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

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

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

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