December Issue
Melbourne | Free
THE GAME CHANGERS The year that was. The acts that rocked. Annual writers’ poll results
Life hacks for 2018
How to conquer Christmas
THE MUSIC
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NOVEMBER
THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
MARCH 29 Palais Theatre
08 FEB
RUN THE JEWELS
ROD LAVER ARENA
18 JAN FESTIVAL HALL
WITH W ITH F FLATBUSH LATBUSH ZOMBIES ZOMBIES
9 MARCH THE FORUM
LIVE IN CONCERT
FEB 26 // MARGARET COURT ARENA
TUE 9 JAN // THE FORUM SOLD OUT
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017
27 APRIL COMEDY THEATRE
14 MARCH THE ATHENAEUM
29 MAR - 22 APRIL FORUM DOWNSTAIRS
ON SALE NOW! LIVENATION.COM.AU THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
31 JAN THE ATHENAEUM
NEW STUDIO ALBUM FEATURING HOLY MOUNTAIN
ST VINCENT Masseduction
ALEX LAHEY I Love You Like A Brother
SYLVAN ESSO What Now
“This is the moment that St Vincent enters the fabled realm reserved for the greats." DIY 10/10
triple j Feature Album Touring Falls Festival
Features "Die Young" Touring Laneway and sideshows
KLLO Backwater
LOYLE CARNER Yesterday’s Gone
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA A Black Mile To The Surface
Touring Nationally THE MUSIC Dec and Laneway
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D E C E M B E RTouring Laneway
and Sideshows
Touring Feb
CONGRATUALATIONS TO GANG OF YOUTHS, AMY SHARK
EIGHT NOMINATIONS
INCLUDING APPLE MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR FOR
GO FARTHER IN LIGHTNESS BEST ROCK ALBUM FOR
GO FARTHER IN LIGHTNESS BEST VIDEO FOR
THE DEEPEST SIGHS, THE FRANKEST SHADOWS BEST AUSTRALIAN LIVE ACT BEST GROUP AND CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING PRODUCER OF THE YEAR ADRIAN BREAKSPEAR & GANG OF YOUTHS FOR
GO FARTHER IN LIGHTNESS
“‘GO FARTHER IN LIGHTNESS’ WILL PROVE FRONTMAN DAVE LE’AUPEPE AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S FOREMOST SONGWRITERS” – THE MUSIC
THE MUSIC
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NOVEMBER
& TASH SULTANA ON THEIR ARIA AWARD NOMINATIONS
SIX NOMINATIONS INCLUDING APPLE MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR FOR
NIGHT THINKER BEST POP RELEASE FOR NIGHT THINKER APPLE MUSIC SONG OF THE YEAR FOR ADORE BEST VIDEO FOR DRIVE YOU MAD BEST FEMALE ARTIST BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST “FIVE MORE SONGS THAT MEET THE STANDARD SHE SET WITH EARWORM ‘ADORE’” – THE MUSIC
FOUR NOMINATIONS INCLUDING BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE FOR
NOTION
BEST BLUES & ROOTS ALBUM FOR
NOTION
BEST AUSTRALIAN LIVE ACT BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST “IT’S AN IMMENSELY IMPRESSIVE OUTING MADE EVEN MORE SO BY THE FACT THAT IT’S COMING FROM A SINGLE SOURCE” – THE MUSIC
THE MUSIC
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NOVEMBER
New Music From Your Friends At
BEST OF THE YEAR
Ali Barter A Suitable Girl
Asgeir Afterglow
Bjรถrk Utopia
Cigarettes After Sex Cigarettes After Sex
Enter Shikari The Spark
Father John Misty Pure Comedy
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Sketches of Brunswick East
ODESZA A Moment Apart
The xx I See You
THE MUSIC
โ ข
DECEMBER
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THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
STREE T T OUT
L FARMT AWS AND& RUCK K
AZN
4-7 JANUARY EXHIBITION PARK CANBERRA
WOLFMOTHER
THUNDAMENTALS
28 DAYS
TICKETS ON SALE AT SUMMERNATS.COM.AU THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
UPCOMING TOURS BY MJR PRESENTS
TICKETS & INFORMATION AT www.mjrpresents.com
ALL PRINCE MUSIC.
ALL PRINCE ARTISTS.
ALL PRINCE ERAS.
ON SALE
MON 4 DEC
SINGERS, MUSICIANS AND COLLABORATORS FROM PAISLEY PARK, THE TIME, PURPLE RAIN, MINT CONDITION, NPG & THE FAMILY
SHELBY J • ANDY ALLO • NIK WEST ST PAUL PETERSON • STOKELY WILLIAMS JELLY BEAN JOHNSON • RICKY PETERSON MIKE SCOTT • THE NPG HORNZ ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE HAMER HALL
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THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
THE MUSIC
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THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
Credits Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Group Senior Editor/National Arts Editor Maxim Boon Editors Bryget Chrisfield, Daniel Cribb, Neil Griffiths, Velvet Winter Assistant Editor/Social Media Co-Ordinator Jessica Dale Editorial Assistant Sam Wall Gig Guide Henry Gibson gigs@themusic.com.au
Remember how crappy we all thought was 2016 was?
Senior Contributors Steve Bell, Ross Clelland, Cyclone, Jeff Jenkins Contributors Nic Addenbrooke, Annelise Ball, Emily Blackburn, Melissa Borg, Anthony Carew, Uppy Chatterjee, Roshan Clerke, Shaun Colnan, Brendan Crabb, Guy Davis, Joe Dolan, Jack Doonar, Benny Doyle, Chris Familton, Guido Farnell, Liz Giuffre, Carley Hall, Tobias Handke, Mark Hebblewhite, Samantha Jonscher, Kate Kingsmill, Tim Kroenert, Matt MacMaster, Taylor Marshall, MJ O’Neill, Ben Nicol, Carly Packer, Natasha Pinto, Michael Prebeg, Mick Radojkovic, Jake Sun, Rod Whitfield
W
ell, now is the time to reflect how 2017 measured up against it. Trump continued to trample politics across the globe, Pauline Hanson was given A-list media treatment and our country has been left with blood on its hands with what has happened at Manus Island. But has some good surfaced amidst a year of ugly conversation? Australia has shown that despite an avalanche of homophobia from a right wing minority, the Australian public pushed back and voted overwhelmingly in favour of same sex marriage. The result of the non-binding, and money-wasting, postal vote even failed to deliver Tony Abbott his 40% moral victory. [Why he is still given oxygen by the news media when it has now been so blatantly proven his opinion is not heeded by the Australian public?] So that’s something good in 2017. Also this year, millions of women around the world shared their experiences of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and sexual assault via the hashtag #metoo. It was a reaction to the stories of countless women being sexually harassed by prominent men across a number of industries. The stories have been horrifying but necessary to hear. And it finally feels like men are beginning to be held accountable for using their power to suppress and harm others. We have a long, long way to go but it really felt like 2017 was a major step forward to listening to and believing women. So 2017 feels like it is drawing to close with some glimmers of hope for the future. This issue we celebrate the year in music and the arts. We not only unveil the winners of our annual Writers’ Poll, but also celebrate local acts who we felt made a difference to 2017 – differences that we believe will reverberate well into the future. The artists we honour are ones who made changes in a variety of ways: one act had a phenomenal break out on the global stage; another changed the news media conversation around racism in Australia; and a third called out to make the local music industry a safer place for women. All made great music. Personally, for us here, 2017 was also a year of great change as, last month, we switched from being a weekly publication to a monthly magazine. So, to our loyal readers: thank you for the positive feedback we received about our debut monthly issue. Compliments of the season to you and see you in 2018.
Senior Photographers Cole Bennetts, Kane Hibberd Photographers Rohan Anderson, Andrew Briscoe, Stephen Booth, Pete Dovgan, Jodie Downie, Simone Fisher, Lucinda Goodwin, Josh Groom, Clare Hawley, Bianca Holderness, Jay Hynes, Dave Kan, Yaseera Moosa, Hayden Nixon, Angela Padovan, Markus Ravik, Bobby Rein, Peter Sharp, Barry Shipplock, Terry Soo, John Stubbs, Bec Taylor
Advertising Leigh Treweek, Antony Attridge, Brad Edwards, Brad Summers sales@themusic.com.au Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia print@themusic.com.au Admin & Accounts Ajaz Durrani, Meg Burnham, Bella Bi accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store.themusic.com.au
Contact Us Melbourne Head Office Ph: 03 9421 4499 459-461 Victoria Street Brunswick West Vic 3055 PO Box 231 Brunswick West Vic 3055 Sydney Ph: 02 9331 7077 Suite 129, 111 Flinders St Surry Hills NSW 2010 Brisbane Ph: 07 3252 9666 228 Wickham St Fortitude Valley Qld 4006
info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au
Andrew Mast Group Managing Editor
Cover photo by Jodie Downie
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T h e Sta r t
Drug Alert kits use the same technology as that found in professional screening laboratories, without the need to send them away to obtain result.
Online orders get 15% off, enter coupon code 172682.
Our contributors
This month 55
Editor’s Letter
20
Flint Eastwood
Boxing Day film releases
25
Howzat! with Jeff Jenkins
2017 ARIA Award winners
27
56 Xmas Gifts Our ultimate guide to conquering Xmas.
Guest editorial Comedian Rhys Nicholson on Same Sex Marriage vote.
Game changers of 2017 We name the local acts who made 2017 bearable.
Here are some of the trends in the music industry this year.
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2ManyDJs, Slum Sociable, DRAM
60
Greg Sestero (The Disaster Artist)
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Greg McLean (Wolf Creek)
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33 MOFO Festival Curator,and Violent Femme, Brian Ritchie takes us to the dark core of the Apple Isle.
Writers’ Poll 2017 Album Of The Year, Gigs Of The Year, TV Shows Of The Year… you get the drift.
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44
The Kooks
Resolutions We scour the life lessons of 2017 to create life hacks for 2018.
46
This UK/Aus team don’t wanna end up boring or fighting with each other.
68
The year in arts, TV and film
72
NQR Christmas songs
75
Best of last month’s gigs
76
Film and TV reviews
77
48
Jade Imagine
79
We Lost The Sea
80
Rosetta and sleepmakeswaves
49
Christmas gigs
81
The Shins
50
Best of the month
82
The truth about Schoolies
52
NYE/NYD guide
84
Cigarettes After Sex, Good Boy
54
The End
86
THE MUSIC
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Uppy Chatterjee Uppy Chatterjee is a triple j host, Red Bull Australia’s Music Editor, a contributor for The Music and a photographer, going from spinning the newest, raddest tunes on the radio one minute to interviewing acts like HAIM, The 1975, Panic! At The Disco and local up-and-comers such as Cub Sport, Amy Shark, Anna Lunoe and Polish Club for feature articles the next.
Tim Byrne
Your Town
Antony & Cleopatra
From being a 2009 RAW Comedy finalist to 2012 when he was voted Best Newcomer at Sydney Comedy Festival and made his Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut, Rhys Nicholson has had plenty of four star reviews and sold-out shows both in Australia and overseas since, as well as TV hosting duties. Pre-Yes vote, he even married Zoe Coombs Marr to highlight marriage equality.
The Arts The best of 2017
From politics to comedy, here’s how 2017 unfolded.
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Rhys Nicholson
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T H E S TA R T
Tim Byrne is a freelance writer and theatre critic for Time Out Melbourne and Australian Arts Review. He is currently working on a novel and is also a bookseller and interviewer, running a series of author interviews at Avenue Bookstore.
THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
Moonlight Cinema
Utter rubbish Craig Reucassel is back on the scene with a special follow-up episode to his thought-provoking threepart mini-series, War On Waste. You can watch the fourth instalment in iview from 3 Dec.
Stars, stage & screen The sun has risen and it’s time to go the hell outside. That doesn’t mean you have to skip movie night ,though, Moonlight Cinema are screening all the latest flicks in open air venues around the country starting this month.
Keeping up with the Skywalkers
War On Waste
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally out this 14 Dec. Remember that if you don’t catch the space opera straight away you’ll have to give up the internet or be drowned in spoilers.
Sound bet
Texas
Texas X-mas Nearly three decades on from their quintessential ‘90s release Southside, UK group Texas finally announced they’d be touring Australia for the first time this year. Catch them in in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane from 13 Dec.
Venerated singer-songwriter Mia Dyson’s massive run of rural and metro dates continues into this month, reaching Sydney on 1 Dec. The Gambling tour, named after Dyson’s latest single, also previews her forthcoming full-length.
Mall in
Mallrat
Brisbane MC Mallrat has had a watershed year, playing huge festival crowds, drawing the attention of tech giants Google and inking local and international deals. To wrap it all up she starts her east coast tour this 7 Dec.
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T H E S TA R T
Boxing Day Releases
Call Me By Your Name
Boxing Day is usually a big one for films coming out, so here’s what you can expect this year:
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle
Tom Ballard
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Call Me By Your Name is the tale of an expected love story between a young Italian man and his father’s American student. The Luca Guadagnino-directed film brings together the beauty of the 2007 book it’s named after with the songs of Sufjan Stevens.
ABComedy The serious comedy overhaul ABC unveiled in October rolls out this month. From 4 Dec, ABC2 will be rebranded ABC Comedy, with Tom Ballard hosting Tonightly, one of the channel’s flagship programs.
The reimagining of the 1995 Robin Williams classic, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle brings together Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan as the avatars of four kids who get sucked into the Jumanji video game.
The Greatest Showman
Enter three witches Reverb-heavy desert rockers LA Witch only dropped their self-titled debut full-length in September and they’re already coming our way. The trio’s five-date east coast tour begins 1 Dec in Melbourne. Hugh Jackman takes the lead as PT Barnum in The Greatest Showman, a story that “celebrates the birth of show business”. Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya are also in it.
LA Witch
Downsizing
Mia Dyson
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T H E S TA R T
Think about it like Honey, I Shrunk The Kids except this time Matt Damon is the one who opts in on the process. Downsizing takes a look at what the world would be like from a smaller perspective.
Harry Potter
Harry PottAR The worlds of science and magic have collided with the announcement that Niantic Labs, the folks behind Pokemon Go, are working with Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment to take on Harry Potter. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite comes out next year.
App of the month: Afterlight 2 On trend: ‘00s fashion comeback
The latest update to the pocket photo editor snaps up our favourite app this month. Afterlight 2 has a slew of features that make life Insta easy and the design tools make it a one-stop world-to-web meme factory.
Fashion is as cyclical as summer on a bicycle and its the naughties’ turn to swing back into view. Bucket hats and branded trackies have stepped firmly back in vogue and wallet chains, flame prints and many-tinted specs are sure to follow.
Podcast of the month: Stuff You Should Know Do you know how silly putty works? Or SPAM? How about giraffes? Well maybe you should, and it’s as easy as listening to HowStuffWorks’ podcast Stuff You Should Know, a fascinating exploration of the world’s bizarre inner workings.
Nd game He’s three albums deep, but Canadian R&B luminary The Weeknd is only making his Australian debut this month. The five-date local leg of the Starboy world tour kicks off in Sydney on 2 Dec.
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T H E S TA R T
And The Winner Is…
Bob Katter re: SSM
Here’s who won at the recent ARIA Awards.
Rubber-faced hate clown Bob Katter has entered meme history after his mind visually snapped like overstretched elastic during an interview last month. Even Colbert picked it up, but if you haven’t seen it yet Katter has paused his vendetta on SSM to tackle Australia’s true issue - killer crocs.
Album Of The Year Gang Of Youths – Go Farther In Lightness Best Male Artist Paul Kelly
Bob Katter
Best Female Artist Sia Best Dance Release Pnau – Chameleon Best Group Gang Of Youths
Cole-ossal
Breakthrough Artist Amy Shark
He announced he was coming our way way back in February and US hip hop artist J Cole’s massive 4 Your Eyez Only run finally hits Oz this month. The multi-platinum-selling artist touches down in Brissy on 2 Dec.
Best Pop Release Amy Shark – Night Thinker Best Urban Album A.B. Original – Reclaim Australia Best Independent Release A.B. Original – Reclaim Australia Best Rock Album Gang Of Youths – Go Farther In Lightness Best Adult Contemporary Album Paul Kelly – Life Is Fine
J Cole
Best Country Album Kasey Chambers – Dragonfly Best Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal Album Northlane – Mesmer Best Blues & Roots Album All Our Exes Live In Texas – When We Fall
The Weeknd
Best Children’s Album Jimmy Barnes – Och Aye the G’Nu Best Video Bliss N Eso – Moments (feat. Gavin James) Best Australian Live Act Illy
Alt-J. Pic: Josh Groom
J see British trio Alt-J’s Australian tour for their third full-length, Relaxer, begins this 5 Dec in Adelaide. The indie-rock faves will also headline Perth’s Fidelity Festival (2 Dec) and are joined by LA’s Warpaint on all dates.
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Song Of The Year Peking Duk – Stranger (feat. Elliphant) Best International Artist Harry Styles
It may have been the result the queer community hoped for, but the Same-Sex Marriage Survey was far from what we wanted More than 61% of Australian voters showed overwhelming support for same-sex marriage equality in the costly and divisive SSM survey. But that doesn’t mean the fight is over. Comedian Rhys Nicholson reflects on having his sexuality politicised and the price – beyond the survey’s $122 million price tag – paid by the LGTBQI+ community.
I
’ve never been a political comedian, or come to think of it, a political person in general. I was raised by a couple of poor leftie pinko visual artists in the 1990s, so all I’ve ever understood for sure is The Liberal party is the devil and use-by dates on food should be treated as just a guide. For many years I have enjoyed laying in my warm non-governmental bubble, only ever tuning into Q&A if there was a particular nut job on I knew I could squeeze some retweets out of to replace the hugs I clearly must have missed as a child. I was the true personification of ignorance is bliss. Then, about a year and a half ago, I suddenly and inadvertently became extremely political when I did one simple thing. I asked my boyfriend (who is a man) to marry me (by all reports, I am also a man). On the morning of the Same-Sex Marriage survey results last month, we decided to head into Melbourne library with thousands of others to hear the announcement. We hopped onto a train and as we stopped in Brunswick and the surrounding suburbs the train started to get gayer. Much gayer. Super-duper gay. I’d never seen so many rainbow flag capes and questionable haircuts. It was like a bizarro Australia Day. It was hard to tell who were the lesbian couples and who were their infant twin sons. By the fifth stop, we got a government grant to put on an interpretive dance piece for a group of underprivileged teens. What I’m getting at here is, it was pretty gay you guys. Now you’d think a train of homos would be fun but to be honest, it was actually very stressful. Not just because all the glitter was hurting our eyes, but because we had absolutely no idea what the survey result was going to be and that was genuinely terrifying. We were sitting on that train waiting to find out what we were worth. This whole ludicrous process was never about marriage. It was about whether Australia as a whole thought the queer as a community were deserving of a simple and basic right. Fun. As we all moved from stop to stop, I noticed a gay couple chatting with their two young children. They had clearly been given the day off from school and one of the mums was explaining the plan for the day. “So if it’s Yes vote we are going to shout and cheer and have a nice big lunch at a cafe.” Great plan. “And if it’s a No, we’ll go ten-pin bowling.” Ok then. I’ve been trying to grapple with the logic of this for a few weeks now. I can’t work out if it’s a reward or punishment? I guess it’s a case of taking control of the situation? “Well, if the government doesn’t recognise us as a family, I guess we’ll go spend the afternoon pelting large balls at pieces of wood while looking at divorcees in someone else’s shoes. They haven’t won kids! They haven’t won.”
This is what you have to do as a minority. Sometimes you have to feign control to get through; hold on to the small victories. And let me tell you, throughout this whole thing it’s been difficult at times to find any victory. Small or otherwise. The daily barrage of fuck-heads and their “respectful debate” in the lead up had been so exhausting and numbing that this train carriage was brimming with people who were just tired and done. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go into town to watch the announcement because I didn’t know if I wanted to be in public if the result was No. I couldn’t stand the idea of the looks we as a group would get. “Ah well, you tried. Better luck next time.” No. This wasn’t a baking competition or a dog show, although I wish it was a dog show. I feel like I should tell you the slippery slope argument is true and my second husband is going to be a Dachshund. Now look, it might not sound like it, but I love this country. With all my heart. However as I think any member of a minority here will tell you, we love Australia in the same way we love the elderly members of our family. They mean well, but make no mistake, they are harbouring some dark 1950s bullshit. They can usually keep it together, but given the right opportunity, suddenly Great Aunt Joan is talking about the good ol’ days when everyone was “happy being separate”. This is what the survey did. The Liberal party picked up a rock and asked the opinion of the people living under it. As it turns out, a bunch of those opinions were derogatory and hurtful. Shocker. I realise under the circumstances I could sound whiney to some people. We got the Yes vote. Yes. When the announcement rippled through the crowd out the front of the library, the feeling was like nothing I’d felt before. The queer community is a little bit all over the shop so sometimes we can seem quite disparate. But that day we all hugged, kissed and began discussions of the next sanity we could destroy. So why are we still going on about it? We got what we wanted, didn’t we? No. This exercise was far from what any reasonable person wanted. We didn’t have to do this and it’s far from over. Blood banks won’t take our blood, teens all over the country are terrified to come out because of what they’ve seen people say over the past months and queer suicide is up. Why would anyone want this? So all I have to say is get to work Malcolm. You’ve shit the bed, now lay in. And hey, let’s never do anything like this again. No one should have to go ten-pin bowling.
“This is what you have to do as a minority. Sometimes you have to feign control to get through; hold on to the small victories. And let me tell you, throughout this whole thing it’s been difficult at times to find any victory. Small or otherwise.”
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GUEST EDITORIAL
THE MUSIC
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DECEMBER
THE GAME CHANGERS
THE MUSIC • 3 0 • 2017 IN REVIEW
Photo: Jodie Downie
Photo: Josh Groom
Photo: Giulia McGuirran
It’s been a strong year for Australian music, not only release-wise and in terms of international touring success stories, but also for artists choosing to speak out and use their influence to help inspire positive social change. Bryget Chrisfield shines the spotlight on three acts that truly owned 2017.
Camp Cope Not content with just releasing amazing music that tackles important issues such as gender disparity, relative newcomers Camp Cope - they only formed in 2015 - are 2017 game changers for many reasons. Last year, the band’s vocalist/guitarist Georgia Maq called out some bros - who were jumping around aggressively and pushing women out of the way to get closer to the front from the stage. This prompted a conversation about the need to speak up against violent behaviour and sexual harassment at gigs, and the #ItTakesOne campaign was born. As Callum Preston (Everfresh Studio) says in the first ItTakesOne video, “Girls to the front... dickheads back out the front door”. The band’s work in this area has been tireless ever since and saw Camp Cope officially teaming up with Laneway festival at the beginning of 2017 to help promote safer spaces for live music fans. A new ItTakesOne video featuring Ella Thompson and Julia Jacklin was launched alongside a dedicated 1800 LANEWAY hotline for revellers to call if they felt unsafe at any time during the festival. Camp Cope also implemented another safe-space hotline ahead of their tour with Against Me! back in May, posting on their Insta page: “We will have tiny pieces of paper with the number which will be at the merch desk. If you feel unsafe at all at these shows, please call the number and we will assist you because we believe everyone has the right to feel safe at shows.” Camp Cope write songs about real, meaningful stuff and Maq admitted during a previous interview with The Music, “I have trouble describing my feelings. Music is literally the only way I can process them. You know when you’re having deep, intense conversations with people about big issues? I can never channel my feelings during them. There’s kind of like a blockage there.” Their latest single The Opener, from the band’s forthcoming album, features lyrics that take on gender disparity over a swaggering bassline, insistent drums and urgent guitars: “You worked so hard, but we were just lucky/To ride those coattails into infinity/And all my success has got nothing to do with me/Yeah, tell me again how there just aren’t that many girls in the music scene.” Taking some time out from recording last month, bass player Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich wrote a guest editorial piece for our first monthly edition of The Music and discussed Camp Cope’s “overall experience being non-male in the music industry”. “In this music world we have all been made to feel less important, less listened to and deserving of space because of our gender,” Hellmrich writes. “This continues together as a band where we are constantly facing discrimination and sexism and then criticism when we are outspoken about it. There have been people asking us if we knew how to use our equipment or if we write our own songs, we’ve had people checking our passes backstage but not our male counterparts beside us, we’ve been placed lower on line-ups and paid less than all-male bands.” More campaigns set up to inspire change: Music Victoria’s Best Practice Guidelines For Venues, the Victorian Government’s Sexual Assault Task Force and Your Choice.
Tash Sultana All you need to do is look at Tash Sultana’s tour dates and constant “Sold Out” updates to realise she is actually taking over the world as a solo entity. Speaking to The Music at the end of 2016, Sultana recalled her surprise upon waking up the day after uploading a series of live bedroom recordings to YouTube and noticing they’d gone viral overnight. “I woke up the next day and my page had notched up 10,000 followers and I was like, ‘What the fuck happened?’... It was just from people sharing it all the time.” Her live bedroom recording of Jungle racked up a million views within five days and now Sultana plays sold-out shows the world over as well as big international festivals, even performing on Late Night With Seth Meyers in October, 2017. Here at The Music, we pride ourselves on noticing outstanding talent quicksticks and, as such, we featured Sultana on our Vic In Focus cover waaaay back
in 2015 when the young star had a residency at The Workers Club (just sayin’!). Sultana took out the 2016 Unearthed J Award, two of her songs made the 2016 Hottest 100 (Jungle #3, Notion #32) and it’s been full steam ahead since then. Those who first clapped eyes/ears on Sultana busking in the Melbourne CBD definitely feel a special connection to her and this constant jamming/ rehearsing proved the perfect training ground. Fiercely independent, Sultana sold out some of her early shows with zero promo and 2018 sees her booked for Lollapalooza and Bluesfest. Sultana sure ain’t an overnight success, however, having first picked up a guitar aged three. “My grandfather gave me a guitar and I’ve been playing it since,” she shared in the aforementioned interview. And thanks to a fake ID, Sultana played her first gig at just 13 years of age. “I think it was at The Cornish Arms Hotel on Sydney Road,” Sultana told us, before explaining the girl’s license she was using as her fake ID didn’t look anything like her. “I used to say that my stage name was Tash Sultana so they’d just let me in.” She’s been active as a musician on Bandcamp since 2013 and Sultana described the type of music she plays during Busker Stories episode one (YouTube it): “alternative roots, reggae, folk-ish - yeah! Maybe I’ll just say alternative.” We’ve been lucky enough to catch Sultana live loads of times. Here’s a segment of a review from her performance at The Lost Lands festival, Werribee: “She is a shining light of empowerment for all. Sultana somehow manages to make beatboxing through a pan flute sound good and even the bouncers are dancing.” Her latest single is called Mystik with all instrumental parts performed by this extraordinary artist who has already achieved so much just being her fucking wonderful self. Sultana has gone to ground at the moment to work on her debut album and we can’t wait to get our hands on it. Other former buskers who are making waves: Pierce Brothers (on support duty for Sultana both here and abroad), The Teskey Brothers, Reuben Stone and Hot Potato Band.
A.B. Original A.B. Original’s 26 January single barnstormed into triple j’s Hottest 100 at #16. “Well, it’s there every year, you know what I mean?” Briggs chuckles about the fact that this countdown happened on the day about which their song is penned. And our nation’s change-the-date conversation definitely intensified thanks to this rallying A.B. Original track featuring Dan Sultan. [Update: triple j changed the date! Next year’s countdown will be held on 27 Jan.] They’ve picked up a slew of awards throughout 2017 - including five AIR Awards, six SA Music Awards, three The Age Music Victoria Awards, two ARIAs, the Album of the Year J Award and the 12th Australian Music Prize for their debut album, Reclaim Australia - and Briggs reveals he sends all of the trophies to his mum, joking that she probably puts them “in the bin” (we doubt it). During one of his acceptance speeches at The Age Music Victoria Awards last month, Briggs enthused, “I just love this opportunity to create pathways for other young black artists and change the expectations of what an aboriginal artist can be, because A.B. Original came out and it wasn’t sorry, and it wasn’t mournful, it was, ‘Fuck you, we’re here!’” When asked to share his personal highlight from 2017, Briggs says it was donating $15,000 (half the Australian Music Prize money) to his local footy club, Rumbalara Football Netball Club in Shepparton. At the time of our chat, Briggs said he’s working his “dream job” as part of the writing team for Disenchanted, Matt Groening’s latest project. “I struck up a friendship with one of the ex-writers or co-writers on The Simpsons, Josh Weinstein,” he explains of how he came to be involved with the project. “It just grew from that to sitting in a room and pitching jokes, you know, with Matt and everyone around the table - it’s good fun!” On his record label, Golden Records, Briggs says he’s “always looking for new artists who have a unique voice and who are already putting the work in”. “I’d love to have more focus on a female artist, or a couple of female artists, over the next couple of years,” he reveals, “because it’s a voice that needs to be supported and nurtured and brought to the forefront.” 2017 Game Changers runners-up: Jen Cloher (GODDAMN, that selftitled album!), Amy Shark (we even heard Adore while in the coolsie Cafe String in Stockholm), King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (um, their Murder Of The Universe album reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart) and Gang Of Youths (killer live show, especially David Le’aupepe’s loose dancing).
THE MUSIC • 3 1 • 2017 IN REVIEW
Vale Malcolm Young
THE INDUSTRY SHAKERS They say the past is a foreign country and 2017 is already developing an inscrutable border. In the closing days of the year, Sam Wall takes a look back at the landscape.
I When the news broke of Malcolm Young’s passing on 18 November, fans around the world were quick to react with tributes to the legend. Everyone from Ian Moss to Frenzal Rhomb, Tom Morello to Gun N Roses acknowledged Young’s talent and the legacy of his hard rocking rhythms. For most Australians, there’s probably some memory of AC/DC you can attach to your life. Maybe it’s the vinyl your sibling shared with you, or the feeling you get when you hear that big ol’ church bell kick in at the start of Hells Bells. It could be fumbling through the chords of Back In Black on a borrowed guitar, or the time you saw one of the most important bands in rock history sweating it out live. Regardless of the specific memory, Young was the backbone of all of them and he’ll be greatly missed. Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl has probably summed up best what Young and the music of AC/DC has meant to the world, sharing “Thank you, Malcolm for the songs, and the feel, and the cool, and the years of losing control to your rock and roll.”
t is unquestionable that the biggest event to shake the entertainment industry in 2017, and likely society as a whole, was the investigation published by The New York Times revealing decades of abuse and sexual harassment committed by film mogul Harvey Weinstein. The piece kicked over a seemingly immovable stone and hardly a day seems to have gone by since that something foul hasn’t been forced to skitter out from under it. While the cleansing fire hasn’t quite reached the music industry in the same way it has film, television and comedy, it seems unlikely that abuse will be allowed to be quietly ignored in the same way in the future. In one of the highlights of BIGSOUND, Tina Arena called out the entrenched culture of sexism and ageism in the industry in her keynote speech, sharing “I also find it sexist that when I performed at Splendour In The Grass, it was good but everyone kept mentioning my age. Paul Kelly played that festival and no one mentioned his age.” Our guest editor last month, Camp Cope’s KellyDawn Hellmrich, did the same, stating that among other things the band had regularly been asked if “we knew how to use our equipment or if we write our own songs; we’ve had people checking our passes backstage but not our male counterparts beside us.” Elsewhere Australian artists have killed it on the home front and overseas in 2017. Several homegrown acts were declared highlights of SXSW; Alex Lahey and Tkay Maidza both earning nods from the likes of Entertainment Weekly and Stereogum. Meanwhile, clear standouts of 2017 Gang Of Youths, Dean Lewis and Stella Donnelly have all been added to next year’s lists, alongside blossoming acts like Alice Ivy, Mallrat, Thandi Phoenix and double Music Victoria Award winners The Teskey Brothers. We also seen our stars of stage crack American screens. Sydney-based BIGSOUND breakouts Middle Kids started the trend by rocking out on Conan (before finding one of their songs on Netflix’s Will Arnett vehicle Flaked), but they were by no means the last in 2017. Fellow Sydneysider Starley quickly followed, making her debut on Good Morning America for their special Oscars-Afterparty show. After co-writing and producing their single Overnight with Daft Punk, Byron expats Parcels where the next Aussie act to play Conan, while Late Night With Seth Meyers also hosted two Aussie up-and-comers, both Tash Sultana and Alex Lahey making an impression on US audiences. There was no way Amy Shark was going to be left behind of course, and the Gold Coast star wrapped up her US tour by smashing her spot on The Late Late Show With James Corden. Aussie artists made less of an impression in the singles charts, however. As picked up by The Music’s own Jeff Jenkins, with 48 weeks of the year down the pipes, there have only been four Australian singles that have breached the Top 10, none managing to climb higher than Amy Shark’s Adore at #3 while Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran ruled the roost for a staggering 15 weeks a piece. We reported on the concerning trend back in May when for two consecutive weeks we had just two local tracks in the Top 40: Bliss N Eso’s Moments featuring Gavin James (#30) and Dean Lewis’ Waves (#16). Several leading industry figures,
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including Chugg Music Head Andrew Stone and Mushroom Group founder Michael Gudinski, told The Music at the time that the issue is streaming’s superseding radio-play, globalising playlists and shuffling Australian music into the periphery. The upshot being that it’s growing more difficult for rising local bands to bridge the Pacific on their own puff. As the Managing Director of SGC Media, Stephen Green, put it, “Our local music can be on as many Australian-curated playlists as we like, but if consumers are listening to a playlist curated out of the States (and it’s never clear from a consumer point of view what is or isn’t), they aren’t going to hear new Australian tracks... It becomes a vicious cycle where the chart is internationally focused because of the global nature of streaming services then radio falls in line.” Regardless of whether they’re correct in this theory, the trend itself seems set to carry into the new year. At the time of publishing, there is only one Australian artist scraping into the last spot on ARIA’s Top 40 list: Peking Duk with Let You Down feat Icona Pop. In another curious aspect of the streaming phenomenon, blockchain — a method of securely accruing data on digital record plays — became the rallying cry for artists in 2017 when Berklee College’s Rethink Music initiative published Fair Music: Transparency and Payment Flows in the Music Industry. The paper sought to “identify the underlying barriers to progress and propose solutions that may increase transparency, accelerate transactions and cash flows, and reduce inefficiencies in the $45 billion global music industry”. One of the main issues raised was that streaming services don’t pay artists directly, or even provide understandable breakdowns of the revenue they’re generating, instead using “record labels or digital aggregators as intermediaries”. According to the study, this means that middlemen and labels are calmly walking out of the smokescreen with “73% of royalties collected from streaming services,” while artists try to figure out what the hell they’re even looking at. They proposed that blockchain is the answer and plenty of people are picking up what they’re putting down. It’s publicly available and immutable ledger, essentially putting a permanent stamp on an artist’s catalogue, which is programmed to funnel all revenue directly back to the creator through decentralized cryptocurrency microtransactions, amputating middlemen and transfer fees in a single William Gibson-esque blow. Exciting times.
2017 IN REVIEW
THE CULTURE MAKERS While Canberra wrestled with tradition, the most important voices in the cultural zeitgeist came from an unlikely place. Maxim Boon reflects on a year of comedy masterpieces and political navel-gazing.
I
question: what could make a performer at the peak of their powers choose to hang up the mic? It started in August 2016, when Gadsby made a post to Facebook. In it, she had outlined her psychological traumas as a gay teen, growing up in Tasmania as the State voted to decriminalise homosexuality - amazingly, something that wasn’t passed until 1999. The post went viral, drawing news coverage both in Australia and overseas, and the same message, about the corrosive self-loathing felt by young LGBTQ people, dehumanised, devalued, and discarded by entrenched and normalised discrimination, became the foundation of Nanette.There are laughs, for sure, but this is not a stand-up show in any traditional sense. It is a gut punch, a disgraceful history, an aching, devastating, galvanising call to action, a shattering revelation, and as defiant and relevant a piece of performance as has appeared on any Australian stage in years.For those looking for conventional yardsticks, since its premiere in March, Nanette has won two of the biggest comedy awards in the world - The MICF Barry Award and the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Award - and its tour has been extended several times, due to the colossal demand for tickets. But as Australia has
sn’t it annoying when tradition gets in the way of progress? When out of date sensibilities that have no reasonable bearing on the present hold us back or even rob us of our freedoms? When arcane, ultra-conservative codes, no matter how redundant, are enforced with inflexible rigour? I’m talking, of course, about the dual citizenship scandals that have been picking off some of Australia’s top pollies in recent months - at the time of publication, Pauline Hanson looked set to be the latest causality of the ongoing issue. While a “constitutional crisis” may be looming (whatever that means), there’s is a bittersweet irony in the complaints being raised by politicians like Hanson, Jacqui Lambie and Barnaby Joyce, declared ineligible to serve for not renouncing foreign ties. Their arguments against the constitution’s traditions are identical to the rationale that has driven pleas for marriage law reform allowing same-sex couples to wed - reform that they have fiercely opposed. Not that this uncanny connection has likely occurred to many of our political elite. In fact, several instances have arisen this year that seem to imply a woeful lack of objectivity from Canberra. The marriage equality survey result is perhaps the most high-profile example, with the nation overwhelmingly barracking for the ‘Yes’ vote, much to the dismay, and we might also assume surprise, of career politicians who not only underestimated the attitudes of the country, but more specifically, their own constituencies (I’m looking at you, Tony). The horrifying trampling of human rights unfolding on Manus Island since Australia shut its detention centre, leaving hundreds of refugees without basic sanitation, shelter, access to food or medical help, is another example. What possible motivation for falling so far on the wrong side of history could there be, except for some misguided belief that this shameful negligence might curry favour with an imagined electorate of heartless xenophobes. Growing protest movements mobilising across the country would beg to differ. We could hope, that as we enter 2018, some of our political heavyweights might engage in a bit of reflection. They might even ponder, how they might better connect with their citizens. And if one of those politicians were ever to ask me how they could achieve this, I’d point them in the direction of the nearest comedy club. 2017 was always going to be a politicised year. Thanks to foreign calamities like Brexit and Donald Trump’s election, a groundswell had begun, both toward a more right-wing worldview and away from it. But perhaps the most fascinating responses to the shifting political landscape came from the world of comedy. The acclaimed British comedy writer behind hit political parody The Thick Of It, Armando Iannucci, called time of death on the medium of satire in 2016, as the clownish stylings of Trump and closer to home the likes of Pauline Hanson, had jumped the political shark while riding another shark. The reflexive action of our comedy scene was to sidestep comic responses altogether, and nowhere was this used more powerfully than in Hannah Gadsby’s astonishing masterpiece, Nanette. Ahead of the show’s premiere, Gadsby pledged that it would be her last. Being at the top of her game, considered by peers and pundits to be in the prime of her career, news of the 39-year-old comedian’s retirement made little sense. Since ambling onto the stand-up circuit in 2006, her star had been consistently on the rise, with award-wins, sell-out tours, international appearances and TV turns to prove it. It begged the
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Hannah Gadsby
faced surveys and propaganda, and as we’ve seen the many ways in which the value of certain lives have been diminished by action or inaction, it’s become clear that the purpose of this show far surpasses these mere trinkets. As soon as Nanette formally debuted at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in March, shockwaves seemed to radiate out. It may not have changed the polemic conviction of political comedy, but nonetheless, it acted as a proof of concept, that comedians could cement their existing position as the most astute commentators on our society’s flaws. Amongst other honourable mentions, Josh Thomas’s #TheyGetToVote hashtag offered a new perspective on the lunacy of asking a population to vote on the human rights of minorities, and the likes of Rhys Nicholson, Joel Creasy and the extraordinary Magda Szubanski, have used their profile to ensure that politicians are not the only voices heard in political discussions. In 2018, there will, inevitably, be more causes that demand our fury and our compassion, but if our political establishment needed any pointers on how to better read the public spirit, they ought to catch Nanette before Hannah final steps out of the spotlight for good.
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2017 IN REVIEW
Album Of The Year
2
1 DAMN. Kendrick Lamar
W
ell, DAMN. Literally. Rapper Kendrick Lamar has rarely taken a misstep in his (relatively short) career and this year he struck gold again with his fourth output, DAMN. His third consecutive #1 album in the US and our top album of the year, DAMN. nearly doubled its nearest competitor (The War On Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding, more on that later) in votes and also saw Lamar topping our Artist Of The Year list. Featuring wide-ranging production contributions from the likes of James Blake, BadBadNotGood and blockbuster pop producer Greg Kurstin, DAMN. is at once remarkable for the sheer simplicity with which Lamar conveyed a myriad of complex personal matters. In April, we wrote, “Perhaps the biggest advance here is how clearly and simply he communicates. It can be no coincidence that every album track has a single word title... With clarity, his message has become more focused, more direct and when delivered with such urgency, as on FEEL. where he breathlessly unloads as if he can’t unburden his chest fast enough, all the more compelling.” Lamar’s ability to dip his toe into pop waters (such as in Rihanna collab LOYALTY. and soaring single LOVE. featuring Zacari), while simultaneously maintaining his hip hop roots and the ethos of “keeping it real” and humble (hence HUMBLE.), meant
A Deeper Understanding
DAMN. even survived an inclusion of U2 on the song XXX. - no mean feat. DAMN.’s been certified double Platinum in the US, debuted at #2 on the ARIA Charts and just won an AMA for Favourite Hip Hop Album. It’s a simple beast, at least compared to the many whirring cogs and gears of To Pimp A Butterfly, but it’s no less enthralling. Lamar even stated you can listen to the album backwards in its entirety, changing its sonic arc and deepening the lines of its meaning. While it was 2015’s To Pimp A Butterfly that snuck in at a tidy #3 on The Music’s Album Of The Year poll (with Tame Impala’s Currents taking the crown), this year’s top ten include a healthy mix of Australian and international acts. Pennsylvanian indie rockers The War On Drugs’ fourth album came in at #2, boasting a similar directness and clarity, while Sydney rockers Gang Of Youths were the highest-polling Australian act with their critically acclaimed, ARIA-winning Go Farther In Lightness. 2017 also boasted more female musicians in the top ten, with Alex Lahey coming in at #4 (I Love You Like A Brother), St Vincent checking in at equal #5 (Masseduction) alongside Romy Vager’s RVG (A Quality Of Mercy), HAIM coming in at #7 (Something To Tell You) and Lorde closing up the top ten with Melodrama. Uppy Chatterjee
4
The War On Drugs “If ‘meditative rock’ is a genre (it is now), they are the torchbearers.” Chris Familton
3
Go Farther In Lightness Gang Of Youths “Go Farther In Lightness will prove frontman Dave Le’aupepe as one of Australia’s foremost songwriters.” Jessica Dale
5
The Rest 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
I Love You Like A Brother
A Quality Of Mercy
Alex Lahey
RVG
“Lahey continues the upward trajectory of her burgeoning career while also painting the picture of a hard-working and prolific musician.” Lewis Isaacs
“Tight, incisive post-punk/retro-pop infused with a liberal dose of downcast catharsis, confessional lyrics and downright infectious hooks.” Mitch Knox
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St Vincent, Masseduction HAIM, Something To Tell You LCD Soundsystem, American Dream Gold Class, Drum Lorde, Melodrama
Past winners: 2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012: 2011:
David Bowie, Blackstar Tame Impala, Currents Chet Faker, Built On Glass Kanye West, Yeezus Tame Impala, Lonerism Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Song of the Year
1 Green Light Lorde orde has always - and even more so now - been known for her striking ability to connect with young people who are experiencing the rollercoaster ride, the ephemerality, of teenage emotions. Why? Because she was a teenager herself when penning these albums, recently explaining to Apple Music that second album Melodrama described her “first proper year of adulthood”. Green Light was her long-awaited return to music after her 2013 debut, critically acclaimed Pure Heroine, and it was an untamed exploration of anger, exuberance and joy set to a pounding piano-house line concocted with musical collaborator Jack Antonoff (of fun. and Bleachers fame and also a longtime collaborator of Taylor Swift). The tune became an instant classic. So much about a song is how it makes you feel, and more than once Lorde fans that saw the track live recently said it was like having
L
2 HUMBLE.
an out-of-body experience. he first song she wrote for the now lauded Melodrama, Green Light was an unexpected, euphoric change for Lorde when so much of what we’d heard from the young Kiwi thus far was dark, throbbing and pulsating electro-pop. Lorde was previously voted the Artist Of The Year in our 2013 Writers’ Poll. At #2, Kendrick Lamar makes another appearance with the lead single, HUMBLE., from DAMN., its trappy beats and catchy hook making it an earworm that drilled into even the most rap-hating of ears (he was edged out this year after winning our Song Of The Year for King Kunta in 2015). Australian acts reigned supreme with cuts from All Our Exes Live In Texas, Methyl Ethel, Ocean Grove, Ali Barter and Cable Ties making a name for themselves.
T
Uppy Chatterjee
Kendrick Lamar
“K-Dot is in his own league.” Cyclone
5 Candle
All Our Exes Live In Texas
3 Everything Now
Arcade Fire
4 Want You Back
HAIM
“It is impossible not to take flight and soar sky-high on these feel-good vibes.”
“Their music has an ability to transport its listener to a different time.”
Guido Farnell
Madelyn Tait
6 Drink Wine
Methyl Ethel
The Rest 7. 8. 9. 10.
Ocean Grove, Intimate Alien Ali Barter, Cigarette Cable Ties, Say What You Mean Charli XCX, Boys
Past winners: “The four singers roll lead and backing lines back and forth in pure polyphonic harmony.”
“Surrealism and absurdist concepts co-exist with ‘80s synths, polyrhythmic flourishes and Webb’s slippery falsetto...”
Sam Wall
Brynn Davies
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2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012: 2011:
Beyonce, Formation Kendrick Lamar, King Kunta FKA twigs, Two Weeks Daft Punk, Get Lucky (feat Pharrell) Tame Impala, Elephant Gotye, Somebody That I Used To Know (feat Kimbra)
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Artist Of The Year
1
Kendrick Lamar
2
Alex Lahey
“Lahey is no longer an emerging artist to watch, but one who deserves all the plaudits and spotlight she’s earned.” Lewis Isaacs
A
lso topping our Album Of The Year list with DAMN. and coming in at #2 on our Song Of The Year list with HUMBLE., it’s not that much of a surprise that Kendrick Lamar has also come out on top as Artist Of The Year. The guy had a massive year with DAMN., winning six of the eight VMAs he was nominated for. He was also nominated for eight BET Awards, five AMA Awards, and although unknown at the time of writing, will probably have a slew of Grammy nominations up his sleeve too. He kept busy performing at Coachella and Day N Night Festival, among others, and played 36 arena shows in the US in support of DAMN. Many refer to Lamar as the defining hip hop artist of our generation, and his ascent to the throne has been extraordinary. Lamar’s debut album, Section.80, was released in only 2011, and it wasn’t until 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City that the industry really started taking notice. For Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Lamar received seven Grammy nominations — second only to veteran rapper Jay Z — and for universally lauded To Pimp A Butterfly last year, he received the most nominations out of everyone at the Grammys, 11 in total, taking
home five. He lost Album Of The Year to Taylor Swift’s 1989, a move that was highly criticised and questioned, but it couldn’t be argued that K-Dot won the night. At the time of writing it was just days away from finding out the Grammy nominations and if DAMN. cleans up again next January, we certainly won’t be surprised. Following Lamar closely is Australian rocker Alex Lahey, who had an outstanding year releasing her debut album, I Love You Like A Brother, which was both a triple j Feature Album and nominated for a J Award for Album Of The Year. She made her US TV debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers, took her album on a mammoth tour of the US and Europe and got added to nearly every Australian festival there is. At #3, Gang Of Youths also had a stellar year with Go Farther In Lightness, as did Lorde — so it’s fitting she tied for third (after winning in 2013) — and AB Original, who are at #5. Our top ten this year is also a 50/50 male/female split — just a bit more, actually, when you take into account that Camp Cope is triple-tied at #10 with Kirin J Callinan and sleepmakeswaves. Uppy Chatterjee
4
Lorde
5
3
Gang Of Youths
“This band carries no passengers; everywhere you look on stage the musicians give it their all and are totally invested in these songs.” Bryget Chrisfield
The Rest
AB Original
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Midnight Oil St Vincent Stella Donnelly Taylor Swift Camp Cope, Kirin J Callinan, sleepmakeswaves
Past winners: “Green Light is an absolutely ecstatic closer, green fireworks and all, with the entire floor turning into a mosh pit and dancing like no one was watching.” Uppy Chatterjee
“Briggs and Trials uniting last year for triple j’s Beat The Drum celebration was a godsend.” Carley Hall
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2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012: 2011:
David Bowie Courtney Barnett FKA Twigs Lorde Tame Impala/Frank Ocean Gotye
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DECEMBER
Best Live Performance International
Local
Patti Smith
1
“This is for the people that Patti Smith has touched and inspired over her 40-plus years of music, and they absolutely love her for it.”
rought over by promoter Peter Noble for Bluesfest, punk pioneer Patti Smith’s tour this year was billed as her very last in Australia. Australian fans of the enigmatic, and endlessly influential, poet and writer were not sure they’d ever see Smith tour with a huge band again, let alone hear the seminal Horses in full, 41 years after it burst into the punk zeitgeist. As a result, the legend played four shows in Melbourne and Sydney, succumbing to insane public demand, as well as a super-special solo speaking appearance at Sydney Opera House, reading from her best-selling books and memoir. She spoke of her relationships with John Coltrane, Allen Ginsberg and late, great collaborator and lover Robert Mapplethorpe, sharing warm anecdotes of living and working in New York City in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Smith had Courtney Barnett on support at her Melbourne show, treating audiences to a rare, unforgettable collaboration for People Have The Power. Another living legend came in at #2 on our 2017 list: heartland rocker Bruce Springsteen who brought his E Street Band to our shores in February. The Boss also topped the list in both 2013 and 2014. Heavy acts like The Bronx (equal #3), The Dillinger Escape Plan on their last Australian tour ever (#5) and Meshuggah (equal #8) also appear this year, while Splendour headline acts Sigur Ros and HAIM (#6 and equal #8 respectively) snuck in too.
Midnight Oil
Pic: Josh Groom
Pic: John Stubbs
1
Joe Dolan
B
“The crowd belts out, ‘This is something I will remEEEember!’ — the line perfectly sums up this gig experience and Garrett beams appreciatively.” Bryget Chrisfield
Uppy Chatterjee
The Rest 2. 3. 3. 5. Bruce Springsteen Pic: Kane Hibberd
6. 7. 8. 8. 10.
Bruce Springsteen The Bronx Underworld The Dillinger Escape Plan Sigur Ros Explosions In The Sky HAIM Meshuggah Adele
A
nnounced in spectacular fashion on board a boat in Sydney Harbour, Midnight Oil made their return to our stages properly after nearly 15 years, save for a handful of gigs in 2009. The Great Circle world tour took to every corner of the earth for six months and treated hometown fans with an intimate pub gig at Marrickville Bowlo to kick off the massive run. Every facet of this tour had immense forethought and planning - Peter Garrett and co brought along a revolving door of special guests on the tour, torchbearers in a variety of genres, including AB Original, The Jezabels, Birds Of Tokyo and Urthboy. Garrett made headlines for his no-nonsense stance on troublemakers in the audience. Then in November, Garrett slammed former PM Paul Keating for questioning their Sydney venue choice: “If Paul Keating’s got his window open, if he turns his Mahler down, his classical music down, have a listen to some Australian music.” But disaster struck, as guitarist Jim Moginie tore his hamstring on stage in November, finishing out the band’s shows seated. Our Prince of Darkness Nick Cave came in at #2 for his Skeleton Tree shows with The Bad Seeds in January, bringing to life the heartbreaking album following the death of his teenage son. We had a quadruple tie for #10 this year with Gold Class, Grinspoon, RVG and The Necks all clamouring for a spot in the top ten. Uppy Chatterjee
Past winners: 2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012:
The Rest 2.
The Cure Blur Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band Radiohead
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Stella Donnelly Pic: Barry Schipplock
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WRITERS’ POLLS
3. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 8. 10.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds sleepmakeswaves Stella Donnelly Paul Kelly Alex Lahey Montaigne Camp Cope POW! Negro Gold Class, Grinspoon, RVG, The Necks
Past winners: 2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012: 2011:
Violent Soho Courtney Barnett Violent Soho Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Dirty Three Grinderman
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NOVEMBER
Best Film
1 Blade Runner 2049
H
The Rest 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Get Out Thor: Ragnarok Baby Driver IT The Big Sick Wonder Woman Dunkirk Mother! T2: Trainspotting
ollywood is caught up in a nostalgic preoccupation at present, if the top-rated films in this year’s poll are anything to go by. With the exception of our runner-up, Jordan Peele’s bone-chillingly assured directorial debut Get Out - a study of America’s mangled attitudes on race explored through the horror genre - the rest of our top-rated flicks are all powered by various wistful glances to the past. At the top of our poll, Blade Runner 2049, the much-hyped and long-overdue sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 neo-noir masterpiece, offered breathtaking visuals and poetic storytelling, courtesy of director Denis Villeneuve (who also placed third in last year’s film poll with his thought-provoking twist on the alien invasion trope, Arrival). Inexplicably, Blade Runner 2049 failed to set the tills ringing at the box office, despite the lyrical waxing of critics, not unlike the lukewarm response to its forbear three decades earlier. Third in the poll, the latest instalment in the Thor movie saga, Ragnarok, revelled in a retro ‘80s vibe with a shamelessly comic undercurrent, while Brit director Edgar Wright reinvented the jukebox musical with the banger-to-bumper, high-octane car chase thriller Baby Driver. Taking out fifth position, Stephen King’s killer clown Pennywise received a nightmare-inducing makeover for Andy Muschietti’s reboot of It. Wholesome Skandi heartthrob Bill Skarsgard was unrecognisable as the supernatural kiddie nibbler, all but eclipsing Tim Curry’s legendary portrayal in the (amazingly cheesy) ‘90s TV miniseries.
Past winners: 2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012: 2011:
Deadpool Mad Max: Fury Road The Grand Budapest Hotel Gravity The Dark Knight Rises Drive
Maxim Boon
Best TV
1 Stranger Things
A
The rest 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Game Of Thrones Twin Peaks Master Of None Mindhunter The Handmaid’s Tale Bojack Horseman Rick And Morty The Good Place Broad City
head of collating last year’s writers’ poll results, there were no prizes for guessing which show would take out the best TV series of the year; the debut of Stranger Things proved to be a super hit on a rare scale. A year on, our writers have once again lofted Stranger Things to the top of the charts, but its consecutive success in 2017 was far from a foregone conclusion. And not just because season two of the ‘80s sci-fi nostalgia-fest was less unanimously adored than its previous instalments. Moreover, 2017’s TV offering has been chock-full of worthy contenders as the golden age of TV has continued to produce some of the most urgent, relevant and compelling storytelling of the 21st century. Just behind Stranger Things, Game Of Thrones - another perennial presence in our annual top ten - maintained its place as the biggest juggernaut franchise on the small screen, even if some fans felt cheated by the unusually stingy eight-episode arc of season seven. The return of Twin Peaks offered a telling acknowledgement of how elevated TV programming has become, with Lynch’s infamously baffling MO thrilling both dyed in the wool devotees and newcomers to the 27-year-old franchise. The second season of Aziz Ansari’s heart-meltingly endearing comedy Master Of None, and psychological crime thriller Mindhunter, both big hits with viewers and critics alike, round out this year’s top five. But an honourable mention must go to extraordinary TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, not only for its eerie political prescience, but also for the powerhouse performance of Elisabeth Moss.
Past winners: 2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012: 2011:
Stranger Things Game Of Thrones True Detective Breaking Bad Breaking Bad Breaking Bad
Maxim Boon
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NOVEMBER
The evolution from “mini-Liam Gallaghers” who spewed on influential people’s shoes to making beautiful-sounding records
While sinking strawberry daiquiris to celebrate the completion of their next album, Luke Pritchard tells Bryget Chrisfield his granddad had a pet monkey that was trained to “fetch his pipe and his slippers”. The Kooks frontman also admits he spewed on Zane Lowe’s shoes the first time they met.
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hen we check in with The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard, he’s “in Los Angeles, the home of The Doors”. Someone calls out to him. “I’m just on the phone, man. Sorry, Pete,” he chuckles, before asking, “Do you wanna say hello to Pete? ‘Ang on.” Before this scribe’s had a chance to reply, Pritchard passes the phone over and a short, awkward convo (presumably) with The Kooks bass player Peter Denton ensues (“Bryget? Are you an Australian? How are you doing?”) while we wonder what our intended interview subject is actually doing. Then Pritchard reclaims the phone. “Sorry for being a bit silly,” he apologises. “We just pretty much finished our new album so we’re having a few strawberry daiquiris.”
We wonder aloud whether any legendary albums were recorded in the LA studio where The Kooks were holed up. “The Wall, Pink Floyd,” Pritchard enlightens. “Not bad, right? Pretty decent album! It’s an amazing studio. It’s now called The Museum Of Death and there’s a recording studio out the back of it.” On what we can expect from studio album number five by The Kooks, Pritchard reveals, “I’d just say it’s really honest, you know? It’s us.” The Kooks released The Best Of... So Far earlier this year and Pritchard admits the process of deciding which tracks would grace this best-of release “was actually not too tough”: “I think essentially it’s the songs that people ask for.” As part of the process, Pritchard says he “listened to all the records, which was quite fun”. So did this experience take him back to his band’s formation, their hopes and dreams when they were just starting out? Did they wanna take over the world? Pritchard laughs. “I think we had a bit of the mini-Liam Gallagher about us. You know, we wanted to take over the world and be the biggest band in the world; we were a bit like that. I think we’ve definitely mellowed with age. I think, you know, we’re just very happy making beautiful-sounding records actually; that’s the goal now... We’re sort of a bit over that whole, ‘Oh, we wanna be Coldplay,’ or somethin’, you know? If it happens, it happens... If you really, really think about it, like, genuinely I dunno if it really interests me too much anymore the idea of being that famous.
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I think it’s quite cool to just be making awesome records and travelling the world with me mates, you know what I mean? Like, without all the bullshit.” Given that The Kooks are performing in “small arenas” in the UK these days, we’re curious to hear whether there will be pyrotechnics. “Maybe just for the EDM section,” he laughs. What about smoke cannons, like the ones that go off in Amnesia, Ibiza? “They’re insane!” Pritchard extols. “They’re pretty cool when you’re playing on stage... It kinda looks like you’re in Mad Max or something.” While we’re on the topic of Ibiza, we read a previous Pritchard interview as part of our research during which the frontman confessed he threw up on Zane Lowe’s shoes when the pair were first introduced after The Kooks played a gig on The White Isle. Would he care to elaborate? “I might have,” he deliberates. “I’m pretty sure I threw up on his shoes, but... He was very nice about it and we remained friends after, but it was when I first met him and obviously he’s a very massively influential guy in music — he’s an amazing guy — and he was a guy that it was very important for me to meet [laughs]. But it was just mental, because it was when we played Manumission before it shut and, you know, the stories of Manumission — when we played it was like, I mean, we shared our dressing room with strippers, um, there was lots of drugs, there was, like, shots and shots and shots and I was 18, had not seen anything like it in my lifetime, and just basically overdid it a bit. And then I got introduced and basically just projectiled. “I sort of did it next to him and I went, ‘I’m so sorry!’... I mean, to be fair, I was 18 so... It was a great night actually, that. It was super-vibey, yeah. I mean Manumission: it was legendary.” When told this scribe’s favourite song by The Kooks is Junk Of The Heart (Happy), Pritchard bursts into song: “I wanna make you HA-ppyyyyyyyy/I wanna make you feel aLLIIiive...” There’s something about the chord progressions that call to mind Push Th’ Little Daisies by Ween. “Who? Queen?” We spell it out for Pritchard. “Ween? I don’t know Ween! I’ve never heard of ‘em! I’ll look them up. Are they Australian?” He then asks his bandmate. “Have you ever heard of Ween? W-e-e-n?” Negative. “Ok, I shall check this out. Push Th’ Little Daisies. Pretty weird lyric,” Pritchard laughs. “That’s pretty trippy, yeah.” Given that The Kooks are readying themselves for another Australian tour over this upcoming New Year period, we’ve just gotta know whether Pritchard has already ticked getting the obligatory photo of himself cuddling a koala off his touring-muso bucket list. “I’ve never met a koala, how
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shit’s that? That’s shit, isn’t it? I’ve seen a kangaroo,” he offers. Denton can then be heard muttering in the background before Pritchard enthuses, “Yeah! Are they bears? Are they actually bears or are they just called koalas?” Sadly we are unable to help him out with this marsupial trivia question, but Pritchard continues with a laugh, “I boxed a kangaroo once, um, no I didn’t. They’re bloody everywhere in Australia. I remember
“I dunno if it really interests me too much anymore the idea of being that famous.” we were driving to, like, Falls for, you know, not Byron Bay — is it? It was one of the Falls festivals.” Probably Lorne? “Lorne, that’s it! Lorne! And we were drivin’ and there was a bunch of kangaroos in the field so we jumped out and had a look. They’re, like, everywhere — it’s mental. I thought you’d just see them in a zoo or something.” We ask Pritchard what he reckons the weirdest wild animal is in the UK, but he’s already onto something else. “Do you know what? I’ve got bitten by a monkey once,” he chuckles. “This guy tried to steal my money, ‘cause I’d taken a picture with the monkey and then I tried to give him, like, five quid and he tried to take my whole load of cash. And it was, like, 200 pounds! I’m like, ‘That’s not happening,’ and so I was having a fight with the guy and the monkey came and bit my knee! Cheeky monkey. It was like Indiana Jones! They train ‘em to steal shit. “It would be quite fun to have a — my grandad used to have a pet monkey, ‘cause he was stationed in India during the war — he was a Gurkha — and he had a monkey that would fetch his pipe and his slippers, how cool is that? It’s pretty cool, like. I mean, Justin Bieber can do it so maybe I can,” he laughs while we’re left wondering just how many strawberry daiquiris Pritchard has necked and whether or not he’s having a giraffe at our expense.
The Kooks tour from 30 Dec To read the full story head to theMusic.com.au Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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DECEMBER
Let’s start a resolution revolution
Another year, another proverbial ass-kicking. So we’re putting this year’s life lessons to good use.
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his time last year, there seemed to be one unanimous reflection on 2016: thank fuck that’s over. It had been a consistently rubbish year, but despite the litany of crushing losses and odious omens, the world looked with optimism to 2017. Surely, ringing in the new year would bring with it a change in our fortunes for the better? Well, 2017 happened. And FFS, if it hasn’t been yet another twelve-month shit show. But twice bitten, thrice shy, we say; the new year is not going to catch us sleeping at the wheel again. We’ve taken whatever lessons we can learn from 2017 to figure out just what resolutions you can make to future proof your life from whatever the new year has in store. Yo, 2018 – come at us bro!
Build a bunker
Flee to Mars
When two nuclear powers decide to have a pissing contest, it’s time to start digging. Not that any of us should be surprised. Donald Trump made various glib remarks about using nuclear weapons during his 2016 Presidential campaign, but its seems where the social media addicted leader is concerned, it’s more like to be a tweet than a launch code that brings on World War III. In addition to repeatedly taunting North Korean despot Kim Jong-un with the nickname “Little Rocket Man”, Trump has even threatened North Korea with “total destruction”, leading the demonstrably unhinged DPRK dictator to call Trump’s slanging match an Act of War and formally sentencing old mate Don to death. That’s fine Kim, but do you have to take the rest of us with him? North Korea’s successful September test of a powerful thermonuclear bomb means the ol’ ‘60s “duck and cover” ain’t gonna cut it. If you want to live past the Trumpocolypse, we recommend you relocate somewhere subterranean.
This isn’t new information, but the earth is fucked. The ice caps are melting, the sea turtles are now mostly made of discarded shopping bags and Fukushima radiation, and Donald Trump has flipped the bird to the Paris Climate Accords. The future does not look bright! Fortunately, there are some pretty bloody awesome people who might just have an alternative. Chief among them is billionaire science nerd Elon Musk, who has made it his one-man mission to make mankind a multi-planet species, with a bold vision for the mass colonisation of our nearest terrestrial neighbour, Mars. In the coming years, he has committed to sending a fleet of Marsbound spaceships – powered by SpaceX’s “Big Fucking Rocket” – into deep space. He also has some cool AF ideas for “Hyperloop” transit systems and short hop commercial rocket flights that are set to revolutionise the way we traverse our pale blue dot. But those with their eyes on the long-term prize of not coming a cropper of the coming climate catastrophe, we suggest you get in line for Musk’s planned sojourns to the red planet.
Pledge allegiance to our robot overlords
Take up drag
Stephen Hawking is smart. Like really bloody smart. So, when he says we should be worried, it’s probably a good idea to listen. The mega-boffin has been warning mankind about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence for a few years now, but that hasn’t stopped tech companies from pushing forward with increasingly audacious AI initiatives. I’m not suggesting that Skynet is going to rain nuclear hell fire down on us any time soon, but Hawking believes that sophisticated thinking machines that surpass human intelligence will no longer be the property of humanity, but a quickly evolving separate entity, with wants and needs that may not be all that compatible with civilisation as we know. And it’s not just the software that’s plotting to kill us. Robotics labs such as Boston Dynamics in the US are making humanoid robots that are not only stronger than humans, but also more agile, with the most recent iteration of their Atlas Robot able to do mother flippin’ back flips. Hold your flesh friends close feeble humans; the age of the terminators may be here sooner than you think!
If you’ve never heard of RuPaul’s Drag Race, are you even alive? The reality TV megahit has set the world ablaze with a veritable bonanza of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, and what’s more, it’s contestants are consistently lofted to global stardom, with guaranteed celebrity kudos and more professional bookings than they can shake a lace-front weave at. But if you think dragging up is just a matter of a chucking on a frock and a quick dab of mascara, you have much to learn grasshopper. The tricks of the trade – from the flawless application of unfathomable amounts of make-up, to the whip smart skill of “reading,” to the nuances of the benchmark talent of the drag community, the lip sync – take serious dedication to perfect, and coveted spots on the popular show are fiercely contested. So, you better jump into those heels and start practicing your runway if you want to be the next supermodel of the world, hunty!
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“Twice bitten, thrice shy, we say; the new year is not going to catch us sleeping at the wheel again.”
Become a wedding planner
Live stream your meals
One of the year’s better turn ups was the positive result of the Same-Sex Marriage Equality Survey, although the Government’s insistence that we needed a $122-million poll to figure out if same-sex couples deserved equal human rights was, well, truly fucking fucked. But let’s focus on the positives: marriage equality is all but an inevitability now, and once the requisite legislation to sign it into law is finally passed, there are going to be a whole heap of people looking to get hitched. So don’t just stand there – it’s time to channel Franck from Father Of The Bride, Monica from Friends, and Porpoise Spit’s own Muriel Heslop, to become the best damn gay wedding planner you can be. The Australian wedding industry is already estimated to be worth a whopping $2 billion, so marriage equality is set to be a major shot in the arm for the Aussie economy.
“Mukbang” is not this summer’s most exciting new sex position, but rather the name for an online trend that has become hugely successful in South Korea, and in our humble opinion, is ready to take Australia by storm. Over the past few years, Koreans have been making crazy sums of cash-money by live streaming themselves eating gut busting volumes of chow. Some Mukbang stars are said to make sums in excess of $10,000 a month, before sponsorships, and all that is required is a webcam and a smorgasbord of culinary delights. What’s even more extraordinary is the strange altruism that underpins the economics of this bizarre cottage industry. This isn’t a pay-per-view service, there are no ads or paywalls, and Mukbangers (I’m not sure if that’s actually what they’re called, but I sure do hope it is) aren’t paid any kind of salary. Instead, viewers tip their favourite channels. And to think, you won’t even pay for a Stan subscription!
Use your social media savvy and be an “influencer”
Don’t sexually assault anyone
They say that the toddlers of today will grow up to do jobs we can’t even imagine tomorrow, and I doubt any Baby Boomers could have predicted that their Millennial infants could one day make a living out with nothing more than their egos, some sub-fortune cookie motivational clichés, and a thorough knowledge of their “angles”. While some influencers are the 21st-century equivalent of Snake Oil salesmen, the world’s top influencers are skilled pros, with the ear of literally tens of millions of consumers. Knowing what will trend, how often to post, and how to monetise endorsements is a very particular kind of digital Kung Fu that requires round the clock dedication. But if that sounds like a steep mountain to climb, you don’t need legions of followers to be considered an influencer; around 5000 disciples puts you among this elite group of social media Svengalis. So, don’t forget the three ‘F’s: fashion, food and flesh – the three most powerful lures for your future army of digital devotees, and don’t misuse your new-found influential powers, we’re looking at you Belle Gibson.
Sounds pretty obvious, huh? Apparently not, if the horrifying series of sexual abuse allegations flying out of the entertainment sector is anything to go by. Since the explosive details of Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein’s sickening portfolio of assaults, manipulations and cover-ups was revealed by The New York Times in early October, a slew of similar accounts have been brought to light. The reach of this domino effect of victim empowerment has been global, with those who have experienced abuse at the hands of the entertainment elite bravely revealing their stories for the first time. Many mighty monsters have been laid low as a result, with Weinstein joined by the likes of Kevin Spacey, Jeffery Tambor, Jeremy Piven and Louis CK, not to mention politicians, pundits and media bosses too numerous to list. If any positive can be taken from these terrible ordeals, it’s that this movement has given power back to those whose power was stolen by men who believed themselves untouchable. Victims of abuse shall no longer be silent; they have a voice, and it’s one that can now be heard ringing out across the world.
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There’s something to be found in desperation Anita Blay and Alexander Burnett, Australian/UK duo Antony & Cleopatra, tell Cyclone they don’t plan to get watered down.
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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here is a long line of iconic male/female pop duos — from the R&B Ashford & Simpson to the New Wave Eurythmics to the post-grunge White Stripes. Today, Anita Blay (aka CocknBullKid) and Alexander Burnett of Sparkadia fame are ruling the tech-soul realm as the BritishAustralian super-duo Antony & Cleopatra. Yet both vocalists are intrigued by their predecessors. “I was a big fan of the Eurythmics growing up,” Blay enthuses. “And The Knife were a big influence on me, and still are.” However, Burnett worries about possible dramz. “When I think about all these duos, they all pretty much end up boring or fighting or hating each other!” he proclaims. “Like Sonny & Cher and Ike & Tina [Turner] — back in the day, they were obviously great, but they ended up pretty sad. I think we’re ‘so far, so good’. We’re getting along like a house on fire. So let’s see!” The London-stationed Antony & Cleopatra are speaking from Sydney as they prepare to join DJ Alison Wonderland’s touring festival, Wonderland Scarehouse Project. Indeed, they’ll be premiering their live show, with Blay promising “an audiovisual experience”. Burnett and Blay met serendipitously. With the dissolution of his Australian altrock band Sparkadia, Burnett relocated to the UK. Here, he established himself as a songwriter-for-hire, ironically working with successive Oz dance acts including Alison Wonderland. But Burnett also encountered the Hackney-bred Blay, active as CocknBullKid. “I’d moved to London and I think I just fell in love with things that were the opposite of what I was doing in my career in Sparkadia,” he says. “I fell in love with kick drums and dance music, and not guitar-based pop. At that time, I think Anita was doing her solo project. We got chucked into the same session to try to write a song for her album. She came out with a really strange dance song, which the label were quite bemused about, which was quite funny. We then thought this felt kinda good to us. So we just started doing more of this project, which then became Antony & Cleopatra.” As CocknBullKid, Blay presented a renegade electro-pop album in 2011’s
Adulthood via Island Records. And she, too, found herself gigging behind the scenes and credited on Little Mix’s Sean Paulfeaturing mega-hit Hair. “My previous solo career was, I guess, more lo-fi and more glitchy to begin with,” she says. “I started off making bedroom demos and then eventually started working with UK producers and then eventually moved onto more lush production, wall-of-sound pop stuff. So it was a lot more kitchen sink than [Antony & Cleopatra], which is a bit more [otherworldly].” Blay and Burnett named their venture after those famous Shakespearean lovers Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and Mark Antony, Roman general — subversively referencing their divergent musical and cultural backgrounds. Through 2014, the mysterious combo cameoed on tracks by such acts as Lancelot, Beni and Sammy Bananas. But while Burnett describes that as “a thrill”, it ultimately made Antony & Cleopatra appreciate recording as a unit. “I suppose we’re not serial daters,” he quips. Antony & Cleopatra premiered officially with 2015’s Sirens — a wonky, saxlaced UK garage tune. This year Antony & Cleopatra signalled their signing to Dew Process with Dust — a mutant tech-soul banger. Initially, “no one really got it”, Burnett reveals. Nonetheless, Dust was playlisted by triple j. Now Antony & Cleopatra are back with the avant-rave Twitch, an album coming in 2018. Liberated, they aren’t inclined to compromise on their minimal pop. Says Burnett, “Being songwriters, we’ve worked on so many projects that have started out with people going for it and then over time it being diluted with people worrying about what the label will think or what the world will think or what their girlfriend will think...” Blay adds, laughing, “As much as I do complain about music — whether it’s ten years ago or today, an artist loves to complain about music — there’s always a space for whatever you wanna create.” Antony & Cleopatra have resolved to compose instinctively. “I think, in a way, we’ve started thinking less and just doing and feeling more in terms of the new music,” Blay states. “People say that’s desperate [and] I think there’s something in that.”
“An artist loves to complain about music.”
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Twitch (Dew Process/Universal) is out now. Antony & Cleopatra are currently touring.
Going postal: the ups and downs of making music beyond genres Post-rock, post-metal, post-plastic; what’s in a name? Rod Whitfield finds out from sleepmakeswaves and Rosetta guitarists Otto Wicks-Green and Matt Weed.
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he term ‘post’, when applied to a certain type of band, conjures all sorts of images and all manner of debate. Dropping acts into convenient boxes is a polarising issue, and certain labels and genres are just naturally divisive. Two bands who can possibly wear that tag are soon touring Australia together. The pairing of US fivepiece Rosetta and Sydney’s sleepmakeswaves makes a world of sense, but even between these two bands there is division, the former being more recognised as ‘post-metal’ and the latter identified more as ‘post-rock’. As a prefix, in its purest form, ‘post’ generally refers to an event or activity that comes after, but as a musical context, it goes a little further than that. Guitar players from both bands — Rosetta’s Matt Weed and sleepmakeswaves’ Otto Wicks-Green — are only too happy to give their own takes on if they even consider their own bands to be post-rock or metal, and what that classification means to them. “With sleepmakeswaves, it’s been a helpful descriptor,” Wicks-Green explains. “It’s helped people who might like our kind of music find our kind of music. It’s certainly described a certain approach to songwriting that we have inadvertently fallen into, which is the forgoing of the traditional structures of rock music, like verses or choruses; we don’t use those structures. I think the instrumental thing is identified with the whole thing as well, although not always. “If people are interested in more arty, meandering compositions then I think that label helps them work out that there’s a body of bands that broadly do that thing of looking for spaces between the structures and looking for ways to get to places musically without those signposts.” Weed arrives at a similar place, although via a slightly different route. “I think for Rosetta, post-rock is not used as [often as]
post-metal,” he explains, “I think mostly the reason for that is that the vocals are mostly screamed, even if most of our instrumental trappings are associated with what would typically be known as post-rock. There’s this sense of, ‘Oh they’re a heavy band because they have screaming vocals.’ “But just like Otto said, if people know what they’re looking for, and if that’s a tag that helps them find it, then that’s cool.” Weed also sees some disadvantages in the term, and in lumping bands into categories in general, from a creative and an
Whatever the case, this style of music could be considered an acquired taste, existing well outside of the mainstream. But while it may be a style of music that inhabits its own niche, this individuality is becoming an increasingly popular hook. Wicks-Green attributes this to the absolute authenticity pursued by bands who play this genre-defying style of music, suggesting that it gives people something very real to hold on to in these ridiculous times we live in. “This style of music is written purely out of the desire to express something real,” he
“It’s about the lived experience of being human, stripping back the layers of grime that we find ourselves enmeshed in this hyper-capitalist hellscape we live in.” image-related perspective. “Where it hurts a little bit is when you try to go outside the box a little bit in terms of composition,” he goes on, “or maybe in terms of other trappings of what you’re doing, such as album artwork or the way you choose to present yourself in a live context. “For example, if you come across as people who have a sense of humour, it can be a little confronting to audiences who are expecting something that’s really, really serious all the time,” he says to laughter from Wicks-Green. “When it’s supposed to be transcendent, and it’s like, ‘Hey, these are human beings who are more multi-dimensional than this very sombre, straight ahead hunting for transcendence’ type of thing. “So for Rosetta, there’s been a downside and an upside to it.”
explains. “What a lot of these bands have in common is this non-mainstream stuff; these are people who are writing music to really say something and express something that means a lot to them. I know that sounds a bit schmaltzy, but that’s been my experience. “In this strange world we live in, where nothing seems to mean much and everything’s commodified, this is one little nook that I’ve found that connects to something important. It’s about the lived experience of being human, stripping back the layers of grime that we find ourselves enmeshed in this hyper-capitalist hellscape we live in! People gravitate to something that’s real, so when they find their first steps into that world, it’s a very compelling thing.” Weed agrees, and gives his own slant on the value of authenticity, narrowing it down
Otto Wicks-Green of sleepmakeswaves. Pic: Peter Dovgam
to post-rock or metal being a beacon of credibility in a scene awash with vacuous, plastic, style-over-substance rubbish. While this type of music is a very hard sell, the rewards for bands and listeners alike are so much greater in the long run. “When people are searching for significance, frequently one of the biggest encounters that they’re going to have is with art that violates their expectations. To some extent, I think of art as being a form of expression intended to communicate, but also intended to violate on some level. “When you think about most mainstream pop music that’s being made now, it’s just weaponised hooks. It doesn’t really have any art in it anymore. Otto used the word ‘commodified’ and I think that’s really apt because so much of what is being produced right now is just a reflection of consumer memories and expectations; it’s unable to grow anywhere new. Part of what’s interesting about what’s happening with underground music right now is that I think people are realising that, if you want to have an encounter with art that’s significant, that changes people’s minds, that confronts people in a way that’s unusual and different, number one, you’re going to have to go digging for it, because it’s not going to present itself to you, and number two, you’re going to have to contribute to it in a meaningful way. There’s a sense of investment on the part of listeners that I think is unique and will sustain this kind of musical thinking as the years go on.”
sleepmakeswaves and Rosetta tour from 5 Dec Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
Matt Weed of Rosetta. Pic: Marie Caroline
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“That’s been a real breath of fresh air to me: to not always get up there and have this kinda intense stage fright.”
Embracing honesty in songwriting rather than trying to make something up The Shins’ creative heartbeat James Mercer talks to Steve Bell about giving less of a shit than he used to and overcoming “intense stage fright”.
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ife seems to be rolling along pretty nicely for The Shins’ frontman and artistic mainstay James Mercer of late. Touring for the band’s fifth album Heartworms is progressing well, the current incarnation of The Shins is gelling into a tight and cohesive unit. On the personal front, Mercer is loving fatherhood and relishing family life with his wife and three young daughters. When The Music catches up with the singer-songwriter he’s happily ensconced in the home studio he built recently out the back of his Portland abode — where the bulk of Heartworms was conceived and laid down — and seems genuinely psyched about the sonic possibilities this new set-up affords him. “It’s kind of my little playbox or whatever, it’s just cool,” Mercer smiles. “I think I’ll [do a lot of work here moving forward], it worked really well for this record and the subsequent recordings we’ve done out here were really fun, there was nothing wanting I don’t think. “We ended up doing a bunch of recording with the new band, just because I was really enjoying working with them, so we got together and re-recorded the whole record in as different a way as we could on each song: we just did it as the opposite production for each one. So we’ve definitely put the hours in out here already.”
Sorry, did you just say that you re-recorded the album again? Differently? “Yep,” Mercer beams. “So after Heartworms was completed with me producing it, I had a conversation with my wife and she said that she really thought it would be cool if I recorded an acoustic version of the record, and then we could do whatever with it: release it as B-sides or put it out as a whole separate piece. Then I started going about the process of doing that — because I thought it was a great idea — and then I realised, ‘Well some of the songs are already acoustic, so what do I do with those? Well, let’s do them in the opposite way!’ So a rock song might be recorded in an electronic way, and we’re going to put it out and it’s going to be called ‘The Worm’s Heart’. It’ll be interesting for fans — they’re very different versions, that’s what’s kind of cool.” The Shins’ line-up has changed considerably over the journey — with Mercer the sole constant — but he’s loving life on tour with the current incarnation. “We’ve been out there doing it live for a while this year, and we’re all having a great time,” he smiles. “I’m having more fun on the road than I have in the past. Maybe that’s partly due to my kids getting a little older, and having a more manageable hold on that relationship with my family. I don’t know why. I think maybe
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I give a shit less than I used to in a certain way? I’m less self-conscious on stage, and that’s been a real breath of fresh air to me: to not always get up there and have this kinda intense stage fright.” This rampant anxiety permeates Heartworms’ pivotal closing track The Fear, but the singer says that confronting his demons in slightly fabricated form works wonders for both the song and his psyche. “I’ve been writing songs — or trying — since about 1989 probably, but in my late 20s I figured out a little trick that works for me: if I’m honest about something, I’m able to express the thought far better than if I’m just trying to make something up,” he reveals. “That song has almost a combination of both in admitting that I’m sometimes afraid... of life in general, of people, of the future, of my own mortality, my kids’ mortality — all of that. “Then a bit of it is a character that I’m thinking of, this person who’s allowed the fear to really mess up their life and they’ve ended up with regrets because of it. So it’s a combination of both — something hypothetical and something real — and that’s what makes it so powerful, but also so liberating.”
The Shins tour from 2 Dec.
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Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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Don’t get into a stranger’s van, (and other pearls of schoolies wisdom) IItt d didn’t id seem appropriate to pull a Never Been Kissed, so instead, inste Sam Wall spoke to a couple people about their most cooked schoolies experiences.
Schoolies got nothin’ on these rough rites of passage Bullets with your name on Famously described by entomologist Justin Schmidt as having the bug world’s most painful sting, akin to “walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel”, bullet ants are up there with the Wu-Tang Clan with things not to fuck with. For young boys of the Sateré-Mawé tribe in the Amazon, becoming a man means wearing a sleeve woven with an army of the inch-long monsters for at least five minutes and up to 20 times.
Plunge into adulthood Have you ever wondered exactly who came up with bungee jumping? At some point in the process, between conceiving the idea and standing on a cliff tethered at the ankle somebody had to have raised concerns? Turns out the practice actually comes from Vanuatu, where the men of Penecost Island have practised Naghol, or land diving, for generations. They build wooden towers about 20 to 30 metres tall, with a liana vine attached to each leg to swinging them to safety.
New pride For centuries young men in the Maasai of southern Kenya have hunted lions to prove their worth and become warriors, or moran, but in recent years young Maasai men and women have actually replaced the practice in favour of their own Olympics. Some studies have shown that the number of lions has dropped from 250,000 to as low as 35,000 in past decades and in an effort to conserve the species the community have begun a series of sporting events to test their skills without impacting the local big cat population.
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oming of age rituals are a constant of humanity; there are as many versions as there are cultures. In days of yore, those solemn rituals were tests of mettle to ensure survival in a brutal world, but in the 21st century, leaving your infancy behind has a lot less to do with bravery and a lot more to do with paying your bills on time and buying your own laundry detergent. But it still helps to have definite barriers, clearly marked signposts to enigmatic adulthood. Get your Ps. Turn 18. Get a job. Move out. Stop eating so much Mi Goreng; ever-ascending steps on the ladder to socially recognised maturity. One of the earliest trials is surviving school. Thirteen years of education, give or take, and you’re another inch further from civilisation’s sippy cup. Like most milestones, completing Year 12 is a cause for celebration, and the customary revels, the infamous schoolies, have become permanently snarled in the popular consciousness as Australia’s must-have graduation experience. Like most rites of passage, it has also been buried in layers of mysticism, hype and just a touch of danger; at last count, at the time of publication, this year’s schoolies shenanigans had already reached more than 47 arrests, mostly drug-related, 150+ paramedic responses, several brawls, a demolished penthouse and one Government-issued meningococcal warning. In the face of all this build-up and possibility, the internet is full of young hopefuls looking to pierce the veil, asking the hard questions. Thankfully there are forums full of helpful strangers looking to impart their wisdom to the next generation, including sagacious tips on where to score, like “Check some onion patches [dark web]. Street shit is street shit everywhere,” from a now-deleted Reddit account and seconded by nailpolishemoji; “I do mean this kindly, but if you’re school-aged — you will get sold shit pills.” Another regular search is for false IDs. As far as underage door tickets go one popular school of thought leans towards Dingo Fakes, or as another vendor Fakies Down Under puts it, “Aussie bouncers are mostly dumb cunts. Just have a decent story ready
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to go if they question you. Dingo makes good shit, you’ll be fine.” Then again, a quick search shows that most of Dingo Fake’s Trust Pilot reviews start with ‘fuck this guy’ and finish with ‘scam’, so maybe skeezy strangers shucking forged licenses to teens at a $US100 a pop aren’t all that trustworthy. Mixing drugs, underage drinking, bad advice, peer pressure and a taste of emancipation is a guaranteed shitstorm and while most return home safe and sound plenty of people get caught out in the rain. For one thing, despite death and injury in the past, one of this year’s fave trends remains dangling from high-rise balconies for selfies. That said, the most common ingredient in schoolies stories is less abject horror and more a hazy, Lost Weekend kind of embarrassment. One such source, a Melbourne writer who has asked to be quoted anonymously, shares that, “At my schoolies, one weird thing that happened was that we were in Lorne, walking down the street, and then this van full of guys got out and started talking to us. We were so naive that when they asked us to hop in the van, we just GOT IN. Luckily they were fairly nice. I ended up making out with one of the guys underneath a broken in-ground trampoline, and another of my friends ended up dating one. But it turned out that they weren’t even schoolies — they were ‘toolies’, ie, guys who have long graduated high school but come to schoolies to hook up with teenagers. “It was sooo dumb. I feel like kids get to schoolies and forget everything they’ve ever learned about safety. At one point these other guys came up to us and yelled, ‘GET A GOON IN YA!’, so we just drank some of their goon. I thought that the parents who banned their kids from schoolies were way too harsh, but now I totally get it.” Another source, a publicist who will be referred to as B, was living out of home on the Gold Coast when she was 17. “I had my own house at the time,” shares B, “but it was in the schoolies vicinity on the Gold Coast and a mate of mine, well, not really a mate. A loose friend, like, Carl from the pub, as in, ‘Sure Carl, you can come over for a beer,
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you’re alright.’ He came over and he was like, ‘I need to go buy a pack of smokes, can I take your car?’ and I said yeah. He took my car [laughs] and disappeared for a week. “I tried to report it but the police where like, ‘So you lent him your car? Sounds like your mate’s just taken your car for a few days.’ Yeah, but I want it back. Anyway, apparently he had bashed someone with the steering wheel lock and when he finally returned he put it back on and it got stuck. So I had to get a mate over — another mate, we’ll call him Jimmy — I had to get him over to saw off the steering wheel lock. Then my friend tried to cheer me up so she gave me half a pinger, which I flipped out on.” No judgment, but how do you go off the deep end from half a pill? “Apparently there was a bad batch going around that year and it happened to quite a few people,” enlightens B. “I didn’t have to get my stomach pumped or anything, but I spent maybe five hours trying to get my head straight in one of those awful schoolies tents you never want to be seen in. “Then I came home to a cockroach plague, there were like 5,000 cockroaches in my house. I was like ‘fuck!’ — coming down from half a pinger [laughs]. I had to get the fuck out of there, so I stayed at my mum’s friend’s house. That was my schoolies.”
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Good boy talking bad politics
Falling for falling in love
“I
started writing for the name, representing that serene and still moment I’d shared,” says Greg Gonzalez, explaining the purposefully provocative band moniker Cigarettes After Sex. “I write about moments of love, whether they’re the sweet moments, or the heartbroken moments, or the little buzz moments you have when you’re falling for somebody. That’s what guides me as an artist and makes me want to write the most.” From a solitary EP release in 2012 to a near cult-like following by 2017’s eponymous LP, Cigarettes After Sex’s tender and sleepy aesthetic, feeling much like a flood of dopamine right after that moment, has turned a lot of people onto their sound. With multi-award-winning megahit series The Handmaid’s Tale cherrypicking Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby to be the anthem for the season’s most pivotally hopeful scene, Cigarettes After Sex have now firmly established themselves as ambient-pop champions for love. “Once I started writing naturally about relationships in the most honest way that I could, I found my identity. It became what I wanted to do,” Gonzalez says. “There was something in those love affairs and relationships that impacted me so intensely. All of a sudden, you feel like you want to kill yourself, it’s so intense. Or you go the other way and you’re the happiest you’ve ever been. The depths of the emotions brought something out of me that made life worth living.” Gonzalez takes no offence whatsoever in claims the calm and meditative Cigarettes After Sex sound can put you straight to sleep. He’s actually proud of it. “Growing up, I needed a lot of music to help me during intense
Cigarettes After Sex singer Greg Gonzalez believes love makes life worth living. He tells Annelise Ball about finding himself in the bittersweet seduction of intense emotions.
emotional times when I couldn’t sleep or my mind was going a thousand miles an hour,” he explains. “I’d reach for records like Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis or Music For Airports by Brian Eno. These albums were saviours, they helped get rid of the noise in my mind. I wanted to make music with that quality, and it’s cool that the music has gone far enough that it’s helping people in some way.” With films taking him to similar emotional depths, Gonzalez feels privileged that Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby was chosen for the soundtrack of the wildly popular dystopian saga, The Handmaid’s Tale. Landing gently over a heartbreaking moment of bittersweet discovery, the song perfectly colours a powerful scene, filled with elation, liberation and hope. “The cinematography is gorgeous and inventive, and it’s amazing how close our sensibilities matched on that moment in the script,” says Gonzalez. “Their use of iconic music too, like Simple Minds’ Don’t You Forget About Me, is really powerful. It’s a privilege to be in the company of such amazing songs.” Not surprisingly for an artist like Gonzalez, literature and poetry have also shaped and informed the Cigarettes After Sex aesthetic. “Richard Brautigan was a big one for me,” shares Gonzalez, referencing the satirical American writer and poet. “He had a poetry book called The Pill Versus The Springhill Mine Disaster, which a lot of the lyrical style was taken from. Even someone like Haruki Murakami, with his modern, surreal style that’s very much based on relationships, his novels are very much aligned with our sound.” Local fans will have their first opportunity to enjoy a Cigarettes After Sex moment
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when they tour down the east coast over the New Year’s period, on what will no doubt be their first of many Australian tours. Gonzalez guarantees the fidelity of the Cigarettes After Sex experience for fans already hooked on the serene, still and meditative vibe of the album. “The live experience will aim to be a very pure version of what you hear on the record,” says Gonzalez. “We’re one of those bands that sounds like their recording live. We won’t pull a fast one on you. There’ll be no remixes. It’s a compliment when people tell us we sound exactly like the record.”
Cigarettes After Sex tours from 29 Dec.
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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Good Boy frontman Rian King vents to Rod Whitfield about the millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on the divisive SameSex Marriage Survey and his dreams of going on a nonstop vacation.
Rock-solid resilience in Detroit rock city
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hen I catch up with pop-punk frontman Rian King, it happens to be the same day as the result of Australian Marriage Equality survey is being announced to the nation. Like millions of his fellow Aussies, the
bassist and vocalist feels very strongly about the issue, and the positive result of the costly survey has left him with bittersweet feelings. “It’s good to know that the majority of Australians feel that [preventing samesex couples from marrying] is wrong,” he says. “It does feel like the right thing to do
Jax Anderson aka Flint Eastwood touches on her musical upbringing in Detroit with Rod Whitfield.
is to make it legal, whether or not it affects you. What makes me the maddest is how much money has been wasted and what a distraction it has been from other things that are going on, like Adani, Manus, international trade deals and so on. “The way the media handled it and the way the government handled it, I
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think that was the most upsetting thing. A couple of my friends have been abused in the street, and that’s from people just assuming that they’re gay. It’s just so backwards.” The non-binding nature of the wasteful opinion poll was another sore point in the whole process, for people on both sides of the argument, but now it’s the responsibility of politicians to actually do their job, follow through and make it law, King suggests: “I think any free-thinking modern person should get involved in this, and I guess it’s our duty — anyone who feels strongly about it and has a platform to talk about it — to push for this to happen. As long as things are given a dialogue, there’s an opportunity for change.” Good Boy is certainly practicing what they preach. The new EP is entitled Shirk Life, and the title and lyrics of the opening track, A Waste Of Approximately 122 Million Dollars (Taxpayer Funded), doesn’t hold back in spelling out the band’s collective feelings on the matter. King says that the process of laying down Shirk Life, which was released on 10 Nov, was a relative breeze. “It was the quickest writing and recording process to release ever,” he reveals. “It just seemed really quick, because we only had it recorded about a month and a half ago. I don’t even know why. Everything just seemed to align for us.” An extensive tour to celebrate and promote the EP kicks off in early to mid-December, although according to King, it was touch and go as to whether the jaunt would actually go ahead, due to some pretty heavy other commitments involving the other band members. “We had practice on Monday night and we were a little
lint Eastwood is the stage name of highly talented young American indie-pop artist Jax Anderson. She hails from the northern city of Detroit, also known as motor city, which has experienced major economic and social problems over the past few decades. Speaking from inside her car, Anderson tells us she feels that her city and its issues have helped shape the artist and the person she is. “I grew up through most of my childhood in the city and my dad has always worked in the city from when we were kids,” she tells, “so I spent a lot of time there, and to see some of the changes that have happened over the years and the effect that everything has had on the citizens has really been something that at times has been hard to swallow. As an artist, I think the only thing that I can really do is offer a helping hand whenever I can.”
Something else that’s invaluable to Anderson as an artist and musician that her city has given her is a rather unique and varied musical upbringing. Her music gets put into the ‘indie pop’ category, but is significantly more varied than the images that that term might conjure: of course there is pure pop, but also electronic elements, it gets funky at times and even features some more jazzy and loungey moments. Anderson attributes that diversity, at least in part, to where she was brought up. “Specifically being from Detroit, the city’s background is in so many different areas,” she explains. “We had Motown, we’re the birthplace of techno, birthplace of garage rock — there’s so many genres that have burst out of this city — so naturally I just feel like I’ve always been around so many different types of music. So I never limit myself to one style of writing. The connector for me is
She believes that, rather than the actual hardships that her city has faced — which she feels have been exaggerated and oversensationalised in the media — it is more the resilience and spirit of its people in the face of that hardship that has seeped into her consciousness as a songwriter, and which subsequently comes out in her work. “With Detroit, what’s phenomenal to me is that the neighbourhoods are so tight-knit and so inspiring,” she admires. “They had to just step up because the city didn’t have money to help everybody. The whole city is just very connected, and very honest and hardworking, and it’s been great to see that as an artist. I just can’t say enough good stuff about the city. “Yes, Detroit has been through some really shitty situations and we’ve been through a lot of crap, but the people themselves are super-connected and super-positive, and just like, ‘Yo! You’re having a hard time, I’m having a hard time, let’s help each other out.’ That’s what I’m taking out of it as an artist.”
my voice, and my lyrical content, and it’s all a great representation of who I am.” It comes across to best effect in her live show, and Aussie audiences will get to experience that for the first time ever over the New Year period when she comes out for a run of shows on the Falls festival tour, plus a couple of smaller gigs in pubs in Melbourne and Sydney. “My live show is very intimate, very vulnerable, very honest, very energetic,” she describes. “It’s my place to expose my soul a little bit. I just want to connect with people and put myself out there as much as possible, and have the people put themselves out there as well. “My whole goal with performing is to have people feel vulnerable and comfortable with themselves.”
worried because [drummer] Stuart [McKenzie] was heading to Tasmania for two or three weeks and [guitarist] Tom [Lindeman] was off to New Zealand for 14 days, lucky bastards. So we weren’t sure it was going to happen, and we haven’t really had much time to practise. “We kinda said, ‘Our first two dates are in WA, so we’ll count those as practices,’” jokes King. “But I just got some new film for my camera and I’m really really keen to get back to Perth and WA in general. And then the rest of the shows will be great. The thing is we’re kinda treating it like a free holiday, where we hang with our friends around the country. Touring’s always fun.” This run is just the beginning too, as 2018 will find them spreading their wings and heading off to more farflung tour stops to peddle their live wares. Work is also likely to commence next year on the next Good Boy release, which is set to be a step-up from an EP. “We’re looking at maybe going overseas,” King reveals, “Probably to the UK and generally going in that direction. And then I want to start putting lots of effort into writing a big album. It’s hard to plan for things like this, because things change constantly, but we definitely want to put out another 12”, maybe a couple of records and just travel, just keep doing our thing. Ultimately we want to do South America, Canada, Russia, all that. You know, travel, write, record — it’s a life holiday!” he laughs.
Shirk Life (Barely Dressed/ Remote Control) is out now. Good Boy tours from 8 Dec.
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Flint Eastwood tours from 30 Dec.
HOWZAT! Local Music By Jeff Jenkins Jane Gazzo. Pic: Tony Mott
Milestones 60 Years Ago Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb did their first gig at a theatre in Manchester. They called themselves The Rattlesnakes.
Divinyls performing at Subiaco Oval on the Australian Made Tour, 1987. Photograph by Bob King. Gift of The Age, Australian Performing Arts Collection.
50 Years Ago John Farnham’s debut single, Sadie (The Cleaning Lady), entered the charts.
40 Years Ago Robert Forster and Grant McLennan formed The Go-Betweens. Saturday Night Fever hit US cinemas.
Punk Gunk, St Kilda, February 1977. Designed by Philip Brophy, Gift of Nick Cave. Australian Performing Arts Collection
30 Years Ago
High Vaultage
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any Melburnians — including Molly Meldrum and Michael Gudinski — have long been campaigning for a Hall Of Fame to be established in Melbourne, arguing that if Melbourne didn’t do it, it would end up somewhere inappropriate. This month, the Australian Music Vault opens at Arts Centre Melbourne. The music industry has not always been great at preserving the past, especially if there’s a price tag attached. Fortunately, Daniel Andrews’ Victorian Labor Government has tipped in $8.3 million to get the Music Vault up and running. “This is an important part of who we are and it’s something to celebrate,” says Victoria’s Creative Industries Minister Martin Foley. “Whether it’s Paul Kelly or Kylie Minogue, The Seekers or Rowland S Howard, musicians are our storytellers and provide the narrative and soundtrack to our lives and collective experience.” The Vault site is not massive, but it’s easily accessible and has most recently hosted the Kylie and Midnight Oil exhibitions. It will be a permanent, free exhibition with rotating content. Exhibitions will focus on themes instead of genres and time periods. One of the initial themes is “The Real Thing”, exploring whether there is an “Australian Voice”. There will also be a look at punk/new wave, celebrating the Australian scene from 1977 to 1985. The Vault will draw on more than 600,000 items that have been collected by Arts Centre’s Performing Arts Collection since 1975, including Kylie’s hot pants, Bon Scott’s leather jacket and the harmonica James Reyne used to play The Boys Light Up. The Vault’s inaugural patrons are Molly, Gudinski, Archie Roach and Kylie Minogue, and a 16-member advisory panel includes ARIA boss Dan Rosen, APRA chair Jenny Morris, Music Victoria chief Patrick Donovan, and the Arts Centre’s Head of Collections, Janine Barrand. The panel’s chair is broadcaster and author Jane Gazzo. “The Arts Centre is great at what they do and they’ve been brilliant to work with,” Gazzo says. “Because this is the first
time we’ve had an Australian Hall Of Fame, we wanted to get it right.” Gazzo says artists have been generous donating items as well as their time. She has interviewed a number of artists and industry people, documenting their stories for the Vault, including Tina Arena, Missy Higgins and record producer Mark Opitz. “The Vault will be audio, visual and physical,” she says. Asked for a favourite item in the collection, Gazzo highlights the boots belonging to Clare Moore, the drumming partner of Dave Graney. When Moore was touring the UK and Europe in the ‘80s with The Moodists, she would stash the gig cash in the boots, because it was the safest place. “If only those boots could talk,” Gazzo laughs. Gazzo stresses that the Vault is for all Australians, not just Melburnians. “We will be representing Australian music from every state and territory.” A key focus of the Vault will be education, with school groups able to have an interactive experience with Australian music. It’s great that Australian music fans now have an actual place they can visit to celebrate Australian music history, a pilgrimage for pop and rock. Visitors will also be able to access special Music Vault playlists on Spotify, curated by advisory panel member Bruce Milne. The Music Vault will also incorporate ARIA’s Hall Of Fame. After Chrissy Amphlett died in 2013, her husband Charley Drayton contacted ARIA’s Dan Rosen. “Chrissy’s in the Hall Of Fame [Divinyls were inducted in 2006], so I’ve got all her stuff to give to you,” Drayton kindly offered. But Rosen had to tell him there was nowhere that ARIA could house or exhibit the items. But with the arrival of the Australian Music Vault that situation has now changed. Chrissy’s school uniform — and thousands of other iconic items — have finally found a happy home.
The Australian Music Vault opens at Arts Centre Melbourne on 19 Dec.
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Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls released their second album, Under The Sun. Ratcat released their self-titled debut EP, featuring a cover of I Think We’re Alone Now.
10 Years Ago Peter Garrett became the Minister for Environment, Heritage & The Arts in the new Rudd Labor Government. Chrissy Amphlett revealed she had MS.
Hot Topic Hoodoo Gurus had a song title that summed up how Aussie acts have fared on the singles chart this year: Like Wow-Wipeout! When Howzat! filed this column, with 48 weeks of the year gone, just four Australian singles had reached the Top 10 for the entire year! Not one homegrown hit had topped the charts (highest-charting single: Amy Shark’s Adore #3) and just 21 had cracked the Top 40. And for one week - the last week of October - ARIA’s Top 40 did not contain a single local song. Whatever the cause (radio indifference? Lack of quality local product?), Aussie singles are seriously sick. But the situation is much healthier on ARIA Album chart, with a total of 142 Aussie albums hitting the Top 40 so far this year, including nine chart-toppers and 61 Top 10 albums. Why the disparity?
Australia’s #1 music news site
*Nielson audit October 2017
THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED DIGITAL AMPLIFIER SERIES.
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The Music’s
ultimate guide to conquering christmas The booze hound
There’s a just a few short shopping weeks left till Christmas, and perhaps you’re one of those super prepared types. Maybe you’re the kind of person who got all their Christmas shopping done early, made all their online order purchases leaving plenty of time for delivery, and got every one of your nearest and dearest the most absolutely perfect, thoughtful gift…
Always pour one out for the homies $ Precious Earth Wine The Precious Earth range. It comes in all the flavours - red and white - and if you throw $2.69 ALDI’s way you can be the proud owner of your very own bottle. Don’t worry about putting a ribbon on it or anything. You’ve cared enough.
Or maybe, like the majority of us, you haven’t got a scooby what to get anyone and the thought of Christmas shopping is enough to send you into a shame-spiral panic attack. Well, fear not friend, because we understand your pain, and because it’s the giving season, we want to give you a little early pressie: a super useful guide to nailing Christmas! No matter what your budget, we’ve got the perfect solution for just about anyone.
$2.69 from ALDI $$ Coopers DIY Beer Brew Kit This one’s a fave of ours. Your blessed family member can tell it cost too much to complain or throw it out, but they also know as well as you do that sitting around watching yeast ferment is for hippies and broke students. Total storage eater.
How to shop for…
$99.00 from store.coopers.com.au $$$ Ley .925 Diamante What’s the most you reckon you’d pay for tequila? A few million? No, huh. How about if the bottle was made from two kilos of platinum and 4,100 diamonds and looked a bit like a lobster’s sex toy? Yeah, us neither. $3.5 million from ley925.com
The seasoned traveller Help them give in to the wanderlust
$ Six-Pack Of Tissues Make no mistake, these aren’t for your nose. The point of travelling is experiencing new vistas and cultures, but that means there’s a good chance you’ll be be staring down the barrel of a squat toilet with no toilet paper in sight at some point. $3 from Woolworths $$ Travel Insurance It’s not the sexiest stocking stuffer out there, but no globetrotter wants to blow their hard-earned on hypothetical injury and they’ll appreciate the safety net when they come flying off a moped. Approx $133.50 from vpp.worldnomads.com $$$ Privately chartered 787-Dreamliner With 39 of their closest mates in tow (hopefully you’ll make the cut), this privately chartered jet features every luxury imaginable, including a luxurious bedrooms, a sprawling lounge, and full crew to meet your every whim. From $17,356 an hour
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The fashionista
Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it $ Mode 2 In 1 Foundation & Concealer Everyone needs a good concealer – I’m looking fashion-forward king at you, fashion-for rward lads. With a long-lasting, matte finish, give them a million-dollar look for less with the budget essential the top fashion writers are raving about. $3 from beautyheaven.com $$ Truss Tote Bag It’s beach season, so everyone will want a sturdy bag that matches any style. Coming in a range of flexible designs, these bags fuse utility and style. Give them a gift they’ll use heaps and you’ll always be part of their sweet summer memories.
The foodie
$185 from Polyvore.com
Something to set their taste-buds tingling
$$$ Rolex Daytona Diamond Watch Get them a timepiece that’s timeless, made from the most precious metals and a shitload of diamonds, obviously! When something so small costs this much, you know it’s fancy, and so will they!
$ Bourbon Maple Syrup It may be small, but everything about this bottle shouts quality: the fancy label, the wax sealed cap, the fact it’s “barrel aged”. They’ll never guess it cost less than your daily flattie.
From $9,995 from rolex.com
$5.50 from mouth.com $$ Cheese Therapy Christmas Pack Nothing says I like you than a shit load of cheese. This ultimate fromage fantasy features four specially selected cheeses including three European imports. Fancy!
The music lover
Get into this sweet-sounding swag
$88 from cheesethereapy.com
$ Personalised Plectrum Get that special someone’s initials engraved on their very own metal or wood pick, and every strum with put a song in their heart.
$$$ Almas Cavier These fishy delights are the most luxurious nosh on the menu, and caviar doesn’t come much fancier than this. Only a select few retailers in the world stock it and it comes in a solid, 24-karat gold container.
Around $10-$12 per pick on Etsy.com $$ Sennheiser HD 200 Pro headphones No music lover worth their salt should be without a pair of top quality cans, These studio-grade headphones feature ambient noise reduction and high-res fidelity.
From $25,000 a kilo
From $99 sennheiser.com $$$ en&is Megaphone Smartphone are great, but curse their puny speakers. But wait! Why plug them in with pesky wires when you can splurge on a giant golden horn to amplify your fav tunes! Around $940 from enandis-shop.it
The person who’s impossible to buy for The Ultimaker 3 Extended 3D printer
The rapid prototyping revolution is here! Some economists fear 3D printing technology may lead to the collapse of the manufacturing industries, but surely that’s all the more reason to invest in one of these technological wonders before everything goes to shit! The Ultimaker 3 Extended is one of the top rated models in the world, and while it may not be cheap (around $5,000AUD depending on which stockist you purchase from), just think of all the money you’ll be saving printing out cool stuff!
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Double the pleasure
There’s always a sliver of silver
2manyDJs famously mashed The Stooges up with Salt N Pepa. As the brothers pack their record bags ahead of a couple of Australian New Year’s Eve festival sets, David Dewaele tells Cyclone that Flash & The Pan was on high rotation in the family living room when they were growing up.
Slum Sociable’s Miller Upchurch talks making a difference once you’ve made it with Rod Whitfield.
Slum Sociable (Liberation) is out now. Slum Sociable tour from 1 Dec.
B
elgian brothers Stephen and David Dewaele have always been music buffs. It’s why they developed the indie-dance band Soulwax, only to moonlight as 2manyDJs. Now these ‘anything goes’ turntablists are headed back to Australia for a couple of New Year’s festivals. As it happens, the Dewaeles are old fans of a cult Aussie new wave act, Flash & The Pan - in the media following the passing of George Young, who initially found fame in The Easybeats. “Midnight Man was a hit record in Europe,” David, the younger Dewaele, enthuses. “Our dad, he was a radio DJ, and so I guess it was played around the house quite a bit. I remember the record being in the living room - I remember it being part of our pop culture. It was as much part of our pop culture as maybe Queen and Talking Heads were. It was up there with big records.” David realised Flash & The Pan were Australian when he saw them interviewed on Dutch television. Later, the Dewaeles learnt that the group was a studio vehicle for Young and his cohort Harry Vanda. “They also produced, to my ears, the best AC/DC records.” The Dewaeles have tried to build a similar operation to Vanda & Young in their Ghent-based Deewee studio-cum-label, producing all the acts themselves. “I guess that approach is something that Stephen and I really like,” David says. “It’s not so unique, but we also apply it in how we make music.” The Dewaeles are practised musical jugglers. David jokes about them having “two or 12 or 20 different guises”. Soulwax formed as a rock band in the mid-’90s to modest success. But, gravitating towards dance, they broke through with their second album, Much Against Everyone’s Advice. Meanwhile, the Dewaeles began DJing as 2manyDJs.
They also unwittingly popularised the mashup with 2002’s sanctioned mix As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt 2 (combining The Stooges and Salt N Pepa!). “One of the reasons we started DJing was ‘cause, when we went out, we didn’t really hear anyone [playing] the records that we wanted to hear. I mean, definitely here where we were living, in Ghent, which is always seen as kind of a dance music destination, we thought it was just boring! ‘Cause everything was segregated in either ‘deep house’ or ‘drum’n’bass’ or ‘hip hop’ or ‘house’. [But] you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who only listens to deep house these days, ‘cause they all listen to a bit of Tame Impala and a bit of Beyonce... It’s just so normal to have an eclectic taste now that it’s almost inconceivable to think that there was a time where people were looking so rigidly at music. “We play the music that really excites us and that we think works on the dancefloor.” This past March, Soulwax resurfaced with their first album in 13 years, From Deewee. They were inspired after touring Europe in a new configuration involving three drummers, no less. From Deewee was cut live, in one take. “To us, it was also a little bit strange that it had been such a long period between official albums, even though we had done many projects,” David says. “We were even touring Soulwax until, I think, 2012 or ‘13. So it didn’t feel to us like there was such a massive gap.” However, Soulwax are on a roll. “We see it as an ongoing thing, where I think next year we’ll just make another album with the exact same set-up.”
Wham, bam, thank you DRAM From hip hop obscurity to one of America’ s most exciting rap talents in just a few years; DRAM has come a long way in a short time. Cyclone discovers the many sides of the Virginian music sensation, aka Shelley Massenburg-Smith.
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
2manydjs tour from 28 Dec.
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aking the activity or artform that you love doing most in the world and making a good living out of it is considered by some to be an ‘earthly utopia’. Miller Upchurch, frontman of Melbournebased jazz-pop duo Slum Sociable agrees with this motif, although he is also quick to point out that he has even more meaningful ambitions for his musical output. “We’d love this to be what pays the bills,” he states. “Doing what you love as your job is pretty much the dream, so we have every intention of putting our all into it and making this a sustainable future. “Every artist has different goals and intentions with their music. For us that’s more of a humble goal, to do what you love for your work. At the same time, bringing up the mental health side of things, I’d like to take a stance on issues like that and others more in the future, once I figure out what else I’m passionate about. I’d love to use the platform that I’ve been given to raise awareness for some positive causes as well. Making a difference for people is another goal as well.” The mental health issue is one that is very near and dear to the heart of the singer, and it is dealt with in a very open and honest manner in the lyrics and imagery of the band’s
T
he
US
singer/rapper
DRAM
(aka
Shelley
Massen-
superb self-titled debut. He tells us that, while it is certainly a dark topic, he prefers to put a positive spin on it in his writing. “I don’t like to dwell on the negative side of it too much,” he explains, “I definitely explore some of the mental traps that you fall into along the way, but I always like to weave in a silver lining.” The record deals with several other related subjects across its journey as well. “It’s also heavily about relationships that you have with people,” he continues, “and it doesn’t have to be romantic relationships, it can be workmates, it can be family, friends — it’s all about how people interact and a lot of observations on that, and the way that works in with the emotions of it all. I sing about that as well, how these things affect you. “So it’s supposed to be a bit telling, as far as human interactions are concerned.” The band heads off on tour in support of the album in early December, and Upchurch is a little gobsmacked at the lift in profile and demand that they are experiencing with the release of the record, as he looks at some of the places they are playing. “We’ve been a support act at some of these venues before,” he says, “and it’s kind of surreal to be the headline act there now. Like, at the Corner we supported #1 Dads’ band and it was a
was going for the look of Cam’ron’s [2002] Come Home With Me
most
album where he’s holding his son on the cover. It was like a full
charismatic millennials — blowing up with 2016’s mega-hit
frame shot at first. [But] when the photographer sent us back an
Broccoli. But, with his unusual combo of soul, funk and trap, he’s
option with it zoomed all the way in, it was really dope. We fell in
also impressed music industry heavyweights like Rick Rubin.
love with it — and we took it from there. So I never really [put]
burg-Smith)
has
emerged
as
one
of
pop’s
This New Year’s, the exuberant prodigy will descend on Australia — performing at Falls Festival. “I’m hella excited!” Massenburg-Smith drawls. He welcomes those meandering country drives to the sites: “I wanna see the kangaroos.”
much into it; much reason and explanation — it’s doing what you do.” This year Massenburg-Smith has surfaced on other blockbusters — notably Gorillaz’s shrewdly curated Humanz.
As an artist, Massenburg-Smith’s philosophy is to “roll
He duets with Damon Albarn on the Bobby Womack trib-
wit’ it”. Yet the star’s success is surely down to his gregarious-
ute Andromeda. “It was hella cool, man,” Massenburg-Smith
ness and persistence, in addition to an original talent. Mas-
recalls. “My manager hit me up one day and was like, ‘Would
senburg-Smith was born in Germany — his mother serving in
you wanna work with the Gorillaz?’ I’m like, ‘You’re kidding!’ So
the US military. Nonetheless, he grew up in Hampton, Virginia.
they set it up.” After sending Albarn “some shit”, he was flown
Here in the Old South, Smith sang in church, while study-
to London for session time. “He’s a legend in the flesh — just
ing both vintage soul and George Clinton’s funk manoeuvres.
doing what he does best.” Massenburg-Smith features,
He gravitated to hip hop — Virginia’s own Clipse an inspiration.
too, on Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1, praising the
The aspiring rapper struggled until he encountered beatmak-
Scot as “a stand-up guy.” Then he’s cut a song with Neil
ing ally Gabe Niles. In 2014, Massenburg-Smith circulated the
Young (!) for the soundtrack to Will Smith’s Netflix sci-fi
mixtape #1EpicSummer as DRAM (Does Real Ass Music). His
movie, Bright.
festive tune Cha Cha (sampling Super Mario) generated ever-
Massenburg-Smith has lately been in the studio
louder buzz. Massenburg-Smith attracted such champions
with Rubin — even delaying this interview to spend
as Chance The Rapper, Erykah Badu and Beyonce (though
some more time in the vocal booth. He’s just aired their
Drake seemingly took sneaky cues from Cha Cha for Hotline
first official collab, Check Ya Fabrics. And Massenburg-
Bling). Significantly, Rick Rubin became his “mentor”.
Smith is progressing on a second LP. “Stay tuned —
Today, Massenburg-Smith relates how the producer extraor-
more coming soon!” he teases.
dinaire advised him to overcome any diffidence — “Don’t go into a
Bizarrely, on the Falls banner, DRAM is listed alpha-
situation expecting a ‘No’ out of it.” Now, when networking, he will
betically alongside Daryl Braithwaite — the Australian vet
request someone’s phone number, rather than ask if he might
enjoying an (ironic) comeback. In fact, Massenburg-Smith
have it. “It’s more affirming — you feel sure about yourself.” Rubin
is reportedly working with a hip(per) Aussie muso — Tame
introduced Massenburg-Smith to the Atlantan teen Lil Yachty —
Impala’s Kevin Parker. “We actually got some shit in the
who’d cameo on his chart breakthrough Broccoli.
woods — him and Mark Ronson — and also Chet Faker,” he
Signed to Warner, Massenburg-Smith dropped his debut, Big Baby DRAM, late last year. The album incorporates Princely funk-rock (Misunderstood, with Young Thug), smooth R&B, Mas-
reveals, before swiftly acknowledging the latter’s reversion to his “government” name of Nick Murphy. As for Massenburg-Smith’s live set? “It’s like music,
senburg-Smith’s trademark “trappy-go-lucky” genre and more.
unadulterated, live and direct — it’s got a lotta energy, it’s got
“Basically, I just literally go about every project the same way — I
a lotta variations,” he promises. “It shows the many sides of my
wanna give [listeners] something eclectic; something that show-
repertoire. I think it’s a good time — it’s fun.”
cases the many sides of you,” he says. The Big Baby DRAM art went viral — Massenburg-Smith, with that winning smile, snapped cuddling his adorbs goldendoodle pup, Idnit. “I wanted a picture of me and my dog,” he shares. “I
DRAM tours from 30 Dec.
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magical night. We’d just finished our set, we figured we’d killed it, we got offstage and we were pumped. And the audience loved it as well, thank you to everyone that came to that show. “Then the main act comes on, and the electricity in the air is just palpable. So to be the main act ourselves at these places, we’re humbled.” Listening to the album, their sound is very chill, even quite dreamy in its jazzy pop sensibilities. However, Upchurch reveals that the duo upsizes and transforms itself significantly in a live context, and anyone who hasn’t seen them play before can expect something very different from what they hear on the record. “If you’ve listened to our stuff, you’d know that we’re a two-piece when it comes to the writing side of things,” he explains, “but when we get on stage we’re a four-piece. The arrangements we do with the two other guys live are slightly different to the album versions and it definitely brings a whole new energy to the live show. We’ve always felt that albums and live shows are meant to be a bit of a separate world. “Instead of the two of us playing and hitting samples and stuff like that, we like to take it up a notch or two.”
Snatching victory from the jaws of disaster Tommy Wiseau has the dubious honour of creating what many consider to be the worst movie ever made. But behind his epic fail, Greg Sestero saw a beautiful truth. He tells Anthony Carew how a mangled movie became meta-masterpiece The Disaster Artist.
W
hen Greg Sestero set out, alongside writer Tom Bissell, to pen his 2013 memoir The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Film Ever Made, he was thinking about movies. Front of mind was, unsurprisingly, The Room; the 2003 so-bad-it’ll-break-your-brain midnight-screening cult movie that was written, directed, produced and starred in by the mysterious, baffling Tommy Wiseau. But he was also writing the book in the hopes that it’d get made into a movie. And, he thought of its story — his friendship with Wiseau, the making of one of the worst films of all time — in terms of films. Sestero loved My Best Fiend, Werner Herzog’s documentary about his relationship with his loose-cannon leading man, Klaus Kinski. Ed Wood was a natural inspiration; a portrait of another infamous hack that hinged on the unlikely friendship of its titular character and ageing monster-movie icon Bela Lugosi. Sestero also loved Sunset Blvd, Billy Wilder’s noir Hollywood satire, which finds an unsuccessful young screenwriter lured into the delusional world of a faded screen siren. The agent tasked with getting the book turned into a film suggested My Favorite Year, in which a young TV-variety-show writer is sucked into the vortex of a drunken former matinee idol, played by Peter O’Toole and modelled on Errol Flynn. And Sestero identified with, perhaps troublingly, Boogie Nights, a film about a hot young beefcake drawn into a dark, dysfunctional world. “My goal, when I was [writing] the book, is that it would be its own film,” says Sestero, 39. “The film that Tommy wanted to make, with The Room, was so misguided that it became something else entirely. I realised that the story that he wanted to tell was this [the making of The Room] story, he just didn’t know how to do it. I hoped this story — about unlikely friendship, about following your dreams — could be something great. I wanted it to become its own Ed Wood. Which was not an easy task to convince anyone of.” And yet, Sestero’s dream has become reality. The Disaster Artist, the to-screen translation, has arrived. It’s directed by James Franco, who also plays Wiseau; there were meta-moments on set where Franco stayed in character as he directed, while on screen playing a character who was directing. Dave Franco plays Sestero; marking the first film the brothers have worked on together. A host of Hollywood heavies appear in major roles (Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith etc) or cameos (Bryan Cranston, Judd Apatow, JJ Abrams, Kristen Bell, Lizzy Caplan, Keegan-Michael Key, Adam Scott etc), oft in on the great joke that is The Room.
Dave and James Franco as Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau, in the brothers’ first on-screen appearance together.
While that sounds like a lark, Oscar-buzz is building behind The Disaster Artist, the “sincere and heartfelt” qualities carrying as much weight as the mockery of filmmaking ineptitude. It recounts Sestero’s story: as teenage acting student in San Francisco, he befriended the weird older guy with the ridiculous European accent, leading to an enduring relationship that finds him moving to LA to live in one of Wiseau’s houses and, eventually, becoming a willing collaborator in a mythically bad movie (“Once I signed up to help Tommy, I was in it so deep. I just felt like I couldn’t run,” Sestero offers. “I figured Tommy would be the only one who’d ever watch it, so I pushed him to make the film that he wanted to make.”) Their relationship is the heart of the film; screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H Weber, seeing the film as just as much of a romance as their previous scripts like (500) Days
“It was conceived in the mind of one man who believes the world works a certain way, believes that he’s going to have his own planet” Of Summer, The Spectacular Now and The Fault In Our Stars. Back before anyone knew them, Sestero and Wiseau were bonded by both loneliness and shared dreams, and ultimatelyThe Disaster Artist is a sentimental shrine to ridiculous dreamers; with James Franco’s lead performance going beyond Wiseau mimicry into empathy and pathos. The film chooses to keep the details of Wiseau’s backstory — which he famously keeps secret; having issued an injunction against a documentary, Room Full Of Spoons, which discovers his true identity and heritage — out of it, preserving the mystery of its subject. Franco is more interested in recreating scenes from The Room exactly as they were; the closing credits of The Disaster Artist rolling side-by-side splits that show how precisely they nailed it. The Disaster Artist and Room Full Of Spoons are fine exemplars of an ongoing obsession: films about the making of films. The making of Hitchcock’s Psycho, for example, has been portrayed in both narrative feature (Hitchcock) and documentary (78/52). Burden Of Dreams and Hearts Of Darkness, docs about
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the madness-in-the-jungle making of Fitzcarraldo and Apocalypse Now, are almost as noteworthy as the movies they’re about. Recent TV series Feud: Bette & Joan recounted the backstage dramas in the making of camp classic What Ever Happened To Baby Jane and Michael ‘The Artist’ Hazanavicius’s upcoming Redoubtable is about Jean-Luc Godard’s life during the making of La Chinoise. Where often these films are shrines to cinematic greatness, this sub-genre is also evolving into something weirder. Roar: The Most Dangerous Movie Ever Made about a flick whose production — 70 cast and crew mauled by big cats — is more interesting than its result. Raiders!: The Story Of The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made chronicles kids making a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders Of The Lost Ark. And Lost In La Mancha and Jodorowsky’s Dune are even greater leaps of imagination: chronicles of movies that never were, failed productions whose potential cinematic promise now lingers eternal. The Room is a natural recipient of both documentary and narrative treatment, due to how inexplicable it is. “When you watch The Room, it’s one big question: How did this get made? What is its purpose? Why was that billboard up there for five years?” Sestero says. “It was conceived in the mind of one man who believes the world works a certain way, believes that he’s going to have his own planet, who went out and inflicted his vision on the world.” For Sestero, though, The Disaster Artist isn’t just a movie about a movie, or a movie based on a book based on the making of a movie. It’s his life. “It’s very therapeutic to see it, to have shared your story. It’s not just living inside your head anymore,” Sestero says. “When I’d go to screenings of The Room, people would just quote lines at you from the film, ‘Oh hai Mark, how’s your sex life?’, talk to you as if you’re not a real person. Once the book came out, people started to connect to my story far more personally. Now, with the film, the conversation is only deepening. The evolution of it has been staggering. The Room has given me so many great things. And, hopefully, there’s more to come.”
The Disaster Artist screens nationally from 8 Dec.
O
n one hand, you probably shouldn’t feel too bad for Greg McLean. After all, the Australian filmmaker is on quite the roll at the moment, establishing himself firmly within the international genre scene thanks to his work behind the camera on The Darkness and The Belko Experiment. And his most recent feature film Jungle, a true-life tale about a young Israeli backpacker (played by Daniel Radcliffe) stranded for weeks in the remote Amazon wilderness, has earned the director some glowing notices. On the other hand, maybe spare a thought for Greg McLean. Because he has one of Australia’s most iconic big-screen monsters taking up a fair bit of real estate in his mind. McLean first introduced us to Mick Taylor, an all-Australian pig and roo shooter with a knack for terrible jokes, a rather xenophobic and bigoted view of the world and a seemingly insatiable bloodlust that can only be sated by murdering people (usually backpackers, but he’s not choosy), in his harrowing 2005 cult classic Wolf Creek. Inspired by outback human-hunters like Ivan Milat and Bradley Murdoch and brought to terrifying life by John Jarratt’s portrayal, Mick quickly achieved icon status among horror fans and bogeyman status among regular moviegoers. It was scary enough that he had no qualms about picking off any poor unfortunate who crossed his path, but something even more unsettling was how recognisable Mick appeared — how his partly laconic, partly knockabout demeanour barely concealed a loathing for anyone who wasn’t white, straight, male or 100% true-blue Aussie. Wolf Creek was a worldwide hit, critically and commercially, but it would be nearly a decade before Mick reared his ugly, Akubra-sporting head once again for Wolf Creek 2, once again directed by McLean. Around this time, however, Mick started to become more and more prominent. Prequel novels were written and published. McLean penned a couple of screenplays for a third Wolf Creek movie. And most distressingly,
it became too big for a first film, so I took a couple of elements of it — the villain and two of the characters — and it became Wolf Creek,” he says. And having the opportunity to repurpose that storyline into a longer narrative for the TV series enabled McLean to work it into part of the ongoing Mick Taylor legend. “The new season does set up a bigger storyline, so if we were to go again there are a lot of things we could set in motion,” he says. “Having said that, there are only a certain number of stories you can tell before you’re draining the well. To me, there are four or five more stories you can tell because you’re getting into areas you don’t really want to mine.” “When you start repeating yourself, that’s when you stop,” adds Jarratt. “That’s the essence of it — making sure what you’re saying or doing is genuinely, entirely different and an authentic addition to your canon,” says McLean. “Audiences ultimately want to be surprised and entertained and challenged, and I think this series is really bold in that way.” There are changes and departures in that regard, but something that remains constant is Mick himself. “Mick doesn’t change at all,” Jarratt admits with a laugh. “He’s a very shallow character. He’s a killer who has fun and plays games. What has happened through the movies and the series is that we’ve learned a bit about his background. But he hasn’t really evolved along the way.” “The character of Mick is so fascinating — people are compelled to see this guy they love to hate,” adds McLean. “We don’t want to be beating a dead horse but he is such an evil man that there is a lot of different directions we can take that character without him getting too boring. We try to probe [him] and understand him but there’s really no way to do that because he’s not like anyone else.” “I don’t understand him, mate,” grins Jarratt. “I just justify him.”
last year Mick Taylor made his way into people’s homes via a six-episode Wolf Creek television series that aired on local streaming service Stan. The series pitted Jarratt’s Mick against young American tourist Eve Thorogood, played by Lucy Fry, who travelled the Aussie highways on a rampage of revenge after Mick murdered her family and left her for dead with a bullet in the back. Along the way, viewers learned a thing or two about our national nightmare — that his father was violent and abusive — and that Mick was responsible for the death of his own sister. It also looked for a minute there that Mick may have been done in, but there’s no keeping a good killer down, is there? And so we have a new six-episode season of Wolf Creek, premiering December 15 and airing in its entirety on Stan. It’s not ‘Mick versus Eve, Round Two’ in this new season, McLean and Jarratt pointed out during a joint interview prior to the show’s return. “We all love Lucy,” says McLean. “And Lucy was angling for a way to return while we filming the last series, so it was sad we had to break the news to her that her story was done and her character was off living a happy life... Well, hopefully.” “Lucy can now go off and be the next Cate Blanchett,” chuckles Jarratt. Instead, the set-up for the new season, described by McLean as “a Hitchcock-style survival thriller”, is a busload of tourists from around the world ambushed by Mick and left stranded in the isolated outback, where they’re easy prey for a nut with a high-powered hunting rifle. As ever, the stark beauty of the Australian environment provides an amazing backdrop for a tense, white-knuckle thriller, and for McLean it’s a scenario that had its origins in the very first incarnation of what would eventually become the first Wolf Creek film. “Eight years before I made the first movie, I was developing a storyline about a group of international tourists in the Australian outback who ran afoul of this crazy villain, and it developed over the years but
The mad dog of ‘Wolf Creek’ still bites Director Greg McLean and actor John Jarratt tell Guy Davis why more than ten years after Wolf Creek, outback brute Mick Taylor still has the power raise hackles.
Wolf Creek premieres on 15 December on Stan.
“He’s a very shallow character. He’s a killer who has fun and plays games.”
Greg McLean with John Jarratt on the set of Wolf Creek
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Breadwoman Variations Long before cats getting their heads stuck through a slice of Wonder White momentarily broke the internet, a timeless avant garde character created by electronica pioneer Anna Holmer was bringing bread to the bleeding edge of contemporary art. Toying with concepts around folk lore and mythology, misremembered histories and the evolution of language, this flour fuelled art-pop trailblazer first emerged from LA’s underground performance scene in the ‘80s. Part installation, part gig, part artitsic subversion, Breadwoman is surely one of the most uniquely inventive musical vehicles ever concocted. Half-baked she ain’t.
From 19 Jan at Mona, part of Mofo 2018.
The best of The Arts in December
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1.
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Candy Bowers & Victoria Chiu Hyper Fragility Why are white men so defensive? Artists Candy Bowers and Victoria Chiu needle this conundrum via a mix of mediums. Expect laughs, banter and irreverent alt-cabaret. From 13 Dec at Arts Centre Melbourne
2.
Arts House
Up, Art And Away What superpowers do artists possess? The power to conjure strange and fantastical realms. Felt-tip heroine TextaQueen brings her unique and vivid visions of superhero scenarios.
3.
From 2 Dec at Arts House
3.
Rawcus Song For A Weary Throat In this newly conceived piece of music-driven theatre, 15 performers surface from the aftermath of a cataclysm, accompanied by haunting live music by much-lauded vocalists Invenio Singers. Until 10 Dec at Theatreworks
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National Gallery of Victoria NGV Triennial Melbourne finally has a major recurring art festival. This epic celebration of contemporary art will feature the work of more than 70 artists from more than 30 countries. From 14 Dec at National Gallery of Victoria
5.
Red Stitch Actors Theatre Desert, 6.29 Playwright Morgan Rose, takes on the tradition kitchen sink drama, but with a twist. This story of a closeted gay teen living in a tiny Aussie town explores a double life of secret-keeping. Until 14 Dec at Red Stitch Actors Theatre
5.
6. 6.
Dream Lover
The Bobby Darin Musical David Campbell stars in this jukebox biopic about the legendary singer, songwriter and actor. This show captures the glamour and passion of the big band, Rat Pack, Golden Age of Hollywood era. From 27 Dec at Arts Centre Melbourne
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ON IN DECEMBER
MUSIC & SOUND PRODUCTION Enquire now for 2018 Melbourne Polytechnic - A place to THRIVE.
www.melbournepolytechnic.edu.au/ information-enrolment-sessions
RTO Code 3075
WELCOME TO SEASON 2018 PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
8 – 23 JUN
GOOD MUSLIM BOY
BLACKIE BLACKIE BROWN
6 – 14 FEB
BROTHERS WRECK
9 FEB – 4 MAR
5 – 29 JUL
A PACIFIST’S GUIDE TO THE WAR ON CANCER
13 JUL – 12 AUG
7 – 18 MAR
SPECIAL EVENT
FLEABAG
28 MAR – 22 APR
BLISS
4 M AY – 2 J U N
GOING DOWN
1 0 M AY – 3 J U N
MELANCHOLIA
SPECIAL EVENT
GENERATION JEANS
9 – 11 AUG
BLASTED
24 AUG – 16 SEP
ICH NIBBER DIBBER
5 – 23 SEP
TRUSTEES
28 SEP – 21 OCT
SINGLE TICKETS FROM 4 DEC (03) 9685 5111 malthousetheatre.com.au
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F
Listening to the sound of freedom
Pic: Jesse Hunniford
Mofo isn’t just a killer summer festival. This year, it’s bringing the music of protest to the heart of Tasmania. Steve Bell talks to the festival’s curator (and founding Violent Femmes bassist) Brian Ritchie about bringing uncompromising art to the Apple Isle.
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or the best part of a decade now, the wonderfully eclectic Mona Foma festival (better known as Mofo) has been transforming Tasmania into a summertime cultural epicentre, bringing left-of-centre and fearlessly avant-garde artists together from all over the planet to ply their trade in performance spaces unlike those offered by any other festival anywhere. This year’s mind-bending array of acts includes a wildly eclectic variety of artists, including Canadian art-rock experimentalists Godspeed You! Black Emperor, infamous Norwegian death metallers Mayhem, American punk-poet Moor Mother, legendary Iraqi cellist Karim Wasfi and UK trans artist/provocateur Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. Even when names on the bill are of the more well-known variety, they’re usually spied in a different context at Mofo: Gotye, for instance, is no stranger to Australian festivals, but here he’ll be found paying tribute to French electronic composer Jean-Jaques Perrey. Folk-punk legends Violent Femmes — whose founding bassist Brian Ritchie has been curating Mona Foma since it began a decade ago, these days calling Tasmania home — can also be found amidst this year’s festivities, only here they’ll be playing alongside a live orchestra. It’s a thrilling mix of the known and the unknown, where anything can happen and probably will, and it’s rejuvenated an entire island. “It’s pretty exciting to be able to put together these different line-ups every year,” Ritchie offers. “We had a different focus this year — we’re focussing a lot on people expressing social opinions, protests and also concepts of freedom. Musicians who are free to express themselves are coming from parts of the world where they may not have been able to in the past, or even here in Australia. That was kind of the unifying factor in the choice of the musicians this year, but it by no means indicates that the music is going to sound the same or that there’s any particular musical style that’s being represented. “It just seemed like the right time for that focus, with all the bad things happening in the world, and with the uncertainty and anxiety and governments taking away freedoms from the people. And also the contraction of the music business: right now the commercial music business is more controlled than it’s ever been. Of course, people have a lot of outlets with the internet and they have their own websites and everything, but if you actually focus on the music that you hear in that environment on the commercial radio stations it’s more formulaic probably than it’s ever been.” Which is why Ritchie and his cohorts strive to offer something completely different from the norm, with a prevailing focus on artistic rather than commercial considerations. “Well luckily we’re associated with MONA [Museum of Old and New Art] so from the beginning of the festival, ten years ago, we’ve always thought, ‘Well, what’s worthy of a museum presentation?’ We don’t just do any old thing because it’s in the charts or it’s a buzz or it’s trendy or something like that. We’ve got to take a somewhat longer view if you’re presenting it as an art experience,” Ritchie explains. “And then we also have a lot of collaborations between dance performers, performance artists, sound installation artists and spoken word along with music — rap and hip hop is a good example of that too, the blend-
ing between the spoken word and music — so you take all these different elements and you put them together as an experience and it’s really an eye-opener.” For many years — rightly or wrongly — Tasmania suffered from its reputation as a cultural backwater, a viewpoint that’s been eroded almost completely since the advent of Mofo in 2008 (as well as it’s annual winter incarnation Dark Mofo) and the subsequent founding of MONA by David Walsh three years later. “Well, ten years ago when we started Mona Foma we had a goal, and it was actually like a ten-year plan to get people to listen to music and experience different kinds of presentations,” Ritchie explains. “For example, we use performance spaces ranging anywhere from one audience member up to about 5,000. It’s not all just focussed on maximum audience impact, so we use all different kinds of performing spaces.
“It just seemed like the right time for that focus, with all the bad things happening in the world, and with the uncertainty and anxiety and governments taking away freedoms from the people.” “We’re doing it in Hobart and Launceston this year for the first time, and we’re working with QVMAG [Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery]. We’re basing our big day up there at that other museum in Launceston, and they’ve got a whole different range of performance options as well, so we’re able to duplicate or create a similar experience up there. It was always part of our agenda to lead and to try to be influential, and to try to give opportunities to people who might have been on the margins of the musical and artistic world.” Spreading the festival from Hobart to Launceston is quite an ambitious undertaking, given how entrenched the state’s internal north-south division has traditionally been. “Yeah, when I first moved to Tasmania people warned me about this north-south rivalry
Mini-mofo The three shows to catch at Mofo.
Jamilia Woods, Richie’s tipped breakout success of Mofo’s 2018 program.
and I thought, ‘That’s absurd!’ Then I reflected on Germany being divided and also the United States having the Mason-Dixon Line, but this is worse!” Ritchie laughs. “That’s part of the fun. I’m from the outside world, so hopefully they can trust me and have an open mind about it, but it’s an interesting phenomenon and nobody’s really cracked it yet so we’re going to give it a go.” One of the great joys of Richie’s time curating Mofo has been the opportunity to give exciting new talents a platform, and more established acts the chance to experiment. 2018’s program is no exception. “I think Jamila Woods is an artist who’s going to break in the near future,” he enthuses. “She’s got the old soul vibe and the jazz vibe but she also has spoken word and protest elements and she’s got a lot of things to say, she’s a very creative artist. Moor Mother is in a similar vein: she’s more like the harder edge of the same basic impetus, she’s a fascinating artist. We’ve got wonderful things happening with Godspeed You! Black Emperor: in Hobart they’re going to play stuff from their new album [Luciferian Towers] which is quite a good listen, and then in Launceston they’re doing different music with the Holy Body Dance Tattoo which is a dance company from Canada, so they’re actually doing live music for this incredible dance work. This is the kind of stuff that Mofo thrives on, mixing together the different art forms to create a unified whole, so I’m quite excited about that. “Chakam Ensemble is an all-female band playing traditional middle-Eastern music, so you don’t get a chance to hear stuff like that very often so I’m excited to do that. But you know, it’s like asking, ‘Who’s your favourite kid?’ I love the whole program, and we never know what’s going to really pop out because
we specialise in artists who a lot of them have never been to Australia before — I wouldn’t have seen everybody and you just don’t know who’s going to be the standout performer every year. It’s a surprise.” Ritchie concedes that while it’s exciting to be tasked with curating this diverse lineup each year, it’s also a thrill to be able to take artistic risks of this magnitude. “David Walsh has an equal love of music as he has of art, and for him to give us this platform to do this is a blessing,” he offers. “It’s changed perceptions of Tasmania. People didn’t used to necessarily know what to think about this place — so it’s definitely raised the self-esteem of the public here. Even stuff like the culinary scene has boomed because of MONA — the tourism element of what we do brings a lot of people to the island and that allows for more business opportunities for everybody and more creative opportunities as well.” Of course, Ritchie is also involved in the action himself this year, and is looking forward to revisiting the Violent Femmes stripped-back canon in a completely foreign musical vernacular, courtesy of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. “It happened very organically because Tim Jones who’s the tuba player in the orchestra also plays with the Femmes’ horn section quite frequently, and he’s writing the arrangements for the orchestra,” Ritchie tells. “So here’s somebody who’s played with us, plays with the orchestra and knows how to orchestrate music, and also with the Femmes being a predominantly acoustic band we can meet them on their terms, compelling them to try and meet us on our terms. Most rock bands would blow off an orchestra with their amplifiers, but we’re prepared to back off on the volume and actually play almost at the same volume as the orchestra musicians and create a more unified approach that way. “Usually at a Femmes show I just call the set, but in this case because we’re orchestrating things we can’t spontaneously throw things into the mix so we’re going to prepare a set: it will be a lot of the favourite Femmes songs with added orchestration and then a few odd tracks that are more like deep cuts, but it will span the whole range of our creative history.”
Monumental Canadian art-rock royalty Godspeed You! Black Emperor will score The Holy Body Dance Tattoo’s office-grind opus Monumental.
Tannery Tannery, the Tasmanian leather and taiko orchestra, will make beautiful music with a leather horn section and imported Japanese drums.
Gotye x JeanJacques Perrey Gotye and the Ondioline Orchestra’s concert for late electronic-pop pioneer Jean-Jacques Perrey will salute the electronic composer and pop visionary’s work with his instrument of choice.
Mofo 2018 takes place 12 — 22 Jan at MONA and Launceston
David Walsh’s Museum of Old and New Art, now one of the most important arts venues in Australia.
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Who am I, anyway? The art of discovering the self
ost artists use the self in some way, even if they’ll deny it; subjectivity is a lens none of us can entirely remove. The revered 17th-century painter Rembrandt famously employed his self-portraits as a means of experimentation and analysis, rather than documents of a life. He was interested in boring down into the self rather than putting it on show. The French philosopher Montaigne did something similar in the century prior with his Essais, digressive morsels of thought that centred on his own mind and its shifting preoccupations. But we tend not to think of sound designers as introspective; pure abstraction rarely seems autobiographical. It seems, however, that several artists heading to Hobart for MOFO may just change that perception, approaching the idea of the self in entirely original ways. Sound artist Thembi Soddell’s Held Down, Expanding is a single-person immersive sound installation that uses seven speakers and a small, dark room to explore ideas of trauma, psychological damage and power relations. “I’m interested in this idea of complete mental breakdown, and the ways you come back from that”, Soddell explains. “Sound is a very physical thing. It really impacts on your body, so it’s a good medium to explore traumatic experiences.”Not that Soddell’s work is directly autobiographical or merely therapeutic. “With art therapy, the therapy is the point; the art is basically irrelevant. But with the work I do, the therapeutic element is a by-product of the art.” Soddell has worked for the last decade in the field of meditation and mindfulness, and it’s sharpened her aural awareness. “But really I’ve always been sensitive to noise. I used to vacuum without turning the vacuum cleaner on, because I was scared of the noise it made!” Scot Cotterell, who forms one half of the conceptual art duo Evil Goat, creates what he labels ‘Doom Noise’; a sonic beast that’s difficult to categorise except to say that it shares quite a bit of DNA with metal and trance music. “The [band’s] name came from my seven-year-old daughter”, he recalls. “She was having bad dreams and drew a picture of an evil goat. This struck us as a cool band name and we kind of went from there.” Like Soddell, Cotterell sources a fascinating array of materials in order to fashion extraordinary ambient soundscapes, from “tapes, cheap synths, damaged equipment or faulty microphones. It lends itself to the ad hoc.” While both artists deal in dark material, neither comes across as gloomy or joy-
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“Sound is a very physical thing. It really impacts on your body, so it’s a good medium to explore traumatic experiences.”
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Evil Goat
Thembi Soddell
Is art for the artist or their audience? Tim Byrne meets two sonic pioneers — sound artist Thembi Soddell and Scot Cotterell of Evil Goat — who are thrashing their own path through the status quo of the listener.
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less — a salient, rather Jungian reminder that personality and selfhood are entirely separate concepts. Soddell has “always been fascinated by the ways in which an artist’s work can reveal aspects of the artist’s self”, but it is rarely a simple matter of cause and effect. “I remember I made one piece about really dark material and audiences were telling me how happy it sounded,” she laughs. Cotterell is equally reticent to lock in audience responses — indeed he finds the audience’s reactions, “not irrelevant, exactly, but almost secondary. [Evil Goat’s] work is quite improvisational, so it’s almost a matter of ‘whatever happens, happens’. That’s not to say that the audience doesn’t matter, but we are trying to achieve an intensity that exists for a short moment, and we’re not really explicit about the kind of space we’re trying to create.”Where most bands or musical acts are interested in creating a shared experience, a sense of community, Soddell and Cotterell are interested in exploring something almost diametrically opposed. An Evil Goat gig is not like attending a regular metal or rock concert, and Soddell’s piece is deliberately designed to be undertaken solo. It’s as if the introspection needed to create the art is mirrored in the effect it has on the listener.Cotterell admits to a tendency to physically ignore the audience, “focusing on creating a shared space but not really engaging with people in an overt way.” Soddell isn’t engaging with her audience at all with Held Down, Expanding because she’s not even present when the audience members go in. It could be easy to read this as a distancing technique, but this seems a distortion of the artists’ intent.”It’s cathartic when I perform,” explains Cotterell, although he follows quickly with a caveat: “I’m a quiet sharer, so it’s not a physical or visceral catharsis; it’s more a sense that something worked, or went somewhere or was something.” This sense of the artist creating something tangible, something able to be shared and communicated, out of the ephemera of the self — what Sondheim referred to as “finishing the hat” — is at the heart of these two artists’ work. As Soddell explains, “Music is amazing because it can articulate the parts of us that can’t be explained in words.” A more direct path to the self, perhaps.
Thembi Soddell presents Held Down, Expanding, from 19 Jan at the Cafe Lawn, MonaEvil Goat play play 20 Jan at Turrell Stage, Mona
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The Year In Film
I
f TV is the new cinema, is cinema the new TV? In Hollywood blockbusters, it sure feels like it. Most tentpole pictures, these days, are but episodes; familiar-feeling instalments in greater ongoing series. Original-concept, one-off money-makers like Dunkirk, Get Out, and Baby Driver now seem like unexpected outliers; commercial moviemaking’s nascent obsession with extended-universe-fashioning reaching a tipping point. 2017’s most depressing cinematic experiences were getting into the end of some already-unwanted popcorn-movie product and being promised more. Transformers: The Last Knight felt like a franchise begging to be euthanised, yet it ended with a nod to future stories; with, no shit, a Bumblebee spin-off on its way. Justice League was every bit as fucked as Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, yet the DC Snyderverse rolls on unabated; a standalone flick for the totallybro’d-out Aquaman high on my list of 2018’s least-anticipated movies. It’s more amusing when the first films in hoped-for franchises/universes end with teasers for more-tocome that’ll never come: the secretly-underrated King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, the bonkers-as-all-shit The Mummy, and the false-moustache-vehicle Murder On The Orient Express all such calamities that grand sequelisin’ plans died on the vine. For those in search of cinematic wonder, the best bet remains heading off the beaten path. My favourite film of 2017 was The Challenge, a documentary about a Qatari falconry tournament made by an Italian video-artist; its glorious imagery gold-plated Harley Davidsons, pet cheetahs, taking wing via falcon-cam - utterly unforgettable. The Square was 2017’s definitive film, a bracing, brazen portrait of conceptual art, progressive social mores, the alienation of the modern metropolis, and Claes Bang and Elisabeth Moss fighting over a full condom. Even Call Me By Your Name, 2017’s most beloved and beautiful film, matches its super-sweet queer comingof-age romance with Timothee Chalamet fucking a peach. Summer 1993 was another film-ofthe-year contender, a psychologicallycomplex Spanish socio-realist picture that is, instantly, one of cinema’s greatest-ever depictions of childhood. The Idea Of A Lake is an Argentine drama about distant Dirty War-era memories of family summers/ disappearings, yet it also houses a Herbieesque fantasy sequence where a car cavorts on a lake. Glory was the Bulgarian spin-doctoring black-comedy I never knew my life was missing. On Body & Soul sets a dreamlogic rom-com in a Hungarian abattoir. Tran Anh Hung’s wildly-colour-graded chamber-piece Eternity found only a procession of French starlets having babies in front of amazing wallpaper. Raw is a bloodsplattered new-French-extremity revival in which female desire is writ as cannibalism. Rey is a papier-mache-puppet-filled-psychedelic-period-piece shot on celluloid that
Jackie
Taylor Mact
The Elephant Man
The Handmaid’s Tale
Twin Peaks
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its Chilean director, Niles Atallah, buried in his backyard for five years. Rey wasn’t the only great Chilean film: two of the year’s very best pics (the chaotic housesitting racket Family Life, and the sublime trans tragicomedy A Fantastic Woman) were from Chile, and Pablo Larrain made it his personal mission to explore the Oscarbait biopic, via the meta-fictional Neruda and free-associative Jackie. The image, from the latter, of an open-top car tearing down a hot Texan expressway - besuited CIA agent crouching on the back like a superhero, pink-pillbox-suited heroine and the corpse
“Body & Soul sets a dreamlogic rom-com in a Hungarian abattoir.” of her husband in the backseat - made for one of 2017’s most memorable single shots. Jackie was also a reminder that our American overlords can, when not clogging the multiplex with abundant crap, deliver works of wonder. The Safdie Bros took an evolutionary leap with their R-Patz-starring bad-ideas crime-thriller Good Time; David Lowery’s A Ghost Story dressed Casey Affleck in a kid’s-Halloween-costume white sheet and proceeded to pirouette through time and space; Brigsby Bear turned VHSnostalgia into a profound shrine to outsider art; Netflix gave Bong Joon Ho $50mil to make Okja, a cartoonish eco-action-movie critique of industrialised agribusiness and GMO; Killing Of A Sacred Deer brought Greek weird-wave don Yorgos Lanthimos Stateside for a bleak, batty riff on ancient myth; and Darren Aronofsky’s audacious Mother! was the year’s wildest rollercoaster ride, horrifying/wondrous in its genuine hostility towards its audience. And 2017, in Australian cinema, was, well, gee... um... is that the time? I guess, at least, Have You Seen The Listers? is pretty great... Anthony Carew
The Year In Arts
The Year In TV
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t would be reductive of me to state that the ‘Best Television of 2017’ list begins and ends with Twin Peaks: The Return, even though that would be kinda accurate. So, let’s just take it as gospel that David Lynch’s 18-episode distillation of the themes, concepts and obsessions that he had explored to varying degrees in varying formats throughout his long, remarkable career pretty much picked up television by the scruff of its neck and shook it up a tad. There was a lot of good stuff on television this year - hell, even some great stuff - but nothing that could compare to this. The upside of the ongoing idea of peak TV is that there’s a lot of good stuff to watch. The downside is that there’s a lot of good stuff to watch. And a consequence of this is that it’s all too easy for a title that doesn’t immediately, obviously announce itself or get anointed by the cognoscenti as mustsee TV to be ignored. I have whole seasons of shows I have long admired and enjoyed, shows like The Americans and Better Call Saul, currently gathering dust on the DVR just waiting for a break in the schedule. So, what’s been watched in place of them and why? I felt I was doing myself a disservice if I wasn’t able to add my two cents to the conversation surrounding The Handmaid’s Tale (bracing stuff - furious, confronting and frighteningly relevant with the now-customary spellbinding work by Elisabeth Moss in the lead role). Some series I felt compelled to watch because they struck me as underdogs that needed all the support
“I could handle hours of Hardy at full glower.” they could get, such as the second season of Outcast, a supernatural thriller that used its demonic storylines as delivery systems for thoughtful meditations on moral compromise, mental illness, emotional baggage and family dysfunction. Yes, I made time to watch the big-ticket programs (The Deuce, which looked at the ‘70s heyday of vice on New York’s 42nd Street, was an absorbing walk on the wild side with some career-best work from Maggie Gyllenhaal). Westworld started strong and had some provocative ideas but soon seemed more interested in being a puzzle boffins could crack than a story audiences could get immersed in. Stranger Things offered more of the same in its second go-round, deliberately playing into its audience’s expectations of sequels in some regards while doing what the best follow-ups do - expanding the mythology and enhancing the characters - in others. I have heard Game Of Thrones did something similar, but I’ve not watched it in some time.
W
In the meantime, I frequently found myself drawn in by the thrill of the new, with mixed results. The brainchild of Tom Hardy, Taboo was a grimy tale of dark secrets and corporate intrigue that was really only enlivened by Hardy’s growly, grunty lead performance (although, to be honest, I could handle hours of Hardy at full glower). GLOW looked at first glance to be another ‘80s nostalgia fest with its dramatisation of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling phenomenon but it soon eschewed cheap signifiers in favour of full-blooded characters and tough, gutsy humour. Get Krack!n worked a treat when it kept the focus on Kates McLennan and McCartney, less so when the gifted Katering Show duo ceded the spotlight to their less talented mates. Ryan Murphy’s Feud, which delved deeply into the rivalry between Hollywood legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, provided Susan Sarandon and especially Jessica Lange with their best roles in years, and they responded with performances rich in complexity, brio and heartbreaking sadness. Have I earned your trust at this point? If so, let me just cite a few titles I think you may dig. Do your research before tracking down and watching them, if you please, but you may enjoy the surprises and shocks of Crazyhead or Red Oaks (the best ‘80s homage of the bunch!) or the new season of The Girlfriend Experience or the increasingly bonkers Z Nation (a way better zombie show than The Walking Dead) or Sea Oak, the truly wonderful pilot episode of which is currently streaming on Amazon. Atlanta! Holy shit, how good is Atlanta? The answer is ‘very good’, and Donald Glover should simply be handed fat bags of cash and contracts that says nothing but CARTE BLANCHE in big block letters. And that goes double for David Lynch. I’m guessing Twin Peaks: The Return may have frustrated or incensed those viewers simply longing for cherry pie and Angelo Badalamenti riffs but, my God, you have to admire the bravado of someone who seized the means of production to make a fucking 18-hour art project that virtually grabbed you by the collar and demanded you respond to it with bafflement, anger, amazement or anything else. The boundaries of television are being redefined all the time, but Lynch and his people physically moved them in real time. We were lucky to be here for it.
hen it comes to the arts, Melbourne is an unusually wellserved city. But even by its perennially sky-high standards, 2017 delivered a notably stellar glut of theatrical triumphs. The most consistently superb season of the year was unquestionably Matthew Lutton’s second selection as artistic director of Malthouse Theatre. Thematically, this year’s line-up pulled no punches; the politics of sexuality, gender, disability, class, and race were all dissected, unravelled and reassembled in myriad ways. Among the year’s highlights, Janice Muller’s wonderfully unhinged staging of Alice Birch’s ferocious feminist instigation, Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. This show dared to take an already eccentric text to its most extreme vector, in a production that wrenched apart a dense stratum of ideas in brilliantly brutal ways. In Wild Bore, the cabaret-comedy supergroup of Zoe Coombes Marr, Ursula Martinez and Adrienne Truscott took to task the complex and often off-kilter relationship between critics and creators, via a hilarious selection of scathing review quotes, razor-edged responses, and bare-naked butts. Perhaps the best Malthouse shows of the year came from Lutton himself, directing a truly jaw-dropping staging of Michael Gow’s Aussie classic Away, a newly develop biopic of The Elephant Man, aka Joseph Merrick, featuring an ovationworthy performance by Daniel Monks in the title role, and a stunning, blood-soaked new staging of Tom Waits and William S Burrough’s Black Rider, The Casting Of Magic Bullets for Victorian Opera. Director Anne-Louise Sarks also had a superb year, helming two of the best shows to grace any Australian stage in 2017. Her debut for Bell Shakespeare — a staging of the Bard’s notoriously difficult “problem play,” The Merchant of Venice — not only managed to find some tangible relevance in an infamously anti-sematic narrative, but also uncovered an elusive lyricism in its tangled collection of romantic sub-plots. Collaborating with national treasure Pamela Rabe on Colm Toibin’s epic monologue, The Testament of Mary, for Malthouse Theatre, Sarks revealed her expert lightness of touch, alighting on a delicate equilibrium of stillness and dynamism. Another director whose name every theatre lover should commit to memory is Stephen Nicolazzo. Two very different, yet equally wonderful productions — The Moors at Red Stitch Actors Theatre, and a new adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas’ Merciless Gods — showcased theatre craft at its most masterful. Nicolazzo is somehow capable of simultaneously summoning the savage and sublime, revealing wrought, raging truths, and dark, sexually impulses, wrapped in the smoothest satin. With his first major company engagement due next year, in a new production of Abigail’s Party for Melbourne Theatre Company, the future looks extremely bright for this star on the rise. Melbourne’s independent theatre scene can always be relied on to produce excel-
Guy Davis
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lent work, and 2017 certainly didn’t disappoint. At Fortyfivedownstairs, Ben Gerrard left audience’s spellbound with his depiction of controversial transsexual trailblazer Charlotte von Mahlsdorf in Doug Wright’s I Am My Own Wife. Later in the year at that same venue, Dirty Pretty Theatre’s staging of Tony Kushner’s crushingly powerful Angels in America proved that great theatre doesn’t need extravagant budgets.
“Director Anne-Louise Sarks also had a superb year, helming two of the best shows to grace any Australian stage in 2017.” But by far the most important — dare I say life-changing — event of the year was delivered by Melbourne Festival, and its presentation of Taylor Mac’s magnum opus, A 24 Decade History of Popular Music. Performed over four 6-hour shows, this chronicle of American culture through a queering prism used a scaffold of song to sweep aside the absolving misrememberings of established histories to confront and challenge a conservative status quo. For 24 hours at the Forum in the heart of Melbourne, I felt connected to something greater than myself; something powerful and important and galvanising. Simply put, this is a show I will still be talking about for decades to come, a truly once in a lifetime experience. Maxim Boon
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An Off-Kilter Xmas (aka The Worst Noel)
With the festive season rapidly approaching, Steve Bell takes a look at some lesser-known Xmas songs that take a different approach to bringing joy to the world.
C
hristmas is an awesome time of year for a whole bunch of reasons, but sadly the quality of its seasonal music isn’t traditionally one of them (and tradition is everything around Yuletide time). Whether it’s the unabashed horror of Christmas hymns and carols, the unrelenting tide of saccharine or schmaltzy novelty songs or the annual reappearance of Do They Know It’s Christmas? blasting atonally (albeit altruistically) in elevators and supermarkets everywhere, good music just doesn’t get a look-in when Santa’s around. Having said that, there’s been a handful of genuinely brilliant festive songs over the journey – The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York and Tom Waits’ Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis (and its equally awesome Neko Case cover) spring to mind – and like all musical genres there’s a lot more out there than what meets the eye, you’ve just got to dig deep to find the gold. Here’s a handful of those slightly left-field Xmas bangers, just because it’s a time of giving and all:
Gayla Peevey – I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas (1953) Recorded by a ten-year-old girl who clearly had no understanding of the upkeep required were her strange Xmas request actually to come true, the musical worth of this song is proven by the fact it’s since been covered by the holy trinity of The Three Stooges, Captain & Tennille and The Jonas Brothers. Strangely young Gayla actually got to learn that valuable lesson about herbivore mammal maintenance IRL when a local promoter started a campaign to make her bizarre wish a reality and actually raised enough to buy her a freaking hippopotamus! Which she proceeded to donate to a zoo, proving irrevocably that she lied to us in song. At Xmas. And people say that kids are rude today.
The Royal Guardsmen – Snoopy’s Christmas (1967) In 1966 Florida band The Royal Guardsmen had a huge hit with novelty number Snoopy Vs The Red Baron, because why not write a song about the deranged hallucinatory fantasies of a semi-beloved cartoon character? When it came time for a follow-up the obvious gambit was to just repeat that successful formula at Xmas time, with the Red Baron this time turning the tables and taking Snoopy captive only to let him go in a frankly reckless display of Xmas bonhomie. Snoopy’s Christmas didn’t chart at all in the States, but ANZAC spirit (or colonial stupidity) shot it straight to number one in both Australia and New Zealand.
The Fall – No Xmas For John Quays (1979) The way that genius acerbic Mark E Smith snarls “John Quays” in this rollicking number leaves little doubt that he’s actually singing about “junkies”, the scabrous track a mean-spirited jab at an addict’s supposed inability to fully engage in Xmas festivities. He saves particular vitriol for poor American rocker Frankie Lymon (who died from a heroin overdose in 1968 at the age of 25), name checking the singer before derisively quoting a line from his smash 1956 hit (with The Teenagers) Why Do Fools Fall In Love. No wonder the Grinch-like Smith struggled to retain band members with that bleak worldview.
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James Chance – Christmas With Satan (2002) This near ten-minute slice of New York avant-garde weirdness finds celebrated No Wave saxophonist James Chance skronking away underneath lyrics recounting a poor guy getting the Xmas blues and taking his own life, only to find himself bro-ing down with Beelzebub (who by all accounts knew how to handle himself in a party situation, notified musically by a sudden pronounced funk edge and provocative lyrics like, “There’s no angels or wise men, and certainly no virgins”). It’s not readily apparent whether this “song” was meant to actually be listened to or is more art by dint of its mere existence.
Snoop Doggy Dogg – Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto (1996) Back in the mid ‘90s the artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg enlisted a posse of contemporaries such as Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger and Bad Azz for an apparent competition to see who could corrupt staple Xmas tropes with the most panache (Snoop unsurprisingly taking home the bacon with dope rhymes such as, “Now on the first day of Christmas my homeboy gave to me/A sack of crazy glue and told me to smoke it up slowly”). It pilfers its title from a late-’60s James Brown jam, but its lyrical content is straight from the street - all champagne, weed and bling.
Tiny Tim – Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS This Year (1980) Incredibly one of the few Tiny Tim songs in existence where Tim himself isn’t the worst bit, the track’s flippant tone and unsettling subject matter is so inherently wrong that even Tim should have been able to work it out (although to be fair he seems guilty of extreme bad taste rather than malice). He later claimed that the song was written in 1980 (before the magnitude of the AIDS epidemic was apparent) and was actually about a diet supplement biscuit called ‘Ayds’, but the song’s spelling and lines such as, “He’s lying sick in bed/Call the doctor there instead,” and, “The nurses all look sad ‘cause Santa’s got it bad,” point to the fact that the retraction was merely Tim backpedalling through the tulips at a rate of knots.
The Hives & Cyndi Lauper – A Christmas Duel (2008) The perennially whacky (in the best possible way) Ms Lauper has some past form in the field of off-colour Xmas numbers (exhibit A being the raunchy Minnie & Santa), but nothing beats the gusto with which she belts out the couplet, ”I bought no tree this year, and I slept with your brother/I wrecked your Daddy’s car, and went down on your mother,” in this mind-bending collaboration with Swedish rockers The Hives. Also includes the beautifully-phrased line, “Who the fuck anyway wants a Christmas tree?”
CHRISTMAS SONGS
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Hot Potato Band @ Queenscliff Music Festival. Pic: Lucinda Goodwin
“Kramer has a cheeky Bon Scott-esque glint in his eye as he wields his axe with exaggerated rock posturing” – Bryget Chrisfield The Southern River Band at Queenscliff Music Festival
The Southern River Band @ Queenscliff Music Festival. Pic: Lucinda Goodwin
Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project @ Queenscliff Music Festival. Pic: Lucinda Goodwin
The Twoks @ St Paul’s Cathedral. Pic: Monique Pizzica
Tyrannamen @ Melbourne Town Hall. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
“The Melbourne five-piece are barely contained on a tiny stage, with punters squashed so close it’s remarkable they can mosh as hard as they do” – Joe Dolan Tyrannamen at Melbourne Town Hall
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Spotting @ Melbourne Town Hall. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
Film & TV ★★★★
Godless
Godless is now airing on Netflix
Reviewed by Guy Davis
U
pon first hearing about the Netflix western Godless, my impression was that writer-director Scott Frank had crafted an old school tale of America’s Wild West. The release of a trailer, however, indicated something more revisionist. As is often the case in such situations, Godless splits the difference. And in this case, it does so with great assuredness and capability. There are scenes and shots throughout this seven-episode series that wouldn’t be out of place in a classic by John Ford or Howard Hawks, but the emotional and psychological sensitivity woven through the story and the characterisations is thoroughly modern. And the calibre of Frank’s writing and direction, combined with a cast strong enough to convey both the archetypal traits of the genre and the complex humanity underpinning them, brings it all together in a way that makes for compulsive viewing with a longlingering impact. The spine of the story is the pursuit of semi-noble outlaw Roy Goode (Jack
O’Connell) by soft-spoken psychopath Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels) and his gang after Goode relieved Griffin of his left arm and a saddlebag full of stolen money. While Griffin searches high and low for the young man he considered his surrogate son, remorselessly intimidating and inflicting pain in the process, the wounded Goode recovers on the isolated ranch of Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), a twice-widowed mother regarded with no small degree of suspicion and contempt by the mostly female population of the nearby town of La Belle, which is still reeling from the death of its men after an explosion in its silver mine. Branching out from this story is an array of subplots, with developments and consequences that range in size and importance but which all add vital and vivid texture to the big picture. Frank has deftly crammed a big, sprawling world into a deceptively contained story of greed, power, revenge and redemption. This is a very fine piece of work indeed.
★★★★★
Call Me By Your Name
Call Me By Your Name in cinemas from 26 Dec
Reviewed by Anthony Carew
I
t’s an instant queer classic, a bittersweet portrait of first-love and love-lost, and a masterpiece of mood-sustaining mise-enscene. Also, a guy fucks a peach. It’s a minor moment in a major picture, but this scene, where Timothee Chalamet puts a personal spin on peaches-and-cream, shows that Call Me By Your Name matches romanticism with a certain daring, that it knows that adolescent lust isn’t just sweet, but sticky too. Chalamet’s a teenager in 1983, summering in Northern Italy with French mother (Amira Casar) and American father (Michael Stuhlbarg). Summertime means books by the pool, swimming in rivers, biking backstreets, abundant stone-fruit(!), al fresco dinners, local dances. It also means the annual arrival of a grad-student, here to stay the season, helping Stuhlbarg, an art historian studying the local statues of antiquity. This time, this visiting academic is no bookish weenie, but Armie Hammer, a man with legs as long as the days, as statuesque as any iconic sculpture. He’s blonde, charismatic, flirtatious, ready to cut
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the rug to the Psychedelic Furs. And though Chalamet’s mid-first-sexual-exploration is with Esther Garrel, there’s sure a spark with the guy sleeping in the room next door. Director Luca Guadagnino dials back the hysteria of I Am Love and A Bigger Splash, taking an unobtrusive approach big on atmosphere. Call Me By Your Name is shot on 35mm, the thick summer air embodied in celluloid grain, with a single focal lens, also 35mm (the DOP, notably, is Weerasethakul collaborateur Sayombhu Mukdeeprom). This decision fixes both the camera’s perspective and the characters within the location; empowers the actors to inhabit not just character, but the space. Andre Aciman’s original novel is written from a years-later perspective, and Guadagnino instinctively understands that the most vivid, formatives memories have a tactile feel, a redolent smell; the environment evocative of time-past. Here, we drink deep from a youthful summer, in which the long days and late nights are loaded with endless possibility.
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Pic: Kristoffer Paulsen
Jade Imagine Led by singer-songwriter Jade McInally, formerly of Teeth & Tongue and also currently a member of Jess Ribeiro’s band, Jade Imagine recently took out the 2017 UpStart Award, which will provide a much-needed financial injection into the band bank account! As such, she may wanna follow-up the title of her debut EP, What The Fuck Was I Thinking, with a release bearing a more confident/celebratory title, because we’re thinking 2018 promises big things for Jade Imagine thanks to those dreamy vocals and catchy guitar toons.
13 Dec, Milk! Records Xmas Party, Northcote Social Club; 31 Dec, New Year’s Evie, Bruzzy’s Farm
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New eats on the street
Lobster Shack Possibly the fanciest pop-up restaurant in history has opened in the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt. A temporary extension of the lush Sydney eatery of the same name, Lobster Shack pop-up is shelling out Maine lobster tails with fennel slaw in a toasted milk roll with parmesan truffle fries. They’ve even paired with Veuve Clicquot for the bubbly.
Supafish Everyone knows that everything tastes better on a boat, and since quesadillas and ceviche are already amazing Supafish is going be the place to get you bites this summer. The 38-metre booze cruiser will also serve kombucha cocktails, Margaritas, will have Pimm’s on tap and has been designed to look like a giant luminescent fish with glowing pink ribs.
St Kilda Night Market It’s that time of year again and every Thursday night of the summer O’Donnell Gardens will be lit up by the St Kilda Twilight Markets. As well as all the arts and crafts, retro clothes, holistic services and local music that make up the bizarre bazaar, there are also food stalls from every corner of the globe, from paella to fondu.
Your people:
Molly O’Shaughnessy & Cassandra Chilton of Hotham Street Ladies
“It really hit home how we mean something to these people” We Lost The Sea have found a new flame. Guitarist Matt Harvey tells Rod Whitfield why they do what they do.
S
ydney-based experimental/progressive post-rock ensemble We Lost The Sea have just hit the decade point of their career, which is a remarkable achievement. Of the band’s recent tour on the back of their iconic 2015 album Departure Songs, guitarist Matt Harvey tells, “We were really inspired by that tour of Europe. It kind of justified a lot for me personally, and for the other guys as well, why we do what we do. It’s not like it was special, outside of us and our fans, there’s a thousand bands that tour all the time, I’m not trying to say that what we did was unique or anything, but it was special to us. It was our first time overseas, and we got an incredible response from our audiences, who were crying and just loving it and being really emotionally invested in our music. “People were telling stories about how we’ve helped them through life and saved their life, or got them over grief or tragedy. It was really intense and it really hit home how we mean something to these people.” The tour offered a moment of reflection for Harvey and his bandmates, helping the sixpiece realise there’s sometimes more to playing music than writing and recording songs then going out to play gigs. “We now have a duty to do this. This is the reason we do this, not just
“We now have a duty to do this, this is the reason we do this, not just that we’re some dickheads from Campbelltown who play 20-minute songs.” that we’re some dickheads from Campbelltown who play 20-minute songs. We came back with a new sense of purpose.” The next page of this reinvigorated new chapter for the band begins very shortly, as they head off on an Australian tour this month to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their breakthrough second album The Quietest Place On Earth. The rather tragic history of the band around that time was a major factor in We Lost The Sea wanting to celebrate that particular milestone. “We lost our singer Chris Torpy to suicide a few years ago,” he recalls. “That was one of the main driving inspirations behind Departure Songs. The Quietest Place On Earth was the last album he recorded on. It was a big step for the band when it came out, and it put us on a very small map. We did a few shows and started to get a bit of momentum, and then tragedy struck and we stopped playing it and put it away. So we just thought that now we should just celebrate that and do a tour around it.” So who are the band bringing in to sing vocals? “Our friend Jarrod Krafczyk, who sang in The Amenta for a number of years, so that should make it even more special.”
Installation artists Who are Hotham Street Ladies? Cassandra: We’re a group of five women and we all lived together in various combinations in a house on Hotham Street in Collingwood in our youth! So that’s where it all began. Molly: The first time we collaborated on a visual art piece together was probably back in 2006, so we’ve got more than ten years under our belts working officially as Hotham Street Ladies. We’ve produced all kinds of, well, I’ll call it “stuff”. That includes books, sculptures, installations, graffiti, street art. But I think our icing “stuff” is probably our most well-known, erm, “stuff”. How did you come to work with icing? Molly: We kinda fell into it. Cassandara: That’s right. We fell into a vat of icing. It’s like a supervillain origin story! Molly: Some people think we’re villains, I think. We get complaint letters! That’s actually the reason we started working with icing, because it evokes a lot of stereotypes, like the Country Women’s Association, or Easter Fairs, and all those kind of quaint, feminine arts and crafts type things… Cassandra: And it makes people nostalgic about birthday cakes and childhood.
We Lost The Sea tour from 1 Dec
Some of your shows have caused a bit of a scandal Molly: There was one installation, a Christmas-themed one that was for the Johnson Collection and we created a debauched morning-after-the-party scene entirely out of icing. And some of the Johnson Collection’s usual crowd – older, white, middle-class types – were not very thrilled with what we did, especially the drug and sex references. Cassandra: Weirdly, the thing they complained about the most is that it looked messy. It was like, “If you’re going to make a pile of icing-sugar cocaine, make sure it’s a very neat pile’.
If you need help dealing with depression or want to talk to someone, call BeyondBlue on 1300 22 4636 or head to beyondblue.org.au
Hotham Street Ladies’ Christmas window display for Quirk & Co opens 7 Dec.
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Looking for a little Yuletide cheer? Here’s a whole bunch of acts doing Christmas shows to get you in a festive mood.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Xmas
Mick Thomas & The Roving Commission Mick Thomas is doing his annual run of Xmas shows and he’s bringing along The Roving Commission full line-up to boot. The Xmas cheers start at Spotted Mallard on 22 Dec before they head to Caravan Music Club on 23 & 24 Dec. The latter show is an early one kicking off at 3pm for a family-friendly Xmas Eve show and will also be a double celebration since it’s the last-ever show at this venue.
Milk! Records
Even
Milk! Record’s Xmas Party is quickly becoming a Melbourne tradition, and to cap off the weird and wonderful year that was, Milk! will be taking over Northcote Social Club for two nights in December. Dust off the tinsel on 13 Dec with special guests Jen Cloher, Ouch My Face, Jade Imagine, Courtney Barnett, Hachiku and DJ Meaghan Weiley; and follow it up with another stellar line-up on 14 Dec with East Brunswick All Girls Choir, Fraser A Gorman, The Finks, Courtney Barnett, Loose Tooth and DJ Meaghan Weiley.
Even’s annual Xmas shows have easily become one of Melbourne’s favourite Xmas traditions. Back again this year at Corner Hotel on 22 Dec, it will give punters the chance to hear the band’s classic tracks as well as a string of brand new songs. Even will be supported by special guest DJs Pierre Baroni and Ginger Light.
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The Blackeyed Susans For their ninth consecutive Xmas bonanza, The Blackeyed Susans are back with a healthy mix of Christmas-infused tunes, cuts from their latest album and back catalogue. They promise a fun weekend of Xmas tunes, kicking off on 15 Dec at Caravan Music Club followed by an appearance at Spotted Mallard on 16 Dec, then a child-friendly matinee show in that same venue on 17 Dec.
The month’s best:
Christmas markets Christmas Glistens at Victoria Market
Arts Centre Melbourne Christmas Market
Guild Christmas Market
Deck the stalls with boughs of great Christmas gifts at Melbourne’s biggest festive shopping hub. In addition to the huge range of specially curated stalls - more than 100 in total - visitors can really get into the spirit of the season with a trip to meet Santa. Those who prefer to do their Christmas shopping after dark can head to the Night Market every Wednesday, where they’ll find a huge array of global street food and free live entertainment.
With a focus on handmade goods, including everything from arts and crafts to confectionary to luxury toiletries, this is the ideal shopping experience for those who pride themselves on giving unique, original gifts. Just a short walk from Flinders Street Station, this bustling artisan showcase at the heart of Melbourne’s arts precinct also has plenty of food truck options to keep you well-fuelled for a busy Christmas shopping excursion.
Featuring a carefully curated selection of ceramics, jewellery, textiles and clothing, all designed and handmade in Australia, this is the ideal stop for discerning Christmas shoppers looking for a truly original purchase. Artist Elizabeth Barnett has painted an exclusive design on Guild Of Object’s front window to celebrate the season, while inside an installation of ceramic work by Katia Carletti, alongside new work by many other talented Aussie makers, add a high-culture twist to the Christmas shopping experience.
Until 24 Dec, Queen Victoria Market
2 Dec, St Kilda Road near Arts Centre Melbourne
Until 24 Dec, Guild Of Objects, North Melbourne Dan Sultan
This month’s highlights Rachel By The Stream
What’s Your Pleasure? The Pleasure Garden is returning for a second year and, in addition to a musical line-up featuring the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Montaigne, Rachel By The Stream and more, there are two more musical arenas – Bass Station for bass and dub, and House Party featuring electronic acts – as well as an expanded art and theatrical performance program. It takes place 9 Dec at Catani Gardens.
For The Stolen Generations Dan Sultan, along with Ella Hooper, Kira Puru, Clairy Browne and more will perform at The Croxton for a very special one-off gig on 2 Dec with all proceeds from this event going towards the development of a Stolen Generations Marker and garden in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, which will be a public art piece and healing garden dedicated to the struggles and strengths of the Stolen Generations and their families.
Splashland
Slide Or Die
Fred Negro
Everyone’s favourite pop-up inflatable waterslide park is blowing up again from 28 Dec. Throw your togs on and head to Caulfield Racecourse to take advantage of Splashland’s eight different ways to slip about in the sun. The classics like the trippo and speed racer slides are back, of course, as well as new rides such as the launch pad, crazy maze and a jumping castle.
Right Said Fred St Kilda’s Alright: The Fred Negro Experience is an exhibition featuring paintings, drawings, memorabilia, photos, film and music all celebrating one of St Kilda’s most iconic artists and residents in Fred Negro. It takes place at BRIGHTSPACE from 1 – 17 Dec.
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New year new day
Let’s be honest, New Year’s Eve never turns out to be as good as you hoped. So, this year, why not save the pain, embrace not being dreadfully hungover and kick off the new year at one of these great parties.
Freedom Time Festival
Let Them Eat Cake
Riva St Kilda
Freedom Time Festival is back for another big year at Melbourne’s Coburg Velodrome. House pioneer Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers), Rhythm Section’s Bradley Zero and Sassy J are set to bring the party as headliners, plus there’s a whole lot of other excellent local and international talent joining the party.
A festival that wants you to have your cake and eat it too? Yep, we’re keen. Complete with artisanal food and cocktail bars, Let Them Eat Cake will help you bring in the new year with a drink in hand while listening to the likes of Ame, Stephan Bodzin, Tourist and more.
Just like Oprah says, it’s important to live your best life so sometimes that means celebrating a fresh new year on St Kilda Beach, dressed as The Hoff or Pammy in Baywatch at Riva St Kilda. They’re kicking off at 1pm so there’s even still time for a sleep-in.
Kaiser Souza
New Guernica
Last call
On 8 Dec New Guernica are hosting ten-year vets of Berlin’s explosive techno scene, Kaiser Souzai, who are heading our way for an Australian tour. Local brothers Thankyou City are supporting (ahead of their Subsonic and The Pleasure Garden festival appearances) along with Berlinbased Victor Y.
Retza
Soon it’ll be family time and you’ll have to switch the glow sticks for carolling candles. In case you need one last big score before you don your festive jumper and get on the straight and narrow for the year, there’s a few places wrapping 2017 with some preXmas parties.
My Aeon My Aeon have rolled out their December Edition and it is stacked with your fave DJs and producers. Timmus, Sekkt, Retza, Thad Lester , Damir Smith, Bryn Cullen, Bex, H-division & Jimmy Turner, Andre Le Vogue & Ollie Wilkes, and Moskalin & James Phillips are all set to bounce beats off the walls, so head down if you want one last big party to get you fit for new year revellry..
Darkcell
Bang If you need to work through all your unwholesome thoughts in time for family Xmas, Suicide Girls are taking over Bang on 16 Dec for the Suicide Girls Singles Night. There’s punk, rock, metal and hip hop tunes spinning across four rooms, and live performances from Brisbane beasts Darkcell, Nerve, Massacre Of Innocence and Obsidian Monolith.
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Yarra’s parks and public spaces will be alcohol and glass free zones on New Year’s Eve.
The consumption of alcohol is banned in Yarra’s streets, parks and other public spaces, including Edinburgh Gardens, from 9pm on Saturday 30 December 2017 through to 9am on Monday 1 January 2018.
KAIJU HIP HOP JAZZ PROJECT KOJOE (JAPAN) X AARON CHOULAI
Amplified music is not permitted in parks and public spaces during this period. PENALTIES WILL APPLY. We encourage the community to keep our parks glass free.
Japanese Australian Hip Hop Collaboration
SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER, 10PM @ THE JAZZLAB 27 LESLIE STREET, BRUNSWICK Tickets $20: Bookings via jazzlab.club
Yarra Council is encouraging the safe and respectful use of local parks during New Year’s Eve.
For full program details see: www.multiculturalarts.com.au
Celebrations are welcome in Yarra’s parks and gardens but there will be zero tolerance for anti-social behaviour. Police and local laws officers will be in attendance to enforce the bans.
MAPPING
For more information contact Council on 9205 5555.
MELBOURNE
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INDEPENDENT CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ARTS
1-17 DECEMBER 2017 ACROSS THE CITY OF MELBOURNE
the best and the worst of the month’s zeitgeist
The lashes Front
Back
Love is love
Right Royal Romance
AB See ya
Earth-snore
Alt-spite
Down with Don
Australia’s SSM survey passed with a landslide victory for the Yes campaign, with more than 61% of voters in favour of changes to current laws. Bill Shorten and Penny Wong celebrated the win, with Shorten coining the phrase, “Today we celebrate, tomorrow we legislate”.
Prince Harry has officially announced his engagement to girlfriend to Meghan Markle. Speculation over the progress of the pair’s relationship had been rife in the tabloids. Now the question on everyone’s lips: will we get a public holiday when they get hitched?
Triple j have announced that they will be moving their annual Hottest 100 from Australia Day on 26 Jan after Indigenous rappers AB Original campaigned to have the music countdown moved from the controversial public holiday.
Earthcore events in NSW, QLD and VIC totally fell to bits when booked acts revealed they’d not been paid and promptly withdrew. Promoters tried to hit back with claims of a smear campaign. We got two words for you Earthcore: Fyre Fest. Nuff said…
Professional attention addict Milo Yiannopoulos is in full dummy-spit mode (his default setting) ahead of his Aussie tour, claiming the major networks are “too afraid” to interview him. Have you considered that it could be because you’re a rancid hate weasel Milo?
Aussie TV presenter Don Burke has emerged as Australia’s Harvey Weinstein, with scores of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. More than a million people tuned in to watch his televised fall from grace as Tracy Grimshaw grilled him on A Current Affair.
The final thought
Words by Maxim Boon
Could 2018 finally bring closure to two years of trouble?
C
ast your minds back to this time last year. Like most of us, you were likely looking forward to seeing the back of the total bastard that was 2016. Between the crushing loss of some of our most legendary entertainers and the incessant lurch of mainstream geopolitics to the right, it really
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did seem like an unusually shit 12 months, an anomaly surely, that we could bid good riddance to as we enjoyed fairer fortunes in 2017. But as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, it seems damn naive that we ever thought things would look up just because we’d hung a new calendar on the wall. Pop-culture has perhaps lost fewer icons this year, but the revelations of the endemic culture of sexual abuse among the powerful entertainment elite in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal has unearthed an equally horrifying litany. Donald Trump has only become more chaotic and dangerous as his fledgling presidency has pinballed from one debacle to another. Hopscotching over the pillars of democracy, he has inched the world ever closer to total nuclear destruction, one deranged, unstatesmanlike tweet at a time. And closer to home, the LGBTQI+ were made to endure a grotesque show trial, thanks to the eye-wateringly costly Same Sex Marriage Survey. And even beyond Australia’s borders, the unforgivable treatment of refugees on Manus island unveiled the Australian Government’s capacity for brutality. Far from being a year of relief, 2017 may very well have been worse than 2016. But then, a change in the national vibe occurred. On 15 Nov, as the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced the country’s overwhelming support for same-sex marriage, cities across Australia erupted
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with cheering. Gatherings of people hugged, kissed, cried and celebrated the landslide majority win for the Yes campaign. Immediately, those most boorish mouthpieces who had not held back in branding queer people as a threat to the fabric of moral decency scrambled to distance themselves from their hate rhetoric. After hosting numerous interviews with the ringleaders of the No campaign in the weeks leading up to the result, Andrew Bolt penned a laughably hypocritical op-ed for The Herald Sun praising the survey’s conclusions as “a vote for love”. Tony Abbott, the most high-profile politician to barrack for the No vote, immediately changed his tune on the announcement that three-quarters of his constituency had voted in favour of marriage equality; a sobering moment no doubt to be offered irrefutable proof of just how out of touch his values are with the citizens he’s supposed to represent. And the sea change hasn’t stopped there. The recent defeat of One Nation in the Queensland elections is further proof of how Australia’s collective consciousness has begun to pivot. A movement that actively rejects the isolationist fearmongering that has become a staple of modern Australian politics is gaining momentum and is making its voice heard in the corridors of power. So 2017 was far from a vintage year, and there is much to look back on with great sadness and disappointment. But maybe we’ll also look back on 2017 as the year when the tide began to turn.
MUSIC & ART FOR YOUR MIND & SOUL TEX, DON & CHARLIE • ARCHIE ROACH • GEOFFREY ROBERTSON BEN WATERS BAND WITH DEREK NASH (UK) • THE TESKEY BROTHERS BLACK SORROWS • ALL OUR EXES LIVE IN TEXAS • BLAIR DUNLOP (UK) BREABACH (UK) • THE BROTHERS COMATOSE (USA) • THE TOPP TWINS (NZ) JEFF LANG • THE AHERN BROTHERS • MENTAL AS ANYTHING • THE ESKIES (IRL) MY BUBBA (SWE/ISL) • JACK BROADBENT (UK) • 10 STRING SYMPHONY (USA) MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA • PETER ROWAN BLUEGRASS BAND (USA) JORDIE LANE & THE SLEEPERS • JOSIENNE CLARKE & BEN WALKER (UK) THE DAVIDSON BROTHERS • NANO STERN (CHL) • REBECCA BARNARD STELLA DONNELLY • VIOLONS BARBARES (FRA) • STEVE POLTZ (USA) YOLANDA BROWN (UK) • TROY CASSAR-DALEY + MORE IRD B Y L R EA LE A S N O TIX 8 C E D L L I ‘T
SPECIAL EVENT
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SONGS & TALES OF IRISH AUSTRALIA 2 EXCLUSIVE AUSTRALIA ONLY PERFORMANCES WRITERS & CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS THEMED CONCERTS, FORUMS & WORKSHOPS
NEW ACCOM IN 2018 – TENT CITY –
OVER 100 ACTS 20 VENUES 4 DAYS FOR UP TO DATE ANNOUNCEMENTS & TICKETS VISIT WWW.PORTFAIRYFOLKFESTIVAL.COM
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NOVEMBER
RE-ISSUED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1980!
DIGITALLY DIGITALL LY REMASTERED RE EMASTERED MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL TAPES
OUT NOW
4 CD • 2 LP • DIGITAL • STREAMING
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NOVEMBER