Dolly was busting out. Her bus was too big, our roads were too small, her tour was at risk of deflating. Now Parton will meet the man who made it happen — transport minister Anthony Albanese, writes Harrison Polites.
Culture / The Arts / Music
album reviews 
Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto — when it’s good, it’s very good
Somewhere along the line Coldplay became a byword for musical mediocrity. That label isn’t fair, as their latest album Mylo Xyloto demonstrates, writes Neil Walker.
The Stone Roses resurrection
The Stone Roses, widely considered a seminal band, reformed last week 15 years after calling it quits. The Brits are excited: 225,000 tickets to gigs were sold within hours of going on sale, writes Neil Walker.
Lindsay Tanner on his rebellious rock ‘n’ roll years
Former Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner remembers the favourite music of his youth, calling the 60s and 70s “a period of intense cultural creativity broadly equivalent to the Renaissance.”
album reviews Noel Gallagher’s solo debut: High Flying Birds
High Flying Birds is a radical departure for the ex-Oasis bandleader. Experimental madness runs riot as Noel decides to take a left-field detour in a new direction, writes Neil Walker.
Jarvis Cocker: modern music is like ‘scented candles’
You don’t have to be a Pulp fan to enjoy this revealing interview with muso Jarvis Cocker, as he talks about awful pop lyrics and young artists now coming from middle and upper-class families.
Black Postcards and hazy memories: Dean Wareham opens up
The multi-talented Dean Wareham has toured the world as the face of Andy Warhol’s Superstars. He sits down for a chat with Kent MacCarther, discussing his new book Black Postcards and a long and distinguished career speckled with drugs and g-strings.
album reviews Kasabian’s Velociraptor!
Often touted as heirs to Oasis’s lad rock constituency, Kasabian have always been weirder than but their latest album Velociraptor! obviously aspires for greater commercial success. Sadly, it’s at the cost of experimentation, writes Neil Walker.
The music Nova listeners Wanted? Program boss defends conflict charge
A senior executive at the Lachlan Murdoch-controlled Nova FM group has dismissed conflict of interest concerns after he shoehorned a UK boy band managed by his father onto high rotation.
album reviews PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake
PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake, released in February, won the 2011 Mercury Prize for best album from the UK and Ireland. Was it a deserving winner? asks music blogger Neil Walker.
album reviews Ball Park Music’s Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs
Six-piece Brisbane band Ball Park Music look quirky but don’t let that put you off. Their debut album Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs doesn’t just rely on the wacky factor to ensnare listeners, writes Neil Walker.
1991 albums: It was 20 years ago today
The 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind has sparked a Generation X spate of nostalgia for all things grunge, writes Crikey’s music blogger Neil Walker.
My Cup Of Tea: A digital avenue for Australian musos on the Jays
Triple J’s new digital radio station — specifically devoted to new and emerging Australian contemporary music — is a step in the right direction for Australian content.
Album review: Baxter Dury’s Happy Soup
Baxter Dury is the 39-year-old son of punk icon Ian Dury. His first two albums sank without a trace but his third effort, Happy Soup, provides many reasons to be cheerful, writers music reviewer Neil Walker.
infographic Animated: 30 years of the music industry
Back in 1980, when Blondie and Pink Floyd were rocking the charts, 59% of music sales were for LPs or EPs. Back just last year that figure was down to 1%, with 49% CD sales. Check out this glorious GIF of graphs from 30 years of music industry info.
album reviews U2′s Achtung Baby
To celebrate the 20th birthday of U2′s 1991 hit Achtung Baby, the album is being re-released in various wallet-tremblingly expensive box set editions. But does it truly deserve its place in the fabled pantheon of “best of all time” lists? asks Neil Walker.
Hope for FreezaCentral in Ted Baillieu rock pitch
Organisers of the axed FreezaCentral rock mentoring program are confident of a reprieve in next year’s Victorian budget as Premier Ted Baillieu moves to bed down its credentials as a live music saviour.
‘Sticky carpet-clad’ Ted pledges Libs’ love of live music
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu draped himself in the iconic Melbourne music venue The Tote’s mythical sticky carpet to ram home his message that Liberals “love live music”.
album reviews Bon Iver’s latest: Bon Iver
Don’t believe the hype and those end-of-year album polls. When it comes to much-hyped indie band Bon Iver, these emperor’s new clothes are beige, writes Neil Walker.
Welcome to the most expensive music festival in the world
While headliners at last weekend’s Splendour in the Grass festival, Kanye West and Coldplay, would have walked away with tidy sums and an adoring crowd ringing in their ears, for the vast majority the equation didn’t seem to stack up.
My Cup Of Tea: The costly disease in our backing orchestras
An Australia Council-commissioned report into Australia’s ballet and opera orchestras reveals an unsustainable business model. But where will efficiencies come from?
How to interview a celebrity
Music journalist Jessica Misener tells a hilarious story in GIFs about what it’s really like to interview famous bands and pop stars.
album reviews Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Remember the Beastie Boys? Those three dudes from New York with a “we just make shit up as we go along” attitude. Ruby Krupka reviews their latest album, calling it “disappointing” and “pretentious” compared to their earlier work.
Russell Brand on Amy Winehouse and addiction
Ex-drug addict and comedian Russell Brand writes an obit-of-sorts to his friend Amy Winehouse: “the lips that I’d only seen clenching a fishwife fag and dribbling curses now a portal for this holy sound”.
My Cup Of Tea: Book barns are dead, long live cosy indies
We can’t save big book barns, but we can save independent cultural retail. It’s independent book stores and music retailers that offer something the big chains rarely mustered: character, passion and charm.
