Pitter Patter, I've got the Nationalistic Spring Blues
I’ve been busy writing other stuff and busy at work and busy at home and I am not a fan of spring. Spring in Queensland sucks. The surf is usually very small, hell I don’t need it double overhead, I don’t even need it overhead but I would like it bigger than waist high and of course then there are the Northerlies. The devil’s wind is up with its gifts of summer sloppy waves and bluebottles plus there are more people at the beach so it is hard to get a park. So I guess I have the Spring blues.
Plus I really love winter, I like being cold, its invigorating and lets face it I am talking Queensland cold here not frickin Moscow. The sky is a beautiful clean blue, the wind is offshore, the ocean is crystal clear and sure the surf can get pretty flat in winter too but it just somehow has a vibe that spring does not. So I am whinging about work and Spring and then I thought about something that has been bugging me about countries.
You know the trouble with countries. They believe their own PR. And I guess when I say countries I mean we, the population of the said countries. Now before everyone starts getting excited like the hockey dudes in Letterkenny and wanting to get all punchy and have a tilly or a donnybrook about how freaking great Australia or Canada or China or Bolivia is I think there is nothing wrong in feeling pride in one’s country. But a little bit of healthy scepticism and some serious self-analysis about some of the pronouncements from our political leaders and various other voices would not hurt. For example…
Prime Minister ScoMo’s mindless saying of “How good is Australia” is so easily parodied by its adaption to how good is … just about anything: Letterkenny, anchovies on pizzas, offshores, Coen Brothers films. Actually its simplistic inanity hides a sinister problem with this saying, which is that it closes down disagreement and diversity by creating a self-supporting argument that is difficult to contradict. Apparently there is nothing to worry about, nothing to see here. In other words if you disagree you are an unsettler, a worrywart, you are a negative Nelly and Debbie downer.
But what if Australia right here and now is not good for you. What if you have no job or you are in poverty or your farm has failed. Clearly Australia is not great for everyone. It never has been. Ask our indigenous people. Generally Australia is a fantastic country to live in, obviously better than most countries but in fact no place has ever been great for everyone so why say it is?
I find it patronising and dismissive, illogical and it reflects the two things that are actually truer about Australia than our trumpeted Australian values about mateship and the fair go. These so called values of Australia have always been exaggerated and are hardly unique to Australia anyway. You would think no other country understands the concept of friendship other than Australia and like other liberal democracies who have allowed the gap between the rich and the poor to become too wide, fair go and egalitarianism in Australia have now become a lot harder for many and have always been impossible for some. There is nothing that annoys me than watching Australia’s political leaders trumpet this stuff especially when they are talking about our “mates” around the world. It’s like some sort of High School playground drama about who gets to sit next to the cool kids on the bus home.
In truth the two things we have in volume in Australia is a fear of change and a fat sense of complacency. We believe we are the lucky country and therefore all we need to do is just keep doing what we have always done and she’ll be right mate. It is the dark side to our laidback side but I believe there is such a thing as being too relaxed. It stifles creativity and innovation and it means we are quite happy to be mushrooms and be fed bullshit. It will come back to bite us. So there.
But then I thought, “ Mate you need to lighten up a bit.” The world is certainly more uncertain but half of the reason for that is nowadays we know so much more about bad shit thanks to the 24 hour news cycle and social media. All those conflicts, tragedies and drama that fill the media would never have worried us before because we simply did not know about them.
So I think that I need to manage a withdrawal from the news sites and social media. They bring you down man. I am trying but it isn’t easy. I love the flow of information and feeling of being part of a connected world. One way I have found is to watch more comedy on TV and less political dramas, thrillers and documentaries. I have also tried to reduce my podcast listening and get back into some music. There are some great new bands out there so you don’t have to plough through your old favourites be they Beatles, Blue Oyster Cult or Bauhaus. And read a book, something that is uplifting, maybe an autobiography or a biography from someone who has done good.
So as I struggle to “degrump” myself here are some worthy recommendations to bring things down a notch.
Two great, quirky comedies that show the world from slightly different points of view are Derry Girls and Letterkenny, both available on SBS On Demand or Vice Channel. One is Irish, the other Canadian and both are piss funny.
I have written about Derry Girls previously; see https://www.chestbeatingbyword.com/home/2019/8/23/not-looking-not-looking but Letterkenny takes that the small town comedy to a more adult level.
This is dialogue comedy, full of local slang and dialogue and part of the fun is trying to work out what the hell they are saying but if you love shows like South Park, The Castle, Community etc. you got to check them out. Relax and ease your troubled mind. 9.5/10 for either
The book Complicated Game consists of a series of interviews with XTC’s singer songwriter and bandleader Andy Partridge. By far the most thoughtful and in the end traditional of the UK bands that emerged post punk, XTC are a bit like the The Go Betweens. Exquisite songwriting from two major contributors [Andy and Bassist Colin Moulding], a long history, a sound like no one else’s that drew deeply on the culture of their homeland and the underserved fate of almost fame but never getting quite there. This is a book that talks about certain songs in their catalogue but also about the act of songwriting, the process of recording, collaboration, being in a band and creativity. Knowing their songs will help but it is not essential as Andy is a bit of an English eccentric so the book is always good reading. If you are interested in the process of creativity, a songwriter or a musician or just love the band it is essential reading. Stoke Factor 8.5/10.
Music wise the dreamy erotic ambience of Cigarettes After Sex second record Cry is very soothing indeed after a hard day worrying about the state of the world. 9/10
Some relevant tunes
No Thugs In Our House – XTC
Dear God – XTC
One Week – Bare Naked Ladies
Tom Sawyer– Rush
Sweet Jane – The Cowboy Junkies
Cry - Cigarettes After Sex
Teenage Kicks – The Undertones
