hen Middle Kids released their minialbum New Songs For Old Problems, the six-track collection of guitar pop goodness cemented the Sydney trio as one of the most exciting indie bands to come out of Australia. But right up until the record’s release, Hannah Joy, Harry Day and Tim Fitz haven’t stopped. Prior to their biggest ever sold-out headline Australian tour to date, the band had a massive 2018. Their ARIA Top 10 debut release last year, Lost Friends, earned the band an ARIA nomination and saw them tour the UK and Europe with Bloc Party, and in the US, where they toured with Local Natives. As the record traverses the globe with its future classics like ‘Big Softy’, ‘Real Thing’ and ‘Beliefs & Prayers’, we asked the band to reflect on what it’s like to tour New Songs For Old Problems, and offer a few on-road stories from their travels. Check out our Q&A with Middle Kids: What’s your fave track from New Songs For Old Problems to play live? We open our set with ‘Salt Eyes’ at the moment, which always feels good. It kind of allows us to both relax into the set and bust out a little at the end, and people always seem to connect with that line at the end ‘You’re never mean but you’re never that kind’. ‘Real Thing’ is feeling good too, it’s been getting some radio play so you can see people starting to sing along. What’s the reception to the new mini-album been like from audiences whilst on tour? Playing new songs live you pretty much get instant feedback on which songs translate and which ones fall flat. You either see the energy flowing in the room, or not. ‘Beliefs & Prayers’ has been getting a cool reaction on this run, even though people haven’t heard it yet. Sometimes people cheer and you’re like ‘wow, they like it?’ You’ve done a fair few local and international tours now, what are some of your on-tour habits that not many people know about? We have about a million nicknames and in-jokes that we will literally never talk about when we’re off tour and then AS SOON as we’re in the van they all come back into circulation. So that’s some kind of weird habitual behaviour. Each tour adds more of these, so it becomes a complex language of jargon. Do you have any funny on-road stories for us from this particular tour?

Middle Kids photo by Maclay Heriot

Hmm, nothing really springs to mind, except we stayed at this bizarre hotel in Montana which had all these hot tubs and fake rocks with stuffed mountain goats on them in the lobby. A very strong vibe. What’s the most left-of-centre (re: weird) gift you’ve ever received from a fan during a tour? In Atlanta, we got given these silk pillows with photos of ourselves from the internet printed on them, like a big collage. It was a lot to take in. ■

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Satisfaction Guaranteed Michael Di Iorio and Two Door Cinema Club ponder over the newfangled ways of the internet age and untangle themselves from the wires of burnout upon the release of the band’s new album, False Alarm.

t’s been three long years since Two Door Cinema Club have released new music, but finally, the time has come to rejoice, as False Alarm, the band’s fourth studio album, is finally here. Never resting on their laurels for a second, Two Door Cinema Club are a band whose appeal stems from their willingness to always adapt and change. This time around, they’ve become colourful characters in turtlenecks, whose ambivalence towards the information age is just bursting to be heard.

In fact, it’s this very idea of the age of ‘burnout’ and ‘flashfire consumption’ that drives the entire soul of False Alarm, not only in its songs but in the process of creating it as well. As times have changed, the decade-long career of Two Door Cinema Club has also been met with changes, one of the most obvious ones being the way people consume music.

It’s this nervousness tinged with excitement towards the rapid ways of the new generation that makes the album so special, pulling in both old and new fans into the fold, to come on and pound the alarm together in a newfound harmony. I spoke with Alex Trimble, lead singer of the band, about how he feels about Two Door Cinema Club having this new wave of success with False Alarm, where old fans are interacting with new fans over the colourful tunes that, Trimble hopes, will relieve the stresses of the world we are all so terrifying consumed by.

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become more apparent a little bit later. Ultimately though they’re inherently personal, I mean they came out of us, but having us on the record cover was more about creating some sort of world for this album to live in. It’s always been when we make records that we put a bunch of songs together and then everything comes together, and then everything comes afterwards, you start to think about artwork and music videos, but this time around it was all done more candid. We were thinking about how the record was going to look, how the record was going to feel, and we love this idea of creating a world where we can bring people in, so we thought we would present ourselves as these characters who inhabit this world to make it feel a little more real and a little more tangible. You can definitely feel that energy, especially in the music videos, there’s definitely a carefree and colourful vibe. What inspired this artistic direction?

With your new album now released, how are you feeling? I feel pretty good. It’s felt like it’s been a long time coming, this record's been finished for almost a year, so it’s been difficult just sitting on it and not being able to have anybody hear it. I’ve been looking forward to the release and having it out there. You’ve mentioned in interviews that False Alarm is the band’s way of pointing out the absurd and bizarre nature of the information/ burnout age. How did this idea come about? It wasn’t really conscious; it’s just been something that’s been really fascinating me. It’s a really great source material, with so much to write about and think about – there are so many places you can go, so when I started writing, it just started to become about that, and there it is. Has the information age and its effects on the human condition been something noticeably present in your/the band’s life? I mean, it’s changing everybody’s life. We’ve been doing this professionally for ten years, and it was a very different place to work back then. First, the music was starting with a MySpace account, and now these days people are still buying records, so the way that people are listening to and consuming music is starting to change the way that a lot of people are making it.

We’re figuring out how to handle this new technology and new information and all that sort of stuff, we’re just trying to find the balance. Nobody knows what’s happening anymore, and

Do you think that this affects the way that you make new music, with how music consumption has changed? I don’t think it affects how we make music, I think it affects how people talk to us about the music we make. The people that we work with within the industry, they’re always trying to keep their fingers on the pulse, and everyone is suggesting things that we should do to keep up with what’s going on or try to pre-empt what’s happening next, but I think you’re kind of doomed to fail if you’re following on that trend, it’s just better to make the music that you want to in the time that you want to take to do it. I guess for some people the new way is working and it’s beneficial, but I don’t think we’d have results that we’d be happy with or proud of if we change how we do it to fit in with what’s going on now in terms of how music is being listened to or consumed. So essentially by being more authentic to yourself, you’re being truer to yourselves instead of trying to follow trends? Well yeah, I mean there’s only one reason why we do this. It’s great that this is a job and that we make money - I mean that has to be some consideration when you’re making music, it’s unpredictable and you want to make sure you can still do this for a living - but ultimately the reason that we do this is because we get a kick out of it. We get a kick out of making music and using it as a way to explore our own world, and so that part has to be there first off when we are making music, because that’s how you end up with good music or good art of any kind I guess. This new album cover, in contrast with the other ones, finally features the band’s faces. Would you say that this is because the album is more personal for the band? It’s hard to know objectively how personal this is, I know it sounds strange to say, but these things

“We thought we would present ourselves as these characters who inhabit this world to make it feel a little more real and a little more tangible” 22 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

Music, at least to me, feels like this kind of otherworldly kind of thing, so if you’re allowed to indulge in the fact that this is something ‘other’, rather than just some normal guys and some melodies put together. It becomes more of an allaround kind of experience. And it becomes more enjoyable for the audience as well. They become more involved. They see you having fun and so they want to listen to the music more. Going off that, some of the comments on ‘Talk’, which already has over one million views, go along the lines of “this has high meme potential”. Was something like that intentional for the band or kind of accidental? I guess it was accidental. The concept for the video came from Max (Siedentopf), the director, and he wanted to try and literally interpret every line in the song. It just seemed like this crazy idea that we were never going to do, because we had one day to film the music video and were planning on shooting 85 or 86 scenes in one day. So, if anything, we were almost not going to do a video because we thought it was just not going to work because there are so many little bits in pieces. In hindsight though, you’re right, every little snippet can become some sort of meme. You mentioned in a BBC interview that you’re aware of band's shelf lives. Did this fact come to play at all in the making of False Alarm? Yeah, I think so, but not in the way of feeling fear. Really it was the opposite, we were just throwing caution to the wind and making sure we were doing exactly what we wanted. This is such an unpredictable business to be in, and you don’t know what’s going to happen. You want to do the best you can while you have the chance to. Whether or not a lot of people will stream or buy our records, we’re still going to keep being ourselves. That’s another reason not to be worried about anything, we’ll do this record, we’ll try something we’ve never tried before, and it might go well, or it might not. It’s about not putting any pressure on ourselves. It’s kind of like a fresh confidence that allows you to not fall for that kind of trap that most bands do who do have shelf lives, correct?

Two Door Cinema Club photos by Aleksandra Kingo

It’s become a lot faster, and that’s kind of hard to deal with, where more emphasis is put on quantity. We’re an album-band, I guess you could call us. It’s all very important to us, and very important to the development of any band rather. We want to keep making music that way, so it’s a good thing for albums that vinyl is becoming more popular again because vinyl obviously supports the whole concept of the ‘album’, so that’s a good sign.

we’ve noticed it a lot in music over the years. Everything is changing and nobody knows how or why.

Well initially it was bands like Kraftwerk and Devo, and bands that play with things visually a lot more than many other bands would. They were creating their own worlds and their own identities, whether it was Kraftwerk with the whole robot vibe or Devo with the Devolution kind of headcases. But also, it seemed like they were having fun. It seemed like it was making the music even more accessible, you were connecting to these characters.

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MUSIC

Yeah, for sure. It’s taken us a while to get here, and this is the first record where we’ve all kind of had that new attitude that it doesn’t matter, so we may as well give it our best shot. I always think that if we don’t fail and the album does well but we played it safe and we hadn’t really rocked the boat or tried anything new then that would be really heartbreaking. But if we fail but had at least had been interesting or exciting then that’s the main thing that matters.

“Nobody knows what’s happening anymore, and we’ve noticed it a lot in music over the years. Everything is changing and nobody knows how or why”

Yeah, because most creative failures are more memorable than boring successes in a way. Yeah absolutely. I think it’s better to be interesting than to be popular. Going off that, you guys have never really rested on your laurels or past experiences, so where do you find inspiration when writing a brand new set of songs for a brand new album? The truth is that we don’t know. You just start writing and it starts to appear in front of you. Sometimes I’ll know that it’s important or it has some significance, but a lot of the times songs won’t kind of reveal themselves until after the fact, but that’s the most exciting part, accepting that you don’t know because it makes the whole process interesting for us as well. The album from the singles alone kind of has a very fresh, modern sound. Was this something that you guys knew you were going to do or just happened to stumble upon in the process of making music? We just stumbled upon it. We’ve kind of done that with every record. We never have a solid idea of what this is gonna be or what it’s going to be about or how it’s going to sound. We are more of a studio band than a live band in terms of how we generate music, and so when you’re in this room that’s full of instruments and you’re ideas are the limit really, there’s no concept of whose going to play what instrument or how it’s going to sound. It’s great that we can work on computers and have everything plugged in and just try stuff out, and kind of just throw every idea down and see what works and how things kind of develop themselves, y’know? With making a fresh new sound, it already looks like a lot of the older fans are super pleased, and there’s also a big wave of new incoming fans that have never heard of you guys before. How do you feel about entering this new wave of musical success? I don’t really know. I guess we’ve always been a band that’s always been on the sidelines, where a lot of people don’t know who we are. A lot of people might be aware of where the music comes from on a subconscious level, since it seems to find its way to a lot of different places, but I always think they know we’re a band that makes records and will always be there, so we may as well keep it fresh and keep trying to renew everything. Maybe older fans will like the music we do now or maybe they won’t, and maybe some new people will like it. Everything is always changing, and people are always changing. So what are you waiting for? As members of the so-called “heads down” generation, don’t we deserve to have a good time too? Two Door Cinema Club’s new album False Alarm is exactly the kind of party we’ve been waiting for – one that acknowledges the fact that we’re all living in a rapid electronic age yet doesn’t shame us for it. Instead, it revels in the weirdness and absurdity of this new world we live in and invites us all to celebrate our anxieties in one big colourful clash. ■

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MUSIC

WAITING FOR

10,000 Days Rod Yates interviews the members of iconic band Tool, who have just released their new album Fear Inoculum, after 13 long years of making fans wait.

The “boys” in question were the Tool vocalist’s bandmates – guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor and drummer Danny Carey – who for years had been methodically working on the follow-up to the quartet’s 2006 album, 10,000 Days. It wasn’t the first occasion Keenan had aired his frustration with the amount of time the process was taking. In an interview on the ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast in 2017, he admitted he was “always butting heads with the guys in the band to get things done, it’s just not their process”. Speaking from his home in Arizona just weeks before the release of Tool’s long-awaited new LP, Fear Inoculum, he admits to wondering at times whether he’d ever receive those completed music files, on top of which he could finally start locking in his lyrics and vocal melodies. Ask him if he feared the songs would never be completed, and in typically succinct fashion he says, “Correct”. Turns out he wasn’t the only one. Calling from his home on the outskirts of Los

“WE HAD TO STEP BACK AND TAKE A BREAK FROM EACH OTHER” 24 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

Angeles, bassist Justin Chancellor concedes he too had concerns over whether the band – which formed in LA in 1990 – would produce a successor to 10,000 Days. “Absolutely. I would say it was never a real threat, but more out of frustration. There were some dead ends we went down, and I’m talking working on stuff for a year or two, and then getting really frustrated – whether it’s one person who wants [the song] to go one way or another, or just differences of opinions about the vibe of it, the specifics of it. “We had those moments where we really had to step back and take a break from each other and then seriously wonder whether we were ever going to get through it. “But somehow we really know how rare and perfect our situation is,” he adds. “We really respect it. We know we’re not just going to step out and step into something else of similarity. “So I think everybody really values what we have, and will always come back to that place and give it another go and really try and keep it together.” Keenan admits his comments were designed to provoke a reaction from his bandmates. “It was my attempt to get them to push back. To go, ‘Fuck you, we’re going to get more done.’ Bummer! [Laughs] ‘Oh no, you retaliated by finishing a song to prove me wrong.’ It didn’t really work. I tried.” While Danny Carey points to some of the band’s earlier output as having been written as a collective in one afternoon – songs such as ‘Sober’ and ‘Crawl Away’ from their 1993 debut full-length Undertow – he estimates that Tool’s

“WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN VIEWS ON IT, BUT THAT’S JUST WHAT MAKES THE BAND WHAT IT IS. PUTTING UP WITH EACH OTHER, MAKING SACRIFICES FOR EACH OTHER, IT LEADS TO THE GREAT PAYOFF IN THE END.” songwriting process changed while penning their second album, 1996’s Ænima. It was then that he, Chancellor and Jones started engaging in lengthy jam sessions, after which the music would be presented to Keenan for his vocals. It seems the frustration around the writing process for Fear Inoculum wasn’t limited solely to the singer. “Adam’s probably the one who wants to try every little thing more and more, or maybe doesn’t quite trust himself right away,” offers Carey from Maui, where he’s holidaying with his family. “Maynard’s at the opposite end, he doesn’t even want to work on anything. There’s the flash of inspiration, he

commits, and he considers it finished. Both of those guys drive me nuts! Can’t we just do something in the middle here? “We all have our own views on it, but that’s just what makes the band what it is. Putting up with each other, making sacrifices for each other, it leads to the great payoff in the end.” That payoff is Fear Inoculum. Produced by Joe Barresi, with whom the band worked on 10,000 Days, it’s arguably Tool’s most ambitious album to date. A staggeringly intricate collection of songs which stretch between 10 and 16 minutes in length, it also features four brief interludes, with the members contributing one each. (All will be thebrag.com

Tool photo by Travis Shinn

n February 2018, Maynard James Keenan tweeted: “Started getting music files from the boys w the word FINAL in the title a few months ago after 11 years of begging.”

available on the LP’s digital release, but only Carey’s ‘Chocolate Chip Trip’ will make the physical CD due to restrictions on the length of the format.)

and part of that discipline and honour of collaborating is letting the other person be who they are and approach music the way they want to.

At points sombre, angry, ethereal and crushingly heavy, Fear Inoculum is always very distinctly Tool.

“It’s not like, fuck everything, the four of us are going in a room. It’s more, this person takes a little longer, or this person has to work like this or in this area or these kinds of conditions. So that’s the biggest thing, and that’s to me the payoff.

“I think people are going to like it because it’s definitely an alternative to anything that’s available from anybody else on the planet,” says Carey. According to the drummer it wasn’t until around 2014 that they really knuckled down to work on Fear Inoculum in earnest. Chancellor points to the fact that the band would tour each year – sometimes for a week, other times for a month – as slowing progress to that point, while legal issues involving the group and their former insurance company also contributed.

“When it’s done it’s rewarding, there’s a sense of satisfaction, a sense of self. But it’s a gruelling, painful, cursed process where you go, ‘This sucks!’ But as soon as you’re done you go, ‘Let’s do another one!’”

Ultimately, though, it seems like writing a Tool song is simply a long, drawn out process.

Chancellor estimates the tracking took around nine or 10 months, with drums laid down in Hollywood’s Henson Recording Studios (formerly A&M Studios, one-time home to artists such as Carole King and the location of the ‘We Are The World’ all-star charity recording) and guitars and bass in LA’s Universal Recording Studios.

“We’ve always been a band, we’ve always been four parts and looked at it that way,” says Adam Jones from his home in Los Angeles. “And there’s a lot of discipline and honour in our band,

Due to his extracurricular career as a winemaker, Keenan was forced to multitask while recording his vocals in his home studio after Barresi and engineer Matt Mitchell travelled to his property in Arizona.

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“It was during [wine] harvest,” he explains. “I would spend time on the forklift, do some inoculating, do some wild ferments, whatever we were doing in the cellar while [Barresi and Mitchell] gathered things together. “Then I would come in and do about an hour of vocals, two hours of vocals, and then they’d take a beat to organise it and comp [the takes] and figure out some of the better takes. “Then [we’d] listen back and go, ‘I can beat that, let’s beat that.’ Meanwhile I’m in the cellar working on the wines. That’s just logistically what it had to be. I didn’t have the luxury of time. So I made time.” Throughout Fear Inoculum’s lengthy gestation, Carey says the goal never changed. “Being honest with ourselves and being honest to the songs we’ve written, that place where we meet together, that’s the goal,” he says.

“WHEN IT’S DONE IT’S REWARDING, THERE’S A SENSE OF SATISFACTION, A SENSE OF SELF. BUT IT’S A GRUELLING, PAINFUL, CURSED PROCESS WHERE YOU GO, ‘THIS SUCKS!’”

“We just get together and jam and whatever happens is what happens. It’s a real organic process and we don’t try to force it. Maybe that’s why it partly takes so long, which is a bit of a drag for the fans. But it’s the way we’ve always done it, so we don’t really have much of a choice about it.” ■ BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19 :: 25

Benjamin Piñeros goes all the way back to a time when a rock ’n’ roll band from Dublin ruled the world in this revisit of U2’s transformative record The Joshua Tree.

Another Climb of

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et’s go back to a magical moment in time when mobile phones didn’t exist, Justin Bieber was not born yet, and a rock ’n’ roll band from Dublin ruled the world.

If we think about it, maybe it would be easier for a time traveller from the 80s to adapt to our days than for us to go back. Today, Child’s Play, It, Rick Astley and Johnny Depp are miraculously still around. Star Wars and high-cut swimsuits are all the craze, there’s a Watchmen series coming out, and a new ’80s throwback song breaks into the charts almost every other week. On the other hand, for us, going back to the 80s would feel like being thrown right into the Stone Age. Imagine life with no social media to vent out our frustration with the last season of Game of Thrones. No LOLs, no heart-eyes emoji, no cat videos. No free porn. Picture yourself having to actually go to a store and buy one of those archaeological artefacts known as CDs. Imagine listening to music with no advertisements at 44.1 KHz/16 bit sampling frequency. The horror, the horror.

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COVER STORY

U2 poses prior to a performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name" during a concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO on the Joshua Tree Tour 2017 on September 12, 2017

“It’s easy to forget that they dominated the music world between 1983 and 2004, selling more than 150 million records”

The ’80s: Context Despite the ‘80s not being so far away, the world was certainly very different back then. There were around five million people on the planet — over two billion less than today —, the Soviet Union still existed and there were two Germanys. The Reagan administration was immersed in the Iran-Contra scandal, over at the British Isles The Troubles were at boiling point, and the infamous “Black Monday” stock market crash left the world’s economy hanging by a thread. In 1987, Kendrick Lamar and Lionel Messi were born. The first ever Rugby World Cup kicked off at Eden Park with New Zealand vs Italy, and a 19-year-old Kylie Minogue released ‘Locomotion’ and ‘I Should Be So Lucky’.

trends and generated a cult of personality. Still today, the gargantuan success of pop artists in the 80s is the benchmark against what today’s performers are measured. And among this constellation of scintillating supernovas, stood four earnest Irishmen that didn’t do dance choreographies, wore no wigs, and created tunes that didn’t fit any of the dominating genres of the time.

There are many reasons why U2 is one of the music industry’s favourite targets today In a time when complaining, self-importance, selfentitlement and faux outrage have become the world’s favourite pastimes, music fans, the press and even those with no interest in the band had all found a reason to bash them.

The apparition of MTV in 1981 changed the business forever, introducing the visual aspect of an artist as an inseparable part of their output. This brought upon a new breed of mega-stars the world had not seen since Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Stars like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince were not only extremely talented performers but massively charismatic personas that defined fashion

Their astronomical success was made of U2 pariahs amidst a section of radical indie fans who can’t forgive them for going from an experimental post-punk outfit into a global dancefloor sensation. On the other hand, their stance as a politically and socially conscious act has earned them the label of hypocrites and “social justice warriors” among the,

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Sum to that an inconsistent output over the last two decades, with albums that contain as many brilliant masterpieces as uninspired saccharine clunkers. And let’s not even talk about that overblown mess with the iTunes release of their album Songs of Innocence in 2014. Amidst all the noise, it’s easy to forget that they dominated the music world between 1983 and 2004, selling more than 150 million records and producing three of the best albums of all time; The Unforgettable Fire (1984), Achtung Baby (1991), and the gem we’re going to revisit here, The Joshua Tree, released in 1987. Up to that point U2 had sold a healthy amount of records, but their forte was definitively playing live. They toured extensively throughout the U.S. and had earned a reputation as one of the hottest live acts of the decade. In March of 1985, Rolling Stone Magazine made a cover story calling U2 the “Band of the 80s.” Later that year they impressed with their energetic performance at Live Aid where they played a 12-minute chaotic rendition of ‘Bad’ in which the band improvised while Bono went off script and jumped off the stage to dance with a fan.Sum to that an inconsistent output over the last two decades, with albums that contain as many brilliant

▲

In a music industry where autotune didn’t exist, — it hadn’t came into use until the late ’90s — lists were dominated mainly by four genres; pop music, hip-hop, New Wave and Glam Metal.

let’s say, most “opinionated” factions of the internet.

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COVER STORY

“This is a band that is capable of blasting a joyous spiritual anthem like ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and then hitting us with a painful tale of personal loss like ‘One Tree Hill’”

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Above (top): The Joshua Tree album cover photo by Anton Corbijn and (below): U2's Joshua Tree tour promotional photo by Anton Corbijn masterpieces as uninspired saccharine clunkers. And let’s not even talk about that overblown mess with the iTunes release of their album Songs of Innocence in 2014.

The Joshua Tree transformed U2

Amidst all the noise, it’s easy to forget that they dominated the music world between 1983 and 2004, selling more than 150 million records and producing three of the best albums of all time; The Unforgettable Fire (1984), Achtung Baby (1991), and the gem we’re going to revisit here, The Joshua Tree, released in 1987.

Things were going just fine for the Irish rockers, but everything went to a whole different level following the release of The Joshua Tree. That album transformed them from a band that sold out arenas in the U.S. into an international entertainment brand capable of filling an entire stadium anywhere in the globe.

Up to that point U2 had sold a healthy amount of records, but their forte was definitively playing live. They toured extensively throughout the U.S and had earned a reputation as one of the hottest live acts of the decade. In March of 1985, Rolling Stone Magazine made a cover story calling U2 the “Band of the ’80s.” Later that year they impressed with their energetic performance at Live Aid where they played a 12-minute chaotic rendition of ‘Bad’ in which the band improvised while Bono went off script and jumped off the stage to dance with a fan.

After 1987, U2 became more than just rock stars, they turned into relevant voices in the world stage. That famous front cover on Time Magazine, vacations with the Obamas, Bono rubbing elbows with UN diplomats, it all started here. Throughout their career, the band always looked for physical spaces with an aura of mysticism about them to produce their albums. Their second outing, October, was composed in a music room at Mount Temple, the school where they first met as teens. To record The Unforgettable Fire, U2 picked legendary Slane Castle. Sun Studios in Memphis

held recording sessions for Rattle and Hum, and Hansa Tonstudio was chosen for Achtung Baby. The approach to The Joshua Tree was no different. To record their fourth album, producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno decided to repurpose a monumental 18th Georgian house in Rathfarnham, Ireland, located in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. Although they didn’t want to let go completely of the ambient experimentation that was so successful in their previous album The Unforgettable Fire, their main objective this time around was to create songs with more conventional structures. Curiously, the result was a bit more unorthodox than what they originally planned for. What they ended up with was a sort of futuristic gospel album that sounds like nothing that was playing on the radio at the time. The United States and Ireland have tight bonds that go way back to the first wave of Irish migration in the 17th Century. Throughout history, Irish culture has influenced America greatly, but with The Joshua Tree, it’s the other way round.

“In retrospect, one can see the enormous risk this album was” 28 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

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U2 on tree stage on Joshua Tree Tour 2017 in Kansas City.

Musically, the album is the epitome of U2’s distinctive sound Effect-heavy guitars that feel like silver being sprinkled from the sky over a thumping rhythm section that sounds like a military band marching into battle.

U2 appropriates gospel, blues, John Coltrane, The Memphis Sound, Elvis Presley, and borrow elements from American literature, particularly the New Journalism movement. The whole album reads like a heartfelt homage to the United States, but one that is not self-complacent, gratuitous or servile. The band proudly roars their praise to the cultural riches, natural beauty, and vibrancy of the land of the free, but pulls no punches when it comes to exposing the ugly side of the American dream, that of hypocrisy, poverty, foreign intervention, fanaticism, and violence. In a sense, this album and its successor, Rattle and Hum can be seen as the band documenting a road trip through The United States while they discover, and at the same time dismantle, the myth of America. One of the unreleased songs of the album that was later included in the 20th anniversary remaster is a track titled ‘Drunk Chicken’ in which the band provides an instrumental background to Allen Ginsberg reciting his iconic poem ‘America’.

U2 Joshua Tree Tour photo by Mikey Brown

That poem right there encapsulates the whole spirit of the album, and probably of U2’s whole career.

America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing. America two dollars and twenty-seven cents January 17, 1956. I can’t stand my own mind. America when will we end the human war? Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb. I don’t feel good don’t bother me. I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind. America when will you be angelic? When will you take off your clothes? When will you look at yourself through the grave? When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites? America why are your libraries full of tears?

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The Edge has always been a different strain of guitar hero, one who instead of shredding at the slightest opportunity, is more focused on creating weird sounds, atmospheres, and unique textures. In The Joshua Tree, he runs amok with his trademark syncopated melodies and delay effects, traits that today are as idiosyncratic to U2 as Bono’s sunglasses. Another of the quintessential characteristics of U2 is being able to tackle the mundane and the transcendent so adeptly you can’t even tell the difference. The Joshua Tree seemingly jumps from intimate declarations of love, like ‘With Or Without You’, to the harrowing exposition of political atrocity in ‘Mothers of the Disappeared’. This is a band that is capable of blasting a joyous spiritual anthem like ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and then hitting us with a painful tale of personal loss like ‘One Tree Hill’, and in both cases, tug at our heartstrings just as effectively. During the ‘80s Bono hadn’t perfected the distinctive falsetto he’s known for today. His preferred style back then was to explode with a powerful open voice which he decorated with little imperfections like sighs and deep breathing that gave to his performances a visceral, raw feel. In retrospect, one can see the enormous risk this album was. This is a record that doesn’t sound like anything playing on lists at the time. It doesn’t have anything in common with hair bands like Motley Crüe or Poison, nor is their sound constructed around synthesisers like most pop did at the time. It isn’t quite New Wave either. U2 has been so overplayed, today we think of them as the ultimate example of 80s sound. But if we compare it to what was going on at the time, there wasn’t anything like them. Even their image was completely out of tune. While popular acts relied on costumes, heavy makeup and dancing antics for their shows and videos, U2 trusted Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, who rendered the band in melancholic, gloomy black and white pictures where they’re always standing in the middle of desolate landscapes staring into the horizon with an expression of grief. Not particularly a concept

that screams “mass appeal”. While wearing their heart on their sleeve is one of those characteristics that some find insufferable about the Irish band, on The Joshua Tree they managed to create an experience that even for someone like me, who isn’t spiritual at all, feels like plunging your feelings in a sauna. There’s just something about the album that washes your pain away and works like soul bleach. At times it’s a loving, emotional pledge to unity and in others, it serves as a militant call to arms that reminds me of that famous label on Woody Guthrie’s guitar; “This machine kills fascists”. Not that U2 is capable of defeating hate on its own, but it sure as hell tries. Almost universally revered at the time of its release, the record is frequently mentioned as one of the best ever made, and in 2014 it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the US Library of Congress. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of what could be considered the best work in their career, U2 embarked in 2017 in a massive concert tour through stadiums across Europe, North and South America. Good news is, earlier this year the band announced they would play an encore run in Australia and Asia this November and December. The shows will mark their first concert in Australia since 2010, and their first performance ever in South Korea and Singapore. Rock ’n’ roll aficionados, fans of good music, or simple casuals that enjoy a grand spectacle, this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience live one of the musical milestones of the 20th century. It would be almost blasphemy to miss it. “It’s only taken me 30 years to learn how to sing these songs and it’s great to be able to say that I’ve finally caught up with the band,” Bono said in a press statement. “Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul… We’re coming for you.” ■ U2 ‘The Joshua Tree’ Tour With Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 12 November Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium 15 November Melbourne, Marvel Stadium 19 November Adelaide, Adelaide Oval 22 November Sydney, Sydney Cricket Ground 27 November Perth, Optus Stadium

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FEATURE

These four Irish lads have certainly gone far since they met at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in the late ‘70s. A band that started as an interesting post-punk phenomenon became, in just a decade, one of the biggest pop sensations the music business has ever seen. Generation X and Millennials didn’t have Elvis, The Beatles, or Led Zeppelin, but we can sure say we had U2.

Setting the Standard for the Stadium Show Benjamin Piñeros dives into the cultural impact of U2, and teaches us a few things about circular stages and 4K filming along the way. This November, U2 is returning to Australia for the first time since 2010. To celebrate the historic occasion, we will revisit the band’s tour history and dive into the technology of their upcoming concert to tell you what to expect from “the greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world.”

In the early ’80s, they were a sort of Joy Division light, well respected in the underground scene, and a sensation at small local venues for the intensity of their performances. They played at school auditoriums, bars or unusual locales like Dublin’s Dandelion Market. Bono had a strange bushy mullet, The Edge didn’t wear hats, Larry Mullen Jr. seemed to use lots of hair conditioner and Adam Clayton rocked a gigantic orange afro.

The cultural impact of ZooTV U2 opened the ‘90s with Achtung Baby, an extravagant, lush album full of electronic experimentation and contagious dance beats that put them in the ears not only of rock ’n’ roll fans but inserted them in the vibrant club culture of Europe. They contested the accusations of presumptuousness, with exactly that, an overblown spectacle like the world hadn’t seen before. To support Achtung Baby, they came up with the infamous ‘ZooTV Tour’, a gargantuan multimedia

The Elevation Era

extravaganza that worked as a satire of themselves and the Frankenstein they had become. It critiqued the shallowness of celebrity and served as an open attack to the media and their power to manipulate the truth and numb society with useless information. It was here that the famous image of Bono with glasses was born. The band borrowed iconography from different rock

Right: U2 PopMart Tour, photo by Ardfern

Bono of U2 playing The Isle of Calf Festival, Norway 1983. Øverås

Arguably, no band since The Beatles has achieved such a combination of popular appeal, commercial success, artistic relevance, and social impact. In times like ours, when rock ’n’ roll music has been pushed to the fringes of mainstream charts and is almost considered now as niche, it’s not crazy to say U2 is the last of the supergroups.

The band has managed to stay relevant for almost four decades thanks in part to their uncanny ability to reinvent themselves. In fact, they’ve had so many iterations your perception of the band depends on the decade in which you first heard them.

Left: U2, Isle of Calf Festival, Norway 1983. Photo: Helge Øverås

From school ground beginnings to making it big-time

Breaking rules with U2 360°

After the mixed reviews of their ‘90s albums ‘Zooropa’ and ‘Pop’, which in many ways felt like leftovers from Achtung Baby, U2 returned to indoor arenas and a more organic sound in the 2000s. The Elevation Tour which supported their album All That You Can’t Leave Behind, had a much more strippeddown design that featured a heartshaped stage that placed the fans much closer to the band.

Far left: Photo by Steve Kalinsky Left: Photo by U2start.com

The ingenious return to basics was well received by fans and critics alike, with Spin Magazine praising U2 for having “schooled bands half their age about what a rock show could really accomplish”. At the 13th annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards, the band won awards for Major Tour of the Year and Most Creative Stage Production while Live Design Magazine handed their 2001 EDDY Award to long-time U2 stage designer Willie Williams for his work.

Bono playing his on-stage character "The Fly" during U2's 1992 show in Cleveland Ohio, on their Zoo TV Tour. 30 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

Every single tour that U2 has embarked on since 1992 has signified a breakthrough in the music industry. From inventing the B-stage to pushing the advancement of screen technology, almost every tour they’ve done for the last three decades has broken some sort of record, be it the number of tickets sold or the introduction of some new crazy paraphernalia.

Bono playing his on-stage character “Shadowman" 2017 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. thebrag.com

By the mid-‘80s they had developed their unique brand of alternative rock and had already earned on the road the reputation of being one of the most exciting live bands of the rock circuit. After their first gigs in the United States, they began to progressively play larger venues, moving from clubs to music halls to arenas. It’s during this time that they introduced strong socio-political themes into their act. Ireland was going through the thick of The Troubles, and their live presence was passionate, aggressive and almost defiant. In contrast, their set-up was austere, featuring only three white flags as props on stage. During their shows, fans often threw Irish flags to the band, which they symbolically

“From inventing the B-stage to pushing the advancement of screen technology, almost every tour they’ve done for the last three decades has broken some sort of record.” In comes The Joshua Tree

ripped apart leaving only the middle white strip. The image of Bono waving one of those white flags while performing ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ became the band’s iconic image of the time.

Right before the release of The Joshua Tree in 1987, the band was hailed as a worthy successor of arena rock stalwarts like The Rolling Stones or Genesis, but nobody really knew the monster they would become.

During this phase, they sometimes engaged with the audience in dangerous antics, like Bono climbing the scaffolding to recklessly throw himself into the crowd.

After that album the band exploded into the stratosphere, becoming an international entertainment brand capable of selling out stadiums anywhere in the world.

It was precisely that fearless disposition to get up close and personal with their fans that put them under the world’s spotlight. The cusp of their popularity came in 1985 when Bono improvised during their presentation at Live Aid and left his surprised bandmates mid-song to dance with a fan offstage.

Up to The Joshua Tree, the band portrayed themselves as these combative, earnest Irishman

stars throughout history, — Lou Reed’s shades, Jim Morrison’s leather pants, Elvis’ jacket — and came up with the egomaniac character known as “The Fly” a persona Bono adopted in each show. During Zoo TV the band pulled off antics that blurred the line between performance art, advertisement and reality television. In huge television screens, they played live satellite link-ups to war-torn Sarajevo, prank phone calls to the United Nations, channel surfing and video confessionals. After creating what is probably the most memorable tour in history, there was no

U2 PopMart Tour, Belfast, 1997.

stoically staring into the horizon in black and white photographs. And that was the same image they projected in their follow up album, Rattle and Hum. Both the album and movie of the same name saw the band playing some of the best music of their career, but some felt it as a premature and self-indulgent effort to inscribe themselves in the pantheon of rock ’n’ roll. The critical backlash forced them to counter-attack. And boy did they deliver.

going back for the band. They followed the monstrous success and cultural impact of Zoo TV with the 1997 album Pop, and its support tour ‘PopMart’. Again they resorted to an ironic and self-deprecating motif, this time with a ridiculously elaborate stage that had a 30-meter wide golden McDonald’s arch, a 50-meter wide LED screen, and a gigantic, house-sized disco ball shaped as a lemon. For those who missed ZooTV, it was a dream come true. To others, it was a bit too much, and the start of a phase of creative stagnation.

“The tour was a critical and commercial success, with an audience of 2.7 million fans over 51 shows.”

U2 306 Tour 2009 from the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.

In 2008 they signed a 12-year contract worth US$100 million with Live Nation, and their first venture under the deal was their 2009 tour titled U2 360°. In promotion of their album No Line on the Horizon, the band went back to playing stadiums in a massive circular stage that allowed the audience to completely surround them. To pull it off, concert designers devised a ridiculously large fourlegged structure nicknamed “The Claw”. The imposing structure located above the band held the

concert’s sound system and featured a cylindrical, expanding video screen. At the time, the 50-metre tall, $30 million US mechanical monster broke records as the largest stage contraption ever constructed. U2 made a partnership with Belgian tech company Barco to develop a giant 24 x 16-metre diameter LED screen capable of changing shape in all directions. The company used more than half a million transformable LED pixels into the jaw-dropping transformable structure, the first of its kind.

Above: Photo by SRich Niewiroski Jr.

Reinventing The Joshua Tree To celebrate the 30th anniversary of what could be the most acclaimed album of their career, in 2017 the band decided to kick off The Joshua Tree Tour, which marked the first time U2 would play live an entire album in sequence, and the first time they would perform on stage their classic song ‘Red Hill Mining Town’. For the special occasion, the band put in place a mammoth 8k resolution, 60 x 13-metre cinematic screen, claimed to be the largest high-res LED screen ever used in a show. The screen is comprised of 1,040 individual LED video panels that together deliver a resolution of 7,200 × 1,560 pixels. The whole thing is similar in size to thebrag.com

the one the band used on their PopMart Tour in the 90s but has 400 times the resolution. The high resolution of the screen, at least two times higher than what any of us have at home, implied they couldn’t use any footage that wasn’t at least at 4K. That presented an important technological challenge that forced the U2 crew to implement a new camera and server workflow to handle the huge amount of data that a live 4K stream entails. In fact, the Joshua Tree Tour is the first tour ever to broadcast video in 4K. The widescreen aspect ratio is a homage to the silvery black and white landscape pictures Anton Corbijn’s took to promote

the album’s original release. In the 1987 LP gatefold album, the sleeve opened up to the now iconic photograph of the band against a desolate desert landscape. This time around Corbijn was commissioned by U2 once more to create a series of short films and evocative clips to be played in during their performance. The tour was a critical and commercial success, with an audience of 2.7 million fans over 51 shows across Mexico, the UK and Europe, North and South America. The tour also saw the band doing a series of landmark concerts. In July they returned to Croke Park 30 years after they played the iconic Dublin venue during the original Joshua Tree tour,

and later in October they landed a historical first visit to Bogotá, Colombia, playing amidst a heated political climate almost one exact year after the polarising peace agreement referendum. The Joshua Tree Tour ended in October 2017 but will have an encore run in 2019 that will bring the band to Australia for the first time in nine years. Alongside the universal anthems from the album, like ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ and ‘With Or Without You’, the band will rock a selection of other hits from their catalogue with tunes like ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and ‘Pride’. ■ BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19 :: 31

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THE IMPORTANCE OF

Representation IN

Flowchart by Georgia Moloney Photo: Hayley Williams of Paramore perform at Rock im Park 2013, Nürnberg, photo by Sven-Sebastian Sajak modified by Sarah Bryant

Georgia Moloney takes a close look at the state of pop punk, and reminds us of the importance of representation, especially in a genre that lacks it.

he lack of gender representation in pop punk needs to change, and it starts with us.

There is a lot of discussion going on right now in the music community regarding gender diversity. It’s a hot topic because a lack of representation helps form prejudice, which leads to a lack of participation by women and LGBTQ+ individuals. It’s a vicious cycle, which I have drawn up in a neat little flowchart because I’m garbage at explaining it in a nice paragraph. When you’re young and see someone ‘like you’ in a position of power, you feel validated. Race, gender and sexuality are all common identifiers; and when these identifiers are shared with people you look up to, you’re able to picture yourself in their shoes. It makes you feel included and encouraged, even if you don’t realise it at the time. It can inspire people to actively participate in the community by going to shows, starting bands, and working behind the scenes. By seeing other individuals you identify with, you feel welcome.

I often reflect on how representation had an impact on me. Hayley Williams of Paramore and Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive were the two women I modelled my adolescent self after. Their music resonated with me, and I found inspiration for my own developing identity within their public personas.

WHERE IT STARTS

rtant. Without Supporting bands at a local level is super impo to able grow, which the support of the community, bands aren’t positively influence to ion keeps them from getting to a posit now, including right it g killin lutely others. Bigger bands are abso Milk Teeth, X, WAA per, Cree ent, Curr Marmozets, Against The about at what But . Courage My Love, Sharptooth and Doll Skin a local level? way for the next Two Australian pop punk bands paving the ntic and Stateside. generation of ladies in music are Stand Atla e with their catchy scen They’ve been steadily taking over the to make things hard ing work s, hooks and hectic live show of how important happen. Both of these acts are examples ort when they support at a local level is – without that supp are today. they e wher be started out, they wouldn’t

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In high school I dyed my hair red to be like Hayley’s, bought similar items to her stage clothes, and when Jenna started wearing chokers you best believe I went and bought some. Their strength continues to inspire me, and I am thankful to have had such powerful role models growing up. Now, the next generation needs to see representation in pop punk too.

HOW WE CAN HELP Without people buying their music and merch or coming to gigs, there’s no income to help bands grow. But if there’s interest in the band, they’ll get booked on more and more lineups. They’ll be able to keep making better music, and build up a fanbase which they can then speak to about social issues. They can be an example of what’s possible for women in music if you keep ploughing through all the bullshit that’s currently plaguing the scene. We as a community have the power to push for change by supporting artists at a grassroots level. So many talented women and LGBTQ+ musicians are rising through the ranks right now. The more noise we make about their talent, the less people can overlook them. The lack of representation in pop punk needs to change, and it starts with us. ■

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MUSIC

HOW TO:

Not Kook A Music PR Campaign

Mike Hohnen wants you to turn the oven off and put the frying pans away, so that you’ll never kook a music PR campaign again in your life.

Not unlike ‘music journalist’, ‘music publicist’ is a title that gets thrown around a lot these days. But there’s a big difference between helping out your mate’s band to get some write-ups and being an actual mediator between an artist and the media. Firstly – what the fuck even is a music publicist? Common parlance is that publicists are ‘professional liars’, ready to spin something whatever way they need to get the media interested. While there’s a kernel of truth within that, good publicists – that is actual mediators between artists and media – don’t need to lie, they understand the product and the media landscape well enough to carve out interesting and numerous angles for any given campaign. No, it’s not easy. But being a legitimate music publicist isn’t an easy job. It takes patience, dedication and a thick skin to be a music publicist. There’s a thousand moving parts to any given music PR campaign and if you get them all right, you stand a chance of scoring thorough coverage on your announcement. Get just one wrong, however, and you’ll totally kook the entire campaign. Trust me, I’ve kooked plenty. Having operated on both sides of the PR / Media divide, I’ve picked up a thing or two on the best way to not kook a music PR campaign. While I was far from a good publicist, I worked closely enough with amazing publicists including Nik Tropiano and Meg Williams, so I bore witness to how greatness operates.

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Press Releases

Announcements

Press releases are the magic wand for publicists. These are used to convey functional information to anyone who may read it and wish to cover the announcement on their publication. They’re also a fine art.

Music PR campaigns are usually broken down into multiple announcements.

Phrasing can make or break a press release and while you may deeply, truly, madly believe your announcement is a ‘game changer’… I can tell you right now it’s not. Don’t oversell your product, PR is the business of managing expectations as much as it is the business of anything else. No editor has ever been convinced that your artist is ‘the next big thing’ simply because you said so in the press release. Be honest, objective and realistic. Media cop hundreds of press releases a day and as such, they’ve developed the innate ability to read between the lines. They know when they’re being bullshitted and yes, it’s offensive and no, they won’t write it up. Try and keep your press releases to one page. Don’t bog down the press releases with artist quotes. Two paragraphs is plenty. Be sure to format things in a way that’s easy for the media to copy and paste sections, i.e tour dates should be DD/MM/YYYY followed by venue, city and ticketing links. Don’t get fancy with key facts. Put the new information up the top, and keep a summary of the band, or colour commentary down the bottom. Include relevant links and also a link to a high-res artist image.

This could be an album announcement, followed by announcing the first single, followed by announcing a tour, each done off the back of a new press release. While you may feel as though literally everything your artist does from waking up to going to the bathroom is worthy of an announcement, it’s important to stick to the key happenings. I’ve been approached many times by people who want to announce something that simply isn’t worth hassling media about. If you're working with a local band who’s signed up for Dry July, no one cares. They should sign up to Dry July regardless of media attention. Who you send announcements to can also kook a campaign. Make sure you look at the sites you’re sending your announcements to. See if it’s relevant to them and for god’s sake, if you’re going to add a media outlet to your press release send-out list, be sure to send the outlet a friendly g’day in advance. Find out how they like to receive announcements. Don’t. Always. Be. Selling.

Pitching / Following Up Unless you’ve specifically received written consent to do so, do not cold DM a journalist with your pitch. Not on Facebook, not on Instagram, not on LinkedIn. Look, we’ve all done it during our Hail Mary moments of trying to lock in some coverage but it’s not OK. Lay down the foundations of the campaign with press releases and announcements, but pitching and following up is where the magic happens. Sure, you could copy and paste each and every pitch, subbing out the editor / publication name each time but it’s obvious when you do, and incredibly common for mistakes to happen – I’ve been called Larry from The AU Review more times than I can remember. Campaign = kooked. Tailor your pitches specifically for the outlet you’re approaching. It’s a tonne more work but it also gets results. Investigate each outlet to see what they cover – do they even do EP reviews? Do they ever post news pieces? Do they have regular interview series? “Exclusives” and “premieres” are a good way to get content over the line with outlets, however some outlets may see this as a ploy to score coverage. Readers have started cottoning on to the fact “exclusives” and Premieres” are tags used to place content that no one else wanted organically. Engage with the outlet first to see if they’re interested in exclusive content before pitching it.Take some of the guesswork away from busy editors and suggest what coverage they could do with your artist. Another thing to remember with pitching is you’ll get a lot of nos and no replies. Yeses will be few and far between for any given campaign so set realistic targets. Gone are the days of picking 50,000 blogs to approach, they’ve all closed down and as more and more publications shift to having freelance writers, the ones that are still around have less breathing space for unpaid content. Pick five media targets for your campaign with a stretch target of seven and be happy to get four over the line. The best way to keep track of your pitching and following up is a spreadsheet. Throw in the media outlets with columns dedicated to the date you first approached and the last time you followed up – be sure to leave a few days between emails. All that said…

Don’t Let Media Walk Over You.

You’re doing important work as a communicator and it’s easy for the power dynamic to become unbalanced. Media can and will make unrealistic requests and demand special attention, guest spots, promo stock and access to artists hitherto unearned. There are plenty of hard and fast ways to kook a music PR campaign… But if you can get your head around press releases, announcements, pitching and following up, you’ll dramatically reduce your chances of kooking it. ■

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MUSIC

less is

*AN OBSERVATION FROM A WORLD OF DIGITAL OVERSPILL a difficult character, had masterminded some of the great albums of the post-grunge era, either by talent or willpower or sheer bloody-mindedness.

always

Adore represented the end of the classic era of this great band. Released in 1998, Adore was a 180-degree evolution from early Smashing Pumpkins, from its opener, ‘To Sheila,’ a production masterwork which features, of all things, a banjo, and the funereal, piano-led ‘Blank Page’. Corgan has talked of the problems surrounding the band at the time of this recording, which remains painfully overlooked by fans who like the heavier stuff.

more* Lars Brandle is tired of the musical penchant for ‘Triple Deluxe’ and ‘Super Deluxe’ albums, and wishes for a return to the time when less was more. There are many unspoken truths in life. Not everyone likes you, and that’s OK. Those same people judge you by your bad grammar. Yes, they do. The number of television sets in a pub is inversely proportional to the quality of the establishment. And bigger isn’t always better. OK, forget for a moment that that last statement reads like a kinky headline from your mum’s Cleo collection. It’s a maxim that holds true across life, sport, the written word, the big and small screens. And music. Sport has a code, a set of rules enforced by judges on the field of play, and off it. Borders are drawn, time is kept. Each sport has a pinnacle, a system where athletes and teams can compete for points, trophies and a chance to rule the world. And, at the elite level, earn a fortune along the way. Rules used to sort of apply to music, in so far as radio liked its tunes short and sweet, and a conventional compact disc could compress a maximum of 74 minutes of playing time, thanks to the enduring genius of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Adore by The Smashing Pumpkins (above) was released in 1998, and reissued as a 6CD+DVD super deluxe edition box set (right) in 2014.

Pfft. That’s nothing. Radiohead recently dropped 18 hours of demos and live recordings. The legendary British alt-rock act apparently triggered the dump to foil hackers. Music sites around the globe covered the news, Radiohead tragics clapped their hands at the prospects of a binge, Stephen Colbert informed his late night audience immediately. Sure, it’s good to own but will this orgy of Radiohead outtakes inspire a new generation of artists to push their musical boundaries? Or answer any questions that keep fans up late at night? Will anyone listen to those 18 hours without distraction and share with their besties, like they did with The Bends and OK Computer? When Radiohead took ownership of the planet in the late 1990s, the Smashing Pumpkins were abdicating their throne. Billy Corgan, by all accounts

Five years ago, perhaps to address this chronic failure to go noticed, the Virgin team released a “super deluxe” version which swept up the debris from the cutting room floor. It’s right there on your streaming service. What was once a perfectly-formed, though largely invisible album, is now a bloated mess with dozens of off-key demos and songs which weren’t good enough for your ears in the 1990s. And here they are, bolted onto the end of the album without any clear line of delineation. Too much is not a good thing. The “super deluxe” in this one instance, diminishes the finished original product. A fan won’t go back for repeated listens, new fans won’t be turned on. There are many examples, and they’re not confined to music. Francis Ford Coppola’s war classic Apocalypse Now was accompanied by the unmissable “making of” documentary Hearts of Darkness, which walked us through some scenes cut from the original because, in some cases, they just didn’t work. In 2001, a “redux” of Apocalypse Now did the rounds featuring some bonus footage: those same scenes that were cut out. Again, less is more. An essential part of the art of creating an album is sweating over the framing, its tracklist and length. “Adding value” by adding tracks can risk killing the art. ■

Fun fact, when Sony and Philips were developing an industry standard for the CD in the 1980s, both parties hit on the idea that listeners and buyers of that new-fangled shiny disc should be able to hear the whole of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony without interruption. So, 74 minutes. In the digital age the goalposts haven’t so much as shifted, they’ve been upended, smashed to bits and the cavities have been filled in. Back in the day, an artist could flex their artistic muscles with a double album. Or, for the most daring or pompous, a triple album.

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MUSIC

The Pop Snake Will Eat Itself Lars Brandle sucks the venom from his arm after being bitten by the dreaded pop snake. But it’s fine, pop is eating itself with its obsession for mega-collaborations anyway.

Pop isn’t a dirty word, but there’s something whiffy about it. The biggest stars of pop and their mobile think-tanks are always searching for something to stand out. Actual talent isn’t always the essential ingredient. It comes with the territory, always has. We’ve sorta seen it all. In the '70s, we had guys dressing like seafarers and space men. Elton got it done dressing like a duck and wearing garish glasses. The '80s introduced the era of lavish music videos, slick, choreographed dance moves and slogans (remember Frankie Says and Choose Life?). Manufactured pop bands have always been a thing, from The Monkees to the Spice Girls, 1D and everything K-pop. We’ve had meat dresses, eye patches and even axe-wielding creatures.

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Pop has always loved looks and gimmicks It’s never been confused with rocket science or brain surgery and that’s OK. But we find ourselves at the present time, plonked in an era where pop has overdone it, with all-star collaborations. It’s bloated from eating at the buffet and, watch out, because pop is going to eat itself. Why do mega-collabs work? Because of the “wow” factor, yes. But the machinery is social media and streaming services. The more famous the guest artist, the more “followers,” the more potential listens and, here comes the “C” word… crossfertilisation. Back in the day, when a big record hit the shelves, we used to study the lyric sheets. In 2019, when a frontline international pop star’s album “drops” (and to a similar extent, hip-hop and EDM longplays) music hacks and fans immediately pour over the number of collabs.

This is pop’s new gimmick

A quick history lesson

Take for example, DJ Khaled. The former Florida radio disc jockey crunches away with eight albums, none of which bothered the Australian charts. And then, he hit the formula with his ninth effort, Major Key, and its 32 celebrity guest artists. Major Key hit the Top 10.

Elton John and Kiki Dee had a hit with the cheesy but enduring soft-rock duet from 1976 ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.’ Dee, the first British woman to sign with Motown’s Tamla Records, recorded her lines in separate sessions. She reportedly never met Elton in person until they cut the music video. Strange, but true. Nothing strange about it now.

Khaled outdid himself with his followup, Grateful, which featured 35 a-list guests and was powered by the lead single ‘I’m the One’ and its famous faces, Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne. With a few clicks, those five dudes can mobilise a staggering number of followers across their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Count ‘em up. Actually, don’t bother. We already did it. Right now, the combined figure is 454 million followers, and climbing towards the halfbillion mark, all of who can be marketed to with a few clicks. Boom. Prior to ‘I’m The One,’ DJ Khaled had never appeared in the ARIA Top 50 as a lead artist. His current effort, Father of Asahd, has 28 “assists” and is at No. 7 on the national albums chart, the same peak position as Grateful. Superstar Scottish DJ Calvin Harris is enormously rich with powerful friends, many of whom appear on his latest album. Precisely 21 of them joined in on Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, which hit No. 2 on both sides of the Atlantic, and No. 5 in Australia. It’s no mystery how we got here. Technology and smart producers enable vocalists to literally phone it in. There’s nothing new about it, just more of it.

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When Ed Sheeran announced his No. 6 Collaborations Project, the conversation isn’t about the songs or where Ed’s head has been since Divide, how he conquered the world, or even about how he quit Twitter and got married. Nope, the album campaign is all about his famous friends. There used to be something fun about seeing the top geezers on a record. Bowie and Mick. Bowie and Queen. The triumph of female collaboration that is ‘Lady Marmalade.’ Everything these days is losing its “wow factor.” Consider Lil Dicky and his star-studded eco-statement ‘Earth’. The U.S. funnyman and rapper roped in 28 giants of pop, including Sia, Bieber and Ariana Grande. ‘Earth’ peaked at No. 17 here and in the United States. It’s as though a hundred million pop fans checked out the clip and went, “Cool, I’m hitting Tik Tok.” Pop music needs to find its next thing. In time, the mega-collab will go the way of The Walking Dead. Got any fresh ideas? Because pop needs them. ■

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FRI 22 NOV SOLD OUT SAT 2 SYDNEY CRIC

GO TO LIVENA 38 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

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23 NOW 2ND & FINAL SHOW CKET GROUND

ATION.COM.AU thebrag.com

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FEATURE

the

The

Class Future

Michael Di Iorio speaks to eight rising young artists of Australia, who in their uniqueness, skills and eye for the new, have elevated themselves beyond all others.

rtists make the world go 'round, and never cease to amaze us with their talent, tenacity, and tendency to know the future trends before we do. The Class of the Future is a series of interviews with eight absolutely astronomical talents from Australia, who are the up-and-comers ready to change

the game.

In pursuing this project I wanted to showcase the many faces of young Australian art. Animation, photography, illustration, painting and design are all showcased in the Class of the Future, from artists who come from multiple different backgrounds and walks of life, and some who identify as LGBTQ. Attending UTS myself I was surrounded by incredible artists and talents who would often have their work go unnoticed by the public eye. I am endlessly amazed by what these artists can do, and am constantly impressed with their work ethic, positivity, and outlook on life. Because these artists have inspired me for most of my adult life, I wanted to return the favour by letting the spotlight be on them instead of their artworks for once. All eight of these artists are incredible and talented, and it was a pleasure to get to speak to each and every one. I cannot express enough how amazing these young talents are and will continue to be. And so, here are the interviews, accompanied with a picture of the artist and a piece of their work which they have selected to showcase them best.

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of the

Nancy (Ganzhixin) Li Nancy Li is a young animator who graduated from a Bachelor of Design and Animation from the University of Technology Sydney. “I want everyone to, ideally, be nicer to each other, be more open-minded and make more friends. It’s what makes the world a better place,” says Li at the close of our interview. This kind of infectious and sparkling positivity is rare to find, but she has it in spades. Li’s talent in animation has led her to many great heights, including having a helping hand on the latest music video for Matt Corby and Tash Sultana titled ‘Talk It Out’, where she utilised her keen eye for colour to showcase her skills to the world. When you create, what is your driving influence? I guess I just make stuff that’s like, you know when you see other people’s work and you just know inside that you like it? Well if I can get a really satisfying feeling after I look at it, or if it has a good message, then I’ll be happy with it. It’s an emotional thing really. So do you find it difficult being vulnerable with your artworks? Well, they aren’t really about me most of the time but more about what I like. I haven’t really made artworks about myself, which is definitely more vulnerable, but putting things on Instagram is definitely stressful. Oh definitely, especially for an artist, I can only imagine. How do you find that whole experience? It’s really fun, and definitely a great

thing, but I really think we need to be more careful in dealing with the pressure that comes from it. I know that recently in Australia we don’t show likes, which is great, but I still feel pressure from it. Could you tell me a little bit more about your art? I never really had a discipline of it all until I went to Uni, where I instantly met a lot of friends and like-minded people. Then I felt like more of an artist, because I was surrounded by so many other amazing artists. If you can talk about art with other people, you discover more art and start to enjoy the process of making it so much more. So is there anyone who inspires you to create? *gestures towards the other artists in the room.* They’re very inspiring to me. And also the Sydney locals and the Melbourne animation industry people.

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professional, with an eye for angles and lighting that could be expected from an aged veteran of photography. How did you get started as an artist? I first started taking photos as a kid on family holidays. I assigned myself the responsibility to document the sites we saw and so I started off shooting mainly landscapes, architecture and awkward family portraits. I then thought “This is kind of fun and I’m not half bad at this,” and so I carried a camera around with me wherever I could.

Anne-Simone El Sokkary Anne-Simone El Sokkary may be the only Melbourne representative from the Class of the Future, but she has enough artistic talent behind her to represent the whole of Victoria anyway, so it’s fine. Armed with a passion for capturing moments that she finds most beautiful, Anne’s skillsets lie in the field of photography, a difficult art that very few can execute well. Landscapes, architecture, street photography, portraits of people, you name it and Anne-Simone can do it. It all started when she was just a child, playing around with a camera, and from those early budding moments spawned a grown woman who now carries a camera around with her everywhere. Hell, she even shoots weddings and concerts like a

Is there a specific artform you specialise in? Photography is the only art form I practice, but the great thing about photography is how broad it is. Most of my photographs have been landscapes, architecture and street photography, however recently I’ve wanted to focus more on people. Portraits are such a great medium for sharing people’s stories, experiences and identities and that’s what I want to focus on. Who are some artists you draw inspiration from? The artists that I draw inspiration from constantly change. Right now, two photographers come to mind John Michael Tubera and Nicole Reed. Nicole Reed is a Melbourne based photographer, what drew me to her work was her recent exhibition: ‘Scenes From The People’s Paradise – Pyongyang’.

What are some of the biggest challenges of being an artist? Personally, I find the pressure to constantly be creating challenging. I think most artists are quite hard on themselves, if I’m not working on a project or planning a shoot then I feel like a failure. I remind myself that if I am being lazy then I have a right to be frustrated with myself however if I’ve just hit a creative block then I should give myself a break.

Her photos show people moving through eerie, almost dystopian spaces in North Korea, looking at the architecture made my skin crawl.

Favourite non-art hobby? Right now I’m teaching myself the drums, I don’t think it’s my housemate’s preferred hobby of mine.

Opposite Page and below: "Brag Mag" by Nancy (Ganzhixin) Li, (Download the app 'Eyejack' and Sign In to see this art in motion!); This Page [top]: "Ziggy Ramo" photographed by Anne-Simone El Sokkary.

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Connor Xia Everything started with a cow with six legs for photographer and illustrator Connor Xia. Nowadays, he uses his intellectual eye for clever graphics in a way most artists wish they could. As a jack of all trades with an immense goodie bag of skills, Xia is constantly searching for ways to meld his many talents into artworks and show every single one off, and he does so often and well. On top of this, Xia also has a keen passion for the political, using his art to always create awareness around an array of social issues and injustices. What are you doing now that you’re out of uni? I’m just doing my own work. At uni, it’s a lot of doing work to appeal to a certain standard and a certain visual. Now that I’m out now I just want to do my own things. I make zines, I take pictures, I draw and animate for myself as well. What would you say is your artistic speciality? I don’t really know, I can’t choose. I do really like photography, I love analog photography because it’s so much fun. I love illustration as well. Sometimes I like animating, sometimes I don’t. I’m just trying to find a way to merge these disciplines if I can. When did you know that art would be your career path? Probably when I started smearing crayons at home. I just

really loved drawing and making a mess of things. When I was young my mum sent me to art class, and everyone laughed at me because I drew a cow with six legs. I was just so into it that I didn’t even realise it had six legs, I really loved that cow. Do you use your art to send messages or is it just purely for yourself? There are times when I’ll just draw for pleasure, or draw abstract patterns to help go into a meditative trance, which is more for myself, but there are times like recently, I made an artwork that went backwards into my personal history, my home town in Western China, the autonomous region of Xinjiang. There’s a lot of political discussions to be had there, like recently there has been an issue of a cultural genocide, where the minorities of China, of which it has 56, one of them are being chased for their religious beliefs. It’s really dark and deep stuff and I feel like the world should know more about it. That's why I talk about it a lot on my platforms. I also have zines that donate to climate action as well, because I feel like if I can do

So how did this whole artistic journey begin? Actually, it’s a really funny story. My sister was always the kid who could draw, and I was petty and wanted to prove that I could do it better than her, and now it’s my career and livelihood. She does beauty therapy now. What’s your dream career after uni? To be honest, I really want to be a tattoo apprentice. That is something I’d love to try out. I have mad respect for the industry and the people who work in it, and the craft is just really cool. As far as animation goes, I’d love to work in short film. There’s something about it that’s just hectic. There’s a lot of incredible creative output going into that at the moment. What is your preferred art style? I love illustration and concept art and stuff like that. Character design, and getting to craft the bones of the world, dare I say.

Erin Sutherland Erin Sutherland is an illustrator with the most incredible set of tattoos you will ever lay eyes on. Her inimitable style and unabashed queerness come together in perfect harmony with every creation she makes, speaking volumes to those who witness them with their intimate sense of belonging. With dreams of either going into short film or tattoo artistry, Erin Sutherland looks to "craft the bones of the world". But in all seriousness, Erin Sutherland is a dear friend of mine, and we may have had a bit too much fun with our interview. Never let two gays in a room.

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Craft the bones of the world? I love that so much. I just gave you your heading. What can I say, I’m an artist. But yeah, I love illustration. There’s something really intimate about personal work where you get to put yourself into it that I really respect and appreciate. Do you feel like you use your art as a method to explore your place in the queer community? Yeah, of course. My art has always been a huge way for me to discover new things about myself. It’s how I have used it for a long time, which can make it very scary, because creating work that’s really personal about your own feelings and mental health and sexuality makes you very vulnerable to other people, and of course putting it out for the world to see is scary.

something to bring awareness and support, I will try. How important do you think zine culture is for upcoming artists such as yourself? It’s such a really good community in Sydney in the art scene, there’s Goodspace every Wednesday, which is very chill, there are zine fairs like Other Worlds and smaller ones too. MCA and Other Worlds are really good ways to meet people, and I feel like the community is very important for upcoming young artists to find their people and to feel supported with any problems you might have. It’s just a fun, inclusive and loving community. How has the community aided your creative process? I think the community is just always really inspiring. You find out about different backgrounds, different cultures and different perspectives that all come to play in media. It’s all really inspiring. You have photography, illustration, mixed media, and people do things in ways that you’ve never even thought of before.

But it’s also wonderful, because I’ve been using it to figure out what’s going on since I was 18 in a catholic school, closeted. Been there. Yeah, right? So now I have the chance to put stuff into the world that I would’ve loved to see when I was 18 or 14 and didn’t have the chance to create stuff like this, or share with anyone. I would have appreciated it, so I hope there are people out there that appreciate it. Also, tiddies. That’s going to be your main quote now. Also, comma, tiddies. I love it. But yeah, I definitely explore my queerness in work. I try to make it as intimate as I can. I feel like it’s a nice way to connect with someone else when you can talk about the things that everyone has in common, which is that everyone loves. Everyone loves. That’s the cool thing. And if that is something that can bring people together then who am I to stand in the way? So have you ever used your artwork to send any form of social message? I try to make my artwork as inclusive as I can. People of colour and non-gender conforming people. I try to not being exclusionary in any sense when I am drawing bodies and people. As far as statements go, I haven’t made many yet. I’m still a young person in the world, and I’m still figuring out all of the things that I believe and all of the things that I want to say. I feel like it’s appropriate for me to know exactly what I want to say before I put it out into the world. There are so many artists who struggle with mental health, and that’s something I think I want to start being honest about again soon. There’s something amazing about a vulnerability that brings strength to other people.

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Opposite Page [top]: "Page from Zine" by Connor Xia; Below: "Spectrum" by Erin Sutherland; Above: "The Crowd" by Rosemary Vasquez Brown

Rosemary Vasquez Brown This talented illustrator has her own style sorted at such a young age, and effortlessly implements it in unique and whacky drawings - her muses: the weird and complex faces she comes across in her daily life. Rosemary Vasquez Brown undeniably has the best name of anyone ever, and created the cover for UTS’ last Queer Vertigo Magazine and also The Brag Magazine’s second edition of the year, The Power Edition. At this point she’s a cover girl, and it’s no wonder why, everyone is addicted to her exaggerated lips and lines that she implements in her art. How did your love of art start? I’ve always loved movies, and I was originally going to do graphic design or something like that, and then I saw animation and thought, ‘Oh that sounds cool’. I used to just want to make art, but now I’m all about wanting to make a film that’s hopefully live-action and animated in my own style and stuff. That’s kind of like the dream. I just love seeing work move.

How do you feel about being the cover girl of The Brag Magazine’s second edition this year? I loved it so much, I was so big-headed about it, told everyone about it, told all my cousins to go to JB Hi-Fi to get a copy telling them that their cousin is famous.

Where has your artwork gotten you? I’m just so lucky to be able to get jobs and stuff doing something that I love so much. And also people asking me to do stuff in my own style without me having to compromise because they love my style so much. My style has changed crazily throughout the years. Hopefully it’s for the best because some people may be like, ‘Oh I liked that style you had in 2003’ and I’ll be like, 'Well great but I’m over here now.'

Do you have any kind of inspiration behind your drawings? It depends on if I see like a weird face, with weird wrinkles and stuff. I’ve always said that I want a partner with a really weird profile, because I’d draw them every day.

What do you feel comes out in your artwork in regards to themes? Love and relationships. Like a mother hugging a child, cute stuff like that. I’ve really been getting into comics a lot lately too, they’re fun.

What’s your artistic specialty? Illustration definitely. With a little bit of movement. I like to make them move a little bit.

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You have such a unique style when drawing faces too, where did it come from? I don’t know, it just kind of came out when I tried to do realism, and this was the result. I thought, ‘Oh, this is cool. It looks pretty at least.”

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Sara Hirner Sara “don’t you dare spell my name with an H” Hirner always loved drawing from a young age, whether it be in pastels or ink or on the computer, her skills in the creative arts know no bounds. Drawing as a skill stemmed from Hirner’s love of movies and doodling as simple hobbies, and simply elevated themselves during the course of her Bachelor of Design and Animation. Now, while still undergoing her uni course, she’s doing freelance jobs around Sydney, spreading her creative wings wherever they so take her, and doing a marvelous job at it in the meantime. How did you get started as an artist? I’m pretty bad at concentrating so I would just draw on everything and get in trouble. After doing art for HSC, I just really loved movies and drawing, so took the route of Animation because I didn’t want to study after school. I’m happy I did it now, but when I started it was incredibly hard. Everyone had an idea of what animation was and I went into it totally blind. I didn’t even know how to draw frame by frame. I didn’t know how to do a single thing. I didn’t even have background knowledge in animation, I was just like, 'Yeah, I have a thing for movies and drawing, and this seems like both of them in one.' But now I really love it. Have you ever used your artwork for a specific message? I’m usually pretty private with my artwork, most of my artwork is for myself, but in terms of having a message, whenever I put something out there I always plan for it to have a message. Or at least be humourous. I just like doing that, and I think everyone likes watching something funny. It’s the only way to hook people, to shock them or to humour them, and that’s why I find it entertaining. I am overly conscious of the fact that when you share something, other people are going to see it, and I think that that feeling isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Olivia Serrao Olivia Serrao is a Bachelor of Design and Animation student from the University of Technology Sydney with a penchant for the dark and ominous, always incorporating a sneaking sense of shaded humour in each and every one of her artworks. This jack of all trades, master of every single one, sits comfortably in the homes of every art style you can think of, sashaying from animation to illustration, and even dipping her toes in the lakes of oil painting. There really isn’t much that Serrao can’t do, which makes her the perfect candidate for our Class of the Future.

It must be especially worse thanks to Instagram. Yeah. Well, I don’t think it’s good to be overly conscious. I wish I could be one of those people who just put a whole lot of shit out there and was just like, 'this is what I like to draw.' But I think a lot of the time that I do make an artwork it is personal or emotional, and I don’t feel like it’s very entertaining. And I don’t feel like that’s something I always want to share, which is not great.

With big dreams and ambitions of entering into the Archibald Prize, 23-year-old Olivia Serrao has her eyes on the prize, and is definitely one to watch over the coming years. What art form do you specialise in? I specialise more in 3D animation, but I like to do illustration, and before I started animation I did realistic portraits. So I’m kind of just a mixture of everything. That’s why when you go to my Instagram you go, ‘What is this?’ It’s literally anything. So you’re like a Jack of all trades? Yeah, it’s very random. But I do want to do 3D more, with illustrations and portraits on the side. I want to do the Archibald, so hopefully in the future, but oil painting is very difficult. I’ve been wanting to do it for the last five years, but I feel like now is the time.

Have you ever used your artwork to make some sort of message? I follow Jameela Jamil from The Good Place, so a lot of the work I’ve done recently has been reflective of her messages. I did a recent artwork which was just all different types of women. Sometimes I put messages in my work, I’m getting there.

It actually makes a lot of sense though, if you make something that’s very much for yourself, sometimes you don’t want to share it with the world. It’s an expression of your own emotions, which are sometimes very painful. And I guess it must be difficult being vulnerable all the time with your art. Yeah, but at the same time that’s a lot of the time what makes me like an artist, when they can be vulnerable. But then again I’m also only graduating, so that’s something that you learn.

What has driven you to do art? I feel like art has always been a part of me. I’m the person that gets bored doing one thing. I knew I was good at realistic art, but I kind of got bored with it. I then knew I wanted to do film and animation, every film I saw I was just like, damn I want to be apart of that. That’s why I do what I do, I want to keep going. So what is your dream job? Pixar. Or Disney. They’re definitely my go-to’s.

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Opposite Page [top]: "Eilish" by Olivia Serrao; Below: "Girls are Gross" by Sarah Hirner; Above: "Launch Day" by Jimmy Nevell

Jimmy Nevell Animation and design come naturally to Sydney artist Jimmy Nevell, who takes his love for concept, environments, and Sci-Fi, and molds them together into perfect artistic creations. Working on character concepts and prop designs for a children’s animation show, Nevell bursts with an infectious smile, and is never afraid to let his inner child shine through. It’s this kind of excitement and energy for his craft that makes anyone around him want to just pick up a pencil and draw as well. But alas, no pencils were picked up, and instead I stuck with an audio recorder. What are you currently doing post-uni? I work at Cheeky Little Media, they make children’s animation shows. I work as a Junior Concept Designer, and I create characters, props, and environments for the shows. Why did you choose to pursue art? Really there’s two reasons. When I was a kid I always wanted to make my own TV show and I had ideas in my head about my own superhero character and stuff, so generally I just like making cool worlds and environments. A second part of me just loves the craft of it all. I really like painting and getting colours, lighting and environments right, I get a real kick out of it. How has Instagram as a platform affected you as an artist? I think Instagram is a great platform for getting exposure, because you’re suddenly not restricted to your geographical location, which is just amazing. It’s been good for me because I think it’s pushing me to just get better and better with my work. Although you shouldn’t follow likes and followers and stuff, it

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is motivating when you do get more likes and things of that nature to keep pushing your work to be even better. How many followers do you have now? Only like 600 or something like that. I haven’t quite broken in yet. Still, it’s good for me to keep practising and have an audience there which helps me see how people react to my work. No one gets popular straight away, and it takes years to refine skills, and with the likes feature being gone now everything is a whole lot better for artists like me on Instagram. What kind of themes do you tend to explore with your art? I like doing cool Sci-fi, interesting worlds and creating a compelling composition. It’s less about a statement and more about me creating a mood and a feeling and an environment or place that feels tangible.

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FEATURE

Howling

At The Rising

Sun Kasey Thompson talks with Deena Lynch, the brilliant mind behind musician Jaguar Jonze, visionary Instagram artist Spectator Jonze, photographer Dusky Jonze, and all around multi-talented powerhouse shedding light on mental illness through art.

o sum up the creative explosion that is Deena Lynch into a neat little elevator pitch would have even the most qualified of journalists in tears. She has her fingers in so many pies, but it’s never too much of a handful for the prolific Brisbane visionary. From being a sassy frontwoman, visual artist, content creator and photographer, to managing the careers of other artists, Deena just can’t sit still. If you haven’t come across Deena’s spacey spaghetti western music project @jaguarjonze, stigma challenging illustration project around mental health issues @spectatorjonze or her monochromatic photography project @duskyjonze, which pierces the veil around masculinity and femininity, then allow me to introduce you properly to one of the most creatively brilliant minds in Australia. After working on the careers of iconic bands like The Jungle Giants, Confidence Man, Orphans Orphans and Last Dinosaurs, Deena stepped away from full time artist management to focus on her art projects that elevate not only her own mental health, but the mental health of her subjects. There’s a unique lens and beauty that she brings to all of her various projects, but the Spectator Jonze project on Instagram in particular impacts and positively affects so many lives simply by sharing an accompanying message from the subject about their own mental health. Deena even drew me, the author of this article, which speaking from personal experience, made this lil muppet feel a little less alone in her own mental health trials within the music industry.

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“I JUST UNLIMITED MYSELF, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE ART AND MUSIC. I’M NOW LESS SCARED OF EXPRESSING MYSELF AND I ALSO BELIEVE IN MYSELF A LOT MORE AS AN ARTIST.”

shown for this song and in my personal life has created this product that I am actually insanely proud of. “Ultimately, it was a blessing in disguise. I actually sang and played it better because I’ve had a lot of time to practice and sit with it as well. I feel like in the past year, I’ve cut a lot of toxicity out of my life. But I’ve also worked on my self-doubts and insecurities of who I am as an artist. Previous Page: "Deena VIII: Past, Present, From Now On" - Above: "Deena III: Tied Down by the Upbringing" Below Left: "Kasey: Industry the Mercurial Monster" When I sat down to interview Deena over some dumplings in her local area, the first thing I did was thank her for drawing me, as the portrait hangs over my bed and reminds me that although I may have bad days, I’m not alone. Deena, to my delight, replied with:

Asking her about whether she got frustrated by all the obstacles in her path, Deena spoke about battling through stagnation due to toxicity.

“So many people in the (music) industry came to me after I posted your portrait and were just like, ‘she just summed up how I feel right now’”.

“It was a lot of frustration of like, when do I ever get my chance? But I’m getting my chance now and I look back and it’s like, thank fuck, because I wasn’t ready when I was first applying for things like Bigsound and I would’ve just blown the chance. But now, I feel that I am ready.”

This is what is so special about Deena’s art, it creates community and unites people who feel alone in their struggles, and that’s pretty powerful.

When I asked Deena what she shoots on for her Dusky Jonze project, she gave me the most amazing and unexpected answer:

Speaking about her latest single ‘Beijing Baby’ (which is out now), Deena recounted an agonising tale of losing the master recording and having to film the music video without any music.

“Well the thing is, you don’t need much to create good art, so it’s just one of those shitty point and shoot cameras, just one level up from like the disposable ones. People always freak out when I tell them and they’re like, ‘That’s what you’re shooting on?!’ and other photographer friends I have are like ‘Do you want to borrow my gear?’ and I just say ‘Nah, I’m good,’ cause my funny little ‘piss-take’ is that you don’t need to be super technical to be able to express and convey emotion. So even though I have DLSRs and the nice fancy cameras, I don’t use them on the dusky project cause that’s part of my joke.”

“People always say there’s like a second single curse or nightmare kind of thing but holy shit! This was a bloody nightmare! It nearly broke me. It was a real test of my patience. It was also really difficult emotionally for me and losing the master just threw my whole timeline out of whack.” Reflecting on the entire nightmare in hindsight, Deena laments: “I look at it now and I’m just like, 'Wow!' I’ve been through this year and all the resilience and fortitude I’ve

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“I’m now less scared of expressing myself and I also believe in myself a lot more as an artist.”

And I mean, she’s not wrong, piss-takes are the thing in art right now. Just look at the careers of The Chats or Dune Rats!

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someone that means something to Brisbane and has contributed to west end or Brisbane. “So I had a subject in mind, and then I went through some shit. So I was going to back out of it but then one night I was just like lying on my floor and I just started scribbling myself on a little sticky note pad and developing this idea and I was like, 'Okay, I know what I need to do, this mural is going to be a self-portrait.' “Creativity for me is a conversation with myself. For every ten portraits I do, I draw a self-portrait, as a way of checking in with myself and processing all of the complex emotions associated with going through traumatic situations. It’s definitely helped me break down the stigma around PTSD where I can now say I have it just as easy as offering someone a Tic Tac. When asked about dealing with and overcoming negative and toxic energy, Deena said that: “Going through some of the most painful moments of your life kind of puts it all in perspective. When someone says something negative now, I just think to myself that I just went through the fucking depths of Hell! That opinion is actually inconsequential to me. Like, it’s not even a blip on the radar.” I responded, “You’re not doing it for anyone else but yourself anyway, because even if no one enjoyed your art, your brain would still have to make it.” Above: "Deena IV: Cold, Guarded and Always on Defence" Jaguar Jonze photo by Alex Cummings

Earlier this year, Deena painted a mural in West End that was a self-portrait (featured on the previous page), and it was just beyond beautiful. I asked her what it was like for her trying to create something that represents herself and all of the turmoil that she’s been through. Surely summing yourself up from an outsider’s perspective must bring about some challenges. “The mural was something that was booked-in months ago, and at the time I was actually going to do it because I’ve never painted before and this was a big piece, and it’s a West End piece so I wanted to do it on

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“Exactly!” she said, “I feel like I exist to create. So if I don’t create, I stop talking to myself. I’m also able to feel less isolated because the people in my everyday world can’t necessarily relate to what I’m going through but with the Spectator Jonze Instagram there’s like a bit of a support network and sense of community. Art and creativity have helped me to be open and honest and not hide behind shame or denial. “It kind of sucks when people take advantage of you or abuse you or drain you, but it’s up to you to really rise above it and gain control of your life and not let them have the power to affect you in the future. Forgiveness is a hard one, acceptance would be the way I would describe it.

“I don’t know how I can really forgive someone for things like abuse and assault, you know, given my history of abuse throughout my whole life. It’s very difficult to sit there and hand more power over by saying: 'I forgive you'. Because if I was sitting in a cinema and looking at it on a screen, it would be unforgivable. So what I can and will do is realise that I deserve more, accept that these things have happened to me and move forward. “Forgiveness has a role in my life, but that’s because the person has also accepted that they’ve made mistakes and I’m willing to understand that good people do bad things and that we can all be villains in someone’s story. We all make mistakes. So if you can come from a place of awareness, accountability and true remorse and empathy for how your actions may have affected the person then that’s really different to someone who’s in denial and will continue on with the same behaviour.” I asked Deena about the hardest thing she has found about working in the music industry. “The music industry is freckled with mental health pitfalls and then the coping mechanisms that exist culturally in the music industry are quite unhealthy. It’s very easy to fall down and get sucked into it. You’re just left to suppress and put on a façade, not talk about things, maintain an image and then worst of all, self-medicate. It’s a huge issue in itself, that party culture, and because it’s socially acceptable for everyone to be drinking five to seven nights in a row when you’re on tour, you think you’re fine. “But I look back on that time last where I was selfmedicating to function now and I’m just like, 'Holy shit!' That was whack. I didn’t even think that was the thing that could happen to me, you know, but it’s because it’s 'okay' a lot of the time and you’re surrounded by people who are doing the same. And the worst part is you’re not allowed to talk about your problems or be struggling, because the music industry is so image and reputation-based.” ■

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alk into your favourite clothing store, and you’re immediately faced with a choice. Turn left or turn right. Womenswear or menswear. It’s a choose your own adventure of expression, but one shrouded in ideas of binary and the expectations of gender. But is that a choice that we’ll be faced with in the future? The fashion industry seems to be more than just dabbling with gender neutrality, with coveted brands like Gucci, Burberry and Ekhause Latta forgoing gender restrictions on their runways. Even the brands that peasants like you or I can afford such as ASOS, H&M and Zara are presenting ungendered collections. Established brands may have all the clout and Instagram followers

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to make it appear that they are breaking down barriers, but if you look into up-and-coming designers, you start to see some real queer magic. ramptramptrampstamp is the eclectic, indiscriminate clothing line created by Niamh Galea. ramptramp dives straight into our ideas about gendered clothing, and turns them on their head. As you flick through each look, you jump from grunge to gypsy and back again. Billowy silhouettes flow into boxy shoulders which run into a tight corset. Models of all shapes, sizes and orientations thrive in clothing that would give your grandma a heart attack. The bodies underneath don’t drown in fabric, they float, suspended by Galea’s

Beauty Beyond the Binary

ELIZABETH GREEN TALKS TO NIAMH GALEA, CREATOR OF RAMPTRAMPTRAMPSTAMP, AN ALL-INCLUSIVE, BINARYBREAKING AND BEAUTIFUL CLOTHING LINE THAT BRINGS QUEER MAGIC TO THE FOREFRONT.

artistry. You think you understand her style, but then she throws a different fit at you. She doesn’t for a second deny the queer influence in her work, propelling it to the forefront of discussion. When you ask Galea to describe the current gender fluid movement in fashion, she says her favourite way to describe it is with a meme.

“There’s this really great meme from Ru Paul’s drag race, which asks, “Is it a boy or a girl?” And the answer is, “It’s a piece of fabric.” And I really relate to that ’cause from my perspective, clothing doesn’t really have a gender. You know, it’s clothing. It literally can’t have a gender. It doesn’t have sexist thoughts or feelings or anything.” BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19 :: 51

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“IT IS A PIECE OF CLOTHING. IT HAS NO FEELINGS OR EMOTIONS. ALL THOSE FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS YOU ARE PROJECTING ONTO IT. IT IS NOT

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“FROM HER IDEA THAT COLOUR SCHEMES ARE FOR WIMPS, TO CHALLENGING HOW WE thebrag.com

A BOY OR A GIRL. IT IS A PIECE OF CLOTHING, AND YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO CALL THAT A FEMININE PIECE, THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM”

“What I would usually say is, it may bring up ideas of gender, or it might reference old ideas of genders that we’ve had in the 20th Century. But it is fabric. It is a piece of clothing. It has no feelings or emotions. All those feelings and emotions you are projecting onto it. It is not a boy or a girl. It is a piece of clothing, and you know, if you want to call that a feminine piece, that’s your problem,” she says. The playful gender dynamism found in Galea’s designs have always been the bread and butter of queer communities worldwide, sometimes a rebellion from an exclusive and constrictive society, sometimes a display of inner truth. In 2019, Galea argues that queered style is more accessible than it was when Jaden Smith broke the internet wearing a Louis Vuitton skirt. “I was supposed to do this amazing skate film with these 15-year-old bros, I’m talking like BROS. And I was like, “You’re going to be okay to wear a skirt?” and they were so stoked about it. It was not in a funny way, they were taking it seriously,” she tells me when I ask about whether those who are male identifying are becoming more open to traditionally feminine styles. “Once a designer like Virgil Abloh or Tyla or Gucci legitimises an idea and says, ‘This is expensive, this is designer, this is what fashion is right now,’ it’s gonna trickle down to mainstream people. You know, Kim Kardashian’s wearing Virgil Abloh Louis Vuitton men’s collection. So I will too in whatever way I can access that.” Though fashion is opening up in terms of gender fluidity and expression, the road towards gender neutrality has been a long one in Galea’s opinion. However, androgyny was focussed on putting the masculine in women’s clothing for a really long time. From Coco Chanel popularising and normalising women wearing pants after the

WWI era to the boldness of Grace Jones’ ’80s power woman chic, it’s mainly been women who have adopted masculine styles. They were leaps and bounds for the time, but the more recent LGBTQIA+ movements have made leaps and bounds in terms of true gender fluidity. Allusions to the barrier-breaking powers of androgyny don’t seem to cut it anymore. Skinny, white models in tones of black, olive, grey, and dark grey are no longer edgy. When everyone is rocking up to the party in trousers, or wearing sweatpants on a cheeky trip to Woolworths, another ‘ungendered’ clothing line consisting of white t-shirts and hoodies is just a repeat. For Galea, the idea that androgyny is still pushing the limits of fashion's consciousness is unfounded. “I guess the term androgyny has never really sat that well with me because it sort of has these implications [that] it’s supposed to mean neutrality, but I don’t know if there really is such a thing as neutral and I think neutral tends to be a more male masculineleaning aesthetic,” she says. It’s 2019, you don’t have to be pigeon-holed into feminine, masculine, or androgynous, you can do whatever the fuck you want. ramptramp explores complete expression in fashion, disregarding gender norms. Exploring gender fluidity isn’t something that Galea is designing out of the blue, it’s a movement found even in the highest of fashion. The powerhouse fashion icon of Gucci is also making waves in terms of gender expression, forgoing ideas of male and female on the runway under the style leadership of Allesandro Michele. His flowing and electric designs put on either masculine or feminine bodies have seen the fashion house sit at number 30 on Forbes' World’s Most Valuable Brands List, with an estimated value of $18.6 billion dollars. So, gender fluidity is making bank. Michele has transformed the Gucci brand into a glittery symphony of vibrant colour and billowing silhouettes, reaching a fever pitch with the disregard for the gender of the

Beauty Beyond the Binary

When people ask why there’s a male body in a corseted top or a dress, her response is the same.

body occupying the clothes. For Michele, it, “seems only natural... it’s the ways [he] sees the world.” For Niamh, it’s not just a disregard for the gender of who is occupying her fits, she puts explicit thought into the feasibility of her designs for different body shapes. “All the pieces are designed with flexible sizing in mind. So that means that they use elements that mean that they can stretch to fit larger bodies, they can stretch to fit curvy bodies and then they can also shrink down for straight-up bodies or skinny bodies. I don’t think that you should deny that it’s gonna look different on different bodies, but it should look good on all of them. That’s the challenge,” she says. Just take a look at the ramptramptrampstamp Instagram, the bright kaleidoscopic colours are found on many different bodies. You’ll see the same fit on many different body shapes, flowing and billowy for some, and tight and provocative for others. On each person, their body occupies or leaves vacant different portions in the clothing, and the result is a customised silhouette tailored by the wearer’s shape and by Galea’s handiwork. Corseted structures and cheeky g-string attachments to garments allow for those up to size 18 to wear them. That flexibility in terms of sizing is another result of social movements in fashion, as ramptramp is a size-inclusive clothing brand. Galea desires to see the fashion industry move away from its obsession with sample sizing and to see bigger bodies occupying space on catwalks and in catalogues. Within ramptramptrampstamp, Galea is ambitious. She knows what change she wants to see in the industry, and her designs are emboldened by her intentions. She wants people to challenge their ideas about gender and clothing, and to mess with them a little bit. From her idea that colour schemes are for wimps, to challenging how we assume clothes are meant to fit certain bodies, ramptramptrampstamp is a bold step for the industry.■

ASSUME CLOTHES ARE MEANT TO FIT CERTAIN BODIES, RAMPTRAMPTRAMPSTAMP IS A BOLD STEP FOR THE INDUSTRY.”

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FEATURE

Mocha Latte Baby Biracial Aphrodite Aristine Dobson discusses the dualities and dilemmas of growing up mixed race in the city of Sydney.

“H

alfie” is an affectionate term I’ve used, that some individuals of mixed race use to describe each other, often in casual conversation. It comes with its own unique set of experiences and tribulations, one of those being that we find ourselves caught between the two cultures we grew up with, and feel as though we are unable to fit in with those who are technically meant to be our tribe. When curious white people ask me where I’m originally from I happily tell them that I am half-Indonesian, halfAustralian. I came to Brisbane, Australia when I was five, learnt English, watched rugby, took a liking to sausage rolls and developed a thick Aussie accent. Unfortunately, these were characteristics that made it difficult for me assimilating back into Indonesian culture in my formative years. I was twelve when we moved to Jakarta again. I reacquainted myself with the Indonesian language, ate at street vendors and became immune to spicy food, yet I was still

considered a “bule” (a foreigner, usually of European descent) by those who passed me by on Jakarta streets. This was strange for me, because in Australia I was always considered either Indonesian or Asian. At times I’ve felt as though I was never white enough for the white people, and never Asian enough for Asians. I am an Australian. It’s undeniable. I’ve settled in Sydney and have a very diverse mix of friends, as most people do living here. Sydney, however, is the type of city that can be very divisive in terms of where you’re from and who your people are. I’ve lived everywhere, but really, I belong nowhere. I’m a little bit of everything, and everyone gets a little bit confused by it all. I’ve always felt like my life has been scattered, not in order, a little all over the place, and this made going to university rather

tricky. I didn’t grow up in a quiet suburban area in Australia and attend school with a trusty group of friends that I’ll have for life. For the most part, I was alone, and it was in the middle of university that my mixed race dilemma really became obvious to me.

My Dilemma In the midst of an identity crisis, I conversed with a fellow Eurasian about whether I looked more Euro or Asian. “Halfies look more like their Dad,” he said. His justification being that I (who has a white Australian dad) looked more European, and he (who had a Chinese Dad) looked more Asian. Although I find this logic incredibly questionable, whether or not it is true shouldn’t matter, so why did it cross our minds? Eurocentric, a big word I learned in a race and gender studies elective at university, refers to the e focus and dominancc of European dominance culture in comparison to the o the world. rest of spo o with Jamila I spoke Gilbe e another biracial Gilbert, godd d goddess, about her e own experiences with Eurocc Eurocentrism. “Ofte e when I tell people “Often m Sri Lankan they I’m w make comments will l like, ‘Oh really, I thought you were Spanish or Italian.’ It’s weird because I think they think it’s a c compliment for me to lo o more European look tha a Sri Lankan.” than Jamii believes the Jamila reas s for this is reason becc because there is a se sense of privilege that is associated with h having lighter skin.

natt As a nation we hold ourselvess in high regard for mu being a multicultural melting belii pot. We believe that we are a post-colonia a post-racial nation post-colonial, e not let go of our yet we have min n colonial mindset. Systemic stii subtly embedded racism is still in Australia’ss political and enviro o social environment, especially in the era off Trump. White 54 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

Biracial persons are seen as walking representations of multiculturalism and equality, and to a certain extent I most definitely am, but it does not mean I am exempt from experiencing discrimination or othering. Just because I don’t quite identify as one or the other, does not mean I am blind to racial injustice. The intersections of my cultural identity only make my experience of racial prejudice more nuanced. If anything, my being mixed has only enhanced my worldview. I don’t experience blatant racism in my day-to-day, for me it is more indirect due to my ethnic ambiguity. Much like Jamila, I have people trying to guess where I’m from and get it horribly wrong. On the other end of the spectrum, because I’m half white I’m often seen in Indonesia or by my non-white counterparts as having white privilege, which is either met with appraisal or exclusion, both equally uncomfortable. “What are you? You’re so beautiful! I hope you don’t mind me asking. I have a friend who looks just like you she’s half Asian too, half Filipino, let me show you.” – White girl I met at a music festival. Her phone wasn’t getting any signal so I never did see a photo, but I’m guessing the resemblance was little to none. I never saw her again, but I knew there was no harm intended, just fascination. If anything my experience was proof that people are still weirdly responsive to any form of difference. I think our first mistake is thinking the concept of equality, is assuming we are all the same, that as humans we are bonded together from the same experiences. We fail to recognise the complexities of identity, specifically race and

culture. None of us should be based on just one aspect of our being. I, as a person of mixed race, should not be forced to pick or choose, and I refuse to be pinned down as one thing. So here is my declaration for a celebration of difference and open discourse about bi-cultural families and bi-racial people.

A Javanese Diva My mother taught me how to be a proper Javanese woman regardless of being half Australian. She had always found a balance between modern, liberal ideologies, often associated with Western culture and traditional Indonesian customs. Together we deconstruct and navigate both, which has made me an avid advocate for intersectionality and intersectional feminism. Both my parents, really, have shown me to embrace both cultures and in turn I have not let it define me but become a fundamental part of who I am. If you really must know, I look like both my parents; I speak English well enough to have obtained a degree in Creative Writing. I enjoy Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley and know all the lyrics to Lil Kim’s ’96 hit ‘Not Tonight’, which makes a lot of people in the room very uncomfortable when I show them. For me, conversing in Indonesian is just as easy as smashing a tinny with the boys on a Saturday arvo. I’ve accepted that I’m both Aussie and Indo, so why can’t you? To all the mixed kids out there, I’ll let you in on a little secret. We are the future. In this ever changing globalised world, multiculturalism is a given. We are weapons now that diversity is more valuable. Our experiences are valid; so don’t panic when someone asks you where you’re from. Embrace your ambiguity, and thank your parents for getting it on all those years ago. In the mirror I see what I have been given, my rosy cheeks and button nose. I smile, with full lips, and see the world through almond shaped eyes. I stand there as a symbol of how two people from different cultures collided and I’m grateful that I can speak for both. The people I have eventually surrounded myself with aren’t who I thought would be my clique. My identity is lip-gloss on a sunny day and words with meaning; the Mocha latte skin is just an added bonus. ■

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Mocha Latte Baby illustration by Xxxxxx

“ society, being “In E European and i inherently white iss revered more so than being of Asian or des African descent, because it has e connotation,” she a negative says.

dominance is evident in our society, always creating tensions between the European and non-European, which made it difficult for me to understand my position as a person who identifies as both. University debates about multiculturalism and race were always hard for me to comprehend, especially when I struggled sometimes with my own racial identity. I did not know where to situate myself in these conversations. Is it justified for me to talk about the Asian experience if I’m only half? Does it make me a phony to my own culture?

FEATURE Content Warning: Explicit names of sexual practices, which some may fi nd distasteful or triggering.

EBAY’S FETISH UNDERGROUND Unfortunately, the buyer who graciously purchased my filthysoled socks back in May of 2016 no longer uses his original buyer name on eBay. What’s more, as eBay notified me, “the system only keeps a record of a listing for 60 days”, and after that it’s “deleted from the system.” However, a quick search for “used socks” listings on eBay showed the buying and selling community is alive and well. Beneath the guise of the website which launched in 1995 to innocently and safely allow transactions of collectors’ items like Pez dispensers and signed Nirvana vinyl, is an underbelly of ‘panty people’, indiscreet sex toy pedlars and, as it turns out, dirty sock fetishists. One listing noted the condition of the socks as “Well worn, unwashed.” Another wrote in the description: “Worn to gym, work, and show rehearsals.” Another listing for stockings wrote: “Well worn, unwashed dancer stockings. Worn for a whole season of shows unwashed. Happy to negotiate amount of wears for price.”

I SOLD MY USED SOCKS ON EBAY and Discovered A Fetish Underground

eBay’s net revenue is roughly US$10.83 billion a year, and with US$2 billion coming from its adult e-commerce sector (with $140 million coming from Hello Kitty vibrators alone) used socks could be big business for the shopping giant. However, they’d never reveal just how big the used sock business is.

EBAY IS NOT IMPRESSED eBay told The Brag that selling used socks on their platform is strictly prohibited.

Poppy Reid has discovered an underground fetish ring of used sock buyers, and now wants to take you down the same rabbit hole she fell into when she was just innocently selling her clothes away on eBay.

“For health and hygiene reasons, we don’t allow the sale of used underwear, including socks, on eBay,” a spokesperson told The Brag. “We do frequent sweeps every week across the platform, and take additional action on accounts who are

circumventing the policy. “Users should ensure items they list follow our guidelines,” the spokesperson added. “Items that are against our policies will be removed and sellers may be subject to a range of other actions, including buying and selling restrictions and permanent account suspension.” When I was sent the above statement I immediately remembered the instructions I was given from my sock buyer. He had told me that in order to make the sale available to him, I would need to tell him when I would make the listing public and then reach out again with a link when the listing was live. A weekly sweep from eBay won’t do much to catch sellers whose listings are purchased mere seconds after they go on sale; especially when all ‘auction’ negotiations are handled via private DMs.

MEET USED SOCK BUYER ‘UNUSUALODDITY’ In a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), a user named ‘UnusualOddity’ titled his thread: ‘I buy guys (sic) used socks on Ebay, AMA!’ “I just like the smell of them,” he wrote. UnusualOddity, who declined to be interviewed by The Brag, revealed through the AMA that he is in his mid-twenties, heterosexual, but only interested in menswear. He said the fetish sparked when he was a teenager, and that he doesn’t discriminate when it comes to the condition the socks are in. “When I was younger and around sweaty/smelly feet and/ or socks I found that I really liked it! Weird, I know. “[I] prefer them to be more used, definitely smelly. Athletic are cool but so are dress socks. Holes are fine too!”

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THE DISCOVERY

Sock Fetish illustration by Xxxxxx

t began innocently enough. I was trying to make some extra money selling my clothes on eBay, the go-to marketplace for anyone who’s ever racked up a credit card debt, is moving overseas, is going overseas, is saving for overseas, or in my case, has developed an unhealthy obsession with Lululemon that frightened both my wallet and myself. I was surprised then, when scrolling through in-app messages about my activewear items, to see a message from a male asking whether I sold any sports socks. After a few messages back and forth it was understood that yes, he wanted to buy my used, worn socks (unwashed was fine), and no, he didn’t want to tell me why. I sold three pairs for $40. His next message after receiving said socks? “Do you have any g-strings I can buy?” I ended the conversation there. Partly out of respect to my partner, but mostly because I didn’t know anything about this man – other than he was

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a frequent buyer of used socks according to a cursory glance at his purchase history. I’m not naïve, I’m aware of the multi-billion-dollar industry funded by those with a soiled panty fetish and driven by those who are expertly able to resist changing their underwear for full weeks at a time. Hell, Orange Is The New Black developed a whole narrative arc around it, where some inmates were the ‘providers’. And who could forget the used panty vending machines in Japan? They were largely found in the back alleys of Akihabara until police found underage girls with fake IDs were selling their own underwear and school uniforms. Now, the vending machines target tourists with the word ‘used’ in English and a disclaimer of how they aren’t really used in fine print and in Japanese. But worn, dirt-covered socks? As a tool for sexual pleasure? Now that’s a community I wanted to learn more about.

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FEATURE

Body Positivity is Destructive. Body Neutrality is Constructive.

continued from previous page...

LET’S TALK SPECIFICS. WHAT IS A SOCK FETISH? Olfactophilia is the correct name for the fetish of used socks. Psychology Today defines Olfactophilia as: “a paraphilia in which individuals derive sexual pleasure and arousal from smells and odours.” Pamela Supple, who has a Masters of Health Science and has spent the last 25 years as a Sex, Relationship and Wellbeing Therapist, said “all fetishes are wide and varied and differ greatly for each individual.” When asked what buyers of used socks are doing with them after the purchase, Supple said: “[They would be] smelling them, putting them on, getting sexually aroused by them, fantasising. Some would get aroused by images of used socks and imagine different smells and odours.” Pamela Supple said that while foot and sock fetishes are separate, they can intertwine. “Specific odours are produced by foot sweat which is odourless, but combined with certain bacteria – which are part of our human flora – are one of the most widespread forms of erotic olfactory arousal for some,” said Supple. “[…] It is a real erotic stimulant of the olfactory senses. In other words the smell/odour is the ‘turn on’ and sometimes can be accompanied by erotic images,” she added. “Podophilia is the correct name for a sexual fetish specifically for feet. It is considered the most common form of fetishes for otherwise nonsexual objects or body parts. “It is more commonly seen among men,” Supple noted. “These can be very separate fetishes for some but some combine both [foot and sock fetishes]. It’s completely up to the individual and their own preferences.” In fact, Supple pointed to a 1994 study printed in the Comprehensive Handbook of Psychopathology, which noted only 45% of people with a specific foot fetish get aroused by smelly used socks. “Not all foot fetishists have a fetish for used socks,” she said.

MEET USED SOCK SELLER, ‘TEAMYMD’ Perhaps one of the most viral Reddit threads on the sale of socks as fetish items is from Redditer ‘TeamYMD’. Posted over seven years ago with the title ‘IAmA guy who made thousands of dollars selling used socks on eBay AMA’, this seller received almost 2,000 comments on his call-out for questions. He said he would predominantly have to wear the socks for a week for his clients. “I’m really a clean freak so that bothered me. I would use a mix of parm cheese and water sometimes to make them stinky if they wanted them that way,” he wrote.

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A self-professed “totally straight college kid looking to make extra $$$”, the seller said he had to build up his reputation in order to gain repeat customers. Later in the AMA, he said his success had little to do with luck: “I think it’s having the balls to try something totally creepy and realise you’re making money off of other people’s fantasies, and it really has nothing to do with me. I separated myself totally from it.” The seller mentioned eBay’s crackdown on the market meant he had to be “discreet” with his selling arrangements.

Poppy Reid talks to author Anuschka Rees and health industry professional Arabella Hampshire on the constructive and beneficial ways of Body Neutrality, which vastly differs from the more destructive teachings of Body Positivity.

“You had to be real slick,” he said. “They took down auctions where pics were above the knee,” he said, indicating eBay’s policy around nudity. Granted, the aforementioned ‘Adult eBay’ allows nude images and sexually oriented (but clean) items to be sold. However, standard eBay’s larger user base offers more potential for a higher profit. When answering questions from other Reddit users, the seller explained his strategy to get around eBay’s policies: “They took down auctions that were too descriptive (can’t put actions like ‘played a rough Lacrosse game in these sweaty socks..etc.’) You have to put ‘cleaned per eBay standards’ in all auctions,” he wrote. “Basically, they knew it was a fetish thing and didn’t mind hosting the auctions in the xxx section,” he wrote. “But you never got the exposure that you did on the normal eBay site so everyone fought to keep it in the open.” So just how lucrative was TeamYMD’s foray into the resale market for used socks? He revealed the most he’d sold a worn pair of socks for was US$125 (AUD$184). When offering advice to those wanting in on the revenue stream he said: “Just look around at the completed listings. See what’s going now and for what. [You] need to build up a rep so it will take a while. Start at $0.99. Focus on dress socks.” Conversely to the sock realm, the business of used underwear online has become an accessible economic triage for panty fetishists. Websites like ebanned. net, Craigslist in the US, Used Panty Portal, and CulotteHog are all legitimate and safe resources. Used sock fetishists and sellers seem to have slimmer pickings; hence the gravitation toward eBay and Facebook Marketplace, and the ensuing careful navigation of prohibitive policies. One thing is clear though, to find success in the currently uncornered market of used sock selling, you need to follow the advice of seasoned entrepreneurs like TeamYMD: “Keep the dream alive! You can do anything you put you mind to… Keep one foot forward.” ■

n 2019, women are storming the streets and lobbying to have their voices heard over laws which exist to govern their own bodies.

In Australia, women are fighting for health and reproductive rights, they’re fighting to end gendered violence, and for equality – a century after International Women’s Day began. In America this year, several states passed laws to ban abortion, others have taken steps to restrict abortion access. In a country where access is already difficult in most areas, a draconian bill could see doctors who perform abortions face life in prison. And in June, at least four Black trans women were killed during Pride Month. I make a note of these things not to shock you, but to give you a small speck of insight into the public war women are facing regarding their own bodies. Behind closed doors in private, many women are battling a more subversive, perhaps patriarchally ingrained war: the one which tells them how to feel about their bodies. Read the below statistics on advertising to any femaleidentifying person and they’ll shrug and say something to the effect of: “I could have told you that.” • • • • •

•

In magazine ads, more than 50% of women are shown as sex objects. Ads that show women as sexually powerful still have a negative impact on womens’ body image. Men are more likely than women to be shown as funny, smart & powerful. Sexual appeal does not sell products. Realistic portrayals of women in ads increased purchase intent by 26% among all consumers and 45% among women. Sexual objectification in ads affects women across their lifespan: young women may develop low self-esteem, eating disorders & body dissatisfaction. Ads that challenge gender stereotypes are positively received, particularly by women.

(Source: Women’s Health Victoria)

Enter: The Body Positivity Movement The body positivity movement did wonderful things for updating symbols of beauty. Following the Victorian Dress Reform Movement, which put an end to the trend of tightlacing corsets in the 1850’s, the ‘fat acceptance movement’ of the ‘60s, and Second Wave feminism in the ‘90s, 2012 saw an increase in women challenging beauty standards. In 2016, Mattel released a new line of Barbie dolls with the goal to show children there is, in fact, more than one type of body for a woman. However the “Fashionistas” dolls only came with three different body shapes (curvy, petite, and tall), and were still written off as damaging and unrealistic. When Ashley Graham made the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and walked the Victoria’s Secret runway that same year, it sparked even more

conversations around the definition of beauty. But soon, it became another highly-commercialised societal construct. It also became dangerous to those, who despite their best efforts, could not for the life of them feel positively about aspects of their body. They were made to think if they couldn’t love and be excited about the skin they’re in, then there must be something truly wrong with them. That their issues must run deeper than skin deep and their struggle to join the body positivity movement was simply another sign they didn’t belong in the society in which they existed. In her piece for Metro, award-winning blogger and author Stephanie Yeboah said: “The body positivity movement that we all recognise today does not centre fat people anymore. It has become simply another safe space for slimmer people to feel good about their bodies in a society that already does that for them.”

Enter: The Body Neutrality movement “To accept ourselves as we are means to value our imperfections as much as our perfections.” – Sandra Bierig, Author. If we think of the body as a literal vehicle, the body neutrality movement would be the car that gets you from A to B. It doesn’t compare itself with others, and it doesn’t feel it needs to be upgraded each time a new model is released. Essentially (and this is the last time I’ll literally objectify our bodies) it’s what’s inside the car that counts. With body neutrality, our physicality has nothing to do with how we feel about or define ourselves. We can accept ourselves just as we are and go against all cultural education around what we’ve been told we should be. The movement understands that many of us don’t fit society’s ever-changing beauty ideals and instead adheres to a narrative which acknowledges that it doesn’t matter what kind of body you’re in, if you’re a terrible person, you’re a terrible person. Therefore, neutrality towards the physical self is an alternative option. It also feels more inclusive; body neutrality provides those living with health conditions, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, or physical disabilities a more relaxed view of being at peace in their own skin. But why don’t many of us walk the walk? Why do we still treat our bodies like status symbols? Why is our body or how we feel about our body a mark of stature? To help clarify the body neutrality movement and to offer a few first-hand anecdotes, I spoke to Anuschka Rees the Berlin-based author behind the “body neutral survival manual” Beyond Beautiful (published in May); and Arabella Hampshire, a Sydney-based naturopath and health industry professional who has suffered from disordered eating since her late teens.

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FEATURE

Interview with What did you see as the fundamental flaw in the body positivity movement? AR: To me, body neutrality builds on what body positivity kicked off. Body positivity has accomplished so many things and I completely agree with promoting diversity and inclusiveness and helping people of different ethnicities be seen and heard. However, I don’t think this is enough. In a sense, body positivity still puts the focus on the body and I believe that we can go one step further than that. The value of beauty is incredibly inflated in our society and that shapes the thinking of girls and women. An example of this is the fact that “ageing well” is seen as a sign of achievement for women. The value we give to beauty is what makes the beauty standard we see in the media seem crucially relevant to our own happiness in the first place. Who do you believe the body neutrality movement helps the most? AR: The underlying source for body image struggles is the same for the majority of

people in society. I believe body neutrality, as a movement, helps those that have always felt that they don’t fit society’s narrow beauty ideals and are frustrated by the blanket idea to “just love yourself”. Body neutrality is a practical approach and we’ve received a great response from young women and men, mothers and grandmothers, trans and gender non-binary as well as those with physical disabilities. There was a lot of psychology research that went into your book, what would you say was your most shocking finding? AR: There are several studies that consistently demonstrate the inaccuracy in the way women see their own appearance. It’s well known that women with eating disorders have a distorted view of their bodies and see themselves as bigger than they really are. The same is also true for women who don’t have eating disorders and is, in fact, unrelated to their BMI. That is, women of all shapes and sizes see a distorted version of their bodies. One study required women to use light beams to match the size of their cheeks, thighs, waist and hips. The results showed they

Body Positivity illustration by Rosemary Vasquez Brown

Interview with What has it been like watching the movement grow? AH: It makes me incredibly happy and proud to be part of the movement! It’s something I really wish was a thing 15 years ago when the start of my body issues began. What did you see as the fundamental flaw in the body positivity movement? AH: That it can make some people who do want to lose weight or change how they look feel guilty. If that is something someone wants and it is coming from a genuine place, there is nothing wrong with a desire to change something about yourself. Everyone is different and it’s very important to not judge someone who doesn’t have a positive body image and who wants to change something about themselves. If you

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Anuschka Rees, Author overestimated their body size by an average of 25 per cent! Women are not only seeing their appearance more negatively than others do, but also less accurately. We have a tendency to focus on the things we believe need ‘fixing’ and gloss over the rest. What kind of early reactions have you had to Beyond Beautiful? AR: So far, it has been incredibly positive. People are really open to discussing the topic, sharing the concerns they’ve had with themselves over the years, and it feels like we’re really starting to build a community. We’ve heard several times that it’s started to change the way people see themselves and react to the media messages that surround them every day. Finally, how has having a body neutral approach in your own life changed you? AR: I definitely feel more empowered and in many ways, you could say writing the book was a form of self-therapy for me! I wanted to write this book to answer questions

that I had been mulling over for a really long time. Questions like, “Is it more empowering to work hard in the gym or accept my body as it is?” My own body image story is perhaps very similar to many other people’s stories. We know that socialisation occurs very early, and I first started thinking about my appearance at around five or six-years-old. I went on my first diet when I was 12 and until I started writing this book was dieting on-and-off for years. I became really interested in beauty and makeup at around 14-years-old and poured over the images I saw in magazines. Basically, I came to learn that I have the power to change the way I look, and I feel better when I do that. I was also, on some level, convinced that much of what happened to me was a direct result of the way I looked. As in, I was missing out on things because I didn’t look pretty enough, or because my body wasn’t good enough. Now that I’m 30, I can’t believe how much time I wasted thinking about all those things that ultimately don’t matter, at all.

Arabella Hampshire, Health Industry Professional

are a supporter of body neutrality or the body positivity movement all you can do is inspire and empower people who don’t have those beliefs, it’s very important to be neutral in it (pardon the pun)! Who do you believe the body neutrality movement helps the most? AH: I am hopeful that it will help the younger generation of women who grow up with social media as the norm. Those with constant access to images that may make them feel negative things about themselves. Young women who don’t yet have the selfawareness or self-control that you start to learn later in life can know that they can just log off social media, or ignore their friends’ comments, or ignore the fact that they are a different size to others.

These women don’t yet know just how unique they are in their beauty and that their drawcard in the future is their uniqueness! Do you have any thoughts on what/ who is to blame for conditions like body dysmorphia and constant self-judgement? AH: I think social media and influencers have played a big part in it. Often it’s wellmeaning people that don’t realise that their images or programs cause insecurities in others. You can’t control what other people in the world do, all you can control is your reaction to it. Magazines and mainstream media were previously the issue and that became more regulated and transparent. But with the rise of social media there is no one saying

what image you can or can’t post, and how people will react to it. It’s now up to the consumer to regulate their use, which isn’t easy since social media is designed to be addictive. Finally, how has having a body neutral approach in your own life changed you? AH: It has changed so many aspects of my life. From tiny things like getting dressed in the morning faster because I don’t stand in front of the mirror and fuss about what I see anymore. To large things, like me being more present with my family while I enjoy a meal with them because I am not thinking about the macronutrients or calories, I am just mindfully eating the meal and enjoying my loved ones’ company. ■

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short story

Feedback Loop BY L I LY C A M E R O N

here’s an art to loneliness, which Dara hasn’t quite mastered. Her clothes lie close to her skin, slick with cold sweat under several layers of unwashed fabric. Dandruff is slowly building up beneath her fingernails, her scalp scratched raw. She stares at a computer screen, at the cracks on the ceiling, at the collection of empty chip packets that litter her floor. The people next door are fighting again; she presses her ear against their shared wall, concentrating like a child listening for the ocean in a shell. She reaches for another packet of chips, and startles at the buzzing of her phone, the sound grating. Her mother. She mutes the call and lies back on her bed.

Just checking in. Love you baby xxx I’ll call you later, just in a tute atm xx Her hands move swiftly, decisively. A text pops up from her coworker. hey any chance you could cover my close shift today? sorry no can do I’m at uni :( Open an app, scroll to the end, open another. Repeat. Something makes her stop, something missing or maybe lost, something just out of reach. It’s a buzzing in the back of the head, a jolt that makes her look around the room, playing a game of spot the difference in past and present. She checks her pockets. Empty. The wallet on her chest of drawers has an opal card and a $10 note, nothing different there. The calendar’s clear. She touches her ribs, counts them one to twelve and then on the other side, gently presses her fingers to her thumbs. One, two, three, four, touches to the thumb. The buzzing in her head is still there, pressure building up behind her eyes like tears or maybe it’s just a yawn. It’s starting to worry her, this buzzing that could be a symptom of something more (tumour, tinnitus, Meniere’s, ‘foreign objects in the body’), she has to stop thinking or it will overtake everything. She grabs a pair of old headphones from their home under the bed and shoves them in her pocket. Her limbs feel like they’re moving through tar; slowly and laboriously fighting a losing battle. She can’t remember what she’s forgotten, can’t find what she’s lost, but she knows it’ll be better once she does. She double checks the calendar, writes a large question mark with a fat red pen, hoping it will jog her memory. It watches her walk out the door.

The world outside is more open, shadowier, sharper than Dara remembers. Wind hits her face, picks up her hair and throws it like whips. It burrows into her ears, this siren wailing, banshee screaming, knife edge wind. She lays her palms flat across her temples, panic rising in her gut. She digs into her pocket and yanks the headphones out, holding them up to the light; the wires are frayed and the ear buds wilt like a broken neck, but she’s sure they will work. They have to work. She puts them in her ears and suddenly all is calm. The wind drops her hair and limbs and clothes, recoils and runs in the other direction, the air still and soft. She takes a deep breath, imagines she can see the air twirl into her mouth like a tornado in

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miniature; when she blows out, she sends the whirlwind off to chase after the banshee’s scream, her own little storm. With headphones in she is safe, secure, locked away from everything else. Sounds start playing from an app her mum downloaded for her, something meant to calm her down. She listens, focusing on the sounds moving in stereo, her left ear to her right, overlapping each other. A guzzling gaping gagging froth and the clinking of metal on metal ‘Not much. You?’ And a laughter that’s canned or candied sweet. ‘Not much. Not much.’ Paper or cardboard or stiff, taught fabric against skin rustling rustling rustling Dara lets the sounds play as she walks, a world coming through her headphones. She feels a brightness in her steps now, a little smile coming to her lips as she imagines the lives lived in these recordings. Walking with purpose, she searches the ground, hoping to see the thing she’s missing. She’ll know it when she sees it. At the bus stop, she stands next to a man rifling through his suit pockets; first calmly, hand stuffed in his breast pocket, a gentle double tap of the chest and sides, then a dive into the pant’s pockets, hand shaking and frantic getting faster and less efficient. He squats low and opens his briefcase. She notices his eyebrows are knotted in the half light, worry lining his face. He takes everything out of the case and seems to catalogue it: papers arranged in piles with colour coded sticky tabs, an electronic tablet, a plain white singlet, several individually wrapped lollies. He checks the inside of the briefcase, hands feeling for a hidden slot or a tear in the fabric, before piling everything back in haphazardly. He stays crouched on the ground, his head in his hands. She watches from above, a little to the side, and feels curiously empty. She can’t help him, she needs to focus on finding the thing she has lost. She’ll feel better when she finds it. Eyes closed, she focuses on the sounds streaming through the headphones. gentle gentle

breath gasp

gentle inhalation an expansion of lung (or maybe) water salting, f lowing, mounting higher and higher whispering against the shore sand rock (or is it) breeze between trees leaves rustling together apart together

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When she opens her eyes, Dara’s on the bus heading towards the city. Next to her, a young woman maybe her age looks like she’s trying to draft a text. She watches the cursor blink, the address line blank. The girl holds the phone gingerly in her hands, staring at the near empty screen like an answer will be revealed to her. She moves on to the message, her fingers dancing in staccato, an anxious wavering. Words appear and disappear on the screen: Hi! Hey, it’s Kat. Hey it’s Kat! hey! hi, it’s me The girl erases them one by one, the text still blank, blinking mockingly at her. Dara feels distracted, shakes her head in an attempt to toss any thoughts away. She focuses back on the sound. step step step (so even, is it real?) really saying I’m here I’m here I’m here and each tendon tenses and blood beats a rush to both temples I am whole and here step step step The girl is leaning forward, lightly touching Dara’s shoulder, her face a hard mask of concern but her body soft, swaying with the motion of the bus. Her mouth moves and Dara feels herself mimicking, a lesson in lipreading. She’s mesmerised, the lips making strange shapes, contorting absurdly in silence. The girl gestures to her, hand moving to ears and away, mouth moving in tandem. Dara takes out her headphones, and the world comes streaming in, sepia bleeding into technicolour. The screaming of brakes and the rush of passing cars, cooling air leaving spots of moisture on the window, body odour an onslaught to her senses. Dara blinks a few times, her vision slowly focusing on the girl’s hands resting on her lap, the knuckles jutting an angry red and white, clenching the phone. ‘Sorry to bother you, it’s just —’ she holds up her hands apologetically, the knuckles still clenched, ‘— my phone died and I have no idea where I am.’ Dara looks at her closely, squinting as if trying to see through fog. The girl looks like she hasn’t slept much, dark circles and deep grooves under her eyes like bruises on fruit. She slumps rather than sits in the seat. ‘I haven’t been here before,’ the girl prompts, looking at her expectantly. ‘I think I got on the wrong bus. Where are you headed?’ Dara wants to put her headphones in, to disappear in sound and silence. But the girl is looking at her, needs something from her. She opens her mouth to answer but if feels full of dust or dirt, a dry clogging and cough. The girl’s cheek redden. ‘Sorry for bothering you. I’m sure I’ll figure it out.’ She turns away. Dara clears her throat, imagines a cloud of dust hitting the window next to her, hugging close to the condensation until it rises up and out into the street. Maybe the girl can help her find the thing she’s looking for. She takes a deep breath in. ‘Where are you trying to go?’ Dara whispers, her voice rasping against her windpipe, a hard scratching like metal on metal. She touches her throat tenderly, hopes it’s not acute laryngitis or gastroesophageal reflux or a viral respiratory tract infection. The girl whips back around to face her, eyes wide open, a little flush still on her cheeks. ‘Just the nearest shopping centre,’ she says quickly, ‘I just want to charge my phone.’

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Dara nods and looks out the window, her skin prickly with heat ‘I’m Kat by the way,’ says the girl. I know, Dara thinks. ‘Nice to meet you,’ Dara says. At the next stop, Dara thinks she recognises a nearby building, the sun reflecting golden light off each tinted window, the whole city buttery. They get off the bus, Dara’s legs unsteady on firm ground, her body still wavering with phantom movements. They walk slowly towards a glowing Westfield logo, the sign seeming further away the closer they get like a mountain on the horizon. ‘Are you sure you want to come?’ The girl asks, but her words seem far away, like they’re coming from another room. Dara tries to tune out the girl’s chatter, to focus on the little sounds around her instead: dull thuds of feet on concrete, rising and falling pressure of cars driving past, hammers and drills and nail guns high above her head. By the time they reach the shopping centre, her nerves feel frayed, an edgeless ache on her temples. She imagines the headphones in her ears. A baby crying, a bicycle bell, a plane passing overhead. Walking through the automatic doors, she’s hit with a wave of sound. She tumbles in it, through it, along it. She feels hot is it hot in here? So many people and all so l o u d all speaking at once can you hear that? ‘Are you ok?’ A hand on her back, a face close with words closer almost touching her cheek. It’s fine don’t worry it’s ok I’m fine I’m ok not to worry but is it hot in here? It might be me or it might be hyperthyroidism or Grave’s disease or pituitary cancer and can everyone please be quiet a little quieter? Because she can hear everything and it’s all so much.

…ok if that’s what you want.

Lemons, eggs, lemons, eggs. I’m forgetting something.

I wish she’d tell me if she was going to be late.

It’s not a regular verb is it?

Oh my god I know, I’ve been looking for it everywhere

…and if they think they’re going to overcharge me this time

I’ll tell them what…

No, no, I love it! ...going to the mountains for a pick me up. The air’s so clear and

…sometimes if we change things to past tense.

Have you organised the thing for…

I don’t know how to do the… …so I can have time to pick him up? Hey baby! Yeah I’m… ...asked my dad and he... Dara’s grabbing the girl’s hands not letting go, not wanting to get trapped under the noise, wants to fight it but it’s in burying into her ears and she shuts her eyes tight doesn’t want to see it as well so she wrenches her hands away and her feet are moving below her fast, so fast, she’s running but can’t hear the steps above the sounds because they’re banging against her head. She covers her ears with her hands and leans against something hard, anything to hold her up. It feels like a long time before she’s able to open her eyes, slowly, slowly, so as not to let the world in too quickly. She stays leaning against—what is it? An interactive screen—and peers around the milling crowd of people, looking for the girl or the thing she has lost. She scans each passer-bys face for familiar features, sees a similar nose, the same length hair, a phone clenched tightly in a fist, but the girl isn’t there. A flicker in the corner of her eye, some quick movement makes her jerk her head, startled. Words fill the screen, flashing big and bright:

YOU ARE HERE. And beneath them, a little smaller, the cursor blinking:

|Where do you want to go?

•

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film + tv

10 By Mike Hohnen

You could be forgiven for thinking that Hollywood is starting to run out of original ideas…

“No no no,” the hypothetical suited film industry exec responds, “2019 is the age of revisionism, duh. We aren’t out of ideas!” he shouts. “We are just revising everyone’s favourite moments in film, potentially, for some reason,” he adds, wiping his brow with a wad of $100 bills. But, when you look at The Emoji Movie, the Angry Birds movie, the Lego movies, and the endless torrents of remakes – Jumanji, The Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin, Pet Semetary, *takes breath* A Star Is Born, The Mummy, The Jungle Book – it feels like Hollywood is scraping the bottom of the pop culture barrel to come up with ideas for movies. Rather than sitting back and complaining, here at The Brag we got productive. We came up with 10 completely original and air-tight film pitches based on Hollywood’s current practice of looking to pop culture for inspiration.

Spark Fear: Clutter’s Revenge Marie Kondo introduced the idea to us all that removing clutter from your life sparks joy. But what does clutter have to say about this? Spark Fear sees all the clutter that was abandoned by the world colluding, and working together to plot their revenge against those who threw them out. The tag line will be “Does THIS bring you joy?” Send it.

When Yanny Met Laurel Who is Yanny, and who is Laurel? No one has any idea but for a solid few days, the whole internet was obsessed with these names. Are they even names? Who cares, they are now. The story will follow the impossible and unlikely love between Yanny and Laurel set to the backdrop of the New York City hustle and bustle during Christmas. *kissy fingers* Original af...

When

Met

You’re welcome, Hollywood.

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10 POP CULTURE MOMENTS THAT DESERVE THEIR OWN MOVIE

Reddit: The Movie Tbh, even we don’t know what Reddit: The Movie would be about. But when has that ever stopped a film from getting green-lit. Kids love Reddit, right? It’s a foolproof concept. Perhaps we can have the same five scenes re-shared for an entire 90 minutes. I’m sure we could get Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson attached, he seems game for anything.

The Viral Internet Challenges Movie Most of the recent viral internet challenges are gravity based – bottle flipping, cap spinning, planking, car surfing, you name it. What if there was no gravity? What if you were…in space? The Viral Internet Challenges movie would follow an astronaut riddled with FOMO yet simply unable to complete any of the viral internet challenges. Two words: Matt Damon. *flips bottle*

Fyre Festival but with Zombies What if – OK, bear with me on this one – we recreated the situation at Fyre Festival. We give attendants hand held cameras, then unleash a horde of zombies upon them? The result will be Blair Witch Project for influencers. The highest levels of originality. I hear Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is looking for such a project.

The Podfather Kids love Tide Pods, so kids will love a movie about them, obviously. We’ll take a little bit from Willy Wonka, a splash of The Happening and the whole ‘found footage’ style of Cloverfield. That gives us a completely original premise for the tide pod film.

Trump Goes To Russia Many people these days will be too young to remember the misadventures of Ernest. So, no one will bat an eyelid if we reprise the concept only ‘reimagining’ the role of Ernest with President Donald Trump. Set post-Presidency, the film will follow the whacky and wonderful journey of Trump as he tries to reconnect with his old pen pal, Vladdy Putin. Trump would be played by Alec Baldwin of course, with Tilda Swinton as Putin. Hilarity ensues.

Threatin: The Griftiest Grifter Who Ever Grifted Jokes aside, a film about the new age grifter would be very cool and where else to look for inspiration than the curious case of Threatin, the grifter who grifted an entire European tour much to the delight of the whole internet? The film will follow him hatching his ultimate grift, and also the moment he realises that, like, cameras are a thing and people will take photos of your empty gig.

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Pocket Dialled Who remembers the Kiefer Sutherland film Phone Booth? No one? K cool. Don’t Google it. It’s nothing. Pocket Dialled would be Phone Booth set in 2019. I mean… a completely original concept whereby someone answers a pocket dial call from a close friend only to hear that their close friend is secretly plotting against them. Sure, that probably won’t stretch out to 90 minutes but with some dramatic drone footage of a cityscape, we could get a solid 60 minutes out of this idea, surely. Kiefer Sutherland can be played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Daddy Long Neck biopic This one writes itself… Scarlett Johansson as Daddy Long Neck, his manager, his whole family, all his video co-stars; and all 2.1 million of his Instagram followers. Done. We’ll put our invoice in the mail, Hollywood. *Dabs* ■

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film + tv

30 YEARS OF

Wallace & Gromit

WE RANK THE FOUR ANIMATED SHORTS

Jasper Bruce sets to the difficult task of ranking the four Wallace & Gromit short films to celebrate 30 years of our favourite claymation duo.

n an era of animated mated sitcoms aplenty, a hapless ess British inventor and hiss mute canine companion nion seem unlikely candidatess to star in a groundbreaking animated series. But 2019 marks 30 years ars since Wallace & Gromit first delighted audiences with their unique claymation capers.

that time, Aardman In tha Studios have produced four the duo, and shorts featuring featu one feature film, 2005’s The Curse Of The T Were-Rabbit. All classics. Essential viewing are class for kids and adults alike. form of a ranking In the fo system, system please let me tell you how much I love them. Presumably, if you’re a Presum human bbeing with access to a TV, you do d too.

#4 A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008) Wallace and Gromit have become bakers in this tale of a chef killer – and the adult humour is buttered on thick. With its darker storyline and inclusion of extra human characters, there’s more than a dash of Were-Rabbit in this one. There’s also a sense, however, that we’ve seen this story before: Gromit is once again rejected to make way for a new friend, and the reliance on the love plot isn’t always compelling. Come on guys, get to the cool gadgets and crime-fighting. There is still a lot to like though – the production value is the most striking of the four short films and given the franchise’s love for elaborate inventions, every penny is well spent. But the best thing you can say about A Matter of Loaf and Death is that it proved the pair were still primed for adventures post-feature film, undoubtedly bringing them to a new audience in the process.

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30 YEARS OF WALLACE & GROMIT

#3 A Close Shave (1995) Easily the most ambitious of the shorts in terms of storyline, A Close Shave throws cyborgs in with sidecars and prison sentences in with porridge guns; the latter of these is probably the greatest G-rated weapon of the ‘90s. The third in the series picks up where The Wrong Trousers left off, featuring many of the same contraptions and set designs as its predecessor. Given Wallace and Gromit have different jobs, adventures and companions in every short, there’s a real buoyancy about this kind of continuity. Pleasingly, most of the new additions don’t feel forced, with the motorbike and sidecar giving a sense of badassery hitherto unknown for Wallace & Gromit. A Close Shave will probably go down in the history books as being the first appearance of Shaun The Sheep, but there’s a slight sense that Aardman bit off more than they could chew with the plot. Nevertheless, its twists and turns are thrilling, if sometimes a little tenuous.

#2 A Grand Day Out (1989) I really struggled to split A Grand Day Out and A Close Shave, but in the end, it came down to the sheer ingenuity of this short. It catapulted Britain’s duo into the minds and hearts of so many, and established much of what we know and love about them: the bumbling Wallace’s cheese obsession and his trademark juddering hand gesture (you know the one), the duo’s distinct Britishness and love of invention. It’s a lot to cram into 22 minutes, yet A Grand Day Out manages to remain refreshingly simple in its premise, wisely letting the groundbreaking visuals grab us. It sets the tone for this series but allows plenty of room to expand the adventures that the duo could embark upon. And bloody hell doesn’t that rocket ship look cool.

#1 The Wrong Trousers (1993) Everything that makes Wallace & Gromit great is on show in The Wrong Trousers. The short films are arguably at their funniest when the visual gags do the legwork, and they’re in great form here. It’s also this lack of dialogue that helps to fuel suspense in this, the pair’s first crime-centric outing. More so than the other short films, this one really is Gromit’s story. Feathers McGraw, Gromit’s flightless foe, is a perfect foil for the doggo, and is probably the most conniving villain of the series. Stills from Aardman Animations, Ltd.

The labyrinthian cityscapes and Film Noir-style soundtrack feel appropriate alongside this plotting penguin. If we’re going to get super swanky, it’s also just a nice story about the perils of technology that still feels fresh today. ■

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film + tv

FEATURE

Why aren’t we making any

NEW MOVIES anymore?

Shannon Jade asks the question we’ve been wondering for quite some time now, where on earth are all our new movies, and what’s the deal with all these remakes?

elcome to the age of reimaginings. Beauty and the Beast is now more re ry than a cartoon children’s film; it’s a live-action production starring Harry ion Potter’s very own Emma Watson as its leading lady. Mulan and The Lion King recently took over the silver screen, Will Smith is Aladdin’s new Genie, and The Little Mermaid is still caught between new-movie excitementt and outdated racist debate. Everywhere we turn, pop culture meets us with more recreations of old stories than introductions of new ones. Retro is cool in all its shapes and sizes – record players, ed by thee repeated epea ed pprospect osspec spect polaroids, and Friends reruns – and while most of us are thrilled estion of why. Why is the t of a blast from a simpler past, our redo culture does beg the question entertainment industry so caught up in reliving yesterdays? With remakes and reimaginings punctuating almost every move of today’s most recen recentt film n and literature releases, it’s easy to question whether the world has simply run out of new ideas, but there’s a lot more at play.

films were integral parts of most millennial childhoods. Now, millennials are working adults with change in their pockets. They have the buying power it takes to take a film to the top. Disney selects movies that appeal to its paying millennial audience, and it remakes the films that had popular debuts when those audience members were young. Last time you went to see a Disney remake, wasn’t it predominantly 20 and 30-something adults lining up at the cinema? The déjà vu film industry has plenty of people complaining about lack abou ac of o originality, o g a y, but bu there’s e e s good reason easo for o repetition. The stories our world has loved best seem ready for a second chance to shine. After all, isn’t it the mark of a good story when the world wants to hear it again? ■

ella, to The Jungle B ook One of the film industry’s top remakers is Disney. From Cinderella, Book achieveed to Dumbo, and many, many more, most of Disney’s live-action do-overs have achieved exactly the success Disney hoped for them. rsion of Aladdin earned In its opening (admittedly four-day) weekend alone, the 2019 version d the Beastt made a Box a whopping $112.7 million at the Box Office. 2017’s Beauty and Office total of $504.04 million. king Glass, Christopher That’s not to mention all the stories – Alice Through The Looking Robin, Malefi cent – that used prequels, sequels and interestingg spins to reimagine old ideas instead of just recycling them.

From top: Dumbo 2019, Beauty And the Beast with Emma Watson, Will Smith as the Genie in the Aladdin remake

So what drives the redo revolution? Intellectual property has a lot to do with deciding which stories end up on our screens. Storylines, franchises and characters that a studio already ownss come without the worry of acquisition costs. heaper, easier and annd often In a world where capitalism is key, it’s simply cheaper, beloong to more profitable for studios to work with stories that already belong them. Then, there’s the additional concern of where thee ideas actually come from. airytales and myths mytths it once The Walt Disney Corporation relies heavily on fairytales y’s most popularr stories found in the public domain, with many of Disney’s mm. Maybe it “borrowing” from Hans Christian Anderson or The Brothers Grim Grimm. d, salvageable id eas. really is the case that there are only so many old, ideas. w with a The beauty of a good remake is that it arrives in the consumer world he exhaust fume es of whatever ready-made audience. Remakes are born from the fumes came before them. iences can proba ably expect A remade film whose original grossed huge audiences probably ing to a to draw in crowds again, a sign studios look to as the closest th thing till unexpectedly flop, guarantee of success. Sure, ticket sales could still g much more but creators feel like they’re releasing something predictable than an entirely new story.

With recognisability comes cash h flow Average audiences don’t seem to be particularlyy enthusiastic about about w?” – but they do d Hollywood repetition – “isn’t there anything new?” show up to see for themselves whether studios have de succeeded in making version 2.0 shine. A remade movie has inbuilt marketing power because the world is already invested and interested, even if sometimes reluctantly, long before they even think about purchasing a ticket. ul Audience nostalgia is arguably the most powerful force behind reboot victories, and studios make choices that capitalise on it. Renaissance Disneyy

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HANDS-ON WITH

Razer’s Nommo Chroma gaming speakers IF YOU’RE A PC GAMER, finding a decent set of speakers for your setup can be difficult, especially if you’re trying to stick to a tighter budget. Razer is attempting to help alleviate some of that stress with the new Razer Nommo Chroma.

was admirable across a range of genres (largely due to what Razer dub ‘positional audio’), but it is worth pointing out that due to the lack of a subwoofer, your bass levels will naturally take a bit of a hit, particularly on explosion-heavy shooters. It’s hardly a deal-breaker, but one of the sacrifices you’ll have to make for the price.

he first thing you’ll notice when you pull these bad boys out of the box is that they just ooze style, with a smooth matte black Also, slightly disappointing is the lack of finish and unique design that almost looks Bluetooth connectivity, preventing you like a blend between a jet engine and There’s from connecting any device to the a Dyson product. It sounds bizarre, also an speakers easily, although a 3.5mm but is actually incredibly pleasing astounding auxiliary cable is included to get music to the eye. Meanwhile, each pumping from your phone. We tested speaker contains a small ring of 16.8 million a wide variety of tunes, from Banks’ lighting underneath, adding an colour options latest offering all the way to the 2019 extra bit of personalised flair without to choose Lion King soundtrack, to impressive ever becoming too obnoxious or results and almost zero distortion. distracting. There’s also an astounding from 16.8 million colour options to choose from. Ultimately, at around $249, the Nommo Chroma is an impressive speaker setup for those wanting to Setup was thankfully quick and painless, easily add a bit of style to their PC without blowing the allowing us to hear what the speakers were bank. Highly recommended. capable of in-game. Thankfully their performance

reviewroundup By Adam Guetti

Review: Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

Review: Madden NFL 20 ((S4, XBO, PC)

(Switch, XBO, PS4, PC)

Review: Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot

(PS4, PC)

Released with almost zero fanfare compared to Youngblood, Cyberpilot is arguably the more successful of the two entrants. Following the plights of a hacker helping the French resistance by taking control of Nazi war machines, stomping around in various robots is constantly satisfying, as is blasting foes with a barrage of fire or rockets. All in all, it’s an impressive (and surprisingly pretty) showcase for virtual reality, but the experience is 3.5 hampered by a short playtime that will leave you wanting more.

Review: Beat Saber

Madden’s latest release offers the polished, realistic gridiron experience fans have come to know and love, but is admittedly lacking a ‘must-buy’ inclusion. New smaller additions like pump fakes are certainly welcomed, as is the minor tinkering on the field of play, but casual players might not see too much need to upgrade from 3 last year’s release.

Review: Hollow Knight (Switch, PS4)

(PSVR)

Beat Saber is fast, frantic and a ridiculous amount of fun. It won’t take long for you to simultaneously feel like a Jedi master who is in serious need of a shower. Make no doubt about it – on harder difficulties, 4 Beat Saber is a tremendous workout of the best kind.

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From a surface-level glance it might look like Mutant Year Zero’s story is its selling point, but it’s actually the gameplay that’ll keep you strategising away. With encounters reminiscent of EXCOM, the game creatively strays from the genre by allowing more flexibility with how you take out foes – especially via stealth. Hopefully a sequel can improve the slightly 3 struggling narrative.

Hollow Knight isn’t just a great Australian-made game, it’s a great game, period, and this latest physical release should absolutely not go unnoticed. Gameplay is open, free and packs just the right amount of challenge to keep you going, while the constantly changing art style is wonderfully unique. Do yourself a favour and buy 5 this game pronto.

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Gaming news and reviews with Adam Guetti

The biggest games for the rest of 2019 OUT

Call of Duty Modern Warfare

OCT

(PS4, XBO, PC)

N O K C SU IS

FOLLOWING A FEW less successful entries, the Call of Duty series returns to

what helped it become a cultural phenomenon in the first place – Modern Warfare. Taking the same name as the 2007 classic, this reboot will once again provide a single-player campaign that is “ripped from the headlines” and reintroduce popular characters like Captain Price.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

OUT

(PS4, XBO, PC)

NOV

Send a lemon to someone you love (hate)

BROUGHT TO YOU by the team behind Titanfall and Apex Legends, Fallen

Order could become the year’s biggest surprise hit. Fights can often be a slower, more methodical affair in the vein of Dark Souls, and there’s a Metroidvania-style approach to exploration and upgrades for yourself and your ship.

Pokémon Sword/ Pokémon Shield

OUT

Death Stranding

OUT

(Switch)

NOV

(PS4)

NOV

y p p a H day! h Birt

Loveu yo

ur o y k Checemail!!

u o y Why ad? m

Deliver-A-Lemon is a service that allows you to send anyone a Lemon with a personalised message on it. GET READY TO go Pokécrazy when

both Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield make their way to the Switch. It’s the series’ first major outing on a mainline Nintendo console (not counting last year’s Let’s Go) so fans are excited for big things as they galivant about the new Galar region.

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THE PLAYSTATION 4’s biggest hitter

to close out 2019, Death Stranding has a lot going for it – especially it’s stellar line-up of talent including Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen. The fact that it’s being crafted by beloved video game developer Hideo Kojima is just the icing on the cake.

Thinking of sending a Birthday, Congrats, Get Well Soon card? This is a quirky and hilarious alternative to the traditional card!

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SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2019 :: FRIDAY 19 JULY - SUNDAY 21 JULY :: BYRON BAY PARKLANDS, BYRON BAY

This page [L-R from top]:

See full galleries at the tonedeaf.thebrag.com/photo/

:: K.Flay by Ian Laidlaw :: Pond by Claudia Ciapocha :: :: Kwame by Charlie Hardy :: Meg Mac by Ian Laidlaw :: :: Ruby Fields by Ian Laidlaw :: Pist Idiots by Ian Laidlaw :: :: Slaves by Claudia Ciapocha :: Pist Idiots crowd shot by Ian Laidlaw :: Wolfmother by Stephen Booth ::

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This page [L-R from top]:

:: Trophy Eyes by Mitch Lowe :: Slaves by Stephen Booth :: :: Santigold by Miranda Stokkel :: Foals by Ian Laidlaw :: :: Chael Tres by Ian Laidlaw ::

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This page [L-R from top]: Photography by :: Aimee Catt :: Miranda Stokkel :: :: Miranda Stokkel :: Charlie Hardy :: Bianca Holderness ::

Opposite page [L-R from top]: Photography by :: Mitch Lowe : Aimee Catt :: :: Bianca Holderness :: Middle row by Miranda Stokkel :: :: Miranda Stokkel :: Miranda Stokkel :: Claudia Ciapocha ::

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gig guide

Pouya

Calvin Harris

PICK OF THE ISSUE

WED

4 SEP

Pouya

The Metro Theatre, Sydney

The South got something to say, and Pouya is going to say it. Bringing his unique fusion of rap and singing, Pouya will be spreading his mood swing misery across crowds. Be sure to be there to catch the feels as they come.

September 2019 Ivy, Sydney. The Amazons + More Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Typecast + Valley Of Chrome Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt.

FRIDAY 06 SEP

SAT

26 OCT

FestivalX

Calvin Harris, Armin Van Buuren, Lil Pump, Alison Wonderland, Anna Lunoe, Badrapper, Blueface, Camelphat, Cosmic Gate, Futurecode, Generik, Giuseppe Ottaviani (Live 2.0), Godlands, Kaz James, Kรถlsch, Mk (Marc Kinchen), Marlo, Murda Beatz, Nic Fanciulli, Paul Kalkbrenner (Live), Ruben De Ronde, Sophiegrophy, Steve Aoki, Sunset Bros., Tchami, Thandi Phoenix, Trippie Redd, Vini Vici ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park.

WEDNESDAY 04 SEP Pouya Metro Theatre, Sydney.

THURSDAY 05 SEP Aac//Lzybnz: Freyja Garbett, Big 72 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

Dead (Qld), Foshe, Planeface Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar, Marrickville. Close Counters Freda's, Chippendale. Hmo + Hunter 505 + Azza D +

Push2shove + Nightmare Ivy, Sydney. Jess Spahr Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar, Marrickville. Julia Michaels Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

Last Thursday + More Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Merkules Max Watt's, Moore Park. Polymer At Hideaway Bar Sydney, 'Believers'

Single Tour The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. Sammy HoneysettJones Street Single Launch Low 302, Sydney. Shire Choir Bangalow 1st Birthday

Bite Me But Smile: Cabaret City Tattersalls Fringe Hub, Sydney. Direct Underground Fest Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt. Fraser A. Gorman The Eastern, Bondi Junction. Friday Music Presents Alastair Duff-Forbes (Violin) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Los Tones Miranda Hotel, Miranda. Merkules Max Watt's, Moore Park. Mick Lindsay Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. Minden'S 5th Live Music Festival Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt. Ride Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Spacey Jane Low 302, Sydney. The Beast The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. The Money War The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. The Porkers Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

SATURDAY 07 SEP Adi Tohey The Northern Canterbury Country Music Festival Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club, Hurlstone Park. Direct Underground Fest Max Watt's, Moore Park. Ely Buendia Metro Theatre, Sydney. Grand Nights With J.P. Shilo Grand Days Books, Records & Vintage, Woolloomooloo. Marquee Saturdays - Sunset Bros. Official After Party The Star, Pyrmont. Rini

Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Skyscraper Stan The Eastern, Bondi Junction. Spacey Jane Low 302, Sydney. Sunset Brothers Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Totty The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. Will Saul Goodbar, Paddington.

SUNDAY 08 SEP Cradle Of Filth Metro Theatre, Sydney. Gabriella Smart And Maryanne Piper Metro Theatre, Sydney. Jack Vidgen Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Sister Funk Empire Hotel, Annandale. Spacey Jane Low 302, Sydney.

TUESDAY 10 SEP Cradle Of Filth The Basement, Sydney. Emotional Oranges Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst.

WEDNESDAY 11 SEP Afk Home Nightclub Ben Lee Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

THURSDAY 12 SEP 42Below's WasteFree Weekender: Trash Bash This Must Be The Place, Darlinghurst. Naxatras Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar, Marrickville. Othrship - Ep Launch The Vanguard, Newtown. Pavillion Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt. The Amity Affliction Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. The Detonators Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

FRIDAY 13 SEP 42Below'S WasteFree Weekender: Trash Bash This Must Be The Place, Darlinghurst.

Bite Me But Smile: CABARET City Tattersalls Fringe Hub, Sydney. Boos & Booze W/ Cazzie Youth Newmarket Hotel, Mascot. Carmouflage Rose Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Carmouflage Rose - SELE Tour Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Congrats Slyfox, Enmore. Crowd Lu Max Watt's, Moore Park. Dani El-Rassi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Diana Rouvas Brass Monkey, Cronulla. Dragon The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. Dune Rats Metro Theatre, Sydney. Eat Your Heart Out The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. Jon Stevens Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Lazy Ghost The Northern Luciana Valentina Low 302, Sydney. Natty Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle. Naxatras The Vanguard, Newtown. Palaye Royale Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt. Reactions Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. Seeker Lover Keeper Narrabeen RSL, North Narrabeen. Sketchy Fancy Miranda Hotel, Miranda. The Detonators Manly-Warringah Rugby League Club, Brookvale. Traces The Basement, Sydney. Wagons - Sydney Show The Lansdowne, Sydney.

SATURDAY 14 SEP 42Below'S WasteFree Weekender: Trash Bash Weekend Edition This Must Be The Place, Darlinghurst. Awaken I Am & I The Mighty

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The Amity Affliction

THU

12 SEP

Troye Sivan

The Amity Affliction Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park

Misery loves company, and that’s why The Amity Affliction have named their killer last record Misery, because they’d love for you to accompany them as they shred through their killer discography of absolute hits.

Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. Bloodbath (SE) Manning Bar, Camperdown. Crowd Lu Max Watt's, Moore Park. Eagle-Eye Cherry Metro Theatre, Sydney. Flickertail The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. Kabaret Dietrich The Vanguard, Newtown. Konstantinos Koufos Max Watt's, Moore Park. Laura Imbruglia + The Smallgoods The Eastern, Bondi Junction. Safia Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Southern Slaughter

Manning Bar, Camperdown. The Neighbourhood Brass Monkey, Cronulla. The Smith Street Band Metro Theatre, Sydney. Tia Gostelow Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst.

SUNDAY 15 SEP Bloodbath (SE) Max Watt's, Moore Park. Corey Legge + Tim Winterflood Brass Monkey, Cronulla. Fally Ipupa Manning Bar, Camperdown. Joe Mungovan Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar, Marrickville.

La Dispute Metro Theatre, Sydney. Lahi Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar, Marrickville. Orange Passiona + More Brass Monkey, Cronulla. Southern Slaughter Max Watt's, Moore Park.

TUESDAY 17 SEP Bruno Major The Lansdowne, Sydney. La Dispute The Basement, Sydney.

WEDNESDAY 18 SEP CJ Ramone The Basement, Sydney. Fraser A. Gorman

Low 302, Sydney. Kate Miller-Heidke Theatre Royal, Sydney. Whitworth Roach The Basement, Sydney.

THURSDAY 19 SEP Amyl & The Sniffers Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. Dani El-Rassi EP LAUNCH - Oxford Art Factory Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Majun Bu Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Obseen Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Stella Donnelly Theatre Royal, Sydney. The Maine Metro Theatre,

SOLD OUT

Sydney.

FRIDAY 20 SEP Circus Dust The Basement, Sydney. James Morrison Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Joe Bonamassa State Theatre, Sydney.

FRI

20 SEP

Troye Sivan

Hordern Pavilion, Sydney

Not much can be said about Troye Sivan that hasn’t already been said before. His is a name that everyone knows, and if you’re reading this, it’s too late to snatch tickets. Better luck next time.

Metallica

Tora

THU

12 SEP

thebrag.com

Tora

The Lansdowne, Sydney You can’t buy the mood but you can buy tickets to a Tora show. With their smooth-sailing and slow-burning jams, Tora have paved their own special path in the industry, and bring the feels with every show they do. Just promise us you won’t cry. Or maybe do, just a little. We all need to sometimes.

THU

26 OCT

Metallica

ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park Metallica don’t need an introduction. You know who they are. And you know they pull off one hell of a show. There’s not much else I can say really except that I’ll see you in the Mosh Pit as we both headbang to ‘Enter Sandman’.

BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19 :: 73

gig guide For our full gig and club listings, head to thebrag. com/gig-guide.

John Floreani Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Mental As Anything Terrey Hills Tavern,

Jon Bellion

Terrey Hills. Neil Murray Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. Nothing Like You Miranda Hotel, Miranda. Redhook The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West. Rocket Science Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt. Rumours Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Safia Beach Hotel, Byron Bay. Swervedriver Manning Bar, Camperdown. The Know The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. The Superjesus Max Watt's, Moore Park. Troye Sivan Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. Yibby Boogie Mountain, Potts Point.

SATURDAY 21 SEP

FRI

08 NOV

Jon Bellion

Enmore Theatre, Newtown

Jon Bellion proved he was not here to play around with his incredible 2016 album The Human Condition, and now he’s back to tour latest album Glory Sound Prep, which is even more energetic, focused, and polished.

Asha Jefferies Low 302, Sydney. Birds Of Tokyo Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Bistro 'The Foetus' Album Launch At The Bearded TIt The Bearded Tit, Redfern. CJ Ramone Narrabeen RSL,

KISS

Rob Thomas

SAT

13 NOV

Rob Thomas

Enmore Theatre, Newtown Lighters up and arms ready to sway in the air, Rob Thomas is coming. Don’t worry about being lonely no more, this concert is all the company you’ll ever need, and we already know how good it was without it even happening yet. He’s just that talented.

North Narrabeen. Green Buzzard The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. Jack Biilmann Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Joe Bonamassa State Theatre, Sydney. LEISURE Album Tour Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Lazy Ghost - Live In Sydney - The Green Out Tour The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. Leisure Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Lloyd Banks + Tony Yayo Max Watt's, Moore Park. Northeast Party House Metro Theatre, Sydney. Redhook Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. Rumours The Basement, Sydney. Russell Morris Brass Monkey, Cronulla. Spencer Parker Goodbar, Paddington. Summit The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. The 1975 ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney. The Superjesus Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt.

SUNDAY 22 SEP American Roots Metro Theatre, Sydney. Circus Dust The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. Lucy Burke The Vanguard, Newtown. Orange Ocean Metro Theatre, Sydney. The Common Circle Metro Theatre, Sydney.

THURSDAY 26 SEP

26 NOV

Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park Is it fine if I refuse to describe KISS to you? Cultural icons, symbols of an entire era of rock, literal legends of our time. Just don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the world’s most incredible bands alive.

74 :: BRAG :: 747 :: 04:09:19

FRIDAY 27 SEP Bite Me But Smile: Cabaret NIDA Parade Theatre, Kensington.

SATURDAY 28 SEP Bite Me But Smile: CABARET NIDA Parade Theatre, Kensington. Country To Country Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. Darren Coggan Metro Theatre, Sydney. Garage Nation Metro Theatre, Sydney. Tony Cetinski Max Watt's, Moore Park. Zone Out Music Festival Carriageworks, Eveleigh.

SUNDAY 29 SEP Backtrack Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt.

FRIDAY 04 OCT The Get Up Kids Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt.

SATURDAY 05 OCT Dr Hook State Theatre, Sydney.

SUNDAY 06 OCT Kasey Chambers State Theatre, Sydney.

THURSDAY 10 OCT O’Shea The Vanguard, Newtown. Turilli + Lione Rhapsody Crowbar Sydney, Leichhardt.

FRIDAY 11 OCT 1Dance Africa Sydney Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. General Admission Buckcherry Max Watt's, Moore

Park.

SATURDAY 12 OCT August Burns Red Metro Theatre, Sydney.

SUNDAY 13 OCT Buckcherry Metro Theatre, Sydney. Southern Gathering Max Watt's, Moore Park.

FRIDAY 18 OCT Morgan Evans Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

SATURDAY 19 OCT The Turner Brown Band The Vanguard, Newtown.

SUNDAY 03 NOV Shawn Mendes Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

TUESDAY 05 NOV Gomez Metro Theatre, Sydney.

FRIDAY 08 NOV Jon Bellion Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

SATURDAY 09 NOV REWIND – The Aretha Franklin Songbook w. Christine Anu The Vanguard, Newtown.

SUNDAY 10 NOV

THURSDAY 24 OCT

Suzi Quatro Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

Dami Im Metro Theatre, Sydney.

WEDNESDAY 13 NOV

FRIDAY 25 OCT Pseudo Echo The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. Stomping Ivories The Vanguard, Newtown.

SATURDAY 26 OCT Chocolate Starfish The Vanguard, Newtown. Luke O’Shea + Lyn Bowtell Brass Monkey, Cronulla. Metallica ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. Twista Max Watt's, Moore Park.

THURSDAY 31 OCT The Sisters Of Mercy Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

SATURDAY 02 NOV Shawn Mendes Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. The Bootleg Beatles State Theatre, Sydney. The Chemical Brothers Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.

Rob Thomas ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney.

FRIDAY 15 NOV Busby Marou Factory Theatre, Marrickville. $ Lea Salonga Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

SATURDAY 16 NOV A Day On The Green Bimbadgen Estate, Pokolbin. Lea Salonga Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

FRIDAY 22 NOV Electric Swing Circus The Vanguard, Newtown.

SATURDAY 23 NOV Khalid Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Lauv Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

TUESDAY 26 NOV KISS Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

FRIDAY 29 NOV Ziggy Alberts Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park.

Kiss photo by Jen Rosenstein

THU

KISS

Bite Me But Smile: CABARET NIDA Parade Theatre, Kensington. Carmouflage Rose - SELE Tour Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Sydney. STEP ASIDE | Laura Jean, Rainbow Chan,

Sports Bra, EGOISM, DJ Gen Collier UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. The Soul Express Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville.

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Articles inside

Beauty Beyond The Binary

Howling At The Rising Sun

U2: Another Climb Of The Joshua Tree