The mass media invented the teenager during the 1950s and 60s – and thus emerged a whole new audience for popular culture. What we’re seeing now is the recognition of children as an ever more important…
Memorable music provides a path into other worlds.
Anne Helmond
The oceans of music, much of it free, that most of us have access to continued to expand unabated in 2013. I’ve plucked the following from the seemingly endless tides because they said something to me…
Frankie wants us to relax, but is he asking or telling?
chrisjohnbeckett
Rock and roll has always been a great liberating force in our culture. For many it has provided the soundtrack for all manner of acts of political rebellion and personal liberation. This spirit is captured…
Under the baton of Valery Gergiev.
Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest
Conducting is essentially a phenomenon associated with Western classical music. As a rule, rock and jazz bands do not employ a conductor unless they are teaming up with a symphony orchestra. Conductors…
Christmas songs can do more than torture retail staff trapped in department stores; they can also be important players in popular music history. One of the most iconic Christmas songs, Bing Crosby’s 1942…
The Necks combine sparkling surfaces with ominous undertows.
Holimage
Australian improvising trio The Necks – pianist Chris Abrahams, drummer Tony Buck and bass player Lloyd Swanton – recently released their 17th album, Open. Although the three began playing together in…
Blur recently pulled out of the Big Day Out, citing problems with festival organisers.
EPA/Britta Pedersen
It’s no secret that the music festival scene in Australia has recently hit some troubled waters. Harvest festival has been cancelled this year, unpaid performers are still chasing the organisers of the…
Music therapists work with people of any age and ability, culture or background.
flyzipper
Defining music therapy is challenging because the practice is so diverse; but the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA) uses the following definition: Music therapy is a research-based practice and…
PSY is far from the only player in the global rise of K-pop.
Michael Nelson/EPA
A little over a year ago, South Korean singer PSY galloped onto the global pop circuit singing about “sexy ladies” in the Seoul suburb of Gangnam. What followed were a flurry of articles (some going as…
Jessica Mauboy performs on stage at the 27th ARIA Awards in Sydney, Sunday. Do we expect too much of what is, essentially, an industry love-in?
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
After weeks of hyped-up national pride, the halting speeches are over and the awkward presentations made. The 27th Australia Recording Industry Association Awards (the ARIAs) have passed away, marooned…
Fans love live music – but what does it take to keep venues open?
Erik Anderson
The Bendigo Hotel, a live music venue in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, is facing closure after complaints about noise. As an online campaign mounts to stop the Bendigo being closed down, cities…
Not everyone can be a superstar – and very few can truly innovate.
Mait Jüriado
Innovation is much sought after in music – by musicians, often, by the federal government, increasingly. But could the pursuit of the slightly nebulous-sounding “innovation” be driving music in the wrong…
Where does live music stand in the cultural life of Australia?
-Jeffrey-
Melbourne has long been regarded as a thriving live music city and right now, with Melbourne Music Week in full swing, live music culture is being celebrated. But there are signs of discordance that we…
We’re still not very good at acknowledging the importance of television sound.
ABC
It’s 50 years since the first episode aired on the BBC on November 23 1963 – and now Doctor Who is in promotion overdrive. We’ve been treated to online snippets of the 50th-anniversary special, pre-anniversary…
Even the most self-avowedly “unmusical” among us treasure their music collection.
Music is not essential for humankind. Unlike air, food, physical safety or reproduction, music is not a precondition for survival of the species. We are unlikely to ever read that the cause of death of…
On the way in to work, I heard someone on talkback radio, sharing about Lou. He had driven Mr Reed around Brisbane when he was there in 1974. All Lou wanted to do was to go shopping. Record shopping. What…
Reed, who died today, knew how to place himself at the centre.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
The plaudits have arrived very quickly for Lou Reed, who has died aged 71. He is clearly regarded as a towering figure, credited with playing a central role in creating one of the most influential albums…
Reed’s death – like his life – is generating headlines and strong emotions.
appelogen.be
The death of Lou Reed today, aged 71, is unquestionably a sad day for popular music. Already Rolling Stone has compiled a genre-defined obit focusing on how Reed worked as a Transformer (pun intended…
If there’s a formula to pop success, artists such as Jessica Mauboy aren’t bound by it.
Gaye Gerard/AAP
When I was a kid way back in the dim, dark 1960s, I collected radio Top 40 charts obsessively. What struck me then – and still strikes me now (yes, I kept the charts) – was the sheer diversity of songs…