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Credits Publisher Handshake Media Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Senior Editor Sam Wall Editors Daniel Cribb, Neil Griffiths
‘Tis the season to be listing
Assistant Editor/Social Media Co-Ordinator Jessica Dale
W
elcome to our new tentpole edition: The Annual. We’ve long celebrated a review of the preceding 12 months in our final issue of each year but this year launch it with a new name and facelift. The tradition started many years ago with our end-of-year covers dedicated to the Album Of The Year as voted by staff and contributors. In this issue we continue the tradition of our annual writers’ poll and reveal this year’s Album Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, Song Of The Year, International and Local Artist Gig Of The Year, Film Of The Year and TV Show Of The Year. But as our first edition of The Annual coincides with the end of the second decade of this millennium, we’ve also expanded our coverage to look back over the past ten years. Personally, it was the year of Lizzo for me (I wrote about my obsession in this section back in April). Not only did she deliver the most joyous album of the year with Cuz I Love You, but she also delivered one of the year’s anthems in Juice as well as the awesome Tempo which heralded the return of Missy Elliott who then dropped a 2019-quaking EP in Iconology. Looking back through my previous year-end selections, I noticed that Lizzo had been ranking high since 2016 where I rated Coconut Oil as my #2 album (and yes, it was an EP but, y’know, we don’t have an EP category), second only to Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker. (This year, for me, she outranked a posthumous release from Cohen.) Last year, I rated Lizzo’s Boys as my #3 song for the year (behind Childish Gambino’s This Is America and Mojo Juju’s Native Tongue). In 2019 we all witnessed the lead track from Coconut Oil become a massive global hit as the three-year-old Good As Hell went viral. From across the decade those Lizzo releases will rank high among other favourites that have stood the test of time in my collection/playlists since 2010. Albums from Courtney Barnett, RVG, Ryan Downey, Alice Ivy, Cash Savage, The Goon Sax, Remi, Underground Lovers, New War, The Bombay Royale, Sault, Blondie, Shamir, Gwenno, The Apartments, Roisin Murphy, Ought, Goldfrapp, John Grant, Savages, The Black Angels, The 2 Bears and more. It’s too hard to whittle that list down. It’s just as hard to draw up a short list of this year’s great songs. It was a strong year for standout tracks from the likes of flowerkid, Obscura Hail, Dyson Stringer Cloher, The Big Moon, CLYPSO, Montaigne, Underground Lovers, Dry Cleaning, Ezra Furman, Angie McMahon, Kevin Morby, U-Bahn, WAAX, Didirri & Ro, Cosmo’s Midnight, Honey 2 Honey, Fat White Family and Sampa The Great. And let’s not forget Cry Club who delivered not one but two of the year’s best singles (plus a live show that also ranks high in my year’s favourite experiences) with DFTM and Robert Smith. However, the song that stuck with me most throughout the year was Billie Eilish’s Bury A Friend. You’ll see further in that Eilish was also adored by our writers, but they seemed to have preferred a different song of hers. Sorry. I could go on about other favourite gigs of the year (Leikeli47 and Mojo Juju, if you’re asking), fave film (Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You), fave TV shows (those with giant squids: The OA and Watchmen; without squids: Years And Years, Special, Mum, Better Things, The Other Two, Total Control and anything with Damon Herriman), fave podcasts (Snowball and Dolly Parton’s America) or fave books (Tracey Thorn’s beautiful Another Planet: A Teenager In Suburbia and Debbie Harry’s freewheeling Face It), but I won’t. Individual, detailed writers’ polls will be published online at theMusic.com.au.
Editorial Assistant Lauren Baxter Arts Editor Hannah Story Gig Guide Henry Gibson gigs@themusic.com.au Senior Contributors Steve Bell, Bryget Chrisfield, Cyclone, Jeff Jenkins Contributors Irene Bell, Emily Blackburn, Joel Burrows, Sean Capel, Anthony Carew, Roshan Clerke, Cameron Colwell, Brendan Crabb, Guy Davis, Joe Dolan, Chris Familton, Guido Farnell, Donald Finlayson, Liz Giuffre, Carley Hall, Tobias Handke, Mark Hebblewhite, Keira Leonard, Joel Lohman, Sean Maroney, Taylor Marshall, Felicity Pickering, Michael Prebeg, Mick Radojkovic, Michaela Vaughan, Rod Whitfield Senior Photographers Cole Bennetts, Kane Hibberd Photographers Rohan Anderson, Andrew Briscoe, Stephen Booth, Pete Dovgan, Simone Fisher, Lucinda Goodwin, Josh Groom, Clare Hawley, Bianca Holderness, Jay Hynes, Dave Kan, Hayden Nixon, Angela Padovan, Markus Ravik, Bobby Rein, Barry Shipplock, Terry Soo Advertising Leigh Treweek, Antony Attridge, Brad Edwards, Jacob Bourke sales@themusic.com.au Art Dept Felicity Case-Mejia print@themusic.com.au Admin & Accounts accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store.themusic.com.au Contact Us Mailing address PO Box 87 Surry Hills NSW 2010 Melbourne Ph: 03 9081 9600 26 Napoleon Street Collingwood Vic 3066 Sydney Ph: 02 9331 7077 Level 2, 230 Crown St Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Brisbane Ph: 07 3252 9666 info@themusic.com.au www.theMusic.com.au
Cover design by Felicity Case-Mejia Sampa The Great pic by Baron Chatterjee, Iggy Pop pic by Jaz Meadows, Childish Gambino pic by Travis Hayto, Courtney Barnett pic by Claudia Ciapocha, Keith Flint pic by Terry Soo, Lizzo pic by Luke Gilford, Tones & I pic by Umbrella Creative
And, as The Annual is a bumper issue on the shelves across December and January, we’ll see you all back here in February. Thanks for reading.
Andrew Mast Managing Editor
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Our contributors
This month 21
Shit we did: Quit smoking Guest editorial: Musician and environmental activist John Butler
23 24
The Music Writers’ Polls 2019
Festival crowds The decline of the mega festival vs the rise of boutique glamping
: Hayden Nixon
This season's best binge watching
John Butler John is a multi-award winning Australian
48
27
28
Live Performances Of The Year
TV Show & Film Of The Year
On film The movies and Hollywood film trends of the decade
50
The rise of podcasting
52
Local artists and industry look at the change over the past ten years
54 56
Comedians reflect on the past ten years
32
59
Australian theatre trends
60
End of the decade 34
Favourite live moments captured by some of The Music’s photographers
36
Let’s not get physical A look at how we changed the way we consumed music over the past ten years
58
The defining trends of the 2010s as shared by artists and industry folk
30
A few of The Music’s editors write about their personal album of the decade
Xmas singin’ Some of the biggest tunes this festive season
42
The changing of our TV viewing habits
44
maker. Her comedy short Toni Fitzgerald’s Cult Following has been selected for festivals including Women’s Comedy Film Festival in Atlanta and Melbourne Women In Film Festival.
Ryley is an animator at Flying Bark Studios who likes to squeeze making comics in the gaps between work. You can find him on
Parking space How to party in a park
The Australian TV shows that mattered
Felicity is a Sydney-born writer and film-
Ryley Miller
38
40
Felicity Pickering
62
Your Town
How do the songs that topped the endof-year charts in the 2010s stand up?
have reached number one on the ARIA numerous environmental issues affect-
The case for hip hop as the genre of the decade Song Of The Year
released seven studio albums (four of which charts) and has been outwardly vocal about
y L a n a D e l Re
Album Of The Year
artist, based in Perth, Western Australia. He’s
ing Australia.
26
Artist Of The Year
46
Members of the music industry give us their highlights of the decade
Pic
16
Un d e r T h e S k i n
Editor's letter
68
70
The end
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Vimeo and Instagram at @ALifeOfRyley.
SECRET SOUNDS PRESENTS THE 27TH ANNUAL MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL
HALSEY (ONLY AUS SHOWS) • VAMPIRE WEEKEND • DISCLOSURE PLAYBOI CARTI • TASH SULTANA • PEKING DUK • OF MONSTERS AND MEN PNAU • LEWIS CAPALDI • MILKY CHANCE • JOHN FARNHAM BANKS (ONLY AUS SHOWS) • DOPE LEMON • VERA BLUE • THUNDAMENTALS YUNGBLUD • COSMO’S MIDNIGHT • G FLIP • CROOKED COLOURS • PARCELS THELMA PLUM • MONTAIGNE • #1 DADS • WAAX • BAKER BOY • HOLY HOLY WAVE RACER • BAD//DREEMS • PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS AMYL & THE SNIFFERS • THE JAPANESE HOUSE • PINK SWEAT$ B WISE • CXLOE • A. SWAYZE & THE GHOSTS • TOTTY • ADRIAN EAGLE TEEN JESUS AND THE JEAN TEASERS • CONCRETE SURFERS THE MUSIC
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Awesome tour, great job!
Tim & Eric
Tim & Eric, the creators of deeply uncomfortable Adult Swim comedies like Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories, are making their return to Australia for the Mandatory Attendance world tour, which starts 15 Jan in Sydney.
Don’t miss out With a bill including acts like BROCKHAMPTON, Kaytranada, Lizzo, Madeon and Rico Nasty, there is a whole lot of FOMO going around. The touring festival starts in Brisbane on 4 Jan before stopping in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Run, rabbit, run Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi’s dark comedy/Nazi satire, hits cinemas nationwide this 26 Jan. Waititi himself plays Hitler, albeit a little boy’s imaginary version of him, and is joined by a cast including Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Rebel Wilson.
Hosted by Jad Abumrad, creator of Radiolab and More Perfect, nine-part series Dolly Parton’s America is a deep-dive into the history and appeal of one the United States’ most enduring icons – featuring the woman herself. It’s your chance to see “America from a Dolly’s-eye view”.
Jojo Rabbit
Podcast of the month: Dolly Parton’s America
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Stream dreams
Falls hard After dropping a killer 2019/20 line-up boasting the likes of Halsey, Vampire Weekend, Peking Duk, John Farnham, WAAX, Yungblud and many more back in August, Falls Festival kicks things off on 28 Dec in Vic, before stopping in Tas, NSW and wrapping up in WA.
This season’s best binge watching Star Trek: Picard
Set 20 years after Star Trek: Nemesis, and featuring a Jean-Luc Picard deeply affected by the destruction of Romulus in the 2009 Star Trek film, Patrick Stewart reprises his iconic role for a new ten-episode series. The trailer promises surprises and – maybe – revivals of much-loved characters. Time to engage once more, Captain.
Halsey
Streams from 23 Jan on Amazon
Rico Nasty. Pic: Mario Kristian
In-tree-ging
The Other Guy, Season 2
The Other Guy returns this month, the poignant Australian comedy following AJ (Matt Okine), a slightly juvenile radio host,
First published in 2006, polymath and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne’s “eclectic blend of science, automatic writing, self-analysis and satire” is being republished in hardcover with a new introduction by the author. Pick up Arboretum from 5 Dec.
through heartbreak and self-assessment after a split from his long-term partner. Joining an already remarkable all-Australian cast for the second season are Claudia Karvan, Lily Sullivan, Matt Day and writer Clementine Ford. Streams from 13 Dec on Stan
The Witcher
Based on the book series of the same name,
Orville Peck. Pic: Ryley Walker
which also spawned a video game series, the
Masked singer Mysterious country crooner Orville Peck is making his much-anticipated first trek through Australia and New Zealand this month. The Canadian artist arrives with his unique yee-haw style on 10 Jan, kicking off his tour with a spot at Sydney Festival.
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highly anticipated television adaption of The Witcher sees monster hunter and habitual root rat Geralt Of Rivia (Henry Cavill), powerful sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Princess Ciri (Freya Allan) save the Continent. Streams from 20 Dec on Netflix
Row, row, row
Shaggy. Pic: Jonathan Mannion
Walk Off The Earth
As well as headlining the inaugural One Love Festival in February, Jamaican legends Shaggy and Sean Paul perform shows across the country together from 29 Jan in Melbourne.
Step off This 21 Jan, Walk Off The Earth return to Australia for a headline tour, off the back of their latest release Here We Go!. The Canadian indie-pop crew will start In Brisbane, before heading to Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.
Adrian Eagle. Pic: Clare Nica
Eager eagle
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Bastille
Hip hop angel Adrian Eagle killed it this year – to name a few highlights, he released his debut EP, signed to Island Records Australia, and toured the US with Hilltop Hoods. He’s starting 2019 strong too, with a national headline tour from 31 Jan.
Ice, ice, beastie This 9 Jan, become a stone-cold killer with Monster Hunter World’s massive expansion, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, new to PC. The game picks up where the original left off and sends your protagonist to Hoarfrost Reach, an all-new polar region with giant new critters to KO.
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Sh*t we did
Moon struck
With Sam Wall
We’ve been hanging for more music from The Big Moon since 2017, their debut album Love In The 4th Dimension snagged them a Mercury prize nomination. This 10 Jan the wait ends with the London fourpiece follow-up release, Walking Like We Do.
Quit smoking Nobody needs to be told how unhealthy smoking is. Even in this beautiful, ‘the hill I’ll die on’ world, where Hollow Earthers and Flat Earthers can spend days arguing whether all The Big Moon. Pic: Pooneh Ghana
women are lizard people or just the Queen, it’s pretty universally accepted that gaspers aren’t doing anybody any favours. The days of prescribing medicinal cigarettes for respiratory issues are as dead and gone as a pack-a-day asthmatic. Coffin nails = bad. It’s well known. And say what you want about this country’s heavy-handed approach to education on the topic (RIP Brian), it seems to do the trick. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s ‘daily smokers’ decreased from 23.8% to 13.8% of the population between ’95 and the 2017/2018 period. That’s a pretty good dip, though it does leave roughly 2.6 million dweebs still looking to live fast, die young, and leave an emphysemic corpse. I can’t give them too much shit though,
Bastille days After visiting Australia earlier this year, Bastille return in the new year for an extensive run of the country. After a set at Holy Green in Brisbane, they’ll tour their new album Doom Days tour, starting 27 Jan in Sydney.
I too am a card-carrying, pack-in-pocket member of one of humanity’s dumber demographics. I’ve been a dedicated cig pig for more than ten years now. That changes today though. The decade’s ending and I’m pushing 30. Nearly new year, new me, or whatever. It’s time to toss the darts.
The Verdict I downloaded one of those tracking apps and after a month off the adult pacifiers it says I’ve saved nearly $400 and my gum texture is 35% back to normal. It also says I’ve regained eight days of life. I don’t know how the developer has measured the exact day of my death but there must be a better use for that technology than burying it in the features of a free app. Not that it matters because all of it is, of course, a lie. It’s a long road out of Flavour Country and I came off the tarmac almost immediately. I quit drinking for a month
Cry Club. Pic: Giulia McGauran
recently and the most trouble I had was that I
Cure club Once they’ve rounded out the year with a couple of festival appearances, bubblegumpunks Cry Club will play five headline shows across the east coast in support of new single Robert Smith. Catch them from 17 Jan.
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got kind of bored towards the end. Cigarettes are a habit of a different colour apparently, and it looks like I’ll be starting the roaring ‘20s with yellow fingers, brown teeth and the black lung. That said, even if going cold turkey on my most enduring addiction as a bit may have been a little disingenuous, I have cut down substantially. Except on Friday nights. Baby steps.
Staring climate change in the face “Hope is a verb. Hope is made by action, and now is the time to act.” Musician John Butler explains what’s at stake in terms of tackling the greatest crisis of our time: climate change.
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enabled by what seems to be a socially bankrupt and morally corrupt Federal Government. Can’t say I’m surprised with the likes of ol’ ScoMo in charge, the man who likes bringing lumps of coal into Parliament House during Question Time. Talk about the industry in the pockets of our leaders. Literally!!!! What a beauty. Little-known trivia: Palmer and Rinehart’s individual proposed mines will be larger than the Adani Carmichael mine. This is a fullscale attack in the face of what is the most pressing issue of our time. Somehow the Federal Government and major media outlets have completely duped the majority of the people of Queensland. They’ve promised jobs and opportunity but the harsh reality is, other than the few jobs that will be created during the construction of these mines, most of the actual operational jobs will be performed by artificial intelligence and other types of automation. The Australian CEO of Adani Mining, Jeyakumar Janakaraj, has gone on record celebrating that their operation, from pit to port, will be fully automated: “In our minds, this is the mine of the future,” he said. What ‘opportunity’ will be left for the agriculture and pastoral industry when Adani alone has a 60-year unlimited water lease as of 2017. This lease was given out without consideration for the decrease in groundwater and rains due to, don’t say it, climate change. So, no long-lasting employment opportunities for the life of the mine (up to 60 years) and no long-term consideration for agriculture and other industries due to the absolute scandalous giveaway of our most precious resource, water! Can you imagine where our water levels and average temperatures will be after 60 years of the world’s three largest coal mines going full tilt? It’s a fuckin’ disaster in the making. This is what the Morrison Government and its predecessors call looking after the Australian public, and investing in infrastructure that considers the future of our nation. Don’t even get me started on Norwegian company, Equinor, wanting to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight, in waters more treacherous and deep than the Gulf Of Mexico which hosted one of the world’s largest oil disasters just a few years back There seems to be a veritable fire sale going on in Australia in terms of dishing out approvals and licences to industries which are scientifically proven to put our most precious life-supporting ecosystems at risk, at a time when the whole world is marching for action on this issue. In the face of State and Federal Governments trying to curtail citizen’s right to protest I say there’s no greater act of standing for your democracy and country than to act out in civil disobedience towards a corrupted system that doesn’t care about your future. Civil disobedience and protest is the birthplace of the women’s suffrage movement, protections for workers and First Nations’ peoples right to vote. This is how we right wrongs. This is how we tip the balance back in favour of equity and re-focus our moral compass as a nation. Hope is a verb. Hope is made by action, and now is the time to act. What happens in this next decade happens on our watch.
s we near the last days of 2019 and enter the 2020s (WTAF) I’ve been asked to write a piece on the environment or at least some of the ‘movements’ that have tried to protect it. The last decade saw, for me, personally, one of the biggest, most longrunning and successful campaigns that I’ve had the pleasure to be part of, the Save The Kimberley campaign. On 12 April, 2013, after almost a decade of frontline protesting and campaigning, Woodside and its joint venture partners pulled out of the James Price Point gas precinct venture. The JPP project would have been one of the largest gas refineries on the planet. This would have been the thin end of the wedge allowing every resource-hungry conglomerate to literally tear apart one of the most pristine and awe-inspiring regions on the planet. This win was a historic moment. For my dear friend who had recruited me and who I stood behind firmest, Joseph Roe (RIP), Senior Law Man and Traditional Custodian to the country under threat, it meant the protection of sacred burial and initiation grounds and intact song lines, a direct protection of culture and law. I was overjoyed. We all were. The Kimberley is still under threat with massive tracts of land under licence for the onshore gas (fracking) industry. A large part of my state (WA) and in fact Australia as a whole is under proposed fracking licenses awaiting approval. This reckless, inefficient and toxic industry loves to go under the guise of being a transitional fuel to sustainable and renewable energies. If you really want to know the absolute abhorrent effects of the fracking industry in one fell swoop just google “Condamine River on fire” and that should really put a neat bow on it for you. All this talk of transitional fuels and sustainable energies really points to the biggest environmental issue of our time and generations to come: climate change. If the overwhelming majority of the scientific community’s findings weren’t enough and you still have questions on whether man-made climate change is real or that the fossil fuel companies know anything about their part in it, the short four-minute video on YouTube of US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioning former Exxon scientist Dr Ed Garvey and Exxon consultant Dr Martin Hoffert in October this year should answer the remainder of your queries. In short, as far back as the late 1970s companies like Exxon knew man-made climate change was due to the emissions of their very product, fossil fuels. So as we enter the 2020s, Australia stands at a very important precipice. We are the biggest exporters of coal. Coal is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases and climate change. That means we are literally the biggest exporters of climate change. One of the biggest coal deposits on the planet, the Galilee Basin, is just about to be cracked open and pushed into full gear by the likes of Indian company Adani and our very own Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart, fully
“The whole world is marching for action on this issue.”
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STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
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thetivoli.com.au
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PARTY LIKE GATSBY
JAMES REYNE
2019 Writers’ Polls 1. Lizzo
W
hen tickets to see Lizzo perform at
or groups with at least one female member.
the Sydney Opera House went on
It’s reflective of the year in music as a whole,
sale, around 12,000 people hit the
with acts pushing for a more inclusive and
queue. The Concert Hall can seat 2,100.
equal industry.
This comes as no surprise; Australia has
Our second-placed artist Billie Eilish has
fallen totally in love with Lizzo (her Melbourne
had an incredible year by all standards, not
show also sold out in minutes) and The Music
even factoring in that she’s been just 17 for
team are no exception, with the US musician
most of it. Her debut album When We All Fall
taking out 2019 Artist Of The Year. To be fair,
Asleep, Where Do We Go? scored acclaim
it seems the rest of the world loves Lizzo too.
and #1 spots on charts around the world. She
Her 2017 single Truth Hurts, with its ‘take no
also picked up six Grammy nominations for
bullshit’ message, picked up steam and fans
it, including the coveted Album Of The Year.
this year with its official re-release. After a huge
Zambia-born, Melbourne-based artist Sampa
seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Charts,
The Great (aka Sampa Tembo) takes out #3,
it tied her for the title of solo female rapper
the first local inclusion for the year. Following
with the longest-running #1 song. Locally, the
on from her Australian Music Prize-winning
track peaked at 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart,
2017 EP, Birds And The Bee9, Tembo released
while another sleeper hit, Good As Hell from
her debut album The Return in September
her 2016 Coconut Oil EP, peaked at #6.
with huge impact both around the globe
April saw the release of Lizzo’s debut
and here at home. It made history too, Tembo
album, dubbed Cuz I Love You. The album,
becoming the first woman of colour to win an
which sees collabs with Missy Elliot and Gucci
ARIA in the Best Hip Hop Release category
Mane, brought with it soulful moments (Cry
(renamed this year from Best Urban Release).
Baby, Lingerie), tender times (Jerome, Cuz I
Lana Del Rey comes in at #4 with Norman
Love You), blistering raps (Tempo, Soulmate)
Fucking Rockwell! — her first LP since 2017’s
and out-and-out empowering pop bangers
Lust For Life — being lauded as the Album Of
(Juice, Like A Girl). The album features heavily
The Year, while one of our finest exports, Nick
across this year’s polls, picking up a #2 spot on
Cave, comes in at #5 following a year of heavy
The Music’s albums list and #3 for best song
touring, speaking events and a new album.
with Juice. But it wasn’t just about music this
It would be impossible not to talk about
year for the Minnesotan, who also made her
the year that Australian act Tones & I has had
film debut in 2019 with roles in Hustlers and
(off the back of one EP, mind you). In a mat-
UglyDolls. There’s also the matter of her ‘viral
ter of months, the Melbourne via Byron Bay
sensation’ status, thanks to video-sharing app
act went from busking and sleeping in her van
TikTok. You’d think it would be fair to take
to being a multi-ARIA Award winner, breaking
a break after picking up a whopping eight
the record for longest-running #1 on the ARIA
Grammy nominations but, no, Lizzo will be
Singles Chart for Dance Monkey. She’s con-
finishing the year strong as the final musical
tinued her record-breaking streak on charts
act on SNL for both the year and the decade.
internationally too. US acts Big Thief and Lil
She’ll also kick off 2020 with her debut Austra-
Nas X take out #7 and #8 respectively, while
lian appearances at FOMO Festival.
WA’s Stella Donnelly hits #9 following a year of
This year sees the most women ever to
extensive touring and the release of her debut
feature The Music’s artist of the year poll, with
album, Beware Of The Dogs, and international
eight of ten places going to female solo acts
mega-star Taylor Swift rounds out the top ten.
The Rest
Past Winners
6. Tones & I
2018: Childish Gambino
7. Big Thief
2017: Kendrick Lamar
8. Lil Nas X
2016: David Bowie
9. Stella Donnelly
2015: Courtney Barnett
10. Taylor Swift
2014: FKA twigs
Pic: Luke Gilford
Artist of the year: 2019
The year’s winding down and the numbers are in. Here’s what The Music’s writers rated in 2019…
2. Billie Eilish
3. Sampa The Great Pic: Harry Deadman
4. Lana Del Rey Pic: Pamela Cochrane
2013: Lorde 2012: Tame Impala/Frank Ocean 2011: Gotye
5. Nick Cave
2010: The National
Pic: Gosha Rubchinskiy
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Album of the year: 2019
1. Lana Del Rey — Norman Fucking Rockwell!
A
t the end of a decade where she constantly had to battle detractors questioning her authenticity, Lana Del Rey takes out The Music’s Album Of The Year. Arm-
chair critics still loudly reject those they consider an “overnight success”, especially women. Just look at local sensation Tones & I — her fast ascension in 2019 has led to relentless online bullying. Del Rey suffered the same throughout the ‘10s, fielding claim after claim she was a manufactured, major label puppet. But she remained steadfast and with Norman Fucking Rockwell! released one of 2019’s most assured albums. It’s a trend that permeates through The Music’s top ten albums. Eight out of the ten artists are women, all forging their own path defiantly and opposing old, arbitrary archetypes about what women in music should look like. It’s a far cry from previous years in this category, The Music’s poll characteristically dominated by men. Released in August by Polydor and Interscope Records, Norman Fucking Rockwell! uses soft-rock and piano-led ballads to rewrite the “great American dream’’: that same dream the artist Norman Rockwell delineated in Freedom From Want. Labelled a “millennial troubadour” and “one of America’s greatest living songwriters” by Pitchfork, Del Rey has crafted an album that stands out in 2019 as a sign of the times. It wasn’t without its controversy though. In a review of the album, NPR’s music critic and correspondent Ann Powers discussed authenticity and the use of a persona. Del Rey took exception. “Here’s a little sidenote on your piece,” she responded on Twitter. “I don’t relate to one observation you made about the music. There’s nothing uncooked about me. To write about me is nothing like it is to be with me. Never had
2. Lizzo
3. Sampa The Great
Cuz I Love You
The Return
a persona. Never needed one. Never will.” It opened a discussion about the role of the critic in modern culture. Lizzo — who comes in at #2 with Cuz I Love You — also weighed in on the critics’ debate, proclaiming on Twitter that “People who review albums and don’t make music themselves should be unemployed.” She made the comment despite the album’s widespread critical acclaim. Loud, charismatic and shamelessly Lizzo, the album bops and we’ve been blaming it on the juice all year long. Just not quite to the same level of devotion as Frankie Muniz. We’d be amiss to talk about women in pop music without acknowledging the years that both Taylor Swift (coming in at #7 with Lover) and Billie Eilish (When We All Fall Asleep,
4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5. Julia Jacklin
Ghosteen
Crushing
Where Do We Go? at #9) have had. They’re two innovators ahead of the game, Swift emblematic of millennial pop culture, Eilish the face of Generation Z. Continuing the run of women is Sharon Van Etten’s Remind Me Tomorrow, which pulses with optimism and humour, at #10 and FKA twigs too who delivered an album off the back of a highly publicised break-up. The all-encompassing Magdalene found hope in heartbreak and sees twigs in the #8 spot. Elsewhere, David Berman left a lasting impression with Purple Mountains, his new project which arrived ten years
The rest
Past winners
after the dissolution of Silver Jews. Tragically, he was found
6. Purple Mountains — Purple Mountains
2018: Courtney Barnett — Tell Me How You Really Feel
Cave & The Bad Seeds and Julia Jacklin, also made their mark
7. Taylor Swift — Lover
2017: Kendrick Lamar — DAMN.
in 2019, landing at #3, #4 and #5 respectively. Sampa Tembo
8. FKA twigs — Magdalene
2016: David Bowie — Blackstar
is fast becoming one of Australia’s greatest exports: her ARIA-
9. Billie Eilish — When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
2015: Tame Impala — Currents
winning album The Return is straight fire and it’s exciting
10. Sharon Van Etten — Remind Me Tomorrow
2014: Chet Faker — Built On Glass
to see the world finally catching up. Nick Cave painted vivid
2013: Kanye West — Yeezus
landscapes of grief and Bright Horses in the critically adored
2012: Tame Impala — Lonerism
Ghosteen and Jacklin’s Crushing was just as it said on the tin,
2011: Bon Iver — Bon Iver
catapulting her across the world and even onto the stage with
2010: Arcade Fire — The Suburbs
our #1, Lana Del Rey.
dead in a Brooklyn apartment the next month. The work of three Australian acts, Sampa The Great, Nick
THE MUSIC
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27
•
WRITERS’ POLL
Song of the year: 2019
1. Billie Eilish — Bad Guy
D
2. Sampa The Great
Final Form
3. Lizzo
Juice
uh. Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy isn’t like
Is America, Beyonce’s Formation and Kend-
anything else we’ve ever had at
rick Lamar’s King Kunta all voted #1 in their
the top of the singles poll, because
respective years. Sampa Tembo’s joyous ode
Eilish is something different herself. She’s
to Black power still comes in at #2, falling
the as-yet-uncategorised new generation.
only a couple of votes behind Bad Guy.
People comparing her to other artists usu-
In third place is Juice. Dropping in the
ally end up with some weird chimaera, like
first days of 2019, the track felt like the turn-
Lorde with a Manson aesthetic and Kanye
ing point for Lizzo, who is also our writers’
on production. Bad Guy hit #1 in April in
Artist Of The Year. Lizzo’s bold R&B-funk
Australia. In August she topped the US
blend proved impossible to ignore, espe-
Billboard charts, ending Lil Nas X’s record
cially when she delivered it on Fallon liter-
19-week run and making Eilish the first per-
ally “lit up like a crystal ball”. The song did
son born in the 2000s to ever top the US
draw some controversy in October, CeCe
charts. She told an LA radio station that the
Peniston accusing Lizzo of lifting the now-
track pokes fun at the way people present
iconic “Ya-ya-ee” line from her ‘91 track,
themselves, herself included (“I feel like you
Finally. At the time of writing the accusa-
will never catch a bad bitch telling every-
tion has yet to be resolved, but The Music’s
one she’s a bad bitch”). If nothing else it’s
writers have made up their own minds
impressive that Eilish can sound so sinister
about Juice.
with her tongue in her cheek. The digital
Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road technically
ripple in her voice as she murmurs “I’m the
came out last year but the Billy Ray Cyrus
baaaaaad guy,” feels like something nasty’s
remix flooded the airwaves this year. Shar-
just coiled up in your ear.
ron Van Etten’s poignant open letter to her
Most artists don’t hit the ground fully
younger self also struck a chord, Seventeen
formed — the Beastie Boys started out
reaching the #4 spot in the poll, while at #5,
punk and Joe Strummer was a hippy. Eilish
Tame Impala is the only Australian act rep-
might be 17, but when she kicks indifferently
resented in 2019. Kevin Parker’s project has
through a yellow backdrop and drops her
been a regular entrant/winner in the best
retainer in a dude’s hand at the start of Bad
song poll over the years, so it’s no surprise
Guy’s music video, she looks pretty sure of
to see one of the early snippets from his
her MO. Block colours and black humour,
forthcoming fourth album here.
dull eyes and sharp production, Eilish had
Bringing up the second half of the poll,
these things locked down by age 15, with
Mannequin Pussy’s Drunk II adds a splash
her third single Bellyache, and our writers
of hazy, lovelorn punk to the mix, Orville
are here for it.
Peck fights for self-acceptance in queer
Eilish’s place in 2019’s Song Of The
country anthem Turn To Hate, and Charli
Year poll continues a pattern started by
XCX and Christine & The Queens share a
last year’s — it is dominated by women. In
spot with Gone, the most jaw-dropping
another year Sampa The Great may have
collab of the year. Closing things out for
won with Final Form. Black artists speaking
2019, super-breezy Summer Girl warmed
truth to power have a proven cachet with
our writers’ hearts, even if it dropped in the
The Music’s writers, Childish Gambino’s This
dead of winter for Haim’s southern fans.
The Rest 6. Tame Impala — Borderline 7. Mannequin Pussy — Drunk II 8. Orville Peck — Turn To Hate 9. Charli XCX ft Christine & The Queens — Gone 10. Haim — Summer Girl
Past Winners 2018: Childish Gambino — This Is America 2017: Lorde — Green Light 2016: Beyonce — Formation 2015: Kendrick Lamar — King Kunta 2014: FKA twigs — Two Weeks
4. Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus
Old Town Road (Remix)
2013: Daft Punk — Get Lucky
5. Sharon Van Etten
2012: Tame Impala — Elephant
Seventeen
THE MUSIC
2011: Gotye ft Kimbra — Somebody That I Used To Know 2010: Cee Lo Green — Fuck You
•
28
•
WRITERS’ POLL
THE MUSIC
•
THE ANNUAL
International live performance of the year 2019
1. Childish Gambino
Childish Gambino @ HBF Stadium. Pic: Travis Hayto
C
hildish Gambino — our 2018 Artist
throughout the year. They’re both bands
Of The Year — finds his way back
that have the live routine down-pat.
into The Music’s end of year lists,
Seventeen-year-old Billie Eilish joins
this time on the back of his powerful fare-
the list at #10. Her return to Australia in
well tour, claiming International Live Per-
2019 to play Groovin The Moo and mam-
formance Of The Year. After he cancelled
moth solo shows were some of the loudest
his hyped Australian tour in 2018, his return
of the year, fans singing along and almost
this year for huge stadium and festival
overpowering the pop prodigy in volume.
shows, expected to be his last under the
Lastly, The Prodigy toured Australia
Childish Gambino moniker, were the hot-
across January and February to support
test tickets in town. He stood on the stage
their latest LP, No Tourists. The next month
at Splendour In The Grass wide-eyed, shirt-
lead singer Keith Flint was found dead.
less and declared that “This is church,”
Tributes labelled Flint a “true pioneer, inno-
delivering a sermon to the bouncing mass
vator and legend” and the band’s everlast-
they wouldn’t forget any time soon. It’s
ing energy, on full display during the tour,
the second year in a row a hip hop perfor-
saw them land at #7. Rest in peace, Keith.
mance has taken out the category — Kendrick Lamar won in 2018 — showing the strength of an individual speaking truth to power. Across the rest of the list, like in pre-
The Rest
Past Winners
2. Iggy Pop
2018: Kendrick Lamar
father of punk Iggy Pop and Fleetwood
3. Parquet Courts
2017: Patti Smith
Mac, featuring new bandmate Neil Finn,
4. Jeff Tweedy
2016: The Cure
plus the world premiere and Australian
5. Fleetwood Mac
2015: Blur
exclusive 30th anniversary shows for The
6. The Cure
2014: Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band
Cure’s Disintegration clearly left a mark
7. The Prodigy
2013: Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band
on The Music’s writers, along with hipster
8. Arctic Monkeys
2012: Radiohead
faves Parquet Courts and Jeff Tweedy. Our
9. Foals
2011: Portishead
writers love a bit of English indie-rock too —
10. Billie Eilish
2010: Metallica
both Arctic Monkeys and Foals impressed
vious years, there’s a real element of nostalgia. Legacy tours from the likes of god-
Local live performance of the year 2019
T
he name Sampa The Great is writ large
sensation turned superstar Maggie Rogers
all over this year’s polls. There’s not one
in May, dropping one of the most acclaimed
eligible category that Sampa Tembo
debuts in recent memory in between.
hasn’t snagged a top spot in — The Return
Below that we start to see a few previ-
comes in third for Album Of The Year, while
ous winners making appearances — Court-
Final Form took second place for Song Of
ney Barnett, Nick Cave and Dirty Three
The Year. And for our writers’ money, when it
coming in at #3, #6 and #8 respectively.
comes to live and local in 2019, nobody out-
Barnett only played a handful of shows out-
did Tembo. After a string of festival appear-
side of festival sets, but they clearly made an
ances early in the year, the Melbourne-
impact. Anyone lucky enough to catch her
based singer hit the road with her debut
MTV Unplugged session won’t forget it any-
album in October and the overwhelming
time soon. Dirty Three only had three dates
response was of awe. This isn’t especially
in 2019, breaking their hiatus to play their
novel. Digging through old reviews, the first
self-titled ‘94 debut in full, while Cave’s entry
time Tembo’s show ended up in our pages
marks the first time a talking tour has made
was in 2015, around the time of her debut
it into the lists.
release, The Great Mixtape. Even then
Spliced in between are some new faces.
Tembo’s charisma and talent were clear, her
Hilltop Hoods hold up the hip hop contin-
words flowing with higher themes of under-
gent at #4, while Queensland punks WAAX
standing, love and connectedness while her beats caused people to get down. Now
Sampa The Great @ Factory Theatre. Photo by Hayden Nixon.
1. Sampa The Great
The Rest
Past Winners
take five, further proof of Maz DeVita’s build-
2. Stella Donnelly
2018: Gang Of Youths
ing reputation as one of Australia’s fiercest
3. Courtney Barnett
2017: Midnight Oil
she’s reached her Final Form, both as one of
performers. The Teskey Brothers show up
4. Hilltop Hoods
2016: Violent Soho
the country’s greatest artists and this year’s
at #7 after a fairly surprising exclusion last
5. WAAX
2015: Courtney Barnett
best performer.
year and Julia Jacklin, another multi-poll
6. Nick Cave
2014: Violent Soho
Right behind her is Stella Donnelly,
entrant, takes the ninth spot. Tenth place is
7. The Teskey Brothers
2013: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
who put in some solid kilometres in 2019.
a mixed bag, the writers splitting the vote
8. Dirty Three
2012: Dirty Three
She opened for John Butler Trio and Missy
between Mallrat, Pagan, Robert Forster and
9. Julia Jacklin
2011: Grinderman
Higgins’ joint tour in February, then for viral
Dean Lewis.
10. Dean Lewis / Mallrat / Pagan / Robert Forster
2010: Tame Impala
THE MUSIC
•
30
•
WRITERS’ POLL
BARONESS
THE DARKNESS
CITY AND COLOUR
Gold & Grey
Easter is Cancelled
A Pill for Loneliness
PUP
BABY METAL
CERES
Morbid Stuff
Metal Galaxy
We Are A Team
THE MUSIC
•
THE ANNUAL
TV show of the year: 2019
1. Fleabag
L
ast year, the first season of Fleabag,
of us millennials, living in a world where
adapting
Phoebe
the promises of our childhood, of the turn
one-woman
of the century, technological change and
Edinburgh Fringe show of the same name,
the postmodern era, remain unfulfilled. We
became available on ABC iView and Ama-
don’t know who we are or what to do or
zon Prime Video, after premiering in the
how to be in the world — and we’re clutch-
UK in 2016. The stage show, remounted in
ing at whatever we can, be it sex or grief or
London this year, was screened in cinemas
a guinea pig.
writer
Waller-Bridge’s
and 2013
star
through National Theatre Live in November.
The rest
Past winners
“I just think I want someone to tell me
The second season, which screened
how to live my life,” Fleabag pleads to Hot
only on Amazon Prime in Australia, picked
Priest, “because, so far, I think I’ve been get-
up Emmys for Outstanding Writing, Direct-
ting it wrong.” Same.
ing, Comedy Series and Lead Actress this
Fleabag’s dark comedy was counter-
year. It continues the story of the horny,
balanced by HBO’s disturbing, Emmy-win-
restless 30-something woman known only
ning miniseries Chernobyl, about the 1986
as Fleabag.
nuclear disaster in the Ukrainian Soviet
Except this year, we were gifted with
Socialist Republic. It illuminated the human
the addition of Sherlock’s Andrew Scott as
and environmental cost of such disasters, as
‘Hot Priest’.
well as the enormous strength and selfless-
The Hot Priest set a fire in the loins of women — and men — everywhere, smashing
ness of people in the aftermath in the face of a government cover-up.
2. Chernobyl
2018: The Good Place
taboos and giving us the electric yet impos-
The rest of the top ten came to Australia
3. Stranger Things
2017: Stranger Things
sible love story we craved after the grim
primarily via Netflix — which says a lot about
4. Russian Doll
2016: Stranger Things
ending to season one.
our TV viewing habits in 2019. The top two
5. When They See Us
2015: Game Of Thrones
6. Mindhunter
The intimacy the audience feels with
were joined by shows like Stranger Things,
2014: True Detective
Fleabag seems to come from the show’s
Russian Doll, When They See Us, Mindhunt-
7. BoJack Horseman
2013: Breaking Bad
willingness to break the fourth wall — she
er, BoJack Horseman, The Good Place and
8. The Good Place
2012: Breaking Bad
directly addresses us with quips and asides,
Unbelievable. The outlier came with the
9. Veronica Mars
2011: Breaking Bad
inviting us into her inner world. It’s an inner
return of Veronica Mars, which streamed
10. Unbelievable
2010: True Blood
world that seems oddly familiar to some
on Stan.
Movie of the year: 2019
1. Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood
Q
uentin Tarantino has long said he
sible to go into the cinema not knowing the
only wants to make ten films. Once
fate that befell the real Sharon Tate and her
Upon A Time... In Hollywood is his
friends at the hands of Charles Manson’s fol-
ninth — that is if you count both volumes
lowers in 1969. But luckily, like Inglourious
of Kill Bill as one feature, as the celebrated
Basterds before it, the flick turns real-life
auteur does — and it would’ve made a neat
horror into an alternative history, a “modern
swansong to his career. Tarantino’s work has
fairy tale”.
always been deeply stylised, marked as it is
Joining Once Upon A Time... In Hol-
by a penchant for non-linear storytelling and
lywood in The Music’s picks for 2019 are a
graphic depictions of violence.
whole suite of commercial releases across
Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood large-
very different genres, like the latest antihero
ly eschews those stylistic choices — until a
comic book flick, Joker, starring an extremely
finale that gives the audience the gore they
thin Joaquin Phoenix. The Hollywood flicks
spent much of the two-and-a-half-hour run-
are joined by one critic’s darling, Sydney Film
ning time anticipating. Instead the focus is
Prize winner Parasite, a searing representa-
on the friendship between two fast-fading
tion of income inequality by South Korean
Hollywood types, former leading man Rick
director Bong Joon-ho. In the blockbuster
Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stuntman,
stakes there are the latest in two action-
Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). The film functions as
packed franchises starring extremely hand-
a kind of ode to an old Hollywood Tarantino has spent much of his career trying to emu-
The rest
Past winners
some men, Avengers: Endgame and John
2. Joker
2018: Black Panther
Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. Then there
3. Avengers: Endgame
2017: Blade Runner 2049
late, and an acknowledgement that change is
are two horror flicks, the disturbing Midsom-
4. Parasite
2016: Deadpool
both inevitable and not necessarily bad. At the
mar and Jordan Peele’s Us, the follow-up to
5. Midsommar
2015: Mad Max: Fury Road
very least, our reaction to a shirtless Brad Pitt
his Oscar-winning debut, Get Out. Heart-
6. John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum
2014: The Grand Budapest Hotel
remains unchanging.
warmers round out the category in the form
7. Booksmart
2013: Gravity
There’s of course a real sense of tension
of Olivia Wilde’s teen movie directorial debut,
8. Us
2012: The Dark Knight Rises
to the entire affair, even as the feature sprawls
Booksmart, unexpected tear-jerker Toy Story
9. Toy Story 4
2011: Drive
out into a richly shot 1960s tribute. It’s impos-
4, and dazzling Elton John biopic Rocketman.
10. Rocketman
2010: Inception
THE MUSIC
•
32
•
WRITERS’ POLL
FREE IN THE TRIFFID GARDEN FRIDAY 3RD JANUARY – SONGS YOU KNOW & LOVE W/ J.B. PATERSON SUNDAY 5TH JANUARY – SUNDAY RESIDENCY W/ MOJO WEBB WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY – ACOUSTIC W/ MISS ELM FRIDAY 10TH JANUARY – SONGS YOU KNOW & LOVE W/ HUMBLET SUNDAY 12TH JANUARY – SUNDAY RESIDENCY W/ MOJO WEBB WEDNESDAY 15TH JANUARY – ACOUSTIC W/ OJ MENGEL FRIDAY 17T H JANUARY – SONGS YOU KNOW & LOVE W/ DARYL JAMES SUNDAY 19TH JANUARY – SUNDAY RESIDENCY W/ MOJO WEBB WEDNESDAY 22ND JANUARY ACOUSTIC W/ ANNA & JORDAN FRIDAY 24TH JANUARY – SONGS YOU KNOW & LOVE W/ PRESIDENTIAL BLUES SUNDAY 26TH JANUARY – SUNDAY RESIDENCY W/ MOJO WEBB WEDNESDAY 29TH JANUARY – ACOUSTIC W/ KATANAK FRIDAY 31ST JANUARY – SONGS – SONGS YOU KNOW & LOVE W/MELODY GRAVES & THE HOKUM REDEMPTION
THE MUSIC
•
THE ANNUAL
That’s a wrap
The 2010s have been a decade of huge cultural change — in music, on screens and stages, and in the ways we interact with them. Before we close the book on the last ten years, let’s look at what they meant.
Kanye West
a committed serial musical reinventor. This
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
K
album signified an era. Acting as conductor, West brought in an epic assembly of cohorts. On the hip-hopera All Of The Lights, he and Rihanna were backed by a choir including Elly “La Roux” Jackson,
Gang Of Youths Go Farther In Lightness
I
part of my life, but I wasn’t doing well, I don’t think,” he shared when we spoke for The Music’s cover story around the album’s release. “The whole point of Go Farther In Lightness was to make, and is to make, the
t took me 37 seconds to realise how
arc of my life, more or less, about the pro-
great Gang Of Youths’ Go Farther In
cess of repairing, the process of being more
Lightness was. No really, I even said
human, more empathic, more authentic to
on the OTT posse-cut Monster, combusting
to my husband as he walked in the room
myself, more aware of the people around
West, JAY-Z and Rick Ross.
that it would be the album of the year. This
me, more aware of the world. To open
album was a game-changer for me.
myself back up to love and back up to life
anye West’s transgressive 2010 opus
with Elton John playing piano. An ascendant
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Nicki Minaj flexed an English accent for the
augured the decade’s hip hop, R&B
prologue, Dark Fantasy but she really blazed
and pop canon. It even influenced West’s foil — not a rival MC, but pop star Taylor Swift. A producer-cum-rapper, the Chicagoan
Curiously, West solicited contributions
had long manoeuvred around hip hop’s per-
from Justin Vernon, frontman of the then
Before Go Farther In Lightness, I hadn’t
ceived boundaries. He was preoccupied with
niche indie-folk outfit Bon Iver. On the LP’s
really paid Gang Of Youths a whole lot of
creativity and individuality as much as skill or
percussive finale, Who Will Survive In America,
attention (why did I waste so much time?!),
People clearly related — the album
storytelling and his fifth album, My Beauti-
he atomised Gil Scott-Heron’s formative spo-
but as soon as I heard the opening lines
debuted at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart
ful Dark Twisted Fantasy, would be the most
ken word Comment No 1.
of Fear & Trembling and Dave Le’aupepe’s
and scored saw them nominated for eight
vocals I knew they were for me.
ARIA Awards. They took home four, includ-
and try to negate the things in me that are life negating.”
ambitious yet, incorporating elements from
Universally acclaimed, My Beautiful Dark
across his previous work. It was maximalist,
Twisted Fantasy was an incubator of trends for
At the time, I wrote in a review that
ing the coveted Album Of The Year (cue
meta and magnificent.
contemporary hip hop, R&B and pop. Indeed,
“Go Farther In Lightness will prove front-
stoked me because I finally called one!).
By the 2010s, West was controversial for
West instituted art-rap, with MCs recasting
man Dave Le’aupepe as one of Australia’s
Last year they broke venue records with
venting. During a live Hurricane Katrina benefit
themselves as auteurs, itself a political state-
foremost songwriters” and it’s a sentiment
their epic Say Yes To Life tour, which saw 21
concert broadcast, he (justifiably) chided Pres-
ment, given hip hop’s marginalisation at the
that I stand by. It’s also become very appar-
shows, the launch of their own festival and
ident George W Bush for failing to aid Black
Grammys (notably, it won Best Rap Album,
ent given the attention the group have
thousands of people in attendance.
New Orleans. Then, at 2009’s MTV Video Music
but contentiously wasn’t even nominated for
received since the album’s August 2017
I’ve spoken to a lot of people about
Awards, West rushed the stage to protest
Album Of The Year).
release. Foo Fighters and Mumford & Sons
this album in the past couple of years —
Swift’s receiving the Best Female Video statu-
The new wave of (post-)rappers com-
don’t pick you as stadium tour supports
particularly about how much I love it — but
ette over Beyonce. He caused furore. President
peted with innovative concepts, curation and
without good reason, you know? Counting
I still feel like I can’t accurately portray my
Obama called him “a jackass”. West retreated
visuals. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Crows’ Adam Duritz also called them the
feelings for it or just what it’s meant to
to a Hawaiian studio.
made way for Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky
“best fucking band in the world right now”.
me. I think what I’ve taken away from this
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy wasn’t
and Travis Scott. Frank Ocean established
This an album of earnest, honest and
album the most though is comfort, and at
an apologia, nor was it penitent. Instead, West
an avant’n’B parallel with Channel Orange.
vivid lyricism from Le’aupepe, paired with
the end of the day, that’s just a really nice
chronicled the precariousness of celebrity,
Beyonce pivoted from singles to zeitgeist
striking and varied arrangements from
feeling to have.
while astutely critiquing the racialised subtext
album artiste, peaking with Lemonade, and
guitarist Joji Malani, keyboardist Jung Kim,
to his public chastisement and media repre-
Rihanna presented the anarchic Anti. In the
bass player Max Dunn and drummer Don-
sentation. He was brutally honest — and comic
interim, West unwittingly fell into a symbiotic
nie Borzestowski that draw on everything
— in examining the paradoxes of his own
creative relationship with Swift, the two loom-
from Bruce Springsteen to classical music.
psyche, aspirations, image, mythology and
ing as pop’s last postmodernists. But perhaps
At the album’s heart though, it’s
drama, problematic discourse or no. Its sum-
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s greatest
Le’aupepe’s candour that draws listeners in
mit was the prog-hop symphony Runaway.
legacy is that its riveting sonics and proto-viral
and holds them tight.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy introduced West as today’s chaotic, eccentric and extravagant GOAT, notorious for his protracted album rollouts. But it also showed him to be
narratives assured the album format’s continued relevance in the cyber age.
“After [2015’s] The Positions, I was really broken and fucked up and not in a good way. Better than I was during the
Cyclone
actual recording process and during that
THE MUSIC
•
34
•
END OF THE DECADE
Jessica Dale
For the record
Taylor Swift 1989
Some of The Music’s team make their cases for the best album of the 2010s.
with Scooter Braun is putting artists’ tenuous rights over their own songs into the spotlight. But ultimately this is all faff. It’s a way to
The National
Trouble Will Find Me
rawer, more personal about Trouble Will Find Me — it was there soundtracking my very existence, getting into my bones. Matt Berninger’s
N
intellectualise something much more vis-
on a long car drive down the coast. Or made
All You Had To Do Was Stay and I Wish
people unknowingly break out into a strut on
You Would scored my first adult break-
would soundtrack their divorce. My sister and
He described the beauty in the monotonous
the way to the office.
up, when my ex moved to the other side of
I would harmonise as Elton John’s Goodbye
and banal, and in the ugly and most human
Do you remember where you were when
the world. Bad Blood then summed up all
Yellow Brick Road played in our family’s Hold-
parts of us laid bare.
Shake It Off pissed off the entire world? Taylor
the rage — and the generous serve of pity
en EH. At the end of long car trips, I’d pretend
Swift biting back at haters only managed to
— that followed and Blank Space that deli-
I was asleep to be carried inside.
confirm their reasonable suspicions of her, as
cious period where the fractured self starts
In primary school, teased for not listening
smudges the harsh human emotion of trying,
she used Black bodies as props in the cheer-
to almost, not quite be ready to date again.
to what my friends considered cool, I’d beg
and sometimes failing, to find your place in
leading video clip. But then she released a
Eventually, years later, singing along in the
for the latest So Fresh albums. During high
the world with a sense of resignation to that
collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, one of the
shower to Clean, dwelling on that image of
school, my best friend and I would steal bot-
fact — finding belonging in spite of it, and inti-
most powerful commentators on race and
neglected flowers, proved that I was finally
tles of our parents’ red wine, smoke cigarettes
macy. It was something I found comfort in. At
class in America right now, for Bad Blood, a
at peace with the end of a relationship that I
and listen to the Stones, middle fingers high
that time, as Berninger sings in Don’t Swallow
song which was believed to be a provocation
had felt marked me in some permanent way.
in the air.
The Cap, I was placing everything I loved on
to Swift’s longtime rival, Katy Perry. It wasn’t
Am I arguing that 1989 is a break-up
When I was 19, I fell in love with The
the only seemingly referential track on the
album? Maybe. Or at least it felt that way to
National’s sixth full-length album, Trouble
Trouble Will Find Me is not necessar-
record either — who could forget feeling clev-
me for most of this decade.
Will Find Me. A page in my notebook from
ily a record that represents the music of the
o other album this decade has so
cerally felt. The real reason 1989 is the best
perfectly soundtracked a drunken
record of the decade in my eyes is because
house party, so jam-packed as it is
it’s the album that gave me the most joy —
with dancefloor belters. Or upped the vibe
and articulated my anguish for me.
I
Albums of the decade
self-deprecating introspection took the fore,
use records as placeholders in my life,
the lyrics dancing with metaphors, and set to
almost like signposts. My parents tell me
urgent, pulsing drums from Bryan Devendorf.
the first song that came on the radio when
Berninger spoke of the impossibility of human
they brought me home from the hospital was
relationships, of the juxtaposition between
Concrete Blonde’s Happy Birthday. Later, Joey
grand symbolism and everyday observations.
What they created is, as a whole, calmer and more cohesive than their earlier work. It
the table, everything I loved out to sea.
er for understanding the obvious joke at the
But it’s also a record I associate with
the time reads, “I met a boy”, in the top left,
decade. It was nominated but didn’t win
core of third single Style, a perfect description
drinking too much wine and jumping up and
“But he is leaving,” in the bottom right. Deep,
a Grammy. It might not even be my favou-
of Swift’s ex, Harry Styles.
down in excitement in friends’ living rooms,
I know.
rite album by the band. So why pick it? It’s a
1989 stuck in the Australian zeitgeist
people careening into each other as the lyrics
The bar where we met was one I had
deeply personal choice. It’s all about the way
in 2014/15 with #TayForHottest100 — now-
come spilling out onto the carpeted floor. It’s
been to many times. It was dirty and dark and
it makes me feel, rather than an objective
#MeToo accused Ryan Adams’ cover album
the album that my friends and I sung along
I was young and fearless. My friends and I had
assessment of its cultural worth. It’s in the way
of the record was eligible for the Hottest
to at the top of our lungs in houses from
plans that spanned the world. No one would
I’d wake up hungover and bleary-eyed on a
100, but Swift was not. The decade of Taylor
Sydney to New York to London. It seemed
tie us down. But then he moved overseas. It
Sunday morning to WhatsApp messages that
Swift then collided with the revelations of the
to pull together all of our young adult angst
was July — I can’t remember the date — and
read, “I should live in salt for leaving you”; in
#MeToo movement, the artist suing morning
and excitement and burning emotion and
through the angst and the loss, through the
the way I lean into its corniness. When the boy
show host David Mueller for sexual assault
wrapped it in synths and “sick beats”.
“Tylenol and beer”, I posed and personified a
from the notebook returned from the UK the
question: can you ritualise destruction?
next year, we exchanged Christmas presents.
in 2017.
Now, it’s just an album I like to put on
In discussions of race politics and the
the record player to dance to and cry out
With Trouble Will Find Me, it seemed to
We had bought each other the same album
representation of sexuality her failures were
along with, which helps me to inhabit and
me that The National were asking the same.
on vinyl, one of which now hangs framed in
often gleefully picked apart, from Shake It Off
console a past self, because I’m finally Out Of
The trio of Alligator, Boxer and High Violet had
our bedroom. The four words, ‘Trouble will find
to the cringey Lover single You Need To Calm
The Woods.
already cemented the band’s status, and com-
me,’ are tattooed on my right tricep. We will
fortable position, within the indie-rock scene.
dance as husband and wife for the first time to
They’d always spoken to a sense of middle-
This Is The Last Time.
Down, but also provoked a necessary conversation about cultural appropriation and the limits of allyship. That’s without even begin-
Hannah Story
class ennui: sad dads singing sad songs about
ning to pick apart the way her current dispute
sad things. But there was something looser,
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Lauren Baxter
Live pics of the decade
Retouched Australia’s live stages were the setting for countless amazing scenes in the last decade, and The Music was lucky enough to catch a handful of them on camera. Here we ask some of our senior photographers to look back over the years and share their favourite moments. Yothu Yindi @ Enmore Theatre, 2018. Pic: Angela Padovan
New Found Glory @ Eatons Hill Hotel, 2017. Pic: Terry Soo
Coldplay @ Suncorp Stadium, 2012. Pic: Markus Ravik
THE MUSIC
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36
•
Crowd @ Warped Tour, 2013. Pic: Terry Soo
END OF THE DECADE
Harts @Lost Lands, 2016. Pic: Lucinda Goodwin
Savages @ Metro Theatre, 2012. Pic: Clare Hawley
Solange @ Metro Theatre, 2014. Pic: Clare Hawley
Robbie Williams @ QUDOS Bank Arena, 2014. Pic: Josh Groom
G Flip @ Laneway Festival Footscray Park, 2019. Pic: Lucinda Goodwin
THE MUSIC
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END OF THE DECADE
Kanye West @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 2014. Pic: Markus Ravik
Music consumption trends of the decade
L
Massive consumption
ooking back at how we consumed music at the start of the decade, chances are that you were listening to the
country’s #1 song, Eminem and Rihanna’s
The way we consume music has changed exponentially over the past decade. Jessica Dale chats with some industry heavyweights about the three major trends of the 2010s.
Love The Way You Lie, on an iPhone 4 — downloaded via the iTunes store or uploaded from a CD you bought. Things have changed a whole lot since then, with mediums like CD and DVD making substantial losses and streaming paving the way forward.
71.4%
$1.8 billion
15.2%
The amount of market value that streaming now
Ad revenue paid out from YouTube to the music
The increase in vinyl sales from 2017 to 2018
accounts for in Australia
industry from 2017-2018
Streaming
Video
Vinyl
In ARIA’s 2018 wholesale figures report, the organisation
“The rate of change is exhilarating,” says YouTube’s Head Of
“I think you would have had very, very long odds at the TAB,”
reported that streaming — including subscription services
Music Content Partnerships (South East Asia, AU/NZ), Ruuben
laughs Rosen when asked who could have predicted the mas-
like Spotify and Apple Music, and non-subscription offerings
van den Heuvel. “Just when you think this must be it, a new
sive vinyl comeback this decade has seen. By ARIA’s figures, 12”
like YouTube and Vevo — now accounts for a whopping 71.4%
thing pops up and takes the world by storm.” It’s a sentiment
vinyl moved just 59,000 units in 2010. In 2018, 860,000 units
of the market value of recorded music, seeing a 41.2% bump
that carries easily over to YouTube — the little video plat-
were sold. Currently, physical format sales make up a 15% mar-
over the year.
form that could. With over two million artists now using it to
ket share, with vinyl contributing 28% of that revenue.
APRA AMCOS’ Head Of Music Revenue & Licensing Rich-
engage with fans, YouTube has experienced huge growth in
“Streaming is just growing exponentially, and it’s certain-
ard Mallett says that the introduction of streaming has heavily
its nearly 15-year history and has helped change the way peo-
ly the vast majority of how people listen to their music, but
impacted the amount of data the organisation now processes
ple find new music. Last year saw YouTube Music revamped as
it is potentially a counterweight to that, to the digital world,
for artists. “But this is a good thing,” assures Mallett, “because
paid subscription service, introducing another revenue arm to
for people to want to have a physical manifestation of the art-
it means that a wider range of music is being heard than ever
the business.
ist that they love,” continues Rosen. “And it’s almost like the
before and as a result, we’re paying more songwriters and
“Music consumption has no physical borders or language
slow food movement, to sit down with a loved one or a friend
composers than ever before.” The financial impact of this is
barriers,” says van den Heuvel. “Take Bollywood for example:
or a bunch of people and listen to a vinyl album. It’s a won-
easy to see, considering that by APRA AMCOS’ figures stream-
week-to-week in 2019, on average 20% of the entries on the
derful experience and I think it is something that, for people
ing has increased 4,275% since 2012-13, meaning revenue
Global Top Songs chart have featured Indian artists. A year ago
who genuinely love music, it’s a wonderful way to experi-
growth from $2.4m to $105m in 2018-19.
no videos featuring Indian artists had surpassed 500 million
ence music.”
Additionally, this has impacted the way that ARIA Chart
views. Today, eight videos have reached the milestone, with
figures are recorded and reported. “It’s very important that
more set to cross over in the coming months. BLACKPINK
the ARIA Chart continues to evolve and reflect how people
or BTS are always in our global top charts and have built up
are consuming music,” says ARIA’s Chief Executive Dan Rosen
engaged fan bases from Mexico City to Kuala Lumpur.”
of their choice to add streaming to the weekly Singles and Albums chart figures at different points in the decade.
Citing local breakout artist Tones & I and her global hit Dance Monkey (with over 329 million views at the time of writ-
“It’s completely reversed between physical to digital over
ing) as one example and Australia’s ever-growing hip hop and
the course of the ten years,” he says. “And within that, the vast
urban music scene as another, van den Heuvel says that “there
majority is streaming, which didn’t exist at the beginning of
really is nothing to hold Australia back in its ability to continue
the decade... From a format that didn’t even exist ten years
to grow as a powerhouse of music and cultural export”.
ago and wasn’t dominant five years ago.”
Rosen also sees the impact of services like YouTube and YouTube Music, sharing that ARIA is in discussion with the video giant to work “through the best way to incorporate that into the Singles and the Album Chart.” “We want to keep reflecting how people are consuming and I think video is an important component of that.”
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THE ANNUAL
# 1 singles of the decade
Back track Sam Wall takes a retrospective look the singles and artists that topped the yearly charts this decade.
E
very year has its mega-hits, tracks so pervasive that for a hot minute they become cultural touchstones, and
the 2010s were no different. But now that enough time has passed since most of these entries peaked to forget and forgive just how inescapable they were, it’s time to go
back and see how well they’ve aged. Here’s how we think the biggest song from each year of the decade, going by the ARIA End Of Year charts, holds up in hindsight.
2010: Eminem ft Rihanna — Love The Way You Lie
Nearly ten years on from Rihanna and Eminem’s #lit collaboration you’ll find them both in any decent rundown of the most successful artists of this decade. Marshall continued to
do what he’s done since the mid-’90s, taking swings at anything and everything and selling a shedload of albums along the way. Meanwhile, Rihanna destroyed streaming records,
starred in bonafide blockbusters and built a beauty and fashion empire. Outside all of that, has Love The Way You Lie dated? A little bit, yes. Is it still an earworm? Also yes.
2011: LMFAO ft Lauren Bennett and GoonRock — Party Rock Anthem
As the 2010s progressed it became apparent that there is a distinct line between artists that know how to manipulate memes and those that just are one. After an explosive rise
with Party Rock Anthem and Sexy And I Know It, the duo followed a familiar descent through fizzling solo releases, reality television appearances, infighting and the odd bit of litiga-
tion. Party Rock Anthem went multi-Platinum pretty much everywhere, but the party rock brand had fully crashed well before 2020.
2012: Carly Rae Jepsen — Call Me Maybe
2016: The Chainsmokers ft Halsey — Closer
have become obsolete and humanity communicates exclu-
Funk people needed a nice, sexless palate cleanser in 2016.
sively through an organically evolved cloud interface, people
Yes, the lyrics are about heartbreak and making out in the
will still scream/transmit “Here’s my number!” in each others’
backseat of cars, but it’s the kind of clean, toothless sexuality
faces any time this song comes on. The meaning will have
H&M uses to sell rompers to teens. Nobody in Closer has ever
been lost to history but the emotion will be eternal.
had to dab a stain out of that car seat with a loose gym sock.
2013: Katy Perry — Roar
2017: Ed Sheeran — Shape Of You
decade. She’s one of the most successful artists of all time, but
out the top spot once in ten years. Then we were shocked to
she’s never been able to shake being just a little bit naff. That
not recognise this song. At all. If these other songs affect the
said, Roar absolutely still slaps. It’s edging up on three billion
brain like pop crack, an immediate and intense response you
views just on YouTube. You can’t argue with those numbers.
just can’t leave alone, then Sheeran is oxycontin. His music is
Call Me Maybe will never not be a jam. Long after phones
Public opinion’s been a bit up and down for Katy Perry this
2014: Pharrell Williams — Happy
Pharrell Williams did too good a job on his Despicable Me 2 track. Nothing against Williams, who wrote, produced and performed this little slice of sunshine. He set out to capture
It’s almost like after the irresistible strut and boogie of Uptown
We were genuinely shocked to discover Ed Sheeran only took
plenty addictive, but in a fuzzy, edgeless way where you still struggle to remember the chorus after 50 listens.
2018: 5 Seconds Of Summer — Youngblood
5SOS aren’t the first outfit to go from pop-punk teen dreams
the sound of being “happy and relentless” and he did. It is
to full-tilt boy band, but goodness didn’t they make the transi-
happy and relentless. Which is fine. We just hope that when-
tion look easy. The initial fever is still cooling on Youngblood,
ever somebody starts clapping, Williams flinches just like the
so it’s hard to tell whether it’s headed for long-term classic
rest of us.
status. It feels pretty inevitable that the band themselves will
2015: Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars — Uptown Funk
A couple of years back it was revealed that, broken down by hours, the human race has spent more time watching Adam
comfortably continue to dominate charts until one of them splinters off for a solo career.
2019: ???? — ????
For a while there it looked like Lil Nas X would be riding into
Sandler films on Netflix than civilisation has existed. It looks
2020 with 2019 hogtied to his horse’s arse, but our very own
like the same can be said for Uptown Funk. At 3.7 billion hits
Tones & I has well and truly left all competition in the dust.
the track has been played — in four-minute, 30-second incre-
She’s setting chart records with Dance Monkey that no one is
ments — for almost 32,000 years. Just on YouTube. “Up. Town.
going to touch for a very long time. Will the song hold up for
Funk you up. Uptown-funk-you-up. Say what!?”
as long as those records? Ask us in ten years.
From left to right: The Chainsmokers, Katy Perry, Eminem (Pic: Brian Kelly), Carly Rae Jepsen, Pharrell WIlliams, LMFAO, Mark Ronson, Ed Sheeran
THE MUSIC
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PPSSHHHH!
THE SOUND OF SUMMER @goatbeer goatbeer.com.au
Drink Responsibly. THE MUSIC
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Australian TV of the decade
From left to right: Please Like Me, Bluey, The Bachelor, Black Comedy, Struggle Street, SBS PopAsia, Content, Jack Irish, The Feed
Advance Australian fare: the best homegrown TV of the decade Even though you may want to, you just can’t watch Seachange forever. Fortunately, Australia has produced some incredible programs this decade — let Joel Burrows talk you through some of our favourite local shows of the last ten years.
Black Comedy
Content
Jack Irish
thrived. Not only did it star some brilliant First Nations actors,
created for an iPhone. Its narrative is about millennials strug-
mum has impeccable taste. The mysteries are palpable, the
it featured some of the most topical jokes of the last five
gling with influencer culture, friendship, and feeling connect-
theme song is a bop, and Guy Pearce acts the heck out of
years. And who could forget Aaron Fa’aoso and Steven Oliver’s
ed with others. And there’s not even a name for this genre.
Jack. If you start binge-watching this, you’ll probably be up till
infamous Tiddas — those men are comic machines.
Daley Pearson, executive producer and co-director, tells The
the morning.
In a decade where sketch comedy scrambled, Black Comedy
The Feed
If you want digestible news, without resorting to the dumpster fire that is Twitter, then The Feed is tailored for you. The
Content is the future of Aussie TV, a show entirely set on and
Music, “There was a term going around called screen-lives, and that does seem to sum it up. But to us it was just a drama that was funny, it was drama series just told through a phone.” This show could also ignite a new era of programming.
Jack Irish is probably your mum’s favourite show — and your
Struggle Street
In Australia, more than three million people live below the poverty line. And Struggle Street tells some of these stories.
reporting is solid, their features are deep-dives, and their
Pearson says, “We are planning to make more of this at Ludo,
This docuseries doesn’t pull any punches and bluntly presents
rotating hosts are amazing. Maybe you should tell your
and we’ve just had an approach about a US remake.”
the adverse conditions so many people live in. This show can
gramps to watch this instead of Sunrise.
Bluey
be hard to watch, but that doesn’t mean that we should turn
SBS PopAsia
our backs on these narratives.
To call SBS PopAsia a K-pop version of Rage would be a mas-
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette
If you feel as if you’re too old to watch Bluey, you’re wrong.
sive disservice. This show proudly programs artists of colour,
Bluey has the creativity of Adventure Time and the charm
non-English songs, and some great interviews. It introduced
of Sesame Street. This show starring a Blue Heeler dog has
a generation of kids to multiple genres they might not have
like they’ve always existed. From the Honey Badger’s blun-
been embraced by families across the world. Speaking to The
never heard otherwise. This program represents a shift in the
der to grown men making a ‘bro code’, the shows are excel-
Music, Joe Brumm, the creator of Bluey, believes he knows
music industry and what it means to love pop in Australia.
lent for melodrama. But most importantly, these shows have
why this program’s so beloved internationally: “It’s due to the way the kids are portrayed, which I’ve put a lot of work into getting as natural and true to life as possible.” The show also features some rad Aussie-isms. Brumm
inspired a tonne of hilarious memes. And what could be bet-
Please Like Me
ter than that?
Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me is a timeless show for and about young adults, which holds up in a way shows like Skins or Girls
says, “I think there is a few ‘far outs’ that work quite well. In an
have not. It discusses mental illness and modern sexuality
upcoming ep, Bandit uses ‘bodgy’ too.”
with complexity and wit. It’s a stark portrait of what it’s been like growing up in 2010s Australia. There’s a reason that this program was nominated for an International Emmy.
THE MUSIC
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The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are so iconic, they feel
42
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END OF THE DECADE
#welovelivemusic
ROY O R T U S O P R E S E N T S
SPYRO GYRA Multiple Grammy Award-winning, jazz fusion band, Spyro Gyra will be touring Australia in April 2020. The 2020 Australian Tour will be as inspiring as the band itself, transcending the audience through instrumental pieces in what promises to be an evening of creative artistry that will touch the soul.
DOUG PARKINSON presents
An Evening Celebrating The Music Of
VAN MORRISON Gloria Brown Eyed Girl Moondance Bright Side Of The Road Someone Like You Have I Told You Lately Domino Into The Mystic These Are The Days And Many More...
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TV trends of the decade
Screen theory Guy Davis reflects on the ways our TV viewing habits have totally changed since the start of the decade — from the rise of social media conversations, to the domination of streaming services, to our inability to resist a binge-watch.
A
s we edge towards the end of another decade, there’s
have access to so much more (see Transpar-
a natural tendency to step back and try to take a big-
ent, Redfern Now, Pose and Insecure, to
picture view of what we’ve collectively experienced.
name just a few).
It gives us a comforting sense of perspective, not to mention maybe some indication of where we may be heading.
Still, there’s a reason the saying ‘spoilt for choice’ exists. Having a wealth of platforms
What we collectively experienced in the 2010s, however,
offering audiences a wealth of material, and
was the ongoing fragmentation of that collective experience,
adding to that treasure trove day after day,
particularly as far as television is concerned. There’s long been
can result in option overload and a nagging
a tendency to romanticise TV as a bonding experience, wheth-
sense that we may be missing out on some-
er it’s actually watching a show or discussing it afterwards, but
thing great. (There are, of course, worse prob-
that kind of thinking perhaps belongs to a time when we were
lems to have in this life than too much good
all operating on the same schedule and limited to a smaller
stuff, although there’s a fear that it could
amount of options. And that’s not really the case anymore.
result in the creation of comfort zones and a
It’s disingenuous to suggest that the era of the group-
Game Of Thrones
reluctance to venture into new territory.)
watch is over — of course families and friends are still enjoying
One could speculate it’s the reason the
TV in shared company. But we’ve also been glued to our indi-
recap (and even the social media conversa-
vidual screens for some time now, the advent of streaming services and on-demand video allowing any punter not only the opportunity to watch what they want when they want, but also how they want in terms of quantity. While the ‘binge-watch’ is not exactly a new phenomenon, it really wasn’t until this decade, and mainly with the rise of Netflix, that it became a legitimate event. There was no shame in declaring that you were setting aside a day or two to devour the new
“A much broader and deeper pool of talent has had the opportunity to take part in the process of storytelling and production.”
Redfern Now
season of Stranger Things or The Crown as soon as it dropped, and you could do so at your own pace and convenience. That’s an almost unprecedented level of control for the viewer, whose power was previously pretty much
tion) has taken over from the review as the
limited to changing channels or turning the TV off.
new primary mode of TV criticism — you get
Now there have certainly been shows that seemingly
the gist without putting in the hours, and if
everyone was weighing in on at once — whether we were
you’re intrigued by what’s been discussed it’s
weeping uncontrollably over the death of Patrick on Offspring
not too difficult to track down the episode in
or hating on the final few episodes of Game Of Thrones — but
which you’re interested.
the new flexibility of availability (your own in-house video store
And there’s going to be more to pique
is open 24/7!) coupled with the ‘peak TV’ phenomenon, where
your interest as we enter the 2020s, it seems.
multiple commercial TV, pay TV and streaming service out-
Every platform worth its bandwidth has an
lets are churning out content, content, content, has ensured
on-demand library enabling you to catch up
that there is pretty much something for everyone to snack or
with what you’ve missed whenever works
binge on.
for you, and the powerhouse stations and
Indeed, it’s hard to find a niche that has gone unfilled,
streaming services are getting new competi-
and that’s a great thing in so many ways. Over the last ten
tion from tech and showbiz behemoths like
years, diversity and inclusivity have gathered momentum and
Disney and Apple, which have more than
a much broader and deeper pool of talent has had the oppor-
enough capital in their war chests to attract
tunity to take part in the process of storytelling and produc-
A-list talent to their big-ticket productions.
tion, sharing perspectives and attitudes that have previously
The screen doesn’t look set to fade to black
been marginalised or muted, and audiences subsequently
any time soon.
Stranger Things
The Crown
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THE ANNUAL
Talk of the decade
Australian music’s industry figures share their industry highlight of the decade.
Denis Handlin AO Sony Music Entertainment, Chairman & CEO (Australia & NZ) & President (Asia) The highlight for me over the last decade has been seeing so many Australian artists break and be embraced right around the world. Artists from Australia have recently impacted streaming charts and playlists not only locally but internationally as well. Australian artists including Tones & I, Amy Shark, Tash Sultana, The Kid Laroi, Ruel and Gang Of Youths are receiving worldwide attention and are being streamed by music fans from many countries outside of Australia. New subscription services, together with the power of social media and digital marketing, that have launched and been developed across the decade have allowed music fans from anywhere in the world to discover, experience and champion our Australian artists.
Pic: Jacquie Manning
Stephen Wade Select Music, CEO
Dean Ormston APRA AMCOS, CEO
Julia Wilson Rice Is Nice Records, Owner
I would say it more as a collective highlight and that is the
Incredibly rapid growth in the number of Australian/NZ
The rise of the indie label, female artists and Australians
exporting of so many Australian artists overseas. From RUFUS
songwriters, composers and artists succeeding internation-
championing Australian music. There has been a shift in the
DU SOL to Tame Impala, Flume, Boy & Bear, Amy Shark,
ally — reflected in the fact that APRA AMCOS’ foreign revenue
last ten years where we have seen independents, females
Tones & I, there is no doubting we match it with the best in
has more than doubled in five years. To support the success of
and Australians dominating the scene. It’s been a long time
the world.
our members we now have APRA AMCOS reps in London, LA
coming and just the beginning.
and Nashville.
Steve Cross Remote Control, Director
Roger Field Live Nation Australasia, CEO
Jaddan Comerford UNIFIED Music Group, CEO
Music fans generously acknowledging that artists deserve
I’ve been in the industry since 1995 when I started selling tick-
Streaming is a very obvious answer but what it’s done, regard-
to be paid for the music they create and opting to support
ets in a call centre for Stoll Moss Theatres. In the past decade,
less of revenue growth, is it’s got more people listening to
musicians by purchasing their music via the flourishing digital
and with my knowledge of ticketing, the highlight has been
more music, on a global level. The opportunities this has cre-
services and the reborn record stores.
the disruption caused by the web-based secondary market
ated are still yet to be realised.
that has led to some great and overdue innovation in the way we can now sell and deliver our tickets.
THE MUSIC
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THE MUSIC
•
THE ANNUAL
Festival trends of the decade
From Big Days Out to glamper campers: How festivals have changed in the 2010s
Liz Giuffre examines how the Australian festival circuit has evolved since 2010, from the mega-festival like Big Day Out to more boutique offerings, in the face of changing oversight from the government.
as much as a draw to see and hear music, like Schoolies (or
These days increased legal requirements seem to relate
say Tune-ies?) for grown-ups. But they’re also the type of thing
to drug and alcohol as well as physical space and safety.
that only very few can experience, while the rest of us, broken
From Sydney’s infamous lockout laws to state- and nation-
by scalpers, cost and logistics, live vicariously through media
wide attempts to clean up the perceived marriage of sex,
reports and live broadcasts.
drugs and rock’n’roll, these moves have had varied success.
O
The changing demographics of festival audiences (and artists)
tivals (and importantly, how festival-goers should treat each
While it’s hard to say definitively, one thing that’s certain is that
other) is one that organisers now are taking seriously. For
to say that audiences and tunes don’t still hook up. Instead,
the age target and type of festivals seems to have changed.
example, Meredith has a strict “No Dickhead Policy”, a no-
we’ve found different ways of doing it — yes, with quite a bit of
All ages and older ages events like A Day On The Green, which
nonsense approach that says the festival should be a safe
‘swiping’ involved — but also moving from massive roadshows
calls itself “Big Day Out For Grown-ups”, have allowed not just
space for all attendees. While such a thing should go without
to location-based mini-breaks.
‘heritage acts’, but also perhaps ‘heritage audiences’ to get
saying, it is nice to hear it said. This includes not just physical
out and party beyond the traditional stadiums, concert halls
safety, but also basic levels of respect towards others. Keep
or lounge rooms. Then events like The Lost Lands Festival
your hands to yourself, unless invited to do otherwise.
ver the last decade there’s been a marked change in the way we engage with live music. The glory days of, well, Big Days, were in full swing in 2010, but as we
hurtle towards 2020, it seems they are gone. Over the last decade things have changed, but that’s not
The carnival is over — or just different
One example of a new type of festival experience is Lost
Importantly, they’ve not necessarily changed behaviour or
Paradise, held over New Year’s in Glenworth Valley, NSW,
significantly reduced serious injury or death rates. A 2019
which offers access to Tent City or to “Glamping” — the glam
Australia-wide study of drug use at festivals, and specifically,
way to get yourself a muddied crick in the neck from sleep-
the rates attendees seek help when they need it, shows that
ing on the ground. Jokes aside, with luxuries like electricity,
the biggest dangers still lie with punters’ lack of education
a dedicated cocktail bar and “premium toilets and showers”,
about what is in the drugs they are thinking of, or have just,
even the messiest of rock pigs can see the appeal. Falls and
taken. Organisers of festivals that have trialled onsite drug
lots of other events now offer similar options too — and while
testing have already estimated lives saved, but official gov-
the cost is higher, it’s often worth saving up for.
ernment policies around the country seem to remain dead
The big one, the Big Day Out, made it into the 2010s on life
welcome families to participate — a move that seems to be
support, but officially gave up the ghost in 2014. Local show-
increasing, and allows existing audiences to continue to par-
case Homebake had died just a little before this in 2012 (with
ticipate as their circumstances change, while also getting the
the last featuring that iconic ‘homegrown’ act, Blondie). Won-
next generation into the festival vibe as early as possible.
derful blips in between like All Tomorrow’s Parties have come and gone, while Groovin The Moo has continued to evolve. While official statements about the decline of these festivals
A war waged by law and order
against the practice. Beyond the law, the question of how to behave at fes-
It’s not all doom and gloom — these festivals are roaring into the 2020s
While we’ve lost some big names in the last decade, the festival circuit has still thrived. In addition to old hats like Bluesfest, Splendour In The Grass, Laneway and Groovin
Changes to local, state and federal laws have been suggested
The Moo, there’s also city-based festivals (and their fringe
have varied, it’s been suggested the cost of putting them on
as catalysts for festival change. In the case of small-scale local
events) like Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, Melbourne
was simply getting too much and audiences were wanting
events like Mountain Sounds, organisers directly took aim at
Festival, Brisbane Festival, Darwin Festival — and on it goes.
something different. A recent Double J podcast revisited the
changes to legal requirements, or what they called “the gov-
Then there are the REALLY BIG stayers like Tamworth, Field
Big Day Out’s glory days, as well as speculating about its end.
ernment’s war on festivals”.
Day, Melbourne Jazz Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, along-
The festivals that have continued combine music with
The increased legislation often relates to increased health
side diverse genre and destination events like FOMO, Golden
an experience — often a trip away — so that the audience, as
and safety requirements for festival organisers. Yes, this stuff
Plains, Pitch, Subsonic, Beyond The Valley, Strawberry Fields,
well as artists, can ‘go on tour’. Case in point is Splendour In
wasn’t as strict pre-2010, but pre-2010 was a time when
Rainbow Serpent and Fairgrounds.
The Grass and Falls Festival, each events that have become
patrons were being injured and, in still one of the saddest days
an excuse for punters to get their road trip and camp trip on
for Australian music, killed in the crush.
So no excuses — get yourself out among it. Even if it’s more than one big day out.
Crowd @ Golden Plains, 2019. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
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FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AUSTRALIA
SUN FEB 23 THE TRIFFID TICKETS AVAILABLE ON-LINE AND DROM QUIREBOYS.COM NEW STUDIO ALBUM ‘AMAZING DISGRACE’ AVAILABLE NOW THE MUSIC
•
THE ANNUAL
A decade in review Films of the decade
Our resident film columnist Anthony Carew believes he has watched over 3,000 films this past decade. And you know what? We believe him. Here we asked him to dive deep into the grey matter to whittle the list down to the top 20. Someone grab the popcorn.
20. The Act Of Killing/ The Look Of Silence — Joshua Oppenheimer 2013/2015
19. Parasite — Bong Joon-ho, 2019
18. Chevalier — Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2016
17. Beginners — Mike Mills, 2011
Twin investigations into Indonesian genocide
Not home-invasion thriller, but home-infes-
A giddy Greek-weird-wave barney satirising
Cine-memoir, photomontages, peak Mélanie
and its repercussions, replete with killers
tation, economic inequality social satire. Roll-
patriarchy, exclusive boys’ clubs, arcane ritu-
Laurent, artmaking, grieving, the heaviness of
aping movie gangsters in absurdist dra-
ing at a cracking pace, it stages a masterclass
als, male vanity and macho competitiveness.
inescapable sadness — I cry every time.
matic recreations.
in cinematic composition.
16. If Beale Street Could Talk — Barry Jenkins, 2019
15. Inside Llewyn Davis — Joel & Ethan Coen, 2014
14. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World — Edgar Wright, 2010
13. The Challenge — Yuri Ancarani, 2017
Not just a love story, but a film about — and
A film told in circle, turning like a record.
A box-office ‘bomb’ turned beloved cult
An Italian video artist meets blinged-
made with — love.
Each lap round the titular sadsack singer’s
object. The decade’s most rewatchable,
out Qatari falconers in the desert sands.
NYC folk scene is like hearing the same old
most quotable, most secretly profound film.
Eye-popping images and grand capitalist
song sung gloriously anew.
symbolism ensue.
12. The Handmaiden — Park Chan-wook, 2016
11. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire — Céline Sciamma, 2019
10. Call Me By Your Name — Luca Guadagnino, 2017
9. Moonrise Kingdom — Wes Anderson, 2012
Lady Vengeance turns Ladies Vengeance
A masterpiece of the female gaze: in
An instant queer classic, a bittersweet por-
A loving shrine to creating (meticulously
in this bugfuck, bodice-ripping thriller; all
filmmaking, painting, and lingering looks
trait of first-love/love-lost, a faultless exem-
art-directed) fantasy worlds in which to seek
double-crosses, cinematic sleights of hand,
between lovers.
plar of mood-sustaining mise-en-scŁne. And
escape, shelter and belonging.
decadent perversion and directorial glories.
the decade’s clear #1 peach-fucking film.
Movies and shakers
the reboots were often hit or a miss in different circles. And some developed, whether rightfully or not, a huge deal of internet controversy, like Ghostbusters.
Felicity Pickering takes a look back on the Hollywood film trends of the decade, from superheroes and reboots to the industry finally meaningfully engaging with issues around diversity and sexual assault.
Social media & activism Social media has become a huge influence on what decisions are made in Hollywood. Internet buzz, now more than ever, can boost or bury a film before it’s started its theatrical run. At the same time, so-called “hashtag activism” has led to massive changes in Hollywood. The #OscarsSoWhite movement was originally started by April Reign in 2015 in response to the all-white slate of acting
Superheroes & reboots The first major trend of the last ten years in commercial cine-
nominees at the Oscars. When the 2016 Oscars rolled around, Similarly, there has been a barrage of Star Wars movies
and they still didn’t have a single non-white nominee, the
since the Walt Disney Company acquired the Star Wars fran-
hashtag started trending again. The movement got so much
chise in 2012, which have met with varying levels of success.
media attention that the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And
ma is the complete domination of the market by the superhe-
Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last
ro movie. If there is a superhero, there’s a movie about them,
Jedi are both in the top 15 grossing films of this decade, while
or one in development. The popularity of superhero movies
Solo: A Star Wars Story was a comparative flop, and signalled
In 2017, Moonlight, a film that centred on the romantic
this decade has even been described by the New York Times
that even the most dedicated fans could get brand fatigue.
relationship between two Black men, directed by Barry Jen-
as “Hollywood’s Comic Book Age”. Out of the 15 highest gross-
With three new Star Wars films lined up for 2022, 2024 and
kins, a Black man, won Best Picture, over the twee La La Land.
ing films of this decade, six of them are superhero movies.
2026 there doesn’t seem to be any sign that this trend will
This was seen as a massive win for diversity at the Oscars. But,
be stopping
of course, La La Land was accidentally announced as the win-
The colossal outpouring of superhero movies has been
Sciences made unprecedented changes to voting rules and membership, trying to include more diverse Academy voters.
met with some disdain, however. Martin Scorsese, most
Hollywood also developed a love affair with reboots,
recently, sparked controversy after he said that Marvel movies
remakes and revivals this decade — giving us all a serious case
Since that moment, strides have been made towards
are “not cinema” and compared them to “theme park rides”.
of deja vu. Sometimes with a female or a more diverse cast,
diversity in front of and behind the camera. It seems that Hol-
THE MUSIC
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END OF THE DECADE
ner by Faye Dunaway.
From left to right: Call Me By Your Name, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Parasite, The Square, The Handmaiden, The Lobster, Arrival
8. Her — Spike Jonze, 2014
7. Evolution — Lucile Hadzihalilovic, 2016
6. Under The Skin — Jonathan Glazer, 2014
5. Arrival — Denis Villeneuve, 2016
A sad, bittersweet vision of the digital dysto-
A spiritual twin to Hadzihalilovic’s classic
Come for ScarJo as an alien seductress luring
Peak blockbuster artistry. Hollywood sci-fi
pia, in which the great love affair of modern
debut Innocence: another eerie, symbol-
men into a tar-black void, stay for the sus-
spectacle bent into sensorial fever-dream by
times — the user and their device — is liter-
ist vision of spooky childhood grooming
tained, disorienting visual rapture.
dint of linguistic relativity.
alised in a tale of man-meets-AI-OS.
steeped in Jungian shadows.
4. Custody — Xavier Legrand, 2018
3. The Master — Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012
2. The Lobster — Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015
1. The Square — Ruben Östlund, 2017
A brutal masterwork of controlled composi-
Do your past failures bother you?
No director had a better decade than Yorgos
An incalculably rich text of social ethics,
tion and domestic terror. The best debut of
Lanthimos, whose English-language debut
human/ape/mob behaviour, cringe comedy,
the decade, and in living memory.
delivered high absurdity, incisive social par-
art-world satire, and making chaos.
able, and smart behavioural study of humans as animals.
lywood has woken up to the fact that diverse content, charac-
Film trends of the decade
ters and creators can be commercially successful. Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther have become the exemplar of that, the former making a $US238.5 million worldwide gross and the latter being the ninth highest grossing film of this decade, earning $US1.346 billion at the global box office. #MeToo, first coined by Tarana Burke in 2007, gained mainstream notoriety in 2017 after Ashley Judd and other victims came forward with sexual harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein. The movement had a chain affect, taking down numerous Hollywood heavyweights and predators in Hollywood and beyond. The movement has in turn changed who’s getting hired, what stories are being told and how people are getting treated. Notably it’s led to an increase in females in leadership
Black Panther
positions and female directors getting the chance to direct studio films.
acquired 21st Century Fox, and assistants fought for fair wages with #PayUpHollywood. The effects of these behind-the-
Once upon a time Netflix was the only streaming service. It
scenes actions and the move of independent film increasingly to subscription video-on-demand services remain to be seen, but are set to affect the way the industry looks — and what content is being created — well into the future.
looks like the 2020s are about to be an all-out war as everyone chooses their streaming fighter: Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, AT&T TV, Netflix and many more are going head to head. This year alone, writers on mass fired their agents under the encouragement of the Writers Guild Of America, Disney
The future? What will these next ten years bring? Who’s to say. But we’ll be eating popcorn and reading the comments.
THE MUSIC
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Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Streaming wars & BTS change
Bec Charlwood and Alex Jae
Podcast trends of the decade
The rise of the podcast
Wil Anderson
From “pirate radio” to one of the world’s most popular mediums, podcasting’s rise over the past decade has been phenomenal. Daniel Cribb chronicles its growth and chats with podcast veteran Wil Anderson and newcomers Alex Jae and Bec Charlwood.
ave you ever been excited about
H
In 2011, weekly US series The Last Pod-
tened to that really got me into being an
in the first place and what made it spe-
being stuck in traffic? It’s an odd
cast On The Left, hosted by longtime friends
obsessive podcast listener, and the imme-
cial come into the industry. That’s just the
feeling that maybe only podcast
and comedians Ben Kissel, Marcus Parks
diate appeal is that you can hear people
nature of any emerging artform.”
addicts relate to, many of whom were first
and Henry Zebrowski, helped shape true
talking uncensored and without any kind
drawn to the medium by Sarah Koenig and
crime podcasts before industry juggernaut
of restriction.”
WBEZ’s 2014 smash Serial. Podcasts have
This American Life unleashed Serial. The
“It does kind of create a sense of con-
dren of the future finding their parents’
come a long way since the true crime inves-
tale of Adnan Syed well and truly brought
nection with people,” Charlwood adds,
podcasts,” she jokes “Particularly my chil-
tigation broke podcast records in 2014, and
podcasts into the forefront of the entertain-
“because you feel like you’re sitting among
dren, I hope they never, ever, ever listen to
even further over the past decade.
ment industry.
friends. That’s why there are so many pod-
an episode of [The Ladies Guide To Dude
recording
casts with insane cult followings — like My
Cinema], because that’s too much history
on its rise than Aussie comedy legend-
equipment and means of self-promoting
Favourite Murder, for example, they call
to have on the book.”
turned-podcast sensei Wil Anderson, whose
had advanced tenfold compared to the
their fan group, the ‘Fan Cult’. If I met either
venture into the format began at the start
peak of the first boom in the mid-’00s,
of those hosts [Karen Kilgariff and Geor-
of the decade with TOFOP in 2010, with
meaning that almost anyone could start a
gia Hardstark], I would 100 percent con-
Charlie Clausen, before he kicked off widely
podcast, and gain a listenership.
sider them my close friends because I’ve
Looking for a new podcast fix?
spent upwards of 300 hours listening to
Have you smashed through your latest pod-
them speak.”
cast obsession and are looking for what to
No one is better suited to give insight
acclaimed show Wilosophy in 2014.
By
this
time,
affordable
And with that, more and more genres
Charlwood, however, has other concerns. “One thing I do worry about is chil-
“Charlie and I always joke that if we
began popping up with everything from
knew we’d still being doing it 10 years later
comedy, politics, true crime, education and
“It also creates a community among the
binge next? The talent behind Wilosophy
we probably would have picked a name for
more casting a wide net and drawing more
listeners as well,” Jar adds. “You find people
and The Ladies Guide To Dude Cinema
the podcast that we wouldn’t have had to
people in — there are even podcasts that
in other countries that you really connect
have you covered.
explain as many times as we have over the
talk about other podcasts now.
with and have common interests with.” Wil Anderson: “I have one podcast that I
past decade,” Anderson laughs. “When we
With so much competition, it can be
Charlwood also notes that podcasts
started a decade ago, it was still very much
hard to break into the market, unless you
“fulfil that need that’s growing to just
a hobby. Often people will ask what TOFOP
have a unique idea, which is exactly what
fill every orifice with something at some
world and I was literally just listening to it.
is about and I’m like, ‘Ah, well, we’re from the
Sydney-based comedians Alex Jae and Bec
point”.”People are so busy now and like to
It is a podcast called Uhh Yeah Dude and
time when your podcast didn’t need to be
Charlwood delivered when they launched
do two things at once and with a podcast
it’s an American podcast and they’ve been
about anything.’ It was just enough that you
The Ladies Guide To Dude Cinema ear-
you can do that,” she says. “You can be driv-
doing it for a long time. Locally, I love The
had a podcast.
lier this year; a podcast that sees the duo
ing and listening to a podcast, you can be
Little Dum Dum Club. I think it’s hilarious.”
“review the movies dudes can’t believe they
cleaning your house and listening to a pod-
haven’t seen”.
cast, you can be watching a movie and lis-
“You didn’t really have to differentiate yourself from other podcasts on the market
tening to a podcast.”
love more than any other podcast in the
Bec Charlwood: “My two favourite podcasts
because the truth of it was that there wasn’t
“I think a huge part of the popular-
really that many other podcasts in the mar-
ity of podcasts is that you don’t need a lot
While podcasting doesn’t appear to
absolute tonic to my ears and I really like
ket. There were definitely people before us,
of equipment,” Charlwood says. “Some
be slowing down anytime soon, Anderson
How Did This Get Made?, which is another
but it was very much a pirate radio thing and
people record podcasts off their phones,
does believe the format has some fairly
movie podcast, but it’s very fun and very silly
the start of a world.”
sometimes you only need one person for
large hurdles to overcome as we enter a
and has put me in touch with some of my
Much like Anderson, few expected the
it, it costs you no money to put together,
new decade.
favourite movies.”
industry to take off as much as it did. Through-
whereas if you’re doing anything in a visual
“Now the big businesses have gotten
out the ‘00s, there was buzz around podcasts,
medium, that’s going to cost so much more
involved and normally when the big busi-
but many thought that after its first wave of
and take so much organisation and time.”
nesses get involved the fun times become
are Criminal with Phoebe Judge, which is
Alex Jae: “One I always listen to is called The Jackie And Laurie Show. It’s two LA-based
popularity, which peaked around 2006 with
The duo are both avid fans of podcasts
a little less fun,” Anderson says. “Because
comedians just talking about comedy and
The Ricky Gervais Show and This American
themselves, including TOFOP. Jae notes
things become corporatised and when
being on the road and stuff. Another one I
Life, the medium would die out. But a few
the appeal of the medium for a consumer:
things become corporatised people who
listen to is called The Dollop, which is like a
well-placed podcasts kept the torch alive.
“Wil’s was actually the first podcast I lis-
don’t really understand what it’s about
comedy history podcast.”
THE MUSIC
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•
END OF THE DECADE
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THE ANNUAL
Talk of the decade
Australian music’s industry figures and artists on whether the industry has drastically improved this decade, and what still needs to be done.
Jessica Krishnaswamy BBE Touring & Events/FOMO Festival, Owner No I don’t think it has drastically improved, I think there are more challenges than ever. Being an independent promoter is harder than ever, governmental pressures are higher than ever, competition is fiercer than ever. Fostering a sense of mutual respect and collaboration is the only positive way forward.
Jeremy Neale
Fanny Lumsden
Nicholas Greco Untitled Group, Co-director
The industry has drastically improved. There’s a greater aware-
The ability to be DIY and independent has drastically
Definitely, there’s a lot more representation for female and
ness of the impact of creative demands on mental health and
changed. Therefore so much great art is being made as there
non-binary artists across our line-ups than ever before and
more resources for new artists to better understand how the
are channels for it to be released. We are finally seeing more
we’re also a lot more sustainability focused. Initiatives such as
industry works and what support is available to them.
women move to the front. However, streaming has made it
Party With The Planet, which we are a part of, have seen us
financially very challenging.
lower our environmental footprint drastically.
Ben Tillman Yours & Owls/ Farmer & The Owl, Co-owner
Jeb Taylor Farmer & The Owl/ Music Farmers, Co-owner
Cyrus Meher-Homji OAM Universal Music Australia, Classics & Jazz, Senior Vice President
I hadn’t begun my career yet, but recorded music was much
The industry finding a way to generate income from digital
We are a lot more forward thinking; it was perhaps too much
harder with piracy, etc. To move forward, some more formal
music has been a big turning point. Ten years ago the major-
about the new single, the new release, the new hit. But there’s
organisation of the ‘industry’ as a whole is necessary. Despite
ity of digital music was just being illegally downloaded. Live,
no future without a past, and the dominance of streaming
what we contribute to society creatively and economically,
there are a lot of uncertainties around festivals so there is still
has proven just how perennial our heritage recordings (or
we’re not respected by formal institutions such
a bit to be done there.
catalogue) are, and I think there’s a lot more still to be done in
Pic: Chris Fape
as government.
seriously activating it.
THE MUSIC
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END OF THE DECADE
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THE ANNUAL
The decade’s urban outfitters For urban music — R&B, soul and hip hop — the 2010s were about flux and innovation. The decade ushered in new artists, gamechangers, subgenres, formats, marketing paradigms and trends. That the culture has myriad contenders for ‘Act Of The Decade’ (Beyonce? Kanye West? Frank Ocean?) demonstrates its vitality, writes Cyclone.
From the streets to the skies
clout to Chicago’s Chance The Rapper. Some figures, like HER,
Trap, originating in America’s south, dominated 2010s hip hop,
cultivated mystique. Reclusive Brit genius Jai Paul, behind the
Migos a brand. Trap foreshadowed the amorphous cloud-rap:
synth-funk BTSTU, unwittingly generated conspiracy theories
lo-fi, outrØ and sad (and tagged for its atmospherics, as much
that he himself leaked his album in 2013 (he didn’t).
as for any SoundCloud association). It absorbed psychedelia, goth, grunge and chillwave. Coincidentally, rappers automatically became singers (and, supposedly, slurrers), when in fact,
ism, but it further decentralised in the 2010s. As a Canadian,
‘90s. T-Pain, that “rappa ternt sanga”, then popularised Auto-
Drake cracking the US was unprecedented. Music connected
Tune. Also formative? The sensibility of Kanye West’s 808s
the African diaspora. The grime revival went global, with Drake
& Heartbreak. Lil B made proto-cloud-rap, Harlem’s ASAP
a champion (Giggs featured on More Life). Stormzy headlined
Rocky the mainstream figurehead. Drake arrived as an emo
2019’s Glastonbury. Even bigger worldwide was dancehall,
rapper/singer/melodist, and was somehow more omnipresent
Jamaica’s Popcaan co-signed by Drizzy. Latin urban surged,
than his peer Future. Meanwhile, Tyler, The Creator’s crew Odd
too — Luis Fonsi’s 2017 Despacito alongside reggaeton leg-
Future emerged as a counterculture within a counterculture.
end Daddy Yankee ubiquitous this decade. Colombia’s J Bal-
Rappers again latched onto the ‘Lil’ prefix, Lil Uzi Vert
vin repped Latin trap. Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther: The
blowing up with 2017’s zeitgeist XO Tour Llif3. Old school
Album showcased South African artists such as Gqom trail-
guardians dismissed these spacey proponents as “mumble
blazer Babes Wodumo. And, with Afrobeat superseding trop-
rappers” (fixating on Lil Yachty). Significantly, the newcomers
house, Nigeria’s Burna Boy was an in-demand collaborator.
were preoccupied with feelings, not environs. Ironically, the
88rising was a vital platform for Asian urban-pop cre-
“angstas” raised awareness about young men’s mental health
atives, launching Indonesian star Rich Brian. Back home, REMI
issues amid widespread prescription drug misuse.
was the first hip hop act to receive the Australian Music Prize
Trap spawned the hardcore offshoot drill, Chicago teen
in 2014. Increasingly, Australian R&B and hip hop performers
Chief Keef a star. Atlanta’s Lil Nas X advanced the subversive
found an international audience. Melbourne’s future soulsters
country trap with his record-breaking Old Town Road. The
Hiatus Kaiyote were twice Grammy-nominated and presti-
new abstract hip hop impacted the Australian scene, too,
giously sampled.
istic mode.
Watch the throne
Despite generationalism in urban circles — and purists
The art-rap era
lamenting neoteric transgression — traditional wordplay and
In the 2010s, hip hoppers proclaimed themselves auteurs.
instrumentation flourished. The poetic Kendrick Lamar ven-
They challenged not only the limitations imposed on their
tured into jazz-hop on 2015’s To Pimp A Butterfly, with Flying
music (repudiating the term ‘rapper’), but also its cultural mar-
Lotus’ input. The late Mac Miller engaged in authentic and
ginalisation, with art-rap about amplification. Indeed, hip hop
communal musicality. Anderson .Paak out-vibed Bruno Mars.
is still sidelined at the Grammy Awards, with no rap act win-
The Internet reformulated neo-soul. Still, seasoned MCs like
ning Album Of The Year this decade. The post-rappers deliv-
Snoop Dogg, JAY-Z and Eminem sustained their careers.
ered ambitious concept albums, with inventive, hybridised sonics plus curated producers, guests, samples and imagery. Kanye West created maximalist art-rap in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a meta-commentary on fame.
A change is gonna come
Hip hop has long been utilised to both expose racial inequality and assert identity. But the intersections between race, gender and sexuality were the 2010s’ focus. Kendrick Lamar’s hip
The ascent of avant’n’B
Clockwise from top: AB Original, Chance The Rapper, Lil Uzi Vert (pic: Spike Jordan), HER, Tkay Maidza, Lil Nas X, Rich Brian, Beyonce (pic courtesy of Parkwood Entertainment), Kendrick Lamar
The hip hop scene especially was once noted for US regional-
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony pioneered rap-singing in the early
with Allday eschewing boom-bap solidarity for an individual-
Hip hop trends of the decade
World views
hop soundtracked the #BlackLivesMatter movement (he was
Solange heralded avant’n’B in 2008. This ‘alternative R&B’
awarded the Pulitzer Prize For Music with DAMN.). AB Original
was essentially electronic, yet assumed its intimacy, sublimi-
— the super-duo of Briggs and Trials — led an Indigenous Aus-
nality and aesthetics from quiet storm. In 2011, Frank Ocean
tralian wave. Beyonce manifested a new black corporeal femi-
dropped an illwave mixtape, nostalgia,ULTRA., ahead of his
nism. Hip hop has a historical gender imbalance, female MCs
seminal debut channel ORANGE. The same year, The Weeknd
tokenised, yet the multi-faceted Nicki Minaj defied that. She
proffered House Of Balloons, starting a trilogy. Avant’n’b con-
was followed by credible spitters Little Simz, Cardi B, Megan
verged with art-rap and Britain’s post-dubstep (or night bus),
Thee Stallion and the crossover phenom Lizzo. Azealia Banks
with James Blake at the fore. Inevitably, such experimentalism
would be infamous for her bop 212, critiques and feuds. Aus-
inspired pop superstars: Beyonce, Rihanna and One Direc-
tralia’s rap queen, Tkay Maidza was nominated for BET’s Best
tion’s ZAYN. Oh, and Janelle Monae, compared to Prince, pre-
New Interactional Act, while Sampa The Great was the first
sented an Afrofuturist classic in 2010’s The ArchAndroid.
woman of colour to win an ARIA in hip hop.
“Drop the album!”
fied, the 2010s defined by greater LGBTQIA+ visibility. Janelle
Urban formats and marketing were revolutionised in the
Monae, Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator all expressed
2010s. A powerful disrupter, Beyonce instituted the surprise
queer identity. Nevertheless, the urban music industry was
(or stealth) album with 2013’s eponymous audiovisual mas-
scrutinised internally, with #MeToo engendering discussion
terpiece, precipitating a new laissez-faire promotion via social
about toxic masculinity, and R Kelly finally being cancelled
media virality and stan-prompted hype. Kanye West turned
over pervasive allegations of sexual abuse.
The scene generally opened, expanded and diversi-
the album rollout into a (chaotic) spectacle. Artists hosted
The future for urban music is auspicious. R&B and hip
pop-up stores and (US) festivals. Drake cannily exploited
hop acts are leading popdom with bold creative statements
meme culture, and, as a streaming don, positioned 2017’s
and compelling personal, political and cultural perspectives,
More Life as a “playlist”. The internet afforded independent
establishing themselves as icons and role models alike.
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END OF THE DECADE
“A candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long...”
MSuIsCi c • • T HAEp rAiN lNUAL T HTEh eM U
Talk of the decade
Australian music’s industry figures and artists predict what will be seen as the defining trend of the 2010s.
Michael Gudinski AM Mushroom Group, Executive Chairman Streaming businesses like Spotify and Apple have brought old music to new audiences, and that’s something that has really struck me about the last ten years. Napster shook things up nearly 20 years ago, but the current streaming services make accessing music easier than ever before. Kids are able to dive into a back catalogue and enjoy some of the best musicians from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. It’s even better seeing them at shows, enjoying the same sorts of music that generations before them loved. Looking out into the audience at a Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Elton John or Rolling Stones show and seeing people of all different ages is magic. Music plays such a huge role in people’s lives everywhere. I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Pic: Daniel Boud
Peter Noble OAM Bluesfest, Executive Director
Helen Marcou AM Bakehouse Studios, Co-owner
George Ash Universal Music Asia Pacific, President
We saw a lot of iconic Australian festivals cease operating,
The big story for this decade has been the voice of women. In
Globalisation has brought incredible profile to many of our
and it wasn’t just Soundwave and Big Day Out. It was the age
song, leadership, visibility. In particular First Peoples and WOC
artists. I am not sure a genre or movement has been musi-
of excess, it was the age of ‘bigger is better’, and it didn’t work
and the authenticity they bring with their music.
cally game changing, but the explosion of local hip hop and
out in the end for a lot of people. To me, I was saddened by
the voice it has given many communities, is for me, the defin-
those festivals going because they meant something to Aus-
ing impact music will have from this era.
tralia - they gave us a sense of identity, they were different.
Amanda Vitartas Future Popes, Director
Andrew Coates Black Cab, Vocalist
Tim McGregor TEG Live, Managing Director
I believe the defining trend in music of the 2010s would be
It’s got to be the way music distribution has completely
Increased tribalism facilitated by on-demand streaming plat-
that indie is the new mainstream. In the guitar world, artists
changed from physical products to always-on streaming
forms is rendering the push programming of legacy media
like King Gizzard and Courtney Barnett have really shown us
through platforms like Spotify and YouTube. Kids today can
highly challenged and so they must adapt to survive. So
how you can stay independent while still being exception-
instantly cherry-pick through every song ever recorded, any-
much time spent on virtual/digital engagement will make
ally successful.
time, on any device. There’s no ‘scarcity’ for content - scarcity
the live experience even more valued, which is good news for
only remains in live experiences.
promoters and performers.
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END OF THE DECADE
Australian comedy trends of the decade
In the funny business
“[My highlight was] making television with my funny friends, both Legally Brown on SBS and Orange Is The New Brown on Channel 7,” says Hussain.
Hannah Story asked a slew of Australian comics, including Tom Ballard, Pauly Fenech, Heath Franklin, Geraldine Hickey, Nazeem Hussain, Bev Killick and Matt Okine, to reflect on the last decade in Australian comedy, and what they hope to see in the future.
After having his first TV pilot rejected in 2010 by every network, Okine is particularly proud he was able to make two seasons of The Other Guy on Stan. “I always felt back then that a show with a brown lead actor would only get up on SBS or maybe ABC. It’s cool that there’s so many more platforms now for networks to take risks on yoUng talent. To finally succeed with a show that I’m really proud of, with a cast of incredibly talented stars, I couldn’t
T
who
restrial TV will either adapt to the age of
completely shifted since the start of
has been working in comedy for over 20
streaming services or go under, drowning in
the decade, says Brisbane-born, Syd-
years, fears that we could lose “our Aus-
its own desperate pandering to the lowest
tralian sense of humour and replace it
common denominator.”
“The Australian comedy scene is a lot
with world USA humour and political cor-
He hopes the next ten years see
more diverse these days,” he explains. “Where
rectness”. “More comics are a little anx-
Australian audiences watching less real-
line-ups rarely had more than one woman
ious to be outrageous. Wild comedy is
ity TV and more “quality scripted shows”.
and one ‘ethnic’ comic at a time, you’re now
being strangled by the PC world,” he
“This generation deserves its Young Ones
very funny. Internationally, I’d say Prince
seeing far more line-ups of all cultures, back-
stresses. “I myself however will not bend
or D-Generation or Monty Python, not
Andrew is hilarious at the moment.”
grounds, sexualities and religions.”
to the evil dark side of the force known as
just a bunch of gossiping idiots squab-
he Australian comedy industry has
ney-based comedian Matt Okine.
Melbourne-based stand-up Bev Killick
be happier.” But
Sydney’s
Pauly
Fenech,
bling at a dinner table or crying about
political correctness.”
their renovations.
agrees, saying that the male-to-female ratio
Fellow industry veteran Heath Frank-
on line-ups is becoming more equal as the
lin, also from Sydney, doesn’t feel the same
“It would also be nice if things like Netflix,
scene changes and becomes more tolerant
way about the changing comedy land-
Stan and Disney+ had mandatory local con-
of difference. She points to “a steady influx
scape. “Old white guys like me aren’t given
tent quotas to make sure that young Austra-
Comedians on comedians: who should we be watching out for? Tom Ballard: “My favourite new Australian
comic is Rhi Down. She is very wrong and
Paul Fenech: “Eddie Murphy has always been my favourite stand-up. Delirious is the greatest piece of stand-up I’ve ever seen.” Nazeem Hussain: “Dave Chappelle.”
From left to right: Bev Killick, Tom Ballard, Matt Okine (pic: Cole Bennetts), Heath Franklin, Nazeem Hussain, Geraldine Hickey, Pauly Fenech
of minority groups feeling safe enough to be
a free hit anymore which means we have
lian comedians can have the same opportu-
more involved in mainstream comedy”.
to work harder to stay relevant and that’s a
nities I had.”
As the industry keeps growing and grow-
good thing,” he counters.
Heath Franklin: “I’ve been watching The
Good Place a lot recently and I think D’Arcy
Warrnambool-born, Sydney-based comic
Carden is just an amazing comedic per-
ing, and encapsulating people from incred-
Okine strenuously believes that come-
Tom Ballard notes the disparity between the
former. I’ve also been watching Workaholics
ibly diverse backgrounds, “The comedy scene
dians should strive for inclusivity, but he
way Australia is “creating some of the best live
again and Jillian Bell makes me laugh out
finally looks and sounds more like the Austra-
reckons it’s likely that there could be some
performers and artists in the world and yet
loud, which rarely happens with a TV show.
lia people see out and about,” Melbourne’s
kind of underground revolt against ‘woke
there seems to be fewer and fewer opportu-
In terms of stand-up I think everyone knows
Nazeem Hussain gushes.
culture’ in the future: “I do think there’ll
nities in film and TV for new and emerging
about my ongoing love for Harley Breen.”
Geraldine Hickey, also based in Mel-
be a backlash of sorts — an underground
Australian voices”.
bourne, is upfront about what she sees for
movement where causing offence for
“I really hope something will give and
the future of the scene: “Diversity! Anyone
offence’s sake will come back in to fashion.”
we’ll see the streaming services start to make
that uses the excuse, ‘I tried but no one
Hussain
meanwhile
is
pretty
cer-
from that minority was available,’ will be put
tain that our uniquely Australian sense
in the bin.”
more local content and take the risks the net-
Geraldine
Hickey:
“It’s
always
Anne
Edmonds because she is my best friend in comedy.”
works seem to avoid,” he says. Bev Killick: “My favourite comedian present-
of humour isn’t going anywhere. Instead
Hussain too hopes that we see more Aus-
She also hopes the industry will become
he reckons it is “catching on globally”.
tralian comedians on local television: “I’d like
more accessible not just to new, previously
The impact of Netflix and YouTube on the
to see Australian TV take cues from the live
many years and she’s really hitting her stride
unheard voices, but to punters too. “Imagine
industry means that comics have to get
scene. Hundreds of thousands of Australians
now which is awesome to witness.”
if there was a Auslan interpreter at every gig?”
funnier to compete for views with the rest
spend their money to see live comedy, but
she ponders.
of the world, he says. “I think Australia’s
you’d rarely see that sort of content on screen
The scene has changed in the last ten
honest approach to telling stories is gonna
these days.”
years in terms of more than just representa-
be the next big thing,” he says. “I hope
tion, she continues: “We got mediocre men
so anyway.”
to take a backseat and for a brief period we went mad for clowning.”
The seeming dominance of streaming services means to Franklin that, “Ter-
THE MUSIC
•
59
•
ly is Geraldine Hickey. I’ve watched her for
Matt Okine: “I’ll always love Ronny Chieng. Celia Pacquola has consistently written the
For Hussain and Okine, their personal
best comedy festival shows that I’ve person-
highlight from their last ten years in the indus-
ally seen, and I think Rhys Nicholson is in
try has been to create their own TV shows for
red-hot form at the moment.”
Australian audiences.
END OF THE DECADE
Australian theatre of the decade
The golden age Joel Burrows talks to Eamon Flack from Belvoir St Theatre, Todd MacDonald from La Boite, and Matthew Lutton from Malthouse Theatre, about the theatre trends that defined the decade, and what comes next.
T
hrough the 2010s in Australian the-
Trends can wane and dwindle, while, hope-
content. I still think it is excruciatingly difficult
Congolese child soldier training for a national
atre, we’ve seen everything from David
fully, diverse artists will continue to be an
and confusing to be a playwright in Austra-
boxing title in Brisbane. MacDonald reflects,
Finnigan’s satirical Kill Climate Deniers
integral part of the industry. Lutton instead
lia. It always has been, and the loss of Play-
“Seeing it grow, and nationally tour, and really
to gripping dramas like Leah Purcell’s The
says there’s been a “critical and necessary
writing Australia will make it harder. On the
impact audiences wherever it went was a
Drover’s Wife. To say that we’ve had some
shift towards presenting greater diversity and
other hand, the major companies are doing a
huge highlight for me.”
decent plays this decade would be a bit of an
equality on our stages”.
lot more to support new writing. Something
understatement.
The push for diversity on our stages
diverse artists will continue to make the craft
“The decade kicked off with a flood of
isn’t a new phenomenon, says Lutton, there
“We are seeing a greater balance of tra-
generational change,” says Eamon Flack,
have been fights for greater representation
ditional and non-traditional playwriting prac-
better. “The seriousness with which ques-
Artistic Director of Sydney’s Belvoir. “There
in previous decades. And the industry’s slow
tices sitting side by side and bringing audi-
tions of diversity are being taken will yield
was a real explosion of interest in the classics
progress in this area only shows far it needs
ences together,” says Lutton. “We’ve also seen
unexpected and quite wonderful work in the
and reworking them, rewriting them, blow-
to improve. “In the last decade the Australian
a new wave of queer playwriting and a new
decade to come,” he says.
This trend can be seen in Belvoir’s 2011 production of The Seagull, Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2014 Ghosts, and everything produced by Bell Shakspeare’s touring group The Players. While classics were still reworked from
Indigenous
“We’ve just finished our strategic plan-
playwriting exploding onto
ning for the next four years,” says MacDonald.
our stages.”
“And we’re almost falling over leaning into
generation
ing them open.”
“The Australian theatre scene has had to face stark reminders of how far we still have to go.”
of
Flack’s highlight
professional of
the
decade
diversity. That is, I think, where it’s at; it’s gotta be where it’s at.”
was working on S Shakthid-
However, the industry faces serious chal-
haran’s Counting And Crack-
lenges. Between August and November, a lot
ing.
play
of theatre companies applied to receive four
follows four generations of
years of funding from Australia Council. Mac-
a family from the 1983 civil
Donald is concerned that a number of these
war in Sri Lanka to Pendle
organisations will not receive the funding
Hill in 2019. It’s an epic about
they need. He says, “If that four-year funding
reconciliation,
connection
round happens, and rolls out the way that it
and
relationship
could, we’re looking at 30 or 40 companies
with Australia. Flack says
that are going to get cut. And that’s going
Boite, Todd MacDonald, agrees. He says
it was an utter pleasure
to devastate a generation of storytelling in
there’s been a “rise of real people telling real
collaborating
this nation.”
stories” and a push to have “diversity on our
thidharan. One of the best
“Serious public policy will have to be not
2015 to 2019, the trend did appear to taper off. Flack posits: “This seems to have turned out to be something of a cul-de-sac, stylistically, aesthetically, and culturally.” Flack also believes that the later half of the decade was defined by “a greater variety of views and voices”. The Artistic Director of Brisbane’s La
— Matthew Lutton
Shakthidharan’s
refugees’
with
Shak-
stages”. This shift can be viewed in everything
theatre scene has had to face stark remind-
things about the production for Flack was
just attempted but pulled off if we are are to
from Michelle Law’s beloved Single Asian
ers of how far we still have to go,” he says.
“seeing the impact it had on the city and the
save the arts from becoming an exclusive cul-
Sri Lankan community”.
tural club for the few,” says Flack.
Female, which opened at La Boôte in 2017, to
The Australian theatre scene’s relation-
Nakkiah Lui’s Black Is The New White, which
ship with playwriting has also shifted and
premiered at Sydney Theatre Company the
Crack-
Yet, despite the looming threat of fund-
evolved over the past ten years, with the
ing was also a highlight for MacDonald: “I
ing cuts, there’s still plenty of great theatre to
same year, with each play going on to tour
emergence of playwrights like Christopher
loved it. I thought the integrity in the work
reflect on and look forward to. “There is kind
the country.
Bryant and Jada Alberts. “Australian writing
was immense.”
of a critical mass of diverse artists coming
Watching
Counting
And
However, Matthew Lutton, Artistic Direc-
has certainly become more prominent on
Another standout moment for Mac-
through who are really connecting and cre-
tor at Melbourne’s Malthouse, makes the
our main stages,” says Flack. “There is more
Donald was directing Future D Fidel’s Prize
ating a power base of audiences,” says Mac-
important point that diversity isn’t a trend.
of it, and a broader variety, both in form and
Fighter. Prize Fighter is a story about a former
Donald. “Which I think is super exciting.”
Single Asian Female
Black Is The New White. Pic: Toni Wilkinson
Counting And Cracking. Pic: Brett Boardman
Moving into the 2020s, Flack predicts that the industry’s focus on platforming
very new is happening.”
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60
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END OF THE DECADE
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•
THE ANNUAL
Xmas factor Xmas scholar Donald Finlayson makes a list and checks it twice to find this year’s merriest tunes.
A
s much as we’d love to continue living in the past with classics like A Charlie Brown Christmas and Elvis’ Christmas Album, apparently it’s good to try new things. And so, with a bathtub full of eggnog and Christmas With Weezer to cleanse the palate, we’ve checked out the biggest Chrimbo singles of the year. Buckle up and nut up or shut up, ‘cus this sleigh ride’s about to get bumpy.
DCappella — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree HH
Elijah Blake — 5 Gold Rings HHH
And now, for a group that makes Kidz Bop look like Cannibal Corpse, the singers of DCappella — that’s Disney a capella on the streets — sound like LA-types who’ve been stuck doing cruise ship musicals for half their life. This rendition is so sugary sweet the doctor might have to take your foot after repeated listening.
You ever just get some fruitcake in your grillz and think, “Why can’t Christmas be more trapfriendly?” A Young Thug-inspired R&B single, 5 Gold Rings is one of few Yuletide songs you could listen to on your way to the club without the boys dragging you for it.
Keith Urban — I’ll Be Your Santa Tonight HH½
Michael Bublé — White Christmas HHH
“Oi Mum, did you hear that old mate Keith Urban has a Christmas song out now?” — “Oh, does he now? He’s just one great big hunk-a-spunk then isn’t he. What’s it called?” — “I’ll Be Your Santa Tonight” — “Ooh, I wouldn’t say no to that! Don’t tell ya father.”
He’s only gone and done it again; Michael Buble´ — the absolute mad lad — has recorded another version of White Christmas. What’d you need to pay for this time, Michael? Another wing on the Vancouver mansion? At this rate, the kids are gonna get confused and start leaving out cookies for Bublé while Santa becomes a distant memory.
Lea Michele — Christmas In New York HH
Pentatonix — The Best Of Pentatonix Christmas HH
When a song about Christmastime in the Big Apple doesn’t even reference being trampled at Macy’s, getting price gouged on a real fawkin Noo Yawk hawt dawg or sewer people who try to sell you Gucci knockoffs, you know you’re listening to some real inaccurate cornball shit. NEXT!
Pentatonix are like those theatre kids who sing too loudly at parties or treat a friendly night of karaoke like it’s their audition for The Voice. You can sing, we get it — real life is not the set of Glee. Their Christmas compilation album is out now for horse girls everywhere.
Jonas Brothers — Like It’s Christmas HHH½
Little Mix — One I’ve Been Missing HHH½
Dunno about you lot, but we’ve always thought that the Jonas Brothers were just a poor man’s Big Time Rush. But with their Disney ties severed and their purity rings flushed down the toilet, the Jonas Brothers (and their team of record executives) have managed to pump out a surprisingly tolerable Christmas hit.
Like most Christmas songs focused on a crush or romantic interest, the latest holiday tune from the Spice Girls 2.0 is way more fun if you pretend they’re singing about Jesus. The song itself? It’s fine, you’re not gonna pop a blood vessel hearing it in Myer or anything.
Idina Menzel — A Hand For Mrs Claus ft Ariana Grande H½
Sting, Shaggy — Silent Night HHH
We’re all aware who Ariana Grande is, but according to my niece, Idina Menzel is the woman who played Elsa in Frozen. Right, now that that’s all cleared up, let’s just get straight into it: this sounds like a knock-off Broadway musical made for use in interrogations.
THE MUSIC
•
Finally, some real music. Sting, best known for his portrayal of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in David Lynch’s Dune, and Shaggy, best known for bringing the heat to school discos back in the 2000s, team up for a very reggae take on Silent Night.
62
•
MUSIC
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Wildlands Wildlands makes its debut this 28 Dec at Brisbane Showgrounds and the city’s newest festival is shaping up to be a blockbuster. Conceived by the teams behind Origin Fields and Beyond The Valley, the 29-act line-up runs the gamut from local faves to globally renowned artists. RÜFÜS DU SOL and Tyler, The Creator head up the bill with their only Queensland shows this summer, joined by performers like Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers, Lastlings, Skepta, What So Not, Mallrat and China, pictured.
Park it
’Tis the season, the sun is out and any patch of grass with a scrap of shade and forgiving liquor laws is free game. The rules are a little different when you’re intoxicated outdoors though — if you’re planning to party in public, make sure you’re living your best park life.
Double parked Planning to drink in a public green space this summer? Park-bound pisshead Lauren Baxter has some tips.
T
he sun is shining, the bush is burning and our skin is starting to resemble a crumpled leather handbag. Yes, that’s right folks, summer is back and with it, climate change’s mighty wrath. Whether you worship the sun god Ra or retreat into air-conditioning for three months, we can all agree that nothing quite beats cracking a cold one in the park with your mates. And with Australia not known for its lenient drinking in public laws, here’s a set of guidelines so you don’t ruin it for the rest of us, goddamnit. First things first, check you can actually drink in said park...
Illustration by Felicity Case-Mejia
Hi diddly ho
Happy hour
Clever cookie
The Gospel Of Park Drinking Chapter 22, Verse 39 reads: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Parks are public spaces so you might encounter other people out and about, just living their best lives — crazy, huh? Be a good park neighbour and consider your noise levels. We’re sorry to tell you but blasting your #fire mixtape through stadiumquality speakers isn’t going to make you many friends. And you could at least pay the premium price for your subscription service of choice — no one wants to hear ads every two songs. Also consider that noise isn’t the only thing that could encroach on your new park pals: spatial awareness is key. That family with the chill toddlers doesn’t want them to be learning any new words while you’re out there causing a ruckus.
Early bird gets the prime park position. Not that we’re advocating a sesh from sunrise to sunset (haha, just kidding. unless?) but day drinking trumps night drinking when you bring parks into the equation every time. The days are long and your mum told us you needed more Vitamin D anyway. The science is hazy regarding the impact timing plays on your metabolic rate so we say forget the arbitrary 5pm rule. The whole point of this is to embrace the great outdoors right? Be mindful of the heat and UV levels, seek shade and remember, just because you’re trollied at lunchtime, doesn’t mean the rest of the world is. Wear sunglasses, act casual, pretend you’re a responsible member of the community, etc, etc.
Drinking on an empty stomach is a bullet train to Drunksville. You know it, I know it, and yet we’re still hightailing it down to the pub every weekend with nothing in our stomachs but the potential for bad decisions. You’ve heard the age-old proverb, you are what you eat, so if you are making a day of drinking in the park, pack a snack. If all your mates contribute — even stingy Dave — you’ll have the makings of a killer spread. Let your bougiest friend arrange it on a platter and wham bam, think of the ‘gram. Public BBQs are also a great option — with a pack of snags, white bread, sauce and onions, you’ll be giving Bunnings a run for their money in no time. Besides, a few parks across the country will only let you BYOB if you BYOF, so start cookin’.
Trash talk
Friend zone
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Fifteen tonnes of trash was left on Coogee Beach a couple of years back after one festive afternoon of public drinking — and I’m not talking about my ex-boyfriends, heyyo. Heck, plastic waste has even been found in the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Littering is a pretty shit way to treat these public places turned hallowed drinking grounds, and you can even cop a hefty fine for doing so. We’re all adults here — you know what a bin is — but some people out there still don’t seem to grasp the concept. It’s time to embrace your inner yuppie and breathe this hippie mantra out into the world: leave nothing but footsteps, take nothing but photos.
We don’t want to get all serious on you, but the festive period is the busiest of the year for paramedics and emergency services. Alcohol, drugs, large crowds and sweltering heat are not what you’d call a winning combination. That’s why it’s super important to use your common sense and keep an eye on your mates in these situations. Stay alert to your surroundings and trust your instincts if you feel uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and speak up if you see anything dodgy. Are you going home afterwards or kicking on? Plan accordingly. And for Pete’s sake, don’t leave him sleeping under a shrub when you leave again.
Respecting the park and people around you is imperative if we’re going to continue enjoying the privilege that is drinking in public. Yep, unfortunately we’re not in Europe — it is a privilege, and one the government could very easily take away. If you want to shit in the rotunda and make a damn fool of yourself, maybe do so in the privacy of your own home. As for getting on it with mother nature, check the restrictions, respect the laws of your local council and basically, just don’t be a dick. It’s a simple piece of advice we’d implore you to consider for many facets of your life.
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BAC in action Active alcoholic Sam Wall finds the best drink to go with... whatever it is you’re doing today.
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here’s a reason bars usually have more going on than just a tap and a till. While it’s generally accepted that most things are more fun with a bit of buzz on , drinking by itself can be a bit. bleak. There’s an unspoken but instinctive ratio of alcohol to activity that makes for the ideal sesh, which is why the park is always a winning option for a sunny day sud. A round of
pool’s well and good but, if I’m reading this court order correctly, you can’t pop your top and hop your BMX through the average boozer. Pastimes in the great outdoors on the other hand are mostly limited to what you’re willing to carry and your imagination,
BYO yeah Looking for your own open-air, BYO-friendly local? Mary Varvaris can point you in the right direction.
and each has an ideal alcoholic pairing.
Sports & stubbies
Picnics & cocktails
A high-flying, uncle-drunk speccy with a coupette in hand is
Posting up with a solid crew on a fertile piece of real estate
just asking for spilt liquor and blood. This is why when it comes
was the step that put humanity on the path to modern livin’
to [insert appropriate verb] the ol’ [insert preferred sporting
some 12,000 years ago, and a picnic is the chance to experi-
equipment] around, it’s hard to go past a beer. It’s functional.
ence your own little Neolithic Revolution. It takes a village to
It’s also traditional. Beer is the lifeblood of sport. Ask the near-
raise a glass — throw down a tartan, combine your time, ener-
est geezer their opinion on the four-beer cap at footy matches
gy and resources, and drink something a little ritzier than a
and tell me different.
mouthful of Jack followed by a mouthful of Coke.
New Farm Park Hacky sack & ayahuasca tea and Red Bull
Outdoor gym & Baileys protein shake
For whatever reason, there’s a lot of overlap between the
A quick google turns up an alarming amount of people ask-
things neu-hippies and bros get up to in open spaces. If you
ing about and/or recommending different spiked protein
see someone slacklining past their teens it’s about 50/50
shakes — alco-swole, if you will. Baileys seems logical, although
whether they’ll be sporting fisherman pants or khakis. Admit-
schnapps is also popular. Granted, if you’re out to get whey-
tedly, mixing ayahuasca and Red Bull is a terrible idea, but it
sted the taste is probably a low priority.
Heritage-listed New Farm Park is one of Brisbane’s grandest attractions, garnering 18,000 visitors weekly. Thirty-seven acres of space allows for BBQs and plenty of room to kick the footy. If you’re lucky, you might just catch a free live music show in the rotunda.
might tickle that weird Venn diagram.
Lakeside Precinct Just one of the distinct precincts of the Roma Street Parkland, Lakeside Precinct invites punters to have a drink with substantial meals between 10am and 8pm.
Yoga/meditation & vodka
Swan boats & champagne
Drunk yoga has also seen some coverage in the last couple
It’s hard to beat being boat drunk, and while animal-themed
years. Getting turnt seems counterproductive to finding bal-
paddle boats may not be the most majestic of aquatic trans-
ance, but maybe being drunk and relaxed is better than just
ports, they are the most commonly found in parks. Splash out
being drunk. Clear mind, clear spirits.
on a nice bottle of bubbly and work with what you’ve got.
The boardwalks are perfect for a stroll around the lake, providing a day away without even leaving the city.
Picnic Island Picnic Island is nice and out of the way, sporting a picture-perfect lawn bordered by a straight-up forest. Close out the year hanging out by the pond while the kids have at the playground. The only condition for drinking here is you need to have food too.
Reading & whiskey
Dog walking & boozy coffee
Or just the favourite drink of whichever wanky dead author
Something in a thermos anyway. It’s weird to drink in front of
you needed to be seen reading in public. Nine times out of ten
pets. Yes, Lassie, I know my self-esteem has fallen down a well.
it’s whiskey. Looking at you, Dorothy Parker.
Take your sad eyes away from me.
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the best and the worst of the decade’s zeitgeist
The lashes Front
Back
Yeah science, bitch!
Equality moves
#MeToo
Flat out climate crisis
Right then
Unoccupied
Despite a pretty grim slide
The dam really broke on
Built by Black activist
At the start of the decade
Aaaand jackboots are
Remember the anti-corpo-
ass-backwards in some sec-
same-sex marriage in the
Tarana Burke in 2006, the
climate denialism was as
somehow in vogue again.
rate greed Occupy move-
tors, the science community
2010s, with more nations
#MeToo movement gained
laughable as people believ-
A lot of the blame for the
ment from back in 2011?
made amazing headway
than ever before finally rec-
traction in 2017 as victims
ing the earth is flat. Now
rise of the far-right in the US
Well, according to Oxfam,
in others. From taking the
ognising the dignity of the
of sexual harassment and
we have both. At least we
and the UK this decade has
last year 26 people owned
first photo of a black hole
world’s LGBTQ+ communi-
assault found empower-
got a pretty funny Netflix
been placed on low voter
the same as the 3.8 billion
to discovering the Higgs
ties and their equal right to
ment through empathy and
documentary out of the Flat
turnout. SO WHAT THE HELL
people who make up the
boson particle and discern-
share their lives together.
strength in numbers. It sent
Earthers, nobody’s really
IS OUR EXCUSE?
poorest half of the popula-
ing dinosaurs’ true colours
Love is love.
a clear message of the mag-
laughing about the climate
tion. So ah... at least we let
from fossil pigments - ya did
nitude of the problem - and
at this point.
‘em know what we thought
good, science.
showed survivors that they
of them.
were not alone.
1.
How many Prime Ministers have served a full term since the Rudd/Gillard spill of 2010?
2. What song (and viral video) became YouTube’s “most disliked” clip ever in 2011?
Cartoon by Ryley Miller. Curated by Chris Neill.
3. Psy broke the internet in 2012 with his hit ‘Gangnam Style’ but where is the Gangnam District? 4. Viewers were distraught after The Red Wedding episode of Game Of Thrones aired in 2013. Which character was killed first? 5.
How did Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow describe their 2014 divorce?
Test a decade’s worth of knowledge. 6. Who was the breakout star of the 2015 Super Bowl halftime show? 7. Why did the world start hating on ‘Becky’ in 2016? 8. Why did Nicole Kidman make headlines after the 2017 Oscars? 9. What was the great fruit scare of 2018? 10. What broke the record for most-liked Instagram photo in 2019?
1. None 2. Friday by Rebecca Black 3. Seoul, South Korea 4. Talisa Stark 5. “Conscious uncoupling” 6. Left Shark 7. Beyonce’s Lemonade 8. She can’t clap 9. Needles in the strawberries 10. An egg
The Quiz
Answers:
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