Just one more thing… (by laura)

I truly am surprised with how much I have learned over the past few weeks. As an avid supporter of all things Australian, and living with a music-mad/always-researching-new-artists flatmate I thought I had a good grip on Australia’s creative culture beyond Men at Work‘s ‘Land Down Under’. But I was wrong.

I have found a whole unseen culture of Australia that should have more recognition. But then I have to question… would it still be the same? Is it mainstream culture that makes mainstream music so MAINSTREAM?

It is a shame that there is so much great music out there, but when producers and companies fear that too great of a creative difference equals low profit margins they directly impact creativity and change already great music. “The media have to sell themselves successfully to large numbers of the population” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2005) There is a sense that conservatism needs to be employed to appeal to a greater audience.

For example, Australian alternative rock band Faker re-released their first studio recorded album in 2005 and in the same year was nominated for the J Award (won that year by Wolfmother). Despite being played on Australian radio (Triple J) since 2001 it has taken until today to be featured on the mainstream pop website Take 40.com. For their up and coming tour you can log on to the Take 40 site to follow their tour with pictures and a blog. Although this would be generating attention for Faker, it is also an example how good bands are sold off to create popularity for mainstream music corporations.

Triple J, for the last 30 years, has been the first point of call for any listener wanting to hear fresh Australian music (www.abc.net.au). It offers “an important alternative to mainstream programming and the predominantly American content offered on commercial channels.” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2005) I become infuriated me when I hear a smarmy Austereo (Australia’s main broadcaster owned by Village Roadshow) personality announce the latest when I have heard it on Triple J months / years before. Actually it kills me, because then I know it will be over played on commercial radio and the artistic value will become unappreciated by the masses who only like music if it is served to them on a silver platter which guarantees that everyone else likes it as well. And the wheel of popular culture and consumerism goes round, leaving the emerging, unknown, and alternative artists not in the gutter, but free to be discovered by people who are more likely to break from the masses to go and find their own tastes in music.

From Angus and Julia Stone to Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel, I had a difficult choice for my last song. So I decided to mix a bit of old with a bit of new…along with the Hip Hop trails from my last post… resulting in

The Herd – I was only nineteen…

Resources:
O’Shaughnessy, M. & Stadler, J. (2005) Media and Society – an introduction, Second Edition, Oxford University Press

It’s just, Heaps Decent… you know… (by laura)

Music can empower individuals (Dunbar-Hall & Gibson, 2004) and for Indigenous Australians, it provides the opportunity to voice opinions and challenge non-Aboriginal institutions (Dunbar-Hall & Gibson, 2004). Although Aussie Hip Hop/R’n’B is yet to be more greatly recognised by mainstream media, it combines elements of traditional Hip Hop with an Australian twist.

Heaps Decent is the Australian initiative of Diplo’s label Mad Decent who has signed artists like Brazilian Baile Funk group Bonde do Role (and they’re playing next week at We Love Sounds! Yay!). Heaps Decent (myspace) aims to bring music to Australia’s underprivileged and indigenous communities, who have limited access to musical and recording equipment. Diplo’s plans to infiltrate Australia’s Hip Hop and club music industry will surely add a fresh vibe to Australia’s musical identity. The project has already released the single ‘Smash a Kangaroo’, which is available through Itunes and the proceeds go directly back into helping fund the venture!

The Australian Hip hop culture is one generally recognised for not being labelled by multimillion dollar enterprises and brand names, although it is often associated with American gangs.

Australian Hip Hop artists have long been fighting accusation of imitating US culture. Yet with artists now rapping in Australian accents and about local issues, we can say that Hip Hop is now a legitimate Aussie subculture that represents authentic aspects of our world Down Under (Arthur, 2006). “Aboriginal music is a thread of expression that has always, and is continually changing.” (Dunbar-Hall & Gibson, 2004) and the definitions of ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ are not considered important as it is the thematic and aesthetic consistencies within Aboriginal music that make it unique.

Aussie Hip Hop is fast becoming a successful and popular music medium in indigenous communities and is luckily broadcast for our enjoyment on stations like Triple J, which are pro individuality and are less likely to conform than other Australian music stations… and so manage to expose Australia and the world to music other than the commercially influenced Top 40 chart! Woo!

Resources:
Dunbar-Hall, P. & Gibson, C. (2004) Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places: Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia, University of New South Wales Press.

Arthur, D. (2006) Authenticity and consumption in the Australian Hip Hop culture,
Qualitative Market Research, Bradford: Vol. 9, Iss. 2; pg. 140, 17 pgs

Waltzing Matilda

“Waltzing Matilda” is Australia’s most widely know folk song, and has been referred to as ‘the unofficial national anthem of Australia . The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker making a drink of tea at a bush camp and stealing a sheep to eat. When the sheep’s owner arrives with three police officers to arrest the worker, he drowns himself in a small watering hole and goes on to haunt the site.The original lyrics were written in 1895 by the poet and nationalist Banjo Patterson, and it was first published as sheet music in 1903. Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that the song has its own museum, the Waltizing Matilda Centre.

 

Some claim that Waltzing Matilda  is the unofficial Australian anthem and has never been our national anthem but we claim it as our song, with more love and pride than the official anthem and that is what makes Australians, Australian. For many years, it has been thought the song was intended as a socialist anthem in support of the demands of the emerging labour movement triggered by the Great Shearer’s Strike of 1891. Its words have often been interpreted as being loaded with political meaning, but a researcher believes poet ‘Banjo’ Paterson wrote it simply to impress a local woman, Christina Macpherson. it tells the story of a tramp who stops beside a stream to make a cup of tea. In the process, he steals a sheep and commits suicide rather than face arrest for his crime. Below, I show the original words of the song as written by Christina Macpherson on manuscripts held by the National Library of Australia. This is followed by the version recorded by Rolf Harris in the early 1960s and which you can hear at the link at the foot of the page.

 

 

The original ‘Waltzing Matilda’ lyrics:

Oh there once was a swagman camped in the billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he looked at the old billy boiling,
‘Who’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.’

CHORUS
Who’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda, my darling,
Who’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag,
Who’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.

Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong.
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he said as he put him away in the tucker bag,
‘You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me!’

CHORUS
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda, my darling,
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag,
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.

Down came the squatter a’ riding his thoroughbred.
Down came policemen, one, two and three.
‘Whose is the jumbuck you’ve got in the tucker bag?
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with we.’

CHORUS
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda, my darling,
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag,
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.

But the swagman he up and he jumped in the water-hole
Drowning himself by the coolibah tree.
And his ghost may be heard as it sings by the billabong,
‘Who’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me?’

CHORUS
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda, my darling,
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag,
You’ll come a’ waltzing Matilda with me.

 

The Rolf Harris ‘Waltzing Matilda’ lyrics:

Once, a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
under the shade of a coolabah tree,
and he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
‘You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!’
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
you’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
‘You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!’

Then, down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
and he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
‘You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!’
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
you’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
‘You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!’

Then, down came the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
down came the troopers, one, two, three.
‘Right-o, where’s that jolly jumbuck that you’ve got in your tucker-bag?
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me’.
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
you’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
‘Right-o, where’s that jolly jumbuck that you’ve got in your tucker-bag?’
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.

So, up jumped the swagman and he sprang into that billabong,
‘You’ll never take me alive!’ said he.
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
‘You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
you’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!’
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
‘You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!’

— ‘BANJO’ PATERSON

definitions of terms used in the song:
swagman – a tramp, carrying his ‘swag’ (possessions)
billabong – a small pool or backwater
coolibah tree – a colloquial name for the eucalyptus tree
billy – a tin can used to heat water to make tea
jumbuck – a sheep
tucker-bag – a bag used to carry ‘tucker’ (food)
squatter – a station owner or farmer
trooper – a mounted policeman
Matilda – the name given by this swagman to his swag

 

Posted by Kathryn King

 

Diamonds in the rough

After a wobbly start, I had the opportunity to learn a lot about Australian music and the different genres, styles and history that is has. It was great to see that regardless of what the mainstream music world tried to tell us what we should listen to, or what is good or bad music, we can look into different aspects of the music scene ourselves and discover some amazing talent, unknown facts or cultural history.

Through my own observation in the articles about jazz, modern day Australian international artists or indigenous music influencing modern day Australian artists, I have been able to discover the greatness in the vast expanse of music the media hardly covers, let alone the top 40 include! Australian music is something that has been slowly breaking into the world music scene since the 1970s and continues to do so. Today artists can be “discovered” by band competitions, myspace, television shows and so forth, expanding the degree in which artists can be recognised and promoted. Even though some of these mediums can be seen as less authentic, I think any breakthrough into international markets is fantastic and is putting Australia on the map musically.

Researching my own blogs, and reading the blogs and comments of the other bloggers has meant I have been able to see clearly the wide range of areas Australian music covers, and the wide range of Australian music that the media and music song charts don’t go near covering. It was great to see the different areas of interested everybody had, allowing everyone to become informed on different areas of the music scene, both nationally and internationally.

With our blogs we discovered that there are so many areas of music and artists or genres that are not covered in our modern age of ranking music. We also discovered that sometimes the best music is the ones you have to search a little harder for. it was wonderful to see the different areas we unearth or discovered, and hopefully this will enable us individually to continue to search for the things that sometimes lie off the beaten track, but can be the best.

Posted by Renée

Isolated Talent – Hannah’s Final Thoughts

Over the last few weeks, we have looked at Australian music in a sense as to ponder why this brand of music receives insuffiecient recognition and coverage in the ‘top 40’, which is what we, as popular music journalists so often focus on. Why is it that we decide to spend much of our time praising and/or criticising artists from foreign lands, and pay little attention to homegrown talent, which, believe it or not, is out there!

It was found, by looking at a number of sources (internet, TV, radio) that the ‘top 40’ (stated as being “music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre” – wikipedia) in Australia is comprised mainly of artists who are actually not from Australia. The charts seem to be dominated by U.S and U.K artists, with their demand also reflected in CD sales and radio play-time.

I have thought of a number of reasons why this is the case. To start with, it’s not because there is no talent out there. Our discussions over the last few weeks have proven that there is indeed a wide and extensive range of artists that Australia has to offer. I think the main reason is that Australia is so far away from the rest of the world market and international music industry, so it is therefore harder for Australian artists to make the big-time. As we can see on a daily basis, the top 40 is made up mostly of artists who are international sensations. So for Aussie artists to be able to reach the top 40, it seems that they need some sort of large scale recognition.

Due to Australia’s relative geographical isolation, acess to the international market is extremely difficult. The main concern for emerging artists is the issue of money. As i talked about in a previous post, Australian band Machine Gun Felatio worked out their average wage per person over 15 years was 4 cents an hour (and that was just touring Australia, not the whole world!). So it seems that if artists can somehow rustle up the money, and maybe have a few overseas contacts on hand, it makes the road to the top a lot easier.

However, it’s not doom and gloom for all Australian musicians. Over time there has been many Aussies who have achieved international success. And there are ways in which artists can get a helping hand (From competitions such as Australian Idol, to programs such as the JB Seed, and opportunitites like South By South West).

I think that because the market is harder for Australian artists to break through, dedication and true talent will show in those who do make it to the top 40. I also think that there needs to be more mainstream promotion of music that is never really destined or made for the top 40, but music that is just as qualitative, if not more, than the 40 songs that are on repeat mode on mainstram radio.

Australia has got talent!

posted by Hannah

Aussie Versus American hip-hop

The Australian accent seems fit to drawl Throw another shrimp on the barbie, mate, but not to spit sharp rhymes over fat hip-hop beats. The iconic image of an Australian bushman braving dank swamps and the desolate outback just doesn’t jibe with our pop-culture vision of gold-chained rappers flanked by buxom babes. Australia is the other side of the world, as far as rap goes. And what would an Australian rap about anyway? Wrestling crocodiles? Boomerangs? Kangaroos?

 

The development and maintenance of a hip-hop community in Australia continues to rely on the efforts of various social agents to reinscribe their own social world with logics, truths, actions, and interpretations that arrived in Australia predominantly through mass-mediated channels: television, radio, and imported fanzines and recordings (Maxwell, 2001) Australian rap is more than American rap with an Australian accent. While 50 Cent might wax glamorous about the hustler life Aussie rap is just an honest perspective on life.

The first Aussie hip-hop genre to receive an ARIA award was the Hilltop Hoods. The Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group, originating from Adelaide, South Australia. Their members (June 2006) are MCs Suffa (Matt Lambert), Pressure (Daniel Smith), DJ Debris (Barry Francis) and formerly DJ Next. They work under the Obese Records record label and are often heard on national radio, especially Triple J and Nova. Influences include American hip hop artists such as Notorious B.I.G., KRS-One, Gang Starr and Public Enemy, although the Hilltop Hoods rap with their native Australian accents.

Australian rap remains very Australian, and that local flavour might make it an acquired taste to American ears. Filled with strange accents, odd slang, and a pop culture and politics cryptic to many outsiders, the music can seem downright impenetrable.

 

 

References

 Maxwell, I. 2001. “Sydney Stylee: Hip-Hop Down Under Comin’ Up.” In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, ed. Tony Mitchell, 259-79. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.

Posted by Kathryn King

Australian Music – A Final Though from Cassidy

In my “Australian Music” blogging experience, I’ve had the chance to write a number of blogs:

1 ) Australian Music Resources…Online!

2 ) America Loves You, Australia!

3 ) “Neighbours”…or Singers?

4 ) The Sydney Opera House

5 ) “The Gondoliers”

6 ) Australian vs. Non-Australian Awareness of Australian Music

7 ) Savage Garden, Darren Hayes, and “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine”

8 ) The Didgeridoo

9 ) Top Live Music Venues in Australia

10 ) A Touch of Oz in the USA

Throughout the blogs, I’ve covered a lot of ground in the world of Australian music. I’ve explored where to find information on Australian music and where to go (both in Australia and the USA) to listen to both up-and-coming and already popular Australian musicians. In addition to the rock and pop music Australia offers, I’ve discussed a personal experience with an opera at the iconic Sydney Opera House. I’ve also covered a bit about music as it relates to the Aboriginal culture in Australia with an article about the didgeridoo. I’ve discussed the lives of Australian musicians (whether it be ex-“Neighbours” stars turning to music or Darren Hayes escaping a horrible childhood with his music) and the international awareness and appreciation of Australian artists.

These topics, among many others brought forth by this class and other bloggers, are not explored nearly enough in modern journalism. Luckily, we’ve been able to fill in some of that “gap” with educational and relevant information from all facets of Australian music. With a little luck, other bloggers will pick up where we left off and help to fill the void in music journalism!

posted by Cassidy

A Touch of Oz in the USA

Did you know that there is an Australian Consulate in the USA whose aim is to provide assistance to Australians living in the states? One service they offer is providing details on Australian events and performances going on in and around New York City and Boston. I was personally not aware that there was a way to find specifically Australian shows – so I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon the Australian Consulate’s website!

The Australian Consulate in New York and Australian Consulate in Boston each offer an events calendar, listing various types of events, including art exhibits, plays, film screenings, miscellaneous shows and events, and…you guessed it…Australian musicians! The events calendar provides the date, time, location, and a description of each event, along with links for anyone interested in obtaining more information on the particular event or venue.

A few of the upcoming performances from Australian musicians include Australian rock group Radio Birdman, ever popular The Cat Empire, Adelaide’s indie rock band Fruit, and a variety of other events that will be incorporating Australian music.

So if you’re ever visiting the states and want a touch of home, stop by the Australian Consulate in New York or Boston’s Australian events calendars and find out what’s going on while you’re in town!

posted by Cassidy

Adrians final thought

After an indepth look at music and culture, covering most main areas, there seems to be an underlying theme throughout. The general consenses that music has influenced culture and in turn culture influences music.

In a contemporary world, with access to the information super highway (geez im tech lingo savvy), the exponential growth of access to information, including music, is changing peoples social values and interpretation of music. From blogs i have posted, throughout ‘hidden track’ technology is proving to be the fundamental driving force behind these rapid changes.

The ability for me to be able to ‘post blogs’ and have my opinion expressed on a global stage is an obvious example of this cultural/social change.  Hidden track has allowed individuals to cover these gaps in mainstream music coverage and given them a voice, which ironically may have an affect on the people who read the bogs and in turn, even though the it may be the tiniest influence, change ones perception of music, thus shaping the culture associated.

Posted by Adrian

 

Mainstream is for frogs, says ARIA winner

 Read this article below By Edmund Tadros, October 12, 2005, From the Sydney Morning Herald. The article deplicts how the Australian Music Industry has reached rock bottom when the Crazy Frog song won an award at te aias in 2005. This “frog” song is the first ever mobile ringtone to come into the ARIAS cgarts and also to win an award. It shows how mobile and the internet are transforming the way music is being produced to the public. You can also read this article from the website at http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/mainstream-is-for-frog-says-aria-winner/2005/10/11/112879652567

Mainstream is for frogs, says ARIA winner

“The future is not good” … Tom Ellard’s Severed Heads won an ARIA gong last night.
It was a blue singing frog that finally convinced Tom Ellard that the popular music industry was “insane”.

The amphibian in question is Crazy Frog – the cartoon star of the single Axel F, a mobile phone ring tone which was released as a single and topped the Australian charts in July.

“When a mobile phone single can be a number one single, that’s when we’ve reached lunatic heaven,” he said.

Ellard is the founding member of Severed Heads, which won the best original soundtrack/cast/show award for the soundtrack to The Illustrated Family Doctor at the ARIA Fine Arts Awards last night. “As a band person to be up against an animated frog, you think ‘it’s no contest man, give it to the frog’.”

For the veteran electronic musician whose first album was released in 1979, a frog singing “a ring ding ding ding ding” again confirmed that Severed Heads would never fit into the mainstream.

“The machinery of the music industry is, in its own way, insane,” he said. “It’s these systematic personality types being put in front of you … the singer-songwriter woman with unwashed hair or the black rapper with gold chains and 20 girlfriends. I’m not critical of these things, I’m fascinated by them.”

However, Severed Heads won an ARIA for a soundtrack that featured canned music. Ellard said he was interested in the form when he was approached to do the soundtrack.

“The idea that music could influence people, that was my kick [at the time],” he said. The idea fit well with the Australian movie, which starred Samuel Johnson. It is about a man who “lives in productivity hell”.

Ellard has long rejected mainstream music, even after the mid-’90s top 20 hit Dead Eyes Opened. He is the keyboardist and sometimes singer of the band, which records with various artists and then assembles the final product on computer.

He has been recording and distributing music since 1996, when it was mp2, not mp3, and opened one of the first online music stores in 1997.

Despite, or perhaps because, he is so forward-looking, Ellard is not hopeful about the future of music.

“The future of music is not good because of this whole notion of selling tracks one at a time,” he said.

Posted by Kathryn King