Music for modern times – the past reminds us of the future

Times are grim. People around the world are losing their life savings, innocent Americans are being deported to concentrations camps in Latin America, neo-liberals are on the rampage, like out of control crime gangs or brown-shirted goons. Luckily there is always creativity and culture, art and community action.

As always art, creativity and culture, not to mention community offer some relief and ways to understand and help finding solutions to madness. The past is always with us and has a lot to say. It’s time to briefly lift up our heads from this craziness and listen to some music.

Postmodern Jukebox
Earlier this year I went to see Postmodern Jukebox play at Llewellyn Hall on a rainy night in Canberra. It was refreshing to see the good side of America still singing, even while the Trump bully boys were dismantling democracy – albeit a flawed version that makes you appreciative of your own somewhat less flawed version.

‘You hear the phrase “the audience went wild” – well, when the audience go wild at a Postmodern Jukebox show, they really go wild.’

I had been introduced to the phenomenon of Postmodern Jukebox on an excursion to visit my brother in Gippsland in Victoria. He of course knows of all things musical. Until the concert I had seen them only on YouTube.

 

Music makes everything better.

Trump tariff threat to Australia’s screen industry

In the new world order, as the American empire seems to be starting to unravel, there are likely to be severe repercussions for other countries and their international cultural presence. One of the unnoticed casualties of the tariff wars may be Australian content and our local screen industry. The export value of Australian screen production is minute in comparison to the vast flood of imported content from the US. However, it is culturally and economically significant for Australia.

The Albanese Government has been promising a new model to ensure that streaming services commit funds to Australian content. The Americans, especially the new regime, are very hostile to any form of regulation or quotas. If they chose to push hard, they might threaten tariffs on other industries that have a tighter grip on Government, like agriculture or mining. In such a scenario cultural production might be sacrificed for bigger sector, that are more significant in terms of economic income, but less important for Australia’s standing and presence in the global world.

The National Film and Sound Archive, custodian of Australia’s long and proud history of screen culture.

The Albanese Government has been promising a new model to ensure that streaming services commit funds to Australian content. The Americans, expecially the new regime, are very hostile to any form of regulation or quotas. If they chose to push hard, they might threaten tariffs on other industries that have a tighter grip on Government, like agriculture or mining. In such a scenario cultural production might be sacrificed for bigger sector, that are more significant in terms of economic income, but less important for Australia’s standing and presence in the global world.

See the whole story on Substack. 

Do you want fries with that?

In my long working life I've traversed the public sector, the private sector and the community sector - not lots of people can say that. I've seen the best – and the worst – of them all. Lately I've noticed a whole new approach to how local businesses interact with me. It's the 'do you want chips with that' approach to upping the spending ante. Given the way that over the last few decades we have started to treat public and community services like private businesses – and often turn them into private businesses – I expect to see this become more widespread.

As businesses go all out to recover from the economic ravages of the pandemic I’ve noticed a whole new approach. Everywhere I get asked ‘how was my day?’ This can become very irritating. I don’t even like to ask myself how my day was.

 

'Do you want fries with that?'

Alongside this new chumminess, there’s an enthusiasm to remind you of extra ways to spend money. It’s the ‘do you want fries with that?’ approach to upping the ante.