Pig City: From the Saints to Savage Garden

摘要: She comes from Ireland, she's very beautiful I come Brisbane, and I'm quite plain Pig City - The Go-Betweens, Lee Remick If popular music really is a universal language, it's curious how easily song - even commercially obscure one can to symbolise city's identity. stories of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Dunedin, Detroit, Memphis, Nashville, New York, Orleans, San Francisco Seattle are inextricably entwined with the made there. Robert Forster, however, could never have imagined that his self-deprecating paean an actress would become so fabled in home town. This understandable. Queensland's often stifling subtropical capital doesn't exactly spring mind when discussing world's great musical cities. Partly this down Australian pop rock's poor-relation status next United States and the Kingdom. Inside Australia, too, Brisbane for decades wore provincial reputation as big country town, at least southern capitals of Sydney Melbourne. Of course, most successful bands recording history began life late 1950s. But Bee Gees didn't much outgrow city Australia. Struggling recognition, Brothers Gibb exodus musicians out they left their native UK beginning 1967, year before peanut fanner, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, took control of Queensland's ruling Country Party (later National Party). The literature on only accumulate, again it understandable far, has rated little more than footnote. bigger problem footnote remained same, recycled various contexts by authors: especially punk scene '70s - was overwhelmingly reaction repression Bjelke-Petersen era. This partly true. Bjelke-Petersen's rule Queensland between 1968 1987 was nothing if not iron-fisted. Public displays dissent were brutally suppressed; the law routinely bent will those charged its enforcement; minorities treated simply another obstacle path development. To top it all off, electoral system hopelessly rigged favour incumbents. 'Here,' writes Rod McLeod, 'in practically under police curfew, you fucked and fought, got stoned, married, or town.' But makes sense give politician too credit creation scene. Major cultural movements result intersection local, national and international factors. Saints living state response just Stooges MC5, but Easybeats Missing Links. And doubtful success string acts '90s Powderfinger George happened without nationalisation Triple J network. Of be naive suggest growing up climate fear loathing did heavily distort prism through which these artists saw world. As guitarist Ed Kuepper says, 'I think band able develop obnoxious demeanor, thanks our surroundings, had everyone been nice.' In words historian Ian Mcfarlane, 'That Australia's conservative should rise such seditious subcultural coterie sociological phenomenon yet fully explored. This book my attempt document substantial largely unsung contribution both culture international popular music. doing so, I aimed chart shifts musical, political consciousness helped shape broadest sense, story grew up.