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
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