A Neighbourhood playlist
Ned Collette’s new double album 'Old Chestnut' is out now on It Records. Here he provides us with a playlist of the music that has been inspiring him, from Trabaci and Victor Jara to Joe Talia and Robert Wyatt.
Pretty Vacant A letter from New York
Are luxury stores the victims of success? Our most fashionable neighbourhoods appear like they’ve been looted: a third of the stores in the heart of the city are empty! This retail rot is a new form of urban blight.
Jimmy Barnes
Next Door with the legendary Cold Chisel frontman.
Suggested
Left Hanging How they’re killing the koalas of Wilton
“We have to work out what the transition is between protected koala habitat and urban areas... Let’s find a balance between conservation and development for housing.”
Running with the Watchman Life has a way of speeding up as we get older
He was a lot less fit in those days. The years of being the last man standing at whatever party going had started to impact and when he first came running he took a lot of strategic walking breaks.
Dealing With It Endometriosis affects one in ten women
Years of suffering and debilitating pain followed, only to be repeatedly told by health professionals that she just had ‘period cramps’ and to learn to ‘deal with it’.
Features
Love Sick Intimacy and the American President
The cultural capacity for love can be lost. Donald Trump is a harbinger for this lack of empathy and intimacy, a society unable to feel.
Maybe I’m Amazed A new appreciation for Paul McCartney
Is it possible to tell a rather different story about Paul McCartney’s life after the Beatles? A story of creative endurance and often unrecognised inventiveness and influence?
The Allergic Frontier A case study in video game addiction
“The veneer of fun erodes over time. When you become sicker, you use more – to detach from reality.”
Another Side A conversation with Tanya Plibersek about rock ‘n’ roll, democracy and family car trips
After 20 years in the job, Tanya Plibersek is not slowing down. Our profile of her, featuring rock ‘n’ roll, Jeremy Corbyn and speculation about a second female Prime Minister.
Culture
Typewriters and Eggs A hardboiled view of a painter’s life
"Every typewriter has its provenance, its own fingerprint – the crooked key that leads detectives to the blackmailer..."
A Sound Which Never Existed Electronic journeys with Albrecht La’Brooy
“We’ve always tried to stay away from a particular sound which already existed...we have always been more interested in creating our own sound that is different and unique.”
When It Is All Just About Okay John Cheever and his flower of confusion
Maybe there is the warm, uncomplicated glow that comes over us when, after so much time and so much hurt, things are finally just about okay.
More Desperate Ideas for Aussie TV Drama
A lawyer conveniently named Newton. Huh.
Food
Sweet Dreams A letter to Nutri-lame
So we got the cereal. We returned home. My kid sat at the kitchen table and began shovelling the cereal into his mouth. He shovelled one bowl. Then he shovelled another...
Newtown’s Best Variety Act Behind the scenes at Clem’s Chicken Shop
Newtown was a no-go zone when Clem's was founded: “I remember Peter once walking to school and he got rolled for his shoes.”
Golden Years Golden Century is a Chinatown institution
“I used to do my homework at the back table,” says Billy Wong of Chinatown institution, Golden Century.
Una’s A Little Chalet of Our Own
“People don’t come here for a quinoa salad. They come here for a Jaeger schnitzel.”