By Steve Laing
Confusion will be my epitaph.
If you don’t listen to early King Crimson, you perhaps won’t know that lyric, but it does describe where we are at this point in time, and there is no denying that the person ultimately responsible for leading us here is Malcolm Turnbull. He could do a Cameron, and forever be seen as the worst PM ever (yes, even worse than Abbott), or he needs to pull his big boys pants on, and be innovative and radical. But more on that later.
Let’s first reflect on where we are now.
1) Thankyou, Bill, for ensuring Medicare is kept a central part of Australia’s services. The LNP blaming their electoral failure on the “Mediscare” campaign has ensured that any effort on their part to further increase patient spend on primary care will reveal their hypocrisy and lies on this matter. Checkmated themselves perfectly.
2) Thanks to the Greens for ensuring that we have a democratically elected senate based on people’s preferences, not an untransparent and confusing system that allowed the election of senators clearly not wanted by the people. Whilst you may not agree with the number loonies who have been elected, it at least better represent what the electorate “think” that they want. It is a very useful mirror, and whilst we may not wish to look at it, we must.
3) There is massive dissent in LNP ranks, particularly over the leadership. Voldemort is definitely back. Blood will be spilled; that is utterly inevitable. Stable? Yeah right. Even if the LNP do win, a stable government this will not be.
4) There does appear to be a significant undercurrent of racism and xenophobia at large, as revealed by the votes for Pauline Hanson. This is hardly unexpected, given that LNP strategy has been to stir up this unrest so they can be seen to be the bastions of our borders AS A POLITICAL VOTE WINNING TOOL.
However this Textor/Crosby/Murdoch strategy has backfired particularly badly in Britain which now faces further economic difficulties because that anti-European xenophobia has resulted in the Brexit situation, and the resignation of the prime minister that Textor/Crosby were only able to get into power by their xenophobic push for a referendum that they ultimately weren’t powerful enough to control it going against them. Short-term gain, long-term pain for the Tories, but the country will suffer for it. Let us not make that same mistake.
The danger of using disguised racism as a strategy is that it encourages real racists to break down the fabric of our society through violence and fear. This is Abbott’s legacy, and the cost to repair the mess he has caused will be time consuming and expensive, but it must be addressed as a priority whoever wins. And that means properly listening to that section of the community, and actively working with them to allay whatever their imagined fears are, rather than simply castigating them. Listening is the first stage (and I must learn to do it better too!).
5) In his speech on election night, the real Turnbull came out again. If you were willing to think otherwise, this speech revealed that this was all about, and always about his personal ambition. The LNP have no plan for the nation – or certainly not one that they can share with the electorate! The only plan they ever have is to get into power. Then they just wing it.
6) The MSM have been an utter disgrace. They have significantly contributed to the current mess through reporting opinions as facts, going along with the LNP roadshow of nothingness, and failing to focus on policies. They either need to lift their game significantly, or they will become extinct. They are already tottering on a cliff, and not many thinkers will lament their passing.
7) If you didn’t realize it before, realize it now. The system must change. The party system is inherently flawed, and confrontational politics is not the best way to make good decisions. A hung parliament MIGHT be the best way forward IF the MSM can’t stop stating that it is unstable and chaotic.
IMHO the best thing that Turnbull could do is contact Shorten and suggested that for this parliament that every vote would be a free vote. In fact something as radical as this may be his only hope for staying PM. This will force them to find common ground on key issues, and could deliver a high quality, long-term set of solutions for the country. It also forces the idiots on the outer to remain there – nobody should even be entertaining Hanson or Katters list of demands. But they need to start by working out what the actual problems are, rather than simply arguing over solutions (which in many cases don’t actually address the underlying problems in the first case). But unfortunately it won’t happen. Too many donors to feed.
So take it away Malcolm …
“Confusion will be my epitaph.
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back and laugh.
But I fear tomorrow I’ll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I’ll be crying.
Yes I fear tomorrow I’ll be crying”.
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The People have spoken their is no trust in Major Parties, the time has come to listen to the people of this great country, we want change for the better. Not for those who are think they entitled to it. Bloody wake get out & listen to the Grassroots of Australia.I voted for Pauline so there so did so many others.
As is entirely your right. Can I ask why? Which of her policies do you like? Who did you vote for before? I am genuinely interested. I welcome a diversity of views, even those that personally I may not entirely agree with on the surface.
I was speaking to an elected representative one time who proudly proclaimed that it was his job to represent the views of his electorate..nothing more. Fine in theory, but it’s not quite as straightforward as that. What, say, if your electorate believes in mandatory sentencing of 6 years imprisonment for illegal parking? What, say, if your electorate believes in free jellybeans..or brushing your teeth leads to pink eyeballs?
The electorate can believe in a whole heap of things, many of them unfair, unjust or just plain unachievable, and many highly influenced by MSM scare campaigns.
Slightly off topic,but the cockiness and arogance turbull and co that the postal votes will carry them to victory,just enforces my emphaticaly held view that forcefull use of postal vote system in letter drops and hospital and care homes,and routing same through liberal premises rather than AEC smacks on fiddling results in their favour.My suspicous mind?maybe……
robyn, you wasted your vote on a divisive, paranoid, racist climate change denier.
But that’s Australia for you these days: brainwashed by the mainstream media. I hope I get over my disgust for my fellow citizens… but Australia — politicians, mainstream media, and ordinary folk — all of it makes me feel like vomiting right now. All the time and goodwill and energy and wealth and information wasted on all those tiny broken minds.
We were the lucky country. Now we’re the poisonous country. A wide land of fools and charlatans. 🙁
Maybe I’m just tired.
Looking at the state of play at the moment the word that springs to mind is KAMA.
Your actions today will cause a reaction tomorrow, usually coming back to bite you on the arse.
The coalition will now have to deal with senantor Hanson.P. The person they had put in jail.
Can you wonder at the sheer joy Pauline exudes, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and all is well in her world.
Revenge is a dish best served upfront and personal, for 3 long years at the very least.
Miriam you are no tired, I can relate to your reaction,
IMO greed and lack of education is what destroying society
Turnbull’s election night speech said all about the man, the mettle of the man. Even Abbott spoke better when defeated.
Turnbull kept the voters waiting, how arrogant.
How can we take the biased media to task, apart from not buying their rags to force them back to balanced reporting. the Murdoch monopoly constant bias spouted from underlings at the Ozstrayan, CM, Bulletin, etc Bolt, Credlin and others, at Sky news totally has completely overwhelmed good debate outside of a select few in fairfax and the under threat still ABC. Aunty is about the only consistent provider of fair, balanced coverage in the country. Murdoch is relentlessly pushing for total media dominance and is buying APN newspapers so his grasp is tightening. We are in for more bias unless he is curbed. How do we force balanced reporting . A class action, petition ,lobby politicians, business, communities, educators? How?
Great article Steve – agree with everything. You’re bang on with regards to the MSM. Since when did they earn the right to tell voters how to vote? Even hanging on to the laughable and desperate post Brexit result stability statement.
@Miriam – I think a lot of us are tired – but not through sleep deprivation. A large contribution to the Brexit fiasco was laziness and impatience to find facts and solutions fed by a MSM with their “News You Need to Know” and other short cuts. This site should be compulsory reading. You don’t have to agree with everything, but it might make more people think.
Meanwhile MT “takes full responsibility” but then blames Mediscare. Abbott didn’t (hasn’t) learn (ed) and neither has MT who is, as many commentators have accurately observed, hamstrung by the deals he made to knife TA.
I’m off to play “Road To Nowhere” by Talking Heads – for so many reasons it seems more than appropriate and fitting.
Michelle Guthrie has axed the Drum to take effect immediately supposedly in response to complaints from other media sources.
https://twitter.com/search?q=%22The%20Drum%22&src=tren
Smokey – personally I think we need to make journalists a “profession” with professional standards etc. Break those standards (i.e. tell lies) and you lose your license to write articles. I reckon that might make them start to raise their standards, because the current self-regulation sure as shit ain’t working!
Thanks ColinM, and a most excellent decision re. your music choice 🙂
Apart from King Crimson references, an erudite article, Steve Laing. Although, I confess that I will be shunted off to a home for the terminally confused, before too long.
Whilst you may not agree with the number loonies who have been elected, it at least better represent what the electorate “think” that they want. It is a very useful mirror, and whilst we may not wish to look at it, we must.
I have been thinking a great deal about mirrors lately, how useful if certain political parties, independents and Hanson supporters would take a good hard look into one and stop with all the projecting. Such introspection might cut through the blame game – which has become past tedious and well into ridiculous.
For those who think a successful business man will be great at running country, why didn’t these same ‘thinkers’ recall Godwyn Grech/UteGate? To which we can now add calling an election AFTER the honeymoon period has worn off, packed its bags and moved out, insisted on a long campaign (no wonder everyone is exhausted) and continued with the Abbott failure of slogans and policies without anything apart from a title. Also, successful people tend not to blame everyone else – true there are exceptions but too few to make such behaviour rewarding.
Kind of like suggesting that Genghis Khan was a successful warrior, therefore, he’d make a great family man.
What Diana? You don’t like King Crimson? Fair enough, lyrics weren’t really their forte.
The problem with political parties (and particularly those on the right) is the that the quality of the people they put up for election is generally rather poor. Its not about ideas, its about toadying and arse licking. Once you are on the ticket, and if you are in a safe seat, you are straight on the gravy train.
As you say, if you look back on it, Turnbull has failed more often than he has succeeded. Sure, he got some very lucky breaks along the way (including being born into wealth) which overall might make the ledger look positive, but he sure has made some monumental stuff-ups. By jumping the gun to take over the PMship, he sold any bargaining power over the right wing that he had. Too impatient, thus a very poor move. And his chances of navigating a hung parliament given the quality of his team, are almost non-existent. He played his cards very badly, and this is the result. The fact is he only got the job to give them a second term, and if he has failed to do that (which is likely) he is as much use to them as a chocolate teapot. His days are numbered whatever the outcome of the election.
Steve L
I agree (baring the unforeseeable) Turnbull’s days are numbered. Most of his allies lost their seats and the loony brigade remains largely untouched.
Am not making any predictions – seems that some politician’s can make massive repeated mistakes and never be brought to account and others only make one or two and we never hear the end of it – depending on which side of the MSM one is aligned of course.
Speaking of old music and questionable lyrics, am thinking of Meatloaf’s song ” Paradise By The Dashboard Light” and thinking of who has to die before we get any change – dramatic, maybe, but people such as Murdoch with sooo much power they sooo happily and flagrantly use and they are still sooo old, yet don’t even want to retire, let alone die…
So now I’m praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
‘Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don’t think that I can really survive
You see my King Crimson, then you have the audacity to raise me Meatloaf! 😉
Murdoch has been the chief shit stirrer for far too long. Would Thatcher have got up without him? I doubt it. But in return she gave him his power base in return for media support. Another politician that sold their soul to the demon that is personal ambition.
Steve, don’t worryy about it- Cadence and Cascade and a man called Jade.
I had a similar Philistine incident involving Black Sabbath earlier today, so I know how you feel.
But wait up… another blast from the past, Meatloaf!
Personally, I am hoping enough people understand the significance of the ABC Drum site being closed.
Good call Paul!
Yep, you are right about the Drum website being closed. But not the program though. It seems that the public can’t have discussions, only the IPA and other elites. Perhaps more of them will come to places like AIMN which isn’t up to be bullied by Turnbull and Murdoch.
The program veers from rubbish to sometimes, good panel discussions, but it is pretty inconsistent and I get sick of the hosts trying to “mediate” or control a narrative to a desired outcome, interrupting when a panelist is trying to explain a point they don’t want considered.
The best one this year, on Orlando, got savaged by the new, gutless MW for not harping about terrorism, instead correctly identifying Orlando as a.hate crime. No, I have reached the stage where I find it hard to stomach it anymore.
I didn’t know anybody else listened to King Crimson! Great article! I am old enough to remember the LNP reaction to the original medibank, so the I knew “mediscare” campaign run by the liberals was total hypocrisy.
I love the sound of conservative infighting. Hearing Andrew Bolt saying they should have stuck with Tony Abbott was hilarious, I wish they had! They would be as relevant as Fred Nile, and have the same voter base. I don’t mean to say Labor are perfect, far from it, but they have some humanity at least, something the LNP cannot honestly claim.
Thank you for writing this Steve. I have been extremely frustrated with the media during this election. They seem to stir up so much trouble, create so much ambiguity and then point the finger at everyone else but themselves.
The Media needs to start taking responsibility for their part in not only this election, but their reporting of politics in general. As Keating said, you can have a true conservative position. There is absolutely nothing wrong with advocating a conservative position or reporting on one, but there also needs to be balance in how the rebuttal to that position is reported as well. Journalists need to give politicians time to speak. Pick fewer questions and let them speak and not interrupt them every time they have uttered six words.
I have spoken to many people leading up to this election, on the day and post election. The high level of complete misunderstanding of what politics is about in general, what political parties stand for and how their decisions affect individuals, communities, the state and the nation, is absolutely mindblowing. The amount of people who don’t even know who Malcolm Turnbull is or who Bill Shorten is or which party they belong to – absolutely floors me. I can understand Bill Shorten – he is the opposition leader – but Turnbull is our Prime Minister for goodness sake!
People also need to start taking responsibility for their own engagement and truth seeking. I can accept whole heartedly a democratic decision based on an informed vote, but not one that has been fraught with so much ignorance.
I asked someone (who I knew) why did they choose Liberal over Labor and they said because they think “the Gonski thing is important’ I was speechless.
Not long after, another lady came out after voting walking by the booth (who I didn’t know) and excitedly yoohoo’d (to the LNP MP) Oh! You sent me a 50th Birthday Card and because of that I voted for you! Make sure you send me one for my 51st.
A birthday card could mean the difference between Medicare or no Medicare.
I then just wanted to lay down on the warm cement in front of my booth and cry.
“Kind of like suggesting that Genghis Khan was a successful warrior, therefore, he’d make a great family man.”
I think there is evidence to show that everything was the other way round..He was a great family man and leader of people, which is how he came to be a great warrior. I have watched the movie by Bondarchuk. Who knows?
http://www.dummies.com/Section/Choosing-to-Use-Who-and-Whom.id-410094.html
http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/051402lielay.htm
I’ll leave is at that. Meant with the best of intentions, but I suspect the meaning given will be somewhat hostile.
But maybe not (hopefully). ? ? Hate to see talent wasted with lazy errors.
Matters Not, the English language is a living, changing thing. The word “who” is currently expanding and “whom” is gradually being dropped from common use. The words “lie”, “lay”, “laid”, and “lain” seem to be undergoing broadening and blurring too.
We can argue that something is “correct” ’til we’re blue in the face, but in English it is ultimately common usage that determines the language. Certainly English could stand to be a bit simplified and more orthogonal… and don’t get me started on English’s lunatic spelling, with all its numerous rules and their absurd exceptions.
A fabulous summation Steve – thank you!
Trish @8:40 – I agree! People’s ignorance is breathtaking and quite terrifying. Please take consolation knowing your efforts here, along with John Lord, Kaye Lee, Rossleigh and everyone else who writes (including commenters) are invaluable to those of us visiting the site. Not everyone holds the same ideas/principles. Not everyone agrees all the time. Testing ideas and philosophies, understanding different perspectives is integral to making informed decisions. I am new to politics. I cannot express my gratitude for everything I have learned here or for having the opportunity to share ideas with intelligent, compassionate individuals. I think I can speak on behalf of many of TheAIMN’s readers when I say I am able to make better, more informed choices as a consequence of your articles. Never underestimate the difference you and everyone at TheAIMN make … Ants CAN over-run an elephant 🙂
Make no mistake about it: The Emperor’s clothes is the MSM, and without them the Liberal Party as we know it would be utterly destroyed.
dear oh dear, steve, thanking the loonies for democracy? What about the libs and xenophon?
The lord in decrying the changes left the loonies off his incriminations.
Surely not conspiracy???
Diludbran have set you down the pragmatic path and it will be very interesting how you progress. Can’t wait to see the senate and find out who get the 3 year sentence and who the six.
Then you might see some bodily fluid exchange betweenX, the libs and diludbran’s loonies?
The copperman talked about tax from a bahamian context, he talked about medicare as a millionaire and he talked about single parents from vaucluse, talked about education from boarding at sydney grammar and university from oxford.
Who wouldn’t prefer hanson as clearly she is honest and true to herself?
Australia is in a political black hole at the moment, and I’m enjoying it immensely.
Genghis Khan..He was a great family man and leader of people, which is how he came to be a great warrior. I have watched the movie by Bondarchuk.
Riiiight. That explains everything…. not.
I stand to be corrected, but being a successful warrior is not the best role model for the kiddies… or anyone for that matter. I know this male archetype was very popular before public education, tap water and electricity, however, more of an anachronism today.
If you wanted to say that being a business MAN makes for a successful PM why not just come out and say it?
@ Steve Laing et al
I did not claim to be a fan of Meatloaf – I guess irony is difficult to impart through the written word.
Thanks for clarifying that Diana! I must admit to being worried 😉 The irony font on WordPress is remarkably similar to the default one, so its easy to miss (particularly in this strange phoney war that we currently are experiencing – everyone seems a little jangly).
The impact of the MSM, particularly the ABC, has been critical in the LNP even coming close to winning this election. Increasingly they set the agenda, which as any negotiator will know, gives the upper hand. I’ve totally given up on ABC news as being objective, such is the glaring bias in their reporting and commentary now. The press gallery are so far up
And I’m not a big fan of loonies in democracy – their presence reveals very clearly how out of whack, and open to abuse, our revered Westminster system actually is. Personally (and I’ve alluded to this here https://theaimn.com/interesting-times/), I think that giving uninformed people a say in any decision-making process is fraught with problems. Which means you either have to inform them, encourage them to abstain from the process, or weed their uninformed opinions out. To be effective, democracy really does need to improve, and quickly – though I fear that it won’t be quick enough and climate change will force us onto effectively dictatorial war footings in order for “civilisation” to survive at all.
If anyone is interested, I’d invite you to check out my website where I am exploring how we could make our democratic process more effective. At this point much of the musings are my own, but as I’ve stated, the more minds applied to the problem, the more robust the solutions usually are. And if you are on Twitter, please connect with me @anewdemocracy
Thanks, Steve. I do listen to early King Crimson. And mid. And late. That quote from Epitaph caught my attention immediately as KC is so rarely referenced. Very interesting article. The media must take some responsibility for the governments we end up with, particularly when it comes to one on one interviews. Even Leigh Sales will only push for an answer to a question for so long before she finally abandons it. And she’s one of the best! Most interview questions, if they will lead the interviewee “off message”, are simply ignored. What we need is the kind of insistence on coherent answers Aaron Sorkin attempted to define on The Newsroom.
I should mention that I love King Crimson’s work too. The brilliance of Pete Sinfield’s lyrics in early King Crimson, Greg Lake’s amazing voice (Adrian Belew almost resonates to a similar degree), Bill Bruford’s superb drumming (it’s wonderful he’s back), and the ever-scintillating Robert Fripp’s astonishing mastery over his guitar, just so far beyond what anybody else has achieved. More recent King Crimson is wonderful too, though less Earth-shaking and subversive than their earlier days. Other members have come and gone, but Robert Fripp and his obsessive musical genius remain as the soul of King Crimson.
Two other King Crimson tracks that suit our current political problems are “Easy Money” and “21st Century Schizoid Man”.
Wow! Turning into a King Crimson festival now!! Excellent! Was lucky to see them in Chicago in 1995, supported by the Californian Guitar Trio (worth investigating!). Love the early work and the 80s trilogy. Real musicians. Fripp (like his early collaborator Brian Eno) pops up in lots of interesting places which are usually worth pursuing.
Isn’t it funny how much music fits into the psyche of our times. And helps keep you sane.
Malcolm – great article in The Monthly definitely worth reading. http://mnth.ly/397zeYv
Wow Brian Eno. Love some of his work, got into his music in the early 80’s when living in USA. When I returned had a complete reaction to such ‘ponderosity’ and got into Nick Cave (Birthday Party and then Bad Seeds) and have progressed with His Royal Darkness since… I guess my punk/grunge stage has never really left since getting back to OZ – even though my neck protests, enjoy a good head thrash to The Saints, Reptiles (Australian) X.
Currently really getting into Dan Sultan.
Where is the “mea culpa” from the mainstream media? Where is the apology from those mastheads who editorialised in favour of the coalition and so misread the mood of the Australian electorate? Where is the apology for allowing Abbott to sneak in with lies and slogans and then doing the same with Turnbull? Oh now we hear about the vacuousness of Turnbull’s “jobs and growth” slogan and the “plan” which was not much more than a plan to say they had a plan.
Where is the apology to Bill Shorten for belittling and underestimating him for 3 years?
Of course I don’t expect one from the Murdoch media which is nothing but a blatant propaganda arm of the coalition, but Fairfax. The Abbott/Turnbull kakistocracy has been so deplorable over the past three years that they should have lost in a landslide. If it were not for favoured coverage by the mainstream media they would have. I was so incensed by the Age editorial on Friday that I cancelled my subscription.
Has Murdoch ever, sincerely, apologised for anything? Why would we expect factual, fair and impartial from this old man?
As for Auntie, since Howard’s time, far right wing ‘plants’ (tools?) have been given placements of influence over the years – we expect no changes? I don’t watch ABC 24 or ABC news programs in general, too many talking heads from IPA (for balance!?!), preferring ABC radio and Community Radio, which, yet again has had funding slashed – these stations run on an oily rag as it is, so funding cuts added little to the so-called black hole of debt, the cuts to CR purely out of malice.
Have not bought the AGE since it went tabloid.
Interesting. I hadn’t heard of Dan Sultan before. Thanks diannaart.
Dan Sultan – Old Fitzroy
Love Brian Eno’s stuff too. And Nick Cave in the old Birthday Party and Bad Seeds days. Not so keen on his more recent stuff.
These days I mainly listen to trance music — often so optimistic, energetic, complex, exuberant. It helps me write, draw, and program for long periods at a stretch because I don’t use caffeine or alcohol or any other drugs. Music is the best drug.
Here are a few of my (hundreds of) favorites…
Bedrock – Beautiful Strange:
DJ Tiesto – In My Memory:
Sander van Doorn featuring Colin Janz – Timezone:
Sander van Doorn – Daddyrock:
ATN – Miss a Day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk2pib_l3UY
John O’Callahan featuring Lo-Fi Sugar – Never Fade Away:
and not strictly trance, but closely related… almost like old King Crimson:
Vessels – The Sky was Pink (video of Julius Horsthuis’ amazing fractal explorations)
(One thing that stops a lot of people from enjoying trance music is many pieces have a warmup period of a minute or two before the main piece begins so they turn it off after 30 seconds never guessing that they didn’t really hear the music.)
Thank you for your recommendations.
Dan Sultan is simply great soul, R&B and RnR – in fact am having a major crush-a-thon for indigenous music like never before, even though have been listening for a while, seems to me that there is a great deal of new music coming from First Nation people – Yothu Yindi was just a good start.
If I don’t feel like more upbeat, I tend to go for Classical; Bach, Beethoven, Handel are getting a lot of play time ATM – particularly on early Sunday mornings.
Some trance music is closely related to classical. I’m sure many of the classical composers, if they were alive today, would be trance musicians. Think of Ravel’s Bolero. Listen to the Bach influences in Sander van Doorn’s Daddyrock linked to above.
Some trance pieces (though none of those mentioned above) have an orchestral sound. See for example Shmuel Flash’s Chilling Moments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SChBaIp6doU
Another very soft, relaxing, trance piece is ATB’s The Autumn Leaves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3exwOfnBjg
I clicked on your first link to Dan Sultan, and one of the first images of the video “Labour in vain” – yep. Sounds like an apocryphal assessment, unfortunately. Although whatever the final lower house outcome, the next few years won’t be easy for anyone in politics.
I’m going to follow up on the other music links too. Someone said that its easy to get stuck in the music from your youth (so I’m glad I listened to a very eclectic range of music which we were lucky that the late seventies threw at us!!), but its always good to get recommendations from people whose world views you empathise with to open new doors, particularly Aussie stuff (as I grew up in the UK).
If you are on twitter, I heartily recommend you should connect with Lenna Leprena. Apart from her political responses, she posts tons of youtube music links – the complete range – a great soundtrack to the day.
Last week I managed to catch the marvellous King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, where they essentially just played the whole Nonagon Infinity album with hardly a pause for breath. Furiously manic – loved it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCeoxXCmzBY
Last week I managed to catch the marvellous King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Colour me lizard gizzard green with envy – top outfit.
[And Nick Cave in the old Birthday Party and Bad Seeds days. Not so keen on his more recent stuff]
I reckon Higgs Boson Blues is Nick’s best ever song (of those I’ve listened to). I’d place it in my top 20 songs of the last decade.
======================
Recently I found a song from 1968, Dr John’s “Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya”, that I think is super cool (even in relation to modern cool such as say Flume & Chet Fakers Drop the Game)
Oh that is good jimhaz! Dr John sounds so like Captain Beefheart, another of my favourites.
After watching the incomparable Chloe Grace Moretz star in the movie “If I Stay” in which there was a rendition of Smashing Pumpkins’ beautiful and happy song “Today“, I decided to have a bit of a self indulgent evening listening to a lot of their tracks… the sad “Spaceboy” that always brings a lump to my throat; rampaging “Silverf*ck“; pounding “Cherub Rock“; haunting “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans“; “Galapagos” which moves from sweetness to pleading and back again; the sneering, angry “Zero“; rocking, snarling “Bullet With Butterfly Wings“, and many more… Oh my, what an amazing group they were. [sigh]